Marjane Satrapis Persepolis - 2059 Words

Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis is an expressive memoir of her growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, the fall of the Shah’s regime and the Iran-Iraq War. The dictionary definition of a memoir is, the description of one’s personal life and experiences, and most writers use the conventional text format to write theirs but Satrapi has contributed to a whole new way of writing memoirs that may last for many generations to come. Unlike conventional memoirs, she uses the black-and-white comic book form to find her identity through politics and her personal experiences in Iran and it has become effective and relevant in today’s society because she is a normal person that has had to live through extreme circumstances. She gives you insight into her own mind with pictures instead of you trying to make sense of just words. In the novel, Marjane, Marji for short, is living in Tehran, the capital of Iran, during the late 70’s and early 80 ’s. She is smart and outspoken for her age and for a long time she was very religious which is a bit skeptical due to her parents being Marxists. Persepolis illustrates a memorable story of Marji’s life in Iran. Throughout the history of Iran, it has been a great public figure of turmoil. The title of the novel, Persepolis, which is translated to, â€Å"the City of Persians†, is important because it was the original capital of Persia (part of the Iranian Empire), and fell to destruction. I believe Satrapi is trying to compare theShow MoreRelated Marjane Satrapis Persepolis3668 Words   |  15 Pagesin the sudden transition. As a member of the Iranian diaspora, Marjane Satrapi endured many hardships in her efforts to transition from Middle Eastern culture to a more modernist Western culture. Her series of graphic novel memoirs, Persepolis, depict her childhood growing up in Iran during both the Islamic Revolution and the Iran- Iraq War, and moving to Austria as one of many emigrants of Iran at the time. Marjane Satrapis memoir is just one example of an exile bearing the burden of memoryRead MoreMarjane Satrapis Persepolis1238 Words   |  5 PagesPersepolis Review â€Å"One can forgive but one should never forget† is one of the quotes that Marjane Satrapi says in her memoir titled Persepolis. The memoir tells the story of Marjane when she was ten years old during the Islamic Revolution in the Middle East, specifically in her home country Iran. Most people evacuated the country because they knew there was not going to be a safe, prosperous future for their children. 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The media has only revealed limited knowledge that only shows par tial perspectives because it is difficult to get perspectives of the minorities althoughRead MoreCultural Acceptance in Marjane Satrapis Persepolis1616 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Whitfield Logan English 102 Ighade 4-7-14 Cultural Acceptance in Persepolis Marjane Satrapi‘s graphic novel Persepolis  is an  autobiography that  depicts her childhood up to her early adult years in  Iran  during and after the  Islamic revolution.  Throughout the novel Satrapi incorporates character development, religion, and the conflict of freedom vs. confinement in order to develop a greater appreciation between two opposing eastern and western cultures. When analyzing the current relationshipRead More The Veil in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis Essay1296 Words   |  6 PagesMarjane Satrapi’s Persepolis introduces the Islamic veil as an attempt by the Iranian government to control women. Islamic radicals promised safety and security for those who abided by their rules. Rebels who refused to wear the headscarf were threatened with beating, rape or death. These modern women who fought against religious oppression met the minimal requirements of the government rules to safely live in the hostile environment. Through being forced to wear the veil, the control of the IslamicRead MoreMarjane Satrapi’s Challenging of Stereotypes in Persepolis1059 Words   |  4 PagesMarjane Satrapi’s Challenging of Stereotypes in Persepolis In Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, Satrapi states that her goal in writing the book was to dispel many of the hasty generalizations made by the Western world about Iran, a principal sentiment being that the country is little more than a nation founded by fundamentalists and home to terrorists and extremists. To combat the misconception, Satrapi enlists the assistance of examples from her adolescence of barriers and dissent towardsRead MoreMarjane Satrapi’s Challenging of Stereotypes in Persepolis Essay example1112 Words   |  5 PagesIn Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, Satrapi states that her goal in writing the book was to dispel many of the hasty generalizations made by the western world about Iran, a principal sentiment being that the country is little more than a nation founded by fundamentalists and home to terrorists and extremists. To combat the misconception, Satrapi enlists the assistance examples of barriers and dissent towards the new conservative regime in Iran from her adolescence. By employing eventsRead MoreAnalysis Of Marjane Satrapis Graphic Novel Persepolis823 Words   |  4 Pages Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, illustrates her own experience of the Iranian world through revolutions and corrupt dictatorship. Throughout her life, Marji is faced with numerous hardships that challenge her life from a young age. From struggling to adapt into diverging cultures to standing up for her identity, Marji’s conflicts force her to choose between family and herself. Unlike the people from her homeland, Marji has many opportunities to explore her liberty, however, she hasRead MoreMarjane Satrapis Persepolis: A Personal Version and Vision of the Iranian Revolution1341 Words   |  5 PagesPersepolis: Marjane Satrapis personal version and vision of the Iranian Revolution Marjane Satrapis Persepolis is a graphic novel that suggests that there is a sharp discrepancy between the world of the Iranian Revolution, as depicted in the Western media, versus how many Iranians experienced it in the context of their own lives. Satrapi was the product of a liberal home environment. Behind closed doors, the life the young Marjane led was often very different from the images of burka-wearingRead MoreEssay on The Role of Women in Marjane Satrapis Persepolis 1111 Words   |  5 Pages Throughout Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi displays the vital role that the women around her have in developing her character and becoming the woman she is today. Women such as her mother, her grandmother, her school teachers, the maid, the neighbors, and even the guardians of the revolution influenced Marjane and caused her to develop into an independent, educated, and ambitious woman. Throughout the novel, Marjane never completely conforms or lets go of her roots, this is prima rily due to

Information Sharing for the Bullwhip Effect Free Essays

Information sharing for the bullwhip effect: over- or underestimated? Bachelor thesis: Thesis Circle: Organization studies, 2nd semester, academic year 2011-2012 Time will tell†¦. A processes perspective on inter-organizational collaboration Name: ANR: E-mail: PC Jansen 770926 P. C. We will write a custom essay sample on Information Sharing for the Bullwhip Effect or any similar topic only for you Order Now Jansen@uvt. nl Information sharing for the bullwhip effect: over- or underestimated? Abstract This literature review investigates the effect of information sharing from a buyer to a supplier in a supply chain on the performance of that supplier, with taking in mind that the supplier has to combat the bullwhip effect. With the existence of the bullwhip effect, a supplier cannot make right forecasts and therefore has difficulties in planning its production and/or inventory control. This research shows that information sharing is the key solution to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect and, by that, is positively influences the performance of the supplier in the chain. Keywords: Bullwhip, supply chain, information sharing, supplier performance, inventory control Thesis Circle: Time will tell†¦. A processes perspective on inter-organizational collaboration Supervisor: Remco Mannak Supervisor 2: Annemieke Stoppelenburg Name: ANR: E-mail: PC Jansen 770926 P. C. Jansen@uvt. nl 2 Table of contents Table of contents 1. Introduction 2. Theoretical Framework 2. 1 Performance of a supplier 2. 2 Information sharing 2. 3 Bullwhip effect 3. Methodology 3. 1 Data collection 3. 2 Quality Indicators 4. Results 4. 1 Information sharing is the key solution 4. 2 Information sharing is not the key solution 5. Conclusion and recommendations 5. 1 Conclusion 5. 2 Recommendations for future research 6. Discussion and reflection 6. 1 Discussion 6. 2 Reflection 7. References 3 4 7 7 7 9 11 11 12 13 13 21 24 24 26 28 28 29 30 3 1. Introduction Collaboration is something which has occurred over all times and is a way for people as well as for organizations to accomplish any goal or wanted result. Min and Zhou (2002) stated that in today’s global marketplace, individual firms no longer compete as independent entities with unique brand names, but rather as integral part of supply chain links. According to Christopher (1992), a supply chain is the network of organizations that are involved, through upstream and downstream linkages, in the different processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services delivered to the ultimate consumer. When looking at the downstream linkages, a supplier delivers his products or services to a buyer. The buyer has a recursive demand, and orders this demand to the supplier every period. The supplier, on his turn, has to deal with production scheduling and/or inventory control every period. However, dealing with those issues can be quite difficult for the supplier, when the demand of the buyer is variable and hard to predict. This problem, or phenomenon, is called the Bullwhip effect. Yu et al. (2001) described this phenomenon as that the variability of an upstream member’s demand is greater than that of the downstream member, and that the effect therefore largely is caused by the variability of ordering. The supplier’s uncertainty about the upcoming buyer’s demand can lead to inefficient productions and inefficient inventory control, which on their turn will lead to increases of costs or decreased in revenues. According to Chen (2003), information sharing is often suggested to combat the undesirable bullwhip effect. The importance of combating the bullwhip effect was elucidated by Yu et al. (2001), who stated that uncertainties will propagate through the supply chain in the form of amplification of ordering variability, which leads to excess in safety stock, increased logistics costs and inefficient use of resources (Yu et al, 2001). So, in order to reduce the chances for these negative consequences of uncertainties for the supplier, information sharing seems the key solution. According to Mohr and Spekman (1994), information sharing refers to the extent to which critical and proprietary information is communicated to one’s supply chain partner. Yu et al. 4 (2001) stated that while every single member has perfect information about itself, uncertainties arise due to lack of perfect information about other members. This seems logical, since a supplier can’t make the right decisions for his production schedule and his inventory control when he doesn’t know what the demand of the buyer will be. As Yu et al. 2001) stated, the supplier in the supply chain needs to make a forecast of its downstream site’s product demand for its own production planning, inventory control and material requirement planning. But, this forecast seems hard to make when uncertainties, by the lack of information, exist. However, there are some authors who don’t agree with this. Raghunathan (2001) for example stated that suppliers can do much better in t he case without information sharing, because the supplier can use its information about the retailer’s order history to greatly sharpen its demand forecast. This leads to a remarkable point, because on first sight it seems that the uncertainties, due to the bullwhip effect, can be solved by information sharing between the supplier and the buyer, but some authors have different thoughts on this point. This literature review will asses both views on the importance of information sharing in the supply chain to get a clear overview of its importance for the bullwhip effect and, by that, on the supplier’s performance. This leads to the following research goal and question: Research Question: What is the