Sticks and Stones

A The words unspoken and actions undone may possibly remain so, but what is done cannot be undone, and if you cause a situation to go from bad to worse, the consequences of your deed will come to haunt you. This is what the main character of Trezza Azzopardi’s short story â€Å"Sticks and Stones†, Lewis, has experienced. Lewis accepts things as they are, even though he wants to change them: â€Å"[†¦]he imagines he’s the kind of person that challenges teachers like Stott and Walker, the kind that the Headmaster takes seriously. (pages 9-10, lines 61-62). The quote supports the statement and also implies he is a person who blends in, and more importantly, that he does not want to stand out. Hence, he has adapted to his environment because he feels it is the safest thing to do. This has been caused by his mother, who has told him that â€Å"It’s the survival of the fittest† throughout his whole life. Paul Fry is not peer of Lewis’, but Le wis given his trait of staying in the background emphasizes with him surprisingly much.The ability to emphasize so much with Paul causes Lewis to go against his guts that tells him to mind his own matters, so it must have struck a nerve. Being able to identify with Paul so well means he has experienced something akin to Paul’s inflections, which the small portion of his past underlines: â€Å"Don’t be such a baby. [†¦]boys will be boys. It’s human nature. † (page 10, line 69). He sees himself in Paul Fry, and consequently wants to help because he had no help to claim himself.Lewis’ profession is not stated in the text, but it implicitly indicates that he is a teacher. For instance, the Headmaster catches him after class: â€Å"The next day, Harris (Headmaster) came and found him after class. † (page 10, line 79). Moreover, Paul Fry is a student and when Lewis comes home, he has new information about Paul Fry to tell his girlfriend, Anna : â€Å"[†¦]he wanted to tell her (Anna) about Paul Fry. [†¦]Later, she’d sigh when he came in from work, [†¦]†What’s happened now? † she’d ask† (page 11, lines 98-102).The jump and the whole incident lie to the past, though. The short story is about Lewis reflecting on the past, which is why flashbacks occur in the middle of the storyline. In the present, Lewis has no connection to the involved people of the event. He has quitted teaching after Paul’s death: â€Å"[†¦]on Lewis’s last day, after suggesting he should take some time off. It was the day before Paul Fry was found. † (page 11, lines 120-122) and even though he has an old letter from Anna, he has no contact to her: â€Å"†There’s a letter for you†, his mother shouts. †¦]He’s been there a month now, and[†¦]has had no phone calls, certainly no letters, no nothing at all from Anna. †(page 8, lines 18;21 -22) â€Å"Lewis puts it to his face. He can’t find the scent of her in the words† (page 9, line 40). The letter is definitely from Anna and has lost its scent, which implies that it has had one, but has now faded with time, which means it is old. The remorse of Paul’s death is so strong that it causes him to dream of his dive into the beach.This indicates it was the same day Paul died, and more so does the fact that the boys had never been all the way to Lewis’ place at the beach. The boys went out to beat up Lewis, because as Lewis tells us, he observed Paul being beat up and making no sound – hence, the death of Paul – and they wanted to shut up Lewis. The use of flashbacks throughout the plot keeps the reader at suspense. Lead on by a in media res start, Trezza Azzopardi keeps building up the suspense. The flashbacks are never out of context: they always occur at a setting relevant to it.As a natural follow-up on the flashbacks, Azzopard i’s short story ends with change in the main character’s person. That is why Lewis throws out the pebbles, because for each pebble he has felt his life was difficult. Paul Fry’s incident has haunted him for long enough and he now wants to move on. After he throws away the pebbles, the waves of the beach does not trouble him anymore and he can finally listen to the humming earth, which indicates the change. A change long awaited caused by merely one devastating mistake.

Ethical and Legal System Essay

For many years healthcare industries all over the world are known for operating under various legal regime systems, which often threaten hospitals, health plans as well as physicians with very severe and stiff sanctions for any violations they perform on the standards that are set for the healthcare industries. In this case, legal systems in the healthcare industries have managed to eliminate waste in uncontrollable healthcare industry systems. The legal systems have also managed to maintain the high standards offered in many healthcare industries today and not allowing them to ever go down as well as impending the reliance that healthcare, industries may make on private contracts which they do so in order to escape the tyranny caused as a result of inefficient standards (Feldman, 2000). Health providers on the other hand possess broad powers collectively or individually under industry connections that are mostly supported by the legal systems in the healthcare industry. These powers held by health care providers assist them to declare without cost constraints the types of services that patients should receive at the expense of the society. Under the legal system in the healthcare industry, certain situations especially those that involve the well being and physical health in relation to the quality of life-saving diagnosis as well as their availability are the most common compelling subjects that majority of juries and judges usually face. In the American economic activity, the annual representation of healthcare is approximately $ 2 trillion. The expenses cover innovations under diagnosis in surgery, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. There is also heavy government involvement in the health care industry. Moreover, a number of difficult issues that include expenditure, individual rights and equity often result in the attraction of attention from the public and frequent debates and this is mainly because this industry constitutes such a rapidly part of the American economy (Feldman, 2000). This paper will focus on Premier Inc. an organization in the healthcare industry, discussing its ethical and legal systems as well as the strengths and weaknesses of these systems available at Premier Inc. Premier Inc. is one of the strategic healthcare alliance organizations in United States today. It is owned by at least 200 leading healthcare systems and hospitals in America and its operations are mainly affiliated with almost 1,500 hospitals as well as other healthcare sites. In addition, Premier Inc. rovides resources that assist in the delivery of healthcare services in areas such as comparative data, insurance, group purchasing, benchmarking as well as supply chain improvement. Its main goal is to improve the communities’ health and brings forth nationwide knowledge with the aim of improving local healthcare (Voien, 2000). This is done through gathering financial and clinical data from its organizing committees as well as over hospitals that are its members in order to assist in decisions for sponsoring seminars, conferences and alliance with the main purpose of sharing the available practices that are good and effective. As a result, Premier Inc. is able to bring together any chaotic, inefficient and fragmented health care system hence enabling the provision of high-quality services in healthcare industry at the least costs. Facts are also applied by Premier in order to bring about best products and practices which result in patient outcomes that are of high quality. The organization shows its commitment in improving its operational and clinical performance by offering assistance to its members and providing performance informatics, supply chain service, insurance programs, resources that relate to performance improvement as well as group purchasing programs. The organization’s headquarters is located in San Diego with its offices in Washington, D. C. Chicago and Charlotte Premier Inc. is also dedicated to fulfilling three of its six indicators and one of the best indicators in its sample is the Code of Conduct in the company, which is thorough as well as easy to follow (Voien, 2000). Among the issues that the code highlights include the guidelines in the conflict of interest in the company, through this code, employees are often shown on how to contact the manager of the Ethics Compliance. In addition, people who call the manager are confident since, their phone numbers are not displayed as the organization has a potential phone violations code. The organization is also committed in providing the best workplaces in United States and this is mostly done by the company’s efforts in creating an organizational culture which aims at rewarding employees, behavior that is value-based, training which is essential in assisting employees to attain their maximum full potential, rewarding assignments as well as feedback. Employees at Premier are also treated with respect and this is mostly done by respecting their privacy, respecting the employees’ confidentiality records and also aiming to aid the aspirations of their employees especially those that are related to their work. (Voien, 2000). Employees at Premier are also urgently informed on any issues that affect them and listening to their concerns and ideas that they recommend. The organization also shows its commitment in promoting and protecting the safety and health of all of its employees and it forbids any use of illegal drugs by its employees. A dismissal is issued to anyone found possessing, using or even selling illegal drugs anywhere within the company’s property. Premier Inc. of the United States has several responsibilities that it aims to provide to its employees as well as patients in America. The organization aims to effectively make use of the available resources of the organization in order to support all of its members. In cases whereby there is emergence of conflicts in the organization, Premier has its responsibility focused on the avoidance of any conflicts of interest. The organization also aims at conducting its business with a lot of integrity, seeking guidance in situations whereby the organization is unsure of how to go about an impending problem and lastly the organization also has the responsibility of reporting any business practices that are unacceptable in the organization. For instance, premier has been aiming to implement the organization’s new code of conduct of Group purchasing since early 2002 (Voien, 2000). In addition, Premier organization has a number of ethical standards that help in its everyday operations. Among its ethical standards include the integrity of the enterprise and all individuals at Premier. Another ethical standard refers to the creation of real value that concerns the stakeholders as well as heading the place and a bias for any action and performance passion and also innovations at Premier. This means that the company aims at seeking a number of breakthrough opportunities, initiating any change which is meaningful as well as taking risks. Lastly, focusing people through respecting and showing concerns for all its employees, establishment of relationships with the entire community by building collaboration and this also applies to Premier’s business associates, workers and customers is also an ethical standard at Premier (Voien, 2000). In its ethics policy, Premier urges all its employees to exercise faith that is good in nature while undertaking all their responsibilities including various duties. They should also administer all of the company’s affairs economically and honestly as well as carrying out best care, judgment and skill so as to benefit the company. In addition, Premier Company forbids any activities that employees may be carrying out with the aim of gaining their personal advantage either in the way that they use their positions in the organization or also the knowledge that they gain while still at the organization and this also applies to financial gains. The organization also urges all its employees to carry out their duties as well as acts and these should adhere to the best interest of the company. In order to ensure that the company is committed in establishing best business practices that are ethical, Premier has set out to communicate to stakeholders and also providing important information which is useful to them especially in understanding the organization’s commitment in providing high standards of conduct. Moreover, Premier assists all of its employees by giving them additional guidance that will help them in decision making which is ethical. In 2002, Premier instituted an Ethics And compliance program whose main objective was to demonstrate the company’s strong commitment in providing high standards as relate conduct in the organization and this is mainly done in order to preserve the reputation that the company holds as well as enhancing the quality of the service delivery in the health care system that is offered to the community (Feldman, 2000). This program is a product of all the employees in the company who often work in order to put into practice the company’s principles. There other are other units at Premier that work hard to ensure that the high standards that relate to the company’s conduct are well infused in many business activities that take place at Premier. They include Human resources, Advocacy, Legal, Corporate communications as well as ethics and compliance units among others. The central support for the program is provided by the ethics and compliance office that often with employees, suppliers, owner members as well as the senior management at Premier in order to ensure that premier’s business practices are able to constantly meet all those standards that are set in the existing Group Purchasing Code of conduct at Premier as well as the Guidelines of the Business Conduct hence establishing the company’s commitment to the ethical conducts that are set. Lastly, the Board of Directors at Premier in 2006 altered the code relating to the company’s Group Purchasing Conduct which aimed at clarifying the provisions in the conflicts of interests in a better way especially in regarding established relationship among vendors and businesses. The legal system at premier is mainly seen at the premiers Legal Department which monitors and ensures that everyone at the premier acts according to the stated established federal laws (Feldman, 2000). These systems at Premier have had quite a number of positive implications to the organization. One advantage is that it has been able to establish integrity and trust among the employees because of the organization’s commitments to its employees and as a result it has out –performed many organizations in the healthcare industry in the United States as well as establishing a good reputation for the company. The legal systems have had a positive a positive impact on employees especially in relation to the codes of ethics o0f the organization. Doctors, Physicians and Nurses have maintained high standards in the way that they offer services to patients by offering quality and best practices as a result of the improved delivery systems in the healthcare services. Another advantage is that members have been able to get the right products and at the right prices hence enhancing the outcomes of patients who utilize the resources available at Premier. However, these systems also pose a major weakness to those who are directly or indirectly linked into it. The main weakness is that the policies lead to the creation of a monopoly whereby it is the organization that decides on the price and value that it can offer to its consumers and this directly affects the other organizations under the health care industry that are kept out of competition. It is therefore essential that the organization strives to openly communicate with all stakeholders, as well as meeting all requests that are reasonable so as to gather the required information. In conclusion, it is also essential to remember that an organization’s ethical conduct is as a result of collective conducts as relates its officers, board of directors and employees as well as enhancing open communications with these groups. As a result, this leads to a transformation in the healthcare delivery system of an organization.

