Chapter 6 – Planning Capacity

chapter 6: Planning capacity Capacity the maximum rate of output of a process or a system. Acquisition of new capacity requires extensive planning, and often involves significant expenditure of resources and time. Capacity decisions must be made in light of several long-term issues such as the firm’s economies and diseconomies of scale, capacity cushions, timing and sizing strategies, and trade-offs between customer service and capacity utilization. Planning capacity across the organizationAccounting provide cost information needed to evaluate capacity expansion Finance financial analysis of proposed capacity expansion investments and raises funds Marketing demand forecasts needed to identify capacity gaps. Operations selection of capacity strategies that can be implemented to effectively meet future demand. Human Resources hiring and training employees needed to support internal capacity plans. planning long-term capacity When choosing a capacity strategy: How much of a cushi on is needed to handle variable or uncertain demand? Should we expand capacity ahead of demand, or wait until demand is more certain? easures of capacity and utilization Output Measures Are best utilized when applied to individual processes within the firm, or when the firm provides a relatively small number of standardized services and products. For example, a car manufacturing plant may measure capacity in terms of the number of cars produced per day. Inputs Measures Are used for low-volume, flexible processes (custom products). For example a custom furniture maker might measure capacity in terms of inputs such as number of workstations or number of workers. The problem of input measures is that demand is expressed as an output rate.If the furniture maker wants to keep up with demand, he must convert the business’s annual demand for furniture into labor hours and number of employees required to fulfill those hours. Utilization Degree to which a resource (equipment, space, w orker) is currently being used. Utilization= Average Output RateMaximum Capacityx 100% The numerator and the denominator should be measured in the same units. A process can be operated above the 100%, with overtime, extra shifts, overstaffing, subcontracting, etc, but this is not sustainable for long. Economies of scaleEconomies of scale The average unit cost of a service or good can be reduced by increasing its output rate. Why? * Spreading fixed costs same fixed costs divided by more units * Reducing construction costs doubling the size of the facility usually doesn’t double construction costs (building permits, architect’s fees, rental) * Cutting costs of purchased materials better bargaining position and quantity discounts * Finding process advantages speed up the learning effect, lowering inventory, improving process and job designs, and reducing the number of changeovers. diseconomies of scaleDiseconomies of scale The average cost per unit increases as the facili ty’s size increases. The reason is that excessive size can bring complexity, loss of focus, and inefficiencies. capacity timing and sizing strategies sizing capacity cushions Capacity cushion=100%-Average Utilization rate (%) When the average utilization rate approaches 100% for long periods, it’s a signal to increase capacity or decrease order acceptance to avoid declining productivity. The optimal capacity cushion depends on the industry. Particularly, in front-office processes where customers expect fast service times, large cushions are vital (more variable demand).For capital-intensive firms, minimizing the capacity cushion is vital (unused capacity costs money). timing and sizing expansion Two strategies: * Expansionist strategy large, infrequent jumps in capacity. Is ahead of demand, and minimizes the chance of sales lost to insufficient capacity * Wait-and-see strategy smaller, more frequent jumps. It lags behind demand. To meet any shortfalls, it relies on sho rt-term operations (overtime, temporary workers, subcontractors, postponement of preventive maintenance on equipment).It reduces the risk of overexpansion based on overly optimistic demand forecasts, obsolete technology, or inaccurate assumptions regarding the competition. This strategy fits the short-term outlook but can erode market share over the long run. Timing and sizing of expansion are related: if demand is increasing and the time between increments increases, the size of the increments must also increase. An intermediate strategy can be â€Å"follow the leader†, so nobody gains a competitive advantage for being ahead of demand, and everyone shares the agony of overcapacity in the other case. inking capacity and other decisions Capacity cushions in the long run buffer the organization against uncertainty, as do resource flexibility, inventory, and longer customer lead times. If a change is made in any one decision area, the capacity cushion may also need to be changed to compensate. For example: Lower volume of production (more capacity cushion) to raise prices or vice versa. a systematic approach to long-term capacity decisions 4 steps: 1. Estimate future capacity requirements 2. Identify gaps by comparing requirements with available capacity 3. Develop alternative plans for reducing the gaps . Evaluate each alternative, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and make a final choice step 1: estimate capacity requirements A process’s capacity requirement is what its capacity should be for some future time period to meet the demand of the firm’s customers (external or internal), given the firm’s desired capacity cushion. Larger requirements are practical for processes or workstations that could potentially be bottlenecks in the future, and management may even plan for longer cushions than normal. Capacity requirements can be expressed in: * Output measure * Input measureEither way, the foundation for the estimate is forecasts of demand, productivity, competition, and technological change. The further ahead you look, the more chance you have of making an inaccurate forecast. Using output measures Demand forecasts for future years are used as a basis for extrapolating capacity requirements into the future. If demand is expected to double in the next 5 years, then the capacity requirements also double. For example: Actual demand 50 customers per day; expected demand = 100 customers per day; desirable cushion = 20%. So capacity should be (100)/(1-0. )=125 customers per day. Using input measures Output measures may be insufficient in these situations: * Product variety and process divergence is high (customized products) * The product or service mix is changing * Productivity rates are expected to change * Significant learning effects are expected In these cases, an input measure should be used (number of employees, machines, trucks, etc) One product processed When just one service or product is processed at an operation and the time period is a particular year, the capacity requirement (M) is: M=DpN[1-C100]D=demand forecast for the year (number of customers served or units produced) p=processing time (in hours per costumer served or unit produced) N=Total number of hours per year during which the process operates C=desired capacity cushion (expressed as a percent) M=number of input units required and should be calculated for each year in the time horizon Many products processed Setup time time required to change a process or an operation from making one service or product to making another. To calculate the total setup time D/Q*s Where D=demand forecast for the yearQ= number of units processed between setups s= time per setup For example, if the demand is 1200 units, and the average lot size is 100, there are 1200/100=12 setups per year. Accounting for both processing and setup times for multiple products, we get: M=[Dp+DQs]product 1+[Dp+DQs]product 2+†¦+[Dp+DQs]product nN[1-C100 ] When â€Å"M† is not an integer and we are talking about number of machines, you can round up the fractional part, unless it is cost efficient to use short-term options, such as overtime or stockouts.But if we are talking about number of employees and we get 23. 6, we can use 23 employees and use a little overtime (in this case, 60% of a full-time person). step 2: identify gaps A capacity gap is any difference (positive or negative) between projected capacity requirements (M) and current capacity. step 3: develop alternatives Develop alternative plans to cope with projected gaps. One alternative is the base case do nothing and simply lose orders from any demand that exceeds current capacity or incur costs because capacity is too large.Other alternatives: various timing and sizing options (expansionist or wait-and-see strategies); expanding at a different location; and using short term options. For reducing capacity, the alternatives include closing plants, laying off employ ees, reducing days or hours of operations. step 4: evaluate the alternatives Evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively. Qualitative concerns The manager looks at how each alternative fits the overall capacity strategy and other aspects of the business not covered by the financial analysis (uncertainties about demand, competitive reaction, technological change, and cost estimates).Some of these factors can’t be quantified and must be assessed on the basis of judgment and experience. Quantitative concerns The manager estimates the change in cash flows for each alternative over the forecast time horizon compared to the base case. tools for capacity planning waiting-line models Are useful in high customer-contact processes. Waiting-line models use probability distributions to provide estimates of average customer wait time, average length of waiting lines, and utilization of the work center.Managers can use this information to choose the most cost-effective capacity, balancing cu stomer service and the cost of adding capacity. This topic will be treated more deeply in the appendix (siguiente resumen) simulation Simulations can identify the process’s bottlenecks and appropriate capacity cushions, even for complex processes with random demand patterns and predictable flows in demand during a typical day. decision trees A decision tree can be particularly valuable for evaluating different capacity extension alternatives when demand is uncertain and sequential decisions are involved.

Hawaii Watersports Essay

With the white sandy beaches and crystal clear water Hawaii is the ideal place for ocean water sports. There are a wide range of water sports, from highly aggressive to leisurely sports that all types of people can enjoy. There are even sports which are specific only to the exotic islands encompassing this magnificent state. Taking a look at each individual sport will excite and possible mystify the sports enthusiast. Today we will take a look at sea kayaking, kite boarding, surfing, windsurfing, sailing, and scuba diving. Sea kayaking is an exhilarating and physically challenging sport. One must be sure to have the proper equipment and technique before heading out into the salty blue. It is said that kayakers ‘wear their kayaks’ and selecting a proper sea kayak, one that fits comfortably to your body type, can be a difficult task. First make sure that you fit comfortable in the pit. It should be snug, but not tight. If it is loose it may be difficult to maneuver. Kayaking is relaxing and comfortable sport especially around the islands. There are many ecological kayaking tours offered throughout Hawaii that will take you places and show you some of the amazing creatures and sites of the islands. Kite boarding is a new age surface water sport that is trendy among young people. Kite boarding is very similar to wakeboarding with the exception that the board is controlling their own movements with a kite, fully equipped with handle, instead of being pulled by a boat. Kite boarding is an extreme sport combining balance and coordination with the unique technique of keeping a kite in the air. Kite boarders have an unrivaled experience as they let the wind control their moves and can sometimes reach heights of 30 feet, and if they skilled and adventurous they may be able to do flips and other stunts before smoothly returning to the ocean. It is recommended that the new kite boarder takes a few lessons to learn proper techniques before venturing out on a kite boarding adventure. Surfing is a timeless and classic sport. Surfing like kite boarding is a surface water sport where the participant rides waves while balancing on a surf board. Surfing can actually be broken into many categories including body boarding, windsurfing, and body surfing. Body boarding is best described by using your body to ride a foam board over waves. Windsurfing uses both aspects of surfing and sailing. A windsurf board is a surf board with a sail attached. The windsurfer steers themselves with the sail and rides the wave as a surfer would. Body surfing is actually what the name implies, using one’s body to ride the waves. Body surfers are usually equipped with nothing by swim fins to take on the task of riding the breaking waves. Sailing is a leisurely recreation sport in which a person, or group of people, steer a ship or sail boat using sails. Sail boats move forward because of the inertia caused when the wind is caught in the sail. Sailing is a technical sport and the proper skills must be learned before heading out to sea. Scuba diving is another popular sport among the islands. Scuba requires a certification because of the danger involved. There are many short certification courses for tourists to partake in. These courses cover the essentials and make time for some short open water dives were the scuba can explore the exotic world on ocean water. Hawaii is an exotic place with many things to offer the adventurer or sports enthusiast. It is important to learn the techniques of the sports one wishes to indulge themselves in to ensure a safe and happy stay on the islands.

