Decision Making – Cost Accounting

Decisions Involving Alternative Choices Structure: 13. 1 Introduction Objectives 13. 2 Decision Making 13. 3 Types of Costs 13. 4 Types of Choices Decisions 13. 5 Make or Buy Decisions 13. 6 Addition / Discontinuance of a Product line 13. 7 Sell or Process Further 13. 8 Operate or Shut down 13. 9 Exploring New Markets 13. 10 Maintaining a desired level of profit 13. 11 Summary 13. 12 Terminal Questions 13. 13 Answers to SAQs and TQs 13. 1 Introduction In the previous unit we learnt about Marginal Costing.Marginal costing is the ascertainment of marginal cost and of the effect on profit of changes in volume by differentiating between fixed costs and variable costs. Marginal cost is the amount at any given volume of output by which aggregate costs are changed if the volume of output is increased or decreased by one unit. Marginal costing is a very useful tool for management because of its applications. It is used in providing assistance to the management in vital decision-making both s hort term and long term. Differential analysis is the process of estimating the consequences of alternative actions that a decision maker may take.It is used both for short term and long term decisions. Short term decisions relates to fixing price for the product, selecting a suitable product mix, diversification of the product etc while long term deals with capital budgeting decisions. Objectives After studying this unit, you should be able to:  · Explain the steps involved in decision making process  · Know various types of decision choices  · Analyze and interpret various decision choices 13. 2 Decision Making Decision making is the process of evaluating two or more alternatives leading to a final choice known as alternative choice decisions.Decision making is closely associated with planning for the future and is directed towards a specific objective or goal. Decision model contains the following decision-making steps or elements: 1. Identify and define the problem 2. Iden tify alternative as possible solutions to the problem. 3. Eliminate alternatives that are clearly not feasible 4. Collect relevant data (costs and benefits) associated with each feasible alternative 5. Identify cost and benefits as relevant or irrelevant and eliminate irrelevant costs and benefits from consideration. . Identify to the extent possible, non-financial advantage and disadvantage about each feasible alternative. 7. Total the relevant cost and benefits for each alternative 8. Select the alternative with the greatest overall benefits to make a decision 9. Implement or execute the decision 10. Evaluate the results of the decision made. 13. 3 Types of Costs A decision involves selecting among various choices. Non routine types of decisions are crucial and critical to the firm as it involves huge investments and involve much uncertainty.Short term decision making is based on relevant data obtained from accounting information.  · Relevant Cost are costs which would change as a result of the decision.  · Opportunity costs are monetary benefits foregone for not pursuing the alternative course. When a decision to follow one course of action is made, the opportunity to pursue some other course is foregone.  · Sunk costs are historical cost that cannot be recovered in a given situation. These costs are irrelevant in decision making.  · Avoidable costs are costs that can be avoided in future as a result of managerial choice.It is also known as discretionary costs. These costs are relevant in decision making.  · Incremental / Differential costs are costs that include variable costs and additional fixed costs resulting from a particular decision. They are helpful in finding out the profitability of increased output and give a better measure than the average cost. Self Assessment Questions: 1. Relevant Costs are costs which would _________as a result of the decision. 2. ___________ are historical cost that cannot be recovered in a given situation. 3.Opp ortunity costs are _________________for not pursuing the alternative course 4. ____________ is also known as discretionary cost. 13. 4 Types of Choices Decisions The application of incremental / differential costs and revenues for decision making is known as decision situations or types of choice decisions.  · Make or Buy decisions  · Selection of a suitable product mix  · Effect of change in price  · Maintaining a desired level of profit  · Diversification of products  · Closing down or suspending activities  · Alternative course of action  · Own or Lease  · Retain or Replace Change or Status quo  · Export or Local sales  · Expand or Contract  · Take or Refuse order  · Place special orders  · Select sales territories  · Sell at split-up point or process further. 13. 5 Make or Buy Decisions Make or buy decisions arise when a company with unused production capacity consider the following alternatives a) To buy certain raw materials or subassemblies from outside suppliers b) To use available capacity to produce the items within the company. c) The quality and type of item which affects the production schedule d) The space required for the production of item ) Any transportation involved due to the location of production facility f) Cost of acquiring special know how required for the item. Illustration 1: The Anchor Company Ltd produces most of its electrical parts in its own plant. The company is at present considering the feasibility of buying a part from an outside supplier for Rs. 4. 5 per part. If this were done, monthly costs would increase by Rs. 1,000 The part under consideration is manufactured in Department 1 along with numerous other parts. On account of discontinuing the production of this part, Department 1 would have somewhat reduced operations.The average monthly usage production of this part is 20,000 units. The costs of producing this part on per unit basis are as follows. |Material |Rs. 1. 80 | |Labour (half-hour) | 2. 40 | |Fixed overheads |0. 80 | |Total costs |5. 00 | Solution [pic] The company should continue the practice of producing the part in Department1. Illustration 2: ABC ltd plans utilize its idle capacity by making components parts instead of buying them from suppliers.The following are the data available for decision to make or buy: | |Unit cost | |Direct Material |12. 5 | |Direct Labour |8. 0 | |Variable manufacturing overhead |5. 0 | The company purchases the part at a unit cost of Rs. 30. The company has been operating at 75% of normal capacity. Fixed manufacturing cost is 17 lakhs. The cost to manufacture 50000 units is:    |Unit cost |Total cost | |Direct material |12. 5 |6,25,000 | |Direct labour |8. 0 |4,00,000 | |Variable manufacturing o/h |5. 0 |2,50,000 | |Total incremental cost |25. 5 |12,75,000 | |Cost to purchase part |30. |15,00,000 | |Net advantage in parts production |4. 5 |2,25,000 | Inference: The total incremental cost by producing the part in-house is Rs. 25 . 50 while the cost incurred on purchase of the part from suppliers is Rs. 30. 00. There is a clear advantage to the company to produce the part in-house. 13. 6 Addition or Discontinuance of a Product line or Process The decision to add or eliminate an unprofitable product is a special case of product profitability evaluation.When a firm is divided into multiple sales outlets, product lines, divisions, departments it may have to evaluate their individual performance to decide whether or not to continue operations of each of these segments. Illustration 3: The Hi-tech Manufacturing Company is presently evaluating two possible processes for the manufacture of a toy, and makes available to you the following information: |Particular |Process A |Process B | | |Rs. Rs. | |Variable cost per unit |12 |14 | |Sales price per unit |20 |20 | |Total fixed costs per year |30,00,000 |21,00,000 | |Capacity (in units) |4,30,000 |5,00,000 | |Anticipated sales (next year, in units) |4,00,000 |4,00,000 | You are required to suggest: ) Which process should be chosen? Substantiate your answer. ii) Would you change your answer as given above if you were informed that the capacities of the two processes are as follows: A 6, 00,000 units; B 5, 00,000 units? Why? Substantiate your answer. Solution Comparative Profitability Statement |Particular |Process A |Process B | | |Rs. |Rs. | |(i) Selling price per unit |20 20 | |Variable cot per unit |12 |14 | |Contribution per unit |8 |6 | |Total annual contribution (as per anticipated sales) |32,00,000 |24,00,000 | |Total fixed costs per year |30,00,000 |21,00,000 | |Total Income |2,00,000 |3,00,000 | |Process B may be chosen |   |   | |Total contribution (if utilized to present capacity and sold) |34,40,000 |30,00,000 | |Less : Fixed costs |30,00,000 |21,00,000 | |Total Income |4,40,000 |9,00,000 | |Process B may be chosen |   |   | |(ii) Total contribution (if capacity of A of 6,00,000 units and|48,00,000 |30,00,000 | |of B 5,00, 000 units) | | | |Less : Fixed costs |30,00,000 |21,00,000 | |Total Income |18,00,000 |9,00,000 | Process A may be chosen. Illustration 4: Addition of second shift Ulfa Ltd produces a single product in its plant. This product sells for Rs. 100 per unit. The standard production cost per unit is as follows: |Raw materials (5 kgs @ Rs. 8 |Rs. 40 | |Direct labour (2 hours @ Rs. ) |10 | |Variable manufacturing overheads |10 | |Fixed manufacturing overheads |20 | |   |80 | The plant is currently operating at full capacity of 1, 00,000 units per years on a single shift. This output is inadequate to meet the projected sales manager has estimated that the firm will lose sales of 40,000 units next years if the capacity is not expanded Plant capacity could be doubled by adding a second shift. This would require additional out-of-pocket fixed manufacturing overhead costs of Rs. 10,00,000 annually. Also, a night work wage premium equal to 25 per cent of the standard wage would have to be paid during the second shift.However, if annual production volume were 1,30,000 units or more, the company could take advantage of 2 per cent quantity discount on its raw material purchases. You are required to advise whether it would be profitable to add the second shift in order to obtain the sales volume of 40,000 units per year? Solution Decision analysis |Particulars |Profit without expansion |Profits with expansion | |Sales revenue |Rs. 1,00,00,000 |Rs. 1,40,00,000 | |Less: variable costs: |   |   | |Raw materials (Rs 39. 