Television and Media - TV Violence and Childrens Behavior Essay

Television Violence and Children's Behavior    Drive-by shootings and school massacres are just two of the many violent past-times of today’s youth. Is television a contributor to this insidious erosion of children's respect for life?   Much research that has been done in an attempt to answer this question. The majority of the findings are very similar in content, and the results are grim.   Television violence has been shown to cause four major changes in children's behavior:   "Increasing aggressiveness and anti-social behavior, increasing their fear of becoming victims, making them less sensitive to violence and to victims of violence, and increasing their appetite for more violence in entertainment and in real life."   (AAP Committee)   Television is causing a change in America's children, and it is not a change for the better. If watching television is increasing children's aggressive behavior, then is it also causing a higher crime rate?   Once again, the answer is a resounding yes.   "Longitudinal studies tracking viewing habits and behavior patterns of a single individual found that 8-year-old boys who viewed the most violent programs while growing up were the most likely to engage in aggressive and delinquent behavior by age 18 and serious criminal behavior by age 30." (Booth, Mullins, Scott, and Woolston)   Not only do our children exhibit an immediate reaction to violence in the media but also a long term effect of a higher propensity toward committing crimes.   Another population study stated that the homicide rate doubled within ten to fifteen years after the introduction of television into several different locations where television was introduced at different times.   (Facts About Media Violence)   We are all affect... ...can child reaches the age of 16, he or she will have witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, including 33,000 murders.   (Juvenile Crime and TV)   Apparently we accept what we see over and over again as normal behavior.   We are teaching our children that violence is acceptable by inviting it into our homes everyday.   They, in turn, are becoming more violent from the playgrounds all the way to the prisons. Works Cited Booth, Vicki, Mullins, Heather, Scott, Erika, and Woolston, Jonathon.   "Juvenile Crime and TV."   Online.   http://staff.gc.maricopa.edu/mdinchak/eng101/juvenile.htm "Facts About Media Violence."   Online.   http://www.ama-assn.org/ad-com/releases/1996/mvfacts.htm AAP Committee on Pediatrics. "Some Things You Should Know About Media Violence and Media Literacy."   Online.   http://www.aap.org/advocacy/ChildHealthMonth/media.htm

The Deontological Views of Capital Punishment Through the Works of Kant

Capital Punishment has been used in the United States justice system for many years now, yet one must question whether or not it should be used at all. This paper will look at the Deontological views of capital punishment through the works of Kant’s categorical imperative. Arguments such as the unethical misuse of medical practice by physicians, who swear an oath to do everything in their power to save the lives of the people they care for, while using their expertise on an individual for an execution. Another argument that can be made would be the understanding just what the role of both race and religion may play in making this particular moral issue and question if individuals have a â€Å"right to life† and its effect on future execution rulings. Yet we must ask ourselves, can we still justify capital punishment being used today with the same moral standings of Kant’s Categorical Imperative? An alternative method for dealing with individuals rather than si mply killing them off, for it is also important to understand the views of whether the ethical practice made by medical physicians, the social attitudes and religious views of capital punishment, and a look into a person’s right to life should play a role in determining the ethical standings of continuing the use of capital punishment in the United States. Immanuel Kant, a philosopher in the late 1700s, developed what is now known as the categorical imperative which is an important system in determining the moral standings of important issues in regards with an individual’s intuition of moral law. Certain desires a person feels, such as revenge or hatred, are considered what he would call external forces (Wells-Quash, 2010) these external forces could lead individuals to ... ... alternative method for dealing with criminals that do heinous crimes and use a stable universal law (maxim) to what the categorical imperative intended for the good of everyone. Works Cited Bessler, J. D. (2002). America's Death Penalty: Just Another Form of Violence. Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 82(1), 13. Black, L., & Fairbrother, H. (2008). The Ethics of the Elephant: Why Physician Participation in Executions Remains Unethical. American Journal Of Bioethics, 8(10), 59-61. Iftene, A., & PaÅŸca, N. (2011). RELIGIOUS FOUNDATIONS OF THE PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO LIFE. US-China Law Review, 8(6), 511-547. Wells, S., Quash.B (2010). Introducing Christian Ethics. Massachetts: John Wiley & Sons. (pp. 121-124). Young, R. L. (1992). Religious Orientation, Race and Support for the Death Penalty. Journal For The Scientific Study Of Religion, 31(1), 76.

