Writing of Ielts free essay sample

Some technologies, such as weapons of mass destruction, are of negative impact. Others, such as medical advances, positively help people to live better or longer, and so very much help traditions ways of life. Surely, few people would seek to preserve such traditions as living in caves. Interestingly, technology can positively contribute to the keeping alive of traditional skills and ways of life. For example, the populations of some islands are too small to have normal schools. Rather than breaking up families by sending children to the mainland, education authorities have been able to use the Internet to deliver schooling online. In addition, the Internet, and modern refrigeration techniques, are being used to keep alive the traditional skills of production salmon, it can now be ordered from, and delivered to, anywhere in the world. In conclusion, without suggesting that all technology is necessarily good, I think it is by no means â€Å"pointless†, in any way, to try to keep traditions alive with technology. We will write a custom essay sample on Writing of Ielts or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page We should not ignore technology, because it can be our friend and support our way of life. C4T2 Happiness is considered to be very important in life. Why is it difficult to define? What factors are important in achieving happiness? Happiness is very difficult to define, because it means so many different things to different people. While some people link happiness to wealth and material success, others think it lies in emotions and loving personal relationships. Yet others think that spiritual paths, rather than either the material world or relationships with people, are the only way to true happiness. Because people interpret happiness for themselves in so many different ways, it is difficult to give any definition that is true for everyone. However, if there are different kinds of happiness for different individuals then the first step in achieving it would be to have a degree of self-knowledge. A person needs to know who he or she is before being able to know what it is that makes him or her happy. Of cause, factors such as loving relationships, good health, the skills to earn a living and a peaceful environment all contribute to our happiness too. But this does not mean that people without these conditions cannot be happy. Overall, I think an ability to keep clear perspective in life is a more essential factor in achieving happiness. By that I mean an ability to have a clear sense of what is important in our lives (the welfare of our families, the quality of our relationships, making other people happy, etc. ) and a what is not (a problem at work, getting annoyed about trivial things, etc. ). Like self-awareness, this is also very difficult to achieve, but I think these are two factors that may be the most important for achieving happiness. C4T4 In many countries schools have severe problems with student behavior. What do you think are the cause of this? What solutions can you suggest? Poor student behavior seems to be increasingly widespread problem and I think that modern lifestyles are probably responsible for this. ( †¦. ) In many countries, the birth is decreasing so that families are smaller with fewer children. These children are often spoilt , not in terms of love and attention because working parents do not have the time for this, but in more material ways. They are allowed to have whatever they want, regardless of price, and to behave as they please. This means that the children grow up without consideration for others and without any understanding of where their standard of living comes from. ) When they get to school age they have not learnt any self control or discipline. They have less respect for their teachers and refuse to obey school rules in the way that their parents did. Teachers continually complain about this problem and measures should be taken to combat the situation. But I think the solution to the problem lies with the families, who need to be more aware of the future consequences of spoiling their children. If they could raise them to be considerate of others and to be social, responsible individuals, the whole community would benefit. Perhaps parenting classes are needed to help them to do this, and high quality nursery schools could be established that would support families more in terms of raising the next generation. The government should fund this kind of parental support, because this is no longer a problem for individual families, but for society as a whole. C4GTB Some people believe that children should be allowed to stay at home and play until they are six or seven years old. Others believe that it is important for young children to go to school as soon as possible. What do you think are the advantages of attending school from a young age? In many places today, children start primary school at around the age of six or seven. However, because it is more likely now that both parents work, there is little opportunity for children to stay in their own home up to that age. Instead, they will probably go to a nursery school when they are much younger. While some people think this may be damaging to a child’s development, or to a child’s relationship with their parents, in fact there are many advantages to having school experience at a young age. Firstly, a child will learn to interact with a lot of different people and some children learn to communicate very early because of this. They are generally more confident and independent than children who stay at home with their parents and who are not used to strangers or new situations. Such children find their first day at school at the age of six very frightening and this may have a negative effect on how they learn. Another advantage of going to school at an early age is that children develop faster socially. They make friends and learn how to get on with other children of a similar age. This is often not possible at home because they are the only children, or because their brothers or sisters are older or younger. So overall, I