Finish the question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Finish the question - Essay Example directly applicable to the company’s overall strategy of achieving financial success while providing shareholder value and maintaining focus on environmental sustainability. Additionally, the TBL rhymes to the company’s mission of producing financial rewards to investors in addition to growth and development opportunities for employees, business partners and communities. The SunChips brand of Frito-Lay concentrates on sustainability as the fundamental driver of their business strategy. The company uses environmentally-friendly production and transportation methods in order to minimize harm to the planet. The Modesto, California plant, for example, has adopted an environmentally-friendly ways of cooking sun chips. The plant currently uses solar panels to generate energy for cooking chips. The company has implemented sustainable methods of reclaiming waste water and managing other production wastes. These include a 36-acre solar filled for reclaiming water and a biomass b oiler for proper solid waste product management. Frito-Lay is proud of SunChips brand for being a snack characterized by environmental friendliness. The company strives to ensure that the consumer walks away with the knowledge that each SunChips product is produced using the most environmentally sustainable methods. Thus, the Triple Bottom Line rhymes with the overall strategy of SunChips and it creates a value for the company and the

Treaty of Versailles Essay Example for Free

Treaty of Versailles Essay The Members of the League recognize that the maintenance of peace requires the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action of international obligations.The Council, taking account of the geographical situation and circumstances of each State, shall formulate plans for such reduction for the consideration and action of the several Governments. Such plans shall be subject to reconsideration and revision at least every ten years. After these plans shall have been adopted by the several Governments, the limits of armaments therein fixed shall not be exceeded without the concurrence of the Council. The Members of the League agree that the manufacture by private enterprise of munitions and implements of war is open to grave objections. The Council shall advice how the evil effects attendant upon such manufacture can be prevented, due regard being had to the necessities of those Members of the League which are not able to manufacture the munitions and implements of war necessary to their safety. The Members of the League undertake to interchange full and frank information as to the scale of their armaments, their military, naval, and air programmes and the condition of such of their industries as are adaptable to war-like purposes. The Members of the League recognize that the maintenance of peace requires the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action of international obligations. The Council, taking account of the geographical â€Å"situations† and circumstances of each state, shall formulate plans for such reduction for the consideration and action of the several Governments. Such plans shall be subject to reconsideration and revision at least every â€Å"five years.† After theses plans shall have been adopted by the several Governments, the limits of armaments therein fixed shall not be exceeded without the concurrence of the Council. The Members of the League agree that the manufacture by private enterprise of munitions and implements of war is open to grave objection. The Council shall advise how the evil effects attendant upon such manufacture can be prevented, due regard being had to the necessities of those Members of the League which are not able to manufacture the munitions and implements of war necessary for their safety. The Members of the League undertake to interchange full and frank information as to the scale of their armaments, their military, naval, and air programmes and the condition of such of their industries are adaptable to war-like purposes. A permanent Commission shall be constituted to advise the Council on the execution of the provisions of Articles 1 and 8 and on military, naval, and air questions generally. A permanent Commission shall be constituted as having as members representing all nations to advice the Council on the Execution of Articles 1 and 8 and on military, naval, and air questions generally. Sources: http://net.lib.byu.edu/-rdh/wwwi/versa1.html â€Å"Treaty of Verailles† Microsoft Encarta 2006 (DVD). Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2005.

