Saturday, January 25, 2020

Paper Reduction And Recycling In Saudi Arabia Environmental Sciences Essay

Paper Reduction And Recycling In Saudi Arabia Environmental Sciences Essay Environmental conservation and pollution reduction are among the imperative global concerns. As a result, global conventions have been held in which countries are required to follow certain environmental regulations. The most popular is the 3R concept: Reduce, re-use and recycle. All these practices are geared towards minimizing use, recovering and reducing energy costs. Moreover, this write up focused on two concepts: Reduction and recycling. It has been reported that in a world perspective, paper recycling has substantially improved since 1986. In Saudi Arabia Kingdom, there are legal frameworks which justify paper reduction and recycling. In addition, most of the recycling and reduction is done by the Saudi Paper Manufacturing Company (SPMC) and its subsidiaries. There have also been established programs for awareness creation such as Recycle Your City and the Green Jeddah kids program. In a nutshell, although Saudi Arabia is not a leading recycler and reducer in paper production, governmental and private efforts have been somewhat effective in the conservation of the Saudi environment through reduction and recycling. Outline Although this discourse is based on the 3R concept, only two of them shall be discussed. These include paper reduction and recycling in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To do this, general information on the subject matter shall be given. Secondly, since any policy has to operate in a legal framework, the regulations justifying environmental conservation through the two practices shall be outlined. Thirdly, the actual practice of reduction and recycling of paper as a mode of waste management shall be discussed. The final parts of the discussion shall focus on the summary, recommendations and conclusion. Definitions There have been global concerns for the reduction in levels of pollution as one of the ways of curbing global warming. The major ways internationally recommended for pollution reduction are reduction, re-use and recycling. This has been referred to as 3R concept. Recycling is a way of waste recovery which reduces costs for raw materials, energy and waste disposal. This is so because paper produced from virgin pulp has great environmental and economic consequences. It recovers some of the primary material and reduces the solid waste present. Before paper is recycled, it is separated into high and low grades such as letterheads and newsprint respectively (Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania). On the other hand, paper reduction is a category of activities geared towards reducing unnecessary bulk of paper. Some of the activities include the purchase of only needed qualities, reduction in the packaging paper (source reduction), limitation of computer print outs, reduction of the use of papers that are difficult to recycle, use of reusable envelopes for intra-office correspondence and encouraging employees to use the minimum amount of paper. In computer applications, a Microsoft Word page margins may be reduced from 1.25 inches to .075 inches thus saving up to 4.75 percent. According to Dhir, Limbachiya and Newlands (32), reduction is preferred to recycling. Documentation Saudi Arabia is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In 2005, it was estimated that these countries registered an annual consumption of 3.5 million tones of paper and board (Oxford Business Group 187). In Saudi Arabia itself, the per capita paper and board consumption was 38.6 kg per year. So as to offset the demand, the Saudi Paper Manufacturing Company (SPMC) has always sought to apprehend sufficient market share and effectively compete with the other Gulf companies. However, since the resources such as water and fiber are scarce, the manufacturing companys plans have been centered on recycling and improvement of operational efficiency so as to reduce the quantity of imported pulp. The then CEO of SPMC, Mubarak Bin Abdullah Al Khater, once said that the paper recycling and reducing is the key to the sustenance of the industry since tress-cutting would be reduced. This was further affirmed by Lodha who asserted that recycling of paper would greatly conserve forests (318). Other benefits include energy saving, control of pollution, reduction of solid wastes and reduction in water consumption. According to Lodha, every 1.3 kg of waste paper produces 1 kg of recycled paper. On the contrary, every ton of conventional paper production sacrifices 17 trees. In a wider perspective, 35% of worlds commercial wood was reported to represent paper products; this was expected to hit 50% by 2000 (Lodha 318). Despite this knowledge, only a few world countries practice extensive recycling with South Korea, Mexico, Japan, the Netherlands and Portugal being the leaders. The question of environmental degradation resulting from paper production and other practices has legal foundations. First of all, Saudi Arabia is a signatory to agreements, treaties, conventions and protocols relating to environmental protection. Vincent wrote that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a signatory to the Montreal and the Kyoto Protocols which rate it as a non-Annex I state. Secondly, the country has enacted the Public Environmental Law through the Royal Decree No. M/34 of 2001. Table I shows some other tree-conservation-related enactments by the country. Worthy noting is the countrys regulatory framework for environmental rules which (framework) is responsible for conducting environmental studies and establishment of standards for paper production. In February 2008, the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) poll found out that Saudis were not aware that paper could be recycled. Following this poll, environmental activists launched a campaign dubbed Recycle Your City so as to raise the awareness of the subject matter (Lulwa Shalhoub, Arab News). The campaign was first to educate people and later to involve them in the recycling program. Some of the support systems were schools and organizations. Consequently, more school-based programs were initiated to create awareness and also to actually reduce and recycle. For instance, the Green Jeddah initiated the first recycling rally in Saudi Arabia by kids. In this awareness program, young kids aged between 3-6 years were engaged in a rally in which they were taught how to separate the recyclables from cans and plastics. The pupils were further emphasized the importance of writing on both sides of a paper so as to reduce their usage. Other programs such as dustbin audit were i nitiated. In this call, employees were required to separate the recyclables from non-recyclables and also identify which of the office papers were less required from the procurement perspective. It has been observed that the waste paper in form of magazines, cartons, books and newspapers accounts for 33% of the total waste in some countries. In Saudi Arabia, there are waste paper collection centers. The general process of paper recycling begins with waste paper collection, de-inking then the converting process. SPMC is highly committed to reliance on waste paper collection in its manufacturing technology as well as retaining the legal standards required. Recycling requires waste paper and water recycled through filtration processes. After this process, the de-inked pulp is used by Saudi Paper Manufacturing Company (SPMC) to produce tissues, towels and napkins of high quality. Paper use reduction in Saudi Arabia includes, among other things, exchanges and gifts of unwanted papers. In some instances, waste is bought to reduce it. Some of the subsidiary companies for SPMC are Saudi Recycling Company (SPRC), Saudi Paper Converting Company (SPCC), and Saudi Investment and Industr ial Development Company. Other subsidiaries, though not located in Saudi Arabia are Al Madar Paper Recycling, Al Madar Paper Trading and Al Madar Paper. All these companies have a common wider goal in the reduction and recycling of papers in the Kingdom. The holding company, SPMC does not only purpose to reduce and recycle paper but also to invest in Saudi. In other words, paper reduction and recycling in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an investment nucleus. While SPMC is the largest manufacturer of tissue paper in the Middle East, SRC is popular not only in the collection of waste paper but also in its processing for recycling. From the year 2005, SPCC has specialized in the production of high quality tissue by the brands such as Pure, City, Excellence and Zaman (Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co. ). Other companies or organizations that deal with waste paper management include the Saudi Aramco and the SAMSO. For example, the Saudi ARAMCO initiated and pursued a paper recycling program in 1993. This program was not limited to a certain region but was a nationwide campaign that geared towards corporate social responsibility. The other company is SAMSO which recycles over 50,000 kg of paper each year. This company also re-cycles non-paper materials such as aluminum and glass. Through paper recycling and reducing, 35-55% of energy is saved and pollution reduced by 95%. The solid waste is reduced by 130%, water saved by 58% and forests conserved by 100% (World Watch Institute Report). The Gulf Co-operation Council stipulates that all member countries should put waste paper recycling and reduction at the top of their national priorities. It could thus be assumed that Saudi Arabia prioritizes these practices not only as stipulated by international regulations but also by the regional economic body. Among the mostly recycled paper in Saudi Arabia are cartons. However, there is a poor implementation of either international, regional and country policies with regard to paper management in terms of waste. Source Summary and Evaluation Dhir, Limbachiya and Newlandss work is an acclaimed report of an international symposium concerned with municipal solid waste (MSL) as an environmental priority of 21st century. One of the considerations of the symposium was the promotion of paper reduction together with recycling by at a higher level. Evaluation of the symposium outcome against the Saudi case does not get full implementation. The legal foundations and rules that govern paper production were outlined so as to contextualize the industry in terms of law. Peter Vincents works was a general overview of the environment of Saudi Arabia Kingdom. It was important in the evaluation of the legal framework through which paper recycling and reduction exists- as opposed to the traditional destructive way of production. In addition, professional and advocacy organizations have done great contributions towards the description of ways of waste paper management. In this category lies the works of the Oxford Business Group, the Profes sional Recyclers of Pennsylvania and the World Watch Institute. Their views were mainly professional and based on research or experience. The international level of consensus also inspired this discussion to the extent that Saudi Arabia is said to have ratified the Kyoto Protocol and the Montreal Protocol. All academic perspectives and business inputs have greatly influenced the development of the subject herein. Recommendations Both the manufacturing sector and the Saudi government should work together in the creation of more reduction-recycling programs across the country. Since it has been demonstrated that paper reduction produces better results than recycling, more emphasis should be accorded to the practice. Many benefits would accrue from recycling paper since its products are cheaper than the conventionally produced paper; this would improve Saudi economy. Waste paper recycling should be encouraged through financial incentives and stimulation. There should also be strict legislative practices which bar any Saudi from reckless pollution and wastage of paper. Saudi Korea should encourage recycling by formulating pragmatic policies which encourage recycling at the source. The awareness programs should not only involve school children but also be entrenched in the school curricula. This shall inculcate the conservation consciousness into the minds of student from early stages. In addition, student in the institutions of higher learning should be more involved since they are on the threshold of their careers. There is a need to carry out research on the actual effects of the conventional methods of paper from virgin pulp. It is only when consequences can be computed that the need to produce paper through reduction or recycling is intensified. Even more research should be carried out on the best practices for producing waste paper. The institutions of higher learning should thus stipulate capstone projects and research papers to students on conservation topics. There is also a need for the international community to initiate or implement follow up programs for all the international conventions, protocols and treaties agreed upon. Although these conventions are not governments, it is critical that their deliberations should not be in vain. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia should know and live up to its expectations towards the obligations at the international level. A birds view approach would make the kingdom more pursuant of paper reduction and recycling practices. Conclusion It has been demonstrated that principles of environmental conservation and pollution reduction emanate from global sources. Two basic practices thereof are paper reduction and recycling. This discussion has not only outlined but also illustrated how the practices are carried out in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. First and foremost, the concepts exist in a legally based framework in which different legislations have been enacted and treaties ratified. Further, it was demonstrated that the call is not only a governmental issue but has also been embraced by private organizations. In Saudi Arabia, companies and advocacy groups co-operate to manage waste. In addition, waste management is also an investment nucleus as demonstrated by the Saudi Paper Manufacturing Company and its subsidiaries. Indeed, the sources used were sufficient academic authorities in the delineation of the topic. It was thus recommended that among other things, the Saudi government should initiate more nationwide progr ams so as to reduce the amount of waste and the consequences thereafter. Moreover, the efforts by the government, non-governmental organizations and private companies have made substantial contribution in waste paper management.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Supply Chain

|Module Number: MO0358 | |Strategic Supply Chain Management | |(Individual Project) | INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Objective â€Å"Supply chain management = Order to Cash. As my group project is about Burberry supply chain management so I would like to further explain it here and show you how Burberry successes after apply supply management. 1. 2 The Background of BURBERRYBURBERRY is established in London, United Kingdom in 1865 by Thomas Burberry. The Business concept of Burberry is â€Å"Fashion & Luxury†. At the end of 2007, Burberry started supply chain management in their business and hope that can delivered luxury and lifestyle product to customers at more than 208 concessions within department stores and digital commerce, plus 44 outlets and 192 mainline stores over the world and Burberry employs more than 30,000 people to operate the business smoothly.Burberry offers fashion for women, men, and children, also sells their own-brand beauty, cosmetics and perfume. Burberry has ow n factory at London Castleford but just produce trench coat and some core items. And now Burberry buys its goods from around 100 independent supplies, mostly in Asia and Europe. Burberry corporate with suppliers to develop long-term, sustainable social and environmental standards in the factories for produces Burberry high quality products. Burberry reaches the customers through two sales channels: stores and online.The store is the most important for Burberry as the customers can see the product, try it on and feel the products. Burberry is expanding their business new offerings and via new channels such as internet/ online business, the advantages of offering new channel are customers able to shop online, it can to let customers have the freedom of choice to choose the sales channel that suits customer best at that moment. Burberry stores are spread all over the world. It can be found in United Kingdom, Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.And according to their annual report China will be their very critical regions for their business so Burberry plans to establish more stores in China in the coming year. Burberry is growing not only by turning to customers in new stores and new places. It is at least equally important that the company continually develops. Their fashion categories are including menswear, womenswear and childrenswear. Fragrance & beauty category was in the leading position of the Asia market two years ago. Accessories category contains eyewear, scarves, watches and bags. Supply chain managementAccording to Mentzer, et al (Ballou, 2004), â€Å"Supply chain Management (SCM) is defined as the systematic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and the tactics across these business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain, for the purpose of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole â€Å"(p. 5). In order to balance end customers' demands and the hit for profitable growth, Burberry has moved aggressively to build an efficient and successful supply chain management an efficient and successful supply chain management system.It must have five basic components that are considered and acted upon. These components can help to enhance revenue, control costs and asset utilization as well as customer satisfaction. They are including planning, sourcing, make, delivery, and return which is same as the supply chain of Burberry flows from ideas and design, production, distribution centre, call-off, store, finally to the customer. In this paper, each of these components will be discussed in the following paragraphs. 3. 0 Planning First step of supply chain management is planning .The planning component is critical to the success of a good supply chain management system. Therefore, from Burberry year annual report, we can see Burberry do reviews their brand performance of business each year and well plan for next year. Also they will review by each season to make sure everything planned are on tracked. Refer to Burberry 2007 annual report we noticed they mentioned will start supply chain management and also put a lot of money to buy SAP system as their only platform of their system in order to bring Burberry business to globalization.It shows the main objective to any strategy a business industry chooses should be to have materials available at all times in order to ensure the smooth flow of care for their business while keeping costs under control. At the beginning of season, Burberry sourcing team and product development, quality control, designer , merchandising planning and buyers will have big meeting to review what the trend is , product and material will be launched for next season in order to plan the strategy.Buyer also will give souring team an approximately order quantity for souring team to give factory in order to prepare raw material, trims†¦ etc , to shorten lead-ti me and to have materials available at all times in order to ensure the smooth flow of care while keeping costs under control. 4. 0. Sourcing 4. 1. Raw material Burberry applies cost management and quality control monitor in their supply chain system; Cost is the key factors determining Burberry more successful in the fashion changing market. † The raw materials are sourced locally in different regions for example: China, Korea, Thailand and Japan.Benefit is can save the transportation cost and expenses with similar quality. Burberry souring team will negotiate the cost with supplier by using long term business, letter of credit and payment in time in order to make sure they can have better price to hit target. However, product quality will be enhanced in terms of through sourcing better production technologies and new materials internationally. The purposes of sourcing are to know or explore more new suppliers with advanced Garment Production System/ Technology which able to a ccelerate the production speed so that shorten the lead-time.In addition, that strategy can stimulate the inter-specific competition among the existing suppliers by the importing new suppliers. Existing suppliers will contact Burberry actively and offer the attractive conditions with the aim of getting Burberry orders. That is the most effective method controlling the price and maintains the high product quality of global souring 4. 2. Quality Control Burberry is a luxurious brand in fashion industry and in order to maintain high quality products to their customers, all suppliers and manufactures are needs to meet AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) standard with 2. requested by Burberry. AQL 2. 5 means if an order is 10,500 units, they want a 2. 5 AQL they can have 14 defective units or less from the 315 that they inspect. Moreover, suppliers need to submit lab test report to prove quality sell to Burberry are good and no harm for customer . To provide good quality material for making h igh quality final goods, Burberry based on china garment rules and international standard to make a standard and all supplier need to follow it to do the testing, if fail in the testing result, suppliers and manufacturers might be cannot carry on or allow to process orders in the next season.Burberry QC team will also regularly by month or by week to inspect supplier and factories in order to make sure their provided product can meet Burberry standard. However, even AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) standard with 2. 5 and lab test report applies on all Burberry products and AQL 2. 5 is very high standard but still have defective items can be found . 5. 0. Make Under supply chain strategy, the process of â€Å"Make† is to provide high quality products in lower cost, so that Burberry can save the cost to gain more profit. 5. 