0 x 1,40,000) |40,00,000 |54,88,000 | |Direct labour |10,00,000 |15,00,000 | |Variable manufacturing overhead |10,00,000 |14,00,000 | |Contribution |40,00,000 |56,12,000 | |Less : fixed costs (Rs. 1,00,000 x 20) |20,00,000 |30,00,000 | |Net Income |20,00,000 |26,12,000 | Yes, it would be profitable to add the second shift as it would increase profits by Rs. 6, 12,000.Illustration 5: Assume a company is considering dropping product B from its line because acc ounting statements shows that product B is being sold at a loss. | | | |Product |A |B |C |Total | |Sales revenue |50,000 |7,500 |12,500 |70,000 | |Cost of sales: | | | | | |D. Material |7,500 |1,000 |1,500 |10,000 | |D.Labour |15,000 |2,000 |2,500 |19,500 | |Indirect manufacturing cost (50% of |7,500 |1,000 |1,250 |9,750 | |Direct labour) | | | | | |Total |30,000 |4,000 |5,250 |39,250 | |Gross margin On sales |20,000 |3,500 |7,250 |30,750 | |Selling & Admn |12,500 |4,500 |4,000 |21,000 | |Net income |7,500 |(1,000) |3,250 |9,750 | Additional information: a) Factory Overhead cost is made up of fixed cost of Rs. 5850 and variable cost of Rs. 3900. b) Variable cost by products are: A – Rs 3000, B – Rs 400 and C – Rs 500 c) Fixed costs and expense will not be changed if product B is eliminated d) Variable selling and administrative expenses are to the extent of Rs. 11000 can be traced to the product: A-Rs. 7,500; B- Rs. 1500 and C- Rs. 2000 e) Fixed selling and admn expense are Rs. 10000 Solution: [pic]If the sale of product B were discontinued, the marginal contribution would be lost and the net income would be reduced by Rs. 2,600. Assume that after dropping product B, the sales of product A increased by 10%. The total profit of the firm will not increase by this sales increase. Product A makes only a marginal contribution of 34% (17000/50000) |Sales revenue of Product A |50000 |100% | |Variable cost of Product A |33000 |66% | |Marginal contribution of Product A |17000 |34% | On additional sales of Rs. 5000 the marginal contribution would be Rs. 700 |Sales revenue 10% of 50000 |5000 | |Variable cost 66% |3300 | |Marginal contribution (34%) |1700 | This contribution is less than Rs. 2,600 now being realized on the sales of product B. it would take additional sales of product A of approximately Rs. 7,647 to equal the marginal contribution of Rs. 2,600 mow being made by product B: [pic]= Rs. 7,647 It is possible that dropping product B may res ult in reduction in some of the fixed costs. Products B now contributes Rs. 2,600 towards recovery of fixed costs and expenses. Only if the fixed costs and expenses can be reduced by more than this amount, it will be advisable to drop product B. 13. Sells or Process Further A firm is frequently faced with the problem of continuing with the existing policies or plans or change to new ones. Such change could be in the form of selling a partially processed product (semi finished) or process further. While taking a decision about such matters, the management must keep in mind the long term consequence and the interest of the firm. Illustration 6: A firm sells semi finished product at Rs. 9 per unit. The cost to manufacture the semi finished product is Rs. 6. Further processing can be done at an additional cost of Rs. 3 per unit and the final product can be sold at Rs. 15 per unit. The firm can produce 10,000 units.The analysis is shown below: |   |Sell |Process & Sell | |Sales revenu e (10,000 units) |Rs. 90,000 |1,50,000 | |Less : Manufacturing costs |60,000 |90,000 | |Profit |30,000 |60,000 | There is a net advantage of Rs. 30,000 in processing the product further. The market value of the partially processed product (Rs. 90,000) is considered to be opportunity cost of further processing. The figure of net advantage of Rs. 30. 00 can be arrived at in the following manner also: |Revenue from sale of final product (10,000 x 15) |   |Rs. 1,20,000 | |Less : Additional processing cost (10,000 x 3 ) |30,000 |   | |Revenues from sale of intermediate product |90,000 |1,20,000 | |Net advantage in further processing |   |Rs. 30,000 | 13. 8 Operate or Shutdown Various factors both external and internal affect the functioning of the firm. In such situations it becomes necessary for a firm to temporarily suspend or shutdown the activities of a particular product, department or a unit as a whole.Illustration 7: A company operating below 50% of its capacity expects tha t the volume of sales will drop below the present level of 10,000 units per month. Management is concerned that a further drop in sales volume will create a loss and has under consideration a recommendation that operation be suspended, until better market conditions prevail and also a better selling price. The present operation income statement is as follows: |   |Rs |Rs | |Sales revenue (10,000 units @ Rs. 3. 00) |   |30,000 | |Less : Variable costs @ Rs. 2. 0 per unit |20. 000 |   | |Fixed costs |10,000 |   | |Net Income |   |0 | Suggest the management at what point should the operation be suspended. The fixed cost remains only Rs 4000 if operation is shutdown. The following income statements have been prepared for sales at different capacities: [pic] It would appear that shutdown is desirable when the sale volume drops below 6,000 units per month, the point at which operating losses exceed the shutdown cost. 13. 9 Exploring New MarketsDecisions regarding entering new m arkets whether within the country or other the country should be taken after considering the following factors:  · Whether the firm has surplus capacity to meet the new demand?  · What price is being offered by the new market?  · Whether the sale of goods in the new market will affect the present market for the goods? Illustration 8: The following figures are obtained from the budget of a company which is at present working at 90% capacity and producing 13,000 units per annum. |   |90% |100% | | |Rs. |Rs. |Sales |15,00,000 |16,00,000 | |Fixed Expenses |3,00,500 |3,00,600 | |Semi- Fixed Expenses |97,500 |1,00,500 | |Variable Overhead Expenses |1,45,000 |1,49,500 | |Units made |13,500 |15,000 | Labour and material costs per unit are constant under present conditions. Profit margin is 10 per cent. a) You are required to determine the differential cost of producing 1,500 units by increasing capacity to 100 per cent. b) What would you recommend for an export price for these 1,500 units taking into account that overseas prices are much lower than indigenous prices? Solution |Basic Calculation: |Rs. | |Sales at 90% capacity 15,00,000 | |Less: Profit 10% |1,50,000 | |Cost of Goods sold |13,50,000 | |Less : Expenses (Fixed, semi-variable and variable) |5,43,000 | |Cost of Material and Labour |8,07,000 | |Labour and Material at 100% capacity = |Rs. 8,07,000 x 100/90 | |   |= 8,96,667 | Differential cost analysis can now be done as follows: Capacity levels |90% |100% |Different cost | |Production (Units) |13,500 |15,000 |1,500 | |Material and Labour |8,07,000 |8,96,667 |89,667 | |Variable overhead expenses |1,45,000 |1,49,500 |4,500 | |Semi-variable expenses |97,500 |1,00,500 |3,000 | |Fixed expenses |3,00,500 |3,00,600 |100 | |   |13,50,000 |14,47,267 |97,267 | a) Different Cost = Rs. 97,267 (Rs. 14,47,267 – 13,50,000) b) Minimum price for export = [pic]= Rs. 64. 84 per unit At this price, there is no addition to revenue; any price above Rs. 64. 84 per unit may be acceptable. Note: It has been presumed that i) No capital investment is necessary ii) No export charges are incurred and ii) The export price will have no effect on the home market where the product will continue to be sold at the old price. It has also been assumed that necessary precaution have been taken to ensure that the product is not ‘dumped back’. 13. 10 Maintaining a Desired level of profit When deciding between alternative courses of actions the criterion should be to select the project which yields the greatest contribution. Illustration 9: A company is considering expansion. Fixed costs amount to Rs. 4, 20,000 and are expected to increase by Rs. 1, 25,000 when plant expansion is completed. The present plant capacity is 80,000 units a year. Capacity will increase by 50 per cent with the expansion. Variable costs are currently Rs. 6. 0 per unit and are expected to go down by Rs. 0. 40 per unit with the expansion. The current selling price is Rs. 16 per unit and is expected to remain same under either alternative. What are the break- even points under either alternative? Which alternative is better and why? Solution [pic] The profitability after expansion is very good and hence it is better to expand. Illustration 10: Disposal of inventories ABC Ltd has on hand 5,000 units of a product that cannot be sold through regular sales. These were produced at a total cost of Re. 1, 50,000 and would normally have been sold for Rs. 40 per unit. Three alternatives are being considered. i. Sell the items as scrap for Rs. per unit ii. Repackage at a cost of Rs. 20,000 and sell them at Rs. 8 per unit iii. Dispose them off at the city dump at removal cost of Rs. 500. Which alternative should be accepted? Solution Exhibits the decision analysis [pic] Alternative II should be accepted. 13. 11 Summary  · Decision making is the process of evaluating two or more alternatives leading to a final choice known as alternative choice decisions. Decision making is closely associated with planning for the future and is directed towards a specific objective or goal.  · A decision involves selecting among various choices. Non routine types of decisions are crucial and critical to he firm as it involves huge investments and involve much uncertainty. Short term decision making is based on relevant data obtained from accounting information.  · Relevant Cost are costs which would change as a result of the decision.  · Opportunity costs are monetary benefits foregone for not pursuing the alternative course. When a decision to follow one course of action is made, the opportunity to pursue some other course is foregone.  · Sunk costs are historical cost that cannot be recovered in a given situation. These costs are irrelevant in decision making.  · Avoidable costs are costs that can be avoided in future as a result of managerial choice. It is also known as discretionary costs.These costs are relevant in decision making.  · Incremental / Differential costs are costs that include variable costs and additional fixed costs resulting from a particular decision. They are helpful in finding out the profitability of increased output and give a better measure than the average cost. 13. 12 Terminal Questions 1. Avon garments Ltd manufactures readymade garments and uses its cut-pieces of cloth to manufacture dolls. The following statement of cost has been prepared. |Particulars |Readymade garments |Dolls |Total | |Direct material |Rs. 80,000 |Rs. 6,000 |Rs. 6,000 | |Direct labour |13,000 |1,200 |14,200 | |Variable overheads |17,000 |2,800 |19,800 | |Fixed overheads |24,000 |3,000 |27,000 | |Total cost |1,34,000 |13,000 |1,47,000 | |Sales |1,70,000 |12,000 |1,82,000 | |Profit (loss) |36,000 |(1,000) |35,000 |The cut-pieces used in dolls have a scrap value of Rs 1,000 if sold in the market. As there is a loss of Rs. 1,000 in the manufacturing of dolls, it is suggested to discontinue their manufacture. Advise th e management. 2. The ABC Company Ltd produces most of its own parts and components. The standard wage rate in the parts department is Rs. 3 per hour. Variable manufacturing overheads is applied at a standard rate of Rs. 2 per labour – hour and fixed manufacturing overheads are charged at a standard rate of Rs 2. 50 per hour. For its current year’s output, the company will require a new part. This part can be made in the parts department without any expansion of existing facilities.Nevertheless, it would be necessary to increase the cost of product testing and inspection by Rs. 5,000 per month. Estimated labour time for the new part is half an hour per unit. Raw materials cost has been estimated at Rs. 6 per unit. The alternative choice before the company is to purchase part from an outside supplier at Rs 9 per unit. The company has estimated that it will need 2,00,000 new parts during the current years. Advise the company whether it would be more economical to buy or m ake the new parts. Would your answer be different if the requirement of new parts was only 1,00,000 parts? 13. 13 Answers to SAQ and TQs Answer to SAQ 1. Change 2 Sunk cost 3. Monetary benefits foregone 4. Avoidable cost Answers to TQs: . Discontinue manufacture of dolls | |Readymade garments |Dolls |Total | |Total cost |134000 |13000 |147000 | |Profit (loss) |36000 |(1000) |35000 | 2. Decision analysis : 200000 units – The company is advised to make the new part. The differential costs favouring the decision of making the component is Rs40000 Decision analysis : 100000 units – The company is advised to buy from an outside supplier. Total cost to manufacture 100000 units is Rs. 9,10,000.

