Cisco Systems: SWOT Analysis and Marketing Analysis

Cisco Systems: SWOT Analysis and Marketing Analysis Principles of Marketing Abstract This study aims to provide information on key marketing concepts and strategies adopted by Cisco Systems Inc. It critically analyzes Ciscos business strategies and practices by describing and evaluating its market orientation along with the impact of its marketing practices on business thereby providing an overview of its competitive advantage and SWOT analysis. One of the most vital and comprehensive marketing tools Ansoff Product-Growth Matrix has been implemented for Cisco, identifying its potential development, segmentation and diversification tactics. Porters Five Forces framework has also been included to derive five forces that determine competitive intensity and attractiveness of markets. Ciscos B2B and B2C segments are identified in conjunction with the marketing mix of product, price, promotion and place to support its marketing strategies in order to align it with its adopted business model. Introduction Cisco Systems Inc, a networking systems developer and manufacturer, was founded by two computer scientists at Stanford University in 1984. Cisco went public in 1990. Computers on local networks had not been able to communicate easily with computers outside that network, until Cisco introduced its first commercial router in 1986. Geographically dispersed networks of computers using different networking protocols, were able to be linked together by Ciscos multi-protocol router. Cisco quickly emerged a global leader in networking hardware, software and services, expanding to over 40,000 employees along with annual revenues of $23.8 billion by the end of 2000, although the economic downturn affected Ciscos 2001 revenues and compelled Cisco to layoff close to 14% of its employees (Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2001). Cisco Systems, Inc. is the global leader in computer networking for the Internet. Today, networks form an integral part of education, government, business systems and home communications. Cisco hardware, software and service contributions are used to establish the Internet solutions that make complex networks possible, enabling easy access to information anywhere, at any time, by individuals, organizations and countries. Additionally, Cisco has pioneered the utilization of the Internet in its own business practices and provides consulting services based on its experience and expertise to support other organizations around the globe. Since the companys inception, engineers at Cisco have promptly contributed in the innovation of networking technologies based on Internet Protocol (IP). This tradition of IP innovation endures with the evolution of industry-leading products in the core technologies of switching and routing along with advanced technologies in areas like home networking, security, IP telephony, storage area networking, optical networking, and wireless technology. Cisco offers a broad range of services, including technical support and a dvanced services in addition to its products. Cisco markets its services and products, both directly through its channel partners as well as through its own sales force, to service providers, commercial businesses , large enterprises and consumers. Social responsibility and customer focus are the core values on which Cisco operates as an organization (Cisco Systems Inc 2004). Over time, Cisco has proved its ability to successfully capture market transitions. Commencing in 1997 with the certainty that voice and video would all be converged to one, proceeding to the Network of Networks in 2000 and the network becoming the podium for all related web technologies and the base of customer solutions along with the most recent market transition of collaboration and Web 2.0 technologies. At Cisco, product offerings evolve as per market transitions only to best meet customer requirements. Cisco has emerged from Enterprise and Service Provider solutions to recognizing and approaching customer needs in numerous other segments including Small, Consumer and Commercial. To a large degree, the network has evolved to into a platform for providing one transparent and seamless customer experience. A key aspect of Ciscos culture is connecting and collaborating with others to make the world smaller through innovative technology and use it to enhance life experiences. Thats the Human Network a place where everyone is connected. (Cisco n.d.) Market Orientation Jaworski and Kohli (1996) defined market orientation as the organization wide generation of market intelligence pertaining to current and future customer needs, dissemination of the intelligence across departments, and organization-wide responsiveness to it. Customer and Market Focus In recent years, market-driven organizations have begun to evolve as the new industry giants. The market-driven formula for success in todays marketplace is to produce the right product at the right price at the right time (Bill Barrett 2001). The right product is the one that solves the customers problem and delivers the highest value. The right price is what the customer is willing to pay. The right time is when the customer needs the product. Customer needs and priorities are continuously changing. Therefore, an organization must know how customers wants, needs and values emerge over time to be successful. To gain the desired knowledge of the customer, an organization must focus on the current and prospective markets and customers it serves and put the customer first in every aspect of the organization. Marketing-orientated companies focus on customer needs (Jobber 2007: 6). By including the customer in an organizations mission and goals, market-driven organizations make providing value to the customer a top priority. This commitment to the