Ethnic Challenge Essay Example for Free

Ethnic Challenge Essay The article, â€Å"Ethnic Challenge† by Hollie Shaw discussed about marketing to ethnic groups in Canada. Shaw stated that understanding ethnic groups’ culture, beliefs, and realities is the key to successfully penetrate into their market. Companies, however, need to deliver their promises to these groups to boost sales and guarantee loyalty. Even though Canada adheres to multiculturalism, Shaw further noted that marketing to ethnic groups was never the case, as ads had only featured immigrants but had not directly targeted their market before. Today, however, companies like Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. , Hudson Bay Co. , and Wal-Mart Canada Corp. , uses cultural marketing. Moreover, Shaw pointed out the case of Sunsilk, a famous shampoo brand in South Asia, which reworked its proposed ad after research found that its ad featuring a gay male hairdresser and his female client and confidante will not be effective, as South Asian women do not have this kind of relationship with their hairdressers. In conclusion, Shaw stated that ethnic marketing will become more important in the coming years as more and more immigrants are finding home in Canada. Shaw’s â€Å"Ethnic Challenge† is related to the course material in that the latter justifies the contentions discussed in the former. Shaw began the article by saying that before, big companies lacked the efforts in â€Å"marketing to Canadian immigrants† (par. 1). The course material mentioned a world systems theory, which contends that there exists a â€Å"dominant core and a subordinate periphery in the contemporary world,† so people have the natural tendency to give more importance and attention to power and authority (p. 271). Consequently, based on the theory, big companies would give marketing priority to the dominant core that holds power and authority. In addition, the ethnic groups were previously excluded in marketing and advertising since the dominant culture perceived them as different â€Å"individuals and groups who do not conform to† societal expectations (p. 272). However, Shaw pointed out that marketing, which excludes immigrants and ethnic groups has been changing, as more businesses try to target them through their ads (pars. 2-3). This new focus of marketing can be credited to the rise of new philosophical approaches on humanism that questioned power and inequality. Furthermore, as human geographers increasingly become more aware of the diversity of people and places, cultures are not just viewed as a way of life but as a process that allows involvement from people who would construct their own landscapes (p. 270). Thus, the critical knowledge that theories have laid down affect how Canadian lifestyle and living has been, including marketing and advertising. In addition, the article, which discussed the shift of focus in marketing target and the course material, which mentioned the rise of critical definition of culture are very clear manifestations that Canada respects all ethnicities, as marketing now targets previously-ignored immigrants (par. 5) and as Canadian policies continue to actively encourage multiculturalism, respectively (p. 270). After reading through the course material and the article, I have come to realize the question we should ask ourselves as native Canadians: Do we want immigrants to be assimilated or acculturated into the Canadian society? Shaw’s article answered this by clearly discussing marketing and advertising that cater to ethnic cultures, tastes, beliefs, and realities – an acculturation which allows ethnic groups to become part of the larger Canadian society, but still retaining their distinctive identity. Personally, I do not want them to be completely assimilated to our society as they have native and original cultures that they naturally live by. Thus, ads should truthfully reflect and represent their realities if companies want to be successful in their businesses. Moreover, since there is no group or culture that stands above the others, if ads need to have different versions, in different languages, let them be. In this way, every group, ethnic or not, will feel that they are given attention and they have a place in the society. Paul Dalby’s â€Å"Truly an Epidemic: The Diabetes Epidemic,† revealed that diabetes, which was once considered a disease of the middle age, is becoming an â€Å"epidemic† in Ontario as Canadians, regardless of age groups, has been found to carry the disease. The article started with the case of Michael Jacoby, once an all-star athlete but now struggling with type 2 diabetes, â€Å"in which the pancreas does not produce sufficient insulin or the body does not properly use the insulin it makes. † Ninety percent of diabetics have this type of diabetes (par. 4). Dalby further revealed that there are 2. 25 million diabetics in Canada, one-third of which lives in Ontario – a 69 percent jump of the prevalence of the disease (pars. 7-8). Moreover, what is more alarming is that â€Å"children as young as 10 years old† have been found to have diabetes (par. 0). Thus, according to Dr. Diane Finegood, â€Å"a massive campaign to change bad habits† (par 22), which means a change from â€Å"supersized food† and â€Å"sedentary lifestyles† (par. 14) to proper eating and enough exercise (par. 23) is required. The course material is related to Dalby’s article in that the former can explain the details discussed in the latter. For instance, Dalby named diabetes an â€Å"epidemic,† which the course material defined as a temporary but widespread outbreak of a disease. Furthermore, the current statistics, which stated that one-third of the 2. 5 million diabetics come from Ontario, can be explained by the fact that the province, which is home to big cities, lives a very fast-paced life and holds more food choices. Thus, there is a greater opportunity to eat unhealthy foods. Moreover, Ontario, being an industrialized area, people tend to work longer hours and thus become less active to engage in exercise. However, according to the course material, the poor are less likely to be unhealthy. In Ontario, this does not seem to be the case, as those who acquire diabetes are â€Å"poor† in lifestyle choices – presence of a different culture and lack of exercise. Nevertheless, in other countries, the poor being unhealthy is justified because they are underfed. But in the case of Canada, most people are underfed of healthy foods. Furthermore, Dalby mentioned that a change in lifestyle of bad habits is needed to stop the rise of people suffering from diabetes and get Canadians to be healthy. The course material defined â€Å"being healthy† as living a healthy lifestyle; watching good eating habits, good physical and mental health, and strong immune system; not smoking or drinking; and regularly seeing a doctor for checkups. Moreover, Dalby’s revelation of diabetes being an epidemic is a cause of alarm for everyone because as the course material discussed, there is an interconnection between population, health, and environment, a study known as medical geography. With the unstoppable increase in Canada’s population, it cannot help but worry about the cause and spread of diabetes, the huge cost of healthcare systems to fight the epidemic, and the effects of a changing environment on the health of Canadians. The data that the course material provided enabled me to be worried about my own health, as well as the health of my fellow Canadians, particularly the children. Most of us are lured by fast food and unhealthy foodstuffs because of their unique and delicious tastes and availability; most also do not even do exercise due to lack of time and unwillingness. However, living in a fast-paced world is no excuse for us to disregard our health. If more, we should be primarily concerned because our population is not growing any smaller and our healthcare facilities are not getting any cheaper. Furthermore, we have to watch carefully our lifestyles against unhealthy food and habits because with the population boom, we do not know how our world can adequately provide for our basic needs for us to live happy, healthy, and satisfying lives. In addition, the innocent little ones, so fond of sweets and junk foods should be strictly guided and monitored to eat only healthy foods because without them, how can our nation function well in the future?