Parent and Teen Relationships

Children are raised differently each day. The way parents raise their children can affect them throughout life, and make them who they become as an adult. This is why it is important for parents and teens to have com/%EF%BB%BFtechnology-effects-of-human-relationships/">healthy relationships. Some parents whip their children for doing something wrong, some scold their children and whip them, but some do not even care about what their children do and in the future, this could be a major problem, especially for teenagers. When it comes to parents having to understand what their teenager is doing with their lives sometimes, it is unbearable for the parents.The teenage years of young men and young women are sometimes the most experimental years of one’s life. A teenager becomes more curious about sexual activity, alcohol, drugs, and beauty; this is especially true for teenage women because they try to find ways to make their bodies look even more beautiful although there can be har mful effects in the end. These four curiosities alone can drive parents crazy, but there are some methods that parents can use to help cope with the hard times that parents and teenagers may go through during the teenage years. Stories like â€Å"Two Kinds† by Amy Tan can sometimes help us learn from their mistakes.In class, we read and discussed â€Å"Two Kinds† by Amy Tan. This story is about a young girl named Jing-Mei who has a very controlling mother that wants her daughter to be just like many famous young actors of their time. So many things go on in this young ladies life, for example her mother takes her out to the beauty shop and makes her get a Shirley Temple hair cut, and in the end her mother hates the hair cut and then tells her daughter it looks awful, she says â€Å"you look like a Negro Chinese.† (468) she acted on this as if the child had done it on purpose. This adjustment in itself can affect the behavior of young men and young women because as they get older they may not care what their parents say and their children start to rebel against their parents leading to many dangerous paths.The difference between my life and this story is that I was told as a child that I could do anything with my life that I wanted to do. I was never made into anything that I did not want to become. My dad always had the dream of me becoming an awesome soccer player because that is what my brother wanted  to do but I had other plans. I wanted to become a dancer, and go to school for dance one day, and that is what I did and I am here today. This little girl did not have that chance, her mother ruled her life and she became what her mother wanted her to become.A relationship is the key element in any mother daughter’s relationship. We see in this story that the mother is very controlling and that affects the daughter in many ways. Many children today do not have good relationship with their parent’s because of certain issues. These issue the child’s issues or the parents. Some parents may take control of their children like in â€Å"Two Kinds.† However, other situations are the children can control the parents. We see this every day on television such as MTV, with Teen Cribs. This is a show where the parents pretty much give their children anything and everything they want in life. As in â€Å"Two Kinds† sometimes the child can be so rambunctious that the parent cannot be in control of their child but the child controls the parent.There are also many ways that parents can fix these types of situations, so these issues do not result into a problem. Parents are not supposed to be your best friend they are supposed to tell you what to do. Ways to fix this is to sit down and talk with your kids and lay down the rules and requirements that need to be dealt with. Others may have to take drastic measures and send their children off to get help because they cannot control them, such as boar ding schools, military schools, religious schools, and even juvenile hall. If you teach your children at an early age to listen and be obedient then it will stick with them.Your child should respect you and look up to you from an early age. Children know what they can and cannot do at an early age, but when children know they can get away with anything when it comes to the parents; they push the limit and don’t think about who they’re hurting in the long run. These kids have never been scolded, whipped, or said no to and know that their parents either do not care or care but do nothing about it.As we grow older, we learn that our parents only told us what to do because they loved us and probably have gone through the same thing. I, for  example, look back on my childhood as an adult now and think how my parents were doing me a favor and doing what was best for me. Knowing this now, I see why my parents treated me the way they did and disciplined me for doing things t hat I was told not to do. As a society, we can learn from stories like â€Å"Two Kinds. These stories can be eye opening for parents in the future, and how we raise our children, I hope to be a good parent one day and teach my kids the lessons my parents taught me.

Ashaba-Ahebwa Mark on Civil Law in the Ugandan Jurisdiction Essay

The topographic point and manner of test is normally determined by type of test and proceedings. If you make an application by biddings. so you will be heard in Chambers. Procedure 1 – where suspect elects non to name grounds The Plaintiff or recommend makes an gap address referred to sometimes as an gap statement. After that the complainant informants are called. examined cross examined and re-examined. After that the complainant or his advocator amounts up the instance by doing a shutting address. After that the Defendant states their instance and makes a shutting address. Procedure 2 – Defence elects to name grounds Advocates for the complainant makes an opening statement. the complainant informants are called. examined. cross-examined and re-examined. After that the defendant’s advocate makes an opening statement. After that the defendant’s informants are called. examined. cross examined and rhenium examined. After the Plaintiff or his advocator amounts up the instance by doing the shutting address. Thereafter the suspect sums up the instance and makes a shutting address besides. The Defendant can answer to the plaintiff’s shutting. The answer merely covers new land. In instances where there are many suspects and many complainants the same process will use but if the suspects are represented individually. so the advocates will individually do their entries individually by order of visual aspect. Cross scrutiny of informant will besides follow the order in which they proceed. Co complainants will usually be represented by the same advocate. Who has the right to get down the instance? Order XVII Rule 1 The complainant or the applier has the right to get down. Of class there are certain exclusions to that right to get down. 1. Where the Defendant admits the facts alleged by the complainant but raises an expostulation on a portion of jurisprudence. In such a instance the suspect should be entitled to get down by subjecting on that portion of the jurisprudence. For illustration. say one raises a supplication of Res Judicata? In such a instance one can state that they have sued the suspect by they have raised an expostulation on the portion of the jurisprudence a and in this instance. the Defendant has the right to get down on a supplication of RESs judicata. Or the Defendant raises the supplication of restriction. they have the right to subject on that point of jurisprudence. However it is advisable that one should ever set it in the pleadings whatever supplication they intend to raise. 2. Where the Defendants admits the facts alleged by the complainant but states that the complainant is non entitled to the alleviation that they seek for illustration drawn from Seldon v. Davidson in which instance the complainant brought proceedings for recovery of a debt. In their defense mechanism the suspects admitted that they received the money from the complainant but pleaded that the money was a gift. In this instance the suspect has a right to get down. Suppose there are several issues? May be it could be many different parties and there is a difference as to who should hold the right to get down? The tribunal will direct that the party with the load of turn outing the bulk of issues shall get down. Opening Statement What should it incorporate It is normally a brief lineation of either the defendant’s or the plaintiff’s instance. normally it will province the facts merely. They will be stating the tribunal the informant that they intend to name and will be giving a prevue of what they intend to turn out. Normally this is an debut to the full test and it is of import that it is interesting. logical. credible and in a narrative signifier. Usually it is non necessary for the Judge to enter the gap addresss unless one raises a point of jurisprudence. It is of import that a note should be made in the tribunal record that an gap address was made. an gap address must non incorporate grounds. It should merely be limited to a statement of basic facts that the parties intend to turn out or trust on as defense mechanism. After you make the gap statements. you move on to scrutiny in head. Examination OF WITNESSES Examination in Chief When you call a informant there are 3 phases1. Examination in head2. Cross Examination3. Re scrutiny Examination in Chief The object of scrutiny in head is to arouse facts that are favorable to the instance of the party naming the informant. In other words the test in head is when you question your first informant. Sometimes the plaintiffs themselves. Normally they will be giving grounds that will be favorable to their instance. It is governed by two regulations ( a ) The informant can non be asked prima inquiries – these are inquiries that suggest the reply expected of that individual. For illustration you can non inquire Was your concern running into fiscal troubles last twelvemonth? You should inquire what was the fiscal place of your concern last twelvemonth? The art of cognizing whether a inquiry is taking is learnt with experience. ( B ) The scrutiny must non be conducted in an assaultive mode. Normally at cross scrutiny you can assail but you can non make that to your ain informant. If your informant turns hostile. you can inquire the tribunal to declare the informant a hostile informant a nd one time the tribunal does that. you can so assail the informant. When a informant is declared hostile ( I ) You will be allowed to impeach the creditability of that informant ; ( two ) You can inquire prima inquiries ( three ) You can inquire them inquiries that touch on their truthfulness and even their past character and old strong beliefs. ( four ) You can besides be able to analyze on certain issues by leave of the justice e. g. you can oppugn the hostile informant on statements they made antecedently which is inconsistent with their present testimony. This can assist to demo that the witne3ss is giving conflicting grounds which the tribunal is allowed to decide when they are taking the grounds into history. You must take witness statements. If they give grounds inconsistent with the statement that they signed. you can impeach their credibleness and bring forth the informant statement. CROSS EXAMINATION There are 3 purposes of cross scrutiny 1. To arouse farther facts which are favorable to the cross analyzing party ; 2. To prove and if possible dramatis personae uncertainty on the grounds given by the informant in head ; 3. To impeach the credibleness of the informant. Cross scrutiny – the range is broad one is allowed to inquire prima inquiries. inquiry a informant on old testimony. it is non restricted in any manner. A good Advocate will ne'er bury the virtuousness of courtesy. RE EXAMINATION Once you have examined your informant in head. the other side cross-examines your informant. The re scrutiny is a sort of retrieval procedure. This is when you try to mend the lesions that were opened up in cross scrutiny. Most of import. re-examination is purely restricted to affairs that arose at cross scrutiny. The tribunal besides has powers to inquire a witness inquiries for the intent of clear uping points. SUBMISSION OF NO CASE TO ANSWER The suspect may do a defense mechanism of no instance to reply after the entry by the complainant. The Judge must make up one's mind whether there is any grounds that would warrant seting the suspects on their defense mechanism. Normally if the entry of no instance to reply is non upheld. the instance continues. If the tribunal says that there is no instance to reply. that governing can be challenged on Appeal. Taking DOWN EVIDENCE Normally grounds of informants is taken orally in unfastened tribunal under the way of a Magistrate or Judge. it is usually written down in narrative signifier i. e. non inquiry and reply signifier but where there is particular ground. the grounds may be in inquiry and reply signifier. The regulation is that the tribunal may on its gesture taken down a peculiar inquiry verbatim and the reply verbatim. Where either party objects to a inquiry and the tribunal allows it. so the tribunal should enter the inquiry. the reply and the expostulation and the name of the individual raising the expostulation and if they make a opinion they must besides enter the opinion of the expostulation raised. Tact is required as you may happen that. Sometimes if you object excessively much you can annoy the Judge. Object merely for of import things. In the class of taking grounds. the tribunal may besides enter comments made by informants while under scrutiny and usually after taking down the grounds the justice will subscribe that grounds. The tribunals can besides enter comments and demeanor of a informant. PROSECUTION & A ; ADJOURNMENT OF SUITS Public policy paperss that concern of the tribunal should be conducted efficiently. It is of great importance and in the involvement of justness that action should be brought to test and finalised with minimal hold. Order XVI Rule 1 requires that hearing of instances should be on a twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours footing until all informants have testified. However this is non ever possible and that is why the tribunal may recess a hearing on its ain gesture or upon application by either of the parties where good class is shown. The regulation requires that dissolutions can be granted where good cause is shown Habib V Rajput the complainant instance came up for hearing. the advocators applied for dissolution on the evidences that their client was absent for some unexplained grounds. The respondent opposed stating that his informants were already in tribunal and had come from really far off and it was bing a few thousand shillings to maintain them there per twenty-four hours. Was the plaintiff’s ground good cause to recess. The tribunal ruled that no sufficient cause was shown and the application for dissolution was dismissed. Kamil V. Merali NO STEPS TAKEN – Order XVI Rule 6 Under Rule 6. where no application has been made or stairss taken for 3 old ages by either party. the tribunal may order the suit to be dismissed but normally the application should demo do why the suit should non be dismissed. Any instance which is dismissed under Rule 6 can be instituted afresh topic to regulations of restriction. Victoria Construction Co. V. Dugall The tribunal considered the significance of stairss taken within the significance of Rule 6. the Case was filed in November 1958 and in 1960 the Applicant decided to mention the instance to an arbiter but efforts to decide the difference through arbitration failed. The affair went to kip until 1962 where the registrar asked the parties to demo cause why the suit should non be dismissed. The Plaintiff contended that the stairss to seek arbitration amounted to stairss taken. The inquiry was whether an understanding to mention the affair to arbitration was a measure taken and the tribunal held that that was non a measure taken and the instance was dismissed. In this instance. the tribunal explained 1. That one has to fulfill the tribunal that the suit is ready to continue without hold. 2. One has to fulfill the tribunal that the suspect will endure no adversity ; 3. That there has been none frequent inaction by the Plaintiff. It is advisable at the clip the instance comes up for hearing to inquire that it be stood over by and large ( SOG ) to give you clip to travel to arbitration and if you are non ready. you can ever travel back to tribunal and seek an extension. This manner there is a measure taken. Shutting Address You are stating the tribunal that you have presented your grounds. that you have proved that so and so is apt and you will besides be stating the tribunal that this is the jurisprudence and if applied to the facts of your instance so the jurisprudence should back up your supplications. You will be stating the tribunal of past determinations that support your instance. You will accommodate the facts. the jurisprudence and past determinations that support your instance. You make your instance in the shutting statements.