effect, according to the literature, of information sharing in a supply chain on the performance of the supplier? Conceptual model The following conceptual model will illustrate the goal of this research: Level of information sharing + Performance of the supplier Research goal: The aim of this literature review is to understand the effect of the level of information sharing in a supply chain on the performance of the supplier, where performance can be measured in terms of reductions in total costs and inventories. This paper investigates whether the performance of the supplier is positively influenced by the level of information sharing or not. 5 The unit of analysis: The unit of analysis in this research is on the level of the supplier. It could be expected that the level of information sharing has a positive effect on combating the bullwhip effect, and by that, on the supplier’s performance in the chain, since information can make the uncertainty about the buyer’s demand disappear. Yu et al. 2001) stated that while every single member has perfect information about itself, uncertainties arise due to lack of perfect information about other members. According to this theory, information sharing seems the key solution for reducing or eliminating the bullwhip effect. Scientific relevance: The scientific relevance of this literature review lies within the contribution it brings to the field of research of the importance of downstream information for the supplier within a supply chain , in order to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect. It gives insight in the importance of information sharing. Since many authors claim that information sharing is the key solution to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect, but some on the other hand do not agree with this, this paper tries to give insight in what is true for this case. Practical relevance: The practical relevance of this literature review is that in our world a lot of companies are active in supply chains, and therefore, by this literature review, a supplier working in a supply chain is able to get insight in the importance of information sharing for their performance in that supply chain. 6 2. Theoretical framework 2. Performance of a supplier For the purpose of this research, only the supplier’s performance is being overviewed, and the buyer’s performance is disregarded. The reason for this is that the supplier and the buyer have different interests in the supply chain. The buyer only tries to get the best, in other words, lowest price, but the supplier on his turn also seeks to achieve good selling prices, redu ctions in total costs and inventories, and by that, increase his revenues. Because of these different targets, it is too complex to focus on both sides’ performance in this research. According to Slack et al. (2004), performance should always be measured against benchmarks, which could be historical standards, target performance standards, competitor performance standards, or absolute performance standards. In addition to that, Clifford (2000) stated that performance often is measured using quantitative measurements, in terms of the gains or benefits a company achieves in comparison to the costs invested. For this research, the benchmark ‘absolute performance standards’ of Slack et al. 2004) will be used, since this benchmark takes performance on theoretical limits. This is what will be done in this paper as well. The performance of a supplier will be measured using theoretical quantitative measurements, in other words, at stated by Yu et al. (2001), by the extent to which a supplier achieves its specific objectives and benefits in terms of reductions in total costs and inventories. Since this is a literature review, no exact numbers will be used, bu t, as stated here above, theoretical quantitative measurements will be used. 2. Information sharing As stated before, the performance of the supplier is influenced by the level of information sharing. The reason for sharing information in the supply chain was stated by Yu et al. (2001), who stated that a supply chain partnership is a relationship formed between two independent members in supply channels through increased levels of information sharing to achieve specific objectives and benefits in terms of reductions in total costs and inventories. Various authors described the concept of information sharing in supply chains. According to Mohr and Spekman (1994), information sharing refers to the extent to which critical and proprietary information is communicated to one’s supply chain partner. Lalonde (1998) reviewed five building blocks that characterize a solid supply chain relationship and considered sharing of 7 information as one of them. The other four are sharing of benefits and burdens, multiple contacts between economic entities, cross-functional management processes, and futureoriented collaborative processes (Lalonde (1998)). According to Yu et al. 2001), while every single member has perfect information about itself, uncertainties arise due to lack of perfect information about other members. In their paper they argued that the supply chain member should obtain more information about other members in order to reduce uncertainties. Li and Lin (2006) stated that in a highly uncertain environment with changing markets, organizations tend to build strategic partnership with their supply cha in members to share information, increase organizational flexibility, and reduce the risk associated with the uncertainty. One of these risks could be the presence of the bullwhip effect. In their paper, Li and Lin (2006) concluded that generally, organizations with high levels of information sharing and information quality are associated with low level of environmental uncertainty. Furthermore, Li and Lin (2006) argued that, by taking the data available and sharing it with other parties within the supply chain, an organization can speed up the information flow in the supply chain, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain, and respond to customer changing needs quicker. More precisely, according to Lehoux et al. 2010), if actors have access to the demand of the final consumer, the number of products kept in stock at each location, the quantity ordered in the past few years, etc. , and are ready to cooperate, they can make planning decision that will have a positive impact on the system. Sahin and Robinson (2002) stated that information sharing can occur at several levels. Under Ã¢â‚¬Ë œno information sharing’, the only demand data the supplier receives are actual orders from his immediate customer. On the other hand, at the ‘full information sharing’ level, complete information is available to support the specific decision-making environment. According to Sahin and Robinson (2002), this complete information include one or more of the following: production status and costs, transportation availability and quantity discounts, inventory costs, inventory levels, various capacities, demand data from all channel members, and all planned promotional strategies. Lin et al. (2002) argued that the higher level of information sharing is associated with the lower total cost, the higher order fulfillment rate and the shorter order 8 cycle time. Seidmann and Sundarajan (1997) summed up a number of possible different information sharing arrangements. They showed four categories, based on the level of impact the shared information has on the buyer and supplier. The categories are as followed: exchanging order information, sharing operational information, sharing strategic marketing information, and sharing strategic and competitive marketing and sales information. In a supply chain, two different streams of information can occur: downstream and upstream. According to Claro and Claro (2010), downstream information refers to the information obtained from a supplier’s marketing channels, be they wholesalers, distributors or retailers. The wholesalers, distributors, or retailers can all be seen as a buyer in the context of this research, since they all place orders at an upstream member (a supplier). From this it can be derived that upstream information refers to the information a buyer obtains from the supplier. For the purpose of this research, the focus will be on downstream information; the information a supplier receives from the buyer. This information is critical for the supplier’s performance because with this information the buyer will have to make its forecast for production and/or inventory control. The upstream information will be disregarded, since, as stated before, this research only focuses on the supplier, and therefore the buyer’s performance will be disregarded. 2. 3 Bullwhip effect Forrester (1958) was the first one to describe the bullwhip effect and identified the supply chain’s natural tendency to amplify, delay, and oscillate demand information, and demonstrates its effect in a serial supply chain consisting of a retailer, distributor, warehouse, and factory. So, this phenomenon is known as the bullwhip effect. According to Metters (1997), it is so called because a small variance or seasonality in actual consumer demand can ‘crack the whip’ for upstream suppliers, causing upstream suppliers to alternately produce at capacity then experience downtime. Yu et al. (2001) described this phenomenon as that the variability of an upstream member’s demand is greater than that of the downstream member. Basically, they say, the bullwhip effect is largely caused by the variability of ordering. Lee et al. (1997) identified the five major causes of the bullwhip effect as (1) the use of ‘demand signal processing’, (2) nonzero 9 ead times, (3) order batching, (4) supply shortages, and (5) price fluctuations. According to Sucky (2008), the bullwhip effect has a number of negative effects in real supply chains, which can cause significant inefficiencies. Huang et al. (2007) stated that the devastating consequences caused by the bullwhip effect are clear indeed, like a redunda nt inventory, excessive production and resultant costs, ineffective transportation and laggardly logistics, inefficient operations, and low economic benefits of supply chain system. Sucky (2008) agreed with this and stated that the bullwhip effect typically leads to excessive inventory investments throughout the supply chain as the parties involved need to protect themselves against demand variations. So, for the supplier, this means that the uncertainty about demand can lead to more costs, derived from those excessive inventory investments, since suppliers have to forecast their production and/or inventory control, without knowing for sure if this forecast is correct. According to Lee et al. 1997), to reduce uncertainties, and by that the costly bullwhip effect, suppliers and buyers should share demand forecast information as well as information on inventory levels, sales data, order status, and production schedules. The bullwhip effect was illustrated by Sterman (1989) by the ‘beer game’. This game is a role-playing simulation of an industrial production and distribution system. The game is designed in a way that each participant has a lack of inf ormation and they cannot communicate with each other. Therefore, according to Lee et al. 1997), each player has to make his decisions relying on orders from the neighboring player as the sole source of communications. The results of this test confirmed the existence of the bullwhip effect, because they revealed that the variances of orders amplify as one moves up in the supply chain (Lee et al. , 1997). 10 3. Methodology The design of this research was an integrative literature review. No empirical data has been gathered, only existing scientific literature was used in order to do this research. Therefore, this research was pure theoretical. The level of information sharing was used as the independent variable and the supplier’s performance, which is based on the bullwhip effect, was used as the dependent variable. 3. 