A perfect world

Can you imagine a perfect world, a world where you had everything you wanted, no matter where you were or when it was? What would your world be like? Would your world be the same as it is now or would you change it in any way possible and create a completely different place? Well if I had to choose I would make my flawless world like it was in the essay Walden by Henry David Thoreau or even like it was in the speech â€Å"I Have a dream† by Martin Luther King Jr. In the essay Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Thoreau completely isolates himself from society and goes his own way. In my perfect world society wouldn’t be judgmental and rude and completely careless of how others felt or reacted to certain things. People will be able to walk down a street or even a hallway without getting bad looks or gestures or having to hear whispers about themselves behind their backs. People would be able to do what they want without getting judged or given bad motions or signals or even nods. People should be able to see others the way others see themselves. Nobody wants to be judged or talked about so why should they have to. In the speech â€Å"I Have a Dream â€Å"by Martin Luther King Jr. he stands up for not only himself but also all the African Americas of the world. He wanted to make sure everyone was treated equally. So in my impeccable world there would not only be no racial tension or segregation but also no discrimination of any sort and there would be peace between all no matter what race or background the person had or has. All people were created the same way why can’t they be treated the same way. Why does a person’s race, religion, background or even culture have to determine the way a person is treated? Or the rights they have been given. Why does it have to change when the person didn’t? So in my world everyone would be treated equally and no one would be judged because of their race, religion, background , or culture. Both these writings consist of the moral of standing up for yourself. Although they both also contain two different morals that are both needed in all areas of the world. Both morals that I would in want to have in a perfect world. These two morals are acceptance from society and equality between all people around the world. In conclusion, a perfect world for me would not only contain parts from the essay, Walden or the speech â€Å"I Have a Dream†. It would be a combination of both creations. Both acceptance and equality. A completely perfect world in my eyes.

Appraches in Business Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Appraches in Business Psychology - Essay Example It is influenced by experience. To observe that a brain structure or a brain process is correlated with gender does not necessarily imply that brain differences cause gender differences. Gender differences in brain structure may result from gender differences in learning, experience, and socialization. All the elements of an organisation – the members, functions, rules, governing authority, revenue and ideas – must be regrouped around series of basic political issues. Thus, it becomes necessary to identify the issues so that politics in an organisation may be examined in dynamic terms. What issues are these? There are several issues, but the concern of this paper is the issue on the gender. Members are associated within the organisation; they must stand in some kind of relation to each other. In fact, the members are the most important element of the organisation. If the organisation is a pyramid then they were the base; therefore, they are the very foundation of the group. Authorities might be at the top directing and leading the organisation but they should have a thorough understanding of this element to able to run the organisation smoothly. Are all members placed on equal footing? Or are some superior to the rest? The truth is, no matter how bad it seems to be, members would always be categorized according to class in a society where they belong. This fact would tell us that business leaders, in order to interpret their mission and vision, must always conduct class analysis. Rowe (1994) asserted that â€Å"the measures we label as environmental (including such central ones as social class) may hide genetic variation† (p. 5). And how do genes create the environment? To Rowe, The answer is that the genes may construct a nervous system--and that hormones and neurotransmitters may then motivate behaviors resulting in the dramatic redesign of an environment.

Rhetorical Analysis of Academic Communities of Writing and Discourse Essay

Rhetorical Analysis of Academic Communities of Writing and Discourse in the Technical Fields - Essay Example Notably, each journal has its own purpose and has defined academic traits and levels of academic integrity that authors and contributors should have. This paper will present a rhetorical analysis of five journals using an article from each of the journals as an example, and highlighting the differences and similarities in the purpose, content, use of tone and language. This journal contains both English and French articles and invites peers to review articles in different publications. The purpose of the journal is publishing articles related to fundamental studies of the transfer processes on thermal aspects as well as related applications. It has a defined scope of the articles it publishes which must be related to thermal processes in physics. The reason why this journal publishes in both English and French in an effort to increase the readers considering these languages are the most widely used international languages. One of the articles selected from this journal titled â€Å"thermal conductivity measurement of amorphous si/ sige multilayer films by three omega method,† it becomes evident that the journal places emphasis on the use of an academic tone while presenting the research finding (Shen et al 20). The structure of presentation of the research findings should be very elaborate as revealed in this article. Moreover, the authors contributing articles to this journal must back up their finding with graphical representations, diagrams, and illustrations as required by the physics field. Since the journal targets readers who are either students specializing in the field or other professional with advanced knowledge in the field, the tone and language level reflect an advanced academic level (Shen et al 22). This journal targets to cover articles that discuss any of the scientific and technological processes related to fatigue. In this case, the

The media and today Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The media and today - Essay Example Meeuwis in 1993 illustrated the effectiveness of media by highlighting the role of television and press in the creation of nationalism in Serbia.1 Stuart Ewen argues that advertising has a more significant power in human collective consciousness as compared to the credit, which is given to it. Moreover, the two theories Social Learning theory and Cultivation theory also describe the importance of modern media in shaping the perceptions of people.2 In 1990, Abernethy found 32 percent rate of television commercial avoidance and in 1994, King found 35 percent audience claiming to watch ads.3 â€Å"Advertising effectiveness does vary over time, and when the market is in an unfavourable or unsaturated condition, advertising generally becomes more important and effective (Chung and Kaiser 1998).†4 A research conducted by Campbell, Margaret C. and Kevin Lane Keller on Television ads and internet ads showed that on both media the â€Å"wear out point happens sooner when the ad being repeated is for an unfamiliar brand as opposed to a familiar brand.†5 Marketing Evaluation research show that nowadays, power of media mix or ‘Surround Sound Marketing’ is greater as compared to what one medium can produce, thereby, highlighting a reduced effectiveness of media.6 Moreover, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) revealed that about 62 percent of marketers uphold that in the last two years, the television a dvertising has become less effective.7 In short, a radical changed has been seen in the advertising industry in the last few years. A logical perspective is that the consumers’ past responses to the media advertising is not the same because of the changing tastes, demographics, competition, economic and social factors, advertising theme etc. Furthermore, the marketing world has changed and even a target market consumer of a product/service is not considered to be ‘effectively exposed’, unless he watches the ad at least three to four times.

Play (The Zoo Story) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Play (The Zoo Story) - Essay Example It didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I had trouble understanding the way that Jerry talked. It seemed like he was crazy and abstract. I wanted him to get to the point. I sympathized a lot more with Peter. He seemed to be a character that was a lot more like me. I often find it annoying when strangers strike up conversations with me about nothing. In the course of these kinds of conversations, I often try to figure out what the other person wants. In this play, I kept wondering what Jerry wanted. Nothing he was saying had any kind of point. That for me was disorientating at first. After finishing the play, I began to understand that Jerry is really seeking fellow feeling and understanding. He is trying to create a narrative of his life that will help him find meaning. He is obviously not very good at this, and the surprise ending at the end of the play, where Jerry is impaled on the knife is the best example of this. In a way, Jerry is so out of tune with the world that he can’t live in it anymore. He seeks friendship and understanding—and so he has to die in this way. He can’t simply kill himself alone—he needs to have that human connection. I think that is why, in part, he makes sure that Peter picks up the knife. The idea of the zoo is important. It is clear that the author of the play thinks that people are too often trapped in their own cages by social norms and unable to escape and actually talk to one another in a normal way. I found this to be an interesting and thought-provoking play. It surprised and challenged me. I would like to read more works by Edward Albee and read other playwrights from this era in American history. Overall, I enjoyed this course. I found it invigorating and stimulating. In general, the professor was extremely approachable and it was clear that he had a real appreciation and interest in the subject matter. I now see things in a different light and I intend to go to the theatre for pleasure.

Does Each Country Have A Unique Style Of Leadership Essay

Does Each Country Have A Unique Style Of Leadership - Essay Example The unique style of leadership is useful in transforming the potential into reality. It is the ultimate action which brings into success all the current potentials that an organization and the allied people have into reality. Leadership is about changing the mindset of the people to accomplish the desired goals and to move the organization or the country forward. Nevertheless, it is important to explore the fact that there is no one best way of leadership. The need of every area is different and the style of leadership depends on various factors. An organization might be effective by following a democratic style of leadership and the other by the transformational approach. This is because the demographics of every country and organization are different with dissimilar objectives. Hence, the similar form of leadership might not be effective and lead to the failure of the organization. Furthermore, leadership is based on strong effective pillars which include commitment, character alon g with increasing the level of consciousness. Leadership is unique and effective only when it brings about desired results for the enrichment of the people. Leadership is about building interpersonal skills, competencies, along with influencing and building teams for the accomplishment of the desired level of standards. The uniqueness of leadership is of significance for the effective performance of an organization. The evaluation of the unique traits of the leaders can enable to reach a justified conclusion regarding whether each of these countries demonstrates a unique style of leadership.

