Engineering Products Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Engineering Products - Case Study Example The largest of the three business areas is automotive components, employing 60% of the group's workforce. The division is a first-tier supplier, dealing with several of the multinational final producers of cars, and is less concentrated in the UK than the company as a whole; Table 11.2 shows that only a small proportion of the division's sales are made in Britain, while an even smaller proportion of the workforce is employed there. Continental Europe is the base for a much larger proportions of sales and employment, with most of this being in Germany, France and Spain. The case study concentrates on this division of the multinational. In recent years the pressure from the automotive division's customers has become a central force in shaping how it manages its international operations in general and its international workforce in particular. The customers themselves have sought to standardise their methods of production and working practices through a process of sharing 'best practice' across sites. This has meant that, while the cars sold vary in minor respects between countries, they are produced in increasingly similar ways. One consequence has been that the components they purchase need to be of exactly the same specification in different countries. Since many of the first-tier suppliers in the motor industry are themselves multinational and in many cases supply the same companies in different countries, the effect has been to persuade the components manufacturers to standardise their own operations internationally. The Standardisation of Production across Borders The impetus for international integration in Engineering Products, therefore, came from the demands of its customers. Management at the HQ of the division have been faced with the task of integrating what had previously been disparate plants, serving customers in their own country and operating in a largely decentralised way. A key part of forging greater integration was to create management structures at the international level in order to bring together managers from different parts of the group, facilitating the exchange of information between them. In Engineering Products there are several such structures which serve this function. The division operates 'manufacturing councils' which periodically bring together senior manufacturing directors from the plants to examine the processes which are adopted in each of the plants. A different structure fulfilling a similar function is the 'International College of Engineering', located in Germany, at which engineers develop and learn about new manufacturing methods. A further way in which the HQ has sought to drive integration at the international level is through the creation of an international cadre of managers who are expected to spend time on assignments in countries other than their own. One element of this has been the creation of internal consultants; these are managers who have been responsible for pioneering a new practice and who are subsequently given

Conflict or Consensus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Conflict or Consensus - Essay Example he criminal code of justice, and the legal system in particular was meant to serve as a weapon that would enable everyone to do their duties in a rightful manner such that it would result in mutual prosperity. However, history is evidence to the fact that the society has not adhered it and has instead used it to lever advantage in their favor. This has been the case with people belonging to the powerful and the elite, who have bent the criminal code so that most of their illegal deeds went unnoticed. The conflict model of criminal justice, says that the organizations of a criminal justice system must work competitively as opposed to working in a cooperative manner. Issues such as fame, wealth and success have forced the criminal justice system to a conflict with itself. The conflict model has therefore suggested that there is no true legal system and that an adversarial approach has prevented legal instruments from communicating with each other. The supporters of the Conflict model argue that the conflict model is the reality of criminal justice. The conflict model, as pointed out by Jerome Skolnick says that powerful elements such as the police and lawyers appear to do their job, rather than doing their job in reality. Powerful people like the police and the wealthy have coerced innocent people into accepting that they have committed crimes such as theft or rape. In several cases, the wealthy have twisted the legal system by covering tracks of wrongdoings such as financial wrongdoings, eliminating competitors, implicating innocent people etc. they have grown a clout of loyal and corrupt police officials, lawyers and other legal entities, who, in reality, work for such powerful people rather than the state. The consensus model, opposes the conflict model by professing the argument that the constituents of a criminal justice system, work cooperatively and not competitively. It further goes on to says that organization of criminal law must and should work in

