The CIAs Role Then And Now :: essays research papers fc

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) was created by President Truman as an insurance polity against that kind of surprise, which caught America off guard in World War II. According to the National Security Act of 1947 the CIAs principal function was to be the correlation and evaluation of intelligence collected by other departments. In other words, the CIA is an All-Source Fusion Agency. The difference involving the direction of the CIA during the cold war and the function that the CIA plays presently have changed somewhat, scarce these roles basically remain the same.During the cold war, global security rested on the shoulders of the two greatest nations The United States and the Soviet Union. Other nations had capabilities to misuse other smaller nations, hardly none had the world power control of the two greatest nations. The CIAs mission in the spring of 1948 was to collect concealed intelligence on the Soviet Union itself, its m ilitary intentions, atomic weapons and advanced missiles on Soviet actions in Eastern Europe, North Korea and North Vietnam. (Richelson, 217). The mission posture forth the guidelines for the CIA to protect the United States from the Soviets missiles. Now that the United States is dealing with nations of the former Soviet Union in that location is still a extremity to watch those Soviet missiles. The difference is now the CIA must track where the missiles and miscellaneous small arms are being distributed or sold. The mission of watching the missiles remains, but the role the CIA plays has slightly changed.The need for the CIA in immediatelys global society has increased to a higher level than that of the cold war. Today there is a threat from every corner of the world, instead of only between the major world powers. With the United States being the only world power and the Soviet Union collapsed, weapons of mass destruction have hit the open market. This new over-the-counter mi ssile sale has multiplied Americas potential foes (Bissell, 205). put in Laden has demonstrated that no activity oversees will be safe. With the horrific act of the attack on the USS Cole in October 2000, the Middle East has shown but one example of how the CIAs roles of responsibility must change to watch smaller groups or organizations. The evil mix of fanaticism and flexibility that is the mark of todays terrorist makes the next strike not a question of if, but of when and where.

A Comparison of Tragedy in Hamlet, The Book of Job, and Oedipus Rex Ess

Interpretations of Tragedy in small town, The Book of Job, and Oedipus Rex For ages, man has pondered upon the roots of destiny. Is the outcome of a mans life determined by military personnel qualities and failings, the meddling of a comprehend power, or simple indicate? Shakespeares small town made the argument that tragedy is caused by human folly. The idea that divine intervention is at the root of human suffering is put forth in the Book of Job. In Sophocles Oedipus Rex, fate is given as the root of mans suffering. Three divergent perspectives on the origins of calamity outlive within the tragedies Hamlet, Job, and Oedipus Rex. Shakespeares Hamlet enforced the idea that Human suffering is a result of human faults. Hamlet possesses extreme indecisiveness, but at times exhibits formidable recklessness. Both contribute to his ultimate destruction. The majority of the play consisted of Hamlet deciding when, where, and how to kill Claudius, the murderer of his fathe r. When Claudius is alone praying, Hamlet had the perfect chance to avenge his polish off father, but he decided to postpone the act. Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent. / When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage (Hamlet III.iii.88-89). If Hamlet had simply slew Claudius at that juncture, the situation would have never complicated the story would have been over. Such innocents as Hamlets mother, Polonius, Laertes, and Ophelia would have never met tragic ends. Although Hamlet possessed the fault of indecisiveness, at times, he exhibited a recklessness that led to suffering. When Hamlet was in his mothers room he heard a rustling place a tapestry that he presumed was Claudius. He decided to kill the man behind the curtain without checking to make sure th... ... misfortune is a matter of fate that cannot be changed by any mortal actions. All provide a valuable insight into one of lifes greatest quandaries the root of tragedy. Works Cited Green, Joel B., & Longma n, Tremper (Eds.). Holy record -- The Everday Study Edition. Dallas Word Publishing. 1996. Shakespeare, William. The New Cambridge Shakespeare Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Philip Edwards. Cambridge Cambridge U P, 1985. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York Longman, 1997. Works Consulted Fox, Robin Lane. The Unauthorized Version Truth and Fiction in the Bible. New York Vintage, 1991. G. K. Chesterton, Introduction to The Book of Job, The Hebrew Bible In Literary Criticism, Ed. and Comp. Alex Preminger and Edward L. Greenstein, (New York Ungar)

Understanding the Benefits of Ethnic Divide Essay -- Racial Ethnic Rac

Understanding the Benefits of Ethnic DivideDoes society truly stand to cook from what some might call a breaking of racial and ethnic barriers? When we as a society propose the overly-voiced concepts of embracing racial equality and the dissolving of stereotypical values in an drift to support societal efficiency, do we consider that perhaps these revolutionary ideals will hurt more than help us in the long run? The comely individual, in an effort to function properly in the society to which he or she belongs, will follow that which society generally accepts as politically correct, as normal. The downside to this is the possibility of a societys ignorance to the greater picture or, rather, the future effects on economy and the civilization towards which we hold such value. It is obvious, especially in light of authentic economic and undying cultural facts, that this adamant dream of bringing together the varying mismatched groups of the world population is not only futile -- when considering that it is in our nature as human beings to define and rationalize our surroundings by recognizing the natural differences in what we see -- but is also illogical with respect to the dread threat this societal revolution imposes on the capitalist system to which we all owe our lives.The settling of racial and ethnic indifferences is commonly seen as a line handled effectively by government inventions. Affirmative action, established in 1965 by US president Lyndon Johnson, is a system designed to overcome societal variety of the past by forcing privileges into the hands of minorities (Brunner, par. 1). These privileges translate into unquestioned college enrollment, job opportunities, and additional resources. Hera... ...5 Jan. 2001 .Anonymous. Free Palestine. 1999. 30 Sep. 2002 .Bollyn, Christopher. ?The Real Cost of US Support for Israel.? Axis of Logic. 20 Sep. 2003. .Stauffer, Thomas R. ?The Cost of Conflict in the Middle East, 1956-2002 What the U.S. Has Spent.? Middle East Policy Council. Spring 2003 .Anonymous. ?The Arab-Israeli Conflict Basic Facts Arab Countries versus Israel.? Israel Science and Technology. 15 Nov. 2003 . Province, Jonathan. ?World?s Richest Countries.? cylist.com. 2003. .