customer is evident in Cisco Systems mission statement: To shape the future of the Internet by creating unprecedented value and opportunity for our customers, employees, investors and ecosystem partners (Cisco n.d.) Ciscos market focus begins with its emphasis on delivering unprecedented value to its customers, as well as other stakeholders, including employees, investors, and environmental partners. Ciscos mission statement is consistent with market-driven perspective of serving the objectives of all the stakeholders (Bill Barrett 2001). We believe Ciscos market orientation emphasizes continuous improvement of the processes since information gathering is one of the main characteristics of a market driven organization. As the market demands and customers requirements change continuously, it is extremely essential for such organizations to gather relevant data in all environmental sectors competitive, political, cultural, economic, technological, human resources and most importantly the consumer. Thus, it can be said that Ciscos orientation is rightly aligned with its mission statement./p> Relationship Strategies The market-driven concept suggests that putting the customer first in all aspects of an organization results in satisfying all stakeholders, which challenges the belief that multiple stakeholders often have conflicting goals. Market-driven organizations use relationship strategies to form partnerships and alliances with stakeholders to create synergy and minimize or eliminate conflicting goals. Cisco Systems has formed strategic alliances with suppliers and customers to deliver a customer-centric, total solutions approach to solving problems, exploiting business opportunity, and creating sustainable competitive advantage for our customers (Bill Barrett 2001). Cisco and its partners recognized that their products and services, combined with those of suppliers and customers, created a total solution that was more valuable than the sum of the individual pieces (Bill Barrett 2001). The most fundamental way in which Cisco views its strategy is around the idea of change, and how change aff ects customers. Essentially, it believes that market transitions that most affect customers define competitive opportunities. Change is recognized as endemic and adaptation considered to be the Darwinian condition for survival (Jobber 2007: 6). Cisco prepares for market transitions by listening to customers and by taking risks, innovating and investing 3-5 years in advance of a major transition in order to capitalize on it before competitors when the transition is realized in the market (Cisco n.d.). Ciscos vision and innovativeness can be clearly seen from the above statements that promote its connoisseurship in computer networks and the recent developments of the Internet. Its ability to anticipate and prepare for such market transitions is the key plot of its customers and its own success. Changing needs present potential market opportunities, which drive the company (Jobber 2007: 6). Cisco makes every effort in its power and scope to work towards its vision by its innovativeness which has provided enormous potential market opportunities. This approach is by far one of the largest contributors to its success in the Silicon Valley amongst its competitors in the industry. It has led to Cisco being one of the big names among industry giants like Microsoft, Apple, Sun Microsystems etc. Elements of Market Orientation Customers guide where we go and we stay ahead of market shifts so that we are ready to help our customers evolve, as their industry evolves (Cisco n.d). The customer centric approach is vital to the product development at Cisco. It signifies the presence of market orientation in the organization with respect to the customers needs and requirements that form the basis of marketing strategies at Cisco. Some of the most influential market orientation elements are strategies based on providing value for customers, rapid response to negative customer satisfaction, immediate acknowledgement to competitive challenges, and speedy detection of changes in customer product preferences (Pelham 2000). Cisco has been concentrating on the consumer markets as part of their marketing strategies. It transitioned itsLinksyssubsidiary into a dedicated consumer business group, formed a consumer-focused council, and made key changes in the way it builds consumer products. This change has accentuated Cisco s efforts in building brand awareness among customers worldwide. Cisco has tried to adopt a unified approach to consumer market since it acquired Linksys, a home networking company. It can be seen as a strategy based on creating value for customers and its focus on the much fragmented home networking segment where Cisco had expansion plans due to its belief in home networking being on the cusp of a major market transition. Cisco Business Strategies Reaching Market Adjacencies through a New Management Model Cisco business strategy for the fiscal year 2009 was to address not less than 30 market adjacencies, and they concentrated mostly in those areas where the networking technology and protocols have not seen widespread adoption (Chambers 2009). Emerging markets like India and China have provided Cisco ample growth opportunities and value for their customers and shareholders. In order to capture these opportunities, Cisco requires to move with speed and thought leadership. To accomplish this, they have a new management model based on Councils and Boards which will collaborate to set a long term direction for their business strategy. The council and board members decisions will help the organization to ensure that the goals are aligned throughout the company (Chambers 2009). Capturing Market Transitions Ciscos success also comes from capitalizing on market transitions before they occur. Their goal is