believe that, attending school from a young age is good for most children. They still spend plenty of time at home with their parents, so they can benefit from both environments. C5T2 In some countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people to do this. It is quite common these days for young people in many countries to have a break from studying after graduating from high school. This trend is not restricted to rich students who have the money to travel, but is also evident among poorer students who choose to work and become economically independent for a period of time. The reasons for this trend may involve the recognition that a young adult who passes directly from school to university is rather restricted in terms of general knowledge and experience of the world. By contrast, those who have spent some time earning a living or traveling to other places have a broader view of life and better personal resources to draw on. (Furthermore,) They tend to be more independent, which is a very important factor in academic study and research, as well as giving them an advantage in terms of coping with the challenges of student life. However, there are certainly dangers/risks in taking time off at that important age. Young adults may end up never returning to their studies or finding it difficult to readapt to an academic environment. They may think that it is better to continue in a particular job, or to do something completely different from a university course. But overall, I think this is less likely today, when academic qualifications are essential for getting a reasonable career. My view is that young people should be encouraged to broaden their horizons. That is the best way for them to get a clear perspective of what they are hoping to do with their lives and why. Students with such a perspective usually tends to be the most effective and motivated ones and taking a year off may be the best way to gain this. C5T4 Research indicates that the characteristics we are born with have much more influence on our personality and development than any experiences we may have in our life. Which do you consider to be the major influence? Today the way we consider human psychology and mental development is heavily influenced by the genetic sciences. We now understand the importance of inherited characteristics more than ever before. Yet we are still unable to decide whether an individuals personality and development are more influenced by genetics factors (nature) or by the environment (nurture). Research, relating to identical twins, has highlighted how significant inherited characteristics can be for an individuals life. But whether these characteristics are able to develop within the personality of an individual surely depends on whether the circumstances allow such a development. It seems that the experiences we have in life are so unpredictable and so powerful, that they can boost or over-ride other influences, and there seems to be plenty of research findings to confirm this. My own view is that there is no one major influence in a persons life. Instead, the traits we inherit from our parents and the situations and experiences that we encounter in life are constantly interacting. It is the interaction of the two that shapes a persons personality and dictates how that personality develops. If this were not true, then we would be able to predict the behaviour and character of a person from the moment they were born. In conclusion, I do not think that either nature or nurture is the major influence on a person, but that both have powerful effects. How these factors interact is still unknown today and they remain largely unpredictable in a persons life. C5GTB Nowadays we are producing more and more rubbish. Why do you think this is happening? What can governments do to help reduce the amount of rubbish produced? I think it is true that in almost every country today each household and family produces a large amount of waste every week. Most of this rubbish comes from the packaging from the things we buy, such as processed food. But even if we buy fresh food without packaging, we still produce rubbish from the plastic bags used everywhere to carry shopping home. The reason why we have so much packaging is that we consume so much more on a daily basis than families did in the past. Convenience is also very important in modern life, so we buy packaged or canned food that can be transported from long distances and stored until we need it, first in the supermarket, and then at home. However, the amount of waste produced is also a result of our tendency to use something once and throw it away. We forget that even the cheapest plastic bag has used up valuable resources and energy to produce. We also forget that it is a source of pollution and difficult to dispose of. I think, therefore, that governments need to raise this awareness in the general public. Children can be educated about environmental issues at school, but adults need to take action. Governments can encourage such action by putting taxes on packaging, such as plastic bags, by providing recycling services and by fining households and shops that do not attempt to recycle their waste. With the political will, such measures could really reduce the amount of rubbish we produce. Certainly nobody wants to see our resources used up and our planet poisoned by waste. C6T2 Successful sports professionals can earn a great deal of more money than people in other important professionals. Some people think this is fully justified while others think it is unfair. