Contemporary Retail Environments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Contemporary Retail Environments - Essay Example Shopping is no more a simple act based on the human need, exchange of the currency and the goods but much more. The perception of shopping and its experience differs as few people perceive it to be a part of entertainment, act of expression, path for happiness and stress therapy (Tuttle, 2010). The experience of the shopping is judged by the accomplishment of the individual perception in the retail environment. Shopping can be deciphered as a contradiction that yields both pleasures and anxieties among the people based on their experience. The concept of shopping experience has changed to a greater degree for the modern shoppers based on their psychology, lifestyle and requirements. Consequently, the shopping experience is the point at which the tension, promises of modernity and postmodernity are apparent. The experience of shopping can be evaluated by the people on the basis of the information gathered, product variety and wide range of products. The easy accessibility of the servi ces and goods through the use of online sources and mobiles has made the shopping experience convenient, economical and exciting (Falk & Campbell, 1997). Shopping experience can be a recreational aspect depending on the consumer behaviour and their considerations. Shopping experience is cherished by meeting the emotional value and affect behaviour of the individual. As illustrated by Levy, â€Å"People buy products not only for what they can do, but also for what they mean† (Hirschman, 1986). The objective of the essay is to emphasise the shopping behaviour and experience of the individuals in the retail environment. It evaluates the component, motivational factors, role of environment and the models to explain the shopping experience. Explanation of Shopping Experience The shopping process is initiated by the need recognition of the individuals. It the behaviour by which the unwanted needs of the individuals are realised and are being fulfilled in the retail shop. The needs of the people differ and so the choice of buying, some prefer design over brand, some look for uniqueness and some consider budget. It is observed that before buying a product customers tend to gather information by searching for the same products in various shops. This process of gathering information and taking advices are part of the holistic shopping experience. Information gathering through various sources to get the knowledge about the price of the product, availability and features influence the shopping decision of the individuals. Moreover, the evaluation of the alternatives is a part of shopping wherein the personal views and opinions along with advices from the friends influence the decision process of the individual. The huge displays of the products in the retail environments affect the process of evaluation of the individuals and make their shopping process easier or at times complex. Individuals tend to shop based on their need but at times due to the influence of ret ail environment they tend to buy products which are not desired by them before coming to the retail shop. The impulsive shopping makes the experience of shopping great as it signifies the fulfilment of the undesired

Aristotle's ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aristotle's ethics - Essay Example Happiness is the central core of living, which depends entirely on cultivation of virtues. According to Aristotle, playing the mean is the way of cultivating virtues that includes moral virtues for the attainment of individual happiness. Human beings make choices depending on the circumstances that surround them by choosing on one option and neglecting the other. Aristotle believed that his task of ethics was to come up with the highest and the best good that is found in human life. He argued that all human activities always aim at some recognized higher end that we always consider as good. Most activities that human beings incur in are a means of achieving a higher end. He discussed the nature of vices and virtues that are involved in evaluating morals, the conditions that ascribes moral responsibility towards an individual agent and the methods that one incurs to achieve happiness in life. Aristotle rounded off his explanation of what constituted achievement of true happiness by st ating that pleasure is not good in itself because it is incomplete according to its nature. The activities that people engage in are associated with their own distinctive pleasures. Therefore, human beings are directed and guided in nature by their choice or preference for participating in pleasant activities rather than in unpleasant activities. True happiness lies in behavior that leads to virtue, since this alone provides genuine value and not just amusement. In sum, he held that contemplation is the highest form of ethical activity because it is self-reliant, complete, and continuous. Aristotelian ethics states that every activity posses a final cause and the aim for the same good. There is no infinite regress that is associated with extrinsic goods hence there must be highest good, which all human activities aspire which he referred to as happiness. Virtues are opposed to intellectual capacity therefore, virtues of characters happen due to dispositions to act in a given way in response to some similar situations and the habits that one has which makes him behave in a certain way. Good conduct arises from habits, which can be acquired through recurring actions and corrections that makes ethics a practical discipline. Each virtue is a state that naturally seeks its own means, which is relative in its nature. The virtuous habit of any action is an intermediate state between opposed vices of deficiency and excess. In application of this theory of virtue, Aristotle asserts that flexibility is paramount as friendliness is far from deficiency than its excesses. This is because few human beings are inclined naturally to undervalue pleasure; however, it is unusual to ignore or overlook either of the extremes but to regard the virtue opposite the other vices. Aristotle’s ethics are governed at moderate rates, which have dominated the western cultures for a very long time. Ethics being a practical science focuses on human nature that works on accepting a mora l responsibility. Nevertheless, moral evaluation of action presupposes attributions of responsibilities to human agents. This does not apply to all attributions, as responsible actions must be taken voluntarily. Aristotle gave out two conditions under which human actions become voluntary. First, he asserted that actions which are produced by external forces are taken as involuntary which the agent is not fully responsible for. Secondly,