Violence in Our Schools Essay -- School Violence Essays

Violence in our Schools Children today are growing up in an increasingly violent atmosphere, both in society in general and in their schools. While there is no easy answer as to how to end this violence once and for all, we can look at some of the causes and take steps to contain that which we can. The main contributing factor in all recent school shootings has been the shooters’ feelings that they were bullied by and alienated from the rest of the children and were made to feel that they were not as good as their peers. Being targeted by the other children and having nowhere to turn to for help can cause a build up of more anger until, finally the alienated child is unable to take anymore. They struck out at their peers in what seems to them to be the most effective way, by eliminating them. Although several factors enter into school violence, the most obvious way of preventing violence is to eliminate these feelings of being outcast by one’s peers. If we want to put an end to school violence , we need to put an end to bullying behavior (Shore, 1996). Many instances of bullying behavior can be linked back to the climate in which a child was raised. Those who are raised in poverty or who have no good role models will frequently suffer due to the lack of examples of adults in productive roles. If the â€Å"coolest† guy in the neighborhood is a gang member, then his or her bullying behavior will be emulated by the children in the neighborhood, continuing the cycle of abuse. This pattern usually leads to other negative traits such as becoming easily provoked and developing an inability to solve problems effectively. When these traits are continued in the school system, they are compounded by peer-pressure and the lack of faculty support. The bullies soon learn that they are free to abuse whomever they wish, and although faculty and staff help when they can, there are simply not enough resources necessary to catch and prevent bullies from targeting their peers (Bennett-Johnson, June 2004 p199). One way that children are targeted is based on how he or she is treated by teachers and faculty. According to Andrea J. Cook in Columbine Author Speaks Out, those who are â€Å"just right† or are smart, attractive, and good at sports, are treated well by teachers, because they appear to be everything a teacher wants in a student. Those who are not â€Å"just right† are treated po... ...ents in their academic accomplishments. Recognizing successes of students and teachers and celebrating the positives brings back school pride and willingness to make a difference (Shore, 1996). Reference: Hernandez, Thomas J., Seem, Susan R. (April 2004), A Safe School Climate: A Systemic Approach and the School Counselor, Vol. 7, Issue 4, P 256, Retrieved from EBSCOhost 2/11/05 Shore, Rebecca Martin, (Jan. 1996), Curbing School Violence Through a Personal Approach. Greenhaven Press, Retrieved from Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, Jan. 27, 2005 Rabinowitz, Dorothy, (2002), Bullying is not a Valid Reason for School Shootings. School Shootings. Retrieved from Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, Feb. 5, 2005 Bennett-Johnson, Earnestine, (June 2004) The Root of School Violence: Causes and Recommendation for a Plan of Action. Vol. 38 Issue 2, p 199, Retrieved from EBSCOhost, Jan. 30, 2005 Cook, Andrea, (2004), Columbine Author Speaks Out. Reclaiming Children and Youth, Retrieved from ESBCOhost database. Feb. 5, 2005 Wright, Jeanne, (2000), The Chaotic Atmosphere of School. School Violence. Retrieved from Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, Jan. 27, 2001.

The Effects of The Television

The television is a two edged sword that has a lot of impact on our daily lives. It has caused some negative impact on human life. Since watching television is so attractive, people read less books or even do not read them at all, wasting time, and the level of communication with other people decrease with more time spent watching television.One impact of the television that it has replaced the importance of book reading in some societies that we live in today. People now prefer to sit lazily in front of the television and take what they need wither it was news, entertainment or education from the television rather than reading a book. This is due to the ease of access to these information and not having to work hard for what they need unlike the case of a book, where people need to find and lookup as well as research the information they need. But thanks to the television they can do that with a click of a button. Another negative impact of the television is the addiction and the ti me consuming that some people suffer from.For some people the television is a part of them, where they cannot be in their normal state without spending their time in front of the television. They just sit there for hours watching whatever is being given to them by the people behind the screen. In other severe cases the television becomes a true addiction and there are certain rehabilitations to help these people get rid of this bad habit. Last but not least, with all that time being spent watching television the social life of the person becomes smaller and the level of communication between the person and other people become negligible in some cases.The person becomes so attracted to the television that it becomes his/her lifestyle with nothing else they would care about more than the television. This negative impact of the television is the beginning of the addiction where it starts taking the person away from his daily life and make him/her a slave for the remote that they hold. In conclusion, the television has changed human life in many ways, but not positively.It has shown more cons than pros, and with those dangerous cons such as replacing the importance of books, spending hours of the individual's time and limiting the social life that a normal person needs, it can turn any individual from sane to insane within weeks of the addiction. In my opinion the television is a two edged sword like any other  device it has advantages and disadvantages. With moderate amounts of time the television is no danger but if it takes the majority of our time then it becomes an issue.

