The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas: Personal Response to the Film and Novel

‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is a 2006 novel by Irish novelist John Boyne; this is his fourth novel, and the first he has written for children. My classmates and I have read the book and watched the trailer of its newly releasing movie. And I have to say, this novel is really remarkable. The novel truly engages the reader completely into the book and it’s difficult to put down. â€Å"Believe me†!!.......the trailer is all the more brilliant, with a high standard quality and exceptionally mind capturing images. ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is told through the eyes of an eight year old boy shielded from the reality of World War II. Bruno is growing up in Berlin, but moves to Auschwitz during World War II, sets out to explore the place around him. The novel also involves the horrific part of history; the holocaust. Bruno is irritated and shocked when he’s told they’re moving from Berlin but being a very naive boy doesn’t understand why their family has to leave. The story follows on as Bruno sets out from his house in Auschwitz to explore and finds a boy the same age as him sitting on the ground, on the other side of a fence. His name is Shmuel, a Jewish boy held captive in a concentration camp, but Bruno believes the camp is just a farm. Their friendship cements but is separated by a barbed wire. Bruno’s father is a Nazi commandant, but Bruno never seems to understand what his father’s job is. For Bruno he’s just a loving father, but the truth isn’t hidden for long, as we soon realize Bruno’s father is the most merciless and cruel man there could ever be. A lot of consideration was put into this novels appropriateness for children; it was thought parents might have to explain the Holocaust; however it was decide... ...ferences between book and film are that in a book everything is in more detail and you’re informed of every little change happening constantly whereas in a movie you do get a bigger and clearer view of the situation but sometimes you might just miss out a few important bits that are told in detail in a book. The movie looks really realistic. The problem of using children in films is that children can be so naive they might not be able to handle the scenes and deliver their speech very efficiently, some parts of the film might affect them by frightening them and they might not be able to give their best in that scene, this could affect the quality of the movie. The terrible outcome that Bruno faces could have an emotional effect on the younger audience. I would recommend teenagers to watch this movie and read the novel because it is very educational and emotional.

The Wrongful Conviction and Exoneration of David Milgaard :: Criminal Justice Essays

The Wrongful Conviction and Exoneration of David Milgaard Background At the time of the murder of which David Milgaard was accused of committing he was just 16 years old. He was a hippie, constantly in trouble. Even before he was a teenager he was getting into trouble. His parents and teachers considered him impulsive; he resisted authority (Regina Leader Post, 1992, as cited in Anderson & Anderson 1998). He was removed from kindergarten because he was considered to be a negative influence on the other children. When he was thirteen he spent time in a psychiatric centre (Anderson & Anderson, 1998) Elements of the Crime Gail Miller was a 22-year-old nursing assistant living in Saskatoon. She was found in an alley way between 6:45 and 7:30am on January 31st 1969. She had been raped, stabbed twelve times and left for dead. The rape was found to have occurred after she died. The police had little evidence; few clues had been left behind. There had been other attacks in the same area. Authorities tried to suppress the information that linked the Miller rape and murder to the two other assaults. Milgaard's Whereabouts David had decided to take a trip out to Alberta, along with two of his friends, Ron Wilson and Nichol John. Along the way there David wanted to stop through Saskatoon to pick up another friend, Shorty Cadrain. Once they got to Saskatoon they drove around not really knowing where they were going. They stopped to help someone out of a snow bank, and got stuck themselves; this is when Milgaard ripped his pants, something that came into evidence against him. When they finally arrived at Cadrain's home, David changed his pants, and they left to go to Alberta. Larry Fisher, who was later convicted of this crime (Miller's murder) was staying in the same home as Cadrain at the time. Some time after returning from their short trip to Alberta, Cadrain heard about the $2000 reward for information into Miller's death. Cadrain went to the police with a version of what happened that night, although he had been questioned earlier and had no information to give at that time. This is what made Milgaard a suspect in the case. From then on the police concentrated their efforts on finding evidence implicating Milgaard. Within the statement Cadrain gave to the police he said Milgaard had blood on his clothes, he threw away a woman's cosmetic case from the car on the way to Alberta and Cadrain also stated that he threatened to kill Wilson and John because they knew too much.

