Careers Education System in Cyprus Thesis Proposal

Careers Education System in Cyprus - Thesis Proposal Example Career counselling in Cyprus serves to orient and enlighten the pupils with future employment opportunities and enable them to fully realize their aptitudes and aspirations so they can pursue the most suitable specialization. Having this in mind, the question now is what career guidance program will be suited for fulfilling the needs of the student population. As Cyprus already has a national career guidance program applied in its school system, the issue that seeks to be addressed is the changes that needs to be implemented for it not only to be effective but also responsive to the needs of the students, parent, school management and school staff. This research shall focus on the needed changes in the guidance system of Cyprus as determined by the contemporary social setting so as to be responsive to the needs of the students, educator and parents. To achieve this, the current system of the Cyprus guidance and career provision shall be discussed and analysed for inadequacies pointed out by relevant studies and research. Weak points shall be identified and solutions shall be formulated, again analysed against the backdrop of relevant research. It shall be born in mind of the very important principle pointed out by the National Centre for Guidance and Education (2004, foreword) which is the fact that guidance planning shall rely not only on the expertise of the guidance counsellor but also on the school management, staff, parents and students. In additional, there is a need to go beyond the school premises as the only setting for career guidance programs formulation as there is other equally important externalities that affect such provision directly or indirectly such as government policy and industry trends. The purpose, in summary, is to provide a holistic analysis of different factors affecting Cypriot Career Guidance services and be able to formulate strategies to address any incongruence and insufficiency so as to be responsive to the needs of the students, educators and parents. Review of Related Literature According to the NCGE (2004), career guidance refers to a range of learning experiences provided in a developmental sequence that assist students to make personal and social, educational and career choices about their lives and to make transitions consequent on these choices. A school guidance plan is seen to have these benefits: it provides direction by stating the objectives and priorities of the provision of guidance in a school; it enhances the provision of guidance by targeting the needs of students; it focuses the school's resources to where they are needed most; and lastly, it allows staff to contribute to developments and changes in a positive and collaborative way. Based on these facts, the school guidance system is said to be an integral part of the school plan. (NCGE, 2004) Guidance provision in schools involves a range of guidance and counselling activities and services (Department of Education and Science's Guidelines for Second Level Schools, 1998), relating to students' access to appropriate guidance for an overview on the importance of guidance. Guidance activities that assist students to make choices include: (a) counselling which deals with helping students to explore their thoughts and feelings, and the choices open to them; giving care and support to students learning to cope

Contemporary Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Contemporary Philosophy Essay On the first page of Being and Time, Heidegger describes the project in the following way: Our aim in the following treatise is to work out the question of the sense of being and to do so concretely. Heidegger claims that traditional ontology has prejudicially overlooked this question, dismissing it as overly general, indefinable, or obvious. Instead Heidegger proposes to understand being itself, as distinguished from any specific entities. †Being† is not something like a being. Being, Heidegger claims, is what determines beings as beings, that in terms of which beings are already understood. Heidegger is seeking to identify the criteria or conditions by which any specific entity can show up at all. If we grasp Being, we will clarify the meaning of being, or sense of being, whereby sense Heidegger means that in terms of which something becomes intelligible as something. According to Heidegger, as this sense of being precedes any notions of how or in what manner any particular being or beings exist, it is pre-conceptual, non-propositional, and hence pre-scientific. Thus, in Heideggers view, fundamental ontology would be an explanation of the understanding preceding any other way of knowing, such as the use of logic, theory, specific ontology or act of reflective thought. At the same time, there is no access to being other than via beings themselves—hence pursuing the question of being inevitably means asking about a being with regard to its being. Heidegger argues that a true understanding of being can only proceed by referring to particular beings, and that the best method of pursuing being must inevitably, he says, involve a kind of hermeneutic circle, that is as he explains in his critique of prior work in the field of hermeneutics, it must rely upon repetitive yet progressive acts of interpretation. Thus, Heidegger also conceptualized that being with time prior of having that time alone. This means that we can’t have time by simply telling that time exists but we also need to have that sense of being or the individual being to say that time really exist. Time in other hand, makes a history because of that sense of being which Heidegger rely on with his work of the Time and Being.

