Can listening to favorite music heal? Essay

As Billy Joel (2014), songwriter and performer, once said, â€Å"I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music†(para.1). People love music, don’t they? Everyone would agree with that. Music touches us in deep ways that words alone cannot. Music stirs our emotions, makes our bodies move, and has also been used for therapeutic purposes. In the first place, music stirs our emotions and touches us deeply where words cannot. Now, depending on the genre you’re listening to at that point in time, you’re smiling and happy. For example, the song titled â€Å"Happy† by Pharrell Williams is an upbeat song with positive lyrics. Whereas, some really bad rock music can sometimes make you feel angry, depressed, or both. In the Global Post article describing the relationship between music and children’s behavior, â€Å"Children who listen to heavy metal music have a greater propensity for substance abuse and other risky behaviors during adolescence, according to the American Association of Pediatrics† (Wade, 2014, para. 2). Studies are finding that desensitizing lyrics with negative messages tend to encourage misbehavior that is violent or anti-social. There is also inspiring music and music that is sad, but helps to heal your heart when dealing with a loved one’s passing. Music has also made one feel at peace in their surroundings. Music also makes our bodies move. Research on the effects of music during exercise has been done for hundreds of years. In 1911, an American researcher, Leonard Ayres, found that people pedal faster while listening to music than they did in silence. This happens because listening to music can drown out our brain’s cries of fatigue. As our body realizes we’re tired and wants to stop exercising, it sends signals to the brain to stop for a break. This is mostly beneficial for low- and moderate- intensity exercise (Cooper, 2013). Playing different types of instruments makes our bodies move as well. Listening to music during housework is a great way to move. You can dance very silly and no one is around to see it. Music makes us move. Lastly, music has been used in therapy for hundreds of years. Music therapy can start with activities such as shaking a rhythm shaker egg, maracas, or drumming in beat with others, or  it can become an advanced exercise in writing expressive lyrics and singing with a group. The benefit of music helping during a therapeutic procedure is people with brain injuri es can activate the brain in alternate ways, allowing them to regain movement or speech. Studies show that people, especially among teens suffering from depression and sadness, when starting to listen to positive music actually lowers the need for suicide. Also, when children with developmental disabilities, listen to music they love it gives them a fresh new way to communicate and the feeling of being independent. An example of the healing power of music is to watch video a about Henry, an old man who has been living in a nursing home for 10 years. Like some people his age, Henry is suffering from dementia. He forgets things easily and has lost many of his mental abilities. In fact, Henry lives in his own world, often unresponsive to other people. But the nurses discovered that if they let him listen to his favorite music from the past, he is instantly transformed with life energy, and suddenly able to have conversations with the people around him. Music breathes life into his body and mind. It truly is an amazing example of the healing power of music. In conclusion, music truly has a powerful impact on our lives. It can be therapeutic, make our bodies move, along with stirring our emotions. So what will you be listening to tonight? References: Billy Joel’s quote and my thesis. Beginning of the site http://deepenglish.com/2012/11/the-healing-power-of-music/ Cooper, B. (2013) 8 Surprising Ways Music Affects and Benefits our Brains – Step 8 Retrieved from Twitter Webinar: http://blog.bufferapp.com/author/belle-beth-cooper An old man, Henry with Dementia, and what the power of music from his era does for him. Retrieved from youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKDXuCE7LeQ Wade, L. (2014) Does the Type of Music a Child Listened to Affect the Way They Will Behave Globalpost. Retrieved from: http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/type-music-child-listened-affect-way-behave-19821.html

Cultural Differences

Cultural Differences COM/360 November 12, 2012 The movie Crash (2004) is about a handful of disparate people’s lives intertwined as they deal with the tense race relations that belie life in the city of Los Angelos over a thirty-six hour period.All the players involved in the movie are: a Caucasian district attorney, his Caucasian wife who believes her stereotypical views are justified, therefore they’re not racist; two black carjackers that use their race to their advantage; two Caucasian police officers, one who is racist and abuses his authority to non-whites, and the other who hates his partner for his racist views; a black film director and his black wife, who feels her husband does not support their own culture enough especially with the wife being violated by the racist cop; the two detectives