Suryakusuma, JI, Sex, Power and Nation : an Othology of Writings 1979-2003,

3 Unethical Food Marketing to Children Malti The values we impart to our children today, consciously and unconsciously will have a major impart on society tomorrow. If we continue to leave the teaching of values to chance, we are a nation, risk losing as integral piece of our culture altogether. Children are the human resource and assets of a country. They are the most vulnerable section of our country. They need special care and protection, if the future of the nation is to be made secure. Children are the first call on agenda of development not only because young children are the most vulnerable, but because the foundation for life long learning and human development is laid in the crucial early years. Survival, development and growth of a child has to be looked at in a holistic manner and there have to be balanced linkages between education, health and nutrition for proper development of a child. The present paper is an attempt to analyze the Unethical Food Marketing to Children. It has been shown that children should be educated in the science of marketing and businesses and should learn to satisfy needs in a manner which protects and even nurtures children’s right and best interests. [Keywords : Values, Human resource, Unethical food marketing, authority figures, children’s right and best interests] India is the home of the largest child population in the world. “Child is the father of man” is an old but true saying because conduct character of as adult person reflect what he has imbibed in childhood. Children bring the asset of nation should be grown up to become robust, physically fit, mentally alert and morally healthy citizen. We should be aware that children are the future of the modern world. Children need a healthy, balanced diet which is rich in fruit, vegetables and starchy food. Food which is the basic necessity of life, plays a crucial role in children’s growth. If young children are not given proper care in giving proper CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL SCIENCES, Vol. 24, Number 3 July-September, 2015 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, N. A. S. PG College, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh India E-mail: malti_phogatyahoo.co.in balanced diet, they will suffer from malnutrition which intern effect their growth. Encourage children to choose a variety of foods to help ensure that they obtain the wide range of nutrients, if they need to stay healthy. Better quality and more nutritious food, less processed food should be encourage for growing children. Children physiology is an important aspect in their development. Surrounding environment plays a important role in the development of child. They learn from their adults, share a common value system and are motivated from their elders. Children live in their own dream land, develop various tyre of fantasies in their mind try to fulfill them somehow. Children enjoy social interaction, have a breadth of interest and grasp of possibilities. They are very good at grasping things. They are highly interested and observant of how thing work and often. They often tale apart toys in an effort to observe and understand “what makes them thick.” Thy create their own fantasy world and live very much within the world they create. Children are diligent and conscientious have a deep concern for other’s feeling and work at trying a please parents, teachers and other authority figures. They thrive in an environment which provides consistency and personal attention, rules and authority are important to them. Acceptance of others is also very important to then and they strive to please their parents and others. For them to do their best in the classroom a positive teacher student relationship in essential. It is vital for them to like the person who teachers them and disharmony. They are very skeptical and analytical and trust reason above all else. They connect unrelated thoughts and seek objective solutions to enigmatic problems. They regard their parents, teachers and other adults as their equal and feel free to challenge them when ever they perceive their thinking to be illogical. Children abhor making mistaken and try to avoid letting other know when they do so. They very soon catch what they see in Television. Advertisement play a vital role in media field. T.V. advertisements specifically aimed at children companies related to food products are targeting our young generation for selling their product. They through the mean of advertisement exhibit their product in such a lovely manner that our tinytots soon get attracted wants to try that particular product. Example:- Sunny Delight soft drink changed its name to “SUNNY D” in order to seem “cool” to the younger set. They began showing commercial advertisements that displayed children and young teens coming in the house with skateboards and raving over the fact Sunny D was in the refrigerator. Today food industry of Indiaall our the world in selling their worst 26 Malti product in society by targeting our societychildren which in unethical Corporation advertise or package or create their products in a manner that is enticing to children known as unethical food marketing. Breakfast cereal makers are another group that is highly guilty of ploys created to children to urge their parents to buy a certain brand. They put appealing cartoon characters as the boxes and put toys or games inside to entice kids. Example:- CRAX packet of Rs. 5 carry small games inside kids enjoy playing it. Sometimes the children do not even want the cereal but are move attracted to the toy. Brilliantly marketed highly salty foods are being deliberately targeted for our children’s lunch boxes. The use of marketing practices targeted at children to sell their product is unethical says Registered Nutritionist and chartered Marketer, Kathy Lewis of consensus Action on salt and Health. India is world’s second largest grower of fruits and vegetables after Brazil and China. While the agriculture sector has witnessed several leaps of innovation and technological advancements, the processing sector is still in its infancy. Even with less than 4 processing of fruits and vegetables, the Food processing Industry sector in India is one of the largest in terms of production, consumption within India, export and growth prospects. The government has accorded it a high priority, with a number of fiscal reliefs and incentives, to encourage commercialization and value addition to agricultural produce; for minimizing perpost harvest wastage, generating employment and export growth. As a result of several policy initiatives undertaken since liberalization in early 90’s, the industry has witnessed fast growth in most of the segments. In the following few paragraphs, it can be noted that the processed food market for India is vast and the aount of scope that retail chains would be exposed to is phenomenal taking into consideration the demographics and raise in standards of living. Retailers could throng the market with all these processed and packaged foods with their private labels. With the emergence of the big private corporates, NGOs Non-Government Organizations and Government organizations into the food processing scene, India is making big inroads into the Food Processing Industry. These corporates and NGOs have reached out to the farmers and provided them with timely advice and help in the up gradation of farm practices with valuable inputs on various areas of farming from sowing to harvesting which includes quality seed procurement, manures, fertilizers and pesticides etc. Some of the successful models are that of ITC’s e-choupal a model that helps the soyabean farmers in contract producing for ITC for its commodity trading business. The Unethical Food Marketing to Children 27 PEPSI experimenting with Punjab farmers in growing the right quality tomato for its tomato purees and pastes. Some of the leading food retail chains working with farmers for contract growing greens for supply to their retail outlets etc. These successful models are being replicated with required changes all over the country and the food industry is getting integrated more strongly. India has also seen a flurry of food chain majors like McDonalds, Pizza Hut and kentucky fried Chicken finding their place among the Indian consumers. The trend still follows for food chains in India to spread to almost all cities and towns. These advancements have revolutionized the integration of the Indian Food Industry and have played a vital role in solving, to a large extent, major supply chain issues that prevailed. The trend is that these successful institutional intervention models be replicated and supread in all segments of the food industry far and wide through the country that benefit all the incumbents of the chain evolve. This finally helps the retailer as his supply chain becomes much leaner and vertically integrated. He is in a position to offer a wide variety and highest degree of convenience to his customer. The media bombardment during the last 15 years has exposed the Indian consumer to the life styles of more affluent countries and raised their aspirations and expectations from the shopping experience. They want more choice, value, service, experience and convenience. Ethical practices are aimed to ensure a sustained market. Although promotional techniques are used encourage usage by a particular target audience, they should not be used on those that are vulnerable and at such a crucial stage of health and development. Food industry used a combination of marketing techniques including packaging, positioning promotion and price, to enhance sales. The worst cases surveyed, using upto a combination of 10 marketing techniques on one product, included ‘Attack-a-Snack,’ Walker’s crip’s igpacket. Each used a combination of marketing techniques specifically aimed at children and busy parents. These marketing techniques includes : u Competition, such as win a year, pocket money. u In-pack promotion, including games and colouring in. u Web-based promotions, such as design your own dairy-lea movie or as interactive web-enabled competition. u Text messages. 28 Malti Advertising is a massive, mutli-million dollar project that “having an enormous impact on child development” Says Kanner, who is also an associate faculty member at a clinical psychology training program called the wright Institute. According to Kanner, the result is not only as epidemic of materialistic values among children but also something he calls “narcissistic wounding” of children. Children in share a common thing- a growing, even insatiable, desire for material goods. Now days advertisers are making their pitchers to younger and younger audiences, many of them not yet out of drapers. Marketing to children is a planned process which starts at early age and continue till heshe become loyal customer or drop the product as a result of his analytical ability to understand the message and content of product and advertising. Normally child get exposed to the advertising at early age, when the child starts recognizing shapes and images. Advertising gradually build the strong relationship between brand and the child. For example, Adds of Horlicks, Bournvita, Maggi are presented in such a beautiful manner that a child starts demanding it. These demand create an environment of child parent conflict. Parents find themselves having to say no over and over again to children whose desire are piqued by effective advertising. Representation of marketing process and development of child as consumer Lifestyle trends in urban India [Crising incomes, longer working hours, more working mothers, time poorcash-rich parents] tend to support a convenience time pass and food culture, which lead the child to watching television and the increased consumption of HFSS food [high in fat, salt and sugar]. In addition the advertising industry makes junk food seem irresistible, Unethical Food Marketing to Children 29 Attractive Colours Celebrity Endorsement Entertainment Image Building Consumption Repeat Purchase Brand Loyal Cartoons Fantasy thus children become physically addicted to junk food. Children who don’t have the emotional or cognitive tools evaluate what’s being sold to them also demand for product of their choice mostly advertised products. They want the advertised product which give pleasure because its glorified, fantasy and puffery appeal. Food industries are more interested in making money rather than paying needs to the health problems that their products can cause. These people are criminals and they seen on harm in doing so. Tactics are used to make entire children, make them feel “less than cool” if they do not get a certain food product or even create products that coloured or shaped in certain ways that children would be fascinated by. Unethical food marketing have adverse effect on child health. This includes : u Physical health of child. u Mental stress for not owing the product of his choice. u Diet habits. u Family stress a result of influence on family spending. u Consumption of alcoholic drink. u Smoking. Another source of animosity is the family budget advertising make kids want things, it creates desire which put a lot of pressure on parents. When a parent says, ‘No, I cannot by that, I don’t have enough money, there’s as underlying sense that the parent is not meeting the child’s need and is depriving the child of what he or she needs to be happy. At the same time, the youngster is learning how to get parents to respond to his or her wishes and want. This may take the form of a grunt, where scream, or gesture-indeed some tears may be necessary but eventually almost all children are able on a regular basis to persuade Mom of Dad to buy something for them. The Indian child is also becoming influencing consumer for today and powerful buyer for tomorrow. Food industry currently faces angry resistance from health institutions against the growing increase in child obesity. Health industries and institutions seems to be fighting a losing battle in terms of appealing to children, in because they do not understand the art of marketing