Bayer case2 Essay Example for Free

Bayer case2 Essay Supply chain factors must also be taken into account in the decision-making if substantial capacity changes are involved – like reintroducing Bayer Aspirin. Key questions include: What impact will the changes have on suppliers, warehousing, transportation, and distributors? If capacity will be increased, will these elements of the supply chain be able to handle the increase? Conversely, if capacity is to be decreased, what impact will the loss in business have on these elements of the supply chain? Finally, customer and public opinion is very crucial to consider during decision-making. Will they still accept the new reintroduced product as before? What would be the common sentiments of the people regarding the possible decision? In evaluating alternatives during decision-making, a manager must consider both quantitative and qualitative aspects. Quantitative analysis usually reflects economic factors, and qualitative considerations include intangibles such as public opinion and personal preferences of managers. Thus, in deciding for the Bayer Aspirin case, is not solely dependent on economic factors because these are not the only things that would be affected when changes are being implemented. As an organization, Bayer should draw out what are the quantitative and qualitative considerations at hand, in order to come up with efficient and effective decisions for their company. 4. ) In what ways is Aspirin Brand valuable for Bayer? When aspirin first appeared in the spring of 1899 in a handful of articles in a few German medical journals, the author introduced it without fanfare as a serviceable substitute for the salicylic acid and sodium salicylate that had been in use for more than twenty years to treat rheumatic disorders. Aspirin reduced fever and inflammation quickly, but more importantly it did not appear to have an ill effect on the stomach. Side effects were minimal, so patients tolerated it quite well and they did not rebel against the treatment. The doctors who tested it and the company that manufactured it therefore recommended the drug as a promising anti-rheumatic medication and no doubt expected respectable profits from its use in this modest market. No one, however, apparently anticipated that in less than two decades this new compound would become the manufacturers best-selling medicine and the worlds most widely used drug (a distinction it still holds), not so much because of its role in treating rheumatism but because of its effectiveness in managing minor pain, especially headaches. And by the time Aspirins overall popularity was apparent, it was also apparent that it had achieved this exalted status not simply because of its considerable medical merits but also because of the deliberate business policies and practices of its manufacturer, the Farbenfabriken vormals Friedrich Bayer und Companie of Elberfeld, Germany, or simply known as Bayer. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany, Bayer is involved in 20 different business units that research, develop and manufacture products in the life sciences, polymers and specialty chemicals areas. Considered as the â€Å"jewel† at the very center of the Bayer crown, Aspirin is more than just a brand name that Bayer acquired. It is without question the most successful over-the-counter drug in history. In fact, 1999 marked the 100th anniversary of Aspirin, it is still the number two analgesic drug in the world with net sales in 1998 of DM1. 1 billion (US$654. 8 million). Only Tylenol exceeds ASPIRIN in sales, but 95% of Tylenols sales are in the US; in the rest of the world, Bayer is still number one (Buchanan and Merker, 2002). As a brand, its popularity is undeniable around the world. Exhibit 3 shows that the market of Aspirin covers 90 countries. At present, Bayer Aspirin is a family of well-known brands and products, which includes Childrens ASPIRIN ®, ASPIRINProtect ®, ASPIRIN Direct ®, ASPIRIN+C ®, and many others. All are geared for specific uses such as cough and cold, headache and pain, stroke and heart attack prevention. Many have unique delivery systems such as granules, effervescent tablets, and chewable forms. Of the US$654. 8 million in total worldwide net sales of all Aspirin products in 1998, US$37. 5 million (5. 8%) came from the sale of Childrens ASPIRIN ®. In reality, Aspirin as brand propelled Bayer’s success all throughout its history. By promoting Aspirin (not acetylsalicylic acid), Bayer had foreseen that the brand name would be so firmly entrenched in the medical community that when the patent expired, rival manufacturers of ASA would be unable to compete in the American market. True enough that by 1909, Aspirin accounted for 31% of Bayers US sales. Although Bayer continues to hold a trademark on the brand name in many countries of the world, it had once lost that right in several key countries like the United States. Bayer trademark was lost initially in the US at the end of World War I to Sterling Drug, Inc. as the result of the US governments retaliatory practice of confiscating and then auctioning off the property of German companies with holdings in the United States. It wasnt until 1994, 76 years after the expropriation of the trademark Bayer Aspirin, that Bayer Group finally reacquired the brand. According to the Bayer Website, Bayer continues to look for new possibilities for Aspirin, being considered as the miracle or wonder drug. In 1988, Australian epidemiologist Professor G. Kune discovered that people who took Aspirin had a 40% lower incidence of colon cancer than those who did not. Later, a number of studies, including a large-scale study conducted by the American Cancer Society, confirmed that Aspirin is indeed effective in preventing colon cancer. According to one estimate, Aspirin inhibits cell mutation, a theory that paves the way for future research and the promise of new developments. Research is also being conducted into Aspirins effects on Alzheimers Disease and diabetes. Thus, Aspirin’s value for Bayer do not just depend on the brand name itself, but all its hidden potentials that could benefit all sick people because of its low price and time-tested usefulness. 5. ) How is the pharmaceutical market and the market for Aspirin evolving? Is it to the advantage or disadvantage of pharmaceutical companies? Originally prescribed for rheumatic disorders, aspirin has come a long way of just adrug marketed to reduce fever and inflammation quickly. As a drug, aspirin not only has the properties of an analgesic or painkiller, it is also an antipyretic (anti-fever), an anti-inflammatory and an anti-platelet (see Table 1). The first three qualities make it a headache, cold, and flu medication, but it is the fourth quality that makes Aspirin a preventive medication. Interestingly, the anti-platelet effects of aspirin occur at a surprisingly low dosage: 30-50 mg. or so, and Children’s ASPIRIN is one of the lowest dose aspirin products on the market. It also happens to be the cheapest among the ASPIRIN family of products. The significance of these two characteristics gave Children’s ASPIRIN a new market, as doctors around the world started recommending and prescribing Children’s ASPIRIN to their middle-aged patients as a means of prevention.

