E-Logistics2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

E-Logistics2 - Essay Example This report describes the various challenges in global supply chain strategy of VF and provides recommendation to improve the â€Å"Third Way† supply chain system globally. Challenges of â€Å"Third Way† supply chain Strategy of VF VF produces apparel products from its own manufacturing plant as well as acquires apparels from other suppliers. The outsourcing strategy of VF focuses on flexibility. VF possesses strong manufacturing capacity and it can also outsource from suppliers to improve the manufacturing process and thus reduce the cost of production. The suppliers of clothing industry use term contract to produce particular garment in particular quantity. This strategy helped VF to shift production among suppliers in different locations for optimizing cost and respond to the changes in any business conditions such as changes in tariff or exchange rates and other factors related to cost. VF had responded to the market condition and implemented â€Å"Third Way† supply chain strategy to gain advantage of both in house manufacturing and outsourcing as well. VF had two critical elements in the growth strategy which were to expand sales outside the US and expand the ‘direct to consumer’ business. ... For example, Walmart, one of the largest jeans retailers of the US had launched jeans under their own brand. The apparel companies mostly concentrated on design and marketing rather than production. The production was generally a labour intensive method which had several disadvantages. This enabled the garment companies to outsource the production of their design in high competitive terms (Pisano & Adams, 2009). As the supply chain had become globalized, it was a great challenge for VF to find good supplier and develop good relationship in order to coordinate the production flows. The apparel companies do not possess appropriate skill and good bond for efficient outsourcing in Asian region. For this reason, a few Asian manufacturers had started to modify their business to provide fully incorporated supply chain to the apparel companies (Pisano & Adams, 2009). The economic recession of 2008–2009 was also another challenge of VF. Compared to other competitors, VF had managed the global recession much better, though it has also seen decline in sales by 9% in the year 2009. Their income had reduced by 30% in the same year, but the financial condition of VF was strong. It had relatively lower debt, good credit line and comparatively higher cash than their competitors. The biggest fear for VF was the long term impact of the economic crisis on the supply chain. Several garment suppliers were operating on low margin and did not have any financial cushion. When the volume fell because of low demand of garment products, suppliers were forced to shut down their business. The sudden closure of supplier’s business had proved to be troublesome for VF Company. For example, a supplier of VF had informed that it would close down its

EDLE 639 - Assignment 3 Modules 3 to 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

EDLE 639 - Assignment 3 Modules 3 to 6 - Essay Example Their skills is what the organisation needs to prosper; therefore, if a worker is allowed to work towards his/her vision with the firm, then the firm will also stand to gain. Some of the issues, which educational leaders face to ensure the survival of their organisation, include the assessment gap, the teaching gap and the leadership gap (Kent, 2005). Reasonable individuals differ on the details of 21st century knowledge, but the ordinary themes, which emerge comprise of communication, creativity, teamwork, problem solving and critical thinking. Even though, it is hard to hear an educational leader support lower principles for communication or disapproving teamwork, there is a big gap between reality and rhetoric (Robinson, Ward & Timperley, 2003). Also, it is vital for any educator to master the way of leading their students as education is meant for forming leaders in various fields of life. Module 4 Promoting and supporting school leader and teacher professional learning is vital to a country’s attempts to drive fairness and excellence for every young Australian (Dunn, 1981). In this manner, AITSL, in union with stakeholders from numerous school education systems and sectors, aids energetically to young Australians attaining the goals set in the Melbourne Declaration as effective learners, creative and confident individuals, as well as active and informed citizens (Dunn, 1981). Some of the vital factors, which this charter should address, include the significance of learning in enhancing the professional skills, practice, as well as engagement of all school leaders and teachers to achieve progress in student outcomes. The charter also needs to find a way of articulating the expectations, which all school leaders and teachers vigorously take part in professional learning all through their careers (Hatcher, 2008). The charter needs to describe the traits of a high quality specialised learning culture and successful specialised learning, to help school l eaders, teachers, as well as those who help them to get the most from their learning. The other factors that the charter should consider include occupational competence in teaching, teacher education and occupational competence and the linkage between settings of preparation and practice (Hatcher, 2008). These are the major factors that affect teacher education. Module 5 One the critical success factors for effective governance is developing an all encompassing, as well as conceptually effective framework, centered on the most significant strategic factors that are supported by a strategic vision, in addition to a planning process of maybe five years. Schools should be aware of this in order to practice effective governance (Abbey, 2005). The second factor includes dispersed and diverse leadership, which taps into the experience and expertise of each individual. It also cultivates deep ownership of real strategic change among vital stakeholders. Elevated leadership improves the numb er of individuals concerned with policy making. It also enhances people who are open to fresh ideas, and; hence, are more likely to produce more new ideas. The other factor is learning to lead in wider networks through which firm limits give way to partnerships and teams and there are common resources, as well as strategies to attain common results. To aid teaching in all ages, settings and stages, schools need new management