Biological basis of human movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Biological basis of human movement - Essay Example These types of movements are not particularly powerful movements but an important one none the less. The tibialis is responsible for ensuring that the toes are lifted properly during the act of walking. Without this, the foot would constantly drag. The gastrocnemius on the other hand is made up of two thick muscle bellies (composed of muscle fiber bunches) and is responsible for flexing the foot while the knee joint is extended. Comparatively speaking, the gastrocnemius is a larger more powerful muscle than the tibialis anterior. The gastrocnemius is composed of more fibers and contains two muscle bellies as apposed to one. To better understand theses two specific muscles, one must first establish the cellular structure of muscle tissue. Muscular tissue is considered to be contractile or possessing an elastic property, similar to a rubber band. Muscles are made up of certain types of cells called muscle "fibers". These specific types of cells are composed of what is called actin filaments and myosin filaments. It is the interconnecting or interacting of these filaments that is responsible for muscle contractions. The specific types of muscles that this lab is concerned with are called skeletal muscles. These muscles can also be called striated muscles. The term "striated" is given them due to the thread like fibers that they are composed of, which are both light and dark. The appearance of light and dark in these muscle threads is due to the actin and myosin filaments. These thread like fibers cause the muscles to appear striped or "striated". Skeletal muscles are responsible for the movement of limbs and appendages. They are attached to the long bones via tendons. It is the angle that presents between the joint and the muscle that constitutes the angle of pennation that we will be studying. In the observation of these muscles, we need to understand their structure on a cellular level in order to fully comprehend their mechanisms. It is important also to know that each of the skeletal muscles that we are observing is made up of several muscle fibers (cells). These fibers are each a long cell with some unique cellular characteristics. One of the characteristics specific to muscle fibers (cells) is the sarcolemma. The sarcolemma is the plasma membrane to the muscle fiber (cell) with some very important features. It possesses what is called T tubules which are structures specifically for penetrating the cell itself in order to make contact with the sarcoplasmic reticulum. These tubules aim to touch the sarcoplasmic reticulum without actually connecting to it. The sarcoplasmic reticulum is much like an endoplasmic reticulum but an enlarged or expanded version. The sarcoplasmic reticulum is larger or expanded in muscle fibers in order to store calcium ions. Calcium ions are imperative to the contraction of muscles. The part of the muscle fiber responsible for contraction is called the myofibril. Structures called sarcomeres are located within these myofibrils. The sarcomeres contain protein filaments which is the core reason for muscle contraction. This is basically the contraction site of the muscle. The protein filaments are composed of the two filaments mentioned earlier, actin and myosin. The interaction of actin and myosin can be explained by what is called the Sliding Filament Theory. This theory states that

Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Financial Management - Essay Example The company continues to be on the rise according to the FIA report of 2010. The report that was published on March 2011 reveals that contracted traded in NYSE Euronext experienced a rise of 24.6% in the FY2010 to reach 2.155 contracts (Heckman, 2009) The NYSE is the world’s largest company in terms of cash equities exchange. It has been in operation for about 215 years, and its dealings are in capital formation, whereby the company serves institutional and individual investors, the trading movement and its listed companies. By the end of 2006, over 2700 users (operating companies, exchange traded funds and closed end funds) were listed in the corporation. These listed companies represented the global market capitalization of over b$25 trillion. Ever since, the company has enhanced its reputation in cash equities exchange. As compared to the rest, Euronext is an extremely new financial entity, which was formed in 2000 (Brigham, 2009). The governance of NYSE Euronext is by a board of directors that is elected manually. A majority of these directors are independent while the rest of the team comprises of a CEO, deputy CEO, non executive chairman and deputy chairman. The markets of the company are regulated according to local requirements. When the merger was done, it was agreed that there would be no additional requirements for all the listed companies. This was to guard the company from American Law especially, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act is an enactment of 2002 is a federal law that governs corporate finance. The law was enacted after many high ranking companies including WorldCom and Enron were implicated in corporate accounting scandals. The Act brought reform into American business and enhanced criminal penalties for any company that destroys, falsifies,

Competitive Advantage at Louis Vuitton and Gucci Case Study

Competitive Advantage at Louis Vuitton and Gucci - Case Study Example This research is the best example of comparison of two brands. Both LVMH and Gucci host a number of luxurious brands which have their own individuality in terms of designing, inbound and outbound logistics, marketing and value to these companies. The most important success factor for these companies has been the valuable brands they serve. These brands have a long established history for delivering products which have been appreciated and accepted as the source of luxury. By luxury we mean products or services which have high economic value and have a limited market of the richest and elites. Both companies have cultivated strong marketing tools to ensure that their brands remain active in the market and are not renounced at any times. Furthermore, their presence and major fashion shows in major cities including New York, Paris, Milan, London, Singapore and Berlin creates a real impact for these companies. The overall impact of rejuvenating brand is increasing demand for prestigious products even at higher prices than market average. The second most important success factor is that these companies have constantly engaged in the process of evolving. From just being single business line entities they have not been hesitant to explore opportunities available in the market. This is mainly due to the inspirations and charisma of the groups’ creative directors who had long term vision for making their brands as household name. The companies have grown as conglomerate of brands with product lines in different market segments however keeping in view the value in terms of the extravagance and luxury for their users. The companies have been able to differentiate from their competitors in many ways. Most importantly is that these companies have kept a unique culture and control over the use of their brands. They have not allowed excessive franchising and licensing of their brand which would dilute their brands as experienced by some of the leading fashion brands su ch as Pierre Cardin which lost its presence in the luxury market because of the overuse of the brand in 1980s for over 800 products (Lynch, 2005). The consideration of the companies' value chains indicate that both companies aim to work with controlled suppliers

The Value of a Backyard Garden Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Value of a Backyard Garden - Essay Example A well-managed backyard garden can save you money, promotes mental well being, and improves you overall health. We all know the value placed on good nutrition and it's alarming how many people cut corners in an effort to save money at the grocery store. With a garden, you have an all-you-can eat vegetable stand right in you own backyard. The real bonus is that it is always open and there is never any charge. You can grow almost any of your favorite vegetables, and growing your own cabbage, broccoli, carrots, or beans of your choice can result in substantial savings. Excess vegetables can be frozen, dried, or canned and provide you with a year round supply of some of your favorite foods. The gas you save by making fewer trips to the grocery store is well worth the cost of the seeds alone. With a backyard garden brimming with mouth-watering vegetables, you can say goodbye to the high cost of supermarket shopping forever. Digging in the dirt to plant your first seeds will overwhelm you with the feeling of a child's first Christmas. Anxious to see the signs of new progress, you check the seedbeds daily for the sight of the first new sprouts. The new growth stretches as the young plants reach for the sun and fills you with a new sense of curiosity. As the garden grows, a feeling of accomplishment and awe comes over you as you see the lush vegetation begin to flower and produce fruit. The scent of the zinnias and the sight of the squash brings a sense of well being over you as you check the daily growth of your efforts. Pride, serenity, and a sense of mystery takes over your mind and you begin to realize that when you are in your backyard garden, you are at peace. The stress of the day's activities subsides and you carry this renewed sense of calm with you into tomorrow as the world becomes more manageable. In a country where obesity is a monumental problem, fast food advertising dominates the television, and we are continually lectured on the importance of eating right, we need to look no farther than our own backyard to discover the key to good health. Vegetables have been proclaimed to reduce the risk of cancer, reduce blood pressure, and keep us heart healthy. Along with great taste, fresh vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals and nutrients necessary to maintain good health. The exercise you get from weeding the garden and the addition of the low fat vegetables to your diet is a one-two punch guaranteed to keep you in shape. Your backyard garden could be the most valuable weapon in your arsenal for achieving good health. The escalating cost of gasoline and the high cost of supermarket vegetables makes growing a backyard garden a sound and practical economic choice. Storing your vegetables for winter use lets you enjoy the savings year around. The experience of watching your garden grow from seeds to plants is one of the most satisfying pleasures that can be had in a backyard. The garden will give you a more positive outlook on life as you monitor its growth and delight in your own self-achievement. Weeding and hoeing in the dirt is good physical exercise that we are all in dire need of. The addition of these healthy foods into our diet will assure that we are getting the most nutritious food available, and improve our chances of eliminating and reducing the risk of disease and illness.