to capture these market transitions faster than their competitors by identifying the technologies which play a crucial role in the future of communications and Information Technology. Acting on this differentiated strategy, they made multiple acquisitions in fiscal 2008 2009 (Chambers 2008) including wireless, unified communications and security technologies. Cisco continues to grow through internal development, acquisitions, their global partnerships, and cross-functional teamwork. One area of their differentiated strategy includes a goal of growing each product category in their advanced technologies to capture $1 billion-plus in annual revenue and the number-one market position (Chambers 2008). Providing customer satisfaction is one of Ciscos core values. Creating sustainable customer partner ­ships is a crucial part of Cisco strategy and provides invaluable insight into market tr ansitions. In addition to their technology, Ciscos knowledge of economic development, education, government, healthcare, national security and public safety issues has increased customer trust in Cisco (Chambers 2008). Being close to their customers is they believe the best way to uncover opportunity for the next market transition, long before it becomes obvious to others. Sustained Differentiation across Customer Segments and Geographies Ciscos strategy is made upon four pillars: To capture customer driven market transitions by identifying, investing and positioning. Constant innovation which is enabled through building, buying or collaborating with their partners. Cisco differentiated market approach with their ability to bind together both their business architectures and the technology. Prioritization of initiatives and cross functional teamwork that drive execution across customer segments, products, geographic theaters and value added services. Ciscos differentiated strategy has evolved based on their customer requirements to create sustainable differentiation in the industry and better serving of the needs of all their customers (Chambers 2007). Cisco is continuing to expand their services, product offerings and distribution capabilities to the strategic market. Small and medium sized businesses are increasingly taking on networking technology as they realize efficiencies from their investments in Ciscos products. With the use of efficient networking hardware and software products, SMEs have discovered new ways to work effectively and efficiently (Chambers 2007). From a geographic perspective, Cisco was pleased with the strong and balanced performance they achieved in their four largest theaters. These include European Markets, United States and Canada, Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific. Perhaps Ciscos greatest geographic success of fiscal 2007 was their Emerging Markets Theater, where their revenue grew by 39 percent on a yearly basis (Chambers 2007). Cisco believes that its business processes and collaborative approach to their emerging markets sector have significantly contributed to its growth. Cisco Channel Strategy Cisco is partnering with best in class providers to ensure that their customers receive the highest standard of support and the solutions for its products (Cisco 2009). They consider their partners as an extension of Cisco and their partnerships are truly based on long term commitments and mutual benefits. Cisco is creating market growth through their direct investments, in conjunction with the investment in partnerships which allows them to expand their knowledge, visibility and experience in new technologies. Ciscos strategy is to actively invest in all the major technology segments on a global basis. As with acquisitions, all the investment targets are thoroughly examined and analyzed for both their business and technology. Below are the Cisco acquisitions for the fiscal year 2009 (Cisco 2009). Set-Top Box Business of DVN (Holdings) Ltd.-November 2, 2009 DVN has major operations in China and they are the market leader in digital cable solutions. DVN shares Ciscos vision of performance, scalable and services-rich cable interactive platform extending into every home.Market opportunity for Cisco with this acquisition is cabling solutions. ScanSafe, Inc.-October 27, 2009 The company ScanSafe is a market leader of software services and they provide web security solutions for global enterprises as well as small businesses. By this acquisition Cisco can lead as provider of on-premise content security and their market opportunity from this acquisition turns out to be network security. Starent Networks, Corp.-October 13, 2009 Starent Networks is a leading supplier of IP based mobile infrastructure solutions, targeting mobile and converged carriers. According to Cisco there is an active investment in this market by the service provider, since the global mobile data traffic is expected to double every year. The market opportunity for Cisco with this acquisition is mobility. Tandberg-October 1, 2009 Tandberg is a global leader in video communications. They have a broad range of world class video endpoint and network infrastructure solutions. So with this acquisition, Cisco will expand its collaboration to offer more solutions to a number of customers further accelerating market adoption globally. Tidal Software, Inc.-April 9, 2009 Tidal Software is the creator of intelligent application management and automation solutions. This acquisition will advance Ciscos data center strategy by enhancing product and service delivery offerings. Pure Digital Technologies Inc.-March 19, 2009 Pure Digital, are creators of the best-selling Flip Video brand. They are pioneers in developing consumer friendly video solutions and with this acquisition Cisco can expand in the media enabled home solutions segment and capture the consumer market transition to visual networking (Hooper 2009). Richards-Zeta Building Intelligence, Inc.