Is It Time For Legalize Prostitution - 1429 Words

Mckenzi Baker Individual and Society II Dr. Hawkins Policy Paper Is it Time to Legalize Prostitution? Research says†¦ One policy issue at the forefront of many discussions is the decision of whether to make prostitution legal. This issue was sparked by a draft from Amnesty International in 2015 proposing to decriminalize â€Å"all aspects of sex work†. There is a myriad of things to evaluate in this argument, including motives, ethics, economy and the list goes on. People prioritize those things differently and it is important to consider such things when evaluating the main two sides of the argument. At its most basic form, the two sides of the argument are ‘no we should not legalize prostitution because it will encourage prostitution’ and ‘yes we should legalize prostitution because it will provide a safer environment for prostitutes.’ Both sides use statistical data to support their assertions, and data that gives substance to a very emotional topic, however as one discovers the underlying values in the argument, one can conclude that important data is missing or even that scientific research is not sufficient to reconcile the argument. There exists a very loud percentage of people that believe legalization of prostitution could be detrimental to the very fabric of gender equality. The people on this side of the argument [the opponents of legalizing prostitution] have a very negative view of the profession and believe that women should get out of the line of work entirely.Show MoreRelatedEssay on Legalizing Prostitution927 Words   |  4 Pages Legalizing prostitution! A way for the American government to create job opportunities for the American women that chooses this profession. Prostitution is legal in many countries, so why not all of the United States? Prostitution should not be a crime! Sex is not a crime. Exchanging of money is not a crime. So, why should the two combined be a crime? Women can have sex with as many people as she wants in her private life, it’s her body and her choice. So what if she charges for it. She is providingRead MoreProstitution Should Be Legalized?1072 Words   |  5 Pages Prostitution in America Some consider prostitution to be evil, sin incarnated. They believe that the act of fornication with an unknown and unloved person is unholy and should be punishable. They may believe that those who are prostitutes are not human, but instead creatures that have given into their most primal lust. 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We could look at the dictionary definition that’s the transfer of money for sexual activityRead MoreLegal Dilemma Of Prostitution1565 Words   |  7 Pages Prostitution: A Legal Dilemma Prostitution is considered to be the oldest profession. Prostitution can take many forms, from streetwalkers and brothels, to sophisticated call-girl or escort services. The laws regarding prostitution differ everywhere around the world. In some places around the world, soliciting a prostitute is grounds for punishment and even criminalization (Prostitution). Many prostitutes are criminalized because of their work. Therefore, they are usually victims of many crimesRead MoreIt is Time to Make Prostitution Legal1215 Words   |  5 Pages　　In modern society, prostitution become a pretty controversial topic to discuss. Prostitution is the sexual services which involves selling and buying, it is just a simple act for both of two persons without any compulsion. Most people think prostitution should not be legal, certainly some people have different opinions. As we know, prostitution has been called the world’s oldest profession for a long time, it should be allowed t o exist, if a person choose to use his or her body to make money, whatRead MoreEssay on Legalization of Prostitution1607 Words   |  7 PagesThough illegal in the United States, prostitution is still a strongly prevalent crime happening all across the nation. Currently, a person participating in the crime of prostitution will be charged with a misdemeanor (Liberator 2). People every single day are being charged with a misdemeanor for this specific crime. Statistically, it may even seem like this crime is being caught more often than other, more extreme crimes. Prostitution is a strongly enforced crime that costs America large sums ofRead MoreProstitution Essay1618 Words   |  7 PagesProstitution is Sex Work Prostitution may be the worlds oldest profession, and laws prohibiting prostitution may well be the oldest example of government regulation and government sex discrimination. In a free society, however, all such laws are inappropriate because they violate the basic rights and liberties of the individuals involved. In a free society, it makes no sense for the government to be telling people that they cannot charge a fee for harmless services they otherwise are at libertyRead MoreThe World s Oldest Profession For Nothing1613 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Prostitution isn t inherently immoral, any more than running a company like Enron is inherently immoral. It s how you do it that counts. And the reality is that it will happen anyway. It s not called the world s oldest profession for nothing. Why not make it, at the least, safe and productive?† -JEANNETTE ANGELL of A Wellness Perspective on Prostitution, Freedom, Religion, and More, Seek Wellness, Apr. 30, 2005. Prostitution, k nown as the world s oldest profession, and it exists everywhere

Northanger Abbey as a Precursor to Pride and Prejudice Essay

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is frequently described as a novel about reading—reading novels and reading people—while Pride and Prejudice is said to be a story about love, about two people overcoming their own pride and prejudices to realize their feelings for each other. If Pride and Prejudice is indeed about how two stubborn youth have misjudged each other, then why is it that this novel is so infrequently viewed to be connected to Austen’s original novel about misjudgment and reading one’s fellows, Northanger Abbey? As one of Austen’s first novels, Northanger Abbey is often viewed as a â€Å"prototype† to her later novels, but it is most often compared to Persuasion (Brown 50). However, if read discerningly, one can see in Pride and†¦show more content†¦Fitting with the common theme between the two novels of the judgment of others, each heroine falls victim to a horrible misjudgment of the character of another. After disc overing that the engagement between her brother and her friend Isabella has been broken, Catherine finds she has grossly misjudged her friend’s character, and thinks, â€Å"She was ashamed of Isabella, ashamed of ever having loved her† (Northanger 150). Elizabeth, on the other hand, finds her attachment the Wickham wholly inappropriate after receiving her letter from Mr. Darcy. After digesting the shocking contents of the letter, Elizabeth â€Å"grew absolutely ashamed of herself.—Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think, without feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd† (Pride 156). And indeed, as suggested by Elizabeth’s mention of Darcy, this misjudgment goes on to affect each girl’s attachment to her future husband. The involvement of a family member with the previously misjudged character directly causes each heroine’s fallout of sorts with her future husband, who will henceforth be referred to as the hero . Catherine’s brother James becomes involved with Isabella before she is known to be such a determined flirt, but when she all but abandons him for Captain Tilney, it becomes known to General Tilney that Catherine’s family is not as rich as formerly supposed, and this results in

Benefits of Different Technologies of Julia Juice Retailers USA

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Implementation for Information systems Organisation. Answer: Introduction The report reflects on the case study Julia Juice which is one of the largest juice retailers in USA and United Kingdom. In the year 2008, the organization lost 40% of its value due to the economic recession. Julia Chen, who was the owner of Julia Juice, decided to overhaul the entire business by utilizing various strategies properly. The report mainly illustrates porters competitive forces, porters five forces model and strategies for controlling economic recession. The assignment also discusses the benefits of different technologies that had helped Julia Juice to compete appropriately in the market. Porters Competitive Forces Michael Porter designed competitive forces model for determining the structure of the organization. The model is dependent on the concept that there are mainly five forces, which help in determining the competitive intensity as well as the attractiveness of a market (Yunna Yisheng, 2014). The model helps in identifying the power of a business which further helps in understanding both the current competitive position as well as the strength of the organization. The five competitive forces for Julia Juice are illustrated below: Bargaining power of the customers:The bargaining powers of the customers are high as there are a number of juice sellers in USA and United Kingdom and therefore the customers can easily switch from the business product of Julia Juice (Dobbs, 2014). The company implemented technology, which helps in allowing regular customers to pay, by using pre-paid as well as rechargeable cards. This implemented strategy by Julia Juice helps in lowering the bargaining power of the customers to some extent. Bargaining power of the suppliers:The bargaining powers of the suppliers are low as there are a number of suppliers available in the market of USA and United Kingdom. The available substitutes for Julia Juice also reduce the power of the supplies. Porters Competitive Forces Impact Bargaining power of the customers High Bargaining power of the suppliers Low Competition among existing competitors Very High Threat of Substitute Products High Threats of New Entrants Very Low Competition among existing competitors:It is analyzed that competition among existing competitors are high, but the organization uses proper methods for competing effectively with its competitors (Buzan, Griffiths Harrison, 2014).The organization Julia Juice uses more aggressive product differentiation strategy for competing properly with the other competitors in the market. The company utilizes the digital platform for improving the relationship with the customers and for enhancing customer satisfaction. Threat of Substitute Products: The threat from substitute product is high as Julia Juice has many competitors. The consumers can switch to the product of the competitors if they find their product with appropriate quality (Dalken, 2014). Julia Juice arranges a training session for its employees so that they can provide products with high quality. Threats of New Entrants:It is very much difficult for new entrants to enter the marketplace. The organization Julia Juice" has a high grip on the consumer market as it helps in providing a number of advantages to its customers (Solvell, 2015). The organization provides a cost advantage, which is also one of the barriers for new entrants. 2. Porters Five Forces for developing competitive strategies by utilizing Information System Porters five forces model helps companies in developing competitive strategies by utilizing information system. The five-force model includes: Power of the Buyer: The organization uses information systemfor allowing regular customers to pay, by using pre-paid as well as rechargeable cards (McLay, 2014). The prices of the products are fixed, and thus it helps in reducing the bargaining power of the buyers. Power of the Suppliers: The organizations use information system for tightening the linkages with the suppliers. They provide direct access to the suppliers with the help of internet. This helps in increasing switching cost of the organization. Competitive Rivalry: Organizations mainly utilizes information system for reducing competitors differentiation advantages (Aithal, 2016). This is mainly done by using online chatting system, by utilizing social media and by using advanced measures for enhancing as well as improving customer service. Threat of Substitution: Organization utilizes information system for identifying as well as creating new products as well as services for changing its business procedure with the help of automation (Chaney et al., 2016). The Internet, as well as networks of telecommunication, helps in providing better opportunities to enhance their business growth. Thus, the use of information system reduces the threat of substitution. Threat of New Entry:The organization utilizes information system for expanding its business and for diversifying and integrating its products as well as services (Toro-Jarrin et al., 2016). The organization mainly establishes global intranet or global operation platform for reducing the threat from new entrants. Discussion of competitive advantage and sustainable competitive advantage Competitive Advantage The two features of competitive advantage include: Customer Service: The organizations must provide unique customer service for enhancing competitive advantage (Devine O'Clock, 2015). Unique customer service may include product reliability and cost competitive advantages. Innovation: Innovation is considered as a new idea that helps in initiating as well as improving the quality of a product or processes. The organizations mainly maintain their flexibility by improving the quality of the product. The organization Julia Juice has achieved both customer service as well as innovation in order to gain competitive advantage. The organization trains their employees so that they will be able to interact with the customers properly which further helps in improving the relationship of the consumer with the organization (Binhadyan Davey, 2016).The Company implemented a technology, which helps in allowing regular customers to pay, by using pre-paid as well as rechargeable cards for achieving competitive advantage. Sustainable Competitive Advantage he two features of sustainable competitive advantage include: Low pricing: Economies of scale as well as appropriate operations are used by an organization for keeping competition out by becoming low cost provider. This factor is identified as one of the important barriers for new entrants (Yee et al., 2017). Additionally, low pricing helps in building brand loyalty, which further assists in achieving competitive advantage. Outstanding Management: Outstanding management is very much important for managing various operations of the organization appropriately. Proper management within an organization also helps in achieving competitive advantage. Julia Juice has achieved outstanding management within its organization. The company set a group of project coordinator that helps in training employees on time efficiencies, streamlining various services of the customers and helps in reducing waste. The managers of the organization can use the system for running various store operations. The district manager of the organization visits various stores of the company for observing the growth of the organization. Methods for controlling economic recession Discussion of strategic information system strategies The strategic information system strategies that can be selected in organization JJ for flourishing the business of the company include: ERP implementation for improving marketing: ERP implementation within the organization helps in improving their sales as well as market strategies. Creating barriers to competitors entry: Julian Juice must provide product or services which is very much difficult for its rivals to duplicate and as a result, it prevents the entry of competitors to some extent (Dixit Skeath, 2015). Lower the costs of the products: Lowering the prices of the products attracts more customers, and it also helps the company in gaining competitive advantage. Leveraging technology in the value chain: This approach is very much helpful in pinpointing particular activities of Julian Juice where competitive strategy can be applied best. Explanation of the strategies The strategies of strategic information systems that can be used within the organization Julian Juice include: ERP implementation for improving marketing: An information system helps in providing an edge over their competition by implementing proper enterprise resource planning within the organization for improving the sales as well as marketing strategies of Julian Juice. This strategy helps inn treating the information system as a resource (Cassidy, 2016). For Example, Julian juice can utilize ERP system for monitoring the sales of the company. Creating barriers to competitors entry:This strategy is selected as Julian Juice can utilize information system for providing products as well as services to its client that are very much different and difficult to duplicate for other competitors (Abdelhak, Grostick Hanken, 2014). This strategy will be helpful for serving highly specialized markets. This strategy is very much significant as it prevents the entry of various competitors as they find the cost for adopting the similar strategies. Lower the costs of the products:Strategic Information System will help Julian Juice in lowering their internal cost that further helps in allowing them to deliver products as well as services at a lower price than their rivals can provide. Thus such information systems help in the growth as well as the survival of the organization. Leveraging technology in the value chain:This approach is very much significant as it helps in pinpointing some of the particular activities of the business of Julian Juice where competitive strategies are utilized best (Qrunfleh Tarafdar, 2014). This model helps in advocating that information technology can be utilized best for gaining a competitive advantage by identifying various specific critical leveraging points of the company. Examples of companies where the selected strategies are used Strategic Information strategies are used by organizations for gaining competitive advantage. There are several examples which reflect that the suggested strategies are used by some business organization. ERP implementation for improving marketing:This strategy is used by business organizations likeRobert Bosch GmbH and Nestle. Creating barriers to competitors entry:Amazon creates a barrier for competitor's entry so that the organization can achieve competitive advantage. Lower the costs of the products:This strategy is followed by Wal-Mart for attracting more number of customers (Cassidy, 2016). Leveraging technology in the value chain: ATT Wireless utilizes this technology for achieving competitive advantage in the market of United Nation. Benefits of technology which has helped Julia Juice for competing in the market There are a number of benefits that Julia Juice has achieved by utilizing technologies in order to compete effectively in the market. The benefits include: Achieving competitive advantage: Julian Juice integrated its business processes with wireless technology and mobile digital platform that helps in achieving competitive advantage for JJ. Improved customer service:The use of digital platforms and Wi-Fi technology helps in improving the customer service (Binhadyan Davey, 2016). Customer service also get improved by training employees to interact properly with the customers. Lowering bargaining power of the customers:The Company implemented technology, which helps in allowing regular customers to pay, by using pre-paid as well as rechargeable cards. This implemented strategy by Julia Juice helps in lowering the bargaining power of the customers Increase sells: The sales of the organization increases by advertising the products as well as services of Julian juice on social networking site. Improved service also helps inn enhancing the sales of the company (Lommerud, Straume Vagstad, 2016). Attract more number of customers: Improved service within the organization helps in attracting more number of customers. The use of card system within Julian juice makes the customer more satisfied with the payment system. Improved relationship with customers: The Company train their employees so that they will be able to interact with the customers properly which further helps in improving the relationship of the consumer with the organization (Binhadyan Davey, 2016). Proper management: With the implementation of Wi-Fi technology the managers have access to operate the private network and system of the company at any time which helps in improving the management of the organization. Increase their in-store presence: The organization Julian Juice implemented free Wi-Fi which helps in enabling the company to enhance their in-store presence with the help of district managers. Conclusion It can be concluded from the overall report that Julian Juice achieves competitive advantage by integrating itsbusiness processes with wireless technology and mobile digital platform. It is analyzed that porters five forces have been analyzed in this report for determining the competitive intensity as well as the attractiveness of the market. It is identified that The Company train their employees so that they will be able to interact with the customers properly which further helps in improving the relationship of the consumer with the organization. The report also discusses the benefits of different technologies which are utilized by JJ. References Abdelhak, M., Grostick, S., Hanken, M. A. (2014).Health information: management of a strategic resource. Elsevier Health Sciences. Aithal, P. S. (2016). Study on ABCD analysis technique for business models, business strategies, operating concepts business systems.Browser Download This Paper. Binhadyan, B., Davey, B. (2016). A research framework for investigating the benefits of technology in treatment and management of ADHD in tertiary students.Gaming and Technology Addiction: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice, 60. Buzan, T., Griffiths, C., Harrison, J. (2014).Mind Maps for Business Revolutionise your business thinking and practice. Cassidy, A. (2016).A practical guide to information systems strategic planning. CRC press. Chaney, P., Fealy, K., Pettijohn, J., Pettijohn, C. (2016). What Are Consumers Saying About Your Business? A Primer on Monitoring Tools.Journal of Marketing Perspectives,1, 70. Dlken, F. (2014).Are porters five competitive forces still applicable? a critical examination concerning the relevance for todays business(Bachelor's thesis, University of Twente). Devine, K., O'Clock, P. (2015). An Analysis of the Benefits of Technology Implementation in the Healthcare Industry.Journal of Health Care Finance,41(3). Dixit, A. K., Skeath, S. (2015).Games of Strategy: Fourth International Student Edition. WW Norton Company. Dobbs, M. (2014). Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates.Competitiveness Review,24(1), 32-45. Lommerud, K. E., Straume, O. R., Vagstad, S. (2016). DP11192 Employment protection and unemployment benefits: On technology adoption and job creation in a matching model. McLay, A. (2014). Re-reengineering the dream: agility as competitive adaptability.International Journal of Agile Systems and Management,7(2), 101-115. Qrunfleh, S., Tarafdar, M. (2014). Supply chain information systems strategy: Impacts on supply chain performance and firm performance.International Journal of Production Economics,147, 340-350. Shapiro, C., Varian, H. R. (2013).Information rules: a strategic guide to the network economy. Harvard Business Press. Slvell, . (2015). The Competitive Advantage of Nations 25 yearsopening up new perspectives on competitiveness.Competitiveness Review,25(5), 471-481. Toro-Jarrn, M. A., Ponce-Jaramillo, I. E., Gemes-Castorena, D. (2016). Methodology for the of building process integration of Business Model Canvas and Technological Roadmap.Technological Forecasting and Social Change,110, 213-225. Yee, K. C., Wong, M. C., Turner, P. (2017). Pokmon Go: Ubiquitous Computing Delivering Better Health or Co-Incidental Health Benefits from Technology Use? A Participatory Observational Study.Studies in health technology and informatics,234, 389. Yunna, W., Yisheng, Y. (2014). The competition situation analysis of shale gas industry in China: Applying Porters five forces and scenario model.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,40, 798-805.

