Tthe Role of the Fashion Buyer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tthe Role of the Fashion Buyer - Essay Example The exposition Tthe Role of the Fashion Buyer concerns the style purchaser. In this point of view, the jobs of a merchandiser and a purchaser are correlative yet digress to particular ways. In a customary angle, purchasers center around the visual parts of articles of clothing while at the same time promoting centers around the diagnostic and numerical parts of pieces of clothing. A buyer’s head objective relates to recognizing market fitting pieces of clothing that can too fulfill the company’s benefit prerequisites. This general obligation split into a few jobs. In the first place, it is vital to think about kinds of purchasing jobs regarding high road and very good quality viewpoint. This parts as far as retailers, wholesalers and makers. In high road style, a purchaser might be engaged with loading a shop that manages fashioner brands. Be that as it may, high road style manages different articles of clothing separated from fashioner brands. In a various retail locat ion, a purchaser would worry with an entire procedure of item advancement and organizing conveyance of completed items. In autonomous clothes’ retailing, a purchaser buys pieces of clothing from wholesalers and sell at one’s appropriate cost. As far as a different retail location, a purchaser has a few explicit undertakings. In any case, a purchaser should choose a scope of articles of clothing that fulfill an ideal benefit plan. Target edge alludes to the benefit that happens after reasonings of limits and unsold stock. In this sense, a buyer’s task relates to boosting deals, of bought stock, and limiting unsold stock. Moreover, a purchaser ought to consider explicit net revenue for single items. This requires a purchaser works with a merchandiser for a legitimate blend of stock. What's more, they watch patterns of different organizations for translation to target clients. Also, a purchaser has an undertaking of recognizing a solid flexibly base. Purchasers mus t be proficient of incapable suppliers’ impact on deals and inevitable benefits (Jackson and Shaw 2000, p. 67). All the more significantly, it is crucial for a provider to consider quality as far as the cost that the provider forces. Besides, a purchaser ought to think about the notoriety of a maker and provider as far as untrustworthy practices. The media are touchy to such an extent that it can pull down a significant style store on account of such an association. In the wake of picking a trustworthy provider, a purchaser considers the contribution from elements, for example, structure article of clothing innovation and marketing. This requires a procedure whereby the purchaser haggles of cost costs to provisions. This requires a purchaser to have abilities of exchange as far as switches. In addition, purchasers ought to assess and inquire about on important and look into advertise (Entwistle 2009, p. 57). This data is different to such an extent that it ought to incorporat e future style patterns, past and current deals. Moreover, the purchaser ought to assess a consumer’s nearest need. Purchasers ought to likewise check contender stores for assessment of pieces of clothing and costs. Also, purchasers ought to build up correspondence channels with the administration, providers and item groups. For example, provider correspondence is imperative for practical, precise and sensible about the particular terms of a set request. Item run involves critical introduction in which inventive subtleties are unmistakably assessed. Furthermore, purchasers have the order of considering supplies inside the requirements of a store’s financial plan. Different parameters incorporate thought, for example, recorded direction on deals and shading patterns. What's more, a

Free Essays on Multicultural Instruction

mean: religion, partiality, generalization, and psychological warfare; record their inquiries concerning each point and have them research and offer their discoveries. ESL educators in independent homerooms can consolidate ideas in geology by requesting that understudies find the Middle East on a world guide; inquire about the land types of Iraq, and foresee how geographic highlights sway the lifestyle for individuals who live there. For arithmetic, educators can talk about the commitments of the Arab development to current Math; thoroughly analyze Arabic numerals to Roman numerals, and research about the cash of every nation in the Middle East. The book â€Å"Sami and the hour of the Troubles† offers to ESL instructors unlimited chances to coordinate a multicultural idea into guidance in all subject areas.... Free Essays on Multicultural Instruction Free Essays on Multicultural Instruction Incorporating multicultural ideas into guidance in every branch of knowledge. There has been a huge measure of data with respect to the demonstrations of psychological oppression against the United States and the ensuing war on psychological warfare that prompted the â€Å"Iraqi Freedom† mission. Through the media, kids have seen and found out about individuals, religion, nations, and strife around the globe. Thus, understudies may have questions and display concerns with respect to these occasions. Exercises that expect them to investigate for data from an assortment of sources and to find out about complex issues, assist youthful with peopling gain certainty through their capacities to comprehend what is happening around them. Understudies can conceptualize and compose what they feel what the accompanying words mean: religion, bias, generalization, and psychological oppression; record their inquiries regarding each point and have them research and offer their discoveries. ESL educators in independent study halls can join ideas in geology by requesting that understudies find the Middle East on a world guide; look into the land types of Iraq, and anticipate how geographic highlights sway the lifestyle for individuals who live there. For science, instructors can examine the commitments of the Arab human progress to present day Math; thoroughly analyze Arabic numerals to Roman numerals, and research about the money of every nation in the Middle East. The book â€Å"Sami and the hour of the Troubles† offers to ESL instructors unlimited chances to coordinate a multicultural idea into guidance in all subject areas....