Supplier Relationship Importance And Supply Chain Management

Supplier Relationship Importance And Supply Chain Management In todays increasing economic environment, organisations are looking for new techniques to improve their competitive advantage. The focus of my research is in the area of purchasing which have now become a strategic function and a key reason in positioning competitively among all other competitors. The paper discusses that in recent years, the relationships between buyers and suppliers have been continuously receiving a considerable attention for effective operations within organisations. Traditionally, supplier-buyer relationships were regarded as adversarial, arms length transactions. However, the approach towards managing this relationship is changing and moving towards a more collaborative approach due to the fact that now suppliers are important sources to gain competitive advantage to operate in global markets in terms of their expertise, knowledge and ability of sharing risks. [Research paper Journal] The research aims to provide an understanding of supplier relationship management, factors of supplier evaluation and selection process, and the elements that contribute to the establishment of a productive customer/vendor relationships. Such a study is important for buyers to build and maintain effective relationships with their suppliers for consistent cost reductions while working together to mutually create revenues and other benefits. The paper recommends that this information may work as a reference guideline for buyers when initiating cooperative relationships with their supply sources resulting in advanced purchasing and strategic supply chain management in their organisation. The research method adopted in this dissertation is secondary exploring various business journals, business websites, textbooks and articles. Due to continuous new product developments, product innovations and increase in costs, managing supplier relationships will further become crucial in the near future. Due to this reason, therefore, this paper discusses the requirement of supplier relationships and how this shift in organisational strategy towards building relations has and will going to change the employees role, companys processes and organisational goals. The findings from this research provides an evidence of how companies have improved their supply chain operations through understanding the importance to develop effective supplier relationships as part of their core business activity for not only to achieve success within procurement department but also to successfully complete other supply chain cycle such as maintaining production flow at all times, planning accurately, inventory handling, logistical issues and achieving financial benefits. Examples included findings from large organisations of Hong Kong, Rolls Royce, GE, and Japanese firm Toyota. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this research is that every organisation must emphasise the need to actually develop world class suppliers that helps in building long-term relationships, reduction in costs, improved QCDS (quality, cost, delivery and service) criteria, improved customer service, mutual information sharing, reducing the NPI (new product inspection) costs and becoming world class organisation in the market. Introduction Nowadays, the majority of Organisations believe that their companys real assets are embedded in the quality of the relationships shared between the business and their stakeholders such as clients or customers, employees and suppliers. Developing and managing supplier relationship will be the main subject throughout this project. The objective of this research is to investigate the importance of the need to focus more on building collaborative relationships with their strategic suppliers by large manufacturing companies. With increase in globalisation and restructuring of several organisations, procurements role has changed focusing more towards costs, quality, flexibility and technology. [Herbig and OHara, 1995; Goh and Lau, 1999] In the previous years (traditionally), purchasing was considered as a secretarial function in which the buyer-supplier relationships were viewed as being adversarial and unsurprisingly results in a win/lose outcome. Before, business operations from manufacturing to assembling the finished goods were prepared in-house but now many organisations have moved towards a more combined approach where manufacturing firms have started concentrating more on their core competencies only and rest outsourcing nationally and internationally to satisfy their customer expectations. Organisations are going lean i.e. working towards continuous improvement, adopting just-in time and total quality management and eliminating wastes. This highlighted the requirement for most of the lean organisations to grow cooperative supplier-buyer relationships to achieve real productivity, improved design and quality that are unattainable unless the supplying partners assist in product innovation. Hence, several manufacturers have recognized their ability to become world class competitors based on establishing high levels of trust and cooperation among their suppliers. [They and Briggs (1994)] For example, highlighting the case of Rolls Royce, the engine manufacturer, that outsources 70% of their material from external supply chain and thats the reason Rolls Royce try to encourage their suppliers to work openly and jointly contributing to their performance. Rolls Royce belief in building good supplier relationships assures quality and competitiveness to their product offerings and helps to achieve customer standards. The growing face of domestic and global competition has led to understand the manufacturing companies to practise global sourcing which is a strategy to improve companies competitiveness in the international market through reducing costs, improving quality, increased exposure to universal technology, and improving delivery and reliability. A connection or association is known as a relationship. Relationships are said to be when individuals, organisations and internal or external groups to an enterprise interact. At recent times, relationship marketing describes long-term marketing strategy that emphasise on building and maintaining long-term relationships with customers rather than just focusing on one-time sale approach. At business level, relationship marketing is applied to variety of purchasing supplier relationships in the context of a broader network of interconnected purchasing, supplier and competitor organisations. Supplier relationship is defined as a systematic approach to supplier evaluation, selection and ongoing relationship management with the goal of cutting the costs of goods and services boosting profits? Supplier relationship management is a proactive approach of an ongoing business links to secure a competitive advantage within the organisation, focusing more on overall relationships between the supplier and the customer (buying organisation) rather than focusing on specific contracts. The idea is to develop trust and understanding of each others requirements and interests while providing assistance to each other. For example, Rolls Royce sends their experts to their sub-contract suppliers to improve their technology and performance standards. Such relationships bring profit and provide competitive advantage. [http://www.ogc.gov.uk/process_supplier_performance_and_contract_management_6368.asp] Today, most of the companies have realised that doing business jointly with their strategic suppliers will enhance their organisational ability to respond quickly to demand changes, focus on core business only and hence, results in implementing best practises. For example, Rolls Royce believes their supplier make very essential contribution to their business performance as over 70% of their manufacturing costs comes from external supply sources. focus more on their core competencies such as encouraging suppliers to work with transparency, openly and together to enhance continuous improvements. rather than Small to Medium size Enterprises and many local businesses use Transactional Purchasing whereas Large Enterprises use Relationship Purchasing to compete strongly in this economic climate. Transactional Purchasing Relationship purchasing Focus on short, discrete purchasing Focus on supplier retention Short-term orientation Long-term orientation Arms length Closeness Simple buyer-seller relationship Complicated, including internal relationships Emphasis on price, quality and delivery in the offered product No Innovation Emphasis on price, quality, delivery other factors, like innovative design as a collaborative exercise b/w purchaser and supplier Moderate supplier contacts High level of supplier contact with each contact being used to gain information strengthen the relationship Little sharing of information Significant sharing of information, including cost information and transparency Introducing Supply chain management The project is focused on process for choosing world class suppliers, importance of building supplier relationships, various supplier development approaches and process of negotiation required in purchasing that plays a vital role in todays supply chain management. Explaining what is supply chain management and its various elements that are necessary for the movement of goods and services within the business. Supply chain management consists of the intra and inter-organisational co-ordination of business functions that act as both transformative and support functions. This emphasises managing supply chain effectively must be a key activity within the businesses. [Mentzer et al. (2001)] Supply chain combines flow of materials, goods, and information (includes money) that floats within and between organisations linking with a variety of tangible and intangible facilitators, e.g. relationships, processes, activities and integrated information systems. Different views of supply chains are implemented in terms of a process when operations are emphasised, a logistical channel when emphasises marketing, a value chain whey looking at value added activities, and a demand chain when considering customer satisfaction. [Peck H. (2006)] Key elements of supply chain The key elements of supply chain are that links with each other by the movement of products. The following explains that supply chain starts and ends with the customer: [http://logistics.about.com/od/supplychainintroduction/a/into_scm.htm] Customer This is the customer that starts the value chain by deciding to make a purchase of a particular product for example, in an aviation industry procuring turbine blades or a fan shaft which is offered for sale by an organisation. At this stage, the customer contacts the sales team and places purchase order with a right quantity and delivered on a right date. If in case, this product needs manufacturing then the purchase order includes a requirement that must be fulfilling by the production facility. Planning The requirement for planning occurs when customers purchase order is received and processed with other existing orders. Production plans are created by the planning department to generate products to accomplish the customers order. If manufacturing requires, then raw materials are purchased to complete the process. Purchasing The list of materials e.g. raw materials and services is obtained which is required by the production department to complete the purchase order. Then purchasing team issues purchase orders to procure raw material from selected suppliers on their manufacturing site on a requisite date. Inventory The raw materials that are received from suppliers are checked for quality and moved into the warehouse. The invoice is received for the parts that are delivered by the supplier and then materials are stored until there is a demand from a production area. Production According to the production plan, the raw materials from the inventory are moved into the production area where product manufacturing takes place and creates the finished product. Once the parts are completed, they are again sent back to the warehouse and stored prior to delivery to the ultimate customer. Transportation Logistics department then finds the most efficient shipping method in order to achieve on-time delivery at the right date mentioned by the customer. After goods are received by the customer, an invoice is sent by the organisation (supplier) for delivered products. Outlining Case study: GE-Aviation In this project, there will be discussion on relationship purchasing within aviation industry considering GE Aviation as a case study. Suggesting methods of procurement and ways of maintaining GEs existing and new relationships with suppliers. On-line procurement is one of the major processes that I will be focusing in my project which GE adopts within their business that not only reduces the cost and saves time but also provides the right amount of communication with its suppliers at the right time. For example, GE-Aviation has its own department for RB211 jumbo jet engine where there are teams responsible for engineering, operations, purchasing and billing. The engine gets repaired and maintained on site. For RB211 engine type, GEs biggest supplier is Rolls Royce who is the OEMs and can provide material many times. Using SAP software within the whole organisation saves a huge amount of time for purchasing transactions and also makes easy for GE purchasing team to analyse demand raised and provide forecasting to their suppliers for each product by just looking into the system and working through its historical past. GE uses Relationship Purchasing in which they believe to maximise their revenue it is very important to have good supplier relationships. Some of the key approaches/strategies required before working towards building relationships are as follows: Selecting a world class supplier Companies that outsources internationally their materials opens the opportunity to identify potential suppliers, evaluate and reasonably short list them that result with the best supplier. This is considered as one of the most important process to perform by the procurement team that aims to choose the best supplier that ensures reliable supplies with low risk involved and maximises the overall value to the buyer. The following are the seven key steps involved in supplier evaluation and selection process: (Fig 7.5 Supplier evaluation and selection process [pg 163]) Recognise the need for supplier selection The first step is to recognise the actual need for selection of supplier. Purchasing team must work with new product development department in order to recognise future buying behaviours. Purchasing groups proactively select suppliers and anticipate demands rather than wait until a demand rises. The process to start this evaluation arises due to the following scenarios: Through new product development Poor performance received from existing internal and external suppliers Closure of the contract Procuring new tools and equipments Thinking to expand business into new markets or products Due to inadequate capacity of existing suppliers Throughout outsourcing and re-engineering analyses Deciding to reduce the size of the supply base Identifying the main sourcing requirements All the way through evaluation process, procurement team must keep an eye on what they are intended to do. Acquiring