and communication. Where are the teletubby-branded apples? Obesity amongst children is just as much the result of 30 Malti unethical marketing on the part of certain foodsnack brands as it is of the lack of proper marketing on the part most health institutions and industries. Marketing base to put the brand on the top of the mind, creating brand equity, maintaining the brand loyalty has extended its net to influence the children to a extent that it has lost its path and walking on the unethical grounds, leaving our children in a vulnerable condition. The media is filled with sensational child guardian us the marketer’ articles and in the process none of the parties realize that they can learn from one another to their mutual benefit. Marketers can learn how to be more ethical and socially responsible when it comes to children by understanding them as a developing human being and not just consumer. Health industries and institutions can utilize sound marketing principles to get their positive, educational messages across. Marketing can be wonderful information resource to children. It can serve as an introduction to what it means to be a responsible consumer and help children to appreciate diversity of choices, teaching team to choose wisely. Parents are urged to teach their children financial discernment and in school children are taught how to use and interpret the media. We should educate our children on how to tame this ‘beast’? Today consumers have rights-the right to safety, choice, education, information and right to speak their mind. Consumers expect businesses to be pro-active and adopt a socially responsible approach to marketing which ensures that customers needs are met, but with their best interests at heart-especially comes to children. Marketers need to go back to all of the four marketing P’s-product, price, place and promotion- using sound ethical and socially responsible values as the foundation for all. Businesses should be pro-active and shift their focus from “how can we implement marketing without doing harm” to “how can we implement marketing to the benefit and growth of our market”. It does not mean that fast-food industry should close its doors, television producers stop producing television, programs aimed at children. Not necessarily-the societal management philosophy in self brings new opportunities to many industries; the opportunity to expand food product portfolios by developing ‘healthy alternatives; the opportunity to develop marketing strategies which not only seal products, but also educate consumers on a healthy, balanced lifestyle; a boom in the sports equipment and toy industries and the opportunity to create healthy lifestyle television programs. Unethical Food Marketing to Children 31 One thing is certain : The answer does not lie in banning marketing to children or labeling all marketing to children as “unethical”. Children should instead be educated in the science of marketing and businesses should learn to satisfy needs in a manner which protects and even nurtures children’s right and best interests. References Kumar Ashok, Developing Women Children in India, New Delhi : Common Wealth Publisher, 2006, 52-60 . Dabholker, P. A., Thorpe. D. A. and Punty, J. O, “A measure of service quality for retail stores”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 241, 1996, 3-16. Technopak Retail Outlook Quarterly Report , New Delhi : Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd., October 2007. Deloitte Global Powers of Retailing Report , Deloitte Development LLC, 2008. K. K. Tripathy, “Processed Food Industry in India : Potentials and Constraints”, Kurukshetra , Vol. 25, No. 6, April 2006, 12-16. Lalita Khurana, “Consumer sovereigntay can be a Reality”, Kurukshetra, Vol. 25, No. 6, April 2006, 21-23. ê 32 Malti Article Received on May 09, 2015; Accepted on June 06, 2015 4 Extent of Problems faced by Female Sewing Machine Workers Neha Gahlot, Manju Mehta, Kiran Singh Sewing is a helping hand activity for the woman who is not very educated, but skilled and cannot go outside the house for earning. In matrix of home and workplace environment which is often overlapped, women have to suffer a lot of problems including physical and psychological as well. The study was undertaken in the Hisar city of Haryana state to find out the problems in sewing activity performed by the female sewing machine operators. The responses of the respondents were taken through well structured questionnaire cum interview schedule. The findings of the study revealed that injuries and minor accidents were frequently faced by the respondents while performing the sewing task. It was investigated that majority of respondents were suffering from swelling of fingers, followed by needle piercing, cuts , burning and electric shock during ironing. In response the respondents were not paying any attention and were not using any protective measure while performing the sewing task. Respondents also revealed that apart from the injuries they were facing customer related problems which exhaust them and causes occupational stress. The common customer related problems were bargaining 83.75, urgency of demand, high expectation and low payment. These problems resulted in negative impact as stress 90, anxiety, household problems and so on. The respondents were paid very low as compared to the boutique rates which results in the dissatisfaction regarding the work in decreased production and low motivation. The respondents were suggested suitable measures to cope up with injuries and to lowering the stress for maintaining their health and for utilizing their proper potential for the accurate prices. [Keywords : Sewing task, Injuries, Protective measures, Customer related problems] CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL SCIENCES, Vol. 24, Number 3 July-September, 2015 M. Sc. Student, Department of Family Resource Management, I. C. College of Home Science, CCSHAU, Hisar, Haryana India E-mail: nehagahlot25gmail.com Sr. Scientist, Department of Family Resource Management, I. C. College of Home Science, CCSHAU, Hisar, Haryana India E-mail: mm1964rediffmail.com Professor, Department of Family Resource Management, I. C. College of Home Science, CCSHAU, Hisar, Haryana India E-mail: kiransingh.ingmail.com 1. Introduction Women have always been the major contributor to the household economy. Today women are called upon to undertake the dual role of looking after the family and its need, and also earn for the families maintenance, by taking up either full or part time work for wagessalaries. In the process of economic development, women’s role has been a major component Rashmi 2005. Many women undertake sewing activity as an entrepreneur. A large number of workers employed in sewing activity are unorganized labour and specially women who stitch garments at their home. Women represent a significant majority of the home workers who cut and stitch garments together for the global apparel trade and all these activities they perform at their home environment. Apart from the home environment, the workplace is the setting where many people spend a large proportion of their time. The boundary between their home and workplace environments is blurred for the household sewing workers. In recent years, the contribution of poor environmental conditions at the workplace, poor perception of work conditions, and presence of adverse health conditions in workers has received much attention. The nature of workplaces varies and therefore the determinants of occupational injury and morbidity also varies; identification of the responsible factors in any specific work environment would help in clarifying the etiology and would also be useful for prevention and containment of occupation-related ill health. Along with that sewing activity performed at home is not considered as a professional work, in such this condition the chances of misbehave or unfair wages are very common which leads to stress and other problems and lower level of satisfaction of work done. 2. Methodology The study was conducted with an objective to find out the extent of problems faced by the female sewing machine operators. The present study was conducted on 80 female sewing machine operators who were engaged in sewing activity from last 4 years for their financial welfare in the Hisar city of Haryana state. The study involved the collection of information regarding the injuries and accidents faced along with the problems faced the respondents related to the customers and the impact of the problems as well. It also included the customer satisfaction level regarding the payment of the work done. The information of the respondents was explored through the questionnaire cum interview schedule. 34 Neha Gahlot, Manju Mehta, Kiran Singh 3. Results and Discussion The sewing task was performed by the respondents at their own home, where the workplace and the home environment setup was overlapped, therefore no special attention was given for the proper workplace arrangements. The unorganized workplace and poor illumination was found which resulted into various injuriesaccidents while performing the sewing task. Almost all the workers experienced injuries during last 1 year. Frequencies of various locations occurred during sewing activity in last one year has been presented in Table-1. The accidents and injuries which occurred most frequently was swelling of fingers mean score 2.29 followed by needle piercing mean score 1.90, cuts mean score 1.60. The least frequent occurred accident injuries were burns while ironing mean score 1.12 and electric shock mean score1.10 as shown in Fig 1. The reasons of the injuries may be poor illumination and no use of protective measures while working. Desai et al. 2005 concluded that common sewing work accident was piercing of the needle through the fingers, particularly the right forefingers. Unsatisfactory man-machine incompatibility, work posture and fatigue, improper coordination of eye, leg and hand were the major problems of the operators. Table-1 : Frequency of injuriesaccidents occurred during sewing activity n=80 Injuries Very much Moderately Once a while Mean score Cuts 7 8.75 3442.50 39 48.75 1.60 Swelling of fingers 45 56.25 13 16.25 22 27.50 2.29 Needle piercing 19 23.75 34 42.50 27 33.75 1.90 Burns while ironing 10 12.50 70 87.50 1.12 Electric shock 8 10.00 72 90.00 1.10 Figures in parentheses indicates percentages Multiple Responses Sewing machine operators were facing problems due to the mis-behaviors of customer. These customers create problems for sewing machine operators knowingly or unknowingly. Table-2 showed that more than three fourth 83.75 of the sewing machine operators faced bargaining problem followed by Extent of Problems faced by Female Sewing Machine Workers 35 73.75 percent sewing machine operators who were facing problems of urgency in demand by the customers specially in marriage seasons and in festivals like holi, diwali etc. In this context the figure further revealed that more than half of the sewing machine operators 61.25 were facing problem of high expectations with low wages. Sewing machine operators also revealed that customers want a complex and innovative designs in their garments but they do not want to pay extra charges for it. About half of the sewing machine operators 53.75 were facing problem of late payment of the garments stitched garment while 46.25 were facing fitting problems in the garments as illustrated in Fig 2. Fig. 1-Frequency of injuriesaccidents occurred during sewing activity Fig. 2-Customer related problems Fig. 3-Impact of customer related problems 36 Neha Gahlot, Manju Mehta, Kiran Singh Table-2 : Customer related problems faced by the sewing machine operators n=80 Ill behavior Frequency Percentage Bargaining 67 83.75 Urgency in demand 59 73.75 High expectations with low rates 49 61.25 Late payment 43 53.75 Fitting problem 37 46.25 Multiple Responses Table-3 : Impact of customer related problems on sewing machine operator n =80 Result of stress Frequency Percentage Stress 72 90 Anxiety 68 85.00 Household problems 47 58.75 Decreased confidence 45 56.25 Delayed work 36 45.00 Multiple responses Table-3 disclosed that the customer related problems viz. late payment, fitting problems, bargaining urgency in demand, high expectations with low rates affected sewing machine operators and resulted in household problems, stress, delayed work, decreased confidence and anxiety in the sewing machine operators. The figure 4 unfolds that a huge sewing machine operators 90 were facing stress as a result of customer related problems followed by anxiety 85. It was further found that customer related problems resulted in household problems 58.75, decreased confidence 56.25 and delayed work 45 Extent of Problems faced by Female Sewing Machine Workers 37 among sewing machine operators. This may be because of the reason that the duration of the sewing activity was more and also sewing machine operators had to perform the household task along with the care of children, thus more burden of activities with lack of time resulted in above mentioned affects. All these resulted in irritation, decreased motivation, and lesser output among sewing machine operators. Fig. 4-Level of satisfaction felt by workers in terms of wages The results of fig. 4 shows that majority of the sewing machine operators 76 were unsatisfied with the wages stitching rates of the garments which they got, as there was tendency of customers to bargain with the sewing machine operators for stitching charges. Moreover customer want designing and had high expectations but they don’t want to pay for it. Customers had feeling that they pay less for designer suits to the female sewing machine operator as compared to the boutiques. The findings were in line with Singal and Srinivasan 1991 who observed that the women where self employed, earned the maximum, while earning from wages charges were minimum. Nearly, two third of the sewing machine operators expressed dissatisfaction from their paid work because of casual nature of work availability and low return for their work. 4. Conclusion The sewing task has become a necessary task to perform for the women to earn, to