Talking Is Hard by Walk The Moon free essay sample

Whether you’re cruising down the highway with your friends, listening to â€Å"Different Colors,† or reminiscing over adolescent infatuation with â€Å"Sidekick,† Walk the Moon’s second studio album, â€Å"Talking Is Hard,† will leave you with a good feeling. Four years after releasing their self-titled debut, Walk the Moon has made a huge comeback. The wait has definitely been worth it. With songs like â€Å"Up 2 U† and â€Å"Avalanche,† the band builds tension for the listener and channels an older era of ’80s pop-rock. Then the robust chorus comes in and separates the vocals like an explosion of ecstasy consisting of fast guitar riffs and upbeat synthesizers. These songs will easily get embedded in your memory. Intoxicatingly sugary, upbeat songs are what Walk the Moon does best. If you’re looking for poetic or inspirational lyrics, â€Å"Talking Is Hard† may not be for you. But if you are interested in ’80s-esque synthesizers, like those in â€Å"Portugal,† or the heavy vocal harmony found in â€Å"Work This Body,† this album is perfect. We will write a custom essay sample on Talking Is Hard by Walk The Moon or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The boy-meets-girl storyline in â€Å"Shut Up and Dance† evokes images similar to the band’s debut single â€Å"Anna Sun.† It is the perfect disco-?flavored summertime track we have all been unknowingly waiting for. You will be air-guitaring and dancing along before you know it! Another fun song is â€Å"Spend Your $$$.† It has a message that’s almost parodic but is very true. Loud guitars, humorous lyrics, and fast-paced drumbeats animate this song. Other tracks include â€Å"Come Under The Covers,† a slow, relationship-focused tune, and â€Å"Aquaman,† which has a relaxing, island-paradise vibe. â€Å"Down in the Dumps† is another cut that delivers on almost every level. It may seem slow at first, but the drums quickly kick in and the chorus turns into a riptide that doesn’t let you go. One of my favorites is â€Å"We Are the Kids.† With the lyrics â€Å"There’s mud on my shoes, there’s sun on my skin/I am brand new/We shout at the cops, we howl at the moon,† the song leaves listeners with a nostalgic, young-and-reckless feeling. Talking may be hard for the Cincinnati-based quartet, but their music speaks for itself. Their flavorful synth solos, quirky lyrics, and intoxicating guitar riffs culminate in happy-go-lucky tunes that leave a smile on your face and a song stuck in your head.

Unit 1 Unit 1 From Baroque to Romantic Essay Example For Students

Unit 1 : Unit 1: From Baroque to Romantic Essay How does David, by Italian Baroque artist Gianlorenzo Bernini, demonstrate a departure from Renaissance conventions? The figure breaks into the viewers space and engages the viewer. How does Gianlorenzo Berninis Fountain of the Four Rivers exhibit Italian Baroque characteristics? The fountain was a combination of artistic disciplines that created a dramatic experience. How did Caravaggio depart from Renaissance traditions to create paintings that reflect the Italian Baroque style? The artist focused on naturalism and created drama through an intense use of light and dark. What convention did Italian Baroque artist Caravaggio use in The Conversion of Saint Paul? The artist used foreshortening to bring the figure to the front of the painting and project him into the viewers space. How did the Spanish Baroque artist Diego Velà ¡zquez organize the figures in Las Meninas? Velà ¡zquez placed figures in a pyramid configuration. Which of the following is a characteristic of Landscape with the Burial of Phocion by French Baroque artist Nicolas Poussin? It depicts an idealized landscape with all of the elements carefully constructed. Which of the following is a characteristic of Elevation of the Cross by Baroque artist Peter Paul Rubens of the Netherlands? The figures poses and arrangement emphasize a sense of movement and drama. Which statement best describes an approach used by Baroque artist Rembrandt of the Netherlands in his later years? He used the impasto technique to create expressive brushstrokes with thick paint. How did Antoine Watteau demonstrate characteristics of Rococo art in his paintings? He used delicate, lively brushwork and subtle variations of color. How did French artist Jean-Baptiste-Simà ©on Chardin exhibit Naturalist characteristics in his paintings? He used limited colors to depict objects with a sense of realism. Which statement describes a difference between these paintings by Dutch Baroque artists Vermeer and Rembrandt? Vermeer used natural light to create convincing space; Rembrandt used tenebrism to depict a figure emerging from the shadows. What is one similarity between Caravaggios The Conversion of Saint Paul and Rubenss Elevation of the Cross? They use foreshortening to depict the figures projecting into the viewers space. Which of the following statements describes how French artist Jacques-Louis David used a Neoclassical characteristic in Oath of the Horatii? He used a background of simple Classical columns and arches that dont detract from the figures. What is a similarity between Thomas Jeffersons Monticello and the ancient Roman Pantheon? They feature a portico, pediment, columns, and dome. How did French artist Eugà ¨ne Delacroix incorporate Romantic conventions in Liberty Leading the People? Delacroix used rich colors and placed touches of pure pigment throughout the painting. What characteristic describes The Third of May, 1808 by Spanish Romantic artist Francisco Goya? The dramatic light and shadow draw attention to the central figure. What is one difference between the Neoclassical artist Davids Oath of the Horatii and the Romantic artist Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People? David used smooth brushstrokes to enhance the lifelike quality of the figures; Delacroix used expressive brushstrokes to create drama. How are Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David and Pilgrimage to Cythera by Antoine Watteau similar? The paintings have a carefully planned background that resembles a stage set.