Willy Russell’s Intention by the End of the Play :: Educating Rita Plays Willy Russell Essays

Willy Russell’s Intention by the End of the Play ‘Blood Brothers’ The stage production of ‘Blood Brothers’ helps to emphasise the social difference between Mickey and Edward. There are two main sets used, one for Mrs. Johnstone’s house and street and one which is the inside of Mrs. Lyons house. Mrs. Johnstone’s house is a poorer set; there are smashed windows and graffiti written on the walls. The houses are small close together terrace houses built out of red brick. There is lack of colour in this set Willy Russell is trying to show the gloominess, coldness and poverty of their area with this set. Whereas, Mrs. Lyons house is colourful and bright. There is a bookshelf which shows that they are privileged enough to have books and that this family is refined and educated. There is a carpet that is rolled out every time that the Lyons house is on stage. This shows comfort, softness and warmth as does the fireplace in the Lyons house. This is a contrast between the Johnstons house where they have broken windows which shows coolness and discomfort. This shows the difference between two classes in a Thatcherite Britain at the time to the audience. At the Johnstone’s house the lighting is always dim, not well lit, to show the gloominess and poverty in their lives. However the lighting in the Lyon’s house is always very bright. This is to show to the audience that the life of the Lyons is brighter than the Johnstones. In parts of the play (especially I found when the narrator was speaking) the lighting was red and black I think Willy Russell’s intention here is to show that there is death in the play and symbolises the bloodshed. Sometimes one person would have the spotlight on just them so the background is black. This picks out this one person so all our attention is focused on this person and the darkness in the background is very gloomy like a dark hole to symbolise the emptiness that will be in some of their lives because of the deaths at the end. There is a musical theme to suggest the same idea or place theme. Like the music that is played at the Johnstones house. When this song comes on it is to show the poverty of the Johnstons. The song that I remember the most is the game when Mickey, Sammy and their friends are all children and they are shooting each other. The words of the song are very childish and it’s just a game. However when they become older this game becomes reality and a lot more serious and it’s not so

Old Spice Essay

This essay covers persuasive techniques used in the video commercial for Old Spice deodorant, as well as the messages that lie in the heart of the very commercial. The essay will try to explain the techniques and effects of persuasion on targeted audience, while at the same time referring to style and language. A great emphasis is put on humor, as it is the main technique of persuasion used in the very commercial. The commercial that is the subject of this work is Old Spice’s â€Å"The man your man could smell like† 33 second long video, which increased Old Spice sales as much as 106% at one point. In order to explain and understand this phenomenon, attention should be drawn to persuasive techniques used by advertisers to subconsciously influence targeted audience, while analyzing main messages itself. First, let us take a look at the concept of the commercial itself. The product, Old Spice deodorant, is presented to the audience by a physically attractive, stereotypically masculine African American, the narrator and the only character in the commercial, stereotyped to the point of exaggeration. Presented image leaves us with the idea of a parody. The main character is addressing the audience in second person, leading them through the commercial. One of the most interesting things about his narration is that, although the product itself is aimed at men, the commercial is not directly addressed to them. The narrator speaks to women, which is undoubtedly one of the factors of the popularity of this commercial, as it gives an unexpected twist to it, taking into consideration the well-known fact that most commercials of this type feature a stereotypical macho model, who addresses that men should aspire to look and act like him. By looking at some of the commercials of the type, especially at the older Old Spice commercials, a common persistent pattern can be noticed, which is now made fun of, the reason being the company’s attempt to try and abandon their outdated image. The narrator is, as mentioned before, an exaggeratedly stereotypical masculine persona, overly confident and arrogant to the degree that makes his personality unrealistic and humorous. He is trying to sell the product by selling himself, stating that any ordinary man could come at least close to what he was, just by using the same deodorant. The unintentional humor comes from his exaggerated personality and randomness of the commercial’s plot. First, we see the man in the bathroom, three seconds later he is on a boat, holding an oyster containing two tickets, which are soon replaced by diamonds and at the very end, he is on a horse. What makes this concept interesting and humorous is that he keeps eye contact