...its life cycle stages. Owens is right in quoting Jevons that the economical use of fuel is not equivalent to a diminishing consumption. Same thing I noted in my life cycle assessment of TV that within 5 years alone the consumption of LCD TV rose from 100 million to 200 Million, as many consumers are now purchasing TV for pure aesthetic reasons as it is more energy efficient and prices of productions are also going down with improved technology. Materials on the business and environment (owens, lovin, senge, de botton, documentary) compelled me to think differently. Before reading these materials I was aware of the fact that corporates for their own profits are damaging the environment by emitting greenhouse gases or by polluting the sea or rivers and I was thinking it’s the responsibility of the Governments/Regulatory authorities to control them. But as Senge suggested that: People blame greedy corporations or corrupt government for creating a system that deplete natural resources, destroy species and generate waste but things will not change as long as everyone is blaming someone else. Now onwards every time I had to take buying decision for any product will definitely think about how much carbon foot prints were left in the environment for making this product. The data that I collected for Life Cycle assessment was for LCD TV. It was truly surprising to study that products we use are causing environmental damages either during production, transportation or at end of its life...
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...CRITICAL THINKING AND CREATIVE THINKING The play and subsequent movie “Twelve Angry Men” is an examination of the dynamics that plays in a jury room in the 50’s in the United States. The action revolves around the opinions, perceptions, reason and logic of twelve diverse characters that are tasked with pronouncing the guilt or innocence of a young man accused of patricide. The extraordinary element is that their finding will determine his life or death. This work will explore some elements of critical thinking and creative thinking found within the context of this remarkable movie. Critical thinking involves the use of a group of interconnected skills to analyze, creatively integrate, and evaluate what you read and hear. To become a critical thinker you must be able to decide whether an author’s opinions are true or false, whether he or she has adequately defended those ideas, whether certain recommendations are practical, as well as whether particular solutions will be effective. The characteristics of that kind of thinking are: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Within that movie, there were three points raised in the trial that juror #8 believed argument analysis: 1- The knife that was the murder weapon was unique and the boy was seen with it, although he said he had lost it. 2- The old man gave evidence that he heard the boy say “I’ll kill you” from his apartment below and he saw the boy running from the down stairs of...
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...When demands from the consumer increase companies look for ways to increase production at the lowest cost possible. They fail to see the unlawfulness and ethics violations that go along with labor law violators. The rise in revenue for companies which use sweatshops is very benefiting if the company is not found to be using sweatshops. Decisions like these normally come from high ranking officials who are only thinking about the bottom line of revenue and not the violations and fines the company will have to pay for. Different ethical perspectives guide decision making when the gains are better than the current situation the company may be experiencing. The unethical decisions which are made normally benefit a few select members of a company for only their personal gains in revenue. Mass production from sweatshops affect the product the consumer is purchasing from such high mass production and poor working environments for the sweatshop employees. The low pay and gender discrimination violations in sweatshops make for a very stressful work environment for just about every employee. When ethical perspectives are ignored for the simplicity of certain...
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...making process (Tvorik, 2014). This paper will consider why people value gains and losses differently in different circumstances by addressing what mental accounting is and how it impacts consumer decision making; and how a company can take advantage of their consumers’ mental accounting (Tvorik, 2014). This writer will also consider different scenarios from differing points of view; as a marketer and as a consumer. As a marketer, this writer will analyze how I would frame certain decisions to benefit from the disparities in my own cognitive accounting. As a consumer, I will address how to avoid the pitfalls posed by the inequalities of again, my own cognitive accounting (Tvorik, 2014). Mental accounting is a term that describes how people categorize and quantify economic outcomes (Thaler, 1980). This is similar to financial accounting in the way of using a system of debits and credits and affects how people spend and save their money, thus consumer decision-making. Mental accounting determines “when an individual chooses to act or postpone a purchase, how he or she perceives gains and losses, and how timing bears on the individual’s choices” in relation to the three mental buckets: current income, current wealth and future income (Tvorik, 2014). It is a figurative, or mental, balance sheet that compartmentalizes income and spending (Vedantam, 2007). People will spend and save differently depending on how the money was received, earned income or “free,” unexpected money such...