How To Choose The Right Marketing Tools With Scott Brinker

How To Choose The Right Marketing Tools With Scott Brinker Technology is supposed to help, not frustrate or overwhelm us. Do you struggle with using, choosing, or consolidating marketing technology tools? Marketers tend to love or hate specific tools. Is your favorite on Chiefmartec’s 2019 Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic? If not, there are more than 7,000 tools to consider. Which should you use? What to look for? Who should make the decision? Today, my guest is Scott Brinker, vice president of Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot and editor at Chiefmartec.com. He suggests various strategies for selecting tools, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Purpose: Persuade marketing executives to pay attention to the intermingling of personalities and passions between marketers and technologists Categories Covered: Advertising Promotion, Content Experience, Social Relationships, Commerce Sales, Data, and Management Where to begin? Get clear on foundational systems (CRM, email, content management system, etc.) Significant investment in time and learning; identify gaps to intentionally augment foundation with more specialized tools Ecosystems developed around major platforms can help narrow your choices Makeshift Marketing: Is it good enough? Pieces of the Puzzle: Focus on the capabilities you need Marketing department should identify point person/people to be responsible for operational infrastructure and technology of marketing Ecosystem Mission: Evolution of product, partners, and programs Links: Chiefmartecs 2019 Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic Scott Brinker on Twitter MarTech – The Marketing Technology Conference HubSpot Salesforce Marketo Creating Predictable Growth Is Not A Hack With Kieran Flanagan From HubSpot [AMP 126] How To Overcome Makeshift Marketing With New Marketing Superpowers If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Scott Brinker: â€Å"You’re becoming more dependent on technology to execute your mission.† â€Å"It’s not designed as a tool to help people hone in on what tools they should use.† â€Å"You could probably count on one hand, these fundamental systems that are the heart of your marketing technology stack.† â€Å"Marketers don’t have the time, or necessarily, even the skillsto be in the integration business.†

Alcatel-Lucent Success in Brazil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alcatel-Lucent Success in Brazil - Essay Example Alcatel-Lucent Brazil utilized various entry strategies which included adapting to the customers and industry, developing consumer confidence in the company’s products and services as well as creating and improving brand awareness in the country. In its effort to adapt to the clientele, the company researched on the various needs of its diversified customers which included government agencies, local service providers, and carriers among others. By understanding their clientele, the company was able to develop a customer portfolio specific to the client’s needs and as such adapt its products and services to its customers. Further, the company invested in building the consumer confidence as well as increasing brand awareness by using various marketing strategies such as the use of social media and TV adverts. Managing MNCs is quite a challenge to many companies as they have operations in different countries. These countries have varied cultures and value as well as other varied business environment and the poses a challenge to the company in its management (Matthews & Zander, 2007). It is thus important for companies such as Alcatel-Lucent Brazil to have an effective strategy to use in managing its subsidiaries in different parts of the world. One o0f the challenges facing the company in Brazil is that the company is in its development phase causing a lot of problems in the management and operations of the business. This, for instance, is in regards to political instability, varying exchange, and inflation rates.

Assess the impact of the Iranian revolution on Middle Eastern politics PowerPoint Presentation

Assess the impact of the Iranian revolution on Middle Eastern politics - PowerPoint Presentation Example Thus, Islamic politics resulted in the regional political culture militarizing and creation of the region instability. Hence, activists with either religion or political agendas were fully convinced that they could use Islam as a strategy of winning (Cottam 1980). This implied that Islam could be employed as a means of radicalizing, politicizing, and mobilization of masses for the purposes of confronting Middle East authoritarian states. Consequently, neighbouring countries suffered instability of their political foundations, especially those with Shiite population, which include Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi. Iran revolution contributed to the emergence of bitter rivalries in the region of Israel. As such, Israel had to observe the activities of Iran, which influenced the policies that Israel adopted. Further, Iran was alienated from other countries, such as Saudi Arabia (Shahi 2009). Since the Middle East is a major source of oil, other governments expressed concerns and anxiety. These governments include the Britain and the United States of America among others. Moreover, the revolution had several events, which contributed towards the emergence of conflicts in the region. An example of this is the attack of Iraq by Iran. The Iranians play a significant role in enforcing their power status in the Middle East politics. As such, Iran supports Hezbollah and Syria. This support has had drastic effects in the region. For example, terrorists groups in Israel can be funded by the regime. The creation of Hezbollah in Lebanon resulted in the alteration of the Lebanese politics and the emergence of Israeli ambitions. This made Iran gain strength and influence, which made the West and East to always consider the nation in case of any Middle Eastern issues. Such depicted global geopolitics changes where there was a West-versus-East scenario in all areas with key players in different areas lining on different sides and having Iran within its circles. The

What Will Iris Have on Her To-do-list Case Study - 35

What Will Iris Have on Her To-do-list - Case Study Example Iris should have a lot of tasks on her to-do-list that would required to be managed and handled by her in order to achieve her objective. As per the discussion of Iris with Mike regarding revising the risk management documentation, I believe that the tasks on her to-do-list should include but not limited to a complete analysis of risk management including identification of risks / treats to the assets, specification of vulnerable assets, evaluating the risks by assessing the probability of happening the risk, assigning the value of probability and impact of the risks, risk reporting and communication, selection of responses (risk treatment) like preventing, reducing, transferring, accepting and contingency plans. Moreover, the planning and organizing the processes so that a common or uniform input can be taken and evaluated company wide, development of asset inventory, and one of the most important tasks is to document all the findings and assessments. I believe that the Iris should not rely only on the higher management and team members, but she should also involve all the stakeholders and end users, as they are always helpful resources. Moreover, it is required that the Iris should also do a little bit research over the internet (major resource after the stakeholders) to find out and follow the best practices, standards and guidelines to develop, manage, organize / categorize the tangible and intangible, moreover, prioritizing the assets along with their values to the organization.  

Asmaray Animations Process Analysis

Asmaray Animations Process Analysis Summary As your Business Analysts, we have collected the current processes within Asmaray Animations. By conducting a thorough analysis of your processes and identifying the actors involved. We have accumulated a detailed explanation through the representation of an IPO chart, expanded use case and a use case diagram. Task 1 The following IPO chart details the role of a Business Analyst (BA) at Asmaray Animations which in short, is the process of using the clients needs and concerns to work with animators to create a desired product, which is then delivered to the client. Starting the IPO process are the inputs. The inputs for this scenario are the clients, a functioning website and also animators. The website is an important input as it provides a gateway to lure potential clients and offer them a range of artwork where they can be inspired to create an animation. For the next step to take place the clients must provide the BA with their needs and concerns so that the Business can allocate a matching animator. This step relates to decision making as it involves the clients deciding what they want in their desired animation using chosen references on the website, communication between the client and business and is also about decision making as it is about creating a plan for the clients product. The processing step is where the inputs are transformed into outputs, what occurs in this step is the process of relaying the initial plan to the animator so they can create a prototype to be reviewed by the client. In some cases clients, can be ambiguous in expressing their needs and concerns, It is then the BAs job to make sense of this ambiguity and generate assumptions, this involves refining, polishing and adding on to the clients ideas to make the end product more desirable. This occurs when the client doesnt absolutely know what they want but only have on idea of it. In the end of both cases the BA works with the animator to create a prototype, if the client approves of the prototype then the prototype will be finished if not discussion between the client starts again. This step shows decision making in most of the processes; the BA decides on what to add on to the clients plan, discussions between the animator and BA on creating a prototype and the review of the prototype between the BA and client. The last stage of the IPO is the Outputs, if the client approved of the prototype in the previous step then the finalised product should be delivered to the client. This step is all about the client receiving their animation and payment going through. This step can be considered as the performance monitoring phrase as it is the end of the cycle and evaluation can take place. Every actor in this IPO can evaluate their performance whether it be the BA reviewing their management on the project or the animators evaluating their programming performance. The client can also send in a rating and review. Process of Client Transaction Inputs Process Output Clients Gathering the needs of clients. Completed animation packaged and sent to client A professional website that showcases the artwork of various artists and animators. Features in the website include: A scroller for potential clients to browse through multiple artwork, Links to artists biographies and descriptions of work, A communication feature that allows clients to engage with owners on possible animation projects. Refining and adding on to the wants of a client and to construct a plan that will address the needs and concerns of the client. If the client does not have an exact vision of what they want but only an idea of it.. The owner must work with the animators using the clients ideas and feedback to create a prototype of an animation that addresses the clients needs, which is then presented to them for approval. Client has received the animation and has possibly given the business a rating. Satisfied client. The clients ideas, needs, feedback and concerns. Relaying and sharing ideas to an animator to create a plan for the end product Sale made, Revenue received. Animators and open source software. Animators uses plan to create a prototype which is presented to the client, if approved then the prototype is made into the final animation product ready for delivery. Transaction finished. IPO Regarding the Completed Website Inputs (Website ideas) Process Output Blog Link to other pages Allow viewer to move around the website Show latest blog (daily update) Functioning homepage that allows the user to move freely through the Asmaray Animations Website Catalogue of curated works Create database that house work Sorting system (Defining) Webpage that allows users to search and view curated works Links to artists biographies Collate artists own websites Have a page that facilitates both artists biographies as well as work Exposure for artists Webpage that allows users to find info about artists and their work Link to descriptions of works Share page with biographies Registration page Require login and password Include human checker in order to verify userSend information to user database Registration page that is secure for the users, and is non-intrusive Collaborative space Site generated per user Allow larger bandwidth for user uploads File sharing software for ease of use Space that allows file sharing between the client and artists Payment page Allow server to communicate with PayPal. Encryption program for critical data. Functioning payment page and system The IPO chart above shows provides a broken-down look into the processes needed for the website that the company has envisioned. It utilises the inputs or ideas of Armasay Animations to have a framework of what the website needs to have and what are the expected end results a fully realised and functioning website that allows clients to browse and find artists and animators that are suitable for the job required. By focusing solely on the website, the IPO chart, it has more room to go into depth into certain functions of the website itself. As such the inputs as stated before are the ideas taken from the company all of which are what they want to see in their website. The processes outline what each aspect of the website needs and how it can be customised in such a way to bring a unique feeling to the companys website. For example, providing more depth into things like bandwidth allocation for some parts of the website as they need to hold embedded videos and images showcasing the artists work. The last stage is the outputs as such it would be the completed parts of the website, which in turn should be made in such a way where in the end everything links together, and should function as intended. The finished product can then be viewed by the client and give feedback on if it meets their expectations and if anything needs to be changed. Task 2 Use Case The following Use Case shows the process   of finalizing an animation project. Expanded Use Case Detailed Version: Name: Actors: Clients, Owners Artists (Initiators) Purposes: To finalise the clients animation through client feedback and the subsequent phases of the project being carried out by the owners and artists. Type: Abstract Importance: Primary Technical Difficulty: Medium Pre-conditions: Clients and artists have access to collaborative space Draft (Pilot Phase) is placed in the collaborative space. Advance of 15% for pilot phase has been paid by client. Advanced has been received by owners / business. Assumptions: Client is contented and happy with the pilot phase of the product. Cross-Reference: Client Registration Client Animation Order Designing Process Client Payment Of Project Actors Action System Response 1. Owners Artists commence the second phase of the project. 2. Artists involved, apply client feedback to the animation. 3. System recognises alterations on draft and saves all the changes. 4. System alerts client through an email notification, that changes have been made. 5. Clients leave a comment providing feedback on the draft. 6. System recognises notes or comments, left by the client. 7. System alerts artists about client feedback. 8. Artists apply required or final changes. 9. Artists proceeds to the final editing phase. 10. System recognises final editing phase and saves all of the changes. 11. Owners Artists uploads audio in .wav format into animation. 12. System applies audio into the animation and generates it into a final draft format. 13. System notifies clients that the final alterations have been made. 12. Clients notifies Owners that theyre happy with the final product. 14. System recognises Clients response. 15. System proceeds to packaging final product after confirmation of payment. Alternative Courses: 5. System sends another alert to client to confirm changes made to the Project. If no confirmation is received, system then ceases further project work until Client responds.   If client does not respond then within the required amount of time, project is then terminated. 8. If Clients are still not happy with the changes, System alerts the Artists again to make changes. 11. If Audio format isnt recognised, upload a asnd audio format instead. Uploading If uploading process was interrupted by an internet disruption (e.g. internet dying), restart the whole uploading process. If file cant be uploaded due to file size, import it through youtube or vimeo first then link it to the website. 12. If Clients are not happy with the final product, System proceeds to alerting Artists and go back the editing stage in the system. 15. If final payment is not received by Client, system, alerts Client again for payment to proceed. If no payment is processed system, then suspends Project. Use Case Diagram This following use case diagram illustrates the overall current process of developing the animation. This process involves both owners, artists and clients cooperation, as both have to not only communicate what is needed to be done but to also work collaboratively. After organising the needs and requirements, as well as the artists who is right for the job, the first phase of the project is started. Together clients and the artists work together in a collaborative space where clients can give feedback and artists can edit or change what is necessary. After the first phase is done, the clients have to pay 15% advanced before the artists proceed to the next stage. The following stage is just the same as before, working collaboratively to finish the project with the designs and audio approved by the clients. Once the final project is approved by the clients, a payment of the remaining 85% is made before the animation is packaged for the client. Task 3 Coordination of Group and Meetings Project Team Minutes Sprint 1 Project team Name: J.K.M.T Meeting date: 14/03/2017 Meeting place: RMIT building 80 Meeting chair: Mariana Minute taker: Mariana Present: All team members present Report on activities Went through the sprint and assigned tasks amongst team members. Mariana is first Scrum leader Group split up into groups to complete each task. Jake and Tim: Task 1 Kim and Mariana: Task 2 Discussed what each team would do Created a google drive and a Facebook page to share documents and correspond Started question list to send to owners in regards to Sprint 1 Teams started working on tasks Agreed to next meeting Booked study room for meeting 20/07/2017 Action list for Next week Action items Person responsible Each team work on task Send email to owners with questions (before Friday 17/03/2017) Attend meeting on 20/03 Email Clients about specifications of Sprint All team members Kim Project Team Minutes Sprint 1 Project team Name: J.K.M.T Meeting date: 20/03/2017 Meeting place: RMIT building 80.10.004 Meeting chair: Mariana Minute taker: Mariana Present: Kim, Mariana Report on activities Went through what each group did for each task Made recommendations and adjustments according to client specifications. Worked on USE CASE and made final editing Messaged other team members in regards to tasks that need to be completed Arranged a meeting for Tuesday 21/03/17 to finalized the Sprint   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   -Meeting in: 80.11.004 at 9:30am Action list for Next week Action items Person responsible Finalize sections of each task and upload to DRIVE Start final draft, logo and final touches on USE CASE Email Client in regards to questions about USE CASE Task 3 All team members Kim and Mariana Kim Mariana Project Team Minutes Sprint 1 Project team Name: J.K.M.T Meeting date: 21/03/2017 Meeting place: RMIT building 80.11.004 Meeting chair: Mariana Minute taker: Mariana Present: Kim, Mariana Report on activities Finalised Sprint to present to Client Action list for Next week Action items Person responsible Prepare for Sprint 2 Arrange meeting time in tutorial for next Sprint All team members Project Plan Task 1: describe 2-3 processes using IPO Select one process and outline its steps. Indicate the steps in which decision-making or performance-monitoring are taking place Jake and Tim 21/03/17 21/03/17 Task 2: Use Cases a. Describe an expanded use case for one of the Actors b. Draw a use case diagram for that Actor Kim and Mariana 21/03/2017 20/03/17 Task 3: Scrum Team management and coordination Final draft of sprint Mariana 21/03/17 21/03/17 Sprint 1

