Hewlett-Packard Under Carly Fiorina, and After Her Essay

1) How do you judge the quality of a product, whether a computer or something else? Is it mostly by price? Discuss your perception of price and quality as well as any ramifications. The quality of a product depends how well it was made and how well the product works to meet expectations. Price can be a determinate of quality, but this is not always true. A product may be cheaper and still be of good quality if the company has figured out a way to reduce overhead cost which helps determine price. I normally base my buying decisions off of quality and price. Many companies cut cost to make their products cheaper so their sales will increase, but lowering cost is not always a good plan. The companies that cut prices normally fall behind because the companies that have better quality products get ahead in the long run. 2) â€Å"Tradition has no place in corporate thinking today.† Discuss this statement. Many companies stay active by practicing tradition (ex. Starbucks employee treatment). Though tradition is an important aspect of many companies, tradition can hinder companies’ growth over time and the need for innovation can be faulted. I think tradition can be kept within a company and the company still be successful, but traditions gradually change to keep the company’s original objective alive. Depending on the company and the company’s objective determines whether tradition can be incorporated or not. 3) Giant organizations are often plagued with cumbersome bureaucracies. Discuss how this tendency could be prevented as an organization grows to large size over many years. Bureaucracy can limit the growth and innovation of a company. The leaders/management of a company need to be able to promote change and motivate others throughout the organization. Bureaucracy starts to form between different levels of an organization and can cause decision making processes to become slower, such as the case with Carly. A company may try decentralizing and delegating jobs to different parts of the organization. Though decentralization and delegations can be problematic for companies, it can also speed up processes and be less costly to the organization. Having strong leadership within each department can deter any fraudulent or selfish acts and allow for a more successful business with less bureaucracy. 4) Playing a devil’s advocate, present the case against the Compaq merger. Some risks were present in the potential merger of HP and Compaq. How would the merger take place? Would the merger affect the overall  structure and business plan of HP? Was PC growth the future of HP and would this venture help HP become and stay profitable? How long would the merger take? Would this merger be cost effective or would it be more costly to overtake Compaq? Would loyal customers to each brand stay around throughout the merger or would the customers switch their brand loyalty? All of these questions are potential arguments and reasons why HP should not complete the merger with Compaq. In the end the merger was a good decision for HP even though it took a while for the company to get where forecasters projected. 5) â€Å"HP is gouging the consumer in charging such high prices for its ink refill cartridges. Sure, it’s a high profit item, but such profits cross the line and are obscene.† Discuss. HP’s printer and ink business had high profits to help keep its other products stay in production. Though ink refills was HP’s sweet spot in the market, HP would probably not hold out in the long run and would eventually need to venture into other types of markets with a strong presence to stay afloat. Just because HP was successful in the ink cartridge market in the beginning did not mean the company would remain that way, especially with the other competition in the technology market. 6) Do you think the 17,000 jobs lost in the merger was laudatory, or should it be condemned? What would swing your opinion? Cost cutting is to be expected when mergers or reorganization occurs in a company. Even though 17,000 is a large number of job losses it might have been warranted. When merging the company there were many duplicate jobs and departments. With so many duplicate positions it can be hard to manage a successful company. These duplications can cause excessive amount of costs that aren’t warranted. The job cutting in the case of HP seemed to be necessary but have been a bit excessive in some instances. 7) Why do you think Hurd’s efforts were so successful and so quickly accomplished? Support your conclusions as persuasively as you can. Hurd’s success came after the merger was already completed. He took advantage of what was already completed and made the other necessary changes to finish making the company successful. His strategic marketing and application of more costs cutting techniques helped the company reach Carly’s projected goals. Both Hurd and Carly should receive credit for making HP the company it is today since the merger. 8) Why do you think Dell lagged so far behind HP in tapping into retail markets? Dell was succeeding in the business market and staying very  profitable. They probably focused all of their attention on this market instead of targeting both markets (business and retail). Since Dell used a low price strategy, the company remained one of the top companies in the market and did not need to worry about expanding and incurring more costs. None of the companies expected the overseas companies to start producing and marketing in the United States thus increasing competition in the technology market. Because Dell focused on low prices and the business market, the invasive competition made them start expanding to the retail market which increased costs and prices of their products. This increase and change took time and affected the company’s profits. I think this is why it took so long for Dell to enter the retail market.

Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht Essay

This extract from Mother Courage and Her Children, by Bertolt Brecht, translated by Michael Hofmann and John Willett, is located in the prologue and the opening scene of the play, at a point where the author dispels the myths of chivalry and honour we have about war. The play is set in the thirty years war but was written at the beginning of World War II. The beginning of the play is set in Poland, where a sergeant and recruiting officer are on the outskirts of town standing in the bitter cold. In this extract, we are able to observe a recruiting officer’s troubles in enlisting new soldiers and the lengths in which he will go to gain new recruits. He then complains that there is no honour and upstandingness among humanity. This establishes the character as hypocritical and desperate. The prologue of the play begins with a song telling us of the daily hardships war can bring, not excluding death. The song lacks adjectives, taking a very brief blunt view. It also takes a very disapproving view of war and this is shown through the choice of words. However, the song is delicately laced with humour that lessens the impact the song may have given. It describes the soldiers very impersonally, referring always to them as one group, one army. Small, dispensable objects with no name – joined together. Their belongings are described as ‘lumbering’ and ‘straggling’ which gives the image of a strong animal (bear?), with more brawl than brains. This image is intensified by the next line How can you flog them into battle as you usually flog large animals. This gives the impression that soldiers are mindlessly following the commands of their superiors because loyalty demanded it of them. The second stanza of the prologue talks about soldiers and their empty stomachs before war. It does not specify whether this is because of lack of food or because war is so desolate that they cannot hold their food down. The line Courage has rum with which to lace it talks of giving rum to soldiers so they will not feel anything and since courage is defined as the absence of fear, the soldiers are therefore courageous. The line marching to death is also used. This links with the soldiers being courageous because you have to be courageous to march, knowing that at the end awaits death. The speech by the Recruiting Officer consists of mainly one long rambling sentence. This implies that the brawl is spoken by an uneducated soldier. It also suggests that the military cannot find enough recruits to enlist that it has to put soldiers in positions that they have neither the ability nor motivation to do well. Also, the soldiers may not` have acquired enough training to know how to do their job well. The second half of the speech speaks of the recruiting officer dulling the wits of a potential recruit by alcohol so that he would sign on to become a soldier. The recruit then runs away and the recruiting officer complains of the lack of honour and upstandingness among humanity. This speech speaks of the difficulty of recruiting people to die for their country and because of the lack of availability, they settle for standards well below normal. In the prologue, a rhythm of ABAB CDCD and so on is used. The set rhyming structure is used to capture audience’s attention and to give a rhythm by which to read the poem. This provides a flow from one line to another that keeps the reader interested. The last four lines of each stanza are indented, drawing the reader’s attention and marking it as significant. The author’s choice of diction creates a vivid scene of imagery where soldiers are fighting disease and starvation rather than the enemy. The line With crawling lice and looted cattle shows the poor state of hygiene and health the troops are in. This immediately dislodges the myth that war is all fame and glory. Instead, a vision of unhygienic environment that many soldiers live in during war is created. This extract, especially the prologue, spares no time in easing the reader into the reality of war. Instead, it plunges them into one of the worse aspects of war. The recruiting officer’s speech reveals much about human behaviour which the reader can relate to and this entices them to read on. The extract provides a very good introduction to the book for the reader and effectively summarises the hardships of war. The purpose of this extract is to introduce the reader to various parts of war in a way that will neither alarm nor bore the reader. This is achieved by various literacy features such as imagery, diction and repetition and by the hypocritical speech made by the recruiting officer.

Responsibility for Personal and Professional Development Essay

Effective personal and professional development is the result of co-operative and co-ordinating working at all levels in the University and also with the individual members of staff. At the strategic level the personal and professional development implications of strategy and vision must be recognised and resourced. Overall responsibility for the development and delivery of Personal and Professional Development policy and strategy rests with the Director of Human Resources and the Personal and Professional Development Unit. The Director of Academic Professional Development and the Academic Professional Development Advisory Group, convened by the Director of Human Resources, acts as a central focus for the co-ordination, planning and provision of a range of learning and teaching development activities. The Deans and/or Associate Deans for Learning & Teaching, as appropriate, liaise with the Director of Academic Professional Development in order to consider appropriate ways in which de velopment needs can be met, including delivery at department/section/unit or Faculty level, or through central delivery. The link between centrally delivered and Faculty-based development activities is supported by regular and ongoing contact between the Director of Academic Professional Development and Faculty contacts for Academic Professional Development, normally the Associate Dean for Learning & Teaching. Heads of department/section/unit ensure that all staff employed in their area receive appropriate advice so as to ensure direct and substantial benefits are achieved for staff undertaking any development, support towards identifying their developmental needs through the review process and by other means, and ensure that adequate time is made available within workloads to allow staff to engage in identified and agreed development activities, as appropriate, to address these needs. Faculties and departments/sections/units are expected to expand upon the centrally delivered personal and professional development programme by making effective use of any monies devolved to them for this purpose. Day-to-day management of university-wide generic personal and professional development and training, as well as management training and development, is the responsibility of the Director of Management and Personal Development. Generic personal and professional development and training comprises those  activities which serve a widespread need in the university such that is efficient and effective to provide them centrally, either in-house, bought-in or externally provided, rather than ask departments or Faculties to source them. They include interpersonal skills, administrative skills and management skills. They do not include skills narrowly applicable to only one specialist function or discipline, which are best sourced through a department’s or individual’ s links, perhaps to the research community or a professional society.

