International Business - Value and Supply Chains Essay

International Business - Value and Supply Chains - Essay Example This exemplifies the concept of value chain. The concept of value chain was introduced and popularized by Michael Porter in his bestseller, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance (Value Chain 2005). In this book which was published in 1985, he clearly describes what value chain is. He has identified a set of interrelated activities common to a wide range of firms. Value chain is "a high-level model of how businesses receive raw materials as input, add value to the raw materials through various processes, and sell finished products to customers (What is value chain 2005)." This is possible, since Michael Porter, as stated above, has already devised a way to classify the activities of a firm in its operation. Value chain therefore, categorizes the "value-adding activities of an organization (Value Chain 2005)." Michael Porter classified business activities as either primary or support activities. Primary activities include: inbound logistics, production, outbound logistics, sales and marketing, maintenance. Meanwhile administrative infrastructure management, human resources management, R&D, and procurement comprise the support activities. ... Primary activities involves those activitieswhich starts as the procurement of raw materials from suppliers to bringing them to customer. Inbound logistics involve the "receiving, warehousing, and inventory control" of the company's input. Meanwhile, operations comprise the value adding activities which transforms the raw materials into the final output. Outbound logistics are the activities which are necessary to bring the finished product to customers like storage, order fulfilment, warehousing, etc. Marketing and sales are the company's effort to attract buyers to purchase the products (The Value Chain 2004). Maintenance and ehancement of products' value through customer support and repair services. All these activities in the value chain are designed to add value that the customer derived from the company's products or services. Figure 1. Primary Activities of the Value Chain The main goal of support activities is to facilitate the primary activities. Procurement is essentially the purchasing of raw materials and other inputs utilized in value adding activities. On the other hand, technology and development, process automation and other technologies which are used to simplify and aid in the company's production. Human resource management involves the process of recruitment, development, motivation, and compensation of employees working for the business. Firm infrastructure is comprised of activities such as finance, legal quality, management, etc (The Value Chain 2004). This paper will look at the value chain of Dell Incorporated. It will focus on the trends currently happening in the global market and how these changes may influence the value chain of the business entity. Dell Incorporated and its

Is terrorism ever justified Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Is terrorism ever justified - Essay Example Terrorism cannot be justified because it causes fear and anxiety among peaceful populations. To some extent, it must be acknowledged that the fear of Arab terrorism among the American population has been cultivated, and that this cultivation clearly implicates the American media. This does not mean that other of the "institutional means of influence" are without fault (Reich and Laqueur 71). For example, fundamentalist Christianity inside the United States (whose churches and televangelists frequently view Israeli dominance as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy) clearly contributes to the real anti-Semitism in the United States. However, compared to the other ideological institutions, media influence is virtually universal and potentially life-long for the population. In a context of alienation, the media becomes both a tranquilizer and a source of the sharpening of images for dramatic effect (Kushner 360). Violence as a part of the terror attack cannot be justified. In the dominant view, those who perpetrate outsider violence are often portrayed as irrational or crazed, exercising a twisted thirst for blood. A political economy of terrorism must take note of such efforts, probing theoretically the structure of ideological systems, and placing these in a material context. Following Singh: "There is almost an infinite variety of violence of anti-social nature-homicide, acts of vandalism, arson, destructive rage, or other expressions of an essentially irrational urge to strike at someone or something" (Singh 377). Beyond this, a political economy of terrorism must place statist behavior in a world system context. However, terror is not confined to purely instrumental linkages between specific nation states and the misdeveloping world. The modern state may be quite "rational" in its projection of national power on a world scale through military force, covert intelligence operations, and e conomic sanctions (Edwards n.d.). State power may be used quite "systematically" to maintain an order of inequality with both global and domestic dimensions. And all of this may be done in the name of national sovereignty and international law. Indeed, it may be a function of lawyers working for the state to find "lawful" reasons for policies of international and national intimidation (Egendorf 2004). Terrorism cannot be justified because it involves the systematic use of torture and the rise of military and police forces engaged in an internal war against a subject population. This form of terrorism may also be waged through shadow organizations, death squads, and the like that have no official power but that are clearly linked with the national elite (Egendorf 2004). However, to focus on regime terror is often deceptive. To cast the issue of terrorism as the abuse of state power by political deviants may be to ignore the more endemic, taken-for-granted, higher forms of sanctioned violence that avoid the terrorist label. It may also ignore state structural imperatives (expressed in policy and action, including the threat or use of force) designed to preserve a transnational market system. At the international level, the higher terrorism takes different forms. It is ironic that in the political lexicon of terrorism, war between states is routinely omitted. Indeed, the architects o f the state may subscribe to humanitarian codes

The Continuing Evolution of Reconstruction History by Eric Foner Essay Example for Free

