Paul Reveres Midnight Ride Essays - Foundrymen, Paul Revere

Paul Revere's Midnight Ride Paul Revere was a very patriotic man who would later save some of the leaders of what now is our country. Paul was a silversmith in the town of Boston. He came over to the colonies from France. His father taught him the silversmiths trade. He also became a gold and copper smith. Then on, He became very interested in patriotism and independence from Britain. He engraved alot of cartoons which were published in the Boston news papers. He was also one of the fifty people who took place in the Boston Tea party. He married Sarah Orne and had eight kids who most died at infancy. Then his wife Sarah died after having their eighth child . A few years later he married Rachel Walker and had eight more children. He served for the people of Boston as a special messenger.(101) On March 5, 1770 people were taunting the British and throwing snowballs at them . They got so fed up and started firing shots. Six people were killed. The Boston Massacre was just one of the many violent acts that were to follow. After the Boston Massacre the British removed all taxes except for a small tax on tea. Boston wasn't the only town who refused the tea just one of the most violent. Paul Revere and his accomplices came up with a plan. They would paint their faces and dress up like Indians and go aboard the boat that held tea from the East India Company. They emptied the tea chests into the water while people cheered from the docks. One man stole some tea for his own use had to run around town(100) with no water or breaks and they also nailed his coat to a wall which was some kind of symbolic gesture. After the Boston Tea Party King George shut off Boston Harbor which was Boston's only resource. Paul's first ride was to ride to other colonies and tell them about what happene d and to ask them for

The Fab Four essays

The Fab Four essays Inspired by the simple guitar-and-washboard music of Lonnie Doengan and later by United States pop artists such as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Little Richard, John Lennon formed his own group, the Quarrymen, known present day as the Beatles. The Beatles originally started out with five members but later decreased to four, and all of the members were from Liverpool, England. The Beatles struggled to their rise to fame, and the first time their song was played in the United States it was actually a fluke by a local disc jockey. There was a period of Beatlemania in both Europe and the United States and the Beatles also won more awards and set more records than any other band in the history of music. Unfortunately the Beatles broke up in 1970 and present day two of the members are deceased. The remaining members are still in the record industry and go on tours all over the world. The British rock group, the Beatles, took the world of popular music by storm during the 1960s and left a lasting impact on todays pop and rock and The rock and roll band, the Beatles, was made up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Richard Starkey, or more commonly known as Ringo Starr. John Winston Lennon was born October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England. Lennon has been exhumed in print more than any other popular musical figure, and Lennon has also changed many lives , ...he changed many lives, mostly for the better (mtv.com). Lennon was tragically murdered on December 8, 1980 in New York City, New York, every year on the anniversary of John Lennons death the world still mourns his death. James Paul McCartney was born June 18, 1942 in Liverpool, England. Although commitments to the Beatles not unnaturally took precedence, bass player and vocalist McCartney nonetheless pursued several outside projects during this tenure. Guitarist George Harrison was born ...

The Implications of the Great Recession of 2008 on U.S. Unionization Essay

The Implications of the Great Recession of 2008 on U.S. Unionization - Essay Example In other words, banks issued too much loans directed in real estate and as a consequence, prices were pushed up. In addition, Hetzel (2012) notes that debts grew faster than income and in the long run more people were unable to service their loans. This followed a financial crisis as the situation pushed banks to near bankruptcy and closure. One of the areas in the economy greatly affected by the recession of 2008 was employment sector. In light of the fact that a huge percentage of workers is presented by unions, this discussion elucidates the implications of the great recession of 2008 on U.S. unionization. To understand the implications of the 2008 great recession on U.S. unionization, it would be of significance to first describe unionization prior to the recession. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of workers represented by unions was at the highest level in the 1950s at 35 percent of the entire workforce (Hetzel, 2010). In 1983, figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 17.7 million workers were unionized (Hetzel, 2010). This figure represented 20.1 percent of the total workforce in the U.S. In 2009, Hetzel (2010) notes that the figure had dropped to 12.3 percent of the total workforce. Though the number of union members was reducing from the 1950s, the rate was stringent in 2009 and 2010 after the great recession of 2008. In 2010 for instance, approximately 612,000 union memberships were lost (Tilly, 2010). Before explicating the implications of the 2008 recession on U.S. unionization, it would also be important to demonstrate its impact on the rate of unemployment. Tilly (2010), in a documented material directed to the Global Labor University Conference in Berlin in 2010, asserted that the rate of unemployment peaked in the period following the great recession of 2008. In fact, Tilly (2010) notes that unemployment rate rose to

