Select an Industry and Analyse it According to Porter's Five Forces Essay

Select an Industry and Analyze it According to Porter's Five Forces - Essay Example Be that as it may, before wandering into this little car industry, it is basic to assess the serious powers. On the off chance that the powers are exceptional, it gets hard to accomplish alluring rates of return (Porter, 2008). Notwithstanding, the organization accomplishes benefits when the powers are favorable. The most grounded serious powers decide the gainfulness of the business and furthermore manage the firm in building up the technique. In view of Porter’s Five Forces Model, the image of rivalry can be work in three phases †ID of the particular serious weights with every one of the five powers, assess the quality of every one of the five serious powers, and decide whether the aggregate impact of the five powers is helpful for making benefits inside the business. The five powers that shape technique have been appeared in the outline beneath and every one of them has been talked about independently: Source: Porter (2008). Danger of new contestants The car business i s full grown and to get by in this industry the firm should have the option to accomplish economies of scale. This requires large scale manufacturing and overwhelming speculations. Due to low deals solidification is occurring in the business. Aside from assembling customary advancement is important to continue and this requires substantial interests in innovative work also. The expense of passage into an industry likewise relies on the plausible response from existing contenders (Porter, n.d.). High exchanging costs additionally deflect a producer from entering an industry. Exchanging costs for this situation might be high a direct result of periodical innovation up-degree to get by in the market. Car producing and particularly with new innovation requires escalated conveyance procedure with a few dispersion channels. This gets hard for another contestant to set up and henceforth danger from new participants is low. In any case, remote rivalry, new innovation and the board aptitudes do represent a danger in the business. In addition, the UK government is steady of advancement in the automobile business which makes the danger from new contestants high. Dealing intensity of providers The car makers presently redistribute heft of their automobile parts to different makers along these lines empowering them to concentrate on the center items, on advancement and innovative work. This is known as the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) rule where the business brand name works with an enormous number of providers (Molnar, 2009).This suggests that one vehicle maker is reliant on a few providers simultaneously and these providers also might be sub-contracting work thusly. Hence there are a few layers of providers for each vehicle maker. Toyota in actuality has a few providers for similar parts which lessens their reliance on one single provider (SD, 2005). This recommends the haggling intensity of providers is low in the business. Nonetheless, since this is another id ea with creative innovation the reliance on providers might be high at first as more makers enter the market. Haggling intensity of purchasers The vehicle business is absolutely reliant on the offer of yield by the purchasers. Along these lines the dealing intensity of purchasers is high. Purchasers have gotten requesting of offices and are additionally cost

Class of 2000 free essay sample

I wager something very similar is on each seniorsmind. With graduation just weeks away, I am resolved to walk acrossthat stage, despite the fact that it gets more enthusiastically to remain centered onschool. I can see graduation day now. All the seniors will marchin wearing tops and outfits and sit gladly in the awkward metalchairs before the stage. At the point when our names are called, we willrealize all that we worked for as kids has become reality. Thelife that all the practiced and decided seniors buckled down forwill be close enough. A few of us will rush to the stage, prepared andexcited. Others will be reluctant, scared of things to come. I will have togive myself a little push. Slowly, I will stroll to the front ofthe stage, focusing on not staggering. I will turn upward and realizeeveryone is watching me get one of the most significant pieces ofpaper in my life. I will gladly acknowledge the confirmation, as I shake myprincipals hand. We will compose a custom exposition test on Class of 2000 or on the other hand any comparative subject explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page I will go to my individual cohorts, grin with mydiploma brought up noticeable all around, and state, We did it!

How to Start a Scholarship Essay - How to Write a Scholarship Essay in a Flash

How to Start a Scholarship Essay - How to Write a Scholarship Essay in a FlashIt is all too easy to forget how to write a scholarship essay in favor of something else. The question should be, how do you write a scholarship essay? If you are trying to keep up with the times and you want to make sure you don't make the same mistakes that the other kids are making, then you need to learn how to write a scholarship essay.A scholarship essay is probably the most important part of your application. You are competing against hundreds of other kids who are vying for the same money as you. You can be one of the lucky ones if you have an essay written by an expert writer.Before you start learning how to write a scholarship essay, you need to understand that there are many different kinds of scholarship essays out there. Every year the writers are getting better at what they do and the competition is getting fiercer. This means that there are fewer quality sources on the internet and if you wan t to avoid making the same mistakes, you will need to do some research.One of the best places to start your research into how to start a scholarship essay is simply looking online. There are many websites that will help you get ideas for writing a scholarship essay and you will get ideas about where to go from these sites. The best places to look are by reading about good examples of scholarship essays from sites that have advice columns and other writing tutorials.You will also want to spend some time researching the different styles that are being used for scholarship essays. There are many different styles of writing a scholarship essay. One of the things that you will want to know is which style is the best for you.Once you have spent some time getting some research done, you will need to decide what writing style that is best for you. The more research you do, the better you will become at writing a scholarship essay. You will also realize that there are many different styles a nd you should choose the one that suits you best.Finally, you will want to read as many samples of how to start a scholarship essay as you can. When you are looking at writing samples, you should consider what the style of writing is and how well it is written. You should look at examples of how to start a scholarship essay and you should also look at how they are written.When you are trying to figure out how to start a scholarship essay, it can be easy to forget that you need to do some research. Doing the research is a very important part of your scholarship essay and it will make it easier for you to land the scholarship that you want.

Definition of Asymptotic Variance in Statistical Analysis

The definition of the asymptotic variance of an estimator may vary from author to author or situation to situation. One standard definition is given in Greene, p 109, equation (4-39) and is described as sufficient for nearly all applications. The definition for asymptotic variance given is: asy var(t_hat) (1/n) * limn-infinity E[ {t_hat - limn-infinity E[t_hat] }2 ] Introduction to Asymptotic Analysis Asymptotic analysis is a method of describing limiting behavior and has applications across the sciences from applied mathematics to statistical mechanics to computer science.  The term  asymptotic  itself refers to approaching a value or curve arbitrarily closely as some limit is  taken.  In applied mathematics and econometrics,  asymptotic  analysis is employed in the building of numerical mechanisms that will approximate equation solutions. It is a crucial tool in the exploration of the ordinary and partial differential equations that emerge when researchers attempt to model real-world phenomena through applied mathematics. Properties of Estimators In statistics, an estimator is a rule for calculating an estimate of a value or quantity (also known as the estimand) based upon observed data. When studying the properties of estimators that have been obtained, statisticians make a distinction between two particular categories of properties: The small or finite sample properties, which are considered valid no matter the sample sizeAsymptotic properties, which are associated with infinitely larger samples when n  tends to ∞ (infinity). When dealing with finite sample properties, the aim is to study the behavior of the estimator assuming that there are many samples and as a result, many estimators. Under these circumstances, the average of the estimators should provide the necessary information. But when in practice when there is only one sample, asymptotic properties must be established. The aim is then to study the behavior of estimators as n, or the sample population size,  increases. The asymptotic properties an estimator may possess include asymptotic unbiasedness, consistency, and asymptotic efficiency. Asymptotic Efficiency and Asymptotic Variance Many statisticians consider the minimum requirement for determining a useful estimator is for the estimator to be consistent, but given that there are generally several consistent estimators of a parameter, one must give consideration to other properties as well. Asymptotic efficiency is another property worth consideration in the evaluation of estimators. The property of asymptotic efficiency targets the asymptotic variance of the estimators. Though there are many definitions, asymptotic variance can be defined as the variance, or how far the set of numbers is spread out, of the limit distribution of the estimator. More Learning Resources Related to Asymptotic Variance To learn more about asymptotic variance, be sure to check the following articles about terms related to asymptotic variance: AsymptoticAsymptotic NormalityAsymptotically EquivalentAsymptotically Unbiased

Philosophies Relationship to Death Essay - 971 Words

Philosophies Relationship to Death Apology and Phaedo Knowledge of Death versus Belief in a Soul In Plato’s Apology, Socrates says that he knows nothing of death while in Phaedo he discusses many of his beliefs on death and its philosophical ramifications. From this simple perspective it may seem as though he is contradicting himself although he, after further investigation, is not. Philosophically, the idea of death and an afterlife can be looked at from multiple non-contradictory viewpoints. Socrates talks of his lack of knowledge of death in order to define, more so, his philosophy on life. While in Phaedo, he talks explicitly about his philosophy on death. The two discussions of death are equally important in†¦show more content†¦On the other hand, death does not constitute a certain evil and death may not interfere with the will of God, his teaching and discussing and thinking. So, as simple logic can explain, living would require that evil does exist whether it’s incarceration or any other punishment, while death may be, in fact the greatest good, rather than the preconceived notion of many that it is the greatest evil. Socrates, thus, chose the possibility of good rather than the inevitability of evil. By discussing death in such a manner Socrates is also able to offer his opinion on the decisions made during life. If we are not able to know whether death is an evil at all, when compared to other options in life, it may be the better. We do know, for example, that disgrace is an evil so, when faced with the option, Socrates would choose death. Socrates discussed this in terms of following the orders of a righteous leader in a military situation, but made his reasoning more personal when he used it in describing his desire to follow the orders, or will, of God. It is therefore, if we want to live righteously, that we should not fear death as the many earthly evils should be feared instead. In Phaedo Socrates, during his last ours of life answers many questions on his belief of the ramifications of death. He discusses not whether death is an evil, nor does he say that he knows death, but instead whether death exists for the soul at all and in what form. Socrates argues that deathShow MoreRelatedEssay about Confucianism1154 Words   |  5 Pages Confucianism Confucianism is an East Asian philosophy built up by a Chinese philosopher, Confucius (Kung Fu-tzu), in the 6th - 5th century BCE. It’s a philosophy based on human morals and relationships. To really understand Confucianism, how it originated and what parts of history contributed towards its development, you have to look into: who is Confucius, the history of Confucianism and what happened to Confucianism after the death of Confucius? Who is Confucius? Confucius was of noble descentRead MoreStudent Teacher1669 Words   |  7 PagesThe relationship that a teacher and student share is of trust, respect and devotion. Teachers influence their students by shaping their rational and moral virtues and hence, play an important role in molding the society as a whole. The education system of ancient India and Greece shared some common characteristics. In both cultures, teachers and their disciples conglomerated at specific places earmarked for educational purposes. This is where students gained both spiritual and material educationRead MoreAppropriate Supporter for Political Authority Antigone 1097 Words   |  5 Pages Classical plays such as [Apology] this is not a play. It is a Platonic dialogue. and Antigone are sometimes associated with English or philosophy. However, a closer look reveals two different political stand points against the government or the people. Revealed in the play Antigone, the female character is [exposed as a reb ellion] awkward against the government; but in the play Apology, a male philosopher is seen as a martyr for his belief in a true justice system. Although both characters haveRead MoreTwo Different Philosophical Views in Grendel and Beowulf Essay1244 Words   |  5 Pagesview on life was to always stay brave and honest while protecting the weak. Through fighting these forces of evil, they found their meaning for existence while Grendel never did. One last philosophical view of life for the Danes was a resignation to death, especially in the case of Beowulf. In Beowulf’s final battle against the dragon he fought even though he had grown older and knew there was a good chance for him to die. His willingness to die for his people gave him not only recognition as a trueRead MoreNew Theistic Natural Existentialism Essay1264 Words   |  6 PagesPhilosophy is an activity of thought and a study of wisdom. While not everyone may understand or comprehend philosophy, they do have thei r own philosophical perspective or view of the world. A â€Å"worldview† is a â€Å"commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions that we hold about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our own being† (Sire, 20). Worldviews consist of a primeRead MorePhilosophy 101 Essay826 Words   |  4 Pages Philosophy is defined by Webster as Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline or Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods. This essay is a general look at those who pursued that intellectual means, those who investigated, even those who reasoned Reason. Because volumes could be written and this is a rather quick, unworthy paper: apologizes. Hegels philosophyRead MoreThe Philosophy Of The World1406 Words   |  6 Pagesare common and are known as the philosophies of life. The most difficult thing to communicate about philosophy is how ethical ideas are rooted in ideas of how the world works. What we believe to be ethical or not comes from simply our understanding of how the world works. A philosophy of Epicureanism focuses on the pleasures of life. I will argue that the idea that â€Å"pleasure is the starting point and goal of living blessedly.† (128) Epicureanism is a philosophy that advocates hedonism, which classifiesRead MoreA Personal Philosophy Of A Worldview1002 Words   |  5 PagesA worldview is a personal philosophy of how one perceives the world. An individual’s worldview is deeply embedded in their subconscious and, unless reflected upon, is difficult to intellectualize (Sire, n.d.). This philosophy is developed from early childhood and undergoes continual transformation as one matures. Worldviews are a matter of spiritual orientation, rather than a matter of the mind alone (Sire, n.d.). It is important to understand one’s worldview, because it is the source from whichRead More Comparison of Platos The Last Days of Socrates and Hesses Siddhartha1699 Words   |  7 Pagessources that reveal information about religious or philosophical ideas in the cultures that they focus on. While vast differences exist between the Greek and Indian values that shape their philosophies, they make similar assumptions as they attempt to make sense of the world. Understanding the dichotomous relationship of the soul and the body is integral to grasping the similarities and differences between the classical Greek and Indian paths because the way in which these concepts are understood definesRead MoreAncient Chinese Philosophies : Comparisons Between Lao And Confucius1476 Words   |  6 PagesAncient Chinese Philosophies: Comparisons between Lao Su and Confucius Daoism and Confucianism are two of China’s oldest religions. Both of these men’s teachings largely affect China’s belief system today, and both still widely practiced and still have temples all over the world. Confucianism helped shape China’s education system that still stands today, and Daoism has been helping people understand â€Å"the way† of life since the Han Dynasty. They are both very similar to each other, but at the same

