Mars chocolate supply chain process Essay Example for Free

Mars chocolate supply chain process Essay The chocolate supply chain involves everyone who plays a part in producing chocolate,from local governments to international certification organizations and multi-national manufacturers. To achieve sucess, all of these players must collaborate effectively and prioritize farmer benefit at origin over competitive advantage. By putting farmers first and training them , Mars is aiming to strengthen its supply chain as a whole and to move towards a more sustainable cocoa economy. Most of the cocoa imported by MARS is grown by individual cocoa farmers and their families on plots smaller than five acres (two hectares) in rural parts of West Africa, Asia and the America. Local buyers in these countries collect cocoa beans from many farmers, either after harvest or after they have been dried or fermented. Exporters then buy cocoa beans from a network of the local buyers and prepare them for international shipping and processing to Mars factories . The exporter can be a local marketing company, a global commodity trader, an international agricultural business, a cocoa processor or a government In Africa, Mars has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ivorian government for long-term collaboration and investment in cocoa. It is also working closely with the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the Brazilian National Research Center (CEPLAC) and the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture to obtain better quality for chocolate manufacturing. Mars is the first global chocolate company to commit to sourcing all of their cocoa from certified sources by 2020. In 2011, they purchased 10% of their cocoa from certified sources, and in 2012 exceeded it to 20 percent and become the world’s largest user of certified cocoa. They currently buy cocoa certified by the Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Certified and Fairtrade. While consumer choices determine demand throughout the cocoa market, it is the manufacturer that meets this demand directly and so sets standards that affect the whole supply chain. Having such an influential role means manufacturers have a duty to ensure that the supply chain supporting their products operates in a responsible and sustainable way. Although Mars cannot have direct relationships with every individual farmer, by choosing to use certified cocoa in their products, the company aims to enable industry-wide improvements in productivity, incomes and sustainability. When the cocoa beans arrive at the factory they are processed into the cocoa products that can be used in manufacturing chocolate. These include cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa powder. Most processing occurs away from the countries where cocoa is grown because it is more efficient to process and manufacture the products close to where they will be consumed.. What happens during processing has a direct effect on the flavor and qualities of the resulting chocolate. The taste and texture of a particular chocolate product depends on the each recipie , which remains a guarded secret of the company. Mars uses different types and proportions of cocoa liquor, cocoa butter and other ingredients such as milk and sugar to make their products consistent with the brand. They use a mix of beet and cane sugar in our chocolate and confectionery products and source most of it within the region in which it will be used. For several years, they have worked closely with direct suppliers to ensure our sugar is responsibly sourced, while maintaining the highest levels of quality . They need a consistent and high-quality supply of peanuts for some of our most popular products, including SNICKERSÂ ® and MM’SÂ ®. Jointly funding the U. S. Peanut Resources and Efficiency Measures Report conducted by the independent research firm IHS Global Insight, which found major potential improvements in farming practices among U. S. peanut farmers as they are its major suppliers . Dairy ingredients are a critical component of many of our milk chocolate and caramel brands . These are obtained by collaborating with other consumer brand companies and suppliers throughout the local markets that comply with the companys supplier code of conduct . The finished chocolate product is then packaged. The packaging is made in the factory usuing materials such as metal , paper and plastics which is purchased locally. Their strategy is to reduce, recycle and rethink our packaging. This is not easy, as alternative materials that appear more sustainable in one respect often have a greater impact elsewhere. They use lifecycle assessment to ensure that they do not make progress in one area, only to undermine it somewhere else . For packaging they also work with suppliers, universities, other industries and expert partners to share learning and innovation. In Australia, Wrigley committed to the National Packaging Covenant in 2005, and has signed the updated Australian Packaging Covenant . The finished product is via the company owned transport local distributors. The distributors can be individuals , a private enterprise or the government which transport the chocolate to local stores and marts and also to exporters of the finished products . As one of the leading food manufacturers in the world, Mars has a significant international presence in more than 73 countries.