The First Day of School Essay

The first day of school is one of a child’s most significant moments of his or her life. Starting off kindergarten can be quite dreadful but a mother’s presence will reassure you that everything will be fine from the very start. In the story, â€Å"The First Day†, the author conveys the story of the mother going to great lengths to prepare her daughter for the start of school. Throughout the story, the author uses narrative techniques such as point of view, foreshadowing, and the main plot in order to convey the meaning of the short story that includes; love, pride and shame. The author uses first person point of view to describe the experiences she went through with her mother while enrolling for school. The narrator includes a series of flashbacks such as mentioning her father, who left them while she was young. This technique gives the readers access to the narrator’s perspective of the events and characters. She includes her thoughts, observations, and feelings about her mother, whom she is ashamed of due to the fact that she is illiterate. The purpose of foreshadowing is to warn or indicate readers of what is to come later in the story. In this case, the story begins with â€Å"In an otherwise unremarkable September morning, long before I learned to be ashamed of my mother, she takes my hand†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The narrator’s shame towards her mother is prevalent when she mentions â€Å"learned to be ashamed of my mother†. This indicates that the memory she is looking back on is not a joyful one. Furthermore in the story, the author makes numerous mentions about the mother’s lack of education by indicating her dialogue. This includes â€Å"If I’da wanted her someplace else, I’da took her there† or â€Å"Would ifou help me with this form? That is, if you don’t mind.† This technique made it obvious to the readers that there is something wrong with the mother. Lastly, the main plot is the most significant technique the author uses to make this short story compelling. It begins with memories of her past, to imagery about her clothing and perfume to introducing the main event: enrolling for Kindergarten. In then furthers to when she could not enroll to  Seaton Elementary School due to her current address. It led to her mother enrolling her to a different school where the climax is revealed that her mother could not fill out the paper work because she did not know how to read nor write. The conclusion came to an end when the daughter found out about her mother’s lack of education and how she realized her mother’s only dream is for her is to go to school and not become like her. The impact of the mother’s only dream for daughter to be able to go to school became the most important point of the story. The narrative techniques the author used showcased the mother’s desperate yearning for a better life for her daughter than the life she endured. It provokes feelings of self-love, pride and shame that unravels throughout the whole story.

