Letter

Douglas M. Stillwell Vice President, Human Resources Memorial Health Center Stockton Falls, Ohio 43210 Dear Mr. Stillwell: Please accept my application for the Assistant Administrator position that appeared in this month`s ACHE Job Bank. Recently I served as an Administrator in Training for Marion House Health Care Center (add where that is). As my attached resume describes, I worked with that organization from October 2005 to October 2006. I am prepared to assume the greater management challenges at a larger health care facility like yours.   My experience during my association with Marion House Health Care Center, included planning, implementing and evaluating many of the facility`s programs and activities. I reported my observations and activities to my direct supervisor, the facility administrator. Two of my academic courses proved especially useful while I served as administrator in training. The HSA 571 Medical Informatics Masters course gave me the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in planning, implementing, managing, and evaluating health care information systems for the facility. HSA 685 Special Topics: Quality & Cost & Consumer Issues in Health Care Masters course helped me develop a better awareness of the concepts and emerging issues in quality, cost containment and the growth of consumerism in health care. Thank you for all your time and consideration. Your listed position offers an ideal fit with my professional background and career goals. I would appreciate an opportunity to interview for the position. I will telephone at the end of the week to discuss this opportunity further. Sincerely, Tejesh Patel, MHSA Letter I have already uploaded our family pictures on our new Website. Practically took the time segregating and scanning the images by page and by year. I was also thinking about your move to run as Governor while browsing the site. There are good things and bad things associated with its duties and responsibilities but I firmly feel in my heart that you can overcome all the bad things that come with the position especially during the campaign. I have reared you to be a brave man of honor. Run as you see fit and serve your country, your countrymen and our God well. Always remember to practice accountability. Make it your personal policy to keep a detailed statement of your expenditures. When your separate accounting software is ready I can guarantee you my full support in tracking and monitoring expenditures, people and results. You need to personally check the flow of your transactions, money and the results to avoid sabotage. Keep your antennae out for information to safeguard your integrity in carrying out public duties. It is always a good thing to be transparent and honest. Treat your friends and your opponents with tact and respect. Always perform deliberate acts of kindness. Loyalty is never paid. Loyalty is being given out of deep respect for you as a person, of your vision and hard works. Never rely on loyalty that does not last long. You do not aspire to win for fame. Your goal is to win to help people. Ask respected higher ups for counsel periodically and spend time alone to think before you make any decision. A council is good but you are to pray for guidance from the most High One alone. God shall lead you as to how to perform your duties and how to help your people. Your basic strategy is to aim to do good, serve with compassion and do your works with passion. Make sure everyone knows you did the work by maintaining press releases, emails to higher ups and newsletters from your office. People have the right to be informed of how things are being run and you have every right to claim the good works that you have done. We are not to be silent with politics attacks on good works. But you are to be silent on politics attacks and smear campaigns on personal issues. We want to let you know that we can be silent with all the anticipated negative campaigns directed to us and to you. A man who damages the reputation of another man is a man that cannot be trusted. Remember my son to be careful not to do that in your political campaign no matter how tempting. Always be transparent and deal with the issues in an objective way. You are a man, be always a man. Friends come and go so choose well. Listen with your heart and not your ears. Choose the ones that will serve you with great dedication and loyalty. Real friendships are hard to find. Feel their honesty and seek for their commitment through good works. The most effective way to conquer the hearts of your people and conquer the respect of your opponents is by beating your opponents through good works. You are an open target to an open world. You are to protect yourself and your people as long as you can. You have your mission from God, you have work to do and we’ll always be here to wait for you to come home when you fail and feel like life seems to tumble down to keep you company. I will not ask any questions for any failure you may encounter. I am your mother who will always keep you in my heart and love you forever as my child. God speed my son. Do what you have to do for the love of God. Loving you always, Your mother

Internship in Accounting Department Essay

INTRODUCTION The following report describes the activities carried out during a 6-week, Full-time internship at the American university of lebanon, Finance Department. The document contains information about the organization and the responsibilities performed throughout the period between: the 1st of July until 31st of July, 2014. The first part of the report offers an overview of the organization, and then describe the process which has been implemented by finance department according to the policy which has been approved by the higher management represented by the university president and the Vise president of finance and administration. Finally the report wraps up with a few closing remarks and conclusions from the experience. The American University of Lebanon is a non-profit institution for public benefit founded in 2007 to provide a student-centered American-style education that embodies the philosophy, standards, and teaching practices of the American higher education model. AUL admits all qualified students regardless of social, ethnic, or religious background. Students are admitted based on a record of past academic performance and potential for success, including capacity to engage in self-directed learning and demonstrated high levels of critical thinking. At AUL, young Lebnonis do more than co-exist – they learn lasting values of respect for the individual and a spirit of free inquiry, and they thrive in a culture of achievement and accountability. Today nearly 1,100 students from all parts of Lebnon study at AUL. The university currently offers six academic programs that lead to a bachelor’s degree, as well as a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) and continuing education classes from its Professional Development Institute. The MBA program allows students to customize their degree by offering three areas of specialization: Leadership, Project Management, and Finance. Undergraduate degree programs include Business Administration, Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Information Technology, International Studies, and English-Journalism. The Professional Development Institute at AUL provides professionals, companies, and organizations with access to professional education programs, including English language studies and project management. Rounding out the university experience is a robust campus life, with several university sports teams and more than a dozen student-sponsored clubs and other activities. AUL offers competitive men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, ping pong, and soccer, and a dozen other student activities, including an internationally competitive debate society, drama, business, hiking, photography, running, and radio clubs. Students have also participated in conferences and competitions outside of Lebnon, including an international Model United Nations conference, Hult Global Case Challenge, and various Fulbright scholarships. Further, AUL is home to the nation’s first and only independent student newspaper, the AUL Voice, and houses student chapters of the U.S.-based Society of Professional Journalists and the Association for Computing Machinery. In the fall of 2011, AUL marked the beginning of its fourth academic year with a move to its new 169-hectare (418-acre) campus. The university grounds include an administrative building, gender-specific dormitories, and an academic building, which houses lecture halls and classrooms, conference rooms, and faculty offices. AUL also has a cafeteria, two outdoor basketball courts and an outdoor soccer field. State-of-the-art science labs will be completed next year. Working Plan The main project to be carried out during the internship understood the whole procedures and process that performed by finance department and working closely with the finance staff and understanding the all principles and rules. Finance department in AUL has organization chart contains: 1. Director of Finance (report to the Vise President of Finance & Administration) a. Financial Planning officer b. Accounting officer i. Account payable ii. Cashier (treasury) c. Bursar i. Account receivable Finance department in AUL is responsible of the following duties: 1. Preparing the financial statement 2. Preparing monthly accounting report 3. Preparing monthly payroll report 4. Preparing annual budget 5. Preparing departmental budget 6. Making inter-fund transfer 7. Making intar-fund transfer 8. Monthly payment 9. Managing bank account 10. Monthly adjustment Purchasing and Payment: Finance department making sure that no-financial transaction will be processed without proper authorization and it is the responsibility of all staff to ensure that commitments entered into are legal, reasonable and provide value of money. After understanding the all principles and rules, starting to work with each staff separately, I have the chance to work with the accounting officer who is responsible for account payable and the cashier. The accounting officer is making sure to have document every transaction and have original acceptable document according to the policy, also he is responsible to check all daily transaction and making the necessary entry and records. The accounting officer is responsible to preparer the balance sheet, approving the paycheck, fund transfer after getting the permission from finance director. The staff that is responsible for managing the account payable is responsible to check the paperwork which has been approved by the accounting officer then make the payment through Bank Transfer or Bank Check or Cash and getting the necessary invoice and signatures. Also the account payable staff is making sure to make the payment at due date without any delay in order to  have the services continues without any interruption or penalty calm. The Cashier is responsible for managing the cash (treasure) making payment and receiving the due installment (tuition) payment for the customers. The Bursar is responsible for managing the tuition due payment with accordance with register office, also he is responsible for managing the account receivable. The account receivable is responsible for issuing the due invoice for the customers and sends it to them by email , then making sure to chase these invoices till get paid by the customers Audit process: there are two audit offices are responsible to monitor the all financial process and transaction within the university a. Internal Audit office : is responsible to check all document and statement on daily basis b. External Audit office : an international audit company is responsible for auditing the all document and statement on annual basis Conclusion It was a good opportunity to put in practice and develop further accounting and organizational skills refresh some principles and concepts in finances required for the University of the Event. Last but not least, it was a great opportunity for developing personal networking activities and making contacts which may prove of value in the near future and work with fantastic team of very hard working.