About Jhumpa Lahiri

About Jhumpa Lahiri, Jhumpa Lahiri is an Indian- American author. She was born on 11 July 1967 in London and is daughter of Indian immigrants from Bengal. She grew up in Kingston, Rhode island. She graduated from South Kingstown High school and later achieved multiple degrees in Boston university. In 2001, She married Alberto vourvoulias –Bush, A journalist who was then a deputy editor of â€Å"The Times†. Interpreter of maladies Lahiri’s short stories faced rejection from publishers for years.But, Finally in 1999, Her first short story composition was released. The short stories address sensitive dilemmas in the lives of Indians. Including themes such as miscarriages and martial difficulties. Also, the disconnection between first and second generation United States immigrants. It was highly praised by American critics and sold 600,000 copies. Also, it received the 2000 Pulitzer price for Fiction The namesake â€Å"The Namesake† was Lahiri’s first n ovel and was published in 2003. The story spans over thirty years in the Ganguli family.The Calcutta born parents emigrated as young adults to The United States Of America with their children Gongol and Sonia where they experienced the constant generational and cultural gap. Lahiri made herself as a cameo â€Å"Aunt Jhumpa†. Unaccustomed earth â€Å"Unaccustomed Earth, Her second collection of novels was published on 1 April, 2008. It went to the number 1 spot just few days after it’s release on the New York best-seller list. It was praised a lot by all critics and masses and sold thousands and thousands of copies.Achievements and awards * 1993 – TransAtlantic Award from the Henfield Foundation * 1999 –  O. Henry Award  for short story â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies† * 1999 –  PEN/Hemingway Award  (Best Fiction Debut of the Year) for â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies† * 1999 – â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies† selected as one of  Best American Short Stories * 2000 – Addison Metcalf Award from the  American Academy of Arts and Letters * 2000 – â€Å"The Third and Final Continent† selected as one of  Best American Short Stories 2000 –  The New Yorker's Best Debut of the Year for â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies† * 2000 –  Pulitzer Prize for Fiction  for her debut â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies† * 2000 –  James Beard Foundation's M. F. K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award for â€Å"Indian Takeout† in  Food & Wine Magazine * 2002 –  Guggenheim Fellowship * 2002 – â€Å"Nobody's Business† selected as one of  Best American Short Stories * 2008 –  Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award  for â€Å"Unaccustomed Earth† * 2009 –  Asian American Literary Award  for â€Å"Unaccustomed Earth†

Cross Cultural Human Resources Management Essay

Cross Cultural Human Resources Management - Essay Example After spending valuable time at the Resort as the trouble shooter and discussing various dimensions of resort work and its improvement, with the employees and other members of the staff, listening to all complaints of customers of the once-well-run resort, Patrick Dowd came to the conclusion that the problem plaguing the resort is that of inadequate and inefficient application of International Human Resource Management. In his Report to Jim Johnson, Patrick Dowd would make suggestions in the following mode, depending on his knowledge of International Human Resource Management and application of pertinent theories to the present case. International Human Resource management focuses on Human Resource Management practices across the countries mainly in multinational firms, or in organisations where people of different cultures work. There is very little difference between Internal Human Resource Management and Cross Cultural Human Resource management as both deal with the problems posed by employees drawn from various cultures. There is no definite criterion or stringent guidelines for cross cultural management. It alters according to the cultures involved and the requirements under given circumstances, as the circumstances and situations decide the rules. Here cultural diversities are accepted and honoured, not defied, and an attempt is made not only to avoid cultural clashes, but also to find a suitable way of functioning without challenging the cultures involved. Here exists no desire to see all cultures look identical and the 'lesser' cultures adopt the ways of the 'better' culture. Today the context of human resource management is constantly changing with the new and persistent demands of globalisation. Human resource management of today has a global sense based on the new trend of global business. Businesses like the West Indies Yacht Club Resort, even though not a particularly overwhelming international business house in the accepted sense, welcomes guests from all parts of the world and employs people from different background and age group. When the Resort came under clouds, both the General Manager Jim Johnson and Patrick Dowd, the chosen consultant felt that this was a case of cross cultural human resources mismanagement. British Virgin Islands are not really called 'happening' places, but quiet places where resorts were built for people who need relaxation. Local people still are living in a cocooned culture hardly being exposed to international ways of living. It is difficult to find employees with exemplary educational background and efficient motivity in the islands. Efficient staff had to be drawn from different cultures and places, mainly from United States main land. British Virgin Islands, so remotely placed and lacking all diverse academic facilities for growing up children, and entertainment or business facilities for grown ups, people usually either got bored, or felt inadequately equipped for the future, frequently resigned in search of better pastures and none of the employees stayed for a long time. This created an impossible situation for the Resort of perpetually training new people; getting adjusted to them and getting them adjusted to the Islands. When the management heaves a sigh of relief that the new unfamiliar staff is trained enough to handle the situations, the well-trained staff decides to move and management had been frustrated on this issue for a long time. The resort was famous

Factors affecting inflation rate Bahrain Assignment

Factors affecting inflation rate Bahrain - Assignment Example Throughout the globe, significant gains were made in fighting against increased inflation during the 1990s and there was hope that a new period of low inflation had started. Countries in Europe and Latin American succeeded in fighting inflation from higher digits to single digits, and maintaining the stability of prices of consumer goods and services. In 2000, increased inflation started to haunt the world but it was stopped in 2009 by the financial crisis (Calvo & Carmen, 2002). This paper discusses factors affecting the rate of inflation in Bahrain. Inflation in Bahrain is driven by many factors and the exchange and interest rate laws that central bank in Bahrain implement, and the supply of money. In Bahrain, the prices of goods especially food prices affect the inflation of Bahrain. This is because increase in prices of foods and beverages implies that the country would have increased inflation this is because transportation of such goods to the markets will be costly. Further, t he increase in prices of fuel implies that the prices of food stuffs increase since high prices of fuel controls the market. It is important to note that the prices of commodities are affecting the rate of inflation in Bahrain because commodities in Bahrain are widely imported and all prices of imported goods affect inflation. However, from the calculations, it can be deduced that changes in commodity prices are not just a proxy for changes in the entire import prices (Calvo & Carmen, 2002). From the data presented, it is rational to argue that another factor affecting inflation in Bahrain is the inflation in previous years. For instance, the momentum of inflation on goods such as foods and beverages and services such as medical care is well recorded and they result because of factors that incorporate overlapping contracts and adaptive inflationary expectations. Further, the growth of money in Bahrain because of paying utility bills such as rent, electricity and water has a direct e ffect on inflation of Bahrain since there is no purpose to expect important changes in the money velocity. It is also significant to note that the growth rate in Bahrain is influencing the rate of inflation in the sense that it is affected credit issues whereby increase in the growth rate of Bahrain has negative impact on inflation. The central bank played a very important role by decreasing the growth rate to about six percent in the year two thousand and eight. The market was very stable in that prices of commodities such as food, beverages, tobacco and services such as medical care were affordable. This in turn increased the market value of these goods and services (Chen & Scott, 2004). The trend of the economy of Bahrain affects her inflation. For instance, from the calculations, the trend in Bahrain revolves at the rate at which the world market is directed in that it sets its prices in comparison to other countries. For instance, the U.S economy is in direct contact with the e conomy of Bahrain. This illustrated that the movement of the trend was downward. This in turn shows that, the economy of Bahrain is positively affected rather than being negatively affectively which reduces inflation rate. Since inflation is defined as the increase in buying power of money, the easiest way to calculate the rate of inflation is by listing the prices of services and goods over the stated years commonly known as the price

