Mercedes Benzs E-Biz Solution Essay Example

Mercedes Benzs E-Biz Solution Essay Free Case Study | Mercedes Benzs E-Biz Solution: The Factory Delivery Reservation System | Free | Case Studies | Case Study in Business, Management Case Details Themes: e-Supply Chain Management Case Length: 06 Pages Period: 1990-2001 Organization : SciQuest. com Pub Date : 2002 Teaching Note : Available Countries : USA Industry : Information Technology (Electronic Commerce) Mercedes Benzs E-Biz Solution: The Factory Delivery Reservation System One of our most fundamental goals in developing the system was to strengthen and market the Mercedes-Benz brand in the United States. The fact that we would be one of the first car manufacturers in the United States to have a factory delivery program would be seen as a very positive thing in this regard. William Engelke, Assistant Manager, IT Systems, Mercedes Benz US International, commenting on the FDRS. Linking Customers By 2000, Mercedes Benz United States International (MBUSI), builder of the high-quality MClass sports utility vehicle (SUV), established itself as a company that also delivered superior customer services. One such service was the delivery option where by the customer could take delivery of the vehicle at the factory in Alabama, US. We will write a custom essay sample on Mercedes Benzs E-Biz Solution specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Mercedes Benzs E-Biz Solution specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Mercedes Benzs E-Biz Solution specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The program called the Factory Delivery Reservation System (FDRS), enabled MBUSI to create and validate 1800 orders per hour. FDRS also automatically generated material requirements and Bills of Material1 for 35,000 vehicles per hour. The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution that made FDRS possible was based on Lotus Domino2 and IBM Netfinity3 server4. Analysts felt that with its innovative use of the new program, MBUSI not only managed to improve its customer relations by providing the best service, but also demonstrated its commitment to customers by making them an integral part of the process. Customers were, in a way linked directly to the factory floor – which was a powerful sales tool. Background: Mbusi and its Business Challenges MBUSI was a wholly-owned subsidiary of DaimlerChrylser AG. 5 In 1993, Daimler Benz realized that the Benz brand could be extended to wider market segments. Traditionally, Mercedes Benz6 appealed to older and sophisticated customers only. Daimler Benz wanted to attract customers below 40 years of age, who wanted a rugged vehicle with all the safety and luxury features of a Mercedes. Daimler Benz decided to develop a SUV known as the M-Class. It expected strong demand for the new vehicle and therefore planned to build its first car-manufacturing facility – MBUSI – in the (Tuscaloosa, Alabama) US. The MBUSI facility had many advantages. First, labor costs in the US were almost half that of in Germany. Second, the US was the leading geographic market for SUVs. Third, as the vehicles were assembled in the US, they could be distributed to Canada and Mexico more efficiently. In January 1997, the factory started production at partial capacity and by the end of the year, it was producing at full capacity. By 2000, the factory was rolling out around 380 vehicles per day. The new M-Class „allactivityvehicle represented a new concept for the company. Also, mass customization required that each vehicle be treated as a separate project, with its own Bill of Material. To deal with these challenges, Daimler Benz decided to implement an enterprise wide Information Technology (IT) system, with the help of IBM Global Services7. To further strengthen the image of Mercedes Benz in the US, MBUSI planned to deliver vehicles at the factory, becoming the first international automobile manufacturer in the US to do so. MBUSI also wanted to enrich the customersexperience. Commented William Engelke, â€Å"The factory delivery option gives Mercedes-Benz customers something that they do not get from other automobile manufacturers which is why we think the program will resonate with our customers. We think that having the factory delivery program available to Mercedes customers adds to the overall experience of the customer. † The Design of FDRS The FDRS program was proposed in the first quarter of 1998. In the third quarter of 1998, MBUSI entered into a contract with IBM. A development team was constituted with IBM Global Solutions specialists and IBM e-commerce developers, who worked closely with MBUSI. The program became operational by the first quarter of 1999. The IT team at MBUSI had a clear set of functional specifications for FDRS. However, they relied on IBM to transform the concept into an e-business solution. The FDRS was designed in such a way that customers buying the M-Class SUV could specify that will take delivery of their new vehicle at the factory. They could place the order at any of the 355 Mercedes Benz