Presidential Election 2000 :: essays research papers

Presidential Campaign 2000 In the presidential campaign for the year 2000, there are a small number of men running for the spot, and all these men have different opinions on different issues. In this paper, some of the issues and opinions of Ralph Nader from the Green Party, Al Gore from the Democratic Party and Republican George W. Bush have been highlighted. To start off, the issue of Abortion is big these days. Do we let women do it or not? Democratic Candidate Al Gore personally opposes abortion, but thinks that it is up to the woman if she wants to abort her baby. Al Gore does not think that it is the governments right to tell women what they can and cannot do about it. "You're not going to stop abortions," Gore said. Unlike Gore, Republican Candidate George W. Bush is pro life with the exception of baby by rape, incest and the life of the mother. He has set the goal that all children should be welcomed in life and protected by law. Bush supports efforts to increase adoptions and opposes it and calls it â€Å"doctor assisted suicide†. He believes the role of a doctor is to relieve pain and suffering, not to end life. Green Party Candidate Ralph Nader says that his run doesn’t affect abortion rights, and that â€Å"we should work toward preventing the necessity of abortion†. He vaguely says that he thinks that women should privately decide to use RU-486 if they want to and that the government should not decide for them. My view on abortion is that it is up to the mother whether she wants to do it or not. It all depends on the situation. I think that if the baby is conceived due to rape or incest, then it is ok to abort it, but if the baby is made due to carelessness, then it is the parents’ responsibility to take care of it. Adoption is always an option. The next issue is gun control in the United States. Vice President Al Gore is for gun control. He thinks that we should focus on gun safety, not hunters & sportsmen and that we should restrict guns from wrong hands, not sportsmen & homeowners. He thinks that there should be gun licensing by states, but no registration and that there should be no special lawsuit protection for gun makers. Gore wants mandatory background checks before the gun is sold and child safety locks. Presidential Election 2000 :: essays research papers Presidential Campaign 2000 In the presidential campaign for the year 2000, there are a small number of men running for the spot, and all these men have different opinions on different issues. In this paper, some of the issues and opinions of Ralph Nader from the Green Party, Al Gore from the Democratic Party and Republican George W. Bush have been highlighted. To start off, the issue of Abortion is big these days. Do we let women do it or not? Democratic Candidate Al Gore personally opposes abortion, but thinks that it is up to the woman if she wants to abort her baby. Al Gore does not think that it is the governments right to tell women what they can and cannot do about it. "You're not going to stop abortions," Gore said. Unlike Gore, Republican Candidate George W. Bush is pro life with the exception of baby by rape, incest and the life of the mother. He has set the goal that all children should be welcomed in life and protected by law. Bush supports efforts to increase adoptions and opposes it and calls it â€Å"doctor assisted suicide†. He believes the role of a doctor is to relieve pain and suffering, not to end life. Green Party Candidate Ralph Nader says that his run doesn’t affect abortion rights, and that â€Å"we should work toward preventing the necessity of abortion†. He vaguely says that he thinks that women should privately decide to use RU-486 if they want to and that the government should not decide for them. My view on abortion is that it is up to the mother whether she wants to do it or not. It all depends on the situation. I think that if the baby is conceived due to rape or incest, then it is ok to abort it, but if the baby is made due to carelessness, then it is the parents’ responsibility to take care of it. Adoption is always an option. The next issue is gun control in the United States. Vice President Al Gore is for gun control. He thinks that we should focus on gun safety, not hunters & sportsmen and that we should restrict guns from wrong hands, not sportsmen & homeowners. He thinks that there should be gun licensing by states, but no registration and that there should be no special lawsuit protection for gun makers. Gore wants mandatory background checks before the gun is sold and child safety locks.

Human Resource Management in a business is extremely important Essay

Human Resource Management in a business is extremely important. Good Human Resource Management can help make a successful business as it can help keep the employees happy and satisfied. In the leisure and recreation industry high quality human resource management is vital as the service delivered by the organisations are on a â€Å"person to person† basis. S o the business is going to need the right people with the right skills and attitude, and also need the right managers to motivate and train staff to do well in their jobs. Human Resource Management basically means the organisation of people in a company, and can also be defined by the tasks, which managers undertake in the area, such as recruitment, training and communication with the workforce and dealing with any problems that may arise with the employees. The key qualities that the employees should have are that they should be well enough trained and confident enough to communicate with customers. Most large companies organise their staff into teams or separate departments, with a head or manager of section in charge. In large organisations the role of the manager is to be largely responsible for the deployment and development of employees, a duty that can represent a substantial challenge and needs its own type of training. The manager needs to be trained in appraising staff, motivating individuals or teams in applying employment legislation correctly. The roles of the Human Resource Manager in different sized organisations differ a lot. A manager in a large business would be a trained specialist and would know how to motivate his staff a lot more effectively, as he can concentrate solely on his employees. Where as a manager in a smaller business has the equal amount of responsibility, but this will be added to the responsibility for marketing strategies, financial decisions, stock control and many other jobs to do, perhaps for fewer staff but none the less a complex range of roles to perform. Here at ECC we have a very good Human Resource Management department that motivates the staff very well and is extremely organised, we aim to make sure that our employees are happy and that there is a friendly atmosphere evident for the customers to feel welcome. External and Internal Influences that affect Human Resource Planning Many large and medium sized businesses today have a personnel department. Its main role will be to manage the firm’s human resources. These are the employees or personnel in a business that help it to achieve its objectives. They might include production workers, office staff, members of the marketing team, accountants or cleaners. Human Resource Planning is the method by which a business forecasts how many and what type of employees it needs at present and in the future. It also involves matching up the right type of employees to the needs of the business. A business will work out its labour requirements, its demand, and make sure that an appropriate supply is demanded. There are many external and internal influences that can affect the success of the human resource management team and it’s planning for the short and long term. The difference between these influences from the point of view of Human Resource Planning (HRP) is that external is outside the immediate control of organisations, where as internal are more within control of organisations and can be more responsive to good HRP. The external factors can be simplified to the mnemonic PESTLE. These factors affect any leisure and recreation organisation. Each letter influences a business in different ways. Political Economic Social Technological Legal Environmental Political This is concerned with how political developments, regionally, nationally and internationally might affect a leisure and recreation businesses strategy and objectives. A change of government might affect a Leisure and Recreation provider such as our company ECC because they may introduce new policies or taxes that would mean our business may have to have to pay more direct tax and would consequently mean that our company would have less capital to spend on improving the business, or increasing employees wages. Political Instability could also occur in the United Kingdom. This could cause unrest within a country and could reduce the amount of people visiting your organisation. Here at ECC we may be affected, as there is a possibility of war with Iraq, which would mean people wouldn’t visit the UK or the USA as the countries could be destructed by a war. That means we wouldn’t have a business, as we would not get any customers visiting our restaurants so we would end up bust. Economic This incorporates: * Government Policy – Monetary Policy and Interest Rates * Economic Variables – Inflation and Unemployment Levels. The Monetary Policy is used to manage the level of demand in the economy with a particular emphasis on controlling the money supply. Monetary Policy can be used to: * Expand the economy by allowing more money to circulate and increase spending. * Control spending and restricts increases in money flowing around the economy which may lead to price rises. The government has used a variety of methods in the past to control the money supply. One is by changing the Interest Rates. Interest Rates is the rate of which businesses and people have to pay back money on loans and on there credit cards. The Monetary Policy meet to determine how much money they want circulating in the UK economy so that it can affect the money supply and inflation. An increase in Interest Rates can reduce the money supply. If interest rates increases, the rate of borrowing rises. That can affect leisure organisations such as ECC a great deal because if we want to expand and develop more restaurants in the UK then that would cost us more money to take out a loan, as the banks would charge us more interest. So then we may have to up our prices and pass on the increase of interest to our customers, which would then decrease the demand of our products, and may go to competitors such as McDonalds or Burger King. The level of inflation is when prices are rising (the rate of inflation) this also has an effect on consumer spending tending to slow down due to the high prices. Due to the loss of demand it has a knock on effect upon suppliers, who pass the increased fixed costs to companies such as ECC. That means that we would have to pay more for all our raw materials such as our food and cooking and cleaning goods and then that means increased prices. Our Human Resource Management department would be effected as that means we wouldn’t be able to increase the wages of the employees like they may want, as we cant afford the rise in inflation, which could lead to de- motivation in our staff and the possibility of employees leaving. Unemployment levels at a high level, generally means the UK population as a whole has less money to spend on leisure and recreation activities, and instead spend the money on essential goods. When employment levels are high the population feel confident and have more disposable income to spend on luxury goods or on leisure activities. That could influence our HRP in two ways. Either by having a lot of people spending a lot in our restaurant as they have more money, which means we could afford to give our employees pay rise. Which then would make our staff more motivated and then work more efficiently and produce a better service to customers. And the opposite effect being less demand from customers and then less profit, and we would have to reduce prices to increase demand. By doing that the staff would not get any more money and become more de- motivated. Social The factors include Consumer Trends, which are the trends of the UK population. If the economy is experiencing an upturn in demand that means a company such as ourselves that means we would have to employ more staff as the increase in demand needs more staff to cope with the queues and maintain our service standard of fast, quality food to our customers. So we would employ part time staff so they can be flexible and if the demand decreases then we could not use them or pay them as much. Our HRP may need to be modified if there is a sudden demographic change to our customer base. There is an increase in the â€Å"grey market† in the United Kingdom these are the over 50’s so that means we may employ more over 50 staff to appeal to the â€Å"grey market† as they generally have higher disposable incomes and more free time to come to our restaurant. So that could be something for our HRP to decide on, so we can provide a service to a wider market and then increase our profits. Technological We should improve our technology in ECC by maybe having to introduce online booking at our restaurants to keep up with the ongoing advances in technology and make our company have an advantage over our competitors. It would need high levels of investment, and increasing amounts of customers means ECC would have to employ more staff and also have to pay more on training the staff to be suitably equipped to deal with the new technology which would then mean having to pay out more for the wages of the employees. Legal Legal factors could include new health and safety legislation, such as tighter fire precautions, which would mean that our employees would have to go away to an external environment to be trained correctly to make sure ECC cant be sued due to staff not being trained in health and safety. Environmental Here at ECC we make sure there are no reasons why we as a company aren’t being environmentally friendly and then we aren’t subject to pressure groups demonstrating against the business, which then would lead to a loss of profit, as demand would decrease because of protestors against us. There are also internal factors that can affect businesses HRP. Structure and Ownership can lead to good and bad HRP. ECC being a large hierarchical organisation has many staff on many levels need a carefully researched human resource plan, which we have to avoid poor communication between restaurants. We make sure each manager of each restaurant across the world takes into account there employees opinions to make our company better as they are the experts in their job. That is all to increase the profits of the business and make it more efficient. The Size and Location can also affect a company and its HRP. We deliver one type of service, so all staff everywhere can be trained to the same standard across the organisation so we achieve the same results and provide the same great service. The location of the business can also be key, because if it is located in the countryside instead of the town centre where we locate our restaurants then we wouldn’t appeal to such a wide market and then not get as much profit, which would lead to less money being put towards our employees who are vital.

