Fighting for Ameican Manhood

Omar Perez-Velazco Hist. 460 Dr. McDonough February 18, 2013 Since the beginning of time the topic of human gender its differences has been a controversial subject that always attracts attention. After the Spanish-American War, many men were seen as heroes, some even put into important positions in our nations’ government. Men like McKinley and Roosevelt, for example, used such praise and recognition to reinforce their positions of President and, later on, Vice President, respectively. One of the men who benefited from this line of thought was President McKinley, who no doubt was delighted to find that being a commander in chief during a war restored his image as a capable leader† (110). Roosevelt was a man with power, being the assistant secretary of the navy, but he gave it up to join 1st United Stated Volunteer Cavalry, more commonly known as the Rough Riders. He received nationwide praise and everyone knew him as a hero. â€Å"Two years later, Roosevelt’s mil itary record helped him win the vice presidential slot on the Republican ticket† (112).Women held many important roles during this war, such as nurses. While women were vital to the war effort, many people did little to spread the news. â€Å"In magazines and newspapers of the time, stories glorifying soldiers and sailors are hard to miss. In contrast, stories covering women’s wartime contributions are difficult to find† (128). How does considering gender change our views of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American wars? This is the argument that Kristin Hoganson makes in Fighting for American Manhood.I believe that without the aid of women in the camps, the wars would have gone much differently. â€Å"This book shows how international relations affected ideas about gender, how gendered ideas about political authority affected American democracy in an imperial era, and how high politics served as a vibrant locus of cultural struggle† (14). I can agree with the author on all these points and I believe that women and also minorities during the wars had a great impact from their local factories and towns. Fighting for American Manhood collects its information from a wide variety f sources, some being magazines and journal articles, and others being more in depth, like family letters. There is also a large quantity of political cartoons from the time, depicting such people as President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and the iconic Uncle Sam. Some of the primary sources, the letters, come from places like the Alabama Department of Archives and History, or the Cincinnati Historical Society, which provided information in the form of the Wheeler Family Papers, and the Joseph Benson Foraker Papers, respectively.While a lot of these family accounts were safely in the hands of the state, many other accounts from the day were residing in university libraries, such as the Harvard University Houghton Library, and the University of North Carolin a Wilson Library: Southern Historical Collection, from which Hoganson uses the Theodore Roosevelt Collection, from the Charles Eliot Norton Papers, and the Edward Ward Carmack Papers, respectively. The secondary sources that the author compiled were mostly magazine entries and newspaper articles, like those from the New York Times, or the Washington Post.The chapter that I found most interesting was Chapter 6 – The Problem of Male Degeneracy and the Allure of the Philippines. I was just amazed with the United States when our government, using the power of the Treaty of Paris, decided for the Philippines that they wanted to be ceded into the United States. †The peace treaty with Spain, signed on December 10, ceded the Philippines along with Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States. The treaty, known as the Treaty of Paris, then went to the U. S Senate for ratification.But the Filipinos who had been fighting for independence from Spain did not want to be ceded† (13 3). This angered the Filipino nationalists and almost brought an all out war. The reasons that the U. S government officials gave to try and justify their takeover of these territories also surprised me and showed me just how far some countries will go to expand, both physically and mentally. â€Å"Imperialists based their assertions that the Filipinos were unfit for independence on three stereotypes that gave meaning to racial prejudices by drawing on ideas about gender.All three presented the Filipinos as lacking the manly character seen as necessary for self-government† (134). These men were considered less than human, along with Native and African Americans. I thoroughly enjoyed this chapter because of all the different aspects it covers related to gender and the ceding of the Filipino territories. The chapter that I found least interesting was Chapter 2 – Cuba and the Restoration of American Chivalry. While the information in the chapter was important to get the m ain argument across, it just didn’t appeal to me, and it didn’t get any better in my opinion as I kept reading.American citizens fantasized about the Cuban rebels, about how chivalrous the men were and how responsible and loyal wives the Cuban women are. â€Å"In contrast to American men, who seemed to be losing sight of knightly values in their single-minded pursuit of riches, Cuban men appeared to exemplify chivalric character† (47). American men drew inspiration from these fantasies, often showing how Cuban men drew their inspiration from women in illustrations and cartoons. â€Å"Their images as acquiescent, traditional women made Cuban women seem to be perfect feminine foils for assertive American women.In addition to appearing well worth defending, Cuban women appeared eager for rescue† (46). This chapter was important to getting the point across but I felt like it was sort of out of place. Fighting for American Manhood is a very interesting read an d it really makes me think. When did anyone every really stop and think so deeply about how gender can affect wars? The book is unique and I recommend it to anyone who wants to study the topic of gender affecting war.

Real Estate Data

68. Refer to the Real Estate data, which reports information on homes sold in the Phoenix, Arizona, area last year. a. Select the variable selling price. 1. Find the mean, median, and the standard deviation. 2. Write a brief summary of the distribution of selling prices. b. Select the variable referring to the area of the home in square feet. 1. Find the mean, median, and the standard deviation. 2. Write a brief summary of the distribution of the area of homes. Price| Bedrooms| Size| Pool| Distance| Twnship| Garage| Baths| 263. 1| 4| 2300| 1| 17| 5| 1| 2| 182. | 4| 2100| 0| 19| 4| 0| 2| 242. 1| 3| 2300| 0| 12| 3| 0| 2| 213. 6| 2| 2200| 0| 16| 2| 0| 2. 5| 139. 9| 2| 2100| 0| 28| 1| 0| 1. 5| 245. 4| 2| 2100| 1| 12| 1| 1| 2| 327. 2| 6| 2500| 0| 15| 3| 1| 2| 271. 8| 2| 2100| 0| 9| 2| 1| 2. 5| 221. 1| 3| 2300| 1| 18| 1| 0| 1. 5| 266. 6| 4| 2400| 0| 13| 4| 1| 2| 292. 4| 4| 2100| 0| 14| 3| 1| 2| 209| 2| 1700| 0| 8| 4| 1| 1. 5| 270. 8| 6| 2500| 0| 7| 4| 1| 2| 246. 1| 4| 2100| 0| 18| 3| 1| 2| 194. 4| 2| 2300| 0| 11| 3| 0| 2| 281. 3| 3| 2100| 0| 16| 2| 1| 2| 172. 7| 4| 2200| 1| 16| 3| 0| 2| 207. 5| 5| 2300| 1| 21| 4| 0| 2. 5| 198. | 3| 2200| 1| 10| 4| 1| 2| 209. 3| 6| 1900| 1| 15| 4| 1| 2| 252. 3| 4| 2600| 0| 8| 4| 1| 2| 192. 9| 4| 1900| 1| 14| 2| 1| 2. 5| 209. 3| 5| 2100| 0| 20| 5| 0| 1. 5| 345. 3| 8| 2600| 0| 9| 4| 1| 2| 326. 3| 6| 2100| 0| 11| 5| 1| 3| 173. 1| 2| 2200| 1| 21| 5| 1| 1. 5| 187| 2| 1900| 0| 26| 4| 0| 2| 257. 2| 2| 2100| 0| 9| 4| 1| 2| 233| 3| 2200| 0| 14| 3| 1| 1. 5| 180. 4| 2| 2000| 0| 11| 5| 0| 2| 234| 2| 1700| 0| 19| 3| 1| 2| 207. 1| 2| 2000| 0| 11| 5| 1| 2| 247. 7| 5| 2400| 0| 16| 2| 1| 2| 166. 2| 3| 2000| 1| 16| 2| 1| 2| 177. 1| 2| 1900| 0| 10| 5| 1| 2| 182. 7| 4| 2000| 1| 14| 4| 0| 2. | 216| 4| 2300| 0| 19| 2| 0| 2| 312. 1| 6| 2600| 0| 7| 5| 1| 2. 5| 199. 8| 3| 2100| 0| 19| 3| 1| 2| 273. 2| 5| 2200| 0| 16| 2| 1| 3| 206| 3| 2100| 1| 9| 3| 0| 1. 5| 232. 2| 3| 1900| 1| 16| 1| 1| 1. 5| 198. 3| 4| 2100| 1| 19| 1| 1| 1. 5| 205. 1| 3| 2000| 1| 20| 4| 0| 2 | 175. 6| 4| 2300| 1| 24| 4| 1| 2| 307. 8| 3| 2400| 1| 21| 2| 1| 3| 269. 2| 5| 2200| 0| 8| 5| 1| 3| 224. 8| 3| 2200| 0| 17| 1| 1| 2. 5| 171. 6| 3| 2000| 1| 16| 4| 0| 2| 216. 8| 3| 2200| 0| 15| 1| 1| 2| 192. 6| 6| 2200| 1| 14| 1| 0| 2| 236. 4| 5| 2200| 0| 20| 3| 1| 2| 172. 4| 3| 2200| 0| 23| 3| 0| 2| 251. | 3| 1900| 0| 12| 2| 1| 2| 246| 6| 2300| 0| 7| 3| 1| 3| 147. 4| 6| 1700| 1| 12| 1| 0| 2| 176| 4| 2200| 0| 15| 1| 1| 2| 228. 4| 3| 2300| 0| 17| 5| 1| 1. 5| 166. 5| 3| 1600| 1| 19| 3| 0| 2. 5| 189. 4| 4| 2200| 0| 24| 1| 1| 2| 312. 1| 7| 2400| 0| 13| 3| 1| 3| 289. 8| 6| 2000| 0| 21| 3| 1| 3| 269. 9| 5| 2200| 1| 11| 4| 1| 2. 5| 154. 3| 2| 2000| 0| 13| 2| 0| 2| 222. 1| 2| 2100| 0| 9| 5| 1| 2| 209. 7| 5| 2200| 1| 13| 2| 1| 2| 190. 9| 3| 2200| 1| 18| 3| 1| 2| 254. 3| 4| 2500| 1| 15| 3| 1| 2| 207. 5| 3| 2100| 1| 10| 2| 0| 2| 209. 7| 4| 2200| 1| 19| 2| 1| 2| 294| 2| 2100| 0| 13| 2| 1| 2. | 176. 3| 2| 2000| 1| 17| 3| 0| 2| 294. 3| 7| 2400| 0| 8| 4| 1| 2| 224| 3| 1900| 1| 6| 1| 1| 2| 125| 2| 1 900| 0| 18| 4| 0| 1. 5| 236. 8| 4| 2600| 1| 17| 5| 1| 2| 164. 1| 4| 2300| 0| 19| 4| 0| 2| 217. 8| 3| 2500| 0| 12| 3| 0| 2| 192. 2| 2| 2400| 0| 16| 2| 0| 2. 5| 125. 9| 2| 2400| 0| 28| 1| 0| 1. 5| 220. 9| 2| 2300| 1| 12| 1| 1| 2| 294. 5| 6| 2700| 0| 15| 3| 1| 2| 244. 6| 2| 2300| 0| 9| 2| 1| 2. 5| 199| 3| 2500| 1| 18| 1| 0| 1. 5| 240| 4| 2600| 0| 13| 4| 1| 2| 263. 2| 4| 2300| 0| 14| 3| 1| 2| 188. 1| 2| 1900| 0| 8| 4| 1| 1. 5| 243. 7| 6| 2700| 0| 7| 4| 1| 2| 21. 5| 4| 2300| 0| 18| 3| 1| 2| 175| 2| 2500| 0| 11| 3| 0| 2| 253. 2| 3| 2300| 0| 16| 2| 1| 2| 155. 4| 4| 2400| 1| 16| 3| 0| 2| 186. 7| 5| 2500| 1| 21| 4| 0| 2. 5| 179| 3| 2400| 1| 10| 4| 1| 2| 188. 3| 6| 2100| 1| 15| 4| 1| 2| 227. 1| 4| 2900| 0| 8| 4| 1| 2| 173. 6| 4| 2100| 1| 14| 2| 1| 2. 5| 188. 3| 5| 2300| 0| 20| 5| 0| 1. 5| 310. 8| 8| 2900| 0| 9| 4| 1| 2| 293. 7| 6| 2400| 0| 11| 5| 1| 3| 179| 3| 2400| 0| 8| 4| 1| 2| 188. 3| 6| 2100| 1| 14| 2| 1| 2. 5| 227. 1| 4| 2900| 0| 20| 5| 0| 1. 5| 173. 6| 4| 2100| 0| 9| 4| 1| 2| 188. 3| 5 | 2300| 0| 11| 5| 1| 3|