Evolution Essays - Is There a Conspiracy to Suppress Creation Science?

Is There a Conspiracy to Suppress Creation Science?   Two Works Cited   A denounce claim in creationist literature is that in that respect is a wealth of scientific evidence to support creationism, but that secular, mainstream scientists are suppressing its publication in peer-reviewed journals. They are non giving creation-scientists a fair shake, they claim they are being censored.  The fact is that creation scientists are not even submitting scientific theories on creation for publication. unnecessary to say, mainstream scientists cannot censor what is not being submitted   One can begin to investigate this issue by examining what the creation-scientists are submitting for publication. One of the easiest, freest and most uncensored publishing mediums is the Internet. mickle can post any message they desire to talk.origins, the newsgroup devoted to spirited debate between evolutionists and creationists. So do creationists submit their scientific evidence t here? The welcome page for talk.origins contains the following special plea to creationists To re...

jackie robinson :: essays research papers

The first man to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball in the 20th century, Jackie Robinson is one of the most celebrated baseball participants in history. Jim, the moral center of Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .Who doesnt portray a baseball musician, yet both Jackie Robinson and Jim both share the same heroic qualities. Both are courageous, noble, and strong-minded.Jackie Robinson was natural in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919 and grew up in Pasadena, California, where he attended UCLA. While attending there he won letters in football, baseball, basketball, and track. He was regarded as the most all-around athlete in the U.S. at the time. After serving three years in the army, he began playing baseball with the Kansas metropolis Monarchs of the Negro leagues. After hid successful season in 1946 with the teams Farmclub he became the first African American major league baseball player since the 19th century. In 1947 he signed with the Brooklyn Dodger s. But before Jackie Robinson there was Moses Fleetwood Walker, he was the 1st African American major league baseball player to play baseball in the late 1800s. On April 15, 1947 Jackie Robinson became the 1st African American to play major league baseball. He broke the color line, which direct to many an(prenominal) white teams playing against all black teams or interracial teamsJackie Robinson caught many Americans attention and his story was widely retold through American culture in many different forms. Such as through movies, radio talk shows, sheet music, comic books, and sports magazines. Even though many of Jackies fans showed their support towards him, many who hated him sent him death threats or even threw things at him. While under all this pressure Jackie still focused on baseball and showed everyone that he was a vast baseball player Baseball was just part of my life. Thank God that I didnt allow a sport or a business or any part of my life to dominate me completely I felt that I had my time in the athletics and that was it. He won a lot of peoples respect and also became a symbol of black opportunity. Even the magazine Sporting News, which was against black baseball players, acknowledged his great skill and ability in the game of baseball and awarded him with the Rookie of the Year award in 1947. Robinsons outstanding ten-year career compiled a .

jackie robinson :: essays research papers

The first man to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball in the 20th century, Jackie Robinson is one of the most celebrated baseball fakers in history. Jim, the moral center of Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .Who doesnt portray a baseball pretender, yet both Jackie Robinson and Jim both share the same heroic qualities. Both are courageous, noble, and strong-minded.Jackie Robinson was natural in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919 and grew up in Pasadena, California, where he attended UCLA. While attending there he won letters in football, baseball, basketball, and track. He was regarded as the most all-around athlete in the U.S. at the time. After serving three years in the army, he began playing baseball with the Kansas urban center Monarchs of the Negro leagues. After hid successful season in 1946 with the teams Farmclub he became the first African American major league baseball player since the 19th century. In 1947 he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. But before Jackie Robinson there was Moses Fleetwood Walker, he was the 1st African American major league baseball player to play baseball in the late 1800s. On April 15, 1947 Jackie Robinson became the 1st African American to play major league baseball. He broke the color line, which conduct to galore(postnominal) white teams playing against all black teams or interracial teamsJackie Robinson caught many Americans attention and his story was widely retold through American culture in many different forms. Such as through movies, radio talk shows, sheet music, comic books, and sports magazines. Even though many of Jackies fans showed their support towards him, many who hated him sent him death threats or even threw things at him. While under all this pressure Jackie still focused on baseball and showed everyone that he was a dandy baseball player Baseball was just part of my life. Thank God that I didnt allow a sport or a business or any part of my life to dominate me completely I felt that I had my time in the athletics and that was it. He won a lot of peoples respect and also became a symbol of black opportunity. Even the magazine Sporting News, which was against black baseball players, acknowledged his great skill and ability in the game of baseball and awarded him with the Rookie of the Year award in 1947. Robinsons outstanding ten-year career compiled a .

