Procurement and contract management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Procurement and contract management - Coursework Example The present paper looks into the supplier relationship of BCAM which is being managed by Irwin family dealing in agricultural components. The paper will further study the outsourcing options available to the company, suggest a methodology and outline certain difficulties that the company may experience in global outsourcing. a) BCAM – Supplier Relation and Its Consequences Supplier development is a process where on partner in a relationship modifies or otherwise influences the behavior of the other partner with a view to mutual benefit (Crocker, 2009). British Consolidated Agricultural Machinery (BCAM) was established by Harry Irwin’s father hundred years ago during the period of mass industrialization manufacturing tractors and other agricultural machinery such as harvesters, balers, movers, seed drills, and sprayers. While reviewing the purchasing procedure at BCAM, it is revealed that orders are placed in bulk even though if the materials are not required for the pur pose of production so as to avoid logistical time and costs. BCAM supplier development strategy was weak considering the fact they placed their orders with the suppliers who were associated with the company for many years. According to Crocker (2009) supplier development is necessary to develop the supply base in areas of recognized weakness, develop a long term relationship with few reliable suppliers, reduce the risk by sharing information, enhance the benefits of mutual goals and synchronize the overall process of supply chain process. This shows that the company’s transactions were limited to few suppliers and the relationship between both is adversarial as BCAM doesn’t pay them as agreed during the contract. Saunders et al (Swamidass 2000) mentioned that adversarial relationship is promoted when they operate at arm’s length with communication without personal contact and gains by one partner are seen as being at the expense of other contributing to apparent lack of trust and not ready to share information. According to Handfield and Bechtel (2002, reliance on trust at the interpersonal level may be conditioned by legal systems or organizational role responsibilities, mitigating the ability of parties to rely on trust as a matter of first preference. The relationship between BCAM and its suppliers exceeds their contract and operates beyond it resulting in breakage of supply chain management. The company had to face the consequences of such relationship as their orders placed by BCAM would not be taken as top priority leading to purchase departments failure to provide required material for production resulting in delayed customer delivery. The fact that both maintained cordial relationships and confidence on the suppliers side that they would definitely receive their payment made it possible to continue the transaction. Moreover, in such type of relationships, complaints are not addressed due to the negligence from buyers’ side a s evidence in BCAM Company wherein complaints by purchasing department were snubbed by suppliers owing to late payments. b) Buyer Supplier Relationship Approach Organizations are more actively involving suppliers in their integrated development process and identify suppliers as a source of competitive advantage which means that there is an opportunity to develop and identify the factors that could help sustain or improve the relationship between the buyer and the supplier (Nellore, 2001). Developing partnerships with suppliers is

Team work is better than Individual heroism Essay

Team work is better than Individual heroism - Essay Example Teamwork guarantees collaboration, support and cooperation. Individual heroism, on the other hand, denotes the self-centered technique of approaching things from a personal perspective. Team work is better than individual heroism because through teamwork people of different abilities and skills unite for the accomplishment of a common purpose. For instance, if a group of people runs a business, it becomes easy to distribute the tasks amongst themselves thus making the venture successful. As a result, it is easier for teamwork to succeed in any endeavor due to the synergy of pooled resources and potentialities. On the other hand, individual heroism depicts selfishness and may not achieve much due to the solitary approach involved. Whereas teamwork could be convenient through the distribution of tasks, individual heroism is self-exhaustive and cumbersome. Teamwork provides an avenue for interaction, cooperation and sharing that result into better society and healthy living. For instance, when people meet to accomplish a joint task, they interact and share their experiences through which they strengthen each other. Teamwork achieves far much more than the task at hand because it offers opportunities for social and individual advancement through the involvement of different people in a single task. The experience of teamwork is so satisfying that the task need not be accomplished in totality; because the joy and success of teamwork lies in cooperation, which is a huge source of actualization. Through teamwork, it is possible for individuals to learn and correct their areas of weakness for better performance. A case in point is a situation when a group of people perform a common duty through which they observe and learn from one another. This is contrary to individual heroism, which seals all opportunities for growth and development by glorifying personal achievement at the expense of nurturing potential. Accordingly, individual heroism fosters personal