1 Data collection Since this research is a literature review, only scientific academic literature was used. Therefore, the reliability of this research was guaranteed. The literature was found by using ISI (Web of Sciences) and Google Scholar. Web of Sciences was used as primary database, and Google Scholar was used when Web of Sciences could not provide the articles it showed in the search results. If this was the case, mostly the articles were indeed found by Google Scholar. When searching literature on Web of Sciences, the citation database was only using the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Literature was partly searched and selected by some applicable search terms in ‘Web of Sciences’. Table 1 shows the most important search terms which were used. Those terms were used solely as well as in a combination together in order to find relevant articles. The search results were sorted by the times the articles were cited, in order to find the most important paper for my topic. The only problem which came up when using this strategy was that the newest articles, which could be important for this research, were very low in those search results, since they haven’t been cited that much yet. Therefore, after finishing this first sorting strategy, a second sorting was done as well, based on newest to oldest, to see if the last couple of years important papers regarding my topic have been written. The other part of data collection was done by looking at articles which were cited by the papers I viewed as important for my research. Search terms Supply chain Information sharing Supplier Supplier’s performance Table 1. Search terms 11 Bullwhip effect Downstream information Inventory control Demand process 3. 2 Quality indicators The reliability of this research was guaranteed, since only scientific academic literature was be used. All the literature that was used in this paper is high quality literature, because the used literature is published in well-known journals, and is peer-reviewed. The confirmability is high for this research. The results will be able to be confirmed by others, since all statements, definitions and assumptions in this research were derived from previous literature. In this literature review, there has been consistent and correct referring to the authors. Next to that, the validity was also ensured, since more than just one database was used, so that all the relevant literature for this research was assured. The construct validity is enhanced as well. What had to be measured has actually been measured, since the concepts of this research were clearly defined and the used articles for doing this research were all using the same definitions and concepts. 12 4. Results Two different views on the importance of information sharing in order to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect can be distinguished in the literature: a positive effect on one side, and on the other hand there are authors who do not agree that information sharing is the key solution to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect. . 1 ‘Information sharing is the key solution’ The importance of information sharing for combating the bullwhip effect was clearly shown by the simulation study of Chatfield et al. (2004), who used a simulation model to examine the effects in supply chains of stochastic lead times and of information sharing and quality of that information in a periodic order-up-to level inventory system. One of their main findings was that information sharin g reduces total variance amplification and stage (node to node) variance amplification. This, is what is needed to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect. Chatfield et al. (2004) therefore indeed conclude that information sharing decelerates the bullwhip effect as we go up the supply chain, which could be the result of planning ahead, since the upper supply chain echelons would be responding to customer demand information before the demands actually show up in the form of an order from the downstream partner. The findings of Moyaux et al. (2007), also by a simulation study, are in line with this. They concluded that, with information centralization (buyer’s demand information available), the supplier knows in real time and instantaneously the market consumption. By this, the supplier will be able to manage his production schedule and inventory control in the best way. Sterman’s (1989) results from his ‘beer game’-experiment are in line with this, since they showed that the bullwhip effect appears when actors in a chain haven’t got all the information they need to make the right decisions about production and inventory control. Sterman (1989) stated that misconceptions about inventory and demand information (Lee et al. , 1997) causes the bullwhip effect. So, Sterman (1989) also states that the effect of information sharing on the supplier’s performance is positive since it helps to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect. Croson and Donohue (2005) do not doubt about whether or not information sharing is the key solution; they see particularly sharing information on inventory levels as countermeasure to the bullwhip effect. According to them, from an operational perspective, inventory 13 nformation can be used to update demand forecasts and lessen the impact of demandsignaling errors and delays. In their paper, they stated that ‘analytical research on inventory management in two-echelon supply chains with a single supplier and one or more retailers (e. g. , Bourland et al. 1996; Lee et al. 1997; Cachon and Fisher 2000; Gavirneni et al. 1999) concludes that sharing inventory information can improve s upply chain performance, with the upstream member (i. e. , the supplier) enjoying most of the benefits’ (Croson and Donohue (2005)). According to Croson and Donohue (2005), in these analytical models, inventory information provides the supplier with more timely and less distorted demand signals, and these signals are then factored into the supplier’s order decisions, and these factors result in lower safety stock and/or higher service levels in comparison with cases where no inventory information is shared. Lee et al. (1997) totally agreed with those findings. In their paper, as stated earlier, they analyzed four sources of the bullwhip effect (demand signal processing, rationing game, order batching, and price variations). With their demand model, they considered a retailer’s singleitem multiperiod inventory problem, where the retailer (buyer) orders a single item from a supplier every period. In this setting, the supplier relies totally on the order data from the buyer. According to Lee et al. (1997), their result shows that such an arrangement will cause the supplier to lose track of the true demand pattern at the retail end, and, besides that, the supplier’s inventory control based on this distorted information will inevitably suffer. Lee et al. 1997) concluded, based on these findings, that when sales and inventory data are shared among chain members, the supply chain as a whole can implement echelon-based inventory control which can yield superior performance to installation-based inventory control. Moreover, Huang et al. (2007), based on three simulation experiments according to the empirical practice of the three most representative Chinese companies in the steel industry, found th at the bullwhip effect existed in this supply chain, and that the effect can be reduced by a control method they developed. Based on classical control theories and methods, combined with the empirical practices, Huang et al. (2007) concluded that the best way for firms to dampen and control the bullwhip effect is to take effective measures for information sharing, especially in this information society. More specifically, Huang et al. (2007) stated that managers should choose an appropriate method of controlling the bullwhip effect, which 14 as to be the usage of some advanced information management system and management solutions, for example Advanced Planning System (APS), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), E-business, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), short-term inventory, and distribution optimization, is an effective way to control the bullwhip effect. Since those management systems are advanced information management systems, they are all based on shared information in the supply chain. The conclusions of Huang et al. (2007) therefore indicated the importance of information sharing to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect. Ozer and Wei (2004) also showed how important the effect of information sharing can be for the supplier. According to Ozer and Wei (2004), both the cost and the base stock level decrease as customers place more of their demand in advance. Advance demand information, according to Ozer and Wei (2004), refers to the situation when customers place orders in advance for a future delivery. If this is the case, the supplier knows what the order will be for the upcoming period, and therefore, the uncertainty seems low or even eliminated. As a consequence of that, it is clear that the cost and base stock level decrease. However, Ozer and Wei (2004) even go further on this important role of information. Based on a numerical study, where they studied 350 problem instances, they stated that advance demand information can be a substitute for capacity and inventory. In other words, when a supplier receives full demand information from the buyer’s side, the supplier doesn’t even have to hold any stock, and by that, the supplier’s performance is influenced positively, since the supplier doesn’t have the risk of extra costs and inventories. One other way to show the value of information sharing in a supply chain was brought up by Cannella and Ciancimino (2011). Cannella and Ciancimino (2011) performed a supply chain stress test via a sudden and intense change in demand, and they distinguished different supply chain configurations: traditional and information exchange. In the traditional supply chain, each level in the supply chain issues production orders and replenishes stock without considering the situation at either up- or downstream tiers of the supply chain (Cannella and Ciancimino (2011)). On the other hand, in the information exchange supply chain, the retailer and supplier order independently, yet exchange demand information and action plans in order to align their forecasts for capacity and long-term planning (Cannella and Ciancimino (2011)). Their main conclusion regarding the difference in these configurations is that the 15 bullwhip effect, inventory instability and intermittent orders are not completely eliminated, but are reduced with respect to the traditional supply chain, and that information exchange supply chains generally outperform the traditional configuration. This means that, ceteris paribus, all performance measures are superior to the traditional case (Cannella and Ciancimino (2011)). This conclusion is an important one for the research question of this paper, since it makes clear that the supplier’s performance is really dependent on whether information is shared or not. One other remarkable thing in their conclusion is that the bullwhip effect is not totally eliminated when information is shared in the supply chain. Dejonckheere et al. 2004) concluded this as well in their paper, when they showed that for the class of order-up-to policies, information sharing helps to reduce the bullwhip effect significantly, especially at higher levels in the chain, however, the bullwhip problem is not completely eliminated and it still increases as one moves up the chain. A new question one can come up with here is if it is possible to totally eliminate the bullwhip effect by information sharing. An answer to this new question is given by Che n et al. (2000). In their research, they provided a model based on the assumption that demand information is centralized, and all stages use the same inventory policy and forecasting technique. Centralized demand information means that customer demand information is available to every stage of the supply chain (Chen et al. , 2000). The findings of Chen et al. (2000) showed that providing each stage of the supply chain with complete access to customer demand information can significantly reduce bullwhip effect. However, according to Chen et al. 2000), the results also demonstrated that even when (i) all demand information is centralized, (ii) every stage of the supply chain uses the same forecasting technique, and (iii) every stage uses the same inventory policy, there will still be an small increase in variability at every stage of the supply chain. Reason for this, given by Chen et al. (2000), is that the supplier can never know the mean and the variance of buyer’s demand. This means that the bullwhip effect can never totally be eliminated from the supply chain, even if full information sharing is done by the buyer. Croson and Donohue (2006), who conducted the beer game-experiment of Sterman (1989), also concluded that the bullwhip cannot totally be eliminated. Croson and Donohue (2006) conducted the game under business students at the University of Minnesota and found that the bullwhip effect still exists when retail demand is stationary (not fluctuating) and commonly known. Reason for this was 16 given by Sterman (1989) itself, who noted that dynamic settings render decision making difficult, even when only one decision maker is involved, due to reduced saliency of feedback. For the purpose of this study this means that a supplier