Analyzing Loneliness In Of Mice And Men English Literature Essay

Analyzing Loneliness In Of Mice And Men English Literature Essay John Steinbeck portrays in his novella Of Mice and Men the theme of loneliness. In the novelette Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck writes about the Great Depression and how two friends, Lennie and George, stay together through this tough time. They go from town to town and work on ranches, always staying together. This new haven in California they stumble upon seems like a good fit, however Lennie creates problems and terminates their chances of survival there. George and Lennie have an interesting and strong relationship for the time period in which they live. Lennie and George have a parent to child type of relationship. Lennie, being the childlike of the two, does not have the mental capacity to make decisions for himself. George shows the parental attitude and creates the most safe conditions for the both of them to live and work. While this makes their friendship stronger, it also creates tension when big decisions come into play. George constantly sticks his neck out for Lennie and makes life easier on him by taking the blame for problems well as figuring out the tough situations they are put in. When Lennie crushes Curleys hand, they risk being fired. Slim negotiates with Curley after this accident to not tell anyone about what happened or else well tell everbody , an then will you get the laugh. (64). The people working alongside George and Lennie recognize this and end up sticking up for them when trouble comes along. The compassio n that George and Lennie express towards each other rubs off on the people that surround them and kept them out of trouble. George create a stable living environment for Lennie while he could not do so for himself. While George could have abandoned Lennie, gone on his way and become successful and not had many more problems, however he chooses to stay beside Lennie for the reason that Lennie needs George to survive. The love between the two creates a strong bond and a loyalty that does not end when George makes the ultimate sacrifice for his friend and saves him from the torture of lynching. Not everyone has a companion like Lennie throughout this story. In Steinbecks novel, Candy, an old, frail, crippled man who had worked on the ranch for years has only one companion, his dog. Candy and his dog share similar characteristics. They are both elderly, and neither of them very useful on the farm anymore due to age and deformity. Candy and his dogs relationship parallels that of George and Lennie; both have a dominant leader, and both have the compassion and love for each other. Candy finds himself emotionally broken once his only friend, and only real purpose in life dies. He cannot bring himself to shoot his dog since to him, it is his best friend. Carlson however, has no problem with killing the dog, Carlson shows a fierce attitude when he says If you want me to, Ill put the old devil out of his misery. Right now and get it over with. Aint nothing left for him. Cant eat, cant see, cant even walk without hurtin. (47). Carlson shows that he doesnt have a care in the world, and doesnt know what its like to care about someone enough to want them around. This scene is where the friendship of Lennie and George differs from Candy and his dog. Candy shows a more selfish look at friendship, where George sacrifices his best friend for the betterment of Lennie, Candy cannot bring himself to shoot his dog because he cannot bear to be alone. After his dog is gone however, he attaches himself to George and Lennies plan in order to gain some other companionship and meaning in his life. This part of the story ties into the theme of the American Dream and striving for something though it may seem out of said persons each. Having a friend along the way creates an easier path to go than going by themselves. Steinbeck stresses the need of meaningful friendship through this hardship we call life. Especially in the setting the novella is placed, where on ranches people have no one but themselves, its necessary to have a friend to not go crazy with loneliness. Crooks, an African American who works on the ranch, is essentially an outcast, proving this statement when he says, A guys goes nuts if he aint got nobody. Dont make no difference who the guy is, longs he with you (73). People, like Crooks says, need someone to talk to or else insanity sets in. Other men depicted in Of Mice and Men show a selfishness that comes with loneliness, as well as a lack of sensitivity. Steinbeck based the title off of a poem, which says The best-laid plans of mice and men/Gang aft agley (often go wrong)/And leave us naught but grief and pain/For promised joy. This statement is proved over and over again in the text, shown when George makes the hard decision to terminate Lennies life for the better, thought it was not part of their great American Dream and how Crooks has a strong desire for a friend, however has isolated himself because of common belief. Life altering decisions effect the future and peoples desires, leaving the people in this novella lonely, depressed, and in need of friendship, the small flicker of hope that George and Lennie bring when they come to the ranch discontinues the loneliness momentarily. Steinbeck demonstrates in his novel Of Mice and Men the struggle of maintaining a close friendship and how unusual companionships ultimately makes life easier. He proves that George and Lennies unusual friendship helped both Lennie and George maintain the idealistic thought of best friends. He shows that even the smallest of companions, such as a dog, can give a needed lapse in loneliness. But most of all, Steinbeck demonstrates how friendship gives hope in the future and optimism for what real friendship is. This idea relates not only to the Great Depression, but the need in every human being for some type of connection and companionship. It also shows the struggle that comes with friendship, and the sacrifices needed to be made for a true friend.

