Supply Chain free essay sample

A real world example of a second-tier supplier is â€Å"Wisconsin Aluminium† which supplies aluminium fuel filter housing to Mechanical Devices Company. Mechanical Devices uses the fuel filter housing on an engine component that they produce for Caterpillar Inc. Therefore, Wisconsin Aluminium is a second-tier supplier. b). Second Tier customer: The first tier’s customer’s customer is the focal firm’s second tier customer. Second tier customers buy from first tier customers (who now become a re-seller). The second tier customer may or may not be the end user of the product or service. A real world example of a second tier customer could be a retailer like Superstore where they would purchase the groceries from their first tier customers (wholesalers) and they would become the end user’s retailer. c). A focal firm: A focal firm is â€Å"the initiator of an International business transaction, they conceive, design, and produce the offerings, (goods and services) intended for consumption†. We will write a custom essay sample on Supply Chain or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Note 1. A real world example of a focal firm would be VW. Basically, there are many firms that help in the making of the VW, a different firm may assemble the car, and another one may provide the means of distribution, but the focal firm is still VW, as it â€Å"their car†. Q1-2). Is the use of a large number of suppliers a good idea? Why or why not? Support your answer with real business examples. It all depends on the nature of the industry as to how many suppliers would be needed, however, a few good suppliers is what organizations should aim for. This is because the key to developing effective chain management programs is keeping the customer in mind. When individual firms in a supply chain make business decisions while ignoring the interests of the end customer, and the other chain members, these suboptimal decisions transfer risks, costs and additional waiting time along the supply chain, ultimately leading to higher end-product prices, lower supply chain service levels and eventually lower end-customer demand. Firms should have few good suppliers that they can manage successfully. Building successful, trusting relationships with all the top-performing suppliers is a key ingredient of an effective supplier management effort. These few good suppliers can then provide tremendous benefits to the buying firm and the entire supply chain. Higher purchase volumes per supplier typically mean lower per unit purchase costs, and in many cases, higher quality and better delivery service. These important characteristics of few good suppliers are strategically important to the firm because of their impact on the firm’s competitiveness. A real world example of a good supplier is Imperial Oil who provides gasoline to their retailers. Q1-3). Why do companies practice supply chain management instead of buying out their suppliers and industrial customers forming conglomerates? The reason why firms are practicing supply chain management is because they want to be able to focus more on core capabilities, while trying to create alliances, or strategic partnerships with suppliers, transportation and warehousing companies, distributors and other customers who are good at what they can do best. This collaborative approach to making and distributing products and services to customers is becoming the most effective and efficient way for firms to stay successful. Especially for firms with large system inventories, many suppliers, complex product assemblies, and highly valued customers with large purchasing budgets, these have the most to gain by practising good supply management techniques. For these firms, even moderate supply chain management success can mean lower purchasing and inventory costs, better product quality and higher levels of customer service—all leading to more sales. Q1-4). Explain how the emergence of the concepts of JIT (Just in Time) and TQM (Total Quality Management) in the 1980’s contributed to the development of supply chain management. In the 1980’s, intense global competition began and manufacturers utilized JIT and TQM strategies to improve quality, manufacturing efficiency and delivery times. JIT is a lean-production system and it results in faster delivery times, lower inventory levels and better product quality. The supply chains had to be developed because an important aspect of a lean system is the quality of incoming purchased items and the quality of the various assemblies as they move through the production processes. This is due to the characteristically low levels of inventory purchased and work in process in lean-oriented facilities. Thus, firms employing concepts of lean usually have a TQM strategy in place to ensure continued quality compliance among suppliers with internal production facilities. So there was a real need of a good internal control system and chain management processes to be developed and that is how supply chain management got designed. And every supply chain design management is different from the other even if they practice JIT and TQM, depending on where they will construct their distribution centres, what transportation modes they will use, how big they want their production facilities and warehouses. The bottom line is was that if a company wanted faster delivery times, lower their inventory levels, and still give the customers the best product quality, they needed to work in a supply chain setting in collaboration with other tiers to gain a competitive advantage in the industry. And this all has been possible because of new technology as well as the emergence of the internet. Q2-1). Briefly summarize HBR (1997) article â€Å"What is the right supply chain for your product? † by Marshall Fisher. Although there has never been so much technology and brain power applied to improving supply chain performance, the actual performance of many supply chains has never been worse. In some cases, costs have risen to new levels because of adversarial relations between supply chain partners as well as dysfunctional industry practices. The new ideas and technologies have not worked because companies lack a framework for deciding which ones are best for their particular situation. A framework is provided to managers for helping them understand the nature of the demand for their products and devise the supply chain that can best satisfy that demand. Once products have been classified on the basis of their demand patterns, they fall into one of two categories: they are either primarily functional or primarily innovative. The root cause of the problems plaguing many supply chains is a mismatch between the type of product and the type of supply chain. Fisher states that products generally fall into two categories-innovative and functional-each requiring fundamentally different processes and goals. The first step to creating efficiency comes from assessing the supply chain and deciding which of the two product categories is following through it. This step is critical, in that innovative and functional products call for significantly different approaches to supply chain management. If products are functional, for example toothpaste, businesses should follow time-tested business models for identifying and trimming excess from different points along the supply chain. If, on the other hand, products are innovative, businesses should create a responsive supply chain to control the unpredictable nature of demand for example Louis Vuotton handbags. Q2-2). Explain the role of physical costs and market mediation costs according to Fisher’s article as they relate to different supply chain structures. Provide at least three examples each of physical costs and market mediation costs. Supply chains perform two distinct types of functions: a physical function and a market mediation function. A supply chain’s physical function is readily apparent and includes converting raw materials into parts, components, and eventually finished goods, and transporting all of them from one point in the supply chain to the next. Less visible but equally important is market mediation, whose purpose is ensuring that the variety of products reaching the marketplace matches what consumers want to buy. Each of the two functions incurs different costs. Physical costs are costs of production, costs of transportation and costs of inventory storage. Market mediation costs arise when supply exceeds demand and a products has to be marked down and sold at a loss or when supply falls short of demand, resulting in lost sales opportunities and dissatisfied customers. Market mediation costs can be costs of shortages, costs of obsolescence, and costs of holding excessive supplies. Q2-3). Provide at least two â€Å"real-industry† examples of product-supply chain mismatch which are out of the â€Å"strategic fit zones†. Clearly explain why and how they are out of â€Å"strategic fit†. Two â€Å"real-industry† examples of product selling supply chain mismatches are the automobile industry and the computer industry, as per Fisher’s paper. In the automobile industry for example, there are some cars such as the Ford Fairmont, which are inherently functional, while others, such as the BMW Z3 roadster, are innovative. A lean, efficient distribution channel is correct for functional cars but not appropriate for innovative cars, which requires inventory buffers to absorb uncertainty in demand. The most efficient place to put buffers is in parts, but doing so directly contradicts the JIT system that automakers have so vigorously adopted in the last decade. So, in the automobile industry, there is a variety of different makes and models (innovative) available for the consumer but when you visit the dealership, if you order a vehicle with your desired options, you may have to wait 4-6 weeks for delivery. That means, even though they are being innovative, they are not being responsive as they should be which would be a mismatch. Same goes with the computer industry—even though PC’s and workstations have replaced mainframes as the dominant technology, and even though acceptable lead time has dropped, because the computer industry has largely retained its emphasis on a physically efficient supply rather than a highly responsive supply chain, most computer companies find themselves in a mismatched situation and position themselves in the upper right hand cell of the matrix. Supply Chain free essay sample Gradual, long-term movement in time-series data is called a. seasonal variation b. cycles c. trends d. exponential variation e. random variation Which of the following is not present in a time series? a. seasonality b. operational variations c. trend d. cycles e. random variations The fundamental difference between cycles and seasonality is the a. duration of the repeating patterns b. magnitude of the variation c. ability to attribute the pattern to a cause d. all of the above In time series, which of the following cannot be predicted? a. large increases in demand b. technological trends c. easonal fluctuations d. random fluctuations e. large decreases in demand What is the approximate forecast for May using a four-month moving average? Which time series model below assumes that demand in the next period will be equal to the most recent periods demand? a. naive approach b. moving average approach c. weighted moving average approach d. We will write a custom essay sample on Supply Chain or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page exponential smoothing approach e. none of the above Which of the following is not a characteristic of simple moving averages? . it smoothes random variations in the data b. it has minimal data storage requirements c. it weights each historical value equally d. it smoothes real variations in the data 21. 3 22. A six-month moving average forecast is better than a three-month moving average forecast if demand a. is rather stable b. has been changing due to recent promotional efforts c. follows a downward trend d. follows an upward trend Increasing the number of periods in a moving average will accomplish greater smoothing, but at the expense of a. manager understanding b. accuracy c. stability d. esponsiveness to changes Which of the following statements comparing the weighted moving average technique and exponential smoothing is true? Exponential smoothing is more easily used in combination with the Delphi method. b. More emphasis can be placed on recent values using the weighted moving average. c. Exponential smoothing is considerably more difficult to implement on a computer. d. Exponential smoothing typically requires less record-keeping of past data. Which time series model uses past forecasts and past demand data to generate a new forecast? a. naive b. moving average c. weighted moving average d. xponential smoothing Which is not a characteristic of exponential smoothing? a. smoothes random variations in the data b. easily altered weighting scheme c. weights each historical value equally d. has minimal data storage requirements Which of the following smoothing constants would make an exponential smoothing forecast equivalent to a naive forecast?