How media affects our perception on gender

How media affects our perception on gender Media plays a great role on our day to day doings: for our views on particular fields of thoughts, our purchasing thought, and the way and of performance (how people things) and on various aspects on life. One of the ways that the media affects is on our perception on gender. This can be main seen thought various advertisements in that thought various media advertisement they tend to belittle the one gender .this is very evident in many advertisements that manly advertises liquor cigarettes for example in the recent past an international brand beer put out an advert that a gentleman drinking that brand he will have all ladies chasing after him this give a thought that a lady only looks at the drink on not on the mans personality. Moreover this is more reflected when by the programs that are aired on the media some of the program give the feminine gender a low status in the society .it give the lady a position as the a beast of all burden . The research revealed that television portrayed more male figures than female, and furthermore depicted males in a more varied range of occupations and activities than their female counterparts, who typically were depicted as being content with domestic settings while working in traditional female occupational specialties. If this doesnt affect a childs perceptions of gender roles I dont know what does. Just as much research supports that positive depiction of both male and females on television can influence the same type of role model for children who in turn nurture this image later in life as an adult. Is it not a good thing, when a young girl wants to be like the female surgeon on ER, and dreams of becoming a doctor? Or the young boy or girl who is impressed with the team of forensic scientists on CSI and is inspired to follow suite? In as much as children spend a lot of their time watching television and tend to imitate what they see, it seems logical to assume that the perceptions of gender roles can be at least influenced in part by the type of programming that is beamed into our living rooms. Further more, it is entirely plausible that gender role development is impacted by the imitated behavior of children of what they see on television. Lets use the media to inspire our youth to do great things. Lets take the old perceptions of males and females and turn them inside out in a positive way. Our children should be reaching for the stars, and we as adults should be pointing these kids in the right direction. Though not as strongly as in earlier years, the portrayal of both men and women on TV is largely traditional and stereotypical. This serves to promote a polarization of gender roles. [With femininity are associated traits such as emotionality, prudence, co-operation, a communal sense, and compliance. Masculinity tends to be associated with such traits as rationality, efficiency, competition, individualism and ruthlessness.] Meehan has shown how on TV, good women are presented as submissive, sensitive and domesticated; bad women are rebellious, independent and selfish. The dream-girl stereotype is gentle, demure, sensitive, submissive, non-competitive, sweet- natured and dependent. The male hero tends to be physically strong, aggressive, assertive, takes the initiative, is independent, competitive and ambitious. TV and film heroes represent goodness, power, control, confidence, competence and success. They are geared, in other words, to succeed in a competitive economic system. There is no shortage of aggressive male role-models in Westerns, war films and so on. Many boys try to emulate such characteristics through action and aggression. There are few women in the heroic role played by Sigourney Weaver in Aliens. Men tend to be shown as more dominant, more violent and more powerful than women. Men on TV are more likely to disparage women than vice versa. They drive, drink and smoke more, do athletic things, and make more plans. They are found more in the world of things than in relationships. Women on TV tend to be younger than the men, typically under 30. So TV images largely reflect traditional patriarchal notions of gender. Stereotypical masculinity, for instance, is portrayed as natural, normal and universal, but it is fact a particular construction. It is largely a white, middle-class heterosexual masculinity. This is a masculinity within which any suggestion of feminine qualities or homosexuality is denied, and outside which women are subordinated. The notion of natural sex differences help to preserve the inequalities on which our economic system continues to be based. Most modern TV ads feature both girls and boys, but boys tend to be the dominant ones. Ads aimed at boys portray far more activity and aggressive behaviour than those for girls, and tend to be far louder. Boys are typically shown as active, aggressive, rational and discontented. Boys ads contain active toys, varied scenes, rapid camera cuts and loud, dramatic music and sounds. Girls ads tend to have frequent fades, dissolves, and gentle background music (Welch et al.) Morley reports that many men prefer to watch TV with full concentration, without interruption, and in silence, and that many women watch with less attention. Some women prefer to watch and chat at the same time, seeing television viewing as a social activity. Women also refer more often than men to chatting about TV programmes with friends and workmates. One women (cited by Hobson, in Seiter et al.) declared I only watch Coronation Street so I can talk about it. Fathers who become engrossed in TV programmes (most clearly in news programmes, apparently) are of course at the time less responsive to other members of the family. Some commentators have argued that watching in this way is a deliberate way for men to shut out the rest of the family. It is very uncommon for mothers to neglect the family in this way: they tend to maintain a monitoring role. Some may on occasion even watch primarily in order to make social contact with another viewer. This is a clear reflection of prevailing social roles in the home. Most mothers would feel too guilty to watch television as wholeheartedly as many men like to do, and the prevailing pattern of responsibilities in the home does not permit women to watch in the way that men prefer. As Ang puts it (in Seiter et al.): Men can watch television in a concentrated manner because they control the conditions to do so. Fathers are the ones referred to most often as controlling the selection of TV programmes on the main family TV set, though fathers often didnt see it this way (Lull). In Morleys sample, men were far more likely to plan a evenings viewing in advance than women were. For many men the remote control device is effectively symbolic of their power of choice over programmes. Some women complain that their husbands often switch programmes without regard for whether their wives had been watching. Mothers only rarely take such unilateral action. This is a reflection of male power in the home. As one girl put it, Dad keeps both of the automatic controls one on each side of his chair.