ENTREPRENURSHIP CAPITAL & THE FIRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

ENTREPRENURSHIP CAPITAL & THE FIRM - Essay Example The major activities of an entrepreneur generally depends upon three components which include bearing risks, introducing innovative technologies and creating new products or services The main function of an entrepreneur is to form new solutions by recognising opportunities for attaining considerable profits. The common features of an entrepreneur are identifying business opportunities, adopting as well as implementing effective business strategies, creating interrelation with the employees and utilising valuable resources (Havinal 95-101). An entrepreneur is typically viewed to be the owner of the business whose prime intention is to accomplish desired business objectives. An entrepreneur is required to acquire adequate knowledge as well as skills relating to the analysis of business markets for the success of the business. A particular entrepreneur is entrusted with the responsibility of performing effective business functions for enhanced business performance and achieving signific ant competitive position over the chief business market competitors. Additionally, an entrepreneur must possess specific business traits as well as characteristics to conduct business in an effective manner (Havinal 95-101). Thesis Statement In this discussion, the background of the entrepreneur from childhood to commencement of business will be taken into concern. Moreover, the influencing factors which are responsible for encouraging the entrepreneurs to start up new business and detailed analysis of the subsequent management and development of a new venture will also be portrayed in the discussion. Background of the Entrepreneur The background of an entrepreneur is recognised to be an essential factor for influencing an individual to start up a new business. The varied experiences which are acquired by an individual from childhood are responsible for the development of entrepreneurial qualities. There are certain factors which require paying much attention for commencing a new bu siness by taking into concern the traits that experiences by an entrepreneur from childhood as well as family background. In this similar context, an entrepreneur as a child should obtain the knowledge as well as the experiences from his/her parents who conduct business for survival. It has been apparently observed that the self-employed parents perform significant role in developing entrepreneurial behaviour as well as attitudes towards a child (Lancaster University, â€Å"Family Business Background, Perceptions of Barriers and Entrepreneurial Intentions in Cyprus†). According to Krueger (1993), the conduct of family business can be regarded as an important as well as influencing factor for acquiring perceived qualities as well as beliefs to commence a new business. The availability of capital required for starting up a business is an important determinant which influences an individual to become a successful entrepreneur.

The purpose of this analysis is to apply the industry analysis models Essay

The purpose of this analysis is to apply the industry analysis models introduced in chapter four. The two models are PESTEL and - Essay Example Rationale behind choosing the Retail Sector The study has selected retail sector under NAICS with code 44-45 (NAICS, 2013b). The retail sector is an important sector which covers a wide area of the business in today’s world. The retail trade market accounts for almost 12.4 percent of the total business establishments in United States. The single store businesses are said to account for almost 95 percent of the entire United States retailers. Some of the big retailing companies include Wal-Mart, Zara, Target Corporation, Benetton Group etc. However, this study would be focusing on the retail trade industry in Canada. The study has selected this sector as it covers a wide segment of the business world with huge growth prospects. NAICS Industry Profile: Retail Trade Industry Retail trade is the sale of products and services by the individuals or the businesses to the end users. The retailers include a part of the integrated system known as the supply chain. The retailer buys prod ucts or goods from the manufacturers in large quantities either directly or through whole sale and then sells them in small quantities to the customers in order to gain good profit. This industry covers a huge portion of the businesses where retailing can be done in fixed locations by means of stores and markets, or can be delivered to the customers directly. The term retailer is applicable for the service providers as well. These service providers provide services like electric power, public utility and such for many individuals. The industry comprises of small business shops. These shops may be located in the residential streets, different shopping streets or in the shopping malls. Online retailing being one type of electronic commerce which is utilized in the business to consumer transactions i.e. B2C include non-shop retailing. The retailing industry can be said to be one of the most dynamic industries in the world. It is considered as the one of the ever growing businesses cate ring products and services to the changing needs and demands of the customers. The companies belonging to this particular industry sell the merchandises or products to its consumers from a definite location. Retail industry is the second biggest industry in entire United States in terms of both number of employees and establishments (Research and Markets, 2013). It generates a retail sale of $ 3.8 trillion annually. It also includes the largest sector worldwide. The next part of the project would be conducting the macro environmental analysis of the retail trade industry by means of PESTEL Analysis and Porter’s Five Forces Analysis. PESTEL Analysis The PESTEL Analysis helps in describing an essential framework of different macro environmental factors which are used in the environmental scanning of a particular organization (Pettigrew, Whittington & Thomas, 2006; Lorat, 2009). Political/Legal Canada is a democratic country with one parliamentary government. It consists of thre e main parts: a) Federal, b) Provisional and c) Municipal (Parliament of Canada, 2012). The government provides huge scope for the retail industry. It facilitates the growth in the industry. The policies on the economy and trading agreements as specified by NAFTA are essential to be followed by the companies operating in this industry (Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, 2013). The increased limitations in the

Write a story of your own Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Write a story of your own - Assignment Example The family noticed a very heavy traffic jam on the highway. Another peculiar thing that could be observed was the sudden change in weather with very strong winds. It was then that they turned on the radio and they were updated by their relatives that a hurricane had struck the city. The cars on the road seemed like ants stranded here and there. This was not all but matters became worse when the radio announcement claimed that the hurricane was moving towards the highway. A chaotic situation was created with common sites of cars banging into each other. But Harry and his family were lucky again because a following announcement pronounced that the hurricane had taken the other route and the situation had resolved. This organized day presented with an unpredictable happening. The family experienced a very difficult time and though they reached home in 2 days, but the following two weeks were very difficult with no electricity and basic resources. Despite the advances in human technology, there are still certain areas which are out of human control and the sudden weather changes are one of

Analyse the suns newspaper leading article Essay Example for Free

Analyse the suns newspaper leading article Essay The Sun is a tabloid newspaper, which is generally short and easy to read. The word spirit adds evidence that The Sun targets a simple audience, which dont have to be highly educated. The Sun is aimed at the middle class market (red top). As well as being strictly right-wing politics, the paper also has an untrustworthy reputation, they can also have tendency to exaggerate the truth and even print lies. Papers often exaggerate to make the situation sound more devastating and to have a more dramatic effect on the reader. The Sun gives a graphical view into what happened on September the 11th. The article on the 12th September 2001 is presented quite visually. The paper uses headlines to attract the readers attention and to summarise the facts of the article. The main title for the article is The Sun Says. The title is printed in large capital letters, is bold and has white letters printed on a black background. White letters on a black background are used to focus people attention on the title. Bold text is also used to make certain text stand out from the rest. The heading is to summarise the article, which is what The sun says This short unfinished sentence makes the reader want read on and this creates suspense as well as getting reader interest. This heading is also influencing the readers point of view. The main Sub heading is All the world must unite to defeat these evil cowards. This heading is printed in large letters, is bold, underlined, has white letters on a black background and in the centre of the article. The heading is in the centre of the article this is to break up the text and grab peoples attention. The heading is used to give a message, which in this case is everyone, must join together to find out who committed this unprovoked attack. This heading is also exaggerated to creating drama and excitement to stimulate the interest of the reader. Below the sub heading in a picture of some of the people caught up in the accident. This is eye catching and is reinforcing what is being said in the text. The picture is followed by the caption Terror victims. New York workers flee the devastation covered in dust yesterday This caption is to get a certain response from the reader. The writer varies the sentence lengths to make short sentences punchy and hard-hitting on the audience. This simple short sentences They must is the first sentence of the article after the subheading. Short sentences are to emphasise a certain point. The point for this sentence is really the answer to the sub heading before it. This has a dramatic effect on its audience to unite in the wake of yesterdays horrors. An additional short sentence is Not after yesterday. This is due to the amount of lives that were lost and threat of another attack. This is playing on the audiences emotions. The writer uses a variety of techniques to help write a powerful article. Emotive language is used to provoke a certain response this can be demonstrated by the phrase But the world will never be the same again. This phrase is used to provoke an emotional response from the audience because the towers will never be rebuilt or be the same again. In order to create emotions, The Sun had to be biased and argue their point in order to get a certain emotion, among the audience. The writer uses the single word exactly which is written in Italic writing. This is to emphasise the word and make it stand out from the rest of the paragraph. The word is also to persuade the audience to adopt their point of view. Bold text stand is used several times throughout the article. Various examples of the bold text are It is our duty to support them, both morally and if necessary practically and They must be hunted down and killed. These quote are both subtitles. These subtitles are bold to catch the readers attention and make you want to read more. The bold also makes the text stand out from the rest of the paragraph. Both of these sentences give the read a feeling that if there is a war then we should back America. A rhetorical question is often asked for effect, this is to get a reader interested in what is happening. Were his words treated as bravado rather that a dire threat? By asking a question the reader is leaving the answer up to the readers imagination and for them to draw their own opinion. In addition, the writer also uses questions from famous people in order to support their view. By quoting the prime minister the writer helps to support this view and it gets the paper politically involved. Tony Blair quoted, The terrorists were in human Journalists often exaggerate the truth to have a greater impact on the reader. For example The world will NEVER be the same again. By exaggerating the story the writer is trying to create a more devastating story. By developing and twisting the story the writer is assuming what has happened, but cant prove what actually took place. This is called suppression and is created by saying an example of this is If they had a nuclear bomb, they would use it. Exaggeration is also being used to influence the readers point of view like in the phrase describing the disaster similar to Armageddon, Death Wish and the Towering Inferno. Writers some times use rhyming phrases in order to create phrases or slogans to keep the suspense of the article. Examples of rhyming phrases in the article include George W. Bush will not shirk from using might in the cause of right. And we have won before. We will win again. By playing on words, using Rhyming phrases and repetition the writer is focusing on a certain point or word. In this case the word is we which is at the end of the article to get across the point that we can win. The Language used in the Sun is informative, angry and sad. The language is a key tool in making a newspaper as affective as possible as it keeps the audience interested. A great example of this is the phrase New York workers flee the devastation of yesterday. This example of sad language is to provoke angry response from the audience. The language is also dramatic an example of this is he must be bold. This is to provoke the response that George Bush must be brave and daring. At the time of the disaster I was at school so I didnt find out until I got home. When I saw the pictures on the television I felt a great lose for the families and could not belief something like this could happen, it affects everyone. The bottom lines of the article are trying to get people to unite and get everyone to pray for America and for us all. This powerful phrase is supposed to have a lasting affect on the reader and to influence their opinion. The leading article is a story expressing the newspapers point of view they are normally hard hitting, powerful and personnel. Some times they are actually written by the editor and they are much more opinionated than other reports. This type newspaper tries to make up peoples minds for them as it is mainly biased.

