Does Data and Our Personalities Impact How We Invest?

Data is used to understand the environment and make investment decisions about new products and services that directly impact the stock market. Recently, the Institute of Supply Management made an accidental miscalculation on the May Purchasing Manufacturers' Index by published 53.2 and then revising that estimate to 56 after the error was discovered (Strumpf, 2014). Due to the importance of that economic indicator stocks bounced downward and then leaped upwards 26 points after the revision.  The change made sense with investors who saw a tough winter and potential spring rebound. 

Stocks can be finicky on new data. The information provided from credible sources, often released from large institutions, are given more weight than smaller publishers. This doesn’t change the fact that they are still a single reference point that when taken in isolation can lead to inaccurate perception. A single switch of a number, miscalculation, or ignored measurement can change the results dramatically. A small mistake can have much wider market implications.

Market over reaction to news is not something new. For example, press releases of companies hiring consulting firms and making other strategic decisions can have an impact on stocks (Bergh & Gibbons, 2011). News naturally impacts how investors perceive the environment according to their strategies and learned problem solving matrix. This phonomenon is experience when government policy releases create a positive or negative reaction on the market. 

Hyper active stock trading lies in the personalities of the investors and their investment strategies. Naturally investors who seek quick returns are likely to be more reactive to new information in an attempt to gain quickly or avoid loss. You can see this in the activities of day traders who take short gains and long-term investors who wait out the market. Each uses strategies derived from their personalities.

The phenomenon of impulsive reaction or reflective contemplation has been experienced in a number of different experiments. A study by Ledzinska, et. al. (2014) found that the time it took for participants to read instructions in a computer task and formulate a search strategy was related to their reflection-impulsivity diagnosis (R-I). The study highlights how some personalities brush the surface information and others contemplate the deeper meaning of that information.

In the investment world data is extremely important for decision making. When data is drawn from multiple sources it is generally stronger and more accurate than when derived from a single source. Savvy investors seek both breadth and depth in their information. The totality of the information allows large investors to make more accurate determinations of stock choices. Width is seen as using multiple markets and depth moves into the logic behind the calculations. Having knowledge of major market trends and how the individual data pieces are calculated helps to avoid rash decision-making when erroneous information is accidentally presented.

Ledzinska, M., et. al. (2014). Cognitive styles could be implicitly assess in the internet environment: reflection-impulsivity is manifested in individual manner of search for information. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 13 (1). 

Bergh, D. & Gibbons, P. (2011). The stock market reaction to the hiring of management consultants: a signaling theory approach. Journal of Management Studies, 48 (3). 

Strumpf, D. (June, 2014). Stocks End Up Despite Jolt From Erroneous Economic Data. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 2^nd, 2014 from http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20140602-711023.html

Using Online Marketing to Enhance Military Educational Institutions

The Internet provides opportunities for military development as well as higher education advancement. The researchers Minculete & Chisega-Negrila (2014) conducted a case study of a military academy within the military higher education to determine how technology and marketing is being adapted for greater learning. Their work moves into the nature of online commerce and how virtual learning is improving the system in accordance with NATO standard requirements. 

All academies and colleges must market their offerings in order to attract new students. Marketing strategies of military academies is cyclical in the sense that it collects and shares information to use in their planning and adjustment processes to reach target markets. The same process can be applied to colleges in general that use technology to enhance their product quality and reach. 

The standard approach is for academies to provide information regarding an institutions history, mission, policies, and the products or services they offer (Close, 2012). The website becomes an information tool that displays information in hopes that passive search visitors will frequent the site. The sources of informational power can be enhanced to gain information and adjust processes at a higher level.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a primary marketing method that rests on three broad aspects that include the search spider that crawls information from websites, the search software on the user’s computer, and the directories that categorize websites for recall. The process works a little like the human brain and is designed thus based upon psychological principles. 

There are a number of marketing methods that include:

Search Engine Marketing: The method of data collection, search software, and categorization of information. This is the bones behind the Internet.

Email Marketing: The collection of emails and dissemination of information using this medium. 

Viral Marketing: Creating content that users will willingly pass onto their social networks. 

Affiliated Marketing: Displaying a company’s banner and advertisements on sites for additional revenue. Most people know this as Google Adwords and similar type programs. 

Internet Advertising: The process of creating advertisements and purchasing places and locations in high traffic areas and sites. 

Web-logs: The use of blogs to create content that draws search engine and user interest. 

Social Networks: The social media networks that try and engage physical and virtual communities. 

Online Reputation Management: The use of reputation management to ensure one’s online image is strong. 

Mobile Internet: Using personal products, cell phones, tablets, etc… to reach customers. This is common in the applications and music download industry. Newer technology includes streaming. 

Web Communities: Marketing within chat rooms and forums. 

Webcasting: Creating videos and other advertisements that can be posted on Youtube and other areas to draw interest. 

According to the authors the use of online media sources is a major component of drawing in new interest to the military academy. The same process can be applied to higher education in general. They recommend that institutions 1.) create an efficient webpage; 2.) optimize the site; 3.) promote educational programs and their results; 4.) chronically analyze the site for improvements; 5) promote the institution through online mediums; and, 6.) create interactivity between the institution, current students, potential students, and stakeholders. The process of building stronger marketing programs using the Internet has the potential to raise the strength and value of not only online education but also its public interest.

Close, A. (2012). Online consumer behavior. Theory and Research in Social Media, Advertising and E-Tail. Editura Taylor & Francis Gropu, NY.

Minculete, G. & Chisega-Negrila, M. (2014). Online marketing. Challenges and opportunities for the military higher education. Journal of Defense Resources Management, 4 (2).