Digital Television †Is It Advancement?

Digital television is becoming a global trend with a startling velocity. Following the lead of North America and Western Europe, a host of countries in East/South Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe are also hastening the epic shift from analog to digital television. It is predicted that approximately 1 billion people will be viewing digital broadcast television by the end of this year. At the current pace, nearly 38 percent of the world's TV households will be receiving digital signals by 2010 (Informa Telecoms & Media, 2007, p. 2).Underlying this technological gold rush is an array of remarkable features that digital broadcasting presents: interactivity, multichannel capacity, immunity to interference by other signals, superb audio-visual qualities, and quasi-universal interoperability with other media that recognize digital language. These outstanding qualities are founded upon the quintessence of digital technology: the binary codification (comparable to the dots and dashes o f the telegraph code), which converts data into â€Å"a bitstream of zeros and ones† (Owen, 1999, p.151).Since digital technology can break down virtually any type of information (print, painting, music, sound, photography) into a uniform code of bits and bytes, it is now possible to establish universal compatibility among various media. As Timothy Todreas (1999) observes, â€Å"text, graphics, audio and video used to be within the purview of separate industries: print, radio, and television respectively. Once digitized†¦ bits can commingle effortlessly. Content can travel down the same distribution path and can be used interchangeably† (pp.78-79).Paradoxically, the atomize-ability of digital technology precipitates digital convergence, in which all the sophisticated traditional media taxonomies and typologies will become muddied and eventually obsolete. Aside from the universal connectivity of digital television with neighboring media, there are a few other prope rties of digital television: audio/visual excellence, multichannel capacity, and interactivity. The digital television is capable of delivering superior audio/video quality compared to its analog counterpart.However, the enhanced audio/visual fidelity of digital television is best exploited in a combined use with the Hi-Definition television system, an advanced method of injecting televisual signals onto the screen in a much more precise fashion than that of its predecessors, the NTSC and PAL systems. Contrary to common belief, HDTV is not an immediate offspring of the digital television system, although electronics makers, broadcasters, and policymakers of the digital television excitedly promote it as digital television's headliner.There are multiple, significant reasons behind the deliberate â€Å"passing† of HDTV as the figurehead of digital television, especially in a Japanese context. Compared to analog signals, digitized information takes much less bandwidth, i. e. , m uch less channel capacity to distribute content per unit of time. This technical â€Å"thriftiness† is an end result of the compression technology that can filter out redundant data and squeeze more data into a given bandwidth. The economic use of bandwidth means greater space to fit more channels, which ends the â€Å"distribution bottleneck† (Todreas, 1999, p.79) common to analog formats.The sudden abundance of bandwidth leads to an explosion of channel outlets, metamorphosing the television industry structure. The interactive function of digital television is yet another benefit of the efficient use of bandwidth. A broadened bandwidth not only increases the volume of channels and the velocity of information but also enables â€Å"two-way† traffic. With expanded two-way interactions between sender and receiver, digital television could transform the modality of broadcasting from a linear, unilateral communication to a cyclical, bilateral one.Apparently, the le vel of control for the user is strictly limited by the choices provided by the software programmer. However, the interactivity of television will incrementally open new modes of socio-economic and cultural interactions (Video-On-Demand and T-commerce, for instance) among the user (Swann, 2000). Still, all the perks of digital television don't come without costs and shortcomings. The multiple channels of digital television could inspire program diversification and perhaps contribute to a socio-cultural diversification.In fact, critics and viewers have already become disillusioned by the promise of channel multiplication, for it has impoverished, rather than improved, the program quality and originality in a way similar to what cable television did in the U. S. Likewise, the interactive functions of digital television could turn into a blight rather than a blessing. Tony Feldman (1997) posits that interactivity â€Å"runs the risk of giving the users so much power in determining thei r own experiences of content that the only message conveyed is the one the user chooses to receive.The freedom to chart your own course, therefore, can emasculate as readily as it can liberate† (p. 18). Development of HDTV The question of high definition television came up in the early 1970's when Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation, raised the possibility of HDTV. The technology was first developed by the Japanese to produce a better quality picture than previously available, and in 1978 NHK came up with two new HDTV systems. One of them was an 1,125 line system, the other a 2,125 line system that was transmitted by satellite (Fisher & Fisher, 1996).Japan started the HDTV movement in 1970 and spent over one billion dollars on its development by mid-1990 (Dupagne & Seel, 1998). In the early 1970's the major players in the effort to produce HDTV were Sony Pictures, Panasonic, Ikegami, and NHK. Most of the engineering was undertaken by Sony and NHK te sted the concept over the air. Panasonic and Ikegami (along with Sony) developed cameras, video tape recorders and other equipment needed for an entire HDTV package. Philips, the Dutch equipment manufacturer, developed a new HDTV system called Eureka in the early 1970's.The system scanned 1,250 horizontal lines at 50 frames per second, with the same 16 to 9 aspect ratio as the Japanese system. This system was sometimes referred to as Vision 1,250 (Gross, 2000). The American television industry was finally waking up and coming out of the doldrums it had been in since the early 1970's. The Japanese production had already taken over television, VCR's, and the stereo business. It looked as if they would also become world-leaders in the development of HDTV (Fisher and Fisher, 1996).The US was behind in the development of HDTV over Europe and Japan. The Defense Department pledged to spend $30 million dollars on the technology. The Defense Department sanctioned the spending of this money p artly because the superior picture quality would have application for military reconnaissance and pilot training (Hart, 2004). The House Telecommunications Subcommittee held a hearing with the intent to insure that this new technology would flourish in the United States (Gross, 2000).The electronics industry is in a high stakes race. A 1989 government report stated that the United States stood a chance to lose 2 million jobs, and suffer a $225 billion dollar annual trade deficit by the year 2010 if the US does not produce a coherent strategy to compete in the HDTV and associated industries (Dupagne & Seel, 1998). During the Reagan era an industrial consortium known as â€Å"Sematech† wanted to push the United States to become the leading technological manufacturer of the computer chip. This chip is used in HDTV.Chipmakers are of vital importance to the overall well being of the electronics industry. They represent the USA's largest manufacturing business, with revenues for 19 89 of $300 billion dollars. This is a business that is larger than the steel industry, aerospace, and the automobile industry combined (Dupagne & Seel, 1998). The American Electronics Association (AEA) wanted funds in US government loans, grants and loan guarantees to further produce and improve HDTV. They felt once the government committed itself that deeply it could not pull out (Hart, 2004).The AEA's attempt to persuade the government to enter into a government-industry consortium failed. It was an ambitious program to form a consortium to develop the next-generation of HDTV sets. The plan attracted only nominal support in Congress. The Bush administration actively opposed the idea. It received vocal support from the industry but no financial commitments (Hart, 2004). The Bush administration wanted to pull the plug on the high-tech industries. Washington was determined to cut the $10 million dollars pledged for research and development of HDTV in 1989.It also wanted to cut all fe deral support including the $100 million dollars it pledged for research and development in 1991. The Japanese manufacturers of semiconductors are encouraged by their government to spend 50 percent more on research and development of the chip. This is often subsidized by the Japanese government. This is more money spent on chip development than its US counterpart (Hart, 2004). In 1977 the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) formed a study group to investigate HDTV in the United States.As early as 1973 an 1,125 scanning line HDTV system was shown to engineers with CBS supporting the system. By 1980 SMPTE recommended using a system of about 1,100 scanning lines per frame and an interlace system (Fisher & Fisher, 1996). Since the US decided to take the lead in HDTV development the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sponsored the movement by creating â€Å"The Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service† (ACATS). This was headed by former FCC Cha irman Richard Wiley (Schreiber, 1999). ACATS declared an open competition to help create a usable HD service for the US.The FCC requested those involved with this project to submit their proposals to the FCC for approval. Shortly after that 23 proposals were turned in to the FCC. All of them were in analog format (Schreiber, 1999). Many of the inventors felt that digital would not become available until the 21st century. Also many broadcasters were not interested in creating a new system that was not compatible with their existing system, since that would require them to invest heavily to create a new market form (Fisher and Fisher, 1996). CBS was the first network to actively pursue HDTV (Hart, 2004).This was unusual since at that time the broadcast networks had less money to invest in high cost programming. In part some of this was due as a result of the viewing audiences shifting over from the broadcast networks' programming to the cable stations. The loss of viewers to home VCR playback and rental movies, satellite delivery of Direct-TV, DBS and pay cable services also accounted for viewer erosion (Hart, 2004). In 1981 the Japanese company NHK was prodded by CBS to come to the United States to demonstrate their HDTV system.Members of CBS and SMPTE met with the Japanese in San Francisco, California, at the St. Francis Hotel at an annual television conference. The demonstration was very successful. The viewers were impressed with the NHK's system's â€Å"extraordinary resolution, rich saturated color and wide screen monitors and projection television displays (Hart, 2004, p. 92). † The general feeling of the people attending the conference was that the HDTV system broke all constraints of television picture quality imposed on them by the aging NTSC color standard.In 1983, based on what they saw at the conference, the Advanced Television System Committee (ATSC) was formed. Their goal was to improve the quality of video and develop new standards in tech nology. They were also instructed to come up with a recommendation for a usable HDTV standard for the United States by the spring of 1985. They were to present this standard to a subcommittee of the International Consultative Radio Committee (CCIR) which would set a world standard (Hart, 2004). The ATSC is a committee largely made up of engineers. In 1984 it had a yearly budget of $250,000.They decided to work on three parallel ideas to help improve the overall picture performance of US television. One group called the â€Å"improved NTSC† group headed by RCA Laboratories' Kern Powers, worked to improve the present standard by improving studio and transmission equipment and the television receivers. Another group called the â€Å"enhanced group† investigated new production and transmission systems that still used the 525 scanning lines and a 4 to 3 aspect ratio. They also sought to produce a better picture through different signal formats (Fisher & Fisher, 1996).The th ird group worked on HDTV at the CBS Technology Center and closely examined the Japanese NHK type of HDTV. This system would produce twice as many horizontal and vertical scanning lines as the NTSC system and would have an aspect ratio of 5 to 3 (Fisher & Fisher, 1996). Their goal was to have an HDTV standard that they could present to the FCC by the spring of 1985. Their standard would be compatible with NTSC, PAL and SECAM and they could transfer their video to 3 5 mm film for theatrical release (Dupagne & Seel, 1998).By March of 1985 ATSC did have a standard they felt they could present to the FCC. They picked 1,125 scanning lines as their standard because it was a compromise between twice the 525 NTSC standard, which equals 1,050 and twice 625 lines (used in Europe) which is 1,250. The system would also have a two-to-one interlaced scanning, a 5 to 3 aspect ratio and scan at 80 fields per second. This scanning rate was the only source of controversy, since the NTSC used 60 per se cond and most of Europe used 50 per second (Fisher & Fisher, 1996).The Europeans felt it could not be used by them because conversion could not take place without some degradation of picture quality. The Japanese approved of it since most of their experiments were conducted in a 60 field per second rate (Hart, 2004). By January of 1988 the ATSC voted on an HDTV system of 1,125 scanning lines, 60 hertz HDTV, 16 to 9 aspect ratio production standard. The vote approved of this standard 26 for and 11 against, with 8 abstaining. The Association of Maximum Service Telecasters (AMST) and the National Association of Broadcasters voted against the new standard (Dupagne & Seel, 1998).Late in 1987 the FCC steering committee submitted a list of five proposed guidelines in which to raise, or solicit, the funds from the participating companies involved with the development of HDTV. The most important guideline of the proposal was that â€Å"no one source contributes more than 15 per cent of the total, private funds raised,† according to the FCC (Hart, 1994, p. 216). In 1989 the American Electronics Association predicted that HDTV would reach the mass market by 1999 and that it would take until the year 2002 to reach 10 percent market penetration.They stated that HDTV would be megapixel, doubling the horizontal and vertical resolution of present television, with around 1,200 scanning lines by about 800 points across and close to a million pixels per screen. It was believed at this time that early HDTV sets would be expensive, large, projection TV's that would find their way into sports bars before they are accepted in private homes (Helliwell, 1989). It was the dawn of the digital age. â€Å"The leap from analog to digital could be as striking as that from black and white to color. † (Dupagne & Seel, 1998, p. 67).By 1990 General Instrument Corporation claimed it had perfected the first all-digital method of transmitting an HDTV signal that would be compatible w ith conventional broadcast channels. That year the FCC announced that it would select the new United States HDTV standard after extensive testing from applicants from six systems including European, Japanese and American companies (Hart, 2004). On May 24, 1993 the â€Å"Grand Alliance† was formed. The four leading pioneers of USA's quest for a high definition picture joined forces. General Instruments-DSRC, AT+T/Zenith, Thomson/Philips, and MIT were the companies that formed this alliance.The purpose of the Grand Alliance was to combine the various parts of their four separate systems into one complete system. This way they would produce a single, all-digital HDTV transmission system. The four HDTV systems that each company produced separately (before the alliance) had a good picture in a 6 Mhz channel, but none of them were deemed good enough to be considered the single acceptable standard (Dupagne & Seel, 1998). The new Grand Alliance systems comprised 1080 active scanning lines with 1920 pixels per line, interlaced at 59.94 and 60 fields per second, and a 720 active line with 1280 pixels per line, progressive scanning at 59. 