Policing Function Free Essays

Policing Function University of Phoenix CJ/394 †Criminal Organizations SC11BCJ06 February thirteenth, 2013 Policing Law authorization in the United States is a one of a kind segment of the criminal equity framework. Cops are believed to be the watchmen of the door; nonetheless, there are various degrees of law requirement that police urban areas, provinces, and states. Law implementation is separated into various organizations. We will compose a custom paper test on Policing Function or on the other hand any comparative subject just for you Request Now As indicated by Grant and Terry (2008, p. 3-15) four degrees of law implementation exist in the United States; Most urban communities and regions have their own metropolitan and region law authorization offices which incorporate city police and sheriff offices, for example, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Each state has its degree of law requirement too; case of state law implementation organizations incorporate the California Highway Patrol and the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Warden. On the government level organizations, for example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are responsible for all bureaucratic ward. Quickly, this report will diagram the different viewpoints of policing as they apply to the different organizations of law requirement in the United States. Since the origin of the United States normal laws, rules, and guidelines have been instituted to protect society; this report will distinguish and plot potential changes in current laws. What's more, the effect of potential changes as they apply to policing will be underlined. Levels of Policing Municipal and County As referenced before, law requirement in the United States is separated to various levels and classes. As indicated by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (2013), United States neighborhood law implementation makes up 66% of 18,000 law authorization organizations. The principal level of policing comprise of the metropolitan and area law implementation offices. The previously mentioned degree of law requirement is most of policing in the United States. Neighborhood and area law requirement authorities are by a wide margin the most relied upon office in the public eye all through the United States. Metropolitan law requirement organizations are frequently observed watching neighborhoods, reacting to calls for administration or implementing transit regulations. As indicated by Grant and Terry (2008, p. 13), â€Å"Large neighborhood law requirement organizations frequently are liable for researching genuine vicious and property related misdemeanors in their locales, contrasted with half of state offices (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2000). Notwithstanding the numerous obligations that are offered on to the police, nearby law implementation is called upon for non-crisis and insignificant law authorization needs. A case of the previously mentioned is a call for administration on the grounds that a feline is stuck in a tree; again the call is non-crisis, anyway it is a call for administration that officials react to day by day. District level policing as a rule comprises of the Sheriff’s Department; be that as it may, Grant and Terry (2008, p. 13) recommend a few regions do have a bigger police power that would represent the ward of a region. Award and Terry (2008, p. 13) state, â€Å"in a few locales this office is disintegrated into a district police power that capacities much equivalent to civil police. † Typically the Sheriff’s Office accept locale in bigger unincorporated zones; the extent of their obligations spin around authorizing court orders, court summons, or working the area correctional facilities. In certain regions, the Sheriff’s Department’s working reason for existing is to give police benefits a lot of like a customary police office, Grant and Terry (2008, p. 13-14). Award and Terry (2008, p. 14) states, â€Å"In a few locales, the sheriff’s office is completely law implementation centered, with no different duties. † State notwithstanding the neighborhood and area police, each state has its own class of law implementation. In the province of California the accompanying offices fill in as a segment in law implementation: the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the Department of Fish and Game (Warden), California Lottery Security and Law Enforcement. State Law implementation organizations are fit for capturing and xecuting court orders, Grant and Terry (2008, p. 14). Different elements of state level policing incorporate state examinations, coordinated effort with neighborhood and region law implementation organizations, roadway traffic requirement and examinations, and upholding state laws. Basically, law implementation on the state level may lead essential law requirement obligations; be that as it may, most state police offices are e xplicit, for example, the CHP or the California Lottery Security and Law Enforcement. Government Federal law authorization incorporates organizations, for example, the FBI, DEA, and the ATF. As a rule government law implementation organizations can just authorize bureaucratic laws, where as neighborhood and state law requirement offices have purview over nearby and states matters, per Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, Grant and Terry (2008, p. 15). In 2002, the Homeland Security Act was sanctioned; said act perceived different government law authorization offices as a component of the new Department of Homeland Security. Preceding the previously mentioned act two significant government offices were predominant in law requirement: the Department of Justice and the Department of Treasury, Grant and Terry (2008, p. 15). Some government policing obligations incorporate the accompanying: examinations, investigations, administrative court, security, and assurance. Changes Among the many changing laws in the United States, there are a not many that could end up being a massive effect on society, all the more so on policing. The ongoing proposition for harder weapon laws and the utilization of trend setting innovation to police society appear to be not too far off for today’s society. On December fourteenth, 2012, Adam Lanza, the shooter in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting killed twenty kids and six grown-ups; Lanza utilized a â€Å"assault rifle† and some different weapons to do the previously mentioned wrongdoing. Since the Sandy Hook episode the push for harder firearm laws has been proposed, along these lines causing a split in the public arena. As of now the proposition is for a restriction on â€Å"assault rifles† and ammo deals. A portion of the issues rotate around distinguishing certain weapons as attack weapons and constraining the measure of shots permitted in a magazine. The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution states, â€Å"A very much controlled local army, being important to the security of a free express, the privilege of the individuals to keep and remain battle ready, will not be infringed† Cornell University Law School (n. d. ). Generally, it has been demonstrated that hoodlums don’t maintain the standards set out in the public eye. Should a harder firearm law or an attack weapons boycott be forced, the Second Amendment will be encroached on. At present, society is part on needing harder firearm laws; nonetheless, the other half are strong of their entitlement to remain battle ready and weapons proprietorship. One may think about how this may act like a test later on for policing. The truth is law requirement is meeting that challenge in today’s society; they are being solicited to follow a development from recuperating weapons from the avenues and from dependable proprietors. The positive result from the previously mentioned activity rotates around recuperating undesirable and possibly perilous weapons; in any case, in spite of making society a more secure spot, the previously mentioned activity likewise advances an open door for crooks to gain by. One should consider the negative aftereffect of not having the option to have in excess of eight projectiles, considerably less not claiming a weapon for security. Hoodlums don't submit to the principles and guidelines that have been authorized, in this way there absence of worry for other people. Considering the previously mentioned point, the ascent is wrongdoing, explicitly rough violations, for example, theft, ambush with destructive weapons, murder, and home intrusions are generally truly conceivable. It is feasible for the police to be understaffed while attempting to battle the estimated spike in wrongdoing. Also, heaps of blameless individuals might be hurt or executed. Innovation The ongoing proposition for utilizing unmanned automatons to help cops in the field is being met with blended feelings also. Numerous residents feel as though their Constitutional rights are being damaged; especially the Fourth Amendment in the United States Constitution. Unmanned Drones otherwise called Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAV) would help the police divisions in field tasks as they fly around and give crucial continuous data giving law requirement the edge on wrongdoing battling. The issue that emerges bases on the legislature damaging the Fourth Amendment; having the UAV fly around in a huge city, for example, Los Angeles makes numerous residents wonder if the police are utilizing this for real police function instead of haphazardly keeping an eye on them for non-policing checking. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution proposes United States residents ought to be secure in beneficiary own individual and home; furthermore that Amendment likewise incorporate their own papers and impacts will be liberated from absurd inquiry or seizure from the legislature, and no warrant gave without reasonable justification. With a UAV flying around the city it is protected to accept numerous residents will feel disregarded. Later on this will m ost certainly be a resource for law implementation; be that as it may, it will come at the expense of opportunity, security, and trust in law authorization. End In this report the creator quickly laid out the various degrees of law implementation in the United States. Each degree of policing includes certain capacity inside society, from the nearby and region level to the government level. In spite of the fact that each level has various capacities througho

Look Not Only at The Now Essay

