A Survey of Information Technologies in Logistics Management Essays

A Survey of Information Technologies in Logistics Management Essays A Survey of Information Technologies in Logistics Management Essay A Survey of Information Technologies in Logistics Management Essay A Survey of Information Technologies in Logistics Management Anil Gurung University of Texas at Arlington Department of Information Systems and Operations Management, College of Business Administration Office: Room 630 Business Building Box 19437 701 S West St. Arlington, Texas 76019-0437 Voice: 817. 272. 3528 Email: [emailprotected] edu ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the impact of information technologies (IT) on logistics by conducting a survey of literatures on academic logistics journals and practitioner journals. The literature survey and practice find that third party logistic providers have better opportunity to leverage IT since they need to have interoperable IT systems with their customers. The business philosophy of Just-In-Time (JIT) has also contributed to the impact of IT in logistics. Further, information technologies are identified that has benefited the logistics. Future directions of logistics are discussed. INTRODUCTION The proliferation of information technologies (IT) and the internet technologies have provided impetus and challenges to the logistics. New technologies present new means to manage the flow of information. IT as a productivity tool can be utilized to both increase the capability and decrease the cost at the same time (Closs et al. , 1997). It has been widely accepted that firms can achieve competitive advantage by cost reduction or differentiation with the proper implementation of IT (Porter Millar, 1985). Enabled by IT the logistics has become a source of competitive advantage for many firms. Two streams of research are identified that highlights the role of IT in logistics. First stream relates to just-in-time logistics information system (Anderson Quinn, 1986; Bookbinder Dilts, 1989; Das Handfield, 1997; Gomes Mentzer, 1988; Perry, 1988; Schwarz Weng, 2000; Spencer, M. S. et al. , 1994; Spencer, M. S. et al. , 1996; Takahashi Nakamura, 2000; Titone, 1996; Wafa Yasin, 1996). The other stream is the third party logistics (Lewis Talalayevsky, 2000; Peters et al. , 1998; Sauvage, 2003; Sink Langley, 1997; Vaidyanathan, 2005). Importance of IT in logistics has grown to some extent by business philosophy of Just-InTime (JIT) by firms. With the emphasis of firms on JIT, the impact of logistics has grown as it is increasingly recognized as a source of consistent, low lead time, damage free deliveries (Bardi et al. , 1994). In pursuit of competitive advantages, firms outsource their functions which are noncore competencies so that they can focus on their core competencies. A recent survey found that 83 percent of the surveyed Fortune 500 companies reported having at least one contract with a third-party logistics provider (Lieb Bentz, 2004). Over the years, the use of third-party logistics has been increasing. Similar survey of Fortune 500 companies taken in 1991 had only 38 percent of the respondents reporting the use of third-party logistics provider (Lieb, 1992). The 618 third party logistic operators attempt to harness the capability of information technology to provide superior services to their customers. The objective of this paper is to study how IT has impacted logistics. To this end, literature review of both leading academic and practitioner logistic journals is conducted. The next section will report the framework of logistics. The following section will analyze the IT enablers in logistics. Then, the implications of ecommerce are discussed followed by a section on future directions for logistics. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE A classification scheme logistics functions provides a meaningful way to study how IT has impacted the various functions of logistics. Previous research in logistics have categorized the use of information systems in logistics in different ways. A system of logistics functions can be divided into following five broad areas (Bowersox, 1974): facility location, transportation, inventory, communication and material movement. Based on the problem areas that application addresses, seven areas of logistics has been identified as facility location, inventory control, order entry, vehicle scheduling, warehouse layout planning, freight rate retrieval, and product and shipment tracing (Ballou, 1976). Another survey identified five categories as facility location, inventory control, transportation, production scheduling, and total physical distribution (House, 1978). These categories treated each category as individual entities rather than a whole system. Noting this shortcoming, Stenger (1986) proposed another classification consisting of transaction systems, short-term scheduling and inventory replenishment systems, flow planning systems, and network planning and design systems. Expanding on the framework developed by Bowersox, Novack et al (1992) divided logistics function into two categories. The first category refers to physical activities that are required various utilities of customer need. These will include inventory, transportation and customer service operations. The second category refers to flow of information or transaction activities that follow or initiate the physical activities. The physical and information flows in logistics function is well-depicted in Figure 1 that shows the categorization of logistics functions as described by Vaidyanathan (2005). As shown in the figure, information flows between logistics function are managed, coordinated and supported by various logistics technologies. 619 Inventory and Logistics Management: Freight Consolidation Freight Distribution Shipment Planning Traffic Management Inventory Management Carrier Selection Order Entry/ Management Information Flow Customer Service: Freight Payments Auditing Order Management Fulfillment Help Desk Carrier Selection Rate Negotiation Information Flow Warehousing: Packaging Product Making Labeling Warehousing Material Flow Transportation: Fleet Management Cross Docking Product Return Figure 1: Categorization of Logistics Functions (adapted from Vaidyanathan 2005) IT enablers in Logistics The literature in logistics is full of instances where information technology has been touted as a means to enhance logistics competitiveness (Bowersox, 1974; Closs et al. , 1997; Rabinovich et al. , 1999; Stenger, 1986). Yet there has been few empirical studies that relates logistics information capabilities to logistics competence (Closs et al. , 1997). A popular framework in information systems discipline put forward by Gorry Morton (1989) place logistics decisions as structured and varying from operational to strategic. The role of logistics information systems as operational and strategic enablers in different areas of the firm’s supply chain has been stated in the literature (Langley et al. , 1988). There has been a shift of IT from being an enabler of operational and material handling functions to being an enabler of decision-making and activityplanning functions within the supply chain (La Londe Auker, 1973). Logistics Information System Logistics Information System (LIS) is the application component of logistics information technology. An effective LIS facilitates the proper information flow between inventory, 20 Information Flow warehousing and transportation to realize the high level of customer service. The ability to optimize the logistics cost and service levels is affected by the LIS of the firm and its partners. Firms that provide better logistics services at a lower cost can have competitive advantage over its competitors (Bardi et al. , 1994). Two classes of LIS has been recogn ized in the literature (Closs et al. , 1997). Logistics operating systems (LOS) refer to