Organizational Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Organizational Managment - Essay Example In this regard, it has been observed that the organizational change usually brings a change in the quality, cost and satisfaction of the product or service that the organization manufactures or produces, respectively. For instance, Reid et al. (2010) undertook a detailed study of the health care organizations to evaluate the change in the quality, cost and satisfaction in the organization after the incorporation of patient-centric medical home model. The model required that the healthcare policies and regulations should be re-written with the focus on patient care, requirements, needs and wants instead of management’s point of view. As a result, the study showed that after the implementation of the model, the patient’s burnout cases, their experiences at the hospital and the costs of the facility have improved substantially within the lapse of twenty four months since the incorporation. This shows that there is a positive relationship of the cost, quality and satisfacti on of organization and its customers with the organizational change. Reid, R.J., et. al. (2010). The group health medical home at year two: cost savings, higher patient satisfaction, and less burnout for providers. Health Affairs, 29 (5): pp. 835-843. Retrieved 29 July 2012 from

Native American Religious Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Native American Religious Studies - Essay Example His studies on this group of people covered the language of Western Apaches, patterns of silence in social interaction, witchcraft beliefs, and ceremonial symbolism, and others. The idea for Wisdom Sits in Places originated from a conducted study of Apache places; how the Apache refer to their land, the place-names; the stories behind the names of each place, and how these place-names are being used in everyday conversations by Apache men and women. The publication is a stunning informative study of the use of landscape and language in the social life of the Western Apaches. And one would find it wonderful how language influence and shape the way a person thinks, and how wisdom can sit in places, and that a race’s language is intimately linked to the land where they sprang. The book is divided into four sections: Quoting the Ancestors, Stalking with Stories, Speaking with Names, and Wisdom Sits in Places. Each chapter revolves around the design that landscape and language serve distinct purpose in the life of Western Apaches. Chapter 4 is a look on the path of wisdom in the Western Apache society. In this, Basso, with the guidance of an Apache friend named Dudley Patterson, explained that there are two conditions of the mind: "steadiness of mind" (bIni gonldzil), and "resilience of mind" (bIni gontliz). These two conditions will in turn lead the person to another mental condition: which he called â€Å"smoothness of mind† (bIni godilkooh), considered being a more desirable mental condition. These three conditions, according to his study, are not inborn; therefore, an individual needs to work on his mind in order to gain wisdom. Working on one’s mind could be through being observant on different places, learn their place-names, and then reflect on traditional narratives that give emphasis on the importance and intrinsic worth of wisdom. The idea of