The Lost Ones 8211 Young Chinese Americans essays

The Lost Ones 8211 Young Chinese Americans essays The Lost Ones Young Chinese Americans Due to harsh immigration laws, in American history, Chinese have often relied on illegal means of entering the United States. For example, in 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act (Chinese Exclusion Act, Documents on Anti-Chinese Immigration Policy.) was passed, the first and only act that restricted immigration from one particular ethnicity. This act restricted immigration of Chinese labourers. In 1888, this act was extended to all Chinese immigrants except for officials, teachers, students, tourists, and merchants. However, not all-prospective immigrants made it to the shores of America safely. The United States is well aware of illegal immigration and rings operating these smuggling operations. Therefore increased vigilance at America's doors has led to the capture of many Chinese illegal immigrants. The result of above brief history of Chinese history in America is that these new comers at the time period of illegal entering of America would eventually result the wave of 3rd ge neration Chinese population along with Baby Boomers after World War II. The new generation was in the era of Civil Rights movement in the 1950~1970s. The talented, new 3rd generation possessed not only the despair of having an identity, but also faced the pressure from the elder generation of their origin cultures. It is true and inappropriate that the newer the generation, the more they refuse their own cultures. However, from what it took the elder generations of Chinese/Asian Americans for the younger generation to be able to live under the aegis of liberty, freedom, stable society, and satiating living; I think that the younger generations should be proud of, and respect the elder generation and who they really are. Chinese who still tried to enter the United States needed to pretend that they were merchants. Others pretended to be relatives of people living in the United States. Chinese Ame...