Germany's Weltpolitik Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Germany's Weltpolitik - Essay Example directed against socialists! Caprivi's successor, Prince Hohenlohe (Chancellor 1894 -1900), was an elderly Bavarian aristocrat with a reputation for indecision and procrastination. Thus Hohenlohe became a figure-head and Blow, his foreign minister, exerted a powerful influence under him. In time Blow became Chancellor between 1900 - 1909. He was a manipulator and self-seeker who pandered to the emperor. He became unpopular with the Kaiser following the Daily Telegraph affair, and was replaced by Bethmann-Hollweg, who was Chancellor between 1909 - 17. He was a hard-working and well-meaning bureaucrat lacking experience in foreign affairs, and ignorant of military issues. Caprivi's adopted a more conciliatory attitude to previously hostile forces within Germany, such as the Centre Party and the Social Democrats. In 1891 with the backing of the Reichstag, he introduced the prohibition on Sunday working and limitations on child labour. He also reformed Germany's tariff policy - in a series a bilateral agreements with Austria-Hungary, Italy, Russia and others he negotiated a reduction of German tariffs on agricultural goods in return for reductions in foreign tariffs on German goods. However, this initiated a reaction. In 1893 the Agrarian League was formed; it grew to a million members and acted as powerful pressure group for the Conservatives. earning the resentment of the army... eries a bilateral agreements with Austria-Hungary, Italy, Russia and others he negotiated a reduction of German tariffs on agricultural goods in return for reductions in foreign tariffs on German goods. However, this initiated a reaction. In 1893 the Agrarian League was formed; it grew to a million members and acted as powerful pressure group for the Conservatives. In 1892 - 3 Caprivi also reduced conscription from 3 to 2 years in the Army Bill; thus earning the resentment of the army. In 1894 Wilhelm II pressed Caprivi to draw up an anti-socialist Subversion Bill; Caprivi refused. Although he did dissuade Wilhelm II from adopting an even more authoritarian approach, he resigned. Weltpolitik The aged Hohenlohe held the Chancellorship until 1900, but he was no match for court and government intrigue. Policy was directed more by Blow, Tirpitz and Posadowsky-Wehner. In 1897 Admiral von Tirpitz was appointed navy secretary; Count Posadowsky-Wehner as interior minister; Blow as foreign secretary. A period of Weltpolitik was introduced - colonnial annexations, creation of economic spheres of influence, and expansion of the navy. The Kaiser wanted Germany to become a world power. There was a belief in social Darwinism and the unending struggle between nations. The peasantry and Mittlestand had become radicalised; and many pressure groups formed - especially, the Pan-German League, which was anti-Socialist, racist, anti-Semitic and expansionist. In 1898 Tripitz initiated the creation of the Navy League, with financial backing from key industrialists. Membership rose to 1 million. The Navy Bills of 1898 and 1900 were passed with substantial majorities. There was renewed political struggle within Germany over the renewal of Caprivi's commercial treaties - the compromise Tariff

ACC403, Principles of Accounting Mod 4 Case Assignment Essay

ACC403, Principles of Accounting Mod 4 Case Assignment - Essay Example The existing cost allocation uses factors which identify the portion of costs for each multi-purpose facility that are specific to individual purposes (separable factors) and the proportional allocation of remaining joint costs among multiple purposes (joint factors). c. COE-Transferred Facilities – These include facilities that were constructed by the COE and transferred to Reclamation for operational and financial integration with the CVP. They appear in Schedule No.1 of the CVP financial statement. d. Non - Reimbursable Costs – The plant-in facilities include components directly set aside to a non-reimbursable category pursuant to Congressional legislation. In the CVP allocation these component costs are directly assigned to the appropriate category and are removed from the allocation base. f. State Share of San Luis Unit - In the allocation of CVP costs, the State share of the construction costs of joint-use facilities is directly assigned to the State and removed from the allocation base. The above said approach seems to be good. This is because the costs are identified and allocated separately. After completing the adjustments the remaining costs represent the total capital investment to be allocated among the authorized project purposes of the CVP. For single-purpose facilities, costs are allocated in total to the purpose served. Cost allocations can be made both within and across time periods. If two or more cost objects share a common facility or program, the cost pool of the shared unit is a common cost to the users and must be divided or allocated to them. Bases of allocation typically are based on one of the following criteria: cause-and-effect, benefits derived, fairness, or ability to bear. The selection of a criterion can affect the selection of a basis (Answers.com). Some cost information is reported to external users such as shareholders and creditors in

Domestic Violence against Married Women in Cambodia Research Paper

Domestic Violence against Married Women in Cambodia - Research Paper Example Is there spousal abuse in Cambodia, and if so what factors are causing it This is a significant research problem for several reasons. First there is the issue of Human Rights for the women who are being battered. Domestic violence against women is a serious concern and no woman deserves to be harmed. Next there is the impact that the repression of women has had on society as a whole. When a woman is abused by her husband it creates and perpetuates a dysfunctional pattern of behavior in the world. I think that the motivation behind the research is sound. It can only be a positive thing to reduce violence against women. However one must keep in mind that the cultural norms are entirely different in South East Asia as compared to Western society. My biggest concern about the problems being perceived and studied here is that the scholarly theories presented may not have any relevance to the actual conditions as they are occurring in Cambodia. It seems that the academics are attempting to formulate different theories of the abuse and then gain evidence from the field to prove themselves correct. The paper paints a vivid portrait and fills in all of the details so that the reader does not necessarily need to critically examine the situation. All of the facts are wrapped up neatly in one small package with little room for speculation. Literature Review The researchers present abundant scholarly background information to support their hypotheses and make an effort to ensure the clarity of their position. The review of literature seemed to represent a fair sampling of arguments from several different perspectives. For any particular hypothesis, there are alternative explanations presented... The researchers present abundant scholarly background information to support their hypotheses and make an effort to ensure the clarity of their position. The review of literature seemed to represent a fair sampling of arguments from several different perspectives. For any particular hypothesis, there are alternative explanations presented to confirm the relevance of the present investigation. It some regards the review of literature for this article presents a convincing argument about the scope of past relevant research in this area. There are only a limited number of articles within this field from non-Western cultures but they seem to have been included in the review. The greatest strength of this section of the paper was that it covered a lot of diverse theories. The evidence is offered to support the dominant theories, yet any contrary evidence was suspiciously absent for some of the theories. The weakness of literature review was that it was too one-sided in some cases. For exa mple, it presented many articles in favor of the idea that there is a negative correlation between standard of living and domestic abuse but only one article to the contrary. Perhaps the article could have offered some explanation as to why this contrary view would have some value. This research article takes existing theoretical models and applies them to a novel population. For example, one academic model of domestic violence states that physical abuse is a resource, similar to money or goods, which people use for the purpose of controlling others.

Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Anthropology - Essay Example Results, that Mulling et al (85) consider as being indicative of their method of research, and which would likely to have been different within a more traditional epidemiological study, indicate that different social structures in terms of class and profession (i.e. head of household), in other words pre-existing causal links to stress, impact on the degree of chronic stress evident. Furthermore, the results show that the pre-existing links to stress initiate from concerns to do with housing, health care, social support and economics, as well as their general living environment. Mulling et al (90) further purport that pregnancy serves as a mechanism to increase those stress levels even further. The study also reveals that the kind of support these women receive from social support networks differs in relation to their social class; for example the causes of stress differ between low and middle income women. This study adopts an intersectional approach to the research by considering gender and racial inequalities of African American women in Harlem, as stemming from other social categories such as class, and showing how it affects those women in different ways. Mullings, L., AlakaWali, Mclean, D., Mitchell, J. Prince Sabiyha, Thomas, D. & Tovar, P. â€Å"Qualitative methodologies and Community Participation in Examining Reproductive Experiences: The Harlem Birth Right Project†. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 5.2 (2001):