Coca Cola Company Mission, Vision and Values

Coca Cola Company Mission, Vision and Values It was 1986, and in New York Harbor, workers were constructing the statue of liberty. Eight hundred miles away, another great American symbol was about to be unveiled. Like many people who change history, John Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, was inspired by simple curiosity. One afternoon, he stirred up a fragrant, caramel-colored liquid and, when it was done, he carried it a few doors down to Jacobs Pharmacy. Here, agreed- this new drink was something special. So Jacobs pharmacy put it on sale for five cents a glass. Like many people who change history, John pemberton, an Atlant pharmacist, was inspired by simple curiosity. One afternoon, he stirred up a fragrant, caramel-colored liquid and, when it was done, he carried it a few doors down to Jacobs Pharmacy who all agreed-this new drink was something special. So Jacobs Pharmacy. Here the mixture was combined with carbonated water and sampled by customer who all agreed- this new drink was special. So Jacobs Pharmacy put on sale for five cents a glass. Pembertons bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, named the mixture Coca-Cola ®, and wrote it out in his distinct script. To this day, Coca-Cola is written the same way. In the first year, Pemberton sold just 9 glasses of Coca-Cola a day. A century later, The Coca-Cola Company has produced more than 10 billion gallons of syrup. Unfortunately for Pemberton, he died in 1888 without realizing the success of the beverage he had created. Over the course of three years, 1888-1891, Atlanta businessman Asa Griggs Candler secured rights to the business for a total of about $2,300. Candler would become the Companys first president, and the first to bring real vision to the business and the brand. http://heritage.coca-cola.com/ COMPANY MISSION, VISION AMD VALUES: Our Mission Our Roadmap starts with our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as a company and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions. To refresh the world To inspire moments of optimism and happiness To create value and make a difference. Our Vision Our vision serves as the framework for our Roadmap and guides every aspect of our business by describing what we need to accomplish in order to continue achieving sustainable, quality growth. People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be. Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy peoples desires and needs. Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value. Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities. Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities. Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization. Live Our Values Our values serve as a compass for our actions and describe how we behave in the world. Leadership: The courage to shape a better future Collaboration: Leverage collective genius Integrity: Be real Accountability: If it is to be, its up to me Passion: Committed in heart and mind Diversity: As inclusive as our brands Quality: What we do, we do well http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/mission_vision_values.html SUSTAINABILITY: LIVE POSITIVELY focuses on seven core areas key to our business sustainability, with measurable goals and metrics for the Company and the Coca-Cola system http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/index.html INOVATION: Products EquipmentPackagingMarketingMarketplace Fortified nutrijuice helps fight malnutrition in the Philippines Introducing plant bottle up to 30% plant- based, 100% recyclable bottle, redesigned plastic, recyclable as ever Learn about our award-winning video vender. New plastic bottle crushes conventional thinking about environmental action. Helping our customers to maintain and grow their businesses. http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/innovation.html INVESTORS: The coca-cola company Finalizes transaction with coca-cola enterprises. Atlanta, October 3, 2010 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the North American operations of Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) and the sale of the Companys Norway and Sweden bottling operations to CCE. This transaction positions The Coca-Cola Company to more profitably deliver the worlds greatest brands and drive long-term value for all shareholders. Steve Cahillane, Muhtar Kent and Sandy Douglas OUR PRODUCT: Coca-Cola Zero Coca-Cola Zero ® has been one of the most successful product launches in our history. In 2009, we sold more than 600 million cases globally. Put into perspective, thats roughly the same size as our total business in Germany, one of our top 6 markets. As of September 2010, Coca-Cola Zero is available in more than 130 countries. http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/brands/index.html LEADERSHIP: Since our first soda fountain sales in 1886, we have been a driver of marketplace innovation and an investor in local economies. Today we lead the beverage industry with more than 500 beverage brands including four of the worlds top-five sparkling brands. But while our business opportunities are enormous, our commitment to our consumers and the communities in which we operate is even greater. Muther Kent, our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, leads us into the new century with a firm commitment to the values and spirit of the worlds greatest brand. In our journey to become a sustainable, profitable growth company, our management structure has evolved to sharpen external focus on the marketplace with greater speed, productivity and effectiveness. http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/leadership.html Financial Statements The financial information included in this section should be read in conjunction with Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements contained in our Companys 2008 and 2009 Quarterly Reports on From 10-q and 2008 Annual Report on From 10-k As a result of the Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC) Rule Release No. 33-9002, Interactive Data to Improve Financial Reporting, the Company is required to submit Interactive Data as Exhibit 101 (attachment type EX-101) for certain Exchange Act and Securities Act filings. This Rule is effective for the Company beginning with our second quarter 2009 interim financial statements filed on Form 10-Q. Interactive Data is made possible through the computer language extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). XBRL offers near real-time access to financial reports, generally within minutes of our Company filing them with the SEC, and provides more flexibility to view and compare data versus traditional HTML filings. With XBRL, investors can create their own customized reports, automatically generating financial ratios, graphs, and charts depicting important information from financial statements. Due to the functionality of interactive data filed with the SEC, the Company will no longer provide excel versions of our financial statements on this website. Investors that wish to view an excel version of our financial statements can download the information from the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov. CURRENT ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents $ 6,816 Marketable securities 263 Trade accounts receivable, less allowances 3,139 Inventories 2,298 Prepaid expenses and other assets 2,198 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 14,714 INVESTMENTS Equity method investments: Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A. 1,386 Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. 