Love Quotes for Him That Melt the Heart

Love Quotes for Him That Melt the Heart If you have found your  true love, cherish him with your heart and soul. True love is a rare jewel. You are lucky to find one.  He makes your heart dance with joy. He mesmerizes you with his eyes. With him, time melts into nothingness. His touch makes you feel loved; his words soothe your heart. You think about him day and night. His words echo in your head, and you cant help smiling to yourself. You are in love. Wouldnt it be great if you could find a great bunch of love quotes for him that would speak the language of your heart? Have You Met Mr. Right? The first phase of courtship usually lasts a few weeks, perhaps a few months. After dating him for a while, you will know whether he is right for you. You miss him when he is not around. You find yourself keen to be with him again. If you feel a strong attraction towards this special person, you have met Mr. Right. Dont Over Analyze Him Do not waste time in self-doubt and confusion.  I have seen many relationships fail because of too much analysis. Do not overanalyze your relationship using logic or checklists. Let your heart take the lead. While it is natural for lovers to whisper sweet nothings, it is also likely that you have had a few arguments. If you have quarreled about petty matters, do not think that your love has reached a dead-end. You will find that when you make up after a fight, you love each other even more. Erich FrommImmature love says: I love you because I need you. Mature love says: I need you because I love you.Dave BarryWhat women want: To be loved, to be listened to, to be desired, to be respected, to be needed, to be trusted, and sometimes, just to be held. What men want: Tickets for the world series.John KeatsI love you the more in that I believe you had liked me for my own sake and for nothing else.Ralph Waldo EmersonA man is a little thing while he works by and for himself; but when he gives voice to the rules of love and justice, he is godlike.Barbara De AngelisYou never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back.Germaine De StaelLove is the emblem of eternity: it confounds all notion of time: effaces all memory of a beginning, all fear of an end.H. Jackson BrownLove is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own.Helen KellerThe best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.Elizab eth BrowningWhat I do and what I dream include thee, as the wine must taste of its own grapes. Roy CroftI love you, not only for what you are, But for what I am when I am with you.Ralph Waldo EmersonThe only true gift is a portion of yourself.John DonneCome live with me, and be my love, and we will some new pleasures prove, of golden sands, and crystal brooks, with silken lines and silver hooks.Vita Sackville-WestI miss you even more than I could have believed; and I was prepared to miss you a good deal.Amy LowellWhen you came, you were like red wine and honey, and the taste of you burnt my mouth with its sweetness. How Do You Know He Is the Man for You? The man you love may not be a handsome prince who sweeps you off your feet. Your love should be your  friend  and confidante. You may not have a whirlwind romance with him, but if he makes you feel secure, he is the man for you.Your lover needs to know how much he means to you. Dont hesitate to say, I love him. Grab the opportunity to express your deepest feelings. Here are some  love quotes  for him. Win over your sweetheart with these love quotes for him. Keep Your Sense of Humor Alive and Kicking Often, you may worry that he doesnt any longer sweep you off your feet. It may seem like the passion is gone. But dont rue that fact, otherwise, you will be condemned to move from one failed relationship to another. Instead, focus on rekindling the relationship. Even if the embers have cooled down, they can be rekindled. Each couple is unique, so I hesitate to dish out relationship advice. But one issue that constantly worries me is that some women regard relationship maintenance to be a mans job - almost exclusively. And that might be the root cause of a lot of relationship problems. Get into the drivers seat, at least once in a while, and everything will be fine again.

Health Issues of a Developed Country (The US) The WritePass Journal

Health Issues of a Developed Country (The US)   Abstract Health Issues of a Developed Country (The US) prescription charges are at 7.65  (Politics .co.uk, 2012).   Widespread protests against the prescription charges have contributed to several exceptions in the prescription drug charges including for children under 16, pregnant women, elderly people above 60, etc. More recently people with chronic conditions such as cancer have been included into those under the exempted category. While in Wales and Northern Ireland prescription charges have been completely abolished, the English government has, however, indicated that no further free prescription programs would be introduced but that the new policies would focus on brining more fairness into the prescription charging system (Politics.co.uk, 2012). Transition to a Market System Chronic underfunding and gaps in services and the pressures to improve the overall operating efficiency have gradually led to the NHS from being a total public ownership entity towards a market based system. In fact this shift towards a market based system could be traced way back to the Thatcher administration that introduced the policies of ‘general management’ and ‘outsourcing’ which bought about a fundamental shift.   General managers were people who were specialized in hospital management and provided a neat layer of interfacing between the health policy makers and the doctors and nurses who implement the policies. Outsourcing of non medical services such as hospital cleaning, catering saw for the first time the entry of the private sector into the NHS system (DH, 2005). Since then private sector participation in the NHS has improved significantly. By the late 1990’s, for instance, long term care by NHS was already taken over to a large extent and managed by private for profit service providers. Long term elderly care is no longer free of cost. Increasing private participation could be inferred from the statistics that from over 137,200 residential care homes in 1985 the numbers had dropped to 64,100 by 1998 (BBC, 1999).   Elderly care in these settings is not free and is totally means based with those earning more than  £16,000 per annum having to bear the entire expenses while the state provides maximum assistance for those under  £10,000 categories. NHS Spendings review points out that between 1998 and 2010 there was an average 5.75%   increase in health expenditure while the NHS is slated to receive .4% real terms growth between 2010 and 2014. This indicates the degree of financial pressure under which the NHS is operating. As (Appleby et al, 2009) points out, the pressure on NHS will continue to increase with growing challenges due to a mixture of factors including an aging demography, high cost pressure of new medical technologies, and the expectation for higher quality standards.   It is estimated that the NHS has to make considerable cost cuttings by way of improved operational efficiency to the tune of    £15 to  £20 billion in order for it to be able to continue providing equitable access to healthcare services to all the citizens(Nicholson, 2009). It is under these dire circumstances that the UK government proposed some fundamental structural and functional reforms to the NHS that are listed in the white paper ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’. One of the fundamental changes to the organization of the NHS as listed out in the White paper is the devolution of the ‘Primary care Trusts’ (PCTs) (Nuffield Trust, 2010). The PCTs which were instituted in 2002 to supervise primary care provision is no longer a valid entity. Its function has been taken over by Clinical commissioning groups (CCG) comprising mainly of local GPs. The idea behind such a reform is to increase local empowerment. Furthermore the PCTs were in the past struggling with frequent restructuring. One of the underlying motives behind such a transformation is to place greater responsibility with the local GPs as they are directly involved in service referrals. Also since GPs are directly involved in both commissioning and care provision they are better positioned to make effective assessments and to prevent unnecessary hospitalization and other services. In other words, the establishment of the GP consortia which is one of the highlights of the ‘ Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’ white paper, is expected to increase the integration between the GP’s , specialists and other service providers paving way for an integrated care delivery mechanism that is both cost effective and efficient. Furthermore, the white paper also refers to the formation of a NHS commissioning board that supervises the overall equitable access to NHS services, commissioning, and the proper allotment of resources. This would ensure that micromanagement is not an issue at the NHS. The new policy framework also dissolves several quangos thereby resulting in greater operational savings. By these means the new reforms are slated to save up to 20 billion in terms of efficiency of operations by 2014.   Projections indicate that up to 45% savings could be realized in the form of management related cost savings (DH, 2010, pg 5). One of the distinctive factors of the current NHS reforms compared to the original NHS policies is the shift from a purely public system towards a more market centric healthcare system. The focus on increasing the participation of the patient and providing them the choice as to their service providers and the treatment that they want are particularly prominent aspects of the new healthcare bill. . The inclusion of the ‘choice of any willing provider’ in the ‘Health and Social Care Bill’ lays stress on the increased freedom for the health consumer (DH, 2010, pg 17). It also emphasizes the increasing competition among contracted health service providers which is ultimately good for improving the overall quality of health care delivery. Reduction in bureaucratic control and empowerment of the care providers imply that the primary care providers’ could function independently and effectively to meet the needs of the patients. Effective monitoring is the key to any functional system. For a huge organization such as the NHS monitoring the functioning of the various agencies and systems is very vital for achieving streamlining of operations, process efficiency and achieving high quality of care. One of the key aspects of the new reforms is entrusting local health watch organizations with the responsibility of managing and addressing the feedbacks from the health consumers. These organizations also support the patients in making their decisions about service providers. These organizations will directly report the performance measures of service providers and patient feedbacks to local as well as national authorities helping to address any consumer grievances and quality concerns at the earliest(DH, 2010, pg 19). While there are proponents for this new system there are also concerns expressed by politicians, professionals and general public who are worried that the competition between medical service providers would engender compromise on quality of services contrary to improving the same. This is particularly so when these decisions are made on the bidding approach and when lower cost of service provision is the main criteria. One particular instance is the drug and alcohol support services that are vastly privatized in the UK. These private organizations are paid  £3000 if the addicts are rehabilitated and remain free of drugs for 3 months and a further  £5000 if they remained drug free for a whole year. There are complaints that under these circumstances, in these private organizations, the focus is not entirely on rehabilitation and saving the patient is not the primary concern. As a case in point, an extreme heroin addict was just discharged from the clinic without any alternative in tervention. Methadone prescription for detoxification was not even tried as the private company would not be remunerated for such an intervention (Pemberton, 2013). . Furthermore since the entire drug and alcohol services is taken up by the private organizations there was no further referral or intervention possible for such cases. These are instances that point out the risks in adapting a privatized and highly fragmented setup.   Furthermore there are concerns that under the concept of ‘payment by results’ that is advocated under the new NHS policies, there is even more risk that the private agencies would just focus on achieving end points of care. While this approach would be okay for acute clinical conditions it leaves a lot to be desired in the management of chronic conditions where there is no visible endpoint. Conclusion From the time of its institution in 1948 to the current period, the NHS has undergone significant changes in its mode of operation. Presently, there is a distinct shift in healthcare focus as witnessed by a change from the fully public model of care delivery towards increasing private participation in the NHS system.   Growing elderly population and increasing strain on its health services have forced the NHS to adopt these new and novel approaches. These include a fundamental change in its mode of care delivery with the increasing private sector participation in care delivery. Though maintaining free point of access care delivery is one of the main mottos of the original 1948 NHS manifesto, the increasing health care consumption and cost pressures have, to an extent, compromised on this objective. Today many services such as prescription drugs, long-term care are no longer free and there is increasing private sector participation as contracted service providers. The purely fragmen ted approach of private sector service providers who are driven by a contractual obligation and cost centered focus, would definitely compromise the quality of services and the original advantages that the NHS offered.   While the growing needs and the changing demands have necessitated such drastic transformation of the NHS system, care should be taken in the form of having enough performance monitoring and quality checkpoints in place that ensure that private participation does not erode some of the fundamental strengths and qualities of the NHS, the most basic of which is to enable equity of access to quality healthcare. Bibliography Appleby J, Crawford R and Emmerson C (2009) How Cold Will it Be? Prospects for NHS Funding 2011–2017. The King’s Fund. Audrey Leathard, (2000), Health Care provision: Past, present and into the 21st century, Second Edition, Published by Nelson Thornes Ltd. UK. BBC (1999), What is Long-Term care? Viewed June 25th 2013, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/395760.stm CDC (2012), Overweight and Obesity : Adult Obesity Facts, viewed June 25th 2013, cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html CDC (2012), Alcohol and Public Health : Fact Sheets Binge Drinking, viewed June 25th 2013, cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm Dinesh C Sharma (2010), India’s No 1 Killer: Heart Disease, viewed June 25th 2013, http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Indias+no.1+killer:+Heart+disease/1/92422.html DH (2005), The NHS Plan: a plan for investment and reform, CM 4818-I, The Stationery Office, Annual Report 2005, p. 55 DH (2010), Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS, viewed June 25th 2013, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/135875/dh_117794.pdf.pdf ISRO (2005), Telemedicine: Enabling specialty healthcare to the rural and remote population of India, viewed June 25th 2013, isro.org/publications/pdf/Telemedicine.pdf Katherine A Webb (2002), From County Hospital to NHS Trust: Volume 1: History, University of York. Max Pemberton (2013), NHS reforms: From today the coalition has put the NHS up for grabs, viewed June 25th 2013, telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9962195/NHS-reforms-From-today-the-Coalition-has-put-the-NHS-up-for-grabs.html Politics.co.uk (2012), NHS Prescription charges, viewed June 25th 2013, politics.co.uk/reference/nhs-prescription-charges NHS (2011), NHS History, viewed June 25th 2013, nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/nhshistory/Pages/NHShistory1948.aspx NHS (2013), The NHS in England, viewed June 27th 2013, nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/about/Pages/overview.aspx Nicholson D (2009) The Year 2008/09. Department of Health, viewed June 25th 2013, www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_099689 Nuffield Trust (2010), NHS resources and reform: Response to the White paper equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS, and the 2010 Spending Review, viewed June 25th 2013, nuffieldtrust.org.uk/sites/files/nuffield/publication/NHS_resources_and_reform_Oct2010.pdf Tony White (2010), A Guide to the NHS, Radcliffe Publishing Ltd. The Economic Times (2013), India probably world’s third largest economy: OECD,   viewed june 25th 2013, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-05-30/news/39603030_1_gdp-growth-third-largest-economy-economic-growth-projection Victoria Barbary (2007), Primary Care Trusts: Tailoring Commissioning,   NLGN White Paper, Viewed June 25th 2013, nlgn.org.uk/public/wp-content/uploads/pcts_white-paper.pdf

