The new product development process

The new product development process Organizations today are constantly facing increasing global competition in the marketplace that demands more frequent innovation of goods and services that are of a high quality. The challenge such organizations face is to be more customer focused, responsive to their needs and provide goods and services that are cost effective.Advertising We will write a custom dissertation sample on The new product development process specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This can be achieved by value delivery and creation where value delivery entails order fulfilment by ensuring the flow of materials, products and services through production and distribution while value creation entails new product or service development activities that identify the customer’s needs in the form of new products or services (Handfield, et al. 2000). The new product development process is a series of interdependent and often overlapping stages during which a new pro duct or service is brought from the idea generation stage, business or technical assessment, product or service conceptualization, product engineering and design, to the readiness stage for production or manufacturing. As the product or service concept moves through these various stages, the idea is refined and evaluated for business and technical feasibility where the design is fine tuned and prototypes are developed for testing. The design is then finalized and preparations are made for the full scale production of the product or service (Handfield et al, 2000). The new service development process which is derived from new product development is mostly concerned with the development and marketing of services instead of goods. A service is an act carried out to a customer that is intangible, inseparable and heterogeneous (Luteberget, 2005). Customer Involvement in New Product/Service Development Customer involvement in the product or service development process is the interaction o r collaboration between the users of the product or service and the employees of a company during the period of product development to actualize it into a commercial product. The customer’s involvement in the development process entails an active engagement in the process with the developing company (Pinegar, 2000). As Pinegar (2000) states, the customers role in the product or service development process is viewed in terms of their expressed wants and desires, the satisfaction that the good or service offered to them, their relationship with the developing organization and their response to previous product and/or service innovations. The customer is seen to be critical in the product or service development process because he/she is viewed as an integral component in the business strategies of an organization.Advertising Looking for dissertation on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The role of customers in new product development has recently been the subject of discussion and study by researchers in the product development field. According to Pinegar (2000) the role of a customer can be classified into four categories which are coaching, partnering, reporting and advising. These classifications are used to explain the user involvement in the different stages of the product or service process. Coaching involves the identification of product problems and opportunities in the market place and generating ideas that will be used in the product development process by conducting customer surveys to find out whether the current products meet the changing needs of consumers. The partnering category involves the evaluation and analysis of alternative methods of product implementation while exploring the possible applications of the product other than those it was designed for. A business analysis is conducted where the customer partners with employees of the company to see whe ther the product or service will be viable in the market place. The analysis of new innovation ideas will involve methods such as attribute analysis which has three approaches that can be used in generating new product or service ideas. The determinant gap analysis approach entails considering the attributes of the marketplace in determining which product or service innovation a company should undertake. These attributes can be the competitor’s products/services or previous products and services the company has produced (Anandan, 2009). Perceptual gap analysis is used to analyze ideas when the attributes of the products or services in the marketplace are unknown. The similarity and dissimilarity analysis involves the evaluation of previous products/services by analyzing their similarity or dissimilarity to each other based on product/service attributes. Similarity analysis evaluates products on the same set of attributes while dissimilarity analysis focuses on the different a ttributes of the product/service (Anandan, 2009). After the idea has passed through the business analysis stage successfully, the next step will involve the actual development of the product and prototype testing. During this stage the idea is translated into more concrete and tangible terms with regards to a product while for a service it is translated into a doable act. This stage involves the consideration of customer satisfaction and technical feasibility by analyzing customer surveys and researching of the market to find out whether the product is satisfying their needs (Avlonitis and Papastathopoulou, 2006).Advertising We will write a custom dissertation sample on The new product development process specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The advice category involves the use of product development specialists to identify product or service problems and opportunities by monitoring the trends in the market place and also the activities of their competitors. This stage is useful in the idea