The Lack of Privacy over the Internet - 1375 Words

It is apparent, that privacy is becoming less of a factor to people now days and technology contributes to it. Technology is a big part of the problem in many ways. Camera are installed almost everywhere, that make it almost impossible to not have your every movement accounted for with the use of CCTV (Closed Circuit Television). Social media also contributes to the lack of privacy one may have, by ones choice to post about their private lives including their family and friends. With so many devices that are being developed, to be able to collect our personal usage date, or store out personal data, it is almost impossible to own anything technology based, that does not tract something of some sort. The main focus of technology development, is convenience. Which is resulting in our personal privacy to be at stake. Privacy will become a thing of the past in due time. By cameras being installed everywhere and devices being equipped with data collection capabilities without our p rior consent or choice, social media, and by the new gadgets that have surfaced on today’s market, we are blinded by the multifunctional convenient capability features. As we expect to have our personal privacy on our terms, we need to remember in most public places, cameras are present. According to Feldman, D. (2002) in Privacy Right and Public Spaces, â€Å"While initially slow to embrace this technology, in recent years public area CCTV has also become more popular in the United States† (p. 1).Show MoreRelated Essay on Internet Privacy - Invasion of Privacy on the Internet964 Words   |  4 PagesInvasion of Privacy on the Internet       Invasion of privacy is a serious issue concerning the Internet, as e-mails can be read if not encrypted, and cookies can track a user and store personal information. Lack of privacy policies and employee monitoring threatens security also. Individuals should have the right to protect themselves as much as possible from privacy invasion and shouldnt have to give in to lowered standards of safety being pursued by the government.    EncryptionRead MoreInternet Negative Effects891 Words   |  4 PagesThe Internet is a technology that has negative impacts on our daily lives. It has changed aspects of our life for the last 50 years, and it has demonstrated the considerable influence on people’s lives. Almost 3.2 billion people in the world use the internet. The Internet has gained acceptance across the globe, and it has also become central to the critical changes experienced in today’s society. Some of the changes are social isolation, health disorder, a lack of privacy and internet addiction.Read MoreThe Negative Effects Of The Internet On Human Life761 Words   |  4 PagesThe Internet on Human Life The Internet is a technology that has negative impacts on our daily lives. It has changed aspects of our life for the last 50 years, and it has demonstrated the considerable influence on people’s lives. Almost 3.2 billion people in the world use the internet. The Internet has gained acceptance across the globe, and it has also become a reason behind the critical changes in the modern society. Some of the changes are social isolation, health disorder, lack of privacy andRead MorePrivacy, Secrecy, And Reputation1097 Words   |  5 Pagesthe internet, some people argue that privacy no longer exists. From the 2013 revelations of government surveillance of citizens’ communications to companies that monitor their employees’ internet usage, this argument seems to be increasingly true. Yet, Harvard Law professor Charles Fried states that privacy, â€Å"is necessarily related to ends and relations of the most fundamental sort: respect, love, friendship and trust† (Fried 477). 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And wit h more and more people using the Internet, more and more information being passed over the Internet, more problems arise. The Internet has been an advantage in technology that has greatly increased the capacities of a computerRead More Internet Shopping Essay1446 Words   |  6 PagesInternet Shopping The Internets popularity has dramatically escalated over the past few years and has become an integral part of daily life. It has wide spread uses ranging from obtaining information, downloading files, business advertisement to Internet commerce, which plays a major part in Internet practice. Our social structure is pressuring society to connect to the Internet, with schools world wide becoming more Web based and universities now have lectures, which can be solely viewed overRead MorePrivacy Is The Primary Guideline For The Privacy847 Words   |  4 Pages Privacy in America is developing into a vague set of rules. Each person has a right to privacy, but the question remains: â€Å"How much information should be granted to the public†? The answer to this question varies from person to person. The industries, social networking, protection agency, and everyday situations create their own ideology of what must remain private. The Evolution of Privacy To begin, the constitution is the primary guideline for the privacy rights in America. This may begin toRead More Internet Marketing Privacy Issues Essay1686 Words   |  7 PagesIf a random person came over to you on the street, would you give him your personal information? Would you allow him to follow and record your activities? Most certainly not. Although this answer may be obvious in the physical world, the general populations’ behavior on the Internet is strikingly different. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Google retain vast amounts of personal information of their users. Although this practice benefits the user as well, unrestricted profiling can be quite unnervingRead MoreThe Issue Around Internet Privacy1334 Words   |  6 Pages In more recent years, the issue around Internet privacy is something that has been brought to everyone s attention. In today s society everything is based around social media and online shopping. By doing this people are making thei r information easily accessible for people to use. People document their whole lives on social media making it much easier for people to find information, that some may consider private, about them. When people post a picture with a location attached to it they think

Problem Analysis of India Free Essays

The country of India has been faced with many problems. They have very important short-term problems, which means less time is spent on long term problems. Natural World disasters, wars, drought, and other major problems are more important to these people than such things as over population, pollution, literacy rate and their currency. We will write a custom essay sample on Problem Analysis of India or any similar topic only for you Order Now In this essay I will state the major problems hassling this country. I will give as many statistics as possible, try to decide how to improve these problems, and how we as a developed country, can contribute and help this one billion-person country grow strong. India is the seventh largest country in the World. Approximately 14.5% of the Worlds population live in India. There are more people in India than there are in North and South America together. There is a great diversity in the people of India. Some have great wealth. Others have only a few cents a day to survive on, and a great percentage of the people are homeless. While some attend University and benefit from free education, many more sleep in the streets and have never gone to school. India has many natural resources. It was once thought of as a very wealthy country. There is farmland and ore. The standard of living is very low, partially because these resources have not been fully developed. Living conditions deteriorate yearly because of the huge population growth. A few statistics that give us some idea of the crowded living conditions and standard of living: Life expectancy in India in 1965 was 45 years and in 1883, 53 years. Compared to this Canada was 72 in 1965, and 75 in 1983. The Towards Tomorrow text book said, â€Å"China has 7% of the World’s arable land. Canada has 3% but only.5% of the World’s people. In China this equals 1/10 of a hector per person. This is 1/9 of the amount in the U.S.A. and  ½ the amount in India† (1987, pg. 42,) The birth rate of India in 1983 was 34 and the death rate was 14. The population growth of 2%, even with extensive birth control efforts has remained the same. It is difficult to exert pressure on the people due to the democratic political system. The population of India is second only to China. The population in 1901 was 238,396,000. The population in 2003 is projected to be 1,069,021,000. If this rate continues without enforcement of birth control, India’s population will be more than China’s by 2040. There are 777 people per square mile. This country cannot sustain its people. Education, a necessity for population control, is encouraged. There is free schooling for children 6-14 but because they do not have the money to build schools and train teachers, 70% of the population are illiterate. Most children drop out of school by age 11. India ranks fifth among the World’s nations in total farm area. Large Indian farms belong to landlords who hire workers. New land reforms have come in giving farmers the right to own their own land. This seemed like a positive step but because of Hindu inheritance customs, the land must be divided among all a man’s sons. The share has become too small to provide a living. As a result many families move to urban areas where many live on the streets. This introduces yet another problem. Because of lack of space people take turns sleeping, food is prepared on the floor, people bath and shave in public. There are no windows or chimneys for fresh air and the water supplies are limited. Disease and death run wild. Most Indian people do not eat well. Bread makes up most of their diet. The country has a high death rate because of poor living conditions and diet. Again, the government has taken great steps to fight disease, but as with education, they cannot keep up with the number of clinics and medical personnel needed. Even with its many exports of cotton, peanuts, rice, tea, tobacco, brass, silverware, iron, and leather goods, India is a very poor nation. The average income in India is less than eighty dollars a year. When India became independent from Great Britain, the government had plans to raise the standard of living. Industrial production increased, farm production increased, and even with the huge population explosion the standard of living improved. India pays for it’s economic improvements but depends on grants and loans from other countries to buy goods and machinery. All these efforts however fall short of the countries needs. A solution put forth was to grow high yielding wheats. India had great success. It expanded its wheat output from 10 to 26 million tons from 1964 to 1992. In the early 1980’s they achieved 35 million tons. This enabled them to dispense with wheat imports. The Towards Tomorrow textbook said, â€Å"Cities say the increase in grain production have been achieved at the expense of social justice. Rich farmers have gained the most. The gap between the rich and poor has widened as a result.† (1987, pg. 102) India’s land is divided into four areas says the World Book Encyclopedia, â€Å"14% of the land is irrigated, 41% is non irrigated farmland, 19% is forest land and 26% is barren land.† (1999, vol.10, pg.124) The chief crops grown are rice, wheat, cotton, and nuts. Agriculture provides one half of India’s national income. India does not grow enough food to give its people a proper diet. This is partially due to inefficient farming methods and poor equipment. The World Book Encyclopedia says, â€Å"India’s foreign trade is over two billion dollars a year. The volume of the imports is much greater than that of the exports.† (1983, vol. 10, pg.106) India has one of the largest economies in the World in terms of its GDP. India is considered as a developing country, however, because it has such a large population that the GDP is very low per capita. It is considered one of the poorest countries in the World. In review there are several solutions that could help India deal with its population crisis and declining standard of living. They are, 1. Improved education, so people can move beyond a â€Å"peasant existence† with no understanding of self worth and life management. 2. Structure government control over birth control. (Similar to China’s) 3. Improved understanding of agriculture techniques, technology, and land management. 4. Education of nutrition and sanitation. 