Alleviate Silo Effects â€Build a Healthy Enterprise. Free Essays

Build a Healthy Enterprise. It can be said that effectiveness is Jeopardized when Interdepartmental conflict has happened In many enterprises. This phenomena extends to misunderstanding of each other, nonappearance of department work and Inconsiderate of the whole enterprise. We will write a custom essay sample on Alleviate Silo Effects —Build a Healthy Enterprise. or any similar topic only for you Order Now As a result of those effective less actions, business lose time, money and quality. Also, it can be said that manager can not quickly responds when those conflict happen. The business hierarchy does well in control process, but block information collection. The poor cross-functional communication across departments or business unit, is a reality for many organizations. As the organization rise and become more complex and developed, the â€Å"Silo Virus†(Schuster Bloch 2006) leads to departmental isolation, and unsustainable result the failure of business. This essay will therefore discuss the poor cross-functional communication across departments or business units, give some of the main reasons for cause It, and developed effective remedies for along enterprises. Also, possible strategies In which to alleviate silo effect In the future will be outlined and explored. The definition of poor cross-functional communication across departments or business units is a managerial problem which lead the business out comes far from their established goals. A managerial problem due to the failure cooperation among different departments. The group of people mix together share aims, perceptions and preference to organize a enterprise, actually, it is very hard to make everyone in the enterprise get their large profit as they want, but through manage of organization, people could achieve their largest value. With this platform, individual will play a big collective strength. However, Howard G. And Noel W. (2004) state that communication problems In the organization are not unlike the progressive development of a headache. If the Initial bodily cues are Ignored or not monitored, the full throb will hit. However, It could be state that poor cross-functional communication across departments or business units can cause a big failure of enterprise’s business. Department egoism, careless of others, fuzzy thinking and tunnel vision like a virus jeopardize the whole body, and make the work effective jess. This is visually describe by the idea from Schuster Bloch (2006) who argues that: The infected departments resemble huge grain silos in a lonely landscape. They also function like foreign bodies – impersonal and often oversized. Nothing penetrates to the outside world. There is no window into what goes on inside. The silos are filled from above, which also fits the picture. When the enterprise’s top people are Infected, the silo virus spreads throughout the organism. This metaphor give the key message of Its appearance. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, rather complement and perceive must first be realized. There are two aspect cause the poor cross-functional communication across management of the whole enterprise. The main reason for cause the internal less communication is fear of feedback. People try to keep silence because they could not see any profit to themselves when they give positive suggestions. Jackson(2003) state that people avoid the truth and instead continue to try to guess what their bosses think. The business hierarchy block the information communication, because most people think it is not their susceptibilities to make the company perform well and advance their careers. Jackson also give his state of People avoid feedback because they hate being criticized, plain and simple. However, it can be state the employee afraid to provide information because they have some dissatisfied of company and brooding of their current situation. At another side, the managers unsuitable management lead those embarrass situations come out, due to they are afraid the criticized voice of their work and fail to acknowledge the implications of current situation. The problems focus on the feedback of information communication. There are many reasons to cause lack of management of the whole parties. The stress, denomination and in efficiency will not distinct as they are in one department. Manager will negligent or ignore of a lot of information which could determinate the potential problems in the future. And for different department managers, they have different goals which could conflict and need sacrificing some parties’ own goals to achieve the corporate goals. The problems focus on the leadership performance. So what should be done by manager to encourage employees information feedback and inspire their own act to perform leadership? Jackson(2003) state that four manageable steps to encourage individual feedback: self-assessment, external feedback, absorbing the feedback, and taking action toward change. This may be an idealist’s viewpoint, however its key message has some significant merit and certainly to address this problem through self-motivation, and taken others’ advise. For the enterprise, Everyone seem like living in a big happy family, but manager must keen to elect department information and find every potential problems solution. It’s seem possible for the senior managers to do that work. But the problem is how can we find a process which provide an outcome that could fit every parries in the organization without sacrificing their equity? Schuster, P. Bloch, B. State their solution for this process as the pursuing consistent and co-ordinate goals, a sufficient flow of information through management and among colleagues, clear work processes and definition of responsibility, and inter-departmental meetings. All for the enterprise to o is build a opening platform that could encourage employees speaking out their contribute for the whole organization. In this platform we could find the information do manager need to lead concerted effort on the enterprise, and replace of the number of wasting time meetings, time consuming workshop and pointless E-mails. In conclusion therefore, the issue of the poor cross-functional communication across departments or business units is one which needs much information feedback by of the main reasons for silo effect in the organization and the countermeasure when it occurs. Although the reasons for silo effect of an organization can be described as natural happen, they are generally cause by both micro side(individual performance) and macro side(department management) of organization. Therefore, in terms of trying to alleviate silo effect, it is recommended to build a internal platform which could opening and freeing to make contribution to the organization. This Just one possible strategies to alleviate the poor cross-functional communication across departments or business units. Len the future it will be continually thought and explored. How to cite Alleviate Silo Effects —Build a Healthy Enterprise., Papers

Personal Academic Goals free essay sample

The National Center for Education Statistics did a study on pay comparison between graduate and non-graduate workers. The study indicates that college graduates get paid an average of 38% more compare to those non-graduates. Therefore, finishing college is as important and should be a goal for most individuals if not everyone. My three personal academic goals that hope to achieve as a student here at the university are to earn a degree in management, learn how it affects productivity in the workplace and also to improve written and oral communication skills. Understanding that going to college and graduate from it is no simple task. It involves numerous moving parts and those parts need to work together in harmony to achieve personal academic goals. Some of those moving parts that need enhancing are personnel responsibility, time management, written, and oral communications. In my 24 years of military service, I did not take advantage of acquiring a formal education even though the military provides the opportunities and environment to take college courses and get a degree. We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Academic Goals or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When I was in the military, my priorities were more focus on getting the job done making sure that military personnel get their personal records corrected and updated, get paid correctly and on time, provide briefs, submit reports, and conduct different types of trainings. After retiring from the military, my priority changes and academic success is in the front of it. By using my military educational benefits (GI bill) entitlement to jump start my desire to pursue higher learning and hoping to acquire a degree in management here at the university. The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) researchers at the University of Michigan Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education (Eric Dey, 2008) that in categories they surveyed; students and professionals strongly agree that personal responsibility should be a major focus of a college education. The same study also demonstrates that 40% of college students acquire or develop personal responsibility while in college pursuing a degree. To me, personal responsibility is to admit and accept that no one is perfect, will make mistakes, take ownership of my actions, seek assistance when needed, learn from it, and correct it. Time management is also important to students’ academic goals, personal life, and career success. Setting short-term and long-term goals are an integral part of time management. In the book â€Å"Becoming a Master Student† (Dave Ellis, 2011, p. 61), emphasizes that students have enough time for the things they want to accomplish. It takes thinking about possibilities and making conscious choices (p. 61). Students know that there are 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week, â€Å"no more no less. † By making conscious effort to write down activities using â€Å"TIME MONITOR/TIME PLAN† for the week and follow it diligently should help meet deadline and task. As a student, I need to recognize that procrastination is the enemy of time management; fight it, destroy it, and stop it now! Managing and following time management diligently with no hesitation is a model for success for students to follow. Another key element to personal academic success is the importance of improving one’s written and oral communication skills are vital in the workplace. The utilization of computers has been the greatest force for change in the environment and activities of an organization (Uhlig, 1977). Electronic devices, such as computers have been increasingly used as a medium in written and oral communications in the world of business today. To succeed, I have to learn the foundations of basic writing, grammar, and speaking in front of people. I must also understand that communications skills are a necessity and important in the business world not only in today’s environment but also in the future, In conclusion, there are no shortcuts to academic success and that graduating from college are extremely difficult and time consuming. By improving, mastering, and applying acquired skills in personal responsibility, time management, oral, and written communications can prepare me to succeed in academic settings. Investing time, attention, patience, and perseverance must be the focal point of emphasis in achieving my academic goals. It is time to learn, conquer fear, fight procrastination, and enjoy every moment of it.