Major battles of crusades

Major battles of crusades The three major battles of the crusades are the sieges of Antioch, Sidon, and Acre. This essay will explain the three major battles and its results. The battle of Antioch was during the first crusade and was fought over the city of Antioch. Second is the siege of Sidon during the Norwegian crusade. Finally is the siege of Acre where the crusaders try to gain control of Jerusalem. The first major battle is the battle of Antioch. This siege occurred in the first crusade. The major leaders of this crusade were Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV of Toulhouse. The major leaders of the Seljuk Turks were Yaghi Siyan, Kerbogha, and Toghtekin. The Crusaders arrived just outside the city of Antioch at the Orontes River. Shortly after this the army under Duqaq of Damascus arrived. These armies attacked the crusaders and came to aid and relieve the city of Antioch. Also one of the major crusader leaders became sick and there was a earthquake. Not to mention there was also a great famine, and many of the crusaders were starving. Next in May 1908 a Seljuk Turk army approached under a Muslim named Kerbogha. While the Muslim approached the crusader army became desperate. So Bohemund a crusader leader came into contact with Fiouz a Seljuk Turk inside the city to convince him to open the gates. Fiouz told Bohemund to plan a siege at night and to scale the cities walls and he would open the gates. The crusaders did exactly what he said and he kept true to his word and opened the gates. As a massacre occurred the crusaders gained control over the city. Finally, is the second siege even though the crusaders had most of the control over the city the Muslim army under Kerbogha had just arrived. The Seljuk Turks formed there own siege over the city. The crusaders decided to come out of the city and face the advancing armies. Kerbogha thought his army outnumbered the crusaders but as they started to fire armies retreated therefore the Crusaders actually outnumbered the Turks. Seeing this the Muslims retreated and the Crusaders won. The outcome of the first crusade was the Norwegian Crusade in which the siege of Sidon took place. The leaders of the Norwegian Crusade were Sigurd the Norwegian king and Baldwin I of Jerusalem. Today Sidon is Lebanon. Also Skulason gives a valid description of the battle. The Norsemens king, the skalds relate, Has taen the heathen town of Saet:the slinging engine with dread noise Gables and roofs with stones destroys. The town wall totters too,-it falls; The Norsemen mount the blackened walls. He who stains red the ravens bill, has won,-the town lies at his will. The way the Crusaders attacked the city was the Norwegians attacked by sea and Baldwins army attacked by land. The city of Sidon fell to the Crusaders after only forty-seven days. Last of all, is the Third crusade. This Crusade includes the two year siege of Acre; the seaport of Jerusalem. The commanders on the crusaders side are Richard, Phillip, Guy, Robert, and Gerard. The commanders of the opposing army were Saladin. While the crusaders were running into problems; Saladin was unifying the Muslim world. At the battle of Hattin Saladin determinedly defeated the Crusaders. Now the Crusaders only controlled Tyre, Tripoli, and Antioch. After Europe found out the loss of Jerusalem there was an order for a new crusade. Then Guy led his army outside the city of Acre. Where he set up camp and waited for reinforcements. Saladin moved to the east to confront the Crusader army. As they fought the Crusaders lost only ten thousand men. Even though Saladins army partially won they could not afford to push the crusaders back more with another battle. In conclusion, those were the results of the three sieges. The three major points are the siege of Antioch, Sidon and Acre. The first Siege which was the siege of Antioch. The Crusaders successfully captured the city of Antioch. Second is the Norwegian Crusade in the attempt to capture the city of Sidon which was successfully done in just forty-seven days. Lastly, The third crusade during this time they tried to captured the city of Acre. Even though there attempts to capture the city fell the still succeeded a little.

Canterbury Tales - Wife of Bath :: essays papers

Canterbury Tales - Wife of Bath â€Å"The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales† had numerous unique characters, but the Wife of Bath struck me as the most interesting personality. Through the narrator’s use of direct and indirect characterization, significant details, and motivations for actions I was able to analyze the distinct traits of â€Å"the worthy woman from beside Bath city.† The narrator was very successful in portraying the wife. The wealth of the wife was distinct. â€Å"Her hose of finest scarlet red† shows the fortune she possesses. The wife also had enough fortune to travel to the most important shrines in Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. The narrator’s described her appearance well. â€Å"Bold was her face, handsome, and red in hue† allows the reader to picture the wife as an attractive woman of her time. The middle-aged woman had impressive large hips and â€Å"gap-teeth† which express lust. Her corpulent figure was a very favorable aspect of the time; it indicated wealth and beauty. â€Å"She’d had five husbands, all at the Church door† allows the reader to grasp much about the wife. Having five husbands shows that she is sociable and interested in love and marriage. Her experiences with marriage allow her to be very knowledgeable of love, which is â€Å"an art in which she knew the oldest dances.† â€Å"†¦ All at the Church door† shows her devotion to tradition and her faith. Her dedication to the Catholic Church and the forbidding Church rules of the time, allow the reader to infer she did not divorce her husbands. Therefore, all of her husbands passed away, which allows us to conclude she may have married older men. This wealthy world-traveler, on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, is not motivated by her faith as she travels on this mediocre trip.

Great Gatsby Letter :: Great Gatsby Letter

Dear Gatsby,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I appreciate your care for our friendship, I'm glad that what we have done means something to you as it has to me. I also see that you haven't joined the rest of the flapper aristocrats, it's good to know you're not at the shallow depths of their ignorant mentality. Anyways, I hope that your worries isn't the reason why think that our lives are so troubled all of the sudden. I know myself very well and I know that my life isn't twisted, and I know you well enough to say that your life is not as troubled as you may think or seems. Everybody else living this wealthy luxury of a life has done something worse than anything you have done, used you for parties and drinking for one. One the other hand, the only crime you've commited is falling in love. I have seen Tom and Daisy; unhappyly married knowing their real truths about each other myself, and their marriage is a farse. I have seen you and Daisy; fullfilling that longlost love you had for each other before war, wondering why you lost it to begin with. You and I know Daisy for what she really is, not for that superficial act to gain self-respect, you can make her truly happy again. As for me, I have seen everybody is East Egg. for what they really are, and Jordan is no

The Great Depression :: American History Economy Essays

The Great Depression There had been financial panics before, and there have been some since, but never did a collapse in the market have such a devastating and long-term effect. Like a snowball, it formed and swept away the whole economy before it. Businesses closed, putting millions out of work. Banks failed by the hundreds. Wages for those who were fortunate enough to still have work fell drastically. The value of money decreased as the demand for goods declined. The international structure of world trade collapsed, and each nation sought to protect its own industrial base by imposing high tariffs on imported goods. This only made matters worse. By the fall of 1931, the international gold standard had collapsed, further damaging any hope for the recovery of trade. This started a series of currency devaluations in several countries, because these nations realized that a devalued currency posed at least a temporary advantage in the struggle to find markets for their goods. This was the start of the Great Depression of 1929 to 1940, which began and centered in the United States but spread quickly throughout the industrial world. By 1932, United States industrial output had been cut in half. One fourth of the labor force (about 15 million people) was out of work, and there was no such thing as unemployment insurance. Hourly wages had dropped by about 50 percent. Prices for agricultural products dropped to their lowest level since the Civil War. More than 90,000 businesses failed completely. For nearly every unemployed person, their were dependents who needed to be fed and housed. This massive poverty and hunger had never before been known in the United States. Former millionaires stood on street corners trying to sell apples at 5 cents apeice. Hundreds of pitiful shantytowns, called Hoovervilles in honor of the unfortunate Republican president who presided over the disaster, sprang up all over the country to shelter the homeless. People slept under "Hoover blankets" (old newspapers) in the out-of-doors. People waited in bread lines in every city, hoping for something to eat. In 1931 alone, more than 20,000 Americans committed suicide. The theme song of the time was "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" For anyone who did have money, depression America was a shopper's paradise. A new home could be bought for less than $3,000. A man's suit costed about $10, a shirt about 50 cents, and a pair of shoes about $4.

Continuity and Change in Chinese Nationalist Ideology World War I to Present Essay

Since the beginning of the First World War to the present, nationalist ideology within China has caused change and continuity in several aspects of this nation’s society. One major change in China from the First World War to the present is its foreign relations with other countries due to factors such as communism and neocolonialism. Although China has changed in this way, it has remained one united nation despite foreign invasion and other internal/external conflicts. In the early 1900s, China was a state of continual civic and revolutionary unrest. As support for revolutionary efforts began to spread, China shifted from a monarchy to a republic. However, this rule didn’t last long as warlords within the nation began establishing themselves as regional or provincial rulers. This helped lead to the deterioration of Chinese society. Another factor leading away from a centralized state was fragmented relations with foreign powers. Since the 1900s, a network of foreign control over the Chinese economy had been established by the unequal treaties, which effectively prevented economic development within China. These treaties and other concessions permitted foreigners to intervene in Chinese society and not control the state, but impair its sovereignty. After the First World War, nationalism began to develop rapidly in China. China eagerly looked to the U. S. government to support the elimination of the treaty systems and the full restoration of Chinese sovereignty. However, when the U. S. approved increasing Japanese interference in China, this sparked the May Fourth Movement. Chinese people protested Japanese interference and began to re-establish national unity. As China began shifting from a divided sphere of influence to a dominant world power, it also became more influenced by communism. During the Second World War, the majority of concern to combat communism was in the Soviet Union. While this was taking place we, the U. S. , neglected to aid the efforts of Jiang Jieshi, who sought to unify the nation of China and bring the conflicts of nationalism and communism to an end. In his place, Jiang Jieshi leaves behind a void of power. Communist leader, Mao Zedong stepped up to fill this void. He like many other rulers in China used the Mandate of Heaven to justify his rise to power and take control of China. In 1949, Mao started the Red Revolution, a revolutionary effort to spread communism in China. Communism soon overpowered the nationalist party as the main ruling party. Mao also aimed to make China a self-reliant, isolated nation. However in doing so, China could not economically support itself or its communist views. In the 1970s the People’s Republic of China began large, radical economic reforms forcing the country to become one of the most capitalistic nations in the world. China quickly added itself to the global economy by opening its borders to the trade of various nations. China soon became the economic power that it is today and despite all the turmoil that has occurred from the First World War to the present, China has remained one united nation. From the past to the present, the ideology behind Chinese nationalism has been in a constant state of change. The shift in government and foreign relations throughout the world has been a major source of China’s nationalism. Although these foreign relations are constantly changing, China has remained a unified nation.