94 and 60 frames per second. Both formats operated in the progressive scanning mode at 30 and 24 frames per second.The system used MPEG-2 video compression and transport systems and Dolby AC-3, 384 Kb/8 audio. It also used the 8-VSB transmission system developed by Zenith. This system was overwhelmingly approved by the ATSC membership. The old analog NTSC television will someday cease to exists as we know it. In its place high quality digital TV and HDTV will capture a larger and larger share of the market (Dupagne & Seel, 1998).The ATSC believed that its HDTV standard would rule the land-based-over-the-air broadcast not only in the United States but in the northern hemisphere, and even in a few Asian countries as well. Europe, Japan and Australia are going to have a different HDTV standard from the USA. America's standard uses a n eight-level vestigial sideband (8-VSB) 6- Mhz modulation for its over-the-air transmission. The European, Japanese, and Australian systems use an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) system (Strassberg, 1998). But politics intervened and a world wide standard was not to be.Different parts of the world will all have their own high definition standards. All the different formats will have more scanning lines than the present NTSC system, but they will not have the same number of scanning lines as each other. Therefore, conversion will be necessary between each country's systems (Hart, 2004). When the people involved in trying to set up a standard for HDTV moved from the chaotic to a more organized collaboration the marketing strategies did not keep pace with the development. There was a consensus among the manufacturers that HDTV would never happen, or at least it would be on a smaller scale than predicted.In Japan their HDTV development was stunted because of a lack of attractive programming. In Europe HDTV was abandoned because there was no consensus among programmers, signal providers, and the public (Hart, 2004). Both Mexico and Canada have refused to sign off on the channel assignments granted to the US stations in bordering areas. This will lead to a clouding up of the signals in those parts of the states. Detroit had to delay its planned digital/HDTV delivery launch on November 1, 1998, because of signal mix-up (Stern, 1998). The Thompson Manufacturing Company emphasized that the success of HDTV will largely depend on the broadcaster.Though HDTV sets are being manufactured it will depend on the number of hours of high definition signal that is being transmitted out there, to pull the audience to the television screen (Hart, 2004). . The FCC and HDTV By 1990 the FCC decided that the HDTV signal would have to fit into one channel. The Japanese were suggesting that the US use their MUSE (Multiple Sub-Nyguist Encoding) system. This system would use one channel for the picture and another channel with information to boost it to HDTV level (Schreiber, 1999). By Congressional order the FCC has assigned a second TV channel to each of the nations 1,600 television stations.Each of these stations will now be able to offer digital signal service to the public. It will be up to the broadcasters as to what kinds of services to offer and in what format they wish to transmit in (Hart, 2004). Originally then FCC Chairman, Reed Hundt, wanted to auction off the HDTV channels. The proposal for this auction was then introduced to Congress by Senate Majority Leader, Bob Dole. But, heavy lobbying by the broadcasters quickly killed the bill (Schreiber, 1999). Regulators were considering adding 30 Mhz, or channels 2 to 6, to the spectrum that broadcasters will be using when the shift to digital TV is completed.By the year 2002 the analog channels will be returned to the government. The FCC will then auction these returned channels off to pros pective buyers. Congress and the White House expected this auction to raise somewhere around $5. 4 billion dollars. If broadcasters are given this additional 30 Mhz this would set the FCC back by about $2 billion dollars (Schreiber, 1999). When the analog channels are no longer in use by the broadcasters and they are auctioned off, they will be used for non-broadcast use such as mobile phones, two-way paging, and wireless Internet access (Schreiber, 1999).The broadcasters will transmit both the existing NTSC analog signal on one channel and the new HDTV signal on another channel. This way the existing analog TV sets will not be rendered useless immediately. The FCC adopted this simulcast plan where each existing television station would be assigned a second 6-Mhz channel for the analog TV and a channel for HDTV service (Schreiber, 1999). On Thursday April 3, 1997, the FCC approved by 4 to zero the biggest advance to broadcasters since the 1950's when color was introduced to televisi on.The government announced that it was giving away to broadcasters free air-space. Critics of the FCC felt that giving this free air-space, without having the stations pay for it, was the biggest government give away of the century. To the 1,600 stations in this country this is an estimated $70 billion dollar gift of free channels (Schreiber, 1999). To create the necessary channels needed for HDTV the spectrum space was taken from UHF stations of channels 14 or higher. The government has had a history of setting aside unused channels in the past for the broadcasters.The government will be taking these channels back and making them available to fire, police, rescue, and other public safety groups (Schreiber, 1999). By November 1, 1998 the FCC ruled that the networks must begin to broadcast a digital signal. At first only the top 10 markets will get any of the new ATSC digital signals. Only about 5 hours of broadcast high definition signal will be available. The stations will be free to broadcast as little, or as much HDTV signal as they deem possible. By 1998 the first true high definition television sets were available for sale on the open market (Hart, 2004).The roots of HDTV lie in a 1996 decision by the FCC to require broadcasters to transmit two signals, one in analog (NTSC) and one in digital. The FCC required that broadcasters continue broadcasting the analog signal until the year 2006, although the deadline can be extended if digital grows too slowly in popularity. The FCC gave each TV station a second broadcast channel for digital signals used for the new HDTV programming (Schreiber, 1999). There has been some indication that the HDTV signal does not work as well as it was predicted, or promised, to work.The November 1, 1998 launch date for HD signal was to deliver crystal clear images and CD-quality sound. And it did, but only 40 percent of the time. After a test in Washington, DC, in 1998 it was found that a majority of the time the televisions usin g indoor antennas could not display a high definition image. It was an all or nothing at all thing with over-the-air digital signals. Test results stated that with terrestrial transmission, broadcasters and set manufacturers will be even more reliant on cable operators to reach their potential viewers (Schreiber, 1999).For someone who sets up their HDTV receiver during the winter months when the leaves are off the trees, there are some who did not receive a signal in the spring when the new leaves appeared. Often the first time a potential customer views an HD television set they have to become accustomed to some surprising effects. As a result of the image compression techniques that are used to squeeze such a high-resolution picture into a 6 Mhz channel there are no noticeable defects in the picture until there is motion on the screen.The motionless backgrounds appear in stunningly clear detail, but when an object moves the picture momentarily blurs and develops a â€Å"block lik e† image around the moving object (Strassberg, 1998). The bugs are still being worked out, but as it stands the first person to purchase a high definition TV set will not be sure it will work with an antenna, and they won't be able to connect to cable (Strassberg, 1998). Industrial Policy, Politics and HDTV In October 1988, the American Electronics Association (AEA) released a report forecasting the effect of HDTV on the U. S. economy and technological prowess.This report heightened fears of foreign threats to the domestic consumer electronics industry. A string of Congressional hearings followed. In May 1989, the AEA issued a second report, which included a recommendation for $1. 35 billion in government assistance (Hart, 2004, pp. 157-9). This was necessary, argued the report, to make American companies competitive with their international competitors. The resulting political fall out could have hardly been anticipated. The second AEA report was the proverbial â€Å"last st raw† in a very heated ideological battle over American industrial policy.One side of the argument feared that U.S. firms were unfairly disadvantaged against international competition because many foreign companies enjoyed generous subsidies from their governments, which often had much more cohesive industrial policies than that of the U. S. The other side argued that the best way to ensure American success could only be accomplished through the competitive process of a free market, which is what drove the American innovative spirit—not government mandates and funding. These differing positions were soon became part of a political battle between Capitol Hill and the Bush Administration (Bingham, 1998).The position of the latter was influenced by a stand against industrial policy taken by Bush during a campaign speech, where he declared, â€Å"I oppose the federal government's picking of winners and losers in the private sector. That's known as ‘industrial policyâ € Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ (Hart, 1994, p. 221). The debate had been percolating for some time. Just prior to the second AEA report, Senator Al Gore (D-Tenn. ) had been the most recent of a list of legislators to introduce yet another bill designed to spur HDTV development and push the Whitehouse towards a more proactive domestic industrial policy.The bill was motivated in part by Gore's unhappiness with Secretary Mosbacher, who had refused to attend a hearing by his Science Subcommittee (Bingham, 1998). Not all within the industry favored the Congressional push for government assistance. The Electronic Industries Association (EIA), whose members—unlike the AEA—included foreign owned companies as well as U. S. companies did not support government subsidization for fear they might not get a piece of the proverbial pie (Bingham, 1998). Philips and Thompson lobbied vigorously against this legislation.They argued that their system shouldn't be put at a disadvantage just because they wer e European companies. After all, their American subsidiaries provided American jobs just like their American owned counterparts, and their system, if chosen, would benefit the American public just like the other systems (Hart, 2004). This illustrates the problematic nature of industrial policy: provided you do decide that it is even in America's best interest to subsidize companies, how do you then rationalize subsidizing those very competitors all over again?Yet, if you do subsidize U.S. and not foreign owned companies, you still risk disadvantaging American workers (Bingham, 1998). As a consequence of the political battle over industrial policy, the Bush Administration developed an anti-HDTV policy. Secretary of Commerce Robert Mosbacher, who had initially supported the promotion of a strong HDTV policy, became a critic of such policies as a result of the political fallout. In one Congressional hearing, he criticized the industry for holding back research in hopes that it might ge t funding from the government (Hart, 1994, pp.221-222).The second AEA report came at the climax of the battle. A focal point of the battle was DARPA, which had begun an initiative to fund HDTV technology in the public sector for â€Å"dual use† purposes (i. e. encourage technologies that provide significant benefits to both the defense and civilian sectors) (Bingham, 1998, p. 110). By the end of May, the White House had ordered a halt to pro HDTV industrial policies, and Craig Fields, a vocal supporter of DoD funded HDTV development, would eventually be dismissed in April of 1990.Interestingly, in the midst of all this fallout, Al Sikes, former head of the NTIA and a big proponent of HDTV, became the new Chairman of the FCC in August of 1989. However, the nomination had actually been submitted before the political battle over HDTV had escalated (Dupagne & Seel, 1998, p. 184). The introduction of digital helped alleviate the conflicting goals of progress versus compatibility, by offering an option so significantly advanced that it superseded the goal of compatibility.The conflicting goals reflect the much broader conflict between the FCC's dual mandates to promote and police. It is interesting to keep in mind, however, that new technology was not the only factor in this move. After all, the FCC actually chose to pursue an HDTV approach vis-a-vis a more compatible EDTV approach at least two months before, GI revealed its digital system (Hart, 2004). It might be very easy to lay the problems of adoption that have resulted from choosing a digital system, which was not compatible to NTSC, at the feet of the FCC.We could speculate that commissioners were unable to grasp the complexities and significance economic principles or the staff was to rigid in its thinking to find a truly innovative solution to the problems already discussed. However, the fact remains that the move towards DTV was also made by industry participants. The FCC could not force manufacture rs to propose a system they did not want (Hart, 2004). Once full digital HDTV had been achieved, many manufacturers voluntarily scrapped their analog systems in order to pursue digital systems. In making this choice proponents were at the mercy of economic forces beyond their control.They could not afford not to choose a digital system following GI's breakthrough: the risk that the public and officials would perceive such systems as technologically inferior was too great. Digital threatened the successful adoption of any analog system, regardless of the outcome of the contest. In the end the analog systems failed to compete adequately with the digital systems anyway (Hart, 2004). Conclusion Now era of analog broadcast television in the United States will end as the nation completes its transition to an all-digital system, which is set on February 17, 2009 (dtv.com).The veneration of HDTV as the single source of spectacular televisual experience and as the epitome of digital televisi on is a necessary mythology for the joint endeavor of the broadcasting industry, HDTV manufacturers, and the MPT to move digital broadcasting in the world forward. HDTV is, by definition, a specific type of television receiver that provides higher resolution than the NTSC standard by way of compressing, storing, and delivering a greater amount of image and sound information than previous transmission systems.There are a number of competing HDTV standards, and unlike common mis/conceptions, not all HD televisions are digital. Nor does the digital HDTV necessarily guarantee a better audio-visual fidelity than the analog HDTV. Additionally, HDTV is not the sole foundation of the audio-visual grandeur of the digital television system. Technically, not all HDTV can assist or accommodate diverse functions (e. g. , interactivity) that the digital broadcasting service would normally offer. Nor can all digital television receivers, likewise, convey as good a picture quality as a HDTV would p roffer.As the digitalization of broadcasting became an irreversible national policy of U. S. in 1990s, electronics companies tended to blend the two technical specifications, manufacturing only digital HDTV sets. And as the digital HDTV becoming a norm in the industry, digital television and HDTV are often used interchangeably, regardless of their technical and conceptual differences. Digital TV alone could enhance audio-visual quality to a considerable degree, since it involves no mediation of transmission towers or ground cables, thereby decreasing the chance for the deterioration of broadcast signals.Accurate or erroneous, the adoration of HDTV as the end-all and be-all of visual excellence would place the entire edifice of digital broadcasting in U. S. on a pedestal. More specifically, it is expected to have a dramatic impact on the viewer's awareness of digital broadcasting, and consequently, adoption of more advanced, multifunctional digital TV sets. As the audience is exposed to the crisp, vivid images of HDTV, they will see a compelling reason to switch to digital broadcasting. A wide and speedy diffusion of digital HDTV is a prerequisite for the energetic growth of digital broadcasting and a barometer to measure such growth.Second, digital HDTV sets are considered an axial item for the reinvigoration of U. S. ‘s economy led by the three engines: the AV equipment industry, electronics manufacturing, and online business. With many years of rigorous R&D endeavors, U. S. begin to claims its share of the global HDTV and associated A-V equipment market. HDTV is no longer a plain â€Å"household appliance† but a core IT technology, equipped with cutting-edge apparatuses, ranging from memory chips, mobile transmitters, and LCD, PLP monitors, to various paraphernalia that enable interoperability with other digital devices.Conclusively, odd it may sound, U. S. ‘s development of HDTV is infused with what might be called â€Å"techno-nationali sm† that has intensified throughout its competition with the Japan for economic and technological supremacy. The four-decade long endeavor of promoting HDTV as the global standard has been at once a medium and a theater of the techno-economic contest between the two techno-egos. HDTV is, after all, as much a political game as a business matter; as culturally intense a project as a technology-intensive battle.But this battle is not over. As the latest news report, â€Å"the electronic company Sony will debut a flat-screen t flat-screen television powered by organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) that require less power and space. The OLEDs result in a television picture with stronger colors and a faster response time in pixels. The television will be introduced in Japan but will not be available in the U. S. for several years. † (Berhie, 2007)