fed the family and fulfill their own need without depending on their 38 Neha Gahlot, Manju Mehta, Kiran Singh Satisfied Unsatisfied 76 24 husband or on another family member. This was also revealed that majority of women prefer sewing activity because for performing this task they use their skill at their own home. Hence they can take care of their family and can perform their task at a same place. With this advantage they do not realize their work as “work” and never get that attention and respect from the customers. Along with this a careless attitude towards their own health was seen. They do not pay any attention regarding their safety measures and required and standard workplace measures to be followed while performing the task which results in sort of injuries and accidents which could be minimized through improved environmental conditions and use of protective equipments. The unprofessional attitude of the respondents allow the customers to misbehave with them that results in customer related problems which was found more in festive seasons. These problems creates negative impact on the behavior of the respondents and causes stress and other psychological problems which ruin the peace of their life. Respondents do not get the fair amount of payment they are working for, which creates a dissatisfaction that leads to lower motivation and decreased production. Therefore respondents should maintain the required standards of workplace which includes proper illumination level, use of protective measures, maintainace or replacement of distorted wires which causes electric shock. These measures are not costly but can results in better and improved conditions. Respondents should attain a professional attitude to avoid the customer related problem and should not entertain such customers who are annoying. The over burden should be avoided to reduce the stress and anxiety and should provide more time for their family and for themselves. To avoid the dissatisfaction of payment the respondents should strictly follow the fix rate price and avoid bargaining. These measures are very minor but can help to avoid problems regarding to sewing task which enhance the level of motivation for the sewing task. References Sarder, B., Sheik N. Imrhan and Nabeel Mandahawi, “Ergonomic workplace evaluation of an Asian garment-factory”, Journal of Human Ergology, Vol. 35 1-2, 2006, 45-51. Extent of Problems faced by Female Sewing Machine Workers 39 Nag, A., Desai, H. and Nag, P. K., “Work stress of women in sewing machine operation”, Journal of Human Ergology, Vol. 211, 1992, 126-134. Desai, “Work stress of women in sewing machine operation”, Journal of Human Ergology , Vol. 211, 1992. 126-134. Singal, Savita and Srinivasan, Kamla, “Drudgery of women’s household work in rural areas”, Journal of Research, Haryana Agricultural Univiversity, Vol. 21 2, June 1991, 168-172. ê 40 Neha Gahlot, Manju Mehta, Kiran Singh Article Received on May 23, 2015; Accepted on June 05, 2015 5 Consumer Acceptance of Prepared Patchwork Cushion Covers with Kantha Embroidery Chhavi Gangwar and Harinder Kaur Saggu For this study, three localities from Ludhiana city were selected randomly and a total of 30 female respondents between 25-35 years of age group were selected through purposive random sampling technique. Different shapes of cushion covers, namely rectangular, triangular, square, oval, star and heart were designed and prepared. Consumer acceptance of the prepared cushion covers was evaluated on the basis of different decorative features, utility and price. Profit margin of the prepared cushion covers was also calculated. The data revealed that majority of the respondents preferred square shape cushion cover on the basis of suitability of shapes for different rooms, designs, colour combinations, overall appearance, utility and price; whereas only oval shape cushion cover got first rank on the basis of embellishment. All the cushion covers were liked by the majority of the respondents and the quoted prices were found to be adequate. The profit margin for prepared cushion covers ranged between 23.33 to 31.25 per cent. Thus it was easy to earn 30 per cent profit on all the cushion covers. [Keywords : Consumer, Patchwork, Kantha embroidery, Cushion covers, Profit margin] 1. Introduction Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. In India, embroidered articles still retain the old CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL SCIENCES, Vol. 24, Number 3 July-September, 2015 M.Sc Student, Department of Apparel and Textile Science, College of Home-Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab India E-mail: chhavigangwar gmail.com Professor, Department of Apparel and Textile Science, College of Home-Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab India E-mail: harsagguctpau.edu social values. It is the most exciting and satisfying crafts of today. Presently, changes have come in almost all the embroideries with respect to threads, colours and quality. Embroidery work has been mostly done by women and girls. It has played an important role in feminine education. It is acknowledged as of oriental origin and India is said to be one of its original home. Embroidery has always played a very important part in our Indian societies. Whether in rural and urban lives, embroidered goodstextiles figures in our wedding as dowry, religious ceremonies and almost all auspicious occasions and festivities and also as group or region identifier. Richly embroidered textiles using precious gems, gold and silver threads and pearls, etc. were worn by the kings and royalty, adorned their walls, beds and thrones. Of course, our embroidered textiles were a great source of income and helped us in trading with other countries since ancient times. Bengal has an old tradition of kantha embroidery. The word kantha itself means patched cloth. It is usually done in simple running and darning stitches. Kanthas were embroidered with words of love and good wishes and sometimes even the name of the embroiderer was embroidered along with the design. Each kantha was a human documents, telling the tale of the embroiderer’s patient work and love of beauty. The art of kantha has been carried forward from generation to generation. The motifs not only range from natural figures like flowers, leaves, trees, birds and animals besides human figures but also expresses social and religious belief. Patchwork consists of stitching together, by various means, pieces of fabric of different colours, shapes and sizes to make an attractive whole. It was one of the old thrift crafts in the days when it was necessary to use up every scrap or fabric. Presently our daily lives are full of colour and pattern. Patchwork has been given new vitality by the wide selection of colours and fabrics that are readily available in the shops. Today the art of patchwork is having a great revival. Not because there is really a practical need, but because it still has the same attractions. 2. Objectives of the Study The present study has been undertaken with the following objectives : 1. To design and prepare cushion covers in six different shapes. 2. To study the consumer acceptance of prepared cushion covers. 3. Material and Methods A total of six designs in six different shapes of cushion covers viz., RE, TR , SQ, OV, ST and HE were prepared using patchwork technique with kantha 42 Chhavi Gangwar and Harinder Kaur Saggu embroidery Fig A. These cushion covers were evaluated on the basis of suitability of shapes for different rooms, designs, colour combinations, embellishments, overall appearance, utility and price. Profit margin for the prepared cushion covers was calculated. To study the acceptability of prepared cushion covers, a sample of 30 female respondents was selected. The respondents were selected through purposive random sampling technique. An evaluation sheet was prepared to get the requisite information. The data collected from respondents were coded, tabulated and analyzed. The frequencies were calculated first and then the weighted mean score was calculated by giving maximum marks to the most preferred and minimum marks to the least preferred. The scores were computed and given ranks. a b c d e f Fig A : Prepared designs of cushion covers in six different shapes 4. Results and Discussion The results obtained from the study as well as relevant discussion have been summarized under following sub-heads : 4.1 Evaluation of Prepared Cushion Covers After preparing cushion covers, their evaluation was done on the basis of various parameters. For evaluation, these cushion covers were shown to a sample of thirty respondents. Data in Table-1 on next page reveal that, SQ and OV designs of square shape and oval shape cushion covers were ranked first on Consumer Acceptance of Prepared Patchwork Cushion Covers 43 the basis of design with weighted mean score of 4.40 each. Design RE,TR and ST of rectangular, triangular and star shape cushion covers were placed as third, fourth and fifth rank, in a sequential order. Cushion cover HE in heart shape was least preferred by the respondents on the basis of design. Table-1 : Evaluation of Prepared Cushion Covers on the basis of Design n=30 Shapes and design codes of cushions WMS Rank Rectangular RE 3.83 III Triangular TR 3.43 IV Square SQ 4.40 I Oval OV 4.40 I Star ST 2.83 V Heart HE 2.10 VI WMS : Weighted Mean Score Data pertaining to preferences of the respondents regarding colour combination of the prepared cushion covers have been presented in Table-2 . It is evident from the data that, design SQ of square shape cushion cover was given the first rank on the basis of colour combination. Design TR and OV were given second rank with weighted mean score of 4.06 each, followed by, design RE, ST and HE were placed at fourth, fifth and sixth rank, respectively. Table-2 : Evaluation of Prepared Cushion Covers on the basis of Colour Combination n=30 Shapes and design codes of cushions WMS Rank Rectangular RE 3.93 IV Triangular TR 4.06 II Square SQ 4.30 I Oval OV 4.06 II Star ST 2.43 V Heart HE 2.23 VI WMS : Weighted Mean Score Data in Table-3 on next page revealed that OV design of oval shape cushion cover embellished with mirrors and stones, was ranked first. It was followed by design SQ of square shape, RE of rectangular shape and TR of triangular shape cushion covers, which were embellished with mirrors, swarovski and tassels and 44 Chhavi Gangwar and Harinder Kaur Saggu were given second, third and fourth rank, respectively. Design ST of star shape and HE of heart shape cushion covers were least preferred by the respondents on the basis of embellishment. Table-3 : Evaluation of Prepared Cushion Covers on the basis of Embellishments n=30 Shapes and Design Codes of Cushions WMS Rank Rectangular RE 3.80 III Triangular TR 2.83 IV Square SQ 4.76 II Oval OV 4.80 I Star ST 2.63 V Heart HE 2.23 VI WMS : Weighted Mean Score Regarding overall appearance, data presented in Table-4 depict that design SQ of square shape cushion cover was first preferred by majority of the respondents with mean score 4.40. Second rank was given to the design OV of oval shape cushion cover with mean score 4.36 and third rank was given to the RE of rectangular shape cushion cover with mean score 4.03. Respondents gave fourth rank to the design TR with mean score of 3.06. Fifth and sixth rank were given to design ST and HE of star and heart shape cushion covers with mean score 3.03 and 2.10, respectively. Table-4 : Evaluation of Prepared Cushion Covers on the basis of overall Appearance n=30 Shapes and Design Codes of Cushions WMS Rank Rectangular RE 4.03 III Triangular TR 3.06 IV Square SQ 4.40 I Oval OV 4.36 II Star ST 3.03 V Heart HE 2.10 VI WMS : Weighted Mean Score Preferences of the respondents for various shapes of cushion covers on the basis of their utility have been presented in Table-5. Majority of the respondents given first rank to design SQ of square shape cushion cover on the basis of utility with mean score 5.56, followed by RE and OV shaped with mean score 4.83 and Consumer Acceptance of Prepared Patchwork Cushion Covers 45 4.13, respectively. Cushion covers of TR, ST and HE shaped were least preferred by the respondents with mean score 2.50, 2.03 and 1.93, respectively. Table-5 : Evaluation of Prepared Cushion Covers on the basis of Utility n=30 Shapes and Design Codes of Cushions WMS Rank Rectangular RE 4.83 II Triangular TR 2.50 IV Square SQ 5.56 I Oval OV 4.13 III Star ST 2.03 V Heart HE 1.93 VI WMS : Weighted Mean Score Data in Table-6 reveal that majority 83.33 of the respondents were of the opinion that rectangular shaped cushion cover were suitable for bedrooms of elderly persons, followed by 63.33 who considered it suitable for an adults’ room, while fifty per cent of the respondents found it appropriate for teenagers’ room. The least percentages of the respondents preferred its suitability for kids’ room 33.33, living room 26.67 and drawing room 16.67, respectively. Table-6 : Preferences of Respondents regarding Suitability of Cushion Covers for different Rooms n=30 Shapes and Design Codes of Cushions Drawing room Living room Bedrooms Kids Teenager s Adults Elderly persons f f f f f f Rectangular RE 5 16.67 8 26.67 10 33.33 15 50.00 19 63.33 25 83.33 Triangular TR 16 53.33 9 30.00 22 73.33 18 60.00 4 13.33 Square SQ 28 93.33 22 73.33 13 43.33 12 40.00 22 73.33 20 66.66 Oval OV 18 60.00 19 63.33 24 80.00 6 20.00 4 13.33 10 33.33 Star ST 13 43.33 14 46.67 27 90.00 25 83.33 8 26.67 Heart HE 17 56.66 19 63.33 24 80.00 26 86.67 5 16.66 f-frequency Multiple responses 46 Chhavi Gangwar and Harinder Kaur Saggu In case of triangular shaped cushion cover 73.33 per cent of the respondents preferred it for kids’ room, sixty per cent considered it suitable for teenagers’ room and nearly fifty four per cent of the respondents found it appropriate for drawing room. The least percentages of the respondents preferred its suitability for living room 30.00 and an adults’ room 13.33, respectively. Regarding suitability of square shaped cushion cover in different rooms the data show that majority 93.33 of the respondents preferred it for drawing room, followed by an equal percentage 73.33 of the respondents