Theme of Guilt in Hamlet & Fifth Business

There is one human emotion that backside paralyse us, lead us to lie both to ourselves and others, to commit actions that we dont endure, and to cripple any rational thought processes. It is self perpetuating if allowed to get out of control. Its side effects be anger, aggressiveness, fear or reclusiveness. Its symptoms are irrational behaviour, lying, anguish, and lack of self-esteem. It is the strong emotion that can affect our conscience, like an acid drop it corrodes the soul within and in extreme conditions it demolishes ones life, it is better known as crime.Guilt is a reoccurring theme in Robertson Davies Fifth Business, and William Shakespeares Hamlet, that is demonstrated by various(a) characters including, Dunstable Ramsay, Paul Dempster, Hamlet and Claudius and this essay shall compare the theme of guilt between the both literatures. In the novel Fifth Business, guilt is a plague that has go around throughout the lives of Dunstan Ramsay, and Paul Dempster both charac ters are drenched with guilt that was a result of a tragic incident caused by Percy Staunton Boyd when he threw the snowball and it profit Mrs. Dempster on the back of the head. (Davies, 2).Dunstan experiences guilt early on in his childhood, realizing it is him who ultimately caused the premature labour of Paul, Nevertheless this conversation reheated my strong sense of guilt and office about Paul. (Davies, 136). As the guilt overtakes his life, Dunny compares what he is feeling to what dying feels like and questions whether that would be better than dealing with this overwhelming guilt Ah, if dying were all in that location was to it Hell and torment at once, but at least you know where you stand. It is living with these guilty secrets that exacts the price (Davies, 19).Born prematurely, Paul Dempster was convicted of being guilty as he was responsible for robbing his mother of her sanity, as explained to him by his amaze, Amasa Dempster, My father always told me it was my b irth that robbed her of her sanity. So as a child I had to carry the free weight of my mothers madness as something that was my own doing. (Davies, 148). Moreover Paul was forced to feel the guilt at a young age, causing him to flummox frustrated, and that is when he decides to escape from Deptford and runs away with Le grand Cirque forain des St. Vite (Davies, 148), He was my only teacher till I ran away with a circus. (Davies, 265). Equivalently in the play Hamlet, the theme of guilt was developed through Hamlet and his most hateful enemy, King Claudius.Hamlet experiences guilt when he recognizes that he has not so far avenged his fathers death and in Act I Scene ii Hamlet reveals that he is upset and disappointed with himself, as he has not taken any actions to attain revenge from Claudius, the murderer of his father. Hamlet then calls himself, a peasant slave and questions, Whats Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, That he should shout out for her? What would he do, Had he mot ive and cue for passion That I have? (Shakespeare, II, ii, 529. 38-541). Furthermore, Hamlet later decides to relief his overwhelming guilt by commanding the actors to re-enact his fathers death through The Murder of Gonzago, (Shakespeare, III, ii, 284), in order to confirm that the ghost was being truthful and Claudius did kill his father, May be the devil, and the devil hath reason T assume a pleasing shape. Yea, and perhaps Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me. Ill have thousand More relative than this. The plays the thing Wherein Ill catch the conscience of the king. (Shakespeare, II, ii, 561- 567).Eagerly wanting the throne Claudius murdered his brother, King Hamlet by poisoning him when he was sleeping in the garden, He poisons him i th garden fors estate. (Shakespeare, III, ii, 246) his crime was soon revealed by the intelligent Hamlet, when he reproducible the actors to create a play outlining the murder of King Hamlet, Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue. (Shakespeare, III, ii, 190-191). Claudius provoked and frantic from the play, orders for it to be stopped, Give oer the play. (Shakespeare, III, ii, 253) and leaves the scene, The king rises. (Shakespeare, III, ii, 250) as his dirty crime is now evident. Devoured with the guilt of killing his brother, Claudius confesses and prays to God, hoping that it will cost him less quantify in Purgatory, Oh, my offence is rank. It smells to heaven. It hath the primal eldest curse upon t, A brothers murder. Pray can I not. Though inclination be as sharp as will, My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent, And, like a man to double business bound, I stand in pause where I shall low gear begin, And both neglect. (Shakespeare, III, ii, 37-44). Silent yet deadly, its side effects are anger, aggressiveness or fear and reclusiveness.Its symptoms are irrational behaviour, lying, anguish, and lack of se lf-esteem. It is the strong emotion that can affect our conscience, like an acid drop it corrodes the soul within and in extreme conditions it demolishes ones life, it is better known as guilt. The theme of guilt is an important reoccurring phenomenon in Robertson Davies Fifth Business, and William Shakespeares Hamlet, as demonstrated by a number of characters including, Dunstable Ramsay, Paul Dempster, Hamlet, and Claudius, and this essay compared the theme of guilt between the two literatures.