is missing the feedback or forewarning of when the buyer is running short on inventory. Therefore, uncertainty still exist since the forecast is hard to make, and the bullwhip effect will not be eliminated. However, Yu et al. (2001) stated that this is possible. Based on their case study of LTT, a Hong Kong based multinational company which had to deal with a large number of new manufacturers and component suppliers in their industry, Yu et al. (2001) concluded that with access to the customer rdering information, the supplier can eliminate the amplified buyer’s demand variance in its replenishment process. Besides that, Yu et al. (2001), according to their quantitative analysis, stated that the supply chain partnership can not only help the members of a decentralized supply chain to eliminate the bullwhip effect, but also improve the overall performance of the supply chain. So, based on the findings of Yu et al. (2001), the overall performance of the supply chain can be improved. This means that the supplier and buyer should make information sharing arrangements, since it can be advantageous for them both. Seidmann and Sundarajan (1997) summed up possible different information sharing arrangements, showing the impact of information sharing on the operations, sales, marketing, and production strategies of the parties that contract to share the information. The four arrangements they summed up are exchanging order information, sharing operations information, sharing strategic marketing information, and an agreement where the information adds both strategic and competitive value to the party that receives it. The sharing strategic marketing information agreement seems the optimal agreement for the research question in this paper. According to Seidmann and Sundarajan (1997), arrangements like these occur when one organization owns information that it can derive little independent value from, but which another can use to generate operational benefits for the company it receives the information from, besides garnering strategic value for its own sales and marketing departments. This level can be very beneficial for the supplier. As Seidmann and Sundarajan (1997) stated, the information in this level can be used by the supplier’s sales and product development groups for improved demand forecasting, promotion scheduling, and segment-specific forecasts and therefore, in 17 hat situation, it is possible for a buyer to allow a supplier to access broad market information that provides the supplier with strategic and competitive benefits. A new point of discussion can come up here, because, according to Lee et al. (1997), sales data and inventory status data are proprietary for buyers, and they are not obligated to share this data with others, in this case, the supplier. Lee et al. (1997) in their paper do not state that sharing information can be advantageous for the buyer as well as the supplier as Yu et al. (2001) do, but they take in mind why the buyer would exchange information to the supplier. According to Li (2002), in line with this, buyers would not voluntarily share their information. He identified conditions under which the manufacturer would be able to buy retailer information. Claro and Claro (2010) concluded as well that sharing information can be good for both sides in the supply chain. They found their results by doing a survey research under 174 suppliers and 67 buyers, with which they tested their hypothesis, which was: ‘the more downstream information a supplier obtains, the higher the degree of collaboration in a buyer-supplier relationship’ (Claro and Claro, 2010). The results supported the hypothesis. Claro and Claro (2010) showed that when downstream information is shared, so, from buyer to supplier, the degree of collaboration, in terms of joint planning, joint problem solving and flexibility in the supply chain is very high. These findings show that sharing the proprietary information can bring advantages for the buyer as well. An interesting point in the studies who showed that information sharing is the key solution for reducing or avoiding the bullwhip effect was brought up by Croson and Donohue (2006). As stated before, they conducted the beer game under business students, but for the purpose of the study of this interesting finding the participants also had access to dynamic inventory information. According to Croson and Donohue (2006), the results suggest that members near the beginning of the chain exhibit a different impact from inventory information than those near the end. This means that having access to dynamic information will lead to a greater reduction of the bullwhip effect for suppliers like a manufacturer and a distributor, than for suppliers who are closer to the end consumer, like a distributor. So, from their findings, information sharing is very important for reducing or avoiding the bullwhip effect, but much more important for suppliers who are at the beginning of the chain than for suppliers who are closer to the end buyer. 18 ‘Information sharing is the key solution’ Chatfield et al. (2004) simulation model to examine different effects in a supply chain ? periodic order-up-to level inventory system Moyaux et al. (2007) ? simulation study ? Findings: Information sharing reduces total variance amplification and stage (node to node) variance amplification. Sterman (1989) ? Beer-game experiment ? This experiment is used and conducted a lot in the literature Croson and Donohue (2005) ? Analytical research on inventory management in two-echelon supply chains with a single supplier and one or more retailers Lee et al. (1997) ? Analyzed four sources of the bullwhip effect ? With their demand model, they considered a retailer’s single-item multiperiod inventory problem Huang et al. (2007) ? Three simulation experiments in the Chinese steel industry ? Based on classical control theories and methods, combined with the empirical practices Ozer and Wei (2004) ? Numerical study with 350 instances Findings: With information centralization, the supplier knows in real time and instantaneously the market consumption Findings: The bullwhip effect appears when actors in a chain haven’t got all the information they need to make the right decisions about production and inventory control Findings: Sharing inventory information can improve supply chain performance, with the upstream member (i. e. the supplier) enjoying most of the benefits Findings: When sales and inventory data are shared among chain members, the supply chain as a whole can implement echelon-based inventory control which can yield superior performance Findings: The best way for firms to dampen and control the bullwhip effect is to take effective measures for information sharing, especially in this information society. Managers should choose an appropriate method of cont rolling the bullwhip effect Findings: Both the cost and the base stock level decrease as customers place more of their emand in advance. Advance demand information can be a substitute for capacity and inventory Findings: The bullwhip effect, inventory instability and intermittent orders are not completely eliminated, but are reduced with respect to the traditional supply chain, and that information exchange Cannella and Ciancimino (2011) ? Supply chain stress test via a sudden and intense change in demand 19 supply chains generally outperform the traditional configuration. Dejonckheere et al. (2004) ? The class of order-up-to policies Findings: ? Information sharing helps to reduce the bullwhip effect significantly, especially at higher levels in the chain ? Hhowever, the bullwhip problem is not completely eliminated and it still increases as one moves up the chain Chen et al. (2000) Findings: ? A model based on the assumption that ? Providing each stage of the supply chain demand information is centralized, with complete access to customer demand and all stages use the same inventory information can significantly reduce policy and forecasting technique bullwhip effect ? The supplier can never know the mean and the variance of buyer’s demand, so the bullwhip effect is never completely eliminated Yu et al. (2001) Findings: ? Case study of L ? With access to the customer ordering ? Quantitative analysis information, the supplier can eliminate the amplified buyer’s demand variance in its replenishment process ? The supply chain partnership can not only help the members of a decentralized supply chain to eliminate the bullwhip effect, but also improve the overall performance of the supply chain Claro and Claro (2010) Findings: ? Survey research under 174 suppliers ? When downstream information is shared, and 67 buyers so, from buyer to supplier, the degree of collaboration, in terms of joint planning, joint problem solving and flexibility in the supply chain is very high. Croson and Donohue (2006) Findings: ? Sterman’s (1989) beer-game under ? Members near the beginning of the chain business students exhibit a different impact from inventory information than those near the end ? Having access to dynamic information ill lead to a greater reduction of the bullwhip effect for suppliers at the beginning of the chain, than for suppliers who are closer to the end consumer 20 4. 2 ‘Information sharing is not the key solution’ Eventhough a lot of authors, as shown here above, state that information sharing is the key solution for reducing or avoiding the bullwhip effect and by that improving the supplier’s performance, there are also authors who do not agree with this. For example Raghunat han (2001), based on analysis of the earlier study of Lee et al. (2000) and through simulation. Lee et al. 2000), studied the value of sharing demand information in a supply chain model with a nonstationary demand process. Their key findings are that the suppliers costs can be reduced as a result of information sharing. Raghunathan does not agree with this. According to Raghunathan (2001), a supplier can reduce the variance of its forecast further by using the entire order history to which it has access. Thus, Raghunathan (2001) stated, when intelligent use of already available internal information (order history) suffices, there is no need to invest in interorganizational systems for information sharing. Next to Raghunathan are Cachon and Fisher (2000), who studied the value of sharing data in a model with one supplier, N identical retailers, and stationary stochastic consumer demand. They concluded that, for the setting they studied, implementing information technology to accelerate and smooth the physical flow of goods through a supply chain is significantly more valuable than using information technology to expand the flow of information. The reason they give is that when a retailer is flush with inventory, its demand information provides little value to the supplier because the retailer has no short-term need for an additional batch. According to Cachon and Fisher (2000), a retailer’s demand information is most valuable when the retailer’s inventory approaches a level that should trigger the supplier to order additional inventory, but this is also precisely when the retailer is likely to submit an order. Graves (1999) goes beyond this and gives an even lower value to information sharing in a specific, namely, zero. Graves (1999) developed a model assuming assume that each site in the system orders at preset times according to an order-up-to policy, that delivery times are deterministic, and that the demand processes are stochastic with independent increments. Graves (1999) concludes that information sharing provides no benefits to the supply chain, when there is no outside inventory source and an order-up-to-policy. 