Shinichi Hoshi tells an extraordinary story of incongruity and human hardheadedness in the short story, â€Å"He-y, Come on Ou-t†. An extraordinary tempest that hits an unassuming community and devastates their altar which leaves a vast gap where it once stood; the residents rapidly make sense of that the base of the opening can't be found. A concessionaire purchases the opening and individuals pay to dump entirely horrendous things into it, for example, atomic waste and implicating proof, yet at long last everything winds up getting dumped on the town from the sky. People like to and will in general expendable future concerns and appreciate the quick advantages of a circumstance paying little heed to how desperate the future circumstance might be, Hoshi communicates this by utilizing imagery and incongruity in his short story â€Å"He-y, Come on Ou-t†. People have caused and will cause critical conditions for themselves by neglecting potential future dangers in some random circumstance; this is passed on in the short story through imagery. At the point when the opening is first discovered a youngster says, â€Å"‘I wonder if it’s a fox’s hole’† (Hoshi 1). The fox represents the residents on the grounds that foxes are viewed as wily and the townspeople think they are tricky when they make a plan to dump everything in the opening and benefit from it without result, there is further imagery when it is in fact the town at the base of the gap. Not long after the individuals, â€Å"cut down certain trees, [tie] them with rope and [make] a fence which they put around the hole† (2). Sbrocchi 2 This represents the locals definitely realize the gap is an awful thing and they have to shield individuals from it by building a fence around it, much like a pit bull or Rottweiler; additionally this is antic ipating on the grounds that the gap winds up being a hazardous thing. Maybe most noteworthy snapshot of imagery in the story comes at the last line, when it is uncovered to the peruser that all that is dumped worse than broke is going to descend upon the city, in light of the fact that a developer is taking his break when, â€Å"a little rock skimmed by him and fell onâ past. The man be that as it may, was looking out of gear dream at the city’s horizon becoming evermore excellent, and he neglected to see (4). The subject of the entire story is clarified in the builder’s activities, the developer represents people all in all, they overlook the future danger that the stone represents and post at the â€Å"success† that they have made. Incongruity is an incredible asset in writing that is utilized to get a message through to the peruser. In this story it is utilized from multiple points of view to show the determination of humankind to just concentrate on the today not the tomorrow. Close to the start of the story before the youngster is going to toss a stone in the gap an elderly person cautions him by saying â€Å"‘you may cut down a revile on us. Lay off,’ [†¦] however the more youthful one vivaciously [throws] the rock in.†(2). This is so unexpected on the grounds that at long last the more seasoned man was correct, it brought down a revile on them, all that trash returned directly down on them. This is so significant on the grounds that it is actually the topic of the story, the youngster neglected to perceive the danger before him, he put it in a safe spot so he could have a fabulous time right now paying little mind to what the future may bring and the future brought fiendish, which was self-caused. The panicle of incongruity in the story that truly tosses the topic at the peruser is the point at which the storyteller says â€Å"Everyone hated pondering the possible consequences† That is Sbrocchi 3 actually the subject of the story, it is amusing on the grounds that the inevitable outcomes that everybody thought would come numerous years after the fact wound up directly at the doorstep of the town in not long by any stretch of the imagination, and these results arrived in a structure a lot of more awful than what anybody could have ever anticipated. There is an exercise to be gained from this story and it is that if a circumstance emerges for something great to come in the now, in the today, yet it raises issues for the tomorrow, those issues must be managed in the today and not pushed aside since they are unsavory to consider. Regardless of how incredible a triumph something may bring it could all be in vein if something very similar will likewise acquire torment and enduring the future; it won't be a triumph by any means, it will be a mammoth disappointment. In the story, something anecdotal happens to the residents, however things similarly as terrible or more terrible will originate from activities, in actuality, they just may not be as evident or come asâ fast. People like to concentrate on the positive qualities in circumstances not in the conceivable terrible, this needs to change.

Review And Determine The Mcdonalds Strategic Marketing Essay

Survey And Determine The Mcdonalds Strategic Marketing Essay LO1) Review and Determine the McDonalds Strategic Aims and Objectives McDonalds is one of the main worldwide inexpensive food administration retailers, with about in excess of 32,000 cafés serving in excess of 60 million individuals in excess of 117 nations every day. McDonalds is notable for a portion of its much wanted nourishment like; Chicken McNuggets, Big Mac and Egg McMuffins all around the world. McDonalds 75% of its chains are claimed and worked by the franchisees everywhere throughout the world and just 25% of its chains are possessed by the organization. In 1967 McDonald opened its first universal outlet in Canada. The vast majority of the McDonalds outlets are detached units, other than that it additionally has numerous units situated at air terminals and in other retail regions. Since the opening of McDonalds first global outlet in Canada it is known for giving the exceptional quality, brisk assistance, neatness and incentive to its clients (McDonalds, 2011). Current Strategic Aims and Objectives of McDonalds McDonalds has plainly characterized its vital points and targets; the vision of McDonalds is to be the main, speedy and the best cheap food specialist organization everywhere throughout the world. Different destinations of McDonalds are; to keep up and build up the best quality nourishment items in the brisk help café advertise, McDonalds additionally needs to lead the fast assistance eatery showcase by drawing in new clients, opening progressively beneficial eateries, expanding its deals through advancement that empower them to proceed with their program of extension. The McDonalds objective is to augment its benefits, keep up its upper hand by continually making new items to include onto its menu, which will assist with pulling in new clients and fulfill their current clients that gives clients motivation to visit McDonalds regularly (McDonalds, 2011). McDonalds primary target is to be the universes best fast help café ever experience and for this McDonalds offer extraordinary assistance, quality, tidiness and incentive to its clients all around the world. McDonalds likewise plan to get a handle on each chance to develop and come out on top for the clients, they additionally have an enthusiasm and feel resolved to go past their clients desires each time in each café so as to upgrade and ensure the McDonalds brand everywhere throughout the world (McDonalds 2011). An Evaluation of the Component Parts of a Strategic Plan Vital arranging is a significant business action and it is utilized to accomplish certain objectives and destinations. An association now and again sums up its objectives and targets into a statement of purpose and a dream articulation. Vision is essentially a drawn out view, which traces what an association needs to be later on and furthermore depict how the association needs the world wherein it works. Vision essentially focuses on the future and gives the dynamic rules to the association. Though strategic the essential motivation behind the presence of an association, the mission likewise characterizes about the ideal degree of execution required so as to accomplish the hierarchical points and targets (Kotler, 1986). The Vision of McDonalds is to be the best and the main cheap food supplier everywhere throughout the world (McDonalds, 2011). There are five distinct methods for making a decision about the reasonableness of an authoritative vision; the first is the prescience which tells whether the vision of an association is sufficient and sensible and when the vision of McDonalds is assessed plainly it is sufficient just as practical. The subsequent method to pass judgment on the vision of an association is the broadness, which tells does the vision of an association completely spread likely changes in the commercial center and McDonalds has a capacity to change with the earth and ensure that in each nation of the world its clients should consistently get quality items, in snappy time, in a perfect and wonderful condition and at a sensible cost. Another approach to pass judgment on the vision is the uniqueness that an association can gain by and shock its rivals and the uniqueness in the vision o f McDonalds is that the taste and the size of its burgers are same in every outlet all around the world where it gives its items and administrations. The fourth method to pass judgment on the vision is through accord, which tells that an association ought to have just a single vision and the McDonalds has just one and clear vision and that will be the best and the main cheap food supplier everywhere throughout the world. Finally through activity capacity a dream can be judge which tells whether the vision is prepared for usage or does the association have center abilities. The vision of McDonalds is prepared for the execution and the center competency of McDonalds is giving comfort to its clients when they need to eat cheap food at the costs that are serious and give best an incentive to the clients cash (Hamel and Prahalad, 1994). The statement of purpose of McDonalds is to be our clients most loved spot and approach to eat. Their primary spotlight is on being the best cheap food supplier and for this their overall activities has been adjusted around a worldwide technique called a Plan to Win dependent on the five elements of an extraordinary client experience; People, Product, Price, Place and Promotion (McDonalds, 2011). Much the same as the vision articulation the statement of purpose of McDonalds can be judge by perceiving how far it meets the specific plans. Right off the bat McDonalds ought to have a reasonable thought in what business they are in and ought to likewise do an exhaustive statistical surveying before presenting any new item. Furthermore the statement of purpose ought to be produced using a client point of view and the mission of McDonalds is plainly characterizing that they have made their statement of purpose while remembering their focused on clients. Thirdly an association must ensure th at its statement of purpose mirrors the guiding principle and convictions of an association and the McDonalds statement of purpose is unmistakably characterizing that it gives comfort when individuals need and need to eat great quality inexpensive food at sensible cost in a lovely domain. The fourth method to survey the statement of purpose of an association is to characterize what economical upper hand an association has over its rivals and one of the McDonalds upper hands is it centers around the consistency of the quality, the utilization of crude materials and the creation of nourishment all around the globe. Ultimately an association ought to sum up the vital methodology they would use so as to accomplish the key points and goals of an association. McDonalds has structure certain key ways to deal with accomplish its points and targets like the usage of innovation, the characterized work schedules and keeping up the upper hand (Lynch, 2006). Components Affecting the Strategic Plan There are sure factors that influence the McDonalds partnership so much that their job in molding the procedures can't be disregarded and these components are; political, prudent and social variables. The political variables influence the association in various manners like the global tasks of McDonalds are exceptionally affected by the individual state approaches implemented by every legislature. For example various nations center around various