dealers in the US. An authorized employee at the dealership entered the factory delivery order the web interface. Timing was the most important aspect of the FDRSfunctionality, as it was closely linked with MBUSIs vehicle production schedule. Mercedes Benz United States of America (MBUSA)8, based in Montvale, NJ, was the first link in the FDRS program. It was the point where the dealer actually placed the order. MBUSAs role was to coordinate the distribution of vehicles to dealers across the country. Later, it had to add the order to the companys Baan Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)9system, which scheduled the order for production. About three months before the production date, the dealer could schedule in a window, the date and time of arrival of the customer at the factory for delivery. The window was then automatically computed by the FDRS to give the dealer, the possible delivery dates. Apart from the delivery date, the customer could also specify the accessories for the car and also request a factory tour. FDRS was based on Lotus Domino (Refer Exhibit I), Lotus Enterprise Integrator10 and IBM Netfinity servers. It also interfaced with IBM S/390 Parallel Enterprise Server, Model 9672-R45 located in Montvale, NJ (Refer Figure I). There were two Domino servers – an IBM Netfinity 5500 and an IBM Netfinity 3000. FIGURE I SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE OF FDRS Source: MBUSI The former that acted as the „internal Domino serverwas placed behind a firewall 11. It replicated databases through the firewall to the external server. The replication, which was encrypted, represented the primary means by which the FDRS system achieved security. Netfinity 3000 acted as an „external Domino server. It had public information and was also the primary communication linkage for dealers. The ack-end of the FDRS was equipped with an Oracle database that updated the internal Domino server database with order information. The updation was done using Lotus Enterprise Integrator. The data which was replicated to the internal Domino server included lists of valid dealers and lists of order numbers. When an order was placed by the dealer on the FDRS system, the data was first stored on the external Domino server, after which it w as replicated to the internal Domino server. Then it was replicated to the back-end database via the Lotus Enterprise Integrator. Data replication between the Lotus Notes servers happened every 15 minutes and data exchange with the back-end database three times per day. There was also a link between the back end database and an IBM S/39012 mainframe based system located at MBUSA via a T113 line. MBUSA managed the flow of vehicles to Mercedes dealers across the United States. This mainframe based system, received new vehicle orders (as opposed to factory delivery reservation requests) from individual dealers. The orders were then sent to MBUSIs Baan system and also to the back-end database. The vehicle ordering and factory reservation data were coordinated with each other when the back-end database uploaded the data to the internal Domino server. This coordinated the production and delivery information. FDRS Implementation One of the most challenging aspects of the implementation seemed to be the complexity of the Lotus and Domino scripts. The development team had to group all the information from diverse systems. Commented William Engelke, â€Å"There was a substantial amount of very complex coding involved in the FDRS solution. This application involves a lot more than having our dealers fill out a form and submitting it. There are many things the servers have to do for the system to function properly, such as looking at calendars and production schedules. We built a solution with some very advanced communication linkages. † IBM faced many technical challenges during the implementation of the program. One of them was the different timing schemes of the Lotus Notes databases and backend databases (ERP). This led to discrepancies in the data. Domino server was a Near Real Time (NRT) Server14, and MBUSIs backend activities were both real time15and batch processing16. Also, to get the best results, the Domino server was an optimised subset of the ERP table set17. However, the development team achieved a balance between the two „sidesof the solution by focusing on issues of timing, error detection schemes, and alerts. Customer Satisfaction: FDRS Primary Benefit MBUSI seemed to measure FDRSsuccess in terms of increased satisfaction of its customers. The company also believed that the marketing and customer satisfaction aspects outweighed the significance of more traditional cost-based benefits. Apart from the factory delivery experience, the program also offered the customer a factory tour and ride on the off-road course at a low cost. The company also seemed to gain strategic marketing benefits from the FDRS program, as it was able to establish Mercedes-Benz as a premium brand. (Refer Table I for advantages of FDRS in different areas). Customers could also visit the