materials is not just important but also focus to meet specific requirements set by the other internal customer and indirectly by other supply chain members. For example, an aviation company like GE that makes engines has to buy all the machinery and spare parts along with buyers taking care to ensure a perfect quality products are delivered on time. Establishing sourcing strategy Developing purchasing strategies results in long term alliances that buyers look each time to compete in todays growing competition. Several vital strategic decisions that affect the selection of suppliers are: Picking single or multiple suppliers Creating short-term or long-term contracts Suppliers wish to develop working partnerships rather than arms length relations Working with suppliers that can provide support with product designs rather than those who cannot modify designs Having choice of local, domestic, foreign or global suppliers Therefore, sourcing strategies and policies must be carefully re-evaluated during supplier selection as requirements changes frequently in shorter times because of changing market conditions, changing consumer preferences and accustomed corporate goals. Identifying potential suppliers This stage identifies a list of suppliers that can actually have the capability to deliver of what is required by the customer. Buyers can use various numbers of sources to develop the preliminary list of supply sources by a quick search of company websites as well as long and detailed search for companies that can support with design and make specialised products. A rule of thumb must take place to determine the effort to be used into supplier selection by comparing the existing suppliers efficiency and strategic importance of an item because too much effort and expensive resources are wasted; too little effort and potential suppliers might be missed in this initial search criteria. Following are the sources of information widely-used to identify potential suppliers: Current suppliers Using existing suppliers who are already on the preferred list which are consistently meeting buyers requirements that reduces the purchasers time and effort in evaluation of supplier capabilities. But at the same time, existing supplier may not always provide the world class long term results and that is the reason why organisations scan information continuously to recognize potential new sources. Sales representatives and agents Marketing information received from these individuals can become a valuable source of information for new product offerings. Buyers keep this information in their file for future reference even if there is no urgent requirement for a supplier service. Internet searches Nowadays suppliers launch customer websites as part of their marketing approach and help the buyers with detailed information from a simple search of possible suppliers. Various other websites can also help in discovering and assessing important information like reviews, comparisons, comments, analyses and case studies of potential suppliers. Experience Experienced individuals working within purchasing team generally carries a wide knowledge about various capable suppliers as experienced buyers have already worked in a particular industry for many years and familiar with the main suppliers and their features. Internal sources Operating different business units within large organisations, each may have their own procurement department. Therefore, other units in the same organisation becomes a valuable source of information exchange to buyers through informal meetings, formal team sessions, an internal database, purchasing newsletters, etc. Limit suppliers in the selection pool At this stage, the procurement team must consolidate and analyse the information gathered on potential supply sources that helps them to make informed decisions. Getting a long list of suppliers is just the initial task but buyers then have to eliminate the weakest suppliers until they attain the strong shortlist. Therefore, the final supplier is then selected from this list. The following are the entry qualifiers features that influence buyers final decision [Howard (1998)]: Financial strength Appropriate business strategy Strong supportive management Proven manufacturing capability Design capability There are also many reasons that influence buyers decision to procure material on the following basis: Buying directly from the original manufacturer or distributor Original equipment manufacturers mostly offer lower prices that avoid the costs of wholesalers and retailers along with profit margins. The final choice must be considered on the basis of four factors including the size of the purchase, the manufacturers policies of direct sales, availability of storage at buyers facility, and the required additional services. Local, national, international and global suppliers Choosing international suppliers are more favourable as they usually offers the best price along with technical support but these have to be balanced by higher shipping costs, stocks, communication problems and common risks involved. Also, choosing local suppliers are considered more responsive to fluctuating demands, small deliveries and regular changes in purchase orders using Just-in-time method that not only supports local suppliers and allows the buyers to enhance local economy but also helps in building community goodwill. Large or small suppliers Usually buyers focus on suppliers capability to do the work rather than selecting on the basis of its size. But a buyer must keep in mind the unexpected increase in demands that can only be dealt by larger firms providing extra capacity to overcome these fluctuations. At the same time, in order to create a diversified supply base, buyers intentionally deal with smaller suppliers. Multiple or single sourcing When there are numerous different suppliers available then it becomes very difficult to make a decision of how many to use? Most of the organisations have chosen a trend to reduce the supply base that will benefit them accordingly. Determining method to select supplier This is the last stage where buyers are left with four to five suppliers in their shortlist and decide to evaluate these remaining organisations by looking at the alternatives in more detail for example, using supplier-provided information, supplier/customer visits, preferred list of suppliers and third-party information. Supplier-provided information Detailed information can be acquired through requesting price quotations. Information received from quotations are then used to understand the product description and supply which is then followed by another requests of a detailed cost breakdown of the price quoted by suppliers initially that must include the costs of labour, materials, overheads and profit as buyers also require operational details to finally evaluate them. Supplier visits One of the most efficient ways of getting an overall view of suppliers capabilities and performance is to visit suppliers facilities by a cross-functional team. Generally, these visits are expensive and time consuming so a buyer must balance their desire to gather as much information as possible confidentially. The following table shows important information points that a buyer must collect during its visit: Management capability Quality management Technology levels Planning and scheduling effectiveness Financial strength Personnel relations E-business capabilities Sophistication and efficiency of operations ISO certifications Skills, knowledge and experience of workforce Evidence of good management and housekeeping Types of inventory Nature of the goods inwards, stores and outwards areas Environmental practices Employee employment contracts Any significant changes planned or expected Contact details of key decision makers Use of preferred suppliers This is a list of suppliers created by the purchasers to reward their best suppliers that consistently meets their strict performance criteria. The list can also be used as an incentive to improve the existing suppliers performance and assessed accordingly. External or third-party information This consists of all the other information available about a potential supplier. For example, Total quality management is a system that insists suppliers to meet the quality standards as similar to buyers and generates a flow of related information throughout the supply chain. Selecting supplier and signing agreement This is the final step to choose the supplier followed by signing a contract. This includes different purchasing orders required for routine and major items, i.e. using standard purchase orders for routine items whereas, detailed negotiation is required to agree on specific details for major items that increases the complexity in the purchase order. Supplier evaluation criteria After considering various steps in selecting suppliers, the buying organisation must analyse the following questions with the supply organisation in order to progress outside their traditional purchasing relationships and possibilities for long term relationships with them: [Spekman (1988)] Has the supplier signified a dedication or willingness for a longer term relationship? Is the supplier enthusiastic to perform resources to develop this relationship? Is the supplier willing or able to participate at the early stage or throughout the stage of product design? Has supplier brought any unique service to the business? Is the supplier showed their interests or commitment towards customers problems and effectively solving them together? Is the supplier is interested in improvements and innovations in the operations? Is there any openness of sharing and exchanging information between both companies? How much knowledgeable is the supplier about the customers industry and business? Is the need for confidentially exchanged information taken seriously? Supplier management and development In todays time, the need to improve supplier performance is open in large or small organisations and for this reason; the purchasing teams must introduce a supplier relationship management (SRM) approach to achieve their organisational goals and success in global purchases of technology. Therefore, this calls for managing resources efficiently throughout supply chain collaborations, dedication required from supply managers, creating standardised best practices effectively and tools required for tracking and evaluating the results. The process must begin with effective supplier performance measures required to undertake strategic supply or procurement decisions for the organisation. [Minahan T. And Vigorose M. (2002)] Effective supplier performance measurements What to measure The factors important to assess the performance includes: Delivery performance The purchase orders that are sent to suppliers involves all the appropriate information on deliveries, with quantities, lead times and due dates. Therefore, it is buyers responsibility to check regularly that how well a supplier actually meets their expected conditions. Cost performance There are many ways that can measure cost performances for example, monitoring real price delivered by the supplier after adjusting increase in the prices (inflation). Quality performance In order to measure quality, the best criteria for buyers is to check that products are delivered in 100% perfect condition with no defects. This also includes comparing previous performances, latest performance with mutually agreed standards and various other figures. Other qualitative factors in supplier performance Factor Explanation Problem solving Suppliers attention to provide solutions to the problem Technical skills Comparing suppliers manufacturing capacity with other business suppliers Reporting progress Suppliers incomplete reporting of existing problems and identifying and communicating other potential problems Corrective action Suppliers timely response to requests for corrective actions and requests for changes Cost-reduction plans Suppliers enthusiasm to find techniques that helps to reduce the total purchase cost New-product development support Suppliers capability to reduce time and cost required for new product development Buyer/seller compatibility Rating subjectively how well a purchasing firm and a supplier work together Therefore, the above are various other factors that help the buyers to measure the suppliers technical ability and closeness of both parties relationships. Reporting frequency This includes preparing reports to provide a clear feedback to supplier on their performance. Purchasing management must communicate with their buyers to send these reports by reviewing them weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually which is then followed with more face-to-face team meeting that reviews their actual performance, discussion on targets, identify potential improvements, examine changes, and so on. Any problems (for example, supplier fails to meet the required standard) occurred during crucial time must be addressed with special reports and meetings to avoid any financial and operational problems. Use of measurement data Procurement staff can make use of data collected from its measurement systems in many ways including: Identifying suppliers which are not meeting the performance goals and highlighting areas that calls for improvements, followed by corrective actions taken to raise the performance to acceptable levels or else finding new suppliers. It helps in discovering excellent performances achieved from supplier which then helps identify preferred suppliers that qualify for long term alliances. It also recognises the worst performing suppliers that are continuously not improving and needs to be removed from supply base whereas offering more work to superior suppliers. Supplier measurement techniques There are three techniques discussed for evaluating performance of suppliers, each differs in their use, level of subjectivity, resources required and implementing cost. Categorical techniques These techniques considers a particular aspect of performance, for example lead time and classifies a set of categories for performance rating as excellent, good, fair or poor and therefore, helps buyers in deciding which supplier is good or bad. This is an easiest system of measurement, easy to use, comparatively inexpensive and also the most subjective. There are some drawbacks of using this technique as they do not provide a clear analysis of performance, slower than automated systems and regarded as the lowest of the three techniques in terms of reliability. Scoring model This method overcomes the subjectivity of categorical technique by calculating a weighted score for different performance categories. This is more reliable and requires reasonable implementation cost providing flexibility for buyers to change the categories included as well as weights allocated to each. Cost-based techniques -This technique is the most comprehensive that can help the buying organisation to look for the total cost required for doing business with a particular supplier by identifying the lowest purchase price is not always the lowest cost of acquisition. Hence, this technique works through collecting data from the purchasing firms information system, analysing the total cost including the additional occurring costs whenever a supplier fails to perform as per expected by the buyer. This can be calculated using formula of supplier performance index (SPI) SPI = Total pur