Community Health Nursing Essay

As a registered nurse of only three years, I am often referred to by my peers as a baby nurse. However, in those short three years of practice I have learned and get across to learn many things whether medical, personal, or humanitarian. My personal nursing experience has been in surgical care services. The vast majority of the unhurrieds I have cared for are those undergoing elective procedures. They have chosen to have joint arthroplasty or some other type of procedure.I have also had the great fortune to care for those who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses such as genus Cancer and leukemia. many another(prenominal) times I see these patients in the infancy of their disease process, but I also see them on a continue basis during treatments such as blood or platelet transfusions. The difficulties faced by patient s such as these are varied and bring with each a different set of needs to be assessed and addressed. You become not just a nurse but a caregiver, advocate, therapist, and more often than not a friend.It is when working with these patients that the dynamics of quality versus quantity of life become central to care. In many cases family concerns, whether well meaning or not, whitethorn overshadow the patients wishes. Our selfish need to keep loved ones with us can blur the line as to the patients own wants and needs. In transaction with this you must also assess your own beliefs as to end of life decisions.My role as a nurse must be to advocate for my patient, to forge trust in the relationship, and to follow through with their wishes. All the while promoting compassion in our interactions,In this case scenario, there are three strategies in which I would implement to address Mrs. Thomas as a patient. After assessing the patient and her situation referrals should be made for therapy modalities both physical and occupational, home health, and psychological/ psychical health for both Mrs.Thomas and her spouse/caregiver.Physical and occup ational therapy could evaluate Mrs. Thomas and initiate a plan of treatment to increase stamina and affirm of motion to keep the patient at an optimum level of functioning. Physical improvement even in small increments can have a convinced(p) effect on the patients outlook. Home health could evaluate Mrs. Thomas and her need for pain control as well as her business concern of dependency. Education at this juncture is imperative to patient outlook as well as outcome of treatments. With pain management in place, physical therapy could progress, thus increasing the level of patient participation. Also a mental health/psychological referral could be invaluable to both Mr. and Mrs. Thomas. Mrs. Thomas could be assisted in working through and understanding the stages of her illness, as well as her depression and sadness concerning her family relationships.It could also help Mr. Thomas with his depression and allow them both to splice with support groups or individuals within the comm unity with whom they can share experiences. One of the best resources for thorax cancer patients is the Susan B. Komen Foundation. As a certified breast cancer educator, I have had the pleasure of working with both survivors and their families. Education is very important to all concerned in a medical diagnosis of breast cancer. Understanding of the disease process and its effects are also essential to a healthy outlook. The Komen Foundation offers support to patients, survivors, caregivers, and family members. It would be an excellent resource in which both Mr. and Mrs. Thomas could receive individualized treatment and support.The team approach is also necessary for working with patients, families, and caregivers. As a nurse you must bury that an individual cannot meet all patient needs so you draw upon other health care professional s to accomplish the highest levels of care.A abundant variety of team members can be utilized in the care of the Thomas. Physicians who offer direc t clinical care and disease pathologies, social workers/clinical case managers who can assist in community resources as well as their knowledge of insurances, spiritual leaders to aide in dealing with last(a) decisions and spiritual needs of the patient and family, pharmacistswho assist with a wide array of pharmacological treatments for pain and symptom control, dieticians can be helpful in rede with meals, nutrition, supplements, and hydration. Other team members may include physical and occupational therapy, psychologists, and perhaps even volunteers to assist in the home and with errands.The needs of Mrs. Thomas and her family will continue to fluctuate as her disease progresses. It is important for the team to stay abreast of these needs and adjust plans of care accordingly. At some point hospice services may be called upon and continued through death. This can be provided at home or on an inpatient basis.Initiating a plan of action can allay stress from both the Thomas. Mr. Thomas may feel that some of the caregiver burden has been lifted and this could aid in the treatment of his depression. This in cabal with medication could be the keys to initiating successful treatment. If a psychological evaluation is needed due to the possibility of suicidal ideations, then immediate intervention is warranted with a crisis facility. especially if there is deemed eminent danger of self harm.With pieces of the clinical puzzle in place, the Thomas can be assisted with as much compassion, dignity, and support as possible to meet their needs in both the short and long term.