Resotech Inc.

Resotech Inc. Time is a critical strategic challenge. For example, assume you are a customer being interested in a particular product. This product is very expensive and long lasting. It’s capacity is more than you need. Once you’ve bought it, you can use it for decades. Even product improvements and new versions would only rarely make you buying a new one, simply because they’re incredible expensive. A secondary market to sell the product might exist, but anyway you’d have to sell it at a discount due to technology improvements.The main question for you as a consumer is the following: How many products do you buy? The answer is simple: One. What does that mean for companies offering solely such a product? If a customer buys a particular product only once and stays with it, only one company can serve this customer. The company, that first sells to him or her, wins. The competitors have no chance to convince the customer to switch or to buy the next time fr om them, since there is no next time. This reveals our strategic challenge: Time. If a company is the first launching a product, it has a first-mover-advantage.If a company is second, a part of the market is already served, hence, the total demand and the maximum revenues decreased. How can companies be successful in such an environment? There’s only one way: Be the first! Either because there’s no follower (you’re a monopolist), or because you launch the product earlier than your competitors do. This implies for any company that whatever it does, it must ensure that the product is launched before the competitors launch their products (staying out of the market is no option since it’s the company’s only product).This brings us to the question of available resources. How many resources you have to invest to be the first mainly depends on how many resources your competitor’s are investing. Moreover, if they suddenly increase their investments trying to outpace you, you should be able to react. What does that mean for Resotech Inc.? The company is known for its amazing quality. The products are of superior technology and benefit from a â€Å"Rolls-Royce† image. This implies that a lot of time must be spent on R&D for developing a mobile scanner of such a quality.Delivery delays are possible, or even probable, as it were the case for the RS-1000. Moreover, the development might also lead to a delay of the RS-2000 due to limited R&D resources. And what if the competitors enter the market as well? One can argue that Resotech might be able to discourage other companies to enter the mobile market once they committed themselves. However, this is unlikely for two reasons: First, Resotech is a relatively small company. Larger companies such as GE, Siemens, and Picker will probably have a shorter product development cycles due to their huge financial reserves and experience.Second, Resotech aims for high quality products. C ompetitors are able to produce less advanced scanners and enter the market first. In contrast, this is no option for Resotech. Moreover, Resotech would have to acquire new personnel first. To summarize, Resotech could sell 25 units. However, there’s a risk that Resotech is not able to stick to its delivery schedule, since the development of a mobile product is â€Å"not a piece of cake†. This may result in penalties. Additionally, if we try to stick to the schedule with a less advanced product, we will damage our image as quality leader.Moreover, what if 25 units are not enough to break even and another competitor has already entered the market? If Resotech accepts the offer, it won’t have any spare resources to accelerate R&D to outpace potential entrants. On top of that, we put the RS-2000 at a risk of being launched too late, since we might face a shortage of R&D capacity for both products. Therefore, from a time point of view, I recommend to decline the offe r. Thereby we can focus on the RS-2000 and launch it earlier. Declining would be less risky, but maybe less profitable. It’s the safe way.

How to Make Canoeing a Fascinating and Exciting Hobby Essay

How to Make Canoeing a Fascinating and Exciting Hobby - Essay Example It is the hope of the author that such a close level of discussion and analysis will be useful not only in helping the reader to come to a greater level of appreciation with regards to the complexities and nuances of canoeing but also a greater interest in the hobby and a desire to go outdoors and attempt to master some of these techniques on one’s own.Firstly, prior to going anywhere, it is necessary to consider the structural soundness of the craft in question.   On more than one occasion I have had the misfortune of starting a trip without ensuring that everything was fine with the craft.   Such a level of inspection can and should include an analysis of whether or not all the gunnels are in place, whether or not any leaks are present, and whether or not the craft is rigid enough to allow for the movements that are part of the process of canoeing.   Once this has been ascertained, it is then possible to consider proper flotation devices and ensure that each and every individual that will be going on the trip has a life vest that is suited to their needs, size, and weight.  Once each of these considerations has been made, it is necessary to review whether or not the individuals that will be accompanying the helmsman (an individual who is responsible for the safety and direction of the voyage) to question whether or not any of the participants are experiencing their first time in a canoe.   Such a question is not merely for the sake of conversation; rather, it has to do with warning them of the fact that a canoe is by very definition much less stable than other forms of watercraft and they should be mindful of this fact when seated.   Moreover, a warning not to move around once the craft has set out is also necessary.   Finally, the number of people going must be compared with the safety allowances of the craft and the overall weight limitations provided.   Once all of this has been completed, it is then allowable to pass out the paddles and proceed with the trip.