1. Co-markershipBurberry has their own standard on selecting raw material suppliers, which also limited the number of suppliers, this can help them to have a better control on the product quality. Burberry has more than 200 independent suppliers for outsource the production. Burberry has good reputation in maintaining the relationship with all suppliers, by producing Burberry luxury product, stable order volume, guarantee payment and letter of credit etc. Furthermore, Burberry always communicates and reviews the action plan with suppliers every season.To enhance the relationship with suppliers, the key factor is to have a good coordination and linkage with them. Burberry frequently provide training program for vendors, in order to maintain their production standard. What is more , Burberry has a regular appraisal to suppliers, which provide feedback to suppliers for better improvement. The production sites of Burberry are global sourced from over the world such as China, Turkey, Thailand, Macau, Singapore, Portugal, Romania and Hong Kong.The advantage is to essentially cut down the labor expenses, with the bulk production so that enhanci ng Burberry at the competitive position in the global fashion Industry by maximizing the margin of profit to the fashion business. For selecting new vendors/suppliers for cooperate business, Burberry has carries out auditors (internal and external) to evaluate the supplier’s qualification before cooperating The criteria including lead time, quality, quantity, safety, guarantee, availability and flexibility etc, especially Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standard.Any supplier cannot approve by Burberry CSR team, Burberry will not allow that factory to produce their product to ensure Burberry product meet on high quality and corporate social responsibility. However, Burberry is not easy to find qualified supplier because Burberry respect the rules and some developing countries cannot meet Burberry regulation such as safety working environment, labor children, illegal pay and abuse , these problems are always found in these countries.Moreover, safety working environment, h ealthy and compliance with local environmental legislation also are the other challenges for Burberry because they found that most developing countries do not formulate the occupational safety and health regulation and environmental organization. These countries do not install the legitimate fire device in the factory or build up a health and safety working place for the staffs, it absolutely disobey the rules of Burberry. Brand image will be also affected by these negative news.When souring new supplier Burberry facing the political environment problem. For example in Thailand, they do not have a stable business environment. The anti-government demonstration caused the Bangkok city in turmoil. It made factory cannot ship out any goods from the airport. As long as riddled with corruption, unstable public security, terrorism and robbery always happened. We can see that these factors might not provide stable business environment for producing Burberry product. And Burberry also will c onsider kind of factors to choose supplier.To solve these problems, I would like to suggest Burberry don’t put all orders in 1 supplier in order unstable conditional happen again. The fighting sources with competitors as also one of the challenges for Burberry as Burberry share some factory‘s capacity with others fashion brand for example: Polo Jeans, Armani exchange, Marks and Spencer, Gap and J. Crew etc. Therefore, Burberry needs to keep a good relationship with all suppliers to ensure sufficient providing source. 5. 2. Outsource Burberry has 3 global licensing agreements of fragrance and beauty (by interparfums), watches (by Fossil) and eyewear (by Luxottica).In order to make sure the quality of non-apparel products are in a high standard, all licensing can provide professional knowledge and technology of product and it can helps Burberry reduce cost on innovation for non-apparel products. Burberry sourcing teams, quality control teams and CSR team work closely with these partners on product development, quality control, CSR, marketing and distribution activities, and will conduct regular reviews to ensure compliance with the term of its license agreements.Outsource for Burberry is very important because Italy’s fragrance and beauty is expertise because they have long history in this field so it is the best in the world, the eyewear technology in Guangdong, China is the best and reasonable. Hence, Burberry enables to sell the licensing to them in order to maintain better quality. 5. 3. Information System – SAP According to Burberry globalized organization, Burberry has 444 worldwide retail shop and over 31 countries operation. Therefore, different parties will create a lot of information of product.Burberry supply chain system is a technology that to improve information to become more systematic. Started from 2008, SAP is the only system platform for Burberry; it can help to collect information, data and share within the organiza tion. It also can monitor the delivery schedule to ensure everything are on tracked. SAP system is the market and technology leader in business software solutions, providing comprehensive business software through SAP applications, services and support. SAP can manage system and analysis at the same time, It helps Burberry to draw data and use this platform to do an analysis of brand performance.This information can help making decision by the management team to increase competitive advantages, such as production life cycle analysis, raw material forecasting, marketing planning and inventory review. So that everything can be counted and measured by using SAP system. Famous and international company would prefer using SAP system, as these company has different branch office over the world. By using SAP system can help they no limitation on different district. 6. 0. Delivery Transportation is one of the main processes of delivering and distributing goods.It may involve more than one p lace during the transportation, such as place to store and place to sell. 6. 1. SAP system In Burberry, SAP provides a systematic format to handle information transmission, and it brings a dramatic impact to Burberry. For example, SAP system has an accurate control on the raw material lead time, which means factories have plenty of time on mass production; consequently, it reduces shipment delay. Furthermore, due to the well control on the production period, Burberry has plenty of time to ship the goods by sea instead of air.The most obvious outcome is the reduction of logistic cost. 6. 2. DHL 3rd party Moreover, Burberry is in collaboration with DHL 3rd party global to in charge of final goods delivery. They are responsible to collect final goods from different factories, and providing direct delivery service to relative DHL Global center (UK, USA, Spain ,HK), then they distribute the goods to local retail stores. Due to this professional & tailor-make service provided by DHL, Burb erry reduces the need for warehousing at destination, which means this part of expenses can be reduced.Even though worldwide retail shops and operation offices are closed after work, DHL can provide 24 hours logistic services and its reliable customs clearance, which can help to speed up the delivery process, so it can secure the delivery time. For example, new product can be launched in the retail store in time, quick move inventory to distribution centers by special requested. 7. 0. Return Nowadays customer would like to have a pleasant shopping experience, they all don’t like to return to retail outlets or companies. Customers want to have sales approaches, lowest price and friendly service for every product.Consumer prefers more and would like to shop at one stop shopping centers. Burberry is using some of the supply chain techniques to cut costs like given vendor to manage the inventory by using inventory tracking and sales in individual stores and cross-docking fast-mov ing items. Now, Burberry has more convenience, selections, and reasonable price 8. 0. Conclusion In my opinion , Burberry applies â€Å"supply chain management† is a important and correct direction because it can offers a great deal of benefits including sourcing , reduce cost , quality control, product category and quality advantages to Burberry fighting with its competitors.In refer to Burberry annual report, their business are going up and up. It is very vital for Burberry continuously maintaining high reputation . As well as Burberry are facing some competitions in sourcing suppliers directly , so needs to find others or potential suppliers to cooperate To ensure the good relationship between supplier with better price, Burberry should keep the stable and regular ordering in long term. This could highly enhance its bargaining power.In order to having the good quality and lowering the cost (to enjoy more profits) at the same time, Burberry need to do more research on findi ng good suppliers and manufactories in different countries. Even it has long historical experience; Burberry should keep doing research and catch up with the new/ latest trend Burberry also need to shorten the lead-time from the process of supply chain progress . In order to meet the demand and needs in the future. I think that Burberry need to shorten the lead-time of manufacturing and transporting time such as pre-book some raw material.In constant, the challenges of global sourcing are some uncertain factors need to be manage and consider in selecting the suppliers from different country, e. g. political environment, country’s textile quotas and exchange rate. To manage those risks, the top management requires long term perspective in defining the company’s goal and strategy. In order to implement global sourcing successfully, it also requires the experience and commitment of the management in managing the risks and understanding the foreign regulations.In addition, H outsources all the production to over 200 suppliers, Burberry needs to maintain the good and long-term relationships with all the existing suppliers. Despite it is rich in challenges and difficulties when conducting sourcing globally. Social Responsibility is one of indispensable factors to be considered. Balancing Social Responsibility and Business Benefits is the real challenges for Burberry If Burberry does not manage its supply chain correctly, it would lose profits because they are providing products at lower costs than its competitors, so they must also receive lower prices from its suppliers.Therefore, the supply chain of every company should not be overlooked as it may lead to a loss in profits, revenues, and even the company itself. 8. 0. Reference Burberry Group Plc. (2012, Nov 09). Retrieved from Burberry – Iconic British Luxury Brand Est. 1856: http://www. burberryplc. com/ Chan, Chi Kin, and Lee, H. W. J. Successful Strategies in Supply Chain Management. Penns ylvania: Hershey, 2005. Chopra, Sunil and Meindl, Peter. Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, . New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2007. Supply Chain |Module Number: MO0358 | |Strategic Supply Chain Management | |(Individual Project) | INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Objective â€Å"Supply chain management = Order to Cash. As my group project is about Burberry supply chain management so I would like to further explain it here and show you how Burberry successes after apply supply management. 1. 2 The Background of BURBERRYBURBERRY is established in London, United Kingdom in 1865 by Thomas Burberry. The Business concept of Burberry is â€Å"Fashion & Luxury†. At the end of 2007, Burberry started supply chain management in their business and hope that can delivered luxury and lifestyle product to customers at more than 208 concessions within department stores and digital commerce, plus 44 outlets and 192 mainline stores over the world and Burberry employs more than 30,000 people to operate the business smoothly.Burberry offers fashion for women, men, and children, also sells their own-brand beauty, cosmetics and perfume. Burberry has ow n factory at London Castleford but just produce trench coat and some core items. And now Burberry buys its goods from around 100 independent supplies, mostly in Asia and Europe. Burberry corporate with suppliers to develop long-term, sustainable social and environmental standards in the factories for produces Burberry high quality products. Burberry reaches the customers through two sales channels: stores and online.The store is the most important for Burberry as the customers can see the product, try it on and feel the products. Burberry is expanding their business new offerings and via new channels such as internet/ online business, the advantages of offering new channel are customers able to shop online, it can to let customers have the freedom of choice to choose the sales channel that suits customer best at that moment. Burberry stores are spread all over the world. It can be found in United Kingdom, Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.And according to their annual report China will be their very critical regions for their business so Burberry plans to establish more stores in China in the coming year. Burberry is growing not only by turning to customers in new stores and new places. It is at least equally important that the company continually develops. Their fashion categories are including menswear, womenswear and childrenswear. Fragrance & beauty category was in the leading position of the Asia market two years ago. Accessories category contains eyewear, scarves, watches and bags. Supply chain managementAccording to Mentzer, et al (Ballou, 2004), â€Å"Supply chain Management (SCM) is defined as the systematic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and the tactics across these business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain, for the purpose of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole â€Å"(p. 5). In order to balance end customers' demands and the hit for profitable growth, Burberry has moved aggressively to build an efficient and successful supply chain management an efficient and successful supply chain management system.It must have five basic components that are considered and acted upon. These components can help to enhance revenue, control costs and asset utilization as well as customer satisfaction. They are including planning, sourcing, make, delivery, and return which is same as the supply chain of Burberry flows from ideas and design, production, distribution centre, call-off, store, finally to the customer. In this paper, each of these components will be discussed in the following paragraphs. 