Leadeship Styes and Ethics for Law Enforcement Administrators Research Paper

Leadeship Styes and Ethics for Law Enforcement Administrators - Research Paper Example Leaders in the law enforcement agencies should themselves exercise high ethical standards which would then influence the followers to follow suit. The issue of ethical leadership has never been so relevant in law enforcing than it is today given the current issues of corruption, racial discrimination, violence and brutality and other escalating criminal activities. Given this chaotic nature of our streets, it is possible that law enforcers feel only connected to their ethical and professional obligations in theory, but on the ground, such ethics is thrown through the window due to the unpredictable and complex situations. This is where ethical leadership comes in to constantly offer training and guidance to the followers and encourage them always to remain within the boundaries of ethical standards and professional code of conduct governing the service. Leadership is an appreciated topic in all types of organizations, both private and public and is considered an essential component in the steering of organizational goals and objectives. Law enforcement agencies have also endeavored to institute effective leaders within its ranks due to the realization that quality leadership directly affects the quality of performance. Leadership can be taken to mean the process where a person or groups of persons selects, trains, and influences one or more followers to appreciate and agree to what needs to be done to realize the mission and objectives of the organization (Lussier & Achua, 2012). This, as Lussier & Achua (2012) notes, can be achieved by such leaders through humbly conveying a prophetic vision for the future of an organization in a manner that respects and identifiable with the beliefs and values of the followers. According to Lussier & Achua (2012), leadership has several key components which include: Leadership is a process that t akes

Research Paper on Steroids in Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Research Paper on Steroids in Sports - Essay Example Needless to say, there is tremendous ground breaking pressure on athletes and sports representatives to make sure they bring home the gold; otherwise they might have to suffer dire consequences. With all the stakes that are involved, it is only prudent from the athlete’s point of view to make sure that they are the best in their competitive lot by hook or by crook. This is where the abuse of medicine to enhance their performance comes in; with evidently positive intentions, sports are now infiltrated with infamous scandals relating to doping and usage of steroids to enhance performance. The essay primarily discusses a brief history of the usage of steroids in sports, followed by an analysis of the reasons for the increase and the repercussions that athletes face after failing the test. This essay also analyzes if the repercussions are barring the use of steroids or if there is a need of a stricter policy to ensure that steroids are not abused in sports. Steroids: Steroids are similar to certain hormones present in our body and they act like those hormones and sometimes are introduced artificially in our body. The body in itself is able to produce this hormone to fight stress and helps in promoting growth and development. Therefore, they are a very important part of human body. Introduction of these hormones in the human body will help in increasing the development and stamina of athletes. Especially when people are injured, steroids can help in increase the speed of growth and development of the human body. Therefore, they are a complete hit in the sports arena and are allegedly used by athletes to increase man power and stamina to endure the immense physical strain they put their body through. History: One of the first cases of the usage of steroids in sports was reported in 1954. The Soviets, in the World Weightlifting championship, dominated more than anybody and it was revealed that they were given testosterone injections to enhance their sports perf ormance. However, enhancements had been tried before too; citations go back to Greece. It has been observed that athletes have taken extreme measures and followed stringent regimes in order to increase their physical efficiency and fitness nearing a tournament. Although, one might not want to judge the motives behind this action of theirs, it has been observed that more and more corruption came into sports are the financial stakes of the tournaments were increased. The more the prize money was, the more there was a chance for the athletes to experiment with medicine. Therefore, many athletes from as far as Greek times have been known to take extreme measures like eating meat for months before a tournament, in order to increase the presence of testosterone in their body. The story is not very different today; it might actually feel pretty similar to many of us. We are bombarded with dope tests and other kinds of drug tests that are found negative in players from all kinds of sports, from all over the world. The stakes are so high that even after extreme punishments, sportsmen and sportswomen still find the idea of pushing their body to a new level artificially through medicine. Steroids in High School Sports: The use of drugs that enhance physical capabilities is not only restricted to international sports. At the high school level sports, this problem is increasing, or so is quoted by the

Supply and Production Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Supply and Production - Essay Example One of the most important advantages is that the implementation of the supply chain management makes it possible to reduce the inventory days of supply by half and introduce the order-cycle time more efficiently. It means that the products are delivered much faster and the delays happen much rarely compared with the traditional competitive processes. Using supply chain management every party involved has an important role and the whole structure works as one unit - there is no division among departments. Finally, supply chain management is an effective cost reduction tool - there is not need to rent or build huge warehouses because the inventory is not getting piled up. One of the most obvious disadvantages of supply chain management is its unity and connectivity. For example, if one chain of the system fails the whole process will fail as well. If one of the suppliers is unable to meet the delivery time, the next unit will not be able to move forwards. Therefore, the company has to ensure that every level operates but still have alternative supplier in case one of the levels does not work out.

