If you want high performance, recruitment and selection is the most Essay - 1

If you want high performance, recruitment and selection is the most important function in HRM. Get that right and everything else falls into place''. Discuss - Essay Example It is essential that the process of recruitment should be planned, organized, and performed in a way that will lead to success. In the process of recruiting employees, there is an element of prediction, which is not a favorable aspect for recruitment. Effective policies for recruitment are helpful in making the decisions in a more organized manner to achieve the degree of uncertainty. The implementation of the effective process for recruitment cannot be ignored; it requires the proper devotion of time and interest of the managers towards this responsibility for the well-being of the organization. Recruitment provides the opportunity to present a favorable conditions or a platform for an organization to grow and prosper by recruiting the right persons (Price, 2007). The main objective of recruitment and selection is to find the best and effective recruitment sources which will help in hiring the best individuals from the market. Moreover, the other important objective is to retain these employees in the organization. The success lies within the selection of the right candidate and providing them the right environment and right benefits. The organization needs to follow and implement the correct recruitment procedure: The first and most important function of recruitment is to identify the need of an individual to be hired, i.e. designing a job description. Specifying the areas where an employee will be required in the organization. It is important to consider the term and conditions and policies along with the core values of the organization (Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2009). It is the most creative part of the job. Searching for employees internally is not a big goal to achieve or may not give an interest of gaining an opportunity. Major factor is to create attraction for the outside employees to join the organization. This involves some foreign bodies to act in for recruitment and take

Human Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

Human Rights - Essay Example The Nuremburg trials shocked most of the world, including the United Kingdom, when the terrible treatment of human beings was revealed to the world. The trials did help to impact the concept that some sort of universal justice is necessary in order to make individuals feel safe, or just, about the world and the law of the world. The atrocities revealed during the trials turned the stomachs of many of the people, as well as the governments, in Europe. It became clear that some sort of restructuring was needed, and that European countries would need to cooperate in order to attain this reconstruction. Therefore, many countries were inspired to start considering aspects of human rights1 The idea of a human rights list in the United Kingdom and Europe is not a new one. Many individuals were pushing for this after World War II. However, the United Kingdom was also aware that Europe was working on a larger-scale concept of human rights in general, which would eventually become the European Convention. This may have been a reason for the United Kingdom’s delay in making its own list of individual rights. The United Kingdom has followed the laws of the convention for many years. Laws were beginning to be laid down by this new, European group, and all of Europe was eager to follow. For instance, at the Congress of the Hague in 1948, delegates and observers from 26 countries breathed life into the Council of Europe – making human rights its guiding spirit. The Council of Europe was officially launched in May 1949 with founder members Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK. These member countries then put together a charter of rights as well as a European court system that would help those individuals who had had their rights violated. They were able to use examples from the United States and hammered out a

St. Augustines Political Philosophy Essay Example for Free

St. Augustines Political Philosophy Essay St. Augustine is a fourth century philosopher whose groundbreaking philosophy infused Christian doctrine with Neoplatonism. He is famous for being an inimitable Catholic theologian and for his agnostic contributions to Western philosophy. He argues that skeptics have no basis for claiming to know that there is no knowledge. In a proof for existence similar to one later made famous by Rene Descartes, Augustine says, â€Å"[Even] If I am mistaken, I am. † He is the first Western philosopher to promote what has come to be called â€Å"the argument by analogy† against solipsism: there are bodies external to mine that behave as I behave and that appear to be nourished as mine is nourished; so, by analogy, I am justified in believing that these bodies have a similar mental life to mine. Augustine believes reason to be a uniquely human cognitive capacity that comprehends deductive truths and logical necessity. Additionally, Augustine adopts a subjective view of time and says that time is nothing in reality but exists only in the human mind’s apprehension of reality. He believes that time is not infinite because God â€Å"created† it. Augustine tries to reconcile his beliefs about freewill, especially the belief that humans are morally responsible for their actions, with his belief that one’s life is predestined. Though initially optimistic about the ability of humans to behave morally, at the end he is pessimistic, and thinks that original sin makes human moral behavior nearly impossible: if it were not for the rare appearance of an accidental and undeserved Grace of God, humans could not be moral. Augustine’s theological discussion of freewill is relevant to a non-religious discussion regardless of the religious-specific language he uses; one can switch Augustine’s â€Å"omnipotent being† and â€Å"original sin† explanation of predestination for the present day â€Å"biology† explanation of predestination; the latter tendency is apparent in modern slogans such as â€Å"biology is destiny. †