3. 0 Planning First step of supply chain management is planning .The planning component is critical to the success of a good supply chain management system. Therefore, from Burberry year annual report, we can see Burberry do reviews their brand performance of business each year and well plan for next year. Also they will review by each season to make sure everything planned are on tracked. Refer to Burberry 2007 annual report we noticed they mentioned will start supply chain management and also put a lot of money to buy SAP system as their only platform of their system in order to bring Burberry business to globalization.It shows the main objective to any strategy a business industry chooses should be to have materials available at all times in order to ensure the smooth flow of care for their business while keeping costs under control. At the beginning of season, Burberry sourcing team and product development, quality control, designer , merchandising planning and buyers will have big meeting to review what the trend is , product and material will be launched for next season in order to plan the strategy.Buyer also will give souring team an approximately order quantity for souring team to give factory in order to prepare raw material, trims†¦ etc , to shorten lead-ti me and to have materials available at all times in order to ensure the smooth flow of care while keeping costs under control. 4. 0. Sourcing 4. 1. Raw material Burberry applies cost management and quality control monitor in their supply chain system; Cost is the key factors determining Burberry more successful in the fashion changing market. † The raw materials are sourced locally in different regions for example: China, Korea, Thailand and Japan.Benefit is can save the transportation cost and expenses with similar quality. Burberry souring team will negotiate the cost with supplier by using long term business, letter of credit and payment in time in order to make sure they can have better price to hit target. However, product quality will be enhanced in terms of through sourcing better production technologies and new materials internationally. The purposes of sourcing are to know or explore more new suppliers with advanced Garment Production System/ Technology which able to a ccelerate the production speed so that shorten the lead-time.In addition, that strategy can stimulate the inter-specific competition among the existing suppliers by the importing new suppliers. Existing suppliers will contact Burberry actively and offer the attractive conditions with the aim of getting Burberry orders. That is the most effective method controlling the price and maintains the high product quality of global souring 4. 2. Quality Control Burberry is a luxurious brand in fashion industry and in order to maintain high quality products to their customers, all suppliers and manufactures are needs to meet AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) standard with 2. requested by Burberry. AQL 2. 5 means if an order is 10,500 units, they want a 2. 5 AQL they can have 14 defective units or less from the 315 that they inspect. Moreover, suppliers need to submit lab test report to prove quality sell to Burberry are good and no harm for customer . To provide good quality material for making h igh quality final goods, Burberry based on china garment rules and international standard to make a standard and all supplier need to follow it to do the testing, if fail in the testing result, suppliers and manufacturers might be cannot carry on or allow to process orders in the next season.Burberry QC team will also regularly by month or by week to inspect supplier and factories in order to make sure their provided product can meet Burberry standard. However, even AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) standard with 2. 5 and lab test report applies on all Burberry products and AQL 2. 5 is very high standard but still have defective items can be found . 5. 0. Make Under supply chain strategy, the process of â€Å"Make† is to provide high quality products in lower cost, so that Burberry can save the cost to gain more profit. 5. 1. Co-markershipBurberry has their own standard on selecting raw material suppliers, which also limited the number of suppliers, this can help them to have a better control on the product quality. Burberry has more than 200 independent suppliers for outsource the production. Burberry has good reputation in maintaining the relationship with all suppliers, by producing Burberry luxury product, stable order volume, guarantee payment and letter of credit etc. Furthermore, Burberry always communicates and reviews the action plan with suppliers every season.To enhance the relationship with suppliers, the key factor is to have a good coordination and linkage with them. Burberry frequently provide training program for vendors, in order to maintain their production standard. What is more , Burberry has a regular appraisal to suppliers, which provide feedback to suppliers for better improvement. The production sites of Burberry are global sourced from over the world such as China, Turkey, Thailand, Macau, Singapore, Portugal, Romania and Hong Kong.The advantage is to essentially cut down the labor expenses, with the bulk production so that enhanci ng Burberry at the competitive position in the global fashion Industry by maximizing the margin of profit to the fashion business. For selecting new vendors/suppliers for cooperate business, Burberry has carries out auditors (internal and external) to evaluate the supplier’s qualification before cooperating The criteria including lead time, quality, quantity, safety, guarantee, availability and flexibility etc, especially Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standard.Any supplier cannot approve by Burberry CSR team, Burberry will not allow that factory to produce their product to ensure Burberry product meet on high quality and corporate social responsibility. However, Burberry is not easy to find qualified supplier because Burberry respect the rules and some developing countries cannot meet Burberry regulation such as safety working environment, labor children, illegal pay and abuse , these problems are always found in these countries.Moreover, safety working environment, h ealthy and compliance with local environmental legislation also are the other challenges for Burberry because they found that most developing countries do not formulate the occupational safety and health regulation and environmental organization. These countries do not install the legitimate fire device in the factory or build up a health and safety working place for the staffs, it absolutely disobey the rules of Burberry. Brand image will be also affected by these negative news.When souring new supplier Burberry facing the political environment problem. For example in Thailand, they do not have a stable business environment. The anti-government demonstration caused the Bangkok city in turmoil. It made factory cannot ship out any goods from the airport. As long as riddled with corruption, unstable public security, terrorism and robbery always happened. We can see that these factors might not provide stable business environment for producing Burberry product. And Burberry also will c onsider kind of factors to choose supplier.To solve these problems, I would like to suggest Burberry don’t put all orders in 1 supplier in order unstable conditional happen again. The fighting sources with competitors as also one of the challenges for Burberry as Burberry share some factory‘s capacity with others fashion brand for example: Polo Jeans, Armani exchange, Marks and Spencer, Gap and J. Crew etc. Therefore, Burberry needs to keep a good relationship with all suppliers to ensure sufficient providing source. 5. 2. Outsource Burberry has 3 global licensing agreements of fragrance and beauty (by interparfums), watches (by Fossil) and eyewear (by Luxottica).In order to make sure the quality of non-apparel products are in a high standard, all licensing can provide professional knowledge and technology of product and it can helps Burberry reduce cost on innovation for non-apparel products. Burberry sourcing teams, quality control teams and CSR team work closely with these partners on product development, quality control, CSR, marketing and distribution activities, and will conduct regular reviews to ensure compliance with the term of its license agreements.Outsource for Burberry is very important because Italy’s fragrance and beauty is expertise because they have long history in this field so it is the best in the world, the eyewear technology in Guangdong, China is the best and reasonable. Hence, Burberry enables to sell the licensing to them in order to maintain better quality. 5. 3. Information System – SAP According to Burberry globalized organization, Burberry has 444 worldwide retail shop and over 31 countries operation. Therefore, different parties will create a lot of information of product.Burberry supply chain system is a technology that to improve information to become more systematic. Started from 2008, SAP is the only system platform for Burberry; it can help to collect information, data and share within the organiza tion. It also can monitor the delivery schedule to ensure everything are on tracked. SAP system is the market and technology leader in business software solutions, providing comprehensive business software through SAP applications, services and support. SAP can manage system and analysis at the same time, It helps Burberry to draw data and use this platform to do an analysis of brand performance.This information can help making decision by the management team to increase competitive advantages, such as production life cycle analysis, raw material forecasting, marketing planning and inventory review. So that everything can be counted and measured by using SAP system. Famous and international company would prefer using SAP system, as these company has different branch office over the world. By using SAP system can help they no limitation on different district. 6. 0. Delivery Transportation is one of the main processes of delivering and distributing goods.It may involve more than one p lace during the transportation, such as place to store and place to sell. 6. 1. SAP system In Burberry, SAP provides a systematic format to handle information transmission, and it brings a dramatic impact to Burberry. For example, SAP system has an accurate control on the raw material lead time, which means factories have plenty of time on mass production; consequently, it reduces shipment delay. Furthermore, due to the well control on the production period, Burberry has plenty of time to ship the goods by sea instead of air.The most obvious outcome is the reduction of logistic cost. 6. 