Customer Attitudes Toward Bmw Motorcycles Essay Example for Free

Customer Attitudes Toward Bmw Motorcycles Essay This final report is the finish summary version of overall information, knowledge, and data of the marketing research under the area of BMW R1200 GS/GSA motorcycles in UK. The BMW Motorrad under the BMW group has been producing motorcycles since 1923 and has providing a variety range of motorcycle styles (bmwgroup, 2012). In addition, the model of BMW R1200 GS/GSA motorcycles is a major consideration motorcycle in adventure sport style for all bikers in UK as it was named in the top ten model of new motorcycles registration (MCIA, 2011). However, The Motorcycle Industry Association defines Adventure motorcycle as â€Å"These bikes encompass trials which similar in style to Enduro motorcycles but are predominantly designed and capable for on-road use (MCIA, 2012)†. The objective of this research paper is to discover attitudes of UK customers towards the model. To be more specific, the research paper will look into the association between brand images, quality and price perception of the current riders towards this BMW motorcycle model. Moreover, the research paper will explore customer satisfaction and the loyalty of the brand. Additionally, this research paper will determine the outstanding in product value of BMW R1200 GS/GSA that it has over its rivals in the adventure motorcycle segmentation. The paper will first provide background information of conceptual model in brand equity which would provide a basic understanding of how to measure and manage brand equity. Furthermore, the explanation in the model of satisfaction towards loyalty will be discussed. Besides, the hypothesis of the study model will be illustrated. In the next section, the method of conducting online surveys and the utilization of this technique will be discussed. Thirdly, the interpretation from the obtained data will be shown in the finding and analysis section. Finally, the conclusion of the paper will be discussed to sum up the entire research paper including limitations and ethics issues. Literature review In the book, Managing Brand Value (Aaker, 1991) has defined the term of brand equity as the connection of the name and emblems to a set of assets that would increase the value of the company’s products or services. In addition, during the customers buying decision process (McKinsey 1996) has found in his research that brands affect 18 percent of total purchase decisions. Therefore, these can be indicated that branding act as one of the significant factors towards customers purchasing. However, the suggestion from (Keller, 2003) stated that the power of a brand would remain in customers ‘mind together with their perceived experiences and they will learn about the brand over time. Hence, there is the development process of strengthen the brand of a company. The figure (2) illustrates the framework of brand equity from (Keller, 2003). Figure 2 Brand Equity Framework Source: Keller, K (2003). Building, Measuring and Managing Brand Equity. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall The framework provides 4 steps that involved in building a strong brand however, the hierarchy of brand equity determine that in order to move up in each level, there is a requirement from the successful of the previous one. The first level, companies have to set up a brand identity which will imply brand silence and would lead customers to aware the brand (Keller, 2003). The next step is to create an appropriated brand meaning involve either performance or imagery that related to the brand (Keller, 2003). Thirdly, it is a significant to response the judgments and feelings (opinion, evaluation and emotional) from the customers to gain brand attitudes in customers point of view (Keller, 2003). Lastly, the companies need to create a brand resonance by trying to minimize the gap between what companies think and what customers think via communication tools that would permeate put the brand into consumers’ mind, resulting in a good relationship with them (Keller, 2003). However, after building the strong brand equity, (Keller, 2003) has claimed that brand loyalty would appear to be one of the benefits to the brand. On the other hand, most companies consider the customers to be one of the significant keys to make the company successful. Therefore, (Erdem Swait, 2004) propose that the determination of successful business in long-term is to deliver the value to customers which related to (Marconi, 2000) suggestion that one of the factors which would make customers to remain loyal over brand is customer satisfaction. However, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (figure 3) will be used to explain the model of customer satisfaction. Figure 3 the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Source: (Johnson, Gustafsson, Andreassen, Cha, 2001): The evolution and future of national customer satisfaction index models. (theacsi.org, 2001) explained that customer satisfaction occurs from two driven factors which can affect the satisfaction either directly or going through the perceived value factor (quality relative to the expense). From those two driven factors, the first factor is customer expectation, which is the customer’s anticipation of the quality of the products in both prior consumption experience from consumer and the expectation from company’s product quality deliver. In addition, the second factor is perceived quality which determine by the evaluation of the product’s quality from customer toward the organization. However, the figure shows that there is a negative relationship between customer complaint once they disconfirm with the expectation and customer loyalty. This can be explained as the more satisfied from the customers, there is less chance in the resulted of getting complain from the customers. However, (theacsi.org, 2001) suggests that there is a chance of turning unsatisfied customers to loyalty customers after the compensations have been introduced to them. To conclude, in order to gain customer loyalty, the companies have to deliver the value of the products to meet or exceed customers ‘expectation as loyalty customers are more likely to create repurchase activity. The another related support to the important in loyalty of customers provided by (Reichheld.F.F, 1996) in his book, The Loyalty Effect, in which he stated that in order to bring in a new customer to the company is five times more costly than it is to retain an existing customer. Research Design The early discussion was about satisfying the customers who act as a main player of building the successful businesses as they are involve in many organization’s process. Hence, it is clear that the framework of this research paper is to focus on the importance of satisfying customers as it will create the benefit toward the company in term of brand loyalty. (Gobe, 2001) states that, there is several area of supporting customers into customers’ satisfaction such as price-quality-relation. Furthermore, (Keller, 2003) consider brand attitude in brand equity process to be a drive towards loyalty as well. This research design will be classified as causal research to obtain evidence of cause-and-effect relationships (Malhotra, Birks, Wills, 2012). These ideas made the hypothesis of the study as: H1a: There is a relationship between brand image perception and the level of customer satisfaction for BMW R1200 GS/GSA H1a: There is a relationship between quality perception and the level of customer satisfaction for BMW R1200 GS/GSA H1a: There is a relationship between price perception and the level of customer satisfaction for BMW R1200 GS/GSA H2: There is a relationship of BMW R1200 GS/GSA customers toward purchase loyalty The Figure 4 illustrates the study model involving the relationship between brand attitudes towards customer satisfaction in BMW R1200 GS/GSA and customer satisfaction in BMW R1200 GS/GSA towards brand loyalty. Methodology This research has been utilized quantitative in order to gather data under one particular model of BMW motorcycles, which is R1200GS/GSA. The objective of quantitative is to collect customer’s attitude influence factors relate to each participant perceptions. However, this survey method has introduced a set of questionnaire with 25 closed questions. The period of survey collection was between 10th November and 10th December 2012 through online survey technique under the survey site named Wufoo. The format of online survey included structure scales in a range from 1 to 5 and yes or no questions. The questionnaires have been distributed and upload onto BMW Motorrad Parklane Facebook and UKGSer page. The total respondent is 11 people which specific that have to be BMW R1200 GS/GSA riders. The questionnaires have been mainly divided into 6 sections. The first 3 questions were designed to seek for the top three requirements of participants that they consider before purchasing any adventure motorcycles. In the next section, 3 questions were designed to find the competitive advantage factors and the relative of price-to-quality in perspectives’ view. In the third section, 5 questions were used to determine the customers’ judgment toward the product quality. Moreover, there are a set of 5 questions used in search for customer feeling toward BMW R1200 GS/GSA. In addition, the others 5 questions were used to indicate customer resonance and their potential of creating benefit toward the brand. Finally, 5 questions were used to gain demographic information of respondents. Limitations The limitation of time was the major restrictive as the data collection periods is within 1 week. Furthermore, the difficultly of realizing the actual target population as some of respondents may not own the actual motorcycle in BMW R1200GS/GSA. Additionally, there are no female respondents in all of the returned forms. The scope down of the research topic into a specific model of motorcycle created an obstacle to find the right target of respondents. The post on facebook page has bias of gained non-geographic target group information as there are respondents which are not in UK. Moreover, some of the forums and websites are not currently frequently activated making the posts being used ineffectively. Finally, with the limited number of 10 respondents, resulted in low resources are being used in the evaluation. Ethical considerations The purpose of doing this research paper has been announced and posted on every websites and forums before the actual online-survey. There is a statement state clearly in term of confidentiality that respondents’ information is treated with highly confidentiality. In addition, the questions in the questionnaire under the demographic section have provided an alternative of ‘prefer not to answer’ option to allow the refusing of answering for respondents as they may have an uncomfortable condition. The collected data and information will be used in an education area only; there is no hidden purpose in either businesses or individual organization. Findings The process of gathering data took 4 weeks and there are 72 perspectives viewed of the survey in total. However, there are only 11 entries out of 72 viewed which can be transfer into 15.3% as the conversion rate. The average time per respondent to finish the survey is 3.16 minutes each. However, there is 1 out of 11 responded that is a fault data due to the location of the respondent is outside UK. In the first section, 50% of total responded consider exterior design to be considered the most when they buy an adventure motorcycle, while seat comfort is their second consideration with 40% of total. In addition, they consider bag and storage to be the third choice with 40% of the total. In the next section, 60% of total respondents have agreed that BMW R1200 GS/GSA is worth its price. In addition, 90% of them perceived that this model is more superior to other brands within the same price category. Moreover, the data explained that 70% of respondents perceived the superior fact as this model is the best in handling, while another 30% expressed the fact as the endure motorcycle. The third section is finding of the customers’ judgment toward the product quality with the full score of 5 marks. The best perceived value in quality of the model is safe follow by status symbol, quality product, trustworthy, and lowest is high performance product with the scores of 4.5, 4.2, 4.1, 3.9, and 3.6 points respectively. The data shows the customers’ feeling toward BMW R1200 GS/GSA in the fourth section. It is freedom that customer feel the most with 4.2 while fun is their second perceived with the score of 4 out of 5. The respondents share the third feeling that come in to their mind of excitement and self-respect with 3.9 point, while social approval is the last place in their feeling of 3.8 point. In the Fourth section, the data is used to analyze the customers’ resonance toward the model. However, out of 5, respondents show 4.1 point as they are happy with the model the most, while the fact that they satisfied and willing to refer the model to others share the same scores of 4 point each. Lastly, perspective expressed their love to BMW R1200 GS/GSA only 3.7 point. Finally, the data from the survey shows that all of 10 entries were male which translated into 100%. The average group is between 46-55 years old with the percentage of 80 out of total. Moreover, 50% of the total earns their income more than  £50,001 yearly while 40% of them earn the average between  £25,001-  £50,000 yearly. Moreover, 70% of respondents married and which left remaining 30% of them as single. Finally, the education fact shows that 50% of the total respondents graduated their highest education in high school while other 40% and 10% are undergraduates and master level respectively. Conclusion According to the study, exterior design consider to be the most important to customers when they buy as it’s related to social approval most customers agree that BMW R1200 GS/GSA give them that feeling. However, BMW is considering this factor as one of the main development processes make the company continuously improve a better look in designing along with new technologies attached to their bikes. Moreover, the seat comfort and storage is considered to be significant to all adventure riders. Due to a long distance in riding their motorbikes, they require a suitable seat to support their physical body and space to storage their goods. Results also show that BMW R1200 GS/GSA has the competitive advantage over the rival in the same category as customers perceived that the model has the best balance in control. On the other hand, only 60% of customers perceived this model is worth a premium price due to the less agreement that this model is a high performance product. However, customers still satisfied with the product even though, the customers have standard perceived that this motorcycle model is worth to spend money on. Therefore, it can be analyzed that there is less relationship between price and satisfaction. The relationship between product quality and satisfaction can be interpreted as there is a positive relationship between these two factors. The research shows that customers are highly consider BMW R1200 GS/GSA as a safe motorcycle and high quality product. The company has captured the most important need in every rider which is safety, and delivers the value to them clearly which resulted in gaining the satisfactions from value deliver. However, by looking at specifically to individuals that has less satisfaction, it is only the fact that BMW R1200 GS/GSA is not high performance enough for them. In term of brand image, the customers is highly involved with status symbol as the high score of 4.2 point can determine that the company has created brand association and meaning towards customers. Moreover, the company has well delivered the feeling of freedom in this product make a fulfillment in the want of adventure travelers. Therefore, brand image has positive relationship toward satisfaction. Finally, with the high number in people who are happy and satisfied with BMW R1200 GS/GSA related to their willingness to refer this motorcycle model to others. This is can be explained that there is a positive relationship between satisfaction and customers loyalty as loyalty customers would most likely to be influencers in bringing new customers to purchase the product. References Aaker, D (1991). Managing Brand Equity: Capitalizing on the Value of a Brand Name, Free Press, New York, NY Aggarwal, P. (2004). The Effects of Brand Relationship Norms on Comsumer Attitudes and Behaviour. Journal of consumer research, June Court, D., Freeling, A., Leiter, M., Parsons, J. A. (1996). Mckinsey Quarterly: Uncovering the value of brands. Retrieved from http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Uncovering_the_value_of_brands_201 Erdem, Tulin, and Swait, Joffre. (2004). Brand Credibility, Brand Consideration and Choices. Journal of consumer research,June Gobe, M. (2001). Emotional Branding. New York, NY: Allworth Press. Keller, K. (2003). Buliding, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Kiley, D. (2004). Driven: Inside BMW, the most admired car company in the world. Malhotra, K. N., Birks, F. D., Wills, P. (2012). Marketing Research (4th ed.): An Applied Approach. The Motor Cycle Industry Association (2011). Motorcycle Registration Statistics. Press statistic. Retrieved from http://www.mcia.co.uk/Press-and-Statistics/NewReg_Statistics.aspx We iler, M. (2004). BMW : Exploring Customer Attitudes.