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21th Bled eConference eCollaboration Essay 1 Introduction This is not a research paper. Rather, it is a teaching report in which I describe the use of the so called beer distribution game (or beergame) – a logistics and supply chain simulation game – in teaching business-to-business eCommerce. The aim of the paper is twofold: First, I want to demonstrate how the beergame can be used to provide students with a more profound understanding of the reasons why eCommerce technologies are used in contemporary supply chains to exchange information and to facilitate collaboration. Second, I want to share both my experiences and my materials for using the beergame in eCommerce courses with the IS community, i.e. those scholars that teach (business-to-business) eCommerce or supply chain management courses. The beergame is a role-play simulation game in which students enact a four stage supply chain. The task of this supply chain is to produce and deliver units of beer: the factory produces and the other three stages deliver the beer units until it reaches the customer at the downstream end of the chain. In doing so, the aim of the players is rather simple: each of the four groups has to fulfil the incoming orders of beer by placing orders with the next upstream party. Since communication and collaboration is not allowed between supply chain stages, the players invaria588 bly create the so called bullwhip effect. With ‘bullwhip’ we refer to the effect that the amount of periodical orders amplifies upstream in the supply chain towards the production end, thus causing a range of operational problems. The bullwhip effect is a well-known phenomenon and a prominent symptom of coordination problems in supply chains. In using the beergame to create the bullwhip effect students experience first hand, not only the problems of lack of information sharing and collaboration in supply chains, but also the main causes for the creation of the bullwhip effect. Henceforth, in introducing eCommerce measures in the later sessions of the course, students can relate to these topics through their own experiences. The paper ties in with a recent discussion on the ISWorld eMail list on â€Å"how to make relevant IS teaching for students with little or no practical experience†. In teaching information systems (IS) and specifically B2B eCommerce we frequent ly experience problems of making relevant those topics for students. The challenge is to get them to appreciate the relevance of IS and also to provide them, not only with a superficial knowledge of the topics, but with a more profound understanding of the reasons why eCommerce technologies are used in practice. Against this backdrop I want to show how the beergame can help demonstrating the role and need of eCommerce technologies in a topic area in which the students not only lack practical knowledge (i.e. with regards to supply chains), but typically also do not have their own frame of reference to be able to relate to the topics we teach. To this end, I will introduce the beergame, demonstrate its use in a classroom setting, present typical results created by playing the game and show how I embed the game in a typical B2B eCommerce syllabus. I begin with introducing the game and the bullwhip effect (in section 2). In section 3, I then describe the application of the beergame in a classroom setting; I give an overview of a beergame session and present typical results. Section 4 demonstrates how typical supply chain problems (and the causes of the bullwhip effect) can be deduced from the beergame experience in order to motivate the introduction of eCommerce measures for improving supply chain coordination. The section is concluded by a synopsis of typical eCommerce topics that can follow the beergame in a typical B2B syllabus (section 4.3). 2 The Beergame In the following I will first give a brief introduction to the bullwhip effect before I introduce the beergame itself, i.e. its history, structural setup and the rules of the game. 2.1 Bullwhip effect as symptom of typical supply chain problems The bullwhip effect is a well-known symptom of typical coordination problems in (traditional) supply chains. It refers to the effect that the amount of periodical orders amplifies as one moves upstream in the supply chain towards the production end (Lee, Padmanabhan Whang 1997a). Even in the face of stable customer demand small variations in demand at the retail end tend to dramatically amplify upstream the supply chain with the effect that order amounts are very erratic, and can be very high in one week and almost zero in the next week. This phenomenon was discovered and first described by Forrester (1961) who did research into the relationship between ordering and stock keeping patterns using simulation models (Warburton 2004). The term itself was first coined around 1990 when ProcterGamble perceived erratic and amplified order patters in its supply chain for 589 baby diapers. The effect is also known by the names whiplash or whipsaw effect (Lee, Padmanabhan Whang 1997a), which refers metaphorically to the visualisation of order patterns moving upstream the supply chain (see figure 3). As a consequence of the bullwhip effect a range of inefficiencies occur throughout the supply chain, e.g. high (safety) stock levels, poor customer service levels, poor capacity utilisation, aggravated problems with demand forecasting, and ultimately high cost and low levels of inter-firm trust (Chopra Meindl 2001; Lee, Padmanabhan Whang 1997a). While the effect is not new and a lot of research has been conducted and supply chain projects have been initiated since its discovery, it is still a timely and pressing problem in contemporary supply chains. Various research studies have quantified the effect and estimate that profitability in most supply chains might improve by up to 30% by eliminating the bullwhip effect (Metters 1997; McCullen Towill 2002). 2.2 Beergame setup and rules Having introduced the bullwhip effect and its implications for the supply chain and its players I will now introduce the beergame, its setup and rules. I begin by providing a brief history of the game before I present the general structure and the rules of the game. 2.2.1 History of the beergame The beergame (or beer distribution game) was originally invented in the 1960s by Jay Forrester at MIT as a result of his work on system dynamics (see Forrester 1957). While the original goal of the simulation game was to research the effect of systems structures on the behaviour of people (â€Å"structure creates behaviour†), the game can also be used to demonstrate the benefits of information sharing, supply chain management, and eCollaboration in the supply chain (Li Simchi-Levi 2002). A range of different versions of the beergame have emerged over the years. The original beergame was realised as a board game (Sterman 1989). Meanwhile a table version (Ossimitz, Kreisler Zoltan 2002 ) and also computerised simulations (Hieber Hartel 2003) have been developed. In this paper I predominantly draw on a table version, which I adapted from the so called Klagenfurt design (cp. Ossimitz, Kreisler Zoltan 2002); the structural setup of the table version is shown in figures 1 and 2. I will briefly discuss advantages and disadvantages of the different game versions in chapter 3.1 where I discuss the administration of the beergame in a classroom setting. 2.2.2 General structure of the game The beergame simulates a supply chain that consists of four stages (retailer, wholesaler, distributer and factory), each of which is played by one or better two or three players (Goodwin Franklin Sr. 1994). Hence, a supply chain is typically played by 8 to 12 people, while more than one supply chain can be administered in one class at the same time. The task of each supply chain is to produce and deliver units of beer: the factory produces and the other three stages deliver the beer un its until it reaches the external customer at the downstream end of the supply chain. In doing so, the aim of the players is rather simple: each sub group has to fulfil the incoming orders of beer. The retailer receives an externally predetermined customer demand and places orders with the wholesaler; the wholesaler sends orders to the distributor, who orders from the factory; the factory finally 590 produces the beer. Hence, orders flow in the upstream direction, while deliveries flow in the downstream direction of the supply chain. An important structural aspect of the game is delay (i.e. time lag) in order to account for logistics and production time. Each delivery (and production order) requires two rounds until they are finally delivered to the next stage. In the structural setup of the game this is represented by two shipping delay fields located in between the supply chain stages as well as at the production end (figure 1). Order flow Delay Delay Delay Delay Factory Factory Distributor Distributor Wholesaler Wholesaler Retailer Retailer Product flow Figure 1: Supply chain setup in the beergame table version Student Outgoing order Play sheet Incoming order Wholesaler Delay Distributor Distributor Outgoing delivery Delay Factory Incoming delivery Student Student Figure 2: Detailed table layout 2.2.3 Rules of the game The game is played in rounds, which simulates weeks. In each round the following steps have to be carried out by the players: 1) receive incoming orders, 2) receive incoming deliveries, 3) update play sheets (outstanding deliveries and inventory), 4) send out deliveries, and finally 5) decide on the amount to be ordered. In doing so, deciding on each round’s order amount is effectively the only decision that players are able to make throughout the game; everything else follows a set of fixed rules. The first rule is that every order has to be fulfilled, either directly (should the players’ inventory be large enough) or later in subsequent rounds. In the latter case, players have to keep track of their backlog (backorder) (Coakley et al. 1998). Secondly, inventory and backlog incur cost – each item in stock costs EUR 0.50 per week, while each item on backlog costs EUR 1.00. Consequently, the primary aim of ea ch subgroup is to keep their costs low. Hence, the optimal strategy for the players is to run their business with as little stock as possible without being forced to â€Å"move into backorder†. Thirdly, players are not allowed to communicate. The only information they are allowed to exchange is the order amount; there is no transparency as to what stock levels or actual customer demand is; only the retailer knows the external demand (Rafaeli et al. 2003). Moreover, the game is based on the simplification of unlimited capacity (in stock keep591 ing, production and transportation) and unlimited access to raw materials at the production end (Hieber Hartel 2003). 2.2.4 The external demand In playing the game the external demand is predetermined and usually does not vary greatly. In the beginning, the supply chain is pre-initialised with inventory levels (e.g. 15 units), orders (e.g. 5 units) and beer units in the shipping delay fields (e.g. 5 units). In order to induce the bullwhip effect to the supply chain the external demand remains stable for a few rounds (e.g. 5 units for 5 rounds) before it suddenly shows one steep increase (jumps to 9 units) before it remains stable again at this higher level for the remainder of the game (usually 40 to 50 rounds in total). However, the one increase in external demand is enough to induce variance into the supply chain, which will inevitably lead to the creation of the bullwhip effect and to a destabilisation of ordering patterns throughout the supply chain. 3 Using the beergame in class Having described the idea, the structural setup, and the rules of the beergame, I will now discuss the administration of the game in a classroom setting. This is followed by the presentation of typical results generated by beergame applications in eCommerces courses. These results are very useful for deriving the causes of the bullwhip effect in discussions with students in a so-called debriefing session (see section 4). For a session outline of a B2B course that uses the beergame please refer to appendix 2; the experiences shared in the following sections are more or less based on this session outline. 3.1 Administering the beergame 3.1.1 Choosing a beergame version As mentioned above, different versions of the beergame exist for use in classroom settings. The traditional version is a board game in which tokens are physically moved on the board to represent orders and stock. The upside of the board version is that people relate well to moving actual objects. However, there are two downsides: firstly, the board game is too slow, cumbersome and complex to administer; secondly and more importantly, because physical objects are used to represent inventory on the board, people enjoy an unwanted transparency of inventory levels of other supply chain stages and can thus strategically act upon their knowledge of incoming stock. The table version of the beergame was originally developed by a team at the University of Klagenfurt (Ossimitz, Kreisler Zoltan 2002). It shows several improvements to the original design such as a leaner and more pragmatic approach to moving orders and stock in the supply chain. Essentially this is done by using paper slips on which numbers are written by the players. However, it still shows some administrative overhead such as a bookkeeping pe rson that takes stock of all things happening within the supply chain using a computer. While this functions as a built-in safety net in case something goes wrong, it is still a hurdle to the application in a classroom setting and it also slows down the game, which results in long sessions and the students being bored throughout the game. Henceforth, I have adapted the table version and essentially eliminated the bookkeeper in order to achieve a more straightforward progression of the game. The 592 risk however is that students make mistakes in calculating order amounts or stock levels using the paper play sheet. While it helps to start slowly and to doublecheck the play sheet calculations during the first few rounds, in a few of my first beergame applications some people indeed miscalculated stock levels, which led to problems with interpreting the data later on. For this reason, today I use MS Excel and a laptop computer on each table for people to fill in their play sheets; this effectively eliminates the risk and ensures a quick progression of the game (see appendix 1 for a play sheet example). 