for living room and an adults’ room. Nearly sixty seven per cent of the respondents found it appropriate for bedroom of elderly persons. Suitability of this shape considered for kids’ and teenagers’ room by 43.33 and forty per cent of the respondents, respectively. Majority 80.00 of the respondents considered the suitability of oval shaped cushion cover for kids’room, followed by living room 63.33 and drawing room 60.00 . Nearly thirty four per cent of the respondents found it appropriate for elderly persons’ room. The least percentages of the respondents preferred its suitability for teenagers’ room 20.00 and an adults’ room 13.33, respectively. In case of star shaped cushion cover ninty per cent of the respondents preferred it for kids’ room, followed by 83.33 per cent considered it suitable for teenagers’ room. Suitability of this shape considered for living and drawing room by 46.67 and forty four per cent of the respondents, respectively. The least percentages 26.67 of the respondents preferred its suitability for an adults’ room. Regarding suitability of heart shaped cushion cover in different rooms the data shows that majority 86.67 of the respondents preferred it for teenagers’ room, followed by eighty per cent considered it suitable for kids’room. Suitability of this shape considered for living and drawing room by 63.33 and fifty seven per cent of the respondents, respectively. Nearly seventeen per cent of the respondents found it appropriate for an adults’ room. The opinion of the respondents regarding prepared cushion covers was taken on the basis of three categories: ‘Very good’, ‘Good’ and ‘Fair’. Data in Table-7 on next page revealed that 33.33 per cent of the respondents rated rectangular shaped cushion cover RE, as ‘Very good’. It was considered Consumer Acceptance of Prepared Patchwork Cushion Covers 47 ‘Good’ by 60.00 per cent of the respondents. Only 6.67 per cent of the respondents rated it as ‘Fair’. Table-7 : Opinion of Respondents for Prepared Cushion Cover by using Patchwork with Kantha Embroidery n=30 Shapes and Design Codes of Cushions Very good Good Fair f f f Rectangular RE 10 33.33 18 60.00 2 6.67 Triangular TR 15 50.00 11 36.67 4 13.33 Square SQ 18 60.00 10 33.33 2 6.67 Oval OV 17 56.67 12 40.00 1 3.33 Star ST 15 50.00 12 40.00 3 10.00 Heart HE 10 33.33 15 50.00 5 16.67 f- frequency Nearly fifty per cent of the respondents graded triangular shaped cushion cover TR as ‘Very good’, while 36.67 per cent of the respondents considered these as ‘Good’. However, only 13.33 per cent of the respondents considered it as ‘Fair’. In case of square shaped cushion cover SQ, sixty per cent of the respondents rated it as ‘Very good’. It was rated as ‘Good’ by 33.33 per cent of the respondents, while 6.67 per cent of the respondents rated it as ‘Fair’. The respondents liked this cushion cover because of its colour, utility and unique design. Nearly fifty seven per cent of the respondents considered oval shaped cushion cover OV as ‘Very good’,followed by 40.00 per cent respondents as ‘Good’. Only 3.33 per cent of the respondents rated it as ‘Fair’. Majority of the respondent liked it and found it to be innovative, attractive and unique. In case of star shaped cushion cover ST, fifty per cent of the respondents rated it as ‘Very good’. It was considered ‘Good’ by forty per cent of the respondents. Only ten per cent of the respondents rated it as ‘Fair’. Nearly thirty three per cent of the respondents graded heart shaped cushion cover HE as ‘Very good’, while fifty per cent of the respondents considered these as ‘Good’. However, only 16.67 per cent of the respondents considered it as ‘Fair’. 4 .2 Assessment of Consumer Acceptance for prepared Cushion Covers Quoted prices for all the cushion covers were adequate, however nearly one sixth of the respondents felt that the quoted price for cushion cover were 48 Chhavi Gangwar and Harinder Kaur Saggu high. As the calculated z- values of comparison between high and adequate low were found to be significant at 5 level of significance Table-8, it was clear that quoted price for patchwork with kantha embroidered cushion cover was acceptable to the consumers. Table-8 : Opinion of respondents regarding quoted price of prepared cushion covers n=30 Shapes and Design Codes of Cushions Quoted Price of the Article in ` No. of respondents for suitability of the quoted price Z value High Adequate Low Rectangular RE 420 5 16.67 19 63.33 6 20.00 3.77 Triangular TR 475 8 26.67 18 60.00 4 13.33 2.66 Square SQ 480 6 20.00 21 70.00 3 10.00 3.33 Oval OV 470 5 16.67 21 70.00 4 13.33 3.77 Star ST 330 4 13.33 18 60.00 8 26.67 4.11 Heart HE 415 8 33.33 20 66.67 2 6.67 2.66 indicate significance of value at P=0.05, respectively Data in Table-9 show the assessment of per cent profit of the prepared cushion covers. Profit margin ranged from 23.33 to 31.25 per cent for the prepared cushion covers. Calculated z-values for the profit margins of the prepared cushion covers were found to be significant at 5 level. Table-9 : Assessment of the Profit Margins of the Prepared Cushion Covers n=30 Shapes and design codes of cushions Cost price ` Quoted price ` Average selling price ` Percentage profit Z – value Rectangular RE 320 420 468 31.25 17.72 Triangular TR 365 475 448 30.14 11.24 Square SQ 368 480 474 23.33 13.48 Oval OV 360 470 465 30.55 13.12 Star ST 255 330 454 29.41 14.48 Heart HE 320 415 425 29.68 8.45 indicate significance of value at P=0.05, respectively Consumer Acceptance of Prepared Patchwork Cushion Covers 49 5. Conclusion Respondents selected randomly for studying the acceptance of prepared cushion covers. Evaluation of these cushion covers was done on the basis of suitability of shapes for different rooms, designs, colour combinations, embellishments, overall appearance, utility and price. It was observed that majority of the respondents was given first rank to square shape cushion cover on the basis of suitability of shapes for different rooms, designs, colour combinations, overall appearance, utility and price whereas only oval shape cushion cover got first rank on the basis of embellishment. All the cushion covers were liked by the majority of the respondents. Regarding profit margins, higher profit was possible on selling prepared cushion cover RE. Consumers were willing to pay the quoted price for all the cushion covers. Majority of the respondents found the quoted selling prices of the prepared cushion covers as adequate. References Anonymous 2009 Embroidery in India.www.indianetzone.com1embroidery. html. Endacott, V. M., Design in Embroidery, New York : The Macmillian Company, 1964, 37-43, 119-27. Goodman, L., All About Patchwork, London : Marshall Cavendish Books Limited, 1982, 2-5. Ghosh, G., “Social expression of nakshi Kantha of Bengal’’, Khadigramudyog, Vol. 40, 2001, 392-93. Healey, F., The Harmony Guide to Decorative Needlecraft, London : Lyric Books Limited, 1993, 57. Jha N 2013 Handicraft. http:www.importantindia.com . Kaur, J., Development of new designs of Sindhi embroidery for housewives for their personal and household use , M. Sc. thesis, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India, 1999. Mookerjee, A., Folk Art of Bengal, Calcutta : Calcutta University Press, 1996, 11-27. ê 50 Chhavi Gangwar and Harinder Kaur Saggu Article Received on May 15, 2015; Accepted on June 05, 2015 6 The Impact of Employee Attitudes toward Social Media on Employee Engagement with Computer-Mediated Communication considered as a Moderatoring Factor Min-Li Hung , I-Feng Lee and Zih-Yu Chen The popularization of social media has made it more than a tool for maintaining personal contacts as it has also become increasingly important as a means of organizational communication. The use of social media may also potentially affect employee work attitudes, such as employee engagement. This study examined the relationship between user attitudes toward Line Messenger, a highly popular social media application, and employee engagement through a survey of insurance sales team members. In addition, because using social media relies largely on the application of new technologies, it is expected that an employee’s ability to engage in computer-mediated communication CMC would also have an impact on the aforementioned relationship. As such, this study also explored the moderating role of CMC competency on the relationship. The analysis results show that user attitudes toward social media have a positive relationship on employee engagement. However, the theorized moderating effect of CMC competency on the relationship between user attitudes and employee engagement was not statistically significant. Finally, specific conclusions and recommendations for the organization and management of subsequent related research studies are also provided. [Keywords : Attitudes toward social media, Job engagement, Organization engagement, Computer-mediated communication] 1. Introduction A number of social media applications, including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Line Messenger, among others, have been rapidly adopted by CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL SCIENCES, Vol. 24, Number 3 July-September, 2015 Department of Information and Communication, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan R. O. C. E-mail: mindyhung513mail.stust.edu.tw users of all ages, forcing us to change how we think about communication. While professional researchers and the public have shown a high degree of interest in the use of social media among college students Abramson, 2011; Kamenetz, 2011, there have been only a limited number of studies regarding the use of social media use in the workplace. However, it is already clear that workplace usage of social networks presents workers with previously unknown ways of communicating with both co-workers and customers when asking questions or sharing information DiMicco, Geyer, Millen, Dugan, Brownholtz, 2008. Relatedly, it is likewise clear that the number of people who use social media for both interpersonal and intra-organizational communication is substantially higher than the number of people who use social media for interpersonal communication alone. According to the literature, communication via social media has become the most popular means of communication, surpassing in-person, e-mail, and telephone communications in how frequently it is used Tossell, Kortum, Shepard, Barg-Walkow, Rahmati and Zhong, 2012. Among various forms of social media, Line Messenger is an application that provides users with a combination of text and voice messaging services, in addition to allowing the transmission of files between users. Employee engagement, meanwhile, which is described as the degree to which employees are intellectually and emotionally committed to the organizations at which they work, is not a new concept, but rather one that has long been viewed as important to studies of organizational behavior Richman, 2006; Shaw, 2005. In effect, employee engagement can be viewed as the passion of employees for their work Truss, Soane, Edwards, Wisdom, and Burnett, 2006. Moreover, the issue of employee engagement now has even greater relevance as employers are struggling with the question of whether or not to let employees use social media in the workplace. At the same time, though, many managers who are members of younger generations are already strongly inclined toward using social media for team communications. 2. Research Questions Based on the discussion above, the first research motivation for the present study was to examine the relationship between usageattitude of Line Messenger, one of the most popular forms of social media, and employee engagement among insurance sales team members. In addition, because using social media relies largely on the application of new technologies, it is expected 52 Min-Li Hung, I-Feng Lee and Zih-Yu Chen that an employee’s ability to engage in computer-mediated communication CMC would have an impact on the aforementioned relationship. Therefore, the second research motivation of this study was to explore the moderating role of CMC competency on the relationship. To be specific, we sought to answer the following research questions through a quantitative study of the insurance industry: RQ1: Do attitudes toward using Line Messenger affect employee engagement? RQ2: Does the level of a employee online experience moderate the relationship between user attitudes toward Line Messenger and employee engagement? 3. Literature Review As we now know, most social networking sites started out by focusing on student use Peluchette and Karl, 2008. However, the use of such sites, which first became commercially available over a decade ago, has quickly grown far more widespread. Although enterprise acceptance of novel technologies frequently lags behind the acceptance and use of new technologies among students Lovejoy and Grudin, 2003, a growing number of studies have begun exploring the impacts of using social networking sites in the workplace Skeels and Grudin, 2009. 