The Apostle Peter Essays - Prophets Of Islam, Fishers,

The Apostle Peter The Apostle Peter, often known as Saint Peter, was the most prominent disciple of Jesus Christ. During his life, he followed Christ with very much devotion, and truly believed in his mission and purpose. Because of his devotion, he was chosen by Jesus to become the first Pope, and to take control of the Christian church. Peter was the son of Jona and he had a younger brother called Andrew, who first brought him to Jesus. His native town was Bethsaida, on the western coast of the Sea of Galilee. He was trained in the occupation of a fisherman. His father died when he was still a young boy, causing him to have to be brought up under the care of Zebedee and his wife Salome with his younger brother. Peter and his brother enjoyed all the advantages of religious training, and were instructed early with an acquaintance with the Scriptures and with the great prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah. Throughout this time, Peter was not called Peter at all, but in fact, Simon. The Twelve Apostles were men that were chosen out of ordinary people who had ordinary occupations. Peter was a fisherman, and was led to Jesus by his brother, Andrew. The Scriptures state: "And as He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become the fishers of men."" Mark 1:16-17 At the time, being a fisherman was a very common practice. It was the way many people earned their living. In this passage, Peter, at the time Simon, and his brother Andrew were fishing, when Jesus came to them and asked them to become apostles of his. This was the calling of Peter to Jesus. It shows that Jesus honored the poor and humble of society just as much as the rich, if not more so. It gave the lower classes of society something to identify with in that the greatest men of religion were from the lower classes. Once Simon became an apostle for Jesus, his name was changed to what we now no him today, Peter. Jesus told Simon: "And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it."" Matthew 16: 17-18 Peter means "rock" in Greek, and this means that Jesus wanted his church to be built on a solid foundation, and that he wanted Peter to be deeply entrenched in the church. Jesus renamed Simon, Peter, to express his belief that Peter would be very important in the Christian church. On almost all of the lists of the apostles, Peter in placed at the head of the list because he is the first to be called. He had an impulsive devotion to Jesus, and this is portrayed in his deep commitment and the constant act of being the spokesman for the apostles. He is often the representative of the entire Twelve Apostles. Because of his deep commitment, Jesus became a very good friend with Peter, and the two developed a close relationship. Jesus also entrusted Peter with the control over the Christian church when Jesus died. This demonstrated even more the belief in one another. After Christ's Ascension, Peter becomes the undisputed leader of the church. He takes over in Jesus Christ's mission and ideologies, and begins to preach the ideas of faith to the communities. He becomes very powerful and influential in religious communities. To the Christians, he became the principal preacher of Christianity. He was also the so-called "peace-keeper" between Jews and Christians, who were beginning to find conflict with each other. He also became the spokesman before Jewish authorities. Peter became a very influential and prominent figure in religious life. Peter spent the last years of his life in Rome, where the first of the two epistles written was ascribed to him.

Invisible Man Questions for Study and Discussion

'Invisible Man' Questions for Study and Discussion Invisible Man is an important 20th-century novel by  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ralph Ellison. What is the meaning of identity, and being invisible? What does the book have to say about society? About ideology? Here are a few questions for study and discussion, related to Invisible Man.   Study Questions What is important about the title?What are the conflicts in Invisible Man? What types of conflict (physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional) are in this novel?How does Ralph Ellison reveal character in Invisible Man?What are some themes in the story? How do they relate to the plot and characters?What are some symbols in Invisible Man? How do they relate to the plot and characters?Is the narrator consistent in his actions? Is he a fully developed character? Why do you think Ralph Ellison left the narrator unknown, absent and nameless (invisible)?Do you find the characters likable? Would you want to meet the characters?Does the novel end the way you expected? How? Why?What is the central/primary purpose of the story? Is the purpose important or meaningful?Is the narrator a strong (or weak) character? How? Why?How essential is the setting to the story? Could the story have taken place anywhere else? In any other time?What (if any) is the role of education in the novel?Why is Invisibl e Man controversial? Why has it been banned? How does Invisible Man relate to current society? Is the novel still relevant?Would you recommend this novel to a friend?

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 136

Discussion - Essay Example Narratives are segregated into three parts, the beginning, middle, and the end. Wars have protagonists and antagonists that can be shaped to rationalize a topic in any work of art. However, war narratives including even the most thoughtful ones often face constraints. For instance, Full Metal Jacket, shows war as violent occurrence, brutal and awful. However, it equally turns war into a current narrative. In contentious films such as Meal jacket, the horrors are made part of the Joker’s change from a defenseless civilian to a perverse warrior who is no longer fearful. Adornos use of the term barbaric majorly in reference to writing poetry after Auschwitz was not intended to castigate poets and artists. It is implied in Adorno’s dictum that writing literature from differend is barbaric. Gallows humor is good in relieving the extreme emotional attachment that the audience may develop in the case of heart wrecking literature. In essence, Gallows humor relegates the seriousness that the society attaches to some occurrences such as death, crime, and disease. The use of gallows humor expresses the resistance of the ego to provocations and

Reflectiion Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reflectiion Paper - Essay Example Indeed, the psychological paradigms of Dina’s personality become important issues within the social setup, especially social class and racial divide. The reflection on past events by Dina becomes the major factor that is able to help her to reconcile herself with the past and look forward to future. Dina was brought up within a stifled environment of a disturbed family where her mother loses her will to live and ultimately dies. She is wary of human relationship because she has seen her mother was trampled by her father. She not only carries the stigma of being poor but also is hugely distrustful of whites. Her defiance is actually her defense to shield herself from the imagined bullying by white students and teachers. That is perhaps the reason that during orientation games in Yale, she is provoked into stating that she would like to be a revolver! While revolver might be representative of violence, for Dina, it was a shield that could probably give her the emotional and physical security that she craves. The revolve might also be symbolizing the social violence within our society that the narrator voices when she says that her mother ‘would never be able to get where she wanted to go’. The poignancy of Dina’s thoughts and her behavior reflect the constrain ts of social conditioning. Dina’s character is intense and highly volatile but hides a softer human touch which she is afraid to show to the world. Her relationship with Heidi, a white girl is scintillating example of unpredictable human behavior which is easily swayed by love and trust. Heidi’s persistence bears fruit and Dina joins the rest of the students in the college canteen and also enrolls herself to become dishwasher. Subsequently, her interactions with others reveal the changing attitude of Dina and show the strength of her character that is more inclined towards justice and freedom, promoting