The Criminal Justice System of England and Wales Essay

The Criminal Justice System of England and Wales - Essay Example This is because the acts of the Parliament can override common law provisions. Moreover, its membership in the European Union requires it to follow the European community law. The World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems also said that the legal system in England and Wales is "adversarial" in all courts, including the juvenile courts. Its criminal justice is the "historical pioneer" of the common law type of legal system. More often than not, the law evolves through the decisions made in previous individual cases while decisions in court influence certain perceptions and rules. Such practices might have originated from the fifth century while it was after 1066 when general perceptions regarding common law principles increased. Also, the World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems added that England and Wales' common legal systems were derived from the Acts of Union of 1536 and 1542. Moreover, the late 19th and 20th centuries have witnessed a boost in the number and scale of statutes and of delegated legislation in British law. Just like in most countries, crime in England and Wales is classified and distinguished mostly on the basis of its seriousness. In addition, an offense may vary according to the procedure it is brought into trial. For example, if it's through a magistrates' court only, by indictment, or by the higher Crown court. It may also vary according to the sanction. Criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10, so those between ages 10 and 17 are forced to face a youth court if they are charged with a criminal offense. Its difference with the court for adults is that parents of the child offender may be charged with fines which they must pay and supervise their child's behavior. In terms of drug use, the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971 covers the terms and conditions. It listed drugs into classes A, B, or C. This act was intended to regulate the use and flow of drugs, according to the World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems. And as in many countries all over the world, it is unlawful to produce, supply, possess, prepare, cultivate, and import or export and such substances. World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems said that 1994 data shows that there were 5.3 million recorded offenses in England and Wales, this would include indictable offenses and summary offenses, 26 percent of which were cleared. About 729 of the cases were homicide charges and 220,000 offenses of violence against persons. Meanwhile, only 19,600.of these offenses were classified to be serious. During the same year, 5,039 rape cases were recorded which accounted to only one percent of the total recorded offenses. Meanwhile, an astounding 93 percent of the overall offenses were against property, including burglary, theft, criminal damages, and fraud. As for drug offenses, 17,569 cases were reported. Not surprisingly, about half of the total recorded offenses were to be found in metropolitan police areas while rural areas had the lowest crime rates. Judicial System According to The Criminal Justice System Review, the criminal justice system of England and Wales has changed drastically. This is because before the introduction of the due process, those

Paraphrasing of Discussion and Analysis of Dell Strategy Essay

Paraphrasing of Discussion and Analysis of Dell Strategy - Essay Example However, recent times have seen the increase in competition against Dell and its winning strategies. As such, Dell seeks new strategies so as to gain and maintain competitive advantage. One such strategy Dell zeroed in on is â€Å"dynamic capabilities† (Magretta 1998, p.4). The trick is to go beyond utilizing resources in an ordinary way. Instead, the company employs strategies that configure and thereby create competitive advantage of these resources. â€Å"Dynamic†, on the other hand, stands for the ability to transform these resources with ease in light of the flux environment within which Dell competes. The ability to adapt to external and internal change is also a significant way of maintaining competitive advantage. In light of this analysis, Michael Dell states that: â€Å"The goal is to stay a few steps ahead of change. That means the company can create and even shape change to some extent. The best way to beat change is to spend adequate time with the customer s (Magretta 1998, p.83)†. This approach reflects not only on the nature of the strategies Dell upholds but also on the nature of their operating models. That is, adjusting and improving the models capabilities over time in light of changing market needs. Critical Overview: Focusing on Relationships within a Supply Chain. Dell attributes its key successes on a unique value chain. This chain owes its uniqueness to the nature of relationships of the various stakeholders within the supply chain. These relationships create leverage for the company in view of its customers’ appreciation. Secondly, Dell is one of the company’s that heavily relies on web technology to differentiating itself from other players in the market. One advantage of utilising web technology is the ability to select direct market routes, as opposed to other companies. Direct market routes are cost efficient as they facilitate quick delivery of goods and services. Also, the company can adapt and re spond to the market environment needs with flexibility. Source: Magretta, 1998. In regard to the stakeholders in the supply chain, Dell focuses on the customer’s interests more than any other stakeholder. Granted, distributors and retailers contribute significantly to the value chain. However, in maintaining the differentiation strategy Dell prefers to target the customer directly. This approach provides convenience for the customer through superior customer service and the company by building a customer oriented brand name. Secondly, a direct approach to customers’ business model vouchsafes lower operating costs. This enables customers to enjoy Dell products at relatively affordable prices. Lower operating costs are an advantage for the company as they can invest other capital to improve the value of their products through research and development and also, enables them to invest in other ventures. The ever changing external factors over the years have led to the need to expand some previous strategies. Therefore, Dell outsources some logistic and distribution elements of its strategy. While exploiting the internet to create effective distribution channels, Dell does not ignore traditional channels such as direct mail. Through outsourcing primary activities, Dell creates a virtual value chain because suppliers and distributers alike qualify to be partners hence â€Å"integrated in their value adding activities† (Magretta 1998, p.7). This strategy further differentiates Dell from competitors offering the same services. The partnerships created also allow for competitive advantage for Dell. These partnerships facilitate innovation through injection of â€Å"

POL2000 W10 ASSIGNMENT & POL2000 W11 ASSIGNMENT Coursework

POL2000 W10 ASSIGNMENT & POL2000 W11 ASSIGNMENT - Coursework Example For public administrators, as well as public figures, the legal tests devised to restrict defamation actions are particularly inflexible. One time, tabloid publishers, along with editors, took substantial care concerning what they put in writing to steer clear of government prosecution of court cases by people for libel-published slander or phony statements. In the present day, because of steadily rising constitutional principles, it has turned out to be harder to win a defamation suit against a tabloid or a magazine. Rouse a violent act. Fighting words refer to words, which by their actual nature inflict damage on people to whom these words are spoken to or provoked so that they can act violently. Fighting statements were held as constitutionally defenseless since their very declaration may inflict harm or have a propensity to provoke an immediate violation of peace. That the utterances are abusive, unpleasant, and wounding or that the words create annoyance, alarm, or bitterness is not adequate. Therefore, a four-letter statement by an individual wearing a sweatshirt was not evaluated as a fighting declaration within the constitutional logic, even if it was hateful and angered a number of people. The utterance was not meant for any person, and people who were insulted can look away (Magleby, Light, & Nemacheck, 2011, pp. 410). The regime’s power to obtain private property so that it can utilize it publicly; the United States Constitution offers countrywide and state administrations this authority and needs them to give just reparation of so taken. Federal policies, which offer fresh benefits to every national, are known as distributive policies. National parks, the expressway system, educational backing, national defense, as well as Social Security, are known to be distributive. They assist all groupings at various levels, whether wealthy or poor (Magleby, Light, & Nemacheck, 2011, pp. 460-461). In contrast, national policies, which take resources

How an experience of attending a concert may be affected by your Essay

How an experience of attending a concert may be affected by your expectations of it - Essay Example The mass media with the aid of different technologies often provide the viewers or the audiences with synthetic realities like animations, fast as well as slow motions, computer simulations and zooms. The broadcasts in the televisions deliver a clear view of any events or actions rather than experiencing the real event. The different effects of mass media include the deliverance of valuable information as well as news to the people, informing the public about various government programs along with policies, entertaining people and promoting various trades and industries through advertisements (Marikkar, â€Å"An Introduction to Mass Media and Their Effects and Roles in Society†). Thus, it can be stated that the mass media imposes crucial impact upon the individuals and the society at large. Thesis Statement In this discussion, a critical examination about the way an experience of attending a concert may get affected due to the prior expectations in comparison to the experience of the same event in a mediated form will be taken into concern. Moreover, a detailed analysis of both the types of experiences of the event in terms of various relevant conceptions and theories will also be portrayed in the discussion. Discussion It has been observed that the notion of synthetic experience or a mediated type of experience is qualitatively different from a real experience. The aspect of real experience principally originates within the natural sensory envelope of a person i.e. constant vision sounds among others which arises from the events occurring at their own paces in real time within the reach of the sensory capabilities of a person. Conversely, the facet of synthetic experience arises from the conceptions which do not possibly originate within the natural sensory envelope of an individual. During the years of twentieth century, the public has known to become quite familiar with an informative environment which is based upon real experiences blended with unrea l or synthetic experiences. The motion pictures usually provide synthetic experiences to the people and they self-consciously attend them as a recreational event. In this regard, both real as well as synthetic events are gradually presented to the audiences of mass media and hence every individual experiences the mixture of both the events. Through the expansion of mass media, synthetic events have increasingly become more persistent in comparison to real events in modern life in the form of synthetic experiences. The mass media has been successful in attracting the attention of a huge number of people and it has been recognized in this context that much of the current day experiences are entirely different from the experiences prior to the years of twentieth century (Funkhouser & Shaw, â€Å"How Synthetic Experience Shapes Social Reality†). However, there exist both synthetic as well as real experiences with regard to attending a particular concert. The