generation stage and also in the product testing stage of the product/service development. The product is tested in-house by the design team, a process known as alpha testing or by providing a sample to the intended market users a process referred to as Beta testing. The alpha and beta testing methods are mostly used by developers of computer software who provide beta versions of their software for testing to computer experts. Gillette Company is well known for its ability to successfully launch new products into the market and meet its consumer’s needs. This is largely due to their continued use of the alpha and beta testing methods (Avlonitis and Papastathopoulou, 2006). Focus groups are also used in this stage to test product samples by looking at what other applications the product can be used for. The last phase is the product launching phase into the market. During this stage, company finalizes and implements the pr oduction or service operations plan and also the marketing plan. The customer’s involvement in this stage will be to purchase, use and provide feedback about the product. The reporting category is useful to the company as it enables the users of the product or service to provide feedback on the tests conducted on the new innovation by carrying out customer surveys, market research and customer visits (Pinegar, 2000). Managing Customer Involvement in the Product Design Process The early stages of the product design process are sometimes characterised by uncertainty when it comes to identifying product concepts that will lead to the development of a successful product that will be acceptable by the market. Poor management of customer involvement knowledge in these early stages might lead to problems involving customer acceptance and product design in the final stages of the development process which might prove to be expensive to reverse. Because customers are the final stakeho lders of the product, involving customers during the first stages of the development process will reduce uncertainty that is usually associated the process (Bogue and Sorenson, 2006). In order to manage customer involvement effectively and efficiently, Bogue and Sorenson note that market orientation should be considered by companies that are pursuing new product innovations. Companies that have market orientation are viewed to be more proficient in gathering and analyzing information collected from consumers in the market. Customers are viewed by these market oriented organizations to be significant designers because they make important contributions to the product design.Advertising Looking for dissertation on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Market oriented companies are expected to have a clear understanding of the needs of the customer which will allow them to manage the customer’s involvement and the knowledge they provide in developing the product which will in turn enable them to develop products or commodities that are of a superior quality to meet the customers needs resulting in a positive influence on the innovation activities of the company. Customer involvement management can be done by carrying out facilitation in the concept development stage by using techniques such as focus groups, sensory analysis and conjoint analysis methods. These market oriented techniques can help the company to determine the feasibility of the product design and its acceptance to the market (Bogue and Sorenson, 2006). Users of New Product/ Service Development in Companies: Volvo and Skype Skype, the global free telephony Company that is rapidly expanding in its operations around the world involves customers in its new servic e development process. In Skype’s service development, customers are allowed to co-produce the directory by downloading Skype software and then registering as users of the software. The customers can then expand the directory by recommending Skype to their colleagues, family and friends. As their friends register, they can also download the same software and expand their directories in the same way. Skype does not need any mainframes since it incorporates the unused capacity in its registered users. This means that it is the users who facilitate the creation of value in Skype’s services by sharing and developing in Skype’s services. The customers also have the opportunity to run the help desk (Edvardsson, et al. 2006) In its product and service development process, Volvo uses the program Concept Lab Volvo to inform its customers and users of its products and services about its design principles and also about emerging car design concepts. The users are allowed t o provide feedback on these car designs and they can also have one on one chat sessions with the developers and design team. The developers use this information in their ongoing design work. Volvo also uses target groups in its idea sourcing stage where people in trend sensitive markets and areas with a high design capability are invited to design parts or components of the whole car. An example of this target group is the Your Concept Car which was designed by eight women (Edvardsson et al, 2006). Success and Failure of New Product Development Sampson (as cited by Luterberget, 2005) in his 1970 studies described a new product or service to be successful by looking at whether it has satisfied the needs, wants or desires of customers. He also described a successful new product as possessing outstanding performance when compared to other products that were designed for the same purpose. Products which undergo minor or major changes might fail to meet the classification of successful n ew product innovations. A major source of successful competitive advantage for organizations in the future will be the consistent and successful development of new and modified products and services. However the product life cycles are reducing as the product variety increases because of niche market penetration. In