Change Management in Nursing

Change Management in Nursing A health care setting institution with advanced health technology and high calibers doesnt mean quality nursing care can be offered, unless accompanying with effective clinical leadership. This essay has a strong focus on all aspects of clinical leadership. A case will be used to find out how should effective leadership skill be. Both internal and external factors should be analysed. The latter factors can be found out by PESTEL. Change management is helpful to develop strategies for handling the issue. In recommendations, teamwork, power, communication and presentation skills, conflict management, emotional intelligence and autocratic leadership style all are crucial to solve the issue and a clinician should equip with them. Before concluding all the discussion, training myself as a reflective practitioner is helpful to develop my future practice. Clinical leadership- What is this? It has various definitions. Harper (1995, p.81) defines a clinical leader as one who possesses clinical expertise in specialty practice area and who uses interpersonal skills to enable nurses and other healthcare providers to deliver quality patient care. More elaborately, it also involves an environment where nurses are empowered and where there is a vision for the future. Clinical leadership requires leadership skills for team building, confidence and respect of others, as well as vision and empowerment. Equally important, clinical leaders must also be good communicators. Meanwhile, Stanley (2006) suggests not only the abovementioned elements clinical leaders have to demonstrate, but also the followings- approachable and role model. Approachable means a clinical leader should be friendly and openness rather than controlling and dictatorial (Stanley, 2006). Role model means clinical leader who serves as an example, whose behaviour is emulated by other nurses (Stanley, 2006). To summ arise the above elements, clinical leadership is effective if clinical leaders are expert in their field, and because they are approachable, effective communicators and empowered, are able to become a role model, motivating other nurses by matching their values and beliefs about nursing and care to their practice (Stanley, 2006). Leadership is important in healthcare today. In Hong Kong, Hospital Authority emphasises any potential or experienced leaders should be educated and trained. Enhancing professional competencies and building up effective leadership is the top priority. In action, providing simulation skill-based training for nurses; developing new in-house specialty training programs for nurses; offering corporate scholarship for overseas training; creating full-time executive development positions; organising senior executive development program and other leadership development all are beneficial to nurture competent clinical leaders (Hospital Authority annual plan, 2010). Case scenario This short paragraph is going to describe a case I experienced at my area of practice. Having been a senior nurse at my workplace, I am mainly responsible for nursing administration, such as arranging vacation leave for my colleagues. One day, one of my subordinates requested annual leave during the Chinese Lunar New Year as she hasnt been a long vacation leave during the festival for a few years. Her request was simply rejected because of compelling reason- inadequate manpower. I think it was reasonable to reject her request. However, the colleague had seemed disappointed my decision and complained this incident to my senior. It is time for me to contemplate which aspect, for example, communication and interpersonal skills or poor decision making, which I was doing wrong in this leadership issue. In short, there might be conflict issues between the subordinate and senior. Analysis There are many external factors which affecting the leadership issue. It is important to reveal them so as to maximize the opportunities and minimize the threats to my work environment. PESTEL is an analytical tool to help decision-maker to consider what external factors are important. Political, economic, social, technological, ethical and legal factors or PESTEL factors in short should be discovered. The following grid shows the analysis: Any inequality legislation committed due to subordinates request being rejected A lot of alternative nursing employment may contribute staff submitted resignation Staff social life may be affected due to imbalance work and social time Outdated IT equipments impede work flow and efficiency Unfair to the subordinate or not, lack of respect as her wish is rejected Take precaution of any changes in employees holidays policy/protocol Having listed the key factor in each PESTEL area, elaboration will be given regarding to individual area. Political factor can be interpreted as what is happening politically in the environment in which a decision-maker operates (Mennen, 2007). A decision-maker should pay attention that any inequality ordinance may be committed, for subordinates request for holidays during public holidays is refused. Economic factor can be interpreted as what is happening within the economy (Mennen, 2007). A decision-maker should take notice on every decision. Careless decision may incur angry healthcare staff submitted resignation, for there are a lot of nursing vacancies offered by other clinics, hospitals and old age homes. Social factor can be interpreted as what is occurring socially in an environment in which a decision-maker operates (Mennen, 2007). Having vacation leave during special festival is a reasonable desire for all shift-based healthcare staff. A decision-maker may be in dilemma whos e staff can have vacation leave as manpower is so tight. Technological factor can be interpreted as what is happening in technology which can impact what a decision-maker does (Mennen, 2007). In this regard, outdated healthcare technology can affect the leadership