Stress And Well Being Psychology Essay

Stress And Well Being Psychology Essay People act in different ways in stressful situations, some can cope with stressful situation and some cannot cope. People are more stressed today than in the past. Researches were made to measure and to manage stress. For measuring stress, researches used a couple of types. One was the Social Readjustment rating scale or SRRS. This measure of stress was devised by Holmes and Rahe in 1960. Their thought was that stress is more about the need of readjustment and change. For their research, they gathered almost 400 Americans and listed a scale of life events that could affect an individual. In their opinion, life changes have a major impact on an individual. In this scale at the top was death of a spouse with 100 units of life changes and the rest were adjusted accordingly. Almost 300 or even more of life changes units were linked to higher psychological and physical illnesses. Applying this method to measure stress, leads to some weakness and strengths, in which, the strength will be that it does capture something about stress, as SRRS were proven to be related to illnesses. A weakness could be that a particular life event like an operation for a person who has a life threatening illness is more str essful than a person operation for esthetical enhancement who just want to change something.(handouts, 12.11.2012) Questionnaires measures is another type of stress measuring like SRRS, the Type A personality, Hassles and Uplifts, etc. With questionnaire method is more easy to measure stress because they are quick and easy to administrate, but the weakness is that people may not be sincere when they answer. Some people could give answers in a way that will make them look good (social desirability bias). There are also job strain questionnaire based on job demands. Workers facing high psychological workloads demands and pressure, who work very fast, very hard and do not have enough time to finish their job, are in a greater risk for mental and physical illness.(handouts, 12.11.2012) Another type of stress measuring is controlled observation. There are various ways to measure, some of them cruel for example electric shocks, overcrowding, extremes of heat and colds used as stressors and others methods, by permanent interrupting the subjects during tests. A lot of researches were made on a link between Type A personality and heart diseases. The ones who developed the idea of Type A personality were Friedman and Rosenman. They had a different style to measure this Type A. They were given tests to people and then they constantly interrupt them during testing. They could observe that some of the participants dealt well with interruptions but some were more stressed because of the constant interruptions.(handouts, 12.11.2012) While measuring stress, researchers came up with some methods of stress management. They grouped up this stress management methods in two, one psychological method in which are hardiness training and stress inoculation training and the other is the physiological method containing drugs and biofeedback techniques. (Gross, R., psychology, 5th edition, 2005) Suzanne Kobasas Hardiness Training has the three major Cs: Control, Commitment and Challenge. The people with hardiness personality are more in control of their lives, they can manage better stressful situation and see difficulties as a challenge rather than a problem. Thats why Hardy personality is stress-resistant. The training for this has three stages. The first one is focusing, in which the client is thought to be able to recognise the biological signs of stress such as increase of heart rate, muscle tension and also to be able to identify the source for this stress. The second stage consists in reliving stress encounters, in which the clients relive their stress encounters and are helped in analysing those situations and their response to them. This method could give them some insight on coping strategies. The last one, self-improvement, involves learning of new techniques for the increase of the three Cs.