existential :: essays research papers

Existentialism is not a method but a vision, a perceptual resolution of the human world into raw essentials. Against this we have an opposing tendency: "Human kind cannot bear very much reality." I want to look at existentialism under two categories though it belongs with neither of them. It belongs properly, perhaps, in the field of religion, but it is to be met with in philosophy and psychology. Existentialism is both philosophy in a special sense and a valency. This doesn't quite coincide with theory and practice but it may be a helpful division into two parts. Wittgenstein remarked that the purpose of philosophy was to show "the fly the way out of the fly-bottle." Though not a fashionable definition this should satisfy the existentialist that we deal with problems upon whose issue much depends. Totally unfashionable would be the definition given by Marcus Aurelius: To be a philosopher is to keep unsullied and unscathed the divine spirit within him. This serves to restore a balance, in favour of the historic concerns of the search for wisdom, after the twentieth century's discovery of linguistic criticism. Those who know Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy, or the shorter Wisdom of the West, will remember his great difficulty in focusing on (French) Existentialism as a form of philosophy at all. Existentialism is not in itself any kind of goal of thought, or final destination: it is more like a station on the way, or perhaps a station waiting room. It does not seem to be a position on which one takes a stand, affording a basis for unity with others of like persuasion. It is no vehicle for agreement. On the contrary, one may be locked in opposition, as for example the Christian existentialist with the Marxist existentialist. Let us say that existentialism is a set of answers to certain philosophical problems when these are understood as the problems you must live with whether you are a philosopher or not. These are not conceptual problems but problems of living. It takes me perhaps half of my life to reach the conclusion: I am alive. Most of the rest of my life passes before I recognize: I shall die. There is also the problem of reaching a basis for a relationship to "Thou" - to the other person. Such questions do not elicit 'answers' from people. The answers lie in what the questions do to people.