Backus-Naur Form

The Backus-Naur Form, which is also called the BNF, the Backus Normal Form and or the Backus-Naur formalism, is a notation used in the description of a part of syntax of â€Å"sentences† of a language. In about 1959, the Backus-Naur Form was suggested by John Backus, a constituent or part of the thirteen members which comprise the Algol 60 committee. Moreover, John Backus, besides from being a constituent of IBM, is also a major figure responsible for FORTRAN.The Backus-Naur Form, has been used since then to describe the syntax of Algol 60. The BNF along wit its extensions have become standard tools for describing the syntax of programming notations, and in many cases, parts of compliers are generated automatically from a BNF description (Gries, 1981). The specification of the Backus-Naur Form includes a set of derivation rules. This set of deviation rules are written as â€Å" :: = . The in this formula is considered to be nonterminal.The sequences of symbols create the ent ire expression. Furthermore, sequences separated by a vertical bar â€Å"|†, may also consist the expression. The â€Å"|† sign is made use of in order to point out a definite choice. Expression which are not found on the left side, are considered to be terminals. In the present, Backus-Naur Form specifications are created in a form which it is easily read by humans and oftentimes, they are informal, including certain syntax rules and extensions (Bergin, 1996).Syntax rules and extensions state that optional items should be enclosed in square brackets, like in â€Å"[]† and that items which repeat or occur 0 or more times should be enclosed in curly brackets, such as in â€Å" ::= { }. † While, items which repeat or occur 1 or more times should be followed using a â€Å"+. † Syntax rules and extension also state that the non-terminals should be written or typed using plain text, instead of using italics and angle brackets. While the terminals appe ar in bold.Optional choices in a production should be separated through the use of the vertical bar symbol, like in â€Å"| . † If an item in the Backus-Naur Form is repeated, an asterisk â€Å"*† should be placed after the item and that simple parenthesis are used, by enclosing the item, to group the items (Chomsky, 1957). References Bergin, T. J. , & Gibson, R. G. (1996). History of Programming Languages. New York: Academic Press. Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic Structures. Mouton: The Hague. Gries, D. (1981). The Science of Programming: Springer-Verlag.

Discuss and Compare two Care Philosophers Essay

Discuss and Compare two Care Philosophers - Essay Example It is thus prudent to take the level of affectedness and vulnerability of other interest before responding to a situation. Carol Gilligan and Joan Tronto are among the notable feminists who have contributed to the development of this theory. Joan Tronto borrows a lot from Carol Gilligan theory who he says is mentor. This paper discusses and compares the contribution of these two philosophers (Jagger et al, 42). The first part of the essay will discuss Carol Gilligan theory of different voices and the second portion will look at Joan Tronto rewriting of the ethic care theory into a postmodern theory. Carol Gilligan was a student of Kohlberg. However, she did not agree with the Kohlberg theories on moral development in humans. He saw Kohlberg theory as being gender biased since it showed that girls’ moral development was lower compared to that of boys and this was reflected in adult men and women. She asserted that this theory was biased in the sense that it only presented a mal e oriented perspective. This could also be contributed by the fact that Kohlberg subject were dominated by boys. She developed a theory that incorporated a female perspective on the subject. She said that men and women respond to moral dilemma differently (Held, 26). Women have to prioritize compassion and empathy over the moral scale that is provided by Kohlberg theory. This does not mean that they have weaker developed. She developed a new perspective of looking at the moral development called â€Å"The different voice† which was developed through unbiased empirical observation of the reaction of both men and women to ethical dilemma. Gilligan vies are contained in her book a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development written in 1982. This book has been seen to influence feminist not only in the field of psychology but also in other disciplines such as gender studies, political psychoanalysis and political studies. Being a feminist philosopher Gill igan aimed to deconstruct the classical masculine biased moral psychology by investigate the previously unheard female voice on the issues of ethics. She blamed the psychological theorist such as Kohlberg and Piaget for only using boys and the male perspective to construct the various moral theories in psychology. It is important to note that by asserting that gender differences results in differences in moral sensibility does not mean that Gilligan attacked Piaget and Kohlberg gender neutral theories. She claimed that it was wrong to conclude from Kantian theory that women are not fully developed morally since they are not able to be completely autonomous. She said that women actually do have a different voice than that of men which she now termed as the theory o f women moral sensibility popularly known as the care ethics. In order to understand Gilligan care ethics, it is important to look at Kohlberg theory of moral development. According to Kohlberg, moral development can be di vided into six stages which are divided into three main stages, convention, preconvention and post convention morality. The final stage which is the post convention morality is the point where a person is believed to have arrived at full moral development and has been labeled as the universal ethical principle orientation. He later realized not all human beings get to reach this stage with Mahatma Gandhi being an exceptional

College Book Report on Miracle At Philadelphia Essay

College Book Report on Miracle At Philadelphia - Essay Example One of the latest full-service entries in the history survey sweepstakes, American Passages is a beautiful text that is well-designed. It is written in an engaging style. The volumes have a friendly tone that is warm without being suffocating. Most students and faculty should find them appealing. The massive amount of carefully chosen illustrations of various kinds are nicely reproduced. The maps are also good, with some exceptions. Each paper volume has the same set of appendices, including the Declaration of Independence; the Constitution; the nations population, 1790-1998; the admission of states to the Union; presidential elections and administrations; and the justices of the Supreme Court. The volumes split in an unusual way, which is an improvement on the traditional arrangement, especially for Reconstruction specialists. There are two overlap chapters rather than one, and the second volume begins in mid-war, with early Union occupations and the first stirrings of release, rath er than in 1865, reflecting an interpretative trend pioneered by Eric Foner. This novel approach owes much to the breadth and vision of lead author Edward L. Ayers, whose interest in and knowledge of Southern history and Civil War culture is well known. Volume one takes the story to 1877, ending with chapter sixteen, while volume two begins with chapter fifteen, "Blood and Freedom, 1863-1867." Two maps start each volume: the first shows the states and their capitals, with important places in the text highlighted; the second is topographical. Each section (two to four chapters) of the narrative has time lines with key dates for politics and diplomacy; social and cultural events; and economics and technology I first read this book several years ago for my high school American History class, and I just recently read it again. This book is excellent no matter

Positives and negatives of obamas presidency period Research Paper

Positives and negatives of obamas presidency period - Research Paper Example One of the most commendable aspects of the Obama presidency has been his rapprochement with the Iranian government over its nuclear program. The fact that the Iranian nuclear program has been a source of major controversy over the past decade can be considered to have been a source of much contention on the international scene. This is mainly because of the fact that the United States has been drawn into the issue as a result of the activities of the powerful Israeli lobby which has had much influence in the formulation of American policies over Iran. It is for this reason that Iran has been largely isolated from the international scene due to the sanctions imposed against it by most of the western powers (Mostofi 226). In addition, the economic sanctions that have been imposed against it have created a situation where its people have come to face many hardships mainly because of the constant shortages of food as well as the reduction of the purchasing power of the state because of t he blockade on its financial sector. Moreover, the decision to impose sanctions against it has ensured that the prices of natural gas and oil have remained high on the global markets in addition to the lack of exploitation of the extensive reserves that Iran possesses. Therefore, the initiative taken by Obama to promote dialogue with Iran has ensured that American interests will be protected within this country once the negotiations come to an end. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have come to be extremely unpopular with the American public and this is mainly because of the fact that there has been massive loss of American life as well as high expenditure in wars which have failed to achieve their intended objectives ("Obama Commits to Troop Withdrawal from Iraq by 2011" 3). It is for this reason that Obama’s order to withdraw American troops from both of these

Frankenstein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Frankenstein - Essay Example Viktor is a young man with a lovely family that does not seem to satisfy him. Viktor’s main problem is a passion for science. Since his parents have the little scientific knowledge, Viktor chooses to learn by himself. Eventually, he leaves home to join the university, an opportunity that gives him the time to focus on his scientific interests. At the University, Viktor spends most of the time in the laboratory working on his newly found project (Shelley 52). He has few friends and does not bother about his social life. Worse still, he keeps no contact with his family and rarely has time to think about his family members. His obsession with creating a living thing transforms him into an individual who prefers complete solitude. Viktor’s alienation does not end with the success of his project. He continues to isolate himself from the world in an effort to keep his secret that he created the monster that kills his brother, best friend, and the bride. Viktor is the epitome of alienation throughout Shelley’s novel (38). Shelley makes alienation evident through the creature that Viktor created. Evidently, Viktor used the organs of dead bodies to create a strange living thing whose appearance was extremely different from that of humans. Therefore, the creature’s appearance explains why human families are not willing to accept him. He ventures into villages seeking to find some love and acceptance. However, the creature highlights that, â€Å"I had hardly placed my foot within the door before the children shrieked, and one of the women fainted. The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me† (101). The creature does not find any form of love or acceptance from humans. The only person willing to listen to his story was an old blind man. The creature’s alienation becomes unbearable a factor that compels him to become violent. Since he can no longer bear the alienation, he