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. As a result of constant media attention, sports professionals in my country have become stars and celebrities, and those at the top are paid huge salaries. Just like movie stars, they live extravagant lifestyles with huge houses and cars. Many people find their rewards unfair, especially when comparing these super salaries with those of top surgeons or research scientists, or even leading politicians who have the responsibility of governing the country. However, sports salaries are not determined by considering the contribution to society a person makes, or the level of responsibility he or she holds. Instead, they reflect the public popularity of sport in general and the level of public support that successful stars can generate. So the notion of ‘fairness’ is not the issue. Those who feel that sports stars’ salaries are justified might argue that the number of professionals with real talent are very few, and the money is a recognition of the skills and dedication a person needs to be successful. Competition is constant and a player is tested every time they perform in their relatively short career. The pressure from the media is intense and there is little privacy out of the spotlight. So all of these factors may justify the huge earnings. Personally, I think that the amount of money such sports stars make is more justified than the huge earnings of movie stars, but at the same time, it indicates that our society places more value on sport than on more essential professions and achievements. C6T4 Some people prefer to spend their lives doing the same things and avoiding change. Others, however, think that change is always a good thing. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. Over the last half century the pace of change in the life of human beings has increased beyond our wildest expectations. This has been driven by technological and scientific breakthroughs that are changing the whole way we view the world on an almost daily basis. This means that change is not always a personal option, but an inescapable fact of life, and we need to constantly adapt to keep pace with it. Those people who believe they have achieved some security by doing the same, familiar things are living in denial. Even when people believe they are resisting change themselves, they cannot stop the world around them from changing. Sooner or later they will find that the familiar jobs no longer exist, or that the ‘safe’ patterns of behavior are no longer appropriate. However, reaching the conclusion that change is inevitable is not the same as assuming that ‘change is always for the better’. Unfortunately, it is not always the case that new things are promoted because they have good impacts for the majority of people. A lot of innovations are made with the aim of making money for a few. This is because it is the rich and powerful people in our society who are able to impose changes (such as in working conditions or property developments) that are in their own interests. In conclusion, I would say that change can be stimulating and energizing for individuals when they pursue it themselves, but that all change, including that which is imposed on people, does not necessarily have good outcomes. C6GTB Using a computer every day can have more negative than positive effects on young children. Do you agree or disagree? I tend to agree that young children can be negatively affected by too much time spent on the computer every day. This is partly / primarily because sitting in front of a screen for too long can be damaging to both the eyes and the physical posture of young child, regardless of what they are using the computer for. However, the main concern is about the type of computer activities that attract children. These are often electronic games that tend to be very intense and rather violent. The player is usually the â€Å"hero† of the game and too much exposure can encourage children to be self-centered and insensitive to others. Even when children use a computer for other purposes, such as getting information or emailing friends, it is no substitute for human interaction. Spending time with other children and sharing non-virtual experiences is an important part of a children’s development that cannot be provided by a computer. In spite of this, the obvious benefits of computer skills for young children cannot be denied. Their adult world will be changing constantly in terms of technology and the Internet is the key to all the knowledge and information available in the world today. Therefore it is important that children learn t an early age to use the equipment enthusiastically and with confidence as they will need these skills throughout their studies and working lives. I think the main point is to make sure the young children do not overuse computers. Parents must ensure that their children learn to enjoy other kinds of activity and not simply sit at home, learning to live in a virtual world. C7T1 I t is generally believed that some people are born with certain talents, for instance for sport or music, and others are not. However, it is sometimes claimed that any child can be taught to become a good sports person or musician. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion. The relative importance of natural talent and training is a frequent topic of discussion when people try to explain different levels of ability in, for example, sport, art or music. Obviously, education systems are based on the belief that all children can effectively be taught to acquire different skills, including those associated with sport, art or music. So from our won school experience, we can find plenty of evidence to support the view that a child can acquire these skills with continued teaching and guided practice. However, some people believe that innate talent is what differentiates a person who has been trained to play a sport or an instrument, from those who become good players. In other words, there is more to the skill than a good learned technique, and this extra talent cannot be taught, no matter how good the teacher or how frequently a child practices. I personally think that some people do have talents that are probably inherited via their genes. Such talents can give individuals a facility for certain skills that allow them to excel, while more hard-working students never manage to reach a comparable level. But, as with all questions of nature versus nurture, they are not mutually exclusive. Good musicians or artists and exceptional sports stars have probably succeeded because of both good training and natural talent. Without the natural talent, continuous training would be neither attractive nor productive, and without the training, the children would not learn how to exploit and develop their talent. In conclusion, I agree that any child can be taught particular skills, but to be really good in areas such as music, art or sport, then some natural talent is required. 