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...Top of FormTotal views: 15 "Decision Environments" Please respond to the following: * From the first e-Activity, describe the company’s business culture. Determine whether it is certainty, risk, or uncertainty. Then, examine ways that external factors contribute to the state of the company. I chose General Motors from the Fortune 500 2013 list. General Motors ranked 7 on the list. General Motors Company (GM or “the company”) is primarily engaged in the development, production and marketing of cars, trucks and automobile parts. The company also provides automotive financing services. The company primarily operates in North America, and Europe. It is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and employs about 207,000 people. The company recorded revenues of $150,276 million during the financial year ended December 2011 (FY2011). GM focuses on selling cars abroad, with China being a key market. GM has roughly 15% market share in China now. Though the carmaker predicts only modest growth in U.S. and China auto sales this coming year, it is making money. GM is still one of the 50 most profitable companies in the Fortune 500, despite a 32% decrease in earnings in 2012. GM business culture is revolves around the following GM goals: In order to achieve goals, GM has remained committed to the following formula for success: Move faster and take risks to achieve sustained success, not just short-term results; Lead in advanced technologies and quality in creating the world’s best vehicles;...
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...Reflection Activity: The Benefit of Thinking Critically Trinh Van Hoa Columbia Southern University Reflection Activity: The Benefit of Thinking Critically Critical thinking nowadays has been applying very early state from the primary school and being upgrade to higher level of master degree. In the “An Educator’s Guide to the Four Cs”, (National Education Association [nea], n.d.). Stated that “the Critical thinking and problem solving” is one of their first priority of 4Cs, the following 3 Cs are “Communication”, “Collaboration”, and “Creativity and Innovation”. According to Montopoli (2009, para. 32). President Barak Obama has been presented his attention on the soft skills for the student, especially on Critical thinking. President Obama's full remarks, as provided by the White House, are below. “I'm calling on our nation's governors and state education chiefs to develop standards and assessments that don't simply measure whether students can fill in a bubble on a test, but whether they possess 21st century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking and entrepreneurship and creativity.” By simply “click” on the research of “Critical Thinking”, we can find 248 million of results on the Internet for just about its. The awareness of the importance was positioned at a high level from societies. This skill becomes a survival method for people are living in the industrial life where the technology is speedy changing. What is that? Source of Information is...
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...consumers display in searching, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing a product that they expect will satisfy their needs is very important to create a market. It mainly focuses on how individuals make decisions to spend their time, money and effort on that cosmetic. That includes what they buy, why they buy it, when they buy it, where they buy it, how often they buy it, how often they use it, how they evaluate it after the purchase and the impact of such evaluations on future purchases, and how they dispose it. 1. Cultural Factors: Culture has a profound influence on all aspects of human behavior. Culture is a pervasive influence which underlies all facets of social behavior and interaction. It is embodied in the objects used in everyday life and in modes of communication in society. Different cultures react differently to a new product, as the meanings, values, ideas and beliefs of a social group are articulated through various cultural artifacts. One’s own personal culture guides the selection of cosmetics. The language and the symbols used on the package influences the selection of cosmetics and the ritual which we perform has an effect on the use of cosmetics too. While selecting cosmetics, culture influences their selection. For example, complexion of Asians is darker than Europeans and as a result most of the people here try to find the whitening elements in the cosmetics. On the other hand Europeans are more concern about the age reducing cosmetics. The...