The Best Source For Expo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Best Source For Expo - Essay Example It implies that China Kids Expo is the best source for kids’ expo not only in China, but also in the entire region. The last China Kids Expo was conducted at the Shanghai New international Expo center where many exhibitors came to show their wares. Perhaps China Kids Expo prefers the Shanghai New international Expo center because of the convenience and utility of the venue given the fact that the facility can contain thousands of people who come or the fun fair. China has one of the highest numbers of toy exporters and it is only proper that it gets the chance to display its products on a yearly basis so that the world can see the diversity and technology in Chinese products for kids. One of the most important aspects that have put China Kids Expo on the world fair map is its compliance and consistency with the international best practice, especially when it comes to kids products. In fact, the China Kids expo has ensured that the event is concurrent with the 13th International Conference for Trade fairs & Preschool Education Resources China Licensing Expo. China Kids Expo has provided all the information concerning its activities in both print and digital media so that everyone can get the info without necessarily having to go through unnecessary searches. China Kids Expo has an elaborate website where people can browse and look for any information pertaining to the kids’ trade fair. In essence, China Kids expo sponsors the website and has it regularly posts a number of contents ranging from fair news to the exhibitors profiles and products. For example, the website lists the dates, venue, and events that are to take place in Shanghai. In addition, the China Expo website is divided into the major sections that include the general information, information for visitors, and information for exhibitors. Other functions that exist within the website include slots for fair comments, application booths, online

The Hurricane Disaster Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 17

The Hurricane Disaster - Article Example The information does not dwell on a particular aspect of the disaster hence providing a very detailed report. The information is a lot but clearly presented with supporting evidence from officials handling the disaster rescue and recovery operation. The last article in the USA Today is not clear at all. It had information jumbled up and provides a lot of unnecessary information to the case. The timeliness is effective but the lack of clarity affects the understanding of the length information from the researchers (Cooper & Swanson, 2005). The article by Kay, (2005) can be said to be the most informative. This is so because it provides well-rounded information about the disaster without dwelling on only one area of it or deviating completely from the events of the disaster hence making the information lack clarity. The authors of this article discussed on the human deaths and injuries experienced, the property damages to the infrastructure especially, the financial implications of the disaster as well as seeking verification of the rescue efforts in place as well as other communication details that seem minute but very effective. The fact that the article discusses the disaster based on opinion and facts provided by several officials and not only the governor like in the previous article makes it even more informative. The article in The New York Times is written in informal communication style compared to the other two articles. The informal writing is meant to be understood by all the people without discriminating others from feeling worthy of the news article they are reading. The informal style enables a clearer understanding of the events and connects with the emotions of the audience. An example about reports from survivors â€Å"†¦were left clinging to the remains of their house when a 23-foot surge of water hit it, flexing the roof like a deck of cards (Treaster & Zernike, 2005).†