282words) C7T3 At most people spend a major part of their adult life at work, job satisfaction is an important element of individual wellbeing. What factors contribute to job satisfaction? How realistic is the expectation of job satisfaction for all workers? Nowadays many adults have full-time jobs and the proportion of their lives spent doing such jobs is very high. So feelings about one’s job must reflect how an i ndividual feels about his or her life as whole, and because of this, job satisfaction is indeed very important for the wellbeing of that person. Employees get job satisfaction in a number of ways. Firstly, a person needs to feel that they are doing valued and valuable work, so positive feedback from superiors is very important in this respect. A sense of fulfillment is also encouraged if a worker feels the job is worth doing because it contributes to the society or the economy as a whole. Secondly, when someone feels they are improving or developing their skills through training opportunities, for example, then there is as sense of progression and purpose that rewards a worker. The sense of belonging to a team or a working community also contributes to job satisfaction because colleagues help each other to enjoy their working lives. Satisfaction is also increased by a sense of responsibility for and loyalty to a team. Of course not everyone enjoys heir work. Hard economic realities mean that many people have little choice in the kind of job they can get. In some cases an employee is working in a job that suits neither their skills nor their personality. Some jobs are repetitive and boring, and labour relations may be poor and lead to resentment and insecurity rather than to job satisfaction. However, even though it is unlikely that all workers do feel happy in their work, I think it is not unrealistic to promote more job satisfaction in any job. If the factors identified above are implemented, then any hob can be improved and more workers can feel greater degrees of job satisfaction. (303) C7GTB Some people feel that entertainers (e. g. film stars, pop musicians or sports stars) are paid too much money. Do you agree or disagree? Which other types of job should be highly paid? I agree with the view that stars in the entertainment business are usually over paid. This is true whether we are considering stars of film, sport or popular music, and it often seems that the amount of money they are able to earn in as short time cannot possibly be justified by the amount of work they do. However, it is also true that it is only those who reach the very top of their profession who can get these huge salaries. So the size of salary that stars expect is closely linked to the competition they have to overcome in order to reach success. They are, in effect, rare talents. Furthermore, the majority of stars do not hold their top positions long. Sport stars and pop stars, for example, are soon replaced by the next younger, more energetic, generation, while the good looks of most film stars quickly fade. So this relatively short working life may be some justification for the very high pay. Unfortunately, professionals from other fields, who make a much greater contribution to human society, are paid so much less that it is hard to disagree with the statement. Teachers, nurses, laboratory researchers etc. are never listed among the best-paid professionals, yet they are more important to our well-being and our future than the stars who earn their fortunes so quickly. In conclusion, I think there may be some reasons why entertainment stars earn high salaries but overall I agree that they are overpaid. The gaps between their earnings and those of people who work less selfishly for the good of society cannot be justified. Such professionals should be much better appreciated and better paid. (279)

Dec. of Ind. to Dec. of Sent. essays

Dec. of Ind. to Dec. of Sent. essays A part of everyones view of the United States of America is the idea that everyone should be free to do what he or she wants, whether that is ranging from religion to drugs, unions to independence. Everyone in the United States believes in being his or her own person, with the rights everyone else has. Some peoples try to get their idea of independence across to other people by the way of violence, but some also try the two easier easy, talking about their views and making a law. When the Declaration of Independence was written, the writer spoke out in the name of the law. The writing was formal and direct and with a strong base. In contrast, when Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, she was writing in a somewhat formal tone, but without the strict, straightforward tone approach of the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was wrote in order to provide all people living in the United States of America with independence from anyone and everything, be it from the British, or from the very people of the United States. This allowed each person to be their own person, and not something that someone told them to be. It allowed people to do what they pleased, to an extent, without anyone telling them otherwise. The Declaration of Independence gave the people their rights, something that had never succeeded in such a degree. The Declaration of Sentiments clarified the Declaration of Independence even more. It was a declaration made just for the women of America. This declaration had been written to advise people on the common occurrences and hardships on the female population. Instead of stating what will be done in the United States to preserve the rights of women, it stated what should be done to preserve the rights of women by showing why action should be taken. Although these pieces of writing are both declarations, the context in which they are written are different, yet both still state one...

