My Tuesday with Morrie Essay Example for Free

My Tuesday with Morrie Essay Life is a class, from the day we came to the day we leave. In this class, we learn to learn, learn to live, learn to accept relationships, learn to face death, and learn to adapt to this long and fancy journey of life. Since our childhood, we constantly wonder what our futures will be. Our future life style, future career, the coming deterioration of our body functions and even death, are all in blur that whenever we think of them, we will be occupied by fear. Sometimes, we cannot help but ask: what is the feeling of death? Where will we go after we die? It is always hard for us to be easy with death because we fear it. Therefore, we rush to work hard to get what we desire within the short span of life. However, it is a pathetic fact that we are sometimes blinded and lose what we really need when pursuing what we â€Å"desire†. Even worse, we will not realize it until we are about to die. Tuesday with Morrie can help us realize it before hand. My Encounter with Tuesday with Morrie I am really grateful for this course and Miss Yang. Thank you for giving me a chance to read Tuesday with Morrie, a book that enlightened me in understanding the meaning of life. I am the same kind of people as Mitch Albom, who is always occupied by work and spare no time in other parts of life. When I was reading this book on every Thursday, I put myself in Mitch’s position. The Abstract of the Story Tuesday with Morrie tells a real story about an old professor, Morrie  Schwartz, who had been gradually paralyzed by ALS and was about to die. His student, Mitch Albom, accidently saw his professor being interviewed in the television. Shocked by the upcoming death of his dear professor, Mitch went to meet Morrie in order to grasp some time to say goodbye to the professor who inspired him during college. During the last three months, no matter how busy Mitch was, he would went to see Morrie on Tuesdays to attend Morrie’s lessons about the meanings of life. They talked a lot ranging from death, love, marriage to culture etc. Inspired by the lesson, Mitch realized that love dwarfs all the fame and fortune. Luckily, he successfully saved a precious relationship. Three Kinds of Attitudes towards Life Life is the same process for everyone which stars from birth, living to death. However, everyone has his own particular understanding of life. In my opinion, most of the attitudes towards life can be divided into three main categories. Those who have monotonous and dull lives conceive life as a process of birth, eating, drinking, sleeping, getting married, growing old and finally going to the heaven, which is apparently meaningless. The second type views life as a trade. Their theme of life is what they can obtain from life. Their spontaneous reaction to any new experience is bound to be: what it worth to me? In the world built on this kind of attitude, happiness turns out to be a competition. Most people in the modern world are living with this life style where competition and efficiency dwarf everything. The third kind of attitude expresses a theme: what I can bring into life. Their objective is to bring others happiness, which eventually will bring happiness to themselves. I admit that I am in the second category. Tuesday with Morrie taught me how to move into the third. Cherish What You Own at the Present. In Tuesday with Morrie, Professor urged us to remember a philosophy: â€Å"If youre always battling against getting older, youre always going to be unhappy, because it will happen anyhow.† Since we cannot reject it, why don’t we just ignore it and cherish what we have right now? We should enjoy every stage of our lives. When we are kids, we should enjoy playing and being an innocent kid. When we are adults, we should enjoy working hard,  giving out, embracing love and being an enthusiastic adult. When we are old, we should enjoy the peace of life and being an experienced yet calm old man or woman. As long as we accept who we are right now and learn to enjoy it, every stage is meaningful and wonderful for us. Many of us skip other processes lying in the middle but only see the very end of life and therefore rush every day to try to obtain more, more and more. This is not living. Realize What We Need In the modern world, there are innumerable people like Mitch, who was always occupied by his work, by his pursuing of fame and fortune. Though I am still a student, I have already been trapped in this kind of life style, too. Due to the countless homework and researches, I barely have time to have fun with friends or care for my families. I can obtain all I desire but I seldom feel quite happy. I was confused and could not find a way out. Morrie helped me. He said that when you learn how to die, you learn how to live. Death is a wake-up call for all of us. When faced with death, all the fortune and fame, those we desire and fight for in our whole life, become useless. There was an experiment carried out among students. They were given five stuffs, including a box of matches, a Channel perfume, an LV bag, a Benz car and a big house. Everyone was given a few million dollars and they could buy whatever they want. The result shows no one ever chose to buy the matches. However, when the professor assumed that the students were in a deserted island, all the students bought the matches. It is obviously that, compared with a box of matches, those luxuries are of no use in the deserted island. Matches can start fire to warm, to cook and to make signals. That was what they need. Nowadays, people are hard to be satisfied because they are always pursuing things much more than they actually need. If we can learn lessons from Morrie’s death or the students’ realization in the experiment, we can figure out how much we have already owned and suddenly we can get away from the depression of the constant struggle for more and start to enjoy living itself. It is a pity that the modern world encourages the second type of life style I mentioned above. A set pattern designed by the society forces us to struggle  for colleges, exams, promotions, money, marriages, houses and cars etc. It seems every one takes it for granted and has been accustomed to it. We lost our judgment. Morrie, as a man dying soon, told us that wealth could not buy happiness and contentment. Life should not have been that hard. My Changes after Reading the Book When Morrie asked Mitch to drop by every Tuesday, Mitch hesitated and said he might not be able to because he was so busy. However, he made it. After reading Morrie’s fourteen lessons on the meaning of life, I decided to learn from both Morrie and Mitch. I have to abandon my forever excuse: I am so occupied and I have no time. I started calling my parents and my sister regularly and occasionally went out with friends, as well as doing some charity works. Amazingly, it suddenly occurred to me that I am a human, a living human. Though it is hard to suddenly change from type two person to type three, who can live as wisely as Morrie, I am working on it and I am making progress.