5. Any aide from foreign countries must be directed at making India self supporting. India is a Country of great wealth and potential. It is also a country of intense poverty and ignorance. I see one of the biggest problems in India being the differences. There are many different languages, religions, races, and customs. There are also many differences in the country itself. The land includes desert, thick jungles, broad plains, mountains, and tropical low lands. All these differences within one country create different needs, and different standards of living. It is however; very evident none of these differences can be addressed until the population is controlled. It is and will become even more of a problem for all the people of India, the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich. How to cite Problem Analysis of India, Papers Problem Analysis of India Free Essays The country of India has been faced with many problems. They have very important short-term problems, which means less time is spent on long term problems. Natural World disasters, wars, drought, and other major problems are more important to these people than such things as over population, pollution, literacy rate and their currency. We will write a custom essay sample on Problem Analysis of India or any similar topic only for you Order Now In this essay I will state the major problems hassling this country. I will give as many statistics as possible, try to decide how to improve these problems, and how we as a developed country, can contribute and help this one billion-person country grow strong. India is the seventh largest country in the World. Approximately 14.5% of the Worlds population live in India. There are more people in India than there are in North and South America together. There is a great diversity in the people of India. Some have great wealth. Others have only a few cents a day to survive on, and a great percentage of the people are homeless. While some attend University and benefit from free education, many more sleep in the streets and have never gone to school. India has many natural resources. It was once thought of as a very wealthy country. There is farmland and ore. The standard of living is very low, partially because these resources have not been fully developed. Living conditions deteriorate yearly because of the huge population growth. A few statistics that give us some idea of the crowded living conditions and standard of living: Life expectancy in India in 1965 was 45 years and in 1883, 53 years. Compared to this Canada was 72 in 1965, and 75 in 1983. The Towards Tomorrow text book said, â€Å"China has 7% of the World’s arable land. Canada has 3% but only.5% of the World’s people. In China this equals 1/10 of a hector per person. This is 1/9 of the amount in the U.S.A. and  ½ the amount in India† (1987, pg. 42,) The birth rate of India in 1983 was 34 and the death rate was 14. The population growth of 2%, even with extensive birth control efforts has remained the same. It is difficult to exert pressure on the people due to the democratic political system. The population of India is second only to China. The population in 1901 was 238,396,000. The population in 2003 is projected to be 1,069,021,000. If this rate continues without enforcement of birth control, India’s population will be more than China’s by 2040. There are 777 people per square mile. This country cannot sustain its people. Education, a necessity for population control, is encouraged. There is free schooling for children 6-14 but because they do not have the money to build schools and train teachers, 70% of the population are illiterate. Most children drop out of school by age 11. India ranks fifth among the World’s nations in total farm area. Large Indian farms belong to landlords who hire workers. New land reforms have come in giving farmers the right to own their own land. This seemed like a positive step but because of Hindu inheritance customs, the land must be divided among all a man’s sons. The share has become too small to provide a living. As a result many families move to urban areas where many live on the streets. This introduces yet another problem. Because of lack of space people take turns sleeping, food is prepared on the floor, people bath and shave in public. There are no windows or chimneys for fresh air and the water supplies are limited. Disease and death run wild. Most Indian people do not eat well. Bread makes up most of their diet. The country has a high death rate because of poor living conditions and diet. Again, the government has taken great steps to fight disease, but as with education, they cannot keep up with the number of clinics and medical personnel needed. Even with its many exports of cotton, peanuts, rice, tea, tobacco, brass, silverware, iron, and leather goods, India is a very poor nation. The average income in India is less than eighty dollars a year. When India became independent from Great Britain, the government had plans to raise the standard of living. Industrial production increased, farm production increased, and even with the huge population explosion the standard of living improved. India pays for it’s economic improvements but depends on grants and loans from other countries to buy goods and machinery. All these efforts however fall short of the countries needs. A solution put forth was to grow high yielding wheats. India had great success. It expanded its wheat output from 10 to 26 million tons from 1964 to 1992. In the early 1980’s they achieved 35 million tons. This enabled them to dispense with wheat imports. The Towards Tomorrow textbook said, â€Å"Cities say the increase in grain production have been achieved at the expense of social justice. Rich farmers have gained the most. The gap between the rich and poor has widened as a result.† (1987, pg. 102) India’s land is divided into four areas says the World Book Encyclopedia, â€Å"14% of the land is irrigated, 41% is non irrigated farmland, 19% is forest land and 26% is barren land.† (1999, vol.10, pg.124) The chief crops grown are rice, wheat, cotton, and nuts. Agriculture provides one half of India’s national income. India does not grow enough food to give its people a proper diet. This is partially due to inefficient farming methods and poor equipment. The World Book Encyclopedia says, â€Å"India’s foreign trade is over two billion dollars a year. The volume of the imports is much greater than that of the exports.† (1983, vol. 10, pg.106) India has one of the largest economies in the World in terms of its GDP. India is considered as a developing country, however, because it has such a large population that the GDP is very low per capita. It is considered one of the poorest countries in the World. In review there are several solutions that could help India deal with its population crisis and declining standard of living. They are, 1. Improved education, so people can move beyond a â€Å"peasant existence† with no understanding of self worth and life management. 2. Structure government control over birth control. (Similar to China’s) 3. Improved understanding of agriculture techniques, technology, and land management. 4. Education of nutrition and sanitation. 5. Any aide from foreign countries must be directed at making India self supporting. India is a Country of great wealth and potential. It is also a country of intense poverty and ignorance. I see one of the biggest problems in India being the differences. There are many different languages, religions, races, and customs. There are also many differences in the country itself. The land includes desert, thick jungles, broad plains, mountains, and tropical low lands. All these differences within one country create different needs, and different standards of living. It is however; very evident none of these differences can be addressed until the population is controlled. It is and will become even more of a problem for all the people of India, the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich. How to cite Problem Analysis of India, Essay examples

Reporting Social and Environmental Matters - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Reporting Social and Environmental Matters. Answer: Introduction: Legitimacy can be defined as the generalized perceptions or set of assumptions that provides that actions of an entity must be desirable, appropriate and designed within the social norms, beliefs, values and other important definitions so that it can adhere with the corporate social responsibility required to be fulfill mandatory. In other words it can be said that legitimacy theory highlights the extent to which disclosures of corporate social and environment disclosures are impacted by the boundaries made by the society in order to be safe and not be adversely impacted by the communities in which the entities operate in (Guthrie and Ward, 2006). The corporate social responsibility is completely dependent upon the legitimacy theory and it can be said that it is highly significant for the disclosures of social and environment related matters by businesses. As per the Legitimacy theory, the organizations must regularly check their business for evaluating their social and environmental impact. In order to comply with these requirements it has been made compulsory for all the organization to disclose their CSR practices in their annual report briefly and also prepare sustainability report if it has been required to do so by the regulatory bodies (Tilling, 2004). As legitimacy theory is adopted by mostly all the organization and according to this theory it is voluntary that companies should report on the activities that impact the social communities in which company operates and also provides steps taken to control the issues and framework developed to control all such activities. There is saying that the theory of legitimacy is dependent on presence of social contract between the company and society (Idowu, Capaldi, Zu and Gupta, 2013). So to make compliance to this contract, business entities are required to deliver the socially responsible outcomes and also disclose information relating to economic, social or political benefits realized from their operational activities. The voluntary requirements to disclose the corporate social responsibilities in their annual report will provide the brief overview to the society on the practices followed by the company in relation to CSR and what steps are taken to control the impact on society through their business operations. So, legitimacy theory makes it compulsory for the organization to voluntary disclose about their social and environmental performance in the annual report so that people can be information about the CSR practices followed by the entities (Aluchna and Idowu, 2017). Comparison of CSR reporting in annual reports of AGL Limited for year 2015 and 2017 All the business corporations listed on ASX need to disclose the issues relating to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within their annual report for improving the transparency and accountability of their business operations. In this context, AGL Energy Limited also provides information related to the corporate social responsibility issues in its annual reports as analyzed of the year 2015 and 2017. As analyzed from the annual report of the company for the year 2015, it has disclosed information relating to its greenhouse gas policy, sustainable business strategy and energy policy uncertainty. The greenhouse gas policy of the company is developed as per the NGER Act and has stated the information about its annual emission of greenhouse gases. The sustainable business strategy has discussed about the measures adopted by the company at present and to be adopted in future for promoting its sustainable growth. The energy policies adopted by the company for promoting its long-term grow th have also been discussed in the annual report for the year 2015. The sustainability performance of the company is measured against 12 material issues on the basis of established targets and commitment. The performance of the company against each target is disclosed in the sustainability performance section of the annual report for the financial year 2015. The material issues used for evaluation of the sustainability performance are achieving customer satisfaction, employee commitment , health and safety, profit earned, legislative issues, ethical behavior, corporate governance, talent management , community development, public policy, energy policy and water conservation (Annual Report: AGL Energy Limited, 2017). On the other hand, the annual report of the company or the year 2017 has not provided significant formation relating to the CSR issues. The company has only discussed only little information relating to sustainability in the Chairman report under the strategic imperatives driving performance. It has only disclosed some highlights of the sustainability performance of the company in the year 2017 that ahs been provided in detail in its sustainability report. Thus, unlikely of the year 2015, the sustainability performance of the company against each performance target is not disclosed in the annual report. However, it has discussed information related to its corporate governance policies under the section Corporate Governance that is not present in the annual report of the company 2017. Thus, it can be said that as the company has stated to develop and disclose its sustainability report, it has largely reduced the amount of information published about CSR issue sin the annul reports (An nual Report: AGL Energy Limited, 2015). AGL Energy Limited also discloses information relating to its sustainability issues on its corporate website to seek the interests of the investors. The section entitled What We Stand For on the company website has disclosed detailed information relating to the company commitments towards the customers, sustainability issues, corporate citizenship and sponsorship and its approaches to establish long-term relations with the communities through the program of Energy for life. Thus, the company website also encloses the sustainability report of the company for gaining more detailed information about the sustainability issues. The CSR reporting on the company website is largely different from that in its annual report in the year 2017 on account of the theme and content (AGL Energy Limited, 2018). There is specific theme on the company website for discussing the matters relating to sustainability. Also, the content is organized into separate sections that make it relatively easier to und erstand the company performance on different sustainability matters. On the other hand, the annual report does not enclose a specific theme for discussing CSR issues and the content is also not adequately organized. Thus, the company website provides more information about the CSR strategies of the company in comparison to its annual report of the year 2017 (Annual Report: AGL Energy Limited, 2017). References AGL Energy Limited. 