Dunkin Donuts Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Dunkin Donuts - Term Paper Example In part one, the researcher provided a brief analysis of the company followed by the company mission and objectives; the project introduced the product portfolio and the core competencies of the company were presented. The researcher also examined the internal and external environments by utilizing SWOT and PEST analysis to examine the factors that can favor or that cannot favor effective business performance. Marketing mix strategies such as product, place, price and promotion strategies were examined, and lastly, the conclusion that summarized this part was included. In part two, the research proposed varied growth strategies effective for enabling the company to achieve successful business performance. The researcher revealed that utilizing social media services and also creating value preposition, as well as, segmenting the market is vital. It was suggested that the company can employ the marketing mix such as the product strategy, price, place and the promotion strategy because these are imperative marketing strategies for achieving significant business growth. Lastly, the researcher provided a brief conclusion that summarized the proposed strategies vital for enabling the company to achieve successful business growth.... The company declares itself as the largest global baked and coffee product chains serving more than 2.7 million clients daily in more than 8,800 stores within 31 countries (Dealbook, 2011). Most of the company stores are franchised and the Dunkin’s Donuts stores are owned by Dunkin Brands Inch. The Dunkin’s Donuts focuses on products but not the store environment; hence, the company designs their products in a manner that can attract many customers. The company strives hard in order to ensure that their customers are well satisfied and earns their loyalty. Their social responsibility towards their customers is reflected in the company mission. 1.2 Mission & Goals The mission of the company is to become the dormant global of high quality products by being a socially responsible company and keeping high-established image for their customers through offering them health product options (Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, 2007). The main goal of the company is to make the n utritional value of the menu choices in their stores better in order to achieve customer loyalty. Therefore, the main responsibility of the company revolves primarily around offering health products options for their customers. They offer low-calorie food options and healthier drinks to ensure that their clients view them as a caring company. Another goal is keeping on top of new nutrition developments and health related research to determine aspects that can impact the products of their company. The aim of the company is to be the quality leader in the market by offering a higher standard development of high dining experience with inventive product choices (Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, 2007). The last objective of

Analysis Of The Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Essay

Analysis Of The Sir Gawain And The Green Knight - Essay Example The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is based on the challenges that are made against his ethics in terms of being a knight and the changes that come with age that refine those ethical considerations. The heart of the tale begins as Arthur asks for a story to be told that would inspire him to eat his dinner. At this point, the Green Knight appears and wants to talk to Arthur. He comes to challenge the court because he wants to know whether or not the court and its knights can live up to their legend. The challenge is that one of the knights can take one swing of his giant ax and in exactly a year the Green Knight can return that swing. Sir Gawain uses the ax to cut off the Green Knight’s head when the Knight has offered his neck for the blow. For most people, this would be the end of the game, but the Green knight speaks and reminds the assembly of the deal they have struck before taking his head and riding out of the celebration. Use of the word covenant appears frequently throughout the book, creating a sense of obligation between characters in the story. When the Green Knight first faces Sir Gawain who is to be the person with whom he exchanges strokes of the ax he says â€Å"Make we our covenant ere we go further†, suggesting that the agreement is the lynchpin on which the entire ‘game’ is based (Weston 14). This creates a foundation of ethics on which the events that unfold can be examined. It is the ethical and moral character of Sir Gawain, as well as that of Arthurs court, which is being examined through honoring the idea of a covenant. There is a description of the changing of seasons that occurs within the poem. The changing of the seasons can be equated with the idea of the change that occurs over time as a person begins to mature. The seasonal changes are reflective of the cycle of life in which Sir Gawain believes he has come to an end.

Case Study Work Based Learning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Case Study Work Based Learning - Assignment Example L'Oreal reported revenues of $19.8 billion in 2004 with more than 52,000 employees worldwide. The news of acquisition has surprised Animal protection organizations and ethical consumers worldwide. Though this deal has been endorsed by financial analysts for its financial viability there are sharp protests from ethical consumer forums. They have reacted with surprise at the news that L'Oreal will acquire The Body Shop International. There have been particular concerns over the future of The Body Shop's firm and consistent stance against animal testing and ethical consumerism. The groups issuing this statement work together in a global coalition operating those programs such as the Corporate Standard of Compassion (US) and Humane Cosmetics Standard (EU), working closely with leading cosmetics companies worldwide to end animal testing. The acquisition is over but major challenges lying ahead of L'Oreal and Body Shop of identifying the metrics to measure success, and unifying the contrasting 'people' cultures and management styles of a French corporate giant and a UK-based company whose culture - and business and operating model - is inextricably based upon a strong ethical trading stance, is matter of importance for success of merger. Though L'Oreal and Body Shop belonged to the same business domains there was a large gap between their operating business philosophies. While Body Shop has been a champion of ethical business and ethical consumerism L'Oreal's track record in this field has not been that clean. L'Oreal has accepted in past, the use of animal testing for their cosmetology and dermatology research. L'Oreal receives a worst rating from Ethical Consumer for its animal testing policy, and also has had boycott calls against it for testing its cosmetic products on animals. And while the Body Shop has always considered natural ingredients as important, L'Oreal is criticized by environmental campaigners for including harmful pollutants and worrying chemicals in its cosmetics. Another worry is its link to Nestle. In many European surveys consumers have voted Nestle as a least ethical and responsible organization because of its baby milk which it advertise to be substitute of breast milk. Business Ethics Body shop has sensitized the European customers about the business ethics. According to business philosophy of Body Shop it is opposed to testing products and various ingredients used in cosmetics on animals. Body Shop has also been a champion of business ethics and corporate responsibility to contribute for the cause of society. Following are some lines from the corporate values they are said to follow: "We consider testing products or ingredients on animals to be morally and scientifically indefensible. We support small producer communities around the world who supply us with accessories and natural ingredients. We believe that it is the responsibility of every individual to actively support those who have human rights denied to them. We believe that a business has the responsibility to protect the environment in which it operates, locally and globally." Considering above statements, L'Oreal and Nestle, which owns 26% of L'Oreal, do not have a healthy records at least for the social activists, environmentalists and for Body Shop till the date of acquisition. Anita Roddick, CEO and founder of Body Shop, has many times lashed out at the policy of Nestle of not being ethical. Following Anita's

Interview-Family Influence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Interview-Family Influence - Assignment Example The family had to move from place to place every two years and this demanded them to be resilient and easily adjust to their environment as well as the people around them. Growing up in a military family, John Doe was exposed to a lot of friends wherein most of them also belong to military families. He had White and Black American as well as Asian friends and others from cultural groups, too. â€Å"I was raised without prejudice to anyone† (Doe, 2013), the young man said quite contentedly and smiled. He added that his parents never discouraged him to play with other children from a different race. However, when he was bullied or if he met trouble-makers, his parents suggested for him to just stay away from them. Doe’s parents expressed these information verbally to him and his siblings early on perhaps because they know they were expected to meet different kinds of people. Moreover, as any parent does, the Doe couple also warned the children not to speak with strangers for their safety. Explaining was the basic manner the parents used to inform their children about the facts of life. Although the Doe children were taught not to have any prejudice to anyone, they were also taught to be careful with the people they do not know. As experts often say, children are more receptive in learning from what parents show more than what they say. In Doe’s case, his parents’ teachings were indeed fortified by what he saw them do. Whenever there were occasions to celebrate, the family often invited visitors from various ethnic groups. Sometimes, simple dinners with other families of different cultures were planned in order to accommodate new friends and know them better. The children were also encouraged to play together and this enhanced their socialization skills. The greatest effects of this in Doe’s life are perhaps his resiliency in adopting to new environment and people as well as good socialization skills. When sent to a public high s chool, Doe learned more about other races and he came to understand further what prejudice and racism are. However, due to his strong influence from his parents, he maintained his respect toward other races. He never covertly or overtly felt prejudice toward any race despite the new information he was assimilating because he never witnessed anyone from his family exemplify so. The family never discussed about racism, feminism or homosexuality because perhaps the parents wanted the children to have high tolerance toward other races and sexualities. Although communication seems to be open in the family when it comes to a lot of matters, there were also things that seemed uneasy for the family to discuss and this was evident in Doe’s saying, â€Å"†¦but my mom found some things very hard to discuss where my dad it was his way and that was that† (Doe, 2013). The man’s refusal to further comment on the issue was respected. Doe admits that his family primarily in fluenced how he perceives other people of different races or gender inclinations. He says he does not care much if a person is Black or Asian, gay or straight. However, he has this take on every child; that they all deserve to have parents of both sexes. He further says that children get the â€Å"bad rap due to the race they are† and in a similar manner, children who have unique parents, meaning two females or two males, receive the same treatment. Although Doe does not inflict such kind of bullying toward other people, he claims

Dorothea Orems Self-Care Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dorothea Orems Self-Care Model - Essay Example This theory held a number of major assumptions. The most overarching consideration was that the theory believed that people should be self-reliant and responsible for their own care. In this mode of understanding, she viewed people as distinct individuals. Orem believed that nursing was a form of action, specifically between two or more people. As Orem believed that self-care was a human need many of the theoretical tenants of this nursing theory considered ways that nurses could facilitate self-care. This theory then considered that the role of nursing was to ensure that the patient or members of their family were able to meet the patient’s care needs. Orem’s theory placed great emphasis on the notion of wholeness. This wholeness encompassed health concerns including biological, social, and symbolic elements. Orem was then concerned with establishing the differing means by which nurses could aid the patient with self-care. In this way, she was concerned with self-care, self-care agency, therapeutic self-care, and self-care requisites. Self-care agency refers to the extent that the patient is capable of taking control of their care needs. Therapeutic self-care is the â€Å"totality of self-care actions to be performed for some duration in order to meet self-care requisites by using valid methods and related sets of operations and actions† ("Dorothea Orem's self-care," 2012). Finally, self-care requisites are the steps the patient needs to take to assume greater self-care. In conclusion, these comprehensive elements formed Orem self-care theory of nursing. This model would greatly influence nursing theory throughout her time and continues to influence contemporary contexts.

Should Regulations for Home Schools be Changed Essay

Should Regulations for Home Schools be Changed - Essay Example These tests have the purpose of not only ensuring that the guidelines laid out by the appropriate authorities are being met but also the secondary intent of being able to measure unique and dynamic changes in the student body at the regional and state levels. Due to the fact that no such analysis of homeschoolers is performed at the federal level and no benchmarks are set or analyzed, there is practically no knowledge of how this group effects the overall realization of educational development and achievement within the United States. Although many might argue that there is no need for government to interfere with this process due to the fact that it would be more regulation of otherwise private lives, one can also view the alternative argument relating to the fact that the government of the United States is not only responsible for educational development and achievement for its population but also for the development of a skilled and well balanced workforce to meet the key market n eeds that the 21st century provides (Kunzman, 2009). In this way, one can quickly realize that although certain topics such as reading, literature, and mathematics may be taught by a well skilled and educated parent or care-taker, the fact of the matter is that upper level biology, math, and/or lab sciences require resources and facilities that are not available to the average homeschooler. This creates a fundamental problem. Due to the fact that these lab sciences and upper level studies are not able to be taught by the average home school teacher, they risk being glossed over or not taught at all. This further complicates the educational process due to the fact that there are no preparatory life sciences that can... This essay approves that due to the fact that these lab sciences and upper level studies are not able to be taught by the average home school teacher, they risk being glossed over or not taught at all. This further complicates the educational process due to the fact that there are no preparatory life sciences that can adequately be taught within the home school environment. Naturally, if one takes the path that there should be a higher degree of federal regulation of home schooling, there is the problem of the fact that this level of regulation necessarily impedes many rights and privileges of the private citizen. Although the result may be a net positive, the fact of the matter is that the level of infringements on the personal rights and privileges to the private citizen would be multiple. Moreover, the final issue which this analysis will discuss is perhaps something that is the greatest overall concern with respect to the current economic climate that the nation is faced with. This report makes a conclusion that one can see that a powerful argument exists for the regulation of home schooling as a means to ensure that a high quality of educational attainment is made available to each and every child within the United States. However, due to the key concerns over civil rights and the cost of pursuing such a path, it is the opinion of this author that the situation is small enough at this point to warrant the reaction of a federal authority charged with overseeing and regulating the practice.