Supplier Relationship Importance And Supply Chain Management Supplier Relationship Importance And Supply Chain Management In todays increasing economic environment, organisations are looking for new techniques to improve their competitive advantage. The focus of my research is in the area of purchasing which have now become a strategic function and a key reason in positioning competitively among all other competitors. The paper discusses that in recent years, the relationships between buyers and suppliers have been continuously receiving a considerable attention for effective operations within organisations. Traditionally, supplier-buyer relationships were regarded as adversarial, arms length transactions. However, the approach towards managing this relationship is changing and moving towards a more collaborative approach due to the fact that now suppliers are important sources to gain competitive advantage to operate in global markets in terms of their expertise, knowledge and ability of sharing risks. [Research paper Journal] The research aims to provide an understanding of supplier relationship management, factors of supplier evaluation and selection process, and the elements that contribute to the establishment of a productive customer/vendor relationships. Such a study is important for buyers to build and maintain effective relationships with their suppliers for consistent cost reductions while working together to mutually create revenues and other benefits. The paper recommends that this information may work as a reference guideline for buyers when initiating cooperative relationships with their supply sources resulting in advanced purchasing and strategic supply chain management in their organisation. The research method adopted in this dissertation is secondary exploring various business journals, business websites, textbooks and articles. Due to continuous new product developments, product innovations and increase in costs, managing supplier relationships will further become crucial in the near future. Due to this reason, therefore, this paper discusses the requirement of supplier relationships and how this shift in organisational strategy towards building relations has and will going to change the employees role, companys processes and organisational goals. The findings from this research provides an evidence of how companies have improved their supply chain operations through understanding the importance to develop effective supplier relationships as part of their core business activity for not only to achieve success within procurement department but also to successfully complete other supply chain cycle such as maintaining production flow at all times, planning accurately, inventory handling, logistical issues and achieving financial benefits. Examples included findings from large organisations of Hong Kong, Rolls Royce, GE, and Japanese firm Toyota. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this research is that every organisation must emphasise the need to actually develop world class suppliers that helps in building long-term relationships, reduction in costs, improved QCDS (quality, cost, delivery and service) criteria, improved customer service, mutual information sharing, reducing the NPI (new product inspection) costs and becoming world class organisation in the market. Introduction Nowadays, the majority of Organisations believe that their companys real assets are embedded in the quality of the relationships shared between the business and their stakeholders such as clients or customers, employees and suppliers. Developing and managing supplier relationship will be the main subject throughout this project. The objective of this research is to investigate the importance of the need to focus more on building collaborative relationships with their strategic suppliers by large manufacturing companies. With increase in globalisation and restructuring of several organisations, procurements role has changed focusing more towards costs, quality, flexibility and technology. [Herbig and OHara, 1995; Goh and Lau, 1999] In the previous years (traditionally), purchasing was considered as a secretarial function in which the buyer-supplier relationships were viewed as being adversarial and unsurprisingly results in a win/lose outcome. Before, business operations from manufacturing to assembling the finished goods were prepared in-house but now many organisations have moved towards a more combined approach where manufacturing firms have started concentrating more on their core competencies only and rest outsourcing nationally and internationally to satisfy their customer expectations. Organisations are going lean i.e. working towards continuous improvement, adopting just-in time and total quality management and eliminating wastes. This highlighted the requirement for most of the lean organisations to grow cooperative supplier-buyer relationships to achieve real productivity, improved design and quality that are unattainable unless the supplying partners assist in product innovation. Hence, several manufacturers have recognized their ability to become world class competitors based on establishing high levels of trust and cooperation among their suppliers. [They and Briggs (1994)] For example, highlighting the case of Rolls Royce, the engine manufacturer, that outsources 70% of their material from external supply chain and thats the reason Rolls Royce try to encourage their suppliers to work openly and jointly contributing to their performance. Rolls Royce belief in building good supplier relationships assures quality and competitiveness to their product offerings and helps to achieve customer standards. The growing face of domestic and global competition has led to understand the manufacturing companies to practise global sourcing which is a strategy to improve companies competitiveness in the international market through reducing costs, improving quality, increased exposure to universal technology, and improving delivery and reliability. A connection or association is known as a relationship. Relationships are said to be when individuals, organisations and internal or external groups to an enterprise interact. At recent times, relationship marketing describes long-term marketing strategy that emphasise on building and maintaining long-term relationships with customers rather than just focusing on one-time sale approach. At business level, relationship marketing is applied to variety of purchasing supplier relationships in the context of a broader network of interconnected purchasing, supplier and competitor organisations. Supplier relationship is defined as a systematic approach to supplier evaluation, selection and ongoing relationship management with the goal of cutting the costs of goods and services boosting profits? Supplier relationship management is a proactive approach of an ongoing business links to secure a competitive advantage within the organisation, focusing more on overall relationships between the supplier and the customer (buying organisation) rather than focusing on specific contracts. The idea is to develop trust and understanding of each others requirements and interests while providing assistance to each other. For example, Rolls Royce sends their experts to their sub-contract suppliers to improve their technology and performance standards. Such relationships bring profit and provide competitive advantage. [http://www.ogc.gov.uk/process_supplier_performance_and_contract_management_6368.asp] Today, most of the companies have realised that doing business jointly with their strategic suppliers will enhance their organisational ability to respond quickly to demand changes, focus on core business only and hence, results in implementing best practises. For example, Rolls Royce believes their supplier make very essential contribution to their business performance as over 70% of their manufacturing costs comes from external supply sources. focus more on their core competencies such as encouraging suppliers to work with transparency, openly and together to enhance continuous improvements. rather than Small to Medium size Enterprises and many local businesses use Transactional Purchasing whereas Large Enterprises use Relationship Purchasing to compete strongly in this economic climate. Transactional Purchasing Relationship purchasing Focus on short, discrete purchasing Focus on supplier retention Short-term orientation Long-term orientation Arms length Closeness Simple buyer-seller relationship Complicated, including internal relationships Emphasis on price, quality and delivery in the offered product No Innovation Emphasis on price, quality, delivery other factors, like innovative design as a collaborative exercise b/w purchaser and supplier Moderate supplier contacts High level of supplier contact with each contact being used to gain information strengthen the relationship Little sharing of information Significant sharing of information, including cost information and transparency Introducing Supply chain management The project is focused on process for choosing world class suppliers, importance of building supplier relationships, various supplier development approaches and process of negotiation required in purchasing that plays a vital role in todays supply chain management. Explaining what is supply chain management and its various elements that are necessary for the movement of goods and services within the business. Supply chain management consists of the intra and inter-organisational co-ordination of business functions that act as both transformative and support functions. This emphasises managing supply chain effectively must be a key activity within the businesses. [Mentzer et al. (2001)] Supply chain combines flow of materials, goods, and information (includes money) that floats within and between organisations linking with a variety of tangible and intangible facilitators, e.g. relationships, processes, activities and integrated information systems. Different views of supply chains are implemented in terms of a process when operations are emphasised, a logistical channel when emphasises marketing, a value chain whey looking at value added activities, and a demand chain when considering customer satisfaction. [Peck H. (2006)] Key elements of supply chain The key elements of supply chain are that links with each other by the movement of products. The following explains that supply chain starts and ends with the customer: [http://logistics.about.com/od/supplychainintroduction/a/into_scm.htm] Customer This is the customer that starts the value chain by deciding to make a purchase of a particular product for example, in an aviation industry procuring turbine blades or a fan shaft which is offered for sale by an organisation. At this stage, the customer contacts the sales team and places purchase order with a right quantity and delivered on a right date. If in case, this product needs manufacturing then the purchase order includes a requirement that must be fulfilling by the production facility. Planning The requirement for planning occurs when customers purchase order is received and processed with other existing orders. Production plans are created by the planning department to generate products to accomplish the customers order. If manufacturing requires, then raw materials are purchased to complete the process. Purchasing The list of materials e.g. raw materials and services is obtained which is required by the production department to complete the purchase order. Then purchasing team issues purchase orders to procure raw material from selected suppliers on their manufacturing site on a requisite date. Inventory The raw materials that are received from suppliers are checked for quality and moved into the warehouse. The invoice is received for the parts that are delivered by the supplier and then materials are stored until there is a demand from a production area. Production According to the production plan, the raw materials from the inventory are moved into the production area where product manufacturing takes place and creates the finished product. Once the parts are completed, they are again sent back to the warehouse and stored prior to delivery to the ultimate customer. Transportation Logistics department then finds the most efficient shipping method in order to achieve on-time delivery at the right date mentioned by the customer. After goods are received by the customer, an invoice is sent by the organisation (supplier) for delivered products. Outlining Case study: GE-Aviation In this project, there will be discussion on relationship purchasing within aviation industry considering GE Aviation as a case study. Suggesting methods of procurement and ways of maintaining GEs existing and new relationships with suppliers. On-line procurement is one of the major processes that I will be focusing in my project which GE adopts within their business that not only reduces the cost and saves time but also provides the right amount of communication with its suppliers at the right time. For example, GE-Aviation has its own department for RB211 jumbo jet engine where there are teams responsible for engineering, operations, purchasing and billing. The engine gets repaired and maintained on site. For RB211 engine type, GEs biggest supplier is Rolls Royce who is the OEMs and can provide material many times. Using SAP software within the whole organisation saves a huge amount of time for purchasing transactions and also makes easy for GE purchasing team to analyse demand raised and provide forecasting to their suppliers for each product by just looking into the system and working through its historical past. GE uses Relationship Purchasing in which they believe to maximise their revenue it is very important to have good supplier relationships. Some of the key approaches/strategies required before working towards building relationships are as follows: Selecting a world class supplier Companies that outsources internationally their materials opens the opportunity to identify potential suppliers, evaluate and reasonably short list them that result with the best supplier. This is considered as one of the most important process to perform by the procurement team that aims to choose the best supplier that ensures reliable supplies with low risk involved and maximises the overall value to the buyer. The following are the seven key steps involved in supplier evaluation and selection process: (Fig 7.5 Supplier evaluation and selection process [pg 163]) Recognise the need for supplier selection The first step is to recognise the actual need for selection of supplier. Purchasing team must work with new product development department in order to recognise future buying behaviours. Purchasing groups proactively select suppliers and anticipate demands rather than wait until a demand rises. The process to start this evaluation arises due to the following scenarios: Through new product development Poor performance received from existing internal and external suppliers Closure of the contract Procuring new tools and equipments Thinking to expand business into new markets or products Due to inadequate capacity of existing suppliers Throughout outsourcing and re-engineering analyses Deciding to reduce the size of the supply base Identifying the main sourcing requirements All the way through evaluation process, procurement team must keep an eye on what they are intended to do. Acquiring