2. DHL 3rd party Moreover, Burberry is in collaboration with DHL 3rd party global to in charge of final goods delivery. They are responsible to collect final goods from different factories, and providing direct delivery service to relative DHL Global center (UK, USA, Spain ,HK), then they distribute the goods to local retail stores. Due to this professional & tailor-make service provided by DHL, Burb erry reduces the need for warehousing at destination, which means this part of expenses can be reduced.Even though worldwide retail shops and operation offices are closed after work, DHL can provide 24 hours logistic services and its reliable customs clearance, which can help to speed up the delivery process, so it can secure the delivery time. For example, new product can be launched in the retail store in time, quick move inventory to distribution centers by special requested. 7. 0. Return Nowadays customer would like to have a pleasant shopping experience, they all don’t like to return to retail outlets or companies. Customers want to have sales approaches, lowest price and friendly service for every product.Consumer prefers more and would like to shop at one stop shopping centers. Burberry is using some of the supply chain techniques to cut costs like given vendor to manage the inventory by using inventory tracking and sales in individual stores and cross-docking fast-mov ing items. Now, Burberry has more convenience, selections, and reasonable price 8. 0. Conclusion In my opinion , Burberry applies â€Å"supply chain management† is a important and correct direction because it can offers a great deal of benefits including sourcing , reduce cost , quality control, product category and quality advantages to Burberry fighting with its competitors.In refer to Burberry annual report, their business are going up and up. It is very vital for Burberry continuously maintaining high reputation . As well as Burberry are facing some competitions in sourcing suppliers directly , so needs to find others or potential suppliers to cooperate To ensure the good relationship between supplier with better price, Burberry should keep the stable and regular ordering in long term. This could highly enhance its bargaining power.In order to having the good quality and lowering the cost (to enjoy more profits) at the same time, Burberry need to do more research on findi ng good suppliers and manufactories in different countries. Even it has long historical experience; Burberry should keep doing research and catch up with the new/ latest trend Burberry also need to shorten the lead-time from the process of supply chain progress . In order to meet the demand and needs in the future. I think that Burberry need to shorten the lead-time of manufacturing and transporting time such as pre-book some raw material.In constant, the challenges of global sourcing are some uncertain factors need to be manage and consider in selecting the suppliers from different country, e. g. political environment, country’s textile quotas and exchange rate. To manage those risks, the top management requires long term perspective in defining the company’s goal and strategy. In order to implement global sourcing successfully, it also requires the experience and commitment of the management in managing the risks and understanding the foreign regulations.In addition, H outsources all the production to over 200 suppliers, Burberry needs to maintain the good and long-term relationships with all the existing suppliers. Despite it is rich in challenges and difficulties when conducting sourcing globally. Social Responsibility is one of indispensable factors to be considered. Balancing Social Responsibility and Business Benefits is the real challenges for Burberry If Burberry does not manage its supply chain correctly, it would lose profits because they are providing products at lower costs than its competitors, so they must also receive lower prices from its suppliers.Therefore, the supply chain of every company should not be overlooked as it may lead to a loss in profits, revenues, and even the company itself. 8. 0. Reference Burberry Group Plc. (2012, Nov 09). Retrieved from Burberry – Iconic British Luxury Brand Est. 1856: http://www. burberryplc. com/ Chan, Chi Kin, and Lee, H. W. J. Successful Strategies in Supply Chain Management. Penns ylvania: Hershey, 2005. Chopra, Sunil and Meindl, Peter. Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, . New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2007.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Culture and Race Essay - 1253 Words

Culture and Race Anthropologists have always had their discrepancies with the word culture and its background significance. There have been numerous definitions that have filtered through the field, yet not one that everyone can accept or agree with. Franz Boas, an anthropologist in the early 20th Century, and his students, had a difficult time figuring out the objective of what culture is. Culture is about learning and shared ideas about behaviour. Although Boas and his students had a slightly different idea in mind. They ultimately reached a conclusion, a definition of culture in their view that is a contradiction in terms. Boas sates that, â€Å" culture was expressed through the medium of language but was not reducible to it;†¦show more content†¦143). She illustrates how essential culture is to anthropology and how anthropology helps to balance culture, as well as its ties with race. She considers culture and race as opposites. â€Å"Culture is learned and can change,† (A bu-Lughod, p. 144), and race is something inborn. Although she can only depict and explain the concept of culture, and how it has become necessary and not the reasons behind it. Lila Abu-Lughod also writes about feminism in regard to culture. â€Å" It has been important for most feminists to locate sex differences in culture, not biology or nature,† (Abu-Lughod, p. 144). There have been many cultural differences between women and men, â€Å" a different voice† perhaps from Anglo-American feminist Gilligan and her followers, (Abu-Lughod, p. 145), as well as an explanation of the differences, â€Å" whether through a socially informed psychoanalytic theory, a Marxist-derived theory of the effects of the division of labour and women’s role in social reproduction, an analysis of maternal practice or even a theory of sexual exploitation,† (Abu-Lughod, p. 145). With that there has been an increasingly large demand for more women oriented culture, a place where they can express themselves and learn about their gender culture, and not that of men. â€Å"That is to say, if women share something in common, it is not the result of a universal bodily maturational process but of mutually experienced interpolations of race, class, and sexualShow MoreRelatedRace And American Culture : The Problem Of Race1338 Words   |  6 PagesCulture refers to a system of norms and values that are shared amongst groups of individuals and when they are taken together they represent a living system. In America there are different cultures. Each culture has its advantages and disadvantages. The current problem or issue is on the problem of race in American culture. The history and the effects of race, and analyzes why people think about race as a problem in American culture and why it has to be addressed. The issue of race is a vice thatRead MoreRace and Caribbean Culture1709 Words   |  7 PagesRace and Caribbean Culture Each culture is unique in its attitudes about which groups within the cultural community will comprise the majority and which the minority. The culture also determines how the minority culture will be treated and how the two groups will be classified. Often, differentiation of groups is determined by race, rather than things like religion or class. Throughout literary history, authors have endeavored to capture the past as well as recreate and articulate sociologicalRead MoreRace, Class, and Culture893 Words   |  4 PagesToccara Townsend 12-2-2008 SBS 318 Critical Essay #2 Does being born connected to a certain race, class and culture define you as a person and the way you should or shouldn’t live your life. Does being in a certain class make you have class? In the paper I plan to give examples of how race, class and culture affected the African American culture. Growing up you always heard your family members speak of making sure you get an education or that education was the key to your successRead MoreRace, Culture, And Diversity Essay1572 Words   |  7 PagesRace, culture, and diversity are what most people want to see when they watch television. Some people want to see more of their race on television and not just caucasian people. They want to see more culture and color on television. America is getting more diverse each year. The first African American television show, Amos ‘n Andy, was created in 1952 and showed all manners of black life in Harlem; however, it was based solely on racist stereotypes which are now considered harmful (Vanderwerff2015)Read MoreRace, Ethnicity, And Culture1329 Words   |  6 Pagessociety progresses and history is created, many factors such as race, ethnicity, and culture tend to shape the ideas among different people. One major group of people that were severely impacted was the African America ns in the United States during the periods from 1804-1813, 1819-1831, and 1832-1848. Based on the definitions from the Asian Pacific Americans: â€Å"Keywords,† Concepts and History, it is said that race is impossible to be defined race from the biological view, because people have been evolvedRead MoreDiversity, Culture, Gender, And Race Essay1103 Words   |  5 PagesWhat does diversity, culture, gender, and race all have in common with one another? These are all names of labels. In the TED podcast, â€Å"Beyond Tolerance† Arthur Brooks, Verna Myers, and Aziz Abu Sarah introduce the main problem between all of these labels. The common problem between these labels is diversity. Society has this mindset of what everyone should be like and if stepped out of that perspective, that person will be looked down upon. This in turn creates diversity. In The Gender Knot, AllanRead MoreRace And Racism : Race, Culture, Religion, And Sex Essay2023 Words   |  9 Pagesgradually grown and evolved over time where other factors such as skin, race, culture, religion, and sex all take part in social inequality. In the Americas there is a great deal social inequality among the entire country where we know a bit about. Racism is something that was created by humanity and started in Europe as a way to create a hierarchical view while keeping those in power in power. According to â€Å"Race and Racism† â€Å"Race is a social construction, and ideas we endow with meaning through dailyRead MoreDisney s Of Race And Culture1612 Words   |  7 Pages Disney’s portrayal of race and culture is predominant throughout its characters, settings and music, specifically in the last 2  ½ decades. The following analysis investigates Disney’s utilization of race and culture, throughout its films and correlates with its awareness in social responsibility. A paramount example would be Disney’s, A Bug’s Life, presenting many key components of r ace and culture and how the lives of the main characters are impacted as a whole. Culture is defined as â€Å"The ideasRead MoreRace, Culture, And Socioeconomic Status1169 Words   |  5 PagesThus far the discussions of how race, culture, and socioeconomic status plays a role in education has been a very enlightened one. Up until now I really have never thought about how many things play a part in the education a child receives and how a teacher’s career is also impacted. Like many others I assume, education is something that we all receive and never think about it in great detail. For me going to school each day was just a routine and the end goal was to graduate high school and goRead MoreReflection On Culture, Ethnicity, And Race905 Words   |  4 PagesREFLECTION ON CULTURE, ETHNICITY, AND RACE No one can deny the fact that United States is rapidly becoming a more culturally and ethnically diverse nation. If the information from The Census Bureau which projects that by the year 2100, the U.S. minority population will become the majority with non-Hispanic whites making up only 40% of the U.S. population is anything to go by, it is clear beyond any reasonable doubt that we need to prepare the coming generations to comfortably embrace this change

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Tobacco Companies Using Advertising Tactics That Target...