Huck Finn in Education Essay

For education to serve its purpose of helping students develop an understanding of themselves and the world around them, it must provide uncensored information and ideas. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn undoubtedly supports that goal of education. The classic novel discusses issues regarding society’s greed and cowardice through a young boy’s, Huck Finn, perspective. Huck Finn is born into the American, white south during the mid 1800s when slavery and racism towards blacks was the norm. He is influenced by his surroundings to believe that slavery is right. The â€Å"civilized† adults dictate to him the nature of blacks as property. However, as a rebellious adolescent, Huck runs away from his home and journeys down the Mississippi river with a black slave named Jim. Across this adventure, Huck develops a different set of morals from his culture and slowly comes to view Jim as a person and a friend. America’s past white, southern cult ure is a testament to the gruesome reality of society’s ability to institutionalize its selfish nature. Mark Twain emphasizes in a genuine manner the ignorance of America’s slave-holding past and the importance of questioning the morals of society and as such, the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is worthy of belonging in compulsory education. Unlike many other novels, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn delivers an unromanticized depiction of the racist, white south and slavery in the early part of American history. As seen through his characters, Mark Twain is not afraid to show the true nature of racism present in the 1800s. One of the most unsympathetic characters in the book is Pap, Huck Finn’s drunkard and abusive father. Pap’s dialogue contains the image of the thoughts of the average racist southern man in America during that era. In one instance, Pap says: â€Å"Oh, yes, this is a wonderful govment, wonderful. Why, looky here. There was a free nigger there from Ohio – a mulatter, most as white as a white man. He had the whitest shirt on you ever see, too, and the shiniest hat; and there ain’t a man in that town that’s got as fine clothes as what he had; and he had a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane – the awful- est old gray-headed nabob in the State. And what do you think? They said he was a p’fessor in a college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and knowed everything. And that ain’t the wust. They said he could VOTE when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to?†(35) Pap’s words clearly show the hatred he has towards blacks and his belief of white supremacy. He finds the idea of a black man, even a half black man, having the right to vote, a stable job, and an education, absolutely repulsive. This prejudicial perspective of Africa Americans was as common as the modern belief that slavery is wrong. In fact, though slavery in the United States was abolished after the Civil War, the intrinsic racism in America would not be truly called to question until the mid to late 1900s, more than a century later. The inability of white Americans to come to terms with black rights is a portrayal of the wrongs of society. Society is not perfect and young members of society should understand that in order to later on change society for the better. Education in America should provide insight to the hardships of African Americans, and the struggle of Jim living in a society filled with minds like Pap exemplifies the struggle and history of Black Americans. Furthermore, in Pap’s statement is the word â€Å"nigger†. Throughout the entire novel, Mark Twain controversially used the derogatory term over 200 times. Many feel that the use of â€Å"nigger† causes the book to be unacceptable in compulsory education. However, a more accurate view would be that the word â€Å"nigger† is not used in the novel for the purpose of demeaning blacks; rather the word is used to make the story accurate to the time. Words get their meaning from the intent of the speaker. Twain’s intent was not for the word to criticize blacks as it is well known that Mark Twain was an advocate against slavery and racism. He used the word because back in the 1800s, the normal word for slaves was â€Å"nigger†. By using the word, Twain painted a realistic picture of the southern culture of America. Although other books exist that discuss the nature of slavery without the term, for example, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, books like Uncle Tom’s Cabin are not as effective of delivering a view of the past. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the slave Uncle Tom is unrealistic for a slave of the time period. He speaks in an educated manner, and his obsession with religion turns him into an allegorical religious figure. Uncle Tom’s characterization takes away from the true battle of slavery in the south. On the other hand, Jim in Huck Finn is characterized more realistically. He speaks in a lower class way, and his journey with Huck for freedom depicts slavery and racism in that era. The book does not hide the sad truth of bigotry and the dehumanization of African Americans. Instead the book highlights it and educates students the history of American slavery. Moreover, the character of Huck Finn goes through a journey that expresses the important idea of an individual going against society’s rules to act on an unhindered set of morals in order to do what is right and good. Young teens often end up conforming to society in order to fit in. This conformity creates a loss of new and innovative ideas. Twain poses an important lesson of individuality and questioning society. Huck Finn is a boy living in a world where all his adult guides would tell him that befriending a black man and helping free a slave would be completely immoral. Born in such a culture, Huck accepts the view as the truth. Black people are bad. His conformity can be seen when he says: â€Å"Conscience says to me ‘What had poor Miss Watson done to you, that you could see her nigger go off right under your eyes and never say one single word? What did that poor old woman do to you, that you could treat her so mean?†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ I got to feeling so mean and so m iserable I most wished I was dead† (91). Instead of pitying Jim’s status as a slave, Huck pities Miss Watson for losing a slave. This illustrates slavery’s prominence and integration into society, along with Huck’s own ignorance and inability to shake off society’s influence. Society’s strong grasp on Huck is similar to modern pop culture’s grasp on teens. Every day, the media bombards the youth of America images of what is right and wrong. Sometimes society gives off the wrong message. For example, the attitude towards rape in America is society being wrong and the youth following the rape culture without questioning. Students should learn from this novel to stand up for their conscience as Huck does as the story progresses. Through involvement with Jim, Huck discovers Jim’s humanity. This discovery of blacks being human just like whites leads Huck to a higher moral understanding. Huck writes: â€Å"It was a close place. I took . . . up [the letter I’d written to Miss Watson], and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: â€Å"All right then, I’ll go to hell†Ã¢â‚¬â€and tore it up. It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming†(207). When Huck tears the letter up, he is actively going against society and the white southern culture. This change is a depiction of not only the message of fighting society’s corruption, but also of Twain writing his opposition to slavery and racism. He calls out from his narrative for people to strip away their cultural influences. The influence of society can be harmful and slavery is a prime example. The whole of the south fought to uphold slavery, when today, the thought of legal slavery in the US is unthinkable. Mark Twain’s novel educates people to stand up for freedom from societal influences. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic American piece of literature that should be part of compulsory education. The book contains a strong message and a realistic portrait of the time era. Mark Twain does not cover up information. He narrates it in a compelling story. Students learn from this novel the flaws of society and the importance of questioning ideas through a young boy and slaves’ adventure away from slavery and societal rules.