3.1 Using Social Media in Workplace Social networking sites SNSs and social networking apps are web-based services that make it possible for individuals to 1 set up a public or semi-public profile in the context of the given networking system, 2 create a list of contacts consisting of other users with whom they share friendships or other connections, and 3 view and interact with that list of contacts within the given system Steinfield, Ellison, and Lampe, 2008. With the rise of smart phones and the mobile internet, SNSs have effectively begun to overlap with social networking apps, with both the apps and SNSs being forms of social media. Broadly speaking, web-based and mobile technologies that can be used to allow communication in the form of an interactive dialogue can be referred to as social media. In this sense, social media, when viewed as media for social interactions, constitute a superset that goes beyond more traditional forms of social communication. As such, the The Impact of Employee Attitudes toward Social Media 53 widespread use of social media has radically altered the ways in which both individuals and large organizations communicate Kietzmann, Hermkens, and McCarthy, 2011. In this study, we have considered social media in general instead of SNSs in order to be consistent with most related studies, the reasoning being that although there are few differences between SNSs and other forms of social media http:socialmediatoday.comindex.php?q=SMC194754, they do overlap in various regards. Specifically, the Line Messenger application was the technology on which the present study focused. Most of the extant social media research has investigated issues relating to identity presentation, interpersonal relationships, and privacy concerns, drawing their sample data primarily from college students. In recent years, however, the use of social media has become widespread among people of almost all ages. For business organizations in particular, social media has become widely used in marketing e.g., Facebook and Line Messenger and human resources e.g., recruitment. Business organizations should use new technologies to stay competitive, and social media is one more tool that may serve the marketing and communication needs of a company Weiss, 2011. Moreover, given the volatility of current business environments, adept use of social media can provide shrewd leaders and organizations with various opportunities to achieve advantages over their competitors. Certainly, the increased use of social media is hastening and augmenting the levels of engagement, innovation, and performance among employees of countless companies Jue, Marr, Kassotakis, 2010. 3.2 Attitudes toward Line Messenger and Employee Engagement Because of its value to both organizations and their employees, the topic of employee engagement has been studied extensively for many years. Kahn 1992 provided one previous definition of employee engagement, describing it as the degree to which the employees or members of an organization devote themselves to their work roles. When engaged in performing their work roles, people expend their efforts and express themselves in a variety of ways, including cognitively, physically, and emotionally. Meyer and Allen 1991 further predicted that engagement plays a role in employee turnover and other employment-related outcomes. One of the key components of organizational commitment, according to Meyer and Allen 1991, is affective commitment, a concept which refers to the degree to which employees are emotionally attached to, or otherwise identify with, the organizations they work for. Recently, organizational studies have evolved from 54 Min-Li Hung, I-Feng Lee and Zih-Yu Chen a focus on organizational commitment to a greater focus on employee engagement, shifting their investigative aims toward achieving a better understanding of the relationships between employee engagement, organizational inputs, and employee behaviors Richman, 2006; Harter, Schmidt and Hayes, 2002. In that context, previous studies have mentioned that there are two subtypes of employee engagement, namely, organization engagement and job engagement Saks, 2006, which are most commonly used. The concept of attitude is derived from the theory of reasoned action TRA. Allport 1935 defined attitudes as psychological and mental states based on experiences, as such states will influence reactions toward things and situations. Fishbein and Ajzen 1975 defined attitude as a consistent position toward something through learning. Therefore, attitude is the positive or negative evaluation or feelings toward people and things. Job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment are job attitudes explored by most studies of organizational behavior Brooke, Russell, and Price, 1988; Kirkman and Shapiro, 2001. Fishbein and Ajzen 1975 reported that broad attitudes were very strong predictors of broad behavioral outcomes, including employee engagement Newman, Joseph, and Hulin, 2010. Employee engagement is composed of both job engagement and organizational engagement Saks, 2006. At some point, all communication technologies are foreign to users. If social media users have positive attitudes toward Line Messenger, then they should also exhibit high levels of satisfaction, involvement, and engagement with the application Ellison, 2007. Ross, Orr, Sisic, Arseeault, Sim mer ing, and Orr 2009 stated that at ti tudes to ward Line Mes sen ger world in flu ence the Line Mes sen ger use. There fore, we pro pose the fol low ing hy poth e sis : H1 : User attitudes toward Line Messenger will be positively related to employee engagement. 3.3 Computer-Mediated Communication CMC Spitzberg 2006 stated that competency is among the key determinants of technology usage. To put that another way, it has been suggested that, given enough time and sufficient experience with a given communication technology, individuals will often begin to, in effect, ignore the technology; i.e., they will use the technology to communicate without even thinking about what they are using to communicate Lewis and Fabos, 2005. Accordingly, a person’s skill level, The Impact of Employee Attitudes toward Social Media 55 motivation, and efficacy in using a given communication technology should be taken into consideration Spitzberg, 2006. In a study of student samples, Bryant, Sanders-Jackson, and Smallwood 2006 found that adolescents exhibited high willingness to master new communication technologies that would enable them to better communicate with their friends and other peers outside of school. Therefore, competency is an important factor affecting technology use. One of the most well-known measures of competence in CMC was developed by Spitzberg 2006 and contains three dimensions of competence: motivation, knowledge, and efficacy. Although Line Messenger became available four years ago, it is still new for certain types of employees such as older employees or those less experienced with the internet. Therefore, if a team leader sends information through Line Messenger, employees with high CMC competency will probably exhibited higher intensity usage of and attitudes toward using Line Messenger, which would in turn result higher employee engagement. Hence, the following is proposed : H2 : The level of a employee online experience will moderate the relationship between user attitudes toward Line Messenger and employee engagement. Based on the discussion above, the research model of the present study is illustrated as below : Figure-1 : Research model 4. Sampling According to data retrieved from at-blog.line.metw, there are over 17 million registered users in Taiwan. 50.8 are male and 49.2 are female. Moreover, 18.7 of active users are within the age range of 20-29 years old, 23.2 are within the age range of 30-39, and 20.3 are within the age range of 40-49. There are over 4 million registered users of Line Messenger. 56 Min-Li Hung, I-Feng Lee and Zih-Yu Chen Attitude of Line Messenger Employee Engagement • Job Engagement • Organizational Engagement CMC The data samples for the present study came from life insurance agents whose team leaders use Line Messenger for team communication. There were two reasons why life insurance agents were chosen as the study subjects. First, the job of insurance agent is one that typically requires a high level of mobility. Accordingly, insurance agents rely on the internet for team communication instead of engaging in face-to-face communication. Second, a team leader typically only meets his team members in person once a week. As such, team leaders could use Line Messenger to communicate with his team members efficiently. Lastly, the work of insurance is with high pressure Darymple and Cron, 1998; McManus Kelly, 1999, and an agent’s en gage ment to ward the job and or ga ni za tion could thus have a sig nif i cant ef fect on per for mance. 5. Measures Four constructs were measured: user attitudes toward Line Messenger, employee engagement in terms of job engagement and organization engagement, and CMC competence. Measure items for the research were from prior studies which used in attitude of Line Messenger and employee engagement and reworded to specifically relate to the purpose of the present study. Responses for all the items corresponded to a five-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree =1 to strongly agree =5. 6. Research Findings A total of 335 respondents participated in the study. Table-1 presents the mean, standard deviation, and intercorrelation values and Cronbach’s α of the study variables. According to Nunnally 1978, Cronbach’s α values greater than 0.7 represent a high degree of confidence, so the study design of the questionnaire included question items with a high degree of internal consistency. Table-1 is notable in that it shows positive correlations among the study variables. The correlation coefficient between LINE attitude and employee engagement was 0.319 p 0.01, indicating a significant positive relationship. The correlation coefficient between employee engagement and CMC was 0.325 p 0.01, which also indicates a highly significant positive relationship. Finally, the correlation coefficient between LINE attitude and CMC was 0.316 p 0.01, which also indicates a significant positive relationship. Table-2 shows that the line attitude variable positively related to the employee engagement β = 0.299, p 0.000. Hypothesis 1 is supported. However, the moderaing effect of CMC variable toward the relationship The Impact of Employee Attitudes toward Social Media 57 between Line Messanger Attitude and the job engagement is not signficant β = 0.002., p .05. Hyothesis 2 is rejected. Table-1 : Descriptive statistics and correlations among study variables N = 335 M SD A1 B1 C1 A1. LINE attitude 3.8475 .64034 .933 B1. Employee engagement 4.1415 .50106 .319 .891 C1. CMC 3.3867 .44995 316 .325 .814 p0.05; p 0.01; Diagonal value for Cronbach’s Alpha Table-2 : Descriptive statistics and correlations among study variables N = 335 Predictor variables entered p Standardized â R Adjusted R 2 F LINE attitude .000 .299 .487 .221 .000 LINE attitude x CMC .963 .002 .487 .218 .963 p0.05 7. Discussions and Conclusions This study establishes the significant effect of social media on employee engagement. Ac cord ing to the study data, how ever, CMC com pe tence does not sig nif i cantly mod er ate the re la tion ship be tween so cial me dia and em ployee en gage ment. It can be con cluded, there fore, that so cial me dia is a vi tal fac tor in em ployee en gage ment. More over, while CMC com pe tence does not ap pear to mod er ate the re la tion ship be tween so cial me dia and em ployee en gage ment, this may be be cause most peo ple are al ready used to us ing com put ers to com mu ni cate with oth ers, such that CMC is al ready a well-es tab lished as pect of mod ern life. That be ing said, fu ture re search could in ves ti gate whether job sat is fac tion or or ga ni za tional iden ti fi ca tion func tion as mod er a tors of the afore men tioned re la tion ship. Acknowledgements This research was supported in part by Ministry of Science and Technology MSC of the Republic of China under Grant Number 103-2815-C-218-002-H. References Abramson, L., Can Social Networking keep Students in School, NPR : Morning edition, 2011. 58 Min-Li Hung, I-Feng Lee and Zih-Yu Chen Allport, G. W., “ Attitudes’’, C. Murchison ed., A Handbook of Social Psychology, Worcester, MA : Clark University Press, 1935. Bryant, A. J., A. Sanders-Jackson, and A. M. Smallwood, “ IMing, text messaging, and adolescent social networks’’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 112, 2006, 577-592. Brooke, P. P., D. W. Russell and J. L. “ Price, Discriminant validation of measures of job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment’’, Journal of Applied Psychology , 732, 1988, 139. Dalrymple, J. D. and W. L. Cron eds., Sales Management : Concepts and Cases, 6th Edition, New York : John Wiley Sons, 1998. DiMicco, J., D. R. Millen, W. Geyer, C. Dugan, B. Brownholtz and M. Muller, “ Motivations for social networking at work’’, Paper presented at the Proceedings of the ACM conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 2008. Ellison, N. B., “ Social Network Sites : Definition, History, and Scholarship’’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication , 131, 2007, 210-230. Fishbein, M., and I. Ajzen, Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior : An Introduction to Theory and Research , Mass. : Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1975. Harter, J. K., F. L. Schmidt and T. L. Hayes, “ Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes : a meta-analysis’’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 872, 2002, 268. Jue, A. L., J. A. Marr and M. E. Kassotakis, Social Media at Work : How Networking Tools Propel Organizational Performance , USA : A Wiley Imprint, 2010. Kahn, W. A., “ To be fully there : Psychological presence at work’’, Human Relations, 454, 1992, 321-349. Kamenetz, A., Gates Foundation bets on Facebook app to help kids graduate, Fast Company, 14, 2011. Kietzmann, J. H., K. Hermkens, I. P. McCarthy and B. S. Silvestre, “ Social media? Get serious Understanding the functional building blocks of social media’’, Business Horizons , 543, 2011, 241-251. Kirkman, B. L. and D. L. Shapiro, “ The impact of cultural values on job satisfaction and organizational commitment in self-managing work teams : The mediating role of employee resistance’’, Academy of Management Journal, 443, 2001, 557-569. Lewis, C., and B. Fabos, “ Instant messaging, literacies, and social identities’’, Reading Research Quarterly , 404, 2005, 470-501. Lovejoy, T., and J. Grudin, “ Messaging and formality : Will IM follow in the footsteps of email?’’, Paper presented at the INTERACT, 2003. Meyer, J. P. and N. J. Allen, “A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment ’’, Human Resource Management Review, 11, 1991, 61-89. The Impact of Employee Attitudes toward Social Media 59 Newman, D. A., D. L. Joseph and C. L. Hulin, Job attitudes and employee engagement : Considering the attitude “A-factor”, The handbook of Employee Engagement : Perspectives, Issues, Research, and Practice , 2010, 43-61. Nunnally, J. C., Psychometric Theory, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1978. Peluchette, J., and K. Karl, “Social networking profiles : An examination of student attitudes regarding use and appropriateness of content ’’, CyberPsychology Behavior , 111, 2008, 95-97. Richman, A., “ Everyone wants an engaged workforce how can you create it’’, Workspan , 491, 2006, 36-39. Ross, C., E. S. Orr, M. Sisic, J. M. Arseneault, M. G. Simmering and R. R. Orr, “ Personality and motivations associated with Facebook use’’, Computers in Human Behavior , 252, 2009, 578-586. Saks, A. M., “Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement’’, Journal of Managerial Psychology , 217, 2006, 600-619. Shaw, K., “ An engagement strategy process for communicators-From a brand new report on employee engagement, this six-step guide provides a structured approach to developing an engagement strategy for your’’, Strategic Communication Management , 93, 2005, 26-29. Skeels, M. M. and J. Grudin, “ When social networks cross boundaries: a case study of workplace use of facebook and linkedin’’, Paper presented at the Proceedings of the ACM 2009 international conference on Supporting group work, 2009. Spitzberg, B. H., “ Preliminary Development of a Model and Measure of Computer-Mediated Communication CMC Competence’’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication , 112, 2006, 629-666. Steinfield, C., N. B. Ellison and Cliff. Lampe, “ Social Capital, Self-esteem, and Use of Online Social Network Sites: A Longitudinal Analysis’’, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology , 29, 2008, 434-445. Tossell, C. C., P. Kortum, C. Shepard, L. H. Barg-Walkow,A. Rahmati and L. Zhong, “ A longitudinal study of emoticon use in text messaging from smartphones’’, Computers in Human Behavior , 282, 2012, 659-663. Truss, K., E. Soane, C. L. Edwards, K. Wisdom, A. Croll and J. Burnett, Working life : Employee attitudes and engagement , London : Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2006. Weiss, M., “ The use of social media sites data by business organizations in their relationship with employees’’, Journal of Internet Law, 152, 2011, 16-27. ê 60 Min-Li Hung, I-Feng Lee and Zih-Yu Chen Article Received on June 18, 2015; Accepted on July 15, 2015 7 Evaluation of the Prepared kurtis on the basis of the Consumer Acceptance Manpreet Kaur and Kanwaljit Kaur Brar Phulkari embroidered kurtis were systematically designed and evaluated to assess the cost effectiveness and consumer acceptance. The silhouette of the prepared kurti K 11 was most preferred by the college going girls with mean score 3.20 which obtained first rank. Motifs as well as colour combinations of kurti K 20 mean score 3.10 each were most preferred by the respondents. Kurtis K 11 and K 20 mean score 3.66 each obtained first rank for overall preferences. Kurtis K 8 , K 16 , K 20 mean score 2.46 each were liked most for the embellishments. The quoted prices for the prepared kurti design K 3 , K8, K 11 were found to be adequate with profit margins of 28.38, 27.87, and 29.64, respectively. The cost of production is expected to be lower on being mass produced. [ Keywords : Kurti, Phulkari, Motifs, Design features, Consumer] 1. Introduction Designer kurti has emerged as a fashion trend in recent times. Women of all age groups feel comfortable and confident wearing the Indian tunic when worn with a pair of jeans. Indian tunics or kurtis are available in different prints and patterns. Designs of kurtis vary depending on the embroidery work, fabric and colour palette. The fashion designers and manufactures of Indian tunic consider the latest fashion trends, pantone colour chart and fabrics while designing kurtis Anon, 2013a. The connecting threads of traditional embroideries are getting a chic makeover as more and more fashion designers are incorporating them in CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL SCIENCES, Vol. 24, Number 3 July-September, 2015 M.Sc Student, Department of Apparel and Textile Science, College of Home-Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141004, Punjab India E-mail: 1234siddu gmail.com Professor, Department of Apparel and Textile Science, College of Home-Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab India E-mail: kanwaljitctpau.edu their signature collections. In a reinterpretation of traditional craftsmanship during contemporary times. Craft persons and designers from other countries often seek inspiration from traditional craft of phulkari in contemporary silhouettes Anon, 2013b. According to Singh and Brar 2002, women made sure to use phulkari during the ceremonies of Vattana rubbing of gram flour paste to clean skin, Nai-dhoi bathing, Jago cultural procession from door to door in the village, start of marriage party’s procession from home, doli reception of bride in her new home, etc. besides the phera ceremony during marriage. The phulkaris were considered the symbol of marital bliss and prosperity. Even a phulkari was used to cover the pyre of the women whose husband was alive. Thus, there was not an occasion when phulkaris were not used. It is considered auspicious for the bride and for the new born and worn on all ceremonies. Phulkari for some time now is also being used in home furnishings specially wall hangings, sofa throws and other soft furnishings. These were embroidered by the women to meet the needs of other family members, and were not for sale in the market. Thus, Phulkari was purely a domestic art which not only satisfied their inner urge for creation, but brought colour into the day to day life. In a way, it was true folk art. Custom had grown to give Phulkari and Bagh to brides at the time of marriages Anon, 2010b. 2. Objectives The present study has been undertaken with the following objectives : 1. To study the consumer acceptance of kurtis prepared on the basis of consumer preference. 2. To assess of cost effectiveness of the prepared kurtis 3. Methodology The evaluation prepared designer kurtis with respect to suitability, design features of kurtis, adapted phulkari motifs and designs designed by the investigator was done besides, the acceptance of designed kurtis by the respondents. A sub-sample of the thirty respondents was randomly selected from the previously selected ninety respondents to study their views regarding the prepared kurtis. Prepared kurtis were shown to the sub sample of thirty respondents for assessment of the silhouettes, colour combinations, surface embellishments, overall impact, and price and getting their opinion regarding various parameters mentioned above. To assess the cost effectiveness of the 62 Manpreet Kaur and Kanwaljit Kaur Brar prepared kurtis the cost, quoted price, selling price were calculated. Cost of the kurtis included the cost of the raw materials and supporting fabrics, sewing threads, embellishments, etc used and labour involved. Then, value of each article, known as quoted price, was computed by adding thirty per cent profit to the cost price of each kurti. Opinion of the respondents regarding quoted price was taken. The respondents were then asked to give a suitable price for buying the particular articles. The average selling price was the mean value of the price at which the target consumers were willing to buy the designed product. To evaluate the prepared kurtis for studying the consumer acceptance, the data pertaining to the present study were coded, tabulated and analyzed statistically by using percentages, scores and mean scores. 4. Research Findings and Discussion The innovatively designed phulkari kurtis were highly appreciated and their preferences with respect to various aspects have been presented below : 4.1 Preferences for the Silhouettes of the Prepared Kurtis Preferences of the college-going girls for the silhouettes of the prepared kurtis indicated that kurti K 11 was most preferred with mean score 3.20 followed by K 15 which was ranked second Table-1. Kurti K 20 was obtained third rank. Kurti K 3 obtained the last rank with mean score 2.33. Table-1 Preferences of the College-going Girls for the Silhouettes of the Prepared Kurtis n=30 Designs code Score Mean score Rank K 3 70 2.33 VI K 8 83 2.76 IV K 11 96 3.20 I K 15 92 3.06 II K 16 77 2.56 V K 20 88 2.94 III 4.2 Preferences for the Necklines of the Prepared Kurtis First rank was given to the necklines K 11 and K 15 mean score 2.90 each followed by third and fourth preferences for necklines of K 8 mean score 2.73 and K 16 mean score 2.60. Neckline of K 3 kurti design was least preferred with mean score 2.33 Table-2. Evaluation of the Prepared kurtis on the basis of the Consumer Acceptance 63 Design K 3 Design K 8 Design K 11 Design K 15 64 Manpreet Kaur and Kanwaljit Kaur Brar Design K 16 Design K 20 Table-2 : Preferences of the college-going girls for the necklines of the prepared kurtis n=30 Designs with code Score Mean scores Rank K 3 58 1.93 VI K 8 82 2.73 III K 11 87 2.90 I K 15 87 2.90 I K 16 78 2.60 IV K 20 67 2.23 V 4.3 Preferences for adapted phulkari motifs and designs of the prepared kurtis The most preferred phulkari design was K 20 mean score 3.10 followed by design of K 15 kurti mean score 2.93 which obtained second rank. Third preference was given to the design of K 11 kurti mean score 2.80. The next preferred phulkari motifs and designs were of K 16 mean score 2.46 and K 3 mean score 2.30. Phulkari design of K 8 kurti mean score 2.30 was least preferred among the prepared kurtis Table-3. Evaluation of the Prepared kurtis on the basis of the Consumer Acceptance 65 Table-3 : Preferences of the college-going girls for phulkari designs of the prepared kurtis n=30 Designs with code Score Mean score Rank K 3 69 2.30 V K 8 48 1.60 VI K 11 84 2.80 III K 15 88 2.93 II K 16 74 2.46 IV K 20 93 3.10 I 4.4 Preferences for colour combination of the prepared kurtis First rank for the colour combination of the prepared kurtis was given to K 20 mean score 3.10, while second and third ranks were awarded to colour combination of K 16 mean score 3.00 and K 15 mean score 2.93, respectively. The least preference was given to the colour combination of kurti K 8 with mean score 1.60 Table-4. Table-4 : Preferences of the college-going girls for colour combination for the prepared kurtis n=30 Designs with code Score Mean score Rank K 3 69 2.30 V K 8 48 1.60 VI K 11 84 2.80 IV K 15 88 2.93 III K 16 90 3.00 II K 20 93 3.10 I 4.5 Preferences of the college-going girls for embellishments of the prepared kurtis The data pertaining to the preferences of the respondents regarding embellishments used for the prepared kurtis indicated that embellishments of K 8 , K 16 , K 20 mean score 2.46 each were most preferred by the respondents followed by embellishments of K 15 kurti design mean score 2.06 and K 11 mean score 1.96 which obtained fourth and fifth ranks for embellishments. Last rank was given to the embellishments of kurti K 3 with mean score 1.50 Table-5 66 Manpreet Kaur and Kanwaljit Kaur Brar Table-5 : Preferences of the college-going girls for embellishments of the prepared kurtis n=30 Designs with code Score Mean score Rank K 3 45 1.50 VI K 8 74 2.46 1 K 11 59 1.96 V K 15 62 2.06 IV K 16 74 2.46 I K 20 74 2.46 I 4.6 Preferences for overall appeal of the prepared kurtis Compared to all prepared kurtis, K15 and K20 obtained the first rank mean score 3.66 each followed by K16 mean score 3.03 for overall appeal of the prepared kurtis. Kurti K11 mean score 2.86, K8 mean score 2.56 and K3 mean score 2.34 obtained fourth, fifth and sixth ranks with respect to overall appeal Table-6. Table-6 : Preferences of the college-going girls for overall appeal of the prepared kurtis n=30 Designs with code Score Mean score Rank K 3 70 2.34 VI K 8 77 2.56 V K 11 91 2.86 IV K 15 110 3.66 I K 16 86 3.03 III K 20 110 3.66 I 4.7 Opinion of the respondents towards the prepared kurtis The opinion of the respondents regarding the prepared kurtis was taken on the basis of three categories: very good, good and fair. The data revealed that majority of the respondents 93.34 each considered design K 15 and K 20 as ‘very good,’ whereas 16.66 per cent assessed as ‘good’ and ‘fair’. Majority of the respondents liked the kurtis because of these motifs and designs, colour combinations and embellishments Table-7. Evaluation of the Prepared kurtis on the basis of the Consumer Acceptance 67 Table-7 : Opinion of the respondents towards the prepared kurtis n=30 Designs with code Very good Good Fair f f f K 3 20 66.68 5 16.66 5 16.66 K 8 23 76.66 5 16.67 2 6.67 K 11 24 80.00 4 13.33 2 6.67 K 15 28 93.34 1 3.33 1 3.33 K 16 27 90.00 2 6.67 1 3.33 K 20 28 93.34 1 3.33 1 3.33 Nearly 76.7 per cent of the respondents graded the design K 8 as ‘very good’ while 16.67 per cent of the respondents considered it as ‘good’. However, only 6.67 per cent of the respondents considered it as ‘fair’. The respondents found kurti K 8 to be very attractive, stylish and unique. The results indicated that majority of respondents 80.00 considered K 11 as ‘very good’, while 13.33 per cent of the respondents considered it as ‘good’. The respondents appreciated the design for its motifs and colour combinations. Also, majority of the respondents, i.e. 93.34 per cent, graded the design K 15 as ‘very good’. The reason stated by the respondents for considering it as ‘’very good’ was for the kind of base fabric and design. The data indicated that the majority of the respondents 90.00 considered K 16 as ‘very good’ whereas 6.67 per cent and 3.33 per cent respondents opined it as ‘good’ and ‘fair’ respectively. Respondents found it to be very attractive, unique and creative. Design K 20 was considered as ‘very good’ by the respondents 93.34 followed by 3.33 per cent of the respondents each who considered these as ‘good’ and ‘fair’. The reason stated by the respondent for considering these as ‘very good’ was for the kind of design, motif and colour combinations. 