Job description and person specification Essay Example for Free

Job description and person specification Essay A job description is a document that lists the main tasks, duties and responsibilities required in the job place. At Woodbridge high school job descriptions are present for every job from caretaker to the head teacher post. The following are the main features of a job description. Job title for example head of department Job location at WHS in Woodford green Essex Nature of the organisation, WHS is a secondary school Lists of main tests Standard expected Pay and other benefits Promotion The person to whom the job hold reports to, at WHS the head of department will report to senior management team. Who the job hold is in charge of, head of department will be in charge of subject teachers working in that department. The job description is important to WHS as they use it for appraisals, identification of training needs for WHS staff and pay determination. With out this document WHS would not get the right candidates for the job which in turn will affect there performance, or might lead to a lot of resources being wasted on training. Person specification This document sets out the qualities of an ideal person for the job. The format of a person specification is based on Rogers 7-point plan. This plan requires WHS to distinguish between essential and desirable qualities under each of the seven headings. 1. Physique, health and appearance, this includes grooming, looks, dress sense, voice, hearing and eyesight as well as general health matters. Due to safety issues WHS might not employ staff if they have HIV/AIDS. 2. Attainments, this includes educational qualification. At WHS all teachers are required to have degrees the school will not employ any teaching staff who does not hold a degrees in a stain subject. 3. General intelligence, organisation such as WHS uses IQ tests and by assessing general reasoning ability of the candidates WHS can estimate the IQ of the candidate. 4. Special aptitudes, this section includes skills with words, with numbers, with musical instruments and with artistic technique. WHS needs people with such skills; this improves the schools results performance. 5. Interests, WHS would like to know whether the candidates are intellectual or practical or social or a mixture of them all. WHS would prefer to employ some one with a mixture of them all because of being a mixed culture school. 6. Disposition, this is an assessment of the persons acceptability by other staff, leadership qualities, the persons emotional stability and self-reliance. 7. Circumstances these are factors such as age, whether applicant is single or married, mobile or not. Evaluation of the job descriptions/ person specification Administrative assistant This job description is very brief it lists the job title as administrative assistant for Woodbridge high school. It lists the name of the organisation but does not list its location and there is No address for the applicants to send the application to if they were to apply. It lists the main duties and the person whom the applicant reports to as the director of administrative service. But still the job description does not provide potential applicants with the all the information that it should provide. In fact this job description would not receive any applicants applying for the job simply because there is no address to which application forms are to be sent. The job description does not provide information about pay and benefits, hours the applicant will be working and does not give aims and objectives that the person should be aiming for. The JD does not talk about the purpose and does not give any conduct details. WHS could improve this job description by providing a brief outline of what WHS does this will give the potential applicant an idea of what to expect if he is employed. The document should does not list a point of contact, it does not tell the applicant who he/she will be responsible for and it does not have a deadline for the application forms. WHS could also provide pay and other benefits and promotion prospects, if WHS give this information on there Job description they are more likely to get many people applying for job because applicants would know how much the job is going to pay and what promotion prospects are involved. Promotion prospects are very important because most people dont want to get stack in one career level not moving on. With the shortage of staff to work in school in London east this job description would not get very many applicants applying for job because it does not provide the most important information that applicants look for. The person specification does not give potential applicants the right/ clear level of qualifications required; it states that a good level of general education is required. Different people will understand this in different ways. WHS should give the applicant clear qualification levels that the job will require. It states what they will gain and learn from the post. It does not mention any thing about physique, health or attainments. Nothing concerning ages and sex of the person required has been stated. The person specification needs a lot of adjustments as its very brief and does not give applicants the information they need to know for this job as an administrative assistant. Teacher of drama (CPS) The job descriptions provides the applicant with the most relevant information for the job for example job title, purpose of the job, principles duties and responsibilities, and general duties. It also states to who the teacher will be reporting to. But it does not provide the most important information that every potential applicant will be looking like the objectives and aims of the job. For example most applicants will be interested in how much they will be earning/ salary which the job description does not show. It does not show promotion prospects of the job which applicants are interested in as they would want to know what will happy in the future if say they got the job would there be a chance of being promoted to a higher post or are they going to be stack in the same position for ever. Because WHS did not provide this information it might discourage applicants to apply for the post leaving WHS with no one to cover the post. It also does not talk about the aims and objectives of the job and number of hours to be worked. In future WHS should provide a brief outline of what it does, pay and other benefits, and promotion prospects this might lead to more people applying for the post. Also WHS would mainly need to give an address to which the applicants will send the application forms, because with no address the job description is useless as no one can apply for the job because they dont know were the organisation is located and to whom they should send application forms. The person specification for the teacher of drama lists clearly the qualification required; it states what experience the applicants must have and the abilities. However the person specification could have been improved to provide physique, health and appearance requirements that the job might require. This person Specification should be adjusting to include skills and knowledge need for the post. Deputy headteacher-development-LI7+O.L.A. The job description provides the applicants with information about the nature of the job. What the job involves, its purpose, job title, principal duties and responsibilities, to whom the applicant will be reporting to and who the applicant is responsible for. Though this document provides most of the relevant information about the nature of job however this document would not attract very many applicants because WHS has missed some of the most important information the applicants would most be interested in e.g. pay and working conditions. WHS should provide information about the location of the job/ WHS; they should also give a brief outline of what WHS does. The job description should state the aims and objectives of the job on offer, and hour that need to be worked. It does not state whether the post is full-time, part-time, temporary or permanent. WHS could improve their job description by adding information about pay/ salary per year and other benefits that the job will offer for the applicants. Applicants will also be interested in promotion prospects; they will want to know what will happy in the future for example would there be a chance of promotion after a stain number of years working for WHS. As in all the documents WHS does not give point of contact and address to which application forms are to be sent, this causes problems as applicants wont know were to send the application forms. The person specification lists qualifications and experience required however it does not provide information with regard to the ideal person for the job for example it does not provide information about physique, health and appearance, general intelligence, interests and special aptitudes. It does not give any contact numbers for contact. All the above job description and person specifications are brief and dont not provide any form of contact details e.g. addresses or telephone numbers which are vital for the application forms to be sent back to. They dont tell the applicants of the location of the job, so applicants dont know how far to travel and what travel costs might be acquired. The job descriptions and person specifications need a lot of improvement e.g. contact details, pay and benefits, hours worked, and promotional prospects if they are to attract any body to apply for the posts.

Critique on the Movie the Prince and Me Essay Example for Free

Critique on the Movie the Prince and Me Essay This modern Cinderella inspired love story is about a Danish prince Edvard who falls in love with a commoner (simple and shy) Paige Morgan. Edvard and Paige first meet at a bar where Paige works, their first meeting doesn’t go well though(oh I thought first impressions matter). The first day of classes they discover that they are classmates, seatmates and partners in organic chemistry class. They don’t go along for quite sometime until Paige teaches Edvard how to do the laundry and Edvard in return helps her with Shakespeare, this leads Paige to invite Evdard to spend the sem break (thanksgiving) at her farm. Here Edvard joins a go cart race winning the first price. At the end of the race Edvard has a fight with someone and then when he arrives home Paige patches up his wounds where Edvard kisses Paige for the first time. Is very obvious that Edvard and Paige don’t have much in common, we all know what they say that love is blind, opposites attracts. This story tells us that when people are in love nothing is impossible, the two discover their selves and accept although their many differences (too sad to say but in real life not many remain in love with their first spouse, I consider my family lucky). The part I really liked in this movie was when Edvard was heading back to Denmark and left Paige a message â€Å"the sky seems not until heaven clears†(Shakespeare) it reminded Paige that love is blind, that made her think and she courageously travelled half the globe to be find her true love.