21 Gavirneni et al. (1999) furthermore studied different patterns of information flow between a retailer and a supplier. With their study they found that information sharing is does not always have a big value, in other words, is not always the key solution for reducing or avoiding the bullwhip effect. The objective in their paper is to determine a production strategy to minimize the supplier’s costs, under various scenarios that differ in terms of the supplier’s information about the downstream part of the supply chain. Their key observations, according to Chen (2003), are: (1) when the retailer demand variance is high, or the value of (s, S) is either very high or very low, information tends to have low values, and (2) if the retailer demand variance is moderate, and the value of (s, S) is not extreme, information can be very beneficial. A (s, S)-policy, according to Yu et al. (2001) means that an order will be placed to replenish the stock level to S at each time period if the stock level is less than the recorder point s. So, according to Gavirneni et al. (1999), in some situations information sharing is overestimated and is definitely not the key solution for reducing or avoiding the bullwhip effect. Dejonckheere et al. (2003) found some other solution for reducing the bullwhip effect and neither did say that information sharing is the key solution. Based on a methodology by control systems engineering, which includes transfer functions, frequency response curves and spectral analysis, they introduced a general decision rule that avoids variance amplification (bullwhip effect) and succeeds in generating smooth ordering patterns, even when demand has to be forecasted. Firstly, Dejonckheere et al. (2003) concluded that whatever forecasting method is used, order-up-to policies will always result in a bullwhip effect. Therefore, they tried to find a solution to reduce or avoid this effect. According to Dejonckheere et al. 2003), the crucial difference with the class of order-up-to policies is that in their proposed rule, net stock and on order inventory discrepancies are only fractionally taken into account. Their general decision rule has to expected benefits: (1) it is expected to detect and eject rogue variations in demand (high frequencies) so that excess costs due to unnecessary ramping up and down production or ordering levels are avoided, and (2) it is possible to quantify the amount of variability reduction by means of the same procedure (Dejonckheere et al. (2003)). 22 ‘Information sharing is not the key solution’ Raghunathan (2001) Findings: ? Analysis of the earlier study of Lee et ? A supplier can reduce the variance of al. (2000) and through simulation its forecast further by using the entire order history to which it has access Cachon and Fisher (2000) Findings: ? Based on a model with one supplier, ? Implementing information technology N identical retailers, and stationary to accelerate and smooth the physical stochastic consumer demand flow of goods through a supply chain is significantly more valuable than using information technology to expand the flow of information Graves (1999) Findings: ? Based on a model assuming that each ? Information sharing provides no site in the system orders at preset benefits to the supply chain, when times according to an order-up-to there is no outside inventory source policy, that delivery times are and an order-up-to-policy. deterministic, and that the demand processes are stochastic with independent increments Gavirneni et al. (1999) Findings: ? Studied different patterns of ? When the retailer demand variance is information flow between a retailer high, or the value of (s, S) is either and a supplier. very high or very low, information tends to have low values Dejonckheere et al. (2003) Findings: ? Based on control systems engineering ? Introduced a general decision rule ? Whatever forecasting method is used, order-up-to policies will always result in a bullwhip effect ? Their general decision rule: (1) is expected to detect and eject rogue variations in emand (high frequencies), and (2) it is possible to quantify the amount of variability reduction by means of the same procedure 23 5. Conclusion and recommendations 5. 1 Conclusion The answer to the research question as stated in the beginning of this paper is provided in this section. The research question where this research is based on was: ‘What is the effect, according to the literature, of information sharing in a supply chain on the performance of the supplier? To answer the research question , and to see if information sharing for the bullwhip effect is over- or underestimated, the literature around the topic of the bullwhip effect had to be assorted, and it showed that in two main streams exist in the literature when focusing on the role of information sharing for the bullwhip effect. In the literature, with exceptions (Raghunathan 2001: Cachon and Fisher 2000: Graves 1999: Gavirneni et al. 1999: Dejonckheere et al. 2003), information sharing as the key solution to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect seems to have the upper hand. First, shortly the most important findings from the first view will be summarized, which was the view of information sharing as key solution to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect in order to increase the performance of a supplier. Chatfield et al. (2004) and Moyaux et al. (2007) showed by simulation studies that with information sharing in the supply chain, the supplier is much more well-known about what is going happen, in other words, what the market does and what the buyer’s demand will be, and therefore, according to their findings, the bullwhip effect is reduced. Also results of some empirical studies showed that information sharing is the key solution. Huang et al. (2007) concluded that managers should stick to advanced information management systems for their company because this will reduce the bullwhip effect. Ozer and Wei (2004), with their numerical study, found that advance demand information will results in decreases of costs and inventory level, and therefore has a positive effect on the supplier’s performance. Yu et al. 2001), with their case study of L, concluded that when a supplier has access to the buyer’s ordering information, the supplier can eliminate the amplified buyer’s demand variance in its replenishment process. Claro and Claro (2010), by their survey research, even showed that not only the supplier can benefit from sharing information but the buyer can do as well, because when downstream information is shared, the degree of collaboration, in terms of joint planning, joint problem solving and flexib ility in the supply chain is very high. 24 The main findings of the other view, the view which finds that information sharing is not the key solution, were as followed. Raghunathan (2001) stated that information sharing is not necessarily needed, because a supplier can reduce the variance of its forecast further by using the entire order history to which it has access. Furthermore, Cachon and Fisher (2000) concluded that accelerating and smoothing the physical flow of goods through a supply chain is significantly more valuable than using information technology to expand the flow of information. Graves (1999) found that, in a specific market model, information sharing provides no benefits to the supply chain, when there is no outside inventory source and an order-up-to-policy. Dejonckheere et al. (2003) had a remarkable result. They introduced a general decision rule, which should detect the bullwhip effect and quantify the amount of the bullwhip effect, so that suppliers can respond to this in time. The arguments for information sharing as key solution seem stronger than the ones who say information sharing is not that important. The argument of Raghunathan (2001) for example, that a supplier can reduce the variance of its forecast further by using the entire order history to which it has access, seems not very strong. The findings of Raghunathan in fact were rejected by Croson and Donohue (2006) who conducted the beer game of Sterman (1989) under business students and found that the bullwhip effect still exists when retail demand is stationary (not fluctuating) and commonly known. This means that, even if a supplier has the order history, the demand is known, and the demand is not really fluctuating, a supplier cannot make the right forecast since the bullwhip effect isn’t totally eliminated. The argument of Raghunathan (2001) can call up more discussion. Results from the past do not guarantee anything for the future, and especially these days with the economic crises, you never know what the market with do and how the financial situation of your customers will be. Therefore, making forecasts based on history seems not a strong argument. Other arguments saying that information sharing is overestimated all focus on specific situations, but it seems that overall information sharing is not overestimated at all in the literature. Much more authors, based on different (simulations) models and empirical studies, claim that information sharing is the key solution to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect than authors who do not claim that, and this seems logical. Without enough information, a supplier 25 annot make right judgments about his production schemes and inventory control, since he doesn’t know what the next period will bring for him in terms of the buyer’s demand. The results of this uncertainty for the supplier can be either a low inventory and the chance of not being able to fulfill the buyer’s demand because of that inventory, or the chance of having an inventory which is too large and being stuck with too many unsold pr oducts after the buyer’s demand. To avoid this effect, the supplier should have access to the necessary information from the buyer. However, as also stated by Li (2002), why would a buyer share this information, when it is not in any way beneficial for him? The information sharing arrangements of Seidmann and Sundarajan (1997) can bring the solution. Their third level, sharing strategic marketing information, is the one which suits the best in this case. The supplier and buyer should make this arrangement, so that the buyer shares the needed downstream information to the supplier. This information shared has strategic value to the supplier. The buyer, on his turn, could, in return for the information, ensure himself for example of better purchase prices. In this way, both parties can gain from the agreement. Claro and Claro (2010) came up with more descriptions of how the performance of the buyer could positively be influenced as well next to the performance of the supplier, by stating that joint planning, joint problem solving and flexibility in the supply chain are all possible consequences of a situation where information is being shared from buyer to supplier. 5. Recommendations for future research For further research it will be very interesting to investigate to what extent the performance of the buyer and supplier can be negatively influenced as well by information sharing within the supply chain. In the literature, as I have seen, a lot is written about the importance of information sharing, and the overall conclusion is that information sharing is the key solution to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect, and, by that, positively influences the performance of the supplier and also the whole chain’s performance. However, there hasn’t been done much research about possible negative consequences of information sharing within the chain and therefore this seems a gap in the existing literature. For example, what could happen when information is fully shared between suppliers and buyers, is that the suppliers get totally dependent on those information by controlling their production and/or inventory, and when the information for any reason suddenly is distorted, misinterpreted or wrong, a problem can occur. 26 6. Discussion and reflection 6. Discussion As it is clear from the results section and conclusion, two views on the importance of information sharing for the supplier’s performance exist in the literature. The conclusion shows that it can be stated that information sharing is the key solution to reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect, and, by that, has a positive influence on the performance of the supplier. The practical implication of this research lies within the insight it gi ves to actors in a supply chain. The insight is especially meant for suppliers, since this research focused on the supplier and not specifically on the buyer. The bullwhip effect seems a very common problem in supply chains and therefore it seems to be a topic which suppliers will often will encounter. This research gives insight in how the bullwhip effect can be reduced or avoided. As concluded, the first solution on sight seems easy. Suppliers should try to make the buyer share the needed downstream information, so that the supplier can make right forecasts, and wellover thought production and/or inventory control. However, one cannot ignore for example the general decision rule of Dejonckheere et al. (2003). They believe that their model can detect and quantify the bullwhip effect in time, so this might be a solution as well for reducing or avoiding the effect. However, no sequel study on their paper has been done and so, there hasn’t been any further prove of this model. The setting of this paper gives reason for discussion. In this paper, the focus has only been on the performance of a supplier and did not specifically focus on the buyer’s performance. This research even ignored more or less the buyer’s performance. Therefore, discussion can come up, since the supply chain has two sides: a buyer and a supplier. As said, this research only looked through the eyes of the supplier, in other words, how the supplier could reduce or avoid the bullwhip effect, by that make better forecasts and decisions about production and/or inventory control, and so improve his performance. The overall conclusion is that information sharing is the key solution. However, this is only in the interest for the supplier, while the other important player in this story, namely, the buyer, hasn’t been spotlighted in this story. In this paper it is assumed and concluded that a buyers should share his information, but the 7 paper did not really put a good focus on the buyer’s performance, and what the possible consequences of information sharing for the buyer could be. Another point of discussion lies within the literature used for this research. The problem is that a lot of authors use models in their paper to conduct, analyze and conclude about whether or not information sharing is important for the bullw hip effect, but those models differ from each other. Some authors use stationary market models, some use non-stationary, some use order-up-to policy models, some use order-point-quantity policies. In other words, authors use specific supply chain settings to make their conclusions, and therefore, this research includes a very broad scope on the topic, which means that conclusions made in this research are not applicable in every supply chain, since the supply chain settings can differ. 