2018. [Online]. Available at: https://www.agl.com.au/about-agl/what-we-stand-for/energy-for-life [Accessed on: 9 April 2018]. Aluchna, M. and Idowu, S.O. 2017. Responsible Corporate Governance: Towards Sustainable and Effective Governance Structures. Springer. Annual Report. 2015. AGL Energy Limited. [Online]. Available at: https://www.agl.com.au/-/media/DLS/About-AGL/Documents/Investor-Centre/150826_AnnualReport_1466512.pdf?la=enhash=7B0EE3991CE2F09590FA82C73852B8972F2740BF [Accessed on: 9 April 2018]. Annual Report. 2017. AGL Energy Limited. [Online]. Available at: https://agl2017.reportonline.com.au/sites/agl2017.reportonline.com.au/files/full_financial_annual_report.pdf [Accessed on: 9 April 2018]. Guthrie, J. and Ward, L. 2006. Legitimacy Theory: A Story of Reporting Social and Environmental Matters within the Australian Food and Beverage Industry. [Online]. Available at: https://www.csringreece.gr/files/research/CSR-1290000469.pdf [Accessed on: 9 April, 2018]. Idowu, S.O., Capaldi, N., Zu, L. and Gupta, A.D. 2013. Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Tilling, M.V. 2004. Refinements to Legitimacy Theory in Social and Environmental Accounting. [Online]. Available at: https://www.flinders.edu.au/sabs/business-files/research/papers/2004/04-6.pdf [Accessed on: 9 April, 2018].

Procurement and supply chain management free essay sample

This Publication is concerned with the vital subject of business logistics and supply chain management, an area that can be essential to a firm’s competitive strategy and revenue generation. This management area has been described by many names, including physical distribution, materials management, transportation management, logistics, and supply chain management. Relevant business activities may include one or more of the following areas: transportation, inventory, order processing, purchasing, warehousing, materials handling, packaging, customer service standards, and production. The focus of this Publication is on the planning, organizing, and controlling of these activities key elements for successful management in any organization. Special emphasis is given to strategic planning and decision making as an important part of the management process. Managerial efforts are directed towards setting the level of the logistics activities so as to make products and services available to customers at the time and place required, and in the condition and form desired, in the most profitable and cost-effective way. We will write a custom essay sample on Procurement and supply chain management or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Logistical activities have always been vital to organizations, and so business logistics and supply chain management represents a synthesis of many concepts, principles, and methods from the more traditional areas of marketing, production, accounting, purchasing, and transportation, as well as from the disciplines of applied mathematics, organizational behaviour, and economics. This Publication attempts to unify these elements to assist in the effective management of the supply chain. The Publication aims to present ideas, principles and techniques that are fundamental to good business logistics practice. It concentrates on important activities of management such as planning, organizing, and controlling, and also on a triangle of interrelated transportation, inventory, and location strategies, which are at the heart of good logistics planning and decision making. Contemporary trends that affect the scope and practice of business logistics and supply chain management have been integrated into the body of the text. Firstly, emphasis is placed on logistics and supply chain management in a worldwide setting to reflect the growing internationalization and globalization of business in general. Secondly, the shift towards service-oriented economies by industrialized nations is emphasized by showing how logistics concepts and principles are applicable to both service-producing tirms and product-producing ones. Thirdly, attention is given to the integrated management of supply chain activities. 1 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk The Publication contains many practical and contemporary examples that show the applicability of the textual material and assist in the understanding and learning of the key points and concepts. Each Chapter in this Cambridge International College Publication on Logistics, Chain Supply Transport Management includes: †¢ An introduction section †¢ Examples and/or figures and diagrams to explain the concepts being covered †¢ A summary of concluding comments †¢ Review Questions designed to reinforce learning and contemplation of what is covered in the Chapter Advice on How to Study this Program Every individual CIC Member approaches his/her study in a different manner, and different people may have a particular study method that they find most effective for them. However, the following is a tested and proven Study Method, suggested to you as a CIC Member in order to assist in making your study and learning easier and enjoyable and to assist you to quickly master the contents of this CIC Publication on Logistics, Chain Supply Transport Management: Step 1: Set yourself a flexible study schedule, depending on the time you have available and what is best for you. For example, the target set could be to study for 1 or 2 hours a night, or for 8 or 9 hours a week, or to complete one Chapter every 2 weeks. There is no set or compulsory schedule, but simply setting a schedule or goal is often an important action in ensuring that study is undertaken successfully and within the specified timeframe. Step 2: Read the whole of the first Chapter at your normal reading pace, without trying to memorise every topic covered or fact stated, but trying to get â€Å"the feel† of what is dealt with in the Chapter as a whole. Step 3: Start reading the Chapter again from the beginning, this time reading more slowly, paragraph by paragraph and section by section. Make brief notes of any points, sentences, paragraphs or sections which you feel need your further study, consideration or thought. You may wish to keep any notes in a separate file or notebook. Try to absorb and memorise all the important topics covered. Step 4: Start reading the Chapter again from its start, this time paying particular attention to and if necessary studying more thoroughly those parts on which you earlier wrote notes for further study. It is best that you do not pass on to other parts or topics until you are certain you fully understand and remember those parts you earlier noted as requiring your special attention. Try to fix everything taught firmly in your mind. 2 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk Step 5: There are self-assessment review questions at the end of the Chapter, and you are strongly advised to try to answer or think about them as best you can but do not send your answers to the College. If these questions/exercises highlight any areas that you feel you need to revise or re-read in the Chapter, then go ahead and do that before moving on to Step 6. Step 6: Once you have completed steps 1 to 5 above, move on to the next Chapter and repeat steps 1 to 5 for each subsequent Chapter. 3 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk LOGISTICS, SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM MODULE ONE BUSINESS LOGISTICS/SUPPLY CHAIN A VITAL SUBJECT (based on Chapter 1 of ‘Logistics, Supply Chain and Transport Management’ by Ronald H Ballou) Contents Introduction Business Logistics Defined The Supply Chain The Activity Mix Importance of Logistics/Supply Chain (SC) Costs Are Significant Logistics Customer Service Expectations Are Increasing Supply and Distribution Lines Are Lengthening with Greater Complexity Logistics/SC Is Important to Strategy Logistics/SC Adds Significant Customer Value Customers Increasingly Want Quick, Customized Response Logistics/SC in Non-Manufacturing Areas Service Industry Military Environment Business Logistics/SC in the Firm Objectives of Business Logistics/SC Questions and Problems Introduction As far back as history records, the goods that people wanted were not always produced where they wanted to consume them, or these goods were not accessible when people wanted to consume them. Food and other commodities were widely dispersed and were only available in abundance at certain times of the year. Early peoples had the choice of consuming goods at their immediate location or moving the goods to a preferred site and storing them for later use. However, because no well developed transportation and storage systems yet existed, the movement of goods was limited to what an individual could personally move, and storage of perishable commodities was possible for only a short time. This limited movement-storage system generally constrained people to live close to the sources of production and to consume a rather narrow range of goods. Even today, in some areas of the world consumption and production take place only within a very limited geographic region. Striking examples can still be observed in the developing nations of Asia, South America, Australia, and Africa, where some of the population live in small, self-sufficient villages, and most of the goods needed by the residents are produced or acquired in the immediate vicinity. Few goods are imported from other areas. Therefore, production efficiency and the economic standard of living are generally low. In this type of economy, a well-developed and inexpensive logistics system would encourage an exchange of goods with other producing areas of the country, or even the world. 