Products and Services Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Products and Services - Assignment Example From this paper it is clear that MSC was going to make profits since they were going to focus mainly on the product that would satisfy their customer needs. They relocated their markets to areas where they knew that the prices they had placed would favor the residents. As an organization MSC did the right thing by forming the alliance since it closed down all the branches that were making little profit. They should move to areas where there is ready market. The products that MSC produced were to be advertised. This task was to be carried out by 3B, this will help MSC do away with promotion costs.This discussion highlights that  the benefits of going ahead with the plan are many for example some of the operation costs will be reduced. PLS employees will lead, but 3B will help with materials. There will be some advertising as part of this deal. This will be done by 3B and  PLS. Since it is an alliance, they will be holding meetings to discuss on new strategies and the way forward. This will be a major boost since there will be exchange of ideas by different people who have different skills, and they are from different companies.  MSC county government has been looking forward to support both private and public partnerships so that they get national attention.  3B also has a good public reputation in their community since its employees contribute to the growth of the economy. By forming an alliance with them, MSC is more likely to succeed.

The Founding Of The Vanity Fair Brand

The Founding Of The Vanity Fair Brand Founded in 1899, Vanity Fair (VF), the worlds largest publicly owned apparel company, offers various products such as jeans, bags, sportswear, footwear and outerwear. It operates mainly in the US and Europe, but also in developing countries like India, Russia and China. In the last decade, VF made some acquisitions including The North Face, Napapijri, Nautica and Vans. Five major coalitions consist of multiple brands a total of 700 brand stores in 2009 leading the Growth Plan strategy. The company recorded, in 2008, $7,561,621 of revenues. VF brands are attempting to establish close relationships with its suppliers to reduce production costs, respond to changes in other cost factors, and shorten the lead time that occurs with the traditional suppliers. Also, Fraser, the President of the Supply Chain International for VF brands, is concerned that the companys current supply chain strategies will not satisfy the future demand that will occur in the Asia-Pacific areas. In this paper, we will analyze four alternatives that VF brands can execute for its global expansion into the Asian markets. Those 4 alternatives are as follow; (1) To abandon the Third Way; (2) To continue with the current supply chain strategies; (3) To pick the best method for each coalition and products categories; and (4) Gradually switching to Third Way altogether in the end. Based on our analyses of the 4 alternatives and the apparel industry, we will suggest the best solution that will satisfy the new demand and help the other areas to become more e fficient and effective in the future. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Since the company was established more than a century ago, it was able to develop certain competencies in various areas and a good reputation. One of them is the strong performance in its internal plants, and the know-how and expertise involved. All these led to VFs own sustainable competitive advantages. In addition, the company built a technical know-how and engineering capabilities, which are very difficult to imitate. The rapid production at the internal plants and its supply chain are very valuable. Moreover, a large number of suppliers and the experience gained accumulated over time give VF a considerable and reliable network. Also, during the various acquisitions, VF preserved the unique organizational cultures and brand identities to keep the design groups intact. Every brand has then a strong personality that can be managed and developed individually, giving more diversity. Besides, the financial situation of VF is strong with a low level of debts and a high cash position th at can help them in case of tough economic situations and give them more flexibility to respond accordingly. Weaknesses When operating such a big and diversified company, some difficulties may occur. The first one is the lack of coordination and trust among suppliers and the company. A bullwhip effect may be observed due to the lack of inventories. Also, the supply chain is often illogical and highly fragmented due to various outsourcing locations. Certain dependence may be caused by some suppliers, making it very costly (ex: Nicaragua). Thus, building a reliable supplier network is very expensive. VF has a sheer complexity of its product line, leading to different needs and priorities among its numerous brands. The diversity of ideas between coalitions and directors causes some problems in the decision-making as well. Low costs pressuring for outsourcing can lead to quality matters and lack of control. Additionally, not much differentiation can be made in terms of supplying and transportation. Opportunities As the apparel industry is changing at a very rapid rate, innovative companies can see various opportunities. The supply chain management is a very first change in the companys structural changes; then the Third Way is described as an opportunity to gain another competitive advantage, going forward. Partnerships can be developed in a long term vision. Moreover, the expansion of sales in developing countries represents a huge growth opportunity. Asian markets seem like a favourable location for new stores. Also, the development of new line products at a broad range of price can be designed at any time to satisfy a new market segment. Fashion is seen differently around the world, thus, various strategies are used to fulfill each need. Future acquisitions can also contribute to the growth of VF. Threats Apparel industry is very much affected by economic situations. In times of crisis, too much dependence on some suppliers might be fatal; especially that competition is very hard and intense with brands competing directly. Continuous investment must be made, essentially in marketing to maintain margins. Plus, the growing bargaining power of mass retailing chains put pressure to lower the price at all time. Also, the frequent changes in tariffs and quotas make outsourcing unsure sometimes, making the research for suppliers challenging. Agile supply chain and vf brands The third way seems to be a new way to deal with suppliers and with a supply chain in general. However, third way could be seen as an agile supply chain in many aspects. In the next section, we will discuss what are an agile supply chain, the differences between lean supply chain and hybrid supply chain, and the link with VF Brands third Way. This part will give basic information that will be useful for our recommendations. VF BRANDS and THE AGILE SUPPLY CHAIN In a turbulent and volatile world, the only thing that does not change is change by itself . Basically, companies compete at several competitive dimensions like cost, delivery time, quality and flexibility. However, todays intensely competitive market is more and more defined by an instability and unpredictability of demand that represent the new challenges organizations face. For many reasons, the product and technology life cycles are shortening, forcing more frequent product changes in addition to new competitive pressure. Now, companies look beyond cost and quality advantages. Speed to market, speed to delivery and flexibility are being emphasized as a way to be more reactive to the needs of customers. However, more than speed, companies require a high level of maneuverability, or in other words, a high level of agility. What is an Agile Organization? Agility is a business-wide capability that embraces an organizational structure, information and systems, logistics processes, and in particular, mindsets. The key to success of an agile business is speed and flexibility. Agile organizations are market-driven, with more product research, and short development and introduction cycles. An agile organization can be defined