Addicted to Smartphones Essay

Have you ever experienced a sudden burst of laughter from someone beside you, and when you turn your head, that person is just watching his or her cell phone without realizing that he or she is in public and disturbs others? Have you ever paid attention to what people around you are doing when waiting for a bus, sitting in the subway, or even before a meal comes to the table? How many of them are holding a smartphone with eyes focused on the screen and fingertips busy dancing back and forth on the touch panel, and never get bored? With the development of 3G and wireless technology, cell phones are no longer restricted to simple communications such as calling or texting. After the appearance of smartphones, things like surfing the Internet, socializing, taking photos or even FaceTime can be done instantly in your hand. See more: My Writing Process Essay Smartphones are becoming parts of many people’s lives. These days, a new phenomenon named â€Å"smartphone addiction† has emerged. In fact, recently in China, the spread of smartphones has attracted more and more young people into the world of virtual Internet at the expense of their interaction with real world relationships; it has also aroused heated discussions on whether or not we should take some actions on limiting this tendency. As a matter of fact, even though smartphones have created a more convenient life and have also changed our way of communication in a digital era, the improper use of smartphones is problematic in our daily lives, and the public should be aware of this. It is necessary for the Chinese to pay serious attention to the excessive dependence on smartphones, and try to lessen the negative influence of smartphones in our daily interpersonal relationships. Before talking about the impacts, we have to take a look at the smartphone market in China. According to the new figures from International Data Corporation, IDC’s worldwide quarterly mobile phone tracker, China’s share of the global smartphone market will rise to 20.7%, up from 18.2% in 2011 (Moscaritolo). Wong Teck Zhung, the senior market analyst with IDC’s Asia/ Pacific client devices team, stated that â€Å"[Chinese] smartphone shipments [were] expected to take a slim lead over the U.S. in 2012[, and there would] be no turning back this leadership changeover† (qtd. in Moscaritolo). This change in leadership means that China will become the leading country-level market for smartphones. Moreover, China even â€Å"overtook the UK and became the second largest country in application downloads. A quarter of ‘Angry Birds’ global downloads lies in China. In 2011, 613,445 applications were available in China, 74% of which were free versus 25% globally† (â€Å"China at your fingertips†). By the end of the second quarter of 2012, smartphone users in China have hit 290 million, while among them, 59% lies in the age group 18-34 (â€Å"Q2 2012†), as indicated from the report released by Iimedia which is the largest telecom and wireless consulting institution in China. Therefore, young people have become major smartphone customers. In terms of the way people communicating, the smartphone revolution constitutes a second major milestone after the Internet. The report from Iimedia shows that by the end of this June, the amount of China mobile Internet users has topped 388 million (â€Å"Q2 2012†). For the first time in Chinese history, mobile Internet users have gone beyond PC netizens, and turn into the biggest Internet terminal. Since China has become the world’s largest country of smartphone consumption, Chinese are engaging more than ever with electronic media which is represented by smartphones. It is worth taking a closer look to see how dependent Chinese people are upon their smartphones through some data from a film clip done by GroupM Interaction which is the global leading media investment management group: More than 500 Chinese magazines have more digital downloads than traditional circulation. Single-day mobile transactions on Taobao during its â€Å"12.12† promotion topped RMB 200 million, while 1 in 5 Taobao users accesses the site via mobile. 2011 mobile e-commerce in China reached RMB 11.5 billion. Westerners pray before eating, while 67% of Chinese take photos and post them on-line. Smartphone users check their mobile phones every 6 minutes. 38% of smartphone users spend more than 5 hours a day on their phone. Mobile is the new cigarette. 92% of youth use their mobile phones on the toilet. Each day over 1,000 people start a new romantic relationship via their mobile phones. (â€Å"China at your fingertips†) Based on the information above, it is not difficult to see that many people have become too engaged with smartphones. As a result, this heavy engagement has led to the unique dependence on smartphones and, consequently, causes Chinese people’s addiction to them. A new study from the University of Maryland asked 200 students to undertake a 24-hour media-free assignment including their smartphones, and the conclusion found â€Å"that most college students [were] not just unwilling, but functionally unable to be without their media links to the world† (â€Å"Students Addicted to Social Media†). Here is what the project director Susan D. Moeller, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland and the director of the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda which conducted the study, notes: We were surprised by how many students admitted that they were â€Å"incredibly addicted† to media†¦ The students did complain about how boring it was [to] go anywhere and do anything without being plugged into music on their MP3 players, [b]ut what they spoke about in the strongest terms was how their lack of access to text messaging, phone calling, instant messaging, email and Facebook, meant that they couldn’t connect with friends who lived close by, much less those far away (qtd. In â€Å"Students Addicted to Social Media†). After 24 hours abstinence, the students’ responses show â€Å"that students’ lives are wired together in such ways that opting out of that communication pattern would be tantamount to renouncing a social life† (â€Å"Students Addicted to Social Media†). Many students did not even realize how much their cell phones had meant to them. In a British study, 36% of the students claimed that they cannot be separated from their cell phones (Ji). Medical authorities are even considering â€Å"whether to designate Internet addiction as a disease in the upcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders† (Shelton). In fact, not just the U.S, China is under the same situation of this marvelous smartphone addiction. A research done by a multinational market research company, Synovateon, observed 8, ;[lm000 people from all over 11 countries, and found out that people from China and Singapore had the most obvious smartphone-obsessed symptoms (Ji). Due to the fact that almost everyone around is suffering the same condition more or less, many people in China do not consider this addiction as a severe problem. However, smartphone addiction does become influential in our daily life and affect people’s interpersonal relationship subconsciously. These days, plenty of people interrupt social conversations to check messages on their mobile devices. More and more Chinese like to take out their cell phones while gathering with friends. Looking at cell phones from time to time has become a major habit for many people in China. Barry S. Fagin, a professor of computer science, once declared that â€Å"the Internet has a strong potential to adversely affect social relationships† (Fagin). With today’s rapid growth of smartphones and wireless technology, Barry’s opinion cannot be more proper. Recently, Mr. Zhang, a citizen from Tsingtao, together with his brother went to visit their grandfather. While the old man tried to talk many times at the table, the children in front were all concentrating on their smartphones until he broke a plate with a long face, and asked them to go eat with their cell phones (Ji). More unfortunately, this case is not singular. People have entertaining conversations with strangers online via smartphones, whereas being mean to daily face-to-face talks. Chinese people are easily giving up their real life affection because of a little smartphone. I have heard my friend saying that let Siri be your friend, but then, what about your real friends? Even so, some may still argue that just like the Internet, smartphones have brought the whole world even closer and have made it possible for instant communication. With nowadays boom in technology, with smartphones and our access to the Internet being so easy, the possibility of information access from anywhere at any time means that distance might not be so important and obvious like it was. As an international student studying abroad, FaceTime does allow me to contact my family and friends over the Pacific wherever I want as long as we are both awake and have an iPhone in hand. The appearance of smartphones might seem to have reduced the distance between people. Nevertheless, it is not totally true. Studies have shown that â€Å"most people still keep in touch with their personal group of friends and social network in the real life via the Internet and phones† (Ji). A man in the U.S. will not be attracted by any Chinese home pages on Facebook, while a Chinese, in most cases, is not interested in reading in English as well. There is not too much for smartphones to contribute in bringing the world closer for many people. Instead, they make the distance even further, not physically, but mentally. Just like an online rearrangement of a proverb goes, â€Å"the furthest distance in the world is not between life and death, but when I stand in front of you, yet you are playing with your cell phone† (qtd. in Ji). In the research conducted by the University of Maryland, a student wrote: â€Å"Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort. When I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go to school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable†(â€Å"Students Addicted to Social Media†). This information is dangerous. Getting used to smartphones makes people even more lonely and isolated from the real world. People, especially the young generation tends to focus too much on their smartphones, which is partly a result of their fear of self-loneliness and the lack of the ability of being alone. If things continue in this way, people are losing the ability of daily interpersonal communicating. A study done by Stanford University shown that â€Å"every other hour people spend in front of their computers, they would cut at least 30 minutes’ face-to-face communications† (Ji), and the same happens to smartphones. This fact has made researchers worried about â€Å"the neural circuit which controls people’s ability of face-to-face communication will degenerate, thus decreasing the neurotransmitters in the brain and even losing the whole function of this part† (Ji). With time goes on, human will lose the ability of identifying the hidden meaning behind a certain expression or language from others, which we achieved from a long time evolution. If this worry ever came true, it would be the biggest tragedy in the digital era. So, after talking all above, what can be done to eliminate this addiction and help the Chinese to find better ways for using their smartphones? Experts suggested that people should take some mandatory measures (â€Å"Experts†). A game played by my friends might be able to provide some good advice. Every time hanging out for meals, we will put all of our phones in the center of the table, and whoever is the first one to reach his or her cell phone during the meal is going to pay for everyone. Besides, sports and outdoor exercises will also help. People, especially in China where they normally stay indoors with nice air-conditioning and comfortable equipment, should open themselves to more outdoor activities. When doing something outdoor, being enveloped under the bright sunshine, sweating a little bit, and completely enjoying yourself, you will find no reason to keep addicted to your smartphones. Compared to the beauty of nature, nothing really matters. There is nothing wrong with falling in love with your smartphones. However, the Chinese have to realize the effect this love may bring on to them. The improper use of smartphones not only has negative influence on themselves in real life relationships, but it is also not respectful to others. In the modern world, of course we cannot live without smartphones, but we can do something more fun. Find what you like instead of smartphones, go for it, and enjoy yourself. Smartphones are just tools, not our complete life. Do not let them take over all our joy of life. Works Cited China at your fingertips. Dir. Tony Chen. Prod. Bessie Lee. GroupM Interaction, 2012. Film Clip. â€Å"Experts teach you how to get rid of your cell phone addiction†. Medpharm & Health 9 (2012): 5-5. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. Fagin, Barry S. â€Å"The Internet Makes Distance Matter Less for Good and Ill†. The Internet. Ed. Gary Wiener. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. 22-28. Print. Ji, Guoliang. â€Å"The Furthest Distance in the World†. City National Newspaper 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 13. Nov. 2012. Moscaritolo, Angela. â€Å"China to Overtake U.S. as Top Smartphone Market in 2012†. PC Magazine Mar 2012: 1-1. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Q2 2012 Chinese Smartphone Market Monitoring Report†. Iimedia (2012): n.pag. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. Shelton, Jim. â€Å"Hi, I’m (insert name here), and I’m a Facebook addict†. New Haven Register 10 Mar. 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Students Addicted to Social Media- New UM Study†. University of Maryland Newsdesk 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