The Founding Of The Vanity Fair Brand

The Founding Of The Vanity Fair Brand Founded in 1899, Vanity Fair (VF), the worlds largest publicly owned apparel company, offers various products such as jeans, bags, sportswear, footwear and outerwear. It operates mainly in the US and Europe, but also in developing countries like India, Russia and China. In the last decade, VF made some acquisitions including The North Face, Napapijri, Nautica and Vans. Five major coalitions consist of multiple brands a total of 700 brand stores in 2009 leading the Growth Plan strategy. The company recorded, in 2008, $7,561,621 of revenues. VF brands are attempting to establish close relationships with its suppliers to reduce production costs, respond to changes in other cost factors, and shorten the lead time that occurs with the traditional suppliers. Also, Fraser, the President of the Supply Chain International for VF brands, is concerned that the companys current supply chain strategies will not satisfy the future demand that will occur in the Asia-Pacific areas. In this paper, we will analyze four alternatives that VF brands can execute for its global expansion into the Asian markets. Those 4 alternatives are as follow; (1) To abandon the Third Way; (2) To continue with the current supply chain strategies; (3) To pick the best method for each coalition and products categories; and (4) Gradually switching to Third Way altogether in the end. Based on our analyses of the 4 alternatives and the apparel industry, we will suggest the best solution that will satisfy the new demand and help the other areas to become more e fficient and effective in the future. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Since the company was established more than a century ago, it was able to develop certain competencies in various areas and a good reputation. One of them is the strong performance in its internal plants, and the know-how and expertise involved. All these led to VFs own sustainable competitive advantages. In addition, the company built a technical know-how and engineering capabilities, which are very difficult to imitate. The rapid production at the internal plants and its supply chain are very valuable. Moreover, a large number of suppliers and the experience gained accumulated over time give VF a considerable and reliable network. Also, during the various acquisitions, VF preserved the unique organizational cultures and brand identities to keep the design groups intact. Every brand has then a strong personality that can be managed and developed individually, giving more diversity. Besides, the financial situation of VF is strong with a low level of debts and a high cash position th at can help them in case of tough economic situations and give them more flexibility to respond accordingly. Weaknesses When operating such a big and diversified company, some difficulties may occur. The first one is the lack of coordination and trust among suppliers and the company. A bullwhip effect may be observed due to the lack of inventories. Also, the supply chain is often illogical and highly fragmented due to various outsourcing locations. Certain dependence may be caused by some suppliers, making it very costly (ex: Nicaragua). Thus, building a reliable supplier network is very expensive. VF has a sheer complexity of its product line, leading to different needs and priorities among its numerous brands. The diversity of ideas between coalitions and directors causes some problems in the decision-making as well. Low costs pressuring for outsourcing can lead to quality matters and lack of control. Additionally, not much differentiation can be made in terms of supplying and transportation. Opportunities As the apparel industry is changing at a very rapid rate, innovative companies can see various opportunities. The supply chain management is a very first change in the companys structural changes; then the Third Way is described as an opportunity to gain another competitive advantage, going forward. Partnerships can be developed in a long term vision. Moreover, the expansion of sales in developing countries represents a huge growth opportunity. Asian markets seem like a favourable location for new stores. Also, the development of new line products at a broad range of price can be designed at any time to satisfy a new market segment. Fashion is seen differently around the world, thus, various strategies are used to fulfill each need. Future acquisitions can also contribute to the growth of VF. Threats Apparel industry is very much affected by economic situations. In times of crisis, too much dependence on some suppliers might be fatal; especially that competition is very hard and intense with brands competing directly. Continuous investment must be made, essentially in marketing to maintain margins. Plus, the growing bargaining power of mass retailing chains put pressure to lower the price at all time. Also, the frequent changes in tariffs and quotas make outsourcing unsure sometimes, making the research for suppliers challenging. Agile supply chain and vf brands The third way seems to be a new way to deal with suppliers and with a supply chain in general. However, third way could be seen as an agile supply chain in many aspects. In the next section, we will discuss what are an agile supply chain, the differences between lean supply chain and hybrid supply chain, and the link with VF Brands third Way. This part will give basic information that will be useful for our recommendations. VF BRANDS and THE AGILE SUPPLY CHAIN In a turbulent and volatile world, the only thing that does not change is change by itself . Basically, companies compete at several competitive dimensions like cost, delivery time, quality and flexibility. However, todays intensely competitive market is more and more defined by an instability and unpredictability of demand that represent the new challenges organizations face. For many reasons, the product and technology life cycles are shortening, forcing more frequent product changes in addition to new competitive pressure. Now, companies look beyond cost and quality advantages. Speed to market, speed to delivery and flexibility are being emphasized as a way to be more reactive to the needs of customers. However, more than speed, companies require a high level of maneuverability, or in other words, a high level of agility. What is an Agile Organization? Agility is a business-wide capability that embraces an organizational structure, information and systems, logistics processes, and in particular, mindsets. The key to success of an agile business is speed and flexibility. Agile organizations are market-driven, with more product research, and short development and introduction cycles. An agile organization can be defined as an organization capable to cope with unexpected challenges, to survive unprecedented threats of business environment and to take advantage of changes as opportunities. This kind of organization must be a fast moving, adaptable, robust business able to achieve a competitive advantage in a very instable environment. The basic way to define agility is the ability to quickly match supply, however, it is important to explain that agile is not a synonymous of leanness. Indeed, lean can be seen as doing more with less by implementing