buy custom PERT versus CPM essay

buy custom PERT versus CPM essay Research as shown that the most common project estimation technique employed by project mangers include PERT and CPM. PERT is an acronym that stands for Program Evaluation and Review Technique. According to Scott (2006), this technique provides definitive estimates of how long it would take to complete tasks. It involves generation of three estimates to come up with a final estimate. The three estimates include; optimistic time, pessimistic time and most likely time. The most optimistic case (O), gives the best case estimate of time to complete a task and it indicates a situation when everything is working right. The most pessimistic case (P), gives the worst case estimate of time to complete a particular task and it indicates a situation of the worst occurrence. The last estimate is the most likely case (M) which gives the normal estimated time to complete a task. Basically, this is the time expected to complete a task given the normal problems and opportunities. The three estimates are combined to create a single number that best describes how long it would take to complete a given task and then a weighted average of the three estimates is created with the most likely estimate being four-times than either optimistic or pessimistic estimate. PERT estimation technique can be used in a number of situations. For instance, it can be used in estimating the feasibility of a given project in terms of cost and scheduled time for its completion. Kheter (2010) highlights the advantages and disadvantages of this method which can be used to determine the circumstances under which the method can be applied. One of the advantages of this method is that it has got added flexibility of fast tracking or slowing down the project as required. Therefore, where flexibility is of essence, PERT estimation method can be applicable. The other advantage is that it helps one to arrive at a realistic starting or ending date for project activities. This makes the method more appropriate in determining the most probable duration that a given projectwould take. This method also facilitates identification of a critical path thus reducing the overall project risk. Therefore, in situations where a project manager wants to identify and minimize risks, this method can be appropriate. However, due to its disadvantages, as pointed out by Kheter (2010), it may not be suitable to use where the number of tasks or activities and dependencies are many. This is because as these activities and dependencies increase, complexities emerge thus increasing the risk of project failure. In addition, its lack of objectivity in the criteria used for defining initial optimistic and pessimistic estimates limits one to rely on it in future as the same criteria may not be applicable at that time. Finally, in situations where one may want the actual estimate of time needed to complete a given task, this method may not be reliable as it may lead to under-estimation of actual project time in some instances. CPM is another commonly used estimation technique and its also an acronym that stands for Critical Path Method. It is a step-by-step technique used in project planning and defines critical and non-critical tasks with an aim of preventing time-frame problems and project failure (Linda and Brennan, 2006). According to the writers, this method is best suited to projects consisting of numerous activities that interact in a complex manner. Unlike PERT which uses three estimates, CPM uses a single point estimation of the completion time. In CPM, activities can be determined whereas in PERT, activity estimates are based on probability. As earlier stated, this method is best suited to projects that have got numerous activities that interact in a complex manner. This adds to many other advantages of this method as highlighted by Shari and Rosalind (2005). The method shows the activities that are critical to maintain the schedule and which are not. Therefore, in situations where one wants to determine the most important activities to focus on, this offers the best option. Also, using thhis method, a project manager can determine the actual date for completing each activity and also compare what should be happening with what is taking place and take the corrective measures. Therefore, in a situation where one would like to have good control and monitoring of the project, this method can be applicable. This method also provides a graphical view of the project in which dependencies are displayed to help in scheduling. This helps in the planning of the project thus making it reliable. In addition, activities and their outcome can be shown as a network. It evaluates the activities that can run parallel to each other. Therefore, this method can be applicable in situations where there are numerous and complex activities that are to be carried out together. However, in situations where scheduling of personnel or the allocation of resources is needed, this method is not suitable as it does not support it. In addition, where larger projects are involved, it is not advisable to use this method as it can be complicated in such projects. Also, in cases where the project manger involved does not have sufficient knowledge of the method, it is not advisable to use the method as it is not always clear and needs to be calculated carefully. Apart from PERT and CPM, there are other project management cost and scheduling techniques such as function point counting, weighted average (WAVE), bottom-up, top-down and extrapolation. However, though these techniques can also be applied to cost estimation and scheduling, they cannot override the benefits derived from using either PERT or CPM. As earlier indicated, they are the most common tools of estimation and are more reliable and accurate when it comes to estimation. In conclusion, though PERT and CPM are the most common methods of estimation, the other methods cannot be underestimated as they can also offer some benefits which PERT or CPM cannot offer. However, I one would prefer PERT because it recognizes uncertainty in project time estimation and cost. Buy custom PERT versus CPM essay

Assignments Online

Assignments Online Assignments Online Order Your Academic Assignments Online Completingassignments online is your way to the perfect grade for your essay or term paper. With the help of modern online assignment completing services, you can order any piece of the academic writing you have to accomplish for the shortest period of time and for the moderate price. The majority of students just hate writing different papers, as this task demands the full devotion to the assignment. It demands hours of busy and hard work. It is simple to understand why only a few people write their assignments by their own. If you do not want to write your academic piece of writing, if you have some more interesting activities than researching the topic you do not like, appeal to the online assignment completing and win free time. Completing assignments online is a real gift for those who want to spend their life enjoying it. Our company is running the service of completing online assignments for ages that is why all our academic writers have great experience in this sphere. They will solve all your problems concerning this or that assignment completing in no time. Any academic writing, which is a boring and complicated task for you, is a snap for our professional academic writers. We help hundreds of students to accomplish their assignments all over the world and have stainless reputation of our online assignment service. Our writers are the highly experienced individuals who have a passion for writing that is why all our projects are always successful and qualitative. We are available for you round-o-clock that is why even in spite of the difference in time you are welcome to make your order at any time it is convenient for you. Our writers are ready to accomplish your assignment for the shortest period of time, which you are welcome to state, if there is a rush with your essay or course paper presenting: High grade for any kind of paper is the aim of each student and our aim as well. That is why if you order assignments online within our service you ensure your high grade for the piece of academic writing. Enjoy our friendly and helping online assignment service and your high grade. Order your assignments online and save your nerves. Read more: Custom Essay Help Custom Beowulf Essay Essay Writing Guide Essay Helper Essay Assignment

How far has law moved away from binary understandings of sex and Essay

How far has law moved away from binary understandings of sex and gender Critically discuss with reference to AT LEAST one aspec - Essay Example In the years where the feminist movement was strong, the clamour for laws in relation to gender discrimination was very much significant. In the years which followed said movement, civil provisions were implemented, primarily those seeking to prevent the proliferation of abusive and discriminatory gender-based acts. This paper will now discuss how far the law has moved away from binary understandings of sex and gender. It will critically discuss this issue with reference to the understanding of sex and gender and the gendering of the body. This essay is being carried out in order to establish a thorough review of available studies on gender bias and legal processes which seek to prevent and manage its manifestation. It is also being carried out in order to provide this student a detailed understanding of the available legal processes which have been put in place in relation to gender-based issues and activities. Body The terms sex and gender are often interchanged in their use or app lication. Even if they may refer to similar things, they actually refer to various aspects in a person’s life1. Sex is the anatomical difference between the sexes largely based on how they have developed from birth and to the person’s adolescent years. ... Under these conditions, the social constructs and gender expectation indicate that males are expected to play rough, and females to have a gentler and more refined side4. Males are expected to be physically strong and to play with cars and toy soldiers; females are expected to be physically weak and to play with dolls and non-violent games. The different interpretation and understanding of gender is the main issue for this essay. The current laws are varied based on the countries and the type of societies involved. In the international sphere however, the United Nations has set forth primary laws which are aimed towards protecting the rights of women, veering away from the binary understandings of sex or specific gender descriptions and roles5. The extent to which the law has moved away from binary understandings of sex and gender is a matter which can be evaluated based on specific topics, including the sexing of the body through male and female circumcisions and the sexing of the c hild. When considering the importance of legal gender, it is important to address different questions that help ensure its significant understanding. Some of these issues are legal by nature and others refer to more social considerations6. The current UK laws on legal gender recognize the male and female designations of individuals which are required for UK birth certificates7. These designations indicate legal sex and gender. These designations are also founded on sexual or anatomical considerations. A legal precedent in the UK on gender refers to the Corbett v. Corbett case in 1970 where the husband of a transsexual named April asked the courts to nullify their marriage because April was legally a male at

To what extent are organisations socially constructed phenomena Essay - 2

To what extent are organisations socially constructed phenomena - Essay Example In any case, the understanding of the relationship between organizations and society requires the following practice: each aspect of organizations has to be analyzed as of its potential interaction with social norms. In this context, change, culture and symbolism, as important elements of modern organizations, are analyzed and interpreted using appropriate theoretical frameworks. The relationship between organization and society is close but it can be periodically alternated under the influence of the local political and economic environment. 2. Organizations as socially constructed phenomena 2.1 Organization and society In order to understand the level at which society influences organizational practices, it would be necessary to refer to certain of the frameworks used for explaining the organizational ethics and structure, as parts of the organizational strategy for achieving the organizational mission. ... Organizations, as business units operating within a particular society, cannot avoid the influences from the society. This fact is reflected in various parts/ characteristics of organizations. For example, each organization is based on its workforce, a group of people having to perform specific tasks in various organizational departments. Society is constructed by groups of people, i.e. ‘families, peer groups and work groups’ (Tischler 2010, p.127) that cooperate for developing specific social or economic activities. In the study of Carroll et al. (2008) reference is made to another common element of society and organization: the technology. Technology, in various forms, is critical for the success of business operations. However, technology is also involved in the interests of the public. The most common example of this type is the technology used in healthcare organizations. The technology used in communications is another example where the intervention of technology i n social activities is made clear. In the context of its mission each organization is expected to invest on technology, which is expected to support the organizational growth. However, this practice may come in opposition to exiting social ethics. An indicative example of this case is included in the study of Carroll et al. (2008, p.352): biotechnology is a sector highly developed the last decades as it can help to the development of effective treatment for a series of diseases; however, this technology is also used for promoting activities which are not accepted by the society, as, for example, the research on cloning. Organizations that operate in the specific industry often have to face the strong opposition of the public, a fact indicating that the

Do We Have Souls? :: essays research papers

Do We Have Souls? On the question of 'Do we have souls' and 'Can they survive after death', this writer will attempt a reasoned explanation and defense of my views to this philosophical question. After careful explanation of my own views , thoughts, and careful examination of the selected materials for this paper; I have come to this conclusion: unlike the problem of free will, the question of human beings having souls and their survival after the physical body is deceased, is not an easily argued topic. The problem of free will [as an example] can be more rationally discussed and analyzed through tangible means such as patterned and learned behavior and its like, but in dealing with the question of souls and in accepting their existence, it is an intangible thing which cannot be proved or disproved [at least as long as the physical body is existing]. This writer believe that a discussion , no matter how seemingly rational or even irrational is purely speculation and can have no real physical proof of that existence. Of the read philosophers on this topic, all are speculatory in their attempt to prove, disprove, or even clarify their position of the topic in question. This writer will first contribute his own speculation and proceed to explore the selected philosophers material on this subject. Though it first must be said that most of the read material is or seems to be question-begging and therefore leads only to more questions from myself. The question of having souls and their existence after the physical body is deceased has always been on men's minds. From the first beginnings of written history from the Ancient Near Eastern civilizations [Egyptians, Mesopotamian] , men [people] have always regarded the afterlife and the question of souls. It was not given much philosophical thought until the ancient Greek sophists, in the decline of their city-states that this topic was explored, but not only explored but started to gather acceptance among the people. Again, only when 'physical' life was becoming less cherished due to the decline and unhappiness with their earthly surroundings. Though the Hebrew people spoke and thought of an afterlife for their spirit, it was really not until widespread Christianity came about, and again this was at the time of decline of the Roman Empire. My initial point being that the idea of souls and their existence seemed to grow stronger at times of great depression or strife [much like when people pray to God when they only need something]. It was then that faith and hope for a better