Hersey Blanchard Situational Leadership Management Essay

Hersey Blanchard Situational Leadership Management Essay The term leadership is a word taken from the common vocabulary and incorporated into the technical vocabulary of a scientific discipline without being precisely redefined. As consequences, it carries extraneous connotations that create ambiguity of meaning (Janda, 1960). Additional confusion is caused by the use of other imprecise terms such as power, authority, management, administration, control and supervision to describe similar phenomena. An observation by Bennis (1959, p. 259) is as true today as when he made it many years ago: Always, it seems, the concept of leadership eludes us or turns up in another form to taunt us again with its slipperiness and complexity. So we have invented an endless proliferation of terms to deal with it. and still the concept is not sufficiently defined. Most definition of leadership reflect the assumption that involves a process whereby intentional influences is exerted over other people to guide, structure, and facilitate activities and relationsh ips in a group or organisation. The numerous definitions of leadership appear to have little else in common. They differ in many respects, including who exerts influence, the intended purpose of the influence, the manner in which influence is exerted, and the outcome of the influence attempt. The differences are not just t a case of scholarly nit picking; they reflect deep disagreement about identification of leaders and leadership processes.(Gary Yukl, 2010) Theories of leadership: Douglas McGregor described Theory X and Theory Y in his book, The Human Side of Enterprise. Theory X and Theory Y each represent different ways in which leaders view employees. Theory X managers believe that employees are motivated mainly by money, are lazy, uncooperative, and have poor work habits. Theory Y managers believe that subordinates work hard, are cooperative, and have positive attitudes. Theory X is the traditional view of direction and control by managers. 1. It is the nature of average human being who dislikes doing work and will avoid if he or she can. 2. Because of this human characteristic of dislike of work, most people must be controlled, directed, and threatened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort toward the achievement of organizational objectives. 3. The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, and has relatively little ambition, wants security above all. Theory Y is the view that individual and organizational goals can be integrated. 1. The expenditures of physical and mental effort in work are as natural as play or rest. 2. External control and the threat of punishment are not the only means for bringing out effort toward organizational objectives. 3. Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement. 4. The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but also to seek responsibility. 5. The capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity in the solution of organizational problems in widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population. 6. Under the condition of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of the average human being are only partially utilized. Fred E. Fiedlers contingency theory postulates that there is no best way for managers to lead. Situations will create different leadership style requirements for a manager. The solution to a managerial situation is contingent on the factors that impose on the situation. For example, in a highly routinized (mechanistic) environment where repetitive tasks are the norm, a certain leadership style may result in the best performance. The same leadership style may not work in a very dynamic environment. Fiedler looked at three situations that could define the condition of a managerial task: 1. Leader member relations: Compatibility between the manager and the employees? 2. The task structure: Is the job highly structured, fairly unstructured, or somewhere in between? 3. Position power: How much authority does the manager possess? Managers were rated as to whether they were relationship oriented or task oriented. Task oriented managers tend to do better in situations that have good leader-member relationships, structured tasks, and either weak or strong position power. They do well when the task is unstructured but position power is strong. Also, they did well at the other end of the spectrum when the leader member relations were moderate to poor and the task was unstructured. Relationship oriented managers do better in all other situations. Thus, a given situation might call for a manager with a different style or a manager who could take on a different style for a different situation. Another aspect of the contingency model theory is that the leader-member relations, task structure, and position power dictate a leaders situational control. Leader-member relations are the amount of loyalty, dependability, and support that the leader receives from employees. It is a measure of how the manager perceives he or she and the group of employees are getting along together. In a favorable relationship the manager has a high task structure and is able to reward or punish employees without any problems. In an unfavorable relationship the task is usually unstructured and the leader possesses limited authority. Positioning power measures the amount of power or authority the manager perceives the organization has given him or her for the purpose of directing, rewarding, and punishing subordinates. Positioning power of managers depends on the taking away (favorable) or increasing (unfavorable) the decision-making power of employees. The task-motivated style leader experiences pride and satisfaction in the task accomplishment for the organization, while the relationship-motivated style seeks to build interpersonal relations and extend extra help for the team development in the organization. There is no good or bad leadership style. Each person has his or her own preferences for leadership. Task-motivated leaders are at their best when the group performs successfully such as achieving a new sales record or outperforming the major competitor. Relationship-oriented leaders are at their best when greater customer satisfaction is gained and a positive company image is established. Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership theory is based on the amount of direction (task behaviour) and amount of socio-emotional support (relationship behaviour) a leader must provide given the situation and the level of maturity of the followers. Task behaviour is the extent to which the leader engages in spelling out the duties and responsibilities to an individual or group. In task behaviour the leader engages in one-way communication. Relationship behaviour is the extent to which the leader engages in two-way or multi-way communications. This includes listening, facilitating, and supportive behaviours. In relationship behaviour the leader engages in two-way communication by providing socio-emotional support. Maturity is the willingness and ability of a person to take responsibility for directing his or her own behaviour. People tend to have varying degrees of maturity, depending on the specific task, function, or objective that a leader is attempting to accomplish through th eir efforts. To determine the appropriate leadership style to use in a given situation, the leader must first determine the maturity level of the followers in relation to the specific task that the leader is attempting to accomplish through the effort of the followers. As the level of followers maturity increases, the leader should begin to reduce his or her task behavior and increase relationship behaviour until the followers reach a moderate level of maturity. As the followers begin to move into an above average level of maturity, the leader should decrease not only task behaviour but also relationship behaviour. Houses Path-Goal Model The path-goal theory developed by Robert House is based on the expectancy theory of motivation. The managers job is viewed as coaching or guiding workers to choose the best paths for reaching their goals. Best is judged by the accompanying achievement of organizational goals. It is based on the precepts of goal setting theory and argues that leaders will have to engage in different types of leadership behavior depending on the nature and demands of the particular situation. It is the leaders job to assist followers in attaining goals and to provide direction and support needed to ensure that their goals are compatible with the organizations. A leaders behaviour is acceptable to subordinates when viewed as a source of satisfaction and motivational when need satisfaction is contingent on performance, and the leader facilitates, coaches and rewards effective performance. Path goal theory identifies achievement-oriented, directive, participative and supportive leadership styles. In achievement-oriented leadership, the leader sets challenging goals for followers, expects them to perform at their highest level, and shows confidence in their ability to meet this expectation. This style is appropriate when the follower suffers from lack of job challenge. In directive leadership, the leader lets followers know what is expected of them and tells them how to perform their tasks. This style is appropriate when the follower has an ambiguous job. Participative leadership involves leaders consulting with followers and asking for their suggestions before making a decision. This style is appropriate when the follower is using improper pr ocedures or is making poor decisions. In supportive leadership, the leader is friendly and approachable. He or she shows concern for followers psychological well being. This style is appropriate when the followers lack confidence. Path-Goal theory assumes that leaders are flexible and that they can change their style, as situations require. Effective leaders clarify the path to help their followers achieve their goals and make the journey easier by reducing roadblocks and pitfalls. Research demonstrates that employee performance and satisfaction are positively influenced when the leader compensates for the shortcomings in either the employee or the work setting. Leadership plays an important role in ones life. If one is a business owner he needs to be a leader in the field of your business. To be a successful leader, one must demonstrates some or all of the following characteristics: 1. The ability to listen: Most leaders do too much talking but not enough listening. Feedbacks to a persons company services or products are important to that person as they demonstrate the customers needs. 2. The ability to acknowledge and change: This is probably the hardest part to do. People often refuse to change. They believe their services or products are the best, which, theres nothing wrong with that. But when there are feedbacks coming from customers you have to listen, then acknowledge them and make changes to provide better customer service. 3. The ability to form one-on-one relationships: People will need to be able to reach you. If you are just starting a business its especially important for you to be able to spend some time to get to know your customers, and/or employees. If you do that, over time, you will develop a strong trust between you and your customers. 