Small Business Management Master Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Small Business Management Master - Case Study Example A brief reference to the theories stated in the literature regarding the above sectors has been considered as necessary in order to understand the operational structure of the firm and to estimate its prospects for the future. Scruffy Dog Media is based in Cumbria. The firm, in accordance with its official website is characterized as 'a family-owned video production company formed in 2007 to produce high quality video material for companies and organisations in and around the Cumbria area' (firm's website). As noticed above two particular sectors of the firm will be examined: the leadership and the HR management. In accordance with the firm's website the firm operates under the guidance of John Gilluley and Lorna Hardy. Both of them have worked in the area for many years before deciding to form their own firm. It seems that the leadership in the firm has been 'distributed' between these two persons who have equal obligations and rights regarding the firm's administration and profits. No other staff is clearly mentioned in the firm's website and it can be assumed that these two persons do the work themselves or they possible hire staff whenever the needs of a particular project require additional staff. Un der these terms, the analysis of the firm's leadership and its HR policies would be based on the role of these two persons in the firm's administration and the appropriateness of their decisions regarding the distribution of tasks in the firm. 3. Leadership and HRM - critical analysis 3.1 Leadership The importance of leadership for the development of any firm around the world cannot be denied. In accordance with Day et al. (1988, 453) 'when several methodological concerns are addressed, it is evident that executive leadership can explain as much as 45% of an organization's performance'. In other words, leadership is considered to have an important role in the firm's performance but it should be rather interpreted as part of the corporate activity, in combination with other characteristics of a firm's operational activities (HR management, operations management, financial management and so on). On the other hand, Hart et al. (1993) highlights the significance of the role of the CEO for the success of any corporate initiatives. More specifically, the above researcher supports that 'CEOs with high "behavioral complexity" - the ability to play multiple, competing roles - produce the best firm performance, particularly with respect to business performance (growth and innovation) and organizational (stakeholder) effectiveness; executive leadership role had little to do with firms' financial performance' (Hart et al., 1993, 543). In the case of small firms, where there is no CEO the above assumptions can be used only in order to evaluate the role of the firms' director(s), i.e. of the persons that have the responsibility for the design and the completion of any firm's activity. In this context, although there is no CEO having the supervision of all plans and initiatives, the responsibility of the directors is not limited but it is equally distributed among them. In the particular firm there is no reference to the firm's staff - apart from its directors. For this reason, only assumptions can be made regarding the HR policies applied by the firm. At a first level, it could be assumed that in any case that a project is too complex, the firm's

North America Essay Example for Free

North America Essay North America is a very unique region because of the cultural, population, and environmental differences from other regions. North America’s climates and vegetation are diverse, mainly because of the regions size. The drier climates are found from west Texas to Alberta. The soils of this region are fertile. Prairie vegetation dominated by tall grasslands in the East. Western North American climates and vegetation are complicated by the regions mountain ranges. North America climates include everything from tropical Savanna, to Tundra environments. Most of the region’s best farmland and densest settlements lay in the mild or continental multitude climate zones. Metropolitan areas struggle with outdated clean water supply system. From all the consumption of water many places are threatened by water shortage. Scientist believes that all the wells will be dry bye two thousand and twenty from all the pumping. Prices are becoming higher because of the demand of water. Also, North America is being exposed to not enough clean water. Because of the water pollution that is being exposed everyday it causes citizens to get sick. North America’s greatest environmental disaster was in two thousand and ten when the deep Horizon rig had an explosion of leaking oil in the Gulf of Mexico. This spill damaged the sea and bird life therefore, new restrictions on deepwater oil was imposed shortly after so the disaster does not happen again. Also air pollution and Global Warming. The cities closer to the south such as Houston, Los Angeles, Canada, Toronto and Hamilton experience the worse air pollution. The main problems are automobiles because they release Carbon Monoxide, Sulfur, Nitrogen Oxide, and Hydrocarbons. All of these gasses are poisons to the human body because we humans only breathe Oxygen. Also since there are such poisons being released into the air, scientist has proved that the cancer rates are higher because of this pollution. The cancer rates were five hundred times higher than rural clean air localities. Air pollution causes a severe case of Global Warming. Changes in arctic temperature sea ice and sea level have increased because of Global Warming. The Climate change has become so bad that the climate refugees were forced to move in a variety of vulnerable environmental settings. Global warming has come from multiple directions, threatening their economic viability and cultural survival. The Population of North America varies from Canada to the United States. The Population for Canada is thirty four point one million and the United States population is three hundred and nine point six million. North America’s population also varies from the different cities, but overall the population today is three hundred and forty million people. Migration plays a big role in the role in the region’s population. About twelve percent of the U.S population moved to a different residence. The main reason why migration rates have fallen is because there have been fewer job opportunities, inability to sale real estate and increase in periods of more rapid economic growth. in the North Americans mostly preferred to live in the westward part of North America because there was more value to life on the west side. The fastest growing states are in the westward part also such as Arizona, Nevada, Alberta and British Columbia. African Americans were mostly stuck in the south after the Civil war, but after noticing the labor in agricultural. It started to decline, they saw a better growing opportunity in the North and west side. Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and Oakland became the key destination for Southern Blacks. Today Seventy five percent of North American population is Urban. North America is expressed geographically in two different ways. First, similar people congregate near one another and derive meaning from the territories they occupy in common. Second, their culture, the everyday landscape, and language. Overall about twenty three percent of Canadians are French but more than eighty percent of the population of Quebec speaks French. Canadians strengthened the French language by requiring French instructions in the schools. Another different kind of culture language is the Hispanics who spoke Spanish. About forty five million Hispanics now live in the United States with more than half in California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona combined. Latin foods and music add internal cultural variety to the region. New York City, Chicago and Miami serve as key points of Hispanic cultural influence. African Americans also have cultural homelands. Any of the south areas are considered home to the black African Americans. Such as Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. The kinds of music black folks engage in are mostly spiritual such as Gospel, and the Blues. Another homeland in the South is Acadian, a Cajun culture in southwestern Louisiana. This homeland was created when French settlers were expelled from eastern Canada and relocated to Louisiana. Millions of North Americans are affiliated with traditional religions. Orthodox Christians congregate in the Urban Northeast where many Greek, Russian and Serbian Orthodox communities were established. The telltale domes of Ukrainian Orthodox churches still dot the Canadian praires of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Also More than seven million Jews live in North America to this very day. The nation of Islam also has a strong Urban orientation, reflecting its appeal to many economically dispossessed African Americans. Many other Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus also live int the United States. The United States also have a lot of Islam’s, Buddhist and Hindus While only about eight percent of people in the Unites States classify themselves as nonbelievers, a recent survey showed that thirty percent of the population claimed to have a largely secular lifestyle in which religion was rarely practiced. In a parallel fashion U.S culture has forever changed the lives of billions of people beyond the region. Although the economic and military power ot the United States was notable by the nineteen hundreds, It was not until after world war two that the countrys popular culture reshaped global human geographies in fundamental ways. The Marshal Plan and the Peace corps initiatives exemplified the growing presence of the United States on the worlds stage even as Europe, Colonialism wande. Rapid improvement and Global transportation and information technologies, much of them engineered in the United States, also brought the world more surely under the regions spell. Perhaps most critical was the marriage between growing Global demand for consumers, goods and the rise of the multinational corporation, which was Superbly structured to meet a cultivate those needs. These are the differences of North America from any other region.