and sometimes lovers, one Hispanic female and a black male; an East Asian man who gets hit by a car, but is hiding valuable cargo in his van; a Persian store owner who feel s he is not getting enough satisfaction or respect from American society when his store is continuously robbed; and a Hispanic locksmith who is just trying to keep his family safe out of harm’s way (Imbd, 2012). Each person’s story interlocks in some way as they all crash into one another through a series of racist endeavors and stereotypical judgments. Hall argues that every human being is faced with so many perceptual stimuli—sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and bodily sensations—that it is impossible to pay attention to them all.Therefore, one of the functions of culture is to provide a screen between the person and all of those stimuli to indicate what perceptions to notice and how to interpret them (Lustig & Koester, pg. 109, 2012). Hall splits cultures into high/low context and describes how high context cultures use high-context messages where the meaning is implied by physical setting or presumed to be part of the individual’s beliefs, value s, norms, and social practices; very little is in the coded message. These cultures include; Japanese, African American, Mexican, and Latino. The low-context cultures prefer to use low-context messages, where the majority of the information is vested in the explicit code. These cultures include German, Swedish, European American, and English (Lustig & Koester, pg. 109, 2012).An example of high-context communication; is when the two black carjackers interpret the same meaning and gestures in all their actions. Their actions do not need to be discussed explicitly because they both act the same and carry the shared understanding based on their relationship. An example of the low-context communication is when the Hispanic locksmith goes into the Caucasian attorney’s house to fix the locks and deals with the wife. She harasses him on how she needs every statement to be precise and all his actions to be accounted for. She is looking for his every move to be overt and very explicit because she immediately judges his performance and morale on his race.Hofstede’s five dimensions were identified in his early research when he came to find which dominant patterns of a culture can be ordered, these are; power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, and long- term versus short-term orientation to time. His findings have provided an excellent synthesis of the relationships between cultural values and social behaviors, which are identifiable throughout this movie. Power distance is one dimension believed to be most present throughout the movie Crash. One basic concern to all cultures is the issue of human inequality and knowing that all people in a culture do not have equal levels of status or social power. A persons power and social status depends more upon their culture and things such as; wealth, age, gender, education, physical strength, etc.As Hofstede’s research expresses; â€Å"cultures al so differ in the extent to which they view such status inequalities as good or bad, right or wrong, just of unjust, and fair or unfair. That is, all cultures have particular value orientations about the appropriateness or importance of status differences and social hierarchies† (Lustig & Koester, pg. 114, 2012). Power distance is extremely visible in this movie as far as each race having their individual degree of institutional and organizational power, and how to distribute it. For example, when the two Caucasian cops pull the black film maker and his wife over after leaving a work party and are blatantly playing the authority card based on their race and job description.The one racist white cop violates the black woman right in front of her husband for no apparent reason, while the husband is made to feel that if he makes one move he will be punished for his actions. Another example is when the Persian store owner walks into the Caucasian male’s gun store and wants to buy a gun. He has his daughter with him to help translate and pick the right weapon. As they are exchanges words in their language, the white man insults him by referring to him as â€Å"Osama† and tells him to leave his store immediately. The Persian man yells that he is an American citizen and has every right to purchase a gun, the white man replies with, â€Å"not in my store you don’t, now get the fuck out. That of uncertainty avoidance is also seen within the movie from the more foreign cultures that feel they may be presented â€Å"under† the more dominant white race. For example, when the Hispanic locksmith is in the Caucasian attorney’s home changing the locks on the doors, the wife flips out on her husband about how the locksmith is going to go sell their house keys to his â€Å"amigos† and she wants them changed again. She storms off to the kitchen where she looks up to see the locksmith starring at her with a look of shame. He walks to her counter, drops the spare sets down and expects nothing from her, feels no room to express his feelings to her assumptions.Because of his race he is immediately seen by the dominant race as being untrustworthy and sneaky. â€Å"Cultural Identity refers