a lean manufacturing (Porsche Consulting) with zero inventory or Minimum Reasonable Inventory (MRI) and just in time approach. However, lean manufacturing system does not often mean flexible manufacturing system. A lean manufacturing system can result on less waste and high efficiency, but sometimes with important inventory. Finally, a company with a lean chain of supply can make their consumers wait a longer time to receive their products. We can illustrate that with the automotive industry and more specifically with the Toyota Production System. Indeed Toyota production system can be seen as lean, but that does not mean that consumers do not have to wait, often during months, to have the car of their choice. Therefore, Lean approach works best in high volume, low varie ty, and predictable environment. Whereas, Agility is needed in less predictable environment where demand is volatile and the requirement for variety is high. The Agile Supply Chains and Characteristics All organizations have supply chains of varying degrees, depending upon the size of the organization, the depth and scope of international outsourcing, the type of product manufactured, and the international production network. A supply chain describes the series of linked activities creating a process that changes supplies and components into finished products that will be distributed to customers. The agility of a Supply Chain is a measure of how well the relationship involved in the process enhances four pivotal objectives of agile manufacturing: Customer sensitivity, Virtual integration, Process Integration, and Network integration. First, all the agile supply must have the capacity to understand and respond to real demand quickly, in other words, the supply chain must be customer sensitive. The organization must be able to make forecast based upon past sales or shipment demand and convert these forecasts into inventory. For instance, the main challenge for companies is to be able to hear the voices of the market by receiving Efficient Response from customer (ECR) using information and technology to capture data on demand directly from point-of-sale and point of use. The organization must use information and technology to share data between buyers and suppliers creating a supply chain based on information rather than inventory, basically, create a Virtual Supply Chain. Sharing information using information and system (for example EDI) with our partner will create a collaborative work environment (process integration) that can be illustrated by joint product development and process improvement between buyer and s uppliers. Integrated your process offer the potential for major performance gain. This form of co-operation in supply chain is more and more important as many companies focus on their core competencies and outsource all other activities. Partnerships between buyer and supplier are inevitable to achieve an agile supply chain. To this extent, integration can mean the combination of sell through data, exchange of inventory status information, order coordination, open-book accounting, buyer supplier team, share information about the future products, and change in manufacturing process need to be changed as well as simplified pricing schemes . Figure 1 Dimension of Supply Chain Agility Supply chain agility can be discussed in terms of two dimensions of reach and range of activities covered by networking amongst companies (13;8). The figure shows this two-dimensional framework. On the vertical axis, there is the reach from Personal Division to Global. When, in the horizontal axis, there is the Range of activities from the basic way to send a message (EMAIL for instance) to Internet integration. This figure shows three steps from Bill of Material through Purchasing efficiency with electronic commerce, Supplier coaching, and Relational Database to the top level of planning, and control with Demand Planning, and Capacity Planning, and so on. To achieve agility on the Supply Chain, an organization must go through these steps and access the highest level with planning and control. In fact, the company must achieve the highest level on Reach (Global) and on Range (Integration). Indeed, on the last step, internal operations will be transparent to suppliers and customers. T his transparency allows cross companys team to work. Local teams are able to think globally and discuss the process and requirement without restriction without major problems of communication. Any change, modification, and new project can be implemented quickly, efficiently, and easily without creating high cost, or affecting quality of the output. (Figure 2) Another study, by Vankatranan and Handerson, implemented these three steps in addition with three inter-dependent dimensions of the supply chain (customer interaction, asset configuration, Knowledge Leverage). In fact, these three stages can be implemented to evaluate progress on each dimension of the supply chain and see how well integrated and agile it is. (Figure 3) Hybrid Strategy, another Solution Lean and agile supply chain are two concepts focusing on two different issues. Lean initiative is said to focus on cost and quality and impacts on flexibility and times based technology leadership objective (e.g. TPS), whereas, agile supply chain influence costs and time based technology leadership. However, companies often need to keep in mind cost quality as well as flexibility and technology leadership at the same time. A combination of the two approaches could be appropriate to create a hybrid strategy. Hybrid Supply Chain focuses on the fact that characteristics of demand must be taken into consideration when designing the supply chain. Within a mixed portfolio of product and markets, there could be some products with stable demand and some other with unpredictable demand that is why a supply does not have to be totally agile of lean. For instance, the Supply Chain of the fashion apparel, Zara, could be shown as a agile supply chain with some lean characteristic in order to have the most effective quick-response system in its industry. Indeed Zara is able to quickly understand trends, producing some items with low flexible demand in low cost country (low cost, long time delivery, and so on), but at the same time they are able to be produced quickly in response in Spanish high-automated and very efficient factories that allow quick production, shorter time to delivery in point of sale, lower risk, and more flexibility. We can discuss another case, IKEA. IKEA deals with many suppliers mostly in European Union (more than 50%) and 20% in China. Two ideas must be underlined; Ikea usually implement long-term relationship with strong partnership with its suppliers, however, these partners must respect very strict norms created by IKEA itself. IKEA can help is suppliers (by financings machines, increasing the efficiency of the supply chain, and on) that make these supplier very efficient and very dependent to the buyer. To this point of view, IKEA supply chain can be seen as an agile Supply Chain, however, Ikea produce many products in Asia (China), but these products have a more stable demand trend. VF BRAND and The Third Way: Implementation of an Agile Supply Chain? Vanity Fair brands were used to deal with their own very efficient