transactional applications such as order entry, order processing, warehousing, and transportation. Logistics planning systems (LPS) refer to coordinating applications such as forecasting, inventory management, and distribution requirements planning. EDI Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has successfully enhanced the communication between firms which is essential for logistics. This technology requires firms to have common data formatting and transmission standards or protocols. Such technologies have been employed by companies to coordinate their value chain activities including logistics. Early applications of EDI has been on transmitting vehicle location information by railways to their customers. Other types of logistics information carried by EDI are purchase orders/releases and changes, advanced shipping notices, bills of lading, and invoices. Timely and accurate information is crucial in decision making about complex logistics problems. Japan Airlines (JAL) adopted EDI to manage their complex value chain logistics required for their operations, including procurement and just-in-time delivery of aircraft fuel, repair and maintenance aircraft parts, food catering and other customer requirements (Chatfield Bjorn-Andersen, 1997). The competitive advantage gained by companies employing EDI is cited in the literature. Firms utilizing EDI were better able to fulfill greater number of services to their customers (Rogers et al. , 1992). Bar coding Bar coding is one of the most IT enablers to date and has made significant impact in the practice. Starting in 1960’s some of the earliest implementation of bar codes were in rail road cars. Nowadays it is rampant in anything that needs to be identified and tracked. The different type of bar codes are available, known as symbologies, for different purposes. In practice, most firms prefer to use industry standards rather than proprietary standards for most of their bar codes on their products. By following industry standards, bar codes reduce the complications inherent in the use of multiple standards and thus provides a strong foundation for integrating the corporate logistics and the supply chain (Closs Kefeng, 2000). Real-time communications capability The logistics IT capability of real-time communications is essential for maintaining the flow of information. As noted by Dudley Lasserre (1989), one of the important roles of logistics IT is to substitute information for inventory. To make real-time tracking of goods, logistic information systems of business partners should have real-time communications capability. The business partners require an integrated messaging architecture which exchanges business data while customizing business flows and format transformation. Real-time communications also allows for schedule plans to change in dynamic routing and scheduling system when the vehicles are 621 already out on the road. Any last minute changes in routing and scheduling system or constant tracking has been possible only with real-time communications ability of the respective systems. RFID RFID helps to identify, track and locate items automatically. The use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is expected to increase rapidly in coming years. Often referred to as the next step in the evolution of bar-coding, RFID is growing rapidly in the automatic data capture and identification market (Srivastava, 2004). RFID is not a new technology, in fact, its use dates back to 1940’s but only now it is starting to make a significant impact within the supply chain. The growth in use of RFID will be enhanced to some extent by mandates from large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, and the US Department of Defense, who require their suppliers to adopt this technology within the next few years (Asif Mandviwalla, 2005). Among the companies that are piloting RFID in their supply chain management prominent ones are WalMart, Procter Gamble, Coca-cola and Gillette. Although the biggest driver in the popularity of RFID has been supply chain, companies are experimenting in other applications as well. Other applications are theft detection, asset tracking, mobile payments, in-process inventory tracking and luggage tracking. Dell, Seagate, Boeing and Ford are among other companies that are using RFID to track their in-process inventory in manufacturing. An RFID system includes transponders or tags that can identify items ; antennas that allows tags to be interrogated and to respond; and software that controls the RFID equipment, manages the data and interfaces with enterprise applications. RFID has lots of potential to improve the efficiency in the supply chain and reduce waste. For example, efficiency would result from automatic update of inventory system when products with RFID tags are unloaded from trucks into stores. The advantages of RFID over bar coding are as follows: RFID tags can provide longer read distances; store more data; require no direct line of sight between tag and reader; and can collect data from multiple sources simultaneously (Asif Mandviwalla, 2005). There are some technical and business challenges to overcome before RFID can be ubiquitous. Technical issues include problems of interference, security and accuracy while business issues relate to costs and lack of standards. Another significant business challenge in adopting RFID faced by managers is to work out a business case for the executive board. Early adopters of these technologies are marred by problems such as possible adverse consumer outbursts to perceived invasion of privacy, reliability of the RFID system, and issues related to health, safety and IT integration. IMPLICATION OF ECOMMERCE ON LOGISTICS The growth of ecommerce pose opportunities and challenges for logistics. As internet retailing increases the companies are accepting orders from their clientele across the borders. In many instances the location of clients are not covered by any existing distribution system of the companies. On such occasions the companies have no resort but to turn towards third party logistics operators for physical flow of goods. As for the information flow, the companies need to have capabilities for ecommerce applications. The group of technologies and processes for coordinating logistics information flow has been named e-logistics. An important web 622 technology that facilitates the exchange of business data among logistics business partners across different platforms is extra markup language (XML). For example, UPS is exploiting the power of the web services to streamline its information flows for logistics activities such as RFQ, shipping and tracking. Changing Trends in Logistics Consultants are beginning to take an active part in helping out the shippers select third party logistics operators. Shippers hire consultants to help them align business processes with supply chain strategies. The newly coined term â€Å"4PL† for consultants stands for dominant role that consultants will be taking in managing the resources, the technology and the processes in the supply chain. It is yet to be seen whether the shippers will let the consultants manage all the logistics processes. Instead of handing over the authority to manage the logistics processes to the consulting firms, shippers may choose to develop alliance with the third party logistics operators and maintain the supply chain themselves. The key thing that will allow coordination between shipper firms and the third party logistics will be information technology and management skills to run the supply chain effectively. This implies that firms should also have proper logistic technologies in place to enjoy the full benefits of use of third party logistics. FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS The research directions that are available for researchers in logistics are numerous. Before companies implement new logistic