Tobacco companies should be prevented from using advertising tactics that target teenagers. There has always been controversy as to how tobacco companies should prevent using advertising tactics to target teenagers. As controversial as this is tobacco companies shouldn’t advertise teen smoking. Many teens may be lured to believe cigarette advertising because it has been part of the American Culture for years, magazine ads and the media target young people, and these companies receive a drastic increase financially; however, the advertising by these cigarette companies has disadvantages such as having to campaign against their own company, limiting their cigarette advertising and becoming a controversial dilemma as to encouraging teenagers†¦show more content†¦Usually, on television shows or on magazine articles there has to be an advertisement promoting cigarettes. Not only does the tobacco industry encourage teenagers to start smoking, but it enforces smoking to cont inue well on into their adulthood. Tobacco companies advertise in magazines, promote their products in convenience stores and market their brands through websites and social networks. Many of these tobacco industries get publicity and attract more young customers when using the newly in media to promote their products. Many of these tobacco companies don’t understand that tobacco advertising is a huge public health issue that increases smoking. Tobacco company advertising and promoting is the start of the use of tobacco among teenagers. Now, these media and magazine advertisements about cigars have caused teenagers to be exposed to cigarette advertising. Not only that but also these teenagers find ads appealing and also increase their desire to smoke. Cigarette companies spent about $8.37 billion on advertising and promotional expenses in the United States in 2011. Cigarette tobacco companies spend billions of dollars each year to market their products. Advertising has been a multi-million dollar projects for these companies especially when teenagers are involved. Now, these companies make about $35 billion annually, as well as causing six million deaths. Tobacco companies make moneyShow MoreRelatedAmericas Smoke Screen-Portion Essays1168 Words   |  5 Pagespaper will examine the history of the tobacco industry and its advertising campaigns from the 1920s to the present. Some of the issues discussed in this paper will include: What forms of mass communication has tobacco companies used to persuade the public, how changes in technology have influenced the way tobacco companies communicate with target audiences, and how the United States government restrictions affect the current efforts of tobacco companies advertising strategies. Other topics that thisRead MoreThe Effects of Advertising on Teens1781 Words   |  8 Pages1992). Many questions arise about these advertisements, such as Is advertising deceptive? Does it create or perpetuate stereotypes ? Does it create conformity? Does it create insecurity in order to sell goods? Does it cause people to buy things that they really dont need?(Alexander Hanson, 1993, p. 240). Advertisers use specific methods to target teen consumers, but these methods are not always successful or ethical. Advertising is giving the general public information about new goods and tryingRead MoreThe Dangers Of Tobacco And Alcohol Companies1576 Words   |  7 PagesTobacco and alcohol companies are more widespread than ever and are expanding their target age group in the process of them increasing profit margins for their specific company. Excessive alcohol consumption and the associated negative health effects are a major public health concern since past and more recent studies. â€Å"Almost 4% of all deaths worldwide are attributable to alcohol† (Graham 1). Also, more than half of people who are frequent smokers started prior to the legal smoking age of eighteenRead More2.09 writing and effect ive concusion1669 Words   |  7 PagesResearch Graphic Organizer: Part 1 Topic: Technology Questions to research: Are advertisements aimed at teenagers effective? And, are they ethical? My Response: Most advertisements aimed at teenagers are effective, but usually are not ethical. Most marketers have many ways of gathering information on teenagers spending habits and what is most important to teens. With this information they’re able to create advertisements that will appeal to most teens and create profit. Many people argue that someRead MoreCigarette Companies in Capitalism1634 Words   |  7 PagesCigarette Companies in Capitalism Tobacco is one of the largest industries contributing to the economy of US. As reported by The Tobacco Atlas, the revenue of global tobacco industry is about a half trillion US dollars annually. In 2010, the combined profit of Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and McDonaldswas 35.1 billion US dollars, equal to the combined profit of six leading tobacco companies.(Alday)Tobacco industry is now harmful than ever. Although people realize that tobacco is harmful to ones healthRead MoreHow Companies Manipulate and Violate Advertising Laws3167 Words   |  13 Pagesï » ¿How Companies Manipulate and Violate Advertising Laws One of the professional arenas which has the great burden and challenge when it comes to advertising are tobacco companies. This is largely because of the fact that these companies are saddled with heavy legal restrictions on where and how they can advertise. However, tobacco companies have proven themselves to be extremely cunning and to be quite crafty when it comes to putting their formidable advertising budgets to good use. For instanceRead MoreThe Truth Initiative : Digital Media And Society1593 Words   |  7 Pageswarships chewing tobacco and cigarettes are regularly tools used to keep low stress levels, which many times can lead to bringing more people such as young adults and teenagers to follow the habit. In April 1 1970, president Richard Nixon signed a legislation which officially banned cigarettes advertisements on television and radio starting a new period of tobacco free incentives. (History.com, 2009) However, other organizations were created raising campaigns agains t the consuming of tobacco and advertisingRead MoreThe Effects Of Advertising On Children Of The United States Of America Essay2144 Words   |  9 PagesWhen did marketing to children become business as usual? The marketing for children has increased since the 1980’s. They begun a cradle to death campaign. Advertising has brought many negative effects on to the children of the United States of America. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of two not watch any television and children older than two watch no more than one to two hours of television a day. The first two years of life are crucial to developmentRead More The Young Consumer: Their Value To Media Advertising And The Economy2964 Words   |  12 PagesThe Young Consumer: Their Value To Media Advertising And The Economy An advertiser of new trend setting products often struggles with choosing a target market but now the choice is becoming clear. The young consumer market has developed itself into an empire in which companies flourish. Boys and girls ages 13-25 set the wave for what is considered cool and what isn’t. As a result, companies have carefully listened to what these â€Å"kids† have to say and then tried to develop products and ideas thatRead MoreImportance of Surrogate Advertising in Creating Brand Identity for Liquor Industry(Final)14020 Words   |  57 Pagesstudy of the advertising strategy used in liquor industry which makes the need of surrogate advertising exemplary, as the only way of advertising for liquor industry and also to know the effectiveness of surrogate advertising in influencing customer perception towards the products offered by the company In the present research, in order to collect primary data sample were selected conveniently. 60 Delhi based liquor consumers were selected for collecting primary data. Alcohol advertising has the potential

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Greatest Of These Is Love Essay - 996 Words

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) No matter how anointed we are in our preaching, teaching, evangelizing, ministering, etc ... there is no greater evidence of our knowledge of God than how we LOVE one another. Love comes from God and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows Him. (1 John 4:7) The indwelling of Gods love in us perfects our human character. Without it, we have no foundation on which to build our Christian lives. Love is not just an attribute of Gods character ... It IS God! (1 John 4:16) It is the very essence of Gods being. In John 13:34-35, we are commanded to love one another. This command is not referring to a physical†¦show more content†¦For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9) He has unselfishly given us this awesome, wonderful gift ... we must selflessly share it with others, Amen? Our Love for One Another Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10) Christians love because we were first loved by God (1 John 4:19). Since He loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:11). Brotherly love is our self-sacrificing ability to treat others, even perfect strangers, as if they were a part of our family. As believers who have been adopted into the body of Christ, then we are in fact part of the same family and are brothers and sisters to one another. While some believe that our love for one another is a choice, in all actuality ... it is a command to those who love God. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1 John 4:21) Thats a tough one isnt it? For when our brother happens to be someone who has hurt us, it is easy to judge them as undeserving of our unselfish, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. But this very command challenges our love for God. Will you accept the challenge and prove that your love for God is greater than your displeasure with your brother just as He has proven to us that His love for us isShow MoreRelatedLove Is Life s Greatest Offer881 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is love? Love is life’s greatest offer, love gives our lives meaning, value and makes us who we are. Without love our existence is hollow and insubstantial. To live a fulfilling life is to love courageously and relentlessly. Love is a simplified term to describe the feelings of pleasure, compassion and attachment associated with love without defining the specific aspect or origin from which it came. For millions of years the topic of love has inspired countless works of art, literature, filmRead MoreThe Grea test Love Story of all Time1303 Words   |  5 Pages Romeo and Juliet—the greatest love story of all time. What an odd thing to say about a play with one off-stage sex scene and seven on-stage deaths. Why would a book with such renown be removed from any list of great books? Some people may look at the story and say it holds immature values. After all, from a very straightforward angle, the story is about two teenagers killing themselves because they cannot have what they want. There is much more to the story, however, and by analyzing its originRead MoreMaking Love to the Mind: The Greatest Intimacy 685 Words   |  3 PagesSappho was exiled as a teenager to Sicily because of political reasons. Sappho was called a lyrist, because she performed her poems with lyre. Majority of Sappho’s poems reflect extreme, intense, feelings of desire. Sappho wrote poems about love, and most times her poems were directed towards other women. During the time period, in which Sappho lived, her poems were not considered bad because of the homosexual content she presented. The amount of tenderness, Sappho exuberates in her poetry, showsRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Sonnets : The Greatest Of All Love Poems1465 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s sonnets are considered the greatest of all love poems. The collection contains 154 poems portraying themes of love such as beauty, lust, and estrangement. First published in 1609, these works have remained a popular subject in the world of literature for centuries to come. â€Å"Shakespeare has completely dominated the English-speaking state over the last four hundred years.