regions of concern like; the laborer assurance, wellbeing and nature. Every one of these components are in the control of government and thinks about when giving a permit of the eatery in various nations (Bateman and Scott, 2004). Various associations in the cheap food industry have their individual concerns including monetary variables. The various branches and the establishments of McDonalds tend to encounter troubles where the economy of specific nations hit by the swelling and the adjustments in the swapping scale. In this way, on the off chance that an establishment works in an especially monetarily powerless nation, at that point these establishments must make certain changes in their methodologies to keep up the economies of scale (Sustar and Sustar, 2005). The social factors additionally influence the procedures of an association. McDonalds cook assortment of clients with various sorts of characters in various nations. McDonalds utilizes various ideas of purchaser conduct like item character and buying choices of buyers to make legitimate systems, with the goal that it can pull in new clients and fulfill their current clients so as to accomplish its points and destinations proficiently (Bateman and Snell, 2004). LO2) Evaluate the Alternative Strategies to meet the ideal Future Strategic Position 2.1) A Range of Strategic Analysis instruments to Audit Progress towards key Aims and Objectivesâ The showcasing review is fundamental for an association as it gives the spine vital examination that underpins corporate dynamic procedure and it likewise tells the present situation of an association. The SWOT examination is one of the reviewing devices that are use to break down the interior just as the outer elements of an association that are positive and negative to accomplish the destinations of an association (Aaker, 1997). The greatest quality of McDonalds is its huge piece of the pie, solid brand picture and notoriety, solid monetary execution and position in the nourishment business, well disposed condition for clients and the act of making strides toward environmental friendliness has made it feasible for McDonalds to acquire distinction all around the globe. The shortcomings of McDonalds are it needed to confront certain legitimate activity in view of utilizing trans-fat and hamburger oil that can adversely influence its image picture, different shortcomings of McDonalds are it offers the assortment of lousy nourishment which is considered as an unfortunate nourishment among individuals and it is additionally losing its clients because of the expansion rivalry (Peter and Donnelly, 2007). There are sure open doors also for McDonalds like; through globalization open increasingly gainful eateries, it

Treat Others with Respect - 561 Words

Hatred and the use of racially derogatory speech We live in a highly amalgamated world where the things have been moving on a very fast pace. That is the idea behind having the world globalized and the bridging of gaps has brought about this massive change in the ways that we look at the world and how we may perceive it. In times like these the management has grown in its domain and the onus is on them to ensure that the things are on the right track. That is something that may sound too simple but in reality it is not so. In times like these it is imperative that the decision making is perfect. It does not matter what is our domain or what is the end target in mind or what we are dealing with because the objective is to get the job done and that can only be done by the proper management of the things. So it all boils down to how responsible we are when it comes to the decision making part and it is so important that the consequences are known or on the very least they should be an ticipated to the very last detail. It is all up to the person who is making the choice of using derogatory speech. Now that can be a double edged sword because at times it may work in our favor and win us many hearts. While on the other hand it can backfire as well and when that happens it means that we might be on the verge a lot of allegiance from lot of the cordons. That is as good as losing both the internal and the external customers at the same time. There have been rare cases when theShow MoreRelatedPygmalion: Colonel Pickering797 Words   |  4 PagesHow Higgins and Pickering treat Eliza Different but yet the same! The play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw is about how a poor simple woman is taught how to become an elegant flower girl by professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering. How come that although Mr Higgins and Colonel Pickering treat Eliza in totally different ways, they still treat her the same? Hopefully this essay will give you the answer to that question. The essay will tell you how they treat various characters in the play, andRead MoreEssay On Hospitality In The Odyssey920 Words   |  4 Pagessociety. In American society, today hospitality is not a priority. The most we do is let guest in to sit and offer maybe food and water. In the Odyssey Homer shows in Greek culture that hospitality is very important several times in the text and should treat everyone as royalty. Odysseus crashes into a random island with strangers and like a good host they take care of him. Nausicaa finds Odysseus by shore naked. She doesnt know the man, hears his story and offers to take care of him. For example, itRead MoreExamples Of Judgement In To Kill A Mockingbird780 Words   |  4 Pagesschool is when most first realize how judgement affects everyone’s daily life. Students often use judgement in a negative way against others, but it is possible to use judgment in a positive way. It is easy to tell how a person was raised with judgement by looking at their behavior, and a lot of times it is found that they were raised to only look at the good side of others. Atticus Finch is trying to teach his children the same thing in, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee. This book is aboutRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Ephesians 956 Words   |  4 PagesIntroductions and greetings are very important tools in communication. How people perceive you will often deter mine how they treat you. If you are trying to make friends, find clients, make contacts, sell them something, or anything else we might to, with one simple process, you can move one giant step toward your goal. Paul, in the book of Ephesians, demonstrates this process: Respect. Ephesians was written by Paul to the church in Ephesus. He wrote, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of GodRead MoreSt Louis And Saint Louis991 Words   |  4 PagesLouis Man. Saint Louis molded me. They have been teaching the students how to respect all their peers, especially women for over 165 years. Being a gentleman shows in these two traits of a Saint Louis Man, â€Å"Live the golden rule† and â€Å"respect all people, especially women† and also the life of my brother, Alika Pilialoha Fonseca. Outsiders look at those who attend Saint Louis as disrespectful and they do not know how to treat women properlyÍ ¾ however, Saint Louis prepares the men of Kalaepohaku to be gentlemenRead MoreUnderstanding the Proper Way to Treat the Disabled707 Words   |  3 Pagesmany communities still have ignorant views toward the disabled, which leads to discrimination and injustice toward the disabled community. The impaired community is made up of people who now live with a physical impairment, or a mental disability. Respect the dis abled, they have rights that belong to them just as anyone; have courtesy, living with a disability does not mean being less capable, with the hardships that has faced the disabled community, they definitely deserve the same courtesy as anybodyRead MoreHow Can We Treat Terror Organizations With Dignity And Respect939 Words   |  4 PagesAs global citizens, we must come to treat all persons with compassion, dignity, and respect. Yet, when others do not show us these same thoughtful gestures in return – or perhaps they even spit in the face of these attributes – continuing to treat them with compassion, dignity, and respect becomes challenging for every person in this situation. How must we confront the bully who torments us every day – stealing our lunch money, leaving us hungry and with no control? How must we handle extreme religiousRead MoreEssay on Personal Philosophy of Nursing707 Words   |  3 Pagesdisease, race, or economic status they have will get t reated with the highest regards to compassion, integrity, and respect that they deserve. I Melissa Fielding believe that my personal nursing philosophy on September 13, 2009 would be to treat others as I would want to be treated. I would like to think that each individual patient has earned my compassion, integrity, and respect that they deserve. I choose nursing as my profession, to be able to take my compassion, knowledge, values and beliefsRead MoreThe Seven Commandments I Consider Most Important in Our Society622 Words   |  3 Pagesany circumstances. The first rule and most important commandment in my opinion is to treat others the way you want to be treated. This is a very basic and well known unwritten rule but yet not many people abide by this rule. People tend to treat others as if they are of less importance or of lower class. Everyone is equal and everyone has the same rights so nobody should feel as if they are superior to others no matter how wealthy they are or what their social status is. The second commandmentRead MoreMaster/Servant Relationship in Taming of the Shrew754 Words   |  4 Pagesrelationship as master and servant is an ideal of the Renaissance era. Tranio risks taking the place of his master because of his love for him and Lucentio always treats him with kindness and respect, almost like an equal. Lucentios relationship with Bianca reflects his role with Tranio: Bianca shows respect for Lucentio as he cherishes her and treats her with kindness. However, Bianca fails to complete her role as an ideal wife by obeying her husband. however Petruchio and his servant, Grumio, have a much

One Thousand and One Nights Essay - 920 Words