Frameworks of Entrepreneurship

Frameworks of Entrepreneurship Introduction: In the minds of masses, entrepreneurs are placed as solo heroes who after putting a brave fight against all the odds of business world became successful. Traditionally, all theories touted entrepreneurship as an individual act but problems like scarcity of finances, inadequacy of skill set and competitive market forces gave way to a new era in entrepreneurship more commonly termed as Team Entrepreneurship. Objective: The concept and theoretical foundations in this field are still in the stage of infancy. This paper is an attempt to explore the concept of Team Entrepreneurship, trace the definitions and identify the conceptual framework on the basis of the researches done in the field. Findings: Diverse opinions regarding team-building mechanisms, composition and dynamics of the entrepreneurial teams have been observed from the literature. The study also identified the multiple facets in which the entrepreneurial team exists. A conceptual framework depicting the phenomenon of creation and operation of entrepreneurial teams have been developed. Conclusion: Team based entrepreneurial ventures have proved to be successful provided an effective organizational model is developed for its sustenance. Researches have shown a considerable success rate for team ventures especially undertaken at SME level. Global slowdown has significantly highlighted the importance of risk sharing in business ventures. Team entrepreneurship can be considered as the most viable and effective mode of venturing in the present and future scenario given its benefits of sharing of resources, skills, and above all financial risks. INTRODUCTION Management and its practices in the present era has experienced major paradigm shift and one of the most prominent shift is the change in the philosophy from individual excellence to team excellence. Team players rather than solo stars are what companies look for while recruiting people. Performance is judged more specifically on the criterion laid down for the team as a whole. An innovative project these days may not be the baby of a single individual but the soul child of a team. This swing jump from solo show to the band of performers can also be observed in the case of entrepreneurship. Since the seminal work of Birch (1979), many studies have focused on small firms (as their rate of growth can frequently appear more dramatic than that achieved by larger organizations). For a long time it has been a great myth that entrepreneurship implicitly describes the battle of a lonely hero against economic, governmental and social forces (Cooney Bygrave, 1997). Lot of research work could be found where entrepreneurs were identified as individual business founders(Gartner, 1985; Hofer Sandberg, 1986; Carland, Hoy, Boulton, Carland, 1984; Olson, 1987, but team entrepreneurship as an area of study is a more recent phenomenon (Ensley et al., 1999: Kamm et al., 1990). However, over the past 15 years, team entrepreneurship has received increased attention. Based on research conducted from the inside of a fast-growing firm, Alex Stewart shows that entrepreneurship is both collective, a team-based activity and individual, a leader-made creation. It is arguable that despite the romantic notion of the entrepreneur as a lone hero, the reality is that successful entrepreneurs either built teams about them or were part of a team throughout. For example, when one considers the success of Apple Computers, the name of Steven Jobs immediately springs to mind. However, while Jobs was the charismatic folk hero and visionary, it was Steve Wozniack who invented the first PC model and Mike Markkula who offered the business expertise and access to venture capital (Sculley and Byrne, 1988). DEFINING TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP In the early 90s scholars (eg Kamm et al 1990, MÃ ¼ller-BÃ ¶ling and Heil 1994) explored a very important but almost undiscovered field in the entrepreneurship research namely team entrepreneurship.The studies on team ventures are scarce, they often lack a theoretical background or fail to even provide a proper definition of the researched object. Due to this lack of research it has become a real tough proposition to get a comprehensive definition of team entrepreneurship. Some researchers argue that this lack of definition and theoretical framework leads to the contradictory and some times even confusing empirical results in the field of Team Entrepreneurship. Team entrepreneurship does not view the process of entrepreneurship as a preserve of the individuals rather it is seen as a capability and attitudes whereby individual skills are integrated into, group or team, becoming partners in the businesss future evolution.This collective capacity to innovate becomes something greater than the sum of its parts. Ensley, Carland, Carland (1998), combine elements from other definitions found in the literature and establish three conditions which identify an individual as member of an entrepreneurial team: they have either (1) jointly established a firm, (2) a financial interest in, or (3) a direct influence on the strategic alignment of the venture. The most frequently employed definition is that by Kamm et al. (1990), who suggested that an entrepreneurial group is two or more individuals who jointly establish a business in which they have equal financial interest. These individuals are present at the pre-start-up phase of the firm, before it actually begins making goods or services available to the market. However, two substantive elements of this definition are subject to disagreement: (1) the inclusion of the term equal financial interest, where a more open interpretation of financial interest is required instead, and (2) the focus on pre-start-up, because an individual could possibly become a team member at any point in the maturation of the firm. The definition should additionally concentrate on new venture creation rather than on team development within an established organization. An entrepreneurial team be defined as two or more individuals who have a significant financial interest and participate actively in the development of the enterprise. The purpose of significant financial interest is in recognition of the fact that only sporadically would all partners have equal financial interest. However, the question of what constitutes significant remains undefined and should only be considered within a specific context. The intent of the phrase participate actively was designed to eliminate sleeping or silent partners (i.e. those who invest capital but do not involve themselves beyond seeking a return on their investment). Moreover, the definition excludes venture capital firms, banks, and other investment institutions since it is only concerned with individuals. A final point of note to the definition is that it was with regard to the development of the enterprise. This acknowledges the dynamic nature of the enterprise and accedes to the prospect that team membe rs can join (or leave) at any stage of the maturation of the firm. Therefore, the definition is not restricted to pre-start-up but embraces the concept of entrepreneurial teams as fluid and evolutionary. Leon Shjeodt developed another comprehensive definition of entrepreneurial team as a team consisting of two or more persons who have an interest, both financial and otherwise, in and commitment to the ventures future and success; whose work is interdependent in the pursuit of common goals and venture success; who are accountable to the entrepreneurial team and for the venture; who are considered to be at the executive level with executive responsibility in the early phases of the venture, including founding and pre-start up; and who are seen as a social entity by themselves and by others. This definition again brought forward that such team are not necessarily created as pre-start-up rather can be formed at the later stages. Interdependence of the team members for venture performance and accountability are also incorporated alongwith the identity of entrepreneurial teams as a social entity. FORMATION AND COMPOSITION OF ENTREPRENEURIAL TEAMS Research has shown that teams start a significant number of new ventures, or a team is created within the first years of start up (Kamm, Shuman, Seeger, Nurick, 1990; Watson, Ponthieu, Critelli, 1995), the quality and composition of the team is a critical determinant of organizational performance (Glick, Miller, Huber, 1993; Hambrick, 1994). According to Cooper and Daily (1997), an entrepreneurial team is more than a group because it involves a shared commitment to the new venture, but they stop short of defining what shared commitment is. Katzenbach (1997) suggests that what must be shared is the accountability. Eisenhardt and Schoonhovens (1990) contribution in defining entrepreneurial team considered: a group of people holding full-time