Media and Public Perceptions of crime

Media and Public Perceptions of crime Crime stories and representations are, and have always been, a popular focus of the mass media. The percentage of media content that is constituted by crime images and stories obviously will depend on the definitions of crime used. A glimpse at the television guide, the movies listings in the cinema, or press headlines, will highlight both the interest the general population has in crime and criminals, and the key role the media play in describing all features of criminal behaviour. People are excited with crime and justice (Howitt, 1998). From films, books, newspapers, magazines, television broadcasts, to everyday talks, we are continuously participating in crime talk. A large amount of this crime will be fictional, others, real life, and our enthusiasm for reading and watching about both seems to be evident. Television documentaries, news programmes and local or national newspapers emphasise and discuss crime and criminal justice issues on an everyday basis. Stories about crime are a more limited proportion of news, varying according to medium (e.g. radio, television, or print journalism) and market (e.g. quality or popular journalism). In this chapter we will analyse how the media influence public opinion through social cognitive theory and information processing theory. The publics knowledge and understanding of crime, criminal justice, police forces and police investigations, is often derived from the media and is greatly based on what they have watched or heard through various media forms (Jewkes, 2011). More generally, it is not feasible for people to know everything about society through their own experience thus the media has the role of informing and entertaining people. It is important to say that several studies have found a correlation between people views about crime and the criminal justice system, and the media. Dorfman (2001) found that 76 percent of the public said they modulated their opinions about crime from what they see or read in the news compared to those who get their primary information on crime from personal experience at 22 percent. It is not surprising that the academic interest in the field of criminology and criminal justice is growing as studies showed the popular media and general public interest in this area has the hi ghest percentage (Jewkes ,2011). Heath and Gilbert (1996) initiated that the association among media productions and offence is contingent on the features of the communication and the viewers. Production of great amounts of neighbourhood offence news creates enlarged fear between the outsized public, (Brillon, 1987; Sheley and Ashkins, 1981) whilst the presentation of great sums of non-local offence news has the contradictory result by construction the local audience feel safer (Liska and Baccaglini, 1990). Also, Chiricos et al (2000) found out that local and nationwide news are connected to fear of felony. The result of neighbouring news on fear of crime is stronger for people in elevated offence locations and persons who have passed through victimisation. Public perspectives toward police are in general positive (Huang and Vaughn, 1996). Nevertheless, there are a small number of studies that considered the medias control on peoples ratings of police force efficiency. A large amoun t of the literature concentrates on media depictions of police officers and results expose two contradictory views. Some researchers suggest that the police are displayed positively in the media, whilst other study argues that the police are unenthusiastically portrayed in the media (Pollak and Kubrin, 2007). Police presentations are often over-dramatised and romanticised by imaginary television felony dramas while the news media display the police as daring, qualified crime fighters (Surette, 1998; Reiner, 1985). In television crime dramas, the mainstreams of crimes are solved and unlawful suspects are successfully detained (Dominick, 1973; Estep and MacDonald, 1984; Carlson, 1985; Kooistra et al. 1998, Zillman and Wakshlag, 1985). Likewise, news presentations have a tendency to overstate the percentage of crimes that consequence in catch which projects a representation that police are more successful than official statistics show (Sacco and Fair, 1988; Skogan and Maxfield, 1981; Marsh, 1991; Roshier, 1973). The sympathetic vision of policing is partially a result of a police forces people relations scheme. Coverage of practical police actions creates a representation of the police as effectual and well-organised investigators of crime (Christensen, Schmidt and Henderson, 1982). Therefor e, a constructive police display strengthens usual opinions to law and order that engage enlarged police attendance, cruel penalties and rising police power (Sacco, 1995). Modern offences-solving shows like CSI, Law Order and a range of spin-offs has obviously increased public cognition of the function that science can take part in solving crimes and gathering proof which may be used to help convict the criminals. Also, numerals of researchers suggest that a symbiotic association subsists among news media workers and the police. It is argued that the police and the media involve in a commonly advantageous connection (Jewkes, 2011). The media wants the police to give them with rapid, trustworthy sources of offence information, while the police have a vested attention in retaining a constructive public image (Ericson, Baranek, and Chan, 1987; Fishman, 1981; Hall et al, 1978). Nonetheless, other researchers suggest that the police are not displayed completely positive in the news media. For example, Surette (1998) argues that docu-dramas and news small programs symbolise the police as heroes that fight bad people, up till now publish and broadcast news exemplify the police as unproductive and useless. Likewise, Graber (1980) argues that the wide-ranging public appreciates police presentation more positively compared with judges and alteration. In English courtrooms media coverage and the use of m icrophones or videos are not allowed (Howitt, 1998). However, Graber (1980) suggests that the media gives tiny information to critic police and that the news media centre on unhelpful criticism rather than helpful or triumphant crime prevention exertions. Basically, most media crime is penalised, but policemen are infrequently the heroes (Lichter and Lichter, 1983). Research examining the agenda-setting function of the news media has undergone a dramatic re-conceptualisation in recent years. No longer is research based on the nation noted by Cohen that the press may not be successful in telling us what to think but is stunningly successful in telling us what to think about (Cohen, 1963, p.13). Indeed, researchers now argue that, under certain circumstances, the news media do tell people what to think by providing the public with an agenda of attributes a list of characteristics of important newsmakers. Individuals mentally