Master the new TOEFL Reading Section

Master the new TOEFL Reading Section IntroductionI get this question a lot. Broadly speaking, heres what I think you should do to prepare for the TOEFL reading section:Learn your current levelLearn how the reading section is designedGet some accurate practice testsImprove your reading comprehensionGet some strategies for solving questionsHire a good tutorDetails about how to do these things are below!Learn Your Current LevelIf you havent taken the test already, make sure you know your current level in the TOEFL reading section. The easiest way to do this is to take the free sample test from ETS. You can also take one of the tests in the Official Guide to the TOEFL. Once you have done this you will know how much you need to improve.Learn How the Reading Section is DesignedOkay, this might be obvious, but you need to know how the TOEFL reading section is designed. If you understand how the test is designed, you will have fewer surprises on test day. Start by checking out the practice reading set from ETS. Read that set ve ry carefully. Pay attention to the length of the passages and the number of questions included with each passage.Pay special attention to the types of reading questions used by ETS. Briefly, the main types are:Factual InformationNegative Factual InformationRhetorical PurposeVocabularySentence SimplificationInsert a SentenceInferenceReferenceSummaryFill in a tableThe best descriptions of these question types is found in the Official Guide to the TOEFL. Note that you dont need to pay for the 5th edition, as every edition of the guide has pretty much the same descriptions. Read them carefully.You can get the same descriptions and advice in the TOEFL Insiders Guide course on edX. This is free, and is mostly video. I like it.I recently analyzed the most recent practice materials. Read my blog post for an indication of how frequently each question type will appear on test day.I should mention a few things before we go on:Since August 1, ETS has used fewer vocabulary questions than before. Expect just one or two per article. In the past, you would get three to five per article.Fill in a table and reference questions seem to be used much less than before. I used to think they were gone forever, but since posting the original version of this guide, Ive gotten some reports that they have reappeared. Be prepared.You might get an unexpected question like how does paragraph 1 relate to paragraph 2 or what function does paragraph 2 serve in the organization of the passage as a whole. These types are not mentioned in most popular study guides. Sorry.Get Some Accurate Practice TestsOnce you understand what the test looks like., you absolutely need to build a collection of accurate reading sets. As you work through the improve your reading comprehension and learn some strategies stuff below, you should complete about one of these tests every week.The Official Guide to the TOEFL (four good tests)The Official iBT Test Collection Volume 1 (five good tests)The Official iBT Test Co llection Volume 2 (five good tests)TSTPreps Test Pack (10 good tests, online) try the coupon code goodine10off for a discount.If you complete one test per week, these materials will be good enough for 6 months of preparation. Adjust the frequency to match the amount of time you have to prepare for the test.Note that I dont recommend any of the following sources of tests:Kaplan TOEFLBarrons TOEFLBest My TestEdusynchImprove Your Reading ComprehensionIf you have more than a month to prepare for the test, you should work on your reading comprehension instead of studying tricks and strategies for answering specific TOEFL reading questions.It seems obvious, but if you can read better, you will get a better score on the TOEFL. When native speakers take the test, they dont use strategies, obviously. I promise I will link to some strategies in a moment, but I hope you dont need to use them.Excessively focusing on strategies might make things too complicated for you on test day. My friend Jo sh MacPherson wrote about this in EFL Magazine last year. His article is meant for teachers, but it does make clear that trying to use a 5-step strategy to answer 10 different question types can be challenging and time-consuming.Of course, I cant really teach you how to read better in this blog post. Sorry. But I can suggest a few things. They are:Read non-TOEFL articles about the sorts of subjects that will appear on the test. My favorite sources are National Geographic and both the science and history sections of Smithsonian Magazine. Try to read three or four of these every day. As you read, make use of something like Merriam-Websters Learners Dictionary to ensure that you comprehension is as high as possible. If you are confused about what you are reading, seek help.You can also find relevant articles in the crappy TOEFL Textbooks I hate. I do want to emphasize that these books are not very accurate when it comes to the TOEFL, but they are full of academic articles you can read for general practice. Consider using: Kaplans Practice Tests, Barrons TOEFL iBT, and Compass Publishings Mastering Skills for the TOEFL. Again, I want to repeat that these books do not have accurate practice tests, but they do have articles about the subjects that ETS uses on the test.Read anything. Seriously. Read newspaper articles about current events that relate to your life. Read good books that you enjoy. Both fiction and non-fiction will help, in the long run. If you want to know what Im reading nowadays, check out my profile on Goodreads. Send me a note and well chat about books.I know this is all vague, but if you have a few months to improve, your goal should be to gradually improve your vocabulary and reading comprehension so that you dont need to use strategies on the test. This can only be done by exposing yourself to written English.Learn Some StrategiesIf you have improved your comprehension and you still cant figure out the answers you will need to try some strategie s. Heres a few of my favorite sources:Kathy Spratts Mastering the Reading Section for the TOEFL iBT ebook from AmazonThe TST Prep TOEFL Emergency Course (try coupon code goodine10off for a 10% discount)Kirstyn Lazurs TOEFL Thrive Guide ebook, also on Amazon.Yeah, you have to pay for these. Right now, there arent very many good free resources online. Im always open to suggestions, though. Leave a comment if you have something for me.Get a Good TOEFL TeacherIf you really want to improve your score, you should hire a tutor to work with you one on one. I recommend the following experts:Katie Mary houseoftoefl@gmail.comJohn Healy Study WIth ItMiguel Marcano elitetoeflprep@gmail.comSherlenTanner TOEFL iBT Academy Jonathan Huggins info@hugginsinternational.comSierra Yohalem sierra.yohalem@gmail.comDanijela Jovanovic proesltestprep.comJosh MacPherson tstprep.comKirstyn Lazur Toeflland@gmail.comJane Birkenhead Birkenhead EnglishMention that you were referred by Michael at TOEFL Res ources for preferential treatment (maybe).

Dualism And Dualism Between The Mind And Body And...

Both monism and dualism, ideas debated amongst philosophers for centuries, involve trying to explain the relation between the mind and body, or if there even is such a correlation. A monist believes that a person is singular in their being. This means that monists do not distinguish the mind from the body, or even reality from the physical world, such as life after death (Schaffer 32). For a monist, reality is confined to the materialistic world. Oppositely, there is dualism. Though there are many different forms, at it its core, dualism is the idea that the essence of the mind (e.g. who one is as a person) is separate from the physical body (Churchland, 84). Because many religions are based on a belief in the soul and life after death, dualism is a view commonly held among the public (Churchland, 84). Subsequently, I will argue in support of the type of dualism known as substance dualism and the idea of the mind being separate from the body and materialistic world. Substance duali sm is the idea that the mind is its own entity, and that it is not confined to the physical world. Paul Churchland explained the idea as â€Å"a distinct nonphysical thing† and â€Å"a thing whose identity may be temporarily â€Å"attached†Ã¢â‚¬  (Churchland 84). One point made for this view poses the idea that because the soul cannot be seen, and therefore cannot be broken down in more parts, it must exist separately from the body (Swineburne 1). This was a view held by the well-known philosopher PlatoShow MoreRelatedI, Myself, And My Body1222 Words   |  5 Pagesand My Body The mind is about mental processes and thought, while the body is the physical aspects of the brain. For years, philosophers have been perplexed by the mind-body problem. The mind is about mental processes and thought, while the body is the physical aspects of the brain. The mind-body problem discusses the mind and body, along with the relationship between them. Dualists and monists are the two types of people that take a stand on the issue. While Dualism may spilt mind and body, monismRead MoreRen Descartes : Dualism Of The Mind And Body740 Words   |  3 PagesAccording to famous French mathematician and philosopher, Renà © Descartes, motion and interactions between the material and the immaterial are possible. He came up with a concept called dualism of the mind and body. His thesis being that mind and body are really distinct. He believes the mind, an immaterial thing, and body, a material thing, are two different beings that interact with each other. In one of his famous The Meditation, He says, [I am thinking, therefore I exist] taught me that I wasRead MorePhilosophy Of Rene Descartes860 Words   |  4 Pagesawareness of the world. Because he has consciousness, he reasons that he must exist, especially since he is aware that he is a thing that thinks. His physical body, on the other hand, has no awareness. From this stems another critical part of his philosophy which states that the mind and the body are two separate substances. This concept is called dualism. Minds are indestructible and indivisible. Bodies are destructible and divisible (Searle, 2004). Descartes claims that the mind and the body are connectedRead MoreDescartes Dualism And The Mind Body Theory1322 Words   |  6 PagesDescartes’ Dualism Rene Descartes dualism states that the mind and body are separate entities. The mind is a nonphysical, non-spatial substance; the mind and brain are separate existences, the brain is a part of the physical body and serves as a connection between the body and mind. Dualism is a hot topic of argument on whether the theory holds any validity or if it holds any truth. However, Cartesian dualism is a credible theory and has a lot of support to verify it. One major point in DescartesRead MoreDualism And Materialism By Peter Van Inwagen1968 Words   |  8 Pagesproblem of distinguishing the mind versus the body has persisted throughout time and remains a highly debatable topic in philosophy today. Two opposing perspectives in particular remain especially favorable in modern philosophy. Dualism, considers the mind and the body to be separate in that humans are, in effect, immaterial non-physical beings—people are souls. Renà © Descartes examines in Meditations on First Philosophy the incompatibility of a reality in which the mind and body exist as a singular, strictlyRead MoreThe Mind And Body : Theories1174 Words   |  5 PagesThe mind and body are two abstract concepts however; they both can be deduced to a simple principle of materialism. Rene Descartes posed a claim that, the mind and body are not related and concludes that a brain is made of matter while a mind is made of â€Å"mental processes, thought and consciousnes s† (simply psychology). However, Thomas Hobbes argued that â€Å"everything in the world, including our thoughts and mind, can be explained in terms of one thing: matter in motion (many world of logic). ThroughoutRead MoreTheory of Mind: Daniel Dennett vs. Thomas Nagel1972 Words   |  8 PagesTheory of Mind: Thomas Nagel and Daniel Dennett The mind-body problem consists of two very different theories; Dualism and materialism. These are two theories that are on opposite sides of the spectrum and I will compare not only their ideas, but also the ways in which they coincide and oppose each other. From these two theories, I agree with materialism since I believe our consciousness and â€Å"life† consists of nothing more than the physical mind. Dualism is the assumption that mental phenomenaRead MorePsychology : The Mind Body2034 Words   |  9 Pagesproblems that have persisted throughout the years. One major issue is the mind body relationship. This topic has been examined for numerous times and several viewpoints have been taken from like philosophers from the western world, who focused on two views of the problem mostly, and later other views and subtypes emerged. The Mind-Body theme attempts to identify the relationship between the mind and body, in other words, between the mental realms like thoughts and emotions and physical realms like neuronsRead MoreLife After Death Essay1599 Words   |  7 Pagesinterested in whether or not there is a part of the human body which survives the death of all the physical parts and where or when it goes. Dualism states that there is a distinction between our body and our actual self, commonly referred to as our soul. Generally, in dualism, the soul is viewed as immortal, and therefore our existence in the afterlife is defined by our soul. Materialism is quite the opposite, and holds that we are our bodies, nothing more, and whilst it seems natural to think thatRead MoreWhy The Mind Body Problem1200 Words   |  5 PagesOut there, in our own world, there is a battle going on that most of us are completely unaware of, and it is all comes down to the mind-body problem. The mind-body problem is how the mind and the body interact with each other. The mind is the mental side of things; thoughts, imagination, and most importantly consciousness, whereas the body is the physical side; the make up of your brain neurons and your body. On one side of this argument we have the Materialists, and according to the Oxford Dictionary