4. Successful people make sure they surround themselves with like-minded people. Im not saying millionaires should just ignore the poor. But you need to spend time to communicate with like-minded people. You cannot survive by yourself, and by interacting with others you can motivate others or give others a chance to motivate you. 5. The ability to know yourself: It is very important to know what youre best at, and what your weaknesses are. A business is a team sport. Often one cannot handle all the aspects of a business and need to know when to seek for assistance. 6. Successful people refuse to let other people dictate how they should do certain things. We are not living under someone elses shadow. We must take control and ownership of our lives and careers and never let go. 7. The ability to communicate: Communication is really very important. Even if you are running a home online business and you use email as a communication channel. Down the road, you might want to do a video to promote your company. You might receive TV interviews. Its never too late to practice your presentation and communication skills. 8. Successful people display high levels of optimism and confidence. They believe in themselves and they are not afraid of failures. They see every obstacle as a stepping-stone to their success. They turn challenges into motivators and become their advantages. 9. People who are successful are the ones who are passionate at what they do. 10. People who are successful are the ones who develop high levels of patience and dedication to see the results. http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-10-Characteristics-of-a-Successful-Leaderid=1552997 Characteristics of Successful and Effective Leadership It is not only inborn personality traits that are important but also styles and behaviours that a person learns. Strong autocratic leaders set their goals without considering the opinions of their followers, and then command their followers to execute their assigned tasks without question. Consultative leaders solicit the opinions and ideas of their followers in the goal-setting process but ultimately determine important goals and task assignments on their own. Democratic or participative leaders participate equally in the process with their followers and let the group make decisions. Extremely laid-back leaders, so called laissez-faire leaders, let the group take whatever action its members feel is necessary. A research team at the University of Michigan, inspired and led by Renis Likert, studied leadership for several years and identified two distinct styles, which they referred to as job-centered and employee-centered leadership styles. The job-centered leader closely supervises subordinates to make sure they perform their tasks following the specified procedures. This type of leader relies on reward, punishment, and legitimate power to influence the behaviour of followers. The employee-centered leader believes that creating a supportive work environment ultimately is the road to superior organizational performance. The employee-centered leader shows great concern about the employees emotional well-being, personal growth and development, and achievement. A leadership study group at Ohio State University, headed by Harris Fleishman, found similar contrasts in leadership style, which they referred to as initiating structure and consideration. The leadership style of initiating structure is similar to the job-centered leadership style, whereas consideration is similar to the employee-centered leadership style. It was the initial expectation of both research groups that a leader who could demonstrate both high initiating structure (job centered) and high consideration (employee centered) would be successful and effective in all circumstances. Many students of leadership today believe that there is no one best way to lead, believing instead that appropriate leadership styles vary depending on situations. Fred Fiedler (1967), for instance, believes that a task-oriented leadership style is appropriate when the situation is either extremely favorable or extremely unfavorable to the leader. A favorable situation exists when the relationship between the leader and followers is good, their tasks are well-defined, and the leader has strong power; when the opposite is true, an unfavorable situation exists. When the situation is moderately favorable, a people-oriented leadership style is appropriate. Some theorists suggest that situational factors-the type of task, nature of work groups, formal authority system, personality and maturity level of followers, experience, and ability of followers-are critical in determining the most effective leadership style. For instance, when followers are inexperienced and lack maturity and respons ibility, the directive leadership style is effective; when followers are experienced and willing to take charge, supportive leadership is effective. (http://www.answers.com/topic/leadership)

Issues on Patent and Copyright Laws In China Essay -- China Patent Cop