Family Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Family - Case Study Example From the facts presented, it may be safe to assume that custody of the two common children shall remain with Susan. There is nothing in the facts which belie any intention on James' part to contest the award of such custody and even granting that he attempts to contest it, the demands of his career and Susan's track record as the primary caretaker of the two children would make such contention largely untenable. As such, we may thus safely assume that custody of the children would in fact be awarded to Susan upon their divorce. Susan's expected custody of the two common children is an important factor that will influence the resolution of the more controversial issues in their case. The issues that must be resolved upon the dissolution of James' and Susan's marriage revolve primarily upon two areas: support and property allocation. In regards to the first area of contention, we further subdivide it into two sections: support for their common children and support for the other spouse. In regards to the question of child support, James may be ordered to provide financial support for the two common children in accordance with Section 23 of the Marital Causes Act of 1973, which allows the court to order a party to the marriage to provide financial support to the benefit of a child of the family. ... As such, it is the duty of the courts to ensure that Susan receives financial support from James so as to meet her own financial needs. Pursuant to 2.53 of The Family Proceeding Rules of 1991, an order for maintenance pending suit may be imposed upon James to compel him to provide financial support while the divorce proceedings are ongoing so as to meet Susan's immediate financial needs. The amount of financial support to be provided for Susan shall be determined by several factors. The amount must not be based solely on her financial needs, but rather on what may be perceived as reasonable and fair, taking into consideration the lifestyle which characterized their marriage as well as other considerations directed towards making the two parties as equal to each other as possible, financially and otherwise. James, as the financially advantaged party may thus be ordered to provided specific payments of financial support to Susan, to be provided in regular periods, and subject to Susan' s remarriage, change in employment status, and other conditions that the court may deem significant in determining whether such maintenance is still necessary.As has been held in White v White (2000 UKHL 54), the overall purpose of the standards set in the Marital Causes Act of 1973 is to promote "fairness" between the two parties involved. This purpose places upon the court the duty to ensure that neither party is left disadvantaged by the dissolution of their marriage, a scenario that is bound to occur should the non-earning spouse be left to his or her own defenses without recourse to the protection of the court. The goal of "fairness" is further elaborated in the recent case of Miller v Miller

Theories of Late Capitalism in the World System Essay

Theories of Late Capitalism in the World System - Essay Example The global market was significantly expanding in the late 1960s and early 1970s, resulting to rivalry on both the US labor and capital. Moreover, the post-war long cycles of expansion saw the US manufacturers investing enormously in fixed capital and capacity building such that by late 1960s, profits margins for these investors were beginning to decline due to the significantly high capital-labor ratio of operations. Rephrasing this, the huge amounts of â€Å"sunk costs† especially in the form of plant, equipment, or fixed capital, had enormous eroding impacts on their profit rates. These changes in the realignment of the global market and the actual production conditions led to the abandonment of Keynesian economics, contrary to what Keynesian and liberal partisan claims. Actually, it was globalization of capital and then labor, making the New Deal-type and Keynesian economic policies loose their favor to capitalist profitability, paving way for Neoliberal and Ronald Reagan a usterity economics (Wallerstein 132). This is according to the theory of capitalist crisis, globalization, and theory of falling profit rates emphasized by Harvey and Frieden. The integral dynamics of capitalism lies at the center of the theory of falling profit rates. ... Part 2 With the falling profit rates, political leaders sought to make some amendments to capital accumulation laws and regulation with an objective of increasing or maintaining rates of profits. These changes came in as state policies seeking to regulate capitalism, essentially raising the living standards of the working class and their working conditions and increase capitalist profits (Harvey 168). Consequently, capitalist states introduced social welfare cuts, geographic expansion of capitalist production, and a series of mergers, acquisitions, and bankruptcy. These policies brought together led to the revival of profitability, particularly in the US beginning early 1980s. Lean production generalization through service and industry significantly increased the rate of exploitation (labor productivity). The series of mergers, bankruptcies, and acquisitions was the primary source of the financial sector growth, leading to desertion of old and inefficient operations. Political leader s also enacted regulations to reduce production capacity in some industries such as steel production, leading to a shift of investment to other fields of production (diversification of steel production into oil exploration). The boundaries of the world economy expanded due to the construction of global production chains, enabling labor-intensive operations shift to low-wage regions in the global south (Postone, 15). The economic policies of neoliberal capitalist states encouraged capital restructuring. The deregulation of labor and capital markets, together fiscal policies that focused on disinflation, enabled capitalist firms to respond to rising profits with more equipment and plant investment (majorly inventory systems

Stakeholders Analysis Essay Example for Free

Stakeholders Analysis Essay A Stakeholder is someone who has any interest in the business any one who is affected by the business. Some examples are: customers, suppliers, employees, local community, and local sports clubs. The stakeholders will vary depending on what the business is and who it affects. Stakeholders in Falconi brothers include Competitors Other businesses USDAW-Trade unions Government Shareholders / Owners Bank Customers Suppliers Local community Employees Garage Trade Unions- have an interest from Falconi Brothers business. They represent people who work for Falconi Brothers, they improve peoples pay and condition of employment. Competition is a rival in business, two or more business are trying to sell to the same customers. An example of competitors is Tesco and Asda because both sell food in supermarket and both want people to buy from them. Local competition are GB Liners Ltd Leeds LS13 4UN, Fast Move LS9 8 PD. Is a rival in business. Competitors are affected by the Falconis brothers business if Falconis brothers business going very well competitors is affected because they loose the customers. When they lose the customers they loose the money. Others businesses- for example Empire Direct on Roundhay Road the are have interest because Falconi’s business help them with delivery heavy, electrical items. Usdaw unions of shops and allied workers. Employees at Falconi Brother might be in a trade unions, this means the trade unions has an interest in the business. Trade unions organisations that represent people at work. The protect and improve people pay and conditions of employment. They also campaign for lows and policies which will benefit working people. Government- Has an interest from Falconi brothers business because they pay company tax to the government (and road tax far car, business rates for office etc) Shareholders owners -They are depending on the business because they earning money from the Falconi brother. Partners of the business have invested money and wont a business to be successful the business have run efficiently and the managers will be committed to increasing revenues or controlling the cost of business. Bank- Is interested in the success of Falconis Brothers business because they pay money to the bank and bank get interest when the business takes out a loan. If the business is successful, more money will come into the bank. Customer- benefit when Falconi’s business is successful they will get quality and good services from them. Customers will expect products and services to be safe and reliable. Local Community-If Falconis business is successful they can get good service as customers and they can get jobs as employee, Sometimes the impact is positive for falconi brother business may be one of the few secure of employment in an area of high unemployment and they can get a job. Employees- Can get more opportunity for getting job with them. They also get wages, The employees are very important group who have an interest in falconi brothers business. They will rely upon the falconi brother business to provide them with a regular wage or salary. They hope for job security and safe working conditions and perhaps training. Garage-Take benefit from them because if Falconi have a good business they will buy more cars and the garage will service Falconi’s cars Suppliers- Is firms that supply that falconi brother business with raw materials components packaging or services will expect to be paid promptly. They maybe also rely upon regular orders to ensure the success of their own business. Creditors- creditor is a person like falconi brothers owed money, the money for the vans or to business grown well. For example, a bank or a company that gives out mortgage to falconi brother is a creditor. In this case, the creditor is loaning money in exchange for collecting interest payments on the principal. An investor that holds a bond is also considered a creditor. Society- is a group of humans from a semi-closed system, in which most interactions are with other people belonging to the group. A society is a network of relationship between people. A society ia an interdependent community. Stakeholders can be divided into internal stakeholders and external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders are those individuals or groups within the organisation. A shareholder is someone who holds shares in the company. So the shareholder is an investor. European governments and companies are now using the term stakeholder to mean anyone at all who is affected by what a company does or in some way sticks his nose into the companys affairs. From what Im seeing nowadays, this means not only investors, but also workers, government bureaucrats, people who live in the same city as a corporate facility, angry groups of activists, people who care about something tangentially related to the company. In other words, the way they use the word, a stakeholder is pretty much anyone who says hes a stakeholder. Person group or organization that has direct or indirect stake in an organization because it can affect or be affected by the organizations actions, objectives and policies. Key stakeholders in a business organization include creditors, customers, directors, employees, government, owners, suppliers, unions and the community from which the business draws its resources. Although stake-holders are usually self-legitimizing all stakeholders are not equal and different stakeholders are entitled to different considerations. For example a firm’s customer is entitled to fair trading practices but they are not entitled to the same consideration as the firm’s employees. image00.png Conflicts Between Stakeholders Having identified the main responsibilities the business has to each stakeholder, see if you can work out where conflicts might arise. These conflicts will arise when the interests of one stakeholder group are opposite to that of another stakeholder group. For example Employers seeking higher wages might conflict with the desire by management to cut costs to boost profit and thus satisfy their own ambitions and meet the needs of the shareholders.