information technologies such as RFID it is important to assess the viability of adopting the technology. What would be the expected benefits? What is the ROI? Researchers can come up with various econometric models to predict the outcomes of adopting logistics technologies. Modeling techniques can be used to assess the scenarios that would be beneficial for adopting new technologies. As companies are entering into ecommerce, better coordinating techniques are required to streamline logistics activities for transactions taking place on the internet. Collaborative technologies for supporting e-logistics would greatly enhance the future logistics. Multi-agent systems (MAS) provide an interesting avenue of research that is applicable for supporting logistics technologies on the internet. Intelligent software agents can be used to assess the bids offered by multiple third-party logistics operators. To support global ecommerce the companies need to have different options for global logistics. The best way to traverse the geographical distribution is through technology. What are the communication channels and technologies that would benefit the company in terms of monitoring and coordination logistics functions? More empirical evidence will be preferred to establish the direct link between organizational performance and logistics information systems. Researchers can seek to examine the complex relationships between logistics technologies and performance from different paradigms and theories. The perspective of organizational learning can be used to evaluate the performance gained by employing logistics information systems. 23 CONCLUSION The objective of this paper was to observe the impact of information technology on the logistics functions. A literature review of the academic and practitioners journals was conducted. The information technologies that have been used to support logistics functions were discussed. It is evident that academic researchers are aware of new tec hnologies in practice such as RFID. Development in technologies offer sources of competitive advantage for companies. Adoption of new technologies provide challenge and opportunities for the companies. Proper business case and calculation of ROI needs to be done to assess the expected benefits from new technologies. Changing trends in business in terms of ecommerce open new markets for firms for all sizes to expand their market share. Strategic use of information resource would bear results of competitive advantage and thus leading to success stories. The best practices in logistic information technologies need to be adopted by firms in alignment of their strategic goals. Future trends in logistics may prompt companies to rethink their logistics strategies. Firms may choose to use third party logistics in order to focus on their core competencies. However, firms need to have logistics information systems in place that is compatible with the third party operators in order to fully benefit from their services. REFERENCES Anderson, D. L. Quinn, R. J. 1986, The Role of Transportation in Long Supply Line Just-InTime Logistics Channels , Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 68-88. Asif, Z. Mandviwalla, M. 2005, Integrating the Supply Chain with RFID: a Technical and Business Analysis, Communications of the AIS, vol. 15, pp. 393-427. Ballou, R. H. 976, Computer Methods in Transportation-Distribution, Transportation Journal, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 72-85. Bardi, E. J. , Raghunathan, T. S. Bagchi, P. K. 1994, Logistics information systems: The strategic role of top management, Journal of Business Logistics, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 7185. Bookbinder, J. H. Dilts, D. 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Analysis of Character in “Young Goodman Brown” Research Paper Example

Analysis of Character in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† Research Paper Example Analysis of Character in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† Paper Analysis of Character in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† Paper In Nathaniel Hawthornes short story, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† the title character is a man who sets out on a mysterious journey into the woods and unknowingly ends up discovering a truth about himself that he cannot reconcile. At the beginning of the story, a newly-married Goodman Brown bids his young wife, Faith, goodbye and sets out on his journey to meet â€Å"a grave and decently attired† elderly man. While at first reluctant to keep on his journey, Goodman Brown allows himself to be persuaded by the elderly man to continue deeper into the forest. Once they reach their destination, Young Goodman Brown is shaken by the discovery that he is at a Black Mass, that most of the townspeople, including his wife are there and that his elderly companion is actually the Devil. Realizing that Faith is about to pledge herself to the Devil, Goodman Brown cries out in dismay. Suddenly, he finds himself standing alone in the forest, unsure if what he â€Å"witnessed† was real or a dream. Unable to cope with the discovery from his journey that all men, including himself, have the capacity for evil, Young Goodman Brown changes from a confident, religious and trusting man to one ruled by disillusionment, suspicion and fear. In the beginning of the story, Goodman Brown is confident and trusting in what he sets out on his journey, reassuring Faith that he must go and that everything will be okay. As he walks through town, his confidence and intent falters when he spies Faith watching worriedly from a distance. He shakes off his doubts, making the excuse that even though she would not approve of his reason for his journey, it will be just this one time and after that her goodness will rescue him from evil. He starts down the dark road into the forest and he meets an older man, who looks somewhat like himself. As they converse, the man makes Goodman Brown feel uneasy about what he is doing. Goodman Brown travels down the path accompanied by the man and is told that his father and his grandfather before him have both walked this same path. This makes him feel extremely uneasy about the journey. His doubts grow as he meets an old woman, who he has seen before in town, and she converses with the older man about witchcraft and the devil for a short moment. Later on, he becomes distraught after he sees his wifes ribbon flutter to him, indicating that she was taken. When he reaches the Black Mass, he sees the people from town there including his wife who is to be inducted with him, and it is this that changes him to become suspicious and paranoid. When Goodman Brown finds himself standing alone in the forest, he cannot figure out if what he’d just witnessed was real or a dream. When he returns to town the next morning, he cannot see the town or the people in it the same way he did before his journey. After seeing what he saw of others during his journey, he is a sad and distrustful man always wondering about other people’s true motives. Now, he looks at Faith, not with joy and love, but with suspicion and condemnation. His determination to avoid evil, doesn’t allow him to appreciate the good he has in his life. When Goodman Brown dies years later, a bitter old man with numerous family members and friends in attendance at his funeral, no one can think of one good thing about him to put on his tombstone. In this story, Goodman Brown starts out trusting and confident, but ends up fearful and suspicious when he discovers that all men, including himself, have the capacity for evil. His loss of faith in himself to overcome this evil, turns him bitter unable to truly love his wife and to see the good in life. In the end, his attempts to keep away from evil by silently condemning everyone around him, he ends up seen by everyone else as a sad man without hope.