Supply Chain Management for Manufacturing Industry

The main objective is to know about the SCM of manufacturing industry to know we have analyses several topic are: †¢Supply chain is a network of all firms relationships that gat a product to market, including the original acquisition of raw materials; production of the item at a manufacturing facility; distribution to a retailer; sale of he finished item to the customer, and any installation, repair, or service activities that follow the sale. †¢ How to effectively manage the supply chain is a central issue for all levels of management, regardless of industry. †¢This workshop has been designed and tailored by Mr. Ejazur Rahman amassing his over a decade experience in working and managing the Supply chain function of a reputed global manufacturing and marketing organization. To know Successful supply chain management requires decisions.To know scm, competitive, sales and marketing strategies. Who should attend the programmed? Inventory management system of scm. How to a chieve excellence in scm. Supply Chain Management for Manufacturing Industry Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies.It is said that the ultimate goal of any effective supply chain management system is to reduce inventory (with the assumption that products are available when needed). As a solution for successful supply chain management, sophisticated software systems with Web interfaces are competing with Web-based application service providers (ASP) who promise to provide part or all of the SCM service for companies who rent their service. Supply chain management flows can be divided into three main flows: †¢The product flow †¢The information flow The finances flow The product flow includes the movement of goods from a supplier to a customer, as well as any customer returns or service needs.The information flow involves transmitting orders and updating the status of delivery. The financial flow consists of credit terms, payment schedules, and consignment and title ownership arrangements. †¢1. Supply Chain Management – What and Why? †¢2. Objectives of a Supply Chain †¢3. Decision Phases in a Supply Chain †¢4. Process Views of a Supply Chain †¢5. Supply Chain Performance : Achieving Strategic Fit 6. Drivers of Supply Chain Performance †¢7. Designing the Supply Chain Network †¢8. Demand and Supply Planning in a Supply Chain †¢9. Planning and Managing Inventory †¢10. Designing and Planning Transportation Networks †¢11. Achieving Supply Chain Excellence in a manufacturing/service organization 1) Supply chain management what? Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of prod uct and service packages required by end customers (Harland, 1996).Supply Chain Management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption (supply chain). – Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies.It is said that the ultimate goal of any effective supply chain management system is to reduce inventory (with the assumption that products are available when needed – Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. It is said that the ultimate goal of any effective supply chain management system is to reduce inventory (with the assumption that products are available when needed).As a solution for successful supply chain management, sophisticated software systems with Web interfacervice for companies who rent their service. Why supply chain management The definition, put forward by an American professional association, is that Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics management activities. It also includes the crucial components of coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers.In essence, Supply Chain Management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies. More recently, the loosely coupled, self-organizing network of businesses that cooperates to provide product and s ervice offerings has been called the Extended Enterprise. [1] Supply Chain Management can also refer to Supply chain management software which are tools or modules used in executing supply chain transactions, managing supplier relationships and controlling associated business processes.Supply chain event management (abbreviated as SCEM) is a consideration of all possible occurring events and factors that can cause a disruption in a supply chain. With SCEM possible scenarios can be created and solutions can be planned. functions Supply chain management is a cross-function approach to manage the movement of raw materials into an organization, certain aspects of the internal processing of materials into finished goods, and then the movement of finished goods out of the organization toward the end-consumer.As organizations strive to focus on core competencies and becoming more flexible, they have reduced 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 improving inventory velocity. 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 (GSCF). Supply chain activities can be grouped into strategic, tactical, and operational levels of activities. Strategic Strategic network optimisation, including the number, location, and size of warehousing, distribution centers, and facilities †¢Strategic partnership with suppliers, distributors, and customers, creating communication channels for critical information and operational improvements such as cross docking, direct shipping, and third-party logistics †¢Product life cycle management, so that new and existing products can be optimally integrated into the supply chain and capacity management †¢Information Technology infrastructure, to support supply chain operations †¢Where-to-make and what-to-make-or-buy decisions Aligning overall organizational strategy with supply strategy Tactical †¢Sourcing contracts and other purchasing decisions. †¢Production decisions, including contracting, scheduling, and planning process definition. †¢Inventory decisions, including quantity, location, and quality of inventory. †¢Transportation strategy, including frequency, routes, and contra cting. †¢[Benchmarking] of all operations against competitors and implementation of best practices throughout the enterprise.†¢Milestone payments †¢Focus on customer demand. Operational Daily production and distribution planning, including all nodes in the supply chain. †¢Production scheduling for each manufacturing facility in the supply chain (minute by minute). †¢Demand planning and forecasting, coordinating the demand forecast of all customers and sharing the forecast with all suppliers. †¢Sourcing planning, including current inventory and forecast demand, in collaboration with all suppliers. †¢Inbound operations, including transportation from suppliers and receiving inventory. †¢Production operations, including the consumption of materials and flow of finished goods. Outbound operations, including all fulfillment activities, warehousing and transportation to customers. †¢Order promising, accounting for all constraints in the supply c hain, including all suppliers, manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, and other customers. 2)The Objective of a Supply Chain The objective of every supply chain is to maximize the overall value generated. The value a supply chain generates is the difference between what the final product is worth to the customer and the effort the supply chain expends in filling the customer’s request.For most commercial supply chains, value will be strongly correlated with supply chain profitability, the difference between the revenue generated from the customer and the overall cost across the supply chain. For example, a customer purchasing a computer from Dell pays $2,000, which represents the revenue the supply chain receives. Dell and other stages of the supply chain incur costs to convey information, produce components, store them, transport them, transfer funds, and so on.The difference between the $2,000 that the customer paid and the sum of all costs incurred by the supply c hain to produce and distribute the computer represents the supply chain profitability. Supply chain profitability is the total profit to be shared across all supply chain stages. The higher the supply chain profitability, the more successful the supply chain. Supply chain success should be measured in terms of supply chain profitability and not in terms of the profits at an individual stage. Having defined the success of a supply chain in terms of supply chain rofitability, the next logical step is to look for sources of revenue and cost. For any supply chain, there is only one source of revenue: the customer. At Wal-Mart, a customer purchasing detergent is the only one providing positive cash flow for the supply chain. All other cash flows are simply fund exchanges that occur within the supply chain given that different stages have different owners. When Wal-Mart pays its supplier, it is taking a portion of the funds the customer provides and passing that money on to the supplier. All flows of information, product, or funds generate costs within the supply chain.Thus, the appropriate management of these flows is a key to supply chain success. Supply chain management involves the management of flows between and among stage sin a supply chain to maximize total supply chain profitability. 3) Decision Phases In a Supply Chain Successful supply chain management requires many decisions relating to the flow of information, product, and funds. These decisions fall into three categories or phases, depending on the frequency of each decision and the time frame over which a decision phase has an impact. 1.Supply chain strategy or design: During this phase, a company decides how to structure the supply chain over the next several years. It decides what the chain’s configuration will be, how resources will be allocated, and what processes each stage will perform. Strategic decisions made by companies include the location and capacities of production and warehouse f acilities, the products to be manufactured or stored at various locations, the modes of transportation to be made available along different shipping legs, and the type of information system to be utilized.A firm must ensure that the supply chain configuration supports its strategic objectives during this phase. Dell’s decisions regarding the location and capacity of its manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and supply courses are all supply chain design or strategic decisions. Supply chain design decisions are typically made for the long term (a matter of years) and are very expensive to alter on short notice. Consequently, when companies make these decisions, they must take into account uncertainty in anticipated market conditions over the next few years. 2. Supply chain planning: For decisions made during his phase, the time frame considered is a quarter to a year. Therefore, the supply chain’s configuration determined in the strategic phase is fixed. The configurati on establishes constraints within which planning must be done. Companies start the planning phase with a forecast for the coming year (or a comparable time frame) of demand in different markets. Planning includes decisions regarding which markets will be supplied from which locations, the subcontracting of manufacturing, the inventory policies to be followed, and the timing and size of marketing promotions.Dell’s decisions regarding markets a given production facility will supply and target production quantities at different locations are classified as planning decisions. Planning establishes parameters within which a supply chain will function over a specified period of time. In the planning phase, companies must include uncertainty in demand, exchange rates, and competition over this time horizon in their decisions. Given a shorter time horizon and better forecasts than the design phase, companies in the planning phase try to incorporate any flexibility built into the suppl y chain in the design phase and exploit it to optimize performance.As a result of the planning phase, companies define a set of operating policies that govern short-term operations. 3. Supply chain operation: The time horizon here is weekly or daily, and during this phase companies make decisions regarding individual customer orders. At the operational level, supply chain configuration is considered fixed and planning policies are already defined. The goal of supply chain operations is to handle incoming customer orders in the best possible manner.During this phase, firms allocate inventory or production to individual orders, set a date that an order is to be filled, generate pick lists at a warehouse, allocate an order to a particular shipping mode and shipment, set delivery schedules of trucks, and place replenishment orders. Because operational decisions are being made in the short term (minutes, hours, or days), there is less uncertainty about demand information. Given the const raints established by the configuration and planning policies, the goal during the operation phase is to exploit the reduction of uncertainty and optimize performance.The design, planning, and operation of a supply chain have a strong impact on overall profitability and success. Continuing with our example, consider Dell Computer. In the early 1990s, Dell management began to focus on improving the improved performance. Both profitability and the stock price have soared and Dell stock has had outstanding returns over this period. 