Migration into the United States Essay

Migration is synonymous with human movement from one place to another in search for better living conditions. Migration into the United States is not a new concept as the country owes its historical origin to individuals migrating to America from other parts of the world driven by various reasons. Some came searching for land to be used in agricultural production, others came in search for education and employment opportunities, others come in search for freedom, whereas others came running away from adversaries within their countries of origin. These are just but a few of the reasons leading to high rates of immigration to the United States. Being a historical concept, immigration issues have remained part of the unique forces that continue to shape the United States and this trend is far from over. This paper shall in brief, examine the concept of immigration in the United States and evaluate the current trends in regard to the issue. Immigration, a historical Concept: Migration in the United States can be traced back in the 16th century when immigrants from European countries including Britain, France, Netherlands, and Germany came to the Americas. These immigrants were generally referred to as ‘settlers’ looking for farm land to boost the fairly impoverished status. These were the individuals who were unable to cope up with the demands of their modernized economies. During this time, a substantial number of individuals came to the United States as indentured servants (Huspek, p 161). Such individuals could then enter into contracts with their employers in order to gain entry into the â€Å"new world†. The indentured servants had to endure spells of hardships and later given a piece of land which allowed them to work as free yeoman farmers (Huspek, p 163). The immigration trends changed during the 19th century when there was massive movement of people to the United States. Immigration to the United States has continued to increase as time goes by and the government estimates that there are millions of individuals who come to the United States each year. Of these millions, some usually enter the United States as illegal immigrants whereas others follow the legal procedural requirements (Bracey, p 116). Legal immigrants: Legal immigrants are defined in law as those individuals who gain admission to permanently reside in the United States in line with the legal requirements. They are often referred to as ‘green-card holders’. According to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS), these are â€Å"aliens who are granted lawful permanent residence (LPR), aliens admitted for lawful permanent residence, immigrants admitted, and admissions† (Batalova, para 6). According to the law, there are three categories of legal immigrants which include family reunion, employment sponsorship, and humanitarian based as the case of refugees and asylum seekers. One can attain the United States citizenship in two ways which includes arriving as new legal permanent residents or by adjusting the previous status upon gaining entrance to the US so as to become a permanent resident. During the year 2008, there were more than 1. 1 million immigrants being admitted to the US. Legal immigrants can also gain access to the US through the green card lottery established by the Immigration Act of 1990 allowing for immigrant entry from those nations with poor rates of immigration to the US (Batalova, para 9). The graph below reflects the number of immigrants that have been coming to the US from the year 1986 to 2008: Immigrants Admitted to the United States (in thousands): Total and by Type, 1986 to 2008 Source: Jeanne Batalova Illegal Immigrants: These are defined as the alien population which is not part of the legal residents of the United States. These are individuals who enter the United States without being inspected or they were temporarily admitted but their period of stay has since expired. The United States is home for an estimated eleven million illegal immigrants which has caused a major concern to the political class and the public policy analysts (LeMay, p 1). There has been a dramatic rise in the number of illegal immigration into the US since the 70s and this has been attributed to the termination of the Bracero Policy in mid 60s. The Bracero Policy was referred to as the guest-worker program that allowed the American companies to employ Mexicans temporarily for nine months every year in order to address the labor shortages during the 1940s. This program ended in 1964 to pave way to the Immigration Act of 1965 (LeMay, p 4). This program set forth the beginning of a trend that has been persistent for years as much of the illegal immigrants are from Mexico or rather uses the Mexican border with the US to gain entry to the United States (Bracey, p 118). Conclusion: Migration is a phenomenon that shall continue to impact on human population everywhere in the world. Though migration might be disastrous to the economy especially if left uncontrolled, it is inhumane to lock out people who would want to exploit their potential elsewhere in a legally defined manner. Every year starting from the 16th century to the present, many individuals have continued to find their way into the United States as immigrants. These individuals comes with a different culture that later becomes assimilated to American way of life creating the diversity that is the major strength of the United States. Immigration is therefore a plausible phenomenon in the United States that is supposed to be guided and encouraged by law as it contributes to making America what it is today. Legal immigration is a welcome move that is destined to continue enriching the American culture making it unique on the international arena. Work Cited: Batalova, Jeanne. Spotlight on Legal Immigration to the United States. 2009. Retrieved on 11th May 2010 from; http://www. migrationinformation. org/Feature/display. cfm? id=730. Bracey, Gerald, W. The Research Impact of Immigration. Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 80. 1999. pp 115-125. Huspek, Michael. Production of State, Capital, and Citizenry: The Case of Operation Gatekeeper. Social Justice, Vol. 28. 2001. pp 160-165 LeMay, Michael, C. Illegal immigration: a reference handbook. 2007. Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO.

Jacques ‐ Joseph Tissot s Waiting For The Train - 1842 Words

This essay will argue that Jacques†Joseph Tissot (later James Tissot) depicts modern life through Waiting for the Train (Willesden Junction) (1871-1873, Dunedin Public Art Gallery) by painting the interaction of a young middle-class woman and the modern environment of a London train station. Tissot (1836-1902) was a French Realist who broke away from the traditions of religious and classical painting through the style of rigorous naturalism which was common in the nineteenth century. He paints life as it is in the modern era, depicting the social and cultural norms of the time. The social and cultural norms of the nineteenth century are seen in Tissot s Waiting for the Train (Willesden Junction) where the finely dressed upper-middle class mingle, waiting for the train at a London Station. During this essay I will make the conclusion that Tissot depicts modern life through the formal elements of Waiting for the Train (Willesden Junction) which include composition, colour, line, texture, scale, proportion, balance, contrast, and rhythm. I will then go on to make a stylistic analysis explaining how Waiting for the Train (Willesden Junction) fits into the stylistic category of Modernism and then the more specific category of Realism. Finally, I will analyse how Tissot depicts modern life by discussing elements of influence including the writings of Charles Baudelaire and the artwork of Édouard Manet. In James Tissot s work, Waiting for the Train (Willesden Junction) the

The Theory Of The Juvenile Justice System Essay - 1932 Words

Many of the concepts in the juvenile justice field have been formulated by integrating the fields of psychology, sociology, social work, and law enforcement. The integration of these fields makes up the fundamental structure of the juvenile justice system. Whether you are a probation officer, judge, lawyer, counselor or clinician, all of these professions must understand the various fields that make up the juvenile justice system. Over 60 of my credit hours at the University of New Orleans are compromised of psychology courses. While interning with the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS), I have been able to apply much of what I have learned in the various psychology courses that I have taken. As an intern in the DJS I was not only a mentor, but I also had the opportunity to shadow a probation officer. The mentoring program is used as way to help juvenile offenders change their behavior and maladaptive thought. Attendance of the mentoring program is dependent on the judge that is adjudicating the child, the probation officer handling the case or the guardian of the juvenile offender. Most of the time, the judge or probation officer look at the needs of the child and the distress of the family to determine if the child would benefit from the program. If a child exhibits poor coping skills or poor decision-making skills, a mentor may be useful so that the child can experience being around someone of more positive regard. When a child is having family issues; for instance anShow MoreRelatedSocial Bond Theory And Its Impact On The Juvenile Justice System1118 Words   |  5 PagesHirschi’s social bond theory and its impact on the juvenile justice system. In 1969, Travis Hirschi developed the Social Bond Theory. Like other social control theorists, Hirschi was interested in why the majority of society does not demonstrate delinquent behavior, as he believed most people had the natural capacity for such behavior. The social bond theory states that delinquent behavior in juveniles is not learned behavior, it is in fact a natural urge. However, the theory also states that thereRead MoreFuture of the Juvenile Justice System1280 Words   |  6 PagesFuture of the Juvenile Justice System The future of the juvenile justice system is uncertain. There is a struggle to try a find a way to serve the needs of the juvenile delinquents and issue them a punishment for violating the law. In order to improve the direction of the juvenile justice system, recommendations are needed regarding community involvement, law enforcement, courts, corrections, and the private sector. These recommendations address issues that the system is currently facing and offersRead MoreJuvenile Justice Of Biological And Biosocial Theories983 Words   |  4 PagesWhat are the implications for juvenile justice of biological and biosocial theories? Juvenile Justice For countless years researchers have tried to inform the Justice system of the reasons behind some of the delinquencies that have been vetted out on others as a result of the homes in which they are from. It has been difficult to explain however the specific implications as a result of the biological influence such as the genetic makeup of the child. The biological factors as well as the biosocialRead MoreAnalysis Of The Cycle Of Juvenile Justice1342 Words   |  6 PagesRunning head: CYCLE JUVENILE JUSTICE​ ​1 Analysis of the Cycle of Juvenile Justice Theory Name School ​​ Professor Class Date Analysis of the Cycle of Juvenile Justice Theory ​In the text, Thomas Bernard examines the cyclical nature of the juvenile justice system (Weisheit Culbertson, 2000, p. 13-31). The author posits that the implementation of juvenile justice is constantly swinging from one extreme to the other based, largely, on the public’s perceptionRead MoreThe United States Juvenile Justice Court Was Based On The1325 Words   |  6 PagesThe United States juvenile justice court was based on the English parens patriae adopted in the United States as part of the legal tradition of England. But the efforts of the state to rehabilitate juvenile offenders with institutional treatment with the houses of refuge and reformatories failed. Today, the United States has 51 different juvenile court systems; the laws and statutes vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Thus, each state’s approach to handle the youth offenders is responsible forRead MoreGender Differences Within Juvenile Status Offenses1650 Words   |  7 PagesDifference s Within Juvenile Status Offenses University of Utah Rachel Brough Juvenile status offenses are minor offenses that only apply to those under the age of 18 such as skipping school or running away from home. Other examples include curfew violations, possession and consumption of alcohol, and possession and use of tobacco. Theories such as the labeling theory and Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory attempt to explain why females commit juvenile status offenses. Additional theories attempt toRead MoreEssay on Juvenile Delinquency1652 Words   |  7 PagesJuvenile Delinquency Everyday we read in the newspaper or watch T.V and hear news of crimes committed by Juveniles. With all of the crime being reported by the media about juveniles, one can’t help but wonder if all of our nation’s youth are juvenile delinquents. Although there are many cases where the juvenile did not commit a serious crime, there are others where the crime is so bad the juvenile court system tries the juvenile as an adult. Instead of seeking help for the individual, our justiceRead MoreThe Juvenile Justice System Design A Program That Will Fit Into The Kids Lifestyle957 Words   |  4 Pagesstate can acts as a guardian for individuals who are unable to care for themselves, such as children. In this policy, the state act through a Juvenile Court Judge when a child is delinquent, abandoned or need parental care. Also â€Å"Parens patriae† occur if the natural parents are incompetent to control their children. In this case the juvenile justice system design a progra m that will fit into the kids lifestyle as should have been done by his or her natural parents. 2. What is the difference betweenRead MoreThe Juvenile Justice System Is Not Reflective Of Their National Population1612 Words   |  7 Pagesare roughly 79,000 adolescents held at juvenile facilities all across the United States (Sickmund Puzzanchera, 2014). Of that population, Latino and African American youth represent the majority of those in confinement. This is a problem because the overrepresentation of minorities within the juvenile justice system is not reflective of their national population percentages. Nationally, Latino and African American youth only comprise 38% of the total juvenile population combined, while CaucasianRead MoreGender Roles : The Juvenile Justice System1244 Words   |  5 PagesGender Roles in the Juvenile Justice System What role does gender play at the various stages of the juvenile justice system? Gender plays an enormous role in the juvenile justice system; both boys and girls have their fair share of run-ins with the Juvenile Justice System, but now more so than ever, females crime rates have increased. In some instances within the juvenile justice system, it may appear that boys and girls are comparable; however there are differences, even though they are subtle.