materials is not just important but also focus to meet specific requirements set by the other internal customer and indirectly by other supply chain members. For example, an aviation company like GE that makes engines has to buy all the machinery and spare parts along with buyers taking care to ensure a perfect quality products are delivered on time. Establishing sourcing strategy Developing purchasing strategies results in long term alliances that buyers look each time to compete in todays growing competition. Several vital strategic decisions that affect the selection of suppliers are: Picking single or multiple suppliers Creating short-term or long-term contracts Suppliers wish to develop working partnerships rather than arms length relations Working with suppliers that can provide support with product designs rather than those who cannot modify designs Having choice of local, domestic, foreign or global suppliers Therefore, sourcing strategies and policies must be carefully re-evaluated during supplier selection as requirements changes frequently in shorter times because of changing market conditions, changing consumer preferences and accustomed corporate goals. Identifying potential suppliers This stage identifies a list of suppliers that can actually have the capability to deliver of what is required by the customer. Buyers can use various numbers of sources to develop the preliminary list of supply sources by a quick search of company websites as well as long and detailed search for companies that can support with design and make specialised products. A rule of thumb must take place to determine the effort to be used into supplier selection by comparing the existing suppliers efficiency and strategic importance of an item because too much effort and expensive resources are wasted; too little effort and potential suppliers might be missed in this initial search criteria. Following are the sources of information widely-used to identify potential suppliers: Current suppliers Using existing suppliers who are already on the preferred list which are consistently meeting buyers requirements that reduces the purchasers time and effort in evaluation of supplier capabilities. But at the same time, existing supplier may not always provide the world class long term results and that is the reason why organisations scan information continuously to recognize potential new sources. Sales representatives and agents Marketing information received from these individuals can become a valuable source of information for new product offerings. Buyers keep this information in their file for future reference even if there is no urgent requirement for a supplier service. Internet searches Nowadays suppliers launch customer websites as part of their marketing approach and help the buyers with detailed information from a simple search of possible suppliers. Various other websites can also help in discovering and assessing important information like reviews, comparisons, comments, analyses and case studies of potential suppliers. Experience Experienced individuals working within purchasing team generally carries a wide knowledge about various capable suppliers as experienced buyers have already worked in a particular industry for many years and familiar with the main suppliers and their features. Internal sources Operating different business units within large organisations, each may have their own procurement department. Therefore, other units in the same organisation becomes a valuable source of information exchange to buyers through informal meetings, formal team sessions, an internal database, purchasing newsletters, etc. Limit suppliers in the selection pool At this stage, the procurement team must consolidate and analyse the information gathered on potential supply sources that helps them to make informed decisions. Getting a long list of suppliers is just the initial task but buyers then have to eliminate the weakest suppliers until they attain the strong shortlist. Therefore, the final supplier is then selected from this list. The following are the entry qualifiers features that influence buyers final decision [Howard (1998)]: Financial strength Appropriate business strategy Strong supportive management Proven manufacturing capability Design capability There are also many reasons that influence buyers decision to procure material on the following basis: Buying directly from the original manufacturer or distributor Original equipment manufacturers mostly offer lower prices that avoid the costs of wholesalers and retailers along with profit margins. The final choice must be considered on the basis of four factors including the size of the purchase, the manufacturers policies of direct sales, availability of storage at buyers facility, and the required additional services. Local, national, international and global suppliers Choosing international suppliers are more favourable as they usually offers the best price along with technical support but these have to be balanced by higher shipping costs, stocks, communication problems and common risks involved. Also, choosing local suppliers are considered more responsive to fluctuating demands, small deliveries and regular changes in purchase orders using Just-in-time method that not only supports local suppliers and allows the buyers to enhance local economy but also helps in building community goodwill. Large or small suppliers Usually buyers focus on suppliers capability to do the work rather than selecting on the basis of its size. But a buyer must keep in mind the unexpected increase in demands that can only be dealt by larger firms providing extra capacity to overcome these fluctuations. At the same time, in order to create a diversified supply base, buyers intentionally deal with smaller suppliers. Multiple or single sourcing When there are numerous different suppliers available then it becomes very difficult to make a decision of how many to use? Most of the organisations have chosen a trend to reduce the supply base that will benefit them accordingly. Determining method to select supplier This is the last stage where buyers are left with four to five suppliers in their shortlist and decide to evaluate these remaining organisations by looking at the alternatives in more detail for example, using supplier-provided information, supplier/customer visits, preferred list of suppliers and third-party information. Supplier-provided information Detailed information can be acquired through requesting price quotations. Information received from quotations are then used to understand the product description and supply which is then followed by another requests of a detailed cost breakdown of the price quoted by suppliers initially that must include the costs of labour, materials, overheads and profit as buyers also require operational details to finally evaluate them. Supplier visits One of the most efficient ways of getting an overall view of suppliers capabilities and performance is to visit suppliers facilities by a cross-functional team. Generally, these visits are expensive and time consuming so a buyer must balance their desire to gather as much information as possible confidentially. The following table shows important information points that a buyer must collect during its visit: Management capability Quality management Technology levels Planning and scheduling effectiveness Financial strength Personnel relations E-business capabilities Sophistication and efficiency of operations ISO certifications Skills, knowledge and experience of workforce Evidence of good management and housekeeping Types of inventory Nature of the goods inwards, stores and outwards areas Environmental practices Employee employment contracts Any significant changes planned or expected Contact details of key decision makers Use of preferred suppliers This is a list of suppliers created by the purchasers to reward their best suppliers that consistently meets their strict performance criteria. The list can also be used as an incentive to improve the existing suppliers performance and assessed accordingly. External or third-party information This consists of all the other information available about a potential supplier. For example, Total quality management is a system that insists suppliers to meet the quality standards as similar to buyers and generates a flow of related information throughout the supply chain. Selecting supplier and signing agreement This is the final step to choose the supplier followed by signing a contract. This includes different purchasing orders required for routine and major items, i.e. using standard purchase orders for routine items whereas, detailed negotiation is required to agree on specific details for major items that increases the complexity in the purchase order. Supplier evaluation criteria After considering various steps in selecting suppliers, the buying organisation must analyse the following questions with the supply organisation in order to progress outside their traditional purchasing relationships and possibilities for long term relationships with them: [Spekman (1988)] Has the supplier signified a dedication or willingness for a longer term relationship? Is the supplier enthusiastic to perform resources to develop this relationship? Is the supplier willing or able to participate at the early stage or throughout the stage of product design? Has supplier brought any unique service to the business? Is the supplier showed their interests or commitment towards customers problems and effectively solving them together? Is the supplier is interested in improvements and innovations in the operations? Is there any openness of sharing and exchanging information between both companies? How much knowledgeable is the supplier about the customers industry and business? Is the need for confidentially exchanged information taken seriously? Supplier management and development In todays time, the need to improve supplier performance is open in large or small organisations and for this reason; the purchasing teams must introduce a supplier relationship management (SRM) approach to achieve their organisational goals and success in global purchases of technology. Therefore, this calls for managing resources efficiently throughout supply chain collaborations, dedication required from supply managers, creating standardised best practices effectively and tools required for tracking and evaluating the results. The process must begin with effective supplier performance measures required to undertake strategic supply or procurement decisions for the organisation. [Minahan T. And Vigorose M. (2002)] Effective supplier performance measurements What to measure The factors important to assess the performance includes: Delivery performance The purchase orders that are sent to suppliers involves all the appropriate information on deliveries, with quantities, lead times and due dates. Therefore, it is buyers responsibility to check regularly that how well a supplier actually meets their expected conditions. Cost performance There are many ways that can measure cost performances for example, monitoring real price delivered by the supplier after adjusting increase in the prices (inflation). Quality performance In order to measure quality, the best criteria for buyers is to check that products are delivered in 100% perfect condition with no defects. This also includes comparing previous performances, latest performance with mutually agreed standards and various other figures. Other qualitative factors in supplier performance Factor Explanation Problem solving Suppliers attention to provide solutions to the problem Technical skills Comparing suppliers manufacturing capacity with other business suppliers Reporting progress Suppliers incomplete reporting of existing problems and identifying and communicating other potential problems Corrective action Suppliers timely response to requests for corrective actions and requests for changes Cost-reduction plans Suppliers enthusiasm to find techniques that helps to reduce the total purchase cost New-product development support Suppliers capability to reduce time and cost required for new product development Buyer/seller compatibility Rating subjectively how well a purchasing firm and a supplier work together Therefore, the above are various other factors that help the buyers to measure the suppliers technical ability and closeness of both parties relationships. Reporting frequency This includes preparing reports to provide a clear feedback to supplier on their performance. Purchasing management must communicate with their buyers to send these reports by reviewing them weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually which is then followed with more face-to-face team meeting that reviews their actual performance, discussion on targets, identify potential improvements, examine changes, and so on. Any problems (for example, supplier fails to meet the required standard) occurred during crucial time must be addressed with special reports and meetings to avoid any financial and operational problems. Use of measurement data Procurement staff can make use of data collected from its measurement systems in many ways including: Identifying suppliers which are not meeting the performance goals and highlighting areas that calls for improvements, followed by corrective actions taken to raise the performance to acceptable levels or else finding new suppliers. It helps in discovering excellent performances achieved from supplier which then helps identify preferred suppliers that qualify for long term alliances. It also recognises the worst performing suppliers that are continuously not improving and needs to be removed from supply base whereas offering more work to superior suppliers. Supplier measurement techniques There are three techniques discussed for evaluating performance of suppliers, each differs in their use, level of subjectivity, resources required and implementing cost. Categorical techniques These techniques considers a particular aspect of performance, for example lead time and classifies a set of categories for performance rating as excellent, good, fair or poor and therefore, helps buyers in deciding which supplier is good or bad. This is an easiest system of measurement, easy to use, comparatively inexpensive and also the most subjective. There are some drawbacks of using this technique as they do not provide a clear analysis of performance, slower than automated systems and regarded as the lowest of the three techniques in terms of reliability. Scoring model This method overcomes the subjectivity of categorical technique by calculating a weighted score for different performance categories. This is more reliable and requires reasonable implementation cost providing flexibility for buyers to change the categories included as well as weights allocated to each. Cost-based techniques -This technique is the most comprehensive that can help the buying organisation to look for the total cost required for doing business with a particular supplier by identifying the lowest purchase price is not always the lowest cost of acquisition. Hence, this technique works through collecting data from the purchasing firms information system, analysing the total cost including the additional occurring costs whenever a supplier fails to perform as per expected by the buyer. This can be calculated using formula of supplier performance index (SPI) SPI = Total pur