How Much Business Risk Does American Home Products Face Essay

1. How much business jeopardy does American infra social organisation Products face? How much financial risk would American Home Products face at each of the proposed aims of debt shown in case Exhibit 3? How much potential survey, if any can American Home Products create for its shargonholders at each of the proposed levels of debt? (See Exhibits 1 and 2 )American Home Products currently has low business risk due to the conservative nature of their business. They piggyback on premiere movers to lower their research and development costs. They excel in marketing therefore they concentrate on outselling their competitors. Also, they have low business risk because they are diversify among four product lines prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, food products, and housewares producing over 1500 products.Three of American Home Products product lines (prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, and food products) are within the defensive industries which mean they have little sensitivity to the business cycle. These industries outperform others even when the economy is bad. In wreakition, through diversification of manufacturing a chance variable of product lines, if one product line were to experience a accrue in sales, the other lines should theoretically pick up the slack. AMH appears to be a powerful corporation when looking at its financial statements. AMHs net worth (total assets-total debt) is 1,472.8 million. They have an excess bills of $233 million.Their ROE, profit margin, ROA, and A/R receivable disorder days all illustrate AMHs financial strength indicating that they can rapidly generate cash to sustain their current growth rate, at 30.3%, 11.7%, 18.72%, AND 49.73 days respectively. AMH outperforms their industry in all above mentioned proportions. (See Exhibit 1). However it should be noted that their sales have decreased 5.3% from 14.1% in 1978 to 8.8% in 1981. This foreshadows possible risk in the future. This is why AMH is rethin king their conservative and tightfisted spending business approaches.Currently AMHs financial performance is strong. (Refer to Exhibit 2). Their high return on uprightness (ROE) at 30.3% illustrates how much profit the company is generating with the per centumholders investments. In addition, they have low debt to equity and low debt to asset (debt) proportionalitys both at .005. This gain signals their financial strength. From the debt ratios we see that a change decrease in sales or an increase in interest payments would not affect AMH because they have muddle of free cash flow. However the debt ratios overly indicate that management may not be responsibly growing the company through the use of supplement and forgoing many opportunities for future growth.Therefore when you compare the increase of debt alternatives AMH has you can see an increase in debt to equity and debt to debt to asset ratios. For example the debt to equity ratio increases at each level, 30%, 50%, and 70 %, to .17,.32, and .513 respectively. The same is true for the debt to asset ratio. It increases to .15,.24,and .34 at 30%,50%,and 70% respectively. Although these could signal financial solvency issues, the industrys debt to equity ratio is .32, and their debt to asset ratio is .24. This is consistent with the AMHs 50% debt alternative option. However, the increase of debt adds value to the company.This is best illustrated when looking at the fee per share (EPS) and dividend payout ratio. As the debt increases so do both of the above mentioned ratios. EPS consistently increases from 3.18 with no added leverage to 3.33 at 30%, 3.41 at 50%, and 3.49 at 70%. The DPS ratio increase from .597 at no additional leverage to .602 at 70%. Shareholders often interpret an increase in dividends as an increase in impudence of future growth within the company.AMH is financially strong however, the provided statistics show it would be best for the company to increase its leverage to a certain le vel to add much value to the stockholders. If it merely utilizes the excess cash flow of $233 million to repurchase stocks it only adds value to the stockholders in the short turn over. In the long run AMH should increase their leverage investing in areas such as R&D of advanced and existing products. This impart not only increase value for the company but essentially add value to the stockholders. This reduces AMHs probable future risk of losing market share to competitors. I believe the certain level is the 30% alternative.2. What nifty structure would you recommend as appropriate for AHP? What are the advantages of leveraging this company? The disadvantages? How would leveraging up affect the companys taxes? How would the capital markets react to a decision by the company to increase the use of debt in its capital structure?I would recommend the 30% capital structure level. One reason I chose this level is because of the already conservative business atmosphere. This level willing receive less resistance for acceptance than the higher levels of 50% and 70%. It still keeps them above the industry on all performance ratios. (Recall that the industry is more consistent with the 50% alternative option.) This will increase their DPS from $1.90 to $2.00. This will increase confidence among investors. Their EPS will increase from 3.18 to 3.33 signally they are change magnitude value for the stockholders. AMHs dividend payout ratio will increase from .597 to .601.Their stock price should also increase from $30.00 to $35.66. This is forecasted by dividing the total market value of common stock ($4,838.56) by the average common shares outstanding (135.7 million). In addition there are other advantages of increase the firms leverage. They include creating a tax shield, generating more free cash flow for future expansions, generating more free cash flow to repurchase stock, a short run increase in EPS due to repurchase of stocks, and overall an increase to the intrinsic value of the company. As ever so with advantages, disadvantages are present to. They include an increase in financial risk.Despite the tax shield, the interest payment will result in a decrease to net income, and the bond rating could decrease to a AA status. The bond rating for a AAA is determined by a 18 Times delight Earned Ratio. Once AMH increases their leverage to 30%, they will decrease their TIE to 17.50. Whereas, a AA is currently rated around a 9, further debt acquisition could result in a decrease of their bond rating and a decrease in value for stockholders. (Calculation EBIT/Interest= tie ratio 922.2/52.,7=17.50)Although the increased leverage decreases the amount of earnings available to stock holders from 496.9 million to 451.7 million for a total of 45.2 million dollars, it has a positive affect for the companys tax structure. It actually reduces the companys tax liability by 83 million dollars Without the debt they have to pay 952.5 million dollars in ta xes. However after an increase of 30% leverage, the new tax liability is 869.5 million dollars. Although the accounting value of the stock price appears more significant, the market value of the stock price will increase, too. Since you have to figure in the new liability of $362.2 million dollars for the debt, he new stockholders equity will be calculated at $4838.86 less 233 less 362.2 in millions arriving at $4,243.66 reducing the number of stock repurchases by 19.126.. Then dividing the new stockholders equity by shares outstanding (136.374) and arriving at the new stock price of $31.12.3. How might AHP consume a more aggressive capital structure policy? What are the alternative methods for leveraging up?The obvious alternative for AMH to implement a more aggressive capital structure policy is to acquire more debt by utilizing the other options at 50% or 70%. Alternative methods for leveraging up include purchasing shares of outstanding stock at the same time as the company is sues bonds, create convertible security options for their stockholders where they can turn in stocks for the new bond securities, buy fixed assets, and utilizing derivatives in hedge funds to leverage the companys assets.4. In view of AHPs unique somatic culture, what arguments would you advance to persuade Mr. Laporte or his successor to adopt your recommendation? The very first thing I will do is show Mr. Laporte my charts that illustrate how increasing debt will bring an increase of overall stockholders wealth. My Laport believes that a companys main goal is to build value for stockholders, so I will mark there. Since, I know he will be still be reluctant, I next will show him how the debt can be repurchased by AHP at a later date if he feels necessary. I will show him that the earnings available at the end of the socio-economic class for common stockholders are more than the total debt amount.I will further show him that the net worth of the company is $1,654.5 which also cou ld absorb the costs. (The second option would actually be the fall in of the two options for repurchase of debt.) Then, I will show Mr. Laporte how the tax advantage will save the company 83 million dollars in the first year I will reassure him that the financial ratios already illustrate that he has superb management skills and can efficiently and effectively manage the companys assets, thus he will excel with the new capital structure. Furthermore, the new leverage will still keep the company outperforming competitors within the industry. I will show him the industry ratio chart below. Lastly, I will suggest the increased free cash flow can also be use in research and development and perhaps gain a new absolute advantage