with the audience through every second of the commercial, while describing everything that he is doing and everything that is seen on the screen, thus stating the obvious. The advertisement is not saying anything about the actual product, and is instead focused on selling the commercial rather than the product, which in this case is understandable as Old Spice is an established and popular brand. Advertisers count on the sense of humor of both men and women, whilst using an attractive man to occupy women’s attention. Targeted audience, as aforementioned, is the younger population of heterosexual men and women who share a particular sense of humour. By using mockery and a sort of parodying of the commercial, mixing it with sex appeal and personality, advertisers have created a persuasive and informative advertisement that is not aimed at a broader audience, as the above mentioned factors, do not appeal to older generations. Having a particular sense of humor is crucial to understanding this commercial, as it would otherwise face the risk of being labeled derogatory and sexist. Advertisers have applied the â€Å"sex sells† rule of advertising on this commercial, with the change of men being objectified rather than women, and mixed it with humor in order to create a desirable effect. Before turning to analysis of other techniques, it is important to mention the use of language and sentences as well, which cannot really be seen as a persuasive technique but is a powerful tool in manipulating audience. Sentences in the commercial are brief and straight to the point. The narrator is confident and he knows what he is talking about- no stops in between the sentences, no improvisation and no commas, which, aside with random images, helps to create the desirable dynamic effect. Dynamic commercial embodies the dynamic lifestyle led by the targeted audience, which consists of young people who are always on the move and trying to keep up with the modern world. As for the style and tone of the author, it is important to mention that the narrator states his point of view up-front, the language is forceful and persuasive, making the narrator sound arrogant and powerful, even superior to the audience he is talking to. He is even making fun of the audience, which is, however, not to be taken seriously, taking into account that the parodying tone is present from the very beginning and it is clear that the intention is to make fun of the male and female stereotypes, rather than the audience. After analyzing the messages, style, tone, and use of humor, an emphasis should be put on persuasive techniques, in order to understand the effect this commercial has on the audience. The second persuasive technique that can be read is â€Å"repetition†. Even by inattentive listening to the commercial it is clear that some of the words and sentences are repeated in order to reinforce the main point. At the very beginning, the narrator draws women’s attention by inviting them to compare their man with him, by repeating repeatedly â€Å"back at your man, now back to me†. This technique is used to state the obvious, and is meant to be a certain â€Å"wake up call† to all the women whose boyfriends and husbands are not as attractive, wealthy, confident and manly as the narrator is. Apart from â€Å"humor† and â€Å"repetition†, one of the persuasive techniques used in this commercial is â€Å"beautiful people†, an extremely common technique in ads that uses good looking models to attract attention of the viewers by implying that they will look like them if they use the product. In this instance, Isaiah Mustafa, an American actor, is used to draw the attention of female audience, by promising that their â€Å"man† would look like him if they used the product. Somewhat connected to the mentioned â€Å"beautiful people† technique, is â€Å"snob appeal†, another technique that uses beautiful, confident models to suggest that â€Å"the use of the product makes the customer part of an elite group with a luxurious and glamorous lifestyle†. Not only the narrator in this commercial is attractive and confident, but he is also well dressed, wealthy and powerful, owning a boat and having the power to turn an oyster into diamonds, and is again implying that the use of the advertised product, Old Spice deodorant, made all the mentioned things possible. All of the mentioned techniques- humor, repetition, beautiful people and snob appeal, are just some of the well-known, common techniques used by advertisers in order to trick the targeted audience into buying the advertised product. Behind the effect and success of those techniques lays the complex human psychology and the role of the subconscious, which the advertisers understand very well. Most people never pay attention to the manipulation they are subdued to every day by consuming media, but the crude truth is that the manipulation is ever present- in advertising, media and political speeches. The success of the Old Spice commercial lays behind the canny techniques of persuasion used by the advertisers, and although the parodying in this case is not accepted by everybody, and there are people who argue that the commercial is derogatory and shallow, advertisers undoubtedly got what they wanted- popularity and publicity.