Description of an advert Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Description of an advert - Essay Example The consumer marketers for the company emphasize  on push strategies  where their sales force convinces the retailers and dealers to carry, promote as well as sell the products of the company to the end users (Ryan & Jones, 2012). In contrast, the consumer marketers emphasizing pull strategies  haveheavy reliance on advertising as well as consumer promotions in drawing customers into the stores. The aspect of tools in terms of choice is influenced through company size. The market leaders afford more advertising while using sales promotion sparingly. In contrast, smaller competitors aggressively use sales promotion (Viardot, 2004). The brand of perfume in the advertisement is Dior perfume for ladies. The product is sleek, executive and fancy targeting the segment that keeps trying new products. There are various scents denoting warmth and comfort including vanilla or sandalwood. Subsequent fragrances, like clary sage or grapefruit could awaken the senses while making the person feel rather energetic (Copper &Hiebing, 2000). The emphasis on the notes in the fragrance alongside promotes the positive feelings across all people while combining such components with original scent combinations which will ensure that curious consumers about the product try it out (Jain & Griffith, 2012). For example, adding black pepper oil to the cologne for women gives it richer and earthier scent. For this reason, the ingredient remains to be an exotic aspect that draws more customers in irrespective of the inclusion of the traditional notes such as musk within the fragrance. The advertiser is rather informative to the audience. The advertisement starts with the identification of the product or service through what it is, who buys it, at how much they pay and how much it costs for to produce it, why consumer demand for the product exists, and where the product sits as compared to similar products and services available currently. The advertisement also describes the marketplac e rationale across various differences between the product and that of competitors (Kumar, 2011). Looking at price, quality, new ideas and approaches, and how the product appeals to specific customer base, the advertisement is responsive to the existing customers as well as new customers attracted into the market. The advertisement is rather specific about the manner in which the product and subsequent service improves on the already existing, the quality control use, the post-purchase evaluation (obtaining feedback) as well as the scope of service to be provide in terms of responsibilities, expectations and liabilities. The colours used in the advertisement relate to the feminine gender. The text is soft and appetizing to the feminine gender as well. The models used in the ad are young, beautiful and aggressive to trigger a sensation brought about by the use of the product in question. In my opinion, they have been used correctly. The marketers in this case prove to be well experie nced sales executives (Mercer, 1996).   Marketing in this case forms the first strength to the company’s success as well as huge competitive edge. Professionalism is also depicted in the ad and includes everything from the maintenance of confidentiality all the way to the hiring of the very best staff to deliver organisational objectives. Individual attention is based on each client's experience towards tailoring the same into a state of preference. For repeat business and

Alcohol Advertisement Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Alcohol Advertisement Report - Essay Example Now the ads are found everywhere in the newspaper, magazine, TV shows even in the textbooks. Ads can be seen at every nook and corner, as they are being so common that the people are also being familiar with the message they convey. Alcohol companies do put warning like â€Å"Drink Responsibly† on their advertisement but no one bothers to consider that, because the alcohol advertisement make drinking so appealing to the youth, that they start believing it to become one of those â€Å"cool kids† in town. The above advertisement is of signature, product of MC Dowell Nepal Limited and it is taken from January 15 2007 issue of â€Å"The Boss†, a business magazine. As we can see that their main target in this advertisement is youth and adolescent. The companies advertising alcohol products mainly show it as a â€Å"Lifestyle Theme†; which prompts the viewer to take the action as the advertiser wants. It is observable in the above advertisement, that the people portrayed belong to a wealthy background, and are going somewhere, away from their workplace or home town.