as an organization capable to cope with unexpected challenges, to survive unprecedented threats of business environment and to take advantage of changes as opportunities. This kind of organization must be a fast moving, adaptable, robust business able to achieve a competitive advantage in a very instable environment. The basic way to define agility is the ability to quickly match supply, however, it is important to explain that agile is not a synonymous of leanness. Indeed, lean can be seen as doing more with less by implementing a lean manufacturing (Porsche Consulting) with zero inventory or Minimum Reasonable Inventory (MRI) and just in time approach. However, lean manufacturing system does not often mean flexible manufacturing system. A lean manufacturing system can result on less waste and high efficiency, but sometimes with important inventory. Finally, a company with a lean chain of supply can make their consumers wait a longer time to receive their products. We can illustrate that with the automotive industry and more specifically with the Toyota Production System. Indeed Toyota production system can be seen as lean, but that does not mean that consumers do not have to wait, often during months, to have the car of their choice. Therefore, Lean approach works best in high volume, low varie ty, and predictable environment. Whereas, Agility is needed in less predictable environment where demand is volatile and the requirement for variety is high. The Agile Supply Chains and Characteristics All organizations have supply chains of varying degrees, depending upon the size of the organization, the depth and scope of international outsourcing, the type of product manufactured, and the international production network. A supply chain describes the series of linked activities creating a process that changes supplies and components into finished products that will be distributed to customers. The agility of a Supply Chain is a measure of how well the relationship involved in the process enhances four pivotal objectives of agile manufacturing: Customer sensitivity, Virtual integration, Process Integration, and Network integration. First, all the agile supply must have the capacity to understand and respond to real demand quickly, in other words, the supply chain must be customer sensitive. The organization must be able to make forecast based upon past sales or shipment demand and convert these forecasts into inventory. For instance, the main challenge for companies is to be able to hear the voices of the market by receiving Efficient Response from customer (ECR) using information and technology to capture data on demand directly from point-of-sale and point of use. The organization must use information and technology to share data between buyers and suppliers creating a supply chain based on information rather than inventory, basically, create a Virtual Supply Chain. Sharing information using information and system (for example EDI) with our partner will create a collaborative work environment (process integration) that can be illustrated by joint product development and process improvement between buyer and s uppliers. Integrated your process offer the potential for major performance gain. This form of co-operation in supply chain is more and more important as many companies focus on their core competencies and outsource all other activities. Partnerships between buyer and supplier are inevitable to achieve an agile supply chain. To this extent, integration can mean the combination of sell through data, exchange of inventory status information, order coordination, open-book accounting, buyer supplier team, share information about the future products, and change in manufacturing process need to be changed as well as simplified pricing schemes . Figure 1 Dimension of Supply Chain Agility Supply chain agility can be discussed in terms of two dimensions of reach and range of activities covered by networking amongst companies (13;8). The figure shows this two-dimensional framework. On the vertical axis, there is the reach from Personal Division to Global. When, in the horizontal axis, there is the Range of activities from the basic way to send a message (EMAIL for instance) to Internet integration. This figure shows three steps from Bill of Material through Purchasing efficiency with electronic commerce, Supplier coaching, and Relational Database to the top level of planning, and control with Demand Planning, and Capacity Planning, and so on. To achieve agility on the Supply Chain, an organization must go through these steps and access the highest level with planning and control. In fact, the company must achieve the highest level on Reach (Global) and on Range (Integration). Indeed, on the last step, internal operations will be transparent to suppliers and customers. T his transparency allows cross companys team to work. Local teams are able to think globally and discuss the process and requirement without restriction without major problems of communication. Any change, modification, and new project can be implemented quickly, efficiently, and easily without creating high cost, or affecting quality of the output. (Figure 2) Another study, by Vankatranan and Handerson, implemented these three steps in addition with three inter-dependent dimensions of the supply chain (customer interaction, asset configuration, Knowledge Leverage). In fact, these three stages can be implemented to evaluate progress on each dimension of the supply chain and see how well integrated and agile it is. (Figure 3) Hybrid Strategy, another Solution Lean and agile supply chain are two concepts focusing on two different issues. Lean initiative is said to focus on cost and quality and impacts on flexibility and times based technology leadership objective (e.g. TPS), whereas, agile supply chain influence costs and time based technology leadership. However, companies often need to keep in mind cost quality as well as flexibility and technology leadership at the same time. A combination of the two approaches could be appropriate to create a hybrid strategy. Hybrid Supply Chain focuses on the fact that characteristics of demand must be taken into consideration when designing the supply chain. Within a mixed portfolio of product and markets, there could be some products with stable demand and some other with unpredictable demand that is why a supply does not have to be totally agile of lean. For instance, the Supply Chain of the fashion apparel, Zara, could be shown as a agile supply chain with some lean characteristic in order to have the most effective quick-response system in its industry. Indeed Zara is able to quickly understand trends, producing some items with low flexible demand in low cost country (low cost, long time delivery, and so on), but at the same time they are able to be produced quickly in response in Spanish high-automated and very efficient factories that allow quick production, shorter time to delivery in point of sale, lower risk, and more flexibility. We can discuss another case, IKEA. IKEA deals with many suppliers mostly in European Union (more than 50%) and 20% in China. Two ideas must be underlined; Ikea usually implement long-term relationship with strong partnership with its suppliers, however, these partners must respect very strict norms created by IKEA itself. IKEA can help is suppliers (by financings machines, increasing the efficiency of the supply chain, and on) that make these supplier very efficient and very dependent to the buyer. To this point of view, IKEA supply chain can be seen as an agile Supply Chain, however, Ikea produce many products in Asia (China), but these products have a more stable demand trend. VF BRAND and The Third Way: Implementation of an Agile Supply Chain? Vanity Fair brands were used to deal with their own very efficient factories located closed to the companys main market, the US. However, the group decided to extend globally by buying other brands where the policies were sometimes to totally outsource the production. VF brands needed to deal with a very complicated supply chain, very decentralized design, and so on; a kind of mix between traditional sourcing and outsourcing, for some aspect similar to ZARA. However, just chasing low cost and building its own factories are not seen as a long-term solution for Chris