Issues on Patent and Copyright Laws In China This site contains information on China's patent and copyright law. It goes on to discuss some ethical issues about China's lack of law enforcement on intellectual property protection. History of Patent System China’s patent system can be traced back to the late Qing Dynasty when China began signing international treaties. For example, on August 18, 1903, China and the United States agreed on a treaty on navigation and commerce. The treaty provided for a â€Å"reciprocal patent-granting arrangement whereby citizens of one contracting party could apply for and secure patent rights for their inventions in the other contracting party.†1 After the Qing Dynasty was over thrown in 1911, the Nationalist government created the Interim Charter on Rewarding Industrial and Artistic Products. And soon thereafter, in 1944, the Patent Law of modern sense was created. Although the Patent Law was adopted in China, the Nationalist government was forced to Taiwan and thus the Patent Law had no effect in mainland China. In 1949, the new government adopted the Provisional Regulations on the Protection of the Invention Rights and Patent Rights, whose purpose was to encourage invention. In 1978, t he government reissued the Regulations on Awards for Technical Improvements and the Regulations on Awards for Inventions which were first issued in 1963 and abolished soon after. Then in 1985 the Patent Law was introduced. China’s Patent Law went through a critical revision in 1992. Amendments were focused on the areas pharmaceutics, chemicals, food, beverages and condiments.1 Current Patent Law The Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China was adopted at the Fourth Session of the Standing Committ... ...g, 1994) p. 64-65. 3 Brahm, p. 65. 4 Brahm, p.116. 5 Brahm, p. 110-111. 6 Brahm, p. 111. 7 Brahm, 17. 8 China Daily Online, IN BRIEF (Page: 3, Date: 04/22/2003), <http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2003-04-22/112904.html> 9 Noah J. Smith, China Implements New Software Regulation To Streamline Registration, Boost Protection, Patent, Trademark & Copyright Law Daily, 6 Mar. 2002, <http://subscript.bna.com/SAMPLES/ptd.nsf/85256269004a99228525625400656cb3/ 4d9c50eea1edd85185256b740006aecb?OpenDocument> 10 China says "no" to pirated software, China Daily, 5 Apr. 2002, <http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/news/cn/2002-04-05/64442.html> 11 Solving the problem of pirating, etaiwannews.com, 5 May 2001, <http://www.etaiwannews.com/Editorial/2001/05/05/989030288.htm>

Roselily :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alice Walker’s â€Å"Roselily†, when first read considered why she decided to use third person. Especially when the story is in such a private line of thought, but then after my second time reading the story I decided that Roselily would not be a strong enough woman to speak about the social injustices that have happened to her. One key part of the story is her new life she will be facing after she is married in Chicago, while comparing it with her old life she is leaving in Mississippi. In Chicago she will no longer have a job, but instead be a homemaker where she will be responsible for the children and home. Also, in Chicago she will become a Muslim because it is what her new husband will want her to be, but back in Mississippi she was of the Christian faith. One of the more positive outcomes of her marriage is that she will go from extreme poverty, to not having to worry about money on a day to day basis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Next, consider the text trying to express her frustration with life: â€Å"She wants to live for once. But doesn’t quite know what that means. Wonders if she has ever done it. If she ever will.† (1130) You can sense her need and wanting to be independent of everything and everyone, to be truly a woman on her own free of any shackles of burden that this life has thrown upon her. Also, there is an impression that her family does not really care that she is leaving from her sisters to her disinterested father. â€Å"Roselily†, the name is quite perplexing considering a rose stands for passion, love, life; while the lily has associations with death, and purity. Still at the same time the name aptly applies to her because the reader knows she is ultimately doomed to wilt away in a loveless marriage in Chicago. Even though she is convincing herself that she loves things about him it is all just a ploy to trick herself into believing that this marria ge could be the answer to all her problems. Now on to the men of Roselily’s past most of which are dead- beat dads that could not care about what happens to their children, or where they go.

Emerging Trends in Training and Development in West Bengal Essay

The progressive labor force with dynamic management and responsive government and responsible society are the pillars of the tourism industry. 1 Issues and Constrains in Manpower Supply in Indian Hospitality Industry, P. Srinivas Subbarao, W. P. No. 2008-02-03 February 2008. 50 Traditionally, the employment has been seen as an area that is reactive to changes in the wide business environment. There is a widely accepted assumption that the role of people within organizations is required to change and develop in response to developments in markets, products and technology. Most of the large hospitality companies recognized this assumption and has started organizing work and support human resource functions such as training and development. This is possible only when the external labor market permits employers to adapt these changing dimensions. Human resource in hospitality industry – Supply side 2 Some of the services required in the tourism and hotel industries are highly personalized, and no amount of automation can substitute for personal service providers. Human resource development in the tourism industry normally includes manpower training in two main areas, the first being the hospitality and catering sector and the travel trade and tourism sector. 2 Issues and Constrains in Manpower Supply in Indian Hospitality Industry, P. Srinivas Subbarao, W. P. No. 2008-02-03 February 2008. 