4 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk As logistics systems improved, consumption and production began to separate geographically. Regions would specialize in those commodities that could be produced most efficiently. Excess production could be shipped economically to other producing (or consuming) areas, and needed goods not produced locally were imported. This exchange process follows the principle of comparative advantage. This same principle, when applied to world markets, helps to explain the high level of international trade that takes place today. Efficient logistics systems allow world businesses to take advantage of the fact that lands, and the people who occupy them, are not equally productive. Logistics is the very essence of trade. It contributes to a higher economic standard of living for us all. To the individual firm operating in a high-level economy, good management of logistics activities is vital. Markets are often national or international in scope, whereas production may be concentrated at relatively few points. Logistics activities provide the bridge between production and market locations that are separated by time and distance. Effective management of these activities is the major concern of this Program. Business Logistic Defined Business logistics is a relatively new field of integrated management study in comparison with the traditional fields of finance, marketing, and production. As previously noted, logistics activities have been carried out by individuals for many years. Businesses also have continually engaged in movestore (transportation-inventory) activities. The newness of the field results from the concept of coordinated management of the related activities, rather than the historical practice of managing them separately, and the concept that logistics adds value to products or services that are essential to customer satisfaction and sales. Although co-ordinated logistics management has not been generally practiced until recently, the idea of co-ordinated management can be traced back to at least 1844. In the writings of Jules Dupuit, a French engineer, the idea of trading one cost for another (transportation costs for inventory costs) was evident in the selection between road and water transport: â€Å"The fact is that carriage by road being quicker, more reliable and less subject to loss or damage, it possesses advantage to which businessmen often attach a considerable value. However, it may well be that a saving induces the merchant to use a canal; he can buy warehouses and increase his floating capital in order to have a sufficient supply of goods on hand to protect himself against slowness and irregularity of the canal, and if all told the saving in transport gives him a cost advantage, he will decide in favour of the new route. † The first textbook to suggest the benefits of co-ordinated logistics management appeared around 1961, in part explaining why a generally accepted definition of business logistics is still emerging. Therefore, it is worthwhile to explore several definitions for the scope and content of the subject. A dictionary definition of the term logistics is: â€Å"The branch of military science having to do with procuring, maintaining, and transporting material, personnel, and facilities. † This definition puts logistics into a military context. To the extent that business objectives and activities differ from those of the military, this definition does not capture the essence of business logistics management. A better representation of the field may be reflected in the definition promulgated by the Council of Logistics Management (CLM), a professional organization of logistics 5 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk managers, educators, and practitioners formed in 1962 for the purposes of continuing education and fostering the interchange of ideas. Its definition: â€Å"Logistics is that part of the supply chain process that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption in order to meet customers’ requirements. † This is an excellent definition, conveying the idea that product flows are to be managed from the point where they exist as raw materials to the point where they are finally discarded. Logistics is also concerned with the flow of services as well as physical goods, an area of growing opportunity for improvement. It also suggests that logistics is a process, meaning that it includes all the activities that have an impact on making goods and services available to customers when and where they wish to acquire them. However, the definition implies that logistics is part of the supply chain process, not the entire process. So, what is the supply chain process or, more popularly, supply chain management? Supply chain management (SCM) is a term that has emerged in recent years that captures the essence of integrated logistics and even goes beyond it. Supply chain management emphasizes the logistics interactions that take place among the functions of marketing, logistics, and production within a firm and those interactions that take place between the legally separate firms within the product-flow channel. Opportunities for cost or customer service improvement are achieved through co-ordination and collaboration among the channel members where some essential supply chain activities may not be under the direct control of the logistician. Although early definitions such as physical distribution, materials management, industrial logistics and channel management all terms used to describe logistics have promoted this broad scope for logistics, there was little attempt to implement logistics beyond a company’s own enterprise boundaries, or even beyond its own internal logistics function. Now, retail firms are showing success in sharing information with suppliers, who in turn agree to maintain and manage inventories on retailers’ shelves. Channel inventories and product stockouts are lower. Manufacturing firms operating under just-in-time production scheduling build relationships with suppliers for the benefit of both companies by reducing inventories. Definitions of the supply chain and supply chain management reflecting this broader scope are: â€Å"The supply chain (SC) encompasses all activities associated with the flow and transformation of goods from the raw materials stage (extraction), through to the end user, as well as the associated information flows. Materials and information flow both up and down the supply chain. † â€Å"Supply chain management (SCM) is the integration of these activities, through improved supply chain relationships, to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. † After careful study of the various definitions being offered, Mentzer and other writers propose the broad and rather general definition as follows: â€Å"Supply chain management 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 purposes of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole. † 6 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] The supply chain management model in Figure 1-1 viewed as a pipeline shows the scope of this definition. It is important to note that supply chain management is about the co-ordination of product flows across functions and across companies to achieve competitive advantage and profitability for the individual companies in the supply chain and the supply chain members collectively. It is difficult, in a practical way, to separate business logistics management from supply chain management. In so many respects, they promote the same mission: â€Å"To get the right goods or services to the right place, at the right time, and in the desired condition, while making the greatest contribution to the firm. † Some claim that supply chain management is just another name for integrated business logistics management (IBLM) and that the broad scope of supply chain management has been promoted over the years. Conversely, others say that logistics is a subset of SCM, where SCM considers additional issues beyond those of product flow. For example, SCM may be concerned with product pricing and manufacturing quality. Although SCM promotes viewing the supply channel with the broadest scope, the reality is that firms do not practise this ideal. Fawcett and Magan found that companies that do practise supply chain integration limit their scope to one tier upstream and one tier downstream. The focus seems to be concerned with creating seamless processes within their own companies and applying new information technologies to improve the quality of information and speed of its exchange among channel members. The boundary between the logistics and supply chain management terms is fuzzy. Even then, logistics activities are repeated once again as used products are recycled upstream in the logistics channel. A single firm generally is not able to control its entire product flow channel from raw material source to points of the final consumption, although this is an emerging opportunity. For practical purposes, the business logistics for the individual firm has a narrower scope. Usually, the maximum managerial control that can be expected is over the immediate physical supply and physical distribution channels, as shown in Figure 1-2. The physical supply channel refers to the time and space gap between a firm’s immediate material sources and its processing points. Similarly, the physical distribution channel refers to the time and space gap between the firm’s processing points and its customers. Due to the similarities in the activities between the two channels, physical supply (more commonly referred to as materials management) 8 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk and physical distribution comprise those activities that are integrated into business logistics. Business logistics management is now popularly referred to as supply chain management. Others have used terms such as value nets, value stream, and lean logistics to describe a similar scope and purpose. The evolution of the management of product flows toward SCM is captured in Figure 1-3. Although it is easy to think of logistics as managing the flow of products from the points of raw material acquisition to end customers, for many firms there is a reverse logistics channel that must be managed as well. The life of a product, from a logistics viewpoint, does not end with delivery to the customer. Products become obsolete, damaged, or nonfunctioning and are returned to their source points for repair or disposition. Packaging materials may be returned to the shipper due to environmental regulations or because it makes good economic sense to reuse them. The reverse logistics channel may utilize all or a portion of the forward logistics channel or it may require a separate design. The supply chain terminates with the final disposition of a product. The reverse channel must be considered to be within the scope of logistics planning and control. The Activity Mix The activities to be managed that make up business logistics (supply chain process) vary from firm to firm, depending on a firm’s particular organizational structure, management’s honest differences of opinion about what constitutes the supply chain for its business, and the importance of individual activities to its operations. Follow along the supply chain as shown in Figure 1-2 and note the important activities that take place. Again, according to the CLM: 9 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk â€Å"The components of a typical logistics system are: customer service, demand forecasting, distribution communications, inventory control, material handling, order processing, parts and service support, plant and warehouse site selection (location analysis), purchasing, packaging, return goods handling, salvage and scrap disposal, traffic and transportation, and warehousing and storage. † Figure 1-4 organizes these components, or activities, according to where they are most likely to take place in the supply channel. The list is further divided into key and support activities, along with some of the decisions associated with each activity. Customer service standards co-operate with marketing to: a. Determine customer needs and wants for logistics customer service b. Determine customer response to service c. Set customer service levels 2. Transportation a. Mode and transport service selection b. Freight consolidation c. Carrier routing d. Vehicle scheduling e. Equipment selection f. Claims processing g. Rate auditing 3. Inventory management a. Raw materials and finished goods stocking policies b. Short-term sales forecasting c. Product mix at stocking points 10 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk d. Number, size, and location of stocking points e. Just-in-time, push, and pull strategies 4. Information flows and order processing a. Sales order-inventory interface procedures b. Order information transmittal methods c. Ordering rules Support Activities 1. Warehousing a. Space determination b. Stock layout and dock design c. Warehouse configuration d. Stock placement 2. Materials handling a. Equipment selection b. Equipment replacement policies c. Order-picking procedures d. Stock storage and retrieval 3. Purchasing a. Supply source selection b. Purchase timing c. Purchase quantities 4. Protective packaging designed for: a. Handling b. Storage c. Protection from loss and damage 5. Co-operate with production/operations to: a. Specify aggregate quantities b. Sequence and time production output c. Schedule supplies for production/operations 6. Information maintenance a. Information collection, storage, and manipulation b. Data analysis Control procedures Key and support activities are separated because certain activities will generally take place in every logistics channel, whereas others will take place, depending on the circumstances, within a particular firm. The key activities are on the â€Å"critical† loop within a firm’s immediate physical distribution channel, as shown in Figure 1 to 5. They contribute most to the total cost of logistics or they are essential to the effective co-ordination and completion of the logistics task. 11 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk Customer service standards set the level of output and degree of readiness to which the logistics system must respond. Logistics costs increase in proportion to the level of customer service provided, such that setting the standards for service also affects the logistics costs to