the case of a group of consumer products introduced in the 1920s, the average time from the introduction to the peak production of the product was approximated to be 28 years. For a group of similar products introduced in the 1960s-70s the approximate time for peak production was estimated to reduce to 10 years. This trend is seen to continue and will pose a threat to the product development process (Barclay, et al. 2000). In a 1987 case study of 149 UK engineering based companies, surveys conducted found that the average product life cycle was 12 years and the average development of a new product was 22 months. The same surveys were conducted again in 1996 and they show ed that the product life cycle had now become eight years while the development of a new product would now take 15 months. Such estimations show that the number of new products introduced into the market in the next five years would be twice that of the last five years (Barclay et al, 2000). When research evidence on the success and failure of product or service development is examined, the failure rates have remained at 30% for the last 60 years. This evidence shows that companies are not improving in their product development activities and that they are also becoming more expert and critical in the approaches to new product or service development. An example of a product design that failed in the past is the Premier Safe Cigarette which was seen to be one of the biggest design failures of all time. The basic idea behind this cigarette was to have an inner cardboard tube with holes along its length which would hold the tobacco. At the end of the tube was some charcoal which when l it released nicotine. The nicotine passed through the holes in the tube which reduced the chances of smoke and tar. After seven years of development, test marketing was conducted which showed that the cigarette was difficult to light and it had a terrible taste. The failure of the cigarette cost the developing company, RJR Nabisco $500 million, a result which was partly attributed to the break up of the company. A service design that failed in the recent past was the Internet University (UkeU) which was launched in September 2003. The program was abandoned after 900 of the expected 5,600 students enrolled for courses that cost  £44,000. The failure was due to that fact no previous market research had been conducted to determine if there was any demand for e-learning. The losses incurred amounted to  £50 million (Hollins and Shinkins, 2006, p.131-132). Conclusion and Recommendation The ability to produce a steady flow of successful new products or services consistently is one of the key factors that lead to an organizations success. The role of a customer in product and service development is a fairly new concept that is yet to fully catch on with most companies when it comes to developing new innovations. However the general feeling about incorporating the user’s views while developing the products/services is optimistic and good. Researchers have also shown involving customers in the development process increases the success of the goods or services in the market in terms of launching and sales. Customer involvement will also lead to improved quality in company products or services with customer value being taken into consideration. The performance of the product in the market can also be monitored by looking at how involved the customer was in the development process. Organizations should therefore view customer involvement in the development process as vital since the success or failure of a product or service will depend on whether it meets the needs and desires of its target market. Companies should ensure there is user involvement in their new innovations as this ensures that the needs in the target market have been met, satisfied and incorporated into the new product or service. Companies should also have a clear view of what they want to achieve by customer involvement in their product and service innovations. References Alam, I. (2002) An exploratory investigation of user involvement in new service development. Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Vol.30 p.250-261. Anandan, C. (2009) Product management. 2nd Edition. New Delhi : Tata McGraw-Hill. Avlonitis, G.J. and Papastathopoulou, P. (2006) Product and services management. London: Sage Publications Barclay, I., Dann, Z. and Holroyd, P. (2000) New product development: a practical workbook for improving performance. Great Britain: Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd Bogue, J., and Sorenson, D. (2006) Managing customer knowledge during the concept  d evelopment stage of the new food product development process: Department of  Food Business and Development. Ireland: University College Cork Burmann, C., and Arnhold, U. (2008) User generated branding: state of the art  research. Berlin, Germany: Transaction Publishers Edvardsson, Gustafsson, Kristensson and Magnusson (Eds) (2006) Involving customers in new service development. London: Imperial College Press Gruner, K.E and Homburg, C. (2000) Does Customer Interaction Enhance new product success. Journal of Business Research, Vol 49, p.1-14. Handfield, R.B., Monczka, R.M., Ragatz, G.L. and Frayer, D.J. (2000) New product development; strategies for supplier integration. Milwaukee, US: American Society for Quality press Hollins, B., and Shinkins, S. (2006) Managing service operations: design and implementation. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Pp. 131- 132 Luteberget, A. (2005) Customer involvement in new service development: how does customer involvement enhance new service succes s? Master’s Thesis in Information and Communication Technology. Agder University College: Faculty of Engineering and Science, Vol (2) 12-16 Pinegar, J.S. (2000) Customer involvement in industrial product development: creating superior products. Power point presentation [online]. Web.