The consumer decision process

The consumer decision process Section 1: The Consumer Decision Making Proccess The foundation of this research project is to analyse why consumers make purchase decisions through the theoretical paradigm of the Consumer Decision Process (CDP) (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006) it is therefore essential to understand how the CDP works and its uses and limitations. The CDP is a model used to understand how consumers make decisions and the processes they go through before purchasing products. Diagram 3 shows the core process of the CDP which starts with need recognition, this is where a consumer feels a need which has not yet been met, or a problem which has not been solved. Consumers then search for information on satisfying their needs and problems, once they have collected enough information consumers evaluate suitable products identified in the search. Consumers may then purchase the product that they think will meet their needs. Once the purchase has been made consumption occurs, this is where the consumer actually uses the product. Consumers then evaluate the experience and decide whether it met their needs, this last process will influence the chances of repeat purchases and brand loyalty. A benefit of using the CDP is it gives marketers an understanding of what happens after the purchase of a product. This is useful for marketers as it helps them realise that for consumers to purchase an item again, the consumer needs to be satisfied in the consumption and post evaluation phase. Consumer decision process limitations and critisisms A limitation of the model is that it is a simplistic view of how consumers purchase products. Many consumers do not go through a search for information or evaluation before purchasing an item, they may just get what is cheap or something that is easily available. Many consumers also shop in whats known as beta mode (reference) meaning they are not actively evaluating products but choosing items they are familiar with. To thoroughly analyse how consumers make purchase decisions it is necessary to adapt the CDP model and extend it to encompass other needs and decision making processes. Diagram iofreof overleaf shows an extended version of the CDP which includes important influences on decision making such as memory, environmental influences and individual differences. This model gives a more in-depth insight into how consumers make decisions and is a useful tool for locating problems in existing marketing strategies. Although the extended model encompasses further aspects of consumer behavior further criticism has been directed at the rationality of the CDP model for presenting an idealised version of the way consumers make purchase decisions. Arguments against the rationalistic nature of the CDP model suggest that consumers operate in an imperfect world and often posses limited knowledge and skills and that certain values might dominate their goals and decisions. Rational consumer behavior thus seems too idealistic and simplistic (Eramus, Boshoff, Rouseau 2001 pp.84). Dr Dhar on the subject of the CDPs explanation of irrational purchases adds that:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The assumption made in hierarchical models of consumer decision-making, namely that the decision to choose is independent of which alternative to choose, and that the decision-making process necessarily proceeds through the various stages to come to a final decision, may not always be valid. Consumers often decide to choose or not to choose depending on the existing situation. This implies a more definite impact of in store search activities during consumer decision-making rather than preparedness before entering the store. Traditional consumer decision-making models do not portray this possibility clearly. The rationalistic approach of the CDP has also been critised by (reference stewart)who argues that the CDPs assumption that consumers make a purchase after need recognition, search and evaluation is overly simplistic. Futrthermore he argues that consumers often do not know the reasons for their actions and behavior because decisions often become automated (Stewart, D. 1990). Stewart reinforces his argument with an alternate model which proposes that consumer decision processes have no obvious beginning or end. Although it is true not all consumer searches lead to purchase behavior, and consumers solemnly make informed purchase decision, the extended CDP still offers the most relevant and practical way of understanding consumers. The criticisms against the CDP specifically focus on its simplicity, logical process and lack of flexibility; however it could be argued that these are its strengths which allow marketers to effectively analyse consumer behavior better than other consumer decision models. John Whitney argue that in reality the decision making process happens much quicker than implied by the CDP model, but none the less follows its basic structure of need recognition, limited search evaluation and the possibility of purchase (John and Whitney 1983 pp.661-666). This theory is supported by Du Plessis, Rosseau, Blem who take the view that involvement determines how strictly a consumer follows the process (Du Plessis, Rosseau, Blem 1991), for example if a consumer is highly involved in the purchase decision they may undertake a thorough evaluation of competitor products and possibly purchase, however if they have low involvement they may just purchase a trusted brand name. When using the CDP to analyse consumer behavior it is advisable to allow for some flexibility to cover irrational purchase decisions and ones which feature low involvement, as suggested by its critics and supporters. An example of using the CDP in a flexible and analytical way would be analyzing a consumer purchasing chewing gum whilst buying coffee to freshen their breath after consuming the coffee, the consumer would have recognised the need and purchased the gum without any additional search or pre-purchase evaluation undertaken. Section 2: Need Recognition Need recognition is defined as the perception of a difference between the desired state of affairs and the actual situation sufficient to arouse and activate the decision process (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006). There are many theories which suggest how needs are satisfied and why consumers develop the need to purchase certain items, one of the most widely used theories is Maslows hierarchy of needs. Maslows hierarchy of needs is a theory that suggests a consumers needs and desires are graded by importance and can only be satisfied once lower level needs are met. Image jkdnvkidsn below shows a diagram of Maslows hierarchy of needs, on the bottom layer there are fundamental needs such as breathing, food and water which people need to function and stay alive. Once these basic lower level needs are met consumers then strive for higher level needs such as self esteem, creativity and problem solving, these needs are important for a good quality of life but not necessary to survive. The drawbacks of Maslows theory are that consumers needs are rarely met in this structured order, for example people may forgo sleep to work hard at something which to them provides self esteem. The theory is difficult to use in practice particularly when dealing with consumer behavior (Jahnsson-Boyd 2010), empirical research has also suggested that there is little or no support for a hierarchy of needs. To effectively examine consumer needs an alternate approach is needed to Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. A more adaptive view of why consumers seek to satisfy needs through consumable items is the theory of need recognition (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006) which is explained in diagram iuriuhw. The advantage of using this model over Maslows is its broad nature of satisfying needs, it does not segment needs in terms of importance or place them in a hierarchical sequence which in reality rarely happens, furthermore it also explains how marketers can in fact stimulate a need through education of a consumers current state of affairs. A possible problem with the need recognition theory is a lack of detailed information as to what needs take precedence or what the possible end purchase decision satisfies in terms of tangible and intangible benefits. Catherine V. Jansson-Boyd suggests that this can be explained by separating needs into utilitarian; such as the need to eat, and heuristic needs; such as eating at an expensive restaurant to meet a self image need (Jansson-Boyd 2010). This theory explains the short comings of the need recognition model and illustrates how needs develop, thus allowing marketers to analyse how and why needs are stimulated. As suggested by the CDP model needs are commonly stimulated by marketer and non-marketer controlled stimuli an example of a marketer controlled stimuli would be an advert which educates a consumer about the dangers of spyware on computers, after seeing this advert they may feel a need to purchase an item which will safe guard their computer. A non-marketer channel may be a word of mouth (WOM) recommendation from a friend who has bought a new TV and recommends it. This theory works well with the need recognition mentioned above as it explains why actual state and desired state perceptions change and create needs. Section 3: Search After consumers have recognized a need the CDP suggests that consumers then commence a search for a product to satisfy those needs. As mentioned in section 1 consumers may sometimes forego searching for an item and purchase a brand they trust or a product they have tried and tested, however it is arguable that a preliminary search would have been carried out and stored in memory for future purchase decisions. It is therefore assumed that for most consumer purchase decisions some form of a search however small has been carried out. Although this theory is useful when analyzing what routes consumers use to search for product information it does not begin to explain what part internal searches such as memory have in the search process. Memories of past purchase decisions or information stored from personal or impersonal sources relating to the current product search will significantly affect how the search is carried out. The CDP model suggests that consumers either make internal or external searches or a combination of the two this explains how consumers use memory in product searches however it does not explain why consumers choose internal searches over external or vice versa. For consumers to purchase products solely from an internal search they must possess some confidence in their knowledge of the product category and the reliability of memories related to personal or impersonal stimuli of the product. When consumers lack confidence in their memory or existing knowledge of the product then some form of external search may be conducted if only to validate the adequacy of existing knowledge (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006). This also explains why consumers can become brand loyal, as consumers who are satisfied with a previous purchase decicion remember that satisfaction and can sometimes only undertake an internal search based on previous memorized experience (Geoffrey, Kiel, Roger 1981). This is also highlighted in the consumption and post evaluative consumption segments of the CDP model. The level of involvement during the search phase of the CDP is an important factor for marketers to analyse as it can highlight places where consumers go to search for information and provides them with opportunities to market products more effectively. There are many theories relating to why consumers undertake extensive searches for information when purchasing products. One view of why there are different levels of individual search involvement is the cost versus benefit perspective which suggests that:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People search for decision-relevant information when the perceived benefits of the new information are greater than the perceived costs of acquiring this information. This theory explains the amount of effort consumers are willing to make when purchasing items but does not take into account a theory by Kiel and Layton that as potential consequences rise in significance perceived risk also increases so extensive searching is carried out to minimize risk (Kiel, Layton 1981). Research by Betty, Sharron and Smith also suggests that as total search effort increases positive attitudes towards shopping for the product also increases (Sharron, Smith REFERENCE!), this phenomena can in some way be explained by both Urbanys theory and the model put forward by Kiel and Layton, as feeling s of risk minimization and making more informed purchase decisions result in greater perceived benefits, this would ultimately lead to positive feelings of the overall shopping experience. Section 4: Pre-purchase evaluation of alternatives Before consumers can compare contrast and evaluate alternative products and services they need to know which products to specifically evaluate, this process has been identified as producing a consideration set. A consideration set is defined as the product or service alternatives considered during decision making (Hauser, Wornfelt 1990). This theory suggests that once consumers have undertaken a search they then choose a selection of items to critically evaluate and compare, however it has been theorised that if consumers are brand loyal to a particular product then they may forgo composing a large consideration set. What is important to marketers is how consumers construct these consideration sets before making a decision, the CDP proposes that consumers use the same stimuli (marketer dominated and non-marketer dominated) used in the search phase of the CDP. Information gathered from marketer and non-marketer stimuli in internal and external searches stored in memory and easily retrieved become known as the retrieval set (Alba, Chattopadhyay 1985). The retrieval set is important for consumers when constructing their consideration sets as the ability to recall or recognize products seen in marketer or non marketer stimuli increases the chances of that product being considered for purchase. This partly explains why brand names are so important to consumers when making purchase decisions. Consideration sets are a plausible theory of explaining how consumers choose products to consider for purchase however what remains a wide subject of debate is how consumers evaluate and compare the products selected within their consideration set. One of the most famous and widely regarded theories on how consumers evaluate products based on their attitudes and beliefs is Fishbeins multi attribute model (Fishbein 1963) which suggests that consumers purchase goods and certain brands because they have favorable thoughts and feelings for the products salient and determinate attributes. To illustrate how Fishbeins model works table yvuvuv shows a comparison of three mobile phones, the scores would be filled in by consumers who have a scale of -3 for disagrees strongly to +3 agrees strongly. In table uyvbuyv the iPhone scores highly in terms of fashion, size, colour, price and simplicity. This means the marketers at Apple have been effective in shaping consumers beliefs towards these attributes. The one area where the iPhone does not score so well is unique purchase, meaning how unique the act of purchasing an iPhone is. This weakness could be exploited by other brands who could market their product as possessing this attribute. By using Fishbeins model brands can also try and change how important this belief is to consumers, thus altering the evaluative criteria. By using Fishbeins equation in box 1 and calculating the totals shown in table mlkmlkm, the