Investment Behaviour of Women Essay Example for Free

Investment Behaviour of Women Essay Abstract Through an analysis of recent reforms in three policy areas in Chile—pensions, childcare services, and maternity/parental leave—the paper seeks to explore how equity-oriented reforms deal with the triple legacy of maternalism, male-breadwinner bias, and market reform. Recent studies of â€Å"new† social policies in Latin America have underlined the persistent strength of maternalist assumptions. Feminist research on new cash transfer programs, in particular, has tended to see more continuity than change in the gendered underpinnings of social policy. This paper suggests that once we broaden our ï ¬ eld of vision to include other social programs and reforms, the ways in which contemporary social policy (re)deï ¬ nes women’s productive and reproductive roles, social rights, and obligations are more complex and contradictory. Indeed, while some policies take unpaid care by women for granted, others point to an increasing awareness of inequalities   Staab that shape women’s and men’s differential access to market income and public social beneï ¬ ts. Over the last decade, there has been a veritable explosion of scholarship on Latin American social policy. In part this reï ¬â€šects the fact that—after decades of neglect—Latin American states have rediscovered social policy and scaled up their efforts to address the social fallout of liberalization. Indeed, while â€Å"Washington Consensus† reforms were mainly driven by the desire to cut costs and reduce the scope of the state, the late 1990s and 2000s have seen more coordinated state interventions to reduce poverty, inequality, and social exclusion. While not returning to post-war social protection schemes, countries in the region are experimenting with policies that break with the neoliberal notion of minimal safety nets (Barrientos et al. 2008; Molyneux 2008; Cortes 2009).  ´ What does this â€Å"return of the state† mean for women’s social rights and welfare? It has been argued that in contrast to the gender blindness of neoliberal reforms, â€Å"new† social policies have been gender conscious (Bedford 2007). However, relatively little systematic research has been carried out on the gender dynamics of this new social agenda (Macdonald and Ruckert 2009). The existing literature seems to suggest that there is far more continuity than change in the gendered underpinnings of â€Å"new† social protection programs. Feminist research on conditional cash transfers (CCTs)—a key innovation associated with Post-Washington Consensus social policy in the region—has tended to stress the persistence of maternalism (e.g., Molyneux 2007; Bradshaw 2008; Tabbush 2009), a set of ideas and practices with a long and ambiguous history in the region. Yet there is more to Post-Washington Consensus social policy than CCTs. Several Latin American countries are experimenting with other care-related policies alongside cash transfer schemes— including the introduction of full-day schooling, the expansion of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, maternity/ parental leave reforms, and in recent pension reforms, the introduction of child-rearing credits. While some of these programs take the unpaid care by women for granted , others point to an increasing awareness of gender inequalities that shape women’s and men’s differential access to labor market income and public social beneï ¬ ts. That these initiatives have received little scholarly attention leaves the impression that Latin American social policy is stuck on a maternalist track, when national and regional trends are likely to be more varied and complex. Against this broader backdrop, the main aim of the paper  is to provide a better understanding of the complex and contradictory  ways in which women’s productive and reproductive roles, social rights, and obligations are constructed and (re)deï ¬ ned in the context of recent equity-oriented reforms. I argue for a two-tiered approach. First, I propose to move beyond single policy analysis towards a more systemic view that takes into account and compares developments across sectors. Second, I aim to assess these reforms according to the ways in which they have dealt with three key legacies: marketization, maternalism, and male-breadwinner bias. I apply this approach to the recent reforms in Chilean social policy, a particularly intriguing case. First, Chile is often cited as the Latin American country where neoliberal principles have been most comprehensively applied. Its 1980s social sector reforms–particularly in pensions and health–have long been promoted by international ï ¬ nancial institutions as a model for other countries to emulate (Taylor 2003; Orenstein 2005). Recent innovations in Chile’s social policy regime thus merit close attention. Second, Chile combines market liberalism with strong social conservatism, particularly with regards to gender roles. We would expect these two legacies to create mounting tensions and contradictions –for example over whether mothers should be at home (maternalism) or in the market (liberalism)–that social and employment policies have to navigate. I have chosen to focus on the recent reforms in pension, ECEC, and parental leave policies, issues which have been high up the public agenda in Chile and elsewhere. This is reï ¬â€šective of both broader global discourses spearheaded by international organizations such as the World Bank and the OECD, as well as a regional trend to revising social protection frameworks with an emphasis on increasing the coverage of hitherto excluded groups.1 The selection thus consciously combines two more traditional policy areas associated with social protection/consumption (pensions and maternity leave), with an emerging area geared towards social investment (ECEC). While the former were directly undermined by structural adjustment and deliberately restructured following the advice of international ï ¬ nancial institutions (Orenstein 2005; Brooks 2009), the latter have acquired prominence over the past decades as a means of reducing poverty by facilitating women’s labor force participation and as a cost-efï ¬ cient tool to promote human capital development by investing in early childhood development. These ideas form part of an emerging global paradigm (Jenson and Saint-Martin 2003; Jenson 2010; Mahon 2010) and seem to have ï ¬ ltered down to the national level with several Latin American countries experimenting with childcare-related reforms.2 The combinat ion of protection and promotion implicit in this selection is also highly relevant from a gender perspective. While childcare services and parental leaves can facilitate women’s engagement in paid employment, pension systems can be designed in ways that translate labor market inequalities into unequal entitlements in old age. They thus represent two sides of the same problem, namely the extent to which the gender division of labor affects women’s and men’s differential access to income and social security. The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. The next section brieï ¬â€šy illustrates the rationale for choosing marketization, maternalism, and male-breadwinner bias as key dimensions for assessing continuity and change. It takes a historical and  regional perspective to show how they became embedded in Latin American systems of social provision. The second half of the paper then provides a detailed analysis of recent reforms in Chilean pension, childcare, and maternity leave policies. The ï ¬ nal section draws out some comparative conclusions about the extent to which the recent reforms have dealt with the key legacies of marketization, maternalism, and male-breadwinner bias. Maternalism, Male-Breadwinner Bias, and Market Reform  Trajectories of welfare state formation and change in Latin America are in many ways different from those of advanced economies in Europe or North America that have formed the basis for theory building. The most important difference is probably the dynamism and radicalism with which development strategies have been recast over the last century (Sheahan 2002, 4). Thus, many countries moved from state-led import-substituting industrialization (ISI) in the post-war period to the rather radical application of neoliberal prescriptions following the recessions and debt crises of the late 1970s and early 1980s. These transitions left distinct legacies in systems of social provision. From the often incomplete formation of welfare institutions in the post-war era, governments in the region turned to retrenchment, deregulation, and privatization. Redistributive and universalist aspirations—however exclusionary or stratifying these had been in practice (Filgueira and Filgueira 2002)—were buried with the shift to market-led development and the region moved closer towards liberal-informal welfare regimes (Barrientos 2004). As the state was scaled back, reforms empowered business interests which became directly involved in education, health, and pension systems.3 Gender roles and norms as well as pervasive gender inequalities across states, markets, and households mediate women’s and men’s exposure to social risks as well as their speciï ¬ c need for social protection and services. Women face particular challenges due to  motherhood and other caring responsibilities that societies largely assign to them (Lewis 1992; O’Connor 1993; Orloff 1993). Yet, these risks and responsibilities have rarely been taken into account in the design of social policies. Thus, Bismarck-style social insurance systems, such as those founded across Latin American countries in the post-war period, had an inherent male-breadwinner bias.4 Women, in turn, tended to access social beneï ¬ ts as wives of a male breadwinner or as mothers whose maternal functions had to be safeguarded and protected (Gimenez 2005). Motherhood became the  ´ very basis on which women staked their claims to citizenship rights and states deployed their efforts to mobilize female constituencies. At the heart of this â€Å"civic maternalism† was the belief that women– and in particular their biological and social function as mothers– had to be recognized, valued, and protected (Molyneux 2000).5 This was, in Nancy Folbre’s words, the â€Å"patriarchal trunk† onto which market reform was grafted, but which â€Å"continues to inï ¬â€šuence the shape of the tree† (Interviewed by Razavi 2011). A large body of literature has documented how struc tural adjustment increased the overall burden on women. Thus, where privatization and trade liberalization triggered a rise in male unemployment, women were pushed into (largely informal) paid employment to make up for lost wages. Meanwhile, retrenchment and commercialization of social services shifted more responsibilities for social provision to the domestic sphere, where the prevailing gender division of labor meant that women spent more time on unpaid reproductive work (BenerÄ ±a and Feldman 1992; Sparr 1994; and Elson 1995). In  ´ social protection systems, the move from risk sharing to individualization exacerbated already existing gender inequalities. By tightening the relationship between contributory patterns and pension beneï ¬ ts, market reforms effectively deepened male-breadwinner bias (Dion 2008). In health, private insurance companies were given plenty of rope for deï ¬ ning premiums based on gender-speciï ¬ c â€Å"risks†, such as pregnancy (Gideon 2006). As a result, the costs of biological and social repr oduction were further individualized and passed on to women. Paradoxically, maternalism remained a strong theme in the neoliberal era, at least at the level of public discourse (Molyneux 2000). In short, market reforms layered new gender inequalities onto the already existing legacies of maternalism and male-breadwinner bias. As a result, conservative elements exist alongside (neo)liberal elements in the contemporary welfare architecture of many Latin American countries. How are these legacies challenged or compounded by the current wave of policy innovations and reform? If the state is indeed assuming greater responsibility for social  provision, does this trend provide a more favorable context for redressing gender inequalities? More particularly, does it reï ¬â€šect a greater recognition and redistribution of the responsibilities for and costs of care and social reproduction? The existing literature suggests that there is far more continuity than change in gendered assumptions even as new social programs are being rolled out: Recent studies have argued, for example, that new social programs have paid scant, if any, attention to the underlying structures of gender inequality in labor markets and households (Razavi 2007); that economic and social policies continue to place the burden of social reproduction on families (read: women); that the particular design of social programs tends to reinforce traditional gender roles without providing long-term strategies for women’s economic security through job training or childcare provision (Molyneux 2007; Tabbush 2009); and that new social policies increase social control and surveillance of mothers’ child-rearing behavior and performance (Luccisano and Wall 2009). Feminist research on CCTs, in particular, has tended to stress the persistence of maternalist orientations (e.g., Molyneux 2007; Bradshaw 2008; Tabbush 2009). This literature has been central for understanding the gendered nature of â€Å"new† social policies in the region and much remains to be learned about the actual diversity of  ´ these programs (MartÄ ±nez Franzoni and Voorend 2009) and their impact on women from different ethnic groups (Hernandez 2011;  ´ Rivera 2011). Analytically, however, the focus on a single scheme is insufï ¬ cient to assess the processes through which women’s productive and reproductive roles, social rights, and obligations are currently being (re)deï ¬ ned. Several Latin American countries are experimenting with other social policies alongside the much-cited CCTs, including the introduction of full-day schooling, the expansion of ECEC services, maternity/parental leave reforms, and the introduction of child-rearing credits in recent pension reforms. In each of these areas, equity-oriented reformers struggle with the legacies of maternalism and male-breadwinner bias, on the one hand, and the (ideological and de-facto) importance of markets, on the other hand. I argue that these struggles shape reform processes and outcomes in ways that are more complex and contradictory than the existing literature on CCTs suggests. The following analysis of Chilean social policy sets out to unravel some of these complexities by looking at the recent reforms in pensions, childcare, and leave regulations. Implicit in this approach is an understanding of the state as a concept that helps to contextualize present political conï ¬â€šicts and policy processes (Hay and Lister 2006). In other words, previously enacted policies, institutional choices, and strategic interactions constitute a â€Å"strategically selective terrain† (Jessop 1990, 203) that structures present political conï ¬â€šict, rendering it more conducive to some  demands than others. While not determining their behavior, the ensemble of institutions and policy frameworks that comprise the state offer opportunities to and impose constraints on, the political agency of those wishing to effect policy change. The three legacies outlined above form part of the institutional landscape of the state. As such, they are shown to play a signiï ¬ cant role in current attempts of reform and policy innovation. While these legacies constitute the main focus of this paper, they are by no means the only factor that shape change and continuity in Chilean social policy. In fact, sector-speciï ¬ c actors, partisan politics, and particular political contingencies come into play to differing degrees. Furthermore, the continuity and deepening of an economic model based on trade openness, macroeconomic stability, monetary, and ï ¬ scal discipline and ï ¬â€šexible employment, forms the backdrop against which more expansive social policies have emerged as a response to persistent inequality. However, the full meaning of recent reforms cannot be understood without taking into account the gender-speciï ¬ c legacies in each sector.  (En)gendering Change and Continuity: Recent reforms in Chile Chile is a particularly intriguing case for analyzing continuity and change in social policy. On the one hand, it is often portrayed as the country where neoliberal principles have most profoundly transformed economic, social, and political institutions (Kurtz 1999; Filgueira and Filgueira 2002). While radical market reforms were carried out under the aegis of a military dictatorship (1973–1989), many of the model’s features were maintained with the return to democracy. Consequently, the country’s policy framework is often represented as particularly resistant to equity-oriented change. On the other hand, Chile combines market liberalism with social conservatism—two features that conventional welfare regime analysis tends to locate in different clusters (the conservative and the liberal variant, respectively). Female labor force participation is among the lowest in the region (ECLAC 2008), the country’s welfare regime has been described as inherently â€Å"gender biased† (Pribble 2006, 86), and conservative social norms  regarding women’s role in the family loom large (Contreras and Plaza 2010).6 Despite this rather unfavorable context, recent reforms suggest that these frameworks are not carved in stone. Since the early 2000 s efforts to expand social protection, to improve access to and quality  of social services and to strengthen social rights have featured prominently on the country’s social agenda, leading some to argue that Chile may be approaching a â€Å"point of inï ¬â€šection† (Illanes and Riesco 2007, 406). The following sections shed light on the complex and contradictory ways in which the triple legacy of maternalism, male-breadwinner bias, and market reform is addressed by recent reforms in pensions (adopted in 2008), childcare services (signiï ¬ cantly expanded since 2006), and maternity leave (reformed in 2011). Before delving more deeply into the developments in each sector, it is necessary to brieï ¬â€šy describe the broader economic and political context since the country’s return to democracy in 1990. Context of Recent Reforms and Policy Innovations The return to democracy did not entail a drastic transformation of the institutional foundations of economic and social policy inherited from the military regime (Moulian 2002; Taylor 2003; Borzutzky 2010). In fact, in macroeconomic terms the center-left party coalition Concertacion that governed the country from 1990  ´ to 2010 validated and deepened the neoliberal model based on trade openness, macroeconomic stability, monetary and ï ¬ scal discipline and ï ¬â€šexible employment. To offset some of its worst effects, social spending increased steadily which, together with economic growth and employment creation, dramatically reduced absolute poverty from 38.6 percent in 1990 to 13.7 percent in 2006 (ECLAC 2008), although it did relatively little to improve income distribution or lessen social inequalities and fragmentation in education, health, and social protection (Solimano 2009). Explanations for this continuity are manifold, including the formidable constraints placed on  the autonomy of the ï ¬ rst Concertacion governments by authoritarian enclaves in the political  ´ system that granted right-wing political opposition important veto powers; the resistance of business interests whose power increased as a result of market reforms; the weakness of other civil society actors, particularly labor; a political culture eager to avoid the kind of political confrontation that preceded the military coup; and the adoption of market-oriented ideas by key decision makers within the centerleft coalition itself (e.g. Kurtz 2003; Castiglioni 2005; Borzutzky and Weeks 2010; Ewig and Kay 2011). The result of this complex and contradictory process has been described as a Chilean â€Å"Third Way† characterized by an â€Å"unwavering commitment to trade liberalization and privatization despite considerable public opposition† and a â€Å"predisposition to a policy process that discourages participation by civil society and rank-and-ï ¬ le party members, while affording business access to the  highest reaches of government† (Sandbrook et al. 2007, 164–65). This set-up makes some policy areas more amenable to equity-enhancing reforms and innovations than others. As the economic model rests upon a ï ¬â€šexible and restrictive labor regime (Frank 2004), social policy is largely conï ¬ ned to enhancing workers’ ability to compete on the market and to mitigating some of the worst risks that unregulated and precarious employment entails. This goes a long way to explain why the two socialist-led governments of Ricardo Lagos (2000–2006) and Michelle Bachelet (2006–2010) spearheaded health reform, pension reform and childcare service expansion in order to enhance equity, while shying away from reforms related to the country’s labor market where many of the fundamental social inequalities originate. While the  Bachelet administration’s employment policy and labor relations have been described as disappointing, (Lopez 2009;  ´ Sehnbruch 2009), it did turn social protection into a key priority. The concept ual pillars of her strategy included a life-course approach to social protection and the attempt to introduce a rights-based perspective (Hardy 2011). The latter materialized in a gradual lifting of budgetary restrictions on social assistance7 and the progressive relaxation of eligibility requirements for accessing a range of beneï ¬ ts. The life-course approach, in turn, is captured in repeatedly stated commitments to create equal opportunities and protect citizens â€Å"from the cradle to old age†. Tellingly, its translation into policy focused on the two extremes of the life course, namely the reform of the pension system and Chile Crece Contigo, an integrated early childhood protection system that included the massive expansion of childcare services. The working-age population remained caught in the middle with persistently low employment quality, including a high level of job instability and the limited reach of employment-based rights and beneï ¬ ts, a scenario that disproportionately affects women workers (Sehnbruch 2009). 8 Thus, the attempt to square greater equity and social inclusion with an open economy inï ¬â€šuenced the scope and locus of policy change during the Bachelet administration. While acquiring greater visibility, social protection remained subordinate to macroeconomic goals, including those related to employment, understood as not interfering with job creation through greater regulation and rights for workers. In this context, it is particularly surprising that a highly controversial employment-related reform was introduced under the new right-wing government of Sebastian Pinera (2010) which, in ËÅ"  ´ 2011, expanded (women) workers’ rights through a reform of maternity leave regulations.