3.1.2 Schedule of a beergame session The first step in administering the beergame is the preparations of the tables. As is illustrated in figure 2, four fields have to be marked on each table, which is done by fixing to the table 4 sheets of paper using sticky tape. The same is done with the delay fields. Furthermore, cardboard boxes (or plastic cups) and envelopes have to be filled with small paper slips to pre-initialise the supply chain with orders and deliveries. Then, every table has to be prepared with a stack of order and delivery slips that will be used by the players during the game. Finally, paper slips with the external demand progression (see above) have to be prepared that are handed to the retailer groups during the game. Also, for administering more than one supply chain, (student) assistants are needed to help with moving boxes and envelopes during the game. The second step is briefing the students; in doing so I provide a short introduction to the idea of the game, its history, structure, and rules (see above). When playing in more than one supply chain I stress the fact that groups of each stage are competing with one another (e.g. retailer vs. retailer), in order to get the students to take playing seriously. The third step is to start playing some initial trial rounds with the pre-initialised supply chain and to make sure that everyone gets used to filling in play sheets and order/delivery slips. Then, in the fourth step, the speed of playing the game is increased and the game is played for a number of 40 to 50 rounds. The game is then stopped abruptly so that the students do not have time to react strategically to the coming end of the game. The fifth and final part of the session is a short discussion directly after the game, where I ask students how they felt throughout the game and what they think the average customer demand was. The next session after the beergame session is the debriefing session, for which the data that the groups produced throughout the game has to be consolidated, plotted and analysed. Typical beergame results and their creation are presented in the next section; the debriefing session is described in section 4. 3.2 Typical progression and results of a beergame session Every beergame session follows roughly the same scheme, so that the progression of the game shows a recurring pattern. I usually start playing the game at a slow pace for people to get used to moving objects, taking stock and filling in the play sheets. What typically happens during these first few rounds is that people try to get rid of some of the inventory (e.g. 15 units) in order to manage their costs; hence they often only place small orders in the beginning (for an example see weeks 1-7 in figure 3). Consequently, when the customer demand jumps to the higher level in round 6 the supply chain has adjusted to a low demand scenario. After the steep increase many retailer groups tend to wait one or two rounds in order to see if the increase is permanent (as in figure 3). When they then place the first large order they invariably initiate a bullwhip effect that perpetuates through593 out the chain. Typically, the order amount increases with every stage in the supply chain (as in figure 3). What happens then is that the groups move deeply into backorder (see figure 4), because due to the delivery delays it takes quite some time for the beer to move through the supply chain to the retail end. Getting increasingly desperate players often try to send signals and place more large orders; in the end they typically lose track of what they have ordered and order way too much. The consequence is that the supply chain is flooded with beer and the inventories overflow (see weeks 2035 in figure 4). The effect is that people cease ordering entirely; e.g. a lot of very small orders are placed. This is especially true for the higher stages of the supply chain (see table 1). In the end, while the retailer groups often manage to stabilise their business, the higher stages have no idea of the actual customer demand and are left frustrated. Bullwhip Effect 70 60 50 Customer Orders 40 30 20 10 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 Week Retailer Wholesaler Distributor Factory Figure 3: Plot of order distribution, visualising the bullwhip effect Figure 3 shows the order distribution over 40 weeks and a typical bullwhip effect. Figure 4 shows the inventory fluctuation, with negative inventory representing back order. Table 1 finally shows the decrease in customer demand information upstream visualised by the average order amount by the four stages of the supply chain in this example. More importantly, the increase in order fluctuation upstream the supply chain is illustrated by the largest amount having been ordered in each stage and the number of small orders that were placed. This translates into an increase in inventory fluctuation as well. All this information is being used in the following debriefing session to discuss the bullwhip effect, its implications and the reasons for its existence. 594 Out of stock = Serious lack of service level! 200 150 100 Inventory 50 0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 -50 -100 -150 Week Retailer Wholesaler Distributor Factory Figure 4: Example of inventory fluctuation (negative inventory = backorder) Key figures Retailer Wholesaler Distributor Factory ∅ order amount (units of beer) 8.33 8.68 8.75 9.95 Largest order amount 25 40 50 60 No of small orders (0-2 units) 4 11 14 18 Inventory fluctuation range 84 81 170 165 Table 1: Example of key figures derived from the beergame 4 Learning from the beergame results Having presented the way in which the beergame is administered and a typical progression of the game and its results, I will now first show how a debriefing session can be used to illustrate supply chain coordination problems and to derive typical causes for the creation of the bullwhip effect. Based on these causes one can then quite easily motivate eCommerce measures and ICT-based supply chain reform initiatives that aim at reducing the bullwhip effect and improving supply chain coordination. 4.1 The debriefing session The debriefing session follows the beergame session (see appendix 2). I usually begin the session with a brief discussion of students’ experiences throughout the game. Typically, the following questions are being discussed: Did you feel yourself controlled by forces in the system from time to time? Or did you feel in control? Did you find yourself blaming the groups next to you for your problems? Did you feel desperation at any time? This discussion typically shows that people indeed were blaming their neighbouring supply chain partners for not doing their jobs right (either not ordering in a 595 sensible way or not being able to deliver); desperation and frustration are common feelings during the last rounds of the game. A first learning from this discussion is that it is the structure of the game (i.e. the supply chain) that causes the behaviour. This is precisely what its inventor (Forrester) intended to achieve and what is referred to as the effects of systems dynamics. A second set of questions can then be discussed in order to reflect upon the beergame itself and its degree of simulating real world conditions: What, if anything, is unrealistic about this game? Why are there order delays? Why are there production delays? Shipping delays? Why have both distributor and wholesalers; why not ship beer directly from the factory to the retailer? Must the brewer be concerned with the management of the raw materials suppliers? Using these questions and by stressing the fact that real-life supply chains are much more complex (a huge variety of products and supply chain partners e xist, as well as complex criss-crossing networks of relationships) the students can quickly be convinced that real-life conditions favour the emergence of the bullwhip to a much greater extent and that the beergame is indeed a good vehicle to simulate the creation of the effect. Having established this necessary bit of legitimisation, the session can then proceed with presenting the beergame results and with identifying the underlying causes. Hence, the next step essentially is to present, for all supply chain groups, the data (table 1) and figures (3 and 4) presented above. In doing so, I typically have a very interactive and lively discussion. I ask what people thought while playing the game and what led them to, for example, place a huge order at a particular point in the game. In discussing the extreme examples, the class usually shares a laugh, which, as a nice by-product, leads to a more casual atmosphere and contributes to setting an open tone for the remainder of the course. I also honour the winning supply chain teams at this point in time. This is also the time where I introduce the concept of ‘cumulated supply chain cost’, e.g. by pointing ou t that the product at the customer end has to earn all (cumulated) costs of all supply chain parties; this insight serves as a first step in establishing the idea of global thinking and chainwide optimization, which essentially requires eCollaboration technologies. At this point in the session one can then either go straight to identifying the causes and effects of the bullwhip effect (see below), or take a little (useful) detour in discussing a teaching case to corroborate the results and to give the results of the beergame some more credibility. In doing so, I use the case of Italian pasta manufacturer Barilla, one of the first documented cases in which a company launched a project to identify the causes of the bullwhip effect and to introduce some countermeasures (see Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky Simchi-Levi 2003, p. 91). 4.2 Identifying the causes of the bullwhip effect The bullwhip effect, as simulated in the beergame, is mainly caused by three underlying problems: 1) a lack of information, 2) the structure of the supply chain and 3) a lack of collaboration and global optimisation. These three causes can be identified in an interactive session with the students by discussing the beergame experiences and then be corroborated with insights from practice and the literature. 596 4.2.1 Lack of information In the beergame no information except for the order amount is perpetuated up the supply chain. Henceforth, most information about customer demand is quickly lost upstream in the supply chain. Moreover, no other information is being shared. With these characteristics the beergame simulates supply chains with low levels of trust, where only little information is being shared between the parties. Without actual customer demand data, all forecasting has to rely solely on the incoming orders at each supply chain stage. In reality, in such a situation traditional forecasting methods and stock keeping strategies contribute to creating the bullwhip effect (Lee, Padmanabhan Whang 1997a; Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky SimchiLevi 2003). Unexpected increases in orders from downstream partners translate into even higher order increases upstream, because when players regard the increase to be permanent and want to avoid running out of stock, they need to update their safety stock levels; hence they place an even larger order. Later, when it turns ou t that an increase was only temporary, safety stock levels are lowered and players might order nothing for a while, hence contributing to the bullwhip effect. 4.2.2 Supply chain structure The supply chain structure, with its design as separate stages and the long lead times, contributes to the bullwhip effect. The longer the lead time, i.e. the longer it takes for an order to travel upstream and the subsequent delivery to travel downstream, the more aggravated the bullwhip effect is likely to be. With traditional ordering, the point in time where an order is typically placed (the order point) is usually calculated by multiplying the forecasted demand with the lead time plus the safety stock amount, so that an order is placed so far in advance as to ensure service level during the time until the delivery is expected to arrive (Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky Simchi-Levi 2003). Hence, the longer the lead time is, the more pronounced an order will be as an reaction to an increase in forecasted demand (especially in conjunction with updating the safety stock levels, see above), which again contributes to the bullwhip effect. 4.2.3 Local optimisation Local optimisation, in terms of local forecasting and individual cost optimisation, and a lack of cooperation are at the heart of the bullwhip problem. A good example for local optimisation is the batch order phenomenon. In practice, ordering entails fix cost, e.g. ordering in full truck loads is cheaper then ordering smaller amounts. Furthermore, many suppliers offer volume discounts when ordering larger amounts. Hence, there is a certain incentive for individual players to hold back orders and only place aggregate orders. This behaviour however aggravates the problem of demand forecasting, because very little information about actual demand is transported in such batch orders. And batch ordering, of course, contributes directly to the bullwhip effect by unnecessarily inflating the orders. This might lead to lower local cost in the short term, but translates into higher overall cost at the chain level. 4.3 eCommerce measures to tackle the bullwhip effect Having identified and discussed the three problem areas with regard to both the beergame and their real-world counterparts, I then present three areas of improvement that directly correspond to the three problem areas: 1) information sharing in terms of electronic data interchange, 2) ICT-enabled supply chain re597 design, and 3) supply chain collaboration for global optimisation (see figure 5). In terms of teaching, these three bundles of eCommerce measures and initiatives can then be briefly introduced in one session (see appendix 3) or in more (technical and organisational) detail in three separate sessions (see appendix 2). In the following sections I give a brief overview of what can be part of those sessions. 1 Information loss upstream the supply chain Without direct communication, forecasting is based on aggregated, inaccurate information. This causes large stock, high cost, poor service levels. Improvement Efficient communication and information sharing 2 Supply chain structure Long lead times lead to increasing variability upstream making planning nearly impossible: large safety stock is required, variability increased. Slow downstream product flow causes poor service levels. Improvement Supply chain redesign: processes, tasks roles 3 Local optimization Independent planning and local optimization lead to inefficiencies, such as local forecasting, batch ordering, inflated orders, etc. Improvement Cooperation to achieve global optimization Figure 5: Summary of bullwhip causes and areas of improvement 4.3.1 Efficient communication One of the most basic learnings from the beergame is to improve information sharing along the supply chain (e.g. of point-of-sale customer demand data); information sharing is the first step towards more advanced supply chain coordination (Muckstadt et al. 2001). Henceforth, the first step in teaching eCommerce measures is to present the principles and technologies of electronic data interchange. In doing so, I first of all discuss with the students the â€Å"principles of digitally mediated replenishment of goods† by Johnston (1999), essentially a collection of principles for effective inter-organisational electronic data interchange, such as the â€Å"once-only data entry principle† or the â€Å"synchronicity principle†. Based on these fundamental principles I discuss the ways in which traditional document-based ordering can be reformed using electronic data interchange. While these topics might seem to be outdated from a modern information systems perspective, it lays the foundation for a step-by-step increase of complexity that aims at providing the students with a more substantial knowledge of the problems and ideas behind ICT-enabled supply chain reform than can be achieved by a simple presentation of the latest communication technologies. The next step in this endeavour is to introduce technologies that are needed to enable effective inter-firm data interchange and electronic ordering, such as product numbering schemes and automatic product identification technologies. In most supply chains physical products have to be handled; hence ways are needed to attach information to these objects. Consequently, I introduce the following technologies: †¢ Standardised product numbering schemes: Here, the history, proliferation, functioning and impact of numbering schemes such as the Universal Product Code (UPC), the European Article Numbering (EAN) code and more special598 ised codes like for example container codes (SSCC) are introduced. Most of these codes today are administered by the standardisation organisation GS1 (2005). †¢ Automated product identification technologies: The technology with the greatest diffusion in the market is the barcode; while specialised barcodes exist in some industries, the most common one is the UCC/EAN-128 (Coyle, Bardi Langley 1996). The second, much newer technology to be discussed here is Radio Frequency based Identification (RFID). †¢ Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): EDI is the basis for electronic ordering. Here, traditional EDI standards, such as the UN/EDIFACT, which was jointly developed by ISO and the UN (Coyle, Bardi Langley 1996), can be discussed, as well as newer techniques such as Internet-based WebEDI and XML-enabled order exchange. In discussions with the students these enabling communication and data exchange technologies can then be related back to the beergame experience in that they 1) speed up the order process, thus reducing lead time and 2) enable more sophisticated information sharing of POS data. Moreover, they are the basis for the next step, the ICT-enabled redesign of supply chain structures. 