Factors Affecting the Grades of Freshmen Engineering Students Essay

INTRODUCTION This chapter is the input section of the paper. It includes the background of the study, the statement of the problem, hypotheses of the study, theory base (technical framework), its significance, as well as the scope and the limitation of the study, and its definition of terms. Background of the Study Academic performance according to the Cambridge University Reporter (2003) is frequently defined in terms of examination performance. College grading is an exceptionally complex phenomenon because it is subject to both external social forces and internal changes of the participants (for example, students, faculty) policies and practices (for example, grading policies) and other factors (Birnbaum, 1977)Ecoamists view grades as a reward for academic performance, which is assumed to be related to individual academic ability as well as the quantity and effort the student puts forth in educational activites (Becker, 1965; Hanushek 1979)Psychologist suggest that motivation, self-effacy and other psychological variables all make differences inindividual achievement and grades (Bandura, 1994; Marsh and Roche, 2000; McKeachie and others, 1990) Faculty members have the primary responsibility in assessing student academic performance and assigning grades to students. Faculty backgrounds appear to matter somewhat in assigning grades to students. adjunct faculty members tend to distributehigher grades than regular faculty. (Chen and Cheng, 1999;Sonner, 2000). Student academic ability and engagement in college are important determinants in academic performance. (Pascarella and Terenzini, 1991). There are many possible factors why the students able to get high or low grades. These factors are classified into four categories: student-related, teacher-related, environmental-related, and financial-related factors. Their grades based on their works throughout the semester. This study is subjected to the Freshmen Engineering Students of the University of Southeastern Philippines. It attempts to determine the correlation of the perceived factors that may or may at affect the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. By conducting study, the result will provide exact information on what will be the effective ways to achieve and  maintain ideal grades for the students to pass their course. The study will also provide what are the basic problems encountered by the freshmen Engineering students of University of Southeastern Philippines that affect their misbehavior. (repository, 2011) Statement of the Problem The study aims to determine the Perceived Factors Affecting the Grades of Freshmen of College of Engineering of the University of Southeastern Philippines S.Y. 2012 – 2013 More specifically, the study aimed to answer the following questions: 1. To what extent is the academic performance of the Freshmen Engineering students Hypotheses of the Study The following are the hypotheses of the study: 1.) Teacher-related factors: 1.1. There is a significant relationship between the modulation of voice of the teacher to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. 1.2. There is a significant relationship between the teaching strategy of the teacher to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. 1.3. There is a significant relationship between the mastery of the teacher’s subject matter to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. 1.4. There is a significant relationship between the outputs given by the teacher to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. 2.) Student-related factors: 2.1. There is a significant relationship between the students’ interest to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. 2.2. There is a significant relationship between the students-professor relationship to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. 2.3. There is a significant relationship between the student-parent relationship to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. 2.4. There is a significant relationship between peer pressure to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. 3.) Financial-related factors: 3.1. There is a significant relationship between financial assistance to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. 3.2. There is a significant relationship between budget management to the grades of the  freshmen Engineering students. 3.3. There is a significant relationship between the demand of needs or requirements to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. 4.) Environmental-related factors: 4.1. There is a significant relationship between the schools’ ambiance to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. 4.2. There is a significant relationship between the schools’ facilities to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. Theory Base This study is primarily anchored on John Riley & Sons, Inc. which states that the factors mentioned that affects the grades of the College students are: Economic View, Faculty, Institution, and the students’ self-interest. College grading is an exceptionally complex phenomenon because it is subject to both external social forces and internal changes of the participants (for example, students, faculty) policies and practices (for example, grading policies) and other factors (Birnbaum, 1977)Ecoamists view grades as a reward for academic performance, which is assumed to be related to individual academic ability as well as the quantity and effort the student puts forth in educational activites (Becker, 1965; Hanushek 1979) Psychologist suggest that motivation, self-effacy and other psychological variables all make differences inindividual achievement and grades (Bandura, 1994; Marsh and Roche, 2000; McKeachie and others, 1990) Faculty members have the primary responsibility in assessing student academic performance and assigning grades to students. Faculty backgrouds appear to matter somewhat in assigning grades to students. adjunct faculty members tend to distributehigher grades than regular faculty. (Chen and Cheng, 1999;Sonner, 2000). Institutional characteristics influence grading practices. Grades are not uniformly awarded across institutional types. Public institutions tend to award lower gradescompared with their private counterparts. Students at different Carnegie-type institutions receive different grades. Students at doctoral universities tend toreceive the highest grades compared with students enrolled in other types of schools. (Kuh and Hu, 1999) This theory suggests that self-interest (students’ performance), faculty, institution, and financial-based factors could affect the grades of the students. This  theory strongly supports the hypotheses of the study. Conceptual Framework Figure 1 shows the independent and dependent variables of the study. The study attempts to identify the relationship between the teacher-related, student-related, financial-related, and environmental-related factors to the grades of the freshmen Engineering students of the University of Southeastern Philippines. Independent VariableDependent Variable Teacher- related factors: * Modulation of teacher’s voice. * Classroom management. * Teaching strategy. * Mastery of the subject/subject matter. * Outputs given to the students. Student-related factors: * Student-interest. * Student-professor relationship. * Student-parent relationship. * Peer pressure. Financial-related factors: * Financial assistance. * Budget management. * Demand of needs or requirements. Grades of the Engineering students of the University of Southeastern Philippines Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of the Study Variables of the study The independent variables (IV) of the study are the following classification of factors: teacher-related, student-related, financial-related, and environmental-related factors. Thus these factors could or could at affect the dependent variable (DV) which is the grades of the Freshmen Engineering Students of the University of Southeastern  Philippines. Teacher-related factors. The modulation of the teacher’s voice, classroom management, teaching strategy, mastery of the subject or subject matter, and the outputs given by the teacher could or could at affect the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. Student-Related factors. The students’ interest, student-professor relationship, student-parent relationship, and peer pressure could or could at affect the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. Environmental-Related factors. The financial assistance given to the student, budget management, and the demand of needs or requirements could or could at affect the grades of the freshmen Engineering students. Significance of the Study The study was conducted mainly to provide information regarding The Perceived Factors Affecting the Failing Grades of Freshmen of College of Engineering of the University of Southeastern Philippines S.Y. 2012 – 2013.The feedback of this study would benefit the following: Teachers. This study informs the teachers to be aware for the cases of the students who’ve been involve in failing their subjects and help them motivate the students to listen properly during class hours and to fulfill their requirements given to them. Students. This study encourage the students to be more responsible and more serious of their studies. Parents. This study helps the parents to be aware of their students’ needs in school. That includes their financial assistance and parental guidance to their students. Future researchers. This study would serve as a reference to their studies and could be counted as a reliable source. Scope and Limitation of the Study The study focuses on the Perceived Factors Affecting the Failing Grades of Freshmen of College of Engineering of the University of Southeastern Philippines. Generated to a survey questionnaire is our primary data used which was also used in interview guide with the students. The respondents of the study were randomly picked ten (10) students of every section in the  said department. The study covers the first semester of the school year 2012-2013. Definition of Terms * Freshmen Engineering students. This refers to the participants of the study which are taking their college degree in the University of Southeastern Philppines, Barrio Obrero, Davao City. * Teacher-related factors. This refers to the factors in which the teacher is the one being subjected that could or could at affect the grades of the freshmen Engineering students of the University of Southeastern Philppines. In this study, the teacher-related factors are: modulation of teacher’s voice, classroom management, teaching strategy, mastery of the subject matter, and the outputs given to the students. * Student-related factors. This refers to the factors in which the student is the one being subjected that could or could at affect the grades of the freshmen Engineering students of the University of Southeastern Philppines. In this study, the student-related factors are: students’ interest, student-professor relationship, student-parent relationship, and peer pressure. * Environmental-related factors.This refers to the factors in which the environment is the one being subjected that could or could at affect the grades of the freshmen Engineering students of the University of Southeastern Philppines. In this study, the environmental-related factors are: school’s ambiance and the school’s facilities. * Financial-related factors.This refers to the factors in which money is the one being subjected that could or could at affect the grades of the freshmen Engineering students of the University of Southeastern Philppines. In this study, the financial-related factors are: financial assistance, budget management, demand of needs or requirements.