factories located closed to the companys main market, the US. However, the group decided to extend globally by buying other brands where the policies were sometimes to totally outsource the production. VF brands needed to deal with a very complicated supply chain, very decentralized design, and so on; a kind of mix between traditional sourcing and outsourcing, for some aspect similar to ZARA. However, just chasing low cost and building its own factories are not seen as a long-term solution for Chris Fraser, President Supply Chain international for VF Brand. At the same time, some of the inefficiency was due to lack of coordination and lack of trust between apparel companies and suppliers. A new solution was adopted, the third way. Third way means that VF should focus on supplier network. Suppliers and VF brand would work together. Suppliers would own their factories, but VF brand will help them for free using their ow n resources in engineering and management forces as well as with their purchasing power to procure fabric and other raw materials -resources previously used in their own factories. This solution looks like IKEAs solution, however, Ikea focused on a network of suppliers geographically near its location which is not the case for VF Brand that have to deal with low cost countries regulation and particularities and many brands in order to achieve its agile supply chain. The results are not very good for the moment: difficulties to convince shareholders that sharing resources with outsourced suppliers is a good solution, and as well as difficulty linking with the country where products are supplied; which probably is the reasons why. As a conclusion, results from studies like shows that only a few companies have adopted agile supply chain practices. However, most companies have created long term collaboration with suppliers as well as customers; it can be seen as lean Supply chain or hybrid strategy. Indeed study suggests that lean supply chain has a higher level of impact on competitive objectives in contrast to agile supply chain. Nevertheless, this result would probably be discussed within a few years as it will take some time before current companies investments and research effort on agile supply chain lead to more concrete and enjoyable results on competitive outcome compared to lean supply chain. Lets see what VF Brand can achieve if it pursue this third way. ALTERNATIVES Alternative 1 Abandon the Third Way go back to the old way The Third Way could potentially cause many difficulties for VF, hence abandoning this way before investing too much money is a possible alternative. Firstly, you maintain the flexibility to change volumes or to change to a supplier who is offering a lower price. You are also independent from the suppliers problems, for instance if you are not satisfied with the quality of the product, you can simply switch to a different supplier. Following the old way, you do not need to spend money and time until the problem is fixed. Secondly, it is tough to find suppliers willing to form a partnership with the given conditions. To agree to not supply the same category of products to competitors anytime in the future is a huge barrier for a supplier and drags him into dependence on VF. Since the price paid is vague at the establishment of the relationship, the supplier faces the risk to be exploited. The fact that one of the test Third Way suppliers could not manage to survive financially is a hint that the relationship might not work out for suppliers. In Addition, VFs existing suppliers were carefully selected and since they were not interested in a closer relationship. Thus, VF needs to establish the Third Way with unknown companies, a great risk if you are concerning the trust needed. Thirdly, there is still the possibility that VFs knowledge leaks out to competitors. The technology you provide your supplier is not necessarily limited to a specific category of product, but you relationship might be. In this case, the technology could be used by competitors if they buy products of a different kind from that supplier. Since VF is not the owner of the supplier, it is also harder to control the knowledge leaking. For example, an employee may change to a competitors supplier. Fraser and Green called VFs technical capabilities a trump card, therefore it should be highly protected and not being risked. Another point is that the problem of switching costs is also an issue. To establish a Third-Way-relationship VF has to invest money to transfer their knowledge to the supplier. Since the latter is not losing any money in case of termination of the contract, the chance for dropping out is higher. Regardless whether the supplier drops out or is closing down for some reasons, it takes a long time until a new relationship is established, so VF might face severe supply difficulties. Lastly, in a study there was no significant relation between strategic sourcing and gaining competitive advantage. Therefore, the effort spent on the Third Way might not return the expected results. On the other hand, the same study showed that strategic sourcing (and therefore the Third Way) has a positive influence on business performance. A close relationship is also speeding up goods entry. Also keep in mind that the total costs for a five pocket jeans were the lowest of all three ways. Alternative 2 Continue the current supply chain strategies Another alternative strategy for the situation which Vanity Fair brands are facing could be to keep working on the current strategy. As explained in the article and supported by its strong financial performance compared to its competitors, the company has maintain its competitive position in the apparel industry. VF brands have been well established through a series of successful mergers and acquisitions of different brands, products, and styles. In the course of these acquisitions, the company was able to gain huge competitive advantages from operating its own manufacturing plants and traditional outsourcing, simultaneously. This combined strategy allowed the company to juggle between based on the geographic markets, demands, different products and coalitions. Frasers Third Way strategy seems very attractive for VF going forward. Many of the challenges the company faces are due to production inefficiency and supplier relationship based on little or no trust. Fraser and VF brands are at a crucial stage to decide which means to carry on international expansion goals in the future. Despite many benefits of the Third Way, the company must examine if this supply chain strategy is a strong fit for Asian markets. As mentioned previously, there is no doubt that a combination of full integration and traditional sourcing is a VF brands strength. Internal manufacturing sites are able to produce high quality products more efficiently and reliably compared to not only its competitors but also its outsourcing suppliers. The significantly reduced production time is a great strength with respect to the products that experiences a high inventory turnover rate. Another advantage arises in unexpected crisis such as the global economic downturn in 2008-2009. If the company operated solely based on outsourcing, it would have been very difficult to survive due to the shutdown of small shops and short notice