Underlying Power One thousand and one nights, one thousand and one moral stories. The story of The Thousand and One Nights is a unique tale that teaches simple morals throughout the many stories within the main story. This tale is about a clever women that saves herself, as well as the women in her kingdom, from being put to death by the king. She does this by marring the king and telling him bedtime stories every night that lead into the next day. She would purposely not finish the story, to leave him interested in the ending which eventually saves her life, and the women in her kingdom, day after day. Not only does the main story have a lesson to be learned, but the mini-stories also have simple morals to be learned. The Tale of†¦show more content†¦This powerful vow would eventually wipe out the kingdom that he was ruling over. The wife never would have imagined she had so much influence on one person. The kings wifes actions was the cause of this vow that was made. The story of the demon and his wife also show the power of women. The power illustrated here is the power that she has over two kings. She knew that they would be afraid of the demon, and used their fear to her advantage. As said in the text: Then she lay on her back, raised her legs, and said, Make love to me and satisfy need, or else I shall wake the demon, and he will kill you. They replied, For Gods sake, mistress, dont do this to us, for at this moment we feel nothing but dismay and fear of this demon. Please, excuse us. She replied, You must, and insisted, swearing, By God who created the heavens, if you dont do it, I shall wake my husband the demon and ask him to kill you and throw you into the sea. As she persisted, they could no longer resist and they made love to her, first the older brother, then the younger. (1574) Unlike the other two women, Shahrazad, the viziers daughter, used her womanly powers to save instead of destroy or deceive. Even though her life was at stake, she put herself in the position to be the heroine for the kingdom. But morningShow MoreRelatedThe Thousand and One Nights1472 Words   |  6 PagesInfluence of Cultures on The Thousand and One Nights Stories like Sindbad, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp and other popular stories are very common today in the western culture. Animated movies were also made for the entertainment of kids on these popular stories. One might wonder that where these stories originated and how it came down and made place in the western culture. Although these stories are very popular in both the western culture and the eastern culture but the original literary workRead MoreAnalysis Of The One Thousand And One Nights 1592 Words   |  7 PagesI love the Arabian night’s stories and he used this knowledge to get me to change my initial decision of not reading any book during the summer. So failure to recognize the strength in others makes us blind to our own weaknesses. In the One Thousand and One Nights text, some of its characters experience changes due to the fact that they failed to recognize the strength and abilities or capabilities of other opposing characters. In the frame tale, The Story of King Shahrayar and Shahrazad, his Vizier’sRead MoreThe Thousand and One Nights Essay931 Words   |  4 PagesThe Thousand and One Nights, generally known to the English, speaking world as the Arabian Nights, is a compendium of Arabic tales compiled between the twelfth and the fourteenth centuries. The collection starts with the story of King Shahrayar. Betrayed by his adulterous wife, he swears never to trust a woman again, deciding instead to marry a different virgin every night and have her executed the next day. He carries out his plan for three years, until his Vizier can no longer find a virgin toRead MoreUnfair Balance Of Power : One Thousand And One Nights1362 Words   |  6 PagesUnfair Balance of Power One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of stories from Middle East and South East Asian countries that have been translated by various authors over hundreds of years. Even though it is a collection of stories from different counties, they are all centered around the frame story of King Shahryar and his wife, Scheherazade, who narrates the stories for a span of one thousand and one nights in an effort to stop the King from killing more innocent young women as punishmentRead MoreInfluence of Cultures on The Thousand and One Nights Essay examples1456 Words   |  6 Pagesentertainment of kids on these popular stories. One might wonder that where these stories originated and how it came down and made place in the western culture. Although these stories are very popular in both the western culture and the eastern culture but the original literary work is not so popular in common people. Theses stories are some of the stories from the Arabic work The Thousand and One Nights. The work of The Thousand and One Nights represents basically a female that is a strongRead MoreThe Thousand And One Nights887 Words   |  4 Pageshaving strength. It is the basis of all humanity; it determines who can do what and who is at the top of the empirical hierarchy. In The Thousand and One Nights, power is shown in every story and character, whether it be from an exorbitant amount or an utter lack of power. In a kingdom terrorized by a merciless ruler who was destroying the female population, one young woman gives herself up in order to help the people. Shahrazad volunteers to be given to King Shahrayar, knowing that she could beRead MoreThe Thousand And One Nights Essay1837 Words   |  8 PagesThe Thousand and One Nights is a story where the King, after realizing his wife to be adulterous, weds a new woman each night and puts her to death at dawn to avoid ever being hurt again. In this story, Shahrazad, the daughter of the King’s Vizier, offers to become his nex t wife with a plan to try and end the King’s murderous streak. In The Thousand and One Nights tales, both the father, the Vizier, and his daughter, Shahrazad utilize animals for the purpose of manipulating together tales that embodyRead MoreThe Thousand And One Nights889 Words   |  4 Pagesknowledgeable and wise. People tend to assume that for a King to be successful, he needs to gain the respect of his kingdom and not be questioned whatsoever. No one ever imagines someone who can come and alter the King’s perspective for good. No one believes someone, a woman, can overpower a King by only using words. In The Thousand and One Nights, Shahrazad is shown to be more educated and wise, because of her knowledge she is able to change the King’s perception towards women. In the beginning of thisRead MoreThe Thousand And One Nights997 Words   |  4 Pagesthe realm of scholarly works The Thousand and One Nights makes an appearance, ironically. To have a such a source of knowledge from many different countries over a long period of time is a literature goldmine, which demands to be studied. There is a element of surprise when the author -or in this case authors- create more than just a descriptive narrative. Together they alluded to each-other, enhanced each other’s works, and created a world that seems to never end. One might simply think that to writeRead MoreAnalysis Of A Thousand And One Nights 999 Words   |  4 PagesA Thousand and One Nights is a tale about the over-sexed east which is favored by the sexually repressed west when applied to and analyzed under the lens of Orientalism. This translation of the text, while not as sexually explicit as Sir Richard Burton’s translation, has its fair amount of sexual promiscuity which pa ints the middle eastern characters as dishonest, violent, and sexually deviant. These traits were seen as socially taboo to the west, especially those in Victorian Europe who helped the

Theme of Control in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and...

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley both deal with enclosed cultures tightly controlled by an authority. Cuckoo’s Nest takes place in a psychiatric ward ruled by the ‘Big Nurse’ while Brave New World encompasses a wider society governed by the World State. Both societies function because dissent is prohibited. In each community an outsider appears who attempts to disrupt the control by exerting his free will. In both texts, free will must be eradicated because it is seen as a threat to the authority and stability of the society. By examining the manner in which control is exerted, the outsider as a subversive element and the necessity of the outsider’s death, one can determine the†¦show more content†¦This is a more direct example of her control, placing her right in the center of a machine, regulating everything. In fact, the Chief makes references to this machine throughout the book, a â€Å" smooth, accurate, precision-made machine† (Kesey 25). In reality, the Big Nurse influences the patients herself, treating them in a condescending matter. She also sets the patients against one another, through encouraging tattling with a log book in which patients record revealing statements about each other told in confidence, with some reward to the writer. As well, her therapy sessions are like ‘pecking parties’ in which â€Å"The flock gets sight of a spot of blood on some chicken and they all go to peckin’ at it, see, till they rip to chicken to shreds, blood and bones and feathers† (Kesey 51). Big Nurse uses the orderlies, the black boys, to subjugate and punish the patients, often with rape. The black boys come sign for him [the new admission] and take him into the shower room, where they strip him and leave him shivering with the door open while they all three run grinning up down the halls looking for the Vaseline, â€Å"We need that Vaseline,† they’ll tell the Big Nurse, â€Å"for the thermometer†. She looks from one to the other: â€Å"I’m sure you do,† and hands them a jar holds at least a gallon. (Kesey 9) In this way she is ensuring the black boys’ loyalty to her, by granting them free

E-Business Strategy Development an Fmcg Sector free essay sample

The paper aims to examine the tensions created at tier-1 level relating to the adoption of e-business solutions for B2B activities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on the literature to describe the technological options for achieving e-commerce, focusing particularly on Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and internet-mediated e-commerce. It then explores the current uptake of e-commerce, and the drivers and barriers that relate to its adoption. The theoretical issues identified are explored empirically using data gathered from a case study of Princes Soft Drinks. A detailed survey of organisations within its supply base was conducted in order to inform the development of its future e-business strategy. Findings – The results of the survey indicate a lack of enthusiasm among Princes’ supply chain members for the adoption of e-commerce generally and for internet-mediated e-commerce solutions in particular. Research limitations/implications – The empirical survey is limited to the UK soft drinks sector and allows for the development of descriptive findings. These findings, discussed within the theoretical context of the paper, have potentially wider implications for the FMCG sector as a whole. Practical implications – The work has significant implications for the development of Princes’ e-business strategy, and – by extrapolation – for other companies operating in similar commercial environments. Originality/value – The paper reports original empirical research in the commercially important FMCG sector. Its value stems in part from the examination of the supply chain tensions created at tier-1– between powerful e-committed retailers and e-reluctant industrial suppliers. Keywords Electronic commerce, Internet, Fast moving consumer goods Paper type Case study Introduction Electronic commerce (e-commerce) refers to the conducting f business transactions over electronic/computer networks, including the internet, (Barnes and Hunt, 2001) and therefore encompasses processes related to the buying, selling and trading of products, services and information, (Gunasekaran et al. , 2002). There has been considerable publicity given to the use o f e-commerce in business-toconsumer (B2C) markets, where transactions involving such activities as ordering goods, personal banking and share trading are becoming increasingly commonplace. However, the use of e-commerce for business-to-business (B2B) transactions has been widely identified as an area with ignificant potential for cost saving and future revenue generation (Barnes and Hunt, 2001). For businesses, B2B can mean electronic interaction with members of the supply base, i. e. for inbound procurement, and with customers for transactions relating to their procurement activity. In the current business environment the adoption of ecommerce is seemingly unavoidable – â€Å" . . . e-commerce is no longer an alternative, but an imperative. [However] many companies are struggling with the most basic problem: what is the best approach for establishing and doing business in the digital economy? † (Lee, 2001, p. 49). This suggests that, in moving into an e-commerce busin ess environment – over which there is little choice – there is a need to develop an ebusiness strategy that will inform and direct future operations. Lee goes on to argue that in addressing this problem, there is no simple prescription or established business model for companies or industries and that developing an e-capability often entails making a paradigm shift, radically altering traditional approaches to doing business (Lee, 2001). It follows that the development of an e-business strategy is uniquely challenging and essential. Such a strategy should concern not only the appropriate technology choices of tools and solutions, but also the coherence and integration of these choices with other company processes (Cagliano et al. , 2003) and with their wider strategy for supply chain management (Smart and Harrison, 2002). The empirical component of this paper – presented after theoretical background explores the situation faced by Princes, a tier-1 supplier in the UK soft drinks industry. It considers the difficulties faced by first tier The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www. meraldinsight. com/1359-8546. htm Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 11/4 (2006) 353–362 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1359-8546] [DOI 10. 