Fraser, President Supply Chain international for VF Brand. At the same time, some of the inefficiency was due to lack of coordination and lack of trust between apparel companies and suppliers. A new solution was adopted, the third way. Third way means that VF should focus on supplier network. Suppliers and VF brand would work together. Suppliers would own their factories, but VF brand will help them for free using their ow n resources in engineering and management forces as well as with their purchasing power to procure fabric and other raw materials -resources previously used in their own factories. This solution looks like IKEAs solution, however, Ikea focused on a network of suppliers geographically near its location which is not the case for VF Brand that have to deal with low cost countries regulation and particularities and many brands in order to achieve its agile supply chain. The results are not very good for the moment: difficulties to convince shareholders that sharing resources with outsourced suppliers is a good solution, and as well as difficulty linking with the country where products are supplied; which probably is the reasons why. As a conclusion, results from studies like shows that only a few companies have adopted agile supply chain practices. However, most companies have created long term collaboration with suppliers as well as customers; it can be seen as lean Supply chain or hybrid strategy. Indeed study suggests that lean supply chain has a higher level of impact on competitive objectives in contrast to agile supply chain. Nevertheless, this result would probably be discussed within a few years as it will take some time before current companies investments and research effort on agile supply chain lead to more concrete and enjoyable results on competitive outcome compared to lean supply chain. Lets see what VF Brand can achieve if it pursue this third way. ALTERNATIVES Alternative 1 Abandon the Third Way go back to the old way The Third Way could potentially cause many difficulties for VF, hence abandoning this way before investing too much money is a possible alternative. Firstly, you maintain the flexibility to change volumes or to change to a supplier who is offering a lower price. You are also independent from the suppliers problems, for instance if you are not satisfied with the quality of the product, you can simply switch to a different supplier. Following the old way, you do not need to spend money and time until the problem is fixed. Secondly, it is tough to find suppliers willing to form a partnership with the given conditions. To agree to not supply the same category of products to competitors anytime in the future is a huge barrier for a supplier and drags him into dependence on VF. Since the price paid is vague at the establishment of the relationship, the supplier faces the risk to be exploited. The fact that one of the test Third Way suppliers could not manage to survive financially is a hint that the relationship might not work out for suppliers. In Addition, VFs existing suppliers were carefully selected and since they were not interested in a closer relationship. Thus, VF needs to establish the Third Way with unknown companies, a great risk if you are concerning the trust needed. Thirdly, there is still the possibility that VFs knowledge leaks out to competitors. The technology you provide your supplier is not necessarily limited to a specific category of product, but you relationship might be. In this case, the technology could be used by competitors if they buy products of a different kind from that supplier. Since VF is not the owner of the supplier, it is also harder to control the knowledge leaking. For example, an employee may change to a competitors supplier. Fraser and Green called VFs technical capabilities a trump card, therefore it should be highly protected and not being risked. Another point is that the problem of switching costs is also an issue. To establish a Third-Way-relationship VF has to invest money to transfer their knowledge to the supplier. Since the latter is not losing any money in case of termination of the contract, the chance for dropping out is higher. Regardless whether the supplier drops out or is closing down for some reasons, it takes a long time until a new relationship is established, so VF might face severe supply difficulties. Lastly, in a study there was no significant relation between strategic sourcing and gaining competitive advantage. Therefore, the effort spent on the Third Way might not return the expected results. On the other hand, the same study showed that strategic sourcing (and therefore the Third Way) has a positive influence on business performance. A close relationship is also speeding up goods entry. Also keep in mind that the total costs for a five pocket jeans were the lowest of all three ways. Alternative 2 Continue the current supply chain strategies Another alternative strategy for the situation which Vanity Fair brands are facing could be to keep working on the current strategy. As explained in the article and supported by its strong financial performance compared to its competitors, the company has maintain its competitive position in the apparel industry. VF brands have been well established through a series of successful mergers and acquisitions of different brands, products, and styles. In the course of these acquisitions, the company was able to gain huge competitive advantages from operating its own manufacturing plants and traditional outsourcing, simultaneously. This combined strategy allowed the company to juggle between based on the geographic markets, demands, different products and coalitions. Frasers Third Way strategy seems very attractive for VF going forward. Many of the challenges the company faces are due to production inefficiency and supplier relationship based on little or no trust. Fraser and VF brands are at a crucial stage to decide which means to carry on international expansion goals in the future. Despite many benefits of the Third Way, the company must examine if this supply chain strategy is a strong fit for Asian markets. As mentioned previously, there is no doubt that a combination of full integration and traditional sourcing is a VF brands strength. Internal manufacturing sites are able to produce high quality products more efficiently and reliably compared to not only its competitors but also its outsourcing suppliers. The significantly reduced production time is a great strength with respect to the products that experiences a high inventory turnover rate. Another advantage arises in unexpected crisis such as the global economic downturn in 2008-2009. If the company operated solely based on outsourcing, it would have been very difficult to survive due to the shutdown of small shops and short notice of their discontinuation. On the other hand, outsourcing for certain coalitions or products due to the nature of its operations is inevitable. Cut and make (CM) contracts allowed the company to oversee cost drivers at each stage, mostly for heritage lines supplied in Central American and Caribbean. Full package sourcing was mainly used for the lifestyle brands in Asia, Europe, and Northern Africa. Outsourcing strategy provides VF brands with more flexibility when dealing with different suppliers across different geographic regions, especially with regards to tariffs and quotas. While the Third Way has many benefits going forward, this strategy also involves a high risk and costs associated, more so if executed without thorough research and examinations. Besides the concerns from different areas of the company itself, the Third Way should be carefully selected and applied to the most suitable product lines. For example, the strategy is most suitable for products that require the steady and regular supply of its inventory with the staffs of a certain level of education. Also these potential suppliers should be willing to build the strategic partnership for a long term. As mentioned before, switching costs are another hindrance. Since it is much easier to persuade new suppliers than existing suppliers, the company needs to thoroughly examine the qualifications of potential suppliers and there is always a risk that the supplier might not meet the standards later on. Rather than expanding globally extensively through the Third Way, Fraser and the company must fi rst identify the strategic fit for certain geographic regions for certain products/coalitions, and then pursue this strategy. A product line which makes up a small volume or not much techniques or skills should rather be outsourced. Alternative 3: Hybrid Supply Chain VF Corporation world headquarters is located in Greesboro, North Carolina where the senior management team is based, along with the corporate strategy, Finance, Global Business Technology, Law, Human resources and finally, Global Supply Chain. VF Brand Business model focuses on supporting the individuality of lifestyle of each VF Brand and has to deal with each headquarter. Indeed, each Brand has its own headquarter and focuses on its own consumers and customers.