Bowen Theory: Emotional Cutoff. Retrieved

I definitely agree with many of the observations that Bowen made through his theoretical framework. If there is one concept that has stood out from among the rest it is none other than the concept of Emotional Cutoff. Bowen refers to this as an individual’s manner of managing many of his critically unresolved issues that he has had with his direct personal family or his family of origin (Bowen, 2004).Painful experiences with the family are â€Å"better† managed in the present when the members concerned are either being dealt with in a superficial way especially where emotional or sensitive concerns are the issue or the person chooses to distance himself from his source of pain by leaving or refusing contact with those members of his family (Bowen, 2004). Every human experience involves a causative factor that produces a kind of response. In explaining the behavior of people, we start our description with reference to some kind of active driving force: the individual see ks, the individual wants, the individual fears.Various psychologists describe motivation, in other words, as the driving force behind our behavior (Atkinson, et al. 1983). This is essentially very familiar to me especially that my family seemed to be in constant denial (especially both of my parents) about the failure of our home life. We were together but we existed in pieces because daily my father was an epitome of someone whose inner life seemed to be torn in disarray due to worry, unresolved anger and insecurity. He had started the vicious cycle of pain then emotional cutoff and on and on.He had distanced himself so much that he never bothered to attend to any of our graduation rites and he was forever busy, that was what he said. Eventually this spilled over to my relationship with my spouse and children; I tended to somehow demand things that were more reminiscent of those days with my family at home. I was fortunate enough that these days my spouse is a fierce watchdog over my tendencies and helped me overcome my disconnectedness which had started to threaten even to overwhelm my family as well at the early part of our marriage.

Principles of Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Principles of Management - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that  SOS has a global presence imbued within a local presence. One of the greatest successes of SOS villages has been its ability to adapt well to local conditions and customs. The local teams for SOS villages are composed based on four concerns which are mother, brothers and sisters, a house and a village. The contention is that children require a mother as well as brothers and sisters to support them. Children are broken down into manageable groups better known as families and each family is given a house in the SOS village. The mother of the family is usually a nanny or a paid volunteer. Multiple nannies in a village are responsible to the head of the village who is also responsible for overseeing all other local functions.From this paper it is clear that  the head of the village delegates other tasks such as the provision of food, clothing, education and managing finances to other officials reporting directly to them. Most members of the team are paid vol unteers who display a high level of integrity and ethical as well as moral behaviour. Roles and tasks are carried out in a relaxed atmosphere and there is not much difference of protocol between village heads and other team members. Most people in the team are kept together by personal motivation offered by the work as well as by management commitment to promoting work satisfaction.  Conflicts within the team are managed by dialogue alone and often conflicts are far and few in between.

Text and PPT for required article reading discussion (500 words with Essay

Text and PPT for required article reading discussion (500 words with ppt) - Essay Example As a result of the contribution of women in these niches, their importance and value is proven significantly. This is the bright picture of the decade following 1990 that women began to realize their importance in the society and began actively participating in different fields of life. The writer also argues that women have not only become part of different sectors of social life, they have proven that they could be as good or even better than men in some fields. The success of women in society after 1990 implies that the institutions have brought positive change to utilize the skills and knowledge of women for the betterment of society. This arguments of Angela McRobbie regarding success of women in the post-feminism era after 1990 show that feminism has been taken into account in only certain niches of the society. The institutions became modern with respect to their teachings and behavior. They contain women as their integral part that has undermined their feminism a great deal. As the women got educated to higher levels, their thinking developed against feminism. The writer also presented one important point in the article that feminism has been considered only off and on in the era following 1990. Feminism requires women to understand their true power in the society that marks their success. However, their spiritual values shouldn’t be sacrificed in any case. The degradation of feminism is embedded even in the success of women in different sectors of life. When you find women in the leading roles of the society, they have to forget about the conventional thinking. As they become more educated, the elements of feminism will reduce automatically and these factors will be replaced by modernism. The involvement of both sexes in different fields of life is a bright prospect for the economy of the countries. There will be more people working for the welfare of the society. However, the

K6 academic content and ELD standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

K6 academic content and ELD standards - Essay Example Mathematics Lesson Plan 2 Opening: The lesson will start by discussing the previously learnt lesson where the topic of discussion was conversion of percentages to fractions and percentages to decimals. The day's topic of discussion will be simple financial transactions where the students will learn about simple interest, compound interest, hire purchase, commission, discounts, and money exchange rates and about profit and loss. The lesson will start by quickly reviewing the previously learnt lesson where I will display charts with already solved problems of the previously learnt lesson of conversion of percentage to fraction and percentage to decimals. Statement of Objective: At the end of the lesson, the students should be in a position to do simple financial transaction problems like calculating simple and compound interests, discounts, commission, profit and loss and money exchange. The student should also be in a position to apply the knowledge they will acquire in the topic practically, in their day to day activities. Instructions: The lesson will begin by defining terms like interest, commission, discounts, profit and loss. Then a number of problem will be solved in class and handouts with already solved mathematical problems issued to the students. The students will also be allowed to solve some problems in groups. Assessment: To ensure that the students have understood the day's content, they will be required to solve individual problems in class to assess whether the teachers teaching objectives have been achieved. Connection: To ensure that the day's lesson is relevant, I will connect the lesson with what the student learnt in their previous lesson and the lesson they will... With this kind of a lesson plan, I am very sure my teaching objectives will be achieved in teaching Mathematics since the subject involves a lot of practice by students in order for them to understand. topic of discussion was conversion of percentages to fractions and percentages to decimals. The day's topic of discussion will be simple financial transactions where the students will learn about simple interest, compound interest, hire purchase, commission, discounts, and money exchange rates and about profit and loss. The lesson will start by quickly reviewing the previously learnt lesson where I will display charts with already solved problems of the previously learnt lesson of conversion of percentage to fraction and percentage to decimals. discounts, profit and loss. Then a number of problem will be solved in class and handouts with already solved mathematical problems issued to the students. The students will also be allowed to solve some problems in groups. My teaching objectives will be achieved in teaching Mathematics to students since for the students to understand the subject, it should be prepared to work more mathematical problems on their own rather than being lectured by the teacher.