of their discontinuation. On the other hand, outsourcing for certain coalitions or products due to the nature of its operations is inevitable. Cut and make (CM) contracts allowed the company to oversee cost drivers at each stage, mostly for heritage lines supplied in Central American and Caribbean. Full package sourcing was mainly used for the lifestyle brands in Asia, Europe, and Northern Africa. Outsourcing strategy provides VF brands with more flexibility when dealing with different suppliers across different geographic regions, especially with regards to tariffs and quotas. While the Third Way has many benefits going forward, this strategy also involves a high risk and costs associated, more so if executed without thorough research and examinations. Besides the concerns from different areas of the company itself, the Third Way should be carefully selected and applied to the most suitable product lines. For example, the strategy is most suitable for products that require the steady and regular supply of its inventory with the staffs of a certain level of education. Also these potential suppliers should be willing to build the strategic partnership for a long term. As mentioned before, switching costs are another hindrance. Since it is much easier to persuade new suppliers than existing suppliers, the company needs to thoroughly examine the qualifications of potential suppliers and there is always a risk that the supplier might not meet the standards later on. Rather than expanding globally extensively through the Third Way, Fraser and the company must fi rst identify the strategic fit for certain geographic regions for certain products/coalitions, and then pursue this strategy. A product line which makes up a small volume or not much techniques or skills should rather be outsourced. Alternative 3: Hybrid Supply Chain VF Corporation world headquarters is located in Greesboro, North Carolina where the senior management team is based, along with the corporate strategy, Finance, Global Business Technology, Law, Human resources and finally, Global Supply Chain. VF Brand Business model focuses on supporting the individuality of lifestyle of each VF Brand and has to deal with each headquarter. Indeed, each Brand has its own headquarter and focuses on its own consumers and customers.(1) However, VF Brands had divided the globe into 4 areas: US Region, Americas, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), Asia-Pacific. VF Corporation has a specific strategy for each region even some brands are in different regions and are often global. Each brand has specific suppliers that can deliver globally and deal with the headquarter of this specific brand (not with VF Corporation). However, different brands in different regions might need the same supplier for almost the same product. For instance, two brands may need the cheapest supplier as possible for a specific type of product that can accept a long lead time whereas some other products may need a short lead time as the demand trend could fluctuate a lot. The next recommendation could be for VF Brand to have a more original and customized production and purchasing strategy. The basic idea is to create more coherence between where suppliers are based and where products are distributed. Lets take backpacks for example. Backpacks are needed for many companies inside the group, however the demand for backpacks is not fluctuating a lot and the demand is often lower for a backpacks than for jeans or a shirts or t-shirt. This implies that these backpacks could be produced in Asia with lower prices and longer lead time with classic suppliers. However, Jeans for the US market could be manufactured in Mexico in highly automated factories owned by VF Brand, and shipped quickly to the US. Manufacturing these Jeans in Mexico allowed shorter lead times and flexibility depending on fashion trend and thus, demand. The idea is to base suppliers where it is more significant for distribution. If goods are produced in Eastern Europe or Asia, these produc ts should be shipped directly from suppliers to a distribution center that will be located near where products will be sold. Indeed, nowadays, many products are produced in Asia and shipped to the US to finally be sold in Asia. This new approach will significantly reduce lead times and cost. Previously, we only talked about regular suppliers and factory owned by VF. However, VF Brands do not own their own factories for instance in the European and Asian markets. The key idea is to implement the third way in this case. Indeed, some products in the Asian or European market could have a very fluctuating demand trend; for these specific products some brand may need suppliers as efficient as VF Brands factories. Choosing specific suppliers and implementing the third way with them could be a good solution. These third way suppliers could produce for different brands of the VF Corp when they want to produce common products for a specific period of time or deal with specific products for different brands of the group. These third way suppliers could act like VF Brands factories; but in this case, close to EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region or Asia-Pacific region markets. To avoid sending products to other part of the world and then send them back to the original region , regional centers could be created. These centers will received product from normal suppliers (common for all VF Corp Brands) and then send these product to other regional centers, reducing lead time and cost. At the same time, Third Way suppliers will only focus on production for their actual area of the world. VF Brands must act local and think global. However as I will show, VF Brands do not have to think global just with its supply chain. Indeed, as we previously said, some products -like backpacks- are not often a trendy product. These not-so-specific products could have a common base -platform- share between the brands that will allow mass production with the same suppliers-reducing cost by dealing with more significant volumes-. In other words, some products could probably be designed by and for a different brand of the group but with the possibility of customization to differentiate these products. Exhibit 1 shows you an example for 3 areas, (EMEA, USA, ASIA) 1- VF Corporation Website http://www.vfc.com/about/global-presence VF CORP, how to think Globally Alternative 4: Gradually switch to Third Way altogether in the end Another alternative is that VF could gradually change their strategy to Third Way altogether in the end. As mentioned in the given case, VF can achieve more efficiency and long term stability through the Third Way. In our previous alternatives, we mentioned our concerns about the Third Way that it would not succeed. According to this point of view, the Third Way will bring loss of flexibility, leakage of VFs technology to outside and many other losses that will not benefit the company. However, to survive in apparel market of today, it is crucial for a company to satisfy various needs of consumers while supplying products as quickly as possible, which can be achieved by the Third Way. In order to quickly respond to market changes, it is important for VF to have a simplified, efficient production process so that it can immediately act