various tourist spots in Alabama after picking up their M-class vehicles. TABLE I ADVANTAGES OF THE FDRS PROGRAM AREA Strategic Marketing Benefits Cost Savings ADVANTAGES FDRS was expected to improve customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, as it enriched Mercedes customers experience. The program also strengthened the brand image of Mercedes in the US. Development of a web-based solution enabled MBUSI to offer the factory delivery program at substantially lower costs, due to less reliance on administrative personnel. â€Å"Package Marketing† the FDRS program with a ride to tourist sites, enhanced the image of Alabama as a tourist destination. The creation of a similar – albeit smaller – factory delivery system to the European Customer Delivery Center in Sindelfingen, Germany, reflected favorably on the MBUSI business unit. Source: MBUSI Regional Economic Development DaimlerChrysler AG Future of FDRS In 2000, MBUSI planned to leverage FDRSplatform by adding a range of other services. MBUSI built an advanced platform to create communication links to its suppliers. Through the link, MBUSI provided them feedback on the quality of supplies it received. The dealers and suppliers had a user-ID and password, which the system recognized. It then routed them into the appropriate stage of the FDRS. The company also planned to extend the innovative system to include transactional applications such as ordering materials and checking order status on the Web. The company expected that the new system based on FDRS, would be more cost-effective than the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)18 system. ] Bill of Material keeps track of all raw materials, parts, and subassemblies used to create a finished product. 2] A product of IBM Corp. , Lotus Notes and Domino R5 are the industrys leading client/server combination for collaborative messaging and e-business solutions. 3] The IBM Netfinity server offers solutions for file-and-print and application computing needs. 4] A computer or de vice on a network that manages network resources. For example, a file server is a computer and storage device dedicated to storing files. Any user on the network can store files on the server. A print server is a computer that manages one or more printers, and a network server is a computer that manages network traffic. A database server is a computer system that processes database queries. 5] DaimlerChrysler AG was the result of a merger between two leading car manufacturers – Daimler Benz of Germany and Chrysler Corp. of the US in 1998. 6] A luxury brand of passenger cars, Sports Utility Vehicles from DaimlerChrysler. 7] IBM Global Services is the services and consultancy division of IBM Corp. that offers extensive ebusiness solutions. 8] MBUSA is the wholly owned US subsidiary of DaimlerChrylser. ] ERP attempts to integrate all departments and functions across a company onto a single computer system that can serve all those different departments particular needs. 10] A server-based data distribution product that enables data exchange between Lotus Domino and a number of host and relational applications. 11] A system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or f rom a private network. Firewalls can be implemented in both hardware and software. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets. All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria. 12] The IBM S/390 servers offer direct high speed access to the e-business application and are used for Enterprise Computing. 13] A dedicated phone connection supporting data rates of 1. 544 Mbits per second. A T1 Line actually consists of 24 individual channels, each of which supports 64 Kbits per second. Each 64 Kbit per second channel can be configured to voice or data traffic. 14] The NRT Server System supports real time distribution of near-real time data. 5] Real time refers to events simulated by a computer at the same speed that they would occur in real life. 16] Executing a series of noninteractive jobs all at one time. The term dates back to the days when users entered programs on punch cards. They gave a batch of these programmed cards to the system operator, who fed them into the computer. Usually, batch jo bs are stored up during working hours and then executed whenever the computer is idle. Batch processing is particularly useful for operations that require the computer or a peripheral device for an extended period of time. Once a batch job begins, it continues until it is done or until an error occurs. Note that batch processing implies that there is no interaction with the user while the program is being executed. 17] The ERP tables are the database tables, (thousands of them), on which the package is built. The programmers and end users must set these tables to match their business processes. Each table has a decision „switchthat leads the software down one decision path or another. 18] EDI connects all the suppliers in and out of the US. www. icmrindia. org/free resources/casestudies/Mercedes Benz-ITSystems-Case Studies. htm