What Is the Proper Role of Government in a Market Economy

What is the proper role of government in a market economy? All people around the world make a question: How much should the government influence the economy of a country? And there are many answers. Regulating the public goods in a manner where the negative externalities would be minimized, government’s role is to uphold freedom of the market with government providing safety and stability only for essentials. If there are too many regulations by the government, it will slow down and stop jobs, prices will go up and the economy will slow down. If there is no government at all everyone will act in their own interest and there will be too many negative externalities and the market will become crazy. Still, if the market has more space†¦show more content†¦In the years of communism, there were two abortions in every single live birth. Since the collapse of Soviet Union, the abortion rate has fallen by half, because contraceptives were available. Both, Wheelan and Adam Smith show us how it is necessary just a little intervention from government if we want the market economy to work smoothly. Adam Smith shows the ten unskilled workers who work in a pin factory. First they don’t know how to produce them and their work is slow. They make only twenty pins a day. But, because their goal is to make as big profit as possible, they start to divide their job into branches where everyone does a special job. By doing it often, they start to know they job better and they rarely commit any mistake. In the end, they make forty-eight thousands pins a day. So, because the market’s goal is to maximize their profit (pins) it is better to have minimum interference from government unless they need its help. A similar example was used by Wheelan in page 68 when an accelerator was to be built either in Texas or Illinois. Illinois was more attractive site because it already had a particle accelerator and a major federal laboratory, still the project would be sited in Texas. The reason was that it was President’s Bush birthplace. In the end, government spent $1 billion on the project and then abandoned it. This means that themarket tends to allocate their resources where they earn the higher return and profit (the same as pins).Show MoreRelatedGovernments Role in the Fashion Industry1265 Words   |  5 Pagesindustry. However, government involvement in the market economy aids in controlling and protecting both the consumers and the fashion industry itself. Role of government in market economy Government plays a crucial role in the market economy by ensuring the laws and regulation are abide by, and control the production of the private sectors, although, over the years its efforts in controlling such economies are minimal and insignificant. Market forces of demand and supply play a major role in settingRead MoreEssay about Economics Question and Answers1254 Words   |  6 PagesChapter 1: The Power of Markets What are the two basic assumptions that economists make about individuals and firms? Economists have two basic assumptions which keeps the economy in check. One is that people try to make themselves as versatile as possible maximizing their overall potential. The other is that a firm would do what it needs to make the most profit possible. What is the role and significance of prices in the market economy? Prices in a market economy are very important. Price allowsRead MoreThe Keynes Solution By Paul Davidson Essay1678 Words   |  7 Pagesemphasize to his reader what are the impact and how they can get out into this crisis and he also showed how this Keynes Solution theories help with this crisis. The author of this book, Paul Davidson discussed the possible problems that may arrived and what are the result of this economic crisis, which lead to increase of unemployment and inflation that affecting the economic production. In this book Keynesian Solution, he suggested the detailed plan on how the government spending money, monetaryRead MoreThe Federal Government Regulate The Insurance Industry994 Words   |  4 Pagesfederal government’s role is in regulating industries is to protect consumers and the market. There is an ongoing debate on whether the federal government should regulate the insurance industry as a result of the bailouts stemming from the Financial Crisis of 2008. Currently, state governments regulate the insurance industry. Proponents of federal regulation reason that states are inefficient in the duty of insurance regulation. Additionally, the federal government has economies of scale and may offerRead MoreThe Big Picture By Award Winning Authors That Offer Great Insight Into The Reason Behind The Global Economy Crisis1402 Words   |  6 Pagesthe global economy crisis. The book offers insight into the ways in which one can navigate their way into being successful economists wh ere competition is stiff and the uncertainty of what the market could be tomorrow are a serious challenge. The authors give a clear pathway on how consumers, businessmen, federal reserves and the governments should take account of what is happening about them in order to make critical decisions that they will not regret (Naroff Scherer, 2014). What is assumed toRead MoreImportance Of Classical Liberalism1371 Words   |  6 Pageson the economy, society and the central values, the role of the state and the public vs. private aspects of classical liberalism. The analysis will justify the statement, ‘Classical liberalism is the most favourable form of liberalism as it transcends the inhibitory factors such as sectarian values and emissive state interference and advances the state of individual and social freedoms’. Classical Liberalism is an ideology that stresses the importance of equal opportunity and a free-market societyRead MoreThe Morality Of The Market System897 W ords   |  4 Pagesdiscusses the morality of the market system as a whole. The chapter examines several key components. The chapter discusses how market systems are justified, and explains the strengths and weaknesses of the various systems currently in use. Two concepts are discussed one says that the business system should be planned; the other that it should be a free market system. Further the chapter discusses the various arguments for and against free markets and government regulation as well as the possibilityRead MoreKeynes Versus Hayek935 Words   |  4 PagesKeynes versus Hayek There are differences between Keynes and Hayek on the role of savings in the economy. Keynes believed that it was a waste to save money, it only lead to destruction and prevent economic growth. He didn’t agree with private investment. He felt by keeping money in your pocket is senseless because soon we will all be dead. You can’t take the money with you. He also felt that the government should increase spending during times of recessions. In contrast, Hayek believed thatRead MoreThe Impact Of Foreign Policy On International Trade Essay1494 Words   |  6 PagesEver since the first involvement of government in international trade, many people have posed their opinion about what the role of government should be in it. Different factors are involved when it comes to deciding what this should be. It impacts a lot of people, so in order to do that, trade policy must be properly defined, identify what the roles of government currently are, and their involvement in it, and then analyse what should be their role. Trade policy is how a country carries out tradeRead MoreA Brief Look at American Exceptionalism1085 Words   |  4 Pagesworld; however, this is a flawed definition of American exceptionalism, and the very psychological atmosphere is what leads to the collapse of empires. America was exceptional, not because of a superiority complex, but because it recognized its human nature, the fact that it was not an exception to historical, natural, or economic laws to which all nations are subject to. This lack of proper understanding of American exceptionalism is leading America towards a collapse. America will cease to be exceptional