4)Supply Chain Process Platform The winners in fiercely competitive markets create agile and efficient business processes, supported by flexible, reliable and cost-effective technology.When your market position depends on your supply chain, you need processes and solutions that work together seamlessly to provide the information and automate the activities you need to operate most effectively. All of Manhattan Associates' solutions operate on a common Servic e Oriented Architecture (SOA) platform, to maximize the value of your technology investment. With Manhattan Associates' Supply Chain Process Platform, you can easily integrate any or all of our applications into your existing systems or add new solutions from our suite of products.That means dramatic reductions in complexity and faster implementation whenever you need new functionality. With shared master and transaction databases, data capture management (such as voice and RFID) and a real-time alert system that operates across all Manhattan Associates' solutions, the Supply Chain Process Platform provides a safeguard that flags any inconsistency in your data, ensuring a safe implementation and continued smooth operation. Our Supply Chain Process Platform offers flexibility, scalability and supportability to meet the requirements of the most complex supply chains for the most demanding companies.The Manhattan Supply Chain Process Platform: †¢Makes customizing your solutions to meet your business requirements easier than ever †¢Simplifies adding new functionalities or incorporating technical innovations †¢Provides a shared platform for collecting, managing, distributing and acting on information and events that flow through the supply chain †¢Ensures that solutions are robust, scalable, resilient and consistent across all components. Uniting the Platform Applications for Maximum ValueThe Supply Chain Process Platform provides a foundation for all Manhattan platform applications: †¢Supply Chain Intelligence: With easy-to-read reports presenting powerful analytics, you can monitor the performance of your suppliers, carriers, customers and employees from one intuitive dashboard. †¢Supply Chain Visibility: See a single, consistent, real-time view of your entire global supply chain. †¢Supply Chain Event Management: Receive notification of all supply chain events as they occur and respond immediately across your full supply chain. 5) Supply Chain Performance : Achieving Strategic Fit Competitive strategy: defines the set of customer needs a firm seeks to satisfy through its products and services ? Product development strategy: specifies the portfolio of new products that the company will try to develop ? Marketing and sales strategy: specifies how the market will be segmented and product positioned, priced, and promoted ? Supply chain strategy: – determines the nature of material procurement, transportation of materials, manufacture of product or creation of service, distribution of product –Consistency and support between supply chain strategy, competitive strategy, and other functional strategies is importantAchieving Strategic Fit(1/2) ? How is strategic fit achieved? ? Other issues affecting strategic fit How is Strategic Fit Achieved? ? Step 1: Understanding the customer and supply chain uncertainty ? Step 2: Understanding the supply chain ? Step 3: Achieving strategic fit Step 1: Understan ding the Customer and Supply Chain Uncertainty (1/3) ? Identify the needs of the customer segment being served ? Quantity of product needed in each lot ? Response time customers will tolerate ? Variety of products needed ? Service level required ? Price of the product ? Desired rate of innovation in the product Overall attribute of customer demand ? Demand uncertainty: uncertainty of customer demand for a product ? Implied demand uncertainty: resulting uncertainty for the supply chain given the portion of the demand the supply chain must handle and attributes the customer desires ? Implied demand uncertainty also related to customer needs and product attributes ? First step to strategic fit is to understand customers by mapping their demand on the implied uncertainty spectrum Step 2: Understanding the Supply Chain (1/2) ? How does the firm best meet demand? ? Dimension describing the supply chain is supply chain responsiveness Supply chain responsiveness — ability to – respond to wide ranges of quantities demanded –meet short lead times –handle a large variety of products –build highly innovative products –meet a very high service level ? There is a cost to achieving responsiveness ? Supply chain efficiency: cost of making and delivering the product to the customer ? Increasing responsiveness results in higher costs that lower efficiency ? Figure 2. 3: cost-responsiveness efficient frontier ? Figure 2. 4: supply chain responsiveness spectrum ? Second step to achieving strategic fit is to map the supply chain on the responsiveness spectrumStep 3: Achieving Strategic Fit ? Step is to ensure that what the supply chain does well is consistent with target customer’s needs Other Issues Affecting Strategic Fit ?Multiple products and customer segments ? Product life cycle ? Competitive changes over time 6)Drivers of Supply Chain Performance Supply chains are becoming increasingly global and ever more complex, as organiza tions try to support strategic management practices such as entering new markets, increasing the pace of new product introductions, improving the reliability and speed of order fulfillment . . . all the while trying to lower supply chain costs.For organizations to work closely with their suppliers, logistics providers, distributors and retailers, their supply chains must be streamlined and technology-enabled. However, organizations that want to streamline their supply chains must first understand what is working well, what is not and where the opportunities for improvement are. These companies need to have a way to measure the performance of their supply chain on an ongoing basis. Traditional approaches of measuring supply chain performance — scorecards, dashboards and reports showing supply chain metrics — suffer from three shortcomings: 1) They are not linked to strategy. ) They have a silo approach. 3) They have a flat hierarchy. Let's examine each of these shortcom ings more closely. They are not linked to strategy. It can be difficult to see how a supply chain metric affects your overall objectives. If the metric is trending in the wrong direction, which aspect of your supply chain strategy will be affected? Without a framework that links each metric to a certain element of strategy, the context behind a metric can get lost. When such context is missing, it becomes a challenge for organizations (large ones in particular) to get everyone to see the common vision.Next-generation Supply Chain Performance Management (SCPM) systems will need to be able to show the link between any metric and the element of strategy it impacts. They have a silo approach. Current supply chain analytics solutions do a good job of showing the performance of metrics for individual departments, such as cost per unit purchased, percentage of on-time supplier shipment for the procurement department, or set-up times, capacity utilization and percentage of scrap for the pla nt.However, this type of silo approach sacrifices the overall process and end goals in the interest of improving the performance of an individual department. As a result, functional silos are reinforced within the organization. The key is to measure the performance of overall business process in such a way that poor performance of a departmental metric could be overlooked in the interest of increasing the overall business process performance. To achieve this, next-generation Supply Chain Performance Management systems will need to do more than show departmental metrics – they need to have a process orientation. They have a flat hierarchy.The metrics that help you measure the overall performance of your supply chain are not standalone — they are related to each other, sometimes in a hierarchical fashion. Such relationships help you drill down and better understand root cause more effectively. For example, if a hierarchical relationship were developed between outbound sh ipment cost metric and those metrics that affect shipment costs, your system will tell you that outbound shipment costs are trending up despite the carrier rates trending down due to lower fuel costs, because your express freight shipments in a certain division are up significantly month over month.However, most current supply chain analytics have no way to define such relationships. Next-generation Supply Chain Performance Management systems of tomorrow will need to be able to define and show relationships between metrics. What supply chain performance management systems must include All these issues need to be addressed by next-generation Supply Chain Performance Management systems. Such systems should include three capabilities: an analytics framework; a process orientation; and linkages. Analytics framework.The ideal SCPM system should allow a user to define a complete framework for supply chain analytics. This framework should include: †¢overall supply chain objectives; â € ¢the top-line metrics that affect the objective; †¢the description, targets and acceptable range for each metric; and †¢a list of reports where the metric can be found. 7. Designing the Supply Chain Network Overview In today’s volatile business environment, many companies are expanding, merging, contracting, or otherwise redesigning their supply chain networks.Here learner applications of optimization models to the analysis of these network design problems. Modeling concepts are reviewed as well as practical methods for data gathering and validation, model implementation, and scenario construction. New applications will be presented including network design models to plan for new products, to manage production and inventories of products with short shelf lives, to select vendor contracts, and to control CO2 emissions. Several case studies will be presented along with discussions of network design problems faced by course attendees.Who Should Attend This program is intended for: †¢Managers and analysts responsible for network design decision-making †¢Managers and analysts responsible for acquiring or developing, and applying data-driven modeling systems to support network design decision-making †¢Consultants who direct or participate in network design studies †¢Academics who teach supply chain subjects to students in management and engineering Participants will not need advanced analytical skills to fully absorb material presented in the program. )DEMAND AND SUPPLY PLANNING IN SCM SCM facechallenges to people at manufacturing companies who need to gauge customer demand and respond to changes in demand, even when they take place at a moment's notice. Manufacturers' responsiveness and agility in the areas of sales and operations planning (S;OP) and demand management—the two major parts of supply chain planning—are still hampered by cumbersome, static processes. Common problems include: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Lack of r eal-time, robust, and actionable data. †¢Lack of integration among financial, operating, sales, and marketing plans. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Inability of people to share information and documents. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Poor analytical capabilities and collaborative planning environments. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Lack of alert and monitoring capabilities. Solutions Supply Chain Demand and Supply Planning solutions from Microsoft and its partner ecosystem help manufacturers change the way they manage their supply chains to become more demand-driven, adaptive, and responsive.By improving people's visibility into customer demand and supplier capabilities, these solutions create an environment that enables real-time decisions about manufacturing activity, which can lower inventory while improving customer service. Demand management solutions offer real-time demand management business processes, delivered with an integrated business intelligence and collaboration framework, to empower people with collaboration a nd analytic capabilities.Sales and operations planning (S&OP) solutions, which include connected systems, process workflows, event management, and live communication, offer collaboration, analysis, integration, workflow, and monitoring functionality throughout all phases of a manufacturer's S;OP workflow—beginning with the baseline forecast created by people in the manufacturer's sales and marketing departments, all the way through the forecast for a specific customer, the creation of a consensus forecast, supply planning, resolution and exception processes, approval and budgeting, sales allocations, order promising, and communication with the manufacturer's production facilities. Infor Supply Chain Management is a global solution with implementations at over 1,600 customer sites in 40 countries. Backed by domain experts who know supply chain management and the challenges you face, our supply chain planning and execution solutions comprise the following key components: Strate gic Network Design —modeling and optimization tools for determining the most effective number, location, size, and capacity of facilities to meet customer service goals; time-phased tactical planning for determining where and when to make, buy, store, and move product through the network.Demand Planning —forecasting tools, web-based collaboration interface, and sales and operations reporting and metrics that help companies predict and shape customer demand with greater accuracy. Distribution Planning —inventory analysis and time-variable stock target calculations for ensuring the optimal balance between service levels and inventory investment; synchronized replenishment plans for all network points right back to manufacturing and supplier sources for better visibility. Manufacturing Planning —constraint-based advanced planning system for engineering, assembly, and repetitive manufacturing environments; similar tools for process manufacturers. Production S cheduling —finite capacity scheduling for engineering, assembly, and repetitive environments, as well as batch-process production facilities.Transportation and Logistics Planning —transportation planning, transportation procurement, route planning, transportation management, small parcel shipping, and international trade logistics for global, multi-modal operations. Warehouse Management System —end-to-end fulfillment and distribution including inventory, labor, and work and task management, as well as cross-docking, value-added services, yard management, multiple inventory ownership and billing/invoicing, and voice-directed distribution. RFID —comprehensive RFID-enablement framework delivering business value through process optimization for manufacturers and other companies, as well as compliance solutions for retail, pharmaceuticals, the US Department of Defense, and others.Event Management —proactive, real-time exception management technology for detecting conditional change anywhere in the supply chain and communicating it instantly for resolution. 