The Amateur Marriage

Anne Tyler’s The Amateur Marriage is a novel depicting two mismatched spouses that continually fight for six decades. They each fail to form their own individual sense of identify. They also do not form a social sense of identity as a couple within a larger community. They each fight for superiority in the marriage as their identity. This paper will examine this long-term conflict, related to each spouse’s quest for individual identity. Several elements form the identity of an individual.Some are biological, stemming from ancestry in nationality, ethnic, and genetic backgrounds; and, from basic human needs of food, shelter, love, and recognition (Richland College, 2007). Other elements are social, including what groups a person joins or tries to join, religious background and conversions to other religions, political leanings, and careers and occupations. One also sees oneself in one way, while others see them in another, making up two identities that usually do not ful ly match.Further, an individual is a son/daughter, spouse/partner, parent, or other relative or friend of someone else, and these are identities as well. One interesting and very strong identity is the one arising from being in conflict with another person or group. Such a person may be, for example, anti child-abuse, anti war-with-Iraq; or against all that his neighbor who has insulted him stands for. The Father of Psychiatry, Sigmund Freud, taught that all identity is biologically developed, completed by the end of adolescence (Richland College, 2007).His student Erik Erickson broke away from Freud, believing that identity forms via social interactions as well as biological maturity throughout the lifespan, not ending in adolescence (ibid. ). Identity is an ongoing process. Erikson devised â€Å"Eight Stages of Man. † These include Trust (infant), Autonomy (toddler), Initiative (child), Identity (adolescent), Intimacy (young adult), Generativity (middle age), and Integrity (older age). Erickson believed that social environment combines with biology (aging) to give people sets of crises to resolve at each stage.Resolving them creates maturity, because one must resolve the crises of one level before going on to the next, or become stuck at the lower level, never to mature and always having the same type of problems, as the main couple in Tyler’s novel do. The couple Pauline and Michael Anton meets in pre-WWII Baltimore. Pauline jumps from a streetcar to join a patriotic parade and suffers a head gash, so she flings herself into Michael’s old family grocery store for help. A more reserved individual, Michael is taken aback by Pauline’s dramatic energy and falls instantly in love.Both in their early 20’s, they marry, but they do not pass adolescence and never develop intimacy. Mike goes to war, is shot in training, and comes straight home. He and Pauline have three children and move to the suburbs. They have numerous conflicts over the years and their marriage stagnates, because they are both stuck in childhood and adolescence, fighting over everything to be known as the winner and the superior partner. Pauline always flies off the handle emotionally, while Michael silently stews over things as mundane as whether it will get cold enough to snow.Nothing is ever solved over 60 years’ time, and the marriage and the individual Antons do not change or grow, either. They cut themselves off from the social interactions that would help them to grow. Their identity was formed by the time they married and never had a chance to develop further, because they would not allow it. They fight, each trying to win in order to be identified as the winner and the leader of the marriage. Then either would feel important, worthy, and adult. Unfortunately, it never happens. Mike is Polish Catholic, Pauline is WASP, and these disparate ethnic and religious identities are hard to meld into a marriage.Pauline believes that two souls should combine as one. Michael feels that they should remain distinct, but walk in the same direction. The marriage cannot work, because neither will learn additional new ways of thinking. Thus, for six decades, she is flighty, he is cold, and they remain constant in this. While marriages of their friends grow and develop via individual maturity and interactions as a couple through the usual give and take with a larger community, the Anton's marriage is stuck because of their feuding. Life passes them by, except for the problems.The Antons and their marriage cannot grow up. The author describes the friends’ growing marriages as fruit trees: â€Å"Marriages are like fruit trees†¦ After a time they meld, they grow together, and it doesn't matter how crazy the mix is, peaches on an apple tree or cherries on a plum tree; still if you tried to separate them you would cause a fatal wound. † Meanwhile, the Anton's marriage is a â€Å"gnarled, wizened, whiskery tree you see on windbeaten cliffs where there's not enough soil or water. † The marriage is anorexic, starving to death.Pauline, who once loved Mike’s reserved qualities â€Å"chafed daily at . . . his rigidity, his caution, his literal-mindedness . . . his reluctance to spend money, his suspicion of anything unfamiliar, his tendency to pass judgment . . . and his magical ability to make