Procurement process in small or Micro Enterprises. Essay

1. Introduction This assignment entails the information of procurement processes and the comparison of three different organizations that we have chosen – the Minimart, Online shop and Pet item industries. Although they are all micro organisations and retailers in the supply chain, they encompass individual requirements and selection criteria of their procurement processes. In this assignment, we will identify what are the similarities and differences in their Procurement-to-Pay process, their ‘What if† risk factors and the mitigation approach in overcoming the risks. 2. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ORGANISATIONS The three micro organisations selected are namely the Mini-mart, Online Apparel Shop and the Pet Shop. Firstly, the mini-mart act as a â€Å"convenient store† located around housing estates. It takes advantage of the proximity and locality and targets the morning rush hour crowd such as the students and working adults. The mini-mart offers products like canned food, drinks,  tidbits, newspapers, ready-to-go foods like packed rice, finger food and desserts. As the mini-mart deals with highly perishable goods, the procurement procedure will be special to the industry, as they have limited shelf lives. Next, a recent trend in the fashion industry is the online shop. The online shop sells apparels and accessories that the owner source from around the world leeching on bulk discounts. The online shop targets female consumers that enjoy the convenience of online shopping. Lastly, the pet shop sells pets and their related items such as cages, food and treats, grooming kits and toys. The main consumers will be the people who are looking for pets and existing pet owners who will need to purchase the pet’s necessities frequently. 3. POSITION OF ORGANISATIONS AND TWO MAJOR PRODUCTS IDENTIFIED All three organisations act as retailers where consumers purchase products from them directly. They directly import the products themselves from overseas or purchase from local wholesalers who import them in bulk. The focus for these three micro organisations chosen in their procurement process will be on the strategies that they make due to the limited space operating in Singapore. In addition, the mini-mart and pet shop have limited shelf life for some of the products that they carry. The two major products we identified for minimart are the newspapers and the ready-packed food. As mentioned, the consumers are mainly working adults and students that patronize during rush hour. Items like local newspapers and ready-packed food are in high demand. The shelf life of these products are short, thus once unsold will deem the newspaper obsolete and food stale. Next, the two major products for the online shop are clothing and accessories. The online shop needs to bring in new apparels constantly. They need to catch up with the growing demands and changing taste of the customers. A factor that contributes to these is the seasonal fashion that changes every time. Thus, seasonal demand should be included into forecasting for inventories as this would keep the company competitive. Finally, pet item consumers would mainly look forward to daily requirement such as pet canned foods and grooming products. They are two major products that petshop need to constantly keep them in sufficient amount of inventory required when they affect the sale rates. As mentioned earlier, they are imported overseas. 4. PROCURE TO PAY PROCESS COMPARISON Appendix A The three organisations that we have chose have all followed this Procure to Pay process, however they have their differences in determining these processes. For forecasting, the online shop and the pet shop has less frequent level of forecasting their requirements due to its irregularity sales of goods which depends on seasonal demand. However, the mini-mart actually requires daily forecasting and is more volatile in their forecast. The shopkeeper take into considerations like public and school holidays before he actually consider how much to procure for the day worth of food and newspapers to sell. For example, during weekends in the morning, crowds tend to be lesser and thus, lower in demand. For the clarification/requisition and supplier selection process, the online shop had done their clarifications virtually through online e-mails and phone calls as most of their suppliers are all overseas. The mini-mart and the pet shop actually do face-to-face meet up with suppliers to look at the real products, whether they can match their requirements before confirming the order and delivery. The approval and contract process is quite similar for both the mini-mart and the pet shop as it is done locally. After identifying a supplier, they will send purchase order according to demand. The online shop process is slightly different as the suppliers are mainly from overseas. Once the proprietor has identified their supplier, she will travel to the country to visit the supplier to determine the product’s quality, and to establish a rapport with the supplier before giving the approval. After discussing with these three organisations, we have discovered that price is one of the key factors on how these three organisations measures the performance of their suppliers. They will not want to see a sudden increase of their cost of products. However, there is a difference in their selection criteria. The mini-mart factors in the timeliness of goods, the petshop factors in the brand of products that consumers prefer, and the online shop focuses in the design, quality and bulk purchase discounts. 