The CIO'S In Public Service Sector And Private Service Sector Assignment

The CIO'S In Public Service Sector And Private Service Sector - Assignment Example The role of the CIO in regards to public sector is at formative level but well developed in the private sector. It is through this fact, that challenges and opportunities ought to be identified in the public service sector. Despite the fact that government is viewed as the entire enterprise, some other departments in a government operate with their own mission, goals and visions with the CIO being a position. The CIO being an official government role, it has been present in most government enterprises for the last have a centaury. The organizations during this period were undergoing revolutions as far as Information technology is concern. More resources are being invested in the IT with the top executive officers being well aware of their business competitors by use of the information technology to have the upper hand in globally growing market place. On the other hand, the private sector being aware of the importance has experienced the gains of an officer who manages the informatio n technology and the assets of the organization for the last two decades. During the time the private sector were experiencing the gains of the implementation of the CIO in their structures, the public sector was still recognizing the new position of the executive. The interesting thing to note is that when the organizations in the private sector implemented the CIO’s as early as early 80’s, the government appointed the CIO as late as 2003. This therefore translate that public sector is two decades behind the counterparts in the private sector in the appointment of an executive in charge of the information (Portela, Carvalho, Varajao & Magalhaes, 2010). The recognition of the significance of the appointment of CIO is affected by the high rates of labor turnover in both public and private sectors. Particularly in the public sector, instability acquired as a result of high rate of turnover lead to the assumption that the crucial role at the infancy development stage has never been implemented sufficiently and aligned together with policies and the strategies of the government. Recognition of the role of the CIO is what has been considered to be a reticence in terms of the significances as it may be plagued by huge turnover rates both in the public and private service sectors. Specifically in the public service sector, there are severe rates of turnover which has caused instability can be assumed that the role in the publi c sector which is seen to be still at the infancy stage in terms of its development has not been fully implemented as I is suppose to be so that it can match with the policies and strategies laid by the government. In this paper, the role of the CIO will be discussed, in a further note; a comparison will be made on how the private and public service sectors grant authorities to their CIO and the roles they play in their organization. A future expectations of the CIO will also be give in the paper concerning their roles and responsibilities of the public service sectors as they are experienced by the private service sector. The paper will finally conclude by giving useful CIO roles that are emerging in the public sector (Schubert, 2004). Role of the CIO Early in the 80s, the CIO was considered to be responsible for the senior execution of corporate information policies standards and controlling of management in the information resources. In this case the CIO was considered not only a s a technical expert but also a manager. The attributes of a CIO at the time was management, information technology specialist, management, political, communication skills, and organizational skills in order to have an understanding of how to go about in

Potatoes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Potatoes - Essay Example Its Latin name is Solanum tuberosum L. and is a perennial plant i.e. present at all seasons of the year. (Rhodes, 2009). In the genus Solanum, Petota comprises of around 190 wild tuber-bearing species, and are extensively spread in the Americas, from the South Western USA to Southern Chile and Argentina and from sea level to the highlands of the Andes Mountains (Visser et al., 2009). A universally accepted taxonomy does not exist for cultivated potatoes. The interested part of the potato crop plant is a tuber, the enlarged end of a stolon, or underground stem. Externally tuber appears as tan to purple color while; its flesh is normally white or light yellow, except for some purple Andrean potatoes. The tuber buds off externally that can sprout into new crops. These buds or eyes function like a fruit seeds which give rise to new plants (Rhodes, 2009). Cross breeding techniques between common potato varieties and wild potato varieties are used to produce crop plants with desirable traits such as broad spectrum resistances to pests and diseases, tolerances to frost and drought, high yielding and highly nutritious crops in adverse biotic and abiotic stimuli, high quality storage characteristics, easy processing etc (Visser et al., 2009). In addition to this, developed countries are also emphasizing on organically prepared and processed potato. The production of diverse and abundant food to sustain the demand of increasing population is the need of the day. The supply of abundant, cheapest, diverse and safest food becomes an immense challenge in developing world. In this regard, root and tuber crops can contribute significantly. The annual growth rates of potato production are increasing by 4.5 million tons per year (Visser et al., 2009). It tops the list in non-grain food commodity, while secures third position as an important food crop after wheat and rice (Visser et al., 2009). It has been reported that in 2007, 325 million