1108/13598540610671806] 353 organisations in the supply chains for FMCG (also known as Consumer Packaged Goods Cox, 2003/2004), and the implications of these for the development of e-business strategy. Within the broad definit ion of e-commerce, it is clear that there are alternative technological routes by which ecommerce can be achieved – the internet being only one possibility. Moreover, both within the literature and in ractice, there is confusion over the terminology used in this area, with some authors using the term â€Å"e-commerce† synonymously with that of â€Å"e-commerce mediated via the internet†, or â€Å"I-commerce† (e. g. Manecke and Schoensleben, 2004, Yen and Ng, 2003). The increasing accessibility of the internet and the wide availability of standard browsers is encouraging the expansion of e-commerce via the internet (Gunasekaran et al. , 2002). However, technology options for conducting commerce electronically still include telephone, facsimile, electronic mail (email), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) together with the internet. Structuring their discussion of the impact of e-commerce on operations, Gunasekaran et al. (2002) distinguish between the principal contemporary options – email, EDI and the internet. This distinction mirrors the structure of the empirical research undertaken in support of this paper. The three options are discussed below. Email was one of the first applications to run on the internet and involves the direct transmission of text messages between 2 users. Using email provides the simplest form of ecommerce. It replaces paper, fax and telephone communication between members of a supply system (Beynon-Davies, 2004). It is quick and uncomplicated, but lacks the sophistication provided by EDI and internetmediated e-commerce solutions. Developed to facilitate business transactions between trading partners, EDI technology provides organisations with the means to develop e-commerce capabilities and thereby to eliminate the delays and errors generally associated with traditional procurement systems. It provides a (limited) collection of standard message formats that businesses may se to exchange data including, for example, orders, delivery notes and invoices (Beynon-Davies, 2004). It has been in existence for over 20 years and has been championed mostly by large manufacturing and retail companies who use it to link suppliers into their business processes. On the inbound supply-side of an organisation’s operations, improved record accuracy, lower data entry costs, reduced inventory holdi ngs and improved inventory turn ratios are cited as benefits; whilst on the outbound demand-side improved responsiveness to orders and enquiries and increased usiness opportunities are cited (Davis and O’Sullivan, 1998). Unfortunately, the technological solutions developed for EDI are generally customer led and frequently proprietary in nature. Standardisation of approaches is restricted (Beynon- Davies, 2004) and the cost of participation can be high. Consequently, EDI technology-enabled e-commerce is typically characterised by closed groups of users whose transaction volumes are high, as it is these organisations that are most likely to benefit from the expected improvements in operational efficiency. The costs of switching between EDI ystems are also high (Hawkins and Prencipe, 2000), and this limits the ability of group members to go elsewhere. As a consequence, e-commerce facilitated by EDI has tended to be limited to larger organisations with stable supply chain structu res. It is less popular with smaller organisations or those in non-stable supply networks where the costs of participation are prohibitive. Increasingly, the internet is being promoted as a means to facilitate collaboration between members of supply chains, to result in cost savings, more efficient operations, improved customer service and potential for innovation and new usiness opportunities (e. g. Wagner et al. , 2003, Hawkins and Prencipe, 2000, Baldwin et al. , 2001, Timmers, 2000). Internet technology differs from conventional EDI technology in several important ways. It is relatively inexpensive. It is based on open standards and therefore supports numerous applications, which can process small transaction volumes cost effectively and can be configured to accommodate changes in users with ease (Hawkins and Prencipe, 2000). It is also a public network that is globally available, providing access to customers and suppliers worldwide. Moreover, pplications are not limited to int er-firm transactions. Internet and Web technology can be used within the organisation to manage workflow, co-ordinate activities and improve process efficiency through the sharing of information (Rowlatt, 2001, Gunasekaran et al. , 2002). Intranets, the term used to describe these private communication networks, secured behind firewalls (Beynon-Davies, 2004) are typically based on groupware[1] applications (Gunasekaran et al. , 2002). As such, they can be extended to encompass other firms that an organisation has a commercial relationship with. The resulting Extranet configurations can be used to facilitate closer relationships with customers and suppliers, to improve the co-ordination of (supply chain) activities, and to improve communications between the functions and individuals of an organisation (Davis and O’Sullivan, 1998). The benefits cited for internet-mediated e-commerce solutions over proprietary EDI solutions are summarised as speed, consistency, immediate access, lowered transaction costs, flexibility and extensibility – i. e. the potential to access further applications via a web-server – (Manecke and Schoensleben, 2004). Conversely, internet-mediated solutions are said not to match the robustness and capacity of EDI for carrying out B2B ecommerce (Lee, 2001). Despite the obvious benefits offered by internet-mediated e-commerce there is little indication that its functionality is being widely harnessed in practice (Hawkins and Prencipe, 2000, Wagner et al. , 2003). Evidence suggests that smaller businesses, in particular, are failing to appreciate its potential benefits (Williams, 2001) and that the majority of e-commerce transactions continue to be associated with conventional EDI technologies and larger organisations (Hawkins and Prencipe, 2000). The following section draws on a range of published literature to develop a macro view of the causes of this and of the scale of the problem. The adoption of e-commerce solutions in supply chains In order to link with the subsequent empirical work within the paper, this section is structured around the perspective of a tier-1 FMCG organisation, interacting demand-side with its retail customers and supply-side with its ingredient and raw material suppliers. However, the data, upon which it draws, is not specific to the FMCG sector. E-business strategy development: an FMCG sector case study M. Webster, R. Beach and I. Fouweather Supply Chain Management: An International Journal Volume 11  · Number 4  · 2006  · 353–362 354 For some time, EDI has been the technological choice of large manufacturing and retail companies for managing transactions within their supply chains. (e. g. Beynon-Davies, 2004, McIvor and Humphreys, 2004). For these major commercial and industrial players, e-commerce has become their preferred way of operating and, provided their suppliers buy-in to the technology, represents an effective and efficient means of conducting e-commerce. Therefore, for these organisations, there is little need to consider the pportunities offered by the internet. Additionally, it has been said that the internet has provided no new sales opportunities for FMCG retailers, and that they therefore have little incentive to develop online interaction (Brown, 2000). Although this has been identified specifically at the demand-side of retailers, it may be expected that they would have an equiv alent reluctance to develop internet-mediated ecommerce solutions on their supply-side. Thus, there may be little incentive to move away from the traditional EDI interaction with their tier-1 suppliers. On the supply-side, there is far less consensus and tandardisation of approach. Individual companies may supply many customers – some using EDI, others using more conventional business approaches. In this situation the arguments for considering the relatively flexible and accessible internet-mediated e-commerce appear compelling. However, evidence suggests that industry is not rushing to adopt ebusiness and that attitudes are predominantly reactive (Wagner et al. , 2003). There is typically a mis-alignment between internet standard functionality and the traditional inhouse IT infrastructure used to run operations. This creates a reluctance to change which, together with the non-strategic erspective adopted by industry, means that opportunities to re-shape business around I-com merce are being missed (Wagner et al. , 2003). The scale of the problem has been highlighted in a number of surveys, which are summarised in Table I. Empirical data on the micro reasons manufacturers are apparently so reluctant to adopt e-commerce is scant and typically limited to the identification of generalisable factors drawn from multiple sector studies. Table II draws on published literature to develop a view of the factors that are thought to be influencing decisions to develop e-commerce capabilities using internet technology. These are classified as either drivers or barriers. The drivers for adoption have been categorised as either reactive or proactive, and either strategic or tactical (Hawkins and Prencipe, 2000). Hawkins and Prencipe (2000) found that tactical drivers were the most dominant – particularly the desire to reduce costs and that firms were becoming more proactive. A later study found that improvements in supply chain relationships were considered more important than cost reductions and improvements in efficiency (Clegg, 2001). In this case, the drivers