How Dretske responds to Chisholm's claim that intentionality cannot be Essay

How Dretske responds to Chisholm's claim that intentionality cannot be naturalized - Essay Example Chisholm argued that intentionality cannot be naturalized because of the numerous influencing factors that surround us. According to Locke Chisholm argued that for every decision we make there must be a factor that influences or alters a person’s needs or will. He further argued that every decision we make is based on the fact that we must take the path to be comfortable. According to Chisholm factors affecting a person’s intent may also be psychological. This also denies the possibility that intentionality can be natural. To naturalize intentionality Chisholm argued that there must be absolutely free will in an action. In his argument need and wants of the people does not allow what individuals do to be natural. For instance, a person’s need for food, shelter and clothing makes ones intention to acquire the commodities an artificial intent. In this scenario, the intent can only be natural if one could survive without food and still have the intent and urge to ac quire the commodity. ... For instance, one can refer it to natural intentionality when a person takes an alternative option when tackling an issue but as artificial intentionality when the individual chooses another option based on threats or any other influencing factor. Chisholm argued that intentionality cannot be naturalized because of the numerous influencing factors that surround us. According to Locke Chisholm argued that for every decision we make there must be a factor that influences or alters a person’s needs or will (87). He further argued that every decision we make is based on the fact that we must take the path to be comfortable. According to Chisholm factors affecting a person’s intent may also be psychological (Locke 102). This also denies the possibility that intentionality can be natural. To naturalize intentionality Chisholm argued that there must be absolutely free will in an action. In his argument need and wants of the people does not allow what individuals do to be natur al. For instance, a person’s need for food, shelter and clothing makes ones intention to acquire the commodities an artificial intent (Locke 92). In this scenario, the intent can only be natural if one could survive without food and still have the intent and urge to acquire the commodity. According to Chisholm intentionality is built on artificial factors that man cannot evade. The only possibility to have naturalized intentionality is whereby an individual s considered free spirit in his environment. Locke defines a free spirit by arguing that a free spirit is a form of an individual who does not require influence from any environmental factor to make their decision (112). According to the author this scenario is practically impossible. From this perspective,

Trompenaars. Leading Change and Organizational Culture Essay

Trompenaars. Leading Change and Organizational Culture - Essay Example Thereafter, Trompenaars points out the common mistakes that are made by managers while dealing with culturally diverse workforces. The first one, according to him, is that most organisations still consider cultural issues secondary, and give them less priority on the belief that culture has nothing to do with the main business transaction (Craven). According to Trompenaars, if cultural issues are to be tackled, it is necessary to identify the origin of cultural values. Then only the organisations can develop effective norms and values. In other words, simply learning the norms and values of a culture will not help solve the issue. The second mistake, according to Trompenaars, is that organisations do not identify culture as a compliance issue. However, he reminds the fact that if cultural issues are not identified and solved, it can even lead to legal disputes. In the opinion of Trompenaars, in the 21st century, it is necessary for organisations to develop transcultural competence, which means the competence to reconcile dilemmas or to integrate opposites (Craven). At this point is wise to see what Levine, Phipps, and Blythe prefer to say about cultural differences. According to Levine, Phipps, and Blythe (16), linguistic and cultural pluralism is more than the mere coexistence of different languages; and it is about transcultural circulation of values across borders, the negotiation of identities, the inversions, even inventions of meaning, often concealed by a common illusion of effective communication. Trompenaars points out the fact that the currently available leadership literature is regionally biased. He gives the example of English, French, and Chinese literatures. It is pointed out that there is the need for more works on multi-cultural teams. In other words, the new leadership should transcend culture. According to Trompenaars, to effectively handle cross-cultural diversity, it is necessary to adopt reconciliation. According to Trompenaars, the