theory clearly illustrates how favorable beliefs about the product add up to create a favorable attitude valence t owards the product. The benefit of using Fishbeins theory is its diagnostic power, which enables marketers to see what consumers believe about the products salient and determinate attributes and how important these beliefs are as evaluative criteria. The theory is also useful when analyzing purchase decisions which require extensive evaluation between products or purchasing a particular product category for the first time. A drawback of using Fishbeins multi attribute model is it relies on assuming the consumers has perfect knowledge of the product their buying (which is rarely the case) it therefore does not explain what part memory plays in evaluating products and how it can skew consumers perception of the product and brand they are purchasing. The Accessibility- Diagnosticity theory (Feldman, Lynch 1988) attempts to explain how memory influences pre-purchase decision making. Accessibility relates to how easily a piece of information can be retrieved from memory, and is increased when a stimulus is highly salient, vivid or when the consumer engages in elaborative processing. Diagnosticity is to do with the perceived relevance and increases as the perceived relevance between two variables increases. The Feldman and Lynch theory helps to explain the effect of memory and consumer knowledge on pre-purchase evaluation and explains why consumers will sometimes decide to purchase inferior goods because of a lack of knowledge or because of past negative experiences. A criticism of Fishbeins and Feldan and Lynchs models is that they do not explain why consumers make purchase decisions with minimal pre purchase evaluation. Catherine V. Jansson-Boyd proposes that there are a number of ways consumers make decisions when there is low involvement and motivation these are shown in table niunciw and are collectively known as choice heuristics (Jansson-Boyd 2010). Choice heuristics offers a more realistic view on how consumers make pre-purchase decisions with low involvement and its theories are likely used by every consumer at some stage in their life. Throughout this section focus has been directed as to how consumers evaluate different products, to gain a thorough understanding of why consumers make certain purchase decisions it is necessary to briefly analyse how marketers can influence consumers perceptions, attitudes and beliefs. In all of the models and theories previously mentioned in this section it is assumed that consumers make purchase decisions based on the attributes of the product, these attributes can either relate to the products tangible or intangible properties. Attributes therefore send signals to consumers which they then use to evaluate products and services (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006), an example of this would be a high price may signal quality to certain consumers (Dodds, Monroe 1991) or a cheap price as lower quality (Raghubir, Corfman 1999). The signals that products send are crucial to how consumers will evaluate their consideration set and is one of the reasons company spend so much on advertising to create favorable signals. Table iebhwwb shows how marketers can influence signals by using different advertising tools, which can shape consumers attitudes and beliefs towards products and services (Lutz 1975). Section 5: Purchase After consumers have evaluated the product they can then proceed to purchase their chosen item. Purchase decisions can however change for a number of reasons such as unavailability, a change in the expected perceived attribute of the product i.e price, or lack of motivation. It is important to understand that when consumers go shopping for items to satisfy their needs they may not always have a specific brand, or specific product in mind to satisfy those needs. Blackwell, Miniard and Engel suggest that that once a consumer decides to purchase an item to satisfy their needs it can lead to three types of purchase; A fully planned purchase (product and brand chosen in advance), a partially planned purchase (intent to buy the product exists but brand choice deferred to until shopping), or an unplanned purchase decision (both the product and the brand are chosen at point of sale) (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006). Assuming that this theory is correct it suggests that the retail environment influences and motivates a considerable amount of consumer purchase decisions. In a retail environment consumers are exposed to hundreds possibly thousands of advertisements promoting individual products and services all of which are trying to grab consumers attentions so they are considered for purchase. Consumers cannot however take in every piece of advertising information in a store therefore they become selective of the advertisements they choose to process. For consumers to focus their intention on advertisements it is thought that adverts must pass through three phases of consumer cognitive resources (Atkinson, Shiffrin 1968) diagram uinf shows how attention grabbing stimuli pass from being noticed by a consumers senses through to being stored in their long-term memory. The cognitive resource model gives a good explanation and understanding of how consumers process advertisements and marketer controlled stimuli and is therefore an essential tool for understanding why and how some advertisements work so well and increase brand awareness. It is however important to remember that this model does not cover the broad aspects of consumer attention such as subliminal messages and is therefore limited in its capacity to analyse all types of advertising however for the purposes of this research it is useful as it illustrates how conspicuous advertising works. If consumer attention is to be analysed through the framework of the cognitive resource model then it suggests that for an advertisement to be successful it has to significantly stimulate the sensory store, be thoroughly processed in short term memory and memorable enough to be stored in long term memory. Table uhiru below shows a brief list of ways marketers have used different tools to stimulate consumer sensory stores for their advertised products to be noticed and processed. The CDP model suggests that if marketers have been successful in focusing the attention of consumers on their product and sufficiently motivated them a purchase may be made. This theory however can be disputed as to logical because this type of purchase behavior only happens in a perfect setting it therefore does not take into consideration factors outside the marketers control such as availability or accessibility. The focus of this research is however on what marketers can do to influence the CDP process so although criticisms can be drawn from this view of purchase decisions it still arguably offers marketers the most information as to how they should theoretically sell their products. Section 6: Consumption After a purchase has been made consumption can occur, consumption is the point where consumers make judgments on the products they have bought, these judgements will influence consumers perception of satisfaction and increase or decrease the chances of the product being bought again. One of the problems marketers have with building brand loyalty is influencing consumption behavior after the product has been bought, influencing consumption behaviors is important as it can affect the amount of satisfaction gained from the item and the speed at which it is consumed. Table nuiernu below shows different consumption variables and how marketers try to influence them to increase satisfaction for consumers. Although the above table describes how marketers can affect consumption patterns it does not offer an analysis as to how consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction influences the consumers experience and chances of repeat purchases. Blackwell, Miniard and Engel theorise that the chances of products being repurchased depends upon the feelings experienced during consumption (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006). These feelings can either lead to positive reinforcement; where a consumer receives a positive outcome from the consumption experience, negative reinforcement; where consumption enables consumers to avoid a negative outcome and punishment; where consumption leads to negative outcomes, these three processes are shown below in Diagram ueinwfi. What this model does not include is more complex consumption such as watching old videos that remind consumers of previous experiences or family heirlooms that consumers may feel proud and privelaged to use. A model of consumption proposed by Schiffman, Kanuk and Hansen aims to include these complex emotions in a broad description of how consumers consume items (Schiffman, Kanuk, Hansen 2008) this is shown in diagram iunieun. Although this model attempts to explain how consumers complex emotions are connected with consumption it still does not signify how any of these positive or negative feelings link to repeat purchases or brand loyalty, it is therefore assumed that although Blackwell, Miniard and Engels model does not give a complex view of how consumers experience the consumption phase of the CDP it does offer an explanation as to how consumers use experiences for future purchase decision. Section 7: Post-consumption Evalaution Once consumers have consumed their purchased product according to do the CDP satisfaction or dissatisfaction then occurs (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006). The CDP suggests that if consumers are satisfied they will either purchase the product again or at least consider it for future purchases, however it has been argued that satisfaction does not always ensure repeat purchases and that consumers must experience some sort of delight which only occurs when consumers are expectations of the product are exceeded and completely satisfied (Higgins 1997). This theory has been proven by research conducted which suggests consumers who report to be totally satisfied are also six times more likely to purchase the same product again (Thomas, Jones, Sasser 1995) customer satisfaction has also been shown to lower consumers price sensitivity when purchasing the product again. Although it is helpful for marketers to realise what satisfaction can do for a business it is also important to analyse what actually creates feelings of satisfaction in the minds of consumers. It has been suggested that there are three different determinates which influence customer satisfaction (Blackwell, Miniard, Engel 2006) the first of which is the products performance which relates to how the product actually performed during consumption. The second determinate is the feelings consumers have when consumption occurs this was briefly mentioned in the previous section and featured in diagram urinefvu. The last determinate is how the product met consumers prior expectations, which has been conceptualised in Richard Olivers expectancy disconfirmation model. The expectancy disconfirmation model proposes that satisfaction depends on a comparison of pre-purchase expectations to consumption outcomes ()based on this proposition Olivers suggests that consumers can experience three outcomes when comparing expectations; negative disconfirmation where a product does not live up to expectations confirmation where the product performed as expected and positive disconfirmation where the product exceeded expectations. This theory offers an explanation as to how consumers become satisfied with products, however it is not complex enough to be able to explain why some consumers will purchase items again even if they have had a negative experience, and why other consumers choose to purchase an alternative product, over a previous product they were satisfied. It is therefore assumed that that the two other determinates in consumer satisfaction (product performance and feelings) further influence the way consumers perceive the product to have met expectations. Consumers may also purchase alternative products rather than ones they are satisfied with as consumers often have a need for variety. Although expectations cannot fully explain repeat purchases and consumer satisfaction it is still a significant contributing factor, it is therefore important that marketers set expectations at a reasonable level to ensure expectations are either confirmed or positively disconfirmed. Methodology 500 research design To analyse the research question a mixed method approach to gathering data will be used. The quantitive research will predominately look at secondary data such as Colgates financial reports and industry information that highlights current trends in the market. Primary quantitive information from the questionnaire shown in appendices urnein will be used in conjunction with the financial and market data to analyse consumer behaviour in relation to the toothpaste market and the Colgate brand. Primary qualitive information will be used to interpret the results of the quantitive research, this will include Colgate promotional material, packaging designs and in-store promotions and positioning. A mixed method has been used to analyse the research question as it allows the CDP process to be examined from a consumer point of view whilst including information as to how their feelings have affected the popularity, sales and brand loyalty of the Colgate brand. Survey design The survey design has been constructed to answer specific questions about how Colgate has influenced the CDP with its existing customers and how Colgate can possibly attract consumers who are not using the brand. Consumers who have not purchased Colgate previously will still be allowed to fill out a smaller section of the survey, as it is hoped that by looking at their decisions before purchase it may highlight oppurtunities that Colgate could use to appeal to these consumers. The questionnaire will be placed online where participants can fill out their information; the website used will be www.surveymonkey.com an established site which hosts multiple questionnaires from internet users from around the world. To gain a broad perspective of consumer behaviour and identify popular trends 100 participants will be required to participate in the survey which will give a sample size of uniern? Survey pilot To ensure the survey design is coherent and unambiguous to participants filling out the survey 10 pilot tests were carried out to monitor and gather information about how the participants interacted with the survey. Table inireunf below shows the comments and criticism made by the participants and the modifications made to correct the problems a comparison between the pilot survey and the survey actually used for the research project can be found in appendicies urnieun. Limitations and criticism of methodology Several limitations arise when using questionnaires to study behaviour, as there is no guarantee that participants will answer the questions honestly or indeed understand how their natural consumption behaviour works. An ideal setting to test consumer behaviour would be in a controlled environment where consumers can be observed whilst purchasing toothpaste, however due to constrained resources this type of research s not possible but is recommendable for future studies on the subject. As the answers given are multiple-choice, participants are limited to what answers they can give, the problem with this is that answers participants may wish to give may not be available and therefore important behavioural information may be lost. Allowing participants to enter their own information may be the best way to analyse their CDP however to get a sense of general feelings towards Colgate a set of defined answers is necessary. Participants who take part in the survey are not segmented in