Arguments for Restricting the Supply Chain to Europe

Arguments for Restricting the Supply Chain to Europe Preface This report describes project work carried out in the Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Science at Sheffield Hallam University between June 2009 and January 2010. The submission of the report is in accordance with the requirements for the award of the degree of MSc Logistics and Supply Chain management under the auspices of the University. ANALYSIS OF THE ARGUMENTS FOR RESTRICTING THE SUPPLY CHAIN TO EUROPE Abstract This dissertation briefly discusses about the supply chain issues faced and their impact with respect to global supply chain. Also discusses about the need for smarter supply chain. In the recent European Union policies and trading benefits, a study is done on why not to trade locally than internationally by utilizing a proper supply chain system. This report analysis will also discuss about the recent developments in supply chain management that have concentrated on the benefit of global supply chain. The project investigates the case for limiting the supply chain to organizations within European Commission. In particular it identifies when it is better to source locally rather than globally. ABBREVIATION BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CIBC Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CIPS Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply CSCMP Council of Supply Chain Management Professional EC European Commission ECB European Central Bank EIA Energy Information Administration EMU Economic and Monetary Union EU European Union FDI Foreign Direct Investment GDP Gross Domestic Product GM General Motors GVA Gross Value Added ICT Information and Communication Technologies IMF International Monetary Fund JIT Just-In-Time NBER National Bureau of Economic Research PLC Product Life Cycle PSC Procurement Strategy Council Q3 Quarter 3 RFID Radio Frequency Identification RSCM Reverse Supply Chain Management SME Small and medium enterprises TEU Twenty-foot equivalent TPR Trade Policy Review UN United Nation WTI West Texas Intermediate WTO World Trade Organization CHAPTER 1: Introduction This chapter discusses about the general agenda of research involved. 1.1 gives an outline about the background of the research. Section 1.2 will state about the objectives of the research. Section 1.3 will state about the scope involved and section 1.4 will present a structure of the dissertation and some brief summary of each chapter. In this section the reader would gain a birds eye image on what the research is about. 1.1 Background of Research The supply chain for the future is not to wait and react as the traditional way but the attitude is â€Å"drive fast†. Because of the demands, new technologies and new capabilities the vision on supply chain needs to be a more monitored and a smarter supply chain is what the world is looking for. After globalization the world has become a single unified market and the needs for trading is effectively high with more collaboration strategy. Due to globalization the recession which started in United States in financial crisis 2007-2009, it had spread across the world because of the inter dependence in global economy which resulted in a major downturn. According to IMF (international Monetary Fund), an economic growth of less than 3% or less is considered to be as a global recession. The recession has hit almost every country across the globe and after experiencing the tough time each one of them wants to self sustain in their internal economy. Because of the outsourcing mostly the products across countries away from Europe, It has been become in a format that Europe have disabled in some fields for the future. Either we would be transferring our industries to make as foreign direct investment in other nations or we would be making products based on our requirements in their specialized fields which would be in more dependent criteria as which cant be produced in house. Manufacturing companies and the business nowadays is going down and they are forced to think for a new way to compete and to produce products in cost effective manner and more customer oriented. The survival had become an important issue for the industries along with competition. Now it has an impact on the unemployment as because of companies started to move their new units in other countries because of cheap labor and availability of resources. Which in turn is a huge lose for the country and for the future as it would be affecting the countries growth as a whole. There are number of other strategies that have made the companies to go for a change in supply chain to get rid of various issues they experienced in the past. The mobile industry such as Nokia produces mobiles with various advance technologies and manufacture across the globe. The theft in the technology and the innovations of it has lead the local Asian market for an availability a far cheaper mobile with all the technologies of Nokia in local brand names. This makes the original manufacturer a vulnerable market and looses the value for product. Similarly, the Hongqi HQD is the car model which was released by manufacturer of china which is as same as Rolls Royce Phantom model. In automobile sector, Daewoo Matiz verses Chery QQ, Vauxhall Frontera verses Landwind, Honda CRV verses Laibao SRV, Mercedes C verses Geely Merrie 300, Neoplan Starliner verses Zonda A9 (Bus Model), Smart verses er. Chinese Smart, Toyota Prado verses Dadi Shuttle, Nissan XTrail verses Greatwall Sing, BMW 7 ve rses BYD F6 are the very interesting copied models far across every company of the worlds luxurious cars been produced in China in a large scale industries with conveniently a lower price. The interesting news is all that these cars are not only look alike the same in appearance and aesthetic, but also the performance and quality records is being similar to the original ones. The international court which handles these cases results in vain for the car manufacturers as the design produced has some variation than the copyrighted original ones. It crosses from automobiles, electronics, computers, pharma industries, telecom industries, electrical items, aerospace etc. The original origin company loses a very high investment in research and development to produce a new product and the rate of return for them takes ages than the actual predicted period. Shutting down or transferring the production plant has also become a part for industries. For example, Vestas, a wind power manufacturin g unit had built a new wind turbine production plant in China due to the local market demand and thereby keeping business profitable. The purpose and motivation for me to study in this topic is because I had been studying the various reasons behind the problems that the companies faced during recession and hard to survive criteria with more problems leaving them to bankruptcy. Even the giant manufacturers in automobiles such as General motors, Ford etc, were one of the victims who were about to face the bankruptcy. The other reasons includes the design theft, information leakage, irresponsive supply chain strategy, poor visibility in supply chain, vendor management, gap between supplier and customer in 3Ts (time, Transparency, Trust) , degree of control, responsiveness (change in market demand), lead time issues, global CO2 emissions, etc are the other threatening factors what the Business face. Hence, I decided to come up with a further study and development of my knowledge on these areas and come out with a report regarding the various controls that management could be able to gain to trade within near shore to s urvive and what are the strategies can be adopted to restrict the supply chain within Europe. This study has basically two main elements which deal about the various past experiences faced by the companies in sourcing across supply chain as well as future supply chain needs and the benefits and positive factors that show a better scope in near future for European market. It deals with the various concepts of supply chain, relationship management strategy in sourcing, and some strategies followed by world class companies. I believe that this dissertation would be useful as a reference for sourcing companies in future as well. Student might gain some benefits from this dissertation as this helps students to further understand the theories and other concepts involved in supply chain that have been dealt while considering some real case examples. 1.2 Objective of Research The aims of this dissertation are basically: 1) To analyze the current and past strategies in supply chain issues 2) To analyze about the expectation for future supply chain 3) To analyze the about the advantages in trading within European Union 4) To analyze the impacts of recession on Europe and UK 5) To study the various techniques used by the world class companies to overcome the supply chain issues 1.3 Scope of Research The scope has been narrowed down to European market in this research. The area of research has been identified after a deep analysis on the literature review. The literature review gives a general idea and background about the various supply chain requirements about the past and for future. The study is discussing about history of the European Union and trading benefits. The comparisons of the advantages and the benefits that could be available in the Europe have also been discussed. The limitations are that it is a general idea about the various issues in supply chain and a theory behind supply chain. The scope environment is for the very big companies who has already started practicing near sourcing and for the medium size companies. It would not be a better option of trading for the small companies. 1.4 Structure of thesis Chapter 1: Introduction The background of this dissertation will be introduced in this chapter. The objectives of the research are stated. Scope of the project is identified and the structure of the thesis is presented. The reader can obtain an overview of the thesis from this chapter. Chapter 2: Supply chain and Issues in Supply chain All the relevant information and materials has been gain from journals, articles, news, magazines, reference books and internet will be summarized, concluded and organized in a systematic way in both chapter 2 and chapter 3. In this chapter, general information about supply chain and Issues in supply chain faced will be presented. About the supply chain, smart supply chain, traditional issues, credit crunch impact on supply chain, various issues faced by the current and past sourcing business faced are discussed. The contents has discussed about the past and the present scenario. Chapter 3: European Union benefits and sourcing strategies This chapter mainly concentrates on the EU benefits provided for its fellow country members and the various advantages it has for the near and long future. The discussion about the logistical issues, Impact of recession on EU has also been made. Reader can identify a general idea about the benefits of EU for the future in trading within Europe. Chapter 4: Methodology This chapter discusses about the research design and methodology employed in this research. This report would carry based on the study on articles, journals, up to date news and reference books. In the literature review part, all the relevant information is compiled based on the summary of reading of reference books, journals and articles. In the case study part, several case studies of strategies adopted by world class manufacturers to counter the recession will be discussed. The strategies included the manufacturing strategies and marketing strategies. Chapter 5: Case study and Discussion In this chapter, several strategies adopted by various world class manufacturers are presented and some discussion will be made. The discussion part includes the understanding and comparison of the literature review with the case studies towards the strategy. Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendation This chapter will summarize this whole dissertation and point out several vital of the research. Limitation in this research will be carried out and recommendation for future research would be made. Chapter 7: References All the sources for this dissertation will be arranged according to alphabetical order in this chapter. Readers can refer to the sources for further study. CHAPTER 2: Supply chain and Issues in supply chain This chapter discusses mainly is to present some literature review and theory from journals, conferences, magazines, text books and online news. As it is literature review all the latest information is quoted and are compiled from internet. Section 2.1 share with a general introduction on supply chain management and the traditional supply chain management worries. Section 2.2 addresses the smart supply chain and the expectations in the smart supply chain and need for it. Section 2.3 cope for global supply chain issues faced while recession and before. Section 2.4 handles the issues in supply chain faced. 2.1 Supply Chain Management As per CIPS the definition of Supply chain could be defined as â€Å"The supply chain conceptually covers the entire physical process from obtaining the raw materials through all process steps until the finished product reaches the end consumer. Most supply chains consist of many separate companies, each linked by virtue of their part in satisfying the specific need of the end consumer.† Supply chain management may be thought of as the management of all activities aimed at satisfying the end consumer; as such it covers almost all activity within the organization. It has been suggested that it incorporates a number of key success factors which include a clear procurement strategy, effective control systems, and development of expertise. Supply chain management therefore represents and reflects a holistic approach to the operation of the organization. As per Stevens.J (1989), supply chain could be defined as a system whose constituent parts include material suppliers, production facilities, distribution services and customers linked together via the feed forward flow of materials and the feedback flow of information. Supply chain management 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. The efficient supply chain management system is the one which concentrates in reducing inventory. The flow in supply chain is divided in to three main streams: the product flow, the information flow, the finances flow. 2.2.1 Traditional Supply chain issues Supply chain is not a very new term in business and management. Since the day from which trading begun in the world, supply chain has been a part of the business. The overcoming of the current issues and risks involved has become a part of supply chain management challenges. The four level supply chain issues stand in upstream from market place via the retailer, downstream flow activity, distribution and warehouse to factory and material flow in the form of products. There are more driving forces in a supply chain based on the industry because of the value adding operations involved. Based on (Towill, D.R., 1992), the light of information available the issues what a supply chain would get struck are perceived demand for products, which may be just a forecast from sales department, a production or value added process, information on the current performance, disturbance owing to machine / equipment or breakdowns, decision points, where the information is brought into action, transmission lags, decision rules, which is taken based on various internal decisions made in company for changing stock levels, placing new orders, etc. The basic problem in supply chain is the demand forecasting. The operations in the supply chain gets complicated by the demand forecast (Forrester, J.W. (1961)), The smaller the lead time has also a very important and critical role to play in determining the stability of supply chain (Inger et al.), especially as Companies move into just-in-time (JIT) operations. In practice JIT pushes the effects of unpredictability upstream in the supply chain (Mallman, D. (1995)). Apart from the lead time cycle time involved plays a very critical role. In a discussion of Dr. Carlos Mena, from Cranfield University, explains the longer distance movement is the more the cycle time involved in the supply chain. Where the problems faced by the companies include the degree of control, lead time issues, additional inventory, and most importantly the cash tied up in a single place for a very long time which could be used by the companies for various other investments and the fluctuating interest rates acr oss the companies for its money value is an interesting issue to concentrate. Other problems also include the responsiveness of the market that involved in the cycle time and delays or because of the excessive cycle time makes a very big problem and leads to trade off. The other issues faced in the traditional supply chain as per the report by S.Mehra on International journal of production research(Aug 2005), are the strategy involved in procurement as competition on product and price, driving inventory out of supply chain, complicated Communication towards supplier making complex Supplier relationships, higher customer expectations and higher variability in demand, Contract complication leading to huge loss of business, bad Anticipation in supply chain, bringing more suppliers and going for new products are getting more complicated, achieving the entire supply chain visibility and responsibility of suppliers and customers towards the requirements, Responding quickly and critical understanding on the business on contribution on revenue and Real time information sharing. 2.2.2 Smart Supply Chain The smart supply chain is the answer what the companies are expecting for because of the issues in supply chain faced by them and the need to go for a permanent solution. They have become used to supply chains day to day challenge because of the repeating issues. The smarter supply chain is nothing but monitoring the entire supply chain design with more focus on transparency in entire chain with more interconnected in network and relatively a good level of collaboration with supplier and customer. The following are some of the components of the smart supply chain and some discussion on its advantages have been cited. Supply chain reengineering: Supply chain problems are acute with long lead time replenishment and maintaining a believable and tolerable customer service in product availability. The supply chain reengineering is the key process of identifying and designating specific tasks to the staff by making a complete involvement of staff with a two way communication in terms of openness from management. It is atomizing the cost and time over improving the customer experience. Modifying the bad practices by identifying from the experience is a fundamental thing. Reducing cost is only key term in order to maintain and grow with margins in the current scenario. Considering the facts from the customer perspective and designing towards the source of the goods. It is done by gathering data, drawing the process map ideally starting from the customer point of view defining the problem statement, specific goal and measurable objective. A structured decision making system should be made based on prioritizing the resources and cost based on the fine target specified in the problem statement. These will give an idea of the actions to eliminate or to restructure the process for obtaining more efficient organizational structures. Challenges in current thinking give a more insight into the problem and which gives a prioritized list of alternatives to face the challenges. Planning state of identify ing the causes and preventive actions should be analyzed to restructure the design or process model recommending the risk considerations. . The hardest part of reengineering is not process redesigning it but to implement it. It involves change in culture and behavior not assistance. Active tracking is needed and degree of seriousness only defines a success or failure scenario in redesigning. As per the case study done by Littlewoods chain stores, the initiatives taken on reengineering includes a strong focus on customer management, redesign of the entire supply chain network from suppliers to stores in replacing the distribution chains and cross docking â€Å"flow through†, rebalancing the supplier base from far east to local procurement for quicker lead time and quick response, making a strong partnership with suppliers, evaluation of transportation costs by rationalizing the practices to single carried containers, reassessment of physical handling patterns, new design for better tracking and managing both product volumes and financial implications providing a scope to accelerate product flow in a more informed and cost effective way, an organizational aligned way and focus on the entire supply chain of improving the total performance and customer needs. Supply chain E-Procurement As a major part of supply chain management (Leenders and Fearon, 1997; Monczka et al., 1997), supply chains in procurement are traditionally supported by information technology. The main idea of e-procurement is to include the end-user (requester) in the procurement process via an electronic multi-vendor catalog and to close the process gaps (e.g. re-entry of data) in the supply chain for indirect goods (Neef, 2001). According to Dolmetsch et al., (2000), e-procurement deals with the management of supply chains in the procurement of indirect goods are based on Internet information systems and also e-markets. The e-procurement reduces the operational functions, with increased efficiencies regarding the process and procurement costs. (Aberdeen Group, 2001); According to these studies,(Eyholzer and Hunziker, 2000; Arthur Andersen Business Consulting, 2001). e-procurement enables companies to decentralize operational procurement processes and centralize strategic procurement processes as a result of the higher supply chain transparency provided by e-procurement systems. The use of technologies like Internet in procurement is concentrated mainly in realizing the needs and to react faster and in more efficient operational procurement processes which bypass the purchasing department and enable those people to concentrate on more strategic tasks (Giunipero and Sawchuk, 2000;). In e-procurement, end users could directly search for and select products in electronic catalogs which are authorized and negotiated by strategic procurement in advance example- E-bay, Amazon etc. The issues are really a challenge in identifying the right e-procurement strategy which is crucial to the success by selecting the right commodity of a companys solution. A second strategy is one which uses outwardly hosting catalogs on a suppliers website is also could be called the punch out mechanism. The punch out scenario helps customers to access external catalogs via their own e-procurement system (Kalakota and Robinson, 2001). A third strategy would be the use of external multi-vendor product catalogs that are hosted on electronic marketplaces. Similarly, implementing an e-procurement system in isolation without considering the entire procurement process and the systems involved will not be sufficient (Deise et al., 2000). Technological approach With todays emphasis on the need for improvements on cost cutting and streamlining expenses, many companies are looking out for improving their bottom lines with more effective supply chains. Technology implementation is a key term which could be used in supply chain to relate and improve the supply chain beneficiaries. By understanding the process clearly involved in supply chain processes makes supplier collaboration on a whole leading a better job in avoiding risks and much lesser repetition of mistakes. Usage of technologies like RFID, simulation, better communication software etc, leading to an advantaged scenario in understanding and maintaining supply chain visibility, online tracking, traffic management, warehouse management, reporting and analysis, order management and labor management. In the Supply chain digest 2007, the various supply chain technologies and strategies that could be implemented in supply chain are cited. E-auctions for bidding contract, Labor management system in distribution a collaboration of software, engineering and mindset to improve the logistics productivity Spend management visibility software used to calculate the spending of company, when, where and with what vendors providing the expensive vendor management Demand management by utilizing the use of technological tools, integrating the demand and sales side of the company by unifying the financial and operations plan. The consistent feedback on a regular basis brings about a structural demand. Supplier portals