first step of reconciliation is to let others be themselves. In simple terms, reconciliation is the understanding of how the perspectives of other cultures can help ones own culture. In others words, reconciliation calls for the fusion of two extremes; considering and accommodating the other culture. Trompenaars point out the fact that there are different ways of dealing with other cultures; ignoring other cultures, abandoning ones own culture, and reconciliation. In his words, in the modern world of business, an important factor for success of organisations is their ability to ‘celebrate differences’. In the opinion of Trompenaars, cultural is not a secondary entity, but is the contextual environment around all transactions in an organisation; financial, market, political, and technological. According to him, the success or future performance of an organ isation is no more identified based on its financial performance, but on its ability to handle local cultures. So, he proposes Process Principle Optimization based on five major principles instead of the usual ROI. The five principles, according to him, are corporate effectiveness, the client, the employee, the shareholder, and societal responsibility. So, according to him, the modern businesses should seek ways to improve their local learning so that they can increase their global access. In other words, in the modern business world, integration of values helps organisations ensure sustainable business performance for the long term. 2. According to Trompenaars, the modern leadership and management, to be effective, should have transcultural

ENVS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

ENVS - Essay Example Hayes, astrazine cause development of ovaries in male frogs. One advantage of animal testing is that it helps researchers to discover treatments for both animals and humans. One of the disadvantages of animal testing is that it can be misleading since animals may react to drugs in different ways as humans. In addition, animal testing leads to mistreatment of animals. Testing on animals is justified because it has helped researchers to discover many effective treatments. Additionally, animals should be used because their lives have less value compared to humans. Testing upon animals can give accurate results because the bodies of most animals used for tests function like humans. Scientists have proved that lab animals and humans do not have big difference. In addition, most of the drugs used today were discovered through animals testing. For instance, antibiotics and HIV drugs used by humans today gave positive results when tested on animals. Other methods of testing are less effective compared to animal testing. In addition, surgery and organ transplant techniques used on humans today were acquired through animals testing. Tyrone says that rats are the most relevant animals used to simulate humans in laboratories. Humans cannot be used in labs tests because it will be unethical to expose to humans chemicals during lab tests. According to him, the use of rats produces accurate results because rats have regular reproduction, genetic purity and many resemblances to human biology (Hayes). If I were a farmer, would not use atrazine to increase my crop yield. This is because the herbicide will only increase yields for a short period since it causes land degradation. Additionally, it will negatively affect my health. Research outcomes show that it causes obesity and cell mutation. Additional ways of increasing crop yield apart from using chemicals encompass organic farming. In organic farming, one uses decomposed animal products or plants to fertilize

Fahrenheit 451: The Hope Of The Phoenix :: essays research papers

Fahrenheit 451: The Hope of the Phoenix The word phoenix had symbolize immortality, but for the people in Fahrenheit 451, their only hope was that the phoenix would be burn out, and be reborn again. The myth of the phoenix gave optimism to the life of Montag, to the books, and to the world of Fahrenheit 451. The world was now dying, and nobody seemed to care, because the government had brainwashed the people. It was a situation, where not only the brave, but the ones who can think for themselves, who can help break the government's control. The life Montag had been a bumpy road. He thought he had a good life, because he enjoyed his job, and was happy. Soon Montag discovered that he was not happy at all, and that his life was nothing. His wife Mildred did not love him at all, and his only friend (that he could remember) Clarisse died in a car crash. All of sudden, he was not happy, but he did not know why. He thought maybe because his wife had pulled the fire alarm on him, but really it was he did not love her at all. "It's strange, I don't miss her at all(155)" Montag had uncertainly about his marriage, because marriage was suppose to be bonded with love, but with his marriage love was extinct and nowhere to be seen. His life had died, when his wife Mildred pulled the alarm and had told the