51 The hotel and catering sector is now highly personalized. Customer satisfaction is the prerequisite for a smooth and successful operation in the hotel industry, requiring professionally trained and highly skilled personnel. According to estimates of requirements for additional hotel rooms, the number of personnel who will need formal training in the hospitality and catering sector would increase by about 25 percent, from 16,000 to 20,000 people a year by 2010 end. The existing training facilities currently produce only about 5,000 to 6,000 trained personnel a year. Different types of jobs are available in the hospitality industry at different levels. The central government and the state governments have collaborated to provide resources in order to train people in the hospitality sector as part of overall development efforts. As per the survey the requirements for trained manpower at each level of employment would focus on general management trainees, trainees in kitchen management, housekeeping management, operational trainees, front office and accounting management, chefs, butlers, captains, bakery, confectionery and other specialized cooking. 52 Middle management positions would be filled by people holding three year diplomas, while other jobs could be filled by craft trainees. Craft institutes could be targeted for expansion in order to meet the needs for lower level skill areas. Working towards this objective, the Government run Institute at the Institute of Hotel Management at Kolkata has increased their seats. Human resources in Hospitality Industry – demand side In India there is a tremendous shortage of trained manpower in the hospitality sector. Tourism sector on an average requires more manpower than what is available from the catering colleges. Thus there need to develop required human resource in various segment of the tourism industry, as a consequence of the rapid growth in tourism, changing technology and markets both national and international level. By the very nature of tourism as a service industry, its efficient administration and successful operation depend largely on the quality of manpower. In the Asian and Pacific region, the shortage of skilled manpower poses a major threat to the overall 53 development of tourism. International tourism is a relatively new phenomenon and therefore the lack of managerial capability exists at all levels of the industry. In particular, the rapid expansion of hotels of an international standard in the region is creating a high level of demand for skilled and experienced staff. The nature of the decisions facing hotel management is continually expanding. For their business to remain competitive, managers must be skilful in many diverse areas. For instance, they must possess a good understanding of how current events and the economy affect the market and develop skill in marketing their products. They must also strive to keep up with the technological innovations in the operational side of the industry. As part of the service industry, tourism is labor intensive and generally requires well developed social and language skills in a cross cultural working environment. These demands have placed considerable strain on small, independent operators, who cannot rely on the broad management expertise available to their multinational hotel chain competitors. The availability of skilled and trained manpower is a crucial element in the successful long term development and sustainability of a tourist destination. In the 54 ultimate analysis, skilled and trained human resources will ensure the delivery of efficient, high quality service to visitors, which is a direct and visible element of a successful tourism product. High standards of service are particularly important in sustaining long term growth, since success as a tourist destination is determined not only by price competitiveness or the range of attractions available, but also by the quality of the services provided. Repeat visits, a vital factor in maintaining growth, will be deterred if standards of service do not meet expectations. 55 2. Link of Training and Development with Human Resource. 3 Training and Development helps in optimizing the utilization of human resource hat further helps the employee to achieve the organizational goals as well as their individual goals. On the other hand, Training and Development helps to provide an opportunity and broad structure for the development of human resources technical and behavioral skills in an organization. It also helps the employees in attaining personal growth. Training and Development plays a vital role in inculcating the sense of team work, team spirit, and inter team collaborations and inculcating the zeal to learn within the employees.

Case: 7-Eleven Japan Co. Essay

Question 1: A convenience store chain attempts to be responsive and provide customers what they need, when they need it, where they need it. What are some different ways that a convenience store supply chain can be responsive? What are some risks in each case? A convenience store can be more responsive by doing exactly what Seven-Eleven Japan is doing; many locations, rapid replenishment, appropriate technology deployment, and an equally responsive supplier (vertical integration for many of their SKUs). The risks associated with this system are the costs coupled with demand uncertainty. If demand patterns change dramatically, or the customer base changes, then Seven-Eleven is left with an operation that is not needed. Offering variety of services in the case of this case study Seven Eleven offered attractive services to customers such as ski lift voucher pass, payment of mail order purchases, internet shopping, a meal service delivery, automatic teller machines installation in each store, pick up online services, electronic money service that allow customers to prepay and use a card or cell phone to make payments etc. on the other hand, a short coming might result due to the failure of one or more information system due to failure or