support that level of service. Setting very high service requirements can force logistics costs to exceedingly high levels. Transportation and inventories maintenance are the primary cost-absorbing logistics activities. Experience has shown that each will represent one-half to two-thirds of total logistics costs. Transportation adds place value to products and services, whereas inventories maintenance adds time value. Transportation is essential because no modern firm can operate without providing for the movement of its raw materials or its finished products. This importance is underscored by the financial strains placed on many firms by such disasters as a national railroad strike or independent truckers’ refusal to move goods because of rate disputes. In these circumstances, markets cannot be served, and products back up in the logistics pipeline to deteriorate or become obsolete. Inventories are also essential to logistics management because it is usually not possible or practical to provide instant production or ensure delivery times to customers. They serve as buffers between supply and demand so that needed product availability may be maintained for customers while providing flexibility for production and logistics in seeking efficient methods for manufacture and distribution of the product. Order processing is the final key activity. Its costs usually are minor compared to transportation or inventory maintenance costs. Nevertheless, order processing is an important element in the total time that it takes for a customer to receive goods or services. It is the activity triggering product movement and service delivery. Although support activities may be as critical as the key activities in any particular circumstance, they are considered here as contributing to the logistics mission. In addition, one or more of the support activities may not be a part of the logistics activity mix for every firm. For example, products such as finished automobiles or commodities such as coal, iron ore, or gravel not needing the weather and security protection of warehousing will not require the warehousing activity, even though inventories are maintained. However, warehousing and materials handling are typically conducted wherever products are temporarily halted in their movement to the marketplace. 12 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk Protective packaging is a support activity of transportation and inventory maintenance as well as of warehousing and materials handling because it contributes to the efficiency with which these other activities are carried out. Purchasing and product scheduling often may be considered more a concern of production than of logistics. However, they also affect the overall logistics effort, and specifically they affect the efficiency of transportation and inventory management. Finally, information maintenance supports all other logistics activities in that it provides the needed information for planning and control. The extended supply chain refers to those members of the supply channel beyond the firm’s immediate suppliers or customers. They may be suppliers to the immediate suppliers or customers of the immediate customers and so on until raw material source points or end customers are reached. It is important to plan and control the previously noted activities and information flows if they affect the logistics customer service that can be provided and the costs of supplying this service. Management of the extended supply chain has the potential of improving logistics performance beyond that of just managing the activities within the immediate supply chain. Importance of Logistics/Supply Chain Logistics is about creating value value for customers and suppliers of the firm, and value for the firm’s stakeholders. Value in logistics is primarily expressed in terms of time and place. Products and services have no value unless they are in the possession of the customers when (time) and where (place) they wish to consume them. For example, concessions at a sports event have no value to consumers if they are not available at the time and place that the event is occurring, or if inadequate inventories don’t meet the demands of the sports fans. Good logistics management views each activity in the supply chain as contributing to the process of adding value. If little value can be added, it is questionable whether the activity should exist. However, value is added when customers are willing to pay more for a product or service than the cost to place it in their hands. To many firms throughout the world, logistics has become an increasingly important value-adding process for a number of reasons. Costs Are Significant Over the years, several studies have been conducted to determine the costs of logistics for the whole economy and for the individual firm. There are widely varying estimates of the cost levels. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), logistics costs average about 12 percent of the 13 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk world’s gross domestic product. Robert Delaney, who has tracked logistics costs for more than two decades, estimates that logistics costs for the U. S. economy are 9. 9 percent of the U. S. gross domestic product (GDP), or $921 billion. For the firm, logistics costs have ranged from 4 percent to over 30 percent of sales. The results from a cost survey of individual firms are shown in Table 1-3. Although the results show physical distribution costs at about 8 percent of sales, this survey does not include physical supply costs. Probably another one-third may be added to this total to represent average logistics costs for the firm at about 11 percent of sales. Over the last decade, physical distribution costs have ranged between 7 percent and 9 percent of sales. There may be a trend of increasing costs for individual firms, although Wilson and Delaney show over the same period that logistics costs as a percent of U. S. GDP have declined by about 10 percent. Logistics costs, substantial for most firms, rank second only to the cost of goods sold (purchase costs) that are about 50 percent to 60 percent of sales for the average manufacturing firm. Value is added by minimizing these costs and by passing the benefits on to customers and to the firm’s shareholders. Logistics Customer Service Expectations Are Increasing The Internet, just-in-time operating procedures, and continuous replenishment of inventories have all contributed to customers expecting rapid processing of their requests, quick delivery, and a high degree of product availability. According to the Davis Survey of hundreds of companies over the last decade, world-class competitors have average order cycle times (the time between when an order is placed and when it is received) of seven to eight days and line item fill rates of 90 percent to 94 percent. LogFac summarizes world-class logistics performance for domestic companies as: Error rates of less than one per 1,000 orders shipped Logistics costs of well under 5 percent of sales Finished goods inventory turnover of 20 or more times per year Total order cycle time of five working days Transportation cost of one percent of sales revenue or less, if products sold are over $5 per 500 gms As might be expected, the average company performs below these cost and customer service benchmarks, when compared with the statistics in Tables 1-3 and 1-4. Supply and Distribution Lines Are Lengthening with Greater Complexity The trend is toward an integrated world economy. Firms are seeking, or have developed, global strategies by designing their products for a world market and producing them wherever the low-cost 14 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk raw materials, components, and labor can be found (e. g. , Ford’s Focus automobile), or they simply produce locally and sell internationally. In either case, supply and distribution lines are stretched, as compared with the producer who wishes to manufacture and sell only locally. Not only has the trend occurred naturally by firms seeking to cut costs or expand markets, but it is also being encouraged by political arrangements that promote trade. Examples of the latter are the European Union, the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and the economic trade agreement among several countries of South America (MERCOSUR). Globalization and internationalization of industries everywhere will depend heavily on logistics performance and costs, as companies take more of a world view of their operations. As this happens, logistics takes on increased importance within the firm since its costs, especially transportation, become a larger part of the total cost structure. For example, if a firm seeks foreign suppliers for the raw materials that make up its final product or foreign locations to build its product, the motivation is to increase profit. Material and labor costs may be reduced, but logistics costs are likely to increase due to increased transportation and inventory costs. The â€Å"tradeoff†, as shown in Figure 1-6, may lead to higher profit by reducing materials, labour, and overhead costs at the expense of logistics costs and tariffs. â€Å"Outsourcing† adds value, but it requires careful management of logistics costs and product-flow times in the supply channel. Logistics/SC Is Important To Strategy Firms spend a great deal of time finding ways to differentiate their product offerings from those of their competitors. When management recognizes that logistics/SC affects a significant portion of a firm’s costs and that the result of decisions made about the supply chain processes yields different levels of customer service, it is in a position to use this effectively to penetrate new markets, to increase market share, and to increase profits. When a firm incurs the cost of moving the product toward the customer or making an inventory available in a timely manner, for the customer â€Å"value† has been created that was not there previously. It is value as surely as that created through the production of a quality product or through a low price. It is generally recognized that business creates four types of value in products or services. These are: form, time, place, and possession. Logistics creates two out of these four values. Manufacturing creates form value as inputs are converted to outputs, that is raw materials are transformed into finished goods. Logistics controls the time and place values in products, mainly through transportation, information flows, and inventories. Possession value is often considered the responsibility of marketing, engineering, and finance, where the value is created by helping customers acquire the product through such mechanisms as advertising (information), technical support, and terms of sale (pricing and credit availability). To the extent that SCM includes production, three out of the four values may be the responsibility of the logistics/supply chain manager. Customers Increasingly Want Quick, Customized Response Fast food retailers, automatic teller machines, overnight package delivery, and electronic mail on the Internet have led us as consumers to expect that products and services can be made available in increasingly shorter times. In addition, improved information systems and flexible manufacturing processes have led the marketplace toward mass customization. Rather than consumers having to accept the â€Å"one size fits all† philosophy in their purchases, suppliers are increasingly offering products that meet individual customer needs. Companies too have been applying the concept of quick response to their internal operations in order to meet the service requirements of their own marketing efforts. The quick response philosophy has been used to create a marketing advantage. Saks Fifth Avenue applied it, even though big profits are made through big margins and not on cost reductions that might be achieved from good logistics management. Supply chain costs may even rise, although the advantage is to more than cover these costs through increased profits. Logistics/SC in Non-manufacturing Areas It is perhaps easiest to think of logistics/SC in terms of moving and storing a physical product in a manufacturing setting. This is too narrow a view and can lead to many missed business opportunities. The logistics/SC principles and concepts learned over the years can be applied to such areas as service industries, the military, and even environment management. Service Industry The service sector of industrialized countries is large and growing. In the United States, over 70 percent of all jobs are in what the federal government classifies as the service sector. The size of this sector alone forces us to ask if logistics concepts are not equally applicable here as they are to the manufacturing sector. If they are, there is a tremendous untapped opportunity yet to be fulfilled. Many companies designated as service firms in fact produce a