providing a demand visibility from purchase order to advance ship notice and generating an inbound shipment management by providing barcodes, RFID or other automated tracking technologies. Network optimization supporting global sourcing strategies, more short time inventory planning, new product introductions, sales and operations planning could be optimally balanced. Transportation management system software technologies used by shippers to calculate, plan and execute connection electronically with carriers by reducing costs optimal mode of transport selection, carrier assignment, consolidation of shipment and use of continuous moves in freight. Strategic / Global sourcing More integrated approach towards supplier selection and procurement considering the facts of time, cost, purchasing power by considering the strategies tied to off shoring and global sourcing strategies. Wireless in warehouse usage of wireless technologies inside the warehousing leads to a clear picture of the stock / inventory available and helps in calculating the cost involved in storage and money as inventory. As well as picking in warehouse should be automated where possible, so more visibility is available. Yard management system and Dock door scheduling It gives a visibility in yard inventory and schedules, executes on inbound and outbound docks. Reverse Supply Chain management (RSCM) The Council of Logistics Management defined reverse supply chain as the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from the point of consumption to the point of origin for the purpose of recapturing value or proper disposal. RSCM is defined as the effective and efficient management of the series of activities required to retrieve a product from a customer in order to either dispose of it or recover value (Prahinski and KocabasoÄÅ ¸lu , 2006; Defee et al., 2009). Fleischmann et al., (2000) base the growing importance of RSCM basically on agreements for excess products and extended producer responsibilities. As per Harvard Business review 2002, In general, the companies that create what so called as a closed-loop system, have enjoyed most success with RSCM by having a close coordination in their forward supply chain. For example, they make product design and manufacturing decisions with eventual recycling and reconditioning in mind. The definition of reverse logistics from an environmental perspective in the forward supply chain is focus on taking return of recyclable or reusable products and materials. Reverse logistics, flow of materials from the customer to forward supply chain, is the least studied operational function (Sarkis, 2003). 2.3 Global supply chain issues Oil pricing The growth in oil price will always lead to a substantial slow down in international trade because of the transportation dependency on oil market. According to the report of EIA (Energy Information Administration) (2007) the 96% of the US transportation works on the fuels, 43% of the industries runs on the fuels, 21% of the residential homes and commercials and 3% of the electric power works with the help of the fuels. This means that the US economy is related to each other and this made an impact in all areas due to the increase in oil price. In the June 2008 the price of WTI reached the maximum and that was 145 US dollars per barrel the all time highest price which US market has seen. So this made the price for the gasoline high in July 2008 to 4.10$. Based on a CIBC report 2008, the trade price increases by 1 % in every increase in 1$ for a barrel. Because of the increase in oil price directly affects the wages to decline and increased product cost. The increase in oil prices lead s to elimination of importers and need to go for local suppliers. The analysis of rising oil prices would impact profitability as well as the core supply chain design. The impact for a supply chain design would lead to tradeoffs among transportation, inventory, and distribution and in all sections of supply chain. By Dr Bassam Fattouh (2007), the volatility of oil prices had lead to a challenge for the supply chain and could slow down economic growth, also can cause inflation pressures, can Create global imbalances, Volatility increases uncertainty discourages much needed investment in oil sector, tight market conditions raised fears about oil scarcity and concerns about energy security. Collaboration The measurement of supply chain collaboration has received a little attention to date (Sanders and Premus, 2005: Jap, 1999: Injazz and Paulraj, 2004). At about that time, an ongoing discussion emerged that supply chain management should be built around the integration of trading partners (Barratt and Oliveira, 2001), the sharing of information and benefits (McLaren, 2004) and the collaboration of organizations (Patrakosol and Olson, 2006). Collaborative Planning is a first step on the road to Extended Supply Chain Management with specific customers It has a seamless fit with PSC (Procurement Strategy Council) strategy and as such is an excellent opportunity to create Customer Intimacy Through follow up implementations, we can created the chances to start gaining the first Business Benefits. Economist Intelligence unit (2006) says that the cooperation of the government and UN to designate the standards are one of the key issues faced by the SMEs. Manufacturers are more concerned about the interoperability than the responds overall. A majority of survey results cites that trust in payment would be certain as a major factor that assists the companies to integrate their operations with global supply chain. In a report of ECOlogistics (2007) explains the communication gap in between the supplier and customer leads to problems in scalable issues regarding quality. The collaboration missing of the government regarding with the trading sector leads to complication in global supply network. Variation in theme of a support by the market incentives, and networks of local, social, political and moral enforcement leading to missing in regulatory systems. There â€Å"glocal† needs to be implemented, which means the global standards in the local market, Which in turn produces cost effective system with improved standards. Public Private Partnerships in Standards Compliance Arguments for Restricting the Supply Chain to Europe Arguments for Restricting the Supply Chain to Europe Preface This report describes project work carried out in the Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Science at Sheffield Hallam University between June 2009 and January 2010. The submission of the report is in accordance with the requirements for the award of the degree of MSc Logistics and Supply Chain management under the auspices of the University. ANALYSIS OF THE ARGUMENTS FOR RESTRICTING THE SUPPLY CHAIN TO EUROPE Abstract This dissertation briefly discusses about the supply chain issues faced and their impact with respect to global supply chain. Also discusses about the need for smarter supply chain. In the recent European Union policies and trading benefits, a study is done on why not to trade locally than internationally by utilizing a proper supply chain system. This report analysis will also discuss about the recent developments in supply chain management that have concentrated on the benefit of global supply chain. The project investigates the case for limiting the supply chain to organizations within European Commission. In particular it identifies when it is better to source locally rather than globally. ABBREVIATION BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CIBC Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CIPS Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply CSCMP Council of Supply Chain Management Professional EC European Commission ECB European Central Bank EIA Energy Information Administration EMU Economic and Monetary Union EU European Union FDI Foreign Direct Investment GDP Gross Domestic Product GM General Motors GVA Gross Value Added ICT Information and Communication Technologies IMF International Monetary Fund JIT Just-In-Time NBER National Bureau of Economic Research PLC Product Life Cycle PSC Procurement Strategy Council Q3 Quarter 3 RFID Radio Frequency Identification RSCM Reverse Supply Chain Management SME Small and medium enterprises TEU Twenty-foot equivalent TPR Trade Policy Review UN United Nation WTI West Texas Intermediate WTO World Trade Organization CHAPTER 1: Introduction This chapter discusses about the general agenda of research involved. 1.1 gives an outline about the background of the research. Section 1.2 will state about the objectives of the research. Section 1.3 will state about the scope involved and section 1.4 will present a structure of the dissertation and some brief summary of each chapter. In this section the reader would gain a birds eye image on what the research is about. 1.1 Background of Research The supply chain for the future is not to wait and react as the traditional way but the attitude is â€Å"drive fast†. Because of the demands, new technologies and new capabilities the vision on supply chain needs to be a more monitored and a smarter supply chain is what the world is looking for. After globalization the world has become a single unified market and the needs for trading is effectively high with more collaboration strategy. Due to globalization the recession which started in United States in financial crisis 2007-2009, it had spread across the world because of the inter dependence in global economy which resulted in a major downturn. According to IMF (international Monetary Fund), an economic growth of less than 3% or less is considered to be as a global recession. The recession has hit almost every country across the globe and after experiencing the tough time each one of them wants to self sustain in their internal economy. Because of the outsourcing mostly the products across countries away from Europe, It has been become in a format that Europe have disabled in some fields for the future. Either we would be transferring our industries to make as foreign direct investment in other nations or we would be making products based on our requirements in their specialized fields which would be in more dependent criteria as which cant be produced in house. Manufacturing companies and the business nowadays is going down and they are forced to think for a new way to compete and to produce products in cost effective manner and more customer oriented. The survival had become an important issue for the industries along with competition. Now it has an impact on the unemployment as because of companies started to move their new units in other countries because of cheap labor and availability of resources. Which in turn is a huge lose for the country and for the future as it would be affecting the countries growth as a whole. There are number of other strategies that have made the companies to go for a change in supply chain to get rid of various issues they experienced in the past. The mobile industry such as Nokia produces mobiles with various advance technologies and manufacture across the globe. The theft in the technology and the innovations of it has lead the local Asian market for an availability a far cheaper mobile with all the technologies of Nokia in local brand names. This makes the original manufacturer a vulnerable market and looses the value for product. Similarly, the Hongqi HQD is the car model which was released by manufacturer of china which is as same as Rolls Royce Phantom model. In automobile sector, Daewoo Matiz verses Chery QQ, Vauxhall Frontera verses Landwind, Honda CRV verses Laibao SRV, Mercedes C verses Geely Merrie 300, Neoplan Starliner verses Zonda A9 (Bus Model), Smart verses er. Chinese Smart, Toyota Prado verses Dadi Shuttle, Nissan XTrail verses Greatwall Sing, BMW 7 ve rses BYD F6 are the very interesting copied models far across every company of the worlds luxurious cars been produced in China in a large scale industries with conveniently a lower price. The interesting news is all that these cars are not only look alike the same in appearance and aesthetic, but also the performance and quality records is being similar to the original ones. The international court which handles these cases results in vain for the car manufacturers as the design produced has some variation than the copyrighted original ones. It crosses from automobiles, electronics, computers, pharma industries, telecom industries, electrical items, aerospace etc. The original