her seem hysterical† (p. 75). Michael’s opinion of Pauline becomes â€Å"a frantic, impossible woman, so unstable, even in good moods, with her exultant voice and glittery eyes, her dangerous excitement† (p. 167). Neither one is concerned with self-development, but only with criticizing the other.Over the decades, they become entrenched in these mindsets and unable to develop past their mid-twenties, psychologically. The miss all of the intimacy, generativity and integrity by holding onto adolescence. In identity, they are only â€Å"the fighting spouses. † When he does think about the marriage and where it is going, Mike sees that â€Å"all those young marrieds of the war years† have grown â€Å"wise and seasoned and comfortable in their roles, until only he and Pauline remained, as inexperienced as ever — the last couple left in the amateurs' parade† (p.168). He saw themselves as â€Å"more like brother and sister than husband and wife. This constant elbowing and competing, jockeying for position, glorying in I-told-you-so† (p. 168). Further, the Anton’s drug-abusing daughter Lindy sees the family as a stagnated hell, a â€Å"wretched, tangled knot, inward-turned, stunted, like a trapped fox chewing its own leg off† (p. 300). The marriage is stuck, as well as the family. In dysfunctional families, some members develop identities despite the stagnation and toxicity.The development of such an identity, a â€Å"hardy personality†, is described by Professor Suzanne Kobasa Ouellette of City University of New York (Richland College, 2007). Hardiness and its needed control, commitment, and challenge develop through attaining the following eight skills: 1. Recognize and tolerate anxiety and act anyway. 2. Separate fantasy from reality and tackle reality. 3. Set goals and establish priorities. 4. Project into the future and understand how today's choices affect the future. 5. Discriminate and make choices consistent with goals and values.6. Set boundaries and limits. 7. Ask assertively for wants and desires. 8. Trust self and own perceptions. Some dysfunctional people achieve these skills through study and counseling, but the Antons do not. Even when they decide to parent their small grandson Pagan, whom they rescue from the drug culture, they cannot reconcile their entrenched differences. Pauline believes their fights can be patched up in a â€Å"firefighting† management technique. Michael sees these fights as hellfire itself. Mike and Pauline decide just to toler ate each other, until Michael leaves.Even though it is possible to develop self-identities through conflict, Mike and Pauline are not able to do so, because they do not stop fighting in order to find social interactions as a couple (clubs, volunteer work, etc,), and counseling that would help them grow. They remain in the adolescent stage in their mid-60s. At this age and firmly entrenched in adolescence, it may or may not be too late for humans to grow further psychologically. REFERENCES Kriesberg, Lewis. , PhD. ‘ â€Å"Us† versus â€Å"Them. † ’ 2003.From the website of Beyond Intractability: A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict: http://www. beyondintractability. org/essay/identity_issues/ Retrieved Feb. 25 2007. Richland College. Dallas County Community College District. 12800 Abrams Road, Dallas, TX 75243-2199. â€Å"The Developmental Psychology of Erik Erikson. † From the Richland College website: http:/ /www. rlc. dcccd. edu/MATHSCI/anth/P101/DVLMENTL/ERIKSON. HTM/ Retrieved Feb 25 2007. Tyler, Anne. The Amateur Marriage. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 2004

Acquisition Strategy Essay

In today’s market it is very important for company’s to remain competive in order to maintain an edge over its competitors. The days that a company can rely on its reputation to continue making profits are gone. Today, everyone is looking to save money by buying less expensive items like economy brands, considering that the diffrences between the two products are similar and the features that are not offered are of little value. This will make a consumer buy the less expensive item. Like consumers, companies are also looking to save money and maximize profit. One way of doing this is through acquisition strategies. Combining the operations of two companies is a very good option for companies that are looking to stregnthening the company’s competincies and competitiveness, this will ultimately open new market opportunities (Gamble/Thompson, p. 119). The benefit of this type of strategy, unlike alliances, they do not go far enough for the resources needed and a very important factor, ownership. In the following paragraphs, I will give two examples of two different companies in different industries and explain how they will stregnthen their market position through acquisiton, to include resources and competive capabilities. The first example I will use it Wells Fargo & Co. results from the acquisition of Wachovia Corporation. During the economic crisis Wells Fargo & Co. acquired Wachovia Corp in a bail out to keep the bank from going under. At one point Wachovia was Wells Fargo’s competitor. After the acquisiton it made Wells Fargo a banking giant absorbing its competion. Earnings from that acquisition have earned Wells Fargo Financial & Co. a 21% earnings