Supplier Relationship Importance And Supply Chain Management

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

A people and a nation :: essays research papers

Oral Cancer consists of cancer cells in the mouth, including the lip, gums cheeks, tongue, tonsils, and floor of the mouth. In 1992 there were approximately 11,500 new cases diagnosed and 2,200 deaths in the United States. It’s a proven fact that more men then women are affected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The primary cause of mouth cancer is tobacco use. Like smoking, chewing, and dipping. Smokers are 4 to 15 times more likely to develop cancer of the mouth. Another cause of this cancer is chronic or excessive alcohol consumption. Epidemiological research has indicated that the risk of cancer is higher among people who drink, even if they don’t smoke. If they do smoke, the risk is multiplied. Other risk factors include certain nutritional deficiencies, and even too much sun can cause some cases of cancer of the lower lip.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Early cancers of the mouth may appear as red, slightly raised areas with ill-defined borders. There could be a lump that can be felt with the tip of the tongue or a sore that doesn’t heal. Eating or drinking may be difficult and cause some soreness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many types of cancer you can be diagnosed with. A symptom of lip cancer may be an enlarging growth that repeatedly forms a dry crust that bleeds when removed. It may not be painful unless it becomes an open sore or gets infected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cancers of the gum may appear as a toothache, loose teeth, or a sore that does not heal. Bleeding and mild pain may occur if the area is injured.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most common symptom of tongue cancer is a mild irritation. Pain may only occur during eating or drinking. Extensive involvement of the muscles of the tongue can affect speech and swallowing. Advanced tumors may produce a bad smell.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cancer of the tonsils often does not produce any symptoms until it is somewhat advanced, at which point there may be a sore throat that is aggravated by eating, drinking, and an earache.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diagnostic procedures may include a manual exam by a doctor, x-rays, and a biopsy. There are different stages for cancer of the mouth, here are some; o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stage 1- cancer is no more than 2 centimeters and has not spread to lymph nodes in the area o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stage 2- the cancer is no more than 2 cm but less than 4, and has not spread to lymph nodes. o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stage 3- the cancer is more then 4 cm or the cancer is nay size but has spread to only one lymph node on the same side of the neck as the cancer and the lymph node is no larger than 3 cm.