Role of Calculators in Schools :: essays research papers

For adults, math is used in many ways, from configuring sales tax and tips to figuring gas mileage and averages; but for children it sometimes seems as if the only time for math is for homework and tests. The initial purpose for schools in this department is for the students to see and understand the practical uses of it, however it is controversial that the use of teaching with calculators changes this idea. In the short essay Ditch the Calculators, the author Diane Hunsaker insinuates that the overuse of calculators in math class defeats the ultimate goal of education: expanding the mind and increasing students abilities to function as contributing members of society. As society enters the twenty-first century it seems that teaching and learning has an entirely new perspective. It seems as though the new technologies that are introduced in school, computers and calculators, are not producing the same effects that learning without them once had. As a college level student I feel th at, from my own experience, I am an advanced math student because the rules and principles were drilled into my memory and not that of a calculator at a young age.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Depending on one’s perspective, the use of calculators at the elementary school level is seen as either the solution to or cause of many of the problems affecting math education in this country. It has been known for a long time that early experience is able to shape the brain and behavior. In the stages of learning at a young age, to fully grasp a concept, a child must understand the principles how and why in order to apply any significance or relation to anything. This particularly applies to such a subject as that of math. Diane Hunsaker expresses her view as well in the following quote: â€Å"Math is as much about knowing why the rules work as knowing what the rules are† (668). It seems that Hunsaker is saying that before rules can be applied, there must be a foundation for them. This concept for math, and in general, trains the mind by exercising thinking skills. It is apparent that she agrees by examining her direct statement, â€Å"Math train s the mind.† By this she also goes on to say, that by the ability to exercise these particular thinking skills that students are learning to think logically and rationally. I must say, that having the ability to think logically and rationionally in controlled situations has allowed me to progress outside the classroom.

A Day When Everything Went Worng Essay

I just cannot think myself lucky when a day of my life goes totally wrong. Recently after starting university a day made me totally upset and frustrated. It was a normal day but my mobile did not give any alarm in the morning so I woke up late. While I was in hurry for university my mother told me that our driver did not come today so I had to go alone. I lived in Dhanmondi and the university was in Bashundhara so I had to take a CNG for university. As soon as I reached Nabisco the CNG had stopped. I asked what happened to the CNG driver. He answered me that the gas was finished and he had to refill it now. As I was late before I just came out from the CNG and hired another one. Finally I reached to the university but it was 10 minutes late. I saw that everyone was writing in the class. When I asked what was going on, they replied me that miss was taking a surprise test. My heart was biting fast but when I heard about the test it started biting faster. After the class I went to the cafe for a cold drink but I found that I had only 50 taka with me. See more: Defining research problem and setting objectives Essay Then I remembered that in harry I forget to take money from mother for CNG rent and I already paid 180 taka to the CNG when I came here. So, I had no money for food at the same time no money for further CNG rent. I had to take bus for home but I never had a bus ride alone before. After asking some of my friends I got an idea about the bus counter here. Then I went there and took a bus. When I heard the bus conductor was screaming ‘New Market’, I found that I was in the wrong bus. This bus was in new market but I should take a bus which had a stoppage in Kolabagan. Since I had nothing to do, I had to get off in new market and took a rickshaw. When finally I was in home it was 6 pm. As long as I met with my mom I saw she was getting ready for going out and she was looking tensed. I asked her what happened. She answered me that one of my aunts was in hospital and maybe she had cancer. I just suddenly became blank. What should I do now? After a while I decided to go with my mom. We were there in the hospital till late night. When I reached home I thought about the whole day and marked it as a totally wrong day of my life.

Can ‘Death of a Salesman’ be Described as a Tragedy Essay

Aristotle first defined a tragedy in literature as a story where the main character is a hero – a very brilliant person – except that he has one major flaw which leads to his downfall, namely, death. Shakespeare then expanded on this and produced his world famous tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Hamlet. In all of these plays, the main character is a person of high social standing and exceptionally talented, however each has a very serious flaw as well. For example, Romeo is of Italian nobility and is very efficient with a sword and dagger – but he is a fool for love and falls in love with Juliet as soon as he sees her, despite already being in love with Rosaline beforehand. That is the flaw which eventually leads to his demise. This definition has over time become the benchmark for a tragedy. Arthur Miller was an immigrant to the USA and can be seen as the opposite of Willy. Willy, however, is a proud born and bred American and holds to heart the very fundamentals of the American Dream – a very capitalistic ethos. Miller, on the other hand, had communist beliefs which eventually landed him in trouble with the government. Both Death of a Salesman and another of Miller’s plays, All My Sons both have the foundations of the American Dream and also both secretly criticize the capitalistic belief. In Death of a Salesman, Willy dies just trying to live the American Dream and he never gives up on it – an indication of his extreme optimism in all things – despite how blatantly unrealistic achieving the American Dream was for him. The characterisation of Willy Loman is also quite interesting. He strives to be like a very old, successful salesman he met that worked from home, who when he died, numerous people he knew went to his funeral. He is someone everyone can relate to and make us love him, but he also has qualities that we all loathe and make us hate him at times. This is purposefully done by Miller to only make it more shocking when Willy dies in the end – despite it is made quite obvious to readers it is inevitable. His name is also carefully planned out by Miller – Willy is an average name and nothing special, but his surname is a clear reference to what he is. ‘Loman’ – ‘low man’ is clearly meant to show how ordinary he is, despite just how much Willy strives to be the opposite. Willy’s main character flaw is that he is just too proud. For example, when he is offered a job by Charley – his neighbour – after being fired, Willy straight out refuses and is quite offended as he sees it as giving up and asking for help. This is shown by when Willy says, â€Å"I don’t want your goddam job! After Charley politely offers him a good one. Willy’s strong beliefs in the American Dream are also shown when he says, â€Å"A man can’t go out the way he came in, Ben, a man has to add up to something†, by ‘coming in’, Willy means when a man is born and by â€Å"going out†, Willy means when a man dies. Also, â€Å"adding up to something† must mean being rich in Willy’s context. This follows the American Dream in that a man makes something of himself from nothing. Willy’s greatest fear has always been dying with nothing – exactly what happens in the end. A use of dramatic irony by Miller, Willy willingly fulfils his own utmost fear. That quotation is also foreshadowing Willy’s death – another intentional device by Miller. Besides his pride, another flaw of Willy is very poor and deteriorating mental health and he is subject to random flashbacks and hallucinations – often of his dead and once very successful older brother, Ben, someone Willy idolizes. An example of one of his hallucinations is when Willy says, â€Å"Ben, I’ve been waiting for so long†, despite Ben being dead at this point. The play is also cleverly structured by Miller. Music – for example a flute – plays in the background during some scenes for an added dramatic effect. This flute is heard in both the opening and ending scene. The play also makes heavy use of flashbacks, but sometimes a flashback scene plays on stage at the same time as the scene set in the present. This technique is seen in Act Two, while Willy is in the restaurant with Biff and Happy. On the whole, the structure is skilfully used to make the storyline more immersive to the audience. Although, it does not have the same level of effect when being read from a book. The historical context of the play greatly influences both the themes and language of the play greatly. Death of a Salesman is set during the late 1940s. This time setting influences both the characters and the audience, as the play first premiered on the tenth of February, 1949 – the life of Willy Loman was something Americans going to watch the play at that time could relate to. Sixty years on, more modern audiences will react differently as times have changed and the idea of the American Dream isn’t as dominant anymore. Besides the American Dream, other common themes can be found in the play. Betrayal is quite clear as Willy betrays Linda by cheating on her with the Woman, and Willy also sees the way Biff rebels against him as betrayal and as Willy himself says, â€Å"Spite! â€Å". Another major theme would be one man – Willy in this case – being kept back from his dreams by society. In addition, the language used by characters matches the historical setting and context. In performances of the play, characters do not usually have the New Yorker accent you would expect, but they talk like a New Yorker. For example, words like ‘gee’, and rhetorically asking the person they are talking to if they ‘hear this? ‘On the subject of whether we can define Death of a Salesman as a tragedy or not is not a simple question as there is substantial evidence for both sides of the argument. To begin with, those who say that it is a tragedy may argue that it ends with the death of Willy, the main character, just like other tragedies. Moreover, Willy has explicit flaws which slowly lead to his downfall throughout the play. Finally, Willy may not ever do anything that can be deemed ‘heroic’, but within his own household he is very much a figure that is looked up to – so it may still be a tragedy, albeit on a less grand scale. In contrast, you could argue that it is not a tragedy as all other characters from Shakespeare’s tragedies were people of high standing – whereas Willy is not. Additionally, Willy is not at all a hero by any definition – in fact he is in some ways a bad person as will be shown. Finally, Shakespeare’s heroes have quite dramatic flaws, whereas Willy has the same flaws as every ordinary human being. These are quite convincing arguments to why it isn’t a tragedy. We will be looking at each argument more in-depth. The play follows the tragedies of Shakespeare in that the main character dies in the end. Willy commits suicide by crashing his car so that his family would get the life insurance money of $20,000 and make life easier for them. This is of course a noble reason to kill oneself as it is very selfless. However, it would make Willy a hypocrite as killing himself is also him giving up – something he condemned. Nevertheless, his intentions were admirable and this could make him seen as a hero since he willingly died for a selfless cause.