since the acquistion, reporting record profits. This acquistion has allowed them to gain market share, this was mostly created by winning new customers. Mortgage loans was the top earner and low rates and prices of homes falling to record lows has allowed the company to grow even in these tough economic times. Additionally, the acquisition of Wacovia Corp. moves Wells Fargo as the second largest bank, second only to Bank of America. The strategy has allowed them to acquire a larger share of the financial market. The second company I will discuss is DuPont Nutrition & Health and Applied BioSciences acquisition of Danisco Corp. Once a long time partner of DuPont, is a very good and proven company, is a good fit because of their proven market science business and offers clear synergy for them. The acquisition will make them the clear leader in industrial biotechnology with inovations in global challenges in food production and fossil fuel. This effort will position the company ahead of all rivals addressing dramatic growth in human population in the years to come. Danisco is well established company that has research and application capabilities. This will create a more cost efficient operation of the combined companies. The applications do not need to be duplicated, meaning their buying power will increase, administrative functions do not need to be replicated, and will further create more cost savings by downsizing. This acquisition will also allow them to enter new product categories, for example 65% of Danisco’s revenue comes from specialty foods, product substitution items such as sweetners and enablers. This will allow them to enter renewable materials and addressing food needs. In conclusion, I have discussed Wells Fargo & Co. , and how their acquisition of Wachovia Corp has allowed the company to gain a larger geographic coverage has helped it create a more cost efficient operation by allowing to cut overhead costs by elliminating duplicate processes. Second, DuPont Nutrition & Health and Applied BioSciences acquisition of Danisco Corporation has allowed DuPont has made them the clear leader in industrial biotechnology with inovations in global challenges in food production and fossil fuel.

Proc 5850 Logistics Essay

1. KLF Electronics is an American manufacturer of electronic equipment. The company has a single manufacturing facility in San Jose California. (20 points) KLF Electronics distributes its products through five regional warehouses located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles. In the current distribution system, the United States is partitioned into five major markets, each of which is served by a single regional warehouse. Customers, typically retail outlets, receive items directly from the regional warehouses in their market area. That is, in the current distribution system, each customer is assigned to a single market and receives deliveries from one regional warehouse. The warehouses receive items from the manufacturing facility; typically, it takes about two weeks to satisfy an order placed by any of the regional warehouses. In recent years, KLF has seen a significant increase in competition and huge pressure from their customers to improve service levels and reduce costs. To improve service level and reduce costs, KLF would like to consider an alternative distribution strategy in which the five regional warehouses are replaced with a single, central warehouse that will be in charge of all customer orders. Part A: Describe how you would design a new logistics network consisting of only a single warehouse. Due to increasing competition in the world, the company has to advance its logistics system. To meet the ever increasing demands of the customers, the company is planning to form a single regional warehouse that will be in charge of the customer orders. Logistics is responsible for the movement of people and materials in the organization. Logistics department of the company decides as to how and when, the raw materials or other finished or semi-finished products should be moved and stored. If the company plans for a single warehousing system, then it is basically focusing on the centralized warehousing which is responsible for serving the whole market. The network will be designed with the help of complete analysis of the company’s operations. This will help to design an efficient strategy for the company. The location and size of the warehouse will be decided. The transportation and facility costs will also be calculated. The cost set up will be properly estimated. The network will consist of various facilities like manufacturing center, vendor, distribution center and customers. There will also be a variety of raw materials and finished products that flow among these facilities. Part B: Provide an outline of such an analysis; what are the main steps? There are various steps that will be involved for designing a new logistics activity. In the first step, the currently operating network in the organization should be analyzed. In the second step, the network optimization database should be designed and populated. After this in the third step, the alternatives for network design should be created. In the fourth step, the network optimization model should be adopted. In the fifth step, the tool for network optimization should be selected. In the sixth step, the network optimization should be implemented. In the seventh step, the alternative network designs will be evaluated. In the last and the final step, the reconfiguration costs for the network will be analyzed. Part C: Specifically, what data would you need? The data that will be required for this design network is as follows: 1Â · A list of all the products of the company. 