Twelve Angry Men | Film Analysis

Twelve Angry Men | Film Analysis The jury of twelve angry men, entrusted with the power to send an uneducated, teenaged Puerto Rican, tenement-dwelling boy to the electric chair for killing his father with a switchblade knife, are literally locked into a small, claustrophobic rectangular room on a stifling hot summer day until they come up with a unanimous decision either guilty or not guilty. The compelling, provocative film examines the twelve mens deep-seated personal prejudices, perceptual biases and weaknesses, indifference, anger, personalities, unreliable judgments, cultural differences, ignorance and fears, that threaten to taint their decision-making abilities, cause them to ignore the real issues in the case, and potentially lead them to a miscarriage of justice. The Prosecutions Case: At the beginning of the play, eleven of the jurors believe that the boy killed his father. They summarize the compelling evidence of the trial: A 45 year old woman claimed she witnessed the defendant stabbing his father. She watched through her window as the citys commuter train passed by. An old man living downstairs claimed that he heard the boy yell Ill kill you! followed by a thump on the floor. He then witnessed a young man, supposedly the defendant, running away. Before the murder took place, the defendant purchased a switchblade, the same type that was used in the murder. Presenting a weak alibi, the defendant claimed he was at the movies at the time of the murder. He failed to remember the names of the films. Finding Reasonable Doubt: Juror #8 picks apart each piece of evidence to persuade the others. Here are some of the observations: The old man could have invented his story because he craved attention. He also might not have heard the boys voice while the train was passing by. Although the prosecution stated that the switchblade was rare and unusual, Juror #8 purchased one just like it from a store in the defendants neighborhood. Some members of the jury decide that during a stressful situation, anyone could forget the names of the movie they had seen. The 45 year old woman had indentations on her nose, indicating that she wore glasses. Because her eyesight is in question, the jury decides that she is not a reliable witness. Characters: Juror 1 (Foreman; coach)Martin Balsam Non-confrontational, Juror #1 serves as the foreman of the jury. He is serious about his authoritative role, and wants to be as fair as possible. Juror 2 (Bank clerk; inexperienced juror)John Fiedler He is the most timid of the group.Juror #2 is easily persuaded by the opinions of others, and cannot explain the roots of his opinions. Juror 3 (Angry gentleman with photo of son)Lee J. Cobb In many ways, he is the antagonist to the constantly calm Juror #8. Juror #3 is immediately vocal about the supposed simplicity of the case, and the obvious guilt of the defendant. He is quick to lose his temper, and often infuriated when Juror #8 and other members disagree with his opinions. He believes that the defendant is absolutely guilty, until the very end of the play. During Act Three, Juror #3s emotional baggage is revealed. His poor relationship with his own son may have biased his views. Only when he comes to terms with this can he finally vote not guilty. Juror 4 (Stock Broker)E. G. Marshall A logical, well-spoken stock-broker, Juror #4 urges fellow jurors to avoid emotional arguments and engage in rational discussion. He does not change his vote until a witnesss testimony is discredited (due to the witnesss apparently poor vision). Juror 5 (Grew up in the slums)Jack Klugman This young man is nervous about expressing his opinion, especially in front of the elder members of the group. He grew up in the slums. He has witnessed knife-fights, an experience that will later help other jurors form an opinion of not guilty. Juror 6 (Painter)Edward Binns Described as an honest but dull-witted man, Juror #6 is a house painter by trade. He is slow to see the good in others, but eventually agrees with Juror #8. Juror 7 (Sports fan)Jack Warden A slick and sometimes obnoxious salesman, Juror #7 admits during Act One that he would have done anything to miss jury duty. He represents the many real-life individuals who loath the idea of being on a jury. Juror 8 (Architect; Man who doesnt know)Henry Fonda He votes not guilty during the jurys first vote. Described as thoughtful and gentle, Juror #8 is usually portrayed as the most heroic member of the jury. He is devoted to justice, and is initially sympathetic toward the 19-year-old defendant. At the beginning of the play, when every other juror has voted guilty he is the only one to vote: not guilty. Juror #8 spends the rest of the play urging the others to practice patience, and to contemplate the details of the case. A guilty verdict will result in the electric chair; therefore, Juror #8 wants to discuss the relevance of the witness testimony. He is convinced that there is reasonable doubt. Eventually he persuades the other jurors to acquit the defendant. Juror 9 (Nice older gentleman)Joseph Sweeney Described in the stage notes as a mild, gentle old man, defeated by life and waiting to die. Despite this bleak description, he is the first to agree with Juror #8, deciding that there is not enough evidence to sentence the young man to death. Also, during Act One, Juror #9 is the first to openly recognize Juror #10s racist attitude, stating that, What this man says is very dangerous. Juror 10 (Prejudiced older gentleman with cold)Ed Begley The most abhorrent member of the group, Juror #10 is openly bitter and prejudice. During Act Three he unleashes his bigotry to the others in a speech that disturbs the rest of the jury. Most of the jurors, disgusted by #10s racism, turn their backs on him. Juror 11 (Foreign watchmaker)George Voskovec As a refugee from Europe, Juror #11 has witnessed great injustices. That is why he is intent on administering justice as a jury member. He sometimes feels self-conscious about his foreign accent. He conveys a deep appreciation for democracy and Americas legal system. Juror 12 (Advertising Executive; doodler)Robert Webber He is an arrogant and impatient advertising executive. He is anxious for the trail to be over so that he can get back to his career and his social life. EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR Juror 8 In this movie, Juror 8 emerged as a leader because he gains respect by other jurors. At the beginning of the movie, he is the only one to vote not guilty during the jurys first vote. It is because he is convinced that there is a reasonable doubt. He wanted to talk about seriousness of the case without emotionally pre- judging the 18 year old boy. He showed empathy by asking other jurors to imagine themselves in the boys shoes awaiting death sentence, physically abuse by his father, growing up in the slums and etc. Juror 8 convince the other jurors that the boy isnt guilty by persuading them in a calm manner .He stay calmed and talked over the evidence presented by the prosecution and finding flaws in it. Juror 8 analyzed every detail of the evidence with the other jurors. He was presenting calm and used logical theories about why he has doubt that the boy didnt kill his father. As Juror 8 always stay calm, polite and respectful, many of the other jurors are persuaded easier and prefe r to side with him rather than juror 3 and 10. He persuaded almost half of the jurors to vote not guilty towards the middle of the movie. He elaborated what every juror was trying to say and making suggestions to keep the group focus even thought it was a long and tedious process. Juror 8 focus on task oriented approach .He does not seek status or ego enhancement. In this movie, he used a lot of questioning skill and able to lead other juror to analyze the evidence in a concrete manner. He encourages the jurors to think in bigger picture: defendants background, witnesss credibility, defending attorneys motives and etc. He asked jurors to put aside their personal biases, and stressing the importance of resuming their responsibility seriously. He aims for group success. As time passes, other jurors adopt his strategies. Together, they