break down. Question 2: Seven-Eleven’s supply chain strategy in Japan can be described as attempting to micro-match supply and demand using rapid replenishment. What are some risks associated with this choice? Question 3: What has 7-Eleven done in its choice of facility location, inventory management, transportation, and information infrastructure to develop capabilities that support its supply chain strategy in Japan? Information infrastructure: 7-Eleven implemented a Total Information System through which the company could efficiently share its information thus making its supply chain responsive. The system was installed within each store, headquarters, suppliers and vendors. And also the system linked all the stores with each other. The Total Information System comprises of POS registers, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Graphic order terminal, scanner terminal and store computers. The data related to the sales as well as the purchaser is collected through the POS register for analysis. For efficient management of the inventory, the graphic order terminal, scanner terminal and store computers are used thus assists in improving both the efficiency and responsiveness. Inventory management: The store owner or the manager makes use of the graphic order terminal to place orders so as to replenish inventory in order of their arrangement on the store shelf. The owner had access to analysis of waste, 10 day and 10 week sales trends SKU, sales trends of new products, sales analysis by day and time etc that help him in forecasting demand. On the other hand, the Scanner terminal receives products from a distribution center and therefore monitors inventory by checking whether the order received matches with the original order placed. The store computer helps in tracking store inventory. Transportation: Trucks are used to transport goods to the stores. 7-Eleven makes use of a flexible distribution system which means that it can alter the delivery schedules according to the varying customer demand. Also, the suppliers send orders via trucks to the distribution centers. The latter cross docks inventory from supplier truck to distribution trucks. Moreover, to maintain the quality of the products, the distribution trucks are temperature controlled of four categories for different types of products such as frozen/ chilled foods, processed foods etc. Facility location: The facility location of 7-Eleven comprises of two types namely, the distribution centers and retail stores. 7-Eleven follows a market or area dominance strategy through which it forms clusters of stores in the area where already a 7- eleven store exists rather than having a handful of stores dispersed over a wide geographical area. Among the clusters there’s a distribution center which is surrounded by 7-Eleven stores. Approximately, there are 50-60 stores in each cluster. Question 4: 7-Eleven does not allow direct store delivery in Japan but has all products flow through its distribution center. What benefit does 7-Eleven derive from this policy? When is direct store delivery more appropriate? 7-Eleven has the policy of delivering its products to the retail stores via the distribution centers. Through these distribution centers, the replenishment cycles are reduced and a proper sales record can be maintained and monitored. Through the Point of Sale registers, signals can be transmitted to both the distribution centre and the supplier hence orders can be organized accordingly. Also, orders are sent directly to the distribution centre so that they can be allotted to the appropriate vehicle. A combined delivery system is used by 7- Eleven, in which four groups of temperature-controlled trucks are used to send fresh products. The trucks are sent several times a day during peak hours in order to avoid delays. Also, confidence is maintained between the supply chain partners and an additional person is not needed while the load is being received and checked. The process reduces delivery time. However this system might require a number of daily deliveries, but the number of trucks needed is much lesser therefore it reduces the delivery cost and facilitates a more prompt fresh food delivery. And hence the stock is continuously replenished. This network process ensures flexibility in the sense that it can alter the delivery schedules due to any demand fluctuations. There is a twelve-hour limit upon the restocking of food items. The disadvantages however include that the retail stores will have little control when the restocking takes place. Also, a number of stores rely on just one combined distribution centre. Also, if the system goes down while the delivery is at CDC, then all the stores can be affected and timely deliveries might not be possible. Hence accurate forecasts are needed. Direct delivery system might be a useful technique as the stores follow variant patterns. If the demand increases and a store require a greater number of deliveries then the demand can be met more efficiently as the deliveries can be made directly to the stores. Question 5: What do you think about the 7dream concept for 7-Eleven Japan? From a supply chain perspective, is it likely to be more successful in Japan or the United States? Why? In February 2000, 7-Eleven established 7dream.com, an ecommerce company, the goal of which was to exploit the existing distribution system and the fact that stores were easily accessible to most Japanese Stores served as drop-off and collection points for the customers and proved successful as 92% of their customers preferred to just pick up their goods from the local convenience store which they ordered online rather than have them delivered to their homes. This was understandable given the frequency with which Japanese customers visit their local convenience store. 