origin company loses a very high investment in research and development to produce a new product and the rate of return for them takes ages than the actual predicted period. Shutting down or transferring the production plant has also become a part for industries. For example, Vestas, a wind power manufacturin g unit had built a new wind turbine production plant in China due to the local market demand and thereby keeping business profitable. The purpose and motivation for me to study in this topic is because I had been studying the various reasons behind the problems that the companies faced during recession and hard to survive criteria with more problems leaving them to bankruptcy. Even the giant manufacturers in automobiles such as General motors, Ford etc, were one of the victims who were about to face the bankruptcy. The other reasons includes the design theft, information leakage, irresponsive supply chain strategy, poor visibility in supply chain, vendor management, gap between supplier and customer in 3Ts (time, Transparency, Trust) , degree of control, responsiveness (change in market demand), lead time issues, global CO2 emissions, etc are the other threatening factors what the Business face. Hence, I decided to come up with a further study and development of my knowledge on these areas and come out with a report regarding the various controls that management could be able to gain to trade within near shore to s urvive and what are the strategies can be adopted to restrict the supply chain within Europe. This study has basically two main elements which deal about the various past experiences faced by the companies in sourcing across supply chain as well as future supply chain needs and the benefits and positive factors that show a better scope in near future for European market. It deals with the various concepts of supply chain, relationship management strategy in sourcing, and some strategies followed by world class companies. I believe that this dissertation would be useful as a reference for sourcing companies in future as well. Student might gain some benefits from this dissertation as this helps students to further understand the theories and other concepts involved in supply chain that have been dealt while considering some real case examples. 1.2 Objective of Research The aims of this dissertation are basically: 1) To analyze the current and past strategies in supply chain issues 2) To analyze about the expectation for future supply chain 3) To analyze the about the advantages in trading within European Union 4) To analyze the impacts of recession on Europe and UK 5) To study the various techniques used by the world class companies to overcome the supply chain issues 1.3 Scope of Research The scope has been narrowed down to European market in this research. The area of research has been identified after a deep analysis on the literature review. The literature review gives a general idea and background about the various supply chain requirements about the past and for future. The study is discussing about history of the European Union and trading benefits. The comparisons of the advantages and the benefits that could be available in the Europe have also been discussed. The limitations are that it is a general idea about the various issues in supply chain and a theory behind supply chain. The scope environment is for the very big companies who has already started practicing near sourcing and for the medium size companies. It would not be a better option of trading for the small companies. 1.4 Structure of thesis Chapter 1: Introduction The background of this dissertation will be introduced in this chapter. The objectives of the research are stated. Scope of the project is identified and the structure of the thesis is presented. The reader can obtain an overview of the thesis from this chapter. Chapter 2: Supply chain and Issues in Supply chain All the relevant information and materials has been gain from journals, articles, news, magazines, reference books and internet will be summarized, concluded and organized in a systematic way in both chapter 2 and chapter 3. In this chapter, general information about supply chain and Issues in supply chain faced will be presented. About the supply chain, smart supply chain, traditional issues, credit crunch impact on supply chain, various issues faced by the current and past sourcing business faced are discussed. The contents has discussed about the past and the present scenario. Chapter 3: European Union benefits and sourcing strategies This chapter mainly concentrates on the EU benefits provided for its fellow country members and the various advantages it has for the near and long future. The discussion about the logistical issues, Impact of recession on EU has also been made. Reader can identify a general idea about the benefits of EU for the future in trading within Europe. Chapter 4: Methodology This chapter discusses about the research design and methodology employed in this research. This report would carry based on the study on articles, journals, up to date news and reference books. In the literature review part, all the relevant information is compiled based on the summary of reading of reference books, journals and articles. In the case study part, several case studies of strategies adopted by world class manufacturers to counter the recession will be discussed. The strategies included the manufacturing strategies and marketing strategies. Chapter 5: Case study and Discussion In this chapter, several strategies adopted by various world class manufacturers are presented and some discussion will be made. The discussion part includes the understanding and comparison of the literature review with the case studies towards the strategy. Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendation This chapter will summarize this whole dissertation and point out several vital of the research. Limitation in this research will be carried out and recommendation for future research would be made. Chapter 7: References All the sources for this dissertation will be arranged according to alphabetical order in this chapter. Readers can refer to the sources for further study. CHAPTER 2: Supply chain and Issues in supply chain This chapter discusses mainly is to present some literature review and theory from journals, conferences, magazines, text books and online news. As it is literature review all the latest information is quoted and are compiled from internet. Section 2.1 share with a general introduction on supply chain management and the traditional supply chain management worries. Section 2.2 addresses the smart supply chain and the expectations in the smart supply chain and need for it. Section 2.3 cope for global supply chain issues faced while recession and before. Section 2.4 handles the issues in supply chain faced. 2.1 Supply Chain Management As per CIPS the definition of Supply chain could be defined as â€Å"The supply chain conceptually covers the entire physical process from obtaining the raw materials through all process steps until the finished product reaches the end consumer. Most supply chains consist of many separate companies, each linked by virtue of their part in satisfying the specific need of the end consumer.† Supply chain management may be thought of as the management of all activities aimed at satisfying the end consumer; as such it covers almost all activity within the organization. It has been suggested that it incorporates a number of key success factors which include a clear procurement strategy, effective control systems, and development of expertise. Supply chain management therefore represents and reflects a holistic approach to the operation of the organization. As per Stevens.J (1989), supply chain could be defined as a system whose constituent parts include material suppliers, production facilities, distribution services and customers linked together via the feed forward flow of materials and the feedback flow of information. Supply chain management 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. The efficient supply chain management system is the one which concentrates in reducing inventory. The flow in supply chain is divided in to three main streams: the product flow, the information flow, the finances flow. 2.2.1 Traditional Supply chain issues Supply chain is not a very new term in business and management. Since the day from which trading begun in the world, supply chain has been a part of the business. The overcoming of the current issues and risks involved has become a part of supply chain management challenges. The four level supply chain issues stand in upstream from market place via the retailer, downstream flow activity, distribution and warehouse to factory and material flow in the form of products. There are more driving forces in a supply chain based on the industry because of the value adding operations involved. Based on (Towill, D.R., 1992), the light of information available the issues what a supply chain would get struck are perceived demand for products, which may be just a forecast from sales department, a production or value added process, information on the current performance, disturbance owing to machine / equipment or breakdowns, decision points, where the information is brought into action, transmission lags, decision rules, which is taken based on various internal decisions made in company for changing stock levels, placing new orders, etc. The basic problem in supply chain is the demand forecasting. The operations in the supply chain gets complicated by the demand forecast (Forrester, J.W. (1961)), The smaller the lead time has also a very important and critical role to play in determining the stability of supply chain (Inger et al.), especially as Companies move into just-in-time (JIT) operations. In practice JIT pushes the effects of unpredictability upstream in the supply chain (Mallman, D. (1995)). Apart from the lead time cycle time involved plays a very critical role. In a discussion of Dr. Carlos Mena, from Cranfield University, explains the longer distance movement is the more the cycle time involved in the supply chain. Where the problems faced by the companies include the degree of control, lead time issues, additional inventory, and most importantly the cash tied up in a single place for a very long time which could be used by the companies for various other investments and the fluctuating interest rates acr oss the companies for its money value is an interesting issue to concentrate. Other problems also include the responsiveness of the market that involved in the cycle time and delays or because of the excessive cycle time makes a very big problem and leads to trade off. The other issues faced in the traditional supply chain as per the report by S.Mehra on International journal of production research(Aug 2005), are the strategy involved in procurement as competition on product and price, driving inventory out of supply chain, complicated Communication towards supplier making complex Supplier relationships, higher customer expectations and higher variability in demand, Contract complication leading to huge loss of business, bad Anticipation in supply chain, bringing more suppliers and going for new products are getting more complicated, achieving the entire supply chain visibility and responsibility of suppliers and customers towards the requirements, Responding quickly and critical understanding on the business on contribution on revenue and Real time information sharing. 