2Â · The location of the customers. 3Â · Warehousing cost and transportation cost. 4Â · Demands of the customer for each product. 5Â · Size of shipment by product. 6Â · Cost of processing the order. 7Â · Patterns of the orders by size, content and frequency. Part D: What are the advantages and disadvantages of the newly suggested distribution strategy relative to the existing distribution strategy? The newly suggested strategy will help the company in a number of ways. It will help in speeding up the production activities of the company. It will reduce the facility cost of the company. The safety stock required in centralized system is also less. It will also reduce the inbound transportation costs. The disadvantages of such a system are that the lead time will increase and it will become difficult for all the customers to easily approach a single warehouse. The activities will become complex and the outbound transportation cost will increase. 2. As the Purchasing Manager in a manufacturing firm, you would be expected to identify and know various aspects related to transportation/traffic in order to effectively perform your job. Today, during the staff meeting, your boss asked you for advice on two aspects of transportations: (20 points) a. What are the major considerations when handling materials? i. Discuss the following: 1. Load Unitization, 2. Space Layout, 3. Storage Equipment Choices, and 4. Movement Equipment Choices. There are various considerations while handling the materials and care should be taken, while working over this activity. The following things need to be considered: Load Unitization: This is an important factor of consideration for material handling. Load unitization is the packaging and arranging of the item or items in a particular manner that can be handled as a unit. It should be considered that the items are banded in a securable manner. In this, the physical packaging of the product needs to be considered for its protective packaging. Overhang pallets for packaging should not be used as they can damage the product (Lock, 1998). Space Layout: It is also an important point of consideration in material handling. The space layout should be such so that the materials can be handled in an easy and comfortable manner. The space layout should be according to the products and for the ease of the workers. Storage Equipment Choices: It is to be considered as it is the greatest factor that contributes to the storage cost. The storage equipment choices include automated storage and retrieval systems, carousel storage and retrieval system, automated guided vehicle system and power & free conveyors. These equipment choices need to be considered to check the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the logistics network. Movement Equipment Choices: it is also an important consideration in the material handling and it will help in allocating the movement of the materials for transport. The equipment choices help in managing the movement of the equipment for storage and transport. b. What legal forms of transportation are available to the company? ii. Identify the legal forms of transportation. iii. Discuss the legal forms of transportation. iv. Provide one example for each legal form of transportation. There are various forms of legal transportation which involves regulation of the operating rights. The forms of legal transportation are common carriers, contract carriers, exempt carriers and private carriers. Common carriers provide services under closed regulation, as per the published tariff. They operate in a particular geographical area and for a specific commodity. Example of common carrier can be ‘highway transportation’. Contract carriers provide services at individually negotiated rates and operate under a regulatory authority. They have pricing freedom and have no service compulsion. They operate on the guidelines that there should be no rate discrimination between the customers. Example of contract carrier is ‘rail transportation’. Exempt carriers are those which are not liable for taxation and free from obligations. These are used for agricultural commodities in the United States. Example of exempt carriers is water transportation. Private carriers look after their own goods transportation. They are not governed by cost and service regulations. They cannot carry the goods of others, although many regulations have now permitted to do so. Example of private carrier is air transport. 