issue also. Inefficacy may be caused by the outdated equipment results time-consuming in a simple procedure, such as preparing a roster for frontline staff. Ethical factor can be interpreted as what is right or wrong philosophically (Mennen, 2007). A decision-maker should underscore any decided judgment should be morally acceptable, such as frontline staffs request should be fairly arranged. Prejudice and bias should be avoided. Legal factor can be interpreted as what is happening with changes to legislation (Mennen, 2007). A decision-maker should update his/her understanding in any staff vacation leave protocol or policy in order to maintain the staff maximum benefit. To make a brief summary, PESTEL can enable an organiza tion to anticipate future threats and take action to escape from their impact. Change management The term-change management is coined by Lewin (1951).Change management model is known as unfreeze, change and refreeze (Mind Tools Ltd, 2010). Change is unavoidable of something is needed to be amended. This paragraph is going to explore how the change management model can be applied in the clinical issue. Before application, force field analysis should be performed. The analysis starts from the premise that any situation is held in a stable position by a series of equal and opposite forces. Change occurs about when the forces become out of balance. The analysis is useful when a decision-maker knows where he/she wants to go but is stuck. The following shows the analysis: Restraining forces forces Pushing forces Maintaining adequate manpower is the top priority Staff discontents the holiday during the Chinese New Year Poor mood and low work efficiency due to no holidays during the special festival Power and discipline are paramount to uphold better patient services/benefit Involved staff politicizes the issue (i.e. complaint the issue to management level) Frontline staff is an important asset in caring-demand work environment To execute change, pushing forces must be greater than restricting forces and the need for change has been recognized. In application of the Lewin (1951) model, the first step should prepare the organization to accept that change is necessary, which involves break down the existing status quo before building up a new way for the next stage (Paton McCalman, 2008). In practical step, ensuring there is strong support from management team. Compelling message should be disseminated vacation leave during special festival is possible if manpower is enough. Maintaining stable manpower is essential to provide quality nursing care. At the same time, managerial staff should remain open to subordinates concerns and address in terms of the need to change. The second stage is where people begin to resolve their uncertainty and look for new ways to do things. People start to believe and act in ways that support the new direction (Paton McCalman, 2008). In practical step, effective communication and empowerment are significant. More clearly, managerial staff should prepare every staff for what is happening if staff requests annual leave during special festival. Also, explanations exactly by the managerial staff how the changes will affect every staff. The third stage is when the change (i.e. no one is approval for vacation leave during special festival unless manpower is allowed) is taking shape and subordinates have embraced the new ways of protocol, the organization is ready to refreeze (Paton McCalman, 2008). In practical step, the organisation should anchor the changes into the culture. Establishing feedback system is helpful to sustain the change. Having vacation leave immediately after special festival is encouraged. Recommendations There are six recommendations to solve the leadership issue. The concept of teamwork should be imparted into the ward practice. Nursing care is teamwork-based. The importance of teamwork should not be ignored. Teamwork in health care can be defined as a dynamic process involving two or more health care professionals with complementary backgrounds and skills, sharing common health goals and exercising collaborated physical and mental effort in assessing, planning, or evaluating client care (Agich, 1982). I have to explain her that the importance of teamwork. All colleagues need to understand how important it is for them to work smoothly together if they want to provide quality care. All colleagues must be dedicated to the whole nursing team and be willing to act unselfishly. In other words, sacrifice, in a certain extent, is necessary. To build up teamwork culture, making sure that the team goals are completely clear and understood and accepted by each frontline staff. In addition, I have to be careful with interpersonal issues. Early recognising them and dealing with them in full are highly recommended. Power There is a famous proverb-nothing can be done without power (Power, 1999). The appropriate use of power is important for clinical leadership, for a healthcare setting environment depends on social relationship based on power. Power (1999) defines power in terms of control or influence over the behaviour of other with or without their consent. Power can be classified as physical, position, resources, expert and intuitive. Position rather than other power should be used in the issue. Position power equals legitimate power. It means occupancy of a role entitles one to the rights of that role in the organization (Power, 1999). As a decision-maker, I have considerable right to determine something. Not approving staff with vacant leave during the special festival during the Chinese New Year is a logical and reasonable decision. Both parties interest (i.e. patient and ward) can be preserved. Presentation and communication skills Oral communication skills consistently rank near the top of competencies valued by clinical leaders. As a clinical leader, promoting positive workplace relations through conservation is highly recommended (Burnard, 