synergistically find flaws in the trials evidence and reached informed conclusions eventually. Juror 8s interpersonal style is classified as open receptive and objective. This leadership trait is extremely effective in questioning other jurors motives and their views .It helped bring out an efficient jury in this case. Throughout the movie, he openly admitted that he did not know if the boy indeed killed his father. Instead, he solicited feedback from other jurors in order to make an accurate decision. He encouraged others to discuss their doubt on the case and he was ready to receive feedback. He guided other jurors to make decision based on facts and conscience, and not using rush judgment and personal prejudice. Task Oriented Behaviour Juror 8 has throughout this movie, at various occasion, showed consistency in clarifying the objective that is expected of the group. Where most jurors started with the notion that the task at hand was simply to determine whether the accused is guilty or not and based their judgements on various reasons and emotions, juror 8 clarified that the objective of the group was to establish whether or not there exist reasonable doubt with the evidence and arguments presented during the court hearing. The first 15 minutes of the movie sees Juror 1 exhibiting promising leadership potential. In the beginning when the jurors first came back to their room after the deliberation in court, he was the first to organise the group. Juror 1 showed many examples of task-oriented behaviour. He organised ballots, organised seating arrangements and called for a start. These are example of organizing work activities to improve efficiency, and short-term operations planning. Relations Oriented Behaviour In the beginning, Juror 8 did not seem to show much of relations oriented behaviour, and therefore did not seem to make much of an influence. Many other jurors seemed to display more extrovert personalities and socialized more among their peers. At this time, Juror 1 already showed significant amount of relations-oriented behaviors. For example, he suggested a 5 minutes break in consideration for the gentleman in the washroom. He also consulted with other jurors, asking them for their suggestions on how they wanted to start, whether to discuss or to take a quick vote first. He provided support and encouragement to Juror 12 when Juror 12 seems to lack the confidence after he suggested the idea for the 11 jurors to convince Juror 8 of their arguments why they think the boy is guilty. Change Oriented Behaviour Juror 8 showed by far the most and strongest change oriented behaviours throughout the length of this movie. The first instance of this is after the first vote where he alone votes for a not guilty verdict. When he was asked to clarify his decision he encouraged the other jurors to view the case at hand differently. He articulated that its a big decision that they have to make since its a life at stake and that he is not comfortable to make such a decision in less than 5 minutes. Juror 8 also took some risk and experimented with a creative approach to make a point across to the other jurors. First he asked to view the knife again. When the knife was made available and all the other jurors were convinced that the knife was quite unique, Juror 8 took out an identical knife that he bought and manages to grab everybodys attention. Although owning a switch blade knife is illegal, he took this risk in return for a firm foothold into challenging the pre-conceptions of the other jurors. Afte r this event, he gained a vote for not guilty. INEFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR Juror #3 Juror #3 has been informed to be a juror via mail like everyone else for this case. As he is the most important counterpart to juror #8 we will have a closer look at him. In the following we will characterize him and point out important scenes. This will be supported by a look at the body language and rhetoric. We will show inwhich leadership style juror #3 can be categorized and what mistakes have been done. In the end we will point out how juror #3 could have avoided his ineffective leadership style. We will begin with characterizing juror #3 and explaining his role within the jury. He is used to having authority from his work, because,as the owner of a messenger service, he has 37 subordinates that listen to him.At the very beginning he is pointing this out and shows that he is proud of his achievement. In the discussion he behaves like he is at his workplace where he can order people around and has the authority to do so. The only time he shows respect to anyone is when he is speaking about his father and how he used to call him Sir. In this scene he also shows how preoccupied he is about the youth and therefore also about the defendant. Juror #3 thinks that the youth shows no respect nowadays and is reminded of his own son. When his son at an early age was running away from a fight, he swore that he would make a real man out of him. After a couple of years this behavior has led to a fight where he got hit by his son. Since 2 years there was no relationship between them and it is very clear that the relationship to his son is affecting the decisions of juror #3. From the start juror #3 has expressed disrespect, aggressiveness and ignorance, but all these attitudes were becoming worse when he saw that more jurorswere changing their minds and more jurorswere openly showing dislike towards him. The later it gets, the louder he speaks. Of course this results in the fact that other jurors like him even less.Juror #8 uses this and provokes him to isolate him even more. A crucial point in the play is when juror #8 is attacking juror #3 verbally. #8 calls him a sadist and being confronted like that he tries to attack #8 physically. The other jurors hold him back so that he cannot reach #8. In this scene he also cries out that he will kill #8, which supports one the argument of juror #8 that you do not always mean what you say and do not necessarily act accordingly. After this incident juror #3 tries to change his tactics a little bit. He is still loud and disrespectful, but in two situations he tries to influence other jurors while speaking to them alone. In the first instance he tries to justify the attacking of juror #8 and in the second one he tries to convince everyone to call for a hung jury. His new behavior shows that he is realizing that his position within the group has changed. He tries new methods in order to turn the situation around. It does not succeed because he has lost all trust among the other jurors. In the end he is the last of the jurors to plead guilty. At the first pressure to defend his arguments he crumbles. A last outburst of his anger shows his hidden agenda. He is not able to change his mind and admit that he has been wrong. Looking at the picture of him together with his son he realizes that he has done wrong with him and he tears the picture apart. Immediately he regrets his action as it is probably the only picture of them together. The action lets him admit what to him looks like a defeat. He pleads not guilty as well. Finally he breaks down crying on the table. Juror #3 can be described best as an authoritarian/autocratic leader. He tries to use his authority to make the decision basically on his own. Of course this has to fail, because he does not have the authority in the first place and has not the ability to gain the authority as well. As already mentioned he does not listen to other arguments and positions except for his own. Additionally he is not willing to discuss his own points as well. When asked about his reasons for pleading guilty, he states that the facts are clear and cannot be questioned. He sticks to this point right until the end. Another aspect is that he does not support other juror even when they argue for him. Here he shows that he does not trust other members of the jury to help him and he does not think he needs their help (at least not in the beginning). Rarely does he agree with stated points, and when he does, he only states this in a short sentence without explaining why and especially without adding any content or arguments to the discussion. The last point