9)Planning and managing inventory By Curt Barry Inventory is most likely the largest balance sheet asset in your company. How well you plan, purchase, and manage your inventory largely determines your level of customer service and profits. But selling goods in multiple channels means dealing with channel-specific planning and inventory needs. Planning and inventory systems In most companies, the systems for merchandise planning and inventory control remain highly fragmented by channel.For promotional planning, many multichannel companies need to be more diligent and use a single promotional calendar rather than channel-specific schedules on which merchandise planning is based. These should include in-store promotions, catalogs, and e-mail campaigns. Internet inventory management philosophies are slowly evolving in most companies. Traditional catalogers now average more than 50% of sales from the Internet, although much of that business is generated by receipt of the catalog. Products may be active and available longer if there is stock. What sells online is heavily influenced by placement on landing pages and organization and ranking within category product searches.The online product assortment can be more extensive than that in a single catalog. Internet may have a total chain assortment different from any one store or region. The Website may have a clearance or liquidation aspect. These principles of planning and managing inventory are not industry established best practices, but are being hammered out in the trenches every day. From a purchasing perspective, companies are rolling multiple channel plans and forecasts together into a single purchase order management system to write Pos. When will there be true integrated systems for planning and inventory systems? For most companies, not any time soon. Retail and direct channels have different data needs and processes.It will probably be a few years before commercial software companies that cater to retail and direct have the most basic of systems in place. MICROS Retail, Direct Tech, and Manhattan Associates all have development projects to bring channels together in terms of planning and inventory systems. Channel Inventory – a distribution view With all the complexities of planning and inventory control, how are distribution centers accommodating the channels? When multichannel marketing was in its infancy more than a decade ago, the prevalent thinking was to have a single DC that would process both direct and retail replenishment orders. There would be one pooled inventory, one staff and one facility — end of discussion. But logistics thinking is changing.But to accomplish this, they have the additional overhead of multiple facilities and staffing, and their warehouse management and order management must be capable of managing multiple inventories and allocating a nd filling orders. As e-commerce in retail companies has grown substantially, logistics management has come to realize that picking, packing, and shipping of small orders is very different from full-carton replenishment to stores. With large volumes it may prove to be more efficient to have dedicated centers for direct. Another of the real drivers behind this shift is the realization that without having separate sales and stock plans, there is no accountability by business units to make their sales plans.So if the first unit to allocate inventory gets the stock, then there may not be inventory for later drops of a catalog, e-mail campaigns, initial stocks to open stores, etc. Other companies use a â€Å"virtual inventory† concept, not in the sense of drop-shipping, but of the inventory system being able to keep planned sales by product and SKU by channel, and being able to reserve inventory for the channel business unit. Importing’s effect Where we source product is al so changing how we can plan and manage it. Much of the multichannel world relies on imported product. Even if you buy from a domestic distributor, chances are that merchandise is imported.Additionally, companies may not be looking at a fully loaded product cost including agent's/broker's fees, demurrage, duty rate, product development costs, and buyer's travel. Couple that with warehouse storage space requirements for container size receipts and the inventory carrying costs. All of this leads to higher inventory and carrying costs and slower turnover. What to do about it? †¢Use mixed container loading, where appropriate. †¢Weigh the increase in per unit cost to take smaller quantities. †¢Move the entire merchandise and creative planning calendar for promotions back and do each season earlier (no easy task). †¢Challenge merchants to look Stateside to try to get the product with smaller quantities, or to develop product in the U. S. and later roll it out off-shore if it sells. †¢Tackle the issue of ccounting for all the product costs to be sure you have an accurate, fully loaded cost and sufficient initial markup without being overstocked. Liquidating overstocks Inventory that doesn't sell and liquidation are two dreaded aspects to merchandising. Because you have to take in larger imported orders and distribute to more channels, you need a cost effective strategy for in-season liquidation and clearance. In a cost-based system it's hard to determine how much gross margin is lost in marking down retail prices. Our experience is that it may represent 2% to 4% of net sales at least. What to do about it? †¢Develop a liquidation strategy. Options include clearance catalogs, Web specials, bind-in or package inserts, sales pages, and telephone offers. Develop a report showing candidates for liquidation based on rate of sale. †¢Develop an age of inventory report that will age products in time brackets (30 days, etc. ) to stay on top of inventory. transportation, importing, retail versus direct packaging, technology used in the supply chain and DCs, etc. All this necessitates setting standards with vendors so that you aren't working on an exception basis with every one. Vendor compliance and supply chain In most multichannel businesses the size of the product assortment and vendor base have grown dramatically. Supply chains have become increasingly complex with modes of vendor compliance is at the heart of efficient supply chain management.Routing inbound shipments to reduce costs and scheduling inbound appointments can help speed product flow through the DC, significantly helping in turn to reduce inventory levels. Automating the supply chain through advanced shipping notifications (ASNs), RFID, and cross-docking to stores can go a long way toward reducing costs, but these cannot be implemented without a comprehensive vendor compliance policy. Start small by communicating your company vision, the need for on-time delivery, routing guides, inbound dock standards like carton labeling, product specifications, accounting and paperwork requirements, contact list, and the costs of back orders. Begin a charge-back policy and implement it with your largest vendors.Later, you can add other items that are typically included, such as service level standards, packaging, labeling, case labeling, valued and value-added services, logistical requirements, scheduling appointments, cross-docking and direct-to-store requirements, charge back for non-compliance, etc. The trend is to push compliance back up the supply chain. This means as many value-added services as possible — packaging, marking, quality inspections — performed by vendors or merchant reps in factories. Catching errors at the source and using source-based services speeds inventory flow, and any such issues are cheaper to deal with in the vendor's environment. 10)ACHIEVING SCM EXCELLENCE A new survey reveals what separates manufactu ring industry leaders from laggards IT HAS BEEN several years since a comprehensive and independent survey of the state of supply chain management (SCM) in the paper manufacturing industry has been carried out.A lot has happened both in the industry and in the field of SCM during this time. Moderator Consulting carried out an extensive survey during July-October 2005 to see where we stand today. Altogether 11 European paper companies participated in the survey, which covered issues such as SCM strategy, process and management models, reporting systems, managing customer relationships, efficient operations, people and supporting systems and future plans. The respondents covered all the main product groups in nine European countries. The results of individual companies were obviously kept strictly confidential. Common terminology and definitions were used in the survey to ensure common understanding of the questions and issues.The results provide a good cross-section of the industry p erformance and challenges. Besides being a major cost and working capital factor, SCM can also be considered a source of significant competitive edge. Some of the findings are listed below. 1. Nearly half the respondents still need to develop more robust SCM strategies. While all companies said they have an SCM strategy, the content, communication and integration into overall business strategy in many cases leaves much to be desired. For instance, some companies had no logistics provider strategy or did not include development of cost factors. 2. The industry has clearly been moving toward a more integrated management structure.Most SCM-related decisions, such as strategy, demand planning and vendor and location management are nowadays made at corporate / business area levels, with sales companies and mills mostly in an execution role (Figure 1). However, even though management structures are more integrated, several companies have yet to adopt more of a process approach, with the p rocesses and their ownerships defined. Systems for monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) seem nowadays to be at a reasonably good level in nearly all the respondent companies. 3. The outsourcing process appears to be complete. The dominant logistics management mode is nowadays clearly â€Å"preferred partnerships† – on average 60%, and covering the whole infrastructure.Interestingly although â€Å"preferred partnerships† was stated as the dominant transport mode, respondents still had between 50 and 100 regular haulage â€Å"partners† in use on average. This may indicate room for some further consolidation. IT systems management is the exception to the outsourcing rule: very few companies have outsourced this aspect of their operations. 4. Many companies still need to segment their customers and define corresponding service levels for each customer or customer group. This may mean that these companies are offering the same service, such as dedicate d stocks or a 24 hr/ single pallet delivery – with corresponding costs – to all or most of their customers.This can hardly be optimal from a cost-to-serve viewpoint, unless price supplements are enforced. However, customers rarely accept such surcharges nowadays. 5. Surprisingly few customers participate in the demand planning processes (only five to 10 on average). Participation in this context means active involvement and, considering the industry's forecasting challenges this may offer an improvement in some industry segments. Transaction automation with customers and logistics providers also offers big potential: only 10-20% and 50% respectively said they currently transact electronically. More standardization is needed. 6. Most companies seem quite satisfied with their IT systems.On a scale of one (very dissatisfied) to five (very satisfied), a clear majority of the companies gave a mark of four for most of their systems, such as mill execution, sales and distribu tion and data warehousing. The substantial investments in IT systems over recent years appear to have paid off in a number of cases. 7. Most companies were satisfied with both the number and caliber of their SCM personnel. Main training requirements were focused on customer relations issues. 8. Future development needs to be carefully planned. As generic future goals, most respondents stated that their main focuses are on cost and inventory reductions, as well as on improving customer service. Improved internal integration and process management was also listed as a priority generic target.However, these may be conflicting targets, unless planned carefully. More specifically, the respondents were asked to prioritize a list of 14 specific SCM initiatives provided, based on their planned implementation in the next three years initiatives included issues such as RFID, vendor managed inventory (VMI), activity based costing, harmonization of IT infrastructure, e-commmerce with logistics providers and offering outsourcing capabilities to customers. The clear â€Å"winners† were VMI, e-commerce projects and collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) following close behind. These are huge undertakings with significant risks, resource and planning requirements.However, the companies that successfully implement them would take their supply chain to an entirely new level of sophistication, responsiveness, efficiency and transparency. Finally,The industry has been moving toward a more integrated and customer-centric management approach. Industry and customer consolidation are the most likely reasons for this. IT systems and performance monitoring finally appear to be in good shape in most companies. This is a good basis for future development, even though many companies revealed some worrying weaknesses in a number of critical areas and are clearly lagging behind the leaders. The leading companies – based on this survey – can best be characterized as having a clear, comprehensive and well-communicated SCM strategy.They also have an integrated management structure and KPI monitoring in place; processes are defined in detail; service/cost tradeoffs are optimized; logistics partners are managed efficiently; they have implemented wellfunctioning IT systems; and have competent and well trained people, all of which are reflected also in their costs and performance. Is this just good, basic management? Easy to say, much more difficult to accomplish in real life! Furthermore, the leaders have ambitious plans for the future – especially in areas involving their customers. These companies are clearly outperforming their peers and they are well positioned to increase their competitive edge by efficiently and intelligently serving their customers.