seem to be strategic rather than tactical in nature. It has also been noted that the approach most frequently adopted, particularly amongst organisations already conducting business through conventional channels, is exploratory and experimental (Williams et al. , 2001, Malone, 2001). This suggests that a cautious and possibly opportunistic view of the technology prevails and that an important factor influencing the extent and effectiveness with which e-commerce is adopted may be an organisation’s perception of the risks and benefits associated with the technology. The preceding sections of the paper have introduced the principal options for developing a B2B e-commerce apability, and have explored the current status of ecommerce implementation. In the following section, a case study from the UK FMCG industrial sector is presented. Analysis of the case supports much of the earlier discussion and provides empirical evidence of the status of the adoption of B2B e-commerce in the supply base of Princes Soft Drinks, UK. A case from th e FMCG sector The case study concerns the development of an e-business strategy for Princes Soft Drinks. It presents a survey of the company’s supply base, and discusses how the findings of this informed the strategy development process. By contrast to the Table I Summary of surveys undertaken into the adoption of e-commerce Source Findings e-commerce enquiry conducted by the UK Office for National Statistics (Williams, 2001) 70% of smaller businesses in the manufacturing sector were using computer technology Less than 50% had internet access in the food and clothing sector 66% of manufacturers had no immediate plan to develop e-commerce for selling or buying products Regional surveys within the UK (Scotland – Wagner et al. , 2003; and Wales – Quayle, 2002) Reluctance on the part of SMEs to trade electronically and to use the internet to achieve this 0% of those using e-commerce were doing so only because of pressure from their major customers (Quayle, 2002) European-wide study (Cagliano et al. , 2003) Use of internet-mediated e-commerce within manufacturing supply chains described as â€Å"low† Multiple sector survey of 120 international companies (Dutta and Biren, 2001) Only 25% of companies re cognised the strategic importance of internet technology and were using it to develop new business models by re-engineering their supply chains and to explore new ways of adding value International study (Baldwin et al. 2001) More advanced use of the internet in technologically advanced countries such as UK, France, Germany, USA than those that lack technological infrastructure, e. g. Slovenia E-business strategy development: an FMCG sector case study M. Webster, R. Beach and I. Fouweather Supply Chain Management: An International Journal Volume 11  · Number 4  · 2006  · 353–362 355 multiple sector surveys considered in table I, the survey conducted as part of this study is focussed within the UK soft drinks supply chain. As such, whilst adding to the findings of previous studies, it also elaborates on them by providing a ore detailed company perspective of the issues. Practical context: the FMCG sector Within the FMCG supply chain a distinction is made between consumer s – the end users of a product, and customers – retailers through which products are sold to consumers (Cox, 2003/2004). Typically, manufacturers of FMCG products must use retailers to access their consumers and as a consequence the balance of power in the tier-1 distribution channel is on the side of a small number of extremely powerful, competing names, such as Wal-Mart, Marks and Spencers, Sainsbury, Tesco, etc. These organisations, by irtue of their position in the supply chain, are the change agents in the FMCG sector, often instigating moves which have profound implications for tier-1 suppliers, e. g. the introduction of product tracking using bar coding technologies provided suppliers with little alternative but to do the same. A more recent example is the demands Wal- Mart have made on their top 100 suppliers to use RFID (radio frequency identification) tagging (Lamb, 2003). If the expected savings materialise as expected, other retailers will follow and tier-1 suppliers will have to respond. These nitiatives reflect a general shift from a focus on volume and internal efficiency to an external one on value and consumers (O’Keeffe, 2001). This O’Keeffe refers to as the change from the â€Å"supply chain management era† to the â€Å"network era†, key components of the change being summarised in Table III. However, this by no means describes the sector as a whole. The UK soft drinks industry, continues to adhere to the earlier supply chain management model characterised by fierce price competition, with â€Å"powerful buyers and traditionally weak sellers† (O’Keeffe, 2001); i. e. an nvironment in which cost reduction is a management mantra. Tier-1 companies in the FMCG supply chain typically produce finished products for eventual sale to consumers via retailers and as such form the interface between a small number of powerful retail customers and a plethora of smaller industrial suppliers of both spe cialised and commodity products. Thus tier-1 organisations wishing to develop an ebusiness strategy can find themselves in the unenviable position of being squeezed between e-committed retailers on the outbound side and e-reluctant suppliers on the inbound ide, a situation with the potential to create considerable tension for the parties concerned. Princes soft drinks The Princes Food Group is wholly owned by the Mitsubishi Corporation and is the largest UK supplier of own-label processed grocery products. The Soft Drinks division within the group is the major supplier of fruit juices, carbonated, ready-to-drink and dilute-to-taste soft drinks in the UK. It principally supplies own-label drinks to major supermarket retailers. It is a market where there has been much negative Table II Drivers and barriers to the adoption of e-commerce Drivers (reactive – R, proactive – P, strategic – S, tactical – T) Barriers Pressure from others in the supply chain (R) Internal pressure to maintain an e-commerce presence (R) Re-structuring of the supply chain (P,S) Exploration of new business models – e. g. the role of intermediaries and distributors (P,S) Cost reduction – e. g. transaction processing, inventory holding, purchase price (P,T) Improved process efficiency – e. g. reduced lead times, improved procurement and production practices and logistics (P,T) Business process integration – integration of purchasing and sales with other business functions (P,T) Improvements in supply chain relationships (P,S) Costs of acquiring and maintaining an e-commerce capability (Quayle, 2002, Williams, 2001, Clegg, 2001) Concerns about security and control (Quayle, 2002, Williams, 2001, Davila et al. , 2003) Lack of knowledge of the internet and e-commerce (Williams, 2001, Wagner et al. , 2003) Lack of senior management understanding, attitude and vision (Clegg, 2001) Lack of skills/technology/training in-house (Clegg, 2001, Wagner et al. , 2003) Resistance from employees – based on fear, inertia, lack of faith (Quayle, 2002) Poor availability of external skills (Clegg, 2001) Resistance from suppliers – unwilling to drop proprietary systems and a lack of equipment and time (Quayle, 2002) System compatibility (Clegg, 2001, Davila et al. , 2003) Incoherence and perceived lack of security and flexibility – internet-specific (Quayle, 2002) Table III Key components of alternative business eras in retail supply Supply chain management era Network era The age of reason: efficiency The age of possibility: opportunity Taking costs out Putting value in Introverted Customer-focused Chain starts at the DC (distribution centre) Chain starts with the consumer Logistics productivity Marketing productivity Physical distribution Information management Economies of scale Network economics Negative feedback Positive feedback Focus on volume Focus on value Source: O’Keeffe, 2001 E-business strategy development: an FMCG sector case study M. Webster, R. Beach and I. Fouweather Supply Chain Management: An International Journal Volume 11  · Number 4  · 2006  · 353–362 356 pressure on prices to the extent that suppliers have been forced to cut costs, improve process efficiency and push price reductions back up the supply chain to lower tier suppliers. Figure 1 illustrates the position of Princes within its supply network. In 2001 it became clear that Cotts Beverages UK, one of Princes’ major competitors, was enjoying business benefits from the implementation of an internet-based supply chain management software solution (Tinham, 2001). Facing intense pressure in the FMCG marketplace, the report that Cotts were enjoying significant benefits from internet-based fulfilment generated considerable interest within Princes. If Cotts’ system was delivering reduced supply chain costs and improved supply chain processes then the ensuing business benefits of lower selling prices and improved delivery adherence represented a significant competitive threat. Since the early 1990s Princes had been communicating electronically downstream with the major supermarket retailers using EDI. Different technological approaches were used for different customers meaning that Princes has had to invest in alternative solutions in order to trade downstream. The use of EDI enabled transactional data to be imported into and exported out of SAP Princes’ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system quickly and accurately. The use of EDI, together with the integration of transactional data into Princes’ SAP system, had increased the effectiveness of the company’s outbound, demand-side supply chain. During this period however, communication with suppliers had remained largely unchanged, relying on a combination of telephone, fax and the traditional postal service. During the latter part of the 1990s, Princes had explored the possibility of adopting EDI links with suppliers, but high costs and technological issues had prevented its adoption. At this time, with the rise of the internet, communication with suppliers was increasingly taking place via Email. Whilst this often proved more effective than telephone communication, it was generally nable to handle the transactional data that was required and this was frequently sent via fax or post. The company began to pilot an application called â€Å"Business Connector† which used the internet to transmit transactional data between organisations that operated a SAP ERP system. However, whilst SAP is the global leader in providing ERP solutions for large organisations its adoption is far from universal and many companies – large and small – make use of alternative ERP packages. Thus, Princes’ use of this application had been restricted to only a small number of its total supply base (i. e. to those that used SAP). The company was aware of many national and multinational manufacturers that were implementing internet-based systems to improve the quality and the value of the information that they exchanged with their business partners, the objectives of such collaborative initiatives being to improve the overall performance of the supply chain (Fernie et al. , 2000). Faced with this knowledge, the need to review supply-side (inbound) transactional mechanisms and the potential threat posed by Cotts, Princes felt compelled to explore the opportunities that the new and emerging B2B solutions could create within a FMCG supply chain. In particular, they were interested