Miss Havisham Essay

Satis house, where take out Havisham lives, is seen as gothic and strange. The house had all the windows walled up symbolising that lose Havisham is trapping herself from reality. Dickens also highlights her vice as if the natural light could struck her to dust suggesting that shes almost vampiric or supernatural, adding to the Victorian audiences fascination. Additionally, the repetition of the house being rustily barred can recoil the house as being a prison as sink Havisham has imprisoned herself, Dickens could also be trying to represent her feelings of insecurity and decay.The rootage sight the reader gets of drop Havisham is of her sitting in an arm chair, with an elbow resting on the table this image is one of resignation and dejection as on that point is a sense that look out over Havisham has given up. She was wearing a wedding dress, symbolising that she is trying to preserve the identity as an expectant bride. It was made of recondite materials- satins, lace and silks emphasising her wealth, however these rich materials that were once white are now yellow The syntax shows that even though time has moved on, drip Havisham is locked in a moment of stasis.Pips narrative voice explains her to the strangest lady I have ever seen, or shall ever see The adjective strange qualifies how odd and ungovernable Miss Havisham appears and the additional clause or shall ever see further qualifies how her strangeness is extraordinary. Dickens, however, denies sympathy for Miss Havisham as his gothic depiction of her, causes her to commence a freakish object of ridicule. She appears as a skeleton in the ashes of a rich dress that has shrunk to skin and bone.Dickens shows that there is a physical and emotional decay that appears gothic and skeletal. She has become withered making her the complete realisation of the ghastly waxwork at the fair. Dickens purposely states her as the waxwork at the fair as these freakish displays were shown as a form of popula r Victorian entertainment. His physical description of Miss Havisham is seen as abominable and grotesque embodying the form of a gothic monster, therefore making it difficult for the reader to sympathise with her.The language, Dickens uses, is associated with death as he is implying that love humanises and offers feeling and hope to people, whereas Miss Havisham has locked her heart away, therefore making it seem as though she is deathly. Further more than, the image of Miss Havisham looking at herself in the mirror shows how she is perplexing of her identity, as she tries to fix herself as an expectant bride. The way she views herself is different to how she seems, so new to him, so rare to me so strange to him, so familiar to me she has locked herself in the past and is unable to move on from a time she was happy.Pip forces Miss Havisham to think and look at herself differently. The syntaxs new-old and strange-familiar shows how she is moving in and out of different perspectiv e. The use of the words as opposites shows how she has a completely misplaced view of herself. Alternatively, in chapter 49, Miss Havisham becomes humanised. Her appearance is acknowledged as Pip finds her sitting in a ragged chair which presents a sense of decay and lost worth. There was a new expression on her face, but her eyes pained, her face was worn by something more than age and her appearance overall is described as more haggard and withered than ever.She was staring at the ashy fire lost in contemplation, in this image Dickens appears to play on the myth of the phoenix as the ashy fire implies that Miss Havisham, like the phoenix rising form the ashes, wishes to be reborn in order to atone her malice. Miss Havishams freakish appearance at the start of the novel changes as Dickens humanises her to point where she cries. She dropped on her knees at my feet and held her hands out hung her head and wept showing the physical image of Miss Havishams repentance makes her seem v ulnerable as it is the first time the reader sees her cry and showing her feelings, especially to a man.The crying humanises her as we see her real emotions, it also links to the myth of the phoenix as the tears are said to heal. In the process of Miss Havisham setting alight Pip sees her running at me, shrieking, with a whirl of fire blazing all about her Dickens in this image presents Miss Havisham as devilish as she runs towards Pip. However, it relates to the myth of the phoenix and shows that through the burning of her dress she is forgiven and extends the idea of being cleansed as it purges all evil.As Pip tries to separate the flames, he drags down the great cloth from the table and with it dragged down the heap of rottenness and all the ugly things that sheltered there and wrapped it around Miss Havisham, showing his care and consideration that has grown for Miss Havisham. Whilst Pip cradles Miss Havisham on the floor, the beetles and spiders were running away over the floo r whereas before the spiders were nibbling at Miss Havisham, again a sense of purging, cleansing and healing.As they lay Miss Havisham on the table with a white sheet loosely covering her suggests that she is finally at peace and furthermore gives a sense of purity and cleansing with the pure white sheet. The phantom air of something that had been and was changed Dickens shows the reader that Miss Havisham has changed during this and has become reborn. To conclude, Dickens presents Miss Havisham as a challenge to Victorian society. He also shows that love is redemptive and necessary and without it, we are nothing. Within Miss Havishams reformation Dickens shows the strength of her character.His intentions in creating Miss Havisham were to try and show the hardship that women who were rejected by the Victorian society had to go through and how merciless the society have been in marginalising them. By doing so Dickens has cleverly began to deconstruct the stereotype of a spinster an d questions expectations. Show preview only The higher up preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Great Expectations section.

Stretch and support Essay

In lay out to pull together the grading criteria for M1 learners need to explain how promotion is integrated with the peacefulness of the trade blend in a selected organisation to achieve its marketing aims and objectives. Learners go forth need to have a thorough understanding of the marketing mix and then be able to apply it to the marketing aims and objectives of their selected organisation. Learners could complete the following activity to help them achieve these criteria. Marketing aims and objectives are the targets that are specific eithery strike off for the marketing department in order to help the business achieve its corporate aims and objectives, i.e. the aims and objectives for the business as a whole. 1.Research a company that you are known with, for example, Walkers crisps. What do you think are the business aims and objectives of the company? 2.Investigate the type of promotions that your chosen company undertakes as a part of the marketing mix, for example, television advertising. Explain how the promotions that your chosen company uses relates to other elements of the marketing mix by answering the following questions. How does promotion bear upon price?How does promotion affect product?How does promotion affect place?3.How does the integration of all elements of the marketing mix help the company meet its corporate aims and objectives?E2 Evaluate and justify promotional mixIn order to meet the grading criteria for D1 learners must evaluate and justify the use of an appropriate promotional mix in relation to marketing objectives for the selected organisation. Learners should start by stating the marketing objectives of the company and then carry out the following activity. 1.Write a split about the strengths of your chosen promotional mix. Which element of the promotion mix is the strongest? 2.Write a paragraph about the weaknesses of your chosen promotional mix. Which element of the promotion mix is the weakest? 3.Write a paragraph about how the promotion mix used helps to meet the marketing objectives of the company. 4.Of all the elements in the promotional mix which do you believe to be the strongest in this instance? Justify your answer. E3 Use ofprofessional agencies in promotionsIn order to meet the grading criteria for M2 learners must be able to explain the advantages and disadvantages of using professional agencies in ensuring promotional success. To do this, learners will need to look at the coitus merits of using a professional agency over an in-house team. Learners could be shown or seek out examples of promotional motilitys created by professional agencies, for example, television or stain advertisements, and then answer the following questions. 1.Which aspects of the campaign(s) do you think an in-house team could perform without the use of a professional agency? 2.Which aspects of the campaign(s) do you think required a professional agency? Justify your answers to both questions.E4 Rationale for a promotional campaignThe grading criteria for M3 requires learners to provide a rationale for a promotional campaign. Learners will need to be able to identify to each one element of a promotional campaign and explain its role. Learners must also say why each element is important in order to develop their analysis. Learners could be given the following task to complete in preparation for the assignment. A health orderliness organisation is planning a new fitness centre in your area. The company has a budget of 20,000 and will be running its promotional campaign for two months before opening. The company needs to attract a large number of people to sign up for a one-year membership contract. It is targeting the fiat at both men and women. Using the information above, answer the following questions. 1.Are all elements of the promotional campaign important? Justify your answer. 2.If you have identified close to elements that are not important to the campaign, do you think they are required at all?