when necessary. By achieving the Third Way, VF can gain two advantages. First, it can bring efficiency to its supply process. Second, it will result in a long term and sustainable supplier relationship. First, by implementing the Third Way, VF can make its supply process more efficient. By providing high technology engineering resources of VF, suppliers of VF can improve its production processes. This will result in cost benefits for VF as it will shorten lead time, and decrease production and inventory cost. Not only that, improving production process and shortening lead time mean VF can act more quickly. It is important for an apparel company to react quickly to changes to satisfy ever changing needs of the fashion market. Second, VF can create a long term and sustainable supplier relationship with its suppliers by following Third Way. As previously mentioned, contract of Third Way includes long term contract with its supplier in producing goods. By having a long term relationship, VF can decrease cost of finding new supplier for every new season. Also, by providing VFs engineering resources to improve the production process for suppliers, VF can gain trust from its suppliers. By building trust with suppliers, VF can minimize the cost of excess inventory and long lead time. Those against the Third Way argue that it will result in low flexibility, technology leakage. However, recent experiments in countries like Bangladesh showed the Third Way suppliers were able to greatly shorten lead time, allowing VF to respond to market more quickly than compared to traditional ways. Also, no leakages of VFs technology were reported. Those against the Third Way argue that the Third Way has many holes and also it is unable to persuade existing suppliers to change into the Third Way and therefore risky and ineffective strategy. However, this is a myopic view of the issue. Such problems are transitional errors that can be dealt with in the long term. Holes that might appear through the Third Way can be revised when such problems are found. Also, the supplier persuasion issue can be dealt by gradually replacing existing suppliers with the Third Way suppliers while continually trying to convert existing suppliers into the Third Way. It is essential for VF in order to sur vive in apparel market to build a supplier relationship that is sustainable and interactive; hence, the Third Way is the answer. RECOMMENDATION The company is currently in a no-return process. It needs to find the best way to satisfy the growing demand all around the world but parti

Nemean Stadium :: essays papers

Nemean Stadium Based on Legend, approximately around 776 BCE, Koroibos crossed the finish line at the altar of Zeus and was crowned the first winner in Olympic history. Thus was the beginning of the ancient phenomenon of the Olympic Games. A time where all war would come to a pause as men would test their valor against fellow man in peaceful physical competition. This competition was partaken in stadiums at select locations. These men were considered elite athletes and representative of many men. This made the games important in more ways than competition. They were also political, social and a major source of pride within ancient Greece. But these Olympic games only came around every four years, so others followed. Along with the Olympic games three others joined forming the Panhellenic athletic festivals. They were the Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean games. The sites for these games grew in extravagance as well as popularity over time and in turn the stadiums the games were to be held in also grew in extravagance. The stadium at Nemea was particularly one of extravagance and prestige. The University of California at Berkley has done a great deal for the Nemean site in the past 25 years. They have uncovered a stadium dated circa 330 BCE along with a tunnel, which is said to have been an athlete entrance to the stadium. Extensive study of the Nemean stadium and tunnel has been done and the site is well documented. The impacts of such a great archaeological find is wonderful and has inspired many to even reenact the infamous Nemean Games. Through basic review of fact and study the following will briefly detail the findings of the stadium at Nemea and its tunnel. The site at Nemea had many visitors, known to have started as early as 1766, excavating parts mostly in search of treasures from the Sanctuary of Zeus. The earliest mention of the stadium was from Colonel William Leake, approximately during the 18th century, from where he located the stadium. Unfortunately no real excavation was done until 1973 when the University of Berkley began a large scale dig under the advisory of the American School of Classical Studies, Athens and the guidance of Stephen G Miller. The investigation began an extensive yearly excavation from 1974- 1983 and since then many smaller projects have steadily occurred. Nemean Stadium :: essays papers Nemean Stadium Based on Legend, approximately around 776 BCE, Koroibos crossed the finish line at the altar of Zeus and was crowned the first winner in Olympic history. Thus was the beginning of the ancient phenomenon of the Olympic Games. A time where all war would come to a pause as men would test their valor against fellow man in peaceful physical competition. This competition was partaken in stadiums at select locations. These men were considered elite athletes and representative of many men. This made the games important in more ways than competition. They were also political, social and a major source of pride within ancient Greece. But these Olympic games only came around every four years, so others followed. Along with the Olympic games three others joined forming the Panhellenic athletic festivals. They were the Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean games. The sites for these games grew in extravagance as well as popularity over time and in turn the stadiums the games were to be held in also grew in extravagance. The stadium at Nemea was particularly one of extravagance and prestige. The University of California at Berkley has done a great deal for the Nemean site in the past 25 years. They have uncovered a stadium dated circa 330 BCE along with a tunnel, which is said to have been an athlete entrance to the stadium. Extensive study of the Nemean stadium and tunnel has been done and the site is well documented. The impacts of such a great archaeological find is wonderful and has inspired many to even reenact the infamous Nemean Games. Through basic review of fact and study the following will briefly detail the findings of the stadium at Nemea and its tunnel. The site at Nemea had many visitors, known to have started as early as 1766, excavating parts mostly in search of treasures from the Sanctuary of Zeus. The earliest mention of the stadium was from Colonel William Leake, approximately during the 18th century, from where he located the stadium. Unfortunately no real excavation was done until 1973 when the University of Berkley began a large scale dig under the advisory of the American School of Classical Studies, Athens and the guidance of Stephen G Miller. The investigation began an extensive yearly excavation from 1974- 1983 and since then many smaller projects have steadily occurred.