link these mediated attributes to the newsmakers to a simila r degree in which the attributes are mentioned in the media (Marsh, Ian, Melville and Gaynor, 2008). The Social Cognitive Theory is also called social learning, observational learning, or Modelling. This theory has its roots in psychology. This communication theory was developed by Albert Bandura in the 1960s. His idea was that people watch and learn by others, specifically they perform and imitate behaviours through observation by other people. In todays days increasingly media- society, the mass media communication becomes the basis of observational learning. In order to appropriately learn from the media a person must be exhibited to the media, then be able to encode and memorise the event, and finally be able to decode their view of the media into a suitable reply. This theory deals partly with media and how it affects behaviours. The modelling theory is mostly applied to the consequences of aggressive media on behaviour, but it can be applied to other variables like sex, pro social, or purchasing behaviour. Because of the powerful role the mass media get in the world, considera te the psychosocial mechanisms throughout representative communication effects human thought, affect, and action is of importance. Social cognitive theory provides an agentic conceptual framework in which to examine the decisive factors and mechanisms of such effects. Human behaviour has often been explicated in terms of unidirectional causation, in which behaviour is formed and forced either by ecological influences or by inside moods. Social cognitive theory explains psychosocial operations in terms of triadic reciprocal causation (Bandura, 1986). In this alternative view of self and society, individual factors in the figure of cognitive, affective, and biological events; behavioural patterns; and environmental events all function as interacting factors that influence each other (Bandura, 1986, 2001a). People are self-organizing, proactive, self-reflecting, and self-determining, not just reactive organisms formed by ecological events or inside forces. Human self-development and al teration are enclosed in social systems. Furthermore, personal organisation functions within a wide system of socio-structural influences. In these agentic communications, people are producers and also products of societal regimes. Private group and social arrangement function as co determinants in an included causal structure rather than as an intangible duality. Seen from the socio-cognitive viewpoint, peoples nature is a huge capability that can be shaped by straight and observational experience into a range of shapes within natural limits. To say that a main distinctive mark of people is their exceptional elasticity is does not to mean that they have no character or that they appear structure- less (Midgley, 1978). The flexibility, which is inherent to the nature of humans, depends on neurophysiological mechanisms and structures that have developed over time. These higher neural systems specialised for dealing out, remaining, and employing coded information give the ability for the very abilities that are noticeably human-genital symbolisation, foresight, axiological self-arrangement, pensive self-consciousness, and symbolic message (Bryant, Jennings, Zillmann and Dolf, 2002). Humans have developed a higher capability for observational learning that gives them the opportunity to enlarge their knowledge and skills quickly through information transferred by the rich range of models. Indeed, practically all behavioural, cognitive, and influencing learning from straight experience can be succeed representatively by observing peoples actions and its results for them (Bandura, 1986; Rosenthal Zimmerman, 1978). A large amount of social learning derives either knowingly or unknowingly from models in ones direct surroundings. However, a large amount of information about people values, ways of thinking, and behaviour norms is acquired from the lengthy modelling in the symbolic setting of the mass media (Bryant, Jennings, Zillmann and Dolf, 2002). The effects of media on the public can also be explained through information processing models which have been developed by cognitive psychologists (Graber, 1984; Kraus and Perloff, 1985). Information-processing research suggests that people have cognitive constructions, called schemas, which organise peoples thinking (see chapter 2). A persons system of schemas stores independent faiths, attitudes, principles, and choices (Rokeach, 1973). The schemas are straight concentration to related information, driven its understanding and assessment, provide conclusions when information is absent or vague, and make easy its memory (Fiske and Kinder, 1981, p. 173). Schemas do not select out all unknown or rough information, there are not filter of memory, they just help peoples mind to organise their thoughts. As Bennett (1981) argues, that information process, substantially fabricates parts of recognition and idealistic accusations and new Scholars have used many terms such as scripts, infere ntial sets, frames and prototypes to explain this situation. Information-processing theory identifies and assists clarify how stances derive from a dynamic interaction of new information with peoples pre-existing beliefs. (Entman, 1989) The explicit model of thinking that cognitive psychologists have been putting together thus interferes with the implied model in much of the media research. People are vulnerable to considerable media effects, according to the information processing theory, despite of the autonomy model suggestions which support that people ignore the most new or dissonant media reports. In the information-processing viewpoint, a person first values a media report for salience. If salient, the person works out the news according to rotes established in the schema system. Processing may drive the person either to store the information or abandon it; if the information stored, people may adopt new beliefs or change old beliefs (Entman, 1989). Social Psychology and Media effects Social psychologists talk about conformity and they argue that people act as group and define things and form their opinions as group, as the majority do. It is possible that a person has a different opinion from the group but the influence that he or she receives is much more dynamic. Thus, people change their opinion about a subject to suit to groups opinion (Gross, 2010) People modify their opinion in response the information that they receive from others, also when people do not feel that they have the accurate perception about a subject they look to others to perceive the stimulus situation accurately. This is called informational social influence (Bordens and Horowitz, 2000) But sometimes people change perception in response to pressure to conform to a norm or in order to gain social approval and avoid rejection they agree with the group because of their power (Wren, 1999)