product. Examples include: McDonald’s Corporation (fast foods); Dow Jones Co. , Inc. (newspaper publishing); and Sears, Roebuck and Co. (merchandise retailing). These companies carry out all the typical supply chain activities of any manufacturing firm. However, for service companies such as Bank One (retail banking), Marriott Corporation (lodging) and Consolidated Edison (electric power), supply chain activities, 16 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk especially those associated with physical distribution, are not as obvious. Even though many service-oriented companies may be distributing an intangible, nonphysical product, they do engage in many physical distribution activities and decisions. A hospital may want to extend emergency medical care throughout the community and must make decisions as to the locations of the centers. United Parcel Service and Federal Express must locate terminals and route pickup and delivery trucks. The East Ohio Gas Company inventories natural gas in underground wells during the off-season in the region where demand will occur. Bank One must locate and have cash inventory on hand for its ATMs. The Federal Reserve Bank must select the methods of transportation to move cancelled cheques among member banks. The Catholic Church must decide the number, location, and size of the churches needed to meet shifts in size and location of congregations, as well as to plan the inventory of its pastoral staff. Xerox’s repair service for copying equipment is also a good example of the logistics decisions encountered in a service operation. The techniques, concepts, and methods discussed throughout this Program should be as applicable to the service sector as they are to the manufacturing sector. The key, according to Theodore Levitt, may be in transforming an intangible service into a tangible product. Problems will remain in carefully identifying the costs associated with the distribution of an intangible product. Perhaps because of this, few service firms or organizations have a physical distribution manager on their staff, although they frequently do have a materials manager to handle supply matters. However, managing logistics in service industries does represent a new direction for the future development of logistics practice. Military Before businesses showed much interest in co-ordinating supply chain processes, the military was well organized to carry out logistics activities. More than a decade before business logistics’ developmental period, the military carried out what was called the most complex, best-planned logistics operation of that time-the invasion of Europe during World War II. Although the problems of the military, with its extremely high customer service requirements, were not identical with those of business, the similarities were great enough to provide a valuable experience base during the developmental years of logistics. For example, the military alone maintained inventories valued at about one-third of those held by all U. s. manufacturers. In addition to the management experience that such large-scale operations provide, the military sponsored, and continues to sponsor, research in the logistics area through such organizations as the RAND Corporation and the Office of Naval Research. With this background, the field of business logistics began to grow. Even the term logistics seems to have had its origins in the military. A recent example of military logistics on a large scale was the conflict between the United States and Iraq over Iraq’s invasion of the small country of Kuwait. This invasion has been described as the largest military logistics operation in history. The logistics support in that war is yet another illustration of what worldclass companies have always known: Good logistics can be a source of competitive advantage. Lt General William Pagonis, in charge of logistics support for Desert Storm, observed: â€Å"When the Middle East started heating up, it seemed like a good time to pull out some history books on desert warfare in this region . But there was nothing on logistics. Logistics is not a best seller. In a couple of his diaries, Rommel talked about logistics. He thought the Germans lost the battle not because they didn’t have great soldiers or equipment in fact, the German tanks outfought ours almost throughout World War II but because the British had better logistics. † 17 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: The first wave of 200,000 troops and their equipment was deployed in a month and a half, whereas troop deployment took nine months in the Vietnam conflict. In addition, the application of many good logistics concepts was evident. Take customer service, for example: â€Å"We believed that if we took care of our troops, the objectives would be accomplished no matter whatever else happened. The soldiers are our customers. It is no different than a determined, single focus on customers that many successful businesses have. Now, you take care of your soldiers not only by providing them cold sodas, and burgers, and good food: you make sure they have the ammunition on the front line, so that when they go fight the war they know they have what they need. † This meant that when 120 mm guns rather than 105 mm guns were desired on tanks, they were changed. When brown vehicles were preferred over the traditional camouflage green, they were repainted at the rate of 7,000 per month. Environment Population growth and resultant economic development have heightened our awareness of environmental issues. Whether it is recycling, packaging materials, transporting hazardous materials or refurbishing products for resale, logisticians are involved in a major way. After all, the United States alone produces more than 160 million tons of waste each year, enough for a convoy of 10-ton garbage trucks reaching halfway to the moon. In many cases, planning for logistics in an environmental setting is no different from that in manufacturing or service sectors. However, in a few cases additional complications arise, such as governmental regulations that make the logistics for a product more costly by extending the distribution channel. Business Logistics in the Firm It has been the tradition in many firms to organize around marketing and production functions. Typically, marketing means selling something and production means making something. Although few business people would agree that their organization is so simple, the fact remains that many businesses emphasize these functions while treating other activities, such as traffic, purchasing, accounting, and engineering, as support areas. Such an attitude is justified to a degree, because if a firm’s products cannot be produced and sold, little else matters. However, such a pattern is dangerously simple for many firms to follow in that it fails to recognize the importance of the activities that must take place between points and times of production or purchase and the points and times of demand. These are the logistics activities, and they affect the efficiency and effectiveness of both marketing and production. Scholars and practitioners of both marketing and production have not neglected the importance of logistics. In fact, each area considers logistics within its scope of action. For example, the following definition of marketing management includes physical distribution: â€Å"Marketing (management) is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges with target groups that satisfy individual and organizational objectives. † Marketing’s concern is to place its products or services in convenient distribution channels to facilitate the exchange process. The concept of production/ operations management often includes logistics activities. Now, viewing product flow activities as a process to be coordinated, product flow aspects within marketing, production, and logistics are collectively managed to achieve customer service objectives. The difference in operating objectives (maximize revenue versus minimize cost) for marketing and production/operations may lead to a fragmentation of interest in, and responsibility for, logistics activities, as well as a lack of co-ordination among logistics activities as a whole. This, in turn, may lead to lower customer service levels or higher total logistics costs than are necessary. Business logistics represents a regrouping, either by formal organizational structure or conceptually in the minds of management, of the move-store activities that historically may have been partially under the control of marketing and production/ operations. If logistics activities are looked upon as a separate area of managerial action, the relationship of logistics activities to those of marketing and production/ operations would be as is shown in Figure 1-7. Marketing would be primarily responsible for market research, promotion, sales-force management, and the product mix, which create possession value in the product. Production/ operations would be concerned with the creation of the product or service, which creates form value in the product. Key responsibilities would be quality control, production planning and scheduling, job design, capacity planning, maintenance, and work measurement and standards. Logistics would be concerned with those activities (previously defined) that give a product or service time and place value. This separation of the activities of the firm into three groupings rather than two is not always necessary or advisable to achieve the coordination of logistics activities that is sought. Marketing and production/operations, when broadly conceived and co-ordinated, can do an effective job of managing logistics activities without creating an additional organizational entity. Even if a separate functional area is created for logistics within the firm so as to achieve effective control of the firm’s immediate logistics activities, logisticians will need to view their responsibility as one of coordinating the entire supply chain process rather than being just a local logistics activity administrator. To do otherwise may miss substantial opportunities for cost reduction and logistics customer service improvement. The interface is created by the arbitrary separation of a firm’s activities into a limited number of functional areas. Managing the interface activities by one function alone can lead to sub-optimal performance for the firm by subordinating broader company goals to individual functional goals-a potential danger resulting from the departmental form of organizational structure so common in companies today. To achieve interfunctional coordination, some measurement system and incentives for cooperation among the functions involved need to be established. This is equally true of the inter-organizational co-ordination required to manage product flows across company boundaries. It is important to note, however, that establishing a third functional group is not without its disadvantages. Two functional interfaces now exist where only one between marketing and production/ operations previously existed. Some of the most difficult administrative problems arise from the interfunctional conflicts that occur when one is attempting to manage interface activities. Some of this potential conflict may be dissipated if a new organizational arrangement is created whereby production/ operations and logistics are merged into one group called supply chain. Just as managers are beginning to understand the benefits of interfunctional logistics management, inter-organizational management is being encouraged. Supply chain management proponents who view the area more broadly than some logisticians have been strongly promoting the need for collaboration among supply channel members that are outside the immediate control of a company’s  logistician, that is, members who are legally separate companies. Collaboration among the channel members that are linked through buyer-seller relationships is essential to achieving cost-service benefits unable to be realized by managers with strictly an internal view of their responsibilities. Supply chain managers consider themselves to have responsibility for the entire supply channel of the scope as illustrated in Figure 1-8. Managing in this broader environment is the new challenge for the contemporary logistician. Objectives of Business Logistics/SC Within the broader objectives of the firm, the business logistician seeks to achieve supply channel process goals that will move the firm toward its overall objectives. Specifically, the desire is to develop a logistics activity mix that will result in the highest possible return on investment over time. There are two dimensions to this goal: (1) the impact of the logistics system design on the revenue contribution, and (2) the operating cost and capital requirements of the design. Ideally, the logistician should know how much additional revenue would be generated through incremental improvements.