Boom,Pow,Bang! A Positive Outlook on Video Games Essay

Violent video games have been impacting society in both positive and negative ways throughout the years.Since video games also have harmful elements,the question lingers should violent video games be banned or left alone? Video games have become a popular topic of interest to many people,not just the youth community.Video games,especially violent ones,are also a popular way of entertainment to many who enjoy the thrill of being involved in a story or event.Though there may be detrimental details surrounding video games,violent video games are beneficial because video games improve a persons mental release and improve various skills and abilities. Violent video games help with mental release in people.As told in†¦show more content†¦On the other hand some research suggests video games decreases emotional sensitivity in children.The article â€Å"Impact of Video games on this generation â€Å"states,†That violent video games can make children less sensitive to pain.†This shows that kids are being desensitised over time by video games and thats its taking their emotion of pain because they are shown such violence and gore in the video games that it takes that aspect of them away.Proven by the article,†Video Games Have no effect on children’s behavior ,New study Finds† by Abigail Elise concludes , that long term exposure to video games do not lead to behavior problems like deficit disorder or depression.This proves that video games dont get rid or water down their emotions and that it doesnt make them develope disorders or any other behavioral problems.In conclusion video games do not wash away the gamers feelings and it doesnt give you behavioral problems. Violent Video games do not cause behavioral problems or increases violent behavior .To me Video games are a form of venting emotions .Statistics show the number of youth offenders decreased to 1 violent offender per 100,000 population.Video games also improve skills and abilities like hand eye coordination.On the other hand videogames can decrease emotional sensitivity in the gamers but then again recent studies have shown that long