How to Present Your Content

How to Present Your Content How to Present Your Content How to Present Your Content By Mark Nichol During a drive yesterday, I noticed again two ways that, in casual contexts, people are careless about their communication. For the first time, however, I realized that unfortunately, there’s a close analogy between the way many amateur writers present information and the way some well-meaning professionals (or other serious writers) do it. First, I noticed handwritten signs posted along roadsides: advertisements for yard sales and the like. You’ve likely noticed too how poorly many of these signs are executed: The sign maker begins to scrawl some information and runs out of space, compressing a phone number or other key information so that it is barely legible. Or perhaps the penmanship is poor, and the details are illegible. Or perhaps the print is too small or too wordy (or both) to be read by someone driving by at thirty or forty or fifty miles an hour or, worse, the message is styled in cursive writing. Occasionally, a sign exhibits a combination of some or all of these problems. Second, I passed between two small groups of people wielding signs at the crossroads of a small town. There were about a dozen protestors altogether, and though I had slowed to twenty miles per hour to negotiate the narrow road, I couldn’t focus on more than a couple of words on two or three signs before I had passed them. My passenger, who was at more leisure to read the messages, learned little more than I had: The people were on strike, but where they were employed and what they were striking for remained a mystery even though each of us had a few seconds to scan the signs, because, again, the print was sloppily written or too small or both, and the message was too wordy for motorists to take in during the brief opportunity. Unfortunately, handwritten signs aren’t the only form of communication in which communication fails because of poor planning and execution. We’ve all seen professionally prepared billboards with print too small to read, newspaper and magazine advertisements dense with tightly packed wording, and websites and blogs with poor design. The takeaway is the same, whether you’re selling knickknacks at a garage sale or widgets on a website: Don’t make your readers work hard to acquire your message. Produce the content carefully: Think about how readers will engage with the content at work, at home, on public transportation, in a passing vehicle? and design it accordingly. Plan your approach, trying several layouts and deciding which one works best for the purpose. Prioritize the information: What do you want readers to see first, second, third, and so on? Write the message, adapting the tone and the appearance to the readers’ circumstances and, if space is limited, trimming the content to the essentials. Ask for critiques, and return to the product later with a fresh set of eyes, then revise according to others’ suggestions and your own realizations. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Fly, Flew, (has) FlownFlied?On Behalf Of vs. In Behalf OfEnglish Grammar 101: Prepositions

Larson, The Transformation of Mrs peters; An Analysis of A Her peers ( Assignment

Larson, The Transformation of Mrs peters; An Analysis of A Her peers ( Literary Analysis ) - Assignment Example ly from both primary and secondary sources and inclusion of direct quotations and assertions from the characters which makes the story fascinating and offers the audience an inordinate opportunity to see the internal thoughts of various characters (Showalter 121). To substantiate claims and offer a profound understanding of why Mrs. Peters changed, the author summarizes ideas from secondary sources, names the author in a signal phrase as well as include page numbers in interpolation. Through Elaine Hedges’ analysis, it becomes ostensible that the sink, the stove, dirty towel on a roller, and the bucket of water were all symbolic (Diana 32). They indicate how women’s role was confined to the house and Mrs. Peters has her involvement with this. Mrs. Peters herself discovers the motive for the murder; she spots an empty birdcage, poorly sewn stitches, dismantled hinges and door, a strong indication that the murderers were violent. During Glaspell’s time, women were awfully confined and a patriarchal society, and were not allowed to leave the house. They resulted to keeping birds that would help them counteract monotony. The empty birdcage draws diverging interpretation from both Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale for they knew very well what it meant (Diana 33). The author’s insinuation of the state and role of women in the then society helps us understand the reason for Mrs. Peters’ change and have a profound understanding of the entire s tory. The world of women was criticized and trivialized by men. They could hardly see the wisdom and intelligence that the women possessed. Through this, the author offers a profound explication of how men belittled women and questions the ideals that the society was based on. In a topic sentence towards the end, the author articulates that by the end of the story Mrs. Peters had been transformed from a law abiding citizen to one who mutely censured and snubbed the law. To typify the point, he goes ahead to provide evidence of