(1) However, VF Brands had divided the globe into 4 areas: US Region, Americas, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), Asia-Pacific. VF Corporation has a specific strategy for each region even some brands are in different regions and are often global. Each brand has specific suppliers that can deliver globally and deal with the headquarter of this specific brand (not with VF Corporation). However, different brands in different regions might need the same supplier for almost the same product. For instance, two brands may need the cheapest supplier as possible for a specific type of product that can accept a long lead time whereas some other products may need a short lead time as the demand trend could fluctuate a lot. The next recommendation could be for VF Brand to have a more original and customized production and purchasing strategy. The basic idea is to create more coherence between where suppliers are based and where products are distributed. Lets take backpacks for example. Backpacks are needed for many companies inside the group, however the demand for backpacks is not fluctuating a lot and the demand is often lower for a backpacks than for jeans or a shirts or t-shirt. This implies that these backpacks could be produced in Asia with lower prices and longer lead time with classic suppliers. However, Jeans for the US market could be manufactured in Mexico in highly automated factories owned by VF Brand, and shipped quickly to the US. Manufacturing these Jeans in Mexico allowed shorter lead times and flexibility depending on fashion trend and thus, demand. The idea is to base suppliers where it is more significant for distribution. If goods are produced in Eastern Europe or Asia, these produc ts should be shipped directly from suppliers to a distribution center that will be located near where products will be sold. Indeed, nowadays, many products are produced in Asia and shipped to the US to finally be sold in Asia. This new approach will significantly reduce lead times and cost. Previously, we only talked about regular suppliers and factory owned by VF. However, VF Brands do not own their own factories for instance in the European and Asian markets. The key idea is to implement the third way in this case. Indeed, some products in the Asian or European market could have a very fluctuating demand trend; for these specific products some brand may need suppliers as efficient as VF Brands factories. Choosing specific suppliers and implementing the third way with them could be a good solution. These third way suppliers could produce for different brands of the VF Corp when they want to produce common products for a specific period of time or deal with specific products for different brands of the group. These third way suppliers could act like VF Brands factories; but in this case, close to EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region or Asia-Pacific region markets. To avoid sending products to other part of the world and then send them back to the original region , regional centers could be created. These centers will received product from normal suppliers (common for all VF Corp Brands) and then send these product to other regional centers, reducing lead time and cost. At the same time, Third Way suppliers will only focus on production for their actual area of the world. VF Brands must act local and think global. However as I will show, VF Brands do not have to think global just with its supply chain. Indeed, as we previously said, some products -like backpacks- are not often a trendy product. These not-so-specific products could have a common base -platform- share between the brands that will allow mass production with the same suppliers-reducing cost by dealing with more significant volumes-. In other words, some products could probably be designed by and for a different brand of the group but with the possibility of customization to differentiate these products. Exhibit 1 shows you an example for 3 areas, (EMEA, USA, ASIA) 1- VF Corporation Website http://www.vfc.com/about/global-presence VF CORP, how to think Globally Alternative 4: Gradually switch to Third Way altogether in the end Another alternative is that VF could gradually change their strategy to Third Way altogether in the end. As mentioned in the given case, VF can achieve more efficiency and long term stability through the Third Way. In our previous alternatives, we mentioned our concerns about the Third Way that it would not succeed. According to this point of view, the Third Way will bring loss of flexibility, leakage of VFs technology to outside and many other losses that will not benefit the company. However, to survive in apparel market of today, it is crucial for a company to satisfy various needs of consumers while supplying products as quickly as possible, which can be achieved by the Third Way. In order to quickly respond to market changes, it is important for VF to have a simplified, efficient production process so that it can immediately act when necessary. By achieving the Third Way, VF can gain two advantages. First, it can bring efficiency to its supply process. Second, it will result in a long term and sustainable supplier relationship. First, by implementing the Third Way, VF can make its supply process more efficient. By providing high technology engineering resources of VF, suppliers of VF can improve its production processes. This will result in cost benefits for VF as it will shorten lead time, and decrease production and inventory cost. Not only that, improving production process and shortening lead time mean VF can act more quickly. It is important for an apparel company to react quickly to changes to satisfy ever changing needs of the fashion market. Second, VF can create a long term and sustainable supplier relationship with its suppliers by following Third Way. As previously mentioned, contract of Third Way includes long term contract with its supplier in producing goods. By having a long term relationship, VF can decrease cost of finding new supplier for every new season. Also, by providing VFs engineering resources to improve the production process for suppliers, VF can gain trust from its suppliers. By building trust with suppliers, VF can minimize the cost of excess inventory and long lead time. Those against the Third Way argue that it will result in low flexibility, technology leakage. However, recent experiments in countries like Bangladesh showed the Third Way suppliers were able to greatly shorten lead time, allowing VF to respond to market more quickly than compared to traditional ways. Also, no leakages of VFs technology were reported. Those against the Third Way argue that the Third Way has many holes and also it is unable to persuade existing suppliers to change into the Third Way and therefore risky and ineffective strategy. However, this is a myopic view of the issue. Such problems are transitional errors that can be dealt with in the long term. Holes that might appear through the Third Way can be revised when such problems are found. Also, the supplier persuasion issue can be dealt by gradually replacing existing suppliers with the Third Way suppliers while continually trying to convert existing suppliers into the Third Way. It is essential for VF in order to sur vive in apparel market to build a supplier relationship that is sustainable and interactive; hence, the Third Way is the answer. RECOMMENDATION The company is currently in a no-return process. It needs to find the best way to satisfy the growing demand all around the world but parti