Illusion vs. Reality in Macbeth :: essays research papers

What Can You Really Believe: Illusion vs. Reality in Macbeth   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is reality? Do you honestly believe that everyone shows his or her true selves openly? Think again! Many characters in Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, are two-faced. Two examples of these people are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. These characters all put on false faces to impress people or hide things from people. The witches also kept repeating a quote that has a lot of meaning. They continued to say â€Å"foul is fair and fair is foul.† (I.i.12) This means that what seems right isn’t really right and what seems wrong isn’t really wrong. So the whole play is about false faces and how someone who seems normal and innocent isn’t really.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The witches also seem to be an illusion. They are in a way human like, but at the same time they are also fake. They talked to Macbeth and told him three prophecies, which caused him to become greedy and kill King Duncan. The first time they told him what they saw was in Act 1. They said   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King here- After! (I.i.1-6) These prophecies didn’t seem to be realistic at first. But when he was made Thane of Cawdor, because the other thane was a traitor, he began to become a little power hungry. He thought that if one of the prophecies came true, so would the other. He couldn’t wait, he told Lady Macbeth, who then made a plan to make it happen faster. Her plan was to invite the king over, kill him, and make it look like his guards committed the murder. The witches are nonrealistic as shown they made some things up and caused a lot of trouble by doing so. Also, at the banquet for the new king, Macbeth, Macbeth thought that he saw a ghost, although he was the only one who could see it. It was the ghost of Banquo, who should have become king rather Macbeth. He was sitting in the chair where he would have been sitting had he become king. This is how it was meant to be, with Banquo being king.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another example of the illusion vs. reality theme was when the witches showed Macbeth the three apparitions. They show him an armed head, a bloody child, and a child crowned bearing a tree.

Ancient Man, Clovis :: essays research papers

Ancient Man and the Disco Ball Essay One)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thousands of years ago, primitive man walked the earth very similarly to the way he does today. We can discern this from the cultures that remain nearly intact from that time, and by analyzing what remains from those ancient peoples. Technologies change, making life easier for people, and ensuring the survival of the species (things like medicine and modern farming techniques), but the people themselves change very little.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ethnographically, people like the !Kung bushmen are very specialized. In actuality, any and all of the remaining societies that have survived outside of mainstream culture must be very specialized. There are few places in the world untouched by civilized man (perhaps none at all), and the only places that have managed to elude him thus far are the regions that are generally unwanted. These places, like the Kalahari, Arctic Circle, and South American Jungle, are the only locations containing native people living in their traditional ways. All of the people living in these places have to live in a very specific way, or they simply cannot survive on what the land gives them. Of, course all of the ethnographic records we have show highly specialized people, we killed all the ones that lived where they could be more generalized and still survive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The archaeological record shows us what the intelligent ethnographers preach; there is more out there than what we see, and we are constantly underestimating the cultures that came before us. The widespread use of tools like harpoons and spears, the spread of pottery and boxes, and the actual contents of ancient stomachs (like the Ice Man's) show us that ancient people were once more variable than they are now. Considering that ancient men spread from Pittsburgh to South America in an incredibly short span of time (though from whence they came is unknown), ancient people must have been very adept at adapting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Archaeologists are trying very hard to understand the ethnographers. They do this because they want to understand just what it is that they are digging up, and the best way to find out is to ask the people who use them. Of course they are not perfect, and some archaeologists dig competitively (almost like tomb raiders), but overall, we can learn a lot about ancient people from the work of these two groups of scientists working together with the past and the present.

The Future of Broadband over Power Lines Essay -- essays research pape

The future of BPL (Broadband over Power Lines)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  BPL, or Broadband over Power Lines, is in its infancy. Several utility companies are rolling BPL out to their customers for field trials, and â€Å"predict that 15 to 20% of its customer base will eventually be on BPL†. 1 There are several obstacles surrounding BPL and must be overcome to help with success of BPL. One obstacle is the issue of interference with radio transmissions. Another obstacle is the adoption of new technologies, which could greatly hinder the progress of BPL. While BPL is still in its infancy, the future of BPL could be very bright. If the issues are overcome, BPL could become a very strong contender in the Internet services arena. Radio Interference The amateur radio operators consider BPL to be quite harmful to the current radio spectrum. With several installations in the United Kingdom there has been some evidence that BPL does interfere with radio transmissions. â€Å"Earlier PLC systems such as the one developed by Nor.Web in the UK emitted a high level of radio noise in the 1-30 MHz bandwidth. This resulted in conflicts with the British government's Radio Agency, when it disrupted radio signals from the BBC World Service. The Department of Trade and Industry (UK) subsequently made it impossible to use PLC in the UK and contributed to the withdrawal of Nor.Web from the business†. 2 In the future there could be technology that is available to help with this interference. According t...