My Moment Of Epiphany At Upstate Medical University

My moment of epiphany came when I started working for Upstate Medical University’s Student Affair Department in their Student Success Center as an Office Manager. The Student Success Center focuses on underrepresented medical students through its CSTEP Program. As an Office Manager, I have had the pleasure with working with the medical students and upper faculty members. I have developed a camaraderie with a number of medical students. Many of the medical students come to me to converse about challenges or obstacles that they have had to encounter and/or hurdles they need to overcome. I truly believe my students come to me because I have a benevolent attitude and assiduously work ethic that they have observed. Although, I am not a counselor I appreciate that they feel comfortable to confide in me and these are extra responsibilities that I have embraced has a mentor and an advisor to my students. Then, I had this† aha moment,† that I should do more investment in myself and be a role model for these students as a Higher Education Administration Admission faculty member. While I was pondering about where to go for my Master’s Degree in Higher Educating Administration my options were limited. I needed a different atmosphere, I wanted a non-traditional setting. A master’s program that offered the classes entirely online, in the comfort of my home. Therefore, I can study at my convenience and also be a full time mother to my teenage daughter. While reviewing the Stony

Narrative Techniques in the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas...

Narrative Techniques in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a novel by John Boyne. This novel is set during World War 2 and explores themes such as prejudice, racism, war, innocence and friendship. What sets it apart from other novels is that it uses a third person limited point of view, and mostly depicts events as they are seen by a young and naà ¯ve boy. This was one of the main narrative conventions that engaged me in this novel. The point of view is the most interesting and important narrative convention of this novel. It is written in third person limited mostly from Bruno, the young boys, perspective. This means it does not use ‘I’ or ‘we’ but we do get to find out what the main character is†¦show more content†¦He merely parrots back things that he has heard others say as he thinks this is normal and he has no way to know otherwise. One particularly poignant example is â€Å"‘Heil Hitler,’ he said, which, he presumed, was another way of saying, ‘Well, goodbye for now, have a pleasant afternoon.’† p.54. This made me as a reader wonder wether I would be blind to the harsh reality if I had been raised in that way. I think that this is one of the most important things Boyne wants this novel to make us think about. In parts of the novel Bruno begins to actually lose his innocence and learn and understand more about the world around him. For example, when he is talking to Maria about his father and she starts to speak to him about her earlier life he â€Å"realized for the first time that he had never fully considered her to be a person with a life and a history of her own,† p.60. This process is not fast enough as this innocence still leads to his early death in a gas chamber. However, he thinks that he is just going on a march while he was trying to help his friend, and this means that he is not afraid. His innocence acts like courage, and shields him from fear while placing him in danger. There are also symbols and comparisons made in the novel. Mostly these are during interactions between Bruno and Shmuel, and often they are very unrealistic, and do not further the plot but instead are there just to make a point. ForShow MoreRelated Use of Narrative in John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas1012 Words   |  5 PagesNarrative is a rhetorical structure that distorts reality in order to reveal it. This is an eminently evident actuality in John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Through this distortion, Boyne is able to evoke the reader’s empathy, portray the horror of the Holocaust to a younger audience and convey human’s capacity for inhumanity and indifference. This is achieved by Boyne, primarily through the exaggeration of innocence throughout the novel, the content presented to the audience, and theRead MoreIts Not Finished,, , but My Speech on Reflect Upon How Your Understanding of Representation, History and Memory Has Been Shaped by This Elective1173 Words   |  5 Pageswide range of text types as well as our own knowledge of events represented in the text then we are able to more deeply and with more certainty, define what history and memory is. The poem â€Å"Requiem for the Croppies† by Seamus Heaney, â€Å"The Boy in Striped Pyjamas†, a novel written by John Boyne and the Smithsonian September 11 Website, â€Å"Bearing Witness to History†, enable us as readers to grasp the complexities that are represented between the interplay of history and memory. Representation refersRead MoreEssay on The Short Life of Anne Frank by Gerrit Netten2196 Words   |  9 Pagescinema dramatization of real events ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ by Mark Herman. I will be focusing on how each director uses techniques to show true aspects of real life, and how this persuades the audience into believing that they are witnessing something accurate, and true to the directors intention. Gerrit Netten’s 2001 documentary ‘The Short Life of Anne Frank’ and Mark Herman’s 2008 historical drama based film ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’, are both based on the innocence perceivedRead MoreEssay About Pajamas And The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas936 Words   |  4 Pages Imagine this! Becoming close friends with a boy that lives on the other side of a fence in a Nazi camp and only being able to talk to them through a fence never being able to run around together or just play a game of tag. Well that’s what happened to a little nine year old boy named Bruno that had to move very far away for his dads work. Bruno wondered beyond the fences when he met a little boy that seemed just like himself but yet his life and circumstances were extremely different then Bruno’s

Pauls Contribution to Christianity - 1449 Words

It seems strange that so little is known biographically about one of the most important figures in Christian history, but this only serves to add to the mystery and grandeur surrounding the Apostle Paul of Tarsus. Much, however, is known of the time after his conversion to Christ and what he did to contribute to Christianity in this period, and it is this that leaves a greater legacy than the simple facts of his life. The contributions that he made towards the cause of Christ and the spreading and formation of Christianity are what he is perennially remembered for. Paul is remembered as a missionary and church planter. He undertook three extensive missionary journeys, estimated to have taken place in A.D. 44, 49 and 53. He spent much†¦show more content†¦Paul was not fighting against the Law of Moses – he knew the law, and that obeying the commandments would lead to happiness. 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Supply Chain Management for Manufacturing Industry Free Essays

The main objective is to know about the SCM of manufacturing industry to know we have analyses several topic are: †¢Supply chain is a network of all firms relationships that gat a product to market, including the original acquisition of raw materials; production of the item at a manufacturing facility; distribution to a retailer; sale of he finished item to the customer, and any installation, repair, or service activities that follow the sale. †¢ How to effectively manage the supply chain is a central issue for all levels of management, regardless of industry. †¢This workshop has been designed and tailored by Mr. We will write a custom essay sample on Supply Chain Management for Manufacturing Industry or any similar topic only for you Order Now Ejazur Rahman amassing his over a decade experience in working and managing the Supply chain function of a reputed global manufacturing and marketing organization. To know Successful supply chain management requires decisions. To know scm, competitive, sales and marketing strategies. Who should attend the programmed? Inventory management system of scm. How to achieve excellence in scm. Supply Chain Management for Manufacturing Industry Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. It is said that the ultimate goal of any effective supply chain management system is to reduce inventory (with the assumption that products are available when needed). As a solution for successful supply chain management, sophisticated software systems with Web interfaces are competing with Web-based application service providers (ASP) who promise to provide part or all of the SCM service for companies who rent their service. Supply chain management flows can be divided into three main flows: †¢The product flow †¢The information flow The finances flow The product flow includes the movement of goods from a supplier to a customer, as well as any customer returns or service needs. The information flow involves transmitting orders and updating the status of delivery. The financial flow consists of credit terms, payment schedules, and consignment and title ownership arrangements. †¢1. Supply Chain Management – What and Why? †¢2. Objectives of a Supply Chain †¢3. Decision Phases in a Supply Chain †¢4. Process Views of a Supply Chain †¢5. Supply Chain Performance : Achieving Strategic Fit 6. Drivers of Supply Chain Performance †¢7. Designing the Supply Chain Network †¢8. Demand and Supply Planning in a Supply Chain †¢9. Planning and Managing Inventory †¢10. Designing and Planning Transportation Networks †¢11. Achieving Supply Chain Excellence in a manufacturing/service organization 1) Supply chain management what? Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customers (Harland, 1996 ). Supply Chain Management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption (supply chain). – Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. It is said that the ultimate goal of any effective supply chain management system is to reduce inventory (with the assumption that products are available when needed – Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. It is said that the ultimate goal of any effective supply chain management system is to reduce inventory (with the assumption that products are available when needed). As a solution for successful supply chain management, sophisticated software systems with Web interfacervice for companies who rent their service. Why supply chain management The definition, put forward by an American professional association, is that Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics management activities. It also includes the crucial components of coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers. In essence, Supply Chain Management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies. More recently, the loosely coupled, self-organizing network of businesses that cooperates to provide product and service offerings has been called the Extended Enterprise. [1] Supply Chain Management can also refer to Supply chain management software which are tools or modules used in executing supply chain transactions, managing supplier relationships and controlling associated business processes. Supply chain event management (abbreviated as SCEM) is a consideration of all possible occurring events and factors that can cause a disruption in a supply chain. With SCEM possible scenarios can be created and solutions can be planned. functions Supply chain management is a cross-function approach to manage the movement of raw materials into an organization, certain aspects of the internal processing of materials into finished goods, and then the movement of finished goods out of the organization toward the end-consumer. As organizations strive to focus on core competencies and becoming more flexible, they have reduced their ownership of raw materials sources and distribution channels. These functions are increasingly being outsourced to other entities that can perform the activities better or more cost effectively. The effect is to increase the number of organizations involved in satisfying customer demand, while reducing management control of daily logistics operations. Less control and more supply chain partners led to the creation of supply chain management concepts. The purpose of supply chain management is to improve trust and collaboration among supply chain partners, thus improving inventory visibility and improving inventory velocity. Several models have been proposed for understanding the activities required to manage material movements across organizational and functional boundaries. SCOR is a supply chain management model promoted by the Supply Chain Council. Another model is the SCM Model proposed by the Global Supply Chain Forum (GSCF). Supply chain activities can be grouped into strategic, tactical, and operational levels of activities. Strategic Strategic network optimisation, including the number, location, and size of warehousing, distribution centers, and facilities †¢Strategic partnership with suppliers, distributors, and customers, creating communication channels for critical information and operational improvements such as cross docking, direct shipping, and third-party logistics †¢Product life cycle management, so tha t new and existing products can be optimally integrated into the supply chain and capacity management †¢Information Technology infrastructure, to support supply chain operations †¢Where-to-make and what-to-make-or-buy decisions Aligning overall organizational strategy with supply strategy Tactical †¢Sourcing contracts and other purchasing decisions. †¢Production decisions, including contracting, scheduling, and planning process definition. †¢Inventory decisions, including quantity, location, and quality of inventory. †¢Transportation strategy, including frequency, routes, and contracting. †¢[Benchmarking] of all operations against competitors and implementation of best practices throughout the enterprise. †¢Milestone payments †¢Focus on customer demand. Operational Daily production and distribution planning, including all nodes in the supply chain. †¢Production scheduling for each manufacturing facility in the supply chain (minute by minute). †¢Demand planning and forecasting, coordinating the demand forecast of all customers and sharing the forecast with all suppliers. †¢Sourcing planning, including current inventory and forecast demand, in collaboration with all suppliers. †¢Inbound operations, including transportation from suppliers and receiving inventory. †¢Production operations, including the consumption of materials and flow of finished goods. Outbound operations, including all fulfillment activities, warehousing and transportation to customers. †¢Order promising, accounting for all constraints in the supply chain, including all suppliers, manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, and other customers. 2)The Objective of a Supply Cha in The objective of every supply chain is to maximize the overall value generated. The value a supply chain generates is the difference between what the final product is worth to the customer and the effort the supply chain expends in filling the customer’s request. For most commercial supply chains, value will be strongly correlated with supply chain profitability, the difference between the revenue generated from the customer and the overall cost across the supply chain. For example, a customer purchasing a computer from Dell pays $2,000, which represents the revenue the supply chain receives. Dell and other stages of the supply chain incur costs to convey information, produce components, store them, transport them, transfer funds, and so on. The difference between the $2,000 that the customer paid and the sum of all costs incurred by the supply chain to produce and distribute the computer represents the supply chain profitability. Supply chain profitability is the total profit to be shared across all supply chain stages. The higher the supply chain profitability, the more successful the supply chain. Supply chain success should be measured in terms of supply chain profitability and not in terms of the profits at an individual stage. Having defined the success of a supply chain in terms of supply chain rofitability, the next logical step is to look for sources of revenue and cost. For any supply chain, there is only one source of revenue: the customer. At Wal-Mart, a customer purchasing detergent is the only one providing positive cash flow for the supply chain. All other cash flows are simply fund exchanges that occur within the supply chain given that different stages have different owners. When Wal-Mart pays its suppli er, it is taking a portion of the funds the customer provides and passing that money on to the supplier. All flows of information, product, or funds generate costs within the supply chain. Thus, the appropriate management of these flows is a key to supply chain success. Supply chain management involves the management of flows between and among stage sin a supply chain to maximize total supply chain profitability. 3) Decision Phases In a Supply Chain Successful supply chain management requires many decisions relating to the flow of information, product, and funds. These decisions fall into three categories or phases, depending on the frequency of each decision and the time frame over which a decision phase has an impact. 