The Exploitative Colony of Virginia Essay -- American America History

The Exploitative Colony of Virginia I believe that the early settlers of the colony of Virginia made it into an exploitative and ignorant colony, due to the fact that it was set up primarily to make a small number of individuals wealthy while ignoring the rights of its other members. In the year 1607, a group of adventurers from the Virginia Company established the first English-American colony in the Chesapeake Bay area (Greene, 1988). They landed in Jamestown, and it became the first English settlement to survive in the New World. They named the colony Virginia. In its early history, Virginia was known for its drive to conquer the land and in some cases people, so that it would bring its main benefactors wealth and power (Morton, 1960). This is where the colony of Virginia became highly exploitative because of the greediness of so few people. The wealth and power that these benefactors were looking for mainly came from the growing of tobacco, a labor intensive crop, which was sold in the European market. In order to grow this crop they needed workers to maintain the fields, however, at this time Virginia was characterized as having a high mortality rate. Thus, they had to go out and find a source of laborers. They went out and at first got the labor they needed by recruiting indentured servants from England. These economically poor Europeans were used and abused by their own people, but not as much as the as the black African slaves. In the mid-seventeenth century, slaves became the main source of labor for the labor starved colony, so that the cultivation of the tobacco plantations would continue. The Europeans degraded these people and treated them in some cases, as bad as a dog treats a fire hydrant. One group ... ...4. Greene, Jack; Pursuits of Happiness; University of North Carolina Press; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; 1988. Kate, Stanley & Murrin, John; Colonial America, Essay in Politics and Social Development; U.N.C. Press; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; 1983. Morton, Richard; Colonial Virginia, volume one; U.N.C. Press; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; 1960. Sale, Kirkpatrick; The Conquest of Paradise; First Plumb Printing; New York, New York; 1991. Tate, Thad & Ammerman, David; The Chesapeake in the Seventeenth Century; U.N.C. Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; 1979. Todd, Lewis & Curti, Merle; Rise of the American Nation, volume one; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Press; New York, New York; 1968. Welty, Paul; Readings in World Cultures; Lippincott Company; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 1970. Wilson, Samuel; Natural History, The Unmanned Wild Countrey