4.8 Opinion of the respondents regarding the suitability of price in the prepared kurtis The largest percentage of respondents, i.e. 93.34 per cent, found the quoted selling price of the prepared kurtis K 8 and K 20 as adequate. Besides, 3.34 per cent respondents found the quoted price as lower than what the price should be 68 Manpreet Kaur and Kanwaljit Kaur Brar Table-8. Majority of the respondents considered the quoted price for K 3 , K 11 , and K 15 as adequate. Nearly 17.00 per cent considered the quoted price by K 3 and K 11 as low. Also, 23.34 per cent respondents considered the quoted price of K 16 as high. Table-8 : Opinion of the respondents regarding the suitability of price in the prepared kurtis n=30 Designs with code Quoted price ` Respondents High Adequate Low f f f K 3 3549.00 5 16.67 25 83.34 5 16.67 K 8 5863.00 1 3.34 28 93.34 1 3.34 K 11 2587.00 5 16.67 25 83.34 5 16.67 K 15 2158.00 6 20.00 23 76.67 1 3.34 K 16 4621.00 7 23.34 21 70.00 2 6.67 K 20 8287.00 1 3.34 28 93.34 1 3.34 4.9 Assessment of the profit margins of the prepared kurtis Quoted price was calculated by adding thirty per cent profit to cost of each kurti . Respondent’s opinion about the quoted price for each kurti was taken. Then, they were asked to mention the selling price for each kurti that they would be ready to pay. Average selling price was calculated for each kurti and is presented in Table-9. Quoted price for design K 3 , K 8 , K 11 was `3549-, `5863-, and `2587-, respectively while the average selling price suggested by the respondents was little lesser, i.e. `3505-, `5767-, and `2580-, respectively. Table-9 : Assessment of the profit margins of the prepared kurtis n=30 Kurti designs Cost price ` Quoted price ` Selling price ` z-value Percentage profit K 3 2730.00 3549.00 3505.00 13.32 28.38 K 8 4510.00 5863.00 5767.00 26.95 27.87 K 11 1990.00 2587.00 2580.00 58.95 29.64 K 15 1660.00 2158.00 2141.00 19.29 28.97 K 16 3555.00 4621.00 4657.00 28.52 23.66 K 20 6375.00 8287.00 8213.00 31.60 28.83 Significant at 5 level of significance Evaluation of the Prepared kurtis on the basis of the Consumer Acceptance 69 Highest profit was found to be possible in case of K 11 , i.e. 29.64 per cent followed by K 15 and K 20 with profit margin of 28.97 and 28.85 per cent. These calculated z-values for profit margin of the prepared kurtis were found to be significant at 5 level of significant Table 4.42. Thus, there is significant difference in the selling price and cost price of kurtis. The cost of production is expected to be lower on being mass produced. Therefore, the designed line of kurtis would be commercially viable. 5. Conclusions Diversification of phulkari embroidery through innovative product development will not only help to popularise the phulkari craft but would also yield good profit margin. References Anonymous 2012a Meaning of Fashion, http:wiki.answer.comq meaning_ of_fashion 0882012 Anonymous 2010 Definition of kurtis http:en.wikipedia.orgwikikurtis accessed on 06052012 Anonymous 2013a www.jaipuri kurti.com...latest-clothing trends accessed on 382013. Anonymous 2013b http:indiatoday.instorta-stitch-in-time accessed on 04 82013. Malik, S. B. 2011 From Silk to Synthetic Phulkari: The Long Journey of a Period Textile www.ijhssnet.comjournalsVol_1_No_16_November_201131.pdf [ac cessed 20042012] Singh, O. P. and K. Brar, Revival of Phulkari, Report of Ad HOC Research Project of ICAR, 2002, pp. 22. ê 70 Manpreet Kaur and Kanwaljit Kaur Brar Article Received on June 18, 2015; Accepted on July 11, 2015 8 Globalization and its Impact on Rural India Rangoli Chandra and Renu “Globalization means ‘global village ‘in which people from every place of the world can be approached directly or indirectly. Modern communication and information technology plays an important role in spreading globalization. Internet, by which we can receive any information in few seconds, is also an important mean of globalization. Globalization broadly affects the rural life. Because of globalization, informational technology and communication revolution also occurs in village that has raised global consciousness and education in the rural areas. The globalization has both positive and negative impact on rural life. In positive impact, it includes progressiveness of rural life and in negative, includes changes in cultural paradigm of rural life. Thus, we see that globalization widely affects the rural life. The process of globalization has enhanced the competition in society. The culture of marketplace has increased. Human moral values have been declined. Globalization, on one side has increased the materialistic facilities but on the other side, mental peace of individual has been lost. So the process of globalization has changed the course of the whole world in a global village, as a result, it has become difficult to subsistence for unskilled and uneducated labours.” [Keywords : Globalization, village, Communication, Technology, Revolution, Consciousness, Progressiveness, Competition, Unskilled] 1. Introduction The term ‘globalization’ was first used in the field of economy. Globalization is a process of integration of policies, economic, cultural and industrial system that exist separately today. It is a process by which the world is CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL SCIENCES, Vol. 24, Number 3 July-September, 2015 Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh India E-mail: rangoli.drrediffmail.com ; rangoli.drgmail.com Research Scholar, Department of Sociology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh India E-mail: renu.grsgmail.com being transformed from a set of national and regional markets into a set of markets that operate without regard to national boundaries. It has become the driving force of everything we do, be it social policy, education policy, health or safely or the environment. The process of globalization has deeply affected the economic, social, cultural and technological sides of societies in new world order. Globalization has been seen as a basic concept in directing the economics social and cultural policies. At operational level, globalization is reflected in the progressive integration of the world’s economies through trade in goods and services, flow of technology and information, international capital flows, environment issues and rising levels of literacy. The process is an old one, although it has gained greater acceptance and momentum through the 1980s and in a way, took off during the 1990s. A whole lot government and institutions like the IMF International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, et.al. have played a crucial role in nudging countries towards globalization. The ensuing consensus was encoded through the round of the GATT General Agreement on Trade and Tariff and eventually the WTO World Trade Organization. 1 Globalization is the process which expands and accelerates the movement of ideas and exchange of commodities over vast distances. From a global perspective, globalizations most important impacts are often highly localized. Globalization really affects people with respect to their way of life, culture, taste, fusion, preferences etc. It has led to good and bad effects on the lives of people. 2. History of Globalization Globalization has a long history as a political and cultural reality and as a religious and cultural movement. It is believed that the first stage of globalization started with the early Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek and Roman Empires, Which united the world of their time. The second stage traced later part of 1400s when European explorers voyaged out of Europe to discover new land. Trade expended between European explorers voyaged out of Europe to discover new world of gradually the process of colonization started. The third stage of globalization started in the 19th century along with the expansion of colonial empires and trade. The globalization intensified with advent of industrial revolution in Europe and sought raw materials for its products. This period ended with World War ll but its ideological, economic and cultural consequences continue to influence till today. With the rejection and failure of socialism as an alternative, the whole world is thrown open to market economy, liberal 72 Rangoli Chandra and Renu democracy and western cultural values with the powerful tool of information technology. 2 The term ‘globalization’ derived from the word glob al ize, which re fers to the emer gence of an in ter na tional net work of eco nomic sys tems. 3 One of the ear li est known us ages of the term as a noun was in a 1930 pub li ca tion en ti tled, To wards New Ed u ca tion , where it de noted a ho lis tic view of hu man ex pe ri ence in ed u ca tion. 4 A re lated term, cor po rate gi ants was coined by Charles Taze Rus sell in 1897 to re fer to the largely na tional trusts and other large en ter prises of the time. By the 1960s, both terms be gan to use as the syn onyms by econ o mists and other sci en tists. Econ o mists The o dore Levitt is widely cred ited with coin ing the term in an ar ti cle en ti tled “Glob al iza tion of Mar kets” which ap peared in the May-June 1983 is sue of Har vard Busi ness Re view. How ever, the term glob al iza tion was in use well be fore at least as early as 1944 and had been used by other schol ars as early as 1981. 5 Some thinkers define globalization which are as follows : Anthony Giddens 1991 in The consequences of Modernity, wrote that “Globalization can thus be defined as the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa. 6 Paul James 2005, defines “Globalization is the extension of social relations across world space, defining that world- space in terms of the historically variably ways that it has been practiced and socially understood through changing world-time.” 7 Tomlinson 1996 says that “Globalization refers to the rapidly developing processes of complex interconnections between societies, cultures, institutions and individuals worldwide. It is social process that involves the compression of time and space, shrinking distances through a dramatic reduction in time taken either physically or representational to cross them, so marking the world seem smaller and in certain bringing human being ‘closer’ to one another.” 8 Ulrich Beck 2001, said that “Globalization is a process of worldwide stratification in the course of which new socio-culture hierarchy, on a world wide scale is put together.” 9 3. Characteristics of Globalization There are number of characteristics of globalization which are as follows : Globalization and its Impact on Rural India 73 u According to Robert Mecorquodale, “Globalizations is contested term and there is no one accepted definition of it” . In broader sense it in cludes two things, in te gra tion of the world and in ter de pen dence of the sov er eign na tion states. u The term globalization is all encompassing and is defined in both economic and non economic context which includes social-cultural, historical and political. u Shrinking space which means people lives, their-jobs, incomes and health- are affected by events on other side of the globe often by events they do not know about. u Shrinking time which is seen in speed with which markets and technologies are changing. u Disappearing Borders : National borders are breaking down not only on trade, capital and information but also for ideas, norms, culture and values. u Globalization also means “universalization of particularism and particularization of universalism” that is what is local is global and what is global is local. u It is two fold process Global-Local has many aspect it is political, social and cultural process, but is foremost an economic process. u Some scholars like John Harris views globalization as American capitalism imperialism Stanley Hoffmann illustrates the following feature of globalization. u Globalization is multidimensional process it has three basic dimensions economic, cultural and political. u Benefits of globalization, though undeniable are limited as well as uneven. The reach of globalization remains limited as it excludes many poor countriespoor people. u Globalization main effect is rise of social movements due to the discontent of globalization. u Globalization suffers from many contradictions. u It is the market which has been the main beneficiary of the state’s retreat. u Economic globalization has affected states sovereignty. u Stanley Hoffmann further points out that character of citizenship remains intact despite of global integration of economic life of people. u Hoffman’s perceived that there exists a relationship between globalization and violence . 74 Rangoli Chandra and Renu u Communication and information Technology reduces the distance in real time. u Deregulated markets with speedy transfer of capital. u The emergence of global media network linked with global communication. u Global consumer culture and global music, film, TV culture. u Increase concentration of capital in the hand of few individuals via merger and acquisitions. u Greatest awareness, but not very effective to address problems of human rights violation and other problems faced by the mankind today Singh 10 and Sinha 11 . 