Discretion in Law Enforcement

Discretion in Law Enforcement The Use of Law Enforcements Discretion Discretion is the ability to change from a previous set plan, rule, or action. It is used in many peoples work and personal life every day. In law enforcement, it allows them to add to the many tools already provided to ensure that all people receive the best possible service. Discretion is and always will be up to the person and is not a mandatory resource. This paper describes police discretion, and the various control mechanisms available i.e., internal control mechanisms control by the citizens, legislative control, and control by the courts. Many factors and characteristics are also the reasons why some police use discretion. The paper will summarize who and what contributes to the use of discretion while explaining why and when law enforcement is able to use it. Discretion is not about right or wrong, but using their discretion with honesty and without discrimination. Discretion is a choice to find an alternative to actions, rules, regulations, laws and even procedures. Its action is necessary because, there are times when the best choice is not the one that is written in black and white. When it comes to law enforcement, the use of discretion is determined by the incident and who is involved. Discretion is a necessary tool because criminal justice personnel will come into contact with different people in different situations. Many of those times, there will be actions or a situation that they have never heard of and for this, the rules, laws, and guidelines that are written need not be followed because of factors involved. Also, there are too many of these rules, laws and guidelines to apply to the situation. Discretion cannot be taken lightly because the end result may hurt someone In the beginning, there first has to be an understanding of discretion. Discretion is an action in which someone does not necessarily follow what was given to them. It is used by organizations every day because the right way is not always the best way. Law enforcement has the ability to use discretion constantly. It allows them to make judgment calls in almost every situation that they are involved in. Discretion is not necessarily considered acceptable or unacceptable; it is about taking factors from an incident or situation and making the best decision. Let us take a look at state police on the highway checking for speeders. The officer stopped five vehicles and gave a ticket to only one. There were many factors the officer took into consideration when deciding if and which person he stopped would get a ticket. How far over the speed limit was the person going, was the person weaving in and out of traffic, what was the cause for the speeding, or was the situation too dangerous not to go unpunished. Discretion is a good tool for law enforcement as it allows officers to help the court system. The officer is the one in the criminal justice system who determines if people gets a ticket (traffic incidents) or are arrested (for minor offenses). This is because they are the first point of contact in most situations with the citizens that they serve. Lower level law enforcement are the ones out in the field patrolling the neighborhood, they make the traffic stops, and they are the one that communicate the most with society. Because of this, law enforcement gets to know the people. Officers also learn their habits, know about their family and at times, even know of any personal problems citizens may have. With all of this knowledge about the community in which law enforcement serves, it is best for them to have and use discretion when necessary. Everyone cannot be treated the same because all situations and problems are not the same. Dealing with so many different individual cases, it b ecomes recognized that law enforcement officers could not always strictly follow all rules and regulations as stipulated by law. (Halliday, 3) Every day, depending on the situations, law enforcement has to use their discretion. It may be whether to pull their weapon, whether to pull the trigger on that weapon, whether to pull over someone for speeding or even whether to arrest a person. The decisions, to take such actions, take a lot of consideration on the part of law enforcement. There are also many factors to take into consideration. Not only about the community and what is going on with them but, also the officer and what type of day he may be having. Officers have bad days just like everyone else and that may be a factor in the choices they make. In the case of law enforcement pulling their weapon, the person, they are confronting, may have a weapon but is not confronting them. They would have the discretion to talk to the person into putting down the weapon or possibly using a stun gun. Discretion is about making the right decision in the right situation. Sometimes when making what is thought to be the right decision would come back and hurt the officer or even someone else in the end. In some situations, discretion is hard because it is not only about the officer but others who may be involved. In this case, the person just needed to get some mental health help and the officer was aware of that. There are many controls mechanisms and types of police discretion. The administrative control, which is the one that comes from the department, are the rules and regulation put out by those in charge. Administrative control is also about the number of officers in the department and where they will be assigned. It involves the department putting the best people in the best officers in respective areas to serve and protect. What if law enforcement administration at one time used their discretion to place all Black law enforcement personnel in the impoverished area because that is where most of the Blacks lived, it is not necessarily a good idea. When law enforcement administration puts only one type of person in an area, they not only are stereotyping, but the fail to give the officer and the community a chance to expand their knowledge of different cultures. Administrative control is also about the use of an officers discretion. There may be the need for the administration to take act ion because discretion used by law enforcement was not used properly or was of an illegal nature. For this, disciplinary actions or extra training may be required. It is just explain to those who did wrong the proper way of doing things. If it is training, the administration and others could run through scenarios. This would put them in a more realistic situation while critiquing each step of the way. Administrative control is also when budgeting for in the department falls. If there is not enough money to hire, many officers will be affected. Officers will have to work longer hours for less money. The vehicles will not be maintained causing fewer officers on the streets. The officers on the streets also will ponder how to get the job done causing issues with safety. This type of control gives forces law enforcement to make choices they otherwise would not make or even cause them to be hurt because the job has to be done. There is also the external control to the use of discretion by law enforcement. This includes controls by citizens, legislative controls, and the control by courts. The control by citizens pertains to the citizen review board. Here, the citizens voice their opinion about the conduct of an officer. This is a way to maintain discipline of those who serve the community and make a resolution of complaints. In order for the citizen review board to work, there must be the right people in the position and also resources to help them out. Without the necessary tools, it would most likely fail. The citizen review board cannot function alone and need constant feedback from both the community and the law enforcement administration. Someone will set policy for the police department so that some laws are enforced passively and others actively, the legislatures by default allow these legislative decisions to be made by the police. (Tieger, 721) This is where the legislative control comes into play. This control is about laws and how much discretion is given to law enforcement. An example of this is when a procedure is no longer used by law enforcement because of the many serious injuries to suspects. When taking down a suspect, an officer used that particular procedure, even though the officer was well aware that the procedure was no longer to be used. He used his discretion to use that procedure because it was the only way to subdue the suspect. Even though there ae legislative controls, they are also limited because how a law is written. An example is when it comes to domestic abuse. While a law is written to explain who and when someone should be arrested in the case of domestic abuse, the discretion to follow the law comes during investigation because law enforcement has a problem with probable cause and determining the aggressor. (Gaines Kappeler, 256) The discretion is to either arrest because of the law even if it is the wrong person or arrest no one. When using discretion, law enforcement has to be flexible and enlightened in order to determine the legally responsible party of the illegal offense. The law of the offense cannot be followed because it would be too strong and it is sometimes better not to give justice. When thinking about the action of justice, there become concerns about who the justice comes to and does not come to. With legislative control comes political influence. Just because laws are made, it does not mean that politicians have the right to influence and push them on law enforcement. Law enforcement must be protected from these actions and allowed to do their job with the best of their ability and with the knowledge and training. Political pressure will cause so me to rebel which would then cause turmoil in the department. When arrest decisions become based upon personal judgments, there is a real potential for arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement of the law. (Wortly, 3) A great example is when the child of law enforcement is involved in a felony offense. They know about it and does not do anything or even turn their child in. But, if it was another persons child, even their friends, they would arrest and take that child into custody. This is unfair justice discretion. What makes their child any different than someone else? This type of discretion could possibly lead to other types of corruption which should not be allowed in law enforcement. Law enforcement is held to a higher standard than the ordinary man which means that their family should be held responsible just like the ordinary person when a serious offense has occurred. Control by the courts is necessary as they are the highest law of the land. What the court has put out are basically guidelines to be followed. One true law or rule is when the Miranda Warning must be administered. This is necessary when questioning is to be done and is necessary just in case the information given has to be used in court. Administering the Miranda warning not only protects the officer but also the suspect. It protects the officer by allowing them to ask any question they may need for a case. It protects the suspect because they do not have to answer and could stop answering their question at any time. While there are different mechanisms to control discretion used by law enforcement, there is also different styles that are distinguished by certain actions the officer may or may not perform. Wortley wrote of the policing styles and how it plays a role in the use of discretion. The service style is about community policing and how it does not take an arrest to solve an issue. In the watchman style, it is about keeping thing under control and in order. Law enforcement will get into it with offenders if they had to but prefer to keep it simple and allow them to settle down. There is then the legalistic style where the person goes to jail regardless of the seriousness of the offense and the offender. Discretion is purposeful and essential when it comes to crime control. Crime control cannot be effectively achieved through the enactment of laws unless the public supports sufficient police discretion in the enforcement of criminal laws. (Cihan Wells, 349) If the society and the community are not willing to help out, then law enforcement is not able to do their job. This is where they use discretion in investigation of criminal activity. There is discretion in the questions asked about the incident and who the questions will be asked to. There is discretion in what age the person should be when they are looking for suspects. As children see and remember almost everything, law enforcement knows that the articulating skill of a child is not the best so they will have to use great discretion to get the information. Law enforcement also must use discretion in what information to use because children can also be talkative at times. While police discretion is seen as inevitable and essential, there remains an underlying fear that its exercise may lead to arbitrary, corrupt or unethical behavior. (Bronitt Stenning, 319) Not using discretion properly could cause corruption in law enforcement. This action could not only hurt the department, but also the officer (s) involved. Too much discretion given to certain situations could give the impression that law enforcement is biased. This issue could cause a problem in the community which could then cause problems in the department. When the community is not happy because of the way law enforcement is performing their duties, it could cause many problems such as distrust. Another problem with possibly not using discretion comes when the administration puts only certain officers in certain areas. Lets look at Black officers working in the most impoverished part of a town. Administration thought this would be best because they think that only Black people live in these t ypes of area. This could cause a problem as there are many officers that may have grown up in the same area and they are just as knowledgeable about the people in the impoverished area. Using discretion not the mix the cultures within the department, in the different areas of town deprives everyone. The department, as well as the officer, does not learn about the community, businesses or people and vice versa. Discretion is empowered to law enforcement by the selective enforcement of the penal code. (Wortley, 3) This action happens from the time law enforcement comes into contact with a person until the time they are allowed to leave or are arrested. When an officer uses discretion during an incident, they more or less give the sentence. Whether it is taking someone to jail, giving them a ticket or just letting to go after a conversation, it is up to the officer. Law enforcement does not do this just after talking to a person. They take into consideration many factors such as the attitude the person has, if a person has had previous run-ins with the law, or if the person is wanted. Discretion is about making the best decision for the person and law enforcement at that time. Many times when an alleged suspect has an attitude and presents that to law enforcement, law enforcement will in turn have an attitude with that person. It shows that the nicer, you are, can help you get a better decisi on from what is intended. When it comes to being known by law enforcement because of the times they have stopped you, law enforcement used previous incident to do it again Even though it may seem biased, many discretions used by law enforcement is necessary to stop crime. Law enforcement is out in the community constantly and knows who does the crime and what type of crime. Law enforcement, most of the time is trying to stop it before it even starts. In conclusion, there are several explanations to discretion but it is basically a persons choice of an alternative to rules or regulations. When it comes to law enforcement, they use discretion constantly. In the understanding of discretion it should be known that it is not mandatory to be used as well as different factors and characteristics that are involved when law enforcement uses it to give a warrant, citation or just let a person walk away. Discretion is not something that is actually written in stone. Discretion of the actions from law enforcement comes from actions, attitudes, and any other previous information as well as the people involved. It is just a way for law enforcement to make a judgment on the outcome of the issues in a community. The discretion that law enforcement uses could be beneficial to the citizens of the community as well as the department. When using discretion wisely, law enforcement and the community get to know each other. Using discretion could also cut down on the time it takes up in the court system. As long as law enforcement uses discretion properly and honestly, they cannot get into trouble for being biased. Discretion is useful and necessary because all incidents with law enforcement do not need to see the inside of the court. There are several controls mechanisms to discretion such as internal, citizens, legislative and courts. There are also several styles that are distinguished by the actions law enforcement performs. Discretion is a unique choice to give people because it could make their work place and life easier. References Alpert, G. P., Dunham, R. G., Stroshine, M., Bennett. K., MacDonald, J. (2004). Police Officers decision making and discretion: Forming suspicion and making a stop. Retrieved from: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/213004.pdf. Bronitt, S. Stenning, P. (2011). Understanding discretion in modern policing. Retrieved from: http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/10072/44249/76896_1.pdf?sequence=1. Cihan, A. Wells, W. (2010). Citizens opinions about police discretion in criminal investigations. College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/docview/868913488/fulltextPDF?accountid=8289. Gaines, L. K. Kappeler, V. E. (2011). Policing in America (7th ed.). Waltham, MA Anderson Publishing, Elsevier, Inc. Tieger, J. H. (n. d.). Police discretion and discriminatory enforcement. Retrieved from: http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2345context=dlj. Wortley, R. (2003). Measuring police attitudes towards discretion. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 30,538-558. Retrieved from: http://cjb.sagepub.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/content/30/5/538.full.pdf+ht.