Mass Customization Strategy in Global Supply Free Essays

Master of International Business Administration 12 Mass Customization International Supply Chain Management Yuliya Samokhina, Olga Baranova, Yuliya Pronkina, Alexander Manzhosov Content The basic concepts of mass customization. Principles and goals. (by Yulia Samokhina) Introduction3 Mass Customization: main definitions3 Evolution of mass customization†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 Mass customization strategies: advantages and disadvantages†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. We will write a custom essay sample on Mass Customization Strategy in Global Supply or any similar topic only for you Order Now . 4 Mass customization as a process†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 Conclusion8 Postponement strategies (by Olga Baranova) What is postponement? Postponement typology based on value chain activity9 Benefits of using postponement strategy13 Critical success factors and ideal candidate for postponement strategy14 Modular concepts (by Yulia Pronkina) Definition of modules in the framework of global supply chain management15 Types of modularity18 Benefits and drawbacks of modularity. Requirements for implication of the concept modularity19 Modularization in automotive industry (Volkswagen’s modular strategy) 21 Shared platform strategies (by Alexander Manzhosov) Introduction23 Platform concept 24 The reasons of implementing platforms25 Advantages and disadvantages of implementing shared platform strategies26 Shared platform strategies 28 Volkswagen Group. MQB strategy 29 Conclusion29 References The basic concepts of mass customization. Principles and goals. By Yuliya Samokhina Introduction Today, people live in the world with developing technologies, where everyone wants to be distinguished. Companies compete with other similar firms, because they want to attract customers as much as possible. Mass customization can satisfy customers’ demand to help them buy products with necessary characteristics. Previously, mass production systems can’t be sufficient for manufacturer and consumers. However, mass customization decided this problem to create comfortable conditions for all to provide individual product. For example, nowadays retailers don’t want to have more collections per season, but they want to possess more styles within the season. Companies produce new lines of clothes to their shops every four to six weeks. HM and Zara have increased production to use computer technology.  «Zara uses data from its 426 stores to spot new trends, and offers 10,000 new products a year. TopShop sells as many as 30 pairs of knickers a minute, 6,000 pairs of jeans a day and 35,000 pairs of shoes every week ». Why it occurs? The answer is very simple: supply chain in mass customization business model has to be flexible and responsive to consumer demand. Main issues will be considered in the essay below. Mass Customization: main definitions Usually, mass customization requires very advanced and flexible network, because the original purpose of mass customization is adapting one-to-one. Now, everyone can make products by themselves. Here, I want to give more successful definitions of Mass Customization:  «Mass customization is not a pure but a hybrid manufacturing concept, which joins the efficiency of operations and differentiation by providing highly value added products ».  «Mass customization refers to a customer co-design process of products and services, which meet the needs of each individual customer with regard to certain product features. All operations are performed within a fixed solution space, characterized by stable but still flexible and responsive processes. As a result, the costs associated with customization allow for a rice level that does not imply a switch in an upper market segment ». (Piller 2005c, p. 315; emphasis in original). Thus, now each buyer can acquire any goods, but the price for it will be higher. Commonly, it isn’t problem, because each person wants to be allocated from crowd. For instance, if two girls come in school-leaving party in one dress, it will be catas trophe for them. Fortunately, our generation has got a lot of articles with topic mass customization, and then we can consider mass customization from different foreshortenings. Evolution of mass customization First, I think it is necessary to briefly describe the development of mass production to mass customization. Mass customization has been one of the causes of the economic growth in the 21st century. Below, you can see figure, which shows evolution of mass customization: Fig 1: Evolution of mass customization1 The first time our civilization has faced with mass customization in pre-industrialization era. In spite of this fact, today we also have started to develop it. Of course, these times are very different, because today people use modern technologies. Between these periods we can observe mass production, which come in vogue with fundamental benefit of economy of scale and it was peak in mid century. For example, it was time of Soviet Union, and then companies produced a lot of similar clothes, shoes and etc. In late twentieth century, mass customization was back. Manufacturers offer different variation of products and customization is possible. Methods of application will examine in the next section. Mass customization strategies: advantages and disadvantages It is very important to understand how the mass customization works in practice. Generally, scientists mark out four strategies: transparent, cosmetic, adaptive and collaborative. A few words about each strategy: * Cosmetic strategy: companies produce a standard product but present it differently to different customers. Thereby customers satisfied with the product, and if they want, they can change packaging, for instance, the color, accessories, and other customer personalities. * Transparent strategy: this strategy is used by companies, which have specially knowledge of desires and preferences of customers. For transparent strategy is actual E-business. For example, service in website can analyses purchases, then it can recommend something based on previous purchases. * Adaptive strategy: producers try to modify standard product for the needs of customers. Thus, companies try to plan and represent of almost all possible combinations of product modules, like Microsoft. Then somebody buy software, he/she can add necessary functions. * Collaborative strategy: in this case companies don’t know what customers eventually want. Companies have to understand needs of customers and help to determine with necessary product, as in result to create its. It is very often, then strategy depends on industry there company worked. For example, companies which produce food and beverages use cosmetic and transparent strategies. In my opinion, manufacturers have to estimate their possibilities; if they want have mighty profit. Why are companies interested in mass customization? The answer to this question is presented in the benefits of the above strategies: * Maximized market share by maximizing customers’ satisfaction and number of customers. * Cut cost of inventory and material waste: production has to work as a just in time. Companies should avoid large inventories of finished goods. * Increase cash flow: lower inventories, prepayment (thus lower receivables) increase cash flow. * Shorten time of responsiveness (accumulative time from receiving orders to delivering): organization structure and flexible manufacturing in mass customization allows the company to adapt to different demands rapidly. * Ability to supply a full line of products or service with lower costs: the purpose of mass customization is to differentiate products to particular demands, resulting in broader product lines of the company and a much lower risk of obsolete inventory. It is obvious, that companies can’t have only positive sides. It is important to understand, which problems may arise: 1. In mass customization costs are usually greater than in mass production. In some cases the product may not be different from standard product, but the price will be higher. Buyers will be unhappy, thus mass customization is inefficient. 2. Increasing of information in the production of individual goods could lead to costs. In this case the probability of production of defective goods rises. 3. Requirements for employees should be higher. Educated employees have to offer the optimal variant responding to the ustomer’s needs, otherwise, company can lose the loyalty of customers. 4. The production process can have difficulties with flexibility. Mass customization as a process I think that it is very important to know how the customization process can be divided into many sub-processes including the main stages of the value chain. Moreover, it can help u s to understand mass customization in details. First, I want to enumerate all sub-processes and explain at greater length. * The development sub-process; * The interaction sub-process; * The purchasing sub-process; * The production sub-process; * The logistics sub-process; The information sub-process. 1. The development sub-process. The product always should develop, if company wants that the mass customization will be successful. Requirements of buyers will be satisfied and costs of production will be reduced. The modularity is quite effective decision as it allows achieving the economy of scale and economy of scope. On the other hand, the modularity can be simple for imitation by competitors and development is more expensive. Other strategy, such as a commonality and platform strategies help to work to the companies to increase reusability in mass customization. Thus, product development in the mass customization is carried out through design engineers. Very high effect is reached, when the client participates in development of products himself. Companies should use customers’ innovative abilities. 2. The interaction sub-process. This process is also elicitation process. Thus, customer has to find the product that exactly fulfills his requirements. Company has to understand that everyone wants. Usually, to identify four types of elicitation process: identification (e. g. name and address), customers’ selections from menus of alternatives, physical measurements and reactions to prototypes. Usually, customers buy products in the Internet (in different Internet-shops) or go to the retail center and also buy necessary thing. Today, it is very quickly and easily to use Internet. For example, Adidas offers to buy sneakers in their web-site, there everyone can create own style. The interaction process is associated with electronic features. Another important thing that in mass customization consumers are actively involved in production process. It is normal then customers are often called  «coproducers » or  «prosumers ». 3. The purchasing sub-process. Suppliers in mass customization are the very important part in reducing costs. Companies with good suppliers have got really competitive advantage. It is fact that the achievement of high profits lies in an effective and efficient component and material purchasing. Outsourcing strategies have been formed due to the modular architectures. The modular sourcing applies to reduce difficulty in purchasing process. In this case, companies have to trust each other and closely cooperate, if they want to achieve incredible results. 4. The production sub-process. Companies should focus on the economic order quantity (EOQ). Thus, the processes of production in mass customization should be minimized. The optimization of the production is the main task in the process. If a company wants to meet all the needs of customers, the production must be flexible. Companies need to understand then they want to make individual product, I mean, at what stage. Producers have got two important key terms: delayed product differentiation and postponement. They are two related concepts, whereby the means placing the decoupling point at later stages in the production processes. Another one describes that some production activities are not initiated until customer order arrives. 5. The logistics sub-process. This process includes work with clients and suppliers, plus accompanying. Usually, it call terms upstream and downstream. Upstream logistic is transportation, warehousing of materials and components for production and consolidation. The downstream logistics is the packaging and shipment of end products to customers. Unfortunately, these types of logistics face serious problems in mass customization, because costs of individualization increase. The all logistic has very heavy costs. Companies spend a lot of money for transportation and warehousing equipment. It is a reason why these companies use outsourcing. Mass customization doesn’t have inventories of end product. The companies try to work individually with each person. Nobody wants to resemble another. 6. Information sub-process. This process cooperates with all processes described above. The purpose of the information sub-process is the providing of information stream. The effective information system should capture following stages: customers needs, develop a list of product requirements, determine manufacturing specifications with respect to routing, material processing, assembly and etc. Radio Frequency Identification can help to make identification. In spite of the fact that modern technologies are very useful, it remains very expensive. Another useful method for the coordination in mass customization is Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI). Any supplier has got timely information about stock levels of modules and components. In addition, the integration of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) helps to improve the agility and adaptability to unforeseen events. The mass customization will make profit if the software is constantly developed and updated. Finally, companies should work with a large number of data very accurately. I try to consider mass customization not only as one whole process, but separate sub-processes. It helps to understand the nature of mass customization. However, I should mention interrelated strategies such as postponement and modularization, because usually these strategies allow the companies to work successfully. In my essay I will give short concepts of strategy as below in this work other students will describe them in details. Modularization is necessary for the success of mass customization where set-up costs are critical. Also, modularization allows making rapid assembly and costing efficiency. Modularization usually uses in this field such as computer science, construction, design engineering and production. The main idea in modularization is the breaking down of the product into standardized components or group of components, which is called modules. The second strategy is postponement:  «Postponement means delaying activities in the supply chain until customer orders are received with the intention of customizing products, as opposed to performing those activities in anticipation of future orders ». These strategies are quite often used. Every year, the mass customization will be more popular in the companies. Conclusion of this part In this essay, I consider the most important aspects of mass customization. First, it was given the basic concepts of mass customization. I tried to examine the most important definitions and to explain the essence of mass customization. After that, I described a little history from mass production to mass customization. History has shown that the mass customization has already been applied to date. Now companies are using modern technology, so the result of up-to-date mass customization is different. Companies produce products more quickly than ever before. Information technology is used in all stages of production, which helps companies to satisfy consumer preferences. Also, I examined mass customization not only as a single process, but also to separate the process in parts, included development, interaction, purchasing, production, logistic and information sub-processes. Each sub-process has to be adjusted in order to avoid stagnation in the production and filing warehouses. In the essay, I also mentioned the main advantages and frequently used strategies. The company chooses the strategy which it thinks it is the most appropriate strategy. Usually, the strategy depends on the industry in which the company operates. In my opinion, the mass customization is developing and is very useful for manufacturers and consumers. First, customers are satisfied with goods with necessary characteristics. Second, company in the event of mass customization has lower costs compared to if it was made for each customer a totally unique product. Finally, I want to emphasize that the mass customization has both advantages and disadvantages. The company has to make a choice itself. Postponement strategies By Olga Baranova What is postponement? Effective management of a supply chain includes thinking creatively about how to integrate and perform logistics and manufacturing activities. Postponement strategy offer opportunities to achieve delivery of products in a timely and cost-effective manner by rearranging the conventional production and logistics structures, which are often designed and managed autonomously. Thus, postponement, also known as â€Å"delayed differentiation,† is a supply chain strategy that delays product differentiation at a point closer to the customer. This involves designing and developing standard or generic configurable products that can be customized quickly and inexpensively once actual consumer demand is known. Postponement also entails the implementation of specific inventory strategies to deploy inventory farther away from the customer while fulfilling service level objectives and reducing inventory costs and minimizing risk, strategies for holding the right inventory, at the right place, in the right form. By pushing the point of product differentiation closer to the customer, postponement can improve customer service levels, reduce inventory costs, and increase top-line revenue. The postponement strategy is based on the following two basic principles of demand forecasting: 1. The  accuracy of the forecast  demand decreases with an increase in the time horizon. The farther the time window for which the demand is being forecasted, the more inaccurate it will be. The figure graphically represents this effect as a funnel: as time extends farther into the future, the forecast error grows, showing that the forecast demand will have larger and larger variations as time periods progress into the future. 2. Demand projections for a product group are generally more accurate than projections for individual products. It is much easier to forecast the total demand for LCD TVs than it is for an individual TV of a specific brand, model, screen size, resolution, and color contrast ratio. Postponement typology based on value chain activity It is based on the review of 15 studies; Table 1 was developed to summarize the terminologies used to define different postponement types. These define postponement on the basis of activities or place to differentiate between different postponement types. The check marks in front of every study indicate the postponement terminology used for that study. The following section (table 1) summarizes these terminologies under product development, purchasing, manufacturing and logistics postponement. Table 1 Summary of postponement terminologies based on the review of studies Product Development Postponement Strategy Product development postponement is considered extreme form of customization with all activities including product design taking place after the placement of an order. Moreover in this case, the customers are also involved during the design stage. Product development postponement strategy is preferred in highly volatile environments, involving high levels of uncertainty in terms of consumer demands, technological developments and government regulations. 2 For instance Toyota deals with the high levels of uncertainty by letting their suppliers come up with novel ideas and designs without limiting them with strict specification constraints. The suppliers have total independence to explore different areas within a broad range of design specs. During that time, people at Toyota continue gathering market data on consumer demands and technological trends, till some convergence is achieved. 