executive positions at the time of founding. Whereas Leon Schjeodt emphasised that it is not necessary to be in the pre-start up or founding phases of the venture to be a part of the entrepreneurial team. It is possible for a person to be considered a part of the entrepreneurial team if the person is brought into the venture in the early phases to help establish the venture. The composition of the entrepreneurial team refers to the collective characteristics of its members (e.g., Banter Jackson, 1989). Entrepreneurial teams are most effective if they balance their skills, knowledge, and abilities as Cooper and Daily (1997) suggest. Heterogeneity in the entrepreneurial teams composition is needed for the team to achieve a high level of effectiveness and venture performance. TMT functional heterogeneity increases the likelihood of strategic change (Lant, Milliken, Batra, 1992; Wiersema Bantel, 1992), increases strategic consensus (Knight et al., 1999), and enhances performance (Bunderson Sutcliffe, 2002), but it can also create cognitive and affective conflict (Amason, 1996; Kamm Nurick, 1993; Miller, Burke, Glick, 1998). Despite this conflict, research suggests that heterogeneous TMTs perform better because their ability to leverage multiple perspectives improves their decision making (e.g., Miller et al., 1998 Simons, Pelled, Smith, 1999). Demographic diversity does not play a very significant role in team formation and composition. Sanjib Chowdhury(2005) suggests that demographic diversity is not important for entrepreneurial team effectiveness, whereas the team process variables positively influence team effectiveness. He also identified that the diversity in terms of gender, age and functional background does not contribute to the team-level cognitive comprehensiveness and team commitment Another aspect of composition is time and its affect on the team. As mentioned earlier, it was found that effects of diversity, especially for demographic characteristics, within the entrepreneurial team decreased over time as the ET engaged in lengthy discussions and solved disagreements and complex problems (Glicket al., 1993; Harrison, Price, Bell, 1998) Two principles of team formation dominate the strategic management literature on teams, although most research concerns the upper echelons of established firms, rather than startups (Forbes et al., 2006).First, a rational process model of team formation emphasizes selecting members based on pragmatic instrumental criteria, such as complementary skills or work experiences. From this viewpoint, competency should shape team formation so that new ventures possess the capabilities needed to manage complexity and growth. Second, a social psychological model emphasizes the interpersonal fit between team members and the need for smoothly functioning group processes. Many scholars have pointed to the important role that social and emotional support play in affecting human behavior (Thoits, 1984). For example, positive social relations within a team can create a supportive context within which people are encouraged to undertake innovative actions. The two sets of principles are not mutually ex clusive. Within the constraints of interpersonal attraction, teams can still search instrumentally for members. Similarly, within the constraints of resource-based needs, teams can still choose people who are attractive. SUSTAINING TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AN ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT Setting up of an entrepreneurial venture jointly is one aspect but sustaining entrepreneurial groups poses a big challenge. When educated, skilled and dynamic individuals join hands for a venture in the entrepreneurial capacity then firms must assure that their organizational environment is closely matched to their heterogeneity of mental models (e.g.,diversity of ideas and entrepreneurial skills) at all levels, especially at upper-level management. However, an organization composed of individuals with very similar perceptions of the potential services from firms resources and the competitive environment is likely to have a truncated set of productive opportunities. In team entrepreneurship, the team can be as effective as the creative inputs provided by its members, which can expand and be enriched when members learn from each others diverse ideas, perceptions, and expectations. Also, with the inclusion of complementary skills in the team, the cooperative entrepreneurial team can ty pically overcome the limitations of its individual members (Barnard, 1938). An informal organization culture is required to encourage continuous resource learning through interactions in teams. Under conditions that inhibit creative thinking, entrepreneurial experimentation, and risk taking, human resources are likely to function substantially below their full entrepreneurial capacity. It is of utmost important that an environment be created to avoid stifling of creativity of individuals that mar many firms. Individuals must have freedom and opportunities in order to imagine different services of resources, to deploy individual entrepreneurial capital, to renew the firms unique productive opportunity set, and to mobilize invisible assets (Itami Roehl,1987). Individuals are not only allowed to think creatively, but are also encouraged to voice their creative ideas and visions about new product ideas and novel ways to utilize resources. An entrepreneurially stimulating environment provides individuals with resource flexibility and slack for calculative experimentation (Barry, 1991; Dobrev Barnett, 2005; Mosakowski, 1997), which helps mobilize the cognitive assets of the firm that are in the form of heterogeneous mental models. Resource learning and organizational learning involve taking risks, making mistakes, and experimenting with novel solutions and ideas. Pervasive fear of failure and punishment instilled in employees does not belong to entrepreneurial environments, as it can severely constrict risk- taking and resource learning (McGrath McMillan, 2000). Besides seeking creative thinking, effective entrepreneurship requires investments in ideas and rewarding entrepreneurial thinking and experimentation both at the individual level and at the team level. An effective allocation of inducements to encourage entrepreneurial efforts requires recognition of the diversity of individual needs, as some individuals are more interested in material benefits while others are more motivated by social benefits and entrepreneurial engagement. Furthermore, the element of time as a scarce resource (Mahoney, 2005; Mosakowski,1993) deserves special attention in entrepreneurship research because developing a productive opportunity set for the firm requires personal (tacit) knowledge of the firms material and human resources, which can only be developed over time as entrepreneurs interact and experiment with the firms bundle of resources. Importance of time management is also be attributed to the diverse mental inputs as the entrepreneurs need time and place to think and function together to produce synergistic cognitive outcomes. KEY ATTRIBUTES OF TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP Based upon the review of researches done on the definitional and compositional aspects of entrepreneurial teams some of the key factors of team entrepreneurship can be identified as follows: Entrepreneurship is no more a lone action. Team based approach is required to lead to fast growth. One of the major forces that led to the evolution of team entrepreneurship is the entry level barriers that confronted small firms. To overcome the restrictions imposed by large firms on entry, many Small and medium sized firms formed themselves into teams. A jointly established business by a group of individuals as well as any individual joining the firm at a later stage in the entrepreneurial capacity comes under the preview of team entrepreneurship. That would mean a team formed for new venture creation where all members will be founder member/ a person joining the founder team at a later stage/ teams formed within an enterprise for entrepreneurial ventures. Within an organisation, entrepreneurial teams may exist at different levels. Top management teams (TMT), corporate entrepreneurship, shop-floor entrepreneurship etc are such teams that are created within the organization for innovation and creativity. Entrepreneurial groups do not incorporate passive or sleeping members. Active participation in strategic, managerial and operational level is warranted. Only that individual can be considered as a member of entrepreneurial team who bears direct influence on strategic areas of the venture. Need for personal risk taking is reduced as team entrepreneurship marks sharing of financial interests. Sharing may or may not be equal but a significant financial interest in the venture is required by the individual to be a member of entrepreneurial