Logistics and E-Business in Dell Inc. Free Essays

string(86) " reliant on available suppliers who are able to produce at highly competitive prices\." Introduction This brief purports to provide a critical evaluation of planning and organising efficient operations and networking. It also aims to analyse the problems associated with the control of component activities and quality. In particular, the critical discussion is centred on the effect of process technology and e-business on Dell Inc. We will write a custom essay sample on Logistics and E-Business in Dell Inc. or any similar topic only for you Order Now , evaluating such effect on its logistical and operational capability. Dell Inc. is a computer company founded in 1984, which became a market leader in the worldwide selling of personal computer products and services. It adopts a simple concept of direct selling of computer systems to customers, which enables it to establish every system to order and offer preconditioned systems for customers at well-competitive prices. Compared to its competitors, the company is able to introduce latest technology more rapidly, utilise supply chain techniques and customer-centred manufacturing, and provide an average of four days for inventory turn-over. This process has resulted in a ratio of 1:5, in which a Dell computer is being sold worldwide for every five standards-based computer system (Rushton and Walker, 2007). Dell also made a report in 2006 that 44 per cent of its sales came from the US, and its revenue in China grew by 29 per cent. Additionally, an 18 per cent increase was experienced for its shipments in Europe, Africa, and Middle East. It was able to maintain its number one position in the US market for personal computing, in which it recorded a market share of 32 per cent. In 2006, Dell opened 14 new manufacturing and development facilities vis-a-vis maintaining significant investments in the US, China, and Germany, amongst others (Rushton and Walker, 2007). Process technology and e-business in Dell Before directly addressing the effect of process technology and e-business on Dell Inc., it is deemed necessary to clarify the concept of e-business. According to Harsono (2014), e-business refers to as a set of business models and practices enabled by Internet technologies whose emphasis is on networks of customers, suppliers, and productive capabilities, pursuing an aim to continuously improve the performance of supply chain. E-business is a powerful concept in that it enables the adoption of the Internet in establishing integrative relationships amongst members of the supply chain. Chen and Popovich (2003) noted that Dell‘s example of customer relationship management exemplified success in combining information technology (IT) and front-and-back office operations. In addition, Dell adopted a build-to-order e-business design, which featured a rapid cycle of product development (Harsono, 2014). Moreover, Dell was amongst those who initially established a customer-driven configuration capacity for personal computers (Harsono, 2014). It established a web of components manufacturers and IT providers for its successful direct marketing system (Sushil, 2013). With the absence of retail stores and through call centers and phone orders, the company adopted a build-to-order assembly model through which it receives orders. Its website made a strong influence on software applications of its own customer service representations to establish a self service web application that enables customers to produce their own custom orders for personal computers. Dell allowed customers to explore a number of computer configurations with the use of a ‘choice board’ capability, showing price differences for components that customers intend to include in their order. This PC order is then submitted through the website ecommerce, translating the order data into a design, ordering the co mponents, and electronically scheduling the proper resources to complete the order (Kurbel, 2013). Customer demand is also integrated from direct-sales channel that is linked to its back-end supply chain (Harsono, 2014). The company is able to pursue an effective integration and implementation of e-commerce and supply chain management Noteworthy is the fact that Dell serves as a strategic supplier to British Airways, in which the former supplies desktops and notebook computers to the latter’s purchasing agents. Dell enables British Airways to buy and track orders to a Dell website that adopts customisation for the user’s needs. The airline has adopted Dell’s e-procurement tools on its intranet, allowing authorised staff to make PC purchases through a portal that is directly connected to Dell’s system (Harsono, 2014). Not only does Dell support its business customers with e-procurement tools, but it also utilises e-commerce for its own e-procurement. It was able to develop a specific e-procurement model aimed to be shared with its business partners. One feature of the model is the conduct of bids using electronic tendering, which Dell also uses when buying product components. Through Dell’s adoption of process technology and e-business, it is able to communicate and collaborate with a range of business partners. Its build-to-order capabilities allow it to pursue significant improvements in its demand planning and accuracy of factory execution, reduce the time entailed in order and delivery, and improve customer service. It is worthy of note that Dell also partners with Accenture to create and foster a high-performance supply chain solution for planning and design execution. Its factory scheduling and demand-planning capacity and inventory management also became automated, through informat ion technology utilisation and adoption of e-supply chain models (Harsono, 2014). Dell’s supply chain has been cited by several researchers as a model of excellence, which is made possible through a closed-loop supply chain and logistics techniques. Dell utilises a variety of techniques that maintain build-to-order operation. It has an assortment of process maps within its forward and reverse supply chains. Dell’s example suggests a need to provide emphasis on supply chain efficiencies in order to build customer value and carefully investigate its capabilities prior to the implementation of any specific collection of logistics approaches similar to its supply chain operation (Kumar and Craig, 2007). In addition, Dell is constantly adjusting and improving its processes over time, in which its business model consists of working directly with customers and providing better value (Teece, 2010). Dell organised its value chain around the choice of products that it sells through its distribution system whereby it enables developing efficient capabilities on selecting the specific products to produce. Certainly, the whole strategy is reliant on available suppliers who are able to produce at highly competitive prices. You read "Logistics and E-Business in Dell Inc." in category "Essay examples" It must be noted nonetheless that Dell did not bring significant enhancements to the technology of personal computers but is noteworthy for its combination of innovations of both suppliers and its own distribution systems in delivering compelling value to its customers (Teece, 2010). An important point as well is that Dell does not utilise the Internet to create a marketplace; rather, it uses the Internet to exchange information on demand and inventory with its suppliers, thereby allowing suppliers to produce proper production levels and aid Dell’s supply chain towards improved co mplementariness of its supply and demand (Chopra and Van Mieghem, 2000; Harsono, 2014). By being a virtual IT department apart from being a PC vendor, Dell tracks all corporate-wide purchases vis-a-vis giving customers the convenience to order anytime at any place. Indeed. Dell has relied heavily on a few suppliers that also function as long-term partners (Chopra and Van Mieghem, 2000). Just-in-time production is implied in Dell’s logistics process, in which expected administrative problems related to large numbers of individual orders have been superseded by information technology. Dell has epitomised this move towards the system of building products to order and shipping them to the customer. It is important to note that the company has integrated its computerised management information system with its logistics software to aid the analysis of purchasing and selling of products. Further, e-logistics allows Dell to view the big picture by capturing data for procurement, in which logistics-generated data are being sent to strategic decisions formulated by other aspects of the organisation. Apparently, the Internet has provided Dell real information of supply and demand, rather than a merely forecast one. E-logistics likewise enables a closer integration of Dell’s internal business systems with web-based functions, allowing the facilitation of collabor ative solutions in the supply chain (Joseph, 2005). The company continues to integrate the Internet into its whole business process, such as procurement, online sales, and relationship management (Chou et al., 2004). Impact of Process technology and e-business on Dell The effect of process technology and e-business for Dell is increased customer value, in which the company enables to keep its retail customers to come back, helping the company to drive sales to more than $55 billion in 2004. Additionally, Dell utilises e-commerce to provide real-time information to its suppliers in the supply chain. In this regard, suppliers utilise this information to adjust their production time, in which they only produce the adequate components for Dell’s needs and adopt an appropriate mode of delivery to enable these products to arrive just in time for production (Ross, 2011). It must be noted also that the strong impact of e-business in Dell’s supply chain enabled it to deal with its more than US$ 100 million losses through a best practice example of impeccably incorporating e-marketing and supply chain management to boost its processes (Harsono, 2014). With Dell’s utilisation of e-business and process technology, the effect is its revolu tionisation of the business model in its core geo-product sphere with its manufacture and marketing of personal computers. Its adaptability and flexibility allowed Dell to acquire wealth by leveraging its revenue, utilising alliances to develop the right combination of products, and reducing change-related costs (D’Aveni, 2001). Another impact of process technology and e-business on Dell’s logistical and operational capability is its ability to deliver high customer value in relation to customisation, as well as lower process cost. Its direct selling of computer using web technology enables it to receive higher margins than conventional PC manufacturers, who need to share some margin with retailers. It is clear that retailers occupy a weaker position to utilise this e-business opportunity than other members of the supply chain. In terms of revenue, Dell’s direct sales model through its e-business channel made the company to continue obtaining increased margins compared to traditional computer manufacturers with resellers. It was able to effectively manage its ability to change prices and delivery times based on component availability. In the same manner, the company is able to work on its supply chain’s input and output ends to harmonise demand with supply (Chopra and Van Mieghem, 2000). Apparently, through Dell’s stance to use e-business, the results include increased efficiency in logistics and marketing processes, cost reductions, reduced inventory levels, decreased time-to-customer process to improve competitive situation, and lower time to market process (Shin, 2005). Conclusion This brief was focused on Del Inc. as it attempted to provide a critical evaluation of planning and organising in its efficient operations and networking activities. The discussion was centred on the impact of process technology and e-business on the company. Dell became a market leader in selling personal computers and services, employing direct selling to customers, enabling it to provide preconditioned systems for customers at a very competitive price. The company was successful in combining IT and front-and-back office operations. Its fast cycle of product development was based on a build-to-order e-business design. The build-to-order assembly model featured the use of call centers and phone orders rather than the usual retail store. Dell’s supply chain and logistics success is exemplified in its partnership with British Airways and Accenture. The company utilises e-commerce to provide e-procurement tools to its business customers and for its own e-procurement. The effects of Dell’s process technology and e-business are increased customer value; enhanced real-time information processes for suppliers; high customer value delivery in terms of customisation; lower process cost; increased margins; reduced production cycles; increased efficiency in logistics and marketing processes; and decreased inventory levels. These impacts are enabled by a demand-driven supply chain that replaced the traditional supply chain approach. References Chopra, S. and Van Mieghem, J. A. (2000) Which E-Business is Right For Your Supply ChainAccessed on 8 December 2014 from http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/vanmieghem/htm/e-business-scmr-april26.pdf Chou, D. C., Tan, X., and yen, D. C. (2004) Web technology and supply chain management. Information Management and Computer Security, 12 (4), 338-349. Chen, I. J. and Popovich, K. (2003) Understanding customer relationship management (CRM): People, process and technology. Business Process Management Journal, 9 (5), 672-688. Daniel Gmoe’s Blog (2010) Green Logistics. Accessed on 8 December 2014 from http://danielgmoe.wordpress.com/ D’Aveni, R. (2001) Strategic Supremacy: How Industry Leaders Create Spheres Of Influence. NY: The Free Press. Dignan, L. (2009) Dell Aims to Diversify Away From PCs, But How Accessed on 8 December 2014 from http://seekingalpha.com/article/148763-dell-aims-to-diversify-away-from-pcs-but-how Harsono, A. (2014) The impact of e-commerce in supply chain management at Dell Inc. Journal of Multidisciplinary Engineering Science and Technology, 1 (3), 11-18. Joseph, P. T. (2005) E-commerce: An Indian Perspective. Second Edition. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India. Kumar, S. and Craig, S. (2007) Dell, Inc.’s closed loop supply chain for computer assembly plants. Information, Knowledge, Systems Management, 6 (3), 197-214. Kurbel, E. K. (2013) Enterprise Resource Planning and Supply Chain Management: Function, Business Process and Software for Manufacturing Companies. First Edition. NY: Springer. Ross, F. D. (2011) Introduction to Supply Chain Management Technologies. Second Edition. FL: CRC Press. Rushton, A. and Walker, S. (2007) Supply Chain Outsourcing: From Local to Global. London: Kogan Page. Shin, N. (2005) Strategies for Generating E-Business Returns on Investment. London: Idea Group Publishing. Sushil, S. (2013) Flowing Stream Strategy: Leveraging Strategic Change with Continuity. NY: Springer. Teece, D. J. (2010) Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long Range Planning, 43 (1), 172-194. How to cite Logistics and E-Business in Dell Inc., Essay examples