† When thinking of Shakespeare, his famous plays such Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet are usually the first toRead MoreJane Eyre, One of the Greatest Love Stories of All Time?2143 Words   |  9 Pages Jane’s enduring quest for love, love of a family and of an equal fulfill the human ideals of romance as she defies all obstacl es in her way. The love between Rochester and Jane dissolves the constraints of Victorian society where social status becomes of little significance. â€Å"Jane Eyre† epitomizes triumph over impossible odds as two people of different status can love each other for who they are and nothing more. A major theme of â€Å"Jane Eyre† is Jane’s quest for love, which is made plain very earlyRead MoreLove is the greatest human emotion one can experience. In the poem Leaving the Motel by W. D.800 Words   |  4 PagesLove is the greatest human emotion one can experience. In the poem Leaving the Motel by W. D. Snodgrass and Sex Without Love by Sharon Olds each poet shares different views on the theme of love. Snodgrass poem focuses on a couple having an affair in a motel. As they are leaving they go through a checklist to make sure they keep their secrecy. While, Olds poem focuses more about how people have sex without being in love. Both of these poems illustrate a strong sense of love in different waysRead MoreAnalyse Faulks presentation if friendships and love affairs in Birdsong, showing which relationships had the greatest impact on your understanding of the novel.1371 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Analyse Faulks’ presentation of friendships and love affairs i n Birdsong, showing which relationships and love affairs had the greatest impact on your understanding of the novel. One of the most significant relationships, if not the most, is the friendship between Jack Firebrace and the main character, Stephen Wraysford. This is because Jack remains a constant in Stephen’s war life which contrasts with all the other relationships with the men Stephen makes as he suffered the loss of many of themRead MoreMo Tzu Universal Love Analysis807 Words   |  4 Pageswill prove that thought Monzi thought of universal love, the will of heaven, being against music and as well as going against Confucians is the best way to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people in the shortest amount of time, using an article called â€Å"Mo Tzu Basic Writings† translated by Burton Waston Universal Love The aspect of universal love is seen in a very simple way with no in between answers as Universality is the greatest source of all great benefits in the world and partialityRead More Life Or Death Essay1673 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough, and the suffering our loved ones share with us? What impact does suffering and death leave behind? Does the love we had experienced decline with our shrunken bodies, does the responsibilities we challenged take control of us or does our friendships eventually sail in the distance like the compost to become of us; or perhaps all three? Or conceivably we build a stronger love for life, and a stronger legacy for our loved ones to cherish? What pain do they feel? Yet, all in all we need to distinguishRead More Justice In Platos The Republic Essay1010 Words   |  5 Pagesmakes them happy pleases him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upon the summation of the debate between Polemarchus and Socrates, Thrasymachus enters into the fray. He states that justice â€Å"is nothing other than advantage of the stronger† (Republic 338c), and also that the greatest life is that of perfect injustice, to be found in the life of a tyrant. This definition leaves no room for the common good because it creates a life of competition and materialism, where only the strong survive. Group endeavors are not possible according

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Mathur Devo Bhava Free Essays

In our Hindu culture from childhood we are taught to respect and obey parents. We believe in MATRU DEVO BHAVA, PITRU DEVO BHAVA, ACHARYA DEVO BHAVA. Answering parents, disobeying them or talking loud at them are considered to be not acceptable in particular with traditional families. We will write a custom essay sample on Mathur Devo Bhava or any similar topic only for you Order Now Now things have changed and children are taught to talk freely anything to every thing to parents or teachers and question them too if they do not feel happy with what they say. It is a scientific way of bringing up and giving space to children and giving them an opportunity to learn things with reasoning power. But this freedom has been proving in most of the cases being misused and children are becoming over confident and arrogant. If a child is praised for his intelligence in front of him, our elders used to avoid it he is getting a feeling that he is on top of the world. I have seen a 9 years old girl who used to stand first in class did not get good marks in Mathematics and lost her rank to another kid in the class. Her mother was questioning her and meanwhile her dad said â€Å"Sarayu, you have to put more focus on Maths†. Suddenly he was snapped by the little daughter â€Å"Dad, I know very well that you were never first in your class. So, don’t tell me how to study†. Immediately mother took a long lesson to the daughter saying that she should never talk like that and Dad is not to be questioned. She explained the kid in what kind of stressful circumstances he was grown up and still he made his life successful so that today his daughter is studying in prestigious public school with all luxuries at home and outside. The girl offcourse learnt the lesson and realised her mistake. Similarly, today when we see children and youngsters least respecting their parents and teachers offcourse, our heart wreathes in pain. We see young boys calling their Dads â€Å"Hey stupid guy, you don’t understand that† or calling names their mothers and insulting them is something very terrible. In my opinion, if that youngster may be a Noble Prize winner or a highly paid executive in a Blue chip company, but he is just a Zero in his character as he does not have basic values. To remind one and all the importance of parents, herewith I am sending a nice message which I came across recently. If this changes even slightly the behaviour of spoilt kids and youngsters, I feel that I have done a good job. It is never too late to realise our mistakes in life. MOTHER : This is a truly BEAUTIFUL piece please read this at a slow pace, digesting every word and in leisure†¦ do not hurry†¦. this is a treasure†¦ For those lucky to still be blessed with your Mother, this is beautiful. For those of us who aren’t, this is even more beautiful. For those who are Mother, they will love this. The young mother set her foot on the path of life. ‘Is this the long way? ‘ she asked. And the guide said: ‘Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning. But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, ‘Nothing will ever be lovelier than this. ‘ Then the nig ht came, and the storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, ‘Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come. And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children, ‘A little patience and we are there. ‘ So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, ‘Mother, we would not have done it without you. ‘ And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up at the stars and said, ‘This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today, I’ve given them strength. ‘ And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said: ‘Look up. Lift your eyes to the light. And the children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness. And that night the Mother said, ‘This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God. ‘ And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother said, ‘I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them. ‘ And the children said, ‘You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates. ‘ And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: ‘We cannot see her but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence†¦ ‘ Your Mother is always with you†¦. She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she’s the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she’s the cool hand on your brow when you’re not well. Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she’s crystallized in every tear drop. She’s the place you came from, your first home; and she’s the map you follow with every step you take. She’s your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space†¦ not even death! MAY WE NEVER TAKE OUR MOTHERS FOR GRANTED†¦ WHAT A WONDERFUL MESSAGE How to cite Mathur Devo Bhava, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

SMEs in Oman Lending Requirements and Poor Management

Question: Discuss about theSMEs in Oman: Lending Requirements and Poor Management. Answer: Introduction The Oman SMEs are important drivers of the economy. However, the Oman SMEs face challenges in acquiring adequate funds. Oman face such challenges as need for collateral, conditional lending requirements and poor management of cash follow and ability to make scheduled repayment. Nevertheless, Oman SMEs have a range of sources to acquire funds including government support through Sanad Programmme, funds created by the government through MoCI (SMEs Development Fund) and Sharakah Fund for Development of Oman youth projects. Oman SMEs have also benefited from Esthmar Venture Capital and long term loans through Oman Arab Bank via Tomouhi Programme and Intilaaqah Enterprise Fund (IEF). The Oman government has created Oman SMEs Development Fund to fund the SMEs in Oman. Evaluation of Various Sources of Finance Available For Oman SME's Government Assistance in General without Naming any Specific Fund The Sanad Programmme within the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) was established by the government in 2001 to offer financial support to the SMEs during their formative years. Sanad assists SMEs through soft loans, besides mentorship and helping with government services. The programme gives loans at favorable interest rate of 2% thanks to government subsidies thereby reducing the borrowing cost as well as risk for SMEs. The Sanads SMEs approved applicants get their funding via the Oman Development Bank. The government has created funds through MoCI in April 2012 by establishing SME Development Fund managed by National Company for Projects and Management (NCPM). Sharakah Fund for Development of Youth Projects has also worked in handy with MoCI and Sanad established in 1988 by royal decree thereby helping youths to undertake their business ideas. Via the collaboration between the Director General of the SMEs the United States Small Business Administration and the MEPI, the LGP provides eighty percent guarantees for SMES loans up to $650,000 with the rate of interest ranging from 3.4- to 4.3 percent. Venture Capital with Specific Oman Venture Capital Company (Ethmar) is being seed funded by Al Raffd