The James Bulger Case Criminology Essay

The James Bulger Case Criminology Essay Both Attard and murder.co.uk introduce the case by saying that on the 12th of February, Denise Bulger took her son, Jamie, to her local shopping centre in Bootle,Liverpool at around 3.30 p.m. Nine minutes later she realised that her son was not next to her anymore and started to look for him. She went to security , police were called on the spot and together they watched CCTV cameras of the shopping centre to try and determine what happened to the boy. Jamie was seen leaving the premises alongside two other boys and the police thought little of it as no one could have ever made out the horrific events that followed so they set out to search for him and the two boys. A couple of days later , some children were playing next to a train railway and saw what they thought was a doll or something similar. When they got close to the presumed doll , they saw the most haunting image one could imagine ; a toddlers body cut in half.Police were again called on the spot and initial indications sho wed that the body belonged to Jamie Bulger.After this horrendous find , police deepened its investigation even using the media as a mean to get to the bottom of all of it with the children seen accompanying him in the tape being the prime suspects. A tip came in on who the boys might be, and two boys both aged 10 ;Jon Venables and Robert Thompson (their identity was only revealed after the sentencing) were brought in for questioning. Both boys were sent to court and tried with the murder of Jamie Bulger. The trial began in November of 1993, and the horrific events of this macabre murder were revealed to shock not just the nation but the whole world. After leaving the premises together with Jamie Bulger , Jon Venables and Robert Thompson took him on a 2.5 mile trip beating him along the way until they reached the railway. Once there, Jamie was further beaten, thrown stones and paint at, and had his trousers and shoes removed implying perhaps a sexual assault (never proven.)In additio n to this, Jamie was hit with an iron rod for around 30 times , leading to his death. Afterwards, the boys put Jamie on the railway fully knowing that a train would come soon to try and conceal their terrible actions by perhaps implying that Jamie would have walked there on his own, fell , and hit by a train. This shows the full wittiness of the boys and that they knew exactly what they were up to. Both Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were found guilty and sent to at least 8 years imprisonment in a detention centre. B)Background Of Case The forensic evidence presented in James Bulgers case proved to be very strong and lead to the boys being found guilty beyond any reasonable doubt. Forensic scientists such as Graham Jackson , Andy Mulley and Philip Rydeard managed to conclude that blood found on the suspects matched that of the victims but not just this , Rydeard also managed to prove that the shoe characteristics of one of the boys was found on the victim. A number of paint-marks were found both on the victims and the suspects clothes. These marks , light-blue in colour , established that this paint was used during or before the murder. This helped to further strengthen the evidence brought forward against Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/james-bulger/trial.html The number of blows that James suffered from the boys were so numerous that no forensic scientist was able to determine which blow was the fatal one. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/young/bulger/6.html Videotape recordings of the boys interrogations were shown in court as evidence by the prosecution. A pathologist , Alan Williams, utilised in the case concluded that James Bulgers foreskin had been manipulated with. Thus , this might imply that there was a sexual element in the murder , a notion that was never proven as the evidence was inconclusive. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/reexamining-the-evidence-a-year-ago-this-week-james-bulger-was-murdered-by-two-11yearold-boys-the-crime-shook-the-nation-the-boys-were-tried-convicted-and-locked-away-but-what-do-we-know-about-them-do-we-know-why-they-did-it-after-months-of-research-including-interviews-with-parents-of-both-boys-we-publish-in-two-parts-the-story-that-has-not-been-told-1392400.html This evidence was perhaps the weakest presented in court against the young defendants. In addition to this , the shopping centres CCTV tapes , the numerous weapons such as 27 bricks , stones and the 22lb iron rod were all presented in court to further remove all possibilities of the boys innocence. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/james-bulger-suffered-multiple-fractures-pathologist-reveals-twoyearold-had-42-injuries-including-fractured-skull-jonathan-foster-reports-1503297.html 38 witnesses also took the stand all saying that they saw Bulger accompanying Venables and Thompson on Bulgers fatal journey to the railway.A woman testified that she even stopped them and was going to take Bulger to the police station herself but withdrew from doing so and trusted the boys with the quest , little knowing what they were up to.http://www.murderuk.com/child_killers_thompson_venables.html The evidence presented in the case is both strong and unique , the blood found on the victim was matched with that of the suspect, the paint was also equal on both the victim and the suspects , whilst the shoeprint of one of the suspects was found on the victims body.In addition to this , CCTV cameras played a key role in this case as they showed the boys leaving the shopping premises whilst other CCTV cameras of premises leading to the railway also showed Bulger being accompanied by Venables and Thompson. .http://www.murderuk.com/child_killers_thompson_venables.html C(investigation) After the suspects were brought in for questioning, the police started to suspect that the involvement of Venables and Thompson in the murder was almost certain , yet they had to prove this and the fact that the suspects were both 10 years old did not help them all. Since the boys were under the age of 14 , a specific set of questions were asked by the police so that they can determine whether the suspects knew right from wrong and this would help to destroy the notion of doli incapax in court. The boys differ in their reaction to interrogation, Venables is terrified of the idea of going to prison , Thompson on the other hand , keeps his composure and stays cool despite fully knowing the consequences.They both start to slowly give details of the case with Venables stating that he was at the area but never at the shopping centre , Thompson on the other hand gives a vivid description of Bulger including the outfit Bulger was wearing the day of the murder.The police finally notice that Thompson can not conceal his nervousness whenever Bulger is mentioned until finally he breaks and admits that they had taken him to the railway.On the 20th of February 1993 , after managning to collect enough evidence , the police were finally able to charge both Venables and Thompson with the kidnapping and manslaughter of Bulger. http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/james-bulger/trial.html Despite the fact that the investigation was handled logically well given the tender age of the suspects , personally I still believe that it could have been handled better. First of all, I would have brought in the witnesses infront of the suspects to see the suspects reaction to them and perhaps get the confession out of them faster. In addition to this , I would have tried to put the fact that the suspects were mere boys aside as much as possible and fought for not just a confession but perhaps for an explanation as to why they committed the horrific murder. This would have been very helpful in court, not just to show the awareness that the boys had of the nature of the crime they committed, but to further establish whether these boys were a threat to society or whether this was just something that happened without any possible explanation. The pressure the police had from both the media and the whole nation certainly did not help them in their investigation and perhaps this is why the police were looking for a confession as quick as possible. Since the media was portraying the suspects as monsters it must have been very hard for the police to sympathize with the suspects as they could not understand why these boys had committed this murder.This would be where my investigation would differ, as I wouldve befriended the suspects , hard as it would have been , in order to try to get the truth perhaps by doing what you would with do any kid ; offering them a reward for their cooperation. This , I believe , would have played a crucial role in getting a confession out of the boys. D) Why it Happened?(Criminological theories) A number of criminological theories could be put into question in James Bulgers case but perhaps the most controversial one could be applied in this case; Cesare Lombrosos Born- Criminal theory. This criminological theory is inarguably the most dangerous one as it gives no logical explanation as the criminals themselves can not explain why they commit certain crimes and no one can recognise these crimininals except for their special characteristics or their odd behaviour according to Lombroso. http://roxbury.net/images/pdfs/ct4ssg.pdf This theory could be applied in this case as the boys never gave any real explanation to why they committed the crime, which might have been due to the fact that they did not possess any logical explanation which even if not entirely, it backs the Born-Criminal theory. This notion of being born criminal is also backed by the detectives who handled this case as they could find no other possible justification why children could murder children alike. On the other hand , in the case of Robert Thompson , the criminogenic family he was raised in could have played an important factor in his behaviour. His mother and his siblings were all mercilessly beaten by his father Robert Thompson senior who eventually abandoned his family. After this, his mother turned to drinking and violent behaviour became a habit if her aswell. This shows that Thompson was not immune to violent behaviour , which may in turn give some insight about his criminal behaviour. Jon Venables also showed a rather odd behaviour even if not entirely criminal at school after his parents split up.He demanded to have everything he wanted, and violence was his main amusement . In addition to this, when Jon Venables went to spend a few days with his father, he was exposed to some incredibly gr uesome videos or pornographic ones which were certainly not suitable for his young age.One of this videos , Childs Play 3 contained a horrific murder which was very close in resemblance to the one he and his friend Thompson committed. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1257614/The-police-sure-James-Bulgers-year-old-killers-simply-wicked-But-parents-dock.html Criminology is the study of criminal behaviour but in this case society seemed to deter from trying to understand these young boys , rather they enjoyed condemning them blaming everything from violent video games to problems in society such as divorce and theft amongst other things. This lead to society accepting the notion put forward by then Prime Minister John Major that society should try to understand a little less and rather condemn a little more. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/major-on-crime-condemn-more-understand-less-1474470.html