Free Essays on Convergence

In today’s growing world of computer technology we are starting to see many new uses of digital computer technology being applied to existent products, and creating new better products. Those products in fact get combined and integrated into still other products. Just think of the telephone. Once, the earpiece and the microphone piece were separate. Today they come in a variety of flavors. All the telephones have the ear and mouth piece attached together, most telephones have a digital dial pad instead of the old spinning disk thingy that one had to spin around and watch it slowly spin back for every number dialed. Answering machines, which are completely different devices sometimes come built into the telephone. Also, the radio technology is implemented to bring us a new and convenient way to walk around our house with the cordless phone. All these things make our lifestyle more convenient and efficient. Bill Howard talks about his visions for new products in the nea r future due to convergence of current computer technology and other electronic multimedia devices in this article. Bill envisions that â€Å"Your computer, your stereo gear, you cell phone, your PDA, and your telephone are going to start looking like and working with each other†. It all sounds very realistic. I already use my computer as a stereo, and a phone. In fact, I almost never use my old stereo to listen to music and I make all of my long distance phone calls over a new service called Dialpad.com. The reason that I can’t use it as a PDA or a cell phone is that they are still too big to be portable. Once a computer is developed the size of today’s PDAs with the power of a good desktop it will become possible. Of course some of the other devices will be eliminated, like any form of floppy drives or even tape drives. Both will be replaced by DVD-RAM drives that will be able to rewrite to a DVD ROM a very large amount of times. Bill concentrates... Free Essays on Convergence Free Essays on Convergence In today’s growing world of computer technology we are starting to see many new uses of digital computer technology being applied to existent products, and creating new better products. Those products in fact get combined and integrated into still other products. Just think of the telephone. Once, the earpiece and the microphone piece were separate. Today they come in a variety of flavors. All the telephones have the ear and mouth piece attached together, most telephones have a digital dial pad instead of the old spinning disk thingy that one had to spin around and watch it slowly spin back for every number dialed. Answering machines, which are completely different devices sometimes come built into the telephone. Also, the radio technology is implemented to bring us a new and convenient way to walk around our house with the cordless phone. All these things make our lifestyle more convenient and efficient. Bill Howard talks about his visions for new products in the nea r future due to convergence of current computer technology and other electronic multimedia devices in this article. Bill envisions that â€Å"Your computer, your stereo gear, you cell phone, your PDA, and your telephone are going to start looking like and working with each other†. It all sounds very realistic. I already use my computer as a stereo, and a phone. In fact, I almost never use my old stereo to listen to music and I make all of my long distance phone calls over a new service called Dialpad.com. The reason that I can’t use it as a PDA or a cell phone is that they are still too big to be portable. Once a computer is developed the size of today’s PDAs with the power of a good desktop it will become possible. Of course some of the other devices will be eliminated, like any form of floppy drives or even tape drives. Both will be replaced by DVD-RAM drives that will be able to rewrite to a DVD ROM a very large amount of times. Bill concentrates...

The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty Essay

The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty - Essay Example The urgent question is whether the existing doctrine may assist in adopting the constitution, which would be entrenched against the future amendments and would effectively limit the executive and legislative power in Britain. In this connection it should be mentioned, that despite the fact, that the doctrine is supposed to be the basic principle of the British constitutionalism, it has been recently admitted, that the doctrine becomes more and more inappropriate and unacceptable in the constitutional context, changing because of the British membership in the European Union, higher accents at the human rights and the transition of the legislative rights to the regional legislatures. Despite the absence of the fixed constitutional frames in the written form, which would limit the British Parliament' activity, it has long been admitted that it is impossible to take any political measures for limiting legislative or executive powers. However, it is essential to note, that the British Par liament is now more limited in its rights not on the judicial, but on the political reasons, and the sphere in which it is not able to implement its unlimited powers is increasing. 'When Dicey published The Law of the Constitution in 1885 he defined parliamentary sovereignty as meaning that, 'Parliament has, under the English constitution, the right to make or unmake any law whatever; and further that no person or body is recognised by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament.' (Elliott, 2002) Simultaneously, it is essential to note, that any constitution without future amendments can hardly be adopted in the light of the existing Doctrine. The possible proof for such assumption may lie in the explanation as for the role of courts in the doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty, which shows that the courts are not able to protect the absurd laws from being adopted, if the process of passing it through the both houses of Parliament has been transparent and legal. 'It has therefore been established that Dicey's doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty is, in theory, true. Parliament, it seems, can make or unmake any law it wishes and no person or body can set aside or override such legislation. However, whether this is actually true in practice remains to be seen.' On the other hand, it is also notable, that when the judges find enough competence and ability to interpret the Parliamentary statutes and acts, it hardly serves for the benefit of the society, as the laws and acts are usually written in such ambiguous wording as to adopt its interpretation to the specific situation; though taking into account the