7dream hoped to build on this preference along with the synergies from the existing distribution system as the company required an effective and efficient supply chain to cater to the demand of the customers who ordered online and provide the company with a time frame for delivery. From a supply chain perspective, it is believed that the 7dream concept is likely to be more successful in Japan than in the United States. The reason for saying so is that, the Japanese market is much smaller as compared to that of United State. In 2008, there were 12,071 stores in Japan where as the stores were nearly half the number in U.S that is 6,262. The density of stores in Japan was hence greater as the area of Japan is much smaller as compared to that of the U.S. and therefore, in Japan the company had a greater customer reach as 7–Eleven stores are easily accessible throughout Japan. The ecommerce company itself could probably be a greater success in U.S. however; it would be a better idea if the orders are directly sent home rather than have them delivered to the nearest 7-Eleven store. In this way, the company can tap in to a bigger market that is the U.S. market but get the goods delivered to the customer’s doorstep would be a better idea. Also, the stores in the U.S. were replenished using direct store delivery (DSD) by some manufacturers, with the remaining products delivered by wholesalers. DSD accounted for about half the total volume, with the rest coming from the wholesalers. This meant that direct delivery is a more popular concept in the U.S. Keeping into consideration the current strategy of the 7dream concept, it is more likely to be successful in Japan than in the United States. However, if the strategy is molded according to the U.S. market, it can become a greater success. Question 6: 7-Eleven is attempting to duplicate the supply chain structure that has succeeded in Japan in the United States with the introduction of CDC’s. What are the pros and cons of this approach? Keep in mind that stores are also replenished by wholesalers and DSD by manufacturers. After 7 Eleven acquired Southland Corporation they tried to improve their operations in America. The main improvement was an introduction of a new component in the supply chain completely novel to the US market. This component, the Combined Distribution Centers (CDCs), was however used in Japan at that time. Initially the stores in US used the Direct Store Delivery (DSD) in which stores were replenished by manufacturers accounting for half of the goods volume and the rest half was done by whole sellers. CDC delivered perishable products like bread, sandwiches and the rest of the bakery products. Pros Using CDC all perishable -food items would be delivered by a single distributor which would increase overall efficiency. Having fresh-food items at 7-Eleven convenience stores helped in users getting variety of fresh food from convenient locations. Uncertainty of delivery times was minimized by systematic delivery system. The inventory costs were low as fresh food items cannot be inventoried. With daily replenishment of fresh-food items, the stock would be fresh and it reduced consumer concerns of stale items to a large extent. Centralization gave a greater control to the management and more processes were now under the supervision of the company hence improving efficiency. Cons There could have been a difference in quality delivered through CDC and DSD. DSD was a tested system so company might be unwilling to shift to the new system as there is always a reluctance to change. In US stores fresh products may not sell very well. Training would be required for all the supply chain members as the new system tends to be more time sensitive. Manufacturers might not be willing to go with the idea of CDC’s as they might lose on their relative dollar revenues and with the loss in revenues they might also reduce control. As the new system would be very time specific, the supply chain might not be very responsive and if updates are required the company might lose on its sales. Question 7: The United States has food service distributors that also replenish convenience stores. What are the pros and cons to having a distributor replenish convenience stores versus a company like 7-Eleven managing its own distribution function? With the outsourcing decision in mind an organization always tries to outsource activities that lie beyond their core competencies and their scarce resources are wasted in performing tasks that they are not specialized at. With outsourcing the organization tries to focus on activities that they can do best. The advantage is that managing the distribution is the sole headache of the distributor and with his specialized expertise it might be more cost effective. However outsourcing does have its repercussions as well. The control over the quality of items and the replenishment time might not be as effective as doing the distribution yourself. With the outsourcing of distribution the communication gap can affect the replenishment distribution. However taking the advancements in communication and technology this statement may be rendered void. Convenience stores are successfully communicating with their distributors and make uninterrupted storage of data and information transmission from 3PL WMS to internal systems for real-time visibility of stock in hand and customer service. Moreover outsourcing decisions affect both the efficiency and responsiveness of the supply chain. A retail store can achieve improved efficiency by having a distributor replenish its stock, but he does not put his heart and effect they can have on their long term aims.