840 Coca-Cola Amatil Limited 680 Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. Other, principally bottling companies and joint ventures 2,410 Other investments, principally bottling companies 441 TOTAL INVESTMENTS 5,757 OTHER ASSETS 1,793 PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT net 8,425 TRADEMARKS WITH INDEFINITE LIVES 6,042 GOODWILL 3,988 OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS 2,384 TOTAL ASSETS $ 43,103 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY CURRENT LIABILITIES Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 5,651 Loans and notes payable 6,701 Current maturities of long-term debt 461 Accrued income taxes 356 TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 13,169 LONG-TERM DEBT 5,017 OTHER LIABILITIES 2,944 DEFERRED INCOME TAXES 865 THE COCA-COLA COMPANY SHAREOWNERS EQUITY Common stock, $0.25 par value; Authorized 5,600 shares 880 Capital surplus 8,021 Reinvested earnings 38,911 Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (2,893) Treasury stock, at cost (24,207) EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO SHAREOWNERS OF THE COCA-COLA COMPANY 20,712 EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS 396 TOTAL EQUITY 21,108 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY $ 43,103 Note: The financial information included in this section should be read in conjunction with Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial condition and Result of notes to consolidated financial statement contained in our companys quarterly report on form 10 -q and 2008 annual report on form 10-k. The Coca-Cola Company and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (UNAUDITED) (In millions) Three Months Ended April 3, 2009 OPERATING ACTIVITIES Consolidated net income $ 1,359 Depreciation and amortization 283 Stock-based compensation expense 53 Deferred income taxes (20) Equity income or loss, net of dividends (3) Foreign currency adjustments 42 Gains on sales of assets, including bottling interests (5) Other operating charges 74 Other items 100 Net change in operating assets and liabilities (1,010) Net cash provided by operating activities 873 INVESTING ACTIVITIES Acquisitions and investments, principally beverage and bottling companies and trademarks (179) Purchases of other investments (6) Proceeds from disposals of bottling companies and other investments 37 Purchases of property, plant and equipment (467) Proceeds from disposals of property, plant and equipment 7 Other investing activities 9 Net cash used in investing activities (599) FINANCING ACTIVITIES Issuances of debt 5,758 Payments of debt (3,001) Issuances of stock 10 Purchases of stock for treasury Dividends (950) Net cash provided by financing activities 1,817 EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATE CHANGES ON CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 24 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS Net increase during the period 2,115 Balance at beginning of period 4,701 Balance at end of period $ 6,816 Note: The financial information included in this section should be read in conjunction with Managements Discussion  and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements  contained in our Companys 2009 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: We are required to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and to publish on our website, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which discloses the Companys annual financial performance. To ensure the trust of our people, those with whom we do business and our other stakeholders, we publish a variety of reports annually regarding our performance in various aspects of our business, not just financial performance. These reports reflect, among other things, our performance and accomplishments in the areas of product safety, quality and integrity, marketing and innovation, community support, workplace rights and protecting the environment.

Capital Punishment :: essays research papers

Capital Punishment is the legal infliction of death as a penalty for violating criminal law. It has been around for thousands of years and still continues to execute people today. Capital Punishment is inhumane and in some cases sentences the innocent to death. It is obviously the most severe form of criminal punishment. Being morally unjust, the purpose of it has no significance. Killing a person for their wrongdoings does not in anyway help our society. Capital Punishment must be abolished. Capital Punishment originated in Ancient Times. The first evidence of capital punishment is from Hammurabi’s Code, a book of Babylonian Law, from 1700 B.C. Hammurabi himself suggested: â€Å"an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth.† Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross. This is one form of capital punishment. The bible talks about capital punishment. One example of capital punishment in the bible is â€Å"Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death† (Exodus 21:12). It also suggest stoning a woman is she has unmarried sex. By the end of the 15th century, England had recognized 7 major crimes that deserved the death penalty. Throughout the 1800’s more than 200 crimes were recognized as punishable by death. Many countries in our present day world applied the death penalty throughout the past. Some reasons for the death penalty include betraying the King or Queen, going against ones religion, cheating on your spouse, theft, murder, burglary, r ape, and arson. Also, in early Egypt one could be put to death for disclosing the location of sacred burial sites. Some methods of capital punishment include crucifixion, stoning, drowning, burning at the stake, impaling, beheading, and the electric chair. Today, capital punishment is accomplished by lethal gas or injection, electrocution, hanging, or shooting. As of 2000, 72 countries no longer used the death penalty for any crimes. Another 13 countries authorized it only for exceptional crimes. It is reserved for individuals who commit the most violent or serious crimes, such as murder or treason. None of the countries in Western Europe utilize the trend of capital punishment, nor do most countries in South America. Asian and Islamic nations tend to practice capital punishment. The majority of countries in Africa, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo also make use of it.