-January 27, 2009 Richards-Zeta Building Intelligence Inc, they are leading provider of intelligent middleware technology that enables businesses to integrate building infrastructure and information technology (IT) applications over a common Internet Protocol (IP) network, resulting in improved efficiencies, greater energy savings and a reduced carbon footprint. Ciscos market opportunity with this acquisition is physical network security. The Next Market Segmentation for Cisco Cisco has been targeting towards getting a two digit sales growth from the telecommunication sector for the year 2009. Cisco is a market leader in the telecommunication sector and they are very optimistic to realize the target. For Cisco, telecommunication sector is one of the massive market segmentations for their products, especially in the IP technology. Cisco launches 2 to 3 solutions periodically for their technology which consists of updates or some added features as extensions of their current products (Yulyanto 2009). Cisco Key Success Factor After only a few years of its foundation, Cisco became a powerhouse in network technology. It was largely unfamiliar to the average consumer until the dot-com explosion, which resulted in a large customer base, such that it became worthwhile to reach potential decision-makers in a variety of ways. The arrival of the Internet as a ubiquitous part of our lives meant that increasing numbers of small businesses and average consumers rapidly became a part of Ciscos customer base. Both market segments contribute to the addition of extra computers, whether for new employees or for family members who want to surf the web simultaneously, which has driven the demand for simpler networking products that even a non-techie can set up. In fact, sales to small and medium businesses accounted for approximately 20 to 30 percent of Ciscos US$ 18.878 billion in revenue that ended in July 2003 (Cook 2004). While the late 1990s and early 2000s saw an explosion in large computer networks as companies upgr aded their infrastructures or simply set them up for the first time, the next several years likely saw a huge jump in small networks, thanks to the ability of Wi-Fi to share a single broadband connection with several computers without the need to drill holes or run Ethernet cables (Cook 2004). The Impact, Positive and Negative, of the Organizations Marketing Mix Marketing Mix Marketing mix is defined as the tactical tools that the marketers use to implement their strategies mixing the controllableelementsof aproducts marketing plan which arecommonly termed as 4Ps: product,price, place and promotion (Kotler 2008: 202). These elements are adjusted until a balanced proportionis found thatservestheneedsof the customerswhile generatingoptimumincome. Product Product can be defined as anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical objects, services, persons, places, organizations and ideas (Kotler et al. 2008: 539). Ciscooffers a wide range ofproductsand networking solutions designed for enterprises and small businesses across a variety of industries. They are also addressing their customer requirements in many other segments including commercial and small business. The network has become a platform for providing a transparent customer experience (Insight 2009). Managing the Product Mix Positioning and Repositioning A well planned and executed brand repositioning helps Cisco to increase their brand value along with sales. Cisco is very closely aligned with their corporate strategy, regular investments in their brand positioning or repositioning to always renew the brand significance and maintain its connection with their customers. By brand positioning Cisco has gained enormous benefits as shown below: Brand Measure The branding campaigns conducted by Cisco have lifted its brand equity and helped it to gain shares and grow sales. This has also helped them to strengthen their overall brand recognition and exceed the averages on core brand measures. After the campaign launch, Cisco has been positioned into the security space by lifting their IT security brand consideration by 54% among their tech audience in six months (Slideshare 2008). Ciscos success brand repositioning depends upon their close alignment with their overall corporate strategy which includes product positioning, channel/alliance strategy and acquisitions (Slideshare 2008). Market Share Cisco has strengthened its dominant share in the core market by 72% in switching and 80% in routers. It has also expanded their share in the new products by 6% in messaging applications, 41% in web conferencing and 21% in the video conferencing segments respectively (Slideshare 2008).The market share has been increased for the entire r ange of Cisco security products including their firewall applications, VPN and for secure routers. Jobber (2007: 405) explains Product Strategy as: The emphasis on product portfolio analysis is managing an existing set of products in such a way as to maximize their strengths. But companies also need to look to new products and markets for future growth. A useful way of looking at growth opportunities is the Ansoff Matrix. Cisco Ansoff Analysis Market Penetration Market penetration is the fundamental method of a growth strategy in which the business focuses on selling current products into existing markets. It maintains or increases the market share of current products, restructures mature markets by driving out competition and increases the usage by existing customers (Tutor2u 2009). Acquiring competitors may be one of the major ways of gaining market penetration. It may also be achieved by more aggressive ways of promotional campaigns, supporting it with a competitive pricing strategy and dedicate more resources to selling products. Cisco is