The Continuing Evolution of Reconstruction History by Eric Foner Essay In this article, Foner states in his thesis that â€Å"since the early 1960s, a profound alteration of the place of blacks within American society, newly uncovered evidence, and changing definitions of history itself, have combined to transform our understanding of race relations, politics, and economic change during Reconstruction.† The article essentially encompasses the meaning of three different views of reconstruction: traditional, revisionist, and post-revisionist. After Foner defines these and explains his thesis, the article becomes somewhat of an advertisement for his own articles on the topic. Foner defines the traditionalist view as the interpretation that when then civil had finally come to an end, the white population of the south more or less accepted their military defeat and wanted to preserve their supremacy while simultaneously reuniting with the North. The first problem with this view is if the south were to continue on the path of white supremacy and never really grant African Americans any civil rights to enjoy the same freedoms as white people, then reuniting with the north would be pointless. The entire idea of the civil war and reconstruction was to abolish slavery and to also grant the freedmen some, if not most or all, of their civil rights. While discussing the traditional view, Foner also identifies two separate eras of reconstruction. The first of the two eras was Presidential Reconstruction, in which Johnson attempted to continue Lincoln’s policies. The second would be Congressional or Radical Reconstruction. In this era, the southern white community joined together in the fight against the efforts to overthrow the new governments that promoted reconstruction ideals and also to carry out Home Rule. This would essentially become the enforcement of the Black Codes, which restored the plantation lifestyle that had existed before the civil war and in turn kept the freedmen in the position of slavery. The description of the traditionalist viewpoint almost seems to be valiant in nature, almost holding the southerners to a sort of esteemed position in keeping with their traditional way of white supremacy. This raises the question, were the traditionalists either mainly southerners or racists who wanted to preserve the idea that the south was betrayed by the north and had the right to enforce the black codes? This question will go unanswered, for the article does not investigate each viewpoint to this  degree. The second viewpoint described by Foner is revisionism. Revisionists consisted of mainly African American and supporters of the freedmen who wanted to refute the ideas of the traditionalist group. This group also applies the idea of some sort of valiant effort being made, but this time by the African Americans of the era. This group defines reconstruction as â€Å"an idealistic effort to construct a democratic, interracial political order from the ashes of slavery, as well as a phase in prolonged struggle between capital and labor for control of the South’s economic resources.† In fact the entire explanation of the motives for the revisionist group makes them seem terribly offended. Revisionists believe that most traditionalists cannot view a black man as a man. Simply put, the freedman is still considered a slave. A statement like this leads to questioning of the relevance of the traditionalist viewpoint. If the south never stopped seeing the freedmen as slaves, and went out of their way to try and preserve the aspects of slavery, then how can traditionalists even support that they have a view on Reconstruction? What exactly was reconstructed? As time had progressed, the revisionist view eventually stamped out traditionalists, it was all inevitable once everyone caught on that African Americans were equal and started to look into the history of slavery and Reconstruction. The revisionists also portrayed Johnson as the racist that he really was and praised the Radicals for being so committed to the rights of the freedmen. In the most recent view of reconstruction known as post-revision, Reconstruction is seen as a time of radical change. They argued that â€Å"persistent racism had negated efforts to extend justice to blacks, and the failure to distribute land prevented the freedmen from achieving true autonomy and made their civil and political rights all but meaningless.† This raises the question of who can there be any radical change during reconstruction if the freedmen were prevented in achieving true autonomy? And if this wasn’t achieved, then what was achieved as a result of reconstruction? to answer this question, Foner explains that the post-revisionists see reconstruction as not merely a specific time period, but an extended historical process. America was readjusting after the war  and it was not a â€Å"tragic era†. Schools were established and there was social and political process for freedmen. Overall, this is by far the most optimistic viewpoint. Foner ends his explanation of post-revision rather abruptly in order to what comes off as marketing his books. He even appears to be a tad arrogant when he more or less describes his collection as the most definitive grouping of historical information and personal opinion of the entire topic. He never actually states which viewpoint he associates himself with, but it can be inferred that he is a combination of revisionist and post-revisionist. The reason for this is that holds that blacks were active agents in the making of reconstruction and reconstruction produced a variety of economic, political, and social change for the freedmen. Foner does an impeccable job at explaining each view of reconstruction as well as providing the evidence to support his reasoning. He ends on a collective note, pressing to the reader that when viewing Reconstruction, one should keep in mind different points of view and it is best to take and comparative approach to emancipation to broaden one’s perspective and to bring about questions and new conceptual ideas.