Deathography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Deathography - Essay Example The patient remained in palliative care for approximately four weeks before he passed away. It is his passing away that left a deep impression on me during my stint in palliative care and the reason fro my choice on reflecting on death and my experiences with death as a part of experiential learning that will be very useful to me in my career as nursing professional (Fowler, 2008). The significance of handling death and its implications to a nursing professional lies in the understanding that among all the health care professionals it is the professionals that are most immediate to the patients in end of life situations and can provide the care, comfort and counsel to such patients and their families (Dickinson, 2007). I had met the Catholic priest for the first time, when he was admitted into palliative care. Thoughts run through my mind, as to why this brief period of knowing and caring for the priest was to affect me so much. The most probable answer that I can find lies in the understanding of this provided by Tan et al, 200g. According to Tan et al 2006, p.17 â€Å"Nurses are at the forefront of caring for dying patients in hospices, nursing homes, acute-care hospitals, and patients’ homes† and â€Å"felt it reminded them of their own mortality, made them treasure life However, the passing away of the Catholic priest was not the first time that I was deeply affected by death. This occurred in my late teens, when my cousin, who was also my best friend and companion, passed away. This was not my first experience of death and my first brush with death did not leave me with grief and a sense of loss, as the death of my cousin did. My first experience of death in my family was the passing away of my grandmother, when I was five years old. I have hardly any memories of interaction with my grandmother, as she was quite sickly. Her passing away created no sadness in me. I cried when

The Geography of Fear and Domestic Violence and Its Relationship to Essay

The Geography of Fear and Domestic Violence and Its Relationship to Space - Essay Example It is estimated that 78% of all rape and sexual assault victims are usually women. In addition, of the 600 000 to 800 000 people who become the victims of human trafficking every year, a whooping 80% comprises of women and girls. (2008) This helps explain the geography of fear, including the spatial aspects of fear and domestic violence. Geography of fear analyses the spatial aspects of people's fear of violence in different settings. Valentine posits that women are often fearful of crime that seems to be directly related to their sense of vulnerability to men and the understanding of the seriousness and terror that such crimes bring to mind. (1989, p. 385) Childhood and adult experiences are said to highly influence women's fear as far as sexual violence is concerned. These fears are then deeply ingrained in the women through social messaging; how society views and treats its women. If they are treated as sex objects the fear of violence becomes even more real to them. The fears that women have with regards to rape and other forms of violence, either physical or sexual determines to a large extent the kind of choices they make that affect their lives on a daily and /or on a long term basis. The women therefore take precautions that are spatial in nature as a way of dealing with their fear. This may involve not goin g out at night or even avoiding certain places. A According to Pain, for the most part analyses into the fear of crime only describe or explain what effects both sexual and physical violence has especially in as far as it reflects gender inequality. The social geography of fear looks into the differences between public and private space with regards to the perception of danger, also the categorization of space into either safe/dangerous or even, closed/open places. In the spatial expression of patriarchy, women attach fear to public places and devise safety measures to deal with this fear. It then becomes important to understand areas where women are most likely to be victimized as well as areas that are mostly linked with the risk of crime. This entails comprehending the spatial patterns of fear. Various experiences are responsible for influencing, shaping and changing women's relation to space. Experiences and attempts at violence, incidences of sexual harassment, social and emotional characteristics such as increased feelings of vulnerability and lack of social support including feelings of not having control over what happens to one self all have spatial repercussions. They are responsible for creating spaces in which women are excluded on the basis of their gender. More over, these feelings may increase with progression in age, after suffering injuries, pregnancy and motherhood. (1997) Violent crimes against women as rape have been found to take place not only in bedrooms and other private and semi private settings but also in the back of alleys. The spatiality of fear is said to be responsible for the behavior and quality of urban life. (Pain, 2001) Out of fear, women may avoid streets and alleys in urban areas that they may consider to be unsafe. Accordingly, different classes/types of women are likely to fear crime more than others. For instance, those who feel like they are not fully integrated in the places where they live such as communities and neighborhoods, those who

International Finance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Finance - Case Study Example In 1993, ICI demerged its bioscience businesses to a publicly listed company, Zeneca Group PLC. 1997 saw ICI transforming from a regional manufacturer of bulk chemicals to a global specialty chemical and paints leader with the acquisition of Unilever's Speciality Chemicals businesses. Over the last decade, ICI has transformed its portfolio through a number of acquisitions and divestments worth more than 12 billion. Proceeds from divestments have helped ICI reduce its net debt and improve its balance sheet strength (ICI Annual Report, 2006). This paper evaluates the international operations of ICI and discusses how important international trade is for the ICI Group. Various analyses are conducted such as strategic, financial, SWOT, and risk to provide a deeper insight into the company's international operations. ICI Board comprises of the Chairman, Chief Executive, 3 directors, and five non-executive directors. Collectively, the Board is responsible for the success of the company. Through the Chief Executive, the Board delegates to management the overall performance of the company through the setting of clear objectives, building long-term management capability and ensuring that the business is managed in conformity with the business principles. Core businesses Core businesses of ICI comprise ICI Paints and the adhesives, specialty starches, specialty polymers and electronic materials operations of National Starch. These businesses serve diverse consumer and industrial markets through 40 strategic business units. These businesses are supported by Group functions that provide expertise in the disciplines of information technology, finance, human resources, operations, procurement, safety, security, and applied technology (ICI Annual Report, 2006). ICI Paints has some of the world's leading paint and decorative product brands. ICI makes products to prepare and care for many building materials, and provides coatings for cans and packages. It is headquartered in the UK and has operations in 25 countries (ICI Annual Report, 2006). National Starch markets a broad array of products to various sectors such as food, healthcare and construction. It has four divisions that are grouped around adhesives, specialty starches, specialty polymers and electronic materials. National Starch is headquartered in the United States, and has manufacturing and customer service centres in 39 countries (ICI Annual Report, 2006). ICI has a number of regional and industrial businesses, principal operations for which are located in Pakistan and Argentina. They include the manufacture of pure terephthalic acid, polyester, sulphur-related chemicals, wine chemicals and soda ash (ICI Annual Report, 2006). ICI is headquartered in the UK, with geographically diversified operations worldwide. Asia and Latin America account for 36% of sales, North America 33%, Europe 29%, and the rest of the world 2%. ICI's businesses have adopted a staffing policy whereby local nationals are typically hired. Total employee strength at ICI is 29, 130, of which 87% are located outside the UK. ICI Group has operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More than 60% of the Group's revenue comes from sectors which are believed to be non-cyclical in nature, such

Communication, Gender, and Sexuality Blog...I Essay

Communication, Gender, and Sexuality Blog...I - Essay Example nfluenced all aspects of society from the basic family setting where men are viewed as the head of the family with the task of making important family decisions mainly resting on them to the work places where they hold the high esteemed positions. Women have therefore had to fight to be recognized from all fronts. They have learnt how to balance their caring nurturing side with their go-getter side making them a force so powerful. Standpoints have supported strong objectivity whereby marginalized or oppressed people such as women have been made able to create more objective accounts of the world. They have had to adapt to the masculine culture by taking up more male dominated roles like by venturing into fields like engineering which are more technical. In other words they have become bicultural. On the other hand when felt oppressed, they have learnt to stand up for their rights because of the strong objectivity the standpoints have offered them. This is seen vividly when it comes to the issue of women sexuality. They have defended their sexuality from the inhumane practices like rape, domestic violence and harmful demeaning cultural practices. Women have also learnt how to be accountable for the way they articulate their wants and demands. They base their demands on facts that are rational detaching all the emotional aspects that would discredit their plea on the basis that they are weak. Women have learnt how to look out for their

Annotation of Toby Fulwiler’s “Provocative Revision” Essay Example for Free

Annotation of Toby Fulwiler’s â€Å"Provocative Revision† Essay Provocative Revision by Toby Fulwiler is an essay that talks about how he, as an experienced teacher of writing, has come up with different techniques in the overlooked art of re-writing. His paper specifically discusses about where, when, and how to revise. To successfully do this, he presents four provocative suggestions to help students in revising their papers. These techniques are: limiting, adding, switching, and transforming. Limiting. Generalization is bad in writing. The cure for this, Fulwiler argues, is limiting. Generalities do not have much appeal because most people already know about them. What catches the readers’ attention are details of things they already know. Telling details makes subjects come to life. Fulwiler further suggests limiting on time, action, scope, and focus. Adding. The natural thing to do in revisions is to add new information. Some techniques on adding are adding dialog and interviews. Adding dialog adds drama and appeal. Adding interviews, on the other hand, makes the paper more credible, especially when experts are part of the interview. Switching. Switching involves re-writing the story by using a different approach or perspective. Sometimes, a change in point of view makes a paper interesting. A change of voice â€Å"changes the nature of the information and the way it is received† (Fulwiler 165). Changing voice could mean changing the point of view from first to third person, from subjective to objective, and vice-versa. Transforming. Transforming involves overhauling the whole paper, making the way it is presented totally different from its preceding draft. Provocative Revision Critique/Comments Toby Fulwiler, establishes his credibility in the subject of revising by saying that he has been teaching writing for a long time; a good technique to persuade an audience to listen to what he is saying. Despite his extensive experience in education, he humbly says that his education is far from over. He also says that despite him â€Å"provoking† his students to revise their papers, he makes sure that the students’ styles are kept. There is some truth in his views on generalization as a bad technique. Unfortunately, the world still has much to learn. Sometimes general things can be new to some people. Since Fulwiler has a specific audience in mind, his assumption is valid; otherwise, he too is guilty of generalization. Another thing worth commenting on his subject on limiting is the way he makes limiting like tabloid writing—he says that details on personalities, problems, and scandals are interesting subjects. He presents a problem in his teaching—students who don’t do their own work. He claims that by making students revise their work, he can make students (even those that don’t do their own) do their own work. He fails to realize that the students who ask others to do their work for them may do the same thing with the revisions. Other than these, the rest of Fulwiler’s article is quite good; he provides passages from his students’ work as examples for bad and good writing. The good news is that those that turned out to be bad examples at first, turned out to be good papers after some revision using the techniques presented. Work Cited Fulwiler, Toby. â€Å"Provocative Revision. † The St. Martin’s Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. 3rd Ed. Christina Murphy and Steve Sherwood. Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. 156-168.