known for its innovative products and introduction of those products into the market before its competitors that helps in generating mature markets. Its products like Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Network Analysis Module, Cisco 7600 Series routers, Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Firewall Services Module and many other products have already captured the market (Cisco 2009). It is increasing the market share and customer loyalty through social networking sites, blogs and public interviews. Its main strategy to penetrate the existing market is through acquisitions. It acquired Audium Corporation in June 2006 that gives it opportunity to penetrate into the IP enabled voice telephony market, Cognio, Inc in September 2007 through which it entered into wireless networking, Nuova Systems, Inc in April 2008 that gives it chance to enter into data centers and ScanSafe, Inc in October 2009 that helped Cisco to capture the network security market (Cisco Systems 2009). Market Development Market development can be essentially termed as a growth strategy where the business aims to sell its current products into new markets. Such a strategy can be achieved by venturing into new geographical markets, new product dimensions and new distribution channels. Alternatively, different pricing strategies can be adopted to attract customers and create new market segments (Tutor2u 2009). Cisco recognizes the common strings that exist between sales, engineering, security and marketing groups. Once the main links are identified by its RD Team, it tries to build a suitable interface between the groups which contributes to the companys market development. Develop, Partner or Acquire is the 3 Tier strategy followed by Cisco. It teams up with industrys major companies and then provides persuasive offers to the customers. WirelessLANs, content networking,storage networking, voice over IP and Metro IP includingoptical networking are the extended product dimensions for market development ( Cisco 2001). In addition to this, Cisco is attempting to establish its marketing presence in other potential geographical locations like China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan etc. Product Development Product development can be defined as a strategy where a business seeks to introduce new products into current markets. It requires the development of new competencies and new products which may appeal to the customers (Tutor2u 2009). Existing product lines may be extended to provide existing customers with greater choice. Cisco sets vision and then makes its strategies to achieve its targeted goals. Its strong RD capitalizes the current market situation and then provides customized business solutions according to customer needs and further plans for new products. Cisco has identified four key requirements to increase acceptance in the business world: security, availability, quality of service, and reliability (Payataqool 2009). Diversification Diversification is the advancement strategy where a business introduces new products in new markets (Tutor2u 2009). This strategy involves high risk since the business targets markets where it has no or very little experience. Cisco has started its diversification in the emerging countries that extend from Russia to the Eastern Europe and Middle East that will also include Africa and Latin America. Industries in developing countries still use limited technology despite of having concentrated wealth, less government transparency and the customers willingness to use the most advanced and high tech products and services. The company not only targets to supply advanced networking equipment but also focuses on the target countrys revolution. Cisco has successfully initiated transformation projects in Chile, Turkey and South Africa as part of its diversification strategy (Deign 2009). Managing product over time Product Life Cycle With the dynamic state of todays economy, an organizational change should not only adapt to the current climate, but it must also encourage growth (Wrage 2009). Cisco has followed this by moving from a traditional silicon based organization to a lifecycle business model. These changes are challenging for Cisco since they have more than 60,000 plus employees supported by their 46 data centers worldwide. This new life cycle consists of six separate stages: In the prepare phase it determines the business case and the project requirements. Plan phase develops the detailed project plan describing the resources and responsibilities. In the design phase it details the alignment of business goals and the technical needs. Implement phase delivers the new capabilities with the integrations. Operate phase monitors and reviews the implementations. Lastly, the Optimize phase has a continuous improvement activity of the existing processes (Wrage 2009). So with these steps in place, Cisco has start ed progressing into an organization that is best suited for the service-oriented network infrastructure organization making the cost savings and efficiency a reality (Wrage 2009). Promotion Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the products and persuade the target customers to buy it (Kotler 1999). Promotion is one of the factors which influence the buying behavior of the customer. It helps to inform people about the product and its usage. Cisco is using many means of introducing their products in global markets. They use advertising as the main tool to introduce new products and to connect with potential customers. They advertise their new products and services through public relationship, direct marketing, internet and online promotions. Cisco also uses the social media channels such as networking and blogs as a tool to promote and to extend their products to the larger audience. Cisco follows the following