Sex Change Complicates Battle Over Child Custody :: Free Essays Online

Sex Change Complicates Battle Over Child Custody Florida state law does not recognize same sex marriage. In this case, the law had no way of proving whether or not Michael Kantaras is a man or a woman, since having a female to male sex change. Depending on this, it will decide whether or not he (pending on decision) will be able to keep custody of his adopted children. If society had not let technology surpass their conventional thinking and laws, this case would be easier to decide, or at least not pending on the sex of Mr./Mrs. Kantaras. If Florida law, and that of other places, had thought about all the consequences of technology, such a case as this never would have come to be so controversial. So, is Michael Kantaras really a man, or is she the woman she was born as? Janice G. Raymond would say that Michael Kantaras is really Margo. She believes that transsexuals can never really relate to the female persona and therefore never truly be a woman. She bases this belief on the idea of male privilege. This is the privilege that men receive just for being men; they get higher pay, more leadership opportunities, are always seen as more competent, etc. Even though men are born with this privilege and may not realize they have it, they still experience it and have that edge to allow them to advance in society. Because of this, Raymond claims that male to female sex changes cannot know how it really is to be a woman. They do not realize they have this privilege, but continue to live being dominant because it is inherently within them. Sandy Stone, a male to female transsexual, is angered by Raymond's view. She became a successful employee at Olivia Records, and obtained a head position. Olivia records emerged during the 1970s toward the end of the women's movement in an attempt to produce lesbian feminist music. It wanted for women to obtain the head positions and dominate the company, so once word got out about Sandy Stone's natural born sex, there was much controversy and debate on whether or not to keep her at the head position. Those who believed she should be fired sided with Raymond's view, that having been a male, Stone had an advantage in being brought up to be competitive. Sex Change Complicates Battle Over Child Custody :: Free Essays Online Sex Change Complicates Battle Over Child Custody Florida state law does not recognize same sex marriage. In this case, the law had no way of proving whether or not Michael Kantaras is a man or a woman, since having a female to male sex change. Depending on this, it will decide whether or not he (pending on decision) will be able to keep custody of his adopted children. If society had not let technology surpass their conventional thinking and laws, this case would be easier to decide, or at least not pending on the sex of Mr./Mrs. Kantaras. If Florida law, and that of other places, had thought about all the consequences of technology, such a case as this never would have come to be so controversial. So, is Michael Kantaras really a man, or is she the woman she was born as? Janice G. Raymond would say that Michael Kantaras is really Margo. She believes that transsexuals can never really relate to the female persona and therefore never truly be a woman. She bases this belief on the idea of male privilege. This is the privilege that men receive just for being men; they get higher pay, more leadership opportunities, are always seen as more competent, etc. Even though men are born with this privilege and may not realize they have it, they still experience it and have that edge to allow them to advance in society. Because of this, Raymond claims that male to female sex changes cannot know how it really is to be a woman. They do not realize they have this privilege, but continue to live being dominant because it is inherently within them. Sandy Stone, a male to female transsexual, is angered by Raymond's view. She became a successful employee at Olivia Records, and obtained a head position. Olivia records emerged during the 1970s toward the end of the women's movement in an attempt to produce lesbian feminist music. It wanted for women to obtain the head positions and dominate the company, so once word got out about Sandy Stone's natural born sex, there was much controversy and debate on whether or not to keep her at the head position. Those who believed she should be fired sided with Raymond's view, that having been a male, Stone had an advantage in being brought up to be competitive.

Qualities of a Good Nurse Essay

Qualities of a Good Nurse Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I was prompted to join nursing because of several life experiences. I used to feel helpless when I saw one of my family members fall ill and I could not do anything to help them ease their agony. I would sit and get deep thought and wishes that I could help if only I had appropriate training. I observed how the nurses were kind and caring whenever any of my family members fell ill. I usually became compassionate since their agony could not be alleviated. I am happy to join nursing and cannot regret about of my decision. Nursing is more of a calling than just a mere career. The validation of this paper is to highlight the life experiences and desirable traits of a nurse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are both good and worse experiences in nursing profession; however, they never scared me away from this profession. I am gradually learning and developing as an individual and become more enthusiastic about nursing profession every day. The satisfaction I accrue everyday is overwhelming, since it feels great to help others in their time of need. The experiences I got when I saw my family members fall ill made me acknowledge that I wanted to be part of the nursing profession and that I had capacity to fit in nursing profession. I got struck with a feeling of fulfillment, purpose, knowing that I could touch someone’s life. I learnt a lot of things from the nurses who attended my mother when she was ill (Bluni, 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My experience with the nurses helped me to learn that listening skills and communication alongside care and comfort help the nurses to promote patients’ health mentally, physically and emotionally. The nurses attended my mother on a daily basis and honestly cared about her situation. The nurses were capable to communicate with other patients, doctors and the other workers effectively. Stellar nurses are able to follow instructions with minimum supervision and easiness in communicating with families and patients. A good nurse should be an advocate for their patients and predict their needs. Successful communication ability in nursing profession builds up high level of satisfaction while putting off medical misfortunes. Nurses should also listen keenly to orders from their doctors and make notes where necessary (Watson, 1898).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I came to learn that nurses can work in various tasks, but they should also collaborate with fellow workers. Nurses cannot provide effective care to all patients without help from others, because some situations are hard to handle and random. For the nurses to provide effective services to their patients, they require teamwork (Gokenbach, 2013). I realized that a good nurse should be compassionate. They should be concerned about the family and the patient who is undergoing pain. A great nurse should be empathetic by listening and understanding the challenges facing their patients. Finally, I learnt that a good nurse should be helpless. The nurse who was attending my mother could miss lunch to hold her hand. In other experiences, some nurses did extraordinary things for patients simply because they were helpless (Bluni, 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, life experiences with ailing family members provoked me to join nursing profession. I came to learn I had capacity to touch someone’s life, and this was only through nursing. There are several desirable traits of a stellar nurse that are compassionate, selfless, caring, excellent communication skills and self-awareness. These qualities help nurses to provide efficient services to their patients and be able to work as a team to accomplish their duties. References 5 Things That Make a Good Nurse Great. (n.d.). NurseTogether.com. Retrieved September 10, 2014, from http://www.nursetogether.com/5-things-that-make-a-good-nurse-great Bluni, R. (2009). Inspired nurse. Gulf Breeze, FL: Fire Starter Pub..Watson, F. S. (1898). On Some of the Qualities Necessary for Being a Good Nurse. The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 138(10), 217-220. Source document