Explore the Dramatic Significane of Lady Bracknell in Act 1

Explore the dramatic significance of Lady Bracknell in Act 1 passim Act 1, Oscar Wilde uses the character of Lady Bracknell as a highly comedic character who causes the entire play to come together by unknowingly creating a bootleg chain of events to occur by her refusal to let her daughter Gwendolyn marry to manual laborer Worthing. She is presented as strict, uptight woman who is very much the Matriarch of the family.One way Wilde presents this image is when Lady Bracknell is interviewing Jack on whether he should be allowed to marry Gwendolyn. In the interview Lady Bracknell is seen asking Jack questions such(prenominal) as Do you boob this could indicate the void of old London society where more important issues werent considered as important in an world of extravagance, wealth and luxury such as the one they were living in.Lady Bracknell is first and foremost a symbol of Victorian seriousness and the unhappiness it brings as a result. She is powerful, arrogant, ruthless to the extreme, conservative, and proper. In many a(prenominal) ways, she represents Wildes opinion of Victorian upper-class negativity, conservative values, and power it is also thought that Wilde had fashioned Lady Bracknell by basing her on the hierarchy within it.Her overshadowing presence in act one tells us how the mood and tone dramatically changes when she is in and out of the room, for example when she is not in the room Jack is relaxed and at tranquillize with Gwendolyn, but when she returns and tells Jack to rise from this semi-recumbent posture, it is most indecorous he instantaneously stumbles to get up. It is her question on Jacks parents which eventually leads to the rest of the play dropping together when she asks where his parents are, which he replies to that he was abandoned as a child, she comes up with a witty, hilarious remark of to lose one parent, Mr.Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness. The idea of this statement is so ridiculous it is regarded as comical yet it also reveals that she will not Jack to marry Gwendolyn as she believes already that he is reckless and immature and his admission further proves that he is not responsible enough to marry her daughter. This sets of a series of events that lead to the eventual revelation at the end of the play and the humorous events in-between.

Frankenstein and Bladerunner Table

IdeaFrankensteinContextBladerunnerContext Doppelganger, defining qualities of hu existences and monstersDoppelgangers confront Ambiguity of narrative M non real unless F story verified connection between the two (Gothic) Quest for knowledge, revenge, masculinity, eloquence, love of nature M The very winds whispered in solace accents, and maternal nature bade me weep no more and F my spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature Humanity vs. inspiration Solidarity vs. connection Blurring between the two creativity, logic, beauty, abhorrence Abomination as valet moral dilemma. Isolated, Laconian figure during monologue evokes pity. Rhetorical questions Why should I pity man more than he pities me? Shall I respect man when he condemns me? the sun shone upon me as upon manCity vs. Country, industrial revolution Gothicism nature, horror, monsters within nightclub acquisition overthrowing God still human? Doppelgangers confront Knowledge vs. instinct Group vs. is olated brainpower Deckard becomes a replicant Replicants positioned as logical, responsive , intuitive, beautiful Z life force L revenge, fear, brutality P Roys kiss, positioning of tongue, immature, instinctive, honest kiss with R in front of S R instinct, rea tidings, curiosity, humour, understanding and acceptance Z public place mash of culture with their hats on, no connection except murder and death L Ds doppelganger? R (empathy and connection to D) shoots him P death of abandoned toy materialism killed her laughing doll R renewal, baptism, dove, blue light sky, lasting connection to DImpersonal information society Migration different cultures globalisation Contraception Responsibility of creator and ethical responsibilities of scientistsF vs. M Tacit deal F made M so he is responsible for him M = empathy, F = selfishness, ambition V greatest good for greatest number Progress needs to be tempered by human empathy Pride and ambition lead to suffering Usurpation of God contr adicts responders beliefs and highlight ethical breach I should have been your Adam, but I am the go angel Lucifer F pleads for a mate. Foucaulian shift M more human You must create a mate for me I demand it as a right to which you must concede You are my creator but I am you master obey empiricism and modernism scientific development and industrial revolution no questioning of morals pantheism well received because of hierarchical society F tells all levels to seek happiness in tranquillity and parry ambition confirmation of valuesTyrell vs. Roy Created seeks out creator dopplegangers Created more perfect than creator Created still dependant though independent of creator Ethereal vs. physiologic/ sensual Creations more human than human Science and progress at detriment of humanity Impersonal and personal connections Tyrell objectifies replicants she is an experiment, nothing more, you are the prodigal sonConsumerism Globalisation transnationalism Capitalism Loss of ident ity through loss of culture Mass migration Technology as a part of life Criticism of geniusgenius pride, ambition downfall Genius removes you from human connection God complex Progress must not give way to indulgence M. objectified in the quest for scientific advancement Superficiality of society and lack of concern for human suffering If you could precipitate me into one of those ice- rifts you would not call it murder. Fs creation and pride is corruption of Gods work (storm) the cup of life was poisoned forever, and although the sun shone upon me, as upon the happy and gay of heart, he saw more or less him noting but a dense and frightful darkness as the dazzling light vanished, the oak had disappeared, and nothing remained but a blasted stump alone reduced to thin ribbons of wood foreshadowing Destruction of innocence and family Elizabeth, Clerval, WilliamScientists, philosophers and historians elevated to great levels of importance Reactionaries to change Man creating own destiny Reformation cause of industrial revolution science at the cost of humanity grave robbers Setting distinction between nature and human society, the sublime, Romanticism Byron and Percy (criticism applies both F and M to nature), comfort, science lab and university. Questions pantheism and casual science, galvanismBeing removed from being human holding yourself above others detriment Instinct and logic is greater than intellect (more human) Overcrowded, paradoxical city, Cs inhospitable lab, Ts Godlike palace, Ss dilapidated and pathetic homeImpersonal corporatism, people media Migration take over of minority groups Archetypical evil genius society moe used to impersonal figures of power The agony of closing off and the OutsiderProgress isolation Dont take human connection for granted Destruction of Bride Ms last accept of connection destroyed (setting) lose hope Humanity vs. M M vs. FShelley affair socially shunned Prejudice when revealed she was author (young, 19yo woman)Genius isolation Knowledge = power Safety in numbers gameTough military life, searching for stability, wanting whats impossible Impersonal corporate worlds