CIS Management Information System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CIS Management Information System - Assignment Example With nearly one percent of the kanban cards lost per day, the net result is that the inventory runs dry and the overall production efforts suffer or get delayed. Considering the fact that Danaher has acquired a number of small companies, the application of the information technology can really go a long way in helping the firm under consideration in enhancing its efficacy, so far as the objective of reducing its inventory levels is concerned. The application of information technology can help Danaher to purchase supplies from the overseas vendors by making the purchasing process more streamlined. The usage of electronic kanban system can do away with the fragilities and flaws of the manual approach. This will also allow the key employees in the procurement system to focus on the core tasks like discovering new sources and developing supplier relationships. E-kanban system will also improve and fasten the communication between Danaher and its suppliers. The introduction of bar codes and electronic scanners will do away with the old and cumbersome processes that were prone to grave errors and thus delays. This will also delegate the responsibility of verifying the order notifications to the suppliers. Thus the key staff will be left with ample time to concentrate on the supplier procurement goals. The application of the information systems has already reduced the non-productive time at Gurnee by 57 percent. This has also e nabled Danaher in sourcing smaller suppliers to take an advantage of better services at lower costs. However, the introduction of information systems makes it imperative for Danaher to effectively deal with the unprecedented challenges like technical glitches and employee resistance. Overall, the information systems are sure to help Danaher run leaner. Q2. Can Blockbuster stand up to Netfix Ans 2. When Blockbuster ventured into the video rental business in 1985, it primarily relied on its traditional mom-and-pop style stores that were simple enough to blend with the underdeveloped digital technology and humble consumer expectations of those days. The biggest blunder that Blockbuster made was to fail to keep a keen eye on the latest developments in the digital technology and information systems, despite having an obvious competitive advantage in the market, to the extent of being a virtual monopoly. With the advent of DVDs, the consumer were left with the option of buying their own movie DVDs at competitive prices without having any need to rent movies from any outside provider. In the meantime, Netfix, which happened to be a new player in the market took ample advantage of the recent developments in the digital technology and e-commerce and engineered its strategy accordingly. Thus Netfix succeeded in establishing a cost conscious virtual vending system, thereby relievi ng customers of the botheration of venturing out of their home s to seek entertainment. Obviously, Netfix enjoyed a booming growth and success. For Blockbuster, the onerous task of responding to the new competition was a complicated matter, in which it miserably failed. It failed to discern that Netfix's strategy was obviously being backed by astute e-commerce specialists, which was very streamlined and lean. In response, Blockbuster came out with its own internet

Chinese communication development reading response Essay

Chinese communication development reading response - Essay Example rs from the country side moving to industrial regions, which has made China one of the world’s premier ICT production hub and turned ICT manufacturing into China’s largest exporting sector. It is evident from the article that this growth in ICT has been driven by integration of transnational capital attracted to China by fiscal incentives and modern infrastructure in these industrial zones, which has encouraged the formation of joint ventures with private Chinese enterprises. However, the Chinese state has begun to face significant challenges in controlling these peasant workers, especially as the global economic crisis of 2008 led to labor resistance among the changing working class, which has turned to collective action that has raised awareness of labor rights (Hong & Wei, 2014). The authors conduct an in-depth exploration into how the export-processing regime in China has evolved since the market reforms of the late 70s, which has been specifically evidenced by the growth in manufacturing of information and communication technologies. Turing to media and telecommunication operations, which also underwent significant reforms as a result of the market reforms, it may be concluded from the author’s arguments that they have played a critical role in the creation of China’s commanding heights economy (Hong & Wei, 2014). This economy is characterized by the state maintaining control over the media’s ideological direction, while private capitalists take care of distribution and production operations. Indeed, whereas the export production sector in China was mainly driven by foreign, transnational capital, the Chinese state has maintained its control over the media and telecommunications sector. Moreover, although, as the authors note, the medi a and telecommunications sectors has been one of the most successful economic sectors in China’s dramatic economic growth, these sectors continue to pose the biggest risk of crisis for the Chinese state authorities

Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 5

Finance - Essay Example The financial services authority is formed by the agreement and sponsored by the members of UK financial services industry.   The Treasury assigns the FSA Board, consisting of a Chairman, 1 CEO, 3 M.D.’s, and 9 non-managerial administrators also together with 1 superior non-managerial member and the assistant Chairman. The Board of administrators is accountable for the policy creations while, the routine policies, employee management and routine decisions are executed by the non-managerial officers. As of current situation, the financial service corporations operational in United Kingdom are motivated to attain the progressively more grand revenues and growth objectives aligned with a milieu of elevated fiscal risks, regulated policies, acts and intensive market strain. The elevated demands of the retail consumer and hopes are budding in the countenance of rising private prosperity, more personal financial support of annuity and the healthcare and the yearning for ever more available and customary tailored fiscal products and services. As per the business cycle, the intense competition has clutched industrial margins as well as the corporations are enforced to trim down the expenses and emphasize on identifying the sources to enhance the eminence of client’s preference and services. The market progression in the UK is elevating the fiscal risks due to the introduction of more complex products. The Financial service authority has the official form of a business restricted by the agreement. FSA was integrated on the June 7, 1985 with title of â€Å"The Securities and Investments Board Ltd† (SIB) at the establishment of the UK’s â€Å"Chancellor of the Exchequer†, who is the singular affiliate of the corporation and assigned definite constitutional authoritarian powers to it under the UK’s legislation act â€Å"Financial Services Act 1986.† Post the succession monetary scandals in the 1990’s with consequential in the disintegration of the â€Å"Barings Bank†,