Comparison of US and Iraq Constitutions

Comparison of US and Iraq Constitutions A constitution can be defined as a laid down rules for the government which are time and again codified as a form of written manuscript that spells out and confines the functions and ability to exercise force of a political party (power). In the case of countries and sovereign regions of federal states the phrase refers exclusively to a constitution defining the core principles of politics, and instituting the configuration, procedures, (sociology)>powers and duties, of a government. Most constitutions guarantee rights to the people by limiting the governments own reach. We will be comparing and contrasting the American constitution against the Iraqi constitution. Both constitutions are codified. Under the patronage of a British military occupation in 1925, Iraqis first constitution entered into force which then formed a monarchy which remained in effect until in 1958, the revolution established a republic. Interim constitutions have been adopted over the years but a referendum t hat took place in 2005 approved the constitution currently being used by Iraqis. On the other hand the American constitution is considered foundation and basis of the legal right to exercise power over another (authority) essential to the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States. It grants the framework for the institute of the United States government and for the rapport of the federal government to the states, to citizens, and to all people within the United States. Both constitutions empathize on democracy. The constitutions seek to protect the dignity and liberty of man. The constitutions forbid any kind of emotional, psychological, or physical torture. Both constitutions are mindful of the welfare and security of its people despite the freedom of communication the constitutions provide that the freedom can be breached by a judicial decision whenever it is a matter of national security. These affect the individual rights of the citizen. There is also freedom of worship in the constitutions although the Iraq constitution further states that Islam is the official language. According to the Iraqi constitution section three chapter articles 49 the council of representatives shall be elected and shall consist of a number of members at a ratio of one member per 100,000 Iraqi persons. These representatives shall be elected by a direct secret general ballot. The members are elected for a term of 4 years. The president is elected by the council of representatives by a two-thirds majority and is limited to 2 terms in office with a span of 4years in 1 term. The president of Iraq has two deputies with whom they form a presidency council. The presidency council appoints the prime minister of Iraq and cabinet ministers who must be approved by assembly. There should be two thirds majority for a president to be elected. The American constitution states that the president has all the executive power vested on him the president is the chief diplomat and the commander in chief of the armed forces. For a maximum of two four-year terms the president and vice-president ar e elected as running mates by the Electoral College for which each single state is allocated a number of seats based on its representation on the senate and House of Representatives whose members of both the houses are elected by the Americans. ÂÂ  The vice-president is second highest executive officer of the government. The vice-president is only allowed to vote in the senate to break a vote which is tied. The chief executive officer of the United States is the Secretary of State. The Secretary of state is appointed by the president and is the third highest ranking member of the government and they answer directly to the president. In the USA constitution the Supreme Court is the highest court of the land. The court is responsible for matters dealing with state disputes, and interpreting the constitution of the USA and overrules some legislations therefore creating precedents for future reference. The supreme and lower court justices are elected by the people while the rest ar e appointed since they are in the federal government. The Iraqi constitution provides that local court judges are appointed by the local authority, while the federal government appoints the supreme judges. Islam is also considered a source of legislation and the laws of administration circumscribe Shariah laws U.S. citizens have almost universal suffrage from the age of 18. The state governments have the utmost impact over most Americans’ day to day lives. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution warranties their broad-spectrum plenary powers, against the limited spell out powers possessed by the federal government; as a result, they handle the bulk of the issues most pertinent for most individuals within their jurisdiction. The governor is the highest elected official at each state is the governor. There is also an elected state legislature in each state except Nebraska (bicameralism), whose members represent the state voters. The town, city, or county boards are the institutions responsible for local governments. The legislature in each state should stipulate the time manner and places of holding elections for senators and representatives. Iraq has a unicameral legislature The president of the United Sates receives compensation, which may not be increased or decreased during their time in office; for being the president. Qualification for presidency in the United States include; a natural born citizen U. S. A, at least 35 years of age and have resided in the states for 14 years. The representatives must be of an age of 25 or above, and citizens of the land for a minimum of 7 years and an inhabitant of the state they are elected. The senators must be 30years and have been citizens of that states for 9 years and must be inhabitants of the state at the time. The amendments as provided by the constitution of the United States may be approved in the following ways: by special convention from congress, ratified by two-thirds of both houses and sent for approval to the states, or by Two-thirds of the state legislatures applying to Congress for a constitutional caucus to consider amendments, which are then sent for approval to the states. Any amendments to the Iraqi constitution would have to be approved by a similar referendum to the one that had approved it originally. Vacancies are to be filled by writs of election issued by the executive authority whenever vacancies happen from the representation of any state (Section 2, Clause 4,). Madison provides it is of great importance not only to guard one part of the society against injustice but also to guard the other side of society against oppression from its rulers (1788). Thanksgiving has become a huge traditional American holiday, then there`s independence day which celebrates the declaration of independence which are all national holidays and enacted in the constitution. Both the Iraq and the United States constitutions seek to serve their people who have different demographics. Each of the constitutions has the interests of the people at heart focusing on the different lifestyles and cultures of two different people. After analyzing both the constitutions and the research material which I have been through which some of the information is not included I find that both constitutions are very effective.