team. Pooling of financial resources and sharing of financial risks are the key drivers for team ventures. A diverse skill set is available in an entrepreneurial team. Individual limitations are overcome and synergic effects can be observed very lucidly. The individual knowledge, capabilities and attributes get integrated into a team hence leading to success of the venture. Issues of group dynamics need to be addressed in team entrepreneurship. Issues related to control, ownership, role; responsibilities etc need to be handled at the very outset to avoid problems at later stage. Too many contributing minds can pose a problem as well. Diversity in terms of demography, culture, skill set, knowledge and experience etc at one hand may be the strength of the team but if not taken care of may lead to dysfunctional conflict among the teams. Informal social interaction, friendship, time for discussions, respect for individual opinion and team opinion being given the highest regard, creative environment are some of the factors that may keep the dysfunctional conflicts at bay and might be helpful in sustaining such teams. Innovation and creativity are the key ingredients of entrepreneurial teams. Innovative thinking and creativity in decision making will keep the individuals with entrepreneurial instincts bound in a team. Brain-storming of new ideas, creative methods of working and creating and innovation of new modes, techniques or project as team provide thrill for such individuals and may be may be instrumental in key the team together and performing. FORMS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL TEAMS The team phenomenon in entrepreneurship is visible in many forms , Johannisson has observed two different perspectives in identifying existence of group entrepreneurship First perspective regards teaming up of individuals as the way of initiating and organizing the entrepreneurial process and second perspective is group entrepreneurship as regards the outcome of entrepreneurial processes. Family Business: Family Businesses are operated by and for families with the intention of keeping the firm within the family after succession. Members of the family run their business collectively hence represent an image of group entrepreneurship. Partnership: Partnership refers to teaming up of individuals for venturing into some common business. In that context partnership gets associated with group entrepreneurship. Co-operatives: Cooperatives offer a formal structure with joint ownership and control and hence visibly represents the group entrepreneurship. TMT: Top management teams can either be the founder teams of new venture or teams created within an organization for leadership role. Virtual organisations: It is a mode of organizing where independent partner firms put in a joint effort to materialize the promises carried by the leading firms products to its customers. The challenge is to make the customer perceive the virtual organisation as a whole.(Johannisson 2002: 18). Extrapreneurship: For Daval (2002), it materializes by the development of a new entity by an employee when he leaves his firm, helped in taking this step by his former employer. Extrapreneurship is now more commonly adopted by a group of employees leaving their respective organisation and joining their skill set to start new venture Shop floor entrepreneurship: Shop floor entrepreneurship refers to the concept of self-organising groups and teams created for entrepreneurial purposes by employees at shop floor level. According to Johannisson (2002: 19), Sweden and other Scandinavian countries have a long tradition of self-organising in groups on the shop floor (in contrast to intrapreneurship that usually focuses middle-management). Corporate entrepreneurship: Johannisson (2002) seems to refer to intrapreneurship here (The intrapreneur, operating a quasi-independent venture within the corporation as an arena for entrepreneurship. Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) is the process by which individuals inside organisations pursue opportunities without regard to the resources they currently control (Stevenson, Roberts, and Grousbeck, 1999) Intellectual Entrepreneurship Johannisson et al. (1999) have introduced the notion of intellectual entrepreneur to depict those people who mobilise their intellectual capabilities in an entrepreneurial career. Community entrepreneurship: Johannisson and Nilsson (1989) have introduced the notion of community entrepreneur to capture persons who use personal networking to mobilize internal as well as external resources to promote local venturing processes. FACTORS AFFECTING TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP To create a conceptual framework of team entrepreneurship on the basis of available inputs on entrepreneurial teams, the factors affecting such teams at different stages of team formation, composition and sustenance dynamics have been identified. Entrepreneurial teams can be formed either at prestart-up stage and/or at post start up stage .New ventures, partnership firms, extrapreneurship specifically fall under the category of pre-start-up teams, corporate entrepreneurship and shop floor entrepreneurship come under the category of post start-up teams and TMTs, family businesses, cooperatives, virtual organizations, intellectual entrepreneurship etc can either be forms as pre start up or post start up teams. Forms of entrepreneurial teams can also be viewed from the aspect of level of management at which such teams operates. For that purpose TMTs are formed at top level, corporate entrepreneurial teams at middle level and shop-floor teams at operational level. Regarding the team comp osition, issues as to why team is required and who can be the part of the team need to be addressed. As is obvious by now, the rationale behind creating a team rather than functioning solo is sharing of resources, skills, risk, knowledge etc an effective entrepreneurial team may be composed of individual with wide knowledge, skills and competencies. Such individuals must not be averse to risk and experimentation. Creativity and innovation should be the drivers of such individuals. Sustenance of such teams require a great deal of managing group dynamics. Diversity in demography and cultural may not be instrumental in enhancing performance but can be a deterrent if not handled well. Variable mental inputs and variable degree of creative and innovation instincts may also give rise to conflicts.Figure 1-1 tabulates all the factors affecting team entrepreneurship FACTORS AFFECTING TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP TEAM FORMATION* TEAM COMPOSITION TEAM DYNAMICS As per joining of team members: Resource-sharing Risk-sharing Complementary skill set Enriching knowledge and competency base Experience Experimentation Risk-seeking Innovation Creativity Social interaction Diversity in skills Diverse mental inputs Demographic heterogeneity Interpersonal relations Cultural diversity Time Diverse appetite of creativity Diverse cognitive needs Pre-start-up teams: New venture teams, Extrapreneurship, partnership family business, cooperatives, virtual organisations etc Post-start-up teams: TMTs, Corporate entrepreneurship, Shop-floor entrepreneurship, cooperatives, family business, virtual organisations etc As per levels of Management Strategic level: TMT Tactic level: corporate entrepreneurship Operational level: shop-floor entrepreneurship *forms of teams are not mutually exclusive CONCLUSION As again the notion of entrepreneurship being a solo act, several researchers have proved that the present is the era of teams. No person is equipped enough to build an empire all by himself. No conqueror has won the battle alone, no CEO can run a company without a team. Team based entrepreneurial ventures have proved to be successful provided an effective organizational model is developed for its sustenance. Researches have shown a considerable success rate for team ventures especially undertaken at SME level. Another notion of entrepreneurial team being the team of founder who start a new venture has also been proved lop-sided. Existence of entrepreneurial teams can be traced in various forms and at multiple levels. This paper was an attempt to bring together the knowledge created by many researchers but may suffer from many limitations. The studies considered for the review are not exhaustive and hence the findings may also not be exhaustive. A lot of further research need to be d one on the topic because team entrepreneurship is going to be the buzz-word for the future. Global slowdown has significantly highlighted the importance of risk sharing in business ventures. Team entrepreneurship can be considered as the most viable and effective mode of venturing in the present and future scenario given its benefits of sharing of resources, skills, and above all financial risks. *Assistant professor, GNIMT, Model Town Ludhiana