The History Of The Business Zara Commerce Essay

The History Of The Business Zara Commerce Essay The company selected for this assignment is Zara. A very brief history of Zara will be given. Then description of the companys operations and its advantages and shortcoming will be discussed. Then suggestions for innovation in its current information technology and operations will be given along with cost and risk analysis and possible ways to reduce the risks, followed by final conclusion. History: Zara is the most successful brand of Spanish company Grupo Inditex. Its owner, Amancio Ortega, opened first retail store in 1975 in La Coruna, a small port in Spain. Zara became the worlds largest fashion retailer by 2008 end. By this time it had stores in over 70 countries, out performing its rivals like Gap of USA and Sweden based HM (Hennes Maurits) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/12/retail.spain). Zaras Innovative Operations: Daniel Piette, director of fashion, LVMH described Zara as possibly the most devastating and innovating retailer in the world http://tbmdb.blogspot.com/2009/12/business-model-example-zara-devastating.html, owing to the companys innovative and unique approach in fashion retail: Zara has a vertically integrated supply chain, controlling most of the design phase, production phase and distribution system, down to its chain of retail outlets around the world. Some part of the manufacturing process is handled by Zaras sister concerns with nearby locations. Unlike its competitors Zara does not outsource its production to Asian developing countries. Proximity of production and distribution units provides more flexibility so that the company can meet the ever-changing demands of the consumers more efficiently than its competitors. Zara has integrated the system of POS (Point Of Sales) that helps in monitoring what designs are bringing in maximum sales at the retail shops. Store managers are allowed freedom to decide which designs to display and which ones to return, depending on the sales of those designs. Store employees gather feedbacks from the customers and convey the information to headquarters via PDAs. Design teams immediately respond to these feedbacks and begin designing new clothes accordingly. The clothes are manufactured and distributed to the retail stores within a short period of 2 to 4 weeks owing to the vertical integration of its supply chain. While its rivals are busy finding what the latest trends might be and eventually delivering new designs in 4 to 9 months, Zara manages to design, manufacture and distribute new designs in just 30 days. Zara only produces small quantities of each style so that there is continuous demand of popular designs, cutting down on manufacturing costs as well. Thus Zara delivers around 12000 different styles in a year whereas its competitors can produce only 4000-5000 per year. Hence, the company-coined phrase, fast fashion http://www.3isite.com/articles/ImagesFashion_Zara_Part_I.pdf Current Technology in Information Communication Zara spends only 0.5% of its revenue on information technology compared to expenditure of 2% by its competitors. An order form is transmitted to each managers PDA asking for information such as availability of garments and patterns of garment sales. The managers divide this order form into sections that are transmitted to the PDAs of each employee to fill up, based on customers feedback and the kind of designs sold. Employees transmit back their respective completed sections to the managers PDAs. The manager is given total authority to determine which sections are to be retained in the order form. The edited order form is sent back to headquarters where the designing teams start designing according to the requirements. This strategy helps in managing the inventories efficiently and forms a fast link between demand and supply, justifying the doctrine of fast fashion. Summing up Zaras use of technology http://leoborjblog.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/zara-it-for-fast-fashion/: Gather customer requirements PDAs Logistics and transmission of order form POS terminals and modems. Quickly designing new style CAD (Computer Aided Design) Advantages of such an Innovative System Vertical integration of supply chain and short turn-around time lead to high turnover of product. Quick and efficient distribution helps to eliminate warehouse requirement, saving on additional storage costs. Searching the market for latest fashion trends and responding quickly to the consumer requirements with the help of hand-held PDAs. Complete autonomy and flexibility to the employees and managers who are in direct contact with the customers. POS terminals run on DOS operating system, which is cheap and easy to maintain and operate. Zaras operations are quite innovative and effective, but there is still scope for further improvements in its IT operations and inventory management. Perceived limitations of this System http://www.slideshare.net/koffman/zara-case-study-2780928 Zara has have been using DOS as its main operating system in all the processes. It is an outdated operating system. As the POS vendor supplies DOS OS to zara only, it can always stop its supply, while continue to supply other operating systems to its other customers. Store managers are the decision makers. Zara headquarter relies solely on the experience and intuition of the managers. Instead of looking after customers, managers and employees have the time-consuming task of manually entering the garment details in small PDAs. This could result in the employees failing to assist some customers in choosing and might miss out on few garment sales. Inventory is maintained manually as well. Information transmitted is one way only. Managers have no knowledge of the inventories at headquarters and the stores distribution centre. Consequently managers cannot promise a customer if a particular garment that has been sold out, can be replenished and in how many days. Promises made to customers not kept can damage Zaras reputation, so the managers need to know about the garments inventories at headquarters and the distribution centres. There is a great demand for Zaras garments even though new designs are available twice a week. Zara may consider increase in production to meet these ever growing demands. Gathering of information therefore may need to be upgraded in terms of frequency. Its competitors can change to a better OS or software package and increase their turn around time, neutralizing Zaras edge of fast fashion over them. New IT Technology for Sustainability http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=97642; http://www.slideshare.net/koffman/zara-case-study-2780928 Benefits: New technology may not help Zara in increasing the competitive edge over its competitors but will help in sustaining that edge. A new operating system will help in installing software packages that will help in efficiently maintaining inventory at the stores as well as headquarters and distribution centers. Upgrading to new OS will remove the companys dependency on its current supplier of DOS. Using more than one IT supplier will increase Zaras bargaining power. A Network can be set up between HQ, production centers and retail stores. POS system can be automated so that each sale will automatically update the POS devices. If the POS system of all stores can be interlinked all the store managers can easily know the inventory online and can make and keep their promises to customers demanding a particular garment. POS automation will help reduce overall workload of the employees and managers, as they will not have to manually enter every detail required in the order form. No more large data inputs in small PDAs. Dedicated POS software will ensure that orders will now be made on the basis of theoretical inventories and will be more accurate. Orders can be now placed continually increasing the frequency from twice a week to daily. Ideal software to be used for integration would be ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). Linking all the process in the supply chain, from HQ, design centers to retail stores, will not only help the managers in accessing inventories but will also help HQ to regulate the supplies more accurately according to the orders placed. Production will become even leaner than before. ECQ (Economic Order Quantity) can help in determining optimal quantities of different garments that customers can order so that the store has sufficient stock, while cutting down inventory cost. Knowing reorder levels will streamline managing of the inventory and help in maintaining the autonomy of the managers. Managers can determine from the reorder levels whether a particular garment needs to be ordered before it will go out of stock and can transmit the same to the production centers that are now linked to the retail outlets. Of course manual checks will still be needed occasionally to check a stores real time inventory is same as the theoretical inventory in case of exceptions like garments getting stolen or gone missing. Designers at HQ will not depend entirely on the managers intuition and can observe themselves sales of new designs due to two-way system integration by ERP. Just in case a store does run out of stock on a particular garment, the manager can easily check the inventories of local nearby stores for availability and suggest the customer to go there. Inter-store connectivity will have added advantage of shipping garments to another store that has more demand of a particular garment. This will further increase the speed-to-market. Besides HQ even managers of different stores will benefit if they know through network what is selling at other stores and what is not. Cost Analysis: Zara will have to upgrade to better OS that will support ERP like Linux, Unix or Windows NT. Implementation cost of Linux is lowest of the three OS. But recurring costs like service-contract is much higher (McAfee et al) http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=97642. Annual cost of using Unix is the lowest and if functionality remains more or less same, Unix will be best suited. If other costs like plans for systems failure are not taken into consideration then implementation cost will be relatively much lower than prospective ROI (Return On Investment). Risk Analysis: Changing software and operating system in all retail shops world over is not an easy task. Due to location of Zaras retail outlets all over the world, there will be many extra tangible costs. Cost of replacing current POS system with the new one. Cost of installation of new cables in each store and maybe new infrastructure to support the cables. Cost of external IT support, hiring professional consultants. Cost of internal IT management and technical training of personnel. Time period needed to train the personnel till outside assistance is no longer required, cannot be accurately predicted. This is because levels of training and learning will be different at different locations around the world. Knowing other stores inventory may have a drawback. If two stores in the same general area have a demand of same design and employees of one store get to know that only the other store has received the garments due to shortage of supplies, it may lead to a political situation. Risk Reduction: Zara should ensure that managers of different stores, particularly in the same area or district should have good rapport and understanding with each other so that they can ask for and receive garments in the rare but probable case of shortage of supply. Both current and new systems should operate together till the personnel of each store can run the new system smoothly; this will not interrupt any service provided to customers. Zara has a huge pilot outlet that is around 1,500 square meters. Zara can use this as training facility for its personnel from all over the world. Zara can use it to test the new system as well. Zara can hire experienced software professionals and open an in-house department for software management and development. Zara can outsource the management and development to experienced software companies. However Zara will have to trade-off between highly efficient and expensive companies. Zara should form scenarios and identify the possible outcomes. This will provide a deeper understanding of its implementation strategy. Option analysis Zara can consider different options like expand options if the current scenario is favorable or defer options if not favorable. The company can also consider stage options where it can invest in predefined stages of the implementation process. This way it will have the flexibility of abandoning the new project at any stage and reverting to the old DOS system, if any major problem occurs. Implementation staging can be done by first testing the new system at Zara HQ. If successful, further testing can be done in a single district having more than one retail outlet. This process will continue by successively increasing the testing area from one district to number of districts, whole of Spain and finally Europe, if implementation at each stage is successful. Zara should develop a contingency plan and an exit plan as well in case the company cannot continue with the up-gradation, or has to abandon the new system for some reason. Efficient data backup is required in case the new system crashes due to mishandling by inexperienced staff etc. Conclusion By and large, continually increasing the frequency of information within the supply chain will help Zara to meet demand and supply requirements more efficiently and effectively. This efficiency will reflect at the stores and production and distribution centres as well, increasing the speed of delivery and further fulfilling almost every single customers individual tastes and requirements. Consequently it will provide a more firm control over operations and perhaps a more proactive working environment. Assimilating all the data at different stores and supply chain process units, into a single system will facilitate sharing of returns, ordering and sales information. This will result in more accurate stocks measurements and real-time measurements. New innovation in the companys information technology can have some other benefits as well. The ERP system will in a way connect the employees of a store to those at other stores around the world bringing forth a new feeling of integrity. Working on new and advanced applications may well lead to employee satisfaction and a feeling of pride. This can produce a highly motivated and efficient work force. Sustainability is a critical factor in any companys expansion plans, especially in a global company like Zara. Therefore Zara should continually acclimatize its business competencies of product development, promotion, communication and information technology according to its global expansion operations. However it should be noted that Zara has been operating successfully for more than three decades with a decentralized, autonomous (for stores) and informal working culture. Care should be taken in not enforcing too many standardized and regimental tasks. It can easily disrupt the creativity and working relationship of its task force. Innovation and incorporating new technology should not radically change a successful businesss operations, rather it should be used to facilitate it or grease the wheels.