4.3.2 ICT-enabled supply chain reform initiatives The second building block in dealing with the bullwhip effect comprises a range of different supply chain reform initiatives that can be subsumed under the concept of efficient replenishment. As such, two distinct types of measures can be distinguished: 1) inventory management concepts that aim at changing the ways in which actors in the supply chain carry out their roles of stock keeping and ordering and 2) logistics concepts that aim at improving actual material and information flow. Efficient inventory management is based on the idea that suppliers have timely access to POS data and can thus eliminate traditional forecasting and change the way ordering and inventory management is carried out (Lee, Padmanabhan Whang 1997b). Three concepts with increasing degrees of complexity can be distinguished: †¢ Quick Response: The idea behind this concept is for the supplier to become more responsive to changes in customer demand through the sharing of POS data. Retailers still prepare individual orders, but suppliers are better prepared. †¢ Continuous Replenishment: Suppliers continually receive POS data from retailers to prepare shipments at agreed-upon levels. †¢ Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI): Under this initiative the suppliers manage all inventory aspects for their own products at the retailer end. Suppliers decide on shipment levels without any orders from the retail end to be placed. In fact, the retailer has very little to do with the operational aspects in VMI (Waller, Johnson Davis 1999). The second type of efficient replenishment measures is efficient logistics (see Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky Simchi-Levi 2003). Here, two main building blocks can be discussed: †¢ Warehousing and delivery concepts: Depending on the kinds of goods that are moved along the supply chain, different kinds of warehousing and delivery can be applied in order to achieve an optimal flow of goods. Cross docking is a concept i n which warehouses function as inventory coordination points rather than actual inventory storage points; hence, goods are only re-shuffled 599 between trucks coming in from suppliers and trucks leaving for stores. This instrument can be used for fast selling products. For bulk products central warehousing can be used; while fresh products benefit from direct delivery. †¢ Full-blown just-in-time delivery (JIT): Most commonly found in the automotive industry, ‘just-in-time’ describes a concept, whereby supplier and manufacturer align their logistics and production processes to a degree that no (or very little) inventory is needed. Goods can be directly delivered from the production at the supplier to arrive just in time to be used in production at the manufacturer end (e.g. Johnson Wood 1996). Changing the way in which inventory is managed means to effectively change the supply chain structure. For example, by implementing VMI the supply chain partners eliminate one stage of ordering, thus eradicating one step in the typical bullwhip chain of events. Moreover, by speeding up product flows using the logistic s concepts lead time is being reduced, which in turn softens the bullwhip effect. Consequently, all measures discussed in this section can be directly motivated by the beergame. In presenting this block to the students I also point out, for every singly concept, the role of information systems and eBusiness technologies. 4.3.3 eCollaboration: joint planning and global optimisation The third block of eBusiness measures for tackling the bullwhip effect is the most sophisticated one and builds on the first two blocks. Global optimisation of supply chain processes can only be achieved through the collaboration of supply chain partners under a joint initiative. I present the Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) initiative as an example from the Grocery industry (VICS 2001) and also discuss (sometimes only briefly) joint product development initiatives in the automotive industry. CPFR as a concept builds on and extends concepts such as VMI by aiming at establishing a long-term planning of joint promotion activities. CPFR is based on the observation that a combination of inventory management and logistics concepts (see section 4.3.2 above) can reduce the bullwhip effect for day-to-day deliveries, but that these concepts still can not cope with demand variations induced by promotion activities. Hence, CPFR aims a t jointly planning promotions and to create transparency as to the expected demand increases induced by these promotions. The concept is based on the use of shared eMarketplace infrastructures, which I also discuss in some detail in this section. Again, the application of eCommerce technologies can be nicely illustrated using the beergame. 4.3.4 Summary The discussion of the three building blocks of eCommerce measures culminates in the development and presentation of an integrated model of eCommerce-based supply chain management informed by the key learnings from the beergame. The model is presented in figure 6. Following the line of argument in the last sections, it becomes obvious that the beergame can be used to motivate and substantiate large parts of a typical eCommerce masters course (as in appendix 2). In the next section I draw some final conclusions and briefly reflect upon the use of the beergame in a classroom setting. 600 Supply Chain Reform Initiatives Supply Chain Reform Initiatives Tactics Operations Infrastructure Improvements Improvements Suppy Chain Suppy Chain problems problems trade-offs trade-offs Information loss Joint Planning CPFR (promotions, product introduction), Category Mgmt, Production scheduling Collaboration Strategic alliances for global optimization Efficient Replenishment Inventory Management: Quick Response, CRP, VMI, SBT Redesign ICT-enabled supply Chain re-structuring S.C. structure Materials information flow: Direct delivery, Warehousing, X-docking Local optimization Communication Information sharing, Electronic ordering Efficient Communications Infrastructure, EDI, AutoID, Product numbering, Process simplifications Figure 6: A comprehensive eCommerce and supply chain model 5 Conclusion and outlook I have introduced the beergame and demonstrated its usefulness in teaching B2B eCommerce and supply chain management. To the present day, I have used the beergame mainly in eCommerce masters courses at different Universities in different national contexts. The experiences and also the teaching evaluations have always been positive and very encouraging. While I believe that the beergame, and the way it is embedded in my B2B eCommerce syllabus, works well in providing students with both a profound understanding of the underlying wisdoms of eCommerce, as well as with a good overview of eCommerce measures, there is more to it than that. Playing the beergame is great fun, for the teacher and for the students, and it is always a good experience in itself. As such, the beergame is also very helpful for the general course atmosphere and the creation of positive team dynamics in the group. For the future, we are working on a software version of the beergame, which can be used in a classroom setting in the same interactive role-play style, but avoid some of the still remaining problems of the table version. While software versions today only provide a simulation (instead of role-play) mode and are not built for classroom use, a client-server software version of the game might replace the cumbersome logistics aspects (the moving of boxes) and help in gathering data that can be used for debriefing straight away. Moreover, it would be great to be able to play the beergame with different setups, e.g. with implementing effective sharing of (customer demand and inventory) data in order to demonstrate, in a second round of play, the usefulness of information sharing in reducing the bullwhip effect. To this end, our software will be flexible enough to incorporate such exploration of different supply chain modalities.1 1 For further information please see: http://www.beergame.org. 601 Appendix 1: Beergame play sheet The following table shows the play sheet of a retailer group that was filled in during a beergame session. The ‘incoming order’ column shows the external customer demand with its increase in round 6. During the game the students only have to fill in the white columns – the ‘incoming delivery’ and the ‘incoming order’ are taken from the incoming paper slips, while in the ‘your order’ column the students have to fill in their order decision for the respective weeks. Having done that, the play sheet shows exactly what has to be written on the outgoing order and delivery slips (in the dark columns). All orange columns are calculated automatically, so that students can easily keep track of their inventory and cost progression. After the beergame this data is then put together and consolidated with the data that was collected in the play sheets of the other groups of the same supply chain. It is then plotted to create figures 3 and 4 and table 1 (see above). Week Incoming Delivery Available Incoming Order Your Delivery Backorder Inventory Cost 7,5 15 22,5 30 35 37 40 45 49 52 64 78 86 100 118 137 159 180 201 223 244 265 283 295 303 316 317,5 321 324,5 328 331,5 335 338,5 342 345,5 348,5 351 353 355 357 Your Order Please fill out play slips: Delivery Order 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 5 5 5 5 0 3 2 7 10 10 0 7 15 3 5 8 6 10 9 8 10 9 12 15 13 4 25 13 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 9 9 20 20 20 20 15 13 6 7 10 10 0 7 15 3 5 8 6 10 9 8 10 9 12 15 13 4 25 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 14 13 13 13 5 5 5 5 5 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 5 5 5 5 5 9 6 7 10 10 0 7 15 3 5 8 6 10 9 8 10 9 12 15 13 4 22 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 4 3 12 14 8 14 18 19 22 21 21 22 21 21 18 12 8 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 15 15 15 15 10 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 5 4 4 4 0 3 2 7 7 12 5 10 10 6 5 7 15 25 15 5 5 6 11 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 5 5 5 5 5 9 6 7 10 10 0 7 15 3 5 8 6 10 9 8 10 9 12 15 13 4 22 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 0 3 2 7 7 12 5 10 10 6 5 7 15 25 15 5 5 6 11 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 602 Appendix 2: Syllabus for a beergame-based B2B course The following table gives an overview of how the beergame can be incorporated in a typical (B2B) eCommerce (masters) course (e.g. 12 weeks with 3 hour sessions). The beergame and the subsequent modules can cover up to 6 sessions. After presenting the three blocks with eCommerce improvements, an additional session can be used to discuss management challenges of inter-firm collaboration, covering issues such as trust, managing interfaces, ICT standards etc. Throughout the course, cases from the grocery and the automotive industries might be used for illustration purposes and to facilitate discussions. Depending on the setting, background readings might also be handed out to the students. Sessions (3 hours) Topics / session contents 1. Beergame session a. Introduction to supply chains (why have supply chains?) b. Beergame introduction (setup, structure, rules of the game) c. Playing the game (40-50 rounds) d. Brief discussion afterwards 2. Debriefing a. Discussion of experiences and game setup b. Presentation and discussion of beergame data (results) c. Teaching case Barilla: bullwhip causes [optional] d. Identification of the three main causes of the bullwhip effect e. Short presentation of three areas of improvement and the schedule for the next three sessions 3. Information sharing a. Short discussion: why is information sharing important? b. Principles of electronic data sharing c. Attaching information to physical goods: standardised product numbering, Automated product identification technologies: barcodes, RFID d. Electronic Data Interchange: EDI, WebEDI, XML-based ordering 4. Supply chain reform a. Overview: efficient replenishment initiatives b. Efficient inventory management: Quick Response, Continuous Replenishment, Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) c. Efficient Logistics: Warehousing, Direct Delivery, CrossDocking d. Just-in-Time Delivery in the automotive industry [Kanban] 5. eCollaboration a. eCollaboration in the supply chain: idea and philosophy b. Collaborative Planning Forecasting Replenishment (CPFR) c. Joint product development in the automotive industry 6. Management of inter-firm collaboration a. Complexities of supply chain reform initiatives b. The role of trust and social capital in inter-firm relationships c. Interoperability of ICT d. Managing inter-firm interfaces 603 Appendix 3: Session outline for a beergame-based workshop The following table shows a short workshop format based on the beergame. Such a workshop can be incorporated in other (general IS) courses or be a stand-alone event, for example as an executive teaching offering. The workshop is essentially made up of two sessions – the actual beergame session and a combined debriefing and learnings session. As an example industry the Grocery industry can be used to illustrate the application of the eCommerce initiatives and technologies. Sessions (~3 hours) Topics / session contents 1. Beergame session a. Introduction to supply chains (why have supply chains?) b. Beergame introduction (setup, structure, rules of the game) c. Playing the game (40 rounds) d. 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