1997).. In the leadership issue, I have to offer constructive criticism pertinent to the issue rather than directly rejecting her request. Think currently about what I want to say is the first step. Next, be specific in conveying core message during face-to-face communication. Clear rather than vague assertion is preferred. I do wish there is enough manpower during the special festival so you can have holiday us better than your request is banned due to inadequate manpower. On the one hand, I have to offer help and empathy her. More clearly, holiday after the special festival should be arranged immediately and understanding that the mood of no holiday during the festival. Conflict management Since different staff will have different viewpoints, ideas and desire, conflict is unavoidable in any group. The sources of conflict are disagreement on how things should be done, personal interest as well as tension and stress (Shortell Kaluzny, 1997). The outcomes of conflict include polarization, low morale and regrettable behaviours produced. Therefore, conflict should be well encouraged In this regard, understanding how conflicts arise is important. Obviously, the above mentioned conflict can be categorized as personal interest (i.e. requesting on holidays during the special festival). To handle the conflict due to personal interest, compromise or negotiation is effective to settle down the incident. I have to talk with her gently as manpower is too tense, your compromise is critical. At the same time, I have to manage the issue intelligently, banning her request straightforwardly seems provoking her emotion. Rather, I have to refuse her request euphemistically. For example, y our request must be approved if manpower is enough. Emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence is recognition of our own feelings and those of others (,). A clinical leader who accurately perceives others emotions can handle change better and build stronger social networks. To achieve so, three emotional intelligence skills a clinical leader should possess. The skills include social skills, motivation and self-awareness. Social skills are the ability to influence or persuade others (Pahl, 2008). Good communication skill is a typical example. Motivation is able to enjoy challenges and be passionate about work and initiate optimism (Pahl, 2008). Motivating all frontline staff to work at the special festival is a big challenge task. Self awareness is a deep understanding of ones emotions or self-assessment in short (Pahl, 2008). Understanding my own strengths and weaknesses is helpful to deal with emotional event. Authoritarian Autocratic rather than laissez-faire and democratic styles should be considered. Autocratic style is an autocratic leader who is directive and makes decisions for a group. Being autocratic does not mean the leader is a dictator. Instead, the leader usually provides direction and makes decisions (Northhouse, 2010). Meanwhile, laisser-faire style is noninterference in the affairs of others and democratic style is subordinates have an equal say in the decision-making process (Northhouse, 2010). In the leadership issue, if a lot of subordinates requests annual leave during the special festival, inadequate manpower is guaranteed. Therefore, laissez-faire and democratic styles mustnt be adopted because it is impossible for subordinates to freely choose the period of vacation leave. To prevent any chaos in holiday arrangement, autocratic style is the best style to be adopted. Development of future practice This experience should be in my heart because the experience I engaged is helpful to my future practice. Reflective practice is highly recommended. It is associated with learning from past experience, and is regarded as an important strategy for health professionals who embrace lifelong learning (Johns, 2009). Due to the ever changing context of healthcare, there is a high level of demand on healthcare professionals expertise. Healthcare professionals could benefit from reflective practice, since the act of reflection is seen as a way of promoting the development of autonomous and qualified professionals. Engaging in reflective practice is associated with the improvement of the quality of care and stimulating professional growth. In practical step, there are several frameworks for reflection, for instance, Gibbs reflective cycle. Gibbs (1998) developed the reflective cycle in order to provide structure for reflecting on a nursing situation. The cycle involves six phases. The first ph ase is to describe what happen (i.e. the case scenario). The second phase is to think and feel about the scenario (i.e. unwisely to handle the issue). The third phase is to evaluate what was good and bad about the experience (i.e. adequate manpower can be maintained but the involved subordinate become angry). The fourth phase is to analyse what sense can I make of the issue (i.e. managing conflict of personal interest intelligently). The fifth phase is to think what else could I have done (i.e. managing conflict tactically). The final phase is to prepare contingency plan (i.e. if it arose again, what would I do). Conclusion So far, all aspects of clinical leadership have been covered. To solve the issue due to personal interest, negotiation with involved staff, wisely-used conflict management skills, fully utilizing position power and compelling presentation skills all are constructive to the issue. Before settling down the issue, both PESTEL analysis and change management should be engaged. The strengths of the above are to discover any threats as soon as possible and implement related changes immediately. Successful settling down the issue doesnt mean a clinical leader demonstrates effective clinical leadership. As clinical leadership is a persistent phenomena performed by a clinical leader, reflective skill a clinical leader should have so as to enhance clinical leadership in an advanced level. (Words: 2711)