3 Purchasing Postponement Strategy In the case of purchasing postponement strategy, the purchasing of raw materials is postponed until the information on downstream demand becomes available. Purchasing postponement strategy is preferred when the demand is highly uncertain, raw material has high obsolescence cost and is of high value in terms of total product cost or ties up huge amount of working capital. Purchasing postponement would work when the market lead time is greater than the manufacturer’s production lead time plus the suppliers lead time. 3 However, if the market lead time constraints the manufacturer from applying purchasing postponement, it can be adopted selectively for a range of products. This would be possible if the company is able to differentiate between base demand and surge demand. For base demand it can proceed with forecasted demand and purchase raw material or even proceed with production in case of longer production lead times. However for surge emand, the company can wait till demand pattern becomes available and then it can proceed to place orders. In order to manage supplies for the surge demand, the manufacturers can have separate design of supply chain to deal with the surge demand, since under most scenarios regular production lead time for the surge demand would be greater than the market lead time. This design would be based on speed and agilit y with focus on fulfilling orders quickly rather than focusing lower cost by setting up fast production lines and purchasing raw materials from a different set of suppliers. However this would be feasible when the increase in cost due to fast paced production would be less than the gains accrued by adopting purchasing postponement strategy. This fact is highlighted by the postponement strategy adopted by Benetton, an apparel manufacturer, which separates between base demand and unpredictable demand. For the base demand, Benetton subcontracts to low cost sources, which have higher lead times, while for the unpredictable part, they utilize their own flexible facilities which have higher operating costs. However for purchasing postponement to work, it is imperative to have high level of collaboration between the manufacturers and the suppliers. Suppliers are required to respond to the downstream demand in minimum possible time so that the manufacturers can deliver within the market lead times, while resorting to purchasing postponement. In recent times e- market places have sprung up, enabling the manufacturers to get linked with the suppliers without any geographical constraints3. This increases the options of the manufacturers to respond to actual demand. However, having suppliers or their stock centers in close proximity to the manufacturers would support purchasing postponement strategy. Moreover this type of impulse buying contradicts the approach of developing long-term relationships with the suppliers and could also jeopardize the relationships with the existing suppliers. From a supply chain perspective, purchasing postponement involves shifting the ownership of the goods to the most suitable location. However in case of an imbalanced power structure, a manufacturer might force its suppliers to hold finished goods inventories in order to reduce its own risk and uncertainty cost. In this situation the suppliers are left with speculating the downstream demand, often resulting in the overall inventory buildup or ‘Bullwhip’ effect in the supply chain, which reduces the efficiency of the entire chain. 3 Manufacturing Postponement Strategy Manufacturing postponement is based on holding products at platform level later to be customized as per demand pattern. This is based on the principle that it is easier to forecast demand pattern at component level as compared to finished product stage3. It involves delaying manufacturing activities and holding inventory in neutral form till the demand pattern becomes visible. Thus this strategy works where there are multiple product derivatives, which could be due to different cultural, technological or market related issues. High product variation makes it difficult to forecast and hold inventory at finished stage. Manufacturing postponement allows companies to operate without holding finished goods inventory while maintaining bulk of their inventories at pre-customized form. The inventory at this level has lower risk attached to it because their raw state permits them for wide usage variations. 4 For example, fashion apparel retail business is marked by high product obsolescence costs. This is because of the fact that product are planned long before the actual demand information becomes visible. Zara on the other hand has been able to capture market trends by reducing the time required to introduce new products. Among other steps, Zara uses manufacturing postponement to reduce its lead times. Zara concentrates its forecasting efforts on the kind 14  and amount of fabric it buys. Zara gains more speed and flexibility by purchasing more than 50% of its fabric un-dyed later to be used for various products and lines (platform based). It reduces the cost as well as the chances of forecast errors. In un-dyed form it is easier to convert fabric to other uses, while it gives Zara the flexibility to adapt to colors close to the selling season based on the immediate market needs. 5 Assembly postponement Strategy The computer industry selling customizable product especially through the internet practice assembly postponement strategy. The customers select from various options such as color, memory specs, processors, and the companies such as Dell, HP and Compaq assemble the required models from components received from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). HP postpones the final assembling step to the last stage at the local distribution centers and once demand becomes visible, final manufacturing/assembly activities such as power supply, packaging and labeling are carried out. Labeling postponement Strategy Labeling postponement is adopted when the products are marketed under different brand names or are distributed to different markets. For example at times the same OEMs are used by different brands for their products and the OEMs mark the products with labels after receiving respective orders. Similarly certain apparel distribution companies keep products 16  unmarked and upon receipt of orders from various institutions print their logos before dispatching the orders. Packaging postponement Strategy Packaging postponement strategy is adopted when the products are marketed in different bundles or package sizes. 6 The final packaging is delayed till orders are confirmed. Packaging activities are generally performed in the downstream locations such as centralized distribution centers. Logistics postponement Strategy Logistics postponement involves a delay in the final movement of the goods. Instead of placing the goods at the final point in the supply chain, they are kept at a central location, with the aim of following the demand pattern for the final shipments. This helps to reduce the inventories in the supply chain 17 while at the same time improves customer responsiveness. 3 Maintaining inventories at final locations would increase the inventory costs while at the same time would result in stock outs at some locations and excess stock at other locations. Logistics postponement often involves the repositioning of the final manufacturing activities downstream closer to the end u ser. This helps particularly where local variations in terms of consumer preferences exist, which could be better, catered to by carrying out the final customization at the local distributer level. Logistics postponement suits those products, which have higher inventory cost and lower transportation costs. Logistics postponement in most of the cases requires a faster and more responsive transportation system and can result in higher transportation costs. Benefits of using postponement strategy Successful postponement implementations improve customer satisfaction while minimizing inventory costs. By improving their ability to respond to changes in demand from local and global markets, companies are better able to compete on time while remaining cost competitive. Improvement in Customer Satisfaction: Increased ability to offer a wider range of customized goods * Reduced lead time for orders Reduction in Inventory Cost: * Inventory costs shift upstream to less expensive generic products, which also reduces inventory obsolescence costs * Enables better planning and allocation of resources by reducing the forecasting horizon * Reduces inventory costs by as much as 30% to 40% in succ essful implementations Improvement in Order Fill Rates: * Since finished products are manufactured from generic components, companies are better able to deliver finished goods on time as a result of postponement. Bottom-Line Benefits: * Overall, postponement’s primary benefits are to reduce the effects of market uncertainty and to meet customer needs, while effectively managing supply chain costs. In many cases, lower overall supply chain costs were achieved by respondents. Critical success factors and ideal candidate for postponement strategy The keys to a successful postponement strategy are to produce standardized products and to incorporate customization at the most advantageous point in the supply chain. Proceeding from the aforesaid it is possible to allocate the following factors: * Organizational buy-in and support is the primary critical success factor * Implementation of appropriate inventory deployment strategy * A postponement strategy is destined for failure without consistent top-down support from design through implementation * Product design modularity and business process reengineering are critical to ensure smooth execution * Collaboration among all internal functions of the supply chain, as well as with suppliers and customers * Proper metrics and incentives are also important Resolving the competing interests within a company’s supply chain is also essential. Without collaboration, including changes in the rewards and metrics structures of a supply chain, the changes associated with postponement often result in poor execution. In addition, external collaboration with suppliers and consumers is critical. If suppliers cannot respond to the changes as a result of postponement, and if product design is not tailored to customer requirements, postponement can result in cost overruns and increased lead times. The foundation of every successful postponement implementation is organizational buy-in. If management is not willing to take risks, implement significant changes, and monitor adjusted metrics, they will be less likely to reap the benefits of postponement. While many industries and companies are prime for postponement, there are certain business conditions that position a company for a more successful postponement implementation. Prominent among these are companies that produce a significant variety of products with short product life cycles and which have a supply chain able to support mass customization. Regardless of business conditions, effective postponement implementation still requires collaboration, organizational buy-in, concerted effort, and the right information technology backbone. Modular Concepts in the Framework of International Supply Chain Management By Yuliya Pronkina In recent years, the competitive dynamics in general and the demand for product customization in particular have increased considerably in virtually all industry sectors: partly as a result of new low-budget competitors in the global markets and partly by increasing demand for technological performance. The ability to react quickly to unexpected market changes is one of the decisive reasons for the development of modular product architectures. If a company wants to remain competitive or expand its market share, it is posed to manage the compromise between such conflicting goals as: * low costs; * short lead times; * high quality of product. Modular strategy is intended to resolve this conflict and be able to become a solution to growing complexity of customizable production. It closely links with modular platform systems. In fact, modularity enables manufacturer to combine advantages of mass production (high volume, large quantity production) and product variety (flexible and versatile manufacturing systems, product tailoring, etc. ) at reduced cost and increased economies of scale. All in all product development strategies such as modularity, product modular platform, etc are the key to achieving low cost customization The modular concept has played significant role in the development of mass customization. This article examines main aspects of modular concept in the framework of global supply chain management. Definition of modules in the framework of global supply chain management To understand what modular strategy represents we tried to give the definitions of â€Å"modules† and find its real position among other strategies of mass customization. According to the Oxford Dictionary, definition of modules in general is following: Module is each of a set of standardized parts or independent units that can be used to construct a more complex structure, such as an item of furniture or a building. There are convenient statements among authors of studies about general meaning of modularity. According to them we can conclude that modularity refers to an approach to organize complex products and processes efficiently by decomposing complex tasks into smaller parts. It allows the tasks to be managed independently and yet work together as a whole without compromising performance. Thus we can consider modularity as the ability to configure product variants by mixing and matching components within similar product architecture to create variety of configuration without losing its functionality. Examples of modules would include many components in automobiles: engines, transmissions, audio equipment, tire/wheel options, etc. In electronics, modules would include processor boards, power supplies, plug-in integrated circuits, and disk drives. In software, code could be written in modules (objects) that can be combined into various combinations. In fabrication modular strategy is applied as flexible platforms for creation a significant number of product variations, enabling a firm to gain cost savings through economies of scale from component commonality, inventory, logistics, as well as to introduce technologically improved products more rapidly. Modular architectures allow firms to minimize the physical changes required to achieve some functional changes. Hence all the physical changes can be easily combined without adding complexity to the manufacturing system and, hence, to managerial system. To explore the concept of modularity and consider it in the framework of supply chain management, we decided to compare the differences between integral and modular product architecture and make further comparisons between corresponding supply chain architecture. Product architecture. Integral product architectures are those in which each component is provided directly and specifically to overall performance. Parts and interfaces tend to be proprietary. On a highly integrated product like a military aircraft, every part and system has been designed to perform a specific task. Modular product architectures use standard interfaces and can employ off-the-shelf components for much of assembly. Personal computers, clothing, and many other products employ modular architectures12. Supply Chain Architecture. Integral (traditional) supply chains require vertical integration within a primary firm or tight coupling of several firms in order to meet demanding, proprietary design specifications. Modular supply chain architectures are horizontal, with many competing firms specializing in aspects of the overall product. In other words, modularity in supply chains implies that the various units of organizations are freely divided, can operate independently, may be easily reconstructed. The concepts of product modularity and supply chain modularity are rather interconnected: changes in the product architecture result in important implications for the supply chain structure and re-distribution of activities across the logistics networks. This figure 2 shows us the simple scheme of interconnections of final assembler and its suppliers in traditional supply chain and modular supply chain. (2) (1) Figure 2. Simplified scheme of integral supply chain (1) and modular supply hain (2) In modular supply chain first tier suppliers are providing modules in the form of subassemblies, are not only components, therefore a modular supply chain is characterized by the presence of value-adding tier-suppliers that coordinate the work of the second tier suppliers. In non modular supply chain the role of assemblier is played only by a local firm. In the result of rather different approach, modular supply chain fosters some distinctions comparing to the traditional one. In the following table we compare the main features of supply chain depending on its mode of organization. Table 2 Main features of supply chain depending on its mode of organization11 | Traditional supply chain| Mass customization supply chain| Interface compatibility effects| * Integrated vertical structure * Long development lead times| * Modular product architecture * Reduction of development lead time| Component customization| * Design and manufacturing focus * In-house product development * Standardized components| * Autonomous innovation in NPD * Customer focus * Design for manufacturability| Value inputs| * Economies of scale * Exploiting advantages of market mechanism * Standardization of operations * Consolidation of outbound logistics| * Outsourcing * Flexibility towards specific customers’ needs * Economies of scale and scope| Supplier-buyer interdependence| * Supplier involvement in development not critical * Multiple sourcing| * Early supplier involvement in NPD * Strategic partnership * Supplier as system integrator * High interdependence| The good example of applying modula r strategy in practice is the following. Two German automotive companies, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz decided to develop the auto industry’s modularization in the mid-1990s. Their built new plants, which started production in 1996 and 1997 according to the new modular concept on a relatively large scale, specifically at Volkswagen’s plants in Resende (Brazil), Boleslav (Czech), and Mosel (former East Germany), and Mercedes-Benz’s plants in Vance (U. S. ) and Hambach (France). These plants had two main features. One is that they have assembled cars from relatively large subassemblies. As we can know a car is a system made up of numerous components. At conventional plants, individual components —— for example, instrument panels, gauges, and wire harnesses —— one by one to a vehicle body on the final assembly line. Instead, at those new plants, these individual components are subassembled on a separate line, and then installed as a module into a body on the final assembly line14. Suppliers procure their own materials and labor force to create separate modules, while Volkswagen provides the infrastructure and designs the interface between manufacturing units. These measures let companies reduce their costs, because on its new plants there were no need in â€Å"blue collars† (administrative staff), for instance, and its modular outsourcing made significant advantages which are resulted in an ability to issue a wider variety of final products in shorter time periods and at lower cost. Types of modularity There are six types of modularity for the mass customization of products and services: * component-sharing modularity, * component-swapping modularity; * cut-to-fit modularity; * mix modularity; * bus modularity; * sectional modularity. The following characteristics of different types of modularity are done by contemporary authors who are mostly referring to Ulrich and Tung study â€Å"Fundamentals of Product Modularity† (1991). We supposed it is convenient typology and decided to base further information on this ground (figure 3). In component-sharing modularity, the same component is used transversely in different products to provide economies of scope. There is a base unit of common components and changeable part. This kind of modularity never results in true individual customization, but allows reducing costs and increasing variety of products. Figure 3. Types of modularity In