5. SUPPLIER IDENTIFICATION AND SELECTION The similarity in requirement for selecting suppliers is the timely delivery. All three organisations, especially the mini-mart requires punctual delivery of newspapers and ready-packed food daily. They rely on the supplier’s punctuality to stock up right inventories to make items available at the right time and place for consumers. With the Fedex Strategic sourcing process (Annex B), we are able to show their differences in identification and selection of suppliers. Minimart Online shop Pet Shop Profile the Sourcing Group – Requires volatile changes of good supplies depending on the daily requirement. Thus, while setting the profile, the owner will prioritise familiarity and reliability with the supplier. – Requires volume discount. – Timely delivery affects forecast for seasonal demands and thus, will affect their sales. – Requires volumes discounts for pets related item. – Requires credibility and reputation of the supplier. Select Sourcing Strategy – Has no bargaining power over the products from the current suppliers. – Have little alternatives over suppliers as suppliers are niche and limited. – Has bargaining power when ordering goods in bulk. – An alternative way when current supplier is unable to meet the needs, online shop owners in Singapore can go for overseas hunts to look for direct suppliers instead of normal wholesalers in Singapore. For example, Bangkok is one of neighbouring countries who is the direct supplier for apparels sold locally. – Has bargaining power due to bulk purchase ability and due to the large supplier base, it is easy to find alternative sources that can provide similar/better services. Generate Supplier Portfolio – Has only one source for getting the newspapers due to the limited publisher in Singapore. – However, for the food supplies, the owner will look into  the value added services such as packaging of the food items. This helps to save the time of re-packaging and selling to the customers. – Every piece of apparel is packed neatly in packaging and owners do not have to re-package themselves again. They are also delivered to owner’s doorstep from overseas. This adds value to the supplier’s service. – Selects and identify suppliers with no value added capabilities. However, main selection criteria are bulk discount and price. Select implementation path – Very little adjustment to be done on the sourcing due to the basic business model. – Many online shops sells similar items so they look for suppliers who can provide self-manufacture services and also bulk discounts. For example, suppliers follow designs as given from online shop’s purchase order. – Increase bulk discount criteria to shrink the list qualified supplier. Major product like canned foods can be stored longer, thus, storage will not pose as a problem. Negotiate and select suppliers – Due to the only existing publisher in Singapore, negotiating power is very limited. However, for the food supplies, reduction of price and efficiency is viable with increase in order quantity. – Base on shortlisted suppliers, they will look into the one who can compromise the most and satisfy their requirements. – With the sourcing strategy established, they will try to bargain for more bulk discount with the suppliers. Operationalize supplier integration – Link their suppliers as a part of their operating process as timeliness is an issue for sales of goods for the mini-mart. – Long-term collaboration ensures quality and efficiency when there is mutual trust. – Will establish relationship with the supplier and also promise loyalty if the supplier maintains their quality service and discounts. However, they do not link the suppliers to their key processes. Benchmark the supply market – Mini-marts tend to prioritise in bulk discounts and timely delivery in selection of suppliers. – By comparing selected suppliers, they will narrow  down the suppliers who can provide the most efficient services and bulk discounts. – Does market comparison with other pet shops and also suppliers. They look out for cheaper suppliers and latest pet products. 6. STRESS TESTING AND RISKS MITIGATION APPROACHES 6.1 Four categories of risks identified in each organization A) Minimart Supplier-Related Customer-Related Risk Mitigation Approach Disruptions – Supplier who delivers ready-to-go food abruptly stops their supply. – Excess inventory due to forecast error, seasonal demand, wastage in food. – Lose potential consumers who prefer food produce by original supplier. – Sudden increase or decrease in demand. – Acquire alternate source of supplier. – Proper forecast to keep the right inventory level required. Delays – Traffic jam delays the delivery of morning orders. – Supplier delivers to wrong address. – Miss and disappoints the morning crowds. – Delay in displaying all the ready-food to sell. – Increase responsiveness of Supplier. – Look for wholesaler who can supply last minute. Procurement – Supplier is forced to increase the price of raw materials. – Increase in Transport costs. – Force to increase price due the spike of cost of goods or transport cost. – Having a redundant pool of suppliers to benchmark. Systems – Supplier’s order tracking system breaks down. -Suppliers food processing machine breakdown – Telephone line break down and customers cannot order via phone. – Increase flexibility in other means of contact. For example, e-mails, mobile phones, telecommunicating for urgent orders. – Alternate source of supplier. For the Minimart, we have identified two key mitigation strategies to acquire alternate/redundant source of suppliers and increase responsiveness. Acquiring redundant suppliers helps