to one’s sense of belonging to a particular culture or ethnic group. It is formed in a process that results from membership in a particular culture, and it involves learning about and accepting the traditions, heritage, language, religion, ancestry, aesthetics, thinking patterns, and social structures of a culture (Lustig & Koester, pg. 142-43, 2012). The formation of one’s cultural identity is known to form from three different stages known as; unexamined cultural identity, cultural identity search, and cultural identity achievement.The first stage is one’s cultural characteristics being taken for granted and not much interest in exploring cultural issues. The second stage is that of wanting to explore and q uestion one’s culture in order to learn of the strengths and learn acceptance of both themselves and their culture. Last stage, is known as being the clear and confident stage of acceptance to one’s culture and self-identity. In this stage, a person has learned to develop ways of dealing with stereotypes and discrimination as well as being clear about the personal meanings of their culture. Throughout this film, it is justifiable through all the characters actions and perceived self-identity that all three stages are experienced by everyone.A good example is the two black carjackers, in the beginning they questionable as to why their appearance caused them to wait over an hour to eat at a restaurant†¦they were paying customers like everyone else. The two men began to question their race and cultural backgrounds with one another, where they found it justifiable to carjack a white couples’ vehicle (being the attorney and his wife) when spotted in the streets. Towards the end, it became clear to the one black male that he can accept what cultural identity may be fixated on him, but he does not need to follow a society’s outlook, he can learn to deal with stereotypes and discrimination.At this point of his realization, he took the stolen van he had planned to sell, filled with Chinese/Japanese people, and let them go free with $40 of his own money for them to eat. Cultural similarity and fluency allows different cultures to reduce that cultural bias aspect that many of us suffer from when interacting with people of a different race or culture. It has been pointed out that culture really does exist in the minds of people, but that the consequences of culture—the sared interpretations—can be seen in people’s communication behaviors. These provide people with guidelines on how they should behave, and indicate what to expect when interacting with others (Lustig & Koester, pg. 148, 2012).This film indicates how each culture is so self- involved with their own beliefs and cultural patterns that they all seem as if they are unfamiliar with different cultures surrounding them. This is not the truth though. Each race and culture is assumed by those who are different because it’s the unknown, those who act similar to one another share interpretations that reduced uncertainty; create predictability, and also stability in their lives. Although, there are several different scenarios in the movie where interracial mixes are seen working together such as; the black and Latino police detectives, the Caucasian attorney working with the police (white and black) about their car being stolen.Although, these type of interactions are solely based on the individual’s interpretation of the unknown culture. â€Å"Interaction only within one’s culture produces a number of obvious benefits. Because the culture provides predictability, it reduces the threat of the unknown. When something or som eone that is unknown or unpredictable enters a culture, the culture’s beliefs, values, norms, and social practices tell people how to interpret and respond appropriately, thus reducing the perceived threat of the intrusion† (Lustig & Koester, pg. 148, 2012). â€Å"Your beliefs become your thoughts, thoughts become your words, words become your actions, actions become your habits, habits become your values, values become your destiny. † (Mahatma Gandhi).A good example of trusting those with similar cultural patterns is the white cop and his father; The frustrated and racist cop with a chronically ill father who believed, that only a â€Å"white† supervisor or person was competent enough to help him with his ill father’s medical needs (Wolfe, 2010). Another cultural pattern in the film is seen by the two black carjackers, â€Å"systematic and repetitive instead of random and irregular. † The two young men and their discussion of why they should be scared being the only black people in an all-white restaurant, even though they were not, instead others being scared of them because of the color of their skin.This in turn led them both to steal the car because it was expected of their race to steal. Nonverbal communication can send messages to the receiver just as loud and clear as any verbal communication message. There are many different instances of both these concepts being utilized in the film making each culture really â€Å"pop out† in their identity. Nonverbal messages can work to either complement or contradict the intended verbal message. They also help maintain the back-and-fourth sequencing of conversations, which function