A Summary of Leadership and what it entails

At one degree a leader is the individual who non merely influences what happens but is able to do things go on by originating alterations, forming how alteration happens and doing all the necessary constructions, determinations and activities meaningful. But, accepting this position of leading should n't intend that we manipulate co-workers and alter their behaviour to suit our prearranged norm. It does intend that to be an effectual leader we need to be able to give co-workers a sense of apprehension of what they are really making in the school. In seeking to clear up leading in simple footings – it is utile to sum up some of the common traits that characterize effectual leaders.A This sort of sum-up can be divided into specific countries and include how leading has to be concerned with: a sense of duty the demand to finish undertakings being willing and able to take hazards holding the capacity to manage emphasis Bing able to act upon and organize the attempts of co-workers.Leadership manners and functionsLeadership has to be about edifice and keeping a sense of vision, civilization and interpersonal relationships every bit good as affecting direction issues that include the coordination, support and monitoring of our schools as organisations. We have to be able to equilibrate both functions. There is a utile statement from an infant caput instructor in an article calledA Effective School Leadership, published by the NCSL: ‘Leadership is about holding vision and articulating, telling precedences, acquiring others to travel with you, invariably reexamining what you are making and keeping on to things you value. Management is about the maps, processs and systems by which you realize the vision. ‘ What is of import about our manner of leading is that it needs to be appropriate for what is go oning and for the undertakings or procedures that are taking topographic point. All manners of leading have to take into history, foremost, how to finish undertakings and, secondly, what is the best manner to finish them. This is the procedure that everyone goes through in footings of effectual squads and relationships between co-workers. Tasks will non be completed decently by co-workers who are non motivated. There is a helpful step that tries to equilibrate undertakings and procedures utilizing four different manners of leading depending on how of import the undertakings are, or how of import squad work and the relationships between co-workers are: Stating co-workers what to doA – this is high on acquiring undertakings finished and low on developing and prolonging relationships and squad work. Selling an thought to colleaguesA – once more, this is high on undertakings but besides means that relationships are of import because a certain sum of understanding is necessary. Carrying co-workers to participateA – this is comparatively low on undertakings as the most of import facet of this manner of leading is to acquire co-workers working efficaciously together. Delegating to colleaguesA – this is low on undertakings and low on relationship and is a mature manner in a school with committed and effectual squads. Leaderships are able to confidently delegate undertakings to co-workers who themselves will hold to make up one's mind what leading manner to utilize. There are fundamentally, two sorts of functions necessary for a leader. One derives from the place held – you as caput instructor, your deputy or adjunct caput and so on. The other from personal abilities and see – many of these abilities are included in the earlier list of leading, interpersonal and professional accomplishments for leading. Having the ability and expertness and utilizing all the available accomplishments will intend that you and, in fact, any leader at any degree in the school ‘s hierarchy has the of import function of: calculating what needs making be aftering how to make it forming what needs to be done deputing undertakings to allow co-workers, squads and working parties coordinating and commanding what happens Monitoring and measuring its success.Leadership at many degreesIn many ways we are merely every bit good as all the remainder of the leaders we have in topographic point. This is mostly because leading has to be exercised at many degrees. All instructors are, for illustration, leaders in their ain schoolrooms because the existent procedure of instruction is about act uponing, directing, puting marks, utilizing appropriate resources and monitoring and evaluating successes. As instructors develop their accomplishments they will get down to take co-workers as course of study coordinators. Their functions, like ours, will affect people, information and determinations. In schools – all our schools – we will necessitate to take and advance leaders and leading along the undermentioned lines: Associating good to peopleA – this is where you have to move as a sort of front man and speak at maps such as meetings with parents. At the same clip you will be choosing, back uping, preparation, mentoring, monitoring and actuating co-workers you work aboard. Using information to take and raise standardsA – there is a changeless demand to supervise, fact happen and measure state of affairss by roll uping every bit much information as possible from persons, squads of instructors and from paperss and studies. Once the information is collected it has to be used to pull off alteration and to raise criterions by being disseminated and communicated to whoever needs it. This will intend clear and articulate meetings, written memos, well-managed treatments, studies and policy paperss. Leadership and determination makingA – all leaders have to take determinations and all facets of leading involve determination devising. Some determinations are instant statements, for illustration those affecting wellness and safety and hazard appraisal. Many others, nevertheless, will affect audience and consensus. This means meetings and meetings mean co-workers who may necessitate converting that alteration – and most determinations are related to alter – has to go on. In fact working with co-workers and taking them forward is far from easy. We all need to do certain that we place a high premium on the human dimension of leading and the demand to acknowledge and advance non merely the development of our ain considerable accomplishments but those of all our co-workers. Possibly stoping as I started will organize a orderly circle. But instead than utilize a glib definition of leading Lashkar-e-Taiba ‘s quotation mark from Ibsen who suggests that, ‘a community is like a ship and everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm ‘ .School ContextAn Elementary School with about 500 pupils described largely as helter-skelter and ailing organized school with no activities, development or any mission. The school is located in a freshly decentralized territory where a popularly elected council of parents, community members, instructors, and decision makers decides on the principal ‘s contract, approves the budget, and passes the school betterment program. The aim is to make a clime that will promote both pupils and instructors to hold a clear mission focused on a uninterrupted betterment in all Fieldss of the school life. As the new rule I will make my best to see hallways that are safe and orderly, categories that are more interesting and piquant, every bit good as programs going accomplished.Plan/Changes/MethodologyBefore get downing the alteration procedure, go familiar with the school betterment rhythm, the phases of the alteration procedure, and alteration theoretical accounts associated with each. Leaderships must be able to separate between the school betterment rhythm and the alteration procedure, find where the school is located within the alteration procedure, and place appropriate following stairss. Learn more about the complexnesss of the alteration procedure by reading, speaking with adept practicians, and go toing seminars. Accept the alteration procedure as a positive experience to be understood and embraced, instead than a negative experience to be feared and avoided. When you are ready to get down the school betterment procedure, bring in alteration experts and facilitators to construct the capacity of school staff to take alteration attempts. It is of import to pull upon the expertness and accomplishments of university module, cardinal office forces, external advisers, professional staff developers, and others. Lead treatments about the school ‘s â€Å" history of alteration † in order to understand how and why past alteration attempts have succeeded or failed. Learn about the functions that principals, instructors, cardinal office staff, parents, board members, and others involved in functioning kids and young person drama in the school betterment procedure, and utilize this cognition to organize effectual school betterment squads. School leaders should understand and cultivate their functions and the functions that others play within betterment enterprises. To construct a more collaborative school civilization, institute module survey groups and cross-grade or section squads and supply clip for collegial work. Build committedness and a collaborative civilization to back up the alteration procedure by being a â€Å" leader of leaders, † holding and pass oning high outlooks, and showing assurance in school staff and the environing community. Form partnerships with parents, concerns, and societal service and community bureaus to consolidate resources and run into the full scope of pupil demands – emotional, societal, and academic – in order to better pupil acquisition. Create high-achieving acquisition environments by choosing and incorporating a assortment of plans to better instruction and acquisition. Establish and follow a set of guidelines for implementing new attacks to student acquisition. Reflect on your leading patterns utilizing leading manner stock lists, studies, and/or checklists. Use a assortment of methods to observe success ; for illustration, some schools have used the undermentioned activities to observe success: Planing squads have repasts together at the terminal of the twelvemonth to reexamine advancement and celebrate success. Principals send out praises and notes that celebrate success. Schools clasp assemblies to acknowledge non merely the success of pupils but of their squads. The chief base on ballss out java cups with the school logo to acknowledge instructors and squads that have been peculiarly successful. The school betterment procedure takes topographic point in three phases: induction, execution, and institutionalization. Knowing about the challenges and jobs every bit good as the success factors associated with each phase of the alteration procedure can increase the likeliness of success. Initially, some members of the school community – including school staff – may be loath to alter. School leaders, through their actions and words, can get the better of such reluctance by honoring risk-taking and encouraging school community members to offer new thoughts and schemes. If reforms are to better larning for all pupils, leaders must happen and implement meaningful course of study and effectual instructional plans for an progressively diverse pupil population. To guarantee that reforms do non overlook full groups of pupils, leaders must understand the civilization and demands of diverse pupils. Without a focussed attempt to aline and incorporate school betterment enterprises, the likely consequence will be fragmented, uncoordinated plans and activities that may hold conflicting aims. It is up to school leaders to make a shared vision and mission for school betterment, to organize assorted alteration attempts so that they work together toward similar aims instead than against one another, and to guarantee that these attempts reach for the common end of improved acquisition for all pupils. Leaderships of betterment attempts need to turn to the jobs of resources ( clip, money, and support ) , the demand to develop and retain knowing and motivated forces, and the challenge posed by the switching ends of the cardinal office, the province, and the local community. Leaderships should be wary of mismanaged understanding. Everyone in a group agrees to a determination – even though no 1 in the group supports the determination – because they are unwilling or unable to pass on their reserves ; it besides refers to a state of affairs in which everyone in the group agrees about a job that must be solved, but no one actively pursues schemes or actions to cover with the job. Therefore, leaders must foster squads that are able to pass on and work out jobs openly. Now that the school has identified the assorted constituents of its betterment program, the undertaking is to convey everything together into a consistent plan of patterns that will turn to its identified demands and ease the betterment procedure. The program must besides include all necessary execution information ( e.g. , who is responsible, timeline ) . Some territories or provinces have a needed format for schools ‘ action program. For those that do n't, this activity helps participants reflect on the most appropriate format to back up their alteration attempt. There is no â€Å" best † layout for an action program. Depending on the nature and demands of different schools and depending on any province or local demands by which they must stay, the manner in which their action programs are laid out will differ. The primary intent of the action program is to be a utile tool for steering school staff in implementing agreed-upon effectual patterns and support activities. Having a clear and comprehensive action program helps guarantee the effectivity and efficiency of a school ‘s betterment attempts. Developing and implementing a school betterment program is an iterative procedure ; if a program is to be effectual, betterment attempts must be on-going and uninterrupted, their consequence reviewed and documented in the class of execution. Having all improvement-related information in one complete papers provides a clear image of the full betterment enterprise, its ends, and how all patterns and support activities are intended to suit together in traveling the school toward those ends. This helps prevent atomization of attempt and, over clip, makes it easier to place countries of failing or incompatibility. Having one comprehensive papers besides makes updating information and maintaining path of execution activities much easier. Using an electronic templet can be particularly helpful for easy updating the program.Memoranda – LetterssBelov ed Parents:I wanted to take a minute to present myself to you.A As you are likely cognizant, I am the new Principal at Elementary School.A I am honored that this community/school territory has chosen me to take the Elementary School.A Although I merely started a few yearss ago, it is already evident to me that this is a lovingness and welcoming environment.A I am looking frontward to run into your kid ( kids ) on the first twenty-four hours of school.A I feel that my duty as the Principal is to guarantee your kid receives a quality instruction within a safe, respectful environment.A I know the staff here portions that same focus.A I am a house truster in the home/school connection.A Please experience free to reach me at the school with any inquiries, concerns, or merely to present yourself.A Working together merely enhances your kid ‘s educational experiences.A As a affair of concern, I ask that you please be understanding as we continue to work to guarantee a safe school environment.A Your kid ‘s safety is our first concern at dismissal/arrival. To this terminal, we ask that you follow the initial modus operandis outlined in the parent missive you late received with your kid ‘s category assignment.A These modus operandis may alter somewhat as we begin the twelvemonth and find the figure of kids being picked up by their parents.A Besides, the territory has enacted a policy sing altering your kid ‘s normal dismissal routine.A If you need to alter your kid ‘s agencies of transit place, this must be done in authorship by 1pm.A Telephone petitions will non be honored.A I understand this is a alteration from old years.A However, this policy helps to guarantee a safe dismissal.A If you have any inquiries sing this, delight name us. I hope your enjoy the staying yearss of summer vacation.A We will see everyone on August 30th.A Respectfully, PrincipalBeloved Teachers/Students:I would wish to take this chance to present myself and portion my exhilaration about my assignment as the new principal at Elementary School.A Elementary had a repute of excellence and I feel fortunate to be fall ining a school civilization focused on pupil acquisition, a committedness to high outlooks, invention and collaboration.A It is my purpose to go on to transport out these of import traditions and practices.A I would wish to construct on the same repute here at Elementary and ask for you to assist us find what is best for your kid by go toing monthly forenoon javas, parent conferences and academic events. I would wish to portion some information about my educational background and professional experience.A After graduating from XYZ School, I attended ABC University.A While at ABC, I studied Shakespearean Theater.A After having my Bachelor ‘s grade in Elementary Education, I attended XXX University where I earned a Masters in Education-Reading Specialist.A I taught for 10 old ages in New York before my move to Galveston.A I spent five old ages learning in Galveston while besides prosecuting my enfranchisement in Educational Leadership.A I have spent the last 15 old ages in XXX company as an decision maker. I look frontward to be a portion of a warm and caring school environment and working together with each of you this year.A Please experience free to name or halt by for a visit.A If you have inquiries or concerns, pleased do non waver to reach me. Sincerely, Principal