to reduce disruptions, procurement and inventory risk. However, as we discuss further, the mini-mart might face the risk that alternate supplier capacity might not be sufficient to meet their needs. This will in turn, pose as a risk to their inventory. To reduce the risk of delay, we have proposed to increase the responsiveness of the supplier due to short life cycle of food products. It also helps to reduce both forecast and inventory risk. B) Online shops Supplier-Related Customer- Related Risk Mitigation Approach Disruptions – Natural disasters like haze, tsunami happen and cause shipment delay. – Sudden shortage production of cotton fabric and raw material for making apparels. – Excess inventory due to wrong stock count. – Demand increases. – Increase in prices when demand is high and low in productivity. – Have alternate redundant source of suppliers to rely on. – Increasing inventory level. – Better forecast inventory due to seasonal demands. Delays – Stock delays that resulted from shortage of important raw material e.g. fabric etc. – Distribution takes longer when delay from shipping companies. – Customer order fulfillment gets delayed – Stocking up more predictable and lower cost product. – Look for direct alternate suppliers overseas, shortens waiting time for shipping and save cost. Procurement – Increase in production costs from supplier due to shortage in raw materials or labors. – Shipping costs increases that was incurred from transportation companies. – Need to increase selling price while unable to reduce waiting time required, or even higher waiting forecast. – Customer orders gets mixed up and resulted in poor customer service. – Acquire redundant suppliers for benchmark. – Increasing responsiveness approach to meet customer demand. Systems – System breakdown at overseas supplier side. – Online shopping website breakdown locally and technical repair takes some time – Website gets infected and not able to receive customers order. – Increase inventory level to mitigate supplier system risk. – Increase in flexibility of point of contact. For Online shop, the main focus was to get supplies ready when needed. Having alternate suppliers is necessary when there is delay or failure in the potential supplier. Accurate forecast is important when consumer demand is different every season. Leftover items from excess inventory could have difficulty in meeting buyers and cause wastage. C) Pet Shop Supplier-Related Customer- Related Risk Mitigation Approach Disruptions – Local supplier has stopped supplying a hot selling product. – Health production examined a major pet canned food product contains chemical that is not suitable for consumption. – Consumers forced to go for other alternative supplies. – Retailers forced to absorb losses for existing inventories. – Increase in inventory. – Have redundant suppliers. Delays – Supplier delay delivery of promotional item by a day. – Supplier deliver wrong type of items and causes re-delivery delays. – Inadequate supplies to meet expected demand. – Severe shortage on particular items affected. – Increase in inventory level. Procurement – Supplier refuses the bulk discount of a certain product due to drop in purchasing volume. – Supplier increase in price when production cannot catch up with demand. – Forced to increase price due to lesser sales of a product. – Consumer still enjoys usual selling rates due to competitiveness at retailer side. – Having redundant supplier so that they can benchmark their suppliers to get the best competitive price. Systems – E-order system broke down. – Overseas supplier lose track of all orders due to system breakdown – Online web page is down and customers are not able to get information and order online. – Increase flexibility in having other source of communication like telephone or backup copy of customer’s orders. As for the pet shop, we concluded that to gain competitiveness in pricing, they require the suppliers to issue bulk discount. Thus, they will have a few redundant suppliers to allow them to manipulate the prices between the suppliers, giving them a lower price. In doing so, it also mitigates on problems like disruption and delays as if any of the suppliers will fail on such a secondary will take the job mitigating these issues. We must understand that when they engage any supplier, they will stock in more than enough stock setting buffer and leeching on the bulk discount. 6.2 Risks Mitigation For the above different categories of risk, there are a few similar mitigation strategies for each risk for the three organizations studied. For the risk of disruption, the key strategy for the organizations is to acquire alternative/redundant suppliers. This strategy will help to mitigate the risk of sudden stoppage of supplies. Also, it helps to reduce the procurement and delay risk. However, we have also concluded that as these organisations are retailers, which are subjected to the supplier capacity to  provide the inventory needed. As such, if disruption from supplier were to happen, the organisations might face inventory risk. Coming to risk of delay, the pet shop and online shop are able to eliminate this risk by increasing inventory level as canned food and clothes can be stored. This will also help to lower disruptions and procurement risks to the organisation. However, for the mini-mart, the approach is different due to the short life cycle of food products and the timely delivery requirement due to daily demand. As such, it requires an increase in the responsiveness of the suppliers to ensure quality of products. For risk of procurement, we are able to conclude that all three organisations require having redundant suppliers. Mostly, for these organisations faces risk in an increase of the cost of goods and transportation cost. As such, they require different suppliers so that they are able to benchmark their suppliers against others to get an overall competitive edge in cost saving. Lastly, for the risk of system, the organisations are facing mostly on issues like purchasing system breakdown or the organization system failure. Thus, they need to increase their flexibility in having other source of communication like telephone, mobile phones or backup copy of their own orders. 7. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the above analysis on the three organisations helps us better understand the procurement process and the importance of considering such processes when it comes to reducing costs, risks and selection of suppliers. It is also concluded that all the three organisations rely in a way or another procurement strategies to ensure normal business function in serving targeted consumer demands, making them available in the right time, right place and location. In addition, the suppliers and the three organisation’s relationship in the existing market play an important role in terms that affects the delivery to end consumers. Also, we have concluded that for micro organisations, the three most important mitigation strategies is in having redundant suppliers, and keeping and forecasting the right inventory level and having flexibility in their organisations. This will help in the organisations smooth operating process. 8. Reference 1. Chopra, S., Shodhi, M.S. (2004). Managing Risks to avoid Supply-Chain Breakdown MIT Sloan Management Review, 46, 1. 2. Monczka, R., Trent, R., and Handfield, R. (2005). Purchasing and Supply Chain Management, Thomson-South-Western, Third/Fourth Edition 3. Interview: Junction 168 Minimart – Mr. Tan, C.T. (2013) – Understanding the Organisation and its Procurement processes. 4. Interview: Kwong Fatt Pet Centre – Mr. Wong, K.F. (2013) – Understanding the Organisation and its Procurement processes.

Cooling fan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Cooling fan - Research Paper Example This research is being carried out to evaluate and present a process of creating new products to be sold by an enterprise or business to its customers. The process of product design aims at effective and efficient generation of ideas through processes, which lead to new products. The process of product design evaluates and conceptualizes ideas, making them tangible via a systematic approach. The process entails a combination of science, technology, and art to create three dimensional goods. In the recent past, the evolvement of digital tools, facilitate communication between designer, analysis of ideas, and their visualization, thus empowering the dynamism of the process. Educationalist should not confuse product design with industrial design. Industrial design entails the artistic process, whose usability and form associates with craft design in mass production. In the recent past, it is evident that the products are getting complex, as the data turns to be expansive. This is also a challenge facing the engineering industry as a result of the overall growth. Designs suggested by top products designers and engineers have come to lose market share. All in all, teams of engineers are implementing other strategies to cope with the prevailing situations, such as teaming up to make a product design project. The ideas are taking effect, and ides are getting to admirable levels by teams from different environment merging up to design a new product. As designers and engineers claim that they leap cost benefits from globalization of product design, the process will get more complex that before as designers are adopting new design strategies. Among other significant external factors affecting the process of product design are competition, business environment, and technological dynamisms. All in all, some of these factors enhance creativity and innovations as individuals’ engineers will aim at giving the best of their capability. An external factor such as technol ogy is challenging design processes as it requires the designers to keep track with its changes. This aspect calls for keenness and caution in identifying the prevailing demands in the global market (Takashi, 2009). A fan is a crucial simple machine used in different spheres of life, which include homes, vehicles, and machines among others. The general design of a fan entails blades of vanes which act on a fluid. In most cases, he fluid is air; it is at times designed in a housing case or the air. The dictation of such as aspects depends on the functionalities of the fan. The design of the case aims at directing the flow of air to prevent damages. An electric motor powers ordinary fans; for complex fans, solar energy, hydraulic motors, and internal combustion engines suit the purpose. The general design of a fan has never changed since 1890. However, slight changes occur when designing fans to serve various needs (Takashi, 2009). The need of integrated product raised in the beginnin g of the last two decades. This keeps designers awake so as to be up-to-date with the demands of the customers; however, the extent of the dynamism of a product depends on the functionalities of the individual product. Items such as machinery, clothing, and electronics are dynamic because the users want to identify themselves with monopoly and uniqueness. However, the production industry of fans is different as it the structure of the fun is easy, unlike that of other components. From different market research, we can conclude that the market needs of for the fan constricts to its functionalities other