1. Supply chain strategy or design: During this phase, a company decides how to structure the supply chain over the next several years. It decides what the chain’s configuration will be, how resources will be allocated, and what processes each stage will perform. Strategic decisions made by companies include the location and capacities of production and warehouse facilities, the products to be manufactured or stored at various locations, the modes of transportation to be made available along different shipping legs, and the type of information system to be utilized. A firm must ensure that the supply chain configuration supports its strategic objectives during this phase. Dell’s decisions regarding the location and capacity of its manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and supply courses are all supply chain design or strategic decisions. Supply chain design decisions are typically made for the long term (a matter of years) and are very expensive to alter on short notice. Consequently, when companies make these decisions, they must take into account uncertainty in anticipated market conditions over the next few years. 2. Supply chain planning: For decisions made during his phase, the time frame considered is a quarter to a year. Therefore, the supply chain’s configuration determined in the strategic phase is fixed. The configuration establishes constraints within which planning must be done. Companies start the planning phase with a forecast for the coming year (or a comparable time frame) of demand in different markets. Planning in cludes decisions regarding which markets will be supplied from which locations, the subcontracting of manufacturing, the inventory policies to be followed, and the timing and size of marketing promotions. Dell’s decisions regarding markets a given production facility will supply and target production quantities at different locations are classified as planning decisions. Planning establishes parameters within which a supply chain will function over a specified period of time. In the planning phase, companies must include uncertainty in demand, exchange rates, and competition over this time horizon in their decisions. Given a shorter time horizon and better forecasts than the design phase, companies in the planning phase try to incorporate any flexibility built into the supply chain in the design phase and exploit it to optimize performance. As a result of the planning phase, companies define a set of operating policies that govern short-term operations. 3. Supply chain operation: The time horizon here is weekly or daily, and during this phase companies make decisions regarding individual customer orders. At the operational level, supply chain configuration is considered fixed and planning policies are already defined. The goal of supply chain operations is to handle incoming customer orders in the best possible manner. During this phase, firms allocate inventory or production to individual orders, set a date that an order is to be filled, generate pick lists at a warehouse, allocate an order to a particular shipping mode and shipment, set delivery schedules of trucks, and place replenishment orders. Because operational decisions are being made in the short term (minutes, hours, or days), there is less uncertainty about demand information. Given the constraints established by the configuration and planning policies, the goal during the operation phase is to exploit the reduction of uncertainty and optimize performance. The design, planning, and operation of a supply chain have a strong impact on overall profitability and success. Continuing with our example, consider Dell Computer. In the early 1990s, Dell management began to focus on improving the improved performance. Both profitability and the stock price have soared and Dell stock has had outstanding returns over this period. 4)Supply Chain Process Platform The winners in fiercely competitive markets create agile and efficient business processes, supported by flexible, reliable and cost-effective technology. When your market position depends on your supply chain, you need processes and solutions that work together seamlessly to provide the information and automate the activities you need to operate most effectively. All of Manhattan Associates’ solutions operate on a common Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) platform, to maximize the value of your technology investment. With Manhattan Associates’ Supply Chain Process Platform, you can easily integrate any or all of our applications into your existing systems or add new solutions from our suite of products. That means dramatic reductions in complexity and faster implementation whenever you need new functionality. With shared master and transaction databases, data capture management (such as voice and RFID) and a real-time alert system that operates across all Manhattan Associates’ solutions, the Supply Chain Process Platform provides a safeguard that flags any inconsistency in your data, ensuring a safe implementation and continued smooth operation. Our Supply Chain Process Platform offers flexibility, scalability and supportability to meet the requirements of the most complex supply chains for the most demanding companies. The Manhattan Supply Chain Process Platform: †¢Makes customizing your solutions to meet your business requirements easier than ever †¢Simplifies adding new functionalities or incorporating technical innovations †¢Provides a shared platform for collecting, managing, distributing and acting on information and events that flow through the supply chain †¢Ensures that solutions are robust, scalable, resilient and consistent across all components. Uniting the Platform Applications for Maximum Value The Supply Chain Process Platform provides a foundation for all Manhattan platform applications: †¢Supply Chain Intelligence: With easy-to-read reports presenting powerful analytics, you can monitor the performance of your suppliers, carriers, customers and employees from one intuitive dashboard. †¢Supply Chain Visibility: See a single, consistent, real-time view of your entire global supply chain. †¢Supply Chain Event Management: Receive notification of all supply chain events as they occur and respond immediately across your full supply chain. 5) Supply Chain Performance : Achieving Strategic Fit Competitive strategy: defines the set of customer needs a firm seeks to satisfy through its products and services ? Product development strategy: specifies the portfolio of new products that the company will try to develop ? Marketing and sales strategy: specifies how the market will be segmented and product positioned, priced, and promoted ? Supply chain strategy: – determines the nature of material procurement, transportation of materials, manufacture of product or creation of service, distribution of product –Consistency and support between supply chain strategy, competitive strategy, and other functional strategies is important Achieving Strategic Fit(1/2) ? How is strategic fit achieved? ? Other issues affecting strategic fit How is Strategic Fit Achieved? ? Step 1: Understanding the customer and supply chain uncertainty ? Step 2: Understanding the supply chain ? Step 3: Achieving strategic fit Step 1: Understanding the Customer and Supply Chain Uncertainty (1/3) ? Identify the needs of the customer segment being served ? Quantity of product needed in each lot ? Response time customers will tolerate ? Variety of products needed ? Service level required ? Price of the product ? Desired rate of innovation in the product Overall attribute of customer demand ? Demand uncertainty: uncertainty of customer demand for a product ? Implied demand uncertainty: resulting uncertainty for the supply chain given the portion of the demand the supply chain must handle and attributes the customer desires ? Implied demand uncertainty also related to customer needs and product attributes ? First step to strategic fit is to un derstand customers by mapping their demand on the implied uncertainty spectrum Step 2: Understanding the Supply Chain (1/2) ? How does the firm best meet demand? ? Dimension describing the supply chain is supply chain responsiveness Supply chain responsiveness — ability to –respond to wide ranges of quantities demanded –meet short lead times –handle a large variety of products –build highly innovative products –meet a very high service level ? There is a cost to achieving responsiveness ? Supply chain efficiency: cost of making and delivering the product to the customer ? Increasing responsiveness results in higher costs that lower efficiency ? Figure 2. 3: cost-responsiveness efficient frontier ? Figure 2. 