(psychology AS, 2012/handout, 22.10.2012) Stress Inoculation Training or SIT is aiming to change peoples behaviour and thinking and is a cognitive behavioural therapy being specifically developed to deal with stress. There are also three stages as in Hardiness. The first stage is Conceptualisation phase, in which a relation is established between client and the therapist and the client is educated about the impact and nature of stress. The client is trained to be able to identify the stressors and to learn how to breaks them down into chunks that can be tackled. The second phase is Skills acquisition. Here the person will develop skills in constructive thinking. First the skills are taught and practised in the clinic and after that they can be gradually rehearsed in real life. The skills can include positive thinking, relaxation, social skills, etc. The last phase Application and follow-through, in which clients are given opportunities to apply in real life the coping skills learned, some could be ask to even train others as well.(psychology AS, 2012/handout, 22.10.2012) The Hardiness Training and the Stress Inoculation Training are both psychological methods. The next method is physiological which consist in Drugs intake as a method of stress management. There are a lot various types of tranquiliser and anti-anxiety drugs. The most common are benzodiazepines or Bz shortened. These include Librium, Ativan and Valium. The effect of this drugs is to lower the level of serotonin activity in the brain. If the level of serotonin is too low, produce depression but if it is too high produce anxiety. In 1960 they were highly prescribed as a replacement for barbiturates. Another group of tranquiliser are beta-blockers. Their activity is that of reducing the activation of the sympathetic branch of the anatomic nervous system meaning the activity reduction of SAM axis. The drugs are fast effective but the problem is that they are highly addictive.(handout, 29.10.2012) Based on the evaluations of the methods, there can be found a lot of weaknesses and strengths in each and every one of them as well as similarities and differences between them. In Hardiness Training strengths are that is it working, it deals with the cause of stress not just the symptoms, are more effective to people. The weaknesses consists in focusing on middle-class business people, some people find control stressful-they dont like to be in control, people respond in different ways to Hardiness Training, some people doubt about the all three Cs being equally important in protection against stress and even though control is important the commitment and challenges have no effects. (hand out, 22.10.2012 / psychology AS, 2012) SIT works well in general and also works for acute and conic stress. The weaknesses of SIT consists in it being time consuming, requiring high motivation and in the fact that not all people need the same skills to cope with stress. (hand out, 22.10. 2012 / psychology AS, 2012) Drugs work in reducing anxiety also BZ are better than placebo effect, drugs are easy to use involving only the need to actually take the pill and for some forms of phobias are quite handy. Weaknesses are the fact that some drugs are highly addictive, produce strong withdrawal symptoms, patients develop tolerance to them quickly, effectiveness requires a higher dosage, they have a limit of recommended intakes of a maximum of four weeks, treats the symptoms not the actual cause of stress, does not sort out the problem and because of dependency of drugs some people become like vegetables. ( hand out, 29.10. 2012 / psychology AS, 2012) The similarities between these types are: all of the methods allows the person to be in a better frame of mind to deal with stress; both SIT and Hardiness Training involves motivation and they take place over weeks and treat the cause rather than the symptoms and both change the way people think and help people learn skills to deal with their stress. The differences between these types are: The effects of the drugs are relatively instant while the effects of SIT and HT require a longer period of time and greater effort until the results are seen; Drugs can be addictive and have short term solutions but other methods like HT may deal with the real issue; people can develop tolerance to drugs in comparison with the other methods that are more constant; drugs have side effects, the other methods dont; no withdrawal effect from stopping SIT and HT like there is with drugs; HT depends on the liking for control but drugs dont.