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee :: To Kill a Mocking Bird Essays

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. She is the youngest of four children, which is why she says she has a knack for writing. She devoted her life to writing and even gave up other jobs that she loved like working for the airline company and going to college. Her first attempt at writing â€Å"To Kill a Mocking Bird† was declined by every publisher, because she only wrote a series of short stories. Upon revising the book, she made it into one of the best selling novels around. She was even congratulated by those publishers that said she would never be able to write books well enough. That was all the motivation that she needed. Harper Lee’s purpose for writing this book was to show her audience moral values, the difference of right versus wrong. She does this very effectively by making Scout, the main girl in the story, and Jem, her brother, seemingly innocent, because they have not seen evil this early in their lives. The evil comes later when Mr. Ewell attempts to kill both Jem and Scout. Once the two children see and experience this evil, it changes their lives forever. They begin to see how the world can be different from their views. The morals for Scout and Jem to live by come from their father, Atticus Finch. He has experienced evils in his life, like the death of his wife, but he never lost faith in the good of people. He taught Scout and Jem right from wrong when they were young, because their mother was no longer around to teach them. Atticus understands that people have good and bad inside of them, but he feels that the good side can always overcome the bad side. This is true when he backed Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mr. Ewell’s daughter. Even though no one else helped Atticus out, he never gave up on Tom Robinson no matter how hard things got. Another important theme that this book stresses is how prejudice and ignorance is viewed by the innocent. For Scout, the thought of Boo Radley, the seemingly ignorant person who lived down the road, was changed throughout the story drastically. To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee :: To Kill a Mocking Bird Essays To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. She is the youngest of four children, which is why she says she has a knack for writing. She devoted her life to writing and even gave up other jobs that she loved like working for the airline company and going to college. Her first attempt at writing â€Å"To Kill a Mocking Bird† was declined by every publisher, because she only wrote a series of short stories. Upon revising the book, she made it into one of the best selling novels around. She was even congratulated by those publishers that said she would never be able to write books well enough. That was all the motivation that she needed. Harper Lee’s purpose for writing this book was to show her audience moral values, the difference of right versus wrong. She does this very effectively by making Scout, the main girl in the story, and Jem, her brother, seemingly innocent, because they have not seen evil this early in their lives. The evil comes later when Mr. Ewell attempts to kill both Jem and Scout. Once the two children see and experience this evil, it changes their lives forever. They begin to see how the world can be different from their views. The morals for Scout and Jem to live by come from their father, Atticus Finch. He has experienced evils in his life, like the death of his wife, but he never lost faith in the good of people. He taught Scout and Jem right from wrong when they were young, because their mother was no longer around to teach them. Atticus understands that people have good and bad inside of them, but he feels that the good side can always overcome the bad side. This is true when he backed Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mr. Ewell’s daughter. Even though no one else helped Atticus out, he never gave up on Tom Robinson no matter how hard things got. Another important theme that this book stresses is how prejudice and ignorance is viewed by the innocent. For Scout, the thought of Boo Radley, the seemingly ignorant person who lived down the road, was changed throughout the story drastically.

The Reluctant Scientist :: Personal Narrative Science Essays

The Reluctant Scientist So I have to ask myself, how it came to pass that a woman who has little interest in science (never, in fact, dissected so much as a single frog in high school), who never wanted to teach children any older than second graders, and who most importantly, loathes, and I mean that with a capital L, Loathesrodents of all sorts, came to be in a science classroom full of fourth grade students, picking rats’ bones out of hairballs? Well, it wasn’t easy, let me tell you. It all began innocently enough about two years ago, when my younger daughter, now ten, came home full of bubbling enthusiasm for her classes’ latest science project. â€Å"We’re doing owl pellets, Mom,† she informed me. â€Å"We get to find the bones and take them out and figure out what they are! Today we found a vole’s skull!† Having no idea what she was talking about, I said what all good moms do in order to demonstrate I was properly interested, â€Å"That’s nice dear,† and promptly forgot about what she had said as I turned my attention to something that I did understand. Owl pellets only returned to the forefront of my thinking several days later, when I visited my daughter’s classroom to fulfill my ongoing volunteer commitment to the school. The students were in the middle of science when I arrived, and spread out on their desks were an assortment of scales, rulers, tweezers, charts, tiny bones, and suspicious looking piles of gray fluff. Caitlin sprang from her desk and ran towards me. â€Å"Mom! Come see what Kimhee and I have!† Pulling me by the arm, she brought me over to her and her partner’s table, where they had the same odd assortment of items. It appeared as if the were reassembling some of the bones into a rather dubious looking skeleton. Wrinkling my nose, I asked, â€Å"What isthat?† â€Å"It’s the skeleton of a vole, Mommy. I told you all about it at home,† Caitlin replied, somewhat accusingly. Kimhee reached into the stack of papers on the table and extracted a detailed diagram of what appeared to be a rodent skeleton and offered it to me. â€Å"We got the bones from our owl pellet, and now we’re putting them back together,† Caitlin continued. â€Å"See, here’s the skull. We had another one, but we don’t have enough of the rest of the bones to make two skeletons.† â€Å"What exactly is an owl pellet?† I inquired hesitantly, not at all sure that I wanted to know the answer. Once again, my daughter looked at me impatiently. The Reluctant Scientist :: Personal Narrative Science Essays The Reluctant Scientist So I have to ask myself, how it came to pass that a woman who has little interest in science (never, in fact, dissected so much as a single frog in high school), who never wanted to teach children any older than second graders, and who most importantly, loathes, and I mean that with a capital L, Loathesrodents of all sorts, came to be in a science classroom full of fourth grade students, picking rats’ bones out of hairballs? Well, it wasn’t easy, let me tell you. It all began innocently enough about two years ago, when my younger daughter, now ten, came home full of bubbling enthusiasm for her classes’ latest science project. â€Å"We’re doing owl pellets, Mom,† she informed me. â€Å"We get to find the bones and take them out and figure out what they are! Today we found a vole’s skull!