4: supply chain responsiveness spectrum ? Second step to achieving strategic fit is to map the supply chain on the responsiveness spectrum Step 3: Achieving Strategic Fit ? Step is to ensure that what the supply chain does well is consistent with target customer’s needs Other Issues Affecting Strategic Fit ?Multiple products and customer segments ? Product life cycle ? Competitive changes over time 6)Drivers of Supply Chain Performance Supply chains are becoming increasingly global and ever more complex, as organizations try to support strategic management practices such as entering new markets, increasing the pace of new product introductions, improving the reliability and speed of order fulfillment . . . all the while trying to lower supply chain costs. For organizations to work closely with their suppliers, logistics providers, distributors and retailers, their supply chains must be streamlined and technology-enabled. However, organizations that want to streamline their supply chains must first understand what is working well, what is not and where the opportunities for improvement are. These companies need to have a way to measure the performance of their supply chain on an ongoing basis. Traditional approaches of measuring supply chain performance — scorecards, dashboards and reports showing supply chain metrics — suffer from three shortcomings: 1) They are not linked to strategy. ) They have a silo approach. 3) They have a flat hierarchy. Let’s examine each of these shortcomings more closely. They are not linked to strategy. It can be difficult to see how a supply chain metric affects your overall objectives. If the metric is trending in the wrong direction, which aspect of your supply chain strategy will be affected? Without a framework that links each metric to a certain element of strategy, the context behind a metric can get lost. When such context is missing, it becomes a challenge for organizations (large ones in particular) to get everyone to see the common vision. Next-generation Supply Chain Performance Management (SCPM) systems will need to be able to show the link between any metric and the element of strategy it impacts. They have a silo approach. Current supply chain analytics solutions do a good job of showing the performance of metrics for individual departments, such as cost per unit purchased, percentage of on-time supplier shipment for the procurement department, or set-up times, capacity utilization and percentage of scrap for the plant. However, this type of silo approach sacrifices the overall process and end goals in the interest of improving the performance of an individual department. As a result, functional silos are reinforced within the organization. The key is to measure the performance of overall business process in such a way that poor performance of a departmental metric could be overlooked in the interest of increasing the overall business process performance. To achieve this, next-generation Supply Chain Performance Management systems will need to do more than show departmental metrics – they need to have a process orientation. They have a flat hierarchy. The metrics that help you measure the overall performance of your supply chain are not standalone — they are related to each other, sometimes in a hierarchical fashion. Such relationships help you drill down and better understand root cause more effectively. For example, if a hierarchical relationship were developed between outbound shipment cost metric and those metrics that affect shipment costs, your system will tell you that outbound shipment costs are trending up despite the carrier rates trending down due to lower fuel costs, because your express freight shipments in a certain division are up significantly month over month. However, most current supply chain analytics have no way to define such relationships. Next-generation Supply Chain Performance Management systems of tomorrow will need to be able to define and show relationships between metrics. What supply chain performance management systems must include All these issues need to be addressed by next-generation Supply Chain Performance Management systems. Such systems should include three capabilities: an analytics framework; a process orientation; and linkages. Analytics framework. The ideal SCPM system should allow a user to define a complete framework for supply chain analytics. This framework should include: †¢overall supply chain objectives; †¢the top-line metrics that affect the objective; †¢the description, targets and acceptable range for each metric; and †¢a list of reports where the metric can be found. 7. Designing the Supply Chain Network Overview In today’s volatile business environment, many companies are expanding, merging, contracting, or otherwise redesigning their supply chain networks. Here learner applications of optimization models to the analysis of these network design problems. Modeling concepts are reviewed as well as practical methods for data gathering and validation, model implementation, and scenario construction. New applications will be presented including network design models to plan for new products, to manage production and inventories of products with short shelf lives, to select vendor contracts, and to control CO2 emissions. Several case studies will be presented along with discussions of network design problems faced by course attendees. Who Should Attend This program is intended for: †¢Managers and analysts responsible for network design decision-making †¢Managers and analysts responsible for acquiring or developing, and applying data-driven modeling systems to support network design decision-making †¢Consultants who direct or participate in network design studies †¢Academics who teach supply chain subjects to students in management and engineering Participants will not need advanced analytical skills to fully absorb material presented in the program. )DEMAND AND SUPPLY PLANNING IN SCM SCM facechallenges to people at manufacturing companies who need to gauge customer demand and respond to changes in demand, even when they take place at a moment’s notice. Manufacturers’ responsiveness and agility in the areas of sales and operations planning (S;OP) and demand management—the two major parts of supply chain planning—are still hampered by cumbersome, static processes. Comm on problems include: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Lack of real-time, robust, and actionable data. †¢Lack of integration among financial, operating, sales, and marketing plans. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Inability of people to share information and documents. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Poor analytical capabilities and collaborative planning environments. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Lack of alert and monitoring capabilities. Solutions Supply Chain Demand and Supply Planning solutions from Microsoft and its partner ecosystem help manufacturers change the way they manage their supply chains to become more demand-driven, adaptive, and responsive. By improving people’s visibility into customer demand and supplier capabilities, these solutions create an environment that enables real-time decisions about manufacturing activity, which can lower inventory while improving customer service. Demand management solutions offer real-time demand management business processes, delivered with an integrated business intelligence and collaboration framework, to empower people with collaboration and analytic capabilities. Sales and operations planning (SOP) solutions, which include connected systems, process workflows, event management, and live communication, offer collaboration, analysis, integration, workflow, and monitoring functionality throughout all phases of a manufacturer’s S;OP workflow—beginning with the baseline forecast created by people in the manufacturer’s sales and marketing departments, all the way through the forecast for a specific customer, the creation of a consensus forecast, supply planning, resolution and exception processes, approval and budgeting, sales allocations, order promising, and communication with the manufacturer’s production facilities. Infor Supply Chain Management is a global solution with implementations at over 1,600 customer sites in 40 countries. Backed by domain experts who know supply chain management and the challenges you face, our supply chain planning and execution solutions comprise the following key components: Strategic Ne twork Design —modeling and optimization tools for determining the most effective number, location, size, and capacity of facilities to meet customer service goals; time-phased tactical planning for determining where and when to make, buy, store, and move product through the network. Demand Planning —forecasting tools, web-based collaboration interface, and sales and operations reporting and metrics that help companies predict and shape customer demand with greater accuracy. Distribution Planning —inventory analysis and time-variable stock target calculations for ensuring the optimal balance between service levels and inventory investment; synchronized replenishment plans for all network points right back to manufacturing and supplier sources for better visibility. Manufacturing Planning —constraint-based advanced planning system for engineering, assembly, and repetitive manufacturing environments; similar tools for process manufacturers. Production Scheduling —finite capacity scheduling for engineering, assembly, and repetitive environments, as well as batch-process production facilities. Transportation and Logistics Planning —transportation planning, transportation procurement, route planning, transportation management, small parcel shipping, and international trade logistics for global, multi-modal operations. Warehouse Management System —end-to-end fulfillment and distribution including inventory, labor, and work and task management, as well as cross-docking, value-added services, yard management, multiple inventory ownership and billing/invoicing, and voice-directed distribution. RFID —comprehensive RFID-enablement framework delivering business value through process optimization for manufacturers and other companies, as well as compliance solutions for retail, pharmaceuticals, the US Department of Defense, and others. Event Management —proactive, real-time exception management technology for detecting conditional change anywhere in the supply chain and communicating it instantly for resolution. 