4. Aspects of Globalization There are many potentially positive and negative aspects of globalization. Development linked with globalization have opened up boundless possibilities for human development, enormous new opportunities and enhanced the quality of life for many people in the third world countries. The globalization has been reciprocally beneficial. If also creates and promotes global concern and attracts worldwide attention to the local issues. Globalization has many dimensions- economic, political, social, technological, cultural, and ideological etc. each of them affects the local either positively or negatively. Manoj Sinha has highlighted the various aspect of globalization; some of them are summarized as follows 11 : 4.1 Economic Aspects u Some nations have tremendous economic advantages, other have become more and more dependent. u The main players in the process of globalization and governments of powerful Nation G7, TNCS Transnational Corporation, IMS Integrated Management Systems, WB World Bank and WTO World Trade Organization . u Development of third world countries has to be related with world market. u Over all control of global economy is in the hand of G7 countries. u The foreign debts work as an instrument to control development process in these countries. u Terms and conditions are imposed on them which make them almost impossible to develop on their own terms. Globalization and its Impact on Rural India 75 u Growth of multinationals and emphasis on foreign trade is not the tune with the basic need of people u In the globalized free market economy, the only people who count are those who have goods to sell and those who have money to buy. u Widening the gap between the rich and the poor, both between countries and within countries. u There has been a worldwide growth in poverty, inequality and human misery and social injustice is becoming an accepted reality. u Present economic system does not serve the interests of majority it rather destroys the lives of many people due its unjust distribution of wealth, exploitation and deprivation of basic needs. u Globalization leads to lowering of labor costs and wages.p. 193-194 4.2 Social Aspects u Globalization created the situation of marginalization, exclusive and social disintegration countries like India are facing their problems squarely. u People in rural area isolated from the urban privileged groups. u It creates an inferiority complex among the poor rural masses. u Because of urban centric model of developments, many rural people are forced to migrate to cities in search of employment and better living. u The migrants are the most exploited people; they suffer from insecurity and social exclusion. u Permanent employment and skilled workforce is being replaced by the casual and part time employment creating insecurity among the workers. u Diminishing trade unionism has made the work ers ab so lutely voice less. u Profit oriented free market has lost the present social realities. u Society has become impersonal, mechanical and inhumane and is lost in consumerism and materialism. u Unprincipled living, selfishness, corruption, opportunism and violence are the products of consumerism and materialism which intern is the effect of globalization p. 195. 4.3 Cultural Aspects u Globalization involves cultural invasion. u Globalization means the export and import of cultures. 76 Rangoli Chandra and Renu u The whole idea of progress and development is shaped by western life style. u A monoculture is fast emerging based on western values of consumerism and individualism undermining the ethnicity and traditions of local. u There was a community ownership of land and property, accumulation of wealth by an individual was not welcome, but today wealth is increasingly regarded as belonging to individuals and not to community. u Indigenous cultural values are vastly ignored p.196. So Globalization has become a significant factor in competitive world that integrated and mobilize cultural values of people at global level. In the age of rapid technical progression, many countries are unified and transformed due to the process of globalization. Globalization has a huge impact on cultural, social, monetary, political and communal life of countries. Abundant theoretical studies demonstrated that globalization intercedes in a cultural life of populace that raises numerous critical issues Robertson, 1992. In broad sense, the term ‘globalization’ means combination of economies and societies through cross country flows of information, ideas, technologies, goods, services, capital, finance and people. Globalization is described by theorists as the process through which societies and economies are integrated through cross broader flows of ideas, communication, technology, capital, people, finance, goods, services and information. 12 Globalization has brought new prospects to developing world. It has given great power to developed markets to enter in the developing countries by transferring their machinery with the assurance of better output and higher living standard. However, it does have brought up difficulties as well such as increase in inequality between socio-economic classes, environmental degradation and instability in financial market. In the nineties, the restriction on the trade and investment was removed of barrier accelerated the rapidity of globalization in India. 5. Globalization in Indian Context In India early 1990s, India unlocked its economy to the world because of the foreign policies exchange crisis that to defaults on loans of the economy. There was a sudden policy change in India with the notion of new economic model known as Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization in India LPG. The primary objective of this model was to make the economy of India the fastest Globalization and its Impact on Rural India 77 economy developing economy in the globe with capabilities that help it match up with the biggest economies of the world. In early nineties, the key measures instigated as a part of policy like, the abandoning of licensing of industries, the reduction in the areas of public sector, amendment in the monopolies and the controlled trade systems function, initiated privatization programme, lessening tariff charges and the most important was to switch to the market determined exchange rates. This change in the policy had dramatic effects on the expansion of Indian economy. This all changes actually the announcement of the fusion of Indian economy into the global economy. Over the years with the policy change, more and more sectors begin foreign direct investment and portfolio investments and attracted foreign investors in telecom, airports, insurance, roads, ports, airports, transportation and much more. 13 6. Impact of Globalization on Rural India Globalization and India discourse continues since the recent wave of liberalization, structural adjustment and economic reforms have started in India about more than a decade ago in 1991. This has opened the doors of Indian economy to the world and vice-versa. Concerning rural India, the debate has been going on how and in what manner it is going to be affected by globalization. So here we will gong to discuss the impact of globalization on different sectors of rural India. 6.1 Agriculture In case of agriculture sector, it is a matter of debate that how and in what manner Indian agriculture is going to be affected by reforms, liberalization and consequent policies. Some have arguing in favour of it that agricultural sector will be benefitted, there will be diversification of agriculture and ultimately that will boost the production which will positively affect the Indian famers and the rural population in general. On the other hand, others are arguing strongly against globalization and have been indicating that farmers and rural population in India going to be adversely affected. It is feared that the multinational corporations by way of free flow of goods, capital and services will grab not only the industrial resources but also the agriculture sector, agri-business and probably result in to pauperization of Indian agriculturists, small farmers and rural labour. 13 Over the years, with the advent of more technology, there has been a significant change in the process of agriculture in the country. Earlier farmers used traditional farming techniques for growing crops. As such, they suffered a 78 Rangoli Chandra and Renu lot and the output was affected by a number of factors like pest problems, weather situations and lots more. Due to the globalization and introduction of better equipments, there has been a stark improvement in the techniques of agriculture. Today, farmers are using gadgets like rowers, tractors, electric pipelines and lots more for the cultivation of crops. This has increased the produce in terms of quantity as well as quality. As such, farmers have started earning more and have improved their per capita income and the standard of living. The government has also taken several positive steps to improve the poverty situation in the rural areas. Irrigational projects have been undertaken, dams have been built and more facilities have been provided to the farmers to increase their agricultural produce. As lots of farmers are poor, they are not in a position to buy expensive equipments. To solve this problem and make them self sufficient, the government also grants financial help and loan to the farmers at very cheap rates. The government has set up the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development NABARD and various other Regional Rural Banks RRBs to financially help the farmers in need. Housing projects are also being undertaken to solve the accommodation problems of the poor. 14 6.2 Education Education, as a service industry, is part of globalization process under the umbrella of General Agreement on Trade in Services. In 2000-01, government initiated programme aimed at the universalization of education. The package of reforms in primary education sector is addressed as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan pop u larly known as SSA mean ing ed u ca tion for all; Gov ern ment has ini ti ated new ed u ca tion pol icy. The sa lient fea ture of New Na tional Pol icy of Ed u ca tion are in tro duc tion of a na tional core cur ric u lum at the school level; spe cial em pha sis on the ed u ca tion of women and of the sched uled castes tribes; ex am i na tion re forms; es tab lish ment of pace – set ting in sti tu tions called “Navodaya vidyalayas” in all parts of the coun try as a part to the ef fort to pro vide equal op por tu ni ties, es pe cially in ru ral ar eas, to raise the qual ity of higher education. 6.3 Reforms in Basic Services The government of India has initiated several reforms measures in the delivery of basic services. The vital of them include i Primary Health Services ii Sanitation Education iii Drinking Water Supply. Reforms in basic services Globalization and its Impact on Rural India 79 are being implemented since 200001. The package on reforms in primary health care is addressed as National Rural Health Mission NRHM; Globalization has also positively affected the overall health care situation in the country. More and more medical innovations are coming in which are improving the health situation in India. The infant mortality rate and the malnutrition rate have significantly come down since the last decade and the package on reforms in rural drinking supply water is addressed as ‘Swajaldara’- Rural Drinking Water Project so that safe and hygiene water reach to people of villages and government also started welfare and education programme on sanitation. But these reform initiatives involving basic services need effective implementation so it will reach each and every part of rural India. 6.4 Poverty Since Independence, the eradication of poverty has been the integral part of strategy for the economic development in India. Garibi Hatao, Kapada-Roti-Makan or Bizili-Sadak-Pani was and still is one of the vote catcher and aid catcher for India. World’s Bank motto, “our dream is world without poverty” made optimists to think that worldwide war against poverty will reduce the poverty in India in Globalization Era. The World Bank’s Global Monitoring Report for 2014-15 on the Millennium Development Goals Says India has been the biggest contributor to poverty reduction between 2008 and 2011, with around 140 million or so lifted out of absolute poverty. Since the early 1950s, Indian government initiated various schemes to help the poor attain self-sufficiency in food production. These have included ration cards and price controls over the supply of basic commodities, particularly food at controlled prices, available throughout the country. These efforts prevented famines, but did little to eliminate or reduce poverty in rural or urban areas between 1950 and 1980. Poverty elevating programmes launched by government such as MNREGA and Midday Meal Scheme in schools reduce poverty to some extent. 14 A major portion of the poverty level in India is from the rural areas whose staple form of income is agriculture and farming. Due to the globalization, Indian agriculture has improved to some extent which has helped to reduce the poverty problem of the rural masses. 6.5 Employment Globalization has also put a favorable effect on the employment scenario of the country. Over the years, due to the liberalization policies, India has become a 80 Rangoli Chandra and Renu consumer oriented market where the changes are brought by the demand and supply forces. Due to the high demand and the supply chains, there has been significant growth in the market. As such, more and more job opportunities are being created in different sectors. This has increased the per capita income considerably which has improved the poverty level to a great extent. The growth of the various sectors has also opened up new employment opportunities which have put a positive impact on the overall poverty situation of the country. More and more industries are being introduced in the market to cater to the growing demand. Some of the well known industries that have recently become very popular in the country are personal and beauty care, agro products, health care, information technology and some other sectors. The service sector has a share of around 54 of the annual Gross Domestic Product GDP. The share of the agricultural and industrial sectors in the annual GDP is 17 and 29. Thus we can see that globalization has increased the employment opportunities to some extent.15 7. Conclusion Globalization as it is perceived and viewed today is a complex, dynamic and multidimensional phenomenon. The worldwide talk about globalization does not lead to any common view point. It is a contested concept. The opponents and the proponents of the globalization provide their own statics and figures to substantiate their view points. In India, this phenomenon has a unique feature and that is ‘globalization in our country was ‘crises driven’, and without any preparatory work. The logic given by the pro-globalist to support it is based on trickled down theory which is not evident in the countries where these policies are in force for past many years. Hence, it will be futile to hope that it will really work for all the sections of the society, unless certain changes are made keeping in mind the history, culture and geography of a particular country in general and India in particular. References

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15. Ibid. ê 82 Rangoli Chandra and Renu Article Received on June 29, 2015; Accepted on August 10, 2015