International business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 13

International business - Essay Example nce, it is an effort to integrate or transverse some of national boundaries that reduce the national barriers and the businesses can compete for productive inputs and customers across the globe. In other words, it can be explained as an effort to reduce national barriers and establish broader market that permits all buyers and sellers to persuade business activities at a global level. The process of globalization can not only be identified as a buzz word but it will provide opportunities to accelerate pace of major business. Despite the fact, globalization will provide greater opportunities for the business to expand its markets, improve the pace of its performance and productivity. Globalization still remains to be one of the debatable and controversial issues in contemporary times. Researchers claim that the globalization is an excellent concept to boost up economic prosperity but elimination of national barriers cannot be attained. It has created a confusion and paradox situation for the business entities to integrate its operations at a global platform. The statement ‘The problem with the globalization is that there is not enough of it’ indicates that the concept of globalization is not absolutely attainable that has created problem itself. Therefore, the present essay paper will critically analyze advantages and disadvantages of Globalization to interpret the statement. Werhane (2012) explains globalization as an integration process of national economies within the international economy, through trade flows, foreign direct investments, short capital flows, technologies flow and labor forces (Werhane, 2012). The integration of the economies has increased diversity, complications, and controversies because of its multi dimensional nature. Sebastian and Elisabeta (2014) Claim that with the passage of time globalization stresses on the increasing process of integrations among countries within regional economies and political structures, with respect to

The Complexity of Relationships Essay Example for Free

The Complexity of Relationships Essay What happens when a servant and a master form a secret relationship? Not in the way one would think of but a person who forms a close relationship with their master than necessary are usually looked down upon. Girl with a Pearl Earring talks about the experiences and the relationship Griet forms working for Johannes Vermeer a Dutch painter. From the outside, their relationship looks just like any other servant and master relationship. Looking closer one can see the friendship formed between them. Though it is good that a master and servant have mutual respect for each other, but the problems arise when feelings for the person comes into play. Griet crosses some boundaries when she starts to feel a romantic attraction for Johannes her master. The result can only be heartbreak for a servant who is foolish enough to seek equality with her master. The novel takes place in 1664 Holland where society like any other is based on ones status. Johannes Vermeer is a painter whose income is based on the number of paintings he is commissioned to paint and others that he is able to sell. He does not usually paint more than 3 paintings a year, so Johannes is not wealthy. He also has to support a mother, wife, five children and pay for a maid. Even with his economic situation, he goes out to find and additional servant to clean his studio. This is where Griet comes into the picture. Griet is hired to clean Johannes’s studio but his wife Catharina is not fond of Griet. Griet is aware of her precarious position and states, â€Å"It had been clear from the moment she’d seen me chopping vegetables in my mother’s kitchen that she disliked me. † (Chevalier, p. 49) Catharina cannot express her opinion or dislike of Griet because she is not making money for the family and is not in charge of making decisions for the family. She can only obey Johannes’s command. Catharina can not afford to make her husband angry as he is the only thing she has. The funny thing is, even Catharina is not allowed into Johannes’s paint studio which tells the reader that Griet is someone Johannes really trusts. Catharina is very jealous of Griet because Griet is the first and only one to help Johannes. As time goes by, Johannes starts to open up more to Griet through his paintings. Griet also shows a great interest in his paintings. Their similar interests draw them closer and they are able to feel more comfortable around each other. Problems arise when they have to keep their friendship away from their families and Catharina. If anyone were to ever find out about their friendship, all the blame would go to Griet for breaking up a family. Due to their society back then, having a relationship between a master and a servant was looked down upon because they would always assume it involved them having an affair. They would only prefer and appreciate a more formal attitude towards each other so they would not cross any boundaries in status and moral values. Through the complexity and intricacies of human social groups, people of society just would not accept having a close relationship with others whom they believe to be lower than they are. Even more problems arise when a wealthy man named van Ruijven asks Johannes to commission a painting of Griet. Van Ruijven is known for molesting servant girls, and so when Johannes is asked to paint Griet, he becomes very worried of this man’s interest in Griet. This shows Johannes’s care for Griet which she will later on misinterpret for something more. Johannes actually just sees her as a maid and a person who is a part of his family. He feels obligation to protect her because of this. Van Ruijven’s smile made me shiver. There was a long silence. I glanced at my master. He was struggling to maintain a calm expression, but I knew he was angry. (Chevalier, p. 168) Difficulties arise when Griet and Johannes have to lie and hide the fact from others that Johannes has been commissioned to paint Griet. If Catharina were to find out, as much as the painting was asked to be commissioned to van Ruijven, she would not accept it because since Johannes has never painted her, Griet should not have the right to be painted by Johannes. To protect Griet from the consequences, Johannes makes her live in the attic above his painting studio to lessen the suspicion when he has to paint her so she would not have to sneak into the room to be painted. This allows them to be able to spent time alone together when Johannes is painting Griet. Her emotions for him become more evident. Others are able to see Johannes’s protectiveness of Griet as well. You see, competition makes men possessive. He is interested in you part because van Ruijven is. (Chevalier, p. 86) He is trying to protect her from being raped by van Ruijven. When one of Johannes’s friend says this, it makes Griet misinterpret Johannes’s protectiveness for something more than was intended increases her romantic attraction to Johannes. Griet also starts to believe that he starting to like her more than Catharina. When Johannes finishes the painting, he was hoping to quietly show it van Ruijven without anyone knowing or seeing. Things do not go as well as planned when Catharina becomes curious of his paintings and takes a peek at the painting. Catharina realizes the probable relationship between Griet and Johannes. She tries to accuse Griet of stealing her earrings so the others would not know the real problem. Catharina is clearly jealous because he has never painted Catharina or even the children. Griet knew that since their relationship was found out she had to leave. Griet leaves with heartbreak as she wishes that Johannes would come to her defense. I looked up and met his eyes=, holding his grey gaze for a long moment. I knew it was for the last time. I did not look at anyone else. (Chevalier, p. 15) He instead remained silent throughout the entire confrontation and he did not even watch her leave to say goodbye. One can see that Griet should have seen the result of her actions. Heartbreak is the only outcome for a servant who is foolish enough to seek equality with her master. She started off trying to avoid everyone and just do her job to earn money for her family. She ended up having feelings for her master who just thought of her as a member of the family and a maid. Griet misinterpreted Johannes’s intentions which lead to her heartbreak and shame to society.