9)Planning and managing inventory By Curt Barry Inventory is most likely the largest balance sheet asset in your company. How well you plan, purchase, and manage your inventory largely determines your level of customer service and profits. But selling goods in multiple channels means dealing with channel-specific planning and inventory needs. Planning and inventory systems In most companies, the systems for merchandise planning and inventory control remain highly fragmented by channel. For promotional planning, many multichannel companies need to be more diligent and use a single promotional calendar rather than channel-specific schedules on which merchandise planning is based. These should include in-store promotions, catalogs, and e-mail campaigns. Internet inventory management philosophies are slowly evolving in most companies. Traditional catalogers now average more than 50% of sales from the Internet, although much of that business is generated by receipt of the catalog. Products may be active and available longer if there is stock. What sells online is heavily influenced by placement on landing pages and organization and ranking within category product searches. The online product assortment can be more extensive than that in a single catalog. Internet may have a total chain assortment different from any one store or region. The Website may have a clearance or liquidation aspect. These principles of planning and managing inventory are not industry established best practices, but are being hammered out in the trenches every day. From a purchasing perspective, companies are rolling multiple channel plans and forecasts together into a single purchase order management system to write Pos. When will there be true integrated systems for planning and inventory systems? For most companies, not any time soon. Retail and direct channels have different data needs and processes. It will probably be a few years before commercial software companies that cater to retail and direct have the most basic of systems in place. MICROS Retail, Direct Tech, and Manhattan Associates all have development projects to bring channels together in terms of planning and inventory systems. Channel Inventory – a distribution view With all the complexities of planning and inventory control, how are distribution centers accommodating the channels? When multichannel marketing was in its infancy more than a decade ago, the prevalent thinking was to have a single DC that would process both direct and retail replenishment orders. There would be one pooled inventory, one staff and one facility — end of discussion. But logistics thinking is changing. But to accomplish this, they have the additional overhead of multiple facilities and staffing, and their warehouse management and order management must be capable of managing multiple inventories and allocating and filling orders. As e-commerce in retail companies has grown substantially, logistics management has come to realize that picking, packing, and shipping of small orders is very different from full-carton replenishment to stores. With large volumes it may prove to be more efficient to have dedicated centers for direct. Another of the real drivers behind this shift is the realization that without having separate sales and stock plans, there is no accountability by business units to make their sales plans. So if the first unit to allocate inventory gets the stock, then there may not be inventory for later drops of a catalog, e-mail campaigns, initial stocks to open stores, etc. Other companies use a â€Å"virtual inventory† concept, not in the sense of drop-shipping, but of the inventory system being able to keep planned sales by product and SKU by channel, and being able to reserve inventory for the channel business unit. Importing’s effect Where we source product is also changing how we can plan and manage it. Much of the multichannel world relies on imported product. Even if you buy from a domestic distributor, chances are that merchandise is imported. Additionally, companies may not be looking at a fully loaded product cost including agent’s/broker’s fees, demurrage, duty rate, product development costs, and buyer’s travel. Couple that with warehouse storage space requirements for container size receipts and the inventory carrying costs. All of this leads to higher inventory and carrying costs and slower turnover. What to do about it? †¢Use mixed container loading, where appropriate. †¢Weigh the increase in per unit cost to take smaller quantities. †¢Move the entire merchandise and creative planning calendar for promotions back and do each season earlier (no easy task). †¢Challenge merchants to look Stateside to try to get the product with smaller quantities, or to develop product in the U. S. and later roll it out off-shore if it sells. †¢Tackle the issue of ccounting for all the product costs to be sure you have an accurate, fully loaded cost and sufficient initial markup without bei ng overstocked. Liquidating overstocks Inventory that doesn’t sell and liquidation are two dreaded aspects to merchandising. Because you have to take in larger imported orders and distribute to more channels, you need a cost effective strategy for in-season liquidation and clearance. In a cost-based system it’s hard to determine how much gross margin is lost in marking down retail prices. Our experience is that it may represent 2% to 4% of net sales at least. What to do about it? †¢Develop a liquidation strategy. Options include clearance catalogs, Web specials, bind-in or package inserts, sales pages, and telephone offers. Develop a report showing candidates for liquidation based on rate of sale. †¢Develop an age of inventory report that will age products in time brackets (30 days, etc. ) to stay on top of inventory. transportation, importing, retail versus direct packaging, technology used in the supply chain and DCs, etc. All this necessitates setting stan dards with vendors so that you aren’t working on an exception basis with every one. Vendor compliance and supply chain In most multichannel businesses the size of the product assortment and vendor base have grown dramatically. Supply chains have become increasingly complex with modes of vendor compliance is at the heart of efficient supply chain management. Routing inbound shipments to reduce costs and scheduling inbound appointments can help speed product flow through the DC, significantly helping in turn to reduce inventory levels. Automating the supply chain through advanced shipping notifications (ASNs), RFID, and cross-docking to stores can go a long way toward reducing costs, but these cannot be implemented without a comprehensive vendor compliance policy. Start small by communicating your company vision, the need for on-time delivery, routing guides, inbound dock standards like carton labeling, product specifications, accounting and paperwork requirements, contact list, and the costs of back orders. Begin a charge-back policy and implement it with your largest vendors. Later, you can add other items that are typically included, such as service level standards, packaging, labeling, case labeling, valued and value-added services, logistical requirements, scheduling appointments, cross-docking and direct-to-store requirements, charge back for non-compliance, etc. The trend is to push compliance back up the supply chain. This means as many value-added services as possible — packaging, marking, quality inspections — performed by vendors or merchant reps in factories. Catching errors at the source and using source-based services speeds inventory flow, and any such issues are cheaper to deal with in the vendor’s environment. 