† Having no idea what she was talking about, I said what all good moms do in order to demonstrate I was properly interested, â€Å"That’s nice dear,† and promptly forgot about what she had said as I turned my attention to something that I did understand. Owl pellets only returned to the forefront of my thinking several days later, when I visited my daughter’s classroom to fulfill my ongoing volunteer commitment to the school. The students were in the middle of science when I arrived, and spread out on their desks were an assortment of scales, rulers, tweezers, charts, tiny bones, and suspicious looking piles of gray fluff. Caitlin sprang from her desk and ran towards me. â€Å"Mom! Come see what Kimhee and I have!† Pulling me by the arm, she brought me over to her and her partner’s table, where they had the same odd assortment of items. It appeared as if the were reassembling some of the bones into a rather dubious looking skeleton. Wrinkling my nose, I asked, â€Å"What isthat?† â€Å"It’s the skeleton of a vole, Mommy. I told you all about it at home,† Caitlin replied, somewhat accusingly. Kimhee reached into the stack of papers on the table and extracted a detailed diagram of what appeared to be a rodent skeleton and offered it to me. â€Å"We got the bones from our owl pellet, and now we’re putting them back together,† Caitlin continued. â€Å"See, here’s the skull. We had another one, but we don’t have enough of the rest of the bones to make two skeletons.† â€Å"What exactly is an owl pellet?† I inquired hesitantly, not at all sure that I wanted to know the answer. Once again, my daughter looked at me impatiently. The Reluctant Scientist :: Personal Narrative Science Essays The Reluctant Scientist So I have to ask myself, how it came to pass that a woman who has little interest in science (never, in fact, dissected so much as a single frog in high school), who never wanted to teach children any older than second graders, and who most importantly, loathes, and I mean that with a capital L, Loathesrodents of all sorts, came to be in a science classroom full of fourth grade students, picking rats’ bones out of hairballs? Well, it wasn’t easy, let me tell you. It all began innocently enough about two years ago, when my younger daughter, now ten, came home full of bubbling enthusiasm for her classes’ latest science project. â€Å"We’re doing owl pellets, Mom,† she informed me. â€Å"We get to find the bones and take them out and figure out what they are! Today we found a vole’s skull!† Having no idea what she was talking about, I said what all good moms do in order to demonstrate I was properly interested, â€Å"That’s nice dear,† and promptly forgot about what she had said as I turned my attention to something that I did understand. Owl pellets only returned to the forefront of my thinking several days later, when I visited my daughter’s classroom to fulfill my ongoing volunteer commitment to the school. The students were in the middle of science when I arrived, and spread out on their desks were an assortment of scales, rulers, tweezers, charts, tiny bones, and suspicious looking piles of gray fluff. Caitlin sprang from her desk and ran towards me. â€Å"Mom! Come see what Kimhee and I have!† Pulling me by the arm, she brought me over to her and her partner’s table, where they had the same odd assortment of items. It appeared as if the were reassembling some of the bones into a rather dubious looking skeleton. Wrinkling my nose, I asked, â€Å"What isthat?† â€Å"It’s the skeleton of a vole, Mommy. I told you all about it at home,† Caitlin replied, somewhat accusingly. Kimhee reached into the stack of papers on the table and extracted a detailed diagram of what appeared to be a rodent skeleton and offered it to me. â€Å"We got the bones from our owl pellet, and now we’re putting them back together,† Caitlin continued. â€Å"See, here’s the skull. We had another one, but we don’t have enough of the rest of the bones to make two skeletons.† â€Å"What exactly is an owl pellet?† I inquired hesitantly, not at all sure that I wanted to know the answer. Once again, my daughter looked at me impatiently.

Ikea Management Analysis Essay

Abstract: This article is an analysis of the IKEA’s supply chain. IKEA’s supply chain is globally with sales in more than 250 own stores in 24 countries and 32 external franchisees in 16 countries. It has special supplier management, store design, and warehouse management. IKEA Supply Chain system includes IOS, TSO, material and suppliers, DC and IKEA store. IKEA global planning has seven processes. Sale planning and demand planning are in this article. IKEA’s supply chain was operated really successful, however, it still exist some problems, like lack of central coordination, inaccurate sale forecasts, and high inventory costs. In the end, this article will provide some recommendations to solve those problems. Introduction IKEA, founded in 1943, is one of the best home furniture company in the world whose, and its vision is â€Å"To provide better life for everyone†. IKEA provides modern and fashionable low cost furniture for over 38 countries with 301 stores. It is the largest furniture retail chain in the world and boasts a range of 12000 products, including home furniture, accessories and some other stuff. What’s more, it’s concern for people and environment lead to excellent use of raw material and energy, which result in their green targets and the overall environment. A supply chain is a network of retailers, distributors, transporters, storage facilities, and suppliers that participate in the production, delivery, and sale of a product to the consumer. The supply chain is typically made up of multiple companies who coordinate activities to set themselves apart from the competition. A supply chain has three key parts: Supply focuses on the raw materials supplied to manufacturing, including how, when, and from what location. Manufacturing focuses on converting these raw materials into finished products. Distribution focuses on ensuring these products reach the consumers through an organized network of distributors, warehouses, and retailers. Ikea is a worldwide company and its supply chain also deserves us to study. In this paper we are going to analyze the IKEA’s supply chain in the market and we will also analysis the strategy and plan of the company. In addition, we would give our proposed recommendation in the end. IKEA Supply Chain Strategy IKEA’s supply chain is global with sales in more than 250 own stores in 24 countries and 32 external franchisees in 16 countries. The stores are supplied through 31 distribution countries, or directly from the 1,350 suppliers in more than 50 countries. IKEA’s supply chain consequently has a global spread with both sales and purchasing in all major regions of the world. IKEA’s growth has been tremendous and sales are still growing. Currently IKEA plans to open 10-20 new stores every year