elements for their promotion strategy: Direct Marketing As stated by Peter Drucker (2009), Marketing is not a function; it is the whole business seen from the customers point of view. Direct marketing captures the customers by avoiding intermediaries. Cisco uses various methods to promote their product such as direct mail, telephone, telemarketing, e-marketing and other tools to directly communicate with the customers. Cisco conducts various direct marketing campaigns such as online shopping, cable television infomercials, which helps them in getting the direct response from their target audience and also to meet their demand generation goals. Advertising Advertisement can be defined as Any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor (Armstrong, Kotler 2009:383). Cisco can be grouped under the product oriented advertiser category, which highlights product features, their services and price through various advertising channels as internet, magazines, television and by e-marketing. AIDA Model AIDA is a model generally adopted by the sellers to stimulate the purchase decision of the customers. Attention The element attention, describes the stage where the brand manages to obtain customer attention, informing the customers about the product. This could be either a positive or a negative attention. The next step is to build a relationship with customers by means of advertising which is a prominent tool in the marketing mix. The product is then launched in order to encourage the customer decision of buying the product. Interest In this stage, it generates the confidence in the buyers about the products that company plans to promote. The seller then explains how this product will meet the customers requirements. Cisco as a brand has interested its customers and built the confidence in the buyer about their product interests the customers. Desire In this stage the seller inspires the customer towards the product and then relates the products to their needs. Here, advertising strategies are best suited. Since customers have the choice of choosing their configuration, it stimulat es the desire to purchase the product. Action This phase deals with persuading the consumers to buy the product and explain them the immediate benefits of the product. Advertising and direct ma Art Therapy: Benefits and Applications Art Therapy: Benefits and Applications Psychology and art therapy might have been in use to heal from thousands of years, for instance, in the 7th century Vaghabhatta in his Ashtanga Hridaya narrates as â€Å"Obeisance be, to that unique, unparalleled, rare physician who has destroyed, without any residue, the diseases like lust, anger, greed, arrogance, jealousy, hatred, fear and many such bad emotions† hinting on psychological treatments and awareness that were existing. Concurrently almost at the same period, The Chitrasutra of the Vishnudharmottara Purana, in his discourse on Indian painting details on various schools, techniques and ideals, significantly, he prescribes art is a form of emotional communication and a healing process. He says: Painting cleanses the mind and curbs anxiety, augments future good, causes the greatest delight, kills the evils of bad dreams and pleases the household deity (Kalmanowitz, Potash, Chan, 2012: 192). These ancient scholars, though have specified these therapies did not expl icate the details as the fields were out of the scope of their literature purview; however, they have left behind remarkable evidence on these therapies. Therefore, it is apparent that Indians worked with the awareness of art’s therapeutic benefits, which can be adverted to as an established concept of art therapy. Kramrisch proclaims that Chitrakara often admits that the knowledge of Vishnudharmothara is a mere transference of the knowledge he pursued from Indian lineage repeated and compiled from older sources [does not mention whether the older source was in the form of text/ verbatim/ training. Nevertheless, it shows the theory was pre-existing prior to the 7th century] (Kramrisch. S 1928: 4). A substantial research remains open for any further literature review and literature search for more details on these supposedly lost therapies. Clinical interventions hinder the healing process, especially in children on the contrary, adapting non-verbal method, e.g., ‘art’ is considerably accommodating. In need of psychologists providing fair and non-verbal communication to assess children The Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT; Bracken McCallum, 1998a) was developed to help multi-cultural and multi-lingual populations and children who have sensory limitations, learning disabilities, psychiatric conditions, and various language-impairing neurological disorders (Reynolds, R. C. Kamphaus, W. R. 2003: 254). Further regarding psychotherapy techniques it is also mentioned that â€Å"all these methods have a number of fundamental limitations† (p. 15). The atmosphere is utmost important for children. Art studio is more welcoming and enables children to believe that they can carry through something over there, while the clinical environment is fearful and fretful (Councill T., 2003, 208). Staricoff in her exhaustive research review[1] (Arts in Health: A review of the medical literature cites nearly 400 papers showing the beneficial impact of the arts on a wide range of health outcomes) summarizes her findings as commitments with local artists and museums can show a significant improvement in medical students. Foreword by Peter Hewitt acknowledges that Artists are well aware regarding the positive impact and benefits of their works in healthcare centers. Art of medicine can be enriched with responsiveness, consciousness, and thoughtfulness by combining art based activity in medical students[2]. Visualizing the art works can improve observation and understanding