Frances Ecconomy :: essays research papers

France is one of the world's richest nations. Industrialization began at the end of the 18th century. Unlike England and the rest of Europe, France failed to maintain the momentum of its early industrial start and was still an agricultural nation at the end of the 19th century. Most growth has occurred since the end of World War II. France now ranks among the world's most economically advanced nations. A distinctive feature of the postwar French economy has been national economic development plans. The first, the Monnet plans named after Jean Monnet who thought of it. Railways were nationalized in 1937, and many other sectors of the economy, including the coal, natural gas, electricity, banking, and transportation came under state control shortly after World War II. Other major industries were nationalized in the early 1980s. In the early 1990s, manufacturing employed between 20% and 25% of the labor force. Many French business enterprises are small to moderate in size, although the competitive business climate created by membership in the EC has forced many companies to be restructured and combined to form powerful corporations. The leading manufacturing industries are metallurgy, mechanical and electrical engineering, chemicals, and textiles. In 1986, France ranked third in Europe in steel production, with an output of 14.8 million metric tons and second in aluminum output. These and imported metals are fabricated into a wide range of mechanical and electrical equipment marketed throughout the world. French locomotives, turbines, electronics equipment, nuclear power plants and submarines, and television systems are famous for their innovative design, as are French automobiles, such as Citroen, Peugeot, Simca, and Renault, and French aircraft, such as Mirage, Concorde, and Airbus. In 1985, France ranked fourth in the world in production of passenger cars and third in output of commercial vehicles. A wide range of chemicals, including perfumes, pharmaceuticals, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and fertilizers, are also produced. The French textile and garment industry has long been known for its high fashion, alth ough in recent years the industry has lost many former markets to lower-priced imports from countries with lower labor costs. Less than 1% of the labor force is engaged in mining. In 1988 coal production was 14.5 million metric tons. Most of it from two principal coalfields the Lorraine coalfield near METZ, which is an extension into France of the Saar coalfield and the Nord-Pas de Calais coalfield around Lille, which is an extension into France of Belgium's Sambre-Meuse coalfields and is similarly thin-seamed, faulted, and difficult to work.

Teen pregnancy Essay -- Social Issues, Sex Education, health

There are many risks that teenagers take when they decide to have a child at a young age. The baby, as well as the parents, may face long-time problems from the pregnancy. These problems may include school failure, poverty, and physical or mental illness. Babies born to teenagers are at greater risk for neglect and abuse than those of a woman. Teenage mothers may feel like they are being demanded to do the job and they may take their frustration out on the child (When 2000). It is proven that traditional approaches to reducing teenage pregnancy rates such as sex education class or better sexual health services are not effective on their own. (DiCenso. 2004) This research has generated increased interest in the effects of interventions that target the social disadvantage associated with early pregnancy and parenthood. A social disadvantage refers to social and economic difficulties such as poverty, unemployment, and discrimination, and is distributed unequally on the basis of soc io-demographic characteristics such as ethnicity, socio-economic position, educational level, and place of residence. (Anand, 2006) Being a teen parent not only affects the parent but it also affects the child. Children from homes run by teenage mothers have to face almost insurmountable obstacles in life. The incidents of depression and mental health problems, the lack of father figures, and the high rate of poverty often connected to children in homes run by teenage mothers put them at serious disadvantages when compared to children raised in nuclear families. Many people believe that the implementation of sex education in schools and the addition of more federal aid for single parents are major causes for the country's high rate of teen pregnanci... ...ncouraged to finish school if at all possible. This will increase the chances of obtaining a good paying job. There are programs that help teenage mothers complete their curriculum and obtain their diploma such as home bound teaching, and online courses. It is also important for parents and community support to encourage these teens to set realistic goals for their life and give them something to look forward to. It is important for them to know that this is not the end of the world and that they can make it and go far with the love and support of their family. So many teens fall by the wayside because their families give up on them. This is one of the worst things that can be done to them. They are already afraid and feeling alone and when their support system pulls out from under them that can cause major problems for them and possibly the baby as well. Teen pregnancy Essay -- Social Issues, Sex Education, health There are many risks that teenagers take when they decide to have a child at a young age. The baby, as well as the parents, may face long-time problems from the pregnancy. These problems may include school failure, poverty, and physical or mental illness. Babies born to teenagers are at greater risk for neglect and abuse than those of a woman. Teenage mothers may feel like they are being demanded to do the job and they may take their frustration out on the child (When 2000). It is proven that traditional approaches to reducing teenage pregnancy rates such as sex education class or better sexual health services are not effective on their own. (DiCenso. 2004) This research has generated increased interest in the effects of interventions that target the social disadvantage associated with early pregnancy and parenthood. A social disadvantage refers to social and economic difficulties such as poverty, unemployment, and discrimination, and is distributed unequally on the basis of soc io-demographic characteristics such as ethnicity, socio-economic position, educational level, and place of residence. (Anand, 2006) Being a teen parent not only affects the parent but it also affects the child. Children from homes run by teenage mothers have to face almost insurmountable obstacles in life. The incidents of depression and mental health problems, the lack of father figures, and the high rate of poverty often connected to children in homes run by teenage mothers put them at serious disadvantages when compared to children raised in nuclear families. Many people believe that the implementation of sex education in schools and the addition of more federal aid for single parents are major causes for the country's high rate of teen pregnanci... ...ncouraged to finish school if at all possible. This will increase the chances of obtaining a good paying job. There are programs that help teenage mothers complete their curriculum and obtain their diploma such as home bound teaching, and online courses. It is also important for parents and community support to encourage these teens to set realistic goals for their life and give them something to look forward to. It is important for them to know that this is not the end of the world and that they can make it and go far with the love and support of their family. So many teens fall by the wayside because their families give up on them. This is one of the worst things that can be done to them. They are already afraid and feeling alone and when their support system pulls out from under them that can cause major problems for them and possibly the baby as well.