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...Noelia Gomez ENC 1101 (Saturdays) 9/20/2014 Essay 4 Topic: Empathetic Word count: 1000 Empathetic Have you ever put yourself in someone’s shoe? Or have the ability to understand what they are feeling? I would say all of us, in one time or another has done it. I know I have. Purchasing a new home or a loss of someone special are some of the examples, we can relate of sharing someone’s emotional state. From birth we are showed the principles of appreciation by imitating our parents thru their sympathy towards us. As we grow up we develop skills that help us learn how to be good listeners, have feeling and show compassion for another human being. Undivided attention is one of the key of showing empathetic to a person. We always tend to interrupt to get our point across. Listening is not a talent that is easy to develop. Hearing is when you listen but you are thinking about something else, and listening is something you choose to do, while at the same time you are analyzing what the person is saying. It is recognizing not only what is said but how it was said. While listening is a big factor, sharing the person affection is part of it as well. Fear, anger and happiness are some of the emotions we uncover when we portray empathy. It’s very difficult to relate with them at the time you are having a situation being explain to yourself. You have to gain experience thru the years to know how to express them. Most of the persons can relate to them because they...
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...the decision, and Evaluate the decision. A decision like home-ownership should be made with specific information to go by. Critical thinking is also something that should be included into the decision-making process. Critical thinking helps one to consider all angles, and think outside of the box. The decision Home-ownership is a step that most Americans take; however, not everyone makes the best decisions while going through the process. In 2006 I purchased my first home, and was not educated about the process at all. Knowing the best areas, what the highest and lowest homes were for the area, what damages, if any, had been done to the home, and simply making sure I was getting the best for my dollar. The six stages of decision-making are some that I consider; however, some I did not. The end choice was one of force and guilt, not a decision-making process. My decision process The stages I took to come to the decision of buying a home were very little. I considered how much money I had, what area I wanted to live in, space, and cuteness. I identified various problems that would arise from living in the “wrong” part of town. I weighed the pros and cons of the different alternatives. Then I made a rash decision, and just made a choice. There was no rea process behind purchasing my home. I had a lump sum of money, and...
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...and patterns of behavior,” (Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, 2010, page 156). Subcultures are frequently encountered in America due to the ‘melting pot’ nature, continual immigration into the United States, and various religious and ethnic viewpoints experienced in modern day society. A collision of all these subcultures in America has led to difficult marketing approaches to address both the core values and norms of the American culture and unique market behaviors, values, and norms that may be specific to other subcultures. In the case study, “Tapping the Ethnic Housing Market,” Fannie Mae evaluated ethnic groups to determine the different perceptions associated with the home-buying process (e.g. reason to purchase a home, knowledge about the overall purchasing process, and confidence in the process). The case study will discuss the opportunities and challenges facing housing lenders and real estate agents today based in the perceptions of each ethnic group. Analysis “Ethnic subcultures are those whose members’ unique shared behaviors are based on a common racial, language, or national background,” (Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, 2010, page 158). The Fannie Mae case study analyzes the different perceptions of the home-buying process among the general American population, African Americans, English Hispanics, and Spanish Hispanics. When considering the first factor, home-buying reasons, a small amount of every population saw ‘Safe Investment with Potential’ as the key reason to purchase a...
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...Sales The old playbook no longer works. Star salespeople now seek to upend the customer’s current approach to doing business. by Brent Adamson, Matthew Dixon, and Nicholas Toman July–August 2012 Harvard Business Review 3 Copyright © 2012 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. T Spotlight on Smarter sales The hardest thing about B2B selling today is that customers don’t need you the way they used to. In recent decades sales reps have become adept at discovering customers’ needs and selling them “solutions”—generally, complex combinations of products and services. This worked because customers didn’t know how to solve their own problems, even though they often had a good understanding of what their problems were. But now, owing to increasingly sophisticated procurement teams and purchasing consultants armed with troves of data, companies can readily define solutions for themselves. In fact, a recent Corporate Executive Board study of more than 1,400 B2B customers found that those customers completed, on average, nearly 60% of a typical purchasing decision—researching solutions, ranking options, setting requirements,...