Supply chain management in operation

Supply chain management in operation INTRODUCTION Background The term supply chain management was first used in the early 1980s to refer to the concept that manufacturing firms should think of their own internal operations as an included whole, rather than as separate departments such as purchasing, stores, production, finished good warehouse, distribution and so on. It was quickly extended to cover relationships with suppliers and with immediate customers the idea being that working more closely and co-operatively with these counterparts would enable a kind of mixing and co-ordination that would lead to reduced inventory, better quality and delivery performance and reduced cost for everyone involved.( Skjoett, L,T. 1999) Today, supply chain management is an important concern in large organizations, and is among the most active areas of research in the academic operations management community. In modern business environments characterized by ever-increasing competition and economy globalization, supermarket companies have been exploiting innovative technologies and strategies to achieve and sustain competitive advantage. As an effective business philosophy, supply chain management has gained a tremendous amount of attention from both the academic and practitioners community in the recent years. (Burnes, B. and New, S.1996). Nowadays, more than ever, companies face an increasing pressure of customers requirements in product customization, quality improvement and demand responsiveness. On the other hand they need to reduce the production cost, shorten lead time and allow inventory level to ensure profitability. In order to survive under these pressure more and more enterprise are serving to develop long-tern strategic partnership with a few component suppliers and collaborate with then in product development, inventor control and non-core process outsourcing. Moreover variou s value-adding process from materials purchasing, production and assembly to distribution and customer order delivery are integrated and synchronized to achieve the common goal of enhancing customer satisfaction. (Beamon, M. B. 1999) A narrow view of supply chain management would restrict it to relatively high-volume industries such as retailing and manufacturing, and would focus on the use of close, ‘partnership style relationships to optimize inventory and production planning, and to eliminate quality problems arising from poor inter-organizational communications. (Haag, S. Cummings, M. McCubbrey, D. Pinsonneault, A. Donovan, R. 2006). It also tends to neglect the service sector and the purchasing of things other than inputs to the final product facts that organizations often spend a large proportion of their total spend on such inputs. Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the operations of the supply chain with the purpose to satisfy customer requirements as efficiently as possible. It is the combination of art and science that goes into the way of a company finds the raw components it needs to make a product or service and deliver it to customers. (Chopra, S, Meindl, P. 2003) Supply chain management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point-of-origin to point-of-consumption. It is all about managing the flow of information, materials, services and money across any activity, in a way which maximizes the effectiveness of the process. This is a continuous process, not a one-time fix. (Chandra, C. Kumar, S. 2000). Supply Chain Management helps to reduce the costs of both clients and suppliers, while sustaining or improving added value and margins. Consequently, companies that have effective supply chains are most successful. The definition one America professional association put forward is that Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers. In essence, Supply Chain Management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies. (Giannakis, M, Croom, S. 2004) Supply chain management deals with the management of materials, information and financial flows in a network consisting of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and customers. The coordination and integration of these flows within and across companies are critical in successful supply chain management. It is important that the information, material and financial flows are coordinated effectively in a supply chain. Material flows involve both physical product flows from suppliers to customers through the chain, as well as the reverse flows via product returns, servicing, recycling and disposal. Information flows involve order transmission and delivery status. Financial flows involve credit terms, payment schedules, and consignment and title ownership arrangements. These flows cut across multiple organizations within a company as well as across companies and industries. In the last few years, the coordination and integration of these flows have attracted major interest on the part of researchers, management, consultants and practitioners in academia and industry. (Cooper, M, C, Douglas, M, Lambert and Janus, D, P, 1997). Rationale As we have the family business of superstores in Bangladesh, this study would help me to achieve the competitive edge for our own business. My decision to do dissertation on Supply chain management and the recent due to my desire to aim for a career in Bangladeshi Superstore Companies. This initiated from our own business in Supply chain, where I had the opportunity to experience the deeply fascinating influences of supply chain. During my stay in Bangladesh I succeeded is establishing a pressure in our own business within a field I knew very little about. In fact, I manage to occupy myself in a supply chain where apart from being given a chance to be involved in the management of the business I was given an opportunity to test my creative skills, by creating a web page to promote the company. Furthermore, the Business Management courses I attended during my stay at London School of Accountancy and Management gave me the opportunity to utilize and put into perspective the knowledge I had previous acquired through personal experience. This made me realize the effect that a Business School education would have upon me both as person and as future professional. In addition to helping out and run my fathers business more effectively in future and establish my own career, this project will help me to broaden my knowledge about supply chain management in Supermarket Company and also helps me to understand about the new innovation in supply chain management in SCM resulting improved in company performance. Purpose of Study The main purpose of this dissertation is to obtain an understanding of the term â€Å"Supply Chain Management† and its recent innovation. To find out the different factors required to improve the supply chain management in International Business Environment. To understand the fundamental issues of supply chain management in different organizations. To suggest some recommendations and identify topics for further research to better tackle Supply Chain Management in multinational organizations. Research Objectives To determine the importance of supply chain management in British supermarkets. To establish the role played by these new innovations in improve company relationship. To determine critical success factors of recent innovation of SCM To determine any limitation of SCM in British Supermarkets. Research Questions 1) How important is supply chain management in todays business? 2) How SCM in different British Supermarkets solve problems related to: 1) Proper Logistic management 2) Controlling Over Cost 3) Time efficiency 4) Proper way of exporting 5) Relationship with customers. 3) What are the new innovations in SCM? And how do these innovations in SCM can improve company performance? 4) What is the role of technology in SCM? 5) How SCM improve company performance? Statement of Problem The basic assumption was â€Å"the more integration the better the management of the chain†. This study discusses what the term â€Å"management† in the concept of SCM stands for. The integration assumption as a â€Å"cure all† prescription for SCM is challenged, and questions raised as to when it is possible and desirable to exercise management in supply chains. The main thesis is that it depends very much on the â€Å"environment† of the supply chain and the power relations between the participants in the supply chain. Problem of integrating the individual activities into key supply chain processes. Significance of Study This study has examined the supply chain management function in the British supermarkets. And how far are the recent innovations in supply chain management successfully achieving the SCM goals and objectives in improved company performance. It has also delineated the changing way of doing supply chain management which is likely more technology based. To enhance the supply chain management in the super market industry the study has highlighted areas requiring innovation in supply chain management. Building customer-supplier relationships: SCM is the securing, coordinating and maintaining of formal links with all parties that perform a vital function. In order to do this, company needs first to develop a SCM process map describing the activities of all members involved in the supply chain and the relationships among them in successfully achieving the SCM goals and objectives. Information and communication technologies changed the way firms conduct transactions, particularly in understanding and restructuring relationships because relationship creation and maintenance helps to breed future success. Communicating benefits of relationships, clarifying customer needs and expectations, assisting in problem solving and conflict resolution, improving performance measures with suppliers, and creating competitive advantage help to maintain effective relationships (Foggin, J.H., Mentzer, J.T. 2003). Developing partnerships is one of the most important steps in building and maintaining customer-supplier relationships. Implementing information and communication technology: Information and communication technology (ICT) is a very important strategic factor in managing supply chains; it acts as the disseminator and enabler for process and product communication along with reducing paperwork and lead times. Rapid developments in technology have created numerous choices from information technology software. However, the brand of technology used is not as important as how effectively it is coordinated with internal and external supply chain partners; along with its compatibility with other relevant technologies used by them. (Graham, G., Hardaker, G. 2000). The role of transactional IT is to acquire process and disseminate raw data about the companys supply chain and to compile reports to summarize these data. This is particularly important because supply chain managers need timely and accurate information about existing and projected manufacturing capacities and costs, finished and semi- finished goods inventories, transportation costs, and customer demands across the firms supply chain. Enterprise resource planning (ERP), manufacturing resource planning (MRP II), distribution resource planning (DRP), electronic data interchange (EDI), and other e-commerce systems are intended to provide supply chain managers the complete and accurate information of this transactional data. (Gunasekaran, A., Ngai, E.W.T. 2004). Thus analytical IT heavily involves problem solving modelling process and use of various descriptive and normative models to find solutions to various supply chain problems. The SCM managers need to know the form and purpose of these models before they apply them in their modelling process. The development of web-based/internet applications is another tool to process information pertaining to supply chain such as processing procurement activities both operationally and strategically. Use of e-mail/faxes, worldwide web (www), EDI, electronic funds transfer (EFT), internet auctions, etc., are the few examples that web-based/internet technologies can offer to perform SCM activities more efficiently.. It is not expected that intranet use will fully replace the use of electronic data interchange (EDI) systems in the near future (Bharadwaj, A.S. 2000). Technologies including EDI are slower, but the efficiency with which it transfers information allows it to maintain its value. New technologies similar to EDI will increase the speed of operations, reduce cycle times and aid management of materials. Re-engineering material flows: Many practitioners of SCM have recognized that effectively managing the flow of materials across the supply chain as one of the important strategic success factor. This is because the costs involved of providing end customers and supply chain member organizations with the materials required, in the right quantities, in the desired form, with the appropriate documentation, at the desired location, at the right time, and at the lowest possible cost are very high. (Duclos, L.K., Vokurka, R.J., Lummus, R.R. 2003). Quickly communicating with suppliers enhances the use of inventory management techniques as like just-in-time (JIT), which is an inventory system intended to minimize stock levels (White, R.E., Prybutok, V. 2001). Technology will help in managing inventory flow and supply within a given supply channel and is key in evaluating and in reducing resource consuming processes. The development of integrated SCM increased the importance of logistical activities to move materials in a timely and cost effective manner across the supply chain. A supply chain wide logistics strategy became an important strategic goal for many companies. Implementing logistics strategy involving distribution networks, transportation modes, carrier management, warehousing, inventory management, order processing and fulfilment, and all other related activities encompassing the entire supply chain became a necessity to achieve this goal. I am confident that this study will provide significant inputs to the innovations in supply chain management resulting in improves company performance as well as academicians towards unleashing the immense potential of the British super markets and enable to realize its rightful place in the global economic place. Nature of Study Nature of this study is more theoretical and depends more on secondary resources like literature reviews and case studies. The research methodology of this study entails a literature study, and survey with senior managers in some of the multinational companies in UK by questionnaire sent through mail survey methodology. Assumptions and limitations The research was limited by two factors: time and resources. Due to large expenses, the research was conducted on the limited number of companies in a relatively short period of time. There might be some biases like sampling bias, response bias and questionnaire bias. Because of limited time I had to depend more on secondary resources like literature study and case studies. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW The post-World War II supply chain was a set of linear, individualized processes that linked manufacturers, warehouses, wholesalers, retailers and consumers together in the form of a human/paper chain (Ganeshan, 2002, in his journal New Directions in Supply Chain and Technology Management, Strategy and Implementation,) Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, firms started to view themselves as closely linked functions whose joint purpose was to serve their customers. This internal integration was often referred to as material logistics management or materials management. During this period, SCM innovations such as material requirement planning (MRP) were developed (Lummus, R., Vokurka, R.,1999, in their journal Defining supply chain management: a historical perspective and practical guidelines,). Those firms that successfully integrated these functions did improve their performance. However, some constraints, such as customers or suppliers unresponsiveness did hinder the improvements. These constraints prevented the firms from instantly responding to market changes. In late 1970s and early 1980s, US firms faced fierce competition from their Japanese counterparts. Especially in the automobile industry, Japanese carmakers utilized just-in-time delivery to achieve efficient inventory management. Detroits Big Three had to find ways to communicate with suppliers effectively. The solution at the time was to communicate through batch orders and via a standard called electronic data interchange (EDI) (Claycomb, C. Drogue, D. Germain, R. 1999)[1]. Since the 1990s, the pervasive adoption of Internet and Web technology have promised an omnipresent and less costly way to tie companies and their business partners together in the supply chain. The great collaboration made e-Commerce buzzwords like â€Å"B2B† and â€Å"B2C† known to almost everybody in business circles (McKeown, P.G. 2000, in his journal Information Technology and the Networked Economy). With the advancement of information technology, the collaboration of business partners will continuously improve the effectiveness of SCM. Supply Chain: Supply chain has become a vast and strong part of an organization, its work place with regards to creativity and sustainability. More importantly it was always regarded as just being a tool for distribution and logistics. But in the recent decade Supply Chain Management has evolved itself as part of the information and financial flow of any particular organization. The work of Supply chain is to get the right commodity at the right place, at the right time with the required level of quality. â€Å"In the search for a solution to get the right product to the right place at the right time, there are five areas that companies should focus on to improve the synchronization of information flow through the supply chain: demand, supply, manufacturing/scheduling, transportation, and network optimization† (Lummus, R. Vokurka, R. 1999, in his journal Defining supply chain management: a historical perspective and practical guidelines). Supply chain has been discussed in many different ways by different authors: According to (Quinn F. J.,1997) the supply chain as â€Å"all of those activities associated with moving goods from the raw-materials stage through to the end user. This includes sourcing and procurement, production scheduling, order processing, inventory management, transportation, warehousing, and customer service. Importantly, it also embodies the information systems so necessary to monitor all of those activities.† (Swaminathan, J.M., Smith, S.F. and Sadeh, N.M, 1996,in their journal multi-agent framework for modeling supply chain dynamics) defines a supply chain â€Å"to be a network of autonomous or semi-autonomous business entities collectively responsible for procurement, manufacturing, and distribution activities associated with one or more families of related products†. [2] Dainty, A.R.J., Briscoe, G.H. and Millett, S.J. (2001) has a similar definition: â€Å"A supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products, and deliver the products to customers through a distribution system.† (Ganeshan, R. 2002) has yet another analogous definition: â€Å"A supply chain is a network of facilities and distribution options that performs the functions of procurement of materials, transformation of these materials into intermediate and finished products, and the distribution of these finished products to custom ers.† Supply Chain Management: The famous way of defining SCM stated by (Cooper, M, C, Douglas, M, Lambert and Janus, D, P, 1997,in their journal Supply Chain Management: More than a new name for Logistics) where they defined SCM as: â€Å"The integration of business processes from end user through original suppliers that provides products, services, and information that add value for customers†. Supply chain management is described by (Ferguson, B.R. (2000,in his journal â€Å"Implementing supply chain management Production Inventory), as to being to â€Å". . . remove communication barriers and eliminate redundancies through coordinating, monitoring and controlling processes†. According to Professor (Martin Christopher,2005) â€Å"supply chain management is the management of upstream and downstream relationship with suppliers and customers to deliver superior relationship with suppliers and customers to deliver superior customer value at less cost to the supply chain as a whole†. Supply Chain Management (SCM) is â€Å"an integrative philosophy to manage the total flow of a channel from the earliest supplier of raw materials to the ultimate customer, and beyond, including the disposal process† (Cooper, M, C, Douglas, M, Lambert and Janus, D, P. in their journal Supply Chain Management: More than a new name for Logistics†, The International Journal of Logistic Management, 1997). Supply chain management is defined as the systemic, 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 (Mentzer, J.T. DeWitt, W. Keebler, J.S. Min, S.Nix, N.W. Smith, C.D. Zacharia, Z.G. 2001). Supply chain management is â€Å"treated as key to building a sustainable competitive edge through improved inter and intra-firm relationships† (Chopra, S, Meindl, P., in their book Supply chain management, strategy, planning operation,2003) A range of benefits has been attributed to supply chain management, including reduced costs, increased market share and sales, and solid customer relations From these definitions, a summary definition of the supply chain can be stated as: all the activities involved in delivering a product from raw material through to the customer including sourcing raw materials and parts, manufacturing and assembly, warehousing and inventory tracking, order entry and order management, distribution across all channels, delivery to the customer, and the information systems necessary to monitor all of these activities. Successful Supply Chain Management reduces the costs of both clients and suppliers, while sustaining or improving added value and margins. Consequently, companies that have effective supply chains are most successful. {In recent times, the theory of purchasing and supply operations has been widely studied under a variety of labels and for a number of reasons. Each of these focuses on different operations within an organisation but SCM is the single most wide-ranging approach in its range of study in considering how Firms utilise their suppliers processes, technology, and capability to enhance competitive advantage (Houlihan, 1985; Cooper et al., 1993; DTI, 1995). Tan and Kannan (1998) consider how all strategic suppliers in the chain can integrate to act as a single entity and enhance overall performance in SCM. One definition of SCM is offered by La Londe (1998) as: `the delivery of enhanced customer and economic value through synchronised management of the flow of physical goods and associated information from sourcing through consumption. Johnston (1995) States it as: `The process of strategically managing the movement and storage of materials, parts and finished inventory from suppliers, throu gh the firm and to customers. The various definitions which have been proposed indicate that SCM prescribes organisational restructuring, extended to the achievement of a company-wide collaborative culture. For Rich and Hines (1997), it embraces a strong sense of integration of all activities controlling the timing and synchronisation of material flows. With regards to SCM implementation, a study by- Lambert et al. (1998), conveys the SCM implementation process as a more straightforward matter. In their view, senior management must address the process and they identify three closely inter related elements to aid the SCM task, namely: the supply chain network structure; the business processes; and the management components. For Bushnell (1999), implementing SCM requires a thorough understanding of the concept and its technology over a lengthy and diverse range of activities and organisations. He states: There is nothing worse than trying to train for a technology when employees do not really understand or fear the concepts that it supports. And there is nothing worse than managers pursuing a concept when they do not understand the importance of, or the difficulties related to, the technology on which the concept depends. The supply chain can be regarded as a business process to construct enterprise-wide methods. It is defined in many ways. The International Centre for Competitive Excellence defined it to be (S. Changchien, H.Y. Shen, 2002) ‘‘the integration of key business processes from end user through original suppliers that provides products, services and information that add value for customers and other stakeholders. With the implementation of supply chain management, the narrow focus of managers and the adversarial relationships between logistics providers, suppliers, and customers are replaced by strategic alliances and long-term cooperative relationships. Suppliers and customers are viewed as partners instead of adversaries with the objective of ‘‘maximizing competitiveness and profitability for the company as well as for the whole supply chain net-work including the end-customer (K. Patterson, C. Grimm, T. Corsi, , 2003) Levary (R. Levary, 2000) suggests that the ben efits of a supply chain include: (1) Minimizing the bullwhip effect, (2) Maximizing the efficiency of activities, (3) Minimizing the inventories, (4) Minimizing cycle times, (5) Achieving an acceptable level of quality. The major success factors for a supply chain are effective management of strategic alliances, extensive data management capabilities, and advanced inter-organizational IS to enable better information exchange; this provides more up-to-date information and allows for more accurate inventory responses to change in demand and appropriate inventory levels (M. Whipple, R. Frankel, 2000).} THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Increasing global cooperation, vertical disintegration and a focus on core activities have led to the notion that firms are links in a networked supply chain. This strategic viewpoint has created the challenge of coordinating effectively the entire supply chain, from upstream to downstream activities. While supply chains have existed ever since businesses have been organized to bring products and services to customers, the notion of their competitive advantage, and consequently supply chain management (SCM), is a relatively recent thinking in management literature. (Carr, A.S. and Pearson, J.N., in their journal The impact of purchasing and supplier involvement on strategic purchasing and its impact on firms performance, 2002) Although research interests in and the importance of SCM are growing, scholarly materials remain scattered and disjointed, and no research has been directed towards a systematic identification of the core initiatives and constructs involved in SCM. Thus, the p urpose of this study is to develop a research framework that improves understanding of SCM and stimulates and facilitates researchers to undertake both theoretical and empirical investigation on the critical constructs of SCM, and the exploration of their impacts on supply chain performance. To this end, I have analyzed over 40 articles and synthesize the large, fragmented body of work dispersed across many disciplines such as purchasing and supply, logistics and transportation, marketing, organizational dynamics, information management, strategic management, and operations management literature. The following are five basic components of SCM. 1. Plan This is the strategic portion of SCM. You need a strategy for managing all the resources that go toward meeting customer demand for your product or service. A big piece of planning is developing a set of metrics to monitor the supply chain so that it is efficient, costs less and delivers high quality and value to customers. 2. Source Choose the suppliers that will deliver the goods and services you need to create your product. Develop a set of pricing, delivery and payment processes with suppliers and create metrics for monitoring and improving the relationships. And put together processes for managing the inventory of goods and services you receive from suppliers, including receiving shipments, verifying them, transferring them to your manufacturing facilities and authorizing supplier payments. 3. Make This is the manufacturing step. Schedule the activities necessary for production, testing, packaging and preparation for delivery. As the most metric-intensive portion of the supply chain, measure quality levels, production output and worker productivity. 4. Deliver This is the part that many insiders refer to as logistics. Coordinate the receipt of orders from customers, develop a network of warehouses, pick carriers to get products to customers and set up an invoicing system to receive payments. 5. Return The problem part of the supply chain. Create a network for receiving defective and excess products back from customers and supporting customers who have problems with delivered products. (Christopher, M., in his book Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 3rd edition, 2005). Research Methodology A literature survey was employed as one of the research methodologies in the study to develop a framework for best practices and innovations in supply chain management of British supermarket industry. The literature on SCM practices, application of IT and innovations was collected primary from journals in the areas of operations management, supply chain, operations research, and information systems. In addition to classifying the literature on SCM practices and innovations, the tools used to model and analyse various SCM environments are also presented. The literature search included journals published by numerous publishers, in particular Elsevier, Emerald, and Taylor and Francis, together with journals such as Management Science and Operations Research. The literature search was aimed at primarily helping researchers and practitioners in implementing a successful IT system for achieving an effective SCM. With this in mind, I looked at the literature that deals with IT-enabled SCM. The primary aim of the literature search was to help researchers and practitioners develop an effective SCM practice. The literature on SCM and some associated references Ire classified according to this objective and are reviewed in the following sections. This would be useful to researchers who are interested in modelling and analysis of various decision-making environments with reference to IT in SCM. The literature search has been conducted wi