How technology making culturally diverse ideas Essay

  Question: How has technology worked to make the world a smaller place and bring about culturally diverse ideas that help identify opportunities and solve problems? There was a day when high tech communication was a guy on a pony galloping to the next town to deliver a letter. Then there were the days of switchboard operators and party lines, now we have nearly instant communication with anybody in the world right at our fingertips. Communication technology has always served to make the world a smaller place. The recent surge in high tech communications has hastened the process. Maybe the biggest way that technology has made the world smaller is through the internet. The internet or World Wide Web is almost scary when you think about how accessible it has made the places that were once the farthest away. With things like Google earth, you can actually look at just about any place on the globe. Just type in an address or a name of a town and you can instantly see a satellite image of that place, zooming in and you can start to make out the streets and houses. No, the technology doesn’t actually transport you there but by looking at it with your own eyes, you feel like you are there. It’s not just Google earth that help the internet make the world small. It’s the internet in general. The World Wide Web is just that, it is a web that connects every computer in the world. No computers are more than a few links away and you can use the computer to do amazing thing, like see your baby take his first steps, even though you are in a different state. Programs like Youtube.com guarantee that anything captured on camera can be viewed by millions and millions of people, often within seconds or minutes of the event. Web cams also serve to make the world smaller. You can check out webcams anywhere and get up to the minute information about what is going on there. Smart phones are another instance of technology making the world small. The new business -phones are so efficient and so high tech that you  can now do face to face international business from thousands of miles away. If you want to talk with a whole roomful of people in France from the comfort of your bedroom while wearing your pajamas, you can use your smart phone to do just that. If you want another example of how technology has made the world small consider online dating. There was a time that a person had to put on nice clothes and go out into the real world to meet a love interest. Today, you can be â€Å"out there† without ever having to go out. You can meet hundreds of interested singles, see what they look like, and find out about their interests, backgrounds, and values while locked in your room. You can even engage in a virtual relationship by using email or instant messaging. It is possible to get to know a person on a relatively deep level without ever meeting at all. This is a part of the beauty and the freakiness of internet.

Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies Essay

Based off of this reading, it can be assumed that the conditions in the Indies during the time this text was written were not humane whatsoever. The actions of the Spaniards were very much barbaric, and completely contradict the religion which the Spaniards were trying so desperately to impose upon the natives of the Indies. Without having to go into detail, it is said by Bartoleme in the letter that the Spaniards would treat the people of the Indies as wild beasts, cattle, or animals. But he then goes back on this statement saying that in fact they treated them less than livestock, because they at least took care of the livestock. This is a good example of how barbarically the Spaniards ruled over the Natives. There was no respect for the Natives, even though they were described as peaceful, passive, kind, and as overall decent human beings. Yet in the eyes of the Spaniards, the same people were seen as barbarians and savages. What makes the situation even more disturbing is that the Spaniards used the name of god to justify their ruthless actions. They saw it as their divine right to take over the Natives. Fortunately, there were people like Bartoleme that spoke out against these cruel acts. He wrote the letter describing all the acts of inhumanity towards the Natives to the King and Queen of Spain in order to create rules and regulations that would regulate the actions of the Spaniards in the Indies. This alone was a substantial act of humanity. The only ironical part is that he suggests that the Spanish use African people instead of using the Natives of the Indies for labor. Unfortunately at the time, there were still mass amounts of racism, even amongst the most noble of men. Men such as Bartoleme who spoke out against cruel acts were still subject to their own racist antics. Although this wasn’t very out-of-the-ordinary at the time, in today’s world it’s despicable nonetheless. It’s a very hypocritical suggestion that he had for the King and Queen, and for that, would lose all credit for anything positive that happened to the Natives after his ideas were reinforced.

A Brief Look at Early Civilizations essays

A Brief Look at Early Civilizations essays From 3000 BC to 1500 BC four civilizations arose that historians to this day marvel at, the Egyptians, the Sumerians, the Indus River Valley people, and the Shang dynasty in China. They all had great accomplishments in government, and religion and inventions. While they had their own different civilizations many similarities arise, such as depending on the river and their polytheistic religions. They had very isolated civilizations with the exception of the Sumerians. The geography, religion, and their governments all contributed to their success as a civilization. The Egyptians were situated in northern Africa around the Nile. The Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Nubian Desert, and Libyan Desert were the natural boundaries that made the Egyptians very isolated. Also, the Indus River valley civilization was rather isolated, with water to the east and west, the Hindu Kush and Himalayas to the North. The monsoons that are seasonal flood the rivers. The Shang dynasty was situated in China over the Yellow River. On the contrary the Sumerians were not isolated at all in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Mesopotamia was in the Fertile Crescent, which was why many invaders invaded their land, ultimately crushing them. The polytheistic religions of the early civilizations were rather similar. The Egyptians had pharaohs, which were considered to have a god's blood. Egyptians also had a main god Osiris, who was the god of the Nile. The Egyptians also worshiped local gods. They also believed in the afterlife, which required mummifica tion to accomplish. Sumerians also had a polytheistic religion and like the Egyptians each region or city-state worship a local god primarily. They pictured their gods as having little regard for human life. The Sumerians did not believe in an afterlife. The Shang dynasty's religion is rather different compared to the others Shang Ti was a god that ruled over lesser gods. They also believed...