Fund. The funding of a target capital of RO 10 million. The board of directors represented by shareholders have been mandated to manage the funds. Esthmar has invested in equity of high growth potential private sector start-ups SMEs. It has only cultivated a culture of innovation, promoted new ideas, provided a platform for expanding regionally as well as eventually stimulated the creation of jobs in Oman. It has targeted opportunities in the SMEs sector in Oman. The fund has preferred such sectors as oil and gas, agribusiness, retail, tourism and information technology. Ethmar has invested in early stage companies which exhibit a clear path to growth as well as profitability and with competitive advantage alongside those that can compete locally, regionally and even internationally with a minimum requirement for investment of RO 100,000 and a maximum of 10% of the paid up capital of Ethmar that is RO 1 million. Ethmars promoted had invested the application of various SMEs in 2015 and considered them for potential funding. Three promoters were selected for funding including Najah Salim al Abdulsalam (communicate-hearing assessment, diagnosis, and speech therapy services), Mansoor al Mahrouqi, Ahmed ali Salim al Mahrouqi (Victoria Lake-oil and gas services) as well as Munther al Battash (Ruken Al Pizza-food and beverage company). Long Term Loans The Oman Arab Bank that is owned 51% by the Oman International Development and Investment Company and 49% by Arab Bank has commenced a new programme for the SMEs financing. The programme is called Tomouhi or my ambition. This fund works in partnership with the MoCI and Oman Development Banks loan guarantee programme. Moreover, BankMuscat has financing design particularly for SMEs in Oman and have been additionally joined by many private funds. Intilaaqah Enterprise Fund (IEF) which is a $17 million fund has been designed to stimulate SMEs among Oman youths through the provision of funds, business development services as well as guidance. Oman-based Al Anwar Holding is offering a more traditional private-equity approach to Oman SMEs. It is publicly traded on the Muscat Securities Market. It is a for-profit institution investing in its specialty sectors. The Oman SMEs also get funds from long term loans particularly from the banks. Apart from equity and owners finance, almost eighteen percent of small and medium firms acquire capital from banks and other financial institutions. These institutions give finance to small and medium businesses under specific terms. Unlike equity, banks and other institutional borrowings have got immediate reflections on the cash flow. Credit acquired from banks and other financial institutions are subjected to interests which sometimes become a challenge to small businesses. Even though the interest rate is high most of small and medium size businesses still depend on bank loan for expansion and growth. Angel Investors Angel investors are also noticed to be very important source of capital and finance to small and medium size enterprises in Oman. Angel investors are rich individuals who are always willing to venture into various businesses.[1] They have provided financial support to various small and medium size enterprises in Oman. They enter into various organizations either as partners or as financiers. Angel investors invest largely into the economy by starting various small businesses and financing others as well.[2] Problems and Challenges Asymmetric Information The Small and Medium Enterprises also face a challenge of asymmetric information which complicates the process by which they select among the range of sources available for funding. With the limited information available for the SMEs, there is an increasing difficulty facing SMEs to arrive at the ideal method to choose the best financing alternatives.[3] The information asymmetry thus make the Oman SMEs to embrace the old pecking theory thereby preferring internal financing like cash flows from their business instead of external financing like loan from banks hence limiting their ability to benefit from the economies of scale. Conditional Lending Requirements Oman SMEs financing face challenges related to a range of government entities based on conditional lending. This condition lending requires the beneficiaries of the loans to purchase a given equipment from a particular agent or purchase needed supplies from a pre-determined agents.[4] The practice remains contradictory to the principle of entrepreneurship and more significantly, it prohibits beneficiaries of the loan to run the business in a cost-effective as well as flexible manner as a result of these complications. The SMEs thus do not have the freedom to choose vendors and suppliers locally or abroad. Requirement of Collateral Banks require SMEs to provide collateral as security before being approved for loans. SMEs hence have less access to bank credit compared to large enterprises. Banks in Oman still practice the traditional way of lending SMEs against collateral which makes the SMEs to be underfinanced. The current procedure in the banking sector allows banks to categorize any business loan as either a non-paid loan in case the SMEs fails to service the loan for ninety days. The banks get it easy to take non-payment cases to the court for recovery of the lent amount making thereby inflicting fears on SMEs to seek out for bank loans. This is because these kinds of loans remain backed by valuable collaterals like lands, retirement wages as well as business itself. The ninety day- non-payment periods is harsh to the SMEs and should be extended to the one-eighty days. Banks Hesitant to Lend The IMF and World Bank studies have shown that Oman banking sectors face various challenges from both demand and supply side which confine the extension of its lending to the SMEs. On the supply side, the restricted competition among the banks and a high margin needed from lending to consumers that provide little incentives for banks to give lending to SMEs given the high inherent risk linked to SMEs.[5] Banks in Oman have invested little resources needed in the examination of SMEs credit risk as well as credit evaluation tools. On the demand side, the studies have shown that SMEs present banks with restricted pool of viable projects. There also seems to be a lack of transparency as well as management expertise alongside prevailing poor financial infrastructure which together offer little incentives for banks to extend lending to SMEs in Oman. Poor Management of Cash Flows and Inability to Make Scheduled Loan Repayment Small and Medium Enterprise face challenges in their management of cash flows as well as ability to make scheduled repayment of loans to the banks. These challenges stems from delayed payments SMEs face in dealing with the agencies of government as well as large firms to which deliver services via contractual agreements. The challenge besides other problems linked to the SMEs sector adversely affect the operations of the Oman SMEs. The failure of SMEs to meet the scheduled repayment to the banks results from the fact the even SMEs that have succeeded face various challenges in regards to cash flow. The SMEs sometimes provide services to the government entities as well as large firms that do not honor their timely payment particularly in government payments. Accordingly, the problem translates into cash flow problems for SMEs in Oman and by subsequently adversely affect their scheduled loans repayment to the banks. High Cost of Undertaking Professional Feasibility Studies Oman SMEs also face high cost of conducting professional feasibility studies as well as lack of collateral required to obtain a line of credit. These two challenges have left the Oman Development Bank (ODP) as the primary lender in the Oman SMEs sector. The ODB business model is anchored on low cost of funding (government equity) in collaboration with vast interest rate subsidies employed to the long-term loans it extends.[6] The IMF and World Bank have pointed out that the prevalence low rates of interest from ODB has crowd out the long-run lending to SMEs from the commercial banks. Suggestion for SMES and Financial Institution to Smoothen Financial Flow SMEs play a key role in the development of the Oman economies and there is a need to appreciate the attempts that SMEs make to boost the economy across all sectors. Some of the suggestion include: The government needs to put more emphasis to explore the opportunities presented by the SMEs and grow the economy by a double digit. Accordingly, some of the key suggestion through which the government can intervene is by promoting and helping the SMEs to create efficient business plans which will convince the banks and other financial institutions to fund the SMEs. Maintenance of detailed accounting finance records should also be encouraged so as to avail the required information by the financial institution to show the repayment records of SMEs to help the banks have trust of repayment within the schedule. The government should also ensure that both banks and other financial institutions reduce the currently hiked cost of transactions as well as bureaucratic procedures that discourage the SMEs from considering debt financing.[7] There is also a need to use the government sources for soft loans including the Sharaqah, Sanad and Intalaqah instead of commercial banks. This will stimulate the acquisition of these soft loans by the SMEs that cannot give collateral required by the commercial banks. In so doing, the SMEs will boost their capital base and benefit from the economies of scale hence fastening the Oman economic growth. What the Government has done The government of Oman has already created Oman SMEs Development Fund that directly go to SMEs. This exemplary step has been undertaken to strengthen the SMES industry to boost the SMEs growth from the current beginning growth curve of Oman SMEs sector. The government has also engaged in exclusive SMEs development symposium that took place in Seeh Al Shamikhat, Balm, much has changed in Oman SMEs sector. The government is using these symposium to create an enabling environment for the SMEs as a mechanism to provide employment opportunities for the youth. Conclusion The SMEs in Oman in taking the center stage and they are growing at an escalated rate. The government has taken various steps including the creation of SMEs Development Fund an organized various symposium to create enabling environment for the SMEs growth. SMEs will greatly contribute to the economic growth of the Oman economy and banks and other financial need to avail funds to these enterprises without need for collateral to facilitate this growth.[8] This will in turn lead an increased in the GDP of the Oma which will also benefit the Oman banks and other lending intuitions. References Ashrafi, Rafi, and Muhammad Murtaza. "ICT adoption in SME in an Arab GCC Country Oman." E-strategies for Resource Management Systems: Planning and Implementation (2010): 371-376. Ashrafi, Rafi, and Muhammed Murtaza. "Use and Impact of ICT on SMEs in Oman." Electronic Journal Information Systems Evaluation 11, no. 3 (2008): 125-138. Magd, Hesham AE, and Mark P. McCoy. "Entrepreneurship in Oman: Paving the Way for a Sustainable Future." Procedia Economics and Finance 15 (2014): 1632-1640. Ongori, Henry, and Stephen O. Migiro. "Information and communication technologies adoption in SMEs: literature review." Journal of Chinese Entrepreneurship 2, no. 1 (2010): 93-104. Oni, Emmanuel O., and A. A. Daniya. "Development of small and medium scale enterprises: The role of government and other financial institutions." Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review (OMAN Chapter) Vol 1 (2012).