6. 2 Reflection When looking back on writing this literature review, findings literature was not the problem. Many articles have written about the topic ‘supply chain’ in relation to ‘bullwhip effect’, but this didn’t mean that it was easy to find the right literature. Because of the large quantity papers, a very specific search method was needed in order to find the really important papers to be able to answer the research question of this paper. One difficult point in doing this research was that many of the most important papers included very detailed and extensive statistical models, which sometimes made it very difficult to understand the papers in the right way and derive right conclusions from it. Besides that, it was important to focus only on the supplier’s performance and leave the buyer’s performance outside the focus of this paper. The reason of that is that the supplier and buyer, as written before, both have their own values and interests, and therefore, if the paper would focus on both of these actors, more than one dimension will exist and the research will get too extensive. When the research goal and question were clear, soon it became clear as well that two views on the importance of information sharing for the bullwhip effect existed. However, I was hoping to find much more results on the second view, namely that information sharing is not the key solution. This was a disappointing thing in the research. 28 7. References Aviv, Y. (2001). The effect of collaborative forecasting on supply chain performance. Management Science 47(10): 1326–1343. Bourland, K, Powell, S, Pyke, D. (1996). Exploiting timely demand information to reduce inventories. European Journal of Operational Research, 92: 239–253. Cachon, G. , M. Fisher (2000). Supply chain inventory management and the value of shared information. Management Science 46(8): 1032–1048. Cannella, S. , Ciancimino, E. (2011). On the bullwhip avoidance phase: supply chain collaboration and order smoothing. International Journal of Production Research 48 (2): 6739–6776. Chatfield, D. C. , Kim, J. G. , Harrison, T. P. , Hayya, J. C. (2004). The bullwhip effect—impact of stochastic lead time, information quality, and information sharing: a simulation study. Productions and Operations Management 13 (4): 340–353. Chen, F. (1998). Echelon reorder points, installation reorder points, and the value of centralized demand information, Management Science 44 (12, No. 2): 221–S234. Chen, F. 2003. Information sharing and supply chain coordination. In A. G. de Kok, S. C. Graves, eds. Handbooks in Operations Research and Management Science: Supply Chain Management, Chapter 7. North-Holland, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 341-413. Chen, F. , Drezner, Z. , Ryan, J. K. , Simchi-Levi, D. , (2000). Quantifying the bullwhip effect in a simple supply chain: the impact of forecasting, lead times and information. Management Science 46 (3): 436–443. Christopher, M. G. (1992). Logistics and Supply Chain Management. Pitman Publishing, London, UK. Clark, A. , H. Scarf (1960). Optimal policies for a multi-echelon inventory problem. Management Science 6: 475–490. Claro, D. P. , Claro, P. B. O. (2010). Collaborative buyer–supplier relationships and downstream information in marketing channels. Industrial Marketing Management, 39(2): 221–228. Croson, R. and Donohue, K. (2005), â€Å"Upstream versus downstream information and its impact on the bullwhip effect†, System Dynamics Review, Vol. 21 No. 3: 249-60. Croson, R. , K. Donohue. (2006). Behavioral causes of the bullwhip effect and the observed value of inventory information. Management Science. 52(3): 323–336. 29 Dejonckheere, J. , Disney, S. M. , Lambrecht, M. R. , Towill, D. R. , (2003). Measuring and avoiding the bullwhip effect: A control theoretic approach. European Journal of Operational Research 147 (3): 567–590. Dejonckheere, J. Disney, S. , and et al. (2004). The impact of information enrichme How to cite Information Sharing for the Bullwhip Effect, Essay examples

Psychological analysis of film character Essay Essay Example

Psychological analysis of film character Essay Essay Good Will Hunting received critical and commercial acclamation every bit good as being credited for a Renaissance among immature American dramatists ( Tatara. 1997 ) . Recognized for the portraiture and development of the characters. the narrative has been utilized in psychological and sociological surveies. The narrative revolves around Will Hunting. a janitor working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) who in secret solves the math jobs that Professor Gerald Lambeau. a Fields Medalist. his applied theories category. After being revealed to Lambeau as the â€Å"Mystery Math Magician† . the professor sought to prevents Hunting’s captivity after assailing a police officer during a bash by volunteering to oversee Hunting’s probation and psychotherapeutics. After the failure of Hunting early healers to link with him. Lambeau seeks the aid of Sean Maguire. a former co-worker who seemed to retreat from society after the decease of his married woman ( Van Sant A ; Bender. 1997 ) . DSM Diagnosis Hunting’s existent status is non unequivocal in the film. We will write a custom essay sample on Psychological analysis of film character Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Psychological analysis of film character Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Psychological analysis of film character Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer He displayed violent inclinations. trouble in commanding emotions and developing relationships. An appraisal of the character of the film suggests that Hunting’s status can be classified as Attachment Disorder ( AD ) . Based on the DSM-IV-TR. there is a differentiation between inhibited and disinhibited fond regard signifiers. both are considered to be classified as reactive fond regard upset ( RAD ) . There is greater differentiation between signifiers in the ICD-10 where the latter is classified individually as disinhibited fond regard upset ( DAD ) . nevertheless this classification remains debated. For the intent of this exercising. Huntington’s instance will be considered as RAD. based on the DSM-IV-TR terminology. Hunting exhibits important trouble in swearing other people and intentionally distances himself from others except for his immediate circle of friends. Unlike other conditions that undermine socialisation thoughtlessly. it is evident that Huntington’s province of relationships is something he intentionally does. Though he has been able to keep close knit group of friends. represented by his relationship with his fellow Southie friends Chuckie. Morgan and Billie. he neer invites them to his place and though they are cognizant of Hunting’s exceeding mind. he neer full reveals its full extent. Furthermore. Hunting is frequently blocked in scenes apart from the group and becomes merely to the full engaged when prompted to make so chiefly by Chuckie. Lambeau besides repeatedly expresses his concern over Hunting’s involuntariness to use himself to the full extent of his accomplishments. Maguire would raise a similar sentiment utilizing Hunting’s devotedness to his personal reading alternatively of developing relationships or bettering his life. It should be noted that in contrast to oppositional noncompliant upset ( ODD ) . Hunting’s opposition or interaction with Maguire. Lambeau every bit good the first five healers was non against their authorization but instead what he perceived as a false belief or inadequacy of their methods or statements with him. Furthermore. Hunting’s ability to keep his occupation and because he has no evident job with Terry. his supervisor is farther grounds for AD ( Boris. 2003 ; O’Connor A ; Zeanah. 2003 ) . Hunting’s status is being attributed at most to his childhood being reared in surrogate places. three from which he had to be removed due to serious physical maltreatment ( Damon A ; Affleck. 1997 ) . Subsequent delinquency indicates continuity of aggressive behaviour indicates that intercessions where non effectual as good. See the concluding statement between Skylar and Hunting: despite Skylar’s credence of Hunting’s yesteryear and her petition for him to travel with her to California. Hunting remains unwilling to believe the former’s devotedness or hazard go forthing Southie or believe about set uping a life with Skylar. Maguire points out that the challenge for Hunting is non being able to command his behaviour or to use his accomplishments but instead going willing to put on the line being emotionally dependent on other people and swearing them non to abandon him. Therefore. the denouement of the film is Hunting’s trip to California to follow Skylark which meant that he would go forth Southie. his friends and without the confidence of a occupation. Characterization The symptoms displayed by Hunting intentionally delineated his individuality from his friends and immediate environment. At the start of the film. there is non suggestion of Hunting’s exceptionality and his background and personality had small difference from that of Chuckie’s. Billy’s or Morgan’s. In making this baseline. the find of Hunting’s subsequent math accomplishments every bit good as the disclosure of the maltreatment he suffered. physiques him as the primary supporter of the film ( Caron. 2005 ) . Furthermore. the procedure besides created the premiss of the interaction of other characters in the narrative. peculiarly Hunting’s relationship with both Maguire and Skylar. However. it should be noted that Hunting’s AD was the Southern Cross of the narrative. Without it. the onslaught on the constabulary officer who subdued Hunting that led to Lambeau’s intercession would non be possible. Furthermore there is besides a suggestion that without the development of the status. Hunting would non hold been able to roll up his repertory of cognition. There was besides a review sing the quality of instruction. illustrated by the confrontation with the alumnus pupil named Clark. Hunting’s manner of educating himself was superior if non. more cost-efficient. This was the first intimation of Hunting’s head every bit good as his noteworthiness sing his societal position and personal background. It should be noted that Hunting’s character is non representative or even typical of those enduring from AD ( Livingston. 2004 ) . In general. there is no discrepancy in the degree of sociableness whereas in the film. there is indicant that Hunting’s relationship with his friends was non dominated as much by his AD. In peculiar. his relationship with Chuckie indicates non merely important intimacy but besides dependance. In add-on. Chuckie’s insight to Hunting’s personality indicated by his regard of Hunting’s personal infinite and waiting for the latter for any revelation. Another illustration contrasting to the AD symptoms is the narrative was in his conversation with Skylar when he was motivating her to predate analyzing he exerts important attempt to explicate to her how he viewed his accomplishments. The illustrations he provided displays a high grade of association and the attempt itself is an indicant of Hunting’s need to do Skylar understand him more. However. these evident contrasts to the symptoms of AD. presented after Maguire and Hunting were able to set up a on the job relationship for the latter’s therapy. may be to exemplify the effectivity of the therapy. Sing this. particularly in position of the impact of kid maltreatment and disregard to Hunting. provides dramatic content every bit good as engages both understanding and empathy of viewing audiences. For Hunting himself. his history and psychological status farther highlight his glare and its value non merely to himself but. as reiterated repeatedly by Lambeau. besides the remainder of the universe. One of the most affecting scenes in the film is the presented in the session where Maguire repeatedly tells Hunting that it was non his mistake that he suffered abuse until Hunting genuinely accepts it to the truth after which he breaks down. The epiphany high spots that though AD symptoms and indicants can non be limited to behavioural alteration but requires the intervention of non- seeable and subconscious symptoms and indicants of AD ( O’Connor A ; Zeanah. 