Medical Marijuana Essay Essay

The issue on legalizing marijuana is a very controversial topic in the U.S. and all around the world. This is an issue for the fact that some people are being denied medical treatments just because marijuana has been illegal and misunderstood for so long. For as long as anyone can remember medical and legal marijuana has been seen in the negative side of the news and bad opinions by the general population. In recent years people, local governments, and state governments in the United States have been speaking out and is changing the way many people are viewing marijuana in this paper we will discuss the financial, medical, negative and positive effects of marijuana. Ways that you can fix this issue are contacting your local and state governments and expressing your opinions on this issue. First, look at the way America is viewing the legalization of marijuana. Marijuana now being fully legalized in Colorado and Washington, also with 23 states making it legal for medical purposes and 6 others decriminalizing the drug is now on a different path with legalization. â€Å"Owners of the 37 new dispensaries around the state reported first week retail sales to The Huffington Post that, when added together, were roughly $5 million.† (Frener, 2014). As you can see the financial revenue from just one state in its first week of opening is huge. All of this money can go back into school programs, equipment for classrooms, and other community related budgets. Colorado and Washington are hopeful that they will make up to 2.1 billion in revenue for the states. Uses for medical marijuana have been looked down upon until recent years. Many people follow what their parents think of the drug and that it is bad or they follow what their friends think. Scientists have been researching the positive medical effects of marijuana from tests and studies. â€Å"Medical marijuana has shown positive results for epilepsy treatment, especially for patients who have physical resistance, to traditional medications. A special strain cultivated for pediatric epileptic treatment, called ‘Charlotte’s Web’ has become widely popular, with parents flocking to Colorado to get a supply for their children.† (Shim, 2014). This just shows how important cannabis can be for people and their kids in Utah. The main chemical that affects the way we feel and the main medical ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol is effective in treating chronic pain, vomiting, nausea, anorexia, and other social psychological disorders. With all of this research being found over the years we can only assume that if  legalized who knows what we can find from continued research. There is also the more serious side of medical marijuana and that is the help it has towards serious illness and diseases that cannabis has already been known to help cure. All of this knowledge has been discovered has had with major diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, major depression, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and many forms of cancer. Next, many studies have been done on how much worse cigarettes are for you then marijuana. Research has been shown that cigarettes have been proven to be a lot worse for your lungs then weed. You can benefit from mari juana in many ways smoking it is the worst but quickest way to get the effect. Some people use vaporizers so it won’t be as harmful on their throat and lungs. The healthiest ways to take in the medicine is in an edible or pill form. Another thing that makes smoking cigarettes a lot worse than smoking marijuana is the addictive effects of nicotine that marijuana doesn’t have. In the year 2012, someone was arrested for marijuana related crimes every 42 seconds. If you really think about it that’s almost one person a minute, or 60 people every hour and so on. Now look to the next year and our current year. Crime rates have plummeted in Colorado in late 2013 and in 2014 basically are non-existent. â€Å"While marijuana prosecutions against people over 21 declined, so did prosecutions against people under 21, for whom all marijuana possession remains illegal except for medical marijuana patients. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said he thinks the drop in cases may be due to police not wanting to parse the complexities of the state’s marijuana law.† (Ingold, 2014) People in the United States pay around 8% tax revenue to keep prisoners in custody. Many of these people are only there f or a minor crime of selling or in possession of marijuana. If marijuana were to become legal, many of these people would have a better time finding a job, save America millions of dollars, and these peoples’ lives wouldn’t be ruined over a harmless drug. Medical Marijuana could be one of the main factors to get us out of this deep recession. The United States could make so much more money by legalizing marijuana, and applying higher taxes on the marijuana they sell. One thing you might see the government doing this with is cigarettes. You may not notice the inflation of how much the tax on cigarettes go up depending on how much of a dense population will have higher tax on cigarettes. This is mainly for profits to go back into the government. If  you do the research a pack of cigarettes costs about 40 cents to make that is two cents a cigarette, but if that is the case then why are cigarettes 5-12 dollars, because depending on where you are the taxes will go up. If you are somewhere like Virginia, where cigarettes are made, y ou can get a pack for five dollars. Then there are places like New York where it can be 10-15 dollars a pack. If The United States did the same thing with marijuana who knows how much this could raise revenue. But how would they package and sell marijuana? One way the government could sell this product would be to have pre rolled joints (rolled up marijuana cigarettes) in a pack, maybe not in a pack of 20 but something smaller. So it could be sold in a dispensary but also in smoke shops and gas stations in states where it is legal that is. One of the government’s main concerns for not legalizing is the how America will view the change in laws. Something we can see is the rise in support of this drug and how it is affecting the lives of many people in The United States and around the world. People will buy marijuana even if the taxes are ridiculous as long as it’s legal I don’t think people are going to have a problem with purchasing legal marijuana. Now for the negatives, many people that are for t he legalization of marijuana might also have the mindset that marijuana doesn’t have negative effects on the brain and body. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is activated in the brain using cannabinoid receptors, once the THC enters your brain it hits these receptors creating your â€Å"high†. The cannabinoid receptors affect the parts of the body that have to do with memory, pleasure, organized thought, senses, and time perception. Marijuana causes health risks in the heart and lungs depending on how you choose to consume the drug. â€Å"THC messes with brain areas called the cerebellum and basal ganglia, which regulate balance, posture, coordination, and reaction time. When these brain areas are disturbed, the user has a harder time walking and talking correctly, becoming quite clumsy. It also impacts their ability to drive† (Welsh,Spector, 2013). . The lungs also experience burning and stinging in the mouth and lungs when marijuana is smoked. Studies have also been done to see the effects of sleep, and they say that if you go to sleep high it can interrupt one of the 5 stages of sleep and make i t so you don’t get as much sleep. One thing that the government is worried about when legalizing marijuana is it can put a damper on the financial benefits of legalization of at home growing. If the drug is legalized what is to stop people from growing their own? Laziness, what percent of Americans grow and raise their own food so what makes them think they will grow their own weed? On the other hand growing this plant is not very hard. This will always raise more questions for the people. Will there be laws against growing your own? How will they regulate that? The government will always find a way to benefit from your happiness. In conclusion, marijuana is slowly creeping its way into our lives one way or another. If it is legalized for the financial benefits to help The United States get out of its recession, to financially help out communities by putting the revenue into our schools, parks, or general community improvement. Even if it is only legalized for one of its countless medical benefits from cancer, depression, anxiety, HIV/AIDS treatment, or to help someone get over an eating disorder. Now there is always the possibility that America won’t legalize for negative health reasons, or social shaming from other Americans. The amount of states getting bills, setting boundaries, making laws, and opening up, are phenomenal. Get ready, legalization could be closer than you think. References Armentano, P. (2014, January 7). Recent Research on Medical Marijuana. Retrieved March 18, 2014, from norml.org/component/zoo/category/recent-research-on-medical-marijuana Ferner , M. (2014, January 8). Colorado Recreational Marijuana Sales Exceed $5 Million In First Week. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/08/marijuana-sales-colorado_n_4552371.html Ingold, J. (2014, 12). Marijuana case filings plummet in Colorado following legalization. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_24894248/marijuana-case-filings-plumme t-colorado-following-legalization Nelson, S. (2013, September 16). Police Made One Marijuana Arrest Every 42 Seconds in 2012 – US News. Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/09/16/police-made-one-marijuana-arrest-every-42-seconds-in-2012 Shim, E. (2014, March 14). A 22nd State Is About to Legalize Medical Marijuana – PolicyMic. Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://www.policymic.com/articles/85291/a-22nd-state-is-about-to-legalize-medical-marijuana Welsh, J., & Spector, D. (2013, April 20). Physical And Mental Effects Of Marijuana – Business Insider. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://www.businessinsider.com/physical-and-mental-effects-of-marijuana-2013-4?op=1