Early Prevention is Key in Reducing Bullying at an Earlier Age Essay

Early Prevention is Key in Reducing Bullying at an Earlier Age Starting at very young ages there are bullies. They develop early and often never grow out of that stage, but rather it just increases with time and age so the crimes become more serious. This is why it is necessary to target children with their unkind or violent tendencies before it gets out of control. Children usually turn into bullies for reasons such as craving attention, wanting power, low self-esteem, inability to control anger, revenge, or even to be popular. Popularity comes to bullies in grade school because students who like and are liked by the bully will most likely not be bothered, so it becomes a safety issue. With this last point especially, it just encourages the bullying to continue. Victims of bullies usually have something unique about them that may seem like a reason to be ridiculed. This includes things as simple as having braces or glasses, being very shy, or even for being what students may consider to be 'too smart.' Not only are bullies the ones who grow up to cause problems, but the victims do as well. If a child is constantly picked on and made fun of, their self-esteem could plummet. This could cause them to turn into a bully just so as not to be bullied anymore, or they could be driven to innumerable actions that could very well affect schools. There was a case of an extremely intelligent boy named Nathan who was also overweight. He thought that once he entered middle school the kids would have grown up and he would meet new and nicer people. It turned out that it only got worse in middle school and he was pushed beyond his limit. He took a gun to school one day and shot himself in front of the other students (... ...etrieved April 22, 2009 from http://www.libertarianrock.com/topics/school/no_drug_test_after_fighting.html Zewe, C. (2008, August 4). Violent schools: perception or reality? Retrieved April 23, 2002 from http://www.cnn.com/US/9808/24/school.violence/ Jane?s Information Group (2001, April 19). Responding to school shootings. Retrieved May 2, 2002 from http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jssh/jssh020429_1_n.shtml Information about the recent mass shooting in a German school by a 19 year old boy. Lemonick, M. D., Wallace, C. P. (2002, May 6). Germany?s columbine. Time, 36. Retrieved April 28, 2002 from Ebscohost. Kyl, J. (2008, June 1). American needs to jumpstart the war on drugs. Inside Tucson Business 8(10), 5. Retrieved April 28, 2002 from Ebscohost. Statistics on drug usage in high schools, showing we need to help it.

Essay --

　　We are living in an imperfect world where evil exists. Everyday when we turn on the radio or start reading the newspaper, we will definitely come across news where someone’s life was taken away or something evil has happened which has caused people to suffer. For example, a natural disaster, a car accident, wars between two countries or someone being robbed. If evil does not exists in this world, tragedies will not happen and people will not need to suffer. 　　In â€Å"God and the Problem of Evil,† B.C. Johnson argues that evil rules out the existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good God because there are many evil things that are happening in this world. In this paper, I am going to argue that God is only all-good but not all-powerful and all-knowing. 　　God is all-knowing, God is all-powerful, God is all-good, suffering and evil will not exists in this world. When we read or hear of disasters, deaths and sufferings, we always question why God would allow all these to happen. We always question God why God did not prevent them from happening. We always question why He would allow innocent people to suffer in different ways? Why does evil exists? 　　If God is all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good, then evil should not exists in this world. In this case, the problem is if God is all-knowing, he should be wise enough to not let people suffer and if God is all-powerful, he should be able to stop evil. Also, if God is all-good, he should let the world be perfect and let everyone live a peaceful life with harmony. Since evil exists in this world, thus, God is not all-knowing, all-powerful or all-good. 　　The conclusion of the argument is that God may not be all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good because the existence of evil rule... ...any jobs to be lost and as a result an increase in unemployment rate. 　　Thus, God is all-good because he cannot allow the unemployment rate to increase and he does not want to see people jobless. In other words, he is not powerful enough to control the whole situation and make the world perfect. Therefore, evil still rules the world. The arguments stated above prove that God is not all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good. If he is, then the world will be a perfect place without the existence of evil. But we all know accidents, disasters, murders, sufferings and many other evil things do happen, we can conclude that there is no perfect world and God is not all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good. From all of the examples that I mentioned above, it is evident that evil do exists side-by-side God, this means that God is not able to rule evil. Thus, God is only all-good. Essay -- 　　We are living in an imperfect world where evil exists. Everyday when we turn on the radio or start reading the newspaper, we will definitely come across news where someone’s life was taken away or something evil has happened which has caused people to suffer. For example, a natural disaster, a car accident, wars between two countries or someone being robbed. If evil does not exists in this world, tragedies will not happen and people will not need to suffer. 　　In â€Å"God and the Problem of Evil,† B.C. Johnson argues that evil rules out the existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good God because there are many evil things that are happening in this world. In this paper, I am going to argue that God is only all-good but not all-powerful and all-knowing. 　　God is all-knowing, God is all-powerful, God is all-good, suffering and evil will not exists in this world. When we read or hear of disasters, deaths and sufferings, we always question why God would allow all these to happen. We always question God why God did not prevent them from happening. We always question why He would allow innocent people to suffer in different ways? Why does evil exists? 　　If God is all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good, then evil should not exists in this world. In this case, the problem is if God is all-knowing, he should be wise enough to not let people suffer and if God is all-powerful, he should be able to stop evil. Also, if God is all-good, he should let the world be perfect and let everyone live a peaceful life with harmony. Since evil exists in this world, thus, God is not all-knowing, all-powerful or all-good. 　　The conclusion of the argument is that God may not be all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good because the existence of evil rule... ...any jobs to be lost and as a result an increase in unemployment rate. 　　Thus, God is all-good because he cannot allow the unemployment rate to increase and he does not want to see people jobless. In other words, he is not powerful enough to control the whole situation and make the world perfect. Therefore, evil still rules the world. The arguments stated above prove that God is not all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good. If he is, then the world will be a perfect place without the existence of evil. But we all know accidents, disasters, murders, sufferings and many other evil things do happen, we can conclude that there is no perfect world and God is not all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good. From all of the examples that I mentioned above, it is evident that evil do exists side-by-side God, this means that God is not able to rule evil. Thus, God is only all-good.