2003 ) . Treatment Due to the wideness of AD. there are an extended grade of discrepancy in attacks and intervention. In general. intervention is by and large addresses emotional and behavioural jobs. In younger clients. the major standards are based on absence or deformation of age-appropriate societal behaviours which so becomes the foundation of the intercession ( Boris. 2003 ) . In older clients. societal indexs of the upset go utilised more and intercession since the impact of AD becomes more societal instead an issue of personal development. In either population. the most common intercessions are developed to turn to trust and forsaking issues ( Walsh et al. 2006 ) . However. Wedding ( 2007 ) that behavioural alteration plans are the first to be implemented. In the film. Maguire’s intervention became irregular chiefly due to Hunting’s mind. With his intervention with the first five healers. he reads literature sing guidance and therapy in attempt to intentionally thwart his clinical psychologists. Maguire’s similar background turning up in Southie and Lambeau’s narratives of what happened with other healers surprised Hunting. Maguire challenges Hunting’s mind and allows himself as a topic of Hunting’s examination. In kernel. the Sessionss became therapy for both Maguire and Hunting: Maguire disputing Hunting to use himself and his cognition to the existent universe while Hunting prompts Maguire to cover with his heartache over the loss of his married woman. In context. such a method is effectual. However. the world is that there are ordinances of what healers can unwrap to their clients in the involvement of keeping professionalism. At the same clip. the challenge presented by Hunting’s exceeding mind is neither a likely scenario. The pattern of an intercession to turn to AD is based on the designation of the beginning of the struggle. Eriksen and Kress ( 2004 ) and Williams and Garland ( 2002 ) both point out that at that place has to be a high grade of sensitiveness in this appraisal as discrepancy in civilization or background may increase the impact of one event or experience of the client. Similarly. Walsh and associates ( 2005 ) every bit good as Zolotor and Runyan ( 2006 ) point out that in instances were precursor events are due to childhood disregard or maltreatment. at that place has to be extended consideration of the client’s history from as many positions as possible since the impact of disregard or maltreatment possibly non remembered by the client. Boris ( 2003 ) points out that in many instances of AD. direct intercession is limited since behavioural. emotional or societal jobs frequently take precedency in intervention. However. he points out that such a scheme may besides let therapy or other intercessions to streamlined and more efficaciously direct attempts to turn to AD. Finally. harmonizing to O’Connor and Zeanah ( 2003 ) . the most critical for any intercession is to supply chances for clients to place the issues motivating their Ad and to develop separately the tools to turn to them. Similar to the Maguire’s plan for the Hunting in the film. this can be seen in his changeless challenges to Hunting and his suggestion and support for the latter to prosecute what he values most in life regardless of the hazards of failure. Conclusion Maguire’s irregular attack to Hunting’s therapy created struggle non merely between him and his client but besides with Lambeau who was coercing Hunting to utilize his mathematical gifts to their fullest extent. However. Maguire’s penetrations to the background and personal calamities of Hunting. being from South Boston and a victim of maltreatment himself. would finally be the foundation of Hunting’s self-discovery and authorization ( Shulman. 2006 ) . Hunting’s contentious relationship with Maguire would actuate him to prosecute non merely his surveies with Lambeau but besides a relationship with Skylar. a immature adult female who was prosecuting a calling in medical specialty utilizing an heritage she gained when her male parent died. Maguire would repeatedly dispute Hunting’s philosophical positions inductively and pushes him out of his comfort zone to recognize his potencies. At the terminal of the film. Hunting would follow Lambeau’s advice to research possible employment chances for his math accomplishments by prosecuting interviews. go forthing his friends and South Boston which he considered his oasis and pursue Skylar by following her to California.

Essay Sample on the Criminal Justice System

Essay Sample on the Criminal Justice System The Criminal Justice System has many components that make up its system. The police, corrections, and the courts all play the role and act together in trying to maintain the most respectable and functional CJS. A system where each uses their own judgments on how to play their role. The views of each can vary from how they each feel the court system works and the integrity of it. Many factors can play a role in the way in which these people feel on the actual court system process. Such factors being where they work within the system, if they are judges, cops, lawyers or social service officers can change the way they feel the system works. Factors of where they work geographically and the views and opinions of those areas can also shape the way the person feels about the system. The Police are the gatekeepers of the CJS. They are the ones who find the people who are violating laws and arrest them based on their discretion and situation of the case. Since, the patrol officers are who start many of the cases that go to court. They are the ones that should be interviewed on whether or not the court system works, the court system has integrity and what would that specific officer do to change the court system. The first patrol officer that was interviewed was from the Mount Prospect police. When he was asked the first question on if he felt the court system worked, he paused and then smiled the word â€Å"yes†. He felt it did for the most part, as he felt most Americans did as well. He believed it all mattered on what side you might be on. He mostly found this question to be elementary and found himself confused, but he concluded it with determining it the best system in the world, but could use much improvement. The second question given to the officer was if he felt the court system had integrity. He thought that most people within the system do have integrity. However, he has seen situations where it has caused absolute murder towards the system. He thinks that internal and external pressure on the police, attorneys, judges, etc., can cause for some to turn the dark side. But he noted that every other profession has the situation for anything to occur that can hurt their system. When the officer was asked the final question on what he would like to do change the court system he seemed to get excited, as if he had a lot to say. He first off felt that their should be better monitoring of all the pieces within the system. He felt that from the judges to the police officers they all should be better monitored. He felt last of all that the citizens as a whole, consisting of the police, judges, etc, should not allow the System to be manipulated by the powerful and therefore cost the weak to lose their rights and privileges. The second officer that was interviewed was from Hawthorne Woods and he and their department are located Lake County. He was younger than the first which figured he might have a different opinion, and the fact that the Counties were different may also play a role. Lake County is more conservative and has far more Republicans than Cook county. Therefore, the Court system in Lake may differ from those of Cook due to the political background and lobbying that may be done in the system. When the officer was asked the first question whether he felt the court system worked, he confidently replied in favor. He believed that for the most part the court system does work. He felt with the right people and right direction then the court system will work. However, he also noted that just like anything in life there are faults and clinks. Not everything is perfect, therefore, the system worked with little problems. He concluded the question with saying it was the best game in town. Meaning possibly that he felt that in many games, organizations and such, that there are corruption, cheating, stealing, fraud, etc., but the court system was the best. Which leads into the second question on he felt if the court system had integrity and he replied again with approval, that it did. He thought most people involved in the court system were people with integrity. He felt that most people who pursued jobs in the system were ones who have integrity. He felt people looking for corruption look elsewhere in other lines of work. He thinks people in these jobs work towards justice. The officer was then asked his final question on what would he like to do the change the current court system. He felt much the way he did about the integrity question. He felt that he would want to strive to find people in the system that believe in just, and fairness. The people would have to be able and willing to stick by their convictions. He would like to take these people and promote them to top jobs and replace any of those who did not follow in these feelings. Another aspect to the CJS is the branch of corrections. This is where people go when they are arrested and the judge will give out supervision, supervised supervision, and probation. All three mean different and have more serious consequences, but all three mean that you are to be under the watch of a probationary officer. Probationary officers will either meet with the felon on a schedule, or have some kind of contact with them. They make sure that the felon follows their sentence and can violate them and send back in front of the judge with harsher penalties. The last interviewee was a probationary officer from Lake County. The officer was also asked the same questions as the first two police officers. When he was asked on if he felt the court system worked, he was unsure. He felt that the court system works when it is able to keep offenders from repeating the crimes they have committed. He felt that some sentences, or, probation time, counseling hours, etc. are not enough sometimes and can’t change all people. That most offenders do not like to have to pay fines and go to court. Tightening around the edges he feels needs to be done to keep offenders from committing more crimes. When the second question was asked to the officer on whether he felt the system had integrity he responded with a common answer. He felt that some people in the court system could be blinding by bias views. That for the most part the court system is fair. That judges use good discretion and if you think the system is not fair, then don’t go out and commit the crime. The final question asked to the last interviewee was what would he like to do to change the court system. He responded to this question with more humor than he did any of the others. He first of all thinks that the court system works the best when it is not over crowded. He would like to decrease the flow of traffic through a court house. Even though he didn’t have much to much insight on the changing of the court system, the idea is one that should be honestly looked at. Each of the officers that were interviewed seemed to be of short answers and not much insight. Each would always say or start off staying that there is so much they could say but then wouldn’t say much. And that to stick them with these basic questions which could send discussion groups into the morning were hard to tackle at the moment. The main difference was the atmosphere of that of the probationary officers, office and that of the police stations. The two seemed miles apart, but continue to work together to keep the CJS in flow.