Declare Your Independence From Toxic Fireworks Pollution

Declare Your Independence From Toxic Fireworks Pollution It may come as no surprise that the fireworks displays that occur around the U.S. every Fourth of July are still typically propelled by the ignition of gunpowder- a technological innovation that pre-dates the American Revolution. Unfortunately, the fallout from these exhibitions includes a variety of toxic pollutants that rain down on neighborhoods from coast to coast, often in violation of federal Clean Air Act standards. Fireworks Can Be Toxic to Humans Depending on the effect sought, fireworks produce smoke and dust that contain various heavy metals, sulfur-coal compounds, and other noxious chemicals. Barium, for instance, is used to produce brilliant green colors in fireworks displays, despite being poisonous and radioactive. Copper compounds are used to produce blue colors, even though they contain dioxin, which has been linked to cancer. Cadmium, lithium, antimony, rubidium, strontium, lead, and potassium nitrate are also commonly used to produce different effects, even though they can cause a host of respiratory and other health problems. Just the soot and dust from fireworks alone is enough to lead to respiratory problems like asthma. A study examined air quality at 300 monitoring stations across the United States and found that fine particulate matter spiked by 42% on the Fourth of July, compared to the days before and after. Fireworks Contribute to Environmental Pollution The chemicals and heavy metals used in fireworks also take their toll on the environment, sometimes contributing to water supply contamination and even acid rain. Their use also deposits physical litter on the ground and into water bodies for miles around. As such, some U.S. states and local governments restrict the use of fireworks in accordance with guidelines set by the Clean Air Act. The American Pyrotechnics Association provides a free online directory of state laws across the U.S. regulating the use of fireworks. Fireworks Add to Worldwide Pollution Of course, fireworks displays are not limited to U.S. Independence Day celebrations. Fireworks use is increasing in popularity around the world, including in countries without strict air pollution standards. According to The Ecologist, millennium celebrations in 2000 caused environmental pollution worldwide, filling skies over populated areas with â€Å"carcinogenic sulfur compounds and airborne arsenic.† Disney Pioneers Innovative Fireworks Technology Not usually known for championing environmental causes, the Walt Disney Company has pioneered new technology using environmentally benign compressed air instead of gunpowder to launch fireworks. Disney puts on hundreds of dazzling fireworks displays every year at its various resort properties in the United States and Europe, and but hopes its new technology will have a beneficial impact on the pyrotechnics industry worldwide. Disney made the details of its new patents for the technology available to the pyrotechnics industry at large with the hope that other companies will also green up their offerings. Do We Really Need Fireworks? While Disney’s technological breakthrough is no doubt a step in the right direction, many environmental and public safety advocates would rather see the Fourth of July and other holidays and events celebrated without the use of pyrotechnics. Parades and block parties are some obvious alternatives.  Additionally, laser light shows can wow a crowd without the negative environmental side effects associated with fireworks. Edited by Frederic Beaudry.

Ban on Advertisement Aimed at Children

Parents all over the world treat their children as their number one priority, and they are often obsessed with the childs protection, be it from an illness, danger and even certain people. Despite all this protection, we allow our children to be allured into the wonderful world of advertising. From such an early age we are told by our parents dont talk to strangers. How is it that after 30 seconds of TV, associating products with our favourite characters or even glancing at a poster in the street, our children are instantly convinced by the strangers of the world of advertising? There are two types of products on which manufacturers are willing to spend millions of euros convincing children to demand that their parents buy them. The first is the massive and very powerful food and drinks industry. From a very early age children are bombarded with images of food and drink on TV, in newspapers and magazines, on the internet and even at the cinema in a technique known as product placement. I think it is wrong to advertise food and drink to children as they have not developed the skills necessary to judge whether these products contain too much salt or sugar or whether they can form part of a healthy and balanced diet. Also food and drinks should not be associated with popular programmes or cartoon characters. Supermarkets also adopt techniques such as placing sweets and chocolate near the checkout at childrens eye level so that they demand that their parents buy them, in a technique known as pester power. One of the major threats to our health is obesity, and childhood obesity is a growing problem in the western world. In addition a lot of the sugary drinks aimed at children damage growing teeth. Advertising of food and drinks aimed at children should be banned and parents should choose how to provide their children with a healthy diet and which treats they should occasionally be given. The second type of product aimed at children are aspirational goods such as toys, designer clothes, video games, mobile phones and other electronic goods. Once again I think there are major hidden dangers associated with this type of advertising. It is wrong that a child should associate success with the ownership of such must have goods. A child can suffer serious self esteem issues if he or she does not have the right phone or trainers, for example. The advertising also puts unnecessary pressure on parents, they may feel inadequate if they cannot afford to buy the products demanded by their kids. Some parents can even get into serious debt in order to buy the goods advertised. Once again I think that this type of advertising aimed at children should be banned. I believe children should be free of all advertising and manipulation, and to all the gold-digging business men who devote their lives to brainwashing our children to becoming slaves to these enterprises, Target the parent, not the seven-year old. If youre product is not good enough to allure a grown up, make something better! I believe most parents would agree that what advertising is doing to our children is wrong. We have the power to stop this and let our children grow up and be free of being left out or with an obesity problem until theyre old enough to make their own decisions. Lets all ban advertising aimed at children now.

Haven''t figure out Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Haven''t figure out - Article Example The various diversities that have come up in the Muslim are also compositions in the writing. The script sets to establish the contract whereby the women tend to know their rights, but tend to abandon them for the quest of the religion. References for the particular ideas are a provisional ate the end of the document. The instance helps in the validation of the arguments therein. Religion in general represents the belief in the supernatural by the natural. The instance also includes the worship of the supernatural by the empirical. Worship on the other hand depicts on the following of guidelines as they are put day the relevant books of religion. The Islam religion is a religion that emanates in Asia and finds its basis in the Quran. The Islam religion is just like another religious is full of restrictions. However, the religion is also the home for chauvinism. The act is an open discrimination towards women. The rule of the Islam religion as per the history of the religion illustrates different aspects whereby the treatment of women was equal to that of men. In the ancient Muslim religion, the capacity that the women had was that the women could trade, run business and also serve the almighty. However, the present Islam world does not reflect the teachings of the Muslim world. The Muslim nations according to most research works have little value for women. In the countries such as Somalia, women are seen as objects that serve for the fulfillment of the desires of women. The aspect also regards women as only capable of giving birth. Due to the facts, the women in the Muslim society are in the hands of the [pleasure of the men. They are also punishable once a man sees it right to do so. Most of the practices thus have a hidden meaning since the Islam religion does not teach favor of one being over another. The question that arises is the perspective of the origin of the

Trend report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Trend report - Essay Example This narrowed the gap from the peak by 14 percent (Kenneth, 2012). Table 1 below summarized the trend. Based on Thomas’ report, 39 years had elapsed and yet the real wage was still below the reported peak wage of 1972. In the real sense, by 2011, it was still 14 percent below the peak wage (Thomas, 2012). Despite the dwindling wage levels for workers in the country, the Federal Reserve Bank claimed that the country’s productivity was at a steady increase during this period. The study by Lawrence, Jared and Heidi (2009) showed that wage trends fueled the inequalities in income growth in the United States. In the real sense, wage comprise of three quarter of the family’s total income. However, for the broad middle class group, salaries and wages consist of more than three quarters of the families’ income. It was estimated that between 1973 and the year 2011, real hourly wage attributed to a median worker only reported a 10.7 percent increase. This was mostly witnessed in the late1990s. On the contrary, real wage again registered a stagnated growth between 2002 and 2003. This is why the last decade is referred to as lost decades in terms of wage growth. Another prediction based on the study is that in cases unemployment problem persists, there is high likelihood that the country will have another lost decade in the near future. This section will provide the trends in the employees wage for the last two and half decades. Wage trend is known to have played a critical role in the families and households income trends, particularly, with the growing wage inequality being reported in the United States (Lawrence, Jared and Heidi, 2012). Basically, wage stagnation led affected income growth in the year 2000. It also contributed to high unemployment rates and recession of 2007 and 2011. The reason for the stagnation includes weak recovery phases between 2002 and 2007 and loss of income during the

The United States should regulate trade with foreign countries Essay Example for Free