to be mentioned here is that he tries to dictate the procedure and the methods of the discussion in an autocratic way. The other jurors are screamed at, bullied and insulted by him in order to pressurize them into his way of working. All this is supported by his body language and his rhetoric. There is an observable development regarding his behavior and communication during the movie. First he seemed structured, calm and self-confident. He talks with a normal voice and his mimic and gesture are serious but not angry. After the first vote, when it turned out that not everyone supports `guilty ´,his behavior changed. He got angrier which is expressed with his face and body language. Especially when a juror changes the vote, he showed humiliating behavior. When that happened, there was always the same, non-verbal reaction observable: He stands up, walks straight to the juror and stands at the jurors back, with his hand on the hips, screaming and shouting at them. This shows that he tries to bring himself in the stronger position and awe the others by looking down at them. He is directly addressing them, trying to make them feel uncomfortable. That particular behavior occurred three times during the movie. His angry and loud voice appeared when he got the feeling that he lost the power over the situation, when jurors changed their vote or the others have better arguments. It is hard for him to keep his countenance when he has weaker arguments and tries to get his self-confidence back in treating the others disrespectfully. That happens with laughing at others ´ arguments or shouting at them. Especially juror #8, as he is the activator of the whole discussion itself, is the target of his disrespect. When juror #8 wanted to make a point, juror #3 played `Tic Tac Toe ´ showing obviously his disinterest. The situation between juror #8 and him heated up first, when juror #3 tries to re-enact the stabbing of the victim. That gesture showed clearly the dispute of the two and the attitude of Juror #3. Now, the communication skills will be discussed. The character used several phrases that support the statements about him made before. At one scene he said to juror #2: `Be quiet for a second. ´ Thisjuror is a very shy and unconfident person. Addressing to him in that way shows that juror #3 has little knowledge of human nature. By discussing the testimony he said once: ` [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] and I say it ´s not possible ´. This undermines that he is self-centered and not open for other opinions. His disrespect against juror #8 gets clear when he addressed to him by pointing at him and saying: You over there ´. This impolite communication is present during the whole time. Also when the last man changed his opinion, he asked: What ´s the matter with you? The verbal and non-verbal traits align with the leadership style reviewedin the first part of the analysis. In the following the reasons for the failing of juror #3 will be outlined. Therefore we will check if the different sources of failure fit to this situation. One reason here is a poor character. His inappropriate behavior is based on his character. As mentioned early in the movie, he had a strict father what may influence his traits as an adult. When a leader shows disrespect, little knowledge of human nature and no concern about others he will fail sooner or later. No interest in different opinions, suggestions or the person itself creates less or no followership. The second reason for his failure is the poor communication skills of juror #3. As described before, he shows verbal and non-verbal lacks of an adequate behavior. He doesn ´t listen actively and doesn ´t know how to address at different personalities in a right way. He is not able to communicate effectively what is undermined by his unsuccessful chain of argumentation. A leader, who can ´t convince or influence his followers and can ´t express himself well, will fail. A leader will also fail, when he puts own interest above the interests from those he leads. The consequences are no trust, no confidence and therefore no loyalty. The leader views himself or herself as superior to everyone else, refusing to accept other arguments.Juror #3 doesn ´t build a connection to the others and always insists on his point of view without even listening to several opinions. That is why it was not possible for him to create a relationship to other members of the jury. He is not interested in the needs of a person and is therefore unsuccessful with his leadership style. His arrogance and self-centered behavior made him stand alone at the end of the movie. The final reason why he failed is because he had no clear vision. He voted for `guilty ´, even when all the facts showed the opposite. During the movie it got obvious that he is personally affected regarding the case and that leads to situations where he got unconfident and insecure. Now that the problems are clear we suggest how to avoid ineffective leadership. Ineffective leadership comes along with several improper traits and behaviors. The challenge is to avoid these and adapt the leadership style individually to the organization and the followers. First of all: People are the key. A good knowledge of human nature facilitates to be the leader of a group. That is why an effective leader is able to listen and respond to his followers in a proper and satisfactory way. The ability to treat different characters in the right way is necessary. `One leadership-style fits to all ´ is not helpful. Therefore a good leader can identify how capable and self-confident a person is and react in the adequate way. The way of how a person behaves towards a team and tasks requires different leadership styles.Of course, some followers need an autocratic leadership style. So authority, as showed by juror #3, is not always wrong. The problem was that it was too much and that this kind of leadership doesn ´t fit to all of the jurors. The ability to show authority and do it with respect is the key. This trait will only lead to success when the leader owns the respect of the followers.Hence a leader don ´t have to be `everybody  ´s darling ´but has to know how he should appear in particular situations and to particular kinds of people. An absolute mistake is bullying in an organization. That is what juror #3 showed in some of his behavior patterns and it creates a defense attitude of the others.To avoid immediate failure, a leader should never bully the people in the organization. To succeed in the relationship to the followers a leader should know how to communicate. Influencing people and bringing the vision of the business to them requires good skills and techniques in communication. Therefore to avoid ineffective communication a leader should clearly, effectively and respectfully communicate to followers as well as to the external environment of an organization. Another point, to avoid ineffective leadership, is to learn from own mistakes as well as from mistakes of others. Learning effects are valuable for a leader,adapting to situations and not repeating the same unsuccessful behavior over and over again.Realizing the current behavior is unsuccessful and promptly changing it would have been the right solution for juror #3. Being a good leader is also about actively avoiding wrong decisions not only about making the right ones. Analyzing the past and project it properly to the future will create a good result.Therefore it is also important that the leader knows what business the company is in to avoid misguided efforts and lead his team appropriately. A clear goal is necessary to give the direction and creating trust of the followership. As well as for the leader to come up to expectations regarding performance. An effective leader is also able to keep his emotions and concerns under control. In contrast to that juror #3 showed that he was personally affected and had an emotional breakdown at the end of the movie. That should absolutely be avoided if a leader don ´t want to lose the trust, loyalty and respect of his followers. A good leader can react calmly in turbulent times as well when stress and tensions are present, like it was at end of the movie.

