Business Sustainability Of A Competitive Supply Chain...

1.Introduction There is an increasing focus towards business sustainability in the present times. Companies are expected to operate in a manner that they do not harm the environment or impact stakeholders in negatively (Daft, 2008). Unethical and unsustainable practices are condemned with stakeholders particularly the consumers, governments and pressure groups openly pressurizing companies to change their practices and accept responsibility for their actions (Ferrell, Fraedrich Ferrell, 2011). For multinational corporations, attaining sustainability within their supply chains is important. Even though supply chain sustainability is an emerging concept, large corporations are showing interest towards developing sustainable supply chain.†¦show more content†¦The term fast food simply means selling food and drinks that need to be consumed immediately (Alireza et al, 2014). Supply chain sustainability is a phenomenon which is expected to be incorporated within every company particular those t hat have supply chains extending globally. Smith (2008) has reported that when fast food supply chains are discussed in context of sustainability, researchers have agreed upon certain factors which can make fast food industry’s supply chain sustainable. These include transparency, localization, and safety, reducing energy consumption and efficiently managing resources. It has been observed that supply chains of fast food and particularly the topic of sustainability within this industry has not been studied in detail. Nevertheless, Aarnio Hamalainen (2008) have proposed that a typical supply chain of fast food companies involves transfer of materials and information between different players that are involved in producing fast food products such as wholesalers, franchised chains, restaurants and takeaways. Since

Edward Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism...

Bob Edwards’ Edward Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism is a short biography about the man that established and revolutionized broadcast journalism. Bob Edwards has ample experience in broadcast journalism as a radio news and talk show host for over 30 years (Biography.com). It is no surprise that Edwards takes a particular interest in writing about Edward Murrow since he certainly influenced Edwards’ career in radio news. While he conducted most of his research through secondary sources, he relied heavily on books by close co-workers of Murrow. With that said, Edward Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism is a great streamlined tale of Murrow’s journey from a logger, to an education advocate, to broadcast journalism. As†¦show more content†¦He is portrayed as just another broadcaster throughout the early coverage of European affairs and does not stand out as a star until his broadcasts from London. He did essentially shape the way news programs report and the simple inclusion of much of his early career proves this easily. The book is most likely geared towards history and media enthusiasts. It is great for its intended audience, but lacks exposition of much else other than his education and media careers. Edwards says that because â€Å"With the focus strictly on Ed Murrow’s innovations in radio and TV, large chunks of his life had to be omitted† (9). As such, there is a lot of information missing for somebody that is extremely interested in Murrow’s life outside of work. This does help to maintain a concise summary of his life in the industry without diluting the book with trivial facts about his life. For this reason, I think the appeal of this book is much more widespread than just history or media buffs since it is a quick but extremely informative read. His organization and style makes the book pretty easy to follow. The only issues with readability are in the chapters during and following the World War II coverage where he jumps from Murrow to a brief history of other â€Å"Murrow Boys† where he will fast forward in the personality’s life and then digress back to Murrow from chapter 3 to 6. While the information is