Chavez: Weakening Democracy Essay -- Government

What is democracy? According to the online version of the Miriam Webster dictionary, democracy is "government by the people" also "is a government in which supreme power is invested by the people and it is exercised by the people directly or indirectly through a representational system in which periodically held free elections." Venezuela as well as other countries in Latin America has undergone constant changes in their democracy, produced by their rulers. The primary function of the government is to ensure the safety of the state, its territory and its inhabitants. Also their objective is to strength the democratic institutions that ensure the democratic liberties and rights. Unfortunately, not all the leaders are capable of respecting these functions and get corrupted by the power granted by the people, or they simply came to power with the idea of governing for their benefit and not for the benefit of its citizens. President Chavez is no exception to the rule, after being impri soned for a failed coup against Carlos Andres Perez in 1992 which was provoked by the severe economic situation that affected the country in the 90's. In this essay, I would like to present the premise that Hugo Chavez Frias, even though was selected by the people and still today has the support of the majority of the people, has been constantly weakening the democracy in Venezuela. To support this argument I am going to present chronological examples of the different actions committed by Chavez and his government since his ascension to power in 1998. Hugo Chavez, a former lieutenant colonel in the militia resulted president in 1998. Shortly after having come to power instead of focusing on solving the precarious economic situation in which the cou... ... Works Cited Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. . Schuyler, George W. (2001), "Health and Neoliberalism: Venezuela and Cuba" (PDF), retrieved April 21, 2012 Corrales, Javier. "A Setback For Chavez." Journal of Democracy 1st ser. 22 (2011): 122-36. Print. "Comparing Democratic Institutions in Venezuela and Canada." Venezuela News, Views, and Analysis. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. . Kornblith, Miriam, and Vinay Jawahar. "Elections versus Democracy." Journal of Democracy 16.1 (2005): 124-37. Print. Corrales, Javier. â€Å"Hugo Boss† Foreign Policy (2006), No. 152. pp. 32-40. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25461989 Corrales, Javier, and Michael. Penfold-Becerra. "Venezuela: Crowding Out the Opposition." Journal of Democracy 18.2 (2007): 99-113. Print.

Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy Essay -- Government Political Ess

Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy Although the aspirations and goals of states are often motivated by external political pressures, analysis of recent foreign policy decisions demonstrates how internal political forces can play equally crucial roles in the pursuit and execution of these objectives. Thus, it would be invalid to claim that domestic politics and the nature of regimes play minor roles in either the goals a state pursues or the means it employs to reach them. By understanding how the diffusion of power in governments affect policy decisions, one can develop increased awareness of the linkages that exist between the internal pressures of domestic politics and the external forces of foreign politics. Before discussing the impact of domestic politics on foreign policy objectives and their execution, one must first understand the different types of policies that states pursue. The foreign policy of states can be directed toward the protection and enhancement of valued possessions (â€Å"possession goals†) or intended to improve the environment in which it operates (milieu goals). More specifically, possession goals pertain to national possessions where states aim to enhance or preserve one or more things they value such as territory, permanent membership in international organizations like the UN Security Council, or access to trade areas. And while milieu goals are different from possession goals in that states that work towards achieving them are not seeking to defend or increase their possessions but instead attempting to shape conditions beyond their national boundaries, milieu goals can be seen as an indirect way of achieving possession goals. A nation that pursues a mi lieu goal—such as the promotion of peace through the signing of international treaties—provides clear benefits for the international community but ultimately serves to enhance its own national security by creating a safer environment where its national possessions are protected from external threats. But for many states, whether their foreign policy objectives assume the form of possession goals or milieu goals, the pursuit and execution of these goals are often constrained by the powers of domestic politics. And in the case of American foreign policy, the Constitution of the United States as well as recent history provides compelling support to this claim. American foreig... ...reted without reference to domestic politics or leadership. Realists argue that the interests of states transcend domestic politics and leadership change because that the broad orientation of foreign and defense policies are unchanging. Although the realist model may be most appropriate for analyzing actions when vital interests are at stake such as in times of crises, it seems to have little explanatory power for national security policy making in times without crisis. Although the aspirations and goals of states are often partially motivated by external pressures, it is important to recognize that internal forces also play equally crucial roles in the pursuit and execution of these objectives. The decisions of foreign policymakers must take into account domestic political considerations. This fact is especially evident in the political landscape of the United States, where the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branch allows Congress to act as a counterweight to the power of the president. All states, whether their governments are democratic or authoritarian, must contend with domestic political considerations when evaluating foreign policy decision.

Distinctively Visual Essay

Distinctively visual imagery can either entice or distance us from the world of the characters. Through language and rhythm, the readers become absorbed in the action and dynamics of the narrative or empathetic observers of the struggles of others. Henry Lawson’s short stories ‘The Drover’s Wife’ and ‘In a Dry Season’ evoke a harsh, arid landscape but also sympathetic characters that struggle to survive. In contrast, the ballad ‘The Man From Snowy River’ by A.B (Banjo). Patterson entices us in a world of action, excitement and mountain beauty that draws the audience into the world of the ballad. Thus images absorb us but we may feel that we are spectators or participants in the world of the text. Henry Lawson uses different language techniques in his short story, ‘The Drover’s Wife’, to convey the struggle of living in the Australian outback. Lawson’s techniques paint a scorched and barren landscape, which conveys to the audience, the characters battle to live in such conditions. These techniques that Lawson has skillfully used include repetition, colour imagery and irony. Lawson uses the repetition of â€Å" Snake! Mother, here’s a snake!† so the audience would feel the urgency and the traumatising experience that the character is going through. This gives the audience an understanding of the struggle of every day life in the Australian outback. Lawson also uses colour imagery to draw a distinctively visual image of the dog, Alligator. ‘Black, yellow-eyed dog-of-all-breeds’ Lawson describes the dog as if it is mutant-like and a terrifying out of the ordinary dog. This shows us that the dog has had to adapt to the country and become abnormal just to live through every day. This makes the audience feel scared of the bizarre dog, but also they also sympathize with it as it is living in such severe conditions. The repetition of ‘She fought’ emphasizes how the mother must fight to keep her home and children safe. She does not stop fighting to survive in the Australian outback for herself, her children, her dog and her home. The audience is meant to feel sympathetic towards the mother as she gets no rest and everyday she must work and fight to survive. The audience is given a feeling that this is not home for the faint hearted. They are intrigued, however, they do not want to partake in the world of the text.  The irony of, ‘She loves her children, but has no time to show it. She is harsh to them.’ Gives the effect of the mother being the strong woman type and doesn’t show affection. But this doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to show her children affection, it merely means that with all the work that is required of her in the Australian outback, she does not have the time. This makes the audience feel sympathetic towards the mother and her childre n. They feel sorry for the children that they cannot spend as much family time with their mother as most families would. ‘The Drover’s Wife’ gives a negative feel of the outback and allows you to stand by the story but you are not invited in. The audience does not want to experience the harsh outback. One technique that is used is long sentences. Similarly, the short story ‘In a Dry Season’ by Henry Lawson uses techniques to convey the struggle of living in the Australian outback and also makes the audience feel intrigued by the story but do not want to participate in the world of the text. Lawson uses imperative, minimalist descriptions and a stereotypical setting to make the audience spectators in the world of the text in an unromanticised fashion. ‘Draw a wire fence’ this technique that Lawson uses is demanding our attention and involvement of the story. He is forcing the audience to draw the story and by doing this, they cannot participate in the world of the text. However, since the outback is so rough and unforgiving, the audience does not feel they want to participate anyway. ‘A wire fence†¦ Few ragged gums†¦ Scattered sheep running†¦ Train’, this use of minimalist description reduces the landscape to just 4 key characteristics. By doing this, Lawson emphasizes the monotony of the bush. This makes the audience to feel the harsh ruggedness of the dull landscape. This then pushes them away from the world of the text and forces them to stay observers of the short story. The stereotypical setting that Lawson draws emphasizes the sameness of the bush. He draws the landscape broadly repeating, â€Å"it is safe to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  encouraging the audience to assume that most towns share the same features. This shows that majority of the Australian outback is the same with their stores, pub, houses and the bush area. With the audience thinking this commonality between many small towns, they feel as though they want to stay observers rather than just being forced observers. Alternatively, ‘The Man From Snowy River’, a ballad written by A.B. (Banjo) Patterson, entices the audience and draws them into the story to live it out. He romanticises the Australian outback making the audience believe that the outback is a beautiful place to live with little worries. Banjo Patterson constructs this view of the Australian outback through its use of techniques. These techniques that Banjo Paterson has masterfully used throughout the ballad are alliteration, rhyming and rhythm. One technique used by Banjo Patterson is alliteration, ‘And they charged beneath the stock whip with a sharp and sudden dash’ and ‘thunder of their tread’, which is used to make the ballad more intriguing and enticing for the audience. This then has the effect of making the audience want to participate in the world of the text as the outback is romanticised and seems enjoyable. Rhyming couplets such as the following were used throughout the ballad to give it flair and rhythm: â€Å"Then they halted for a moment, while he swung the dreaded lash, But they saw their well-loved mountain full in view, And they charged beneath the stock whip with a sharp and sudden dash, And off into the mountain scrub they flew.†Ã‚  The rhyming and rhythm throughout the ballad gives the audience a jubilant feel and also romanticises the Australian outback. Because of this, the audience feels that the outback is a joyful place to live; they feel intrigued and are drawn into the world of the text and want to participate in the story. Therefore, the short stories ‘Drover’s Wife’ and ‘In a Dry Season’ by Henry Lawson induce the monotony of the Australian outback and the sympathetic characters that struggle to survive everyday life. Audiences feel as though they as observers of the unromanticised short stories and are not a part of the world of the text. In contrast, the ballad ‘The Man From Snowy River’ by A.B. (Banjo) Patterson shows a romanticised view of the Australian outback. Banjo Patterson writes of the action, excitement and the mountain beauty seen in his view of the outback. This entices the audience and makes them feel as though they are participants in the world of the ballad. Consequently, images engage us but we may either feel that we are spectators  or participants of the world of the text.