Free Essays on History And Influence Of The 17th-18th Century Colonization Period In

History And Influence of The 17th-18th Century Colonization Period in â€Å"Robinson Crusoe† by Daniel Defoe. I would like to comment about how Crusoe lived with himself after he became a master in a hierarchy where he was once a slave, for I found myself confused with the point that author was trying to make. While reading the biographical information on Defoe, I learned that he defended the slave trade in periodical essays and reviews and owned stock in the Royal African Company . The fact that Crusoe, a white man, is taken as a slave is very ironic; maybe that is what Defoe was trying to convey to the reader. However, if the author’s are with the slave trade, as his stock options suggest, then maybe it is not that surprising. â€Å"At last he lays his head flat upon the ground , close to my foot, and sets my other foot upon his head, as he had done before, and after this, made all the sign to me of subjugation, servitude and submission imaginable, to let me know how he would serve me as long as he lived,† – Robinson Crusoe. It’s this kind of portrayal – barely discernible from European colonial rhetoric and ignorance – that encouraged and justified the murderous â€Å"entrepreneurship† by European colonizers. Crusoe’s fictionalized ingenuity in the science of agriculture adds to the plantation theme. For years he is by himself, and he bides his time with dreaming about the possibility of future slaves. The subtle references to the Moors and the physical discription of Friday makes it obvious that one’s ethnic origin is of great importance in this story. Crusoe does not define Friday as a black man, but rather as a man with a â€Å"not quite black, but very twany; and yet not of an ugly yellow nauseous twany†¦but a bright kind of dun olive Colour†¦ .† Crusoe immediately begins his common theme of domination, by being so arrogant as to name the man Friday and teach him his name (together with ‘Master’ and ... Free Essays on History And Influence Of The 17th-18th Century Colonization Period In Free Essays on History And Influence Of The 17th-18th Century Colonization Period In History And Influence of The 17th-18th Century Colonization Period in â€Å"Robinson Crusoe† by Daniel Defoe. I would like to comment about how Crusoe lived with himself after he became a master in a hierarchy where he was once a slave, for I found myself confused with the point that author was trying to make. While reading the biographical information on Defoe, I learned that he defended the slave trade in periodical essays and reviews and owned stock in the Royal African Company . The fact that Crusoe, a white man, is taken as a slave is very ironic; maybe that is what Defoe was trying to convey to the reader. However, if the author’s are with the slave trade, as his stock options suggest, then maybe it is not that surprising. â€Å"At last he lays his head flat upon the ground , close to my foot, and sets my other foot upon his head, as he had done before, and after this, made all the sign to me of subjugation, servitude and submission imaginable, to let me know how he would serve me as long as he lived,† – Robinson Crusoe. It’s this kind of portrayal – barely discernible from European colonial rhetoric and ignorance – that encouraged and justified the murderous â€Å"entrepreneurship† by European colonizers. Crusoe’s fictionalized ingenuity in the science of agriculture adds to the plantation theme. For years he is by himself, and he bides his time with dreaming about the possibility of future slaves. The subtle references to the Moors and the physical discription of Friday makes it obvious that one’s ethnic origin is of great importance in this story. Crusoe does not define Friday as a black man, but rather as a man with a â€Å"not quite black, but very twany; and yet not of an ugly yellow nauseous twany†¦but a bright kind of dun olive Colour†¦ .† Crusoe immediately begins his common theme of domination, by being so arrogant as to name the man Friday and teach him his name (together with ‘Master’ and ...

The Golden Age of Microbiology essays

The Golden Age of Microbiology essays What would the human race be like if we did not have some of todays modern medicines? It would probably be just like it was 200 years ago. Doctors claiming to know cures forsome of the worlds most infectious diseases, and then treating them in the some of themost inhuman ways. People would be dieing from infections left and right. And even worse, we would not know how to cure most of their diseases. The world populationwould probably be half the size that it is today. But, thanks to the Golden Age ofMicrobiology, and the people who tried to find cures and such, we now have ways to over come most of the worlds diseases. The Golden Age was only 20 years long, from 1880 to about 1900. It was the time when about three scientists helped to better sciences technologies and cures. The first of these three was Pasteur. Some of his contributions to science were the creation of silk and a cure for rabies. But one of the most important of all of his findings was the idea of pasteurization. Around the time of 1870, there was a problem with the making of beer and wine. The companies could not figure out a way to keep their products from becoming sour. Pasteur then came up with the idea of adding many different elements to the products and then refrigerating them for a long period of time. Thus came the idea of The second out of the three was Robert Koch. Koch was mostly into the study of microbiology and bacteriology. Most of his researching was done under the microscope, but he realized that he could not totally determine what a certain bacteria classified as. He discovered that if you were to add a stain to slide that you would be able to make out the bacteria about 10x better. Koch also noticed that sometimes you cant always find bacteria in just one sample of something that is contaminated. So, he came up with the ...

A critical analysis of schools of strategic management Essay

A critical analysis of schools of strategic management - Essay Example Strategic management is the way of finding gaps in the current performance of the organization and to design, formulate and implement new steps in order to fill these gaps and to align the organizational functions with the pre settled objectives. It is the method of aligning all the activities being undertaken in the organization such as management, marketing, research and development and Computer information system in a prescribed way to achieve the goals of the organization.In order to effectively undertake the process of strategic planning and implementation different thinkers have presented theories, which have been divide into different schools of thoughts. The paper undertakes a comprehensive critical analysis of the underlying assumptions, perspectives and paradigmatic stance taken in these models. The chosen schools of thoughts are:The first step namely the strategy formulation involves the development of the business mission, evaluation of the opportunities and threats faced by the business organization in the business, by using tools such as SWOT analysis, examining the strengths and weaknesses of the business, determining the long term objectives of the business and designing the new strategies to eke in the process of achieving the new targets. It also include the processes to determine the investment direction, the business markets to be addressed, extension of the operations of the business, limitations faced by the business in order to undertake the business activities. ... The classic models for developing strategy, known as the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis and called the "Design School Model" by Mintzberg et al. (1998) has been presented in the proceeding section. SWOT Analysis: So strategies are SO, WO, ST, and WT Strategies to take advantage of external opportunities. All managers would like their organizations to be in position where internal strengths can be used to take advantage of external trends and events. Organizations generally will pursue WO, ST, or WT Strategies in order to get into a situation where they can apply SO Strategies. When a firm has major weaknesses, it will strive to overcome them and make them strengths. When an organization faces major threats, it will seek to avoid them in order to concentrate on opportunities. As indicated in the Information Technology Perspective, immense opportunities are available to many firms today from wireless communication advances in technology. (David, 180) WO Strategies aim at improving internal weaknesses by taking advantage of external opportunities. Sometimes key external opportunities exist, but a firm has internal weaknesses that prevent it from exploiting those opportunities. For example, there may be a high demand for electronic devices to control the amount and timing of fuel injection in automobile engines (opportunity), but a certain auto parts manufacturer may lack the technology required for producing these devices (weakness). One possible WO Strategy would be to acquire this technology by forming a joint venture with a firm having competency in this area. An alternative WO Strategy would be to hire and train people with the required technical capabilities (David, 180). ST Strategies use