Men Should Be As They Seem Essays - Othello, Michael Cassio, Iago

Men Should Be As They Seem ?Men should be as they seem? By Mike Hourie The four main characters in the play Othello represent four different character traits of manhood: Roderigo, the failure; Othello, the hero, yet the insane lover; Cassio, the noblemen; and Iago, the villain, yet the strongest character of the play. Of these four characters Roderigo reveals the weakest character traits. Iago effortlessly profits from Roderigo's deficiency in a intelligence, in fact Iago himself said he would not waste time and effort on ?such a snipe?(I iii 387) except for ?sport and profit.? Towards the end of the play Roderigo reveals some traits that might classify him as a man with a spine. He finally stands up to Iago and threatens to expose the conspiracy against Othello and Cassio, but ultimately his flaws overpower his virtuous traits and he is persuaded by Iago to kill Cassio instead. Likewise, Othello is the tragic hero of the play but his character is also weak. Jealousy is Othello's major downfall. He reveals his insecurities in the scene where he strikes Desdemona and calls her a ?devil?. Similarly, in the brothel scene, Othello's insecurities arise when he cruelly questions Desdemona. He condemns her as a ?simple bawd? and a ?whore?, which he has no real proof of. Iago also easily manipulates Othello, like Roderigo, throughout the play. Othello is naive. He demonstrates that a few well-placed suggestions can alter his train of thought, such as when Iago was talking to Cassio and made Othello believe that the lieutenant was speaking of Desdemona instead of Bianca. On the whole, Othello was a weak character and a naive man. In contrast, Cassio's character is strong. He spoke about Othello with dignity and grace, which no other character in the play does. Also, Cassio showed extreme loyalty to the Moor. Cassio's only flaw is that he temporarily lost his power of reasoning when he was drunk and let himself be manipulated by Iago. All in all, Cassio is a good example of how a man should act; with dignity and honor. Likewise, Iago's character is also strong. He is an intelligent man as can seen in the soliloquy where he is hatching a plan to frame Cassio ?to get his place ?(I iii). In the soliloquy Iago's intelligence is revealed in the statement ?How, How? - To abuse Othello's ear / That [Cassio] is too familiar with his wife.?(I iii 396-39). Iago used his intelligence to think of a plan to frame Cassio and bring down Othello at the same time. Iago is also a confident man. Throughout the soliloquy Iago is confident ?That the moor ?Will be tenderly led by the nose./ As asses are ? (I iii 401- 404) and will be easily manipulated. However, if Iago had used his good character traits for good he would have been the hero of the play instead of Othello. On the whole, Shakespeare did an excellent job on setting the character traits for the male characters in the play: Roderigo was the ?snipe?; Cassio, the noble gentleman; Othello, the fallen ?noble Moor?; and Iago, the intelligent, confident and arrogant self-made villain. All the Characters in the play had some good traits but each of them had an appalling attribute that led to their downfall. Shakespeare

buy custom New Technology essay

buy custom New Technology essay Date of Submission Technology plays a major role to the intelligence of Americans. According to Bustos, intelligence is defined as a composite of general and specific abilities that characterize an individuals level of neurological functioning in the context of his or her effectively applied experience and manifested in his or her dynamic coping with the challenges for adjustment which makes in the day to day living. On the other hand, technology involves carrying out activities that enable the Americans to identify various opportunities that arise as a result of its use which enables them to be well prepared for the future. It therefore assists the Americans in their day to day activities by capturing important information that is related to technology which enables people to make more informed decisions thereby making them to go for better choices. Technology has enabled the Americans to become more intelligent in the past and in the present. This is evident where we find out that, the civil war that took place in America enhanced the marriage of technology with intelligence. In the past, the Americans were used to doing things their own way for example; they were not using some materials such as balloons in the civil wars which were being used by other countries. During this period the introduction of new technology enabled the Americans to identify other and better materials that were being used by other countries. Later on, new technology enabled the Americans to become more intelligence which led to the use of telegraphs which replaced the use of balloons. The introduction of telegraphs improved the operations during the civil war whereby information was passed easily and in a manner that way more secure. Technology has continued to improving the intelligence of Americans because it has helped them to become more intelligent by identifying better ways of doing of things and improving their systems that are used in defense. America is known to be a superpowe. This is because the rest of the world knows that they cannot beat the Americans in their activities especially the ones that are related to war. As a result, different countries have always considered Americas assistance in various activities that they carry out because they believe they are more intelligent as compared to other states and countries. New technology led to emergence of other activities that led to the marriage of technology and intelligence after the civil war. These activities facilitated photographic intelligence. This type of intelligence was used to photograph other countries coastal defenses where ships were used. The photographic intelligence was developed until it became a strategic effort that was used by the Americas Navy. It is therefore right to say that technology has enabled the Americans to acquire hostile intelligence. Stair and Reynolds note that this type of intelligence is determined by the degree of human collection networks which is facilitated by new technology which assists in satisfaction of the requirements (218). In the past, the Americans relied on the industrial sector for carrying out various tests, research, development and evaluation processes for them to develop weapons, establish communication and for intelligence development which shifted their hostile intelligence. Hostile intelligence has been used by the Americans to monitor their telecommunication channels for example the satellite links and other ground transmissions. Technology has also helped the Americans to acquire artificial intelligence which involves the ability to understand and use machines which facilitates production. This is has enabled the Americans to produce products in masses which has promoted economic growth. The use of machines also improves efficiency, effectiveness and even the production speed. Technology has also enabled the American students to acquire visual spatial intelligence. This is because the students use televisionss and other equipments such as computer-printers and copy machines that facilitate learning. Glandon defines visual-spatial intelligence as the ability on an individual to see the visual-spatial world accurately and express those images through painting, drawing, designing and sculpting. The use of advanced technology assists students in their thinking processes because it helps them to become more interactive and active in the learning process. The visual media has also been of great help to the people who have special needs. This is because it has been used to improve their intelligence and put them in a better position to handle life issues and challenges. An example of this is the use of IBMs speech viewer which is used by the people who have difficulties in speech which enables them to see their speaking pattern through the equipment. The IBMs speech viewer thereafter gives feedback which enables the students to know the areas that they need to improve on hence they are in a position to make appropriate changes. The visual spatial equipments motivate individuals by engaging them through the exercise of visual spatial intelligence which improves the accessibility of the subjects to individuals. Technology also supports people with other forms of disabilities thereby improving their intelligence. The use of computers helps individuals to identify their strengths and weaknesses in their interaction with technology. In conclusion, the use of technology is vital in any organization setup. This is because it helps individuals to acquire more skills, come of with new ideas and better ways of carrying out their activities. It also equips individuals with knowledge thereby enabling them to make better decisions in their lives and handle issues that affect them because they can reason, brainstorm and come up with solutions to issues affecting them. The Americans should therefore carry out research and development which improve their intelligence form time to time with the help of technology. Buy custom New Technology essay