Sharecropping

I wanted to learn more about it. I realized that most freedmen could earn a better living for themselves and family by sharecropping. After slavery ended many of them had no money, food, or shelter to support them. Also I thought about how much America has changed, since the industrial revolution. I don't know anyone who does agricultural work anymore, but I know there are still a few. Most of the work that is needed to be done now for agricultural work has been taken over by machines.Antonio Vivaldi, George Frederic Handel, and Johann Sebastian Bach were all great music composers. Although they're all are quite famous, Vivaldi was one of the greatest. There are some differences between the composers that make them all unique. Vivaldi played the violin while Handel and Bach both played the organ. Vivaldi and Handel both are Italian and Bach is German. This source of different backgrounds is what makes their music style different.Vivaldi grew up being a part f the priesthood, and Bac h grew up not having very many people like him because of the way he saw things. Handel combined the Italian style with a unique French melody and created his own kind of music. Although there are many differences between these composers, they all were not famous during the time they were alive. Bach and Vivaldi were known more as a performer rather than as a composer because of the way they performed. All of these composers produced a style of their own, In a way to please and slut there audience.

Frankenstein and Interview with the Vampire Essay

The gothic horror genre attempts to make the reader/viewer feel a sense of dread, fear, terror, disgust or horror. ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley and ‘Interview with the vampire’ by Neil Jordan both explore the elements which compliment the Gothic Horror Genre. Major elements that are constant throughout the two texts are the constant search for knowledge which can be dangerous if in the wrong hands which can lead to supernatural or inexplicable events, omens or visions occurring, Humanity and the continuous quest to find what it means to be human touching on the idea of life after death, Isolation and the want for companionship, the responsibility of actions and the consequences, wanderers and the idea that women are often shown to be in distress. In the novel ‘Frankenstein’, Victor Frankenstein’s obsession to know more and more about life, how it is created and others who have quested to do the same such as the Ancient Mariner have eventually lead him to the creation of the his own human which was a supernatural event. In this case has also created a disaster due to the constant search for knowledge turning Frankenstein insane and dangerous. After creating the creation Victor saw it as a mistake. ‘I had finished, the beauty of my dream vanished breathless horror and disgust filled my heart’. Later in the book Victor preaches to Walton ‘You search for knowledge as I once did†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘†¦ I hope it does not sting you as it once did me’ Shelley used Emotional Language to express Frankenstein’s horror and disgust in what he has done and creates a sense of forgiveness and pity for Frankenstein. ‘Interview with the Vampire’ a film, demonstrates the same concept of the constant search for knowledge, which leads to a downfall. Louis has always longed to leave his life, as he was never satisfied with the life he was living and has always been curious about vampires and life after death. I longed to be released from it. I wanted to lose it all†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘†¦ My invitation was open to anyone†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘†¦ But it was the vampire that accepted’. This quote shows Louis relentless longing to leave the life he currently is in. This curiousness for answers to life and the unknown leads Louis to the ch oice to become a vampire. Louis accepts not realising that becoming a new person/vampire does not erase the feelings of a human only makes them worse because he is now locked in a life of evil with no way out. Hubris is a technique that Jordan uses to show Louis fatal flaw of searching for something new to end his current life, by becoming a vampire Louis for fills this temporarily but eventually finds there is no way out and is worse off that before. This gives the reader pity and sorrow towards Louis. Both composers have explored the theme of Humanity and the continuous quest to find out what it means to be human, touching on the idea of life after death. In ‘Frankenstein’ Victor is faced with the decision to free Justine from death. In order to do this he must confess that the creature he created in actual fact was the murderer of poor little William and risk his dignity and pride throughout the town ‘†¦horror would be looked upon as madness by the vulgar’ or remain a trusted and honoured member of the community and let an innocent human die for his own dignity. This question that he was forced to ask him self is also another way to ask the question of ‘what it means to be human? ’. Victor chooses to keep this valuable information to himself and lets Justine die.