in establishing the positions and views of the organisations within their supply base on the adoption of possible B2B solutions and what the current and anticipated impact of the internet on B2B communication and business transactions might be. The results of the investigation were to inform the development of a B2B ecommerce strategy that would take the company forward into the twenty-first century. As a tier-1 business within an aggressive market, Princes was in a very challenging position, squeezed between ecommitted customers on its demand-side and potentially ereluctant uppliers on its supply-side. In order to develop and implement future strategic direction for the use of ecommerce in all its B2B interaction, there was an urgent need to investigate the existing position of its supply-side partners, and to determine the prevailing degree of enthusiasm for e-commerce. Study design issues Prior to undertaking this research, Princes’ knowl edge of its suppliers’ views on e-commerce was largely anecdotal. The development of future strategy without formal knowledge or Figure 1 The Princes soft drinks supply network E-business strategy development: an FMCG sector case study M. Webster, R. Beach and I. Fouweather Supply Chain Management: An International Journal Volume 11  · Number 4  · 2006  · 353–362 357 understanding in this area would have been unwise. There was therefore a critical need to carry out an exploratory study that would yield clear findings for the particular case of this supply chain. In the sense that it should allow the company to focus on understanding the dynamics present within a single setting (Eisenhardt, 1989) and to develop an enhanced understanding of real world events (McCutcheon and Meredith, 1993), the study needed to be case-based. Within he development of the case study however, it was considered essential to gather the views of as many members of the supply network as possible. Detailed dyadic data relating to a single supplier relationship with Princes, whilst interesting, would be inadequate for the purposes of this work; it would not truly reflect the views of all supplying organisations, nor would it nece ssarily gather the multi-disciplined perspective necessary to inform the development of an e-business strategy. Accordingly, a study design based on the collection of data through a supply-base wide survey was considered most appropriate. Survey research, i. e. he statistical analysis of data gathered by large-scale data collection techniques such as postal questionnaires (Barnes, 2001), is the most popular approach used in OM research, representing approximately 60 per cent of the published research in this field (Forza, 2002). A major advantage of this approach is that the techniques used are recognised and largely approved of by the research community. Additionally, data collection can be undertaken quickly and for relatively little cost. The means by which the questionnaire is administered can have a significant influence on response rates and hence the value of the results obtained. In this case, care needed to be taken in the design of the questionnaire and also its method of implementation to ensure that as comprehensive picture as possible from the supply chain could be built up. Study methodology and limitations Princes’ procurement strategy had been to work in partnership with a small number of suppliers who themselves were major players within their particular sectors, and to develop strong relationships with them. As a consequence of this consolidation strategy, Princes’ supply base consisted of approximately 100 suppliers. Of these, 61 ere selected to take part in the survey. The selection criteria applied was that the volume of business from each should exceed 1 per cent of Princes’ annual purchases. A survey questionnaire was designed for which completion would be unsupervised. It was structured around the following key themes and topics: . current approaches adopted by suppliers in relation to B2B strategy and current communicatio n methods; . suppliers’ views of the specific electronic communication channels, i. e. EDI, Email and internet/websites; and . a section on organisational details. The majority of the questions were of the â€Å"closed† type as these were felt to be most suitable for the easy unsupervised completion of the questionnaire, but where it was thought that qualitative data might improve the understanding of the issues, â€Å"open† questions were also included. Given the relatively small number of responses possible it was considered important that a high response rate was achieved. To this end, the 61 supplier companies were contacted prior to dispatch of the questionnaires to identify the appropriate respondent by name, to encourage their cooperation and to ask if they would participate in the study. 4 (88 per cent) responded positively and were sent the questionnaire. Of these, 39 completed questionnaires (72 per cent of the 54) were received in time for the subsequent analysis. Whilst this response does not cover the entire Princes’ supply base, it is estimated that it represents over 85 per cent of all annual procurement tran sactions measured by value and volume. Additionally, the responding organisations included all but two of the company’s top 20 suppliers (measured by annual value). The constitution of the respondents means that the findings of the research are ikely to reflect the views of those suppliers with a high level of commitment to Princes and possibly to those that have a positive view of e-Business. A research methodology incorporating interviews with the collaborating suppliers would have facilitated a higher level of analysis that would undoubtedly have led to greater depth of understanding. However, the primary purpose of the study was for the rapid collection of data that would inform the development of strategy. The findings are largely descriptive. Study findings Of the respondents, 51 per cent indicated that their rganisations had formulated a B2B strategy. Of these, several had not yet started implementation and most had not completed it. Of the strategy-formulators, 33 per cent identified the use of EDI as part of the strategy, and 28 per cent mentioned the use of their SAP ERP systems within it. Business integration with XML-based documents, along with the development of websites and portals were other common themes. Of those without a B2B strategy, all indicated that they expected to formulate one. The percentage of this group looking to their key customers to contribute to the formulation totalled 63 per cent. All survey respondents currently used at least two methods of communication with their business partners, and the majority used at least four methods. The most popular methods of communication were email, fax, and phone, used by 92 per cent, 92 per cent and 90 per cent of respondents respectively. By contrast, use of the internet (excluding email) had only a 13 per cent adoption rate. Whilst the traditional postal service was no longer used by approximately 40 per cent of the sample, its use remained far more widespread than non-Email communication via the internet. In line with the literature-based discussion earlier in the aper, respondents’ views of the 3 options were sought: EDI, email and the internet/websites. The adoption of email as a channel for B2B communication has been rapid and far-reaching and has been described as the primary technical focus for organisations involved in developing an e-commerce capability (Clegg, 2001). Of the survey respondents, 95 per cent us ed email and many saw it as equally essential to business as the telephone or computer. It was used for both demand-side and supply-side transactions. Transactional security and difficulties of backoffice integration were considered important issues, but the peed, ease of use and low cost of email meant that it remained the preferred medium of many organisations and for many transaction types. It is seen as less useful for payment and invoicing transactions than for transactions such as notification of order acceptance, dispatch confirmation, forecasting, ordering and acknowledging receipt. Most users E-business strategy development: an FMCG sector case study M. Webster, R. Beach and I. Fouweather Supply Chain Management: An International Journal Volume 11  · Number 4  · 2006  · 353–362 358 process email messages by printing or downloading to preadsheet software, although 15 per cent of respondents are able to integrate some of the messages directly to internal business systems. The disadvantages cited for email included the high volumes of email communication (including junk mail), inefficient processing methods and lack of security. The percentage of respondents who expect the importance of email as a B2B communication channel to increase numbered 97 per cent. Of the respondents, 59 per cent were using, or had used, EDI. Of these, 70 per cent had adopted it because it was a requirement from their customers. There was no indication of the importance of this channel for individual businesses relative to other channels, but intuitively this adoption rate seems high. This may be explained by the relatively high adoption rate in the FMCG sector as a whole, where – as discussed earlier – tier-1 suppliers are frequently required to use it by the major retailers and distributors who appear to have the power to force its adoption (Hill and Scudder, 2002). A number of Princes’ suppliers – described as â€Å"dual suppliers† in Figure 1 – are themselves tier-1 suppliers to retailers and would therefore already be using EDI (e. . the sugar suppliers). Others supply to customers in the chemical industry where use of EDI is relatively high. Additionally it may have been influenced by the fact that the average turnover of the responding companies was ? 