with a goal to double sales within the coming five year. Considering the pace of growth in sales, the many stores and warehouses, and the fact that some business areas change up to 30% of its assortment every year, supply chain planning is a real challenge. The supply chain needs tight control and high levels of visibility to keep costs down and avoid obsolete inventory and/or stock outs. The IKEA supply chain is mainly make-to-stock (MTS) and only a few products are made to custo mer orders. Consequently, the entire supply chain is heavily dependent on forecasts. The regions and the stores have traditionally had a strong power and a high degree of local freedom in terms of planning and placing replenishment requests. This has led to a fragmented supply chain planning with local optimization and a lot of manual intervention with plans throughout the supply chain. Furthermore, due to frequent shortage situations some regions have purposely overestimated demand to ensure delivery, which in turn has led to imbalance in terms of demand coverage. Hence, some markets have suffered from stock outs during long periods, whereas other markets have ended up with obsolete inventories. Forecasting has been done on a regional level with approximately 120 users striving for different goals and using different methods. Part of the explanation to this is that IKEA has lacked a common and structured tactical planning of demand and replenishment. In terms of capacity planning, all different parts of the supply chain (stores, warehouses, regions, etc.) tried to optimize its own part of the supply chain, leading to a set of imbalanced supply plans with a low and unstable total throughput with long replenishment times for the supply chain as a whole. IKEA initiated a program (cluster of projects) aiming to taking better control of its supply chain, and enhance performance in terms of delivery service and costs. A new global planning concept was developed and is currently being implemented. Its cornerstones are mutually integrated planning processes, a centralized planning organization, focus on data quality and use of advanced software support. The purpose of this article is to outline IKEA’s global supply chain planning concept and describe the roles of the planning organization, data quality, software support and project and change management in the concept and its implementation. Supply Chain Management of IKEA Supplier Management IKEA has about 1400 suppliers from 33 countries, 64% of them are from European countries, with largest supplier markets in China and Poland. IKEA maintains lasting relationship with suppliers, and it has its own way to select suppliers from worldwide. After decide what product and material to be used, trading offices would find the suppliers in their respective regions and invite bids from them. IKEA has a principle, which is to choose suppliers of lowest cost at the same time, guarantee the quality. By placing orders directly on line, IKEA can always receive the deliveries within one to two weeks. On the other side, they ask suppliers to take inventory, so that suppliers can clearly know about the time, category, and amount of goods they have to fill up. IKEA also asks suppliers to deliver some of the goods straight to their stores, and this kind of managing would possibly save time, energy, and money considerably. They have formed a certain role to evaluate the performance of suppliers and point out standards and grades. Under such pressure, IKEA’s suppliers would be serious about their job and try their best to make sure the goods are of best quality and fastest delivery. By this kind of supplier management, IKEA would absolutely has high efficiency and quality. Store Design IKEA chose its store location on the city outskirts as the company’s stores were large and required huge parking spaces because IKEA realized that its customers were visiting stores in their cars. There is a typical feature of IKEA stores. [pic] The picture above is a map of some IKEA stores, in this, one can obviously see that customers entered into the stores, they would follow the arrow printed on the floor, and see through all products they exhibit. This kind of layout is called Racetrack layout, which has a main section that directs towards various section of the store, loops through the store and returns customers to the front of the store. It draws customers around the store and is commonly used in department stores. IKEA uses this to encourage customer to explore and move around IKEA at ease. The Racetrack Layout leads customers throughout the whole IKEA passing through different department. It makes sure that no section is missed out as the Racetrack Layout is design in a way that customer will have to follow the path in order to get to the end. The Loop allows customer to have different viewing angles and to catch a glance of every item in the store within a look. This encourages exploration and impulse buying. Thus this is strategic for IKEA as to capture customers. Warehouse Management IKEA has large warehouses like â€Å"DC008†, it has 19 input doors and 22 output doors. This separation makes the warehouse operation more effective. In the warehouses, there are many forklifts and they run fast and flexible. This also improves efficiency. Besides, IKEA seriously considered the safety of warehouses. It built a perfect security system. If some materials are not in right position, the red light will turn on and there will be an alarm ringing. Another significant warehouse management is space management. A system numbers every area, and all of them will be in the computers, so workers can clearly see wherever there is a vacancy. That ensures turn-around speed. The WMS (Warehouse Management System) in IKEA is so mature that it is used in every warehouse of IKEA’s. However, now IKEA need to figure out how to reduce inventory in order to save money. As for IKEA, there is a special kind of warehouse, which is self-serve warehouse. It is just in stores and keeps some inventory to give customers more choices. It can as well make customers enjoy pleasant about self-purchase. IKEA Supply Chain IKEA Supply Chain System (From the tree to the living room) IKEA is one of the leading home furnishing companies in the world and is expanding globally and fast gaining market share. Also IKEA’s supply chain has a global spread with both sales and purchasing in all major regions of the world. In IKEA Supply Chain system, firstï ¼Å'IOS is IKEA of Sweden, where decisions are made, such as the number of items, purchasing, suppliers, distribution, store coordination, and so on. Second, TSO (Trading), trading is responsible for the relationship with suppliers. Within trading there are 43 trading service offices in Europe, Asia and North America. Third is material and suppliers. They provide raw materials and manufacture the products. Co-workers in this area form a bridge between the factory floor and the products on the shelves at IKEA stores. They are responsible for ensuring reliable production methods that lead to high quality results, but which at the same time involve the min imum waste and maximum efficiency. Although not the most visible role within IKEA, this area is incredibly important for the company. The suppliers of IKEA and the