Technology Strategy & Innovation Management Assignment

Technology Strategy & Innovation Management - Assignment Example There are several external factors that are affecting Motorola. I will use the PESTEL framework to analyze them. The focus, therefore, will be Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Environment and Legal.. Let us now take a look at them in details. Political: In spite of technological advancements we have not yet reached a stage where we exist in the virtual dimension. Businesses are done through remote collaboration tools and solutions but those who collaborate operate from and within certain jurisdictions. Those jurisdictions have laws and they affect how any company operating within them can operate. Multinationals like Motorola must adapt to the political climates of their host nations. Socio-cultural: Motorola shows social responsibility and maintains good relationships with their host communities. An example of their social responsibility is the supplier diversity programme which endeavours to give certain disadvantaged groups an opportunity. Technological advancements: New solutions, new platforms and the pace of these innovations. From MRP we now have ERP and are quickly heading towards the Virtual Enterprise. Software breakthroughs have brought an expanded horizon. There are many business solutions and platforms that are constantly affecting the way we do business. Motorola is also taking advantage of these solutions and platforms. Environmental: Motorola has long term environmental policies that include designing all their products to be environment friendly, recycling or reusing all waste materials and conserving natural resources. Legal: Motorola has a well established legal department. This is demonstrated by the fact that they have an audit committee line which main aim is to allow access to the Audit and Legal Committee of the Motorola's Board of Directors. THE INTERNAL FACTORS THAT ARE AFFECTING MOTOROLA Now I want to discuss the internal factors that are affecting Motorola. I will concentrate on the threat of entry, threat of substitutes, the power of buyers, the power of suppliers and competitive rivalry. The threat of entry: Nokia, previously a minor in telecommunications overthrew Motorola the former undisputed king of telecommunications. Another smaller company could repeat what Nokia did. The challenge is predicting correctly the next technological trend. A new or smaller company can literarily become the world leader if it makes the right forecast and positions itself well to capitalize on it. There are other threats posed by certain platforms: As described by Hardwick and Bolton (1997), "Virtual enterprise companies share costs, skills, and core competencies that collectively enable them to access global markets with world-class solutions their members could not deliver individually." (Eom & Lee, 1999) This has afforded Motorola a better way of increasing efficiency while reducing costs. However, it has also opened up the door for less funded competition to increase their productivity. Threat of substitutes: The internet is growing and with this growth also comes a lot of opportunities and threats. The cost of doing business online is relatively low. This means that a less financed

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Human Resource Management - Essay Example The objective behind doing this is to keep the organization flexible so that it can adapt to the changes if the future takes any different route than the expected one. Strategic human resource planning analyses the current human resource trends of the organization, future environment of human resource in which the company will be operating and the external labour market and then forecasts the future human resource management that the organization needs (Scholes and Johnson, 2001). The main factor that differentiates between the operational and strategic planning are that strategic planning deals with analysis of the external human resource issue of the organization and then goes for developing the future scenario. The strategic Human resource planning looks for finding the answer to the question like where the organization wants to be in future, under any given circumstances how the organization can reach its pre determined goal and lastly what set of skills are required to do this ( Hernandez and  O'Connor, 2009). Assessment of the current human resource capacity of the future is the first step in strategic human resource development based on the strategic plan of the organization. The skill, knowledge and ability of the present employees and staff of the organization must be identified properly. This identification can be done by developing the skill inventory of each of the employees working in the organization. The skills inventory should be such that it is much more than the skill required for a particular position. The skills demonstrated by the employees should be listed; for instance ‘special skills’ may include volunteer and recreational activities demonstrated by the employees that are relevant to the organization. Apart from these the certificates, educational level and any additional training should also be included in the skill inventory. Assessment of the employee’s performance can be reviewed to find whether the employee is r eady and enthusiastic to take additional responsibilities and the current developmental plans of the employee (Dhar, 2008). Apart from looking at the current human resource capacity of the organization it is also important to look at the forecasted needs in human resource that are based on the strategic goals of the organization. Estimation of both supply and demand is an important part of the realistic human resource forecasting. The questions that need to be answered while doing the forecasting are about the number of staff required in the organization, required skill sets in the employees and jobs that need to be full. While predicting the demand of human resource the challenges that might erupt while meeting the staffing needs based on the external environment must be assessed (Scholes and Johnson, 2001). Moreover in order to measure the external impact the factors that needs to be measured includes the current economic trends that may affect the work and the ability to attract new employees, the cultural and technological shifts that may affect the way the employees work and requirement of skilled labour, the changes that are occurring in the community or can change in future (London and Mone, 1988). Identifying the current human resource capacity of the organization and forecasting the future, helps to recognise the gap that may be existing in the organization. This gap analysis helps in determining the future objective and goals of the organization and where the organization is placed. This analysis includes