The Decline Of Fatherhood :: essays research papers

The Decline of Fatherhood   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  David Popenoe's 'The Decline of Fatherhood'; discusses the rapid decay of our children due to the loss of male parenting. Popenoe's use of logos and ethos are efficient in the context of the paper to relate the behavior of present day children due to the growing absence of fatherly figures. The author, however, uses very little if any emotional appeal; but because of the nature and direction of the writing, the lack of pathos has no profound effect on the overall intent of David Popenoe's purpose. 'The Decline of Fatherhood'; by David Popenoe is a well written essay that convincingly persuades his view point through intelligent observation of facts. Logos is David Popenoe's most useful tool for argument in this essay. He uses several statistics to show the growing number of fatherless children from the turn of the century until the present, he and then successfully compares it to the alarming amount of growth in the delinquency and scarcity of education in children of the latest generation. The factual information provided with the explanatory details from the author makes his points obvious and clear to the reader. Because of the efficient use of the data and facts, the paper backs itself with rationale and logic which leads the audience to a greater understanding of the science behind the reasoning. For example, Popenoe wrote that only fifty percent of children born from 1970 until 1984 are now living with both parents. The results of this dramatic increase has tripled teen suicide, dropped SAT scores seventy Braithwaite 2 points, increased the drug alcohol rate at an incredibly quicker pace, and has placed thirty-eight percent of the nation's children in poverty. The cause and effect relationships demonstrated by the author are logically appealing and unmistakably apparent in his perspective and studies. The infallible devising of the facts linked with common sense easily portray the convincing ideas of Popenoe on to others as they indulge into his essay.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yet another great example of appeal is established in the work of the author. The essay is not only well supplied with evidence and explanation, but it takes advantage of the superior credibility and reputation proceeding the writer. Before any words were even read on paper, Popenoe immediately sets an intellectual and believable tone being a professor in sociology. The fact that the writing was conceived by a well educated, knowledgeable man heightens the confidence of the reader to believe the information contributed.