How to Prepare Aqua Regia Acid Solution

How to Prepare Aqua Regia Acid Solution Aqua regia is an extremely corrosive mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid, used as an etchant, for some analytical chemistry procedures, and to refine gold. Aqua regia dissolves gold, platinum, and palladium, but not the other noble metals. Heres what you need to know to prepare aqua regia and use it safely.​​ Fast Facts: Aqua Regia Aqua regia is a corrosive acid mixture made by combining nitric acid and hydrochloric acid.The usual ratio of acids is 3 parts hydrochloric acid to 1 part nitric acid.When mixing the acids, it is important to add the nitric acid to the hydrochloric acid and not the other way around.Aqua regia is used to dissolve gold, platinum, and palladium.The acid mixture is unstable, so it is usually prepared in small amounts and used immediately. Reaction to Make Aqua Regia Here is what happens when nitric acid and hydrochloric acid are mixed: HNO3  (aq) 3HCl (aq) → NOCl (g) 2H2O (l) Cl2  (g) Over time, nitrosyl chloride (NOCl) will decompose into chlorine gas and nitric oxide (NO). Nitric acid auto-oxidizes into nitrogen dioxide (NO2): 2NOCl (g) → 2NO (g) Cl2  (g) 2NO (g) O2  (g) → 2NO2(g) Nitric acid (HNO3), hydrochloric acid (HCl), and aqua regia are strong acids. Chlorine (Cl2), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are toxic. Aqua Regia Safety Aqua regia preparation involves mixing strong acids. The reaction produces heat and evolves poisonous vapors, so its important to follow safety protocols when making and using this solution: Make and use aqua regia solution inside a fume hood, with the sash down as much as is practical to contain the vapors and protect against injury in case of splashing or glassware breakage.Prepare the minimum volume needed for your application.Make sure your glassware is clean. In particular, you dont want any organic contaminants because they can produce a vigorous or violent reaction. Avoid using any glassware that may be contaminated with a chemical containing a C-H bond. Do not use the finished solution on any material containing an organic.Wear safety goggles.Wear a lab coat.Wear gloves.If you get drops of any of the strong acids on your skin, wipe them off immediately and rinse with lots of water. If you spill acid on clothing, remove it immediately. In the  case of inhalation, move immediately to fresh air. Use the eyewash and seek emergency medical attention in case of eye contact. In the  case of ingestion, rinse the mouth with water and do not induce vomiting.Neutralize any spills with sodium bicarbonate or similar compound. Remember, its best to neutralize a  strong acid with a weak base and not a strong base. Prepare Aqua Regia Solution The usual molar ratio between concentrated  hydrochloric acid and concentrated  nitric acid is HCl:HNO3 of 3:1. Keep in mind, concentrated HCl is about 35%, while concentrated HNO3 is about 65%, so the volume ratio is usually 4 parts concentrated hydrochloric acid to 1 part concentrated nitric acid. A typical total final volume for most applications is only 10 milliliters. Its unusual to mix up a large volume of aqua regia.Add the nitric acid to the hydrochloric acid. Do not add hydrochloric to nitric!  The resulting solution with be a fuming red or yellow liquid. It will smell strongly of chlorine (although your fume hood should protect you from this).Dispose of leftover aqua regia by pouring it over a large amount of ice. This mixture may be neutralized with a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution or 10% sodium hydroxide. The neutralized solution may then be safely poured down the drain. The exception is used solution that contains heavy metals. A heavy metal-contaminated sol ution needs to be disposed of according to your local regulations. Once you have prepared aqua regia, it should be used when its fresh. Keep the solution in a cool location. Do not store the solution for an extended length of time because it becomes unstable. Never store stoppered aqua regia because pressure build-up could break the container. Another potent acid solution is called chemical piranha. If aqua regia isnt suitable for your needs, piranha solution may be what you need.

The Role of Safeguards in Strengthening Independence Essay - 1

The Role of Safeguards in Strengthening Independence - Essay Example While this is so, manipulation of the auditing bodies is completely inevitable as these bodies are appointed and paid by the client. However, it is possible to optimize independence by neutralizing the threats that put independence at stake. Some threats that affect independence include self interest threats, self review threat, management threats, advocacy threats, familiarity threats and intimidation threats. In this light, designing and deploying effective safeguards will increase the level of auditor independence to and ensure integrity in their work. This can be achieved through the mandatory auditor rotation, peer review, independent auditor appointing, free setting and formulation of effective audit committees. Mandatory Auditor Rotation Mandatory auditor rotation is the act of compelling all financial organizations to adopt and engage a different auditor each financial year to avoid the preference of a single auditor. Often, the management prefers to hire the same auditors every year to ensure that they are able to manipulate them to provide audit results that conform to the will of the management (Chung 2004, p. 8). This inclination of the audit results to the management's opinion undermines independence and reduces the integrity of the end results. In this view, mandatory auditor rotation will ensure that the familiarity and the management threats are suppressed and the audit bodies have a better chance to provide results that reflects the true image of the organization (Chung 2004, p. 8). According to Forbes (2013, Para. 2), the US House of Representatives voted for mandatory auditor rotation as one way of setting the audit bodies free from manipulation. Peer Review In a peer review audit, after the principal au ditor completes the audit process, other qualified professionals evaluate the work to verify its integrity and ensure that the financial statements are in accordance with those of the financial investors. This is a quality assurance process that aims at reducing any errors that may have occurred during the initial accounting process. In addition, this helps to reduce any form of data manipulation that may have been done intentionally under the influence of any independence threat (Allen and Siegel, 2002). Although this process may be quite expensive, it ensures that independence threats are neutralized and more credible results are attained. Independent Auditor appointing and free setting In this process, the role of appointing a professional auditor is withdrawn from the financial investor or client and dedicated to another body. The International Organization of the security commission (2002) states that the role of client in appointing the auditor provides a weakness in the indep endence of the audit results. Often, organizations will choose those auditors that they feel are easy to manipulate or threaten to ensure that they are able to cover up or pursue personal interests by imposing their own opinions on these professionals. To reduce this threat, an independent appointing body should be constituted to ensure that familiarity threats are eliminated by selecting professionals that are least affiliated to the firms. For instance, the government agencies can be chosen to appoint audit bodies for financial investors. Alternatively, shareholder committees should be formulated to take up this role of appointing a credible professional audit body that can provide credible results. In essence, giving this role to an