Culture and Telecommunication Essay

Telecommunication has been defined as a science of technology and communication at a distance by electronic transmission of impulses, as by cable, telephone, telegraph, radio, or television. Telecommunications is an important area of professional growth. It has also been define as the electronic systems used transmitting messages, as by cable telegraph, telephone, radio, and television. Despite of the sophistication of today’s state of the art communications technology, communication gap is still prevalent and unresolved in the twentieth century. According Minako O’Hagan, communications technology has done â€Å"nothing to resolve the language barriers that prevent a free flow of communication among people who speak different languages† (p. 1) O’Hagan pointed out that today’s world of modern communication, distance, time, and quality have â€Å"ceased to be an issue† as â€Å"Webs of communications networks covering the globe criss-crossing each other with electronic highways on which voice, data and images flow at the speed of light, oblivious to physical boundaries and national borders. These highways provide the backbone of the information structure in the same way as the transport network provides the backbone of the physical infrastructure† (p. 2) However, despite of the modernization of the technology of human communication language barriers remains unresolved in most parts of the world. O’Hagan cited a case in March 1989, at an international hotel in Auckland New Zealand, where a Japanese businessperson with very limited English made a call to the hotel reception. The English-speaking receptionist struggle as she cannot understand her Japanese guest, she then assumes that the man wanted to make a long distance call to Japan guest so she connects him with the international operator who had also difficulty communicating with the man so she puts him through to an international operator in Japan. Finally, the Japanese operator informs the New Zealand operator that the man merely would like to order breakfast delivered to his room. An internet article entitled Communication emphasized that not understanding the language can impede human communication as shown by the case in point above as messages, verbal and non-verbal are in a different language. Context, history of the occasion, relationship, and culture are some of the factors that need to be addressed to be able to have effective human communication. Human communication varied depending on the particular occasion. Jungle drums, smoke signals, morse code, photography, and art are artificial communication instrument used by different groups of people even today. These instruments are as effective and as clear as the verbal communication. The most common methods of communication, which commonly used every day, are the written and spoken language, hand signals, and body language. In general, the mediums of human communications are the mass media, composed of print and broadcast, which denote a section of the media, conceived and designed to reach a large audience, and the telecommunication, which is another major communication medium that conveys signals over a space for the purpose of communication. The article emphasized that modern method of communication such as; via-e-mail, internet forums, and text messaging now permit for intense long-distance exchanges between larger numbers of people, while the traditional broadcast media and mass media such as television, cinema, radio, newspaper, and magazines, still cling to one to many type of communication. Verbal Communication According to Robert M. Krauss of the Columbia University, communication takes place when signals transmit information-bearing messages between a source and a destination (p. 2). Krauss noted that human communication is distinguished for its exactitude and flexibility through the use of language. Verbal communication necessitates the use of words, symbols, vocabulary, and numbers and is arranged in sentences using language. It includes phrasing of words clearly and positively, in which the words and its explanations affect thought and determine emotion (Krauss p. 2). In general, human communications use two kinds of signal, signs, and symbols. Signs are indications that are causally associated to the message they convey, while symbols are the result of social gathering. An internet article entitled How to Improve Verbal Communication cited that verbal communication can be express through telling or reading a story to convey effectively a message. The article noted that stories hold influence to persuade a person to relate to the message. Human communications have four main channels common to the work place or even in the society, the written communication, the telecommunication, the third party communication, and the face-to-face communication. The written communication includes letters, memos, faxes, e-mails, and even text messaging. The concept of written communication according to a web article entitled Communication is that it provides a common message for everyone, as recipients will read the same words. However, the same article stated that the actual words amount to only 7 percent of the message and the remainder is made up of 38 percent tone and nonverbal clues at 55 percent. In other words, the receiver of the message is left with the remaining 93 percent for his or her own interpretation of the message. Telecommunication on the other hand, includes telephones, cellular or mobile phones, intercoms, and other voice communications. According to the same article, telecommunication is more effective than the written communication in conveying a message because it used 45 percent capability of understanding the message as it allows immediate interaction between the sender and the receiver, although there is still remaining 55 percent of the message’s potential unavailable to the receiver. The worse of the four human communications channel, The Third-Communication, the message is subjected to a second meaning, which is that of the person acting as the channel of communication. The message may no longer be concrete as what the sender intended. The fourth communication channel however, which is face to face conversation offers the full array of communication as sender can pass on the desired meaning, and the receiver can