Narrative in the Chronicles of a Death Foretold Essay -- essays resear

Narrative in the Chronicles of a death foretold The novel consists of a detailed history of the circumstances of the murder taken by the narrator, a journalist and former friend of the victim, twenty-seven years after the incident in question. The long range effects of this murder on the citizens of the town in which it occurs, and their unspoken involvement in the crime itself, are revealed in the course of the narrator’s history. The novel tells the story of the narrator's return to the Colombian town to resolve the details of the murder. First person narration throughout, narrator himself is like a detective, exploring ideas, comments. The story itself is based on a real occurrence, but the novel, while seemingly journalistic, uses unreliable information as often as it presents the reader with the facts of the murder. He does not ever clarify whether or not Santiago Nasar was guilty of the crime he died for. It is not given whether Santiago was really d 1 who took Angela’s virginity. In addition, the novel does not "chronicle" the events as the title leads the reader to expect that it will-the narrative shifts between the past and the present. Because the novel does not answer many questions, it accurately shows the reader how confusing all of the events surrounding the murder were when it occurred. It is a novel tat makes d reader think because the reader has to put all d aspects of murder together bit by bit continuously while reading thus keeping him engrossed in d story. In real life, nobody is ever sure whether the crime had taken place or not. Different people will have different angles of viewing d same crime. The same is true for the narrator he tries to gather as much info as possible about d killing fm ... ...stion of guilt. The town knows that the vicario boys are guilty. Somehow they still have a viable defense. The boys claim that they did these things to get back the honor that Nasar had stolen from them. The Vicario brothers' belief that their sister was done wrong was brought upon by this honor, along with racial and social tension. The dangerous path of both honor and religious faith caused Santiago's untimely death. This was seen as good reason by the town, but it is clear that the boys still have to answer to God. In full, Marquez questions the motive of society. Maybe he is saying that one should stop worshiping something simply because is in front of him and put more faith in his beliefs. Stop putting so much emphasis on a single event and focus on the whole. After all, all of the single events in our lives will eventually lead up to one single moment.