How to improve english

in that locationfore It Is really Important to improve face skills because It Is never too late. mess who ar non genuinely keen on writing side. purge for them it heap be a good start. Adrian It Is very Important to start writing incline as much as possible. There are some ways of improving english such as reading. tching movie or even listening to music, This should be included In the dally task and after doing It for a long eon It becomes a habit and then the person volition realize how he or she is going towards betterment. simply each of them has their strength and weaknesses. Actually, detecting English Is non as difficult as you think. YouVe got to commit yourself if you extremity to be successful. Jimmy I remember what my lecturer told me that If youre lazy or not interested in learning English, youll never break through yourself.I really want to be able to read, write and announce well in English because English Is uite important as the international addres s nowadays. Ya. Itll be utile when I would Ilke to crossa good job or go overseas to carry on my studies or work. Okay. First of all, you must read more than English materials. such as magazines and newspapers. Ofs Not only that, English textbooks, instructions and ingredients on food packages, advertisements are excessively important. Jazali When people write, they usually use correct English with a proper grammatical structure. Ya, This is not always true when people speak.Thats why. So, by reading, you spate learn grammatical English cancelly. I Just saw an article, it says that If you choose something to read that you like, it can actually be interesting and enjoyable. Well, this came across my mind. If you like to read about football in your own language, why not read about football in English right? Ya, I agree with you. You will work information about football and improve your English at the same time. But guys, you wont kick in a direct impact on your speech improvem ent. written English differs greatly from English utilise in actual live conversations. approximatelytimes, Written English tends to be more formal and isnt packed with phrasal erbs like everyday English to make English phrase, word, or word chunk stick in your mind for later use in a conversation, you need to repeat it a good arrive of times. Dont forget guys, You basically need to repeat the phrase and memorize it doesnt happen when you read an English parable book and it By the way, music is besides a fun way to work on your listening. take care the most effective way to do it and about the challenges you face learning from music.If you love music, Music will teach you useful phrases and collocations, help you to remember new ords and old, improve your pronunciation and sharpen your listening. Hey, Zhen hao what are you doing? Im finding lyrics. Half of a good song is what the words mean. Songs are about something. But before you can fgure out what a singer means, find out what she or he is saying. Yes, Songs are utterly oppositeand usually deeper, cooler and more poeticwhen you know what your dearie singers are really saying. So, find the lyrics to your favourite songs, print them out and work to understand what they mean.Not only finding lyrics, u need to sing along too. In the shower, around the house or at your local karaoke box, it will help your English get better and better. You pronunciation will improve, and you will remember more and more new English. However, there are some adverse on listening English song too. Nowadays the songs getting varies through the country. Some lyrics of the songs may contain of verbal words. Yaya Like the song sang by Akon, l Just had a sexl The music video of the songs also may contain of adult content such as crude and this is not suitable for immature people or child to watch.Everyone *laugh* The music video of the songs also may contain of adult content such as naked and this is not suitable for young pe ople or child to watch. On the other hand, the lyrics spelling on screen also readiness not accurate. the true spelling. So, This could be a disadvantage of learning English by music. Hey dont forget, my hobby, observation movies also will improve English. Haha.. Watching movies is a great way for you to improve your English, especially your listening and speech skills. Films are not usually created for English language learners they are made for native English speakers.Films are not usually created for English language learners they are made for native English speakers. It is not a good idea to use this as your only method of learning English it is much more advisable to study at an English school. However, I would definitely recommend all English language students to watch films in English in their spare time for additional practice that you might not get in a classroom. I agree with u Zhen hao, It helps to take the language away from the synthetic classroom norm, which helps us because they get to see/hear the language in a more natural setting.Other than that, watching movies will not only improve your listening ability, but will help you a lot on your spoken English, espcially our English intonation. Besides, when you watch a movie, you can also learn the elaboration reflected in the movie. But some of the parents will get mad or angry if their children wasting more time on movies. I dont think so Jimmy, this is my own experience. I like watching movies very much and its really helpful for my English study. I really recommand you watch some typical movies. And You can watch movies and TV programs with English subtitles as ell.That helps a lot. I really think that it depends on what movies we are watching If they are watching movies that are grammatically incorrect, I cannot see how thats going to help them with the English language. We can watch movies from the fiftys and sixtys, those movies were make with proper grammar in mind. for conclusion, So far i still strongly recommend you to watch more movies because it really helps to improve English. How do you think everyone, Agree with it? Yes, I agree. watching movies can be very beneficial.

Supply Chain Management for Manufacturing Industry

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