Ability of Humans to Think Essay Example for Free

Ability of Humans to Think Essay As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate. As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate. Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position. In the era of advanced technology, technology has undoubtedly changed the way people live. With the use of calculators, people gradually get rid of mental arithmetic. Due to this fact, some people argue that the ability of humans to think for themselves will undoubtedly decline. This is because when relying excessively on instruments, people may hardly figure out the right number without calculators if the calculation becomes somewhat complicated. Admittedly, it is true that human’s ability of calculation might diminish to some extent. However, technology decidedly facilitates humans to think deeply for themselves through freeing them from trivial things. This is an indisputable fact that with versatile and state-of-the-art computers, especially mainframe, scientists no longer take pains to deal with complex and numerous formulas. Therefore, these talented scientists can spend their time and energy in doing more meaningful things by avoiding being bogged down with trivial computations. For instance, engineers who major in aerodynamics, can use the latest computers to simulate how the attitude of airplane will change with respect to different levels of wind. Thus, due to the assistance of modern instruments, these engineers can focus more on how to design planes to fly more safely and efficiently. See more: Strategic Management Process Essay In contrast to the statement, we can see that people begin involving themselves in some more complex problems that did not occur in the past, which motivates humans to think assiduously for themselves. By utilizing technology, for example, people build large dams to store the water as well as preventing devastating floods. However, this approach also has led to consequences people never thought of. The Three Gorges Dam in China is an excellent instance of this point. After construction of this huge and marvelous dam, some unpremeditated problems emerged, such as undue fluctuations in temperature in local areas and sediments and silt deposited excessively under on the bottom of the Yellow River. As a result, this phenomenon forced experts in China to contemplate whether altering the local topography might negatively influence climate and to what extent. Therefore, humans’ ability to think for themselves has improved rather than deteriorated In addition, technology also inevitably leads humanity to think of moral questions that did not appear in the past. One of the most profound and contentious moral questions is cloning. While cloning will definitely help sick people with deteriorating organs by cloning new ones, this technology is also likely to raise a debate of whether cloning is illicit or not. Will cloning finally crumple up our established morality, or must scientists stop doing research on cloning even if the advantages of cloning far exceed the disadvantages arising from this advanced technology? By answering these controversial questions, we, human race, are unquestionably engaged in thinking for ourselves. All the evidence put forward supports an unshakable conclusion that although some human abilities, such as computation, are slightly worse because of reliance on calculators, the ability of thinking is expected to improve rather than deteriorate. On one hand, people, especially sophisticated scientists, will have more time to focus on significant as well as knotty problems. On the other hand, new questions that pop up appear as a result of technology involve humans in more profound contemplation.