Interpersonal Communication Essay

The capability of every individual create effective and efficient communicative mechanisms can help prevent the further escalation of a conflict. Each action, movement, speech is important in establishing such idea. Thus, proper facilitation of interpersonal communication can bridge the gap between two parties and help create possibilities for cooperation. Analyzing the problem critically, there are certain communicative lapses present between the parents and the owner of the day care. These lapses tend to create different perceptions and ideas that in the end result into conflict among members of the group. Another issue that can be argued revolves around the responsibility of the owner of the daycare. It has been elaborated that there are only certain parameters of care that the organization has to offer which is mandated by the handbook of DHA. These contending of ideas of how responsibility of care is administered also bring about struggles and conflict that can further impede and deteriorate the process of interpersonal communication. With these, solutions must be created to administer proper changes and facilitate communication. One important aspect to consider is to be sensitive to the situation and cultural background of the individuals. â€Å"A stereotype, a fixed impression about a group, may influence your perceptions of individual members; you may see individuals only as members of the group instead of as unique individuals. † (DeVito, ‘Chapter 4’, p. 1) The next thing to consider is the importance of creating effective listening skills both to individuals and groups. However, there are many factors that affect the way people listen and comprehend things. â€Å"Members of different cultures vary on a number of communication dimensions that influence listening: speech and language, nonverbal behavioral differences, and preferences for direct and indirect styles of communication. † (DeVito, ‘Chapter 5’, p. 1) In addition, individuals must be gender sensitive when it comes to listening. â€Å"Men and women may listen differently; generally, women give more specific listening cues to show they’re listening than do men. † (DeVito, ‘Chapter 5’, p. 1) Thus, different strategies must be created to facilitate better avenues for listening. The next possible solution can be characterized how people perceive and interpret communication by means of verbal and non-verbal messages. The way to creating effective interpersonal communication is the advancing and merging of both listener and speaker. â€Å"Meaning is more than words and gestures; meaning includes what speaker and listener brings to interpersonal interaction. † (DeVito, ‘Chapter 6’, p. ) With this, words, gestures and other meanings given are important in establishing interpersonal communication. â€Å"Meanings are context-based; the context heavily influences the meanings that words and gestures are given. † (DeVito, ‘Chapter 6’, p. 1) Thus, these ideas prove to be a main catalyst in achieving interpersonal communication. The last process in trying to resolve this conflict is the communication process itself. The conversation between the listener and speaker plus the mechanisms that were used can be a vital tool in shaping the outcome of interpersonal communication. â€Å"Maintaining conversations depends on the principle of cooperation; the maxims of quantity, quality, relation, and manner; the principle of dialogue; and the principle of turn taking. † (DeVito, ‘Chapter 9’, p. 1) With mechanisms in place, conversation may be able to bridge the communication gap brought about by conflict. â€Å"Preventing conversational problems may be aided by the disclaimer, a statement that helps to ensure that your message will be understood and will not reflect negatively on the speaker. † (DeVito, ‘Chapter 9’, p. 1) In the end, giving solutions to the problem of communication revolves around the capability of an individual to harness and foster efficient and effective mechanisms that will create an environment of understanding, collaboration and sensitivity among the group/s. References DeVito, J. A. (2005) ‘Chapter 4:Perception in Interpersonal Communication’ in Pearson Education. [on-line] Retrieved December 9, 2007 from http://wpscms. pearsoncmg. com/ab_devito_intrprsnl_11/43/11047/2828208. cw/index. html DeVito, J. A. (2005) ‘Chapter 5: Listening in Interpersonal Communication. In Pearson Education. [on-line] Retrieved December 9, 2007 from http://wpscms. pearsoncmg. com/ab_devito_intrprsnl_11/43/11047/2828276. cw/index. html DeVito, J. A. (2005) ‘Chapter 6: Universals of Verbal and Non-verbal messages’ in Pearson Education. [on-line] Retrieved December 9, 2007 from http://wpscms. pearsoncmg. com/ab_devito_intrprsnl_11/43/11048/2828345. cw/index. html DeVito, J. A. (2005) ‘Chapter 9: Conversation. ’ in Pearson Education. [on-line] Retrieved December 9, 2007 from http://wpscms. pearsoncmg. com/ab_devito_intrprsnl_11/43/11049/2828563. cw/index. html