The Negative Effects the Media Has on the Pit Bull Breed Free Essays

The Negative Effects The Media Has On The Pit Bull Breed Did you know that for over one hundred years the Pit Bull was called the â€Å"Nanny Dog† by Americans, and was the breed that symbolized our country? One of the most famous Pit Bulls was Petey from The Little Rascals. For generations people got a Pit Bull to keep their children safe because these dogs were the most trustworthy of any breed with children and adults. Now the Nanny Dog is being persecuted by the media, and being called the hellion breed that frightens people. We will write a custom essay sample on The Negative Effects the Media Has on the Pit Bull Breed or any similar topic only for you Order Now Even though plenty of other dogs bite people, they only publish stories about Pit Bulls. Poodle bites man† is not a very eye catching headline. The media publicizes crazy myths, and they label any dog a Pit Bull even if it is not. The media also zeros in on the specifically negative and extreme incidents; they often do not provide the circumstance surrounding the incidents, and also neglect to mention important statistical information and comparisons to other similar incidents. Being a Pit Bull owner, and having many friends who own them as well, I know that the media is incorrect in their portrayal of the Pit Bull. They are the most loving and gentle breed I have ever known. The media had labeled certain dog breeds as bad breeds for a long time. The Pit Bull is just the most recent victim of the media’s criticism. Before Pit Bulls it was the Rottweiler, before the Rottweiler it was Dobermans, and before Dobermans it was German Shepherds. Each breeds being deemed as vicious and unpredictable to be around people. Every time there was uproar of the public for bans and restrictions on owning them. It is painfully ironic that the media has turned on the breed once the symbol of our country and our national babysitter. In temperance tests (the equivalent of how many times your kid can poke your dog in the eye before it bites him) of all breeds the most tolerant was the Golden Retriever. The second most tolerant was the Pit Bull. I am sure anyone has heard of the Pit Bulls locking jaw, this is a myth. Pit Bulls jaws do not lock; in fact they do not even have the most powerful bite of dog breeds. Pit Bulls are not human aggressive, in fact studies have shown that Pit Bull puppies prefer human company to their mother’s two weeks earlier than any other breed. Also, another common myth is that they don’t feel pain. They feel just as much pain as any other breed. These are the myths that the media is drilling into the public’s heads. Now this tolerant, patient, and gentle breed of dog is embarrassingly being portrayed as the most dangerous. Now sadly 6,000 Pit Bulls are put to death every day, by far the highest number of any breed to be euthanized. Mistaken identity is a huge problem in the media nowadays as well. There is countless times where headlines claimed that a Pit Bull had done wrong and then later on find out it was not a Pit Bull at all, or they just say Pit Bull because the dog resembled one. And even if the media corrects themselves the damage had already been done, people already have the image of the Pit Bull in their mind doing wrong. For example, a story from October, 2007 has as a headline â€Å"Lynn teacher mauled by Pit Bull. † Then the story goes on to identify the dog as a Lab/Rottweiler mix. The term Pit Bull should never have been used. Another story March, 2006 headline â€Å"Pit Bull attacks 12 year old. † However the picture shown of the captured dog is not a Pit Bull, and does not even appear to be a Pit Bull mix. After complaints to the news station regarding the mistaken identity and the use of the term Pit Bull, instead of correcting their mistake, they took down the photo and just left the story up written the same way. These are just a few examples of hundreds of falsely identified Pit Bull stories. Now there may well be some stories where a Pit Bull or Pit Bull mix was correctly identified, but many times they do not mention the circumstances that the attack happened, or the statistical comparison to any other breed of dog attacks. The Humane Society of the United States says that it is imperative that the dog population the community be understood. To simply pull numbers of attacks does not accurately represent the breed. For example, by reviewing a study that states there have been five attacks by Standard Poodles in a community and ten attacks from Pit Bulls in the same community, it would appear that Pit Bulls are more dangerous. However, if you look at the dog population in that community and find there are 50 Standard Poodles and 500 Pit Bulls, then statistically the Pit Bull would be the safer breed. The media turning them into this bad vicious dog is making the wrong people want to own them. Drug dealers and felons are seeing them as protection dogs, or using them to make some cash by breeding. As a result of over breeding, many communities have much more Pit Bull and Pit Bull mixes than any other dogs. With the over population of the breed, people’s fear of them, and breed restrictions many of these dogs end up in shelters or euthanized. On the positive side recently I have seen some great stories about Pit bulls. Many people re starting to get educated that this breed is no more dangerous than any other dog. A story from May 9th of 2012 headlines â€Å"Hero Pit Bull saves owner from train tracks. † This amazing story goes on to explain how the woman fell unconscious on the tracks and Lilly, the eight year old Pit Bull, managed to drag her out of harm’s way. Risking her own life Lilly was badly hurt by being struck by the train. After needing her leg amputa ted, many surgeries and physical therapy she is still just as happy as ever. The Pit Bull can go through so many traumas and still bounce back and be just as loving as ever. Pit Bulls that have been used as fighting dogs and bait dogs get adopted and act like none of it ever happened. Though the media has already caused so much damage to the judgment of the Pit Bull breed, I am hopeful that people will wake up and realize these dogs are one of the best companions you could ever have. My Pit Bull wants nothing more than to be loved; he is an 80 pound baby who sleeps under the covers in my bed. Maybe the Pit Bull will one day be known as the symbol of America, and the â€Å"Nanny Dog† again. How to cite The Negative Effects the Media Has on the Pit Bull Breed, Papers