Business Function Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business Function - Essay Example In the second category, the enterprise is not registered with the relevant authority as a business. It comprises two types of ventures: This is the oldest, most common, and most basic business type. As the name suggests, this type of enterprise is owned and managed by one person, who is in charge of all operations conducted on behalf of the business. Since it is the easiest to start, it manifests in form of small retailers and utilities like beauty services, photographers, repairs and maintenance, transport, cleaning, etc (Akdeniz, 2013:16). This type of business is inexpensive to start and, as a result, is often supported by the founder’s savings until growth necessitates external funding. In its simplest form, a partnership resembles a sole trader, with the only difference occurring in the sharing of ownership (Gevurtz, 2014:21). All partnerships should have partnership agreements that explain the rights and responsibilities of the various partners involved. In light of this, there are different types of partners, who are all covered by the partnership agreement. For example, there may be dormant, â€Å"sleeping,† or quasi partners, who own a share of the enterprise but are not actively involved in its management (Cornell, 2013:36). Partnerships have unlimited liability, and are common in careers like accountancy, dentistry, medical practice, law, etc. Starting in 2001, there has been a new type of partnership known as a limited liability partnership. This is like a hybrid of a partnership and a limited company, since it has limited liability (like all limited companies) but must be owned by not less than two members (making it a partnership). Limited liability partnerships, also known as LLPs, are formed to aid professional partnerships among doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, and others, who are barred from forming limited companies because of constraints imposed by their professional

Enterprise resource planning Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Enterprise resource planning - Literature review Example Taking into account all the necessary precautions described in this review, readers can develop an accurate and effective ability to choose the correct ERP to fulfil their company’s needs. Enterprise Resource Planning The development of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages has evolved the software market in the most valuable segments of modern organizations. They have transformed over the past decade, every aspect of organisational process including sales, marketing, manufacturing and staffing. The first ERP systems that emerged were very expensive for small and medium companies and also required complex processes and maintenance to incorporate them. The detrimental effect that ERPs possess over the entire organization is deemed important for the development and prosperity of a business (Livermore & Ragowsky, 2002). As, such a combination of human and technical expertise is required in order to make a correct selection of vendor, implement the system accordingly and p rovide adequate support and maintenance. The instances of companies going bankrupt due to implement failure of an ERP system include prestigious firms, such as Mobil Europe, Nike, Reebok and Hershey. The continuous failures of the ERP system have raised the question of their viability and the risks involved with incorporating such practices (Chen, 2001). Based on available literature and real-life examples, this review will analyse the tasks needed in order to choose the correct ERP system, the implications that need to be considered, important procedures needed for implementation and future directions for research are proposed. History of ERP The predecessors of modern ERPs were made in the 1960’s with the manufacturing of early Material Requirements Planning (MRP) software by the partnership of J.I. Case with IBM.. However these solutions were big and expensive because they required a large technical staff to support the mainframe computers. In 1970’s the developme nt of faster and higher capacity storage enabled the development of a more integrated business information system. The introduction of COPICS concepts for IBM computers and subsequent birth of software companies such as SAP (Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung) and Oracle among others, lead to increased technological advancements in MRPs. Its functions included scheduling and releasing manufacturing work orders and purchase orders (Chen, 2001). The MRP II system was created in the early 1980’s by J.D Edwards was later named manufacturing resource planning rather than its original acronym and adopted the MRP-II term to conjoin with the newer capabilities, such as integrating primary functions (production, marketing and finance) and personnel and engineering to improve the efficacy of the enterprise. During the late 80’s the update of CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) framework offered a strategy to help integrate information in a consistent manner across the e nterprise, which was the key to the migrating path between MRP and ERP systems (Chung & Snyder, 2000). The term enterprise resource planning (ERP) was named in the early 1990s by the Gartner Group and included certain criteria to asses the extent of integration across many functional areas such as production from raw materials to work-in-process (WIP) to finished goods inventory (FGI), shipping and receiving