Alices Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and What Al

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There: For Adults Only! Â   "'Curiouser and curiouser!'cried Alice" (Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 9). At the time she was speaking of the fact that her body seemed to be growing to immense proportions before her very eyes; however, she could instead have been speaking about the entire nature of Lewis Carroll's classic works Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. At first glance, the novels seem easy enough to understand. They are simple children's stories filled with fantastical language and wonderful worlds. They follow the basic genre of nearly all children's work, they are written in simple and clear language, feature a young hero and an amazing, unbelievable cast of characters, are set in places of mystery and illusion, and seem far too nonsensical and unusual for adults to enjoy. Even their author, Lewis Carroll, believed them to be children's stories. Yet Carroll and generations of parents and children have been wrong. While these stories ma y seem typical children's fare, they are distinctly different. Their symbolism, content, and message make the Alice books uniquely intended for adults. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was born in 1832 in Victorian England. He was a mathematics professor, but he had a very peculiar dual identity. "Most of the time he was C. L. Dodgson, the shy, stammering mathematics professor, but on occasion he became Lewis Carroll, the dynamic fantasist and parodist" (Matuz 105). He began his career in writing by publishing typical and uninspiring tracts about mathematics and politics, but after an inspirational boat ride with three young girls, he began the... ...dventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. The Sewanee Review XXXV (1927): 393-398. Hudson, Derek. "Lewis Carroll." British Writers 5 (1982): 265-266. Leach, Elsie. "'Alice in Wonderland' in Perspective." 1964. New York: Vanguard Press, Inc., 1971. Masslich, George. "A Book within a Book." The English Journal X (1921): 122. Matuz, Roger, ed. Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc., 1991. Priestley, J. B. "A Note on Humpty Dumpty." I for One. London: John Lane, 1923. 194. Spacks, Patricia Meyer. "Logic and Language in 'Through the Looking-Glass.'" 1961. New York: Vanguard Press, Inc., 1971. Wilson, Edmund. "C. L. Dodgson: The Poet Logician." 1932. New York: Vanguard Press, Inc., 1971. Woolf, Virginia. "Lewis Carroll." The Moment and Other Essays. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1948. 83. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and What Al Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There: For Adults Only! Â   "'Curiouser and curiouser!'cried Alice" (Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 9). At the time she was speaking of the fact that her body seemed to be growing to immense proportions before her very eyes; however, she could instead have been speaking about the entire nature of Lewis Carroll's classic works Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. At first glance, the novels seem easy enough to understand. They are simple children's stories filled with fantastical language and wonderful worlds. They follow the basic genre of nearly all children's work, they are written in simple and clear language, feature a young hero and an amazing, unbelievable cast of characters, are set in places of mystery and illusion, and seem far too nonsensical and unusual for adults to enjoy. Even their author, Lewis Carroll, believed them to be children's stories. Yet Carroll and generations of parents and children have been wrong. While these stories ma y seem typical children's fare, they are distinctly different. Their symbolism, content, and message make the Alice books uniquely intended for adults. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was born in 1832 in Victorian England. He was a mathematics professor, but he had a very peculiar dual identity. "Most of the time he was C. L. Dodgson, the shy, stammering mathematics professor, but on occasion he became Lewis Carroll, the dynamic fantasist and parodist" (Matuz 105). He began his career in writing by publishing typical and uninspiring tracts about mathematics and politics, but after an inspirational boat ride with three young girls, he began the... ...dventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. The Sewanee Review XXXV (1927): 393-398. Hudson, Derek. "Lewis Carroll." British Writers 5 (1982): 265-266. Leach, Elsie. "'Alice in Wonderland' in Perspective." 1964. New York: Vanguard Press, Inc., 1971. Masslich, George. "A Book within a Book." The English Journal X (1921): 122. Matuz, Roger, ed. Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc., 1991. Priestley, J. B. "A Note on Humpty Dumpty." I for One. London: John Lane, 1923. 194. Spacks, Patricia Meyer. "Logic and Language in 'Through the Looking-Glass.'" 1961. New York: Vanguard Press, Inc., 1971. Wilson, Edmund. "C. L. Dodgson: The Poet Logician." 1932. New York: Vanguard Press, Inc., 1971. Woolf, Virginia. "Lewis Carroll." The Moment and Other Essays. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1948. 83.