Production Planning using ERP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Production Planning using ERP - Essay Example However it is not widespread these days, it is probable to carry out material requirements planning tasks by hand as well (Waldner & Duffin, 1992, p. 47). MRP is a procedure that comprises a number of fundamental business tasks and information across the business encompassing entire levels in the bill of materials, sales forecasts, sales orders, and inventory. With the help of MRP it can be decided accurately what as well as when materials are necessary to manufacture the most timely as well as competitively priced services and products for customers (GreenTree, 2009) and (Qiang, Khong, San, Jianguo, & Choy, 2001). Beasley (2009) has stated that material requirements planning system is a material planning technique which appeared in 1970s by making use of information technology and computer technology. The major characteristics of material requirements planning are the formation of material necessities by means of exploding the bills of time-phasing and material of requirements by means of posted standard lead times (RockfordConsulting, 2009) and (Beasley, 2009). Material Requirements Planning II is acknowledged as the next generation of material requirements planning and it comprises the characteristics of closed loop system. Through this system the production planning takes the fundamental and main schedule that force the material plan which is the main input to the business or manufacturing capacity plan. Feedback loops proffers input to the elevated levels like a reiterative procedure (RockfordConsulting, 2009). In material requirements planning II operation, forecasts are linked as well a s synchronized for client orders, as well as supplied to the main/master scheduling module. When the master schedule is positioned, the material requirements planning procedure explodes the bills of material, usually on weekends or overnight, also builds up the material requirements. The requirements or materials feed the capacity planning

The Impact of Stalin on Russia and the Russian People Essay -- Papers

The Impact of Stalin on Russia and the Russian People Joseph Stalin was born to a poor family in the province of Georgia in 1879. Stalin's real surname was Djugasvili; he adopted the name 'Stalin' whilst in prison as he felt the translation 'Man of Steel' would help his image. Stalin joined the Bolshevik party as a young man and soon became an active member organizing bank raids to gain money for party funds; this led to Stalin's imprisonment a number of times. Stalin first met Lenin in December 1905 in Finland and was quite surprised to see him as an ordinary man unlike the person he had imagined. In 1918 Stalin was made Commissar for Nationalities of the Bolshevik party, then in 1922 he became General Secretary. This made Stalin very powerful, particularly when soon after his appointment Lenin was hospitalised to have 'Dora Kaplan's bullet' removed. The operation was unsuccessful and left Lenin paralysed down his right side. Joseph Stalin then became Lenin's mouthpiece. The initial effects of this was the rise of Stalin to become the leader of the Communist party in Russia, this then resulted in Stalin going down in History as a brutal dictator and mass murderer. In 1924 Lenin died and most people presumed Trotsky who had formed the Red Army and who had been Lenin's right hand man would become Lenin's successor. If Stalin had not been around Trotsky probably would have become the leader of the Communist party. Stalin was seen as dull by the intellectual elite of the Communist party and probably not very intelligent or well educated, however, they all made a fatal mistake in assuming that he was stupid. Stalin outmanoeuvred Trot... ... modernised Russia. The workers who did not offend the state were better off than under the reign of the tsar. Russia's military forces were benefiting from her industrial growth and whilst Stalin retained power there was a stable government. People gained better access to education and medical care. However millions had died in the famine after the failed experiment of Collectivisation. Stalin did make Russia into a great power but there was an enormous price to pay for it. Millions of people were starved or murdered under Stalin's brutal rule. Stalin led Russia with an iron fist. The long-term effects of this were the only reason people idolised Stalin was because they were too frightened to do anything else and Stalin's influence lived on through Krushtov and Brezhnev, they too would not allow any senior opposition.

Customer Value and Superior Performance Essay

Market Orientation, Customer Value, and Superior Performance Stanley F. Slater and John C Narver Thinking in terms of the market (not marketing) is essential in the highiy competitive arenas of today, o achieve superior performance, a business must develop and sustain competitive advantage. But where competitive advantage was once based on structural characteristics such as market power, economies of scale, or a broad product line, the emphasis today has shifted to capabilities that enable a business to consistently deliver superior value to its customers. This, after all, is the meaning of competitive advantage. Our recent research shows that a market-oriented culture provides a solid foundation for these value-creating capabilities. A business is market-oriented when its culture is systematically and entirely committed to the continuous creation of superior customer value. Specifically, this entails collecting and coordinating information on customers, competitors, and other significant market influencers (such as regulators and suppliers) to use in building that value (see Figure 1). The three major components of market orientation+ustomer orientation, competitor focus, and cross-functional coordination-are long-term in vision and profit-driven. Based on extensive interviews with managers and executives, Kohli and Jaworski (1990) conclude that market orientation provides â€Å"a unifying focus for the efforts and projects of individuals, thereby leading to superior performance. † A developing stream of empirical research has found a strong relation- T ship between market orientation and several measures of business performance, including profitability. customer retention, sales growth, and new product success. Customer Orientation The heart of a market orientation is its customer focus. To create superior value for buyers continuously requires that a seller understand a buyer’s entire value chain, not only as it is today but also as it evolves over time. Buyer value can be created at any point in the chain by making the buyer either more effective in its markets or more efficient in its operations. A market-oriented business understands the cost and revenue dynamics not only of its immediate target buyers but also of all markets beyond, for demand in the immediate and â€Å"upstream† markets is derived from the demand in the original â€Å"downstream† markets. Therefore, a market-driven business develops a comprehensive understanding of its customers’ business and how customers in the immediate and downstream markets perceive value. Employees of market-oriented businesses spend considerable time with their customers. Managers and employees throughout the business call on their customers or bring them into their own facilities in a constant search for new ways to satisfy their needs. For example, Ih Pont has developed a program called â€Å"Adopt a Customer† that encourages a blue-collar worker to visit a customer once a month, learn the customer’s needs, and be the customer representative on the factory floor. Market-driven businesses continuously monitor their customer commitment by making im- proved customer satisfaction an ongoing objective. To maintain the relationships that are critical to delivering superior customer value, they pay close attention to service, both before and after sales. Because of the importance of employees in this effort, these businesses take great care to recruit and retain the best people available and provide them with regular training. Some businesses even involve their customers in hiring, training, and developing contact people as well as in making motivation and reward system decisions. Involving customers in these key areas forges strong customer loyalty. ogy development. Top managers frequently discuss competitors’ strategies to develop a shared perspective on probable sources of competitive threats. A reason for the success of many Japanese companies is that they train managers to understand that competitive intelligence is part of everyone’s job. Using this information, marketdriven businesses often target opportunities for competitive advantage based on competitors’ weaknesses. In any case, they keep competitors from developing an advantage by responding rapidly or anticipating their actions. Interfunctionai Coordination Competitor Focus The third of the three core components of a marCreating superior customer value requires more ket orientation is the coordination of personnel than just focusing on customers. The key quesand other resources from throughout the comtions are which competitors, and what technolopany to create value for buyers. Any point in the gies, and whether target customers perceive them buyer’s value chain is an opportunity for a seller as alternate satisfiers. Superior value requires that to create value for the buyer firm. This means the seller identify and understand the principal that any individual in any function in a seller firm competitors’ short-term strengths and weaknesses can potentially contribute to value creation. As and long-term capabilities and strategies. For Michael Porter (1985) explains: example, a team of Marriott employees traveled the country for six months, staying in economy Every department, facility, branch office, hotels and collecting information about their and other organizational unit has a role facilities and services. Armed with this informathat must be defined and understood. All tion about potential competitors’ strengths and employees, regardless of their distance weaknesses, Marriott invested $500 million in a from the strategy formulation process, new hotel chain. Fairfield Inn, its budget market must recognize their role in helping a entry, achieved an occupancy rate 10 points firm achieve and sustain competitive higher than the industry average in one year. advantage. A seller should adopt a chess-game perspective of its current and principal potential competiTo accomplish this, effective companies have tors. Moreover, it should continuously examine developed horizontal structures that focus on the competitive threats they pose, inferring these building value, such as time-to-market for new threats from intent and value-creation capabilities. This is crucial information to a seller in developFigure 1 ing its contingency competitive Market Orientation strategies. In one case, HewlettPackard decided to accelerate the Interfunctional announcement of a new computer Information Assessment Acquisition peripheral after discovering through its travel agency that a rival had booked conference rooms around the country for a specific date. Knowing that this rival had a similar product in development, H-I-’ rushed its announcement and beat the competition to the market. In market-driven businesses, employees from all functions share information concerning competitors. For example, it is crucial for R&D to receive information acquired by the sales group about the pace of a competitor’s technol- Customer InformationCompetitor Information d Coordinated Superior Customer Value Other Market Information Market Orientation. Customer Value, and Superior Performance 23 products. They manage projects through small multifunctional teams that can move more quickly and easily than businesses that use the tradtional function-by-function, sequential approach. For example, cross-functional teams call on customers to identify additional opportunities for value creation. Engineering becomes involved during preliminary market research to help marketers understand what is feasible. Production is involved during product design to ensure that the product can be manufactured at a reasonable cost. Engineers and production people constantly discuss their capabilities and limitations with sales and marketing so capabilities can be leveraged and limitations avoided when promoting products or sewices. When all functions contribute to creating buyer value this way, more creativity is brought to bear on increasing effectiveness and efficiency for customers. Does This Mean the Marketing Department Is in Charge? Shapiro (1988) tells the anecdote of a company CEO explaining to top managers that because of increasing competition, the business needed to become more market-oriented. With that encouragement the marketing vice president jumped in, â€Å"I’ve been saying all along we need to be more marketing-oriented. Marketing has to be more involved in everything Ixcause we represent the customer and we have an integrated view of the company. † At that point the CEO snarled. â€Å"I said more ma&et-oriented. not 177arketin~-oriented. † That story is very epresentative of our experience with marketing orientation as well. A marketing orientation implies an emphasis on the marketing function that may not be appropriate. Customer value is created by core capabilities throughout the entire organization. Whereas Procter and Gamble’s competitive advantage may be based on :I core marketing capability, 3M’s advantag e is innovation: Canon’s is technology. This does not make 3M or Canon any less market-oriented than Procter and Gaml~le. Because market-driven behavior permeates multiple functions at 3M and Canon, they may be more market-oriented and less marketing-oriented. In our view, lvhen a business achieves the objective of developing a pervasive market orientation, the marketing function may become lessnot more-important, because all functions are dedicated to creating and delivering customer value. This is consistent with Regis McKenna’s (1991) notion that â€Å"Marketing is everything and everything is marketing. † Webster (1992) foresees a time when marketing specialists will become increasingly rare while marketing as a general management function becomes more important. This is the result of a general focus on cross- unctional cooperation, which causes internal functional boundaries to lose meaning. GE’s 1990 Annual Report puts it this way: In a boundary-less company, internal functions begin to blur. Engineering doesn’t design a product, then â€Å"hand it off† to manufacturing. They form a team, along with marketing and sales, finance, and the rest. Customer service? It’s not somebody’s job. It’s everybody’s job. However, for businesses that currently have an internal orientation on production or research and development, the marketing department may have to take the lead role in encouraging marketoriented thinking throughout the firm. As the primary boundary between the business and its markets, marketing is â€Å"management’s window on the world† (Holver and Garda 1985). Because it is dependent on other functional areas for the timely and efficient development, production, and delivery of the product, marketing is likely to be the first function that fully appreciates the benefits of market orientation. To maximize its effectiveness. marketing must demonstrate the benefits of market-driven behavior to top management and to other functions. Marketing may have a key role in the development and maintenance of a culture that is truly arket-oriented The crux is that the responsibility for superior buyer value is beyond that of any one function. Creating value for buyers is analogous to a symphony orchestra in which all members contribute according to a general plan and in which the contribution of each subgroup is tailored and integrated by a conductor-with a synergistic effect. A seller must draw upon a nd integrate effectively all of its human and other resources in an ongoing effort to create superior ,alue for buyers at a profit. This coordinated integration of company resources builds directly on both customer and competitor analysis.