Hybridizing the Destruction of Nature and Pauline Melville’s Erzulie Es

â€Å"Erzulie†, a short story written by Pauline Melville, illustrates an important theme in Caribbean literature. The story is an example of literature that uses a strong theme of nature in the text and displays environmental symbolism throughout. The main theme in Caribbean literature is seen as the struggles of indigenous people and the consequences they face after the islands were colonized, however other themes such as post-colonial environmental harm can be seen in stories such as â€Å"Erzulie†. You can see a similarity between the natives and the island itself. The native’s suffer from social wrongs and suppression and the land of the Guyana country is also suppressed in a sense and destroyed as a consequence of colonialism. Melville’s use of nature and environmental symbolism can be seen prominently when reading the short story with ecocriticism awareness. While most symbolism and themes aren’t at the surface level of a story, some theme s can be even more hidden within the text. In this essay I will further illustrate how the goal of Melville’s work changes when you read it with an ecocritical mind. Reader’s can now realize the importance of Guyana, not only because of its relationship with the author, but also because of its environmental damage that was caused by colonialism. You can also see that the character Erzulie was not only used as the protagonist to create a frightening female murderess, but she is a representation of the land of Guyana. Lastly, Melville’s language is enlightening in the evolving theme of nature that is seen from beginning to end. Guyana is the former British Colony on the South American Coast that received its independence in 1966 from the United Kingdom [4]. It’s one of the only Caribbean countri... ...ndation, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. 5. Heise, Ursula K. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Ecocriticism." PMLA (2006): 503-516. 6. Kahn, Aliyah. "Nations of Eden: Race and Ecology in the Post-Pastoral Caribbean." Research Projects. Aliyah Kahn, 2013. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. 7. McLeod, John. "Cultural Models of Creolization." The Routledge Companion to Postcolonial Studies. London: Routledge, 2007. 102-03. Print. 8. Melville, Pauline. â€Å"Erzulie†, in The Migration of Ghosts, pp. 140–41. 9. Pyne-Timothy, Helen. "Reading the Signs in Pauline Melville's" Erzulie"." Journal of Haitian Studies (2001): 136-147. 10. Ramraj, Robert. "The Omai Disaster in Guyana." Gamma Theta Upsilon. Gamma Theta Uppsilon, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. 11. Renk, Kathleen Williams. "â€Å"Magic that Battles Death†: Pauline Melville's Marvellous Realism." The Journal of Commonwealth Literature 44.1 (2009): 101-115.