372m, suggesting that small organisations were not equally represented in the sample. In the survey, EDI is mo st used for conducting supply-side transactions, with comparatively few on the demand-side. Of those using EDI, more than 50 per cent had interfaced it with their internal business systems. Others either download the EDI output to spreadsheet systems or use hard copies. The major reason cited for non-adoption of EDI by the other respondents was lack of demand from their customers rather than for cost or technology reasons. There appears to be a possible link between the adoption of EDI and company turnover – with adopters tending to have higher turnover than non-adopters. Of all respondents, 59 per cent believe that they will be using EDI for business transactions in the future. Only 35 per cent of respondents felt that the importance of EDI would increase as a channel for B2B communication. Overall, this suggests that the scope for uture EDI adoption is limited, with those perhaps that have already invested in the technology continuing to derive benefit from it. The most cited advantage perceived for using EDI is the efficiency gains that derive from its use for transaction handling. Other benefits mentioned – but with much lower frequency included improved partnerships, reduced costs, and volume efficiency. Evidence that supports an observation made by Hill and Scudder (2002) following their survey of the use of EDI in the American food industry as a vehicle for improving supplier coordination that companies â€Å"may see EDI as a tool for improving efficiencies rather than a tool for developing supply chain management† (ibid, p. 383). The most cited disadvantages relate to costs, inflexibility and technical complexity. Others included general poor adoption rates, the need for dedicated one-to-one links, the danger of obsolete technology, security and the multiplicity of standards. Although 67 per cent of respondents claimed to use the internet (excluding its use for email) to communicate with partners, only 13 per cent were regularly using internet platforms for business communication. Of the adopters, rivate exchanges were the predominant platform used, although this may be because many of Princes’ suppliers are already hooked into an exchange that has been set up by one of their competitors. General websites are the second most used platform. A wide range of business processes were being executed through the internet, including both demand-side and supply-side transactions. Examples in cluded ordering, order acceptance, dispatch notification, and delivery receipt. Less common uses are for invoicing, forecasting, and payment. Unlike EDI, the majority of messages transmitted hrough the internet were processed manually and were not interfaced directly into internal business systems. The most commonly cited reason for the lack of adoption of internet B2B communication was that this did not represent a business priority. Other reasons included the view that the technology was still too immature to be of significant benefit, and that customers did not want to use it. However, all respondents expect its use to increase in the future. As shown in Figure 2, perceived benefits of using the internet to communicate included lower costs, ease of use, high availability of nformation, flexibility and speed. These benefits were expected to contribute to business benefits such as improved customer service, forecasting and business integration, increased processing and labour effic iency, stronger business partnerships, and reduced processing errors, transaction costs and inventory holdings. As indicated in Figure 3, perceived disadvantages included security issues, a lack of universal standards, insufficient technical knowledge, loss of personal interaction, and the inefficiency of the internet. Respondents identified technological needs in order to implement internet ommunication including requirements for an XML infrastructure, for software middleware[2] and for integrative hardware. Study summary As summarised below, the study’s findings indicated that the development of a B2B procurement strategy needed to take account of three key factors: Technical issues Technical barriers to the implementation of generic B2B software solutions were found to be: . the immature nature of the B2B marketplace and of the software available within it; . the lack of universal standards for e-Business middleware that can integrate internal business processes with e- Bu siness messages and transactions; and a lack of evidence of the ability of B2B software to synchronise supply chains, to improve collaboration or to deliver sufficient return on investment (Fontanella, 2001). Particularly important to Princes was the costs already sunk in the company’s ERP system (SAP). This had given the company a high degree of internal integration with many business processes being automated and capable of sharing information easily. Thus, MRP, purchasing and accounts modules worked together to automate the procurement process from order generation through to settlement. Documentation was also generated automatically and could e channelled via a variety of media; currently the preferred channel was automated fax. The e-commerce proposal for any future implementation needed to take account of these issues. E-business strategy development: an FMCG sector case study M. Webster, R. Beach and I. Fouweather Supply Chain Management: An International Journal Volum e 11  · Number 4  · 2006  · 353–362 359 Customer/commercial issues Competition within the grocery retail industry continues to be intense and retail customers continue to exert pressure on their tier-1 suppliers. Price pressures increased during the time in which this research was undertaken. In such a business climate, the justification for capital investment can be problematic. Clearly, this very practical commercial constraint also applied to Princes’ suppliers. Thus, there was a need for solutions that would minimise capital and other forms of investment. Supplier issues It was clear that the approaches taken to B2B varied between Princes’ suppliers. The technical sophistication of their approaches to internal business processes also varied from leading edge ERP systems to those using stand alone PCs. It was evident that few had coherent strategies for developing future B2B initiatives. Thus, any solution reached by Princes had to be capable of operating over a variety of channels and communicating in a variety of formats. Furthermore, in order to achieve full integration of the supply chain, information needs to flow seamlessly up and down the chain in the same way that using internal business systems enables the exchange of data within an individual organisation. Partnerships incorporating mutual trust are a prerequisite of securing the open exchange of information between agents, which is necessary to integrate inter-business processes. Cultural change is necessary to develop such artnerships, which must be based on trust, collaboration and Figure 2 Perceived advantages of internet communication Figure 3 Perceived disadvantages of internet communication E-business strategy development: an FMCG sector case study M. Webster, R. Beach and I. Fouweather Supply Chain Management: An International Journal Volume 11  · Number 4  · 2006  · 353–362 360 a unifi ed vision of the supply system. For many of Princes’ suppliers, the volume of trade does not justify the financial and resource-based investment needed to develop this level of collaboration and for others, the nature of the trading elationship precludes its achievement. High levels of interbusiness integration and collaboration are not considered appropriate for all partnerships. Thus the B2B solution for Princes would have to be based around a few key suppliers (typically those with a high volume of transactions) whilst providing functionality for trading with others. Discussion and conclusions The constitution of the respondents to the Princes survey means that the findings of the research are likely to reflect the views of those suppliers with a high level of commitment to Princes and possibly to those that have a positive view of ecommerce. Given this, the findings are somewhat depressing. The lack of enthusiasm for e-commerce in general and for internet-mediated solutions in particular, supports the evidence summarised earlier in the paper that industry is not yet ready for full scale adoption of internet-mediated B2B e-commerce. However, although it has shown the use of internet-enabled transactions to be limited, a notable statistic is the number of respondents that use email to communicate within the supply chain and who see it as growing in importance. Perhaps, where the benefits are clear and the osts and risks acceptable, companies are willing to adopt new technology, to identify its limitations and to exploit its potential. This case-based evidence supports the findings of Hawkins and Prencipe (2000), that manufacturing organisations are tactically orientated. Equally clear is the fact that they are predominantly reactive rather than proactive in their approach. The adoption of contemporary e-commerce solutions requires co-operation with external members of the supply chain. Considering the particular position of tier-1 suppliers in FMCG chains where the nature of relationships has raditionally been transactional and adversarial, it is clear that the development of an e-commerce strategy is extremely problematic. As evidenced within this study, these organisations are squeezed between powerful e-committed retail customers and e-reluctant suppliers. The cautious, customer driven approach adopted by the Princes’ suppliers is understandable, but difficult to incorporate into a â€Å"one-sizefits- all† supply-side e-commerce strategy. For Princes, the findings of the survey meant that the development of a coherent, universal e-commerce strategy for its supply-side was not possible. The majority of its suppliers additionally supplied other tier-1 and retail customers, with the result that they were unwilling and unable to invest in a Princes-specific approach. Princes only feasible option at this stage was therefore to continue with a piecemeal approach to supplyside e-commerce in the hope that technical developments would ultimately lead to improved accessibility and greater standardisation. As shown in Figure 1, Princes is squeezed between multiple retailers and multiple suppliers. Whilst there is some coherence of approach to e-commerce among the retailers (EDI) the study has found that there is no common approach r purpose within the supply base. Princes finds itself forced to adopt different prescribed systems at its demand-side but unable to develop a unified approach at its supply-side. Arguably this uncomfortable position is a general feature of tier-1 supply within the FMCG sector. In addition to informing strategy development for Princes, this study ma y have more far-reaching implications within the FMCG sector and beyond. For organisations (suppliers) with just one customer who wants to trade using a particular approach (e. g. EDI) the associated investment may be seen as too large and uncertain. On the other hand, if the supplier has several ustomers demanding the same approach then the investment may more easily be justified. Where customers demand different approaches, the supplier must apportion the investment among the different relationships. This process of investment may ultimately lead to structural changes within the industry via the development of a range of tier-1 supplier types, defined by their approach to the use of e-commerce. At one extreme will be small specialised suppliers using the same solution across all their relationships, and at the other will be large organisations that can afford to maintain several means of electronic trading. As a supplier, Princes falls within the latter category, whilst the majority of its own suppliers fall into the middle ground of having multiple customers, insufficient financial resource to fund a variety of solutions and hence little enthusiasm for e-commerce. As shown in figure 1 a few exceptional â€Å"dual suppliers† fall into the same category as Princes – typically where they supply directly to the retailers also. This view of future industry re-structuring has parallels to developments within the automotive industry where tier-1 suppliers have increased in power and size, and are able to rade with a range of customers using alternative e-commerce solutions[3]. Notes 1 Groupware is a range of software tools and associated technology that is used to support groups of people working together. Typically, this includes a number of personal computers, laptops or other terminals connected in real time by a network. The span can range from a single room to full global r each achieved by internet links. 2 Middleware is defined here as a separate software application that interfaces between two disparate applications and enables the transfer of information and he synchronisation of activities between the two applications. 3 The ideas discussed in the final paragraph were stimulated by the comments of an anonymous reviewer. We are grateful for the contribution.