SCOR At Wal Mart | Analysis

SCOR At Wal Mart | Analysis The Supply Chain Operations Reference Model, or SCOR, was introduced by the Supply Chain Council to provide all companies a framework or tool they can use to improve their companys supply chain internally and externally. It allows supply chain managers to analyze their current situations as well as guide them to supply chain decisions for improvements and future resolutions. A major strength of the SCOR model is that it can be used across industries and applied to a variety of different companies. There are five levels in the SCOR model. The first level, the process types, includes plan, source, make, deliver, and return. These process types describe the overall scope and content of the SCOR model. The following levels further penetrate each of the process types to analyze their operations strategies, quantify and measure their processes, as well as provide tools for companies to develop new processes that will give their supply chain a competitive advantage as well as the ability to efficiently adapt to market changes. PLAN The first phase of the supply chain according to the SCOR model is the process of planning. Planning is a crucial first step to set-up, manage, and organize the processes necessary for a flexible and efficient supply chain. The planning phase consists of several processes such as demand forecasting, product pricing, and inventory management. Wal-Mart utilizes a sophisticated algorithm to calculate their forecasts that allows the company to forecast the exact quantities of each item to be delivered while taking into account each stores current inventory. This is also possible because of Wal-Marts computerized inventory structure that uses the Point of Sales (POS) system. This not only tracks all the companys inventory and stock at retail stores and distribution centers, it also monitors when products are sold and is able to predict the future quantities needed. It is this production scheduling and the ability to monitor inventory so closely that allowed Wal-Mart to accurately predict where, when and how much of a product will be needed and in turn develop a distribution network that works hand in hand with these needs. This reduces their costs by reducing leftover inventory and optimizing the transportation of their products by delivering only exactly what is needed. Super retailer Wal-Mart has spent considerable resource s to ascertain how best to minimize transportation costs. Efforts such as owning their own fleet, standardizing processes, and capitalizing on information technology have resulted in transportation costs that are 3% of total costs versus the industry average of 5%. By analyzing how to cut costs in all aspects of their transportation, Wal-Mart was able to pass these savings onto consumers and support their always low prices strategy. SOURCE The second phase of the supply chain, sourcing, focuses on the procurement of materials and resources. Choosing suppliers that best meet the companys needs is the main part of this phase. Transportation not only serves as a link between the company and its suppliers, but transportation providers are essentially a supplier in and of themselves as well. In this case as wal-mart is retailer it doesnt has to go for sourcing that is procurement of raw-material is not required. The suppliers in this case will be the companies who are selling their product through wal-mart retailers that are: Grand ocean star (Supplier of sea food it takes 5 to 10 days after order) Procter Gamble Co (it takes lead time range of 8.5 to 14.0 days to deliver the food product) Nestle Gillette Hewlett-Packard Johnson Johnson Kimberly-Clark Kraft Foods Nestlà © Purina Pet Care Unilever MAKE The third phase in the Supply Chain Operations Reference model is make, defined as the process that transforms a product to a finished state to meet planned or actual demand (Bolstorff Rosenbaum, 2003). There are three parts to this phase which include product design, production scheduling and facility management. Wal-Mart exemplifies how the construction of a product affects transportation costs. Wal-Mart recently asked its 60,000 suppliers worldwide that by 2008 they decrease the amount of overall packaging they use by 5%. Wal-Mart believes this packaging proposal will save the company $3.4 billion. When Wal-Mart previously did this in 2005 with the packaging of its private clothing label, Kids Collection, the company saved $3.5 million in one year. By reducing the amount of packaging, Wal-Mart is not only cutting costs, but they are reducing the weight and volume of their products. This increases the ability of their trucks to carry more per truckload, possibly even making less runs in a given day. Wal-Marts packaging decisions illustrate the direct impacts supply chain decisions and transportation can have on each other. Wal-Mart had just over 40 distribution centers located around the United States. Stocked in these centers were over 80,000 items. 50% to 65% of Wal-Marts competitors directly supplied the inventory to their retailers from their warehouses, in comparison to Wal-Marts 85%. Wal-Mart replenished their stores on average within two days compared to the five days their competitors took. The shipping costs were approximately 2% less of total cost than competitors (Chandran, 2003). The location of a facility can cut transportation costs dramatically as shown by the Wal-Mart example. DELIVER The fourth phase in the Supply Chain Operations Reference model is the delivery of the product. This phase is most associated with the role of transportation in the supply chain process as it is the most visibly connected. The delivery part of the process can be broken down into two different segments, order management and delivery scheduling. Transportation plays a role in each in that processes that provide finished goods and services to meet planned or actual demand, typically include order management, transportation management and distribution management Wal-Mart has a private fleet of their own truck drivers and by somewhat integrating backward in their supply chain, they have needed to become efficient in documenting and tracking their products. To do this, Wal-Mart employees use hand held computers, a form of EDI systems, which contain information about the products storage, packaging and shipping and eliminates the need for actual paperwork saving them time. Because there is no third party, Wal-Mart must self manage the ordering of their products with great accuracy. What makes Wal-Marts distribution process so efficient is that they use a logistics technique known as cross-docking .It breaks down the distribution of the products into five simple stages. The unique aspect of Wal-Marts system is that their drivers deliver the trucks to their distribution centers at specific times and set intervals. Their entire distribution system is a consistent flow of goods adjusted to the individual needs of each retail store. Wal-Marts delivery system works so well because it is developed in accordance with the demands of each store and the communication between each point allows the process to be effective. Wal-Mart believe that the widespread implementation of RFID technology marks a sea change in the supply chain, much as the introduction of bar codes was as seen as revolutionary two decades ago. But while bar codes can tell a retailer that it has two boxes of product XYZ, Wal-Marts EPCs can help distinguish one box of product XYZ from the next. This allows retailers greater visibility in monitoring product inventory from supplier to distribution centre to store. RETURN Most store items can be exchanged or refunded with a receipt within 90 days of purchase. Walmarts No Receipt policy applies to items returned in a store only. You have the option of a cash refund (for purchases under $25), a Gift Card for the amount of the purchase (for purchases over $25), a credit to your credit card or an even exchange for the product. We can make up to three No Receipt returns within a 45 day period. All merchandise sold and shipped by Walmart.com may be returned to a store within 90 days of receiving it. If there is an error on our part related to your order, we will issue a credit for your order and any applicable shipping and gift-wrapping charges. An item must be returned in the original manufacturers packaging, so we recommend you keep your packaging for at least the first 90 days after purchase. Plants, Food, and certain Health and Beauty items: To return perishable items, the following information is to be required and send to customer care link of wal-mart i.e Order number for the item Date of arrival Condition of item at time of arrival Detailed explanation of the issue