Catcher in The Rye by J. D. Salinger

In the novel Catcher in The Rye, Salinger has employed a very realistic portrayal of teenagers and how they act. There are plenty of characteristic on how he properly conveyed this to the audience and he also spread these characteristics through-out all of the characters that are used within the novel.Firstly, you have Holden; a teenager who is not always the brightest bulb in the cabinet, but he has a clear understanding on how the world works and yet he ironically does not have the brains to execute this knowledge directly into the world. Secondly, you have Stradlater; a teenager who just spends all his time going out with girls and partying. Some might say he is a ‘party animal’. Lastly, you have Ackley; a mostly grotesque teenager who does not listen to social cues, acts profoundly around people actions and his practically obnoxious about everything (not knowing, that is how he is acting though). So, Salinger’s opinion (when it comes to characteristics of a te enager) is that all teenagers are blatantly ignorant everything, that all teenagers think they can just coast their way through life and do not have any respect for the people around us.Holden does not really think about what he is going to say, he just kind of spits everything out. Maybe he is an intelligent boy and all, but how he speaks and what he says proves otherwise. Holden states â€Å"I practically got T.B†¦ I’m pretty healthy, though.† (J.D Salinger, 5) In this sentence he talks about basically having a life threatening disease and then tries to reassure to the reader that he is ‘pretty healthy’, I personally think that in a logical statement he would have said something on the lines of â€Å"I practically got T.B†¦ [I should get that checked out].† (J.D Salinger, 5)While Holden is having a conversation with Mr. Spencer he even acknowledges his own stupidity to himself/the reader through the idea of immaturity. â€Å"I was sixte en then, and I’m seventeen now, and sometimes I act like I’m about thirteen.† (Salinger, 9) It is kind of ironic if you think about it, he does not want to be known as dumb or stupid or an idiot, yet he has the  occasional time when he acts like a thirteen year old. Holden, he understands where his faults are, but he cannot come to a conclusion on how to actually fix them he just carries on with his day as if it does not matter.Holden’s roommate Stradlater thoroughly enjoys going out on Friday night, Saturday night, well every night. To do so, he has to find ways to be able to still do well in school while 0slacking off and shrugging all his work aside and his solution; anyone he can find. At one point Stradlater and Holden (because they are roommates) meet up in their room and Stradlater asks Holden is he can do a big favour for him and if he was planning on going out. Holden replies asking what the favour is and that he did not have plans of any sorts. Afterwards Stradlater asks ‘the big question’, â€Å"I got about a hundred pages to read for history†¦ How ‘bout writing a composition for me†¦?† (Salinger, 28)In this instance he had just initiated a vital opening for Holden to be a friend or to just blow him off, and Holden accepts the offer and says he will do the paper for him. Stradlater had just avoided doing his work for one reason; he wanted to go out that night with a girl.Stradlater is also a guy who knows how to be flattering enough that he can convince people to do things for him, you could look at it as he has it better than everyone else because he is ‘prettier’ than other people. He compliments Holden’s new hat with the term â€Å"sharp† and then almost instantaneously afterwards asks â€Å"Listen. Are ya gonna write that composition for me? I have to know.† (Salinger, 29) Why did he need to know you might ask? Well, if Holden has explicitly said à ¢â‚¬Å"no.† to him then Stradlater would have stayed in that night to do it, although Holden says â€Å"If I get the time, I will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Salinger, 29) Stradlater, using Holden like a boat in the river of life, just expects Holden to float on his way through life, carrying Stradlater along while he is having a party in the boat.Finally, there is Ackley. Now, Ackley has a knack for hanging out in the wrong place for too long. In chapter three, Holden is laying down in his room reading a book and enjoying the feeling of his new hat on the top of his head when, let it be hold that his neighbour Ackley comes strolling over into his room without any true intent on why he is there.Ackley moves  friskily around the room, touching everything he can multiple times while trying to hold a conversation with Holden (who clearly does not want one). â€Å"I’ve read this same sentence about twenty times since you came in.† (Salinger, 20) After stating that Ackley was a disturbance to him, he still did not get the hint and clearly not picking up on the cue to get out of Holden’s room. Later on while Ackley is still occupying the room, Holden says to his self â€Å"I sometimes horse around to keep myself from getting bored.† (Salinger, 21) Once Holden starts to annoy Ackley, trying to make him vacate the room he STILL does not leave. So, clearly Ackley has a problem with following what people are trying to put out to him because he is just plain ignorant about other people and quite frankly himself if you were to take a look at how he manages his outer image.In conclusion, J.D Salinger has made the novel Catcher in The Rye a story that really shows how teenagers act/acted. Salinger also adds his own input on how he thinks teenagers act and/or acted in our time period and the time period at which this novel was written and/or published in through the characters he had created. Three of the main characters; Holden, Stradlater and Ackley are all extremely different which expresses a wide variety of teenager characteristic.Holden symbolizes blatant ignorance for the world around him, Stradlater shows us how un-caring and un-motivated teenagers are when it comes to working on anything and lastly, Ackley describes the lack of respect that we as teenagers have for the people around us. Salinger has made it pretty clear that he believes that teenagers need to change and used this novel to get his point across the world.

Custom Fabricators Case Solution

I. Problem: How can Custom Fabricators, Inc. (CFI) prevent a possible business takeover of the Mexican suppliers and at the same time, ensure long-term profitability? II. Assumptions: 1. The case is set on the current year. 2. The Mexican suppliers will win the bid and production will move to Mexico. 3. In case CFI would switch to contract manufacturing, the contracted volume of units that they will produce is within the range of their production under lean manufacturing. 4. Orleans would shoulder the cost of shipping products from Mexico to CFI only. III. Alternatives: Based on the opportunities of CFI, the group has identified three alternatives for the company to implement: a. Work closely with Mexican suppliers This involves establishment of effective communication lines (e. g. through Internet, video conferencing), assigning a representative to monitor quality of products to be shipped, sending quality control machines to Mexico or asking Orleans to require the Mexican suppliers to conduct quality check before shipment. b. Differentiate product and/or expand market This involves developing more advanced products (e. . touch-screen elevator control panels) or expanding its target market (e. g. instead of just supplying control panels for elevators it can also create ones for ATMs, safety vaults etc. ) c. Switch to contract manufacturing This means instead of producing outputs only when Orleans needs it, CFI would now have a fixed production per month that they would need to deliver. IV. Analysis: First, let us identify the major is sues in the case. Currently, CFI has several strengths that help them establish a competitive advantage. First is the company’s proximity to the construction site and to the Bedford plant which serves as its supplier as it was able to keep the transportation costs minimal. Another one is its customer intimacy. Because CFI knows exactly what Orleans needs and when to provide it, it is able to cater to their customer’s demands in time with good quality products. Having been in the business for over 15 years, CFI was also able to set up efficient operations which helped them on becoming a lean manufacturer. It also has loyal and skilled employees that are satisfied in their job. Lastly, its business has also been profitable with a high profit margin of almost 30%. However, the company also has several weaknesses that we must take into consideration. First, CFI is a private company which means it has limited financing options and relies heavily on its revenues as generated by its operations. Also, because it wants to maintain its good relationship with its employees it could not reduce labor cost. Because of Orleans’ increasing efforts to reduce costs, the company faces the threat of having the production of raw materials moved to Mexico because of the cheaper labor costs there. If that would happen (and this paper assumes that it will), CFI might have problems with shipping back items that are not of par quality in addition to possible problems in communication. Moreover, there is also the threat of competition as Orleans might look for other suppliers in Mexico to continue to lower costs and since CFI couldn’t lower its costs anymore, Orleans might just source totally from Mexico. Now, let us analyze each of the alternatives. The first one is to work closely with its Mexican suppliers. Through this, CFI will be able to ensure the quality and secure shipment of units to their company. It would also lessen chances of error in production and delivery and decrease waiting costs for the unit replacements. However, there is the uncertainty of soliciting cooperation from the Mexican suppliers and sending a representative or a quality control machine in Mexico is costly. Moreover, the Mexican suppliers might gain knowledge of CFI’s efficient production process which increases the risk of business takeover. If CFI will differentiate its product, it would be able to lessen its dependence on Orleans as it would be able to get more customers and therefore generate more income. Also, there is a lesser risk of business takeover as their product will increase competitive advantage as it was able to provide more value for a small additional cost. This can also be related to the alternative of market expansion as its differentiated product could open new market opportunities for them. However, it should also be considered that this alternative requires more investment in R&D and other equipment. Also there are risks of market failure and having problems in meeting demand due to its limited capacity. Lastly, we have the alternative of switching from lean manufacturing to contract manufacturing. This would help CFI develop economies of scale and receive fixed income or stable inflow of revenues. Because of this, it will be able to better allocate its resources and might even reduce labor costs as it would generally need less workers. CFI can also use its excess capacity to cater to other customers or work on other products. However, this can also be a factor against them because Orleans might be reluctant to have it as a contract manufacturer thus increasing the risk of CFI being replaced by a Mexican supplier. In addition to that, this alternative also comes with termination costs and decrease in competitive advantage. V. Plan of Action: After analyzing the position and the possible alternatives of CFI, we created an action plan that takes into consideration the long-run costs and benefits of each option and its technical, operational and economic feasibility given the current capacity, resources, and opportunities of the company. Based on the analysis, CFI could undertake several alternatives but each should be implemented at the right time. Here is the proposed action and contingency plans for the company: Short-term (1-2 years) Assuming that the production of raw materials will move to Mexico, the best immediate action that CFI could undertake is to work closely with the Mexican suppliers. The company might not be able to lower its costs anymore but they could still ensure that the products that they create are still of good quality and are able to meet the demand. Moreover, we see that it is unlikely for Orleans to eliminate CFI in the supply chain as it would be more costly for them to look for new Mexican suppliers considering that they already established a good business relationship and developed the efficiency caused by over 15 years of working together. Long-term (More than 2 years) To address the issue of ensuring long-run profitability knowing that CFI couldn’t compete with Mexican suppliers in terms of cost, it can try to differentiate its products to enhance its competitive advantage. Since the company has a high profit margin and loyal workers that produce when there is only a demand for it, it could use these as additional investment in R&D and be used to cater to other consumer demands. Because of this, it would be impractical for Orleans to eliminate CFI in the supply chain as they would get more value from it that they couldn’t just get anywhere easily. Moreover, CFI could also see get an opportunity to expand its market for its unique selling proposition therefore increasing its profitability.