firemen that Montag had books. To Montag, the books was like a sweet piece of candy. He did not know why he liked them, but he always wanted more. But when Captain Beatty forced Montag to burn his own house, Montag's soul had died, but then resurrected. His life which was suppose to be happy was burning right in front of his eyes. How ironic, that Montag was a fireman himself but like the phoenix, Montag rose from his own ashes. Montag was now reborn, because he knew his life was wrong, and that the world was wrong. He did not know why it was wrong, but he knew that he had to do something about it. He started that by burning Captain Beatty into "a charred wax doll(119)". Montag now had the feeling of hope, not much since he believed he could not do anything. But Montag had now broken the control of the government and was using the books as his aid. How ironic, in the real world, people were always talking about how people wasted paper, which mean wasting trees, but in the world of

Mercedes Benz All Activity Vehicle Essay

The target costing case literature contains numerous examples of Japanese cost management practices; however, few cases describe the use of target costing by large companies outside Japan. The purpose of the Mercedes-Benz AAV case is to consider the competitive environment of a leading German automotive manufacturer and the company’s response to changing competitive conditions. The teaching plan generally follows the suggested student assignment questions. In places, I recommend considering additional material during the case discussion. These questions are identified by a check mark. Student Assignment Questions 1. What is the competitive environment faced by MB? Students will identify a number of changes, including significant market share lost to Japanese companies such as Lexus. Stress the importance of a cultural change taking place within top management at Mercedes. Reinforce that Mercedes is a company that had never lost money. They simply built the best car their engineers could design and priced it above cost. Demand often exceeded supply. As a result, cost had never been a primary consideration. Changes include: cost competition; product innovation. 2. How has MB reacted to the changing world market for luxury automobiles? Students should identify the following changes implemented by management at Mercedes; try to get them to explain how different these approaches were from traditional strategies at Mercedes: many new product introductions; partnering with suppliers; reduced system complexity; new emphasis on cost control; layers of management reduced; lead time from concept to introduction reduced. 3. Using Cooper’s cost, quality, functionality chart, discuss the factors on which MB competes with other automobile producers such as Jeep, Ford, and GM. If the instructor wishes to give a brief mini-lecture on Robin Cooper’s  survival triplet and confrontation strategy, this is a good point in the case discussion to do so. (Robin Cooper, When Lean Enterprises Collide, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1995.) The factors are: price-at mid to upper range of zone; quality-at upper range of zone; functionality-at upper range of zone. An interesting point to discuss is that Mercedes does not produce the most expensive sports utility vehicle. This distinction is reserved for the Land Rover; however, they strategically placed themselves toward the luxury end of the spectrum. Also, unlike many Japanese examples, Mercedes does not use target costing as a strict cost control mechanism to produce the lowest priced product in its class. 4. How does the AAV project link with MB strategy in terms of market coverage? The new introductions expand the product line of the traditionally luxury-oriented manufacturer. Recent product introductions include the following: A class; C class; SLK; E class; M class. These new introductions include new sports cars and off-road vehicles. The C-class is a mid-sized vehicle sometimes referred to as the baby-Benz. Let’s discuss the elements of the target costing model and how these elements are developed. At this point in the discussion I usually write the target costing formula on the board and ask students to consider sources of various inputs: selling price; margin; target cost. What are the sources of input for the projected selling price? Students will most likely identify the following sources of information: customer focus groups comparable products: – existing; – potential. Stress the broad, cross-functional aspects of acquiring consumer information. To compare products, the company had to evaluate existing competitive vehicles as well as vehicles under development. What factors are considered when developing the required margin? This question provides a link to finance classes. Most students have studied the concepts of weighted-average cost of capital. I recommend spending a few minutes reviewing these concepts and linking cost of capital to net present value (NPV) analysis. Because of the capital-intensive structure of automobile manufacturing, production volume is a critical factor in determining each model’s NPV. Students may identify the following points for determining a required margin. long-run profitability; cost of capital; profitability across the entire product mix (classes of vehicles); sales volume by class. The MB case suggests the target cost is â€Å"alive.