Quantitative Critique of Research Paper Effect of Nursing Rounds on Essay

Quantitative Critique of Research Paper Effect of Nursing Rounds on Patients - Essay Example Background to the study The call light is very significant with regards to patient care in hospitals but it can be noted that this same call light can pose a challenge to nurses given that the demand for their time may also be increased. Various studies have revealed that the patients’ frequent use of the call light have unfavourable effects especially on patient care management units which is compounded by issues such as shortages of staff as well as general dissatisfaction among the nursing staff. However, there is little empirical research about rounding which is concerned about conducting bedside rounds among the patients. Therefore, this study has been significantly influenced by mainly two factors: to find out more about the observations made with regards to the amount of time spent by nurses responding to call lights and the impact of this practice on patient care management and measures that can be taken in order to assist nurses as well as hospitals to improve their d aily operations as well as the safety of the patients. Research has shown that patients mainly use call lights mainly for other non medical purposes such as the need to use toilets or other aspects related to food. However, there is need to research is needed to determine the best way of reducing call light use and burnout and fatigue among the people involved in this particular task in hospitals as well as increase the safety and satisfaction of the patients. Other studies have observed that an interdisciplinary rounding exercise is effective since it can positively improve patient care as well as operational efficiency while at the same time guaranteeing satisfaction of the health care personnel. Normally, the patients derive their satisfaction from their perceptions about the nurses especially with regards to the care they receive and in most cases, the call light is used for various purposes to determine the level of satisfaction of the patients. Therefore, the crux of this stud y has been to investigate the effectiveness of the use of the call light on patient satisfaction with regards to falls and its impact on the performance of the nurses. Problem statement In the study above, the problem statement can be summarised as: to what extent is there a correlation between the use of call light in nursing rounds as well as improved satisfaction of the customers and reduced workload on nurses? It has been observed that unscheduled use of call light negatively impacts on the nurses while on the other hand their failure to respond to the patients’ needs often results in reduced satisfaction. Therefore, it can be noted that this research is a twofold process which affects both parties involved in either a positive way or negative manner. In my own view, I think this problem statement is a researchable topic given that it is closely related to the nursing profession. The study also focuses on a population on a population sample collected from different hospit als to show that this problem identified is common in different healthcare centres. Given such a scenario, it can be seen that there is need to address this problem in order to improve the welfare of the nursing professionals as well as satisfaction of the customers from the services they get from the hospitals. It can also be seen that the

Cause and Effects of Watching Too Much Television Essay Example for Free

Cause and Effects of Watching Too Much Television Essay Cause and effects of watching too much television Discoveries and invention of devices are always welcome till we, humans, find a way to abuse its benefits and be adversely affected by it. This was the case when Wilhelm Roentgen discovered x-ray and within five years, the British Army was using a mobile x-ray unit to locate bullets and shrapnel in wounded soldiers in the Sudan. Television was also invented with positive thoughts in mind – there would be no national borders, education and communication would be worldwide, etc. However, we are now trying to overcome its physiological and psychological adverse effects on human beings. People mainly watch television for entertainment especially when they are bored or â€Å"have nothing to do†. It is also used for relaxing, as most people like to sit and back and relax while watching their favourite television show. Watching the television however, may become addictive and a hard habit to break. There are many effects of watching too much television. One of the physiological effects of watching television in excessive amounts is eye-strain. It is true that there are specifications for watching television; television should be 5 m. away from the eye, the room should be adequately lit, television should be placed at the same height with our eyes, etc. However, these do not prevent our eyes from getting tired if we keep watching television for a long time. Another effect is obesity, which is widely observed in people who like watching television and eating snacks everyday (there is even a term â€Å"television snacks† to refer to fast food that is suitable for eating in front of the television). Television is such a powerful machine that people cannot get away from it – it is addictive. Apart from the physiological effects, television also causes psychological effects. One is a result of being exposed to violence. After seeing so many violent scenes on television, people start considering violent actions normal and they lose their sensitivity to their environment. Partly connected to this effect, the interpersonal communication among people decreases. Being insensitive to the suffering of other people causes people to become alienated. Also, after coming home from work people seek to relax n front of the television, and generally people prefer watching television to talking to each other. This issue is very important since lack of interpersonal relationships mostly end with divorces. Shortly, inventions are meant to be beneficial for human beings, if we know how to benefit from them. Television is one of such inventions that need to be used for the right purpose only – being educated and entertained for a reasonable (according to age) period of time. We may, then, be safe from or at least reduce the adverse physiological and psychological effects of watching too much television.