clarify or ask question if necessary. Thus in human communication, the most effective would be face-to-face communication followed by telecommunication, written communication in third and third party communication. E-mail simply means electronic mail and is a store and forward method of creating, transferring, and storing, receiving messages to a web portal, or straight to one’s computer or laptop by means of a program such as Microsoft outlook. E-mail messaging has improved the web mail service, which has now the ability to send text message to cell phones directly from e-mail for free. Jefferson Graham calls it â€Å"social Communication† as it makes easier for the public to go back and forth between e-mail, instant messaging, and text messaging. The e-mail messaging is currently dominated by Yahoo mail service with 83 million users in the United States alone. Instant messaging on the other hand is a form of real time communication between two people base on typed text. Text messaging is transmitted using computers linked over a network such as the internet. The difference between instant messaging and e-mail is that instant messaging offers a real time conversation while the e-mail is in letter format where communication may be delayed. Text messaging is a popular form of online messaging. It is defined as a means of conveying short messages to and from mobile phone. Text is a usually the term for transfer of short messages, consisting of 160 characters or lower. Text messages are the individual messages sent using the SMS or the Short Messaging System from the mobile phones. Cultural Differences and Similarities between Koreans and Americans In his article, Conflict Management in an Age of Globalization: A Comparison of Intracultural and Intercultural Conflict Management Strategies between Koreans and Americans, Jongbae Hong noted that findings of his study reveals that both Koreans and Americans were inclined to use similar patterns of Conflict Management Strategies CMS in administering intracultural conflict. Hong found out that while Americans prefer a competition strategy and an assertive orientation, the Koreans tend to avoid strategy and a cooperative orientation to Americans. Another cultural difference between Koreans and Americans is in the Korean’s use of compromise and collaboration strategies and their supportive tendency for managing difference in intracultural interface, Hong explained that Koreans tend to decrease in interaction, the American on the other side tend to also decrease in intercultural interaction in their use of competition strategy and their assertive tendency for managing conflict. Further difference between Koreans and Americans can be observed in the concept of family. In their article entitled Korean Version of the Geriatric Social Readjustment Questionnaire: Cross-cultural Comparison between Koreans and Americans in the Perception Life Events, Seung Chul Shin, SunTaek Whang, Chan Hyung Kim, and Ho Young Lee emphasized that Koreans strictly valued family in line with Confucianism, and are keenly mindful of the importance of the family unity, continuity of the family name, and economic security. Elderly are living with their adult children and tend to be dependent on their children. In Contrast, American family centers on individualism. Children 18 years old and above are expected to live on their own and adults live in the retirement villages or home for the aged. According to Hong, the development of communication and transportation technologies has made the world become a huge global community. Because of this development human interactions and communications between different cultures such as political, social, economic, and cultural boundaries have greatly increase as a result of global connections. The internet technology has facilitated intercultural interactions and communications in cyber space and the development in international transactions, for people who are seeking to study, or to work overseas, and for migration. The intercultural communication provided by the internet establishes the link between cultures through the e-mail messaging service. Language Barriers and Miscommunication caused by Cultural Backgrounds Language barrier normally occurs in every situation particularly if there is a language, cultural, or sexual differences. However, Kimberly Moynahan Garson asserts that language barriers even occur between two people who speak the same language, with the same culture, and even of the same sex. This language barrier according to Garson has to do with behavioral preference for perceiving or judging. Moynahan explain that people differ in perception and judgment regards less of cultural linguistic or sexual similarities. She points out that a person can obtain information and never applies judgment or can apply judgment to something without receiving complete information. Moynahan goes on to further explain that these tendencies, creates language barriers as some would chose the perceiving process withholding judgment as long as possible, while others would jump to the judging process hastily as they can which leads to different actions. This in turn becomes a language barrier. The differences on the human preferences between these two, leads to miscommunication, never-ending rounds arguments and conflict and frustrations. According to a web article entitled Language Barrier Leads to Medical Mistakes, language barrier pose serious threat in hospital patients’ particularly non-English speaking patients. The article emphasized that even with interpreter, translations mistakes may result to serious medical consequences. Realizing the serious consequences of the language barriers, hospitals employed trained interpreter to assist patients who are non-English speakers. Language barrier is one cause of miscommunication in America due to the growing foreign-born population and cultural diversity in the population of the United States. The truth is, cultural and language hindrances can create complications and hinder effectiveness in the workplace. In a report, eighteen percent of the U. S. residents aged five and older speak other than English at home while Spanish and Asian languages has eleven and four percent respectively, which pose barriers for settlers as well as in the workplace. Language alone affects the way of interacting and relationship of people, which reflect with the way they exhibit behavior, beliefs, values, and practices (Lee, 2003, p. 3). Lee mentioned in his paper that language barriers were ranked among the top three barriers †¦ that prevented minorities and the poor from receiving necessary [health] care (p. 6). The influx of immigrant workers in America and other part of the world is a respond to the growing need for workers particularly in the construction, service, and manufacturing industries; and that it creates challenges among them to overcome cultural and language barriers that they experience. Thus, it is the best concern of company manager and owners to bridge the cultural and language barriers that divide the workers in the place of work. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Workforce Development Board (2002) has identified common cultural and language that often show up in the workplace in general; they are: roles and status, personal space, body language, religion, and personal appearance (p. 4). Roles and status refer to interaction that goes with male and female while doing various roles assigned to them considering the fact that men and women are distinct in personality and differing cultures have dissimilar outlook to sexes. Personal space is another cultural value since people have contradictory perspective when it comes to distance when conversing with one another; Americans prefer five feet distance while Arab and Latinos like closer space, and others like more distance. Body language as a nonverbal communication gives meaning, which may be interpreted wrongly by person from other culture. Personal appearance like hygiene and grooming is obviously different from one country to another. People give their judgment based on their cultural standards. Thus, language barriers and cultural barriers go hand in hand while in the workplace, which present nuances or problems among the employee. In order to prevent problem, it is necessary that employers have clear understanding of what is going on, and face the problem by giving the workers continuous seminar in order to overcome the differences. Writer’s Personal Experience with SK Telecom SK Telecom as a telecommunication company based in South Korea is one of the country’s largest business group. The company that started in 1984 offers its clienteles with a wired and wireless incorporated multi-internet service. Being internationally known and globally competitive, it almost achieved its peak in handling intercultural differences, from handling clientele, stakeholders, and workers to meeting demands for much advance technology through which communication is vital in the success of the company. Working in a Korean company is totally contrasting to the typical American culture primarily because of language and other cultural values. Koreans are hardworking people, yet they enjoy life and entertainment as well. With a strong devotion to vertical relationship such as with family, relatives, co-workers, classmates, and friends, Koreans tend to support the people closest to them than with other people of different culture. They are also nationalistic who take pride of their national identity. In my experience as a Korean-American employee in that company, I encountered some difficulty adjusting to the culture; though I grew up in a Korean community in America, working in a Korean company is a different experience. The mere fact that Korean company uses a â€Å"top-down management style,† many workers and employees at the bottom of the chain often exploded into violent strikes; usually the chairman and other top administrative personnel are very powerful and all-knowing who do not accept opinion. However, in the recent years, they began to adapt new policies of teamwork among them in order to bridge the gap and lessen the problem brought by cultural diversity. Conclusion Human communication is a blessing from God to humanity for with out it, human society could have ruined along long time ago. Communication makes life more exciting as it brings the world closer especially during the present time in which modern communication technology has transcends all the barriers that were considered in the past as next to impossibility. Practically, the blessings of modernization have erased all this barriers, and the world is heading towards a more unified global community in its effort to further improve the quality of human life. Regardless of race, cultural orientation, and educational attainment, every one must take advantage of the opportunity to communicate with another not only for personal gain but to be able to contribute in the global direction to improve the quality of life, and the world that we live in. Work Cited Cultural and Language Barriers in the Workplace. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Workforce Development Board. http://www. charlotteworks. org/clbpositionpaper. PDF Communication http://www. cod. edu/Course/MGT100/mgtcomm. htm Graham, J. Yahoo gives E-mail Texting Capability http://www. usatoday. com/tech/products/services/2007-08-26-yahoo-mail_N. htm Hong, J. â€Å"Conflict Management in an Age of Globalization: A Comparison of Intercultural Conflict Management Strategies between Koreans and Americans. † http://lass. calumet. purdue. edu/cca/gmj/sp05/graduatesp05/gmj-sp05gradinv-hong. htm â€Å"How to Improve Verbal Communication. † http://www. about-personal-growth. com/verbal-communication. html Krauss, R. M. The Psychology of Verbal Communication http://www. columbia. edu/~rmk7/PDF/IESBS. pdf â€Å"Language Barriers Lead to Medical Mistakes. † http://healthlink. mcw. edu/article/1031002276. html Lee, Sharon M. (2003). â€Å"A Review of Language and other Communication Barriers in Health Care. † http://www. hablamosjuntos. org/resources/pdf/SMLeeCommunication_and_Health. pdf Moynahan, K. â€Å"Language: What’s Your Style? † http://www. archaeolink. com/language_barriers. htm Shin,C. S. , et. al. â€Å"Korean Version of the Ceriatric Social Readjustment Questionnaire: Cross-cultural Comparison between Koreans and Americans in the Perception of Life Events. † http://www. eymj. org/1989/pdf/38. pdf â€Å"View Source for Communication† http://en. citizendium. org/wiki? title=Communication&action=edit â€Å"What is Online Messaging† http://www. ancomm. com/igeneration/what_is_online_messaging. html