Supply Chain Management Systems at PC World

Supply Chain Management Systems at PC World CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION I would like to undertake the study of Supply Chain Management Systems at PC World, United Kingdom. The study covers the processes in the organization, the value chain in the firm and its analysis. I made an analysis of the ambiguities in the processes of the system and put forth recommendations needed for the improvements in future. Relationship Management at the value chain, the customer services in the organization, its impact, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) was given concentration in the studies. Objectives of the Study: There are multiple objectives for my studies of research. Mainly the supply chain system in PC World is analysed in detail. Improvements for the development of the supply chain system in future is also aimed in my research as it has its own significance for a purchase led kind of business. Information and Communication Technology systems in PC World and Supplier Relationship Management in the work place are given importance as the secondary objective of the studies. An analytic thinking over the improvement of customer satisfaction with use of value chain has done as another objective of this research. Why is this study important? The economic crisis of 2009 was the most severe one after the Great Depression of 1929. The much expected GDP growth had not happened in the third quarter of 2009 and the growth was 0.3 in the last quarter of the year (statistics.gov, 2010). Most of other European countries have shown modest growth rates, UK is still in search of positive triggers. We have seen six consecutive quarters of negative growth and the crisis has affected the economy very dangerously. 5.7 per cent of the market capitalization has been wiped out in UK in the last 18 months. These numbers look worst when the economy faced inflation in the same time period. The doldrums in the job market and the virtually frozen consumer spending have affected many industries in the country (guardian, 2010). Still we are not at all survived from the crisis and waiting for much horrific double dip recession. So the organizations which have better operating systems only can survive in market. The organizations who serve an impro ved customer service will be benefited in this situation. So the organizations are trying to improve the satisfaction of customers, reduce costs and improve their profitability. Companies are in search of synergies and positive triggers with restructuring and reorganizing their strategies and operations. The Information and Communication Technology systems come across a lot of developments in this period. This is the real opportunity for the companies to come up in the market with ideal strategies and improvements in the operations. My research will be a benefit for the companies which are eagerly in search of ways to improve their efficiency as it is done in the wake of these tough situations. Theoretical Framework I would be guided on mostly by the studies of Geoff Walsham, Professor in University of Cambridge. The series of publications of his works by University of Cambridge are well respected in this area of study. Globalization and ICT: Working across culture by Geoff Walsham would be the primary theoretical resources of my research. These works shows lights on the significance of Information and Communication Technology in the present status of the economies. Another resource for my studies is Supply chain management: more than a new name for logistics, by M. C. Lambert and D. M. Pagh. These works are published in IJLM (International Journal of Logistics Management). They formed a primary thought for the subject of my proposed study. Introduction to e-supply chain management: engaging technology to build market winning business partnership by David Frederick Ross inspired me to work with the advanced methods of improvements for supply chain management systems and its operations. Problem of Research: The problem of the proposed research is insufficiencies and the opportunities of improvements for the improvements in the system of supply chain in PC World. Suggestions are made to improve the efficiency and productivity of the PC World as a part of this research. The research would be done concentrating on 3 dimensions. Implementation of Information and Communication Technology in the operations, customer satisfaction and Supplier Relationship Management are the three main points where the concentration has been given in this study. The main questions raised for the purpose of this research are listed below: How is the organisation of Supply Chain at P C World? How is the value chain organized in P C World? What role does the ICT system have in value chain? How does the ERP system work in P C World and what is the impact of it on value chain? How does P C World manage the supplier relations of it? In what way P C World manage the relations with its key suppliers? How does the supply chain affect the satisfaction of customers? What improvements can be made in P C World? How can the proposed changes be implemented in P C World? How will this change improve the efficiency of business? Ethical Issues Ethical Issues: In conducting this study, I would be guided by the Guidelines set out in the British Educational Research Association (BERA) 2004 ethical issues for Educational research. The guidelines state that the researches are wholly responsible to their sponsors, the research community and participants of the research. The guidelines states that all research work must be conducted at the highest levels of honesty. Research findings are to be published without falsifying and misstating the work done. The guidelines set out the responsibilities of the researcher to participants of the research, sponsors of the research and the research community. (BERA, supply chain management is important to deliver the products and services to end customers. However, it appears that the notions on supply chain management may only be indirectly associated with the issues surrounding consumer behaviours toward maintaining and/or otherwise pushing customer satisfaction. As referenced in many publications, undoubtedly, the role of supply chain management is an important factor in boosting the organizational success. On a separate perspective, consumer behaviour is also an essential factor toward organizational viability into years to come. Qualitatively, preliminary studies have been undertaken concerning the connection between supply chain management and customer satisfaction, as well as the connection between consumer behaviour and customer satisfaction, in trying to recognize the clear distinctions of each topic toward ensuring customer satisfaction. This paper attempts to bring out the significance of both issues combined in relation to customer satisfaction. If the preliminary studies emphasized in automotive and food industries, this paper attempts to analyze the small and medium enterprises in service industry. It is expected that the increasing roles of supply chain management and consumer behaviour in small and medium enterprises are able to improve the overall organizational performance. A cluster sampling methods is incorporated in this study to note the characteristics of those small and medium enterprises in certain locations. Variables chosen in this study are mainly covered the traditional SERVQUAL dimensions of tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Aside from the qualitative analyses, which are based on interviews and field observations, a combination of statistical software packages are utilized as tools toward building quantitative analysis of the study. Research is conducted by gathering data from primary and secondary sources in service industries in Jakarta, and Bandung. As stated, it is expected that such studies would reveal the significance of supply chain management and consumer behaviour in boosting the customer satisfaction level toward organizations products and services. It is expected that such issues are mostly true for small and medium enterprises, perhaps. Limitations I would be attempting the research in a much comprehensive way as possible, following limitations may be underlying in the research Time Constraints: A detailed and exhaustive study was not allowed by my course semester as few significant areas are there where I was forced to leave out. However, most of the significant disciplines would be covered in the research. Security Issues: a supply chain in an organization, information on ERP and key supplier contracts are very sensitive kind of company information and it would be too tough to reproduce them. So I foresee myself as not being capable of publishing a few of my findings. The support of management which I had secured beforehand for the research would allow me to bring most of the findings out in the studies. Financial Constraints: Some suppliers of the organization are located overseas. So it would not be feasible for me to cover all major suppliers of the organization financially. Thus the major suppliers who have their physical operations in UK are confined in my research. Contributions of the research A dynamic and innovative concept of Supply Chain Management systems are anticipated as my study is chiefly a research led exercise. Fast growing systems of ICT in Supply Chain and management of Supplier Relationship would be invaluable resources academically. Different paths would be shown for P C World to strengthen their existing not so good supply chain, consolidate their supplier relations and to construe its customers needs in the research as a sense of business, for increasing the efficiency of processes and profitability of business. Project Plan of Research The proposed work for research would be conducted within a period of ninety days. The studies for research have being got worked since mid December and would be finished by March. The first month of my studies has been utilized for background studies and literature review. Over the next two months, twenty hours a day would be allocated for my work of research. The SCM systems and various practices in the work place, the Information and Communication Technology systems used, will be analysed in the actual company locations. Structured questionnaires would be prepared for the empirical studies of my research and to interview the customers of P C World and the suppliers of it. The last month of research would be used to analyse the findings and data, bring up recommendations for the improvements of supply chain and to get it slimmer and efficient, and to report the entire studies of research. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Literature Review Other than the theoretical resources we discussed above, the following resources are also added to the knowledge related to this study. Transition to B2B e-Market place enabled supply chain: Readiness Assessment and Success Factors by Movahedi B., Lavassani, M K, Kumar V would be the principal resource material of the research. A great gamut of management of supply chain, role of information technology and recent development in the area of supply chain management, and numerous case studies are discussed in the book. This book allowed me to grasp a clear picture on the subject of research. Knowledge management systems: information and communication technologies by Ronald Maier provided more detailed technical aspects for the research. The latest developments and happenings in the field of research are updated with the Journal of Supply Chain Management and Journal of E Commerce. INTRODUCTION There is a drastic development in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in logistics and supply chain management. ICT is today being applied in many organisations in a wide range and operations areas. It has provided new ways to store, process, distribute and exchange information both within companies and with customers and suppliers in the supply chain. ICT used to exchange information in the supply chain is often named inter organisational ICT or inter organisational information systems (IOIS).In supply chain management, ICT has especially been recognised as an enabler for information sharing which companies in the supply chain can use for eliminating the so called bullwhip-effect (Lee et al., 1997). Information-sharing is also a key component in many of the recent automatic replenishment programs (ARP) (Daugherty et al., 1999). Initiatives such as vendor managed inventory (VMI) and collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) are based on an in creased level of automation in both the flow of physical materials and goods and the flow of information between companies to improve the efficiency in the entire supply chain. In a operations management perspective, companies seek to further improve the efficiency in the supply chain by sharing information related to matching demand and supply such as short- and long-term production planning, demand forecasting and materials and capacity planning. Information that can be relevant to share between customers and suppliers typically includes point-of-sales data, forecasts and inventory levels. There is a significant amount of research demonstrating a positive impact of ICT in the supply chain. As companies seek to improve the efficiency in the supply chain through increased integration, ICT can be considered as a key enabler for supply chain management through its ability to support information sharing and shortening information processing time. Supply chain integration can however be expressed in a wide range of dimensions such as integration of processes, information, organisations and systems (Bowersox et al., 1999; Mouritsen, et al., 2003). Similarly, the impact of ICT can be demonstrated in terms of for instance changes in relationships, interorganisational changes and performance (Wilson and Vlosky, 1998). The many dimensions in which supply chain integration can be expressed and the wide variation of factors in which the impact of ICT can be defined in terms of integration indicates that previous researches have been limited to studying a few dimensions and variables relationships at a time. The aspect of how to control and coordinate the activity between the companies in the supply chain, and how ICT affects the level of control integration in the supply chain is a poorly developed area. We propose in this paper a research model for further research exploring the impact of ICT on integration in supply chain control. The model is primarily based on theory within supply chain integration and the impact of ICT. It also incorporates the supply chain control perspective, which defines the scope of application of the model. In contrast with previous research, this model does not intend to limited to a few pre-defined dimensions or variables for investigation but can be used to examine situations involving any type of integration dimension and influencing factor. Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management is effective management by planning, implementing and controlling the activities in the supply chain system in an organization. Activities from warehousing the inventory to movement of products to the consumer are controlled and co-ordinated by the supply chain management. Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics management activities, it includes coordination, cooperation and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers APA (American Professional Association). Characteristics of Supply Chains The management of supply and demand in and across the companies are integrated by supply chains It coordinates the network of business operations which provide the products and services. The logistics and supply chain management are distinguished by some researchers. At the same time some of them consider them as similar terms. The management of supply chain can be used as a software also A study on supply chain event management allows knowing how the system of supply chain is coordinated in an organization and how resolutions are produced for the problems that occur during the effectuation of supply chain in an organization. Issues in Supply Chain Management Following limitations must be dealt with the management of supply chain: Configuration of distribution network is the main limitation of the management of supply chain. It implies the supply chain is bore on by the number of suppliers, their locations, and missions of network of customers. The facilities for production, centres for distribution, cross docks, ware houses etc influence the supply chain management. The supply chain is also affected by the strategy of distribution. Replacement strategy and transportation is the other concerns for the management of supply chain. The total supply chain management is affected by the sharing of valuable information on the demand signals, inventory, transportation and the forecasts. The location and quantity of inventory which include finished goods, work in process goods and raw materials influence the supply chain. The cash flows in each and every level of supply chine will also affect it. The task flow like order fulfilment, inventory procurance, goods transporting and ware housing SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS Supply chain management must address the following problems: Distribution Network Configuration: number, location and network missions of suppliers, production facilities, distribution centres, warehouses, cross-docks and customers. Distribution Strategy: questions of operating control (centralized, decentralized or shared); delivery scheme, e.g., direct shipment, pool point shipping, cross docking, DSD (direct store delivery), closed loop shipping; mode of transportation, e.g., motor carrier, including truckload, LTL, parcel; railroad; intermodal transport, including TOFC (trailer on flatcar) and COFC (container on flatcar); ocean freight; airfreight; replenishment strategy (e.g., pull, push or hybrid); and transportation control (e.g., owner-operated, private carrier, common carrier, contract carrier, or 3PL). Trade-Offs in Logistical Activities: The above activities must be well coordinated in order to achieve the lowest total logistics cost. Trade-offs may increase the total cost if only one of the activities is optimized. For example, full truckload (FTL) rates are more economical on a cost per pallet basis than less than truckload (LTL) shipments. If, however, a full truckload of a product is ordered to reduce transportation costs, there will be an increase in inventory holding costs which may increase total logistics costs. It is therefore imperative to take a systems approach when planning logistical activities. These tradeoffs are key to the most efficient and effective Logistics and SCM strategy. Information: Integration of processes through the supply chain to share valuable information, including demand signals, forecasts, inventory, transportation, potential collaboration, etc. Inventory Management: Quantity and location of inventory, including raw materials, work-in-progress (WIP) and finished goods. Cash-Flow: Arranging the payment terms and methodologies for exchanging funds across entities within the supply chain. Supply chain execution means managing and coordinating the movement of materials, information and funds across the supply chain. The flow is bi-directional. ACTIVITIES/FUNCTIONS Supply chain management is a cross-function approach including managing the Movement of raw materials into an organization, certain aspects of the internal Processing of materials into finished goods, and the movement of finished goods out of the organization and toward the end-consumer. As organizations strive to focus on core competencies and becoming more flexible, they reduce their ownership of raw materials sources and distribution channels. These functions are increasingly being outsourced to other entities that can perform the activities better or more cost effectively. The effect is to increase the number of organizations involved in satisfying customer demand, while reducing management control of daily logistics operations. Less control