A Case Study of Shangri-La Hotels Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

A Case Study of Shangri-La Hotels - Essay Example Terrorism is a major threat for Shangri-La operations. 1.2 Economical China's economic environment is experiencing growth. The country's growth is due to the success of Beijing's stimulus package. Government relaxation of travel restrictions and the rising urban incomes makes the country an attractive market for the hotel industry. Chinese domestic and outbound travel has increased in Europe and the US economy is experiencing financial crisis and economic downturn. Unemployment is high and people are tightening their belts. Fiscal stimulus package which was recently approved is needed to contain the deteriorating public finances. Performance of the auto industry, which is the country's major employer, is currently experiencing setbacks. An economic recession and high unemployment state will greatly affect the performance of Shangri-La hotels in the region. 1.3 Social/ Cultural The Beijing Olympics of 2008 is a major influence of the country's foreign relations. It creates camaraderie among nations and puts China in the centre of event. The Olympics boosts the culture the Chinese people as well as opens up the country to the rest of the world. Although the standard of living in China is not equal between rural and urban regions, investments in the cityscapes have created urban migration and rising income. Residents in Europe enjoy a standard of living comparable to most develop countries which is due to decades of solid economic growth. The economic growth is funnelled into the development of a stable social structure. Governments are addressing the challenges posed by an aging population. The establishment of European Union creates a single market that brings in younger, working age population. US citizens have a high standard of living and greater... This essay discusses the success of Shangri-La in Asia, that can be an effective formula for successful ventures in different parts of the world. As a company that aims at competing at a global scale, Shangri-La can be a leading rival of major players in the industry. The company has more opportunities to create a diverse range of products and services. The Spa business can become more profitable as the population of develop countries age and as people become more health conscious. The researcher aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of various business, marketing and human resourcement strategies, that led Shangri-La business to success and provide some recommendations on the topic. As for the corporate level, it is recommended by the researcher that the company would exploit the growing market of China through additional projects on regions with high economic activity and tourist traffic. China is expected to grow in the years to come and the demand for hotels would also grow. T he European and American market is experiencing economic downturn. It is not recommended to focus the organisation’s expansion in these areas because of its economic uncertainty and lack of attractiveness. The researcher then concluds that a market presence can be the primary aim for projects existing in the area. It is also recommended that the company would consider backward integration strategies that would acquire travel agencies in order to boost the company’s capabilities of attracting more guests.

Comparsion Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparsion - Term Paper Example â€Å"Trifles† analyzes the dark shades underlying the married life of John and Minnie Wright and the attitude of Henderson, Hale and Peters to Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale. Torvald’s attitude towards Nora in â€Å"A Doll’s House† resembles the men’s attitude towards the women in â€Å"Trifles† and gender assumptions contribute to the conflict in the two plays. Torvald’s attitude towards Nora is that of the benevolent patriarch. She is his â€Å"little lark,† â€Å"squirrel,† and â€Å"little featherhead!† (Ibsen, Act I). He considers her to be a â€Å"helpless little mortal† (Act II), who is so lacking in sense that she cannot even take care of her teeth: he forbids her to eat macaroons. He expects obedience from her and complacently responds â€Å"No, I am sure of that,† when Nora declares â€Å"I should not think of going against your wishes† (I). Nora is a child, who needs to be guided and wat ched over. When he catches her in a little lie, he actually â€Å"Shakes his finger at her† in admonishment (I). He agrees with Nora when she says, â€Å"Everything I think of seems so silly and insignificant† (I). He takes great pleasure in criticizing and correcting her dance. Torvald attitude is very sanctimonious. When Nora says, â€Å"Everything you do is quite right, Torvald,† he replies, â€Å"Now my little skylark is speaking reasonably† (III). Her criticism of his attitude towards Krogstad as â€Å"narrow-minded,† inflames him and he deliberately dismisses Krogstad immediately. He treats Nora as a â€Å"doll-wife† (III) whose priority is to amuse him with tricks of â€Å"dancing and dressing-up and reciting† (I). Torvald criticizes her money-sense by saying, â€Å"That is like a woman† (I). Torvald treats Nora as a parent would an indulged, irresponsible and helpless child. Torvald’s attitude toward his wife is reflected in the attitude of the men towards the women in â€Å"Trifles.† The men are extremely condescending in their treatment of Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale in the play. When Minnie Wright’s concern over her preserves is aired, Henderson declares that â€Å"women are used to worrying about trifles† (Glaspell, 9). Likewise, â€Å"the men laugh† (17) at their preoccupation with Minnie’s work on her patchwork quilt. The question as to whether Minnie intended â€Å"to quilt it or just knot it† becomes a recurring joke which has connotations of masculine superiority and amused tolerance. The men are prepared to indulge the women in their little worries and Henderson figuratively gives them a sanctimonious pat on the back with his â€Å"what would we do without the ladies?† (9). The men ignore the kitchen in their search for evidence, with the Sheriff dismissing it â€Å"as nothing here but kitchen things† (8). The implication is th at the kitchen is the woman’s domain and, as such, does not deserve to be given much importance. A woman’s duty is as a housekeeper and she is expected to keep a spick and span house. The men are aware that their indulgent attitude towards the perceived fragility and insignificance of women will be mirrored by the jury: Henderson points out â€Å"But you know juries when it comes to women† (28). In line with his refusal to take the women seriously, Henderson does not bother to check the things carried out by the women. The vast disconnect between male assumptions and the reality of women directly

Harlem Renaissance Poets Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Harlem Renaissance Poets - Research Paper Example On the one hand, Johnson poem â€Å"Let Me Not Lose My Dream† features her seminal background in Rome, Georgia. The poem carries well recitations of the ancient culture and the need for blacks to take on the challenges of the community, while embracing stoicism. The inclusion of entertaining humor in the literary content was largely impacted by her skills of playing musical instruments and natural history. The creation of the poem was largely influenced by William Starkey Braithwaite work, an author who highlighted the socio-economic and political challenges that minority communities faced in the United States, and the need to remain steadfast in the quest for a free America. Considered to be one of the founding women poets, who based their literature on the new role of African Americans, Johnson’s poem â€Å"Let Me Not Lose My Dream† was laced with a feeling of sadness and optimism that blacks faced in their effort to assume prominence in the society. On the oth er hand, Gwendolyn Bennett was another significant poet of this period. The poet was born in July 1902 in Giddings, Texas. Her parents were Joshua and Maime Bennett. Bennet’s poem â€Å"Heritage† features her life as a young woman in Brooklyn’s Girls High, through her adulthood. The nature of treatment she received was characterized by benignly cold reception from the mainstream white community. Through the poem â€Å"Heritage,† particular practices such as the intellectual capabilities of the blacks during Harlem Renaissance were tolerated without question, and without meticulous thought. The poem highlighted the future role of the blacks, in social and political circles. â€Å"Heritage† is illustrative of a keen intellectual mind, which Bennet summoned during the Harlem Renaissance period to articulate the social change in the American society; that democratic transformation in the society was inevitable, and that art and literary genre had becom e a significant avenue used to communicate the much needed change in the society (Hull 13-15). Despite the significant, but the largely different titles of the two poems, Johnson’s â€Å"Let Me Not Lose My Dream† and Bennet’s â€Å"Heritage,† are two literary works that indicate the need to conserve fruitful society norms of the blacks such as social democracy, fair representation in all aspects of the society and justice for all. Whereas the former poem served to motivate the rising blacks not to be cowed in their effort to assume socio-economic and political significance in the society; the latter holds that not all new developments may yield positive outcomes. The poems by Georgia Douglas Johnson and Gwendolyn Bennett are, thus, illustrative of the enormous skills and resourcefulness that inspired the change empowerment of blacks during the Black Arts Movement. By reexamining the contribution of these poets, one can have a glimpse of delight of the bla cks during Harlem Renaissance, despite the enormous social challenges they faced . Themes present in the two poems Ethnic Pride Featuring the historical Black Arts Movement was an explicit ethnic delight that was captured in the philosophy of the empowerment of the community, who through scholarly work and creation of literature could reverse the pervading ethnic bigotry and traditions to enhance