Silicone Breast Implants essays

Silicone Breast Implants essays In a womans life, her breasts are important to her in many ways. They can contribute to her self-esteem, appearance, and sexual satisfaction. Today plastic surgery is performed mostly for cosmetic reasons. It has been misunderstood for a beauty surgery. Having taken the entire amount of plastic surgeons, only small amounts limit their practice to just cosmetic operations. Woman who choose to have breast implants do so for many reasons. It might be due to an accident or even a cancer patient. Women that have cancer or are recovering from cancer usually have this procedure because it was necessay for them to have a mastectomy. After one or both of a womens breast have been removed this person chooses to have silicone implants to give them a feeling of wholeness again along with many other personal reasons. For the other patients, breast implants are an elective surgery. These pre-op patients have several decisions that need to be thought out thoroughly. A few are: the costs (medical insurance companies do not typically pay for this operation), the type of implant (saline, silicone or double lumen), the size of the implant, the shape of the breast, should it be in front or behind the muscle, how should the doctor put in the implant (through the crease under the breast, the areola, the armpit, or belly button), how reputable the doctor is (has he or she done this operation before and if so how many times and what were the results). With many more questions this person has to ask themselves, they must also consider the risks that go hand in hand with their decision. After a woman has made a decision to go ahead and have breast implants there are some very important questions that she should ask her doctor. One, is this doctor board certified? Next, does the doctor have hospital admittance and transfer privileges in case there is a lot of pain after the surgery? Then, make...

Scotch

Scotch Scotch Scotch By Simon Kewin The word Scotch has several meanings, but it should never be used as an adjective to refer to a person or object from Scotland. The only exception is that the word is acceptable as part of certain compound names, such as Scotch whisky, Scotch mist or Scotch broth. Words such as Scotchman or Scotchwoman are obsolete and frowned upon by people from Scotland. The correct words to use are Scottish or Scots. It would be wrong, for example, to say â€Å"The Scotch weather is frequently atrocious† but it would be quite correct to say â€Å"The Scottish weather is frequently atrocious†. Similarly, the Scottish newspaper is The Scotsman, not The Scotchman. The word Scotch on its own is (as well as being a registered trade name) often used as a shortened form of â€Å"Scotch whisky†. Therefore, it is just about permissible to say â€Å"Scotch man†, as in â€Å"I’m a Scotch man, myself†, but that would mean someone who enjoys or prefers to drink Scotch whisky rather than someone from Scotland. Footnote : Whisky and whiskey are often used interchangeably, but the two spellings identify the origin of the spirit. In the UK, â€Å"whisky† means the drink from Scotland, whereas â€Å"whiskey† is used when the source is Ireland. More widely, â€Å"whisky† is also used when referring to the Canadian and Japanese drinks and â€Å"whiskey† is generally used to refer to the drink when it is from the USA. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Opening Lines to Inspire the Start of Your Story15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsPunctuation Is Powerful

Legal Briefing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal Briefing - Essay Example The Court decided that Neve was not an employee of the newspaper and that she was an independent contractor. Consequently, the decision of the Commissioner of Economic Security was reversed. The gist of the matter is that being termed an employee or not is determined by the extent of control which the person getting the job done has over the person doing that job. In this case the Commissioner of Economic Security decided that the control exercised by the Austin Daily Herald was sufficient to make Neve an employee. However, the Appellate Court decided that the control exercised was insufficient and hence reversed this decision. All the same one of the judges dissented with a part of this ruling as he disagreed with that aspect of the judgment which, dealt with the de novo renewal of application of law because in these type of cases the master servant relationship is the main criterion which was drawn out from the inferences for the reason that there were no contested facts. This view is also clearly expressed in the case Darvell V. Paul A. Laurence Co (1953) and Santiago V. Phoenix Newspapers, Inc (1990).

Societal Issues in The Lord of the Flies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Societal Issues in The Lord of the Flies - Essay Example Right and wrong begin to fall to the wayside with the introduction of the hunt. Jack uses clay to disguise his face and trick the pigs, changing the visual representation of himself, moving further from society and rendering himself unrecognizable. Both Ralph and Jack still have some connection to the past, but Jack is moving away from it to create his own world governed by the laws of hunting and survival. Without any adults on the island, the boys must learn to govern themselves; however, problems ensue.The youngest, the least influenced by society, are the first to run away, the first to show anarchy and the breakdown of societal control. The boys give up the chance for rescue for the chance to kill. Their value system has shifted significantly. The degradation of the natural world through burning fires or killing pigs mirrors the breakdown of the boys' socialized humanity. Roger throws stones near one of the younger boys, Henry.He aims a few yards away, still following the laws of society.Civilization forces him to limit his primitive violent instincts, but these constraints no longer fetter him by the end of the novel.