Decline of the Muslim Empires: Safavid, Ottoman, and Mughal Essay

Decline of the Muslim Empires: Safavid, Ottoman, and Mughal Since the beginning, all empires have faced change in many ways, declining and rising in status. Many empires have collapsed, only to start again under a different name. Like all empires, the three Muslim Empires, the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals have faced this inevitable state. Although each individual empire is different, they each have similarities in their reasons for decline. Whether it is social, religious, economic, or political reasons, the empires, like many others, have fallen. The Ottoman Empire, founded by Osman, had started in the northwestern corner of the Anatolian Peninsula. The empire expanded rapidly, only to weaken again. The first visible decline was the loss of territory at the Battle of Carlowitz in 1699. Many of their reasons of success have deteriorated over the years and actually caused the decline as well. The Ottoman's military was very strong, especially the members of the Janissaries corps. Boys were recruited from the local Christian population to serve as guards but only the best ones became Janissaries. Soon, though, the position became hereditary, so there was no longer a need to be excellent to occupy a position. Also, the training of officials declined, and the elite formed a privileged group seeking wealth and power. Although the Ottoman system was religiously tolerant, non-Muslims were forced to pay a head tax because of their exemption from military service and were divided by religious faith into a number of "nations" that had i ts own leader and laws. Also, before the decline, the position of the sultan was hereditary and a son always succeeded his father. The heir to the throne gained experience by being assigned a... ...itish control. Although all three of the empires had reached their highest point and were considered to be three great Muslim empires, all of them had started the process of decline. Aurangzeb's actions can illustrate some of the reasons for decline. Without religious tolerance, the empire started having a number of revolts against the imperial authority. By forbidding customs of other religions and everything he considered evil, rebellious groups reasserted local authority, reducing the emperor's power. After causing the weakness of his empire, Delhi was reduced to ashes by the Persians. During and after his rule, everything started to fall apart. This comes to show that one lousy ruler can be the reason for decline in any empire because in order for the empire to be successful, it must have a good ruler, wealth, a strong military, and religious tolerance.

Imaginative Journey

Imaginative journey refers to movements where the individual does not have to physically travel anywhere. It is a journey of the mind, which allows individuals to visit any place they desire or are led to; even those that don’t exist. Imaginative journey can lead to inspiration, belief and imagination. However the journey is only a means to an end. This end being: knowledge, experience or discoveries made by the individual in the process of the imaginative journey which broadens or heightens the responder’s perception or sense of the world. Imaginative journeys that take place in the film adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland explore the themes of imagination, magic and freedom. This allows the responder to be able to journey with the main characters and evaluate the perception of their experience and discoveries by applying it to ourselves and others. Alice in Wonderland is an immortal tale of fantasy and wonder that follows the tale of a young girl who falls asleep in a meadow and dreams of entering a magical world, filled with strange adventures and magical creatures. The protagonist of the film Alice uses magic as a form of distraction, resulting from her fear of singing in front of public audiences. Magic is symbolised through the constant music in the film. This is evident when Alice opens the door to the beautiful garden. The director uses a calming instrumental piece of music to show the difference between the reality in Alice’s life and the reality in the magical world behind the small door. The use of a close up shot enforces Alice’s facial expressions to show the audience her excitement and interest in entering the garden. What the audience discovers in Alice’s magical journey is that she’s trying to use magic and her imagination as a platform for self-expression. For example, the rabbit and all the magical characters she meets, from the rude caterpillar to the Cheshire cat, all help her through her imaginative journey. Her fear of speaking in front of people is a reoccurring motif and each character plays a part in helping her overcome this fear. The caterpillar tells her â€Å"everything has a purpose, even here†. Her ‘purpose’ was not only to escape her boring life with magic and imagination, but rather meet that life head on and conquer her fears. Another issue involved is that of freedom. The audience must understand that Alice comes from a social context where children are only meant to be seen, not heard. What the audience gathers from her journey is that her effort to escape and find herself is just a means for her to find her form of freedom. This is shown by the way she has the freedom to either drink or not to drink the potion â€Å"if I drink this, ill be small enough to climb under the door† referring to the beautiful garden that she thinks â€Å"looks safe and no one will look for me there†. The high camera angle of the garden enables the audience to understand why Alice wishes to go there. Though the Cheshire cat reminds her, â€Å"Sometimes things that look safe, turn out to be nasty†. The audience discovers that Alice is able to go through the process of an imaginative journey so she can be free. This helps the audience understand that in their own world it doesn’t matter what age, race or sex you are, the imaginative journey is part of humanity and it is the key towards a better understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Therefore through the themes of imagination, magic and freedom the audience is able to experience Alice’s imaginative journey and gain a better understanding of themselves and others.