Is Africa Overpopulated

Is Africa overpopulated? The answer by most measures is no. As of mid-2015, the continent as a whole had only 40 people per square mile. Asia, by comparison, had 142 people per square mile; Northern Europe had 60. Critics also point to the how many fewer resources Africas population consumes versus that of many Western countries and the United States in particular. Why then are so many organizations and governments worried about Africas growing population? Extremely Uneven Distribution As with so many things, one of the problems with discussions about Africa’s population problems is that people are citing facts about an incredibly diverse continent.  A 2010 study showed that 90% of Africa’s population was concentrated on 21% of the land. Much of that 90% are living in crowded urban cities and densely populated countries, like Rwanda, which has a population density of 471 people per square mile. The island countries of Mauritius and Mayotte are much higher than that with 627 and 640 respectively. This means that the other 10% of Africa’s population is spread across the remaining 79% of Africa’s land mass. Of course, not all of that 79% is suitable or desirable for habitation. The Sahara, for instance, covers millions of acres, and the lack of water and extreme temperatures makes the vast majority of it uninhabitable, which is part of why Western Sahara has two  people per square mile, and Libya and Mauritania have 4 people per square mile. In the southern part of the continent, Namibia and Botswana, which share the Kalahari desert, also have extremely low populations for their area. Low Rural Populations Even a low population might constitute overpopulation in a desert environment with scarce resources, but many of the people in Africa who are in areas of low population live in more moderate environments. These are the rural farmers, and their population density is very low as well. When the Zika  virus spread rapidly across South America and was linked to severe birth defects, many asked why the same effects had not already been noted in Africa, where the Zika virus had long been endemic. Researchers are still investigating the question, but one potential answer is that whereas the mosquito carrying it in South America preferred urban areas, the African mosquito vector was prevalent in rural areas. Even if the Zika virus in Africa had produced a significant rise in the birth defect microcephaly, it may have gone unnoticed in Africa’s rural districts because the low population density means that very few babies are born in these areas in comparison with South Americas populo us cities. Even a significant rise in the percent of children born in microcephaly in a rural area would produce too few cases to attract notice. Rapid Growth, Strained Infrastructures The real concern, though, is not Africas population densities, but the fact that it has the fastest growing population of the seven continents. In 2014, it had a population growth of 2.6%, and it has the highest percentage of people under 15 years (41%).    And this growth is most evident in those areas that are the most populated. The rapid growth strains African countries’ urban infrastructures – their transportation, housing, and public services - which in many cities are already underfunded and over-capacity. Climate Change   Another concern is the impact of this growth on resources. Africans do consume far fewer resources at present than Western countries, but development could change that. More to the point, Africas population growth and its reliance on agriculture and timber are compounding the enormous soil erosion problems facing many countries. Desertification and climate change are also forecasted to increase and they are compounding the food management issues created by urbanization and rapid population growth. In sum, Africa is not overpopulated, but it does have high population growth rates in comparison to other continents, and that growth is straining urban infrastructures and producing environmental problems that are compounded by climate change.   Sources Linard C, Gilbert M, Snow RW, Noor AM, Tatem AJ (2012) â€Å"Population Distribution, Settlement Patterns and Accessibility across Africa in 2010.† PLoS ONE 7(2): e31743. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031743