3. Consider the supply chain for breakfast cereal. Discuss the competing objectives of the farmers who make the raw materials, the manufacturing division of the company that makes the cereal, the logistics division of the company that makes the cereal, the marketing division of the company that make the cereal, the distribution arm of the grocery chain that sells the cereal, and the manager of the individual grocery store that sells the cereal. (20 points) In the supply chain for breakfast cereals, everyone has its own competing objectives which inspire them to produce the product by giving his best possible effort. In the supply chain, the objectives of the farmers are to produce the best quality raw materials and earn maximum profit for him and his family. He wants to sell it at the best possible price and puts all his efforts to produce the cereals. The competing objectives of the manufacturing division of the company are that they should produce the quality and type of product that is demanded by the customer. Its main aim is to acquire efficiency in production and to produce better than its competitors. The logistics division of the company also has certain competing objectives. It works with the objective of managing all the materials and manpower related activities. It handles the storage of materials in an efficient manner. The management of transportation, purchasing of raw materials, storage and supply of finished products are the main aim of the logistics division. The objectives of the marketing division of the company will be to market the product in an attractive and effective manner. The packaging should be attractive and should display the special qualities of the products. It also has the objective of deciding the pricing and promotional activities of the product. The objective of the distribution arm of the grocery chain is to distribute maximum quantity of the product to the retailers and cover more targets as compared to their competitors. The objective of the grocery store that sells the cereal will be to sell the best quality products to the customers. They also serve the customers and fulfill their requirements. 4. You have been called in as a consultant to a large drugstore chain which has 24,000 inventory line items. Explain how inventory classification could help this company to better control its inventory. (20 points) Inventory classification is very helpful for controlling the inventory when a company has such a wide variety of inventory line items. There are basically five different types of inventories that are fluctuating inventories, anticipation inventories, cycle inventories, transportation inventories and decoupling inventories. Fluctuating inventory will help in managing the irregular demand of the products. Anticipated inventory helps in managing the unpredictable demand of the product. Cycle inventory helps in equating the consumption and production of the products. Transportation inventories are managed, where the time taken to transport a product is more and so meet the demands, it is maintained. Decoupling inventory is maintained to cover up the increasing demand of the product or the increasing purchases of the product. Inventory classification will help the company in inventory control, as, it will help in proper planning of the production system as materials will be available wherever and whenever required. It will also help in satisfying the orders of the customers as per the commuted date. It can also help in solving the problem of rush order inventory. It will also help in timely management of the inventory. 5. Discuss how each of the following helps to alleviate the bullwhip effect: (20 points) c. E-Commerce and the Internet d. Express Delivery e. Collaborative forecasts f. Everyday low pricing g. Vendor-managed inventory Bullwhip effect is the enlargement of the demand fluctuations i.e. increases and decreases in demand. This is often caused by price fluctuations, rationing, misperceptions of feedbacks, ordering panics, forecasting errors etc. It can be alleviated with the help of various tools like internet, express delivery, collaborative forecasts etc. Internet and e-commerce helps in giving more accurate information to the suppliers about the demand of a product. It helps in prevention of deformation and wrong communication of the demand related information. It also assists in reducing the lead time, as; it eases the order processing activity. Express delivery helps in reducing the demand variance and also reduces the lead time. It refers to timely and very fast delivery of the products to the wholesalers and to the ultimate customers. In collaborative forecasts procurement, product management and sales participate. Collaborative forecasts help the stakeholders in arriving at a particular demand forecast and alleviate the bullwhip effect. Everyday pricing also alleviates the bullwhip effect. There are certain demand hikes, which are created by periodic promotions and this leads to increase in demand fluctuations. Everyday pricing helps in preventing the increasing demand fluctuations and alleviates the bullwhip effect. Vendor managed inventory is helpful for the supplier as, it assists in monitoring the downstream demand. With this, the supplier can make a good and effective decision related to various activities like what quantity should be shipped for the customers and what quantity should be kept on hand. So, with the help of vendor managed inventory, the supplier does not have to depend upon the order data. Thus, the supplier does not have to rely on order data for demand estimation and alleviates the bullwhip effect.