The Use of Dramatic Irony in Sophocles Oedipus the King Essay

The Use of Dramatic Irony in Sophocle's Oedipus the King Tragedy as an element of the human experience has been the subject of many of the great works of literature written in the Western tradition. For some, tragedy embodies the highest form of humanity. It is through suffering that we are able to reveal ourselves most completely. Others see tragedy as an element of morality where we are to learn well the lessons of those who tempt the gods. The Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, outlined a theory of tragedy as archetypal drama in his classic work, the Poetics. He uses the play by Sophocles, Oedipus the King (hereafter "Oedipus"), as the standard model by which all other tragedies are measured. In Aristotle's view, a perfect tragedy should not be simple, but rather complex in its action. It is the degree of complexity of the tragedy, the true increase in the amount of suffering that the heroic character has to go through, that intensifies the use of this device. The truly tragic figure will go through the play experiencing grad ually increasing amounts of knowledge which reveal more horrible details. At each revelation, the audience has already been made aware of the tragic event so it is prepared and waiting for the hero's downfall. To achieve true tragic circumstances, a clear reversal of fortune is required to occur to the main character. This reversal of fortune, above and beyond negative events, will then garner feelings of pity and fear in the hearts of the audience. As Aristotle states: The change of fortunes should be not from bad to good, but, reversely, from good to bad. It should come as a result not of vice, but of some great error or frailty, in a character either such as we have describe... ...is destined to marry his mother after defeating the Sphinx. The audience, however, long familiar with the ancient myth, is mindful that in solving the riddle Oedipus further condemns himself. These choices lead to the ultimate climax where Oedipus blinds himself and wanders the earth as punishment for his actions. The lack of knowledge of his fate combined with the audience's total familiarity with the myth provides for the greatest differential between knowing and not knowing. Dramatic irony, used throughout the play to emphasize the power of fate, is ultimately used as the closing statement of man's frailty in the face of infinite justice. Works Cited Aristotle. Poetics. 12 July 2005. http:classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.mb.txt Gwynn, R. S. Drama: A Pocket Anthology, Second Edition. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc, 2002.

Notes on Society

Chapter 10 Social Stratification: a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy, it is a trait of society, found in all society's, carries over from generation to generation and creates systems and class Social Mobility: a change in position within the social hierarchy Caste System: Closed system based on ascription, or birth, little or no mobility, shapes a persons entire life, occupation and marriage. Found in traditional Agrarian societies. Class System: social stratification based on both birth, ascription and individual achievement, meritocracy.Meritocracy: Social stratification based on personal merit Status Consistency: the degree of uniformity in a person's social standing across various dimensions of social inequality. Example: A college professor with advanced degrees enjoys high prestige but only earns a modest wage. Structural Social Mobility: a shift in the social position of large numbers of people due more to changes in society itself than to in dividual efforts Ideology: cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequalityDavis Moore thesis: A system of unequal rewards is necessary to place talented people in the right jobs and to motivate them to work hard. the functional analysis claiming that social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of society Blue Collar occupations: lower prestige jobs that involve mostly manual labor White Collar occupations: Higher-prestige jobs that involve mostly mental activity Socioeconomic Status, SES: a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequalityConspicuous Consumption: Buying and using products because of the â€Å"statement† they make about social position Chapter 11 Income: earnings from work or investments Wealth: The total value of money and other assets, minus outstanding debts Intragenerational Social Mobility: a change in social position occurring during a person's lifetime. Intergenerati onal Social Mobility: upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents Feminization of Poverty: the trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor Chapter 12Global Stratification: Patterns of social inequality in the world as a whole High Income Country: nations with the highest overall standards of living Middle Income Country: nations with the standard of living that is about the average for the world Low Income Country: nations with low standard of living in which most people are poor Modernization Theory: is a model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of technological and cultural differences among nations Dependency Theory: explains global inequality in terms of the historical exploitation of poor societies by rich ones