Common German Idioms, Sayings and Proverbs

Common German Idioms, Sayings and Proverbs Ein Sprichwort,  a saying or a proverb, can be a fun  way to learn and remember new vocabulary in German. The following sayings, proverbs,  and idiomatic expressions (Redewendungen) are our favorites.   Some expressions are more common than others. Many of these  work with Germanys love affair with its endless variety  of Wurst (sausage). Some may be a little more  contemporary, some may be a bit old-fashioned, but they can all be used in everyday conversations. Tips for Learning German Phrases The best way to learn these is to read each sentence to yourself and immediately  read the English equivalent. Then say the same sentence aloud in German. Continue saying these aloud in German and, with practice, youll automatically remember the meaning; it will become subliminal and you wont even have to think about it. A good exercise: Write each phrase or sentence out as you say it the first two times. The more senses and muscles you engage as you learn a language, the more likely you are to remember it correctly and the longer you will remember it. A third time, cover the German and read the English version; then task yourself, as in a dictation, with writing the sentence in German. Keep in mind that the symbol  ÃƒÅ¸ (as in heiß)  stands for a double s,  and remember  correct German word order, which is different from that in English. Dont forget that all German nouns, common or proper, are capitalized. (Even Wurst.) Below youll find expressions, the colloquial English translation, and the literal translation. Expressions About Sausage (Wurst) and Other Things to Eat Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei. Everything must end.Literally: Everything has an end; only the sausage has two. Das ist mir Wurst. Its all the same to me.Literally: Its a sausage to me. Es geht um die Wurst. Its do or die / now or never / the moment of truth.Literal: Its about the sausage. Äpfel mit Birnen vergleichen. Comparing  apples and orangesLiterally: Comparing apples and pears In des Teufels Kà ¼che sein. To get into hot waterLiteral: In the devils kitchen Dir haben sie wohl etwas in den Kaffee getan. Youve got to be kidding.Literally: Youve probably  done something in/to the coffee Die Radieschen von unten anschauen/betrachten To be pushing up daisies (to be dead)Literally: To see/view the radishes from below Expressions With Animals Die Katze im Sack kaufen To buy a pig in a pokeLiterally: to buy a cat in a sack Wo sich die Fà ¼chse gute Nacht sagen The middle of nowhere/the  back of beyondLiterally: Where the foxes say goodnight Stochere nicht im Bienenstock. Let sleeping dogs lie.Literally: Dont poke around in the beehive. Expressions With Body Parts and People Daumen drà ¼cken! Keep your fingers crossed!Literally: Press/hold your thumbs! Er hat einen dicken Kopf. Hes got a hangover.Literally: He has a fat head. Was ich nicht weiß, macht mich nicht heiß. What you dont know, wont hurt you.Literally: What I dont know wont burn me. Er fllt  immer mit der Tà ¼r ins Huschen. He always gets right to the point/just blurts it out.Literally: He always falls into the house through the door. Was Hnschen nicht lernt, lernt Hans nimmermehr. You cant teach an old dog new tricks.Literally: What little Hans didnt learn, adult Hans never will. Wenn man dem Teufel den kleinen Finger gibt, so nimmt er die ganze Hand. Give an inch; theyll take a mile.Literally: If you give the devil your little finger, hell take the whole hand.

Innovative ways of recruiting and retaining tenants Research Proposal

Innovative ways of recruiting and retaining tenants - Research Proposal Example Those tenants who are involved in being concerned on a character basis are more expected to have a high-quality association with their landowner, and be pleased with their landowner have preceding knowledge of tenant participation. Landlords and landlord agent over the years have relied on traditional incentives such as rent-free periods, fitting out and premiums to recruit and retain tenants. However, during economic downturns and when there is over supply, in other to protect cash flows , landlords and their agents need to see beyond these traditional incentives   and adopt new practices of recruiting and retaining the very best of tenants. This research study seeks to investigate the innovative ways of recruiting and retaining tenants. The results of this document analysis will be used to enhance the offices being accessible to the tenants. The study findings may also be used by tenant union to support for the rights of tenants. Land lords will use the findings to advance the standards of the offices they offer to tenants. Policy makers will apply the findings of this research to improve the working conditions of the workers. Renting business-related premises is a transnational with a natural propensity for long-term consumer relationships. This notion has a lot to do with the statement that the expenses and risks of rearrangement are always important and thus businesses desire to continue in solitary place for as extensive as they can seen in Rasila and Nenonen, 2007 as cited in((Rianne, 2006) ). This makes the locale perfect for studying a very long consumer relationship. Five tenant-landlord relationships have been analyzed by to understand customer relationship characteristic in an observed setting. These levels are; Caring, Law and codes, Rules, Independence and Opportunism (Rianne, 2006). The top five significant sub factors identified by

Alfred Stieglitz's Photograph of Marcel Duchamp's Fountain Term Paper

Alfred Stieglitz's Photograph of Marcel Duchamp's Fountain - Term Paper Example The paper "Alfred Stieglitz's Photograph of Marcel Duchamp's Fountain" focuses on analysis and research about Alfred Stieglitz's photograph of Marcel Duchamp's Fountain art work. Stieglitz placed the ‘Fountain’ at the viewer’s eye level, brought it close, and magnified its presence. He further rotated it slightly on its axis to set up just a touch of tension, and lighted it from above such that it looks dramatically isolated against its setting yet also veiled, moody and mysterious. Duchamp’s ‘the Fountain’ is viewed through the eyes of Albert Stieglitz. The photograph is white in color that is made of the spectrum of colors. It is made of porcelain which is a polished/breakable material. Stieglitz took an ordinary object, gave it meaning by positioning it in such a way that its useful significance was overshadowed by the new one with a new title and a new point of view, thus creating a whole new thought for that object. Alfred Stieglitz life s panned from 1864 to 1946. Stieglitz was the most respected photographer of his time, and he fought for the recognition of photography as a valid form of art. He is one of the figures who revolutionized the American photography. Luminous-Lint finds it hard to imagine the direction that photography would have taken without the involvement of Stieglitz. He was a promoter of other people’s works, illuminating them with his photo works. The ‘Fountain’ was brought to 291, and when it was there it was photographed by Stieglitz who was greatly amused by Duchamp’s ‘Fountain’.