2.2.2 Smart Supply Chain The smart supply chain is the answer what the companies are expecting for because of the issues in supply chain faced by them and the need to go for a permanent solution. They have become used to supply chains day to day challenge because of the repeating issues. The smarter supply chain is nothing but monitoring the entire supply chain design with more focus on transparency in entire chain with more interconnected in network and relatively a good level of collaboration with supplier and customer. The following are some of the components of the smart supply chain and some discussion on its advantages have been cited. Supply chain reengineering: Supply chain problems are acute with long lead time replenishment and maintaining a believable and tolerable customer service in product availability. The supply chain reengineering is the key process of identifying and designating specific tasks to the staff by making a complete involvement of staff with a two way communication in terms of openness from management. It is atomizing the cost and time over improving the customer experience. Modifying the bad practices by identifying from the experience is a fundamental thing. Reducing cost is only key term in order to maintain and grow with margins in the current scenario. Considering the facts from the customer perspective and designing towards the source of the goods. It is done by gathering data, drawing the process map ideally starting from the customer point of view defining the problem statement, specific goal and measurable objective. A structured decision making system should be made based on prioritizing the resources and cost based on the fine target specified in the problem statement. These will give an idea of the actions to eliminate or to restructure the process for obtaining more efficient organizational structures. Challenges in current thinking give a more insight into the problem and which gives a prioritized list of alternatives to face the challenges. Planning state of identify ing the causes and preventive actions should be analyzed to restructure the design or process model recommending the risk considerations. . The hardest part of reengineering is not process redesigning it but to implement it. It involves change in culture and behavior not assistance. Active tracking is needed and degree of seriousness only defines a success or failure scenario in redesigning. As per the case study done by Littlewoods chain stores, the initiatives taken on reengineering includes a strong focus on customer management, redesign of the entire supply chain network from suppliers to stores in replacing the distribution chains and cross docking â€Å"flow through†, rebalancing the supplier base from far east to local procurement for quicker lead time and quick response, making a strong partnership with suppliers, evaluation of transportation costs by rationalizing the practices to single carried containers, reassessment of physical handling patterns, new design for better tracking and managing both product volumes and financial implications providing a scope to accelerate product flow in a more informed and cost effective way, an organizational aligned way and focus on the entire supply chain of improving the total performance and customer needs. Supply chain E-Procurement As a major part of supply chain management (Leenders and Fearon, 1997; Monczka et al., 1997), supply chains in procurement are traditionally supported by information technology. The main idea of e-procurement is to include the end-user (requester) in the procurement process via an electronic multi-vendor catalog and to close the process gaps (e.g. re-entry of data) in the supply chain for indirect goods (Neef, 2001). According to Dolmetsch et al., (2000), e-procurement deals with the management of supply chains in the procurement of indirect goods are based on Internet information systems and also e-markets. The e-procurement reduces the operational functions, with increased efficiencies regarding the process and procurement costs. (Aberdeen Group, 2001); According to these studies,(Eyholzer and Hunziker, 2000; Arthur Andersen Business Consulting, 2001). e-procurement enables companies to decentralize operational procurement processes and centralize strategic procurement processes as a result of the higher supply chain transparency provided by e-procurement systems. The use of technologies like Internet in procurement is concentrated mainly in realizing the needs and to react faster and in more efficient operational procurement processes which bypass the purchasing department and enable those people to concentrate on more strategic tasks (Giunipero and Sawchuk, 2000;). In e-procurement, end users could directly search for and select products in electronic catalogs which are authorized and negotiated by strategic procurement in advance example- E-bay, Amazon etc. The issues are really a challenge in identifying the right e-procurement strategy which is crucial to the success by selecting the right commodity of a companys solution. A second strategy is one which uses outwardly hosting catalogs on a suppliers website is also could be called the punch out mechanism. The punch out scenario helps customers to access external catalogs via their own e-procurement system (Kalakota and Robinson, 2001). A third strategy would be the use of external multi-vendor product catalogs that are hosted on electronic marketplaces. Similarly, implementing an e-procurement system in isolation without considering the entire procurement process and the systems involved will not be sufficient (Deise et al., 2000). Technological approach With todays emphasis on the need for improvements on cost cutting and streamlining expenses, many companies are looking out for improving their bottom lines with more effective supply chains. Technology implementation is a key term which could be used in supply chain to relate and improve the supply chain beneficiaries. By understanding the process clearly involved in supply chain processes makes supplier collaboration on a whole leading a better job in avoiding risks and much lesser repetition of mistakes. Usage of technologies like RFID, simulation, better communication software etc, leading to an advantaged scenario in understanding and maintaining supply chain visibility, online tracking, traffic management, warehouse management, reporting and analysis, order management and labor management. In the Supply chain digest 2007, the various supply chain technologies and strategies that could be implemented in supply chain are cited. E-auctions for bidding contract, Labor management system in distribution a collaboration of software, engineering and mindset to improve the logistics productivity Spend management visibility software used to calculate the spending of company, when, where and with what vendors providing the expensive vendor management Demand management by utilizing the use of technological tools, integrating the demand and sales side of the company by unifying the financial and operations plan. The consistent feedback on a regular basis brings about a structural demand. Supplier portals providing a demand visibility from purchase order to advance ship notice and generating an inbound shipment management by providing barcodes, RFID or other automated tracking technologies. Network optimization supporting global sourcing strategies, more short time inventory planning, new product introductions, sales and operations planning could be optimally balanced. Transportation management system software technologies used by shippers to calculate, plan and execute connection electronically with carriers by reducing costs optimal mode of transport selection, carrier assignment, consolidation of shipment and use of continuous moves in freight. Strategic / Global sourcing More integrated approach towards supplier selection and procurement considering the facts of time, cost, purchasing power by considering the strategies tied to off shoring and global sourcing strategies. Wireless in warehouse usage of wireless technologies inside the warehousing leads to a clear picture of the stock / inventory available and helps in calculating the cost involved in storage and money as inventory. As well as picking in warehouse should be automated where possible, so more visibility is available. Yard management system and Dock door scheduling It gives a visibility in yard inventory and schedules, executes on inbound and outbound docks. Reverse Supply Chain management (RSCM) The Council of Logistics Management defined reverse supply chain as the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from the point of consumption to the point of origin for the purpose of recapturing value or proper disposal. RSCM is defined as the effective and efficient management of the series of activities required to retrieve a product from a customer in order to either dispose of it or recover value (Prahinski and KocabasoÄÅ ¸lu , 2006; Defee et al., 2009). Fleischmann et al., (2000) base the growing importance of RSCM basically on agreements for excess products and extended producer responsibilities. As per Harvard Business review 2002, In general, the companies that create what so called as a closed-loop system, have enjoyed most success with RSCM by having a close coordination in their forward supply chain. For example, they make product design and manufacturing decisions with eventual recycling and reconditioning in mind. The definition of reverse logistics from an environmental perspective in the forward supply chain is focus on taking return of recyclable or reusable products and materials. Reverse logistics, flow of materials from the customer to forward supply chain, is the least studied operational function (Sarkis, 2003). 2.3 Global supply chain issues Oil pricing The growth in oil price will always lead to a substantial slow down in international trade because of the transportation dependency on oil market. According to the report of EIA (Energy Information Administration) (2007) the 96% of the US transportation works on the fuels, 43% of the industries runs on the fuels, 21% of the residential homes and commercials and 3% of the electric power works with the help of the fuels. This means that the US economy is related to each other and this made an impact in all areas due to the increase in oil price. In the June 2008 the price of WTI reached the maximum and that was 145 US dollars per barrel the all time highest price which US market has seen. So this made the price for the gasoline high in July 2008 to 4.10$. Based on a CIBC report 2008, the trade price increases by 1 % in every increase in 1$ for a barrel. Because of the increase in oil price directly affects the wages to decline and increased product cost. The increase in oil prices lead s to elimination of importers and need to go for local suppliers. The analysis of rising oil prices would impact profitability as well as the core supply chain design. The impact for a supply chain design would lead to tradeoffs among transportation, inventory, and distribution and in all sections of supply chain. By Dr Bassam Fattouh (2007), the volatility of oil prices had lead to a challenge for the supply chain and could slow down economic growth, also can cause inflation pressures, can Create global imbalances, Volatility increases uncertainty discourages much needed investment in oil sector, tight market conditions raised fears about oil scarcity and concerns about energy security. Collaboration The measurement of supply chain collaboration has received a little attention to date (Sanders and Premus, 2005: Jap, 1999: Injazz and Paulraj, 2004). At about that time, an ongoing discussion emerged that supply chain management should be built around the integration of trading partners (Barratt and Oliveira, 2001), the sharing of information and benefits (McLaren, 2004) and the collaboration of organizations (Patrakosol and Olson, 2006). Collaborative Planning is a first step on the road to Extended Supply Chain Management with specific customers It has a seamless fit with PSC (Procurement Strategy Council) strategy and as such is an excellent opportunity to create Customer Intimacy Through follow up implementations, we can created the chances to start gaining the first Business Benefits. Economist Intelligence unit (2006) says that the cooperation of the government and UN to designate the standards are one of the key issues faced by the SMEs. Manufacturers are more concerned about the interoperability than the responds overall. A majority of survey results cites that trust in payment would be certain as a major factor that assists the companies to integrate their operations with global supply chain. In a report of ECOlogistics (2007) explains the communication gap in between the supplier and customer leads to problems in scalable issues regarding quality. The collaboration missing of the government regarding with the trading sector leads to complication in global supply network. Variation in theme of a support by the market incentives, and networks of local, social, political and moral enforcement leading to missing in regulatory systems. There â€Å"glocal† needs to be implemented, which means the global standards in the local market, Which in turn produces cost effective system with improved standards. Public Private Partnerships in Standards Compliance