good relations IKEA enjoy with them are among the company’s greatest assets. Fourth, in DC (Distribution centers), trucks, boats and trains are all needed to move products around. Coordinating these different means of transport to make the movement of goods as quick and efficient as possible is a real art. And DC are not enough just to make sure the goods arrive at the right stores and customers at the right time; they must also arrive in good shape, ready to be sold at the lowest possible price. Fifth is store. IKEA has more than 250 own stores in 24 countries and 32 external franchisees in 16 countries. To simplify, chart 1 shows the whole IKEA Supply Chain system described above. [pic] Chart1 IKEA Supply Chain system Moreover, in fifth part, In-store Logistics are also an important part in IKEA supply chain. In-store Logistics have seven steps (chart 2): Step1, create commitment with clear and qualified goods. Step2, develop an in-store logistics organization based on knowledge and competence. Step3, create balance between the space to range relation. Step4, place rational and correct orders. Step5, sales space management. Step6, establish routines for the most efficient goods flow. Step7, follow-up on performance. [pic] Chart 2 IKEA Supply Chain-In-store Logistics IKEA Supply Chain Planning Planning Concept Overview. According to IKEA’s characters, such as offer a wide range of home furnishings with good design and function and provide low prices, Ikea’s supply chain is in constant flux, with improvements being made whenever they are required or new technology appears. But generally, Ikea’s supply chain is mainly make-to-stock (MTS) and only a few products are made to customer orders. Consequently, the entire supply chain is heavily dependent on forecasts. IKEA focus on all forecasting activities and need calculations to control the entire supply chain inventory levels and replenishment. The global planning process (Chart1) is made by the central function of IKEA of Sweden. From the IKEA’s global supply chain planning (Chart1), we can figure out there are seven major processes (1) Sale planning; (2) Demand planning; (3) Need planning; (4) Supplier capacity planning; (5) The distribution supply chain planning (transport, warehouse, and store planning; 5a-c) and (7) Replenishment orders. In the following, we will talk about the processes separately into more details. But we will only focus on two parts Sales planning and Demand planning. [pic] Chart1 IKEA’s global supply chain planning concept and planning processes. Sales planning. The first step of sales planning is the corporate management of IKEA makes the overall sales forecast. The forecast is made on an aggregate level in terms of total sales volumes in monetary units for IKEA in total. It shows the expected sales increase in percentages. Ikea’s sales plan will be updated three times a year. The forecast is mainly determined by the strategic marketing plan and the remaining part of the current fiscal year plus five years into the future. So the current strategic business plan of Ikea is important for sales planning. At the end of the sales planning process, in order to achieve the business areas’ growth plans and expectation for the future, Demand Planners at IKEA of Sweden provide the data and information of forecasts for each of the business areas. Demand planning. In Ikea, there are 32 Demand Planners work in the tactical demand planning process, each one responsible for forecasting a certain part. The tactical forecast attach to IKEA of Sweden and is done on a rolling 84 weeks, with new historical sales data loaded once a week. In the end the forecasts on store levels are aggregated, reconciled, and compared with the sales frames on the retail forecast group level and on the distribution services region level. IKEA also has Retail Forecast Group, including one to several stores located geographically close to each other. In Europe, a retail Forecast Group normally corresponds to a country. IKEA in different countries own the right to have local event and activities. But, to let Demand Planners review the forecast on the regional level each week, the specific activity plans must be told at least six months in advance. In case that the forecast deviates considerably from actual sales, the Demand Planner looks for the reason and adjusts the sales figures or forecast model accordingly. Problems Lack of Central Coordination All we know IKEA is a hug international company. It provides modern and fashionable low cost furniture for over 38 countries with 301 stores. It emphasizes on local autonomy rather than a centralized coordinator. This method is easier for regions and store to plan and replenishes their own inventories. However, it also causes hundreds of subsystems inside the IKEA. Those subsystems include product design system from the headquarters; orders to suppliers system, orders to transport to the mall system, store management system and some accessory systems in each region or store. There are at least four hundreds complex subsystems inside the IKEA. These system’s databases is not well integrated, and do not have unified communications platform, that resulting in information separation, the low quality of information transmission, it is not conducive to the efficient operation of the supply chain. Lack of Accurate Sale Forecasts Due to changes in demand, sales forecasts data of the Swedish headquarters get deviation, if the forecasting data is bigger than the real, and this led to the warehouse overstock directly. If the mangers do not adjust the place orders plan that will cause serious problems by global warehouse overstock, retail shopping centers will immediately face to increase sales efforts to absorb the backlogged inventory. The other hand, in order to avoid some seasonal items out of stock, IKEA place large quantities of orders to suppliers, the mall immediately changed the stage from the under stock to overstock, However, the shopping center cannot sell them all, therefore, pass the season, there are still a lot of inventory backlog. Inventory Costs are too high IKEA purchases and sales too much, and often use the strategy of expand the inventory to cope with the uncertainty situation. IKEA worried about the inventory cannot be well satisfied the needs of the shopping centers, and if IKEA keep a low inventory level, it will increase the risk of lost sales opportunities, Therefore, IKEA maintain a high level of inventory to avoid the risk of under stock, That cause the shopping malls, the distribution center, and the central warehouse to maintain a considerable amount of inventory. Recommendations The urgent need for IKEA is to spend a large investment in the supply chain systems integration, make a great effort to integrate internal business systems, to achieve the company internal information sharing, built unified communications platform to make sure each subsystem can easy get the information from others, particular in transportation information and warehousing information. Ultimately achieve the comprehensive integration of manufacture, procurement, inventory, sales, financial and human resources management, logistics. That can make the ideal supply chain operations to become a reality. The supply chain systems