Holden Caulfield in “Catcher in the Rye” Essay

Holden Caulfield, in The Catcher in the Rye, is much like the typical teenager of today. Throughout the novel, Holden goes through problems that many modern teenagers can relate to. Holden is a lonely teenager who struggles to find direction in life. His actions are very similar to those of teenagers today. Some important characteristics Holden shares with modern teenagers are his longing to be free and independent, his struggle between childhood and adulthood, and the fact that he is lost and does not know what he wants to do in life. Also, like many teenagers today, he has to deal with things such as sex, violence, and alcohol. A big problem Holden goes through is his struggle between childhood and adulthood. He is sixteen years old, which is the age when a person is almost an adult, yet still a child. A child who is innocent, supported by his parents, and is not yet ready or possesses the maturity to go out into the world and fend for himself. This struggle is symbolized by Holden’s gray hair. This is something many teenagers face today. Like many modern teenagers, Holden wants to be independent. He wants to make his own decisions and live on his own. He has lived in schools most of his life, away from his parents. When Holden gets kicked out of Pencey, and he knows that his parents will find out, he decided to go back home after they do, in order for his parents to have dealt with the news. This shows how Holden does not look for help from his parents. He wants to deal with the problem himself by applying himself his next year in school. Another example of Holden’s need to be independent is when he suggests to Sally that they go away somewhere and live together. On page 132, Holden says â€Å"How would you like to get the hell out of here? Here’s my idea. I know this guy down in Greenwich Village that we can borrow his car for a couple of weeks. He used to go to the same school I did and he still owes me ten bucks. What we could do is, tomorrow morning we could drive up to Massachusetts and Vermont, and all around there, see. It’s beautiful as hell up there. It really is.†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ We’ll stay in these cabin camps and stuff like that till the dough runs out. Then, when the dough runs out, I could get a job somewhere and we could live somewhere with a brook and all and, later on, we could get married or something. I could chop all our own wood in the wintertime and  all.† Holden longs to go away and be independent. Like teenagers today, Holder had to deal with alcohol, sex, and violence. Like any male teenager today, Holden thinks about sex. He wants to experience it and says that he had had many opportunities to do so, although he never had sex. Holden, wanting comfort and affection, invites a prostitute to his room, but never has sex with her. A big problem among teenagers nowadays is violence. This is a problem that is very difficult to solve and sometimes cannot be avoided. There are times in the novel when Holden faces violence, like when he gets in a fight with Stradlater. Throughout the novel, Holden turns to alcohol when he gets depressed. He obtains it very easily, and gets drunk at one point. This occurs frequently among teenagers today. They feel that alcohol will make them older and give them maturity. These are the ways in which Holden is very similar to the typical teenager of today. His characteristics, feelings, and actions are those that many teenagers can relate to. Problems that Holden deals with throughout the novel are problems that many teenagers face in their everyday lives. Feelings that Holden has are like those of modern teenagers, who are in many ways, just like Holden.