Contextual Analysis Essay about The Vietnam in Me

Contextual Analysis about The Vietnam in Me - Essay Example Throughout the narrative, readers are introduced to O’Brien’s lingering feelings of intense despair and sorrow over the fact that the most horrid experience of his life was due to his own personal need to find and secure love. This contextual analysis will analyze how O’Brien used his trip back to Vietnam to discover what imprint his war experience truly left on his heart and if he could ever learn to trust love again. In order to establish the connection between love and Vietnam, this analysis will center on O’Brien’s views on his war experience and their impact on his personal life, his driving need to seek out love and how the guilt over his desire for love led to his contributions as a soldier in Vietnam and continually destroy the author’s chances for true happiness. In beginning this contextual analysis, the first area to analyze is how O’Brien viewed his time as a soldier in Vietnam and how this experience impacted his life. As he began his narrative, O’Brien sets an immediate tone for how he felt about his time in Vietnam. â€Å"On Gator, we used to say, the wind doesn’t blow, it sucks. Maybe that’s what happened - the wind sucked it all away. My life, my virtue† (1). Although O’Brien has obvious despair over the events that unfolded during his time in Vietnam, he was not alone in these feelings. Despite the over two million men who were forcibly deployed to Vietnam through the draft, as well as those who voluntarily enlisted, American society forgot their efforts to further democracy as these men were essentially treated as outcasts upon their return. According to Harvard Sitikoff in â€Å"The Postwar Impact of Vietnam,† the after effects of fighting in Vietnam were more dangerous than being i n the war itself. â€Å"Although most veterans did succeed in making the transition to ordinary civilian life, many did not. More Vietnam veterans committed suicide after the war than had died in it. Even more - perhaps three-quarters

Electronic Text Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Electronic Text Rhetorical Analysis - Essay Example The game is a combination of community features and role playing elements, just like in other MMORPGs, such as item trading, guilds, and chat. The game gives the player a chance to select different skills as the person levels up. This game, like other games, has various purposes expected of the player to experience (Elswrod). Rhetoric analysis means making arguments or claims about the video game. Video games features in procedural representations of material, social, and cultural aspects of human experience (Bogost 123). Elsword is an example of a videogame representing the entertainment aspect of human experience. A lot of action movies are characterised by the villain and the good heroes who sacrifice a lot to eliminate the villains. The heroes always have exceptional skills which they acquire through training and experience. Like real action movies, this video game has heroes with unique skills, and missions to accomplish. The video game also provides an opportunity for the players to test their skills, and know more about their personality. Different characters have different skills, and selecting one can enable one understand himself better when in combat. Also, there are various individuals with different characters such as a swordsman, an archer, a witch among others. One can enjoy the imaginatio n of being a witch and what he or she can do with being a witch. It is a skill simulator. Elsword provides very good entertaining content like the boss rush modes, the costumes, the pets, and the gear that unleashes the gamers’ skills and actions in an imaginary action movie world (Elswrod). It is argued that video games symbolize certain processes and the characters in the game are used to enact the processes (King). In Elsword, symbolizes several human experiences. It symbolizes the fantasy world full of heroes that humans always want. The characters are provided with

Personal Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Statement - Essay Example Immediately, I went back to China to try and help him and on arriving, the doctor told me that the hepatic cancer was already in the late stages, hence there was no much hope. In fact, the doctor told me that my grandfather had no more than six months left to live. Due to work related issues, my parents had to leave me with my grandparents at a very young age, which made me get strongly attached to my grandparents. I couldn’t believe that my grandfather would leave me in a few months time and so I tried my very best to save him. Everyone in my family was searching everywhere for possible treatments for hepatic cancer. One day, my friend advised me to look for an acupuncturist, and told me that he had successfully saved a patient who had a very similar condition as my grandfather. My grandmother was very enlightened with hope after he heard this. I still remember the first time when I met the acupuncturist, who introduced himself as Dr. Li. He was in his sixties at that time, a nd looked very kind and patient. He carefully applied about one hour of acupuncture therapy to my grandfather. During the entire therapy, I starred at Dr. Li’s fingers and the long and thin needles he was using. I kept imagining the magic of these needles and thinking how could these little needles save my grandfather’s life. ... We still take my grandfather to see Dr. Li every three months. Although my grandfather’s cancer did not go away completely, it has been well controlled by Dr. Li and this has kept my grandfather’s life much longer than we expected. With the years long experience with Dr. Li, I started to consider becoming an acupuncturist, who is able to reduce patients’ pain and save people’s lives. I now clearly understand that patience and care are the two of the most important characteristics for doctors; therefore, I’m trying my best to develop my skills and build up my personality. I worked as a kindergarten teacher at the Bright Seeds Academy, which helped me reduce my temper and boosted my willpower. For the two years I spend teaching children, I became more and more patient with children, and learned how to deal with them amicably. I will complete my AA degree with communication major by this summer. I believe effective communication skills and critical thi nking are also essential skills for acupuncturist. I’m sure this background can help me reach my goal, of becoming an easy going and a persuasive acupuncturist. Last year, I injured my arm accidently and went to see an Acupuncturist- Dr. Zhu. After expressing my background experiences and my goal to become an acupuncturist, Dr. Zhu offered me an opportunity to become a volunteer in his acupuncture and herbal clinic. This was my very first time to have a close distance to my goal. From this opportunity, I learned how an acupuncture clinic runs, and the essential skills and personalities that an acupuncturist must have. One day, an old Chinese woman came into the Clinic, and she couldn’t speak English or Mandarin (Both Dr. Zhu and I only speak these two languages). She could only speak Cantonese and we