Supply Chain of Adidas

The adidas Group has outsourced most of its production. We work with more than 1,200 independent factories from around the world that manufacture our products in 63 countries. The most dominant sourcing locations are: China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Our supply chain is global and multi-layered, with many different types of business partners, some of who are directly contracted factories, and others who are not. In 2011, the top five countries per region by number of supplier sites were: * The Americas: United States, Brazil, Canada, Argentina and Mexico * Asia: China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan EMEA: Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Turkey and Spain Our influence in terms of social and environmental compliance is linked to the strength of our partnerships, and is often proportional to the scale and stability of the orders placed with our suppliers. DIFFERENT SOURCING RELATIONSHIPS Direct sourcing model The adidas Group holds direct contractual relationships with its core suppliers who are centrally supervised by Global Operations.Global Operations manages product development, commercialisation, distribution, and supervision of the manufacture of apparel, footwear and accessories for the adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade-adidas Golf segments. These suppliers produce the predominant share of the total sourcing volume of the Group. Indirect sourcing model The other part of our product volume is sourced by agents or is made under licence. Agents place orders with their preferred suppliers. Licensees may either place orders directly with their suppliers or use agents as intermediaries.Our indirect supply chain complements our direct sourcing by meeting specific requirements that cannot be serviced through Global Operations. Local market production In order to quickly seize short-term opportunities in their local markets, to satisfy a niche market requirement, or in some cases to react to certain trade regulations, adidas Group subsidiaries may also source f rom local suppliers that are not overseen by Global Operations; these suppliers do require our authorisation for production.The adidas Group is one of the very few companies in the industry that has fully disclosed its global supplier list, and that list can be downloaded from this website. TYPES OF SUPPLIERS Our suppliers fall into five broad categories: * Main suppliers. They have a direct contractual relationship with the adidas Group for the supply of products, whether for export or domestic market consumption. * Subcontractors. These are factories that have been subcontracted by our suppliers to perform manufacturing operations the main suppliers are not capable of doing in their own facility. * Material and other service providers.These suppliers may not have a direct business relationship with the adidas Group, but supply goods and services to our main suppliers. * Licensees. Independent companies which manage the design, production and distribution of specific products, unde r licence to the adidas Group. In 2011, the adidas Group worked with 44 licensees whose suppliers sourced products from 269 factories in 45 countries. * Agents. Independent companies that act as intermediaries to source product manufacturing, manage the manufacturing processes, and sell finished products to the Group. * Adidas Supply Chain * Threat of Substitute Products or Services

The Power of a Little Girl’s Photo

The picture from Sudan, which won Kevin Carter a Pulitzer Prize in 1994, is memorable because it shows the seriousness of the situation in Sudan during that time; reflects the role of photographers in conveying the unknown circumstances to us; and   tells the impact of covering such events on photographers as manifested by Carter’s suicide. The winning picture depicts a pitiful, starving little Sudanese girl with her head bowed to the earth; obviously very weak and dying. Behind her back is a vulture which seems to be waiting for her to die so it could have something to eat.The story behind the picture is related by Mac Leod Scott in his article, The Life and Death of Kevin Carter. Mac Leod wrote how Carter was able to shot the photograph. Carter went to Sudan to photograph the rebel movement in the country. When he reached the country, he started taking pictures of famine victims. He saw lots of people who are starving. They were so thin and terribly malnourished. In his at tempt to find another view, he went to an open bush. While in the bush, he heard a soft whimpering sound and found a little girl trying to walk her way to the feeding center. He came nearer to photograph her.As he tried to shoot, a vulture landed just behind the girl. He captured the scene. Carter later confessed that he waited for another 20 minutes expecting the vulture to spread its wings but it did not. After taking all the shots that he needed, he chased the vulture away. He saw the helpless little girl attempting to walk toward the feeding center. Carter remained in his position under the tree. He smoked and cried. He became depressed afterwards.To stress why the Pulitzer-prized picture is memorable, four supporting claims are written below.Firstly, the picture itself shocked the world. According to Scott’s words, the photograph â€Å"made the world weep†. The emotional impact of the photograph is hard to forget.   In the picture, the vulture is just waiting fo r the girl to die so it could eat her. Imagine a big bird is preying on the flesh of a child for its food. Many find it gruesome as they don’t usually such kind of pictures and news in the headlines. The photo got many reactions from different people around the world. When someone sees it, there is something in the emotion that makes one feel more than pity for the little girl.Further, Scott reported how the picture was seen by millions of people.   The New York Times was looking for pictures about Sudan back then when Carter sold the photograph to the famous newspaper in March 26, 1993. The NY Times published the picture and many readers were overwhelmed by it. Many papers also published the picture and were stared by millions of people around the globe.The media picked up on the story and the picture. Those who saw the picture pity the Sudanese girl and wondered what have become of her. Hundreds of readers called the NY Times office to inquire what happened to the girl. T he NY Times said it did not know if she reaches the feeding center. The paper said that no one knows the fate of the poor little girl. Likewise, the readers also wanted to find out if Carter was able to help her in her struggle.Secondly, the picture reveals the real condition of Sudan during that time. The world came to know Sudan because of the picture. Sudan is a large country in North Africa. Until now, the political unrest in the country continues and the civil war is killing many people. On top of that, famine has been ravaging the land regularly. Based on an article by Bruce Nelan, published in Time Magazine on July 27, 1998, the country experiences famine every three or four years.Both the civil war and the famine resulted to the death of hundreds of thousands of Sudanese. The year 1994 marked the most devastating famine – the year when the picture was taken. Nelan added that hunger is always a threat in the country of roughly 40 million people. In 1989 alone, 250,000 died. In a related article, written by another Time reporter, Maryann London in 2001, about 1.5 million of people have already died either in the civil war or in famine. Sadly, the famine affects everyone most especially the children who are the most vulnerable segment of the population.Nelan further wrote that, usually, the only way to get to a feeding center is by walking which usually takes days or weeks to reach these centers run by international relief agencies. Mostly die along the way as what might have happened to the girl in the picture. According to Bill Keller, in his article in the Time Magazine published on July 29, 1994, the girl collapsed as she was on her way to the feeding center.Thirdly, the photographer who took the picture committed suicide by carbon poisoning three months after receiving his prize. Carter is from Johannesburg, South Africa. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography that year together with Paul Watson who took a picture from Somalia (Gord on, 1994).But, as Keller reported, the people blamed him for not helping the dying little girl. Carter’s action was criticized. Many suggested that he should have decided to help the little girl by giving her something to eat or by carrying her to the feeding center. He has the chance to help one starving little girl but he walked away after taking her picture.Moreover, as Scott said, Carter was haunted by what he had seen during his career- the violence, famine, dying people and war. Maybe he could not take it any more. Presently, there is a documentary film that seeks to explain Carter’s suicide, entitled as The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club by Dan Krauss.On a personal note, I do not want to judge Carter as many have already blamed him in the past. However, I am one with others in saying that he should have somehow helped the dying girl by offering food or water. I do not know what was in his mind then. Blaming is the readers’ reaction on Carter which I think had much effect on him and his decision to end his life.Lastly, the picture highlights the role of photographers in showing the unknown to us. Before Carter took the picture, many people were not aware of the gravity of the situation in Sudan. Most people in the West are not even familiar with the country.Through the picture, the world suddenly realized that there is so much happening in many countries that we are not aware of. It is the photographers who connect us to the unfamiliar sufferings around the globe. They give us pictures which tell stories. As Susan Sontag wrote, â€Å"to collect photographs is to collect the world† and photographs provide evidences. More so, Nathan Thornburgh of Time Magazine penned that photography has the power to trap moment in time and he ascribed photojournalism as the perfect medium for showing stories. I say, without photographers, there would be no pictures to behold.Nevertheless, capturing the scenes of a war-tor n area or other violence-related activities is tough. From here, one can infer that covering such violence and heart-wrenching events have impact on the photographers as evidenced by Carter’s suicide. The drama and the difficulty of recording such delicate situations may have its negative influence on the photographers. It can be noted that Carter sunk into depression before he committed suicide. The violence, famine, and dying children- Carter remembered while he lived- and made him more depressed. He maybe was too sad. He might have remembered the dying little Sudanese girl from time to time.In conclusion, I guess the picture is powerful enough that’s why it is too memorable. My reasons are all cited above. Pictures show us reality. And the photographers who took them for us deserved to be affirmed as they serve as our link to many realities around the world. As what the picture of the dying Sudanese girl tells us, we can say that photographers are very important as they show us the different situations in the world. Without them, there will be no pictures which will show us how blessed we are because we have more than enough food to eat and how other people in the world are suffering because of famine. Without the pictures and the photographers, we will never know what is really happening. We will remain ignorant of the people who need our help – even just for a piece of food.Works CitedGordon, Jim.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Judges have a difference of opinion†¦.†Ã‚  News Photographer  49.n5  (May 1994):  4(1).  General OneFile.  Gale.  Northern Virginia Community College Annandale campus.  21 Apr. 2008.Keller, Bill.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Kevin Carter, a Pulitzer winner for Sudan photo, is dead at 33.†The New York Times  143  (July 29, 1994):  C16(N) pB8(L).  Expanded Academic ASAP.  Gale.  Northern Virginia Community College Annandale campus.  21 Apr. 2008  .London, Maryann B. â€Å"Baroness who Frees Slaves†. 19 March 2001. Time Magazine. 30 April 2008