† Is this consistent with the ideals of target costing? I generally emphasize that Mercedes did not consider the target cost to be locked in. It was a moving target. As engineering changes became necessary, the target cost was allowed to move. However, before making a change, market forces were considered. For example, changes included the addition of side airbags. In addition, the European press was critical of a simulated wood-grain part. Management decided the part would remain plastic because costs could not be passed on to the consumer. The main point to emphasize is the design of the vehicle is dynamic; thus costs must evolve to reflect the changing design characteristics. 5. Explain the process of developing a component importance index. How can such an index guide managers in making cost reduction decisions? The index development process has five steps, as follows: consumer importance category rankings; target cost percentage by function group; category: function group matrix; importance index; target cost index; I recommend making slides of Tables 1-5 to facilitate discussion. Index development is an important element in the early conceptualization phase of the AAV. The indexes help to quantify some very abstract concepts. Table 1. From conversations with potential consumer groups, a list of key categories was developed. Next, potential customers were asked to rate the importance of each category. Their responses were computed as a percentage. Thus, safety and comfort of the AAV were viewed as significantly more important than economy and styling. Table 2 represents a rough estimate of the cost by function group and the relative percentage. The information is used later to create a target cost index. Table 3 is best understood by reading each category as a column. The rows explain the relative importance of each function group to satisfying each category defined by customers. An interesting aspect of this table is that the link between consumer preferences and engineering components is made explicit. Table 4 builds on Table 3 by weighting the percentages computed in Table 3 by the importance percentage calculated in Table 1. The key point is to understand which function groups contribute the most (least) to important (less important) consumer categories. Table 5 results in a target cost index that attempts to capture cost and benefit trade-offs. As discussed in the case, this index may indicate a cost in excess of the perceived value of a function group. Thus, opportunities for cost reduction (aligned with customer requirements) may be identified. 6. How does MB approach cost reduction to achieve target costs? At this point, ask students to identify various value-engineering strategies. At Mercedes, reducing the cost of each function group was accomplished by reducing costs of various components that make up the function group. Stress the importance of this approach over an â€Å"across-the-board† cut. 7. How do suppliers factor into the target costing process? Why are they so critically important to the success of the MB AAV? From the conceptual phase through the production phase, the suppliers of systems for the AAV truly were partners. Suppliers attended regular meetings with the cost planners throughout the entire process. Thus, suppliers were design and development partners from very early stages of development, responsible for meeting cost targets. Why is the relationship with suppliers a crucial element in the success of the AAV? Suppliers provide entire systems for the AAV. The facility uses a JIT production system. In fact, many suppliers deliver directly to the assembly line, rather than to a small warehouse. The Black Warrior River separated Mercedes and a major system supplier. This supplier built a new production facility on the same side of the river as the Mercedes Benz plant to avoid possible delays associated with accidents on a major bridge. 8. What role does the accounting department play in the target costing process? Stress the fact that accountants were watchdogs in the target costing process. Their primary responsibility was to ensure costs did not exceed targets during the production phase. Thus, the accountants’ role was as follows: cost control; actual vs. target: development stage; production stage. What are some of the organizational barriers that may challenge managers attempting to introduce TC systems? Try to get students to identify various impediments to target costing systems in the United States. Examples may include: willingness to share cost data with suppliers; suppliers treated as adversaries; government regulations affecting exchange of information.