Assess the relevance of Pages 58 – 63 in the History Boys to the rest of the play

When we meet Irwin again at the beginning of Act two he is a man now well into his forties and has moved on from teaching history in a school to filming a television history programme on location. We learn that he is five years older and yet there is a certain irony in the fact that he still recites the same mantra that he used with the ‘history boys' when called in to prepare them for Oxbridge entry If you want to learn about Stalin study Henry VIII. If you want to learn about Mrs Thatcher study Henry VIII If you want to know about Hollywood study Henry VIII' It was all history. It seems that although older and now in a wheelchair his basic attitude and approach have changed little. He is now a ‘personality' presenting a programme upon Rievaulx Abbey and life in monastic orders which he brings down to the level of ‘toilet arrangements' stating that he believes this to be the way to bring history to life and the Director reflects upon how he sounds a ‘tad schoolmasterly'. Irwin, for all his changed position, having been transported from a life in the classroom to in front of a television camera, is still focussed upon viewing things from an unusual perspective and using language to effect as when he reflects upon the different materials being used in place of toilet paper, in effect saying that it is these artefacts which people now come to view saying of them, ‘there is an increment in excrement, so sanitised by the years and sanitised too' so he introduces a note of humour. Indeed he says of what he sees as ‘modern day pilgrims.' ‘We are differently credulous and our cults are not the same but saner, wiser, more rational†¦' He stumbles as if deeply absorbed in reflection of how people's attitudes have changed, yet he can use the same approach. We see that Irwin's approach to teaching and to history has not really changed from that which he expressed when first called in to prepare the boys for Oxbridge entry, For Irwin history is not a matter of conviction and he encourages the boys to be dispassionate and so distance themselves. It was perhaps evident from Irwin's first meeting with the boys that he was prepared to advocate whatever was required in order to gain the described objective. Irwin, the television presenter, has retained this belief in looking at these aspects of history which offer a more controversial approach to the subject. Initially describing the boys' work as ‘Abysmally dull' he recognised to be successful they had to attract attention by using unorthodox methods. His dictum, which was evident as a teacher, was evident when he said, ‘The wrong end of the stick is the right one. A question has a front door and a back door. Go in the back or better still the side.' Read also History Quizzes To shock or surprise was his intent. He then proceeded to express his opinion that history was a performance, For Irwin, unlike Hector, presentation was everything and he has interest in moral truth viewing things as being entertainment, so the first glimpse of Irwin the television presenter was evident even as a teacher. When referring to Stalin, whilst agreeing that he was a monster, he was still perfectly willing to say something in his defence. Thus, to him, the end justifies the means and he revels in being perverse. Irwin sums up the object of his approach, to the man who turns out to be none other than Posner, by describing it as ‘meretricious' and when called upon to define the word he describes it as ‘Eye-catching, showy, false.' This last word almost appears as a damning indictment of his whole approach to teaching. When Posner replies by saying, ‘But you were a good teacher' Irwin simply says ‘The meretricious often are†¦ on television particul arly.' He then backs this up by reflectin that ‘The wheelchair helps of course. Disability brings with it an assumption of sincerity.' We see that he was still prepared to use whatever vehicle to give him the edge and curry favour and sympathy. It was a means to an end, a prop but reveals him to be morally shallow. So it is that we are reminded of our initial meeting with Irwin when, still in a wheelchair, he was addressing three or four unidentified MPs upon the best way of presenting a bill before Parliament, the effects of which would, if examined, would prove to be very contentious concerned, as it was, with the effective ending of trial by jury in at least half of the cases which come before the courts abolishing with it the assumption of innocence. Sadly Irwin's views have become even more morally corrupted, perhaps the person we see before the television camera and addressing MPs is just the logical projection of the teacher who advocated taking a completely opposite or controversial view to attain a desired outcome. It is now just the case that his horizons are greatly expanded and he is able to suppress any moral feelings. He has obviously reached a stage where he is happy to twist debatable aspects to fit in with what he wishes to achieve. His views are well illustrated when he says in defence of a law change, ‘Paradox works well and mists up the windows which is handy' We then come to appreciate how Irwin the television presenter views what he does by saying, ‘School. That's all it is. In my case anyway. Back to school.' He really had come to believe that history was ‘a performance. Its entertainment. And if it isn't make it so.' Perhaps this last statement is so telling of his willingness to subvert the facts and in so doing taking an argument and endeavouring to prove its opposite as he had first done as a teacher who was willing to relegate moral truth for effect.