and more supply chain partners led to the creation of supply chain management concepts. The purpose of supply chain management is to improve trust and collaboration among supply chain partners, thus improving inventory visibility and the velo city of inventory movement. Several models have been proposed for understanding the activities required to manage material movements across organizational and functional boundaries. SCOR is a supply chain management model promoted by the Supply Chain Council. Another model is the SCM Model proposed by the Global Supply Chain Forum Activities in Supply Chain Management The movement of raw materials for internal processing in an organization. Conversion of raw materials into finished goods. Movement of finished goods to the consumer or end user. It is the responsibility of supply chain management to bring down the ownership of raw materials for the organization for a long period and to help the company to achieve the competence for the organization. The functions can be outsourced to increase the cost effectiveness and the satisfaction of customers demands. The management of supply chain has to construct trust among the members in the supply chain and it must better the association among them. The organization should be helped to actuate the inventory immediately and must develop the visibility in the supply chain. A Supply Chain Management model projected by the GSCF (Global Supply Chain Forum) demonstrates that the activities in a supply chain can be characterized as strategic, operational and tactical activities. Strategic Activities The optimization of strategies of an organization like number of warehouses, locations, centres of distributions, facilities and locations of warehouses etc are included in strategic activities. Strategic activities include the communication network creation among the supply chain members and it must develop an improvement in the activities of supply chain such as shipping, docking, transport, and logistics etc. The organization of designing of the products and development are included in strategic activities of an organization and the strategic activities must integrate the new and existing products into the supply chain. It should support all the activities in supply chain. All the activities of supply chain must be integrated with overall activities of the organization by the strategic activities. Tactical Activities It includes decisions concerning to purchase of inventory and contracts. It includes decisions pertained to production such as the location, schedule, contracts, plans and definition of processes of production etc. Decision making in relation with the quality, transport, quantity, location, and use of inventory. The strategy formulation in concern with freight like the transport frequency, the cost, routes, contracts and logistics etc are included It involves the best process benchmarking in the industry throughout its operations. Operational Activities It includes decisions and activities in relation with day to day activities connected to production and planning at each levels of supply chain. It involves forecasts of production facilities and necessities in supply chain in every instant. It involves forecasting and planning of Demand and converting the overall demand into supply and share it with every the members of the supply chain. Forecasting, planning and coordinating the demand forecast of each and every customer and share bode with all suppliers. Inward operations, such as movement and transport of goods and stocks in the supply chain. It involves operational decisions and planning from ingestion of inventory to the current of finished goods in the chain of supply. It includes the promises of orders, accounting for all processes in the supply chain from suppliers to consumers or end users. Scope of Supply Chain Management To compete in the global market, companies rely on effective networks of supply chain According to Peter Ducker, business networking concept covers beyond the conventional enterprise limitations and broadens to coordinate the entire process of business throughout a value chain of multiple companies included in it. Outsourcing of Information Technology has enabled the organizations to be processed in such a way that each partner of business concentrates in the few significant areas in which he is specialized. This inter organizational network is the innovative trend in form of organization with the complex interactions among the key players; the structure of network is not a hierarchical structure or a market structure. It is ambiguous of what kind of performance level impact that various supply network structures could have on organization, and little is known about the conditions of coordination and tradeoffs that may subsist among the players. From point of view of a system, a structure of complex network can be decayed into individual component companies (Zhang and Dilts, 2004). Conventionally, companies in a supply network focus on the processes inputs and outputs, with little matter of concern for the internal management of the firm working on other individual players. Therefore, an internal management choice control structure is known to make a major impact on performance of local companies (Mintzberg, 1979). There have been large changes in environment of business which has contributed to the supply chain networks developments. Primarily, as a result of globalization and with the increase of big multi-national companies, strategic alliances, joint ventures and business partnerships, have found to be making important factors of success, following the earlier practices of JIT (Just-In-Time), Lean Management and Agile Manufacturing. Secondly, changes of technology, especially the dramatic fall in the cost of information communication, which is a predominant component of transaction costs, have led to changes in organization among the members of the network of supply chain (Coase, 1998). The exceptional transformation towards activities of integration from managing functions of individuals with processes of key supply chain in place could be the first significant step in establishing a successful supply network. For example; the department of purchasing places orders as necessities become appropriate only, when Department of Marketing responding to consumer demands and convey the same with all the distributors and retailers across to go with the demand of customers. The overall integration process leverages the whole shared information among partners of supply chain of an organization towards its advantage. The key to Successful consolidation of Supply chain business process is by employing the collaborative work across suppliers and buyers, common systems along with the shared information and joint product development. In 2000, the Lambert and Cooper expressed their view as the whole as The continuous information flows in the integrated supply chain process supports an organization to achieve best product flows. Despite such expression, there subsists an opinion among organizations and networks of management, that product flows optimization cannot be realized without implanting a process access to respective businesses. The supply chain significant processes by Lambert (2004) are listed below: Customer relationship management Management customer service Management of demand Fulfilment of orders Management of flow of manufacturing Management of supplier relationship Development of a product and commercialization Management of Returns In addition to points of Lambert other keys are: Procurement Physical distribution Outsourcing and partnerships Measurement of performance Management of customer service process As the information of customer is the basic source for service of customers, the important aspect of Customer relationship Management is between the organization and its customers. This real- time information makes customers cognisant on various details such as product availability, product information, probable delivery dates through multiple interfaces of information about the companys operations of production and distribution. Steps to build an efficient and Successful relationship with customers: Establish goals which are commonly rewarding between organization and customers Customize and invest efforts to preserve customer resonance and support always create positive outlook with customers in the organization Process of procurement In laying good strategic plans for process of procurement, the interests, opinions and support of the suppliers is very important; because their confidence in the plans lay foundation for newly build manufacturing flow management and it is the same in case of a development of a new product. When activities are global and far reach across, the companies need to accommodate processes to manage and source them accordingly. For achieving success in creating the preferred product, it is significant to have mutually beneficial relationship, cut down times cycles in design and development of the new product play very important role. Communication systems can be boosted by deploying tools like Internet connectivity and electronic data interchange (EDI), of the purchasing function of a firm to drive activities. These powerful systems of communication streamlines a lot of processes in managing, obtaining and tracking information about products and materials and products, which supports organization in dealing with issues successfully; supply sources, inbound transportation negotiation phases, resource plans, order placement, delivery status, storage capabilities, handling and quality assurance. Also, it actuates the organizations to handle the responsibility and to organize commitment with suppliers over supply continuity, delivery scheduling, misrepresentation, and research support studies in creating new product and sources of programs. Development of new product and commercialization This helps organizations to reduce time cycles of development of product with aspects of customers, suppliers so as to capture markets better by being competitive, innovations of products Supply Chain Management Systems at PC World Supply Chain Management Systems at PC World CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION I would like to undertake the study of Supply Chain Management Systems at PC World, United Kingdom. The study covers the processes in the organization, the value chain in the firm and its analysis. I made an analysis of the ambiguities in the processes of the system and put forth recommendations needed for the improvements in future. Relationship Management at the value chain, the customer services in the organization, its impact, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) was given concentration in the studies. Objectives of the Study: There are multiple objectives for my studies of research. Mainly the supply chain system in PC World is analysed in detail. Improvements for the development of the supply chain system in future is also aimed in my research as it has its own significance for a purchase led kind of business. Information and Communication Technology systems in PC World and Supplier Relationship Management in the work place are given importance as the secondary objective of the studies. An analytic thinking over the improvement of customer satisfaction with use of value chain has done as another objective of this research. Why is this study important? The economic crisis of 2009 was the most severe one after the Great Depression of 1929. The much expected GDP growth had not happened in the third quarter of 2009 and the growth was 0.3 in the last quarter of the year (statistics.gov, 2010). Most of other European countries have shown modest growth rates, UK is still in search of positive triggers. We have seen six consecutive quarters of negative growth and the crisis has affected the economy very dangerously. 5.7 per cent of the market capitalization has been wiped out in UK in the last 18 months. These numbers look worst when the economy faced inflation in the same time period. The doldrums in the job market and the virtually frozen consumer spending have affected many industries in the country (guardian, 2010). Still we are not at all survived from the crisis and waiting for much horrific double dip recession. So the organizations which have better operating systems only can survive in market. The organizations who serve an impro ved customer service will be benefited in this situation. So the organizations are trying to improve the satisfaction of customers, reduce costs and improve their profitability. Companies are in search of synergies and positive triggers with restructuring and reorganizing their strategies and operations. The Information and Communication Technology systems come across a lot of developments in this period. This is the real opportunity for the companies to come up in the market with ideal strategies and improvements in the operations. My research will be a benefit for the companies which are eagerly in search of ways to improve their efficiency as it is done in the wake of these tough situations. Theoretical Framework I would be guided on mostly by the studies of Geoff Walsham, Professor in University of Cambridge. The series of publications of his works by University of Cambridge are well respected in this area of study. Globalization and ICT: Working across culture by Geoff Walsham would be the primary theoretical resources of my research. These works shows lights on the significance of Information and Communication Technology in the present status of the economies. Another resource for my studies is Supply chain management: more than a new name for logistics, by M. C. Lambert and D. M. Pagh. These works are published in IJLM (International Journal of Logistics Management). They formed a primary thought for the subject of my proposed study. Introduction to e-supply chain management: engaging technology to build market winning business partnership by David Frederick Ross inspired me to work with the advanced methods of improvements for supply chain management systems and its operations. Problem of Research: The problem of the proposed research is insufficiencies and the opportunities of improvements for the improvements in the system of supply chain in PC World. Suggestions are made to improve the efficiency and productivity of the PC World as a part of this research. The research would be done concentrating on 3 dimensions. Implementation of Information and Communication Technology in the operations, customer satisfaction and Supplier Relationship Management are the three main points where the concentration has been given in this study. The main questions raised for the purpose of this research are listed below: How is the organisation of Supply Chain at P C World? How is the value chain organized in P C World? What role does the ICT system have in value chain? How does the ERP system work in P C World and what is the impact of it on value chain? How does P C World manage the supplier relations of it? In what way P C World manage the relations with its key suppliers? How does the supply chain affect the satisfaction of customers? What improvements can be made in P C World? How can the proposed changes be implemented in P C World? How will this change improve the efficiency of business? Ethical Issues Ethical Issues: In conducting this study, I would be guided by the Guidelines set out in the British Educational Research Association (BERA) 2004 ethical issues for Educational research. The guidelines state that the researches are wholly responsible to their sponsors, the research community and participants of the research. The guidelines states that all research work must be conducted at the highest levels of honesty. Research findings are to be published without falsifying and misstating the work done. The guidelines set out the responsibilities of the researcher to participants of the research, sponsors of the research and the research community. (BERA, supply chain management is important to deliver the products and services to end customers. However, it appears that the notions on supply chain management may only be indirectly associated with the issues surrounding consumer behaviours toward maintaining and/or otherwise pushing customer satisfaction. As referenced in many publications, undoubtedly, the role of supply chain management is an important factor in boosting the organizational success. On a separate perspective, consumer behaviour is also an essential factor toward organizational viability into years to come. Qualitatively, preliminary studies have been undertaken concerning the connection between supply chain management and customer satisfaction, as well as the connection between consumer behaviour and customer satisfaction, in trying to recognize the clear distinctions of each topic toward ensuring customer satisfaction. This paper attempts to bring out the significance of both issues combined in relation to customer satisfaction. If the preliminary studies emphasized in automotive and food industries, this paper attempts to analyze the small and medium enterprises in service industry. It is expected that the increasing roles of supply chain management and consumer behaviour in small and medium enterprises are able to improve the overall organizational performance. A cluster sampling methods is incorporated in this study to note the characteristics of those small and medium enterprises in certain locations. Variables chosen in this study are mainly covered the traditional SERVQUAL dimensions of tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Aside from the qualitative analyses, which are based on interviews and field observations, a combination of statistical software packages are utilized as tools toward building quantitative analysis of the study. Research is conducted by gathering data from primary and secondary sources in service industries in Jakarta, and Bandung. As stated, it is expected that such studies would reveal the significance of supply chain management and consumer behaviour in boosting the customer satisfaction level toward organizations products and services. It is expected that such issues are mostly true for small and medium enterprises, perhaps. Limitations I would be attempting the research in a much comprehensive way as possible, following limitations may be underlying in the research Time Constraints: A detailed and exhaustive study was not allowed by my course semester as few significant areas are there where I was forced to leave out. However, most of the significant disciplines would be covered in the research. Security Issues: a supply chain in an organization, information on ERP and key supplier contracts are very sensitive kind of company information and it would be too tough to reproduce them. So I foresee myself as not being capable of publishing a few of my findings. The support of management which I had secured beforehand for the research would allow me to bring most of the findings out in the studies. Financial Constraints: Some suppliers of the organization are located overseas. So it would not be feasible for me to cover all major suppliers of the organization financially. Thus the major suppliers who have their physical operations in UK are confined in my research. Contributions of the research A dynamic and innovative concept of Supply Chain Management systems are anticipated as my study is chiefly a research led exercise. Fast growing systems of ICT in Supply Chain and management of Supplier Relationship would be invaluable resources academically. Different paths would be shown for P C World to strengthen their existing not so good supply chain, consolidate their supplier relations and to construe its customers needs in the research as a sense of business, for increasing the efficiency of processes and profitability of business. Project Plan of Research The proposed work for research would be conducted within a period of ninety days. The studies for research have being got worked since mid December and would be finished by March. The first month of my studies has been utilized for background studies and literature review. Over the next two months, twenty hours a day would be allocated for my work of research. The SCM systems and various practices in the work place, the Information and Communication Technology systems used, will be analysed in the actual company locations. Structured questionnaires would be prepared for the empirical studies of my research and to interview the customers of P C World and the suppliers of it. The last month of research would be used to analyse the findings and data, bring up recommendations for the improvements of supply chain and to get it slimmer and efficient, and to report the entire studies of research. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Literature Review Other than the theoretical resources we discussed above, the following resources are also added to the knowledge related to this study. Transition to B2B e-Market place enabled supply chain: Readiness Assessment and Success Factors by Movahedi B., Lavassani, M K, Kumar V would be the principal resource material of the research. A great gamut of management of supply chain, role of information technology and recent development in the area of supply chain management, and numerous case studies are discussed in the book. This book allowed me to grasp a clear picture on the subject of research. Knowledge management systems: information and communication technologies by Ronald Maier provided more detailed technical aspects for the research. The latest developments and happenings in the field of research are updated with the Journal of Supply Chain Management and Journal of E Commerce. INTRODUCTION There is a drastic development in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in logistics and supply chain management. ICT is today being applied in many organisations in a wide range and operations areas. It has provided new ways to store, process, distribute and exchange information both within companies and with customers and suppliers in the supply chain. ICT used to exchange information in the supply chain is often named inter organisational ICT or inter organisational information systems (IOIS).In supply chain management, ICT has especially been recognised as an enabler for information sharing which companies in the supply chain can use for eliminating the so called bullwhip-effect (Lee et al., 1997). Information-sharing is also a key component in many of the recent automatic replenishment programs (ARP) (Daugherty et al., 1999). Initiatives such as vendor managed inventory (VMI) and collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) are based on an in creased level of automation in both the flow of physical materials and goods and the flow of information between companies to improve the efficiency in the entire supply chain. In a operations management perspective, companies seek to further improve the efficiency in the supply chain by sharing information related to matching demand and supply such as short- and long-term production planning, demand forecasting and materials and capacity planning. Information that can be relevant to share between customers and suppliers typically includes point-of-sales data, forecasts and inventory levels. There is a significant amount of research demonstrating a positive impact of ICT in the supply chain. As companies seek to improve the efficiency in the supply chain through increased integration, ICT can be considered as a key enabler for supply chain management through its ability to support information sharing and shortening information processing time. Supply chain integration can however be expressed in a wide range of dimensions such as integration of processes, information, organisations and systems (Bowersox et al., 1999; Mouritsen, et al., 2003). Similarly, the impact of ICT can be demonstrated in terms of for instance changes in relationships, interorganisational changes and performance (Wilson and Vlosky, 1998). The many dimensions in which supply chain integration can be expressed and the wide variation of factors in which the impact of ICT can be defined in terms of integration indicates that previous researches have been limited to studying a few dimensions and variables relationships at a time. The aspect of how to control and coordinate the activity between the companies in the supply chain, and how ICT affects the level of control integration in the supply chain is a poorly developed area. We propose in this paper a research model for further research exploring the impact of ICT on integration in supply chain control. The model is primarily based on theory within supply chain integration and the impact of ICT. It also incorporates the supply chain control perspective, which defines the scope of application of the model. In contrast with previous research, this model does not intend to limited to a few pre-defined dimensions or variables for investigation but can be used to examine situations involving any type of integration dimension and influencing factor. Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management is effective management by planning, implementing and controlling the activities in the supply chain system in an organization. Activities from warehousing the inventory to movement of products to the consumer are controlled and co-ordinated by the supply chain management. Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics management activities, it includes coordination, cooperation and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers APA (American Professional Association). Characteristics of Supply Chains The management of supply and demand in and across the companies are integrated by supply chains It coordinates the network of business operations which provide the products and services. The logistics and supply chain management are distinguished by some researchers. At the same time some of them consider them as similar terms. The management of supply chain can be used as a software also A study on supply chain event management allows knowing how the system of supply chain is coordinated in an organization and how resolutions are produced for the problems that occur during the effectuation of supply chain in an organization. Issues in Supply Chain Management Following limitations must be dealt with the management of supply chain: Configuration of distribution network is the main limitation of the management of supply chain. It implies the supply chain is bore on by the number of suppliers, their locations, and missions of network of customers. The facilities for production, centres for distribution, cross docks, ware houses etc influence the supply chain management. The supply chain is also affected by the strategy of distribution. Replacement strategy and transportation is the other concerns for the management of supply chain. The total supply chain management is affected by the sharing of valuable information on the demand signals, inventory, transportation and the forecasts. The location and quantity of inventory which include finished goods, work in process goods and raw materials influence the supply chain. The cash flows in each and every level of supply chine will also affect it. The task flow like order fulfilment, inventory procurance, goods transporting and ware housing SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS Supply chain management must address the following problems: Distribution Network Configuration: number, location and network missions of suppliers, production facilities, distribution centres, warehouses, cross-docks and customers. Distribution Strategy: questions of operating control (centralized, decentralized or shared); delivery scheme, e.g., direct shipment, pool point shipping, cross docking, DSD (direct store delivery), closed loop shipping; mode of transportation, e.g., motor carrier, including truckload, LTL, parcel; railroad; intermodal transport, including TOFC (trailer on flatcar) and COFC (container on flatcar); ocean freight; airfreight; replenishment strategy (e.g., pull, push or hybrid); and transportation control (e.g., owner-operated, private carrier, common carrier, contract carrier, or 3PL). Trade-Offs in Logistical Activities: The above activities must be well coordinated in order to achieve the lowest total logistics cost. Trade-offs may increase the total cost if only one of the activities is optimized. For example, full truckload (FTL) rates are more economical on a cost per pallet basis than less than truckload (LTL) shipments. If, however, a full truckload of a product is ordered to reduce transportation costs, there will be an increase in inventory holding costs which may increase total logistics costs. It is therefore imperative to take a systems approach when planning logistical activities. These tradeoffs are key to the most efficient and effective Logistics and SCM strategy. Information: Integration of processes through the supply chain to share valuable information, including demand signals, forecasts, inventory, transportation, potential collaboration, etc. Inventory Management: Quantity and location of inventory, including raw materials, work-in-progress (WIP) and finished goods. Cash-Flow: Arranging the payment terms and methodologies for exchanging funds across entities within the supply chain. Supply chain execution means managing and coordinating the movement of materials, information and funds across the supply chain. The flow is bi-directional. ACTIVITIES/FUNCTIONS Supply chain management is a cross-function approach including managing the Movement of raw materials into an organization, certain aspects of the internal Processing of materials into finished goods, and the movement of finished goods out of the organization and toward the end-consumer. As organizations strive to focus on core competencies and becoming more flexible, they reduce their ownership of raw materials sources and distribution channels. These functions are increasingly being outsourced to other entities that can perform the activities better or more cost effectively. The effect is to increase the number of organizations involved in satisfying customer demand, while reducing management control of daily logistics operations. Less control and more supply chain partners led to the creation of supply chain management concepts. The purpose of supply chain management is to improve trust and collaboration among supply chain partners, thus improving inventory visibility and the velo city of inventory movement. Several models have been proposed for understanding the activities required to manage material movements across organizational and functional boundaries. SCOR is a supply chain management model promoted by the Supply Chain Council. Another model is the SCM Model proposed by the Global Supply Chain Forum Activities in Supply Chain Management The movement of raw materials for internal processing in an organization. Conversion of raw materials into finished goods. Movement of finished goods to the consumer or end user. It is the responsibility of supply chain management to bring down the ownership of raw materials for the organization for a long period and to help the company to achieve the competence for the organization. The functions can be outsourced to increase the cost effectiveness and the satisfaction of customers demands. The management of supply chain has to construct trust among the members in the supply chain and it must better the association among them. The organization should be helped to actuate the inventory immediately and must develop the visibility in the supply chain. A Supply Chain Management model projected by the GSCF (Global Supply Chain Forum) demonstrates that the activities in a supply chain can be characterized as strategic, operational and tactical activities. Strategic Activities The optimization of strategies of an organization like number of warehouses, locations, centres of distributions, facilities and locations of warehouses etc are included in strategic activities. Strategic activities include the communication network creation among the supply chain members and it must develop an improvement in the activities of supply chain such as shipping, docking, transport, and logistics etc. The organization of designing of the products and development are included in strategic activities of an organization and the strategic activities must integrate the new and existing products into the supply chain. It should support all the activities in supply chain. All the activities of supply chain must be integrated with overall activities of the organization by the strategic activities. Tactical Activities It includes decisions concerning to purchase of inventory and contracts. It includes decisions pertained to production such as the location, schedule, contracts, plans and definition of processes of production etc. Decision making in relation with the quality, transport, quantity, location, and use of inventory. The strategy formulation in concern with freight like the transport frequency, the cost, routes, contracts and logistics etc are included It involves the best process benchmarking in the industry throughout its operations. Operational Activities It includes decisions and activities in relation with day to day activities connected to production and planning at each levels of supply chain. It involves forecasts of production facilities and necessities in supply chain in every instant. It involves forecasting and planning of Demand and converting the overall demand into supply and share it with every the members of the supply chain. Forecasting, planning and coordinating the demand forecast of each and every customer and share bode with all suppliers. Inward operations, such as movement and transport of goods and stocks in the supply chain. It involves operational decisions and planning from ingestion of inventory to the current of finished goods in the chain of supply. It includes the promises of orders, accounting for all processes in the supply chain from suppliers to consumers or end users. Scope of Supply Chain Management To compete in the global market, companies rely on effective networks of supply chain According to Peter Ducker, business networking concept covers beyond the conventional enterprise limitations and broadens to coordinate the entire process of business throughout a value chain of multiple companies included in it. Outsourcing of Information Technology has enabled the organizations to be processed in such a way that each partner of business concentrates in the few significant areas in which he is specialized. This inter organizational network is the innovative trend in form of organization with the complex interactions among the key players; the structure of network is not a hierarchical structure or a market structure. It is ambiguous of what kind of performance level impact that various supply network structures could have on organization, and little is known about the conditions of coordination and tradeoffs that may subsist among the players. From point of view of a system, a structure of complex network can be decayed into individual component companies (Zhang and Dilts, 2004). Conventionally, companies in a supply network focus on the processes inputs and outputs, with little matter of concern for the internal management of the firm working on other individual players. Therefore, an internal management choice control structure is known to make a major impact on performance of local companies (Mintzberg, 1979). There have been large changes in environment of business which has contributed to the supply chain networks developments. Primarily, as a result of globalization and with the increase of big multi-national companies, strategic alliances, joint ventures and business partnerships, have found to be making important factors of success, following the earlier practices of JIT (Just-In-Time), Lean Management and Agile Manufacturing. Secondly, changes of technology, especially the dramatic fall in the cost of information communication, which is a predominant component of transaction costs, have led to changes in organization among the members of the network of supply chain (Coase, 1998). The exceptional transformation towards activities of integration from managing functions of individuals with processes of key supply chain in place could be the first significant step in establishing a successful supply network. For example; the department of purchasing places orders as necessities become appropriate only, when Department of Marketing responding to consumer demands and convey the same with all the distributors and retailers across to go with the demand of customers. The overall integration process leverages the whole shared information among partners of supply chain of an organization towards its advantage. The key to Successful consolidation of Supply chain business process is by employing the collaborative work across suppliers and buyers, common systems along with the shared information and joint product development. In 2000, the Lambert and Cooper expressed their view as the whole as The continuous information flows in the integrated supply chain process supports an organization to achieve best product flows. Despite such expression, there subsists an opinion among organizations and networks of management, that product flows optimization cannot be realized without implanting a process access to respective businesses. The supply chain significant processes by Lambert (2004) are listed below: Customer relationship management Management customer service Management of demand Fulfilment of orders Management of flow of manufacturing Management of supplier relationship Development of a product and commercialization Management of Returns In addition to points of Lambert other keys are: Procurement Physical distribution Outsourcing and partnerships Measurement of performance Management of customer service process As the information of customer is the basic source for service of customers, the important aspect of Customer relationship Management is between the organization and its customers. This real- time information makes customers cognisant on various details such as product availability, product information, probable delivery dates through multiple interfaces of information about the companys operations of production and distribution. Steps to build an efficient and Successful relationship with customers: Establish goals which are commonly rewarding between organization and customers Customize and invest efforts to preserve customer resonance and support always create positive outlook with customers in the organization Process of procurement In laying good strategic plans for process of procurement, the interests, opinions and support of the suppliers is very important; because their confidence in the plans lay foundation for newly build manufacturing flow management and it is the same in case of a development of a new product. When activities are global and far reach across, the companies need to accommodate processes to manage and source them accordingly. For achieving success in creating the preferred product, it is significant to have mutually beneficial relationship, cut down times cycles in design and development of the new product play very important role. Communication systems can be boosted by deploying tools like Internet connectivity and electronic data interchange (EDI), of the purchasing function of a firm to drive activities. These powerful systems of communication streamlines a lot of processes in managing, obtaining and tracking information about products and materials and products, which supports organization in dealing with issues successfully; supply sources, inbound transportation negotiation phases, resource plans, order placement, delivery status, storage capabilities, handling and quality assurance. Also, it actuates the organizations to handle the responsibility and to organize commitment with suppliers over supply continuity, delivery scheduling, misrepresentation, and research support studies in creating new product and sources of programs. Development of new product and commercialization This helps organizations to reduce time cycles of development of product with aspects of customers, suppliers so as to capture markets better by being competitive, innovations of products