Fat Pig a Play by Neil LaBute

Fat Pig a Play by Neil LaBute Neil LaBute titled the play Fat Pig (which first premiered off-Broadway in 2004) to get our attention. However, if he wanted to be blunt, he could have named the play Cowardice, because that is what this comedy-tinged drama is really about. The Plot Tom is a young urban professional who has a bad track record of quickly losing interest in the attractive women he dates. Although in comparison to his crude friend Carter, Tom seems more sensitive than your typical cad. In fact, in the first scene of the play, Tom encounters a smart, flirtatious woman who is described as very plus-sized. When the two connect and she gives him her phone number, Tom is genuinely interested, and the two start dating. However, deep down Tom is shallow. (I know that seems like a paradox, but thats how he is.) He is too self-conscious about what his so-called work friends think about his relationship with Helen. It doesnt help that he dumped a vindictive co-worker named Jeannie who interprets his overweight girlfriend as a personal attack: JEANNIE: Im sure you thought this would hurt me, right? It also doesnt help when his sleazy friend Carter steals a photo of Helen and emails a copy to everyone at the office. But ultimately, this is a play about a young man who comes to terms with who he is: TOM: Im a weak and fearful person, Helen, and Im not gonna get any better. (Spoiler Alert) Male Characters in Fat Pig LaBute has a definite knack for obnoxious, callous male characters. The two guys in Fat Pig follow in this tradition, yet they arent nearly as loathsome than the jerks in LaButes film In the Company of Men. Carter might be a slimeball, but he is not too vicious. At first, he is flabbergasted by the fact that Tom is dating an overweight woman. Also, he firmly believes that Tom and other attractive people should run with [their] own kind. Basically, Carter thinks that Tom is wasting his youth by dating someone of Helens size. However, if one reads the synopsis of the play, it asks: How many insults can you hear before you have to stand up and defend the woman you love? Based upon that blurb, audiences might assume that Tom is pushed to the breaking point by a barrage of awful insults at his girlfriends expense. Yet, Carter is not completely insensitive. In one of the best monologues of the play, Carter tells the story of how he was often embarrassed by his obese mother when in public. He also supplies the wisest piece of advice in the play: CARTER: Do what you want. If you like this girl, then dont listen to a goddamn word anybody says. So, if Carter lays off on the insults and peer pressure, and the vengeful Jeannie calms down and moves on with her life, why does Tom break up with Helen? He cares too much about what others think. His self-consciousness prevents him from pursuing what could be an emotionally fulfilling relationship. Female Characters in Fat Pig LaBute offers one well-developed female character (Helen) and a secondary female character who seems like an artistic misfire. Jeannie doesnt get much stage time, but whenever present she seems like a typical jilted co-worker seen in countless sitcoms and movies. WireImage / Getty Images But her stereotypical shallowness provides a nice foil for Helen, a woman who is bright, self-aware, and honest. She encourages Tom to be honest as well, often sensing his awkwardness when they are out in public. She falls hard and quick for Tom. At the end of the play, she confesses: HELEN: I love you so much, I really do, Tom. Feel a connection with you that I havent allowed myself to dream of, let alone be a part of, in so long. Ultimately, Tom cannot love her, because he is too paranoid about what others think. Therefore, as sad as the ending of the play might seem, its good that Helen and Tom face the truth of their faltering relationship early on. (Real life dysfunctional couples could learn a valuable lesson from this play.) Comparing Helen to someone like Nora from A Dolls House reveals how empowered and assertive women have become in the last few centuries. Nora builds an entire marriage based upon facades. Helen insists upon facing the truth before allowing a serious relationship to continue. Theres a quirk about her personality. She loves old war movies, mostly obscure World War II flicks. This little detail might just be something that LaBute invented to make her unique from other women (thereby helping to explain Toms attraction for her). In addition, it may also reveal the type of man she needs to find. The American soldiers of World War II, by and large, were courageous and willing to fight for what they believed in, even at the cost of their lives. These men are part of what journalist ​Tom Brokaw described as The Greatest Generation. Men like Carter and Tom pale in comparison. Perhaps Helen is obsessed with the films, not because of the pretty explosions but because they remind her of the male figures in her family, and provide a model for potential mates, reliable, stalwart men who arent afraid to take a risk. WireImage / Getty Images The Importance of Fat Pig At times LaButes dialogue seems like it is trying too hard to emulate David Mamet. And the short nature of the play (one of those no bak 90-minute ventures like Shanleys Doubt) makes it reminiscent of those ABC After School Specials from my childhood. They were short films that focused on cautionary tales of modern dilemmas: bullying, anorexia, peer pressure, self-image. They didnt have as many swear words as LaButes plays, though. And the secondary characters (Carter and Jeannie) barely escape their sitcomish roots. Despite these flaws, Fat Pig triumphs with its central characters. I believe in Tom. I have, unfortunately, been Tom; there have been times when I have said things or made choices based upon the expectations of others. And I have felt like Helen (maybe not overweight, but someone who feels like they are removed from those labeled as attractive by mainstream society). Theres no happy ending in the play, but fortunately, in real life, the Helens of the world (sometimes) find the right guy, and the Toms of the world (occasionally) learn to how to overcome their fear of other peoples opinions. If more of us paid attention to the lessons of the play, we could replace those parenthetic adjectives to often and almost always.

Technology and Nursing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Technology and Nursing - Research Paper Example Technology and Nursing- Computer Charting There is no denying the fact that the usage of computer systems is becoming ubiquitous in the area of healthcare and nursing. In the healthcare the manual charting of the patient data and information was not only time consuming and laborious, but was open to a range of flaws and constraints. In the recent times, many hospitals and healthcare institutions have evinced a trend towards the exploitation of technology and computer systems for patient charting. Computer charting happens to be a useful technological development in the area of nursing which has obliterated the need for manual documentation by nurses, which has predominantly been replaced by computerized documentation. It goes without saying that the trend towards computer charting has facilitated the healthcare with multiple advantages and has made the work of nurses relatively easy and more accurate (Aktan, Tracey & Bareford, 2011). One distinct advantage of computer charting is tha t it has made the process of nursing documentation quiet hassle free (Aktan, Tracey & Bareford, 2011). Computer charting allows for more accurate and complete nursing documentation, thereby minimizing the scope for errors, misinterpretations or misunderstandings. Computer charting has totally obliterated the scope for any redundancies in the nursing documentation. The technological provision for computer charting has automated the collection and reuse of the patient data, setting aside the laborious and less accurate manual processes (Aktan, Tracey & Bareford, 2011). Besides, computer charting not only allows for the sharing of the patient data across platforms and departments in a healthcare institution, but also allows for a timely and accurate analysis of patient data (Hakes & Whittington, 2008). The other big advantage of this technology is that it has facilitated compliance with the state and federal legal requirements and statutes in the nursing profession. Being digital in it s scope and relying on computer software, electronic charting makes it feasible to assure consistency with the state and federal legal statutes and requirements (Waneka & Spetz, 2010). Computer charting with its provision for the collection and sharing of data across multiple platforms has indeed given a flip to the technology of nursing informatics (Waneka & Spetz, 2010). The other thing is that computer charting has really revolutionized the healthcare with the doctors and specialists being able to access the patient’s paperless charts, no matter in whichever part of the world the patients are admitted. On the one side the provision of computer charting curtails the paper work, allows for accurate and legible patient records and facilitates the sharing of data, and on the other side, computer charting makes the job of nursing more organized (Hakes & Whittington, 2008). Thereby it requires much less overtime. This influx of technology in the arena of healthcare also makes th e patients and their family members feel more confident. Also, some costly and state of the art computer charting systems like Omnicel and Pixis could also help the nurses in giving medication to patients and some of them even have the capability to digitally chart the medication in the computer memory as it is dispensed (Waneka & Spetz, 2010). However, the thing that needs to be understood is that it would be wrong to assume that computer

The reasons for a growing consumer preference for branded jewellery in Dissertation

The reasons for a growing consumer preference for branded jewellery in India - Dissertation Example Showing from where do you prefer purchasing jewellery Table 23. Showing if brand, what are the factors responsible for this choice Table 24. Showing, if local retailers, what factors affect this decision Table 25. Showing, from where did you get the knowledge of this store/brand Table 26. Showing, how long have you been making purchases of jewellery from this store/brand Table 27. How satisfied are you with the jewellery you buy Table 28. How important is the advertisement campaign followed by the store to make you opt for it Table 29. Before making any jewellery purchases, do you compare the designs and prices of the same between the branded showroom and the local dealers Table 30. Do you plan to shift or change the source of purchasing jewellery LIST OF FIGURES Analysis of Growing Consumer Preference for Branded Jewellery in Mumbai Figure 1. Showing how frequently do you make jewellery purchases Figure 2. Showing from where do you prefer purchasing jewellery Figure 3. Showing if br and, what are the factors responsible for this choice Figure 4. Showing, if local retailers, what factors affect this decision Figure 5. Showing, from where did you get the knowledge of this store/brand Figure 6. Showing, how long have you been making purchases of jewellery from this store/brand Figure 7. How satisfied are you with the jewellery you buy Figure 8. How important is the advertisement campaign followed by the store to make you opt for it Figure 9. Before making any jewellery purchases, do you compare the designs and prices of the same between the branded showroom and the local dealers Figure 10. Do you plan to shift or change the source of purchasing jewellery Analysis of Growing Consumer Preference for Branded Jewellery in Delhi Figure 11. Showing how... India has traditional relations with jewellery. Branded jewellery in India has established a niche for itself in the competitive Indian market. Branding is the procedure involved in making an exclusive picture and name for a product in the customers mind, generally in the course of advertising campaigns by way of a reliable and consistent theme. Significantly, the younger generation has more disposable earnings these days and they are ready to expend it on luxuries of preference. The younger citizens in their mid thirties and their seniors are normally prepared to buy branded jewellery. The aim of branding is to establish a differentiated and considerable presence in the marketplace so that it can retain and attract faithful and loyal customers. Branding is also a technique in establishing a significant business asset, which is nothing but an excellent reputation. The gems & jewellery business is one of the fastest growing businesses in the country with a market share of $13 billion in 2011 and is estimated to grow to $20 billion by 2015. In 2008-09 the business was $17.1 billion in opposition to $16.64 in 2005-06 billion, reflecting a growth of 26%. The picture of Indian ladies, wearing a sari and various types of ethnic jewellery in festival season and wedding, is no longer the sole customer profile of the world’s major gold importing state. Indian ladies around the world are turning out to be more emancipated: conveying a way of life that combines the strong values and traditions of their society and their modern worldwide approach to life, job and spending