Leadership Value

Leadership has been a common term and everyone has his or her own understanding of its meaning. Most of the time we understood leadership on one’s strong character combined with charisma. But this understanding is faulty as leadership is not a sole function of individual charisma or talent but a collective activity. Gilbert Fairnholm defines leadership as an interactive function of a leader and several followers jointly engaged† (p. 8) which means that there is a collective effort in terms of value and trust enough to prove each one’s confidence in participating in collective activity. Value on the other hand derived its roots from French and English word courage or valor. In business world, value means worth thus according to Kim S. Cameron, â€Å"value creation is the objective of every enterprise, every worker, and every leader and all employees are judged by their ability to create value† (p. 4). Leadership value therefore could mean a collected courageous undertakings being inspired by the leader’s own courage or the worth of having a leader in a collective effort. The leadership Principles Joseph A. Heim pointed out five principles of leadership that should be implemented in order to have a â€Å"successful management of people and technology† (p. 161). The first principle, the people understands the vision. Heim explained that when people understands the vision or the larger task of an enterprise, and are given the right information, the resources, and the responsibility, they will do the right thing (p. 161). The second principle is empowerment of individual. Heim noted that empowered people—and of course with a good leadership–empowered groups will have not only the ability but also the desire to participate in the decision process. Heim explained that the level of involvement will enable and encourage the individual to make decision rather than adopt a passive or reactive attitude, waiting to be told what to do. The third principle is a comprehensive and effective communications network. Heim emphasized that this network should distribute knowledge and information widely; embracing the openness and trust that allow the individual to feel empowered to affect the real problems. The fourth is integrated enterprise, it is the result of â€Å"democratization and dissemination of information through the network† (p. 161) in all directions irrespective of organizational position. The result of these first four principles, which is distributed decision-making, is the fifth principle. Heim pointed out that â€Å"information freely shared with empowered people who are motivated to make decisions will naturally distribute the decision making process through the entire organization. Leadership and Values According to Jeswal Salacuse, â€Å"Leadership express a complex and at the same time flexible concept† (p. 19). Salacuse noted that the English word â€Å"leader† is derived from the old English laedan which means to show the way, to be ahead of   moving a group of people willing toward and objective. It therefore implies the existence of followers. Like leadership, everyone may have already basic idea of what values are. Dran, Gila M. Von, and Jennifer Cargill point out that Values â€Å"are broad general beliefs about the way people should behave, or about some end state they should attain† (p. 121). They explained that people form their values in the same way in which they develop their personality, thus values are conclusive beliefs individual develop gradually about what is true or right or good about their world. They pointed out â€Å"values come from the early conditioning, experience, and significant events in one’s life† (p. 121) and are the criteria for selecting actions, goals, and methods. Leadership Traits Pieter John Diederik Drenth, Henk Thiery, and Charles Johanes Wolff, pointed out that leadership traits â€Å"is founded on the assumption that leaders poses certain personal qualities, such as courage, intelligence, strength of character, vision, or charisma, which followers do not possess† (p. 326) But this assumption waned because according to Drent, Thiery, and Wolff, â€Å"it has proved impossible to find a single set of characteristic that enables a clear and reliable distinction to be drawn between†¦ leaders and followers† (p. 326). But recent study admits that certain characteristics are only important in certain circumstances such as in athletic or sports. Drent, Thiery and Wolff pointed out the studies conducted in 1981 by Bass which concludes that â€Å"Leadership as such is not a property of an individual’s personality, but there are nonetheless certain fixed personal characteristic that seem to play part in the exercise of leadership† (p. 326). Leadership Skill Like leadership and values, skill is a familiar term. Skill is the ability to do something well. Robert Eugene Lefton and Victor Buzzota identified four basic leadership skills that a leader needs. First, The sizing-up skills or the ability to observe what do in work situations as objectively as you can; Second, Communication skills or the ability to find out what others think and for getting your own ideas across, Third, Motivational skills or the ability to create an environment in which people do what they are capable of because they have a compelling reason to do so, and fourth, Adaptive skills or the ability to relate to people as a unique individual. Advance leadership skills Advance leadership skills according to William Christ, are â€Å"blends of knowledge, skill, and attitude and require greater levels of behavioral flexibility and adaptability† (p. 29). Below are some of the advance leadership scales that Christ delineated. (1) Manage and resolve conflicts effectively, (2) Develop messages that influence attitudes, beliefs, and actions, (3) Ability to demonstrate credibility and ability to manage multiple communications effectively, (4) Creative management skills, and (5) interpersonal skills. Leadership Behavior Leadership behavior according Manuel London is the result of perceiving situations, relating situational perceptions to accumulated knowledge, and then using scripts to guide the production of situationally appropriate behavior.   Studies on leadership behavior shows that exemplary leaders always balanced high task orientation and high person orientation, according to Gary Monroe Crow, Joseph Mathews, and Lloyed Mc Cleary, task orientation focused such behaviors as planning, monitoring and coordinating, while person-orientation focused on such behavior as informing of decisions and praising their accomplishment (p. 11). Assessing Leadership and measuring its Effect Assessing leadership according to Daniel Goleman , Rechard Boyatzis, and Annie Mckee can be done through a series of interviews   and observations by a professional executive coach. Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee point out that a â€Å"typical process include conversations about the leaders career and life history, discussion of current managerial and leadership challenges, and discussion of the organizational-level issues as well as including things such as climate, politics, and system† (p. 228). Novick, Morrow, and Mays discussed measuring leadership effect.   According to them, one question that a leader should ask is, ‘How am I doing as a leader?’   They suggested that by using psychological assessment instruments can help measure leadership effect or effectiveness.   This instrument that help assess one’s self and appreciate the contribution of others is available in many forms. Work Cited Cameron, Kim S. Competing Values Leadership: Creating Value in Organization. Christ, William. Leadership in Times of Change: A Handbook for Communication and Media Administrators (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1998) Crow, Gary Monroe, et.al. Leadership: A Relevant and Realistic Role for Principals. (Eye on Education, Inc., 1996). Drenth, Pieter Johan Drederick, et.al., Organizational Psychology. (Psychology Press, 1998). Fairnholm, Gilbert W. Leadership and Culture of Trust. (Praeger/Greenwood, 1994). Heim, Joseph. Manufacturing Systems: Foundations of World Class Practice. (National Academies, 1992). Goleman Daniel, et.al. Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead. (Harvard Business School Press, 2004). Lefton, Robert Eugene and Buzzota, Victor. Leadership Through People Skills. (McGraw-Hill Professional, 2004). London, Manuel. How People Evaluate Others in Organization. (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001). Novick, Lloyd, et.al. Public Health Administration: Principles for Population Based Management. (Jones and Bartlett, 2007) Salacuse, Jeswal W. Leading Leaders: How to Manage Smart, Talented, Rich, and Powerful People. (AMARCOM Div. American Management Association, 2006).            