The United States should regulate trade with foreign countries Essay Trade across the boarders is very important as; over the years, it has enhanced industrialization in most and improved the balance of payment in those countries. For this foreign trade to occur smoothly across these nations there needs to be regulations which govern the types of services and products to be sold and the conduct of the personnel involved. â€Å"Globalization therefore requires careful steering and improvement on the policy changes (Bhagwati 32). † Despite the regulations in place, foreign trade has a lot of benefits to individual countries and the United States is not an exception. Some of the benefits of foreign trade include: †¢ Specialization Countries are endowed with a variety of resources. This may be in the form of very skilled labor, precious minerals, good climate, and excellent infrastructure among other things. Since countries cannot produce all the goods they need, they will maximize their efforts in producing those goods that are bound to bring in more returns and will import the rest of the commodities that they have not produced. By doing this the country will develop further and will continually improve its balance of payments. Such trade also exposes the consumers to a variety of goods as they have options from different countries to choose from. Specialization is also linked with comparative advantage. Comparative advantage refers to channeling resources to the production of the commodities that will yield more return. Countries will therefore utilize resources in areas where they know they can get more returns. Other than concentrating on particular industries, it is important for countries to produce a variety of products because if they focus on the production of one commodity, when that particular industry is affected, the country will also be affected. â€Å"This may be due to changes in market forces caused by recession or the enactment of new trading policies (Baker A. 8). † The imports and exports of a country and the way they are priced therefore greatly determine how the country will progress especially. †¢ Competition Competition is important for businesses to grow as they are motivated to produce more and better commodities at lower prices. â€Å"Globalization reduces trade barriers thus encouraging the exchange of goods and job creation (January 32). † For competition to be effective it will depend on natural resources, the types of equipment and technology a country has and skilled laborers to produce the products. Combination of these factors definitely increases the specialty of industries. †¢ Economies of scale A country will gain more if it directs its resources to the most efficient industries. This will aid a country to improve it’s economies of scale by producing more output. â€Å"Openness to international trade contributes to economic growth (Boudreaux, 17). † Some companies therefore require a lot of research or a lot of funds and that is why they sometimes their competitive nature will be limited. Sometimes it is difficult to move resources from one industry to another especially when the industries have nothing in common. Knowledge-Intensive Products Between the years 1986-2001, the U. S benefited a lot from exporting manufactured products to other countries. This was because they have experts who designed better advanced products and manufacturing processes. The cost of marketing the products was minimized because they were unique products being brought into the market and people were eager to use them. Moreover, the workforce was well educated and trained. Looking at the benefits of international trade, we see that the United States as well as other countries have gained and that is why these business transactions need to be enhanced. Creating a proper business environment requires the enactment of policies that will ensure that the benefits accrued are maximized and the risks minimized. The U. S needs to regulate foreign trade for a number of reasons. ? Protection of local industries The U. S needs to protect the domestic industries which play a major role in the growth of the economy by creating trade regulations. This is because there is a need of increasing employment in certain industries which importation of products is hindering or being able to control the prices of goods and services. â€Å"When trade is not regulated by putting certain measures that limit the importation of certain commodities, importation will increase because the consumers will demand more foreign goods as opposed to buying the locally manufactured products and this will lead to deficits in the balance of payments (Smick 34). † ? Enhancing trade policies The U. S should regulate foreign trade because through processes like licensing the goods and custom regulations, the country through the customs authority. The customs Authority is in charge of enacting the policies that have been passed by the state on trade by imposing customs duties, trade restrictions and taxes agreed on so that they govern trade between the U. S and other countries. â€Å"The U. S customs service is already doing a good job in helping exporters because they give them information on duty rates, custom regulations and policies as used by the U. S and foreign countries and through its website, it has created an interactive forum where people are more knowledgeable about international trade and processes (Baker C. 111). † In doing so, the customs authority is able to control the goods that are entering the country therefore they make sure that they gain from all goods entering they country as this minimizes the evasion of paying taxes (Stein 71). This also limits the entry of illegal products entering the country for example, illegal drugs that can be harmful to the citizens. ? Proper planning Regulating trade with foreign countries will enable the Federal State to plan its activities better. This will help in the budgeting process so that they can forecast better on the market trend and adjust policies so that the country is not adversely affected by the global marketing changes. â€Å"This will enable them to distribute resources equally and channel resources to the sectors where they know they will generate more income (Mann 75). † This will also make the people in charge of the processes more accountable because in case of any faults, they will be held responsible for the actions they undertook. ? Technological enhancement Regulating trade is important because it enhances the technological innovations and inventions. Some countries can take advantage when there are no regulations in place that inhibit the usage of certain creations and design to create similar or even better commodities thus enhancing the competition in markets which they mostly dominated. The U. S therefore needs to regulate the trade as it helps in building these skills that propel the countries economy to greater heights. ? National Security Regulating foreign trade enhances national security because the state limits the chances of other countries controlling business activities in that country therefore, they can not directly influence the prices of commodities. This is especially related with the government owned businesses which need to be protected from being influenced by foreign companies such that they may decide to engage in business agreements for example partnerships and in case the state business is faced with financial difficulties or other risks, it has a higher risk of being taken over by the foreign company. National security is also enhanced by the use of Intellectual property rights as they enable the business to gain competitive advantage. â€Å"Products that are protected by patents or trade marks mean that they cannot be sold in countries that infringe the trademarks or patents and this helps in enabling fair trade (Hiebert 47). † The U. S should be able to benefit from the many experts it has in various fields. It needs to be in a position where they can minimize foreign governments from contacting them so that they share the secrets. For instance if people who produce military products are contacted by other governments and given better rewards, then they can easily go to those countries and develop war weapons which can be used against the country. That is why it is important to regulate trade with foreign countries. International trade is not possible without the use of foreign currency (Baker C. 20). The country is able to see how their products are priced against other currencies and continually monitors its cash reserves and how it spends its money so that the US dollar is stable. This is helpful especially at this harsh economic period when the country is trying to minimize on importation of commodities so as stabilize the currency. ? Environmental Protection Globalization and advancements in technology have contributed to the emerging issues of environmental pollution and its effects on the people. There is therefore the need to ensure that these cases are minimized and this will happen if the state commits itself to preventing harmful substances which might include chemical products that when used in the industries emit harmful substances into the environment as well as technologies from entering the country (Carlarne 30). The internet has enhanced international trade to the next level by making it easier and faster to make business transactions and trade. However, it is contributing to various cyber crimes where innocent people are exploited in the name of fake businesses in the U. S and people lying. Though there are measurers to make such processes legitimate, for example, creating rules on the use of digital signatures and agreements but still more needs to be done as people are losing a lot of money in such dealings and the people undertaking such trade crimes cannot be tracked. ? Reducing trade conflict When two or more organizations engage in constructive ventures, conflicts are bound to happen. â€Å"If there are no proper mechanisms to address the problems and the issues keep on escalating, then a lot of money which would otherwise be used on important ventures will be used to settle legal claims (Perdikis et al. 1). † The U. S since it deals with many countries in almost every industry; they have a greater chance of facing numerous claims. â€Å"They therefore invest a lot of money in hiring legal advisors and in compensations (Brown, Crowley, Mcclulloch Nakajima 2). † They need to regulate their trade so that the agreements are stricter but which gives them room to minimize the costs, resources, time and energy used in legal issues. There are many international bodies that are governing foreign trade in various aspects for instance, the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which laid the policies that are now used by the World Trade Organization (WTO), plus different trading blocks in various regions and continents. Though they set the rules to be used by all involved countries, they sometimes do not always tackle the problems that are faced by individual countries face that is why the U. S needs to put their own trade policies as well as used those set by such bodies to make sure that their economy is well protected. ? Minimizing corruption There also cases where foreign trade official at the customs are being bribed so that they can allow the entry if certain goods into the country. The U. S government has helped to solve the issue by placing anti-money laundering laws and also corruption laws to prevent foreign government officials from being bribed so that they can either conduct business within the country or lighten their policies so that they can benefit (Braithwaite Drahos 162). â€Å"Such practices sometimes go undetected and finally when they are discovered, they create a bad image for the country (Stiglitz 52). † The state needs to tighten such measures so as to promote fair business practices and healthy competition. Some home based companies are not very keen on the industrial Total Quality Management standards (TQM) in place. Sometimes they overlook regulations so that they can produce more output and this has led to the exportation of substandard products. Trade regulations need to be enforced so that such companies engage in the production of quality products. Conclusion Regulation of foreign trade has enabled the United States to manage risks that are associated with foreign trade as well as curb unethical behavior in this business. More still needs to be done so that they safe guard the local business from being put at risk of being shut down. The regulations should be published in state journals and be accessible through the internet so that companies both local and foreign are aware of the policies in place.The regulations should also be found in the school curriculum ass the students and young professionals will be sensitized at an early age. Works Cited Baker, J. C. Financing International Trade. Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport: Praeger, 2003. Baker, S. A. An Introduction to International Economics. Orlando, Fl: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, 1990 Bhagwati, J. In Defense of Globalization, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2004 Braithwaite, J. Drahos, P. Global business regulation, Cambridge University Press, 2000 p. 162 Boudreaux, D. J. Globalization. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc, 2008 Brown, C. P. , Crowley M. A. , Mcclulloch R. Nakajima D. J. â€Å"The U. S. Trade Deficit: Made in China? † Economic Perspectives, 29 (2005): 2 Carlarne, C. â€Å"Form the USA with Love: Sharing Home-Grown Hormones, GMOs, and Clones with Reluctant Europe. † Environmental Law, 37 (2007): 30. Hiebert, T. H. Parallel Importation in U. S. Trademark Law. Greenwood Press, 1994. January, Brendan. Globalize It, Brookfield, CT: Twenty First Century Books, 2003 Mann, C. M. Is the U. S. Trade Deficit Sustainable? Institute for International Economics, 1999. Perdikis, N. , Read, R. International Economics Study Group. The WTO and the regulation of international trade: recent trade disputes between the European Union and the United States, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005 Smick, D. M. The World Is Curved-Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy, New York, NY: The Penguin Group, 2008 p. 34 Snyder F. G. Regional and global regulation of international trade, Hart Publishing, 2002 Stein, S. â€Å"Trade out of Whack: Making Sense of the Trade Deficit. † Policy Review, 128 (2004):