Essay about Manchester Dbq Ap Euro - 908 Words

During the nineteenth century, Manchester became one of the most industrialized cities in the world. Although the industrialization of Manchester was very efficient and successful for the modernization of man, the city’s growth also raised many issues in society. The growth of the city had negative and positive effects. Although the huge population growth in Manchester in the 1800s, delighted many people, for they though this had led to advances in manufacturing and other industries-the increase caused a multiple of other issues. Some of the issues included, problems with sanitation, home and family life, and industrialization. But fortunately, there were many reformers working to bring about change and bring justice where needed. The†¦show more content†¦(Doc.6). A chart from the Lancet, a British Medical journal clearly states that the average age of death is very low and the health in different cities is outstandingly horrific (Doc. 8). Document 11 reinforces th is idea by showing a picture of a completely polluted city. All of the factories are polluting the air which furthermore has a major effect on people’s health and the environment. Furthermore, a map suggests that the canals of the city were all located in areas of development. This invites the idea that the water sources may have been contaminated and thus pestilences were spread more quickly (Doc.1). This Document is very reliable, as it contains no bias since it is a mere map of the city containing no actual controversial concept. Another great issue introduced by the growth in Manchester was the poor living and working conditions of the lower class. Homes had no furniture or food and the people lacked clothes (Doc.7). Additionally, the work hours were long and the factories were uncomfortable and hazardous. A chart states that the average age at death for workers in Manchester is lower than any that of any other district (Doc.8). At last, Document 5 quotes that â€Å"†¦here civilization works its miracles, and the civilized man is turned back into a savage†.Show MoreRelated2002 Ap Euro Dbq: Manchester Essay1067 Words   |  5 PagesThe Effects of Industrialization on Manchester, England 1750-1850 England in the 18th and 19th centuries changed dramatically as a result of the Industrial Revolution, which had many effects on the social structure of England and increased the gap between the rich and the poor. Because of this, industrialized English towns such as Manchester were both criticized and admired by poets, politicians, journalists, and outsiders, who were particularly from France. The most powerful points of view were

Effects of Technology on Individual Alienation in...

Throughout the short story â€Å"The Veldt, Bradbury uses foreshadowing to communicate the consequences of the overuse of technology on individuals. Lydia Hadley is the first of the two parents to point out the screams that are heard on the distance where the lions are. George soon dismisses them when he says he did not hear them. After George locks the nursery and everyone is supposed to be in bed, the screams are heard again insinuating that the children have broken into the nursery, but this time both the parents hear them. This is a great instant of foreshadowing as Lydia points out that Those screams—they sound familiar (Bradbury 6). At that moment, Bradbury suggests that George and Lydia have heard the screams before. He also includes a pun by saying that they are â€Å"awfully familiar† (Bradbury 6) and giving the word â€Å"awfully† two meanings. At the end we realize that â€Å"the screams are not only awfully familiar, but they are also familiar as w ell as awful (Kattelman). When the children break into the nursery, even after George had locked it down, Bradbury lets the reader know that the children rely immensely on technology to not even be able to spend one night without it. The screams foreshadow that something awful is going to happen because of this technology. In the short story, little things are mentioned that foreshadow what is about to happen. The screams are one of the main things. When George enters the nursery after Wendy and finds that it is now a forest full of