The Sweet Thereafter Summary :: essays research papers

The movie and the novel 'The Sweet Thereafter'; had a few minor differences. Two of the differences that I would like to point out are the two that I consider being the two most important. The first topic of discussion in this paper is the picture on the front of the book and the meaning of it. The second topic I would like to bring up is the relationship between Mitchell and Zoe. The changes between the two are important, however, the main plot does not change between the movie and the novel. The first comparison I would like to make is the picture on the front of the book. The picture shows how the story affects Mitchell's life. After reading the book, watching the movie, and listening in class I realized how they reflect each other. The family on the front of the book is Stevens family. This picture was when Zoe, his daughter, was young. The mother and daughter appear to be very close. The reality within the picture is that Mitchell is not quit as close as they appear. Mitchell did not want to be that close to his family simply because he feared being to close and then losing them. The picture reminds me of the trip that the family took to North Carolina. This image comes from the end of their vacation. In the picture he seems like he is trying not to get to close to his family. One reason for this is the scare he went through with his daughter, Zoe. The scare the family went through was when Zoe got bit by a spider. When she started to swell up, her mother drove while Mitchell had to keep Zoe calm. To add to the scare Mitchell was going to have to do an emergency tracheotomy if her throat was to swell shut. They did, however, make it to the hospital on time. After getting back home that evening the mattress that Zoe slept on was burned. From that night and for the rest of the vacation Zoe slept with her parents. All during the scare with Zoe, Mitchell felt like he was two different people, a father and a doctor. The father role that he was playing was to keep his daughter calm. The doctor role of the situation was holding onto the knife ready to cut into his daughters throat at anytime, ready to save her life.