Discovery Writing Paper 2

Discovery Writing Paper 2 Discovery Writing Paper 2 Running Head: Develop a 5-7 page paper that provides the following: a) part one provides an overview of thr theories presented about race, gender, sexualities, and social class; b) part two provides possible application of these theories to our understanding of what it means to be a person with erotic or sexual agency (control over one’s body, how it is treated, how it is treated, how it experiences pleasure) Titilayo Sanni November 3rd 2014 Proffesor: Dr. Cherie Ann Turpin General Education: Foundation Writing in Arts and Humanties IGED 210-06 2:00-3:20 Monday & Wednesday Develop a 5-7 page paper that provides the following: a) part one provides an overview of thr theories presented about race, gender, sexualities, and social class; b) part two provides possible application of these theories to our understanding of what it means to be a person with erotic or sexual agency (control over one’s body, how it is treated, how it is treated, how it experiences pleasure) After reading Cum Guzzling anal nurse whore: a feminist porn star manifesta notes by Lorelei Lee, she believed the theories presented about Gender, race, sexuality, and social class that even in todays age, gender roles still matters,even those of us who deeply question compulsory assignment of gender roles still get very excited by playing with masculinity and femininity at various ends of the spectrum and everything in-between. Lorelei lee is describe herself as a feminist by birth, she was raised with feminism the same way are raised with religion. Lorelei is a pornstar who have been in the porn industry for over 10 years. She learned who she was in terms of her sexual and gender identity by pretending in a very exaggerated way, to be who she wasnt. To her, race, class, gender, and sexuality are not fixed systems or traits of individuals because they are negotiated and contested every day in social relationships. Lee stated that in 2003 there was a study conducted at Ohio Universi ty which revealed that women are just as interested in sex as the opposite gender. The study reported that women’s (sexual activity) was closer to men’s than previously thought, meaning that women not only engage in sex often, but that they enjoy it just as much as men do. A troubling fact also came from the study was that â€Å"women who thought their (sexual history) might be seen by others tended to give answers that were more socially acceptable†, meaning women still fell the societal pressure to hide their sexuality. This is why she believed pornography was good for women because of the sexually explicit imagery in which women are shown giving performative demonstrations of their own sexual power is imagery that can transform the cultural paradigm and ultimately change the world and have the no shame in letting their pattners know what and how to please them sexuality. When women managers fail to promote other women because they believe that women are less capable than men. They also reinforce structures of race,class,gender,and sexuality dominanc. The same structure that have restricted their own lives. Lee introduced a shift in sexual standards for women, but she structured hierarchies of race, class and gender remained firmly intact. The middle class and working class faced very different expectations due to differing circumstances. According to Lorelei Every social situation is affected by

McCulloch vs. Maryland essays

McCulloch vs. Maryland essays One of the most famous supreme court cases of all time took place in Maryland in 1818. The case was between James W. McCulloch vs. the state of Maryland. This was around the time that the big and small state plans were being determined and national and state laws were blurry in how much power each of them had. This case has to do with the powers of the national and state governments. It was the case that also had to do with the necessary and proper clause, and stated that national government has power of state and local governments. The whole case began because of problems with a National Bank. In 1798, treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton chartered the United States first National Bank. However, the Republican congress had let the charter run out in 1811. In 1816 President Madison realized that had been a mistake, and convinced congress to charter a second bank. The charter was granted even though the bank was not a very popular institution. James W. McCulloch was the manager of the banks branch office in Baltimore, Maryland. This was just one of 18 branches around the country. In 1818, the state of Maryland imposed an annual tax of $15,000 on the bank in an attempt to get rid of it. In Maryland, Mcculloch refused to pay. He said that the bank was controlled by the national government and the state was trying to tax it as if it were a state-chartered institution. A lot of lawsuits ensued, with the bank calling the tax unconstitutional and the state calling the bank illegal. This was the beginning of one of the supreme courts most extraordinary oral arguments in its history. The issue went far beyond the bank to exactly what congresss powers were. There is nothing in the constitution that specifically grants congress the power to establish and charter a bank. So the question came down to whether congress is limited to exercising only those powers that have been expressly granted to it by the Constitutions crea...

Depend on you ( follow the instruction) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Depend on you ( follow the instruction) - Essay Example The initial impetus that was received from these kings and queens was required for the religious structures to attain strength after which it could fashion itself into a self-sustaining entity. A promotion of these religions also served important functions for these monarchs as it led to unity in realms other than religion in most cases. This effect was partially due to the emergence of alternative centres of power but it was also because of the individual philosophies that were a part of these religions. These philosophies may not have survived in the absence of the state sponsorship that it received but since the monarchs of this age extended their patronage to these religions, there was a certain kind of unity that was forced upon the people as a result of the royal patronage. Buddhism managed to create a certain kind of unity between sections of Hinduism, which was till then the main religion of the Indian subcontinent. The different philosophical views that existed in Hinduism became united owing to the fact that Buddhism was on the ascendant due to the patronage that was extended to it during the reign of Asoka, who reigned over India. Buddhism represented a challenge to traditional ideas of Hinduism which advocated the existence of the caste system and had many rituals that were present for the sake of upholding the structure of caste. With more egalitarian structures, Buddhism held great attractions for the downtrodden of the Hindu society. If not for the patronage extended by Asoka, Buddhism may not have survived the opposition from Hindu power structures. Asoka’s patronage, however, enabled there to be unity in the political realm. People of different religious affiliations came together because of the philosophy of peace that Buddhism preached, which was taken up by Asoka. The spread of the message of peace that Buddhism preached was largely owing to the patronage of Asoka and this fostered a

See below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

See below - Essay Example The active participation of the legislature started from the (DPP v Myers, 1965 AC 1001) case, where the House of Lords, stated, that the no uniform principles were being followed, in the current scenario and the future determination of exceptions to hearsay should be left to the legislature. At the very onset, we should state that the Dictionary defines, ‘hearsay’ as ‘second-hand information’. Speaking in legal terms, Hearsay refers to the testimony given by a witness not about what they personally saw or heard but about something, someone else saw or said they heard. In legal cases, the use of hearsay has been resorted to include evidence that under other circumstances would not have been admissible in court. However at all times it must be borne in mind that Hearsay must not include, any form of gossip or rumours. To state it in a more simple form, hearsay is according to Sir Auld, â€Å" an assertion other than one made by a person while giving oral evidence in the proceedings as evidence as any fact asserted.† However, Hearsay is an exclusionary rule of Evidence Law albeit subject to a multitude of statutory and Common Law exceptions. Tracing the origin of the concept of ‘hearsay’ leads us to the trial of Sir Walter Raleigh, 1603 where wrongful judgement passed, based on hearsay evidence. It was this wrongful judgement that led the English Jurists to devise hard and fast rules with reference to hearsay evidence. Subsequently, all hearsay evidence was banned on the pretext that they were the admissions of a third party to whom neither the defendant nor the prosecution were privy to. It is obvious that the hearsay rule is intricately interwoven with the concepts of â€Å"truth† and â€Å"proof† and with the credibility, reliability and the memory of the witness in question. Hearsay contains within its womb a very high degree of implication and this implication weighs very heavily on the minds of the jury before they deliver a verdict.