A Stylistic Study of Netspeak in Internet Chatroom

The Internet is one of the most remarkable things human beings have ever made. It has exerted great impact on various aspects of people’s lives, among which the change of language is obvious. Netspeak is a young topic, so it is of great necessity for us to have a systematic analysis, which will meet the need of the development to netspeak.The present descriptions are not able to account for or accommodate chatroom netspeak in an all-round way. Some of the researches are prescriptive rather than descriptive and there is little stylistic analysis on the distinctive features of netspeak. Therefore, some deeper approaches are required. This thesis provides much-needed descriptions of netspeak in Internet chatroom from the perspective of stylistics. Stylistic theories are then the major theoretical basis for this thesis. The current situation inspired my enthusiasm in this relatively new and unexplored area of netspeak studies. Research Objectives The present study is conducted in the hope that it can arouse people’s attention and help people to develop an interest and appreciation for netspeak in Internet chatroom;It is aimed to reveal the stylistic distinctiveness of netspeak in Internet chatroom;It is hoped that this study will be helpful and beneficial to the evaluation of netspeak and the development of online-learning or the foreign language learning and teaching; This paper is also hopeful of having some practical value, and making theoretical contributions to further study of netspeak.Research QuestionsIt is the design of this paper to answer the following questions:1.   What are the stylistic features of netspeak on different levels?2.   What are the implications for the development of online-learning, and the future of netspeak?Research DesignThe basic methodology adopted involves both qualitative and quantitative study.There are two main sources used in this study in the collection of samples and material s.   The first resource is from related books, newspapers and magazines.   The second is a group of randomly selected contributions from Internet Chatroom.   The method used is mainly a descriptive approach supported by statistical analysis on the samples selected.The organization of this thesis will be in two parts: Literature Review and Stylistic Description and Analysis followed by a summary and conclusion.

Why Is It Important For College - 1330 Words

Why is it importance to go to college? College education acts as the key to a successful future to individuals who are serious about it. When students experience a post-secondary education, they have the opportunity to read books and listen to the lectures of top experts in their fields. These motivation students to think, ask questions, and explore a new idea, which allows for additional growth and development and provides college graduates with an advantage in the job market over those who have not experienced a high education. People who lack educational degrees are more likely to be limited to basic jobs in service, manufacturing and construction industries. While employees with a high school graduate today are unable to obtain the†¦show more content†¦They not only want to find a better job, they want to find one that pays more and in which they are most satisfied and secure. According to Eduardo Porter, â€Å"a typical graduate from a four-year college earns 84 percen t more than a high school graduate. A graduate from a community college makes 16 percent more†. This combination of benefits is one of the main reasons why so many people make the investment of time and money to go to college. Most of the times it does not matter what you study, but the fact that matter the most is that you studied something at all. College does not only train you in an expert field, it also trains you to think analytically, understand complex subjects and communicate your own critical ideas about them. Earning a college degree is all about opening up opportunities in life. It prepares you, both mentally and generally, for your career. Earning a college degree also mean you are much cleverer even if you do not remember everything you were taught in college, but most students got the ability to think critically and the discipline to see a task done from beginning to end. This two ability is the most important and attractive qualities in a potential employee. These two qualities are what most employers pursue after college graduates when looking to fill job positions. With a college degree, you will have a greater option to work in a range of