skills of students during medical training[3]. Art making, aesthetic improvements and installations can be worthwhile during treatment as they reduce the anxiety, provides a positive response to the treatment and speeds up the recovery, thereby reducing a prolonged treatment and increased expenses[4]. All these research reports show that art directly benefits the patient, staff, medical students and families. Art is vital for effective medical training and treatment. Neuroscience has shown amazing advancements using art that does not rely on theoretical explanations or interpretation, e.g., fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) observes direct variations in the brain’s network during visualization[5]. Observing or producing visual art reduces the distress by opting positive distraction from negative feelings and thoughts thereby promoting health benefits[6]. Many scientists explore the use of art; such scientists illustrate and publish more advanced, highly cited research than the average scientists who are not involved in visual arts[7]. Hence, art making not only plays its role in healing but also places itself in the intellectual science camp. This article is intended not to go against art psychotherapy or psychotherapy, but unfortunately, though we have copious evidence on the direct benefits of art, art therapy display predilection towards psychotherapeutic benefits. The concern is in the present situation of art therapy, where art is observed as parasitic on psychotherapy since it believes nothing can be achieved without verbal communication. On taking the risk of compromising with psychotherapy, this article questions whether we have lost the concept of â€Å"Art as therapy†? Have we sacrificed the essential values, viewpoints and integrity of art in the process of reconciling art and psychology? Is it a sacrifice made merely to get recognized as a scientific field? The benefits of art have been discussed throughout the art history, philosophy, psychology, and anthropology literatures. In Dissanayake’s point of view the relationship between evolution and art is assessed sometimes as crucial to survive by making special. Culturally primitives use to pass on the morals and information. Psychologically, they use to relieve from the anxieties of uncertain life (Dissanayake 1992a as cited in Kaplan 2000: 59). Kaplan argues that by enabling language development, creativity, problem solving skills, self-esteem, and mental reparation visual art can support our well-being (Kaplan, Frances, 2000, 62). Art therapy Art therapy has emerged as a prevalent therapeutic module and has a long history of several decades. Art is a powerful tool in communication that can be used to understand emotions, stress and in-built complexities of people. The ability to reduce anxiety, resolve life’s struggle and enhance life without any age bar has elevated art into the realm of therapeutic forms, be it spiritual healing, medications, play therapy, neuroscience, etc. (Malchiodi, 2003, ix), getting involved with the practice of art making improves observation, hand and eye coordination, perception and brings in relaxation and reparation, overall well-being is observed due to the art’s nature of self-soothing (Malchiodi, 2003, 353). In art as therapy it becomes difficult to provide dynamic therapeutic benefits as the client needs to have a rudimentary skill of making art (Nucho 2003: 14), similarly, clients without rudimentary skills of art making may face difficulty in producing their mental discrepancies in art psychotherapy (Nucho 2003: 14), and nothing happens without discourse (needs reference). A further related problem of the art psychotherapy approach is that art work and observations are linked to comfortable explanations made by clients, these descriptions, nevertheless man stem from ignorance, insecurity, uncertainty, cover ups and disparity that a client might possess or poses. Miller without seeing any progress in mentally ill adults from insight-oriented art psychotherapy engaged them in loosely structured art activity which was more satisfying and rehabilitative (Kaplan 2000: 99). This means that in art psychotherapy the evidence supporting empirical research processes, adds little to what can be described, is difficult to disprove and often involves a circular explanation of the relation between art and psychotherapy. Such explanations are of little value, because they fail to enlarge upon what is already known and established in psychotherapy and keeps one in confusion regarding what art can provide more than the benefits of retrieving images for clinical psychol ogy purpose. Not necessarily by means of art psychotherapy, but treatment would any way happen through psychotherapy counselling, as art psychotherapy strongly believes in discourse and its attributes, which leads one to question the subsistence of art psychotherapy concept. Science fails to analyze why a person has depicted a certain image when the circumstance of action and depictions controls the mood and brings out false positive response from the client. Human beings are tuned to oppose the personality analysis whenever they feel discomfort, they refuse to open up or select to feed negatively. Rather than depicting the primary mood disorder, they prefer to depict unaccomplished desires, hoping for mercy and/or fulfillment. This leads to wrong assertion. Crazy artists and suiciding psychologists It appears to be too simple to say that art as therapy is therapy by itself, a self-healing process, or an auto reparative tool. Often the concept strikes to get to its point. For e.g., Regarding addiction and art, the disgraceful act of being addicted can be resolved by involving in art activities (Santora P. B., Dowell, M. L., Henningfield E (Ed), 2010, 6) these, points get blurred as we question what about those