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...decisions every day. What will we eat? Will we go to work? Should we fill up our gas tank even though it’s a little past half full? These are all decisions that occur frequently and require little to no effort. With the small decisions comes the bigger ones. These decisions are life altering. Should we buy a house? Should I look for a new job? Or what type of car should I buy? Those type of questions take a little more time and effort to come to the most solid conclusion. When faced with a challenging decision a person enabled with critical thinking skills will form a better overall outcome. “Sometimes, the simple act of setting out your problem, objectives, alternatives, consequences and tradeoffs, as well as any uncertainties, risks or linked decision factors, will fully clarify the decision, pointing the way to the smart choice.” (Hammond, Keeney, Raiffa, p. 13) Critical thinking ensures that decision making is seamless. Vehicle Shopping About a year ago I was...
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...HOW SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT HAS CHANGED THEY WAY WE DO BUSINESS Marlie A. Selke Embry Riddle Aeronautical University WW LGMT 536 – Purchasing for Logistics & Supply Chain Management Professor Dr. Mohammed Arif September 30, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 3 History of Supply Chain Management 4 Why is Supply Chain Management Important to Business 5 Innovation 7 How to Maintain a Competitive Advantage 8 Skill Set Requirements 11 Future of Supply Chain Management 13 Conclusion 16 References 17 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Creating Additional Value by Thinking Differently About Categories 14 Abstract This research paper addresses the effects that supply chain management has on businesses. Supply chain management is the active management of supply chain activities to maximize customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Supply chain activities include everything from product development, sourcing, production, information systems, as well as logistics. An effective supply chain management works with cross-functional teams (e.g. requirements form marketing or engineering) to achieve organizational goals through effective planning and management. This paper will take a look at the history of supply chain management, discuss why it is important to business, explore the latest innovations, discuss how to maintain a competitive advantage in a changing environment, address the required supply chain management skill set requirements...
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...picture remains in my mind even when I am not thinking about hero. I may want to copy the football star by using the product and so choose it. At other times, I buy products to get the attention of other people. A particular car, for example, might be chosen because I am trying to prove that I am rich, attractive, and exciting. Other purchases are for pleasure rather than need. Tickets to baseball game or to a dock concert are examples of this kind of "motivation" inducement, or reason for buying. Of course, need remains the most important reason for buying something. Food is a real need, but what about the sugarcoated breakfast food advertised on television? It is neither necessary nor nutritious. What causes or motivates me to buy this product? Most likely it is a "motivation" inducement. Marketers are interested in motivation when this motivation relates to purchasing behavior. This behavior relates to the motive for wishing to possess the goods or services in question, and it has been termed ‘goal-related behavior’. For a motive to exist there must be a corresponding need. Motives like hunger, thirst, warmth and shelter are physiological. Others, like approval, success and prestige are psychological. Motives like staying alive are instinctive whilst motives like cleanliness, tidiness and proficiency are motives that are learned during life. We can also discern between rational and emotional motives. Most purchasing decisions are a composite of such motives, quite...
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...situation is similar to the first step in the decision making process outlined in our text, “Identifying and Diagnosing the Problem” Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2011). I needed to decide if renting was benefitting my current situation. It had been fine for me in the past as I was a single person with no responsibilities to anyone other than myself. In that situation, renting was the perfect option for me as I did not have to worry about property maintenance, home repairs, property taxes, or location. After a few years my situation had changed as I had married and was planning on starting a family. I now had to change my way of thinking that would incorporate other people into my living situation. My second step was, again, similar to the second step defined in our text, “Evaluating Alternatives” Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2011). I now needed to decide if I should rent a bigger place or purchase a home. Which would be better for my future and the future of my impending family? I decided, after much, research that purchasing a home would benefit my family in the long run as I had more options in the way of location, size of the structure, how I could customize the home to fit the needs of my family, and the price I was willing to pay for the...
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