Interactive Session

Interactive Session 1 INTERACTIVE SESSION: TECHNOLOGY UPS COMPETES GLOBALLY WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY United Parcel Service (UPS), is the world's largest air and ground package-distribution company. It started out in 1907 in a closet-sized basement office. Jim Casey and Claude Ryan—two teenagers from Seattle with two bicycles and one phone—promised the â€Å"best service and lowest rates. † UPS has used this formula successfully for more than 90 years. Today UPS delivers more than 14. 1 million parcels and documents each day in the United States and more than 200 other countries and territories.The firm has been able to maintain leadership in small-package delivery services despite stiff competition from FedEx and Airborne Express by investing heavily in advanced information technology. During the past decade, UPS has poured billions of dollars into technology and systems to boost customer service while keeping costs low and streamlining its overall operations. Using a handheld computer called a Delivery Information Acquisition Device (DIAD), a UPS driver can automatically capture customers' signatures along with pickup, delivery, and timecard information.The driver then places the DIAD into the UPS truck's vehicle adapter, an information-transmitting device that is connected to the cellular telephone network. Package tracking information is then transmitted to UPS's computer network for storage and processing by UPS's main computers in Mahwah, New Jersey, and Alpharetta, Georgia. From there, the information can be accessed worldwide to provide proof of delivery to customers or to respond to customer queries. Through its automated package tracking system, UPS can monitor packages throughout the delivery process.At various points along the route from sender to receiver, bar code devices scan shipping information on the package label; the information is then fed into the central computer. Customer service representatives can check the statu s of any package from desktop computers linked to the central computers and are able to respond immediately to inquiries from customers. UPS customers can also access this information from the company's Web site using their own computers or wireless devices, such as pagers and cell phones. Anyone with a package to hip can access the UPS Web site to track packages, check delivery routes, calculate shipping rates, determine time in transit, and schedule a pickup. Businesses can use the Web site to arrange UPS shipments and bill the shipments to the company's UPS account number or to a credit card. The data collected at the UPS Web site are transmitted to the UPS central computer and then back to the customer after processing. UPS also provides tools that enable customers, such Cisco Systems, to embed UPS functions, such as tracking and cost calculations, into their own Web sites so that they can track shipments without visiting the UPS site.Information technology has helped UPS reinve nt itself and keep growing. UPS implemented a suite of custom-built software that uses operations research and mapping technology to optimize the way packages are loaded and delivered. Because UPS delivers 14 million small packages each day, the resulting information is cutting the distance that delivery trucks travel by more than 100 million miles each year. UPS is now leveraging its decades of expertise managing its own global delivery network to manage logistics and supply-chain management for other companies.It created a UPS Supply Chain Solutions division that provides a complete bundle of standardized services to 1 subscribing companies at a fraction of what it would cost to build their own systems and infrastructure. These services include supply-chain design and management, freight forwarding, customs brokerage, mail services, multimodal transportation, and financial services, in addition to logistics services. Adidas America, based in Portland, Oregon, is one of many compan ies benefiting from these services. Every three months the company introduces as many as 10,000 new apparel items and 4,000 new footwear items.It must handle orders for many thousands of retailers for these orders, and many of these orders are priority requests that must be fulfilled within one or two days. UPS Supply Chain Solutions Consolidated what was previously handled by multiple third-party logistics providers into a single streamlined network outfitted with automated inventory and order fulfillment systems. By having UPS coordinate and manage distribution, Adidas America increased its order accuracy rate, boosted on-time deliveries, and improved customer service,Sources: â€Å"Adidas Goes for the Gold in Customer Service,† www. ups. com, accessed June 14, 2006; United Parcel Service, Round UPS, Winter 2006; and Dave Barnes, â€Å"Delivering Corporate Citizenship,† Optimize, September 2005. CASE STUDY QUESTIONS 1. 2. 3. What are the inputs, processing, and outpu ts of UPS’s package tracking system? What technologies are used by UPS? How are these technologies related to UPS's business strategy? What problems do UPS's information systems solve. What would happen if these systems were not available? 2