Vik Muniz Photographs :: Essays Papers

Vik Muniz Photographs I observed a very unique series of photographs by Vik Muniz called Seeing is Believing. Vik Muniz’s images are not simply photography but are pictures of complicated pieces of art he has produced at earlier times. Utilizing an array of unorthodox materials including granulated sugar, chocolate syrup, sewing thread, cotton, wire, and soil Muniz first creates an image, sculpturally manipulates it and then photographs it. Muniz’s pictures include portraits, landscapes, x-rays, and historical images. One work that particularly caught my attention was a photograph called â€Å"Big James Sweats Bullets† from the series Sugar Children. The content or subject matter of the artwork is representational. The photograph depicts the hardworking children of sugar cane plantations in South America. This particularly photo is a portrait of a dark skinned boy, slightly overweight, standing and grinning. The photo is of neatly arranged granulated sugar across a piece of black paper which produces the image of the boy. Many different sensory properties compose the artwork. There is a soft light that seems very natural coming off the boy’s face. The light shines at the boy’s face at an elevated level, as if he were outside on a hot afternoon with the sun overhead. There is a wide range of tones from very bright, in the reflection off the boys cheeks to very dark in the skin of the boys face. Muniz does an excellent job using shadows to provide a feeling of depth and adding curves to the boys body and face. The shape of the boy is positive, but the background is not defined, allowing a negative shape or void in the picture. Although there is no actually texture on the photograph the texture from the original work of art is apparent. The use of sugar gives off a hazy effect preventing the photo from having a clear focus. The portrait of the boy has a frontal vantage point with his body centered and balanced on at all angles. This shows the expression on the boys face and the size of the boys body, which is important to the title of the work. When looking at the photograph the eyes are immediately drawn to the boys face and grin.

Motivating Students Essay -- essays papers

Motivating Students The purpose of this research paper is to present research findings that show motivational teaching strategies to encourage the academic performance and achievement of students. Motivation is the drive on one’s thoughts and actions. Motivation is key to arouse the brain and to activate your senses. Motivation to learn is defined as, â€Å"The meaningfulness, value, and benefits of academic tasks to the learner.† (Lumsden, 1994). Students use motivation in the classroom to stimulate their learning capabilities. â€Å" Some students seem naturally enthusiastic about learning, but many need-or expect-their instructors to inspire, challenge, and stimulate them.† (Gross Davis 1993). To properly motivate one must understand a student’s behaviors. Behaviors that include the logical and illogical, the rational and irrational (Ames, 1984). Types of Motivation There are two different types of motivation in human behavior. The first is intrinsic. In this type of motivation a person does things because he or she wants to do them. â€Å"A student who is intrinsically motivated undertakes an activity ‘for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provides, the learning it permits, or the feelings of accomplishment it evokes† (Lumsden 1994). To make a student intrinsically motivated you must make the class relevant to them (Coolidge 1996). When a student realizes the benefits they will have in their lives by doing well in the class, they will be more eager to learn. The second type of motivation is extrinsic. This type of motivation is based on outside things. When a person does something in order to get something physical it is an extrinsic motivator. â€Å"An extrinsically motivated student performs ‘in order to obtain s... ...phies to motivate students. Seifert, K. (1999). Constructing a Psychology of Teaching & Learning. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. This book explores how to reinforce motivation. Motivation that brings about success and failure. How to manage misbehavior. Tauber, R. (1998). Good or Bad, What Teachers Expect from Students They Generally Get. Retrieved November 16, 2003 from ERIC database. This article explains how not to let a child’s past or history affect your judgment of them, and how to teach equally to those who misbehave. Twenty Tips on Motivating Students. University of Nebraska Lincoln. Retrieved November 16, 2003 from http://www.unl.edu/gradstud/GSAP/motivstdnts.html Gives many tips for being an effective motivator. Wolk, R. (2003). Worlds Apart. Teacher Magazine, 14(5), pp.5. Retrieved September 24, 2003 from EBSCO database.