component-swapping modularity it is possible to change options on a standard product. Modules are selected from a list of options to can be added to a base product, for example cars. The good example for this is the â€Å"Configurator† on the internet site of Volkswagen, where customers can choose additional features which can be added to the base model with several clicks. So customer can make a decision which is convenient for him. Cut-to-fit modularity is similar to component-sharing and component-swapping modularity, except that one or more of the components is variable. The module can be changed before it is combined with other modules. The good examples for it are eyeglasses, or clothing. Mix-modularity is also similar to component-sharing and component-swapping modularity, but is distinguished by the fact that when combined, the modules lose their unique identity. An example is house paint. When particular colors of paint are mixed together, those components are no longer visible in the end product16. Bus modularity uses a main platform that can add different components to it. So in the result there is the infrastructure that is really required for each consumer. Sectional modularity is the type of modularity that provides the biggest variety and customization among other types of modularization. Functionally it is rather close to component swapping, but focuses on arranging standard modules in a new, unique form16. In this case each component is connected to another making achievable the configuration of any number of different types of components. The most popular example is Lego. To be able to use this type of modularity a manufacturer has to develop a special interface of its product that allows sections or objects of different types to interlock16. Benefits and drawbacks of modularity, requirements for implementing of the concept Taking all into consideration we can list main benefits of modular strategy: * Economies of scale and scope which mean an ability to improve overall performance of production concentrating on divided modules. Suppliers and sub-suppliers have an opportunity to produce higher volume of its â€Å"modules† and apply its core-competencies to production. * Increased possibility of product/component change and updating. Since each module interface is strictly specified, changes can be made to a module independently of other modules, as so as it is wider open for further product development. * Reduced order lead-time. Since modules are manufactured in relatively large volume, the logistics of production can be organized so as to reduce manufacturing lead time. Hence, the order lead time can be reduced. * Development of product variety. The use of modules means that a great product variety can be achieved using different combinations of modules. * Separated tasks. Since the interfaces and modules have been standardized, their interfaces enable design tasks and production tasks to be decoupled. This dividing can result in reduced task complexity and in the ability to complete tasks in parallel. For instance it is easier to test it before final assembly, quality management can become more efficient due to separated modules. The ease of product upgrade, maintenance, repair, and disposal. Customer without any problem can change one module to another, for example he can buy an improved video card for his computer, or change an engine module in his automobile17. Although applying modular design provides a number of advantages across the organization, companies must also consider the less discussed drawbacks when evaluating the decision to implement modular design or reviewing existing modular processes. * High Initial Investment. The initial costs to reconfigure existing systems and processes are high. Reconfiguring to the modular design is a complex task, which may disrupt the existing flow of the product pipeline. Lack of Customer-Centricity. Focusing on cost-efficiencies company can lose clear vision of customer needs. * Coordination Complexity. Modular design requires a significant restructuring of processes and can increase product development complexity if companies do not assign clear ownership and collaboration with suppliers in a well-planned implementation process to avoid duplication of processes and inconsistency across product specifications, purchase orders, and manufacturing plans. * Supplier Risk . Companies can experience delays, incorrect specifications, and poor material quality. Hence there is a necessity of well-organized control in this case. Also, companies may have to share information and technical expertise to ensure suppliers deliver according to new specifications and cost. A company surrendering too much technical expertise, especially in areas that provide a competitive advantage, may lose technical control to the supplier * Intellectual Property Risk. Producing modules simplifies the product architecture, enabling competitors to recognize without difficulty technologies and copy modules. According to that, organizations must increase patent documentation to prevent competitors using key modules in their product architectures. In modular supply chain management, suppliers have a relatively high degree of freedom in production. However it is possible only with long-term commitments and aggressive cost goals. It is clear, that modular strategy has its basic requirements for the suppliers and manufacturers which enable them work together to create value. To implement modular strategy company should be able to meet such requirements, as following: * Particular organization structure. The organization structure should be flatter with fewer levels, and creates a freedom for the coordination among processes (modules). It focuses on a high degree of cross-functional integration and employee participation. This results in a much higher degree of decentralization in decision making. Besides, the structure is open to suppliers as well as customers because they (suppliers and customers) are considered extensions of the organization; * Management focuses on three parts: supplier relation, customer relation, and resource management; * Readiness of inputs when needed (this requires an effective supply network), skillful, highly educated employees with excellent technical qualifications; * High standardization of components. Also adjusting a company’s organizational structure with a modular product architecture requires the constant support and enduring responsibility of the top management. The level of quality control and coordination in development of modules should be in a high level. Effective development and efficient use of modules requires changes in the existing processes in many ways. Modularization in automotive industry (Volkswagen’s modular strategy) As usual, the automotive industry is a leader in implementing and communicating a modularization strategy. The Volkswagen Group is characterized by its global presence and comprises numerous brands. The Volkswagen Group bases its great success on three major modules which are shared on a broad scale. The successfully implemented modularization strategy is one of the key factors which will enable the Volkswagen Group to become the world leading car manufacturer, not only in terms of sold units but also in terms of superior margins8. Now The VW Group is a large automotive empire encompassing 10 brands, 240 models produced across 94 sites in 153 markets, totaling over 8. 3 million vehicles made each year. The sheer scale of its operations across so many different countries meant that variability of its products is very high. Applying of modular strategy by Volkswagen meets customers’ expectations for a growing variety of vehicle models, equipment features and design. Through the modularization of the body, vehicles can be produced in different stages for the length, width and wheelbase – an approach that benefits the manufacturing process. We’ll discuss the main features of Volkswagen modular strategy created in its â€Å"Modular Transverse Toolkit (MQB)† in the next chapter. To sum up, companies that are striving to be competitive and still want to have a relatively high profit margins and market shares in our case can choose mass customization strategies and modular strategies in particular because: * Modularity makes complexity manageable * Modularity enables parallel work; * Modularity is tolerant of uncertainty. Shared platform strategies in the framework of international supply chain management. By Alexander Manzhosov Abstract The logical order of development of international markets, industries and customers behavior led businesses to a new frontier of competition for manufacturing industries as well as for service industries – to Mass Customization. The core reason for such a change in the market concept was a dramatically increase in diversity of consumers needs within market segments. And as the world recognized guru of management Peter Drucker once said:  «It’s a customer who determines what a business is. It’s the customer alone who’s willingness to pay for a good or for a service converts economic resources into wealth, things into goods.  » Translated to the real terms that meant for the manufacturers a new challenge of meeting various customers needs while carrying on following to basic trends of reducing costs and development times of a product and optimizing core business processes. That’s why platform strategies were designed and applied to increase the efficiency and profitability of manufacturing. This paper seeks to identify the phenomenon of shared platform strategies, research their advantages and disadvantages for supply chains and study the consequences of implementing the strategy on the case of Volkswagen Group. Key words: mass customization, shared platform strategies, supply chain. Introduction Many modern manufacturers are seeking new ways to improve their Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and concentrating their facilities on cost reducing while offering the collection of competitive goods in many different market segments. And one of the methods of achieving this goal is by implementing shared platforms approach. The benefit is possible to be gained because of coordinating of engineering processes with the actual production system and supply chains. The platform allows companies to share not only components, but also production tools and machinery. Thus our first effort to establish the basis of the concept of sharing platforms among the family of products is to define the term â€Å"platform†. After that there is a further problem of realization in which way does the concept affect the company and how the enterprise can get a competitive advantage by mean of implementing shared platform strategies. Platform concept The ideas of sharing platforms have received increasing attention in product development and operations management in the time when mass customization era arose. So companies had to â€Å"produce goods and services to meet individual customer’s needs with near mass production efficiency†. The platform concept is closely tied to models of product architecture, modularization and standardization. The platform itself can be defined as â€Å"a relatively large set of product components that are physically connected as a stable subassembly and are common to different final models†. The definition has been stated above can be clarified by Figure 4. Figure 4. Three different products build on the same platform The figure illustrates the general idea of platforms sharing. Three different products are assembled by combining elements A, B, C, D, E. According to the illustration it can be concluded, that this product family consists of the element A (platform) and a set of other elements used in a modular way. What emerges from the definition and illustration that in general designing a platform is about creating common shared components and systems throughout a family line, while providing differentiated features and benefits to add value to each production unit (Figure 5). Figure 5. Common principle of sharing platforms . The trick here is that totally different at the first sight products from different brands and from different price segments of the market can be equal in engineering terms. Still the platform is not a universal cure. And based on empirical evidence there are some preconditions of implementing platforms: * The product family shares basic groups of elements * The product family is supposed to have a long lifecycle * The level of interconnected systems among the product family is relatively high * The technological environment of the market tends to constant updates * The core functionality of the products is stable but variable in the terms of non-core functions All these criteria are not ultimate and the suitability of decisions taken depends on specificity of organizations type and the product characteristics as well. It also should be added, that depending on criteria mentioned above and the target of the manufacturer, platforms can be categorized into 3 types: * Modular * Scalable * Generational The main difference by such a categorizing emerges owing to the strategy of launching the product line. The modular platform usually allows designing functionally different product variants. On the contrary, scalable one aims at creating functionally equal products of many capacities. And the last one, the generational platform is used to be a basis for new generation development. The reasons of implementing platforms It follows from what has been said above, that the platform concept is a quite flexible approach for manufacturers, moreover sometimes it seems vital for staying competitive on the market. And now we can pass on to the issues closely related to the platform implementation and it’s consequences for the companies operations and supply chain structure. Nowadays critical issues for consideration in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) are cost containment, development know-how and resources, product quality and logistics. As the supply chain can be represented as the combination of enterprises involved in activities from the supply of raw materials to the manufacturing and delivery of the goods to the customers, the success of the whole supply chain depends on how to generate the most efficient configuration of the products, manufacturing processes and supply sources. In this connection a question is bound to arise whether the shared platform approach is an effective method or not. This brings us to advantages and disadvantages of such a scheme. Advantages and disadvantages of implementing shared platform strategies The purpose with platform sharing is to reduce the cost and have a more efficient product development process. And according to the purpose announced from m point of view it’s possible to classify advantages of shared platform strategy into three key groups: * Quantitative * Qualitative * Customer-oriented Quantitative advantages by this mean include such factors as: 1. The Global standardization 2. The Economy of scale 3. The rationalization and the reduction of RD costs The value of the standardizations is quiet obvious. By creating a common platform for the product line the company creates â€Å"flexibility†, which allows not only to produce dissimilar models according to individual customers’ and even countries’ tastes but also provides an opportunity to standardize production facilities and streamline logistics and management as well. The economy of scale in this case follows directly from the previous factor: the commonality of the exploiting components, modules, mechanisms, assembly lines reduce overall costs and simplifies the business and technological processes within the company sparing human and monetary resources. The next important issue concerns RD costs. The unity of components under one single platform helps dramatically minimize the cost of developing product lines. Once the platform is designed, the company doesn’t need to spend millions on engineering new components. And platform efficiency – â€Å"the ratio between the average RD costs (or development time) for derivative product over the cost (or time) spent for the platform† increases (the lower the ratio the more efficient the platform is). Such an effect is possible because different products share the same technology process, structure and production mechanisms. Qualitative advantages include: 1. Increased quality and innovations 2. Easer inventory management The proposed components’ commonality is a multi-oriented tool: platform sharing allows manufacturers to design parts with fewer variation. A byproduct of this is increased quality, which results in lower defect rates. On the other hand, people want value for their money they want new technologies. And eliminating the need to engineer separately thousands of parts allows research and development assets to be focused on fewer technologies fostering innovation and quality improvements in the minor set of technologies. One more critical point is inventory management. It’s apparent that in any supply chain a tremendous amount of inventory is held in the form of components. And it’s essential to mention that the inventory amount corresponds always to the uncertainty of demand for the finished product. In that way by implementing a platform the manufacturer is able to use it in multiple finished products. So the demand for the platform and all components the platform consists of is an aggregation of the demand for all cross-platform finished products. That’s why â€Å" the use of common components (or set of components – platform) in a variety of products has been a very effective supply chain strategy to exploit aggregation and reduce component inventories†. Another clear benefit concerns the relations between suppliers and manufacturer. By implementing platforms the producer decreases the uncertainty of demand on different components. That creates a win-to-win situation for both business partners by enabling them to build long-term relationships. The last group of advantages is customer oriented and includes: 1. Faster response to changing market needs 2. Greater product variety It’s critical to mention, that this group of pros can be clearly defined through observation on previous advantages. And faster response to changing market needs occurs because platform sharing allows manufacturers to design and launch new products faster and cheaper. And the trick is here that the development and cost of the original platform for new goods have already been paid for. Such flexibility provides an opportunity to the company to diversify its assortment and satisfy different market shares. However it’s impossible to complete the study without highlighting some possible problems when using platform approach: 1. Product dilution 2. Incompatibility 3. Risk concentration Product dilution means that a platform, depending on the common machines and systems, can be extended thin if it becomes a source of too many disparate models. Moreover, platforms that span across models of different stature increase the risk of cheapening luxury products or adding unnecessary cost to lower-end segment. Another challenge is incompatibility. A platform’s differentiating technologies must be carefully engineered to integrate with the standardized systems. Otherwise, producers will have to perform modifications to make the two types of technologies compatible. These compatibility regulations first of all are not differentiating modifications and secondly they provide zero value of their own to the finished product. The last but not the least possible problem is the risk concentration. Producers may face greater overall risk if the underlying platform they’ve developed and implemented is accident-prone. A defect in a standardized technology multiplies the risk across the whole product line, which leads to expensive potential recalls. Shared platform strategies As has been indicated, in general implementing a platform promises much more benefits than negative consequences. And once the decision to implement platforms is considered, there are various strategies for the product implementation (Figure 6). Some of the most widely practiced platform strategies are No Leveraging, Vertical Leveraging, Horizontal Leveraging and the Beachhead Approach. Figure 6. Shared platform strategies No Leveraging platform is usually designed especially for a single market segment. Such strategy is implemented for high scale goods wi How to cite Mass Customization Strategy in Global Supply, Essay examples