Supply Chain Performance Evaluation Models †Free Samples to Samples

Question: Discuss about the Supply Chain Performance Evaluation Models. Answer: Introduction: The objective of this paper is to discuss the external analysis of Volkswagen in the five-year window of 2012 to 22017 (current). The external analysis is done with two models. One is PESTLE analysis model and the second one is Competitor Analysis model. The interesting thing for Volkswagen is that there was a major emission scandal for VW in USA in 2016 and post that the external conditions and impact has changed for the brand. Therefore, it would make sense to apply the PESTLE and Competitor model in two separate windows of 2012 to 2016 and 2016 to present. The analysis with these two models for the two windows can be discussed as: PESTLE analysis for 2012 2016 The impact of each of the force can be highlighted as: Force Impact Political Average or Positive as government supports automobile organizations due to employment opportunities Economical Positive as people across the world want to invest in cars and automobiles Social Positive as people wants to have a good life with organizations in the city Technological Positive as Information Technology has made the life easy for organizations Environmental Negative due to the effect of pollution Legal Average/ Moderate The political factors are one of the most important external elements for any automobile client. In Australia, the political factors are average or positive for the organizations in the automobile sector. The organizations are under the tremendous pressure to cut down the pollution and focus on sustainable and green sources of energy (Sierzchula, Bakker, 2014). The economic factors are the one that would directly impact the purchasing funnel of the cars within the market. The social factors are also positive for the organizations in the automobile sector. There was a time when cars and automobile were considered as the luxury product. However, with time this positioning has changed and today car is considered as a necessity product for Australian families. The advancements of Internet have been proven beneficial for the organizations in the automobile sector. Therefore, it can be said that the technological factors are positive for the operations of Volkswagen (Xu Mathiyazhagan, 20 13). In fact, it is expected that the technology factors would further improve with the advancements of technology and evolution of Internet. The legal factors are moderate for the organizations in the automobile sector. The environmental factors are one such factor that is not positive for the organizations in the automobile sector. PESTLE analysis for 2016 current The impact of each of the force can be highlighted as: Force Impact Political Negative Economical Positive Social Negative Technological Positive Environmental Negative Legal Negative The reason for so many forces turned negative was the emission scandal. It can be said that this scandal hit the global business of Volkswagen pretty hard. The VW cars create a lot of pollution and environmentalists are against this pollution. It is expected that the environmentalists challenges would remain tough for the organizations in the automobile sector. There are number of legal guidelines and laws that the organizations must adhere to. It is expected that the legal factors would remain complex, as country would continue to have new legal guidelines to govern the operations of organizations within the country (Kohler Schade, 2013). In the current market scenario, economic factors appear to be positive. There has been an increase in the disposable income of consumers and it has improved the economic factors. Competitor Analysis Model The Michael Porter model of competitor analysis can be discussed as: Force Impact The threat of new entry Low to Average The power of buyers High The power of suppliers Average/ Moderate The threat of substitutes Average/ Moderate Competitive Rivalry Very High Global Competitor Ranking: 2012 2016 The competition is really high in the market and it is not easy for new players to enter the market. Volkswagen was one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. The ranking of global automobile markets till 2016 can be shown as: Global Rank Organization 1 Volkswagen 2 Toyota 3 Ford At the same time, company faces tough competition from other players like Tesla (that is disrupting the industry), Maruti Tata (local players in Indian market), Suzuki, etc. Global Competitor Ranking: 2016 Current After the emission scandal a dip was observed in the ranking of VW as Toyota overpower Volkswagen. The global ranking after 2017 can be shown as: Global Competitor Ranking: 2012 2016 Global Rank Organization 1 Toyota 2 Volkswagen 3 Ford References Estampe, D., Lamouri, S., Paris, J. L., Brahim-Djelloul, S. (2013). A framework for analysing supply chain performance evaluation models.International Journal of Production Economics,142(2), 247-258. Kohler, J., Schade, W., Leduc, G., Wiesenthal, T., Schade, B., Espinoza, L. T. (2013). Leaving fossil fuels behind? An innovation system analysis of low carbon cars.Journal of Cleaner Production,48, 176-186. Sierzchula, W., Bakker, S., Maat, K., van Wee, B. (2014). The influence of financial incentives and other socio-economic factors on electric vehicle adoption.Energy Policy,68, 183-194. Xu, L., Mathiyazhagan, K., Govindan, K., Haq, A. N., Ramachandran, N. V., Ashokkumar, A. (2013). Multiple comparative studies of green supply chain management: pressures analysis.Resources, Conservation and Recycling,78, 26-35.