Human Population and the Environment †Urbanization Essay

Urbanization can simply be seen as the movement and concentration of large populations upon an urban area at the detriment of the rural populous. This is due to a complex set of economic, demographic, social, cultural, technological, and environmental processes (P. Knox, 2009). Our topic narrows down to the correlation of urbanization and the environment. To start with, a number of environmental benefits can be realized due to urbanization; For instance urban areas concentrate large populations in a relatively small area thus there is more free forestry land. Plus a compact, concentrated urban area means more people walking and less number of cars on the road, consequently fewer carbon emissions from usage of cars. Conversely, there are a number of challenges posed to the environment due to urbanization. The mass exodus of people into urban areas have had a strain on infrastructure and led to poor sanitation and housing that leads to environmental degradation. Poor planning leads also leads to air, water and noise pollution due to industries and community settlements. We see this issue addressed in the Moroccan Shelter upgrading in Agadir. Faced with substandard housing and shanty towns inhabited by an ever increasing populous, three projects are set up, one of which is the Tikiouine project that comprises of three housing areas being developed and integrates community participation and responsibility concerning their sewer lines and tertiary water. In addition, the Tilburg city management model offers a sustainable five step integrated approach to administration of social, economic and environmental policies in a city. The Tilburg model implements these policies up to the neighborhood level. Thus ensures that a â€Å"Basic Quality† is maintained and thus minimizing environmental deprivation.

Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Rising prices of gasoline and fuel shortage has led to popularity of vehicles that run on alternative fuel. Past decade has seen great thrust on technological researches in alternative fuels.. Due to distinct requirements of different sectors in transportation, the technologies vary. Passenger vehicles, public transport vehicles and freight transportation carry specific needs that are difficult to be met by a single alternative fuel technology. Some of the major and most popular of these technologies, where majority of research and development has taken place, are (Aldrich, 1996).1. Electric Vehicle. 2. Natural Gas 3. . Hydrogen and 4. Fuel Cells. Following section discusses the advantages of each of these types of alternative vehicles and their benefits over conventional gasoline based internal combustion engine. Electric Vehicles: In the case of a typical electric vehicle, hydrogen fuel cell or chemical batteries such as advanced sealed lead battery, nickel cadmium and lithium ion are used for auxiliary power (Aldrich, 1996Electric vehicles offer numerous benefits over the conventional gasoline based ICE, some of which are (Hybrid Electric Vehicles, 2007; Sanna, 2007, 12; Aldrich, 1996, 88 )Highly energy efficient as chemical energy is directly converted to electrical energy without any combustion Extremely high power density where a very small quantity of fuel can provide very high power. This is the reason why fuel cells are used in space flights-their compact size and high power make them ideal for space shuttles. Most environment friendly as the only byproduct of the process is water vapour. Disadvantage Extremely high cost that make them unaffordable for private or commercial use ConclusionBased on this discussion, it can be seen that natural gas (CNG) offers the best all round solution to the problem of gasoline shortage and rising fuel costs. Currently supplies of natural gas are abundant and switching over to them makes sound economic sense. It would also create an additional buffer time for development of further sets of alternative fuel technologies that would some day dispense with the need of petroleum based fuel options. Reference Bob Aldrich.. ABCs of AFVs: a guide to alternative fuel vehicles. California Energy Commission, Sacramento-CA. April 1996. April, 2008. http://www. p2pays. org/ref/26/25156. pdf