10)ACHIEVING SCM EXCELLENCE A new survey reveals what separates manufacturing industry leaders from laggards IT HAS BEEN several years since a comprehensive and independent survey of the state of supply chain management (SCM) in the paper manufacturing industry has been carried out. A lot has happened both in the industry and in the field of SCM during this time. Moderator Consulting carried out an extensive survey during July-October 2005 to see where we stand today. Altogether 11 European paper companies participated in the survey, which covered issues such as SCM strategy, process and management models, reporting systems, managing customer relationships, efficient operations, people and supporting systems and future plans. The respondents covered all the main product groups in nine European countries. The results of individual companies were obviously kept strictly confidential. Common terminology and definitions were used in the survey to ensure common understanding of the questions and issues. The results provide a good cross-section of the industry performance and challenges. Besides being a major cost and working capital factor, SCM can also be considered a source of significant competitive edge. Some of the findings are listed below. 1. Nearly half the respondents still need to develop more robust SCM strategies. While all companies said they have an SCM strategy, the content, communication and integration into overall business strategy in many cases leaves much to be desired. For instance, some companies had no logistics provider strategy or did not include development of cost factors. 2. The industry has clearly been moving toward a more integrated management structure. Most SCM-related decisions, such as strategy, demand planning and vendor and location management are nowadays made at corporate / business area levels, with sales companies and mills mostly in an execution role (Figure 1). However, even though management structures are more integrated, several companies have yet to adopt more of a process approach, with the processes and their ownerships defined. Systems for monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) seem nowadays to be at a reasonably good level in nearly all the respondent companies. 3. The outsourcing process appears to be complete. The dominant logistics management mode is nowadays clearly â€Å"preferred partnerships† – on average 60%, and covering the whole infrastructure. Interestingly although â€Å"preferred partnerships† was stated as the dominant transport mode, respondents still had between 50 and 100 regular haulage â€Å"partners† in use on average. This may indicate room for some further consolidation. IT systems management is the exception to the outsourcing rule: very few companies have outsourced this aspect of their operations. 4. Many companies still need to segment their customers and define corresponding service levels for each customer or customer group. This may mean that these companies are offering the same service, such as dedicated stocks or a 24 hr/ single pallet delivery – with corresponding costs – to all or most of their customers. This can hardly be optimal from a cost-to-serve viewpoint, unless price supplements are enforced. However, customers rarely accept such surcharges nowadays. 5. Surprisingly few customers participate in the demand planning processes (only five to 10 on average). Participation in this context means active involvement and, considering the industry’s forecasting challenges this may offer an improvement in some industry segments. Transaction automation with customers and logistics providers also offers big potential: only 10-20% and 50% respectively said they currently transact electronically. More standardization is needed. 6. Most companies seem quite satisfied with their IT systems. On a scale of one (very dissatisfied) to five (very satisfied), a clear majority of the companies gave a mark of four for most of their systems, such as mill execution, sales and distribution and data warehousing. The substantial investments in IT systems over recent years appear to have paid off in a number of cases. 7. Most companies were satisfied with both the number and caliber of their SCM personnel. Main training requirements were focused on customer relations issues. 8. Future development needs to be carefully planned. As generic future goals, most respondents stated that their main focuses are on cost and inventory reductions, as well as on improving customer service. Improved internal integration and process management was also listed as a priority generic target. However, these may be conflicting targets, unless planned carefully. More specifically, the respondents were asked to prioritize a list of 14 specific SCM initiatives provided, based on their planned implementation in the next three years initiatives included issues such as RFID, vendor managed inventory (VMI), activity based costing, harmonization of IT infrastructure, e-commmerce with logistics providers and offering outsourcing capabilities to customers. The clear â€Å"winners† were VMI, e-commerce projects and collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) following close behind. These are huge undertakings with significant risks, resource and planning requirements. However, the companies that successfully implement them would take their supply chain to an entirely new level of sophistication, responsiveness, efficiency and transparency. Finally,The industry has been moving toward a more integrated and customer-centric management approach. Industry and customer consolidation are the most likely reasons for this. IT systems and performance monitoring finally appear to be in good shape in most companies. This is a good basis for future development, even though many companies revealed some worrying weaknesses in a number of critical areas and are clearly lagging behind the leaders. The leading companies – based on this survey – can best be characterized as having a clear, comprehensive and well-communicated SCM strategy. They also have an integrated management structure and KPI monitoring in place; processes are defined in detail; service/cost tradeoffs are optimized; logistics partners are managed efficiently; they have implemented wellfunctioning IT systems; and have competent and well trained people, all of which are reflected also in their costs and performance. Is this just good, basic management? Easy to say, much more difficult to accomplish in real life! Furthermore, the leaders have ambitious plans for the future – especially in areas involving their customers. These companies are clearly outperforming their peers and they are well positioned to increase their competitive edge by efficiently and intelligently serving their customers. How to cite Supply Chain Management for Manufacturing Industry, Papers

Writing and Essay Title Nancy free essay sample

Nancy After I read the sample personal narrative essay packet 1, the essay title â€Å"Nancy† is an interesting essay that I want to keep reading it. This essay starts with a speech of a teacher. It is not a boring introduction for a narrative essay and makes the essay more like an interesting story. For example, â€Å"Class, I would like you to meet our new student, Nancy. She just moved here from Baton Rouge. † (1). Moreover, the writer used a lot of specific descriptions to show the details of Nancy’s appearance. For instance, â€Å"Her sweater’s sleeves reached only halfway down her forearms, and the listless faded yellow mixed oddly with her sallow skin and greasy blond hair (10). The example indicates how the person exactly looks like, and it is a good way to help readers to build an image of the narrative essay. And the writer used words very flexible, â€Å"While everyone seemed to talk about her, no one bothered to actually talks to her. We will write a custom essay sample on Writing and Essay Title Nancy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page †(19). The word â€Å"talk† has two different meaning in this sentence. However, in my opinion, one of the other essays is not interesting as the above one. The second essay without title is a little boring for me. On this first page, just a few paragraph shows up with short and flat thesis. For example, â€Å"The drive up to Canada seemed to take an eternity. †(1). And the essay needs some transit words or sentences because every paragraph seems like an independent story. For instance, â€Å"So Robbie offered me a way out. I had four days to get my things in order. † (11). It is hard for me to figure out the connection of context. In addition, the essay indeed more description words, like comparative words or description of portrait. But in this essay, it just shows that â€Å"The airport was empty. †(21). Yes, it is an empty sentence which needs rhetoric to make it perfect. I think if the writer has more patience, he or she will write a better narrative essay.