integration can make each subsystems get the other subsystems information easily that really helpful for IKEA to forecast the sales in the future. In addition, IKEA also can get information from the date of the past sales, the public economic information, from customer and from suppliers. The supply chain systems integration also can help IKEA use those two strategies to reduce the cost of inventory. Firstly, IKEA requires the supplier to transport the production directly to the shopping malls, omitting the middle stage of the warehouse storage and handling. Use this strategy, IKEA do not have to establish the inventory and also do not have to maintain a safety stock to satisfy the demand of the shopping center. The delivery period becomes short, and easy to control. It also reduces the broken rate of the goods that ultimately improve the service level of the mall shopping centers. Secondly, IKEA also can use the strategy of vendor-managed inventory. It means suppliers according to IKEA’s the actual sales demand and safety inventory requirements to place the order to them. This strategy requires mutual trust between IKEA and supplier. IKEA can establish appropriate oversight mechanisms to make this strategy works well. This strategy can make both the IKEA and the suppliers’ benefit. References Laura Spinney (2011) The secret of IKEA’s success: we do the hard work, New scientist. Retrieved from: http://0-ehis.ebscohost.com.leopac.ulv.edu/eds/detail?vid=2&hid=23&sid=0dbc6e03-427b-4dec-9711-136b9cfedca8%40sessionmgr14&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=edselp&AN=S0262407911631783 Jonsson, P. and Gustavsson, M. (2008) â€Å"The impact of supply chain relationships and automatic data communication and registration on forecast information quality†, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 38 (4), 280-295. Steve Banker (2009 Nov) In-Store Logistics at IKEA. Retrieved from: http://logisticsviewpoints.com/2009/11/05/in-store-logistics-at-ikea/ IKEA’s Cost Efficient Supply Chain. Retrieved from http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Operations/OPER084.htm NYP IKEA: Merchandising Presentation and Store Design (Part 3), May 18 2012. Retrieved from http://ikea-escrapbook.blogspot.com/2011/07/merchandising-presentation-and-store_4586.html Patrik Jonsson, Martin Rudbergochï ¼Å'Stefan HolmbergGlobal, Supply chain planning at IKEA, Retrieved from http://www.plan.se/files/Jonsson_Rudberg _Holmberg_08.pdf Ikea supply chain-from the tree to the living room, Retrieved from http://www.slideserve.com/presentation/39927/IKEA-Supply-Chain–from-the-tree-to-the-living-room â€Å"IKEA | Purchasing.† IKEA | Purchasing. Web. 17 May 2012. Retrieved from http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/jobs/business_types/purchase/index.html Ikea, Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKEA â€Å"Ikea.mov.† YouTube. YouTube, 15 Feb. 2010. Web. 18 May 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYr6JlJ1wlE. SWOT Analysis and Sustainable Business Planning An IKEA Case Study.† Weaknesses and Threats. Web. 18 May 2012. http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/ikea/swot-analysis-and-sustainable-business-planning/weaknesses-and-threats.html. â€Å"IKEA Distribution Improves Supply Chain Management.† IKEA Distribution Improves Supply Chain Management. Web. 18 May 2012. http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240083923/IKEA-Distribution-improves-supply-chain-management.

Women’s Prisons / Correctional Facilities

History regarding the matters of incarcerated women has dictated that there is such inequality with regards to sexual preferences in the criminal justice system. Even prior to 1870, the society has enacted upon an unforgiving outlook regarding nonconforming women. Crowded in unsanitary, small and terribly ventilated rooms in men's institutions, incarcerated women were horribly abused by male guards and by the whole system of the place itself. Through the years, the call for improving this system has been heard and acted upon by the government. Today, almost every state in the country has erected their own penal institutions for women which are also administered upon by staffs and officials in which the majority are women. However, even if improvements regarding these implementations have been accomplished by the government, there is still a clamor regarding indifferences with men's and women's equality in correctional facilities. LESS CONCERN FOR WOMEN'S PRISON/CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES Due to the dominance of men with regards to the number of incarcerated population than women, more studies are provided for men than for women. Due to this, there have been many unrecognized concerns regarding women and their system of incarceration. Back in 1993, there was a conference that tackled this matter regarding incarceration of women and they found out many conclusions that resulted from a detailed look at the matter. â€Å"Officials of the National Association of Women Judges, which gathered here last weekend for its 15th annual conference, cite a number of court-ordered studies that taken together portray a kind of built-in bias against female convicts in criminal- justice and corrections systems around the country. (Hinds, 1993). They found out results that the number of female population has tripled in number over the past decade that there is a need for more focus regarding the number of jails and prisons and also improving the system as well. They also found out that states have lesser number of alternative prisons for female offenders who are nonviolent, compared to male nonviolent offenders. Findings were also tracked regarding the matter that women tend to have a longer serving time than women due to the fact that they are placed in less crowded facilities than men. Another point that drew concern was that most states only have so few prisons that most women are moved far away from their homes making it harder for their families to visit. Another matter is that prisons for women provide lesser job-training programs. Vocational training is also very limited leaving female inmates to choose between few options such as clerical work or homemaking. Adding up to these, studies also showed that women are not adequately taken cared of health-wise. There are only few states that offer obstetrics and gynecology. Hinds, 1993). CONCLUSION Inequity towards incarcerated women can be pinpointed out one by one with the help of critical analysis and comprehensive study. But with lack of interest regarding this subject matter, the concern for a study of women and their incarceration system has become bleak and overshadowed by the huge concern for men. Though both genders commit criminal offenses whether minor or major, there must still be equal considerations or specific characterization with regards to the system. There can be many examples of this dark side of the criminal justice system, for instance, many structures for incarcerated people are all planned and based on the men's point of view. The health care system, the pregnancy considerations, the design of the structure relating to women, and other female concerns are less addressed. There is a need for further studies of this matter to achieve equal considerations.