Econ 561 Profit Analysis Question 2 LO3 Essay

2-8(Key Question) With current technology, suppose a firm is producing 400 loaves of banana bread daily. Also, assume that the least-cost combination of resources in producing those loaves is 5 units of labor, 7 units of land, 2 units of capital, and 1 unit of entrepreneurial ability, selling at prices of $40, $60, $60, and $20, respectively. If the firm can sell these 400 units at $2 per unit, will it continue to produce banana bread? If this firm’s situation is typical for the other makers of banana bread, will resources flow to or away from this bakery good? Total Profits = Total Cost – Total Revenue Total Cost = Presource * Qresource and Total Revenue = Price * Qsold Total Cost = ($40 * 5 units of labor) + ($60 * 7 units of land) + ($60 * 2 units of capital) + ($20 * 1 unit of entrepreneurial ability) = $200 + $420 + $120 + $20 = $760. Total Revenue = $2 * 400 loaves of banana bread = $800. Total Profits = $800 – $760 = $40. The firm will continue to produce as it is earning economic profits. If this firm is typical of the banana bread industry, more resources will flow toward banana bread as other potential firms are attracted to the economic profits in the industry. 2-9 (Key Question) Assume that a business firm finds that its profit it greatest when it produces $40 worth of product A. Suppose also that each of the three techniques shown in the table on page 43 will produce the desired output. Resource Units Required Resource Price per unit of resource Technique 1 Technique 2 Technique 3 Labor Land Capital Entrepreneurial ability 4 a.With the resource prices shown, which technique will the firm choose? Why? Will production entail profit or losses? What will be the amount of profit or loss? Will the industry expand or contract? When will that expansion end? b.Assume now that a new technique, technique 4, is developed. It combines 2 units of labor, 2 of land, 6 of capital, and 3 of entrepreneurial ability. In view of the resource prices in the table, will the firm adopt the new technique? Explain your answer. c.Suppose that an increase in labor supply causes the price of labor to fall to $1.50 per unit, all other resource prices being unchanged. Which technique will the producer now choose? Explain. d.â€Å"The market system causes the economy to conserve most in the use of those resources that are particularly scarce in supply. Resources that are scarcest relative to the demand for them have  the highest prices. As a result, producers use these resources as sparingly as is possible.† Evaluate this state ment. Does your answer to part c, above, bear out this contention? Explain. (a)The firm will choose technique 2 because it produces the output at the least cost ($34 compared to $35 for techniques 1 and 3). Economic profit will be $6 (= $40 – $34), causing the industry to expand. Expansion in this industry will continue until prices decline to where total revenue equals total cost of $34 and no additional firms will want to enter the industry. (b)The firm will adopt technique 4 because its cost is now lowest at $32. (c)The firm will choose technique 1 because its cost is now lowest at $27.50. (d)The statement is logical. Increasing scarcity of a resource causes its price to rise. Firms ignoring higher resource prices will become high-cost producers. Firms switching to the less expensive inputs become lower-cost producers and earn higher profits than high-cost producers. The market system, therefore, forces producers to conserve on the use of highly scarce resources. Question 9c confirms this: Technique 1 was adopted because labor had become less expensive. 2‑10(Key Question) Some large hardware stores such as Home Depot boast of carrying as many as 20,000 different products in each store. What motivated the producers of those individuals to make them and offer them for sale? How did producers decide on the best combinations of resources to use? Who made these resources available, and why? Who decides whether these particular hardware products should continue to be produced and offered for sale? The quest for profit led firms to produce these goods. Producers looked for and found the least-cost combination of resources in producing their output. Resource suppliers, seeking income, made these resources available. Consumers, through their dollar votes, ultimately decide on what will continue to be produced.