crazy drug addict artists who could not cure themselves in the procedure of creating artwork? Does art have self-healing capacities? Can a common man win through art where world renowned artists failed? These questions may make us turn back to psychology, but Tori DeAngelis[8] says â€Å"several studies support the idea that psychologists may have an elevated risk for suicidal ideation and behavior compared to general population†. An astonishing percentage as high as 40 to 60 percent of psychologists faced disruption due to work load, anxiety and depression was reported by A 2009 APA survey, such instances affect clients and psychologists are insufficiently prepared to deal with distressed colleagues comes as a blow in the discipline of psychology. J. S. MAUSNER and R. C. STEPPACHER[9], conducted a study, where weirdly a doubtful, anxious and unsuccessful career were major reasons of psychologists committing suicide. Later, the initial impact of being unsuccessful many people starts planning to die and psychologists are not left behind. Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach (1884–1922), whose ink blot test is prominently popular could not wait to see his work propel, with all the drawback of financial blockage, he reduced his inkblot prints to 10 numbers, the failure of his publication made him to die committing suicide. (Schultz, P, D, Schultz, E, S, 2005: 19). Likewise, we have witnessed Suicides of noted psychologists Michael J. Mahoney, PhD, in 2006, and Lawrence Kohlberg, PhD, in 1987. Reference As an example of addiction Freud encouraged cocaine and he himself was a cocaine user, his biographer Ernst Jones says Freud use to smoke up to twenty cigars a day in the process he developed cancer and begged his physicians to down him[10]. Further, what about the psychologists who suicide one after the other†¦. Why couldn’t they heal themselves as similar to artists who were not cured by their art at all? Did those artists with the process of art, live long being addicted rather than committing suicide? Art definitely has something to present at least the urge to live. Dr Staricoff quotes Swedish research showing that â€Å"engagement with the arts is associated with longer life expectancy† (Staricoff, 2004, 2). What art can afford us and what we can obtain will remain unrevealed till we get pitched to this marvelous concept of art. Reward processing makes a specific contribution to the neural processing of visual art, that artistic status alone is enough to instantiate reward processing, and that the brain thus responds to art for art’s sake[11]. The art instinct therefore has been eternally planted in the heart of man. Art provokes happiness when one lives merrily, and when one is in pain, yet it provokes the happiness by removing the deep rooted grief of the soul, hence it is impossible to destroy the art and appreciation that is imbibed in a man (Davar F. C., 1935, 2). Without readiness, and self-preparedness any therapy would fail in producing beneficial results. What seems most important to remember is that the art made in therapy is not only a source of information for the therapist; it is also a mirror for the youngster, as Edith Kramer once wrote, â€Å"Paintings are valuable not so much because they can tell the adult something about the child, but also because the very act of creating helps the child to learn something new about himself. This process of self-discovery and self-acceptance through art is the core of art therapy† (Rubin, 2005, 120). Unclear and blur mental images become clear and meaningful during art therapy course (Rubin, 2005, 153) and this brain game is not possible, without client’s willingness and enthusiasm which is raised by the foreseen pleasure of creating art itself. All these creative people and psychologists were all aware of their situations, an artist who is addicted need to divert his art activity into other courses of artwork; a psychologist with problems need to confer with other therapists. It was like a story of a fish which decided to lie in the same pond without caring for its spirit, though picked back, time and again, it got back to the same pond where there was no enough oxygen, it was the problem of that fish which cannot be generalized with all those fishes in the sea. [1] Arts in health: a review of the medical literature- www.artscouncil.org.uk [2] Jo Marie Reilly; Jeffrey Ring; Linda Duke. Visual Thinking Strategies: A New Role for Art in Medical Education, Fam Med 2005; 37(4): 250-2. [3] Jasani SK, Saks NS. Utilizing visual art to enhance the clinical observation skills of medical students. Med Teach. 2013 Jul;35(7):e1327-31. [4] Studies show that incorporating the arts can save money, improve the patient experience and do a lot more. http://www.ucira.ucsb.edu/why-we-need-the-arts-in-medicine/ [5] Edward A. Vesse, G. Gabrielle Starr, and Nava Rubin, Art reaches within: aesthetic experience, the self and the default mode network, Front Neurosci. 2013; 7: 258. [6] Lankston., Cusack., Fremantle., Isles, Visual art in hospitals: case studies and review of the evidence, J R Soc Med. Dec 1, 2010; 103(12): 490-499 [7] Daniel Gurnon, Julian Voss-Andreae, and Jacob Stanley, Integrating Art and Science in Undergraduate Education, PLoS Biol. Feb 2013; 11(2): e1001491. [8] DeAngelis, Tori 2011: 19 [9] J. S. Mausner and R. C. Steppacher, Suicide in professionals: A study of male and female psychologists, http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/98/6/436 [10] http://psychology.about.com/od/sigmundfreud/tp/facts-about-freud.htm [11] Simon Lacey., Henrik Hagtvedt., Vanessa M. Patrick., Amy Anderson., Randall Stilla., Gopikrishna Deshpande., Xiaoping Hu., Joà £o R. Sato., Srinivas Reddy., and K. Sathian. Art for reward’s sake: Visual art recruits the ventral striatum. Neuroimage. Mar 1, 2011; 55(1): 420–433.