Disastrous Consequence

In life, we encounter circumstances wherein we gave our all but we continue to fail. Our idealistic expectations were shattered by the realization that sometimes we cannot control our actions even if it was aimed for our individual betterment. In the end, the question remains to be on how we are going to address these hurdles and challenges facing us. The ability to recover and stand up despite these setbacks remains to be the ultimate goal for everyone.Looking back, there was one experience that disappointed me because I had ideal expectations towards a particular project that I had made. It happened when our instructor provided a topic for us to write about. This research shall be huge component for our research. I really need a good grade to pull out a good performance in the end. Due to this, we were allowed to choose a topic of our choice and relate it towards the lessons that were taught during the first half of the class.In addition to these, the specific details and objective s were given three weeks before submission. In a nutshell, the topic was my specialization since I had spent numerous times working on that issue. Moreover, I had gathered sufficient references that can guide me towards the process of writing. Since I really need a high grade for this paper, I made contact with the professor occasionally to inform her about my updates. Lastly, I was able to finish it one week in advance. That was why I had the chance to proofread and analyze the paper for errors.However, when the grades turned out, I was disappointed when I saw that my grade was not up to my expectations. In addressing this, I went to my professor and asked her the reason I got the grade. She indicated that I was too focused on creating a paper based on the idea that I know and failed to appropriately link it towards the subject. I felt bad on this because I had the opportunity to consult with her. But I used this experience as a learning opportunity for me to enhance and improve on my writing skills so next time I won’t achieve the same results.

Economics: Foreign Direct Investment

What impact will the prospect of deprivatization have on investment by managers of privatized firms? The prospect of deprivatization will impact managers of privatized firms because under this policy, certain past privatization would be declare illegal and the transactions would be reversed. These privatized firms would have to be either run as a state-owned enterprise or sold to another party.This will affect managers of privatized firms in that they may not have the power to make decisions on their own, decisions will be made by the state and this may limit levels of efficiencies in these firms, also the firms may not respond quickly to changing market conditions due to long process of decision making. What effect will deprivation have on foreign investment in Russia? Many of the private buyers were foreign companies and inventors and their idea was to move from a centrally planned economy to a market system.The courts would that the company’s initial privatization was illeg al. They suggested that the company was to be resold. Deprivatization will discourage foreign direct investment, this is because investors will fear the occurrence of such a situation in the future and therefore will prefer to invest in other regions. There are some factors that encourage foreign direct investment which include political stability and well defined property rights and when investors learn that political influences will occur they will not invest.Foreign direct investment has advantages in that it increases job opportunities, pay taxes to the government from profits earned, lead to the sharing of information and technologies and also stimulates economic growth, in future less foreign direct investment will decline and these advantages will not be realized. Who gains from deprivatization? Who losses? State-owned enterprises that were privatized loses. Managers who lost their obs when new investors entered the picture gain deprivatization. Investors have over the years developed the firms they acquired and this has added value to the firms over the years, previous loss making firms have been improved by these investors who have converted the firms into profit making firms. Therefore when the investors are deprived off their firms they will loose and the individuals, government or investors who are accorded the firm will gain.In some cases where products produced by the government are subsidized then privatization leads to an increase in prices, when the government owns these firms then the consumers will experience a reduction in the price of goods and services produced by these firms and therefore gain. Assuming more people are hurt by deprivatization than helped, why would a local politician support such a policy?Politicians want mass deprivatization of these firms due to some disadvantages they cause in the economy, one of this disadvantage is that foreign investors will repatriate profits to their home country and therefore does not benefit th e host country, the other problem is that they bring stiff competition to the various industries and host country firms will close down due to competition. Finally the politicians will want investors in the country to invest in these firms and not foreigners and they will not want illegal allocation of these resources to some individuals.The performances of a government in power is required to safe guard state property and not transfer property to individuals, for this reason therefore politicians may want to increase government popularity by safeguarding public property by deprivatization. The public owned firms in the market are seen as a tool to further the government goals, when the government acquires these firms then it will be possible for the government to further economic and social goals in the whole nation.Finally private firms may be producing less than the demanded amount, this is because the private owners aim at increasing profits in the short run but the state will h ave long term goals and therefore these firms will be used to implement policies that will have long term benefits rather than short term. References James A. Brickley. Clifford W Smith, Jr. and Jerold L. Zimmerman (2009) Mangerial Economics and Organizational Architecture(5th Ed. ) McGraw Hill Publishing. Thomas Parland (2005) The Extreme Nationalist Threat in Russia: The Growing Influence of Western Rightist Ideas, Routledge Publishers, New York