to regulate the interaction. Nonverbal messages can also work to substitute for the verbal channel by replacing verbal words. In intercultural communication, difficulties in achieving competence in another verbal code are compounded by variations in the nonverbal codes that accompany the spoken word† (Lustig & Koester, pg. 200, 2012). An example of nonverbal and verbal message in the film is a message of action that expresses emotion as well as specific information; How the racist white cop unprofessionally conducted himself after pulling the black Buddhist film maker and his wife over for a traffic violation. He physically man-handled and shamefully performed his search on the wife up against the vehicle. He aggressively communicated that he was in charge and he can do what he wants (Wolfe, 2010).Another example of nonverbal and verbal communication is toward the end of the movie where the young white cop picks up the young black boy hitchhiking and they begin to discuss where the black guy has been, seeing how he was covered in dirt and visible blood spots. The white off duty cop continuously looks him over for evidence, when the boy starts laughing out loud about the statue that was sitting on the cops dashboard. The cop kept asking what was wrong and as th e boy went to reach inside his pocket, the cop grew nervous, grabbed for his gun, and shot the boy. Only to realize that the boy was carrying the same statue that was sitting on the cops dashboard (Wolfe, 2010).The film Crash, is a remarkable, must see film with bravery and honesty in showing fear, prejudice and the dismembered society that people live in. It truly expresses the characters in a way that they are able to see the ugliness inside them as well as others who work to redeem themselves after realizing their cultural beliefs and ways. This movie is socially important in teaching its viewers the meaning and emotions behind the lives people realistically walk through on a daily basis. It teaches the importance of understanding cultural identity and working through cultural bias. Far too often, people are quick to make judgments simply based on someone’s physical appearance.It is imperative that people learn to accept their cultural identity but be mindful and respectfu l of those who are different around them. Initial perspectives, such as those presented by Hall, can be deadly towards others and lead to Hofstede’s dimensions that can destroy a relationship in many ways. References: Imbd. (2012). Crash. http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0375679/plotsummary Lustig, M. and Koester, J. (2010). Intercultural competence: Interpersonal communication across cultures (6th ed. ). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon Wolfe, J. (2010). Cramberry. Intercultural communication Indentifies in Movie- â€Å"Crash. † https://cramberry. net/sets/28641-intercultural-communication-indentifies-in-movie-crash-by-j-wolfe Cultural Differences Every country has contributed in shaping the profound history of the world. However, there are notable countries that greatly impacted societies today. Among many nations in the world, two countries have a rich cultural background: United States of America and Egypt. Although both countries differ in various aspects, the legacy of both nations in present society cannot be overlooked. As such, the differences and similarities of the said countries are needed to be examined in detail in order to further understand their impact in world societies.United States of America is a federal republic region situated in the North American continent, consisting of 50 states. USA is considered as the third largest and most populous country in the world with an estimated population of 303,824,650. Each of the 50 states of USA is further divided into counties. One of the key features of America’s culture is diversity. Right before the Europeans and the Africans arrived, United States is alrea dy a diverse culture, inhabited by Native American people, who are able to speak 300 different languages.The Europeans and Africans later added their own varying culture to America’s diversity (Boehm, 2008). Meanwhile, Egypt is an Arab Republic country, located in the north-eastern part of Africa and the south-western part of Asia. Unlike the USA which is made up of several states, the terrain of Egypt is made of dessert which is divided by the Nile River into two unequal parts, the valley and delta which are the main areas of habitation (Johnson, 2008). Similar to USA, Egypt is also a populous country.It is noted to be the most populous among the Arab regions (Tristam, 2008). In terms of economic perspective USA is known to have a capitalist economy which means that the economic system of the country is controlled by several small groups of people. America’s economy benefits a lot in its advanced technology (â€Å"How the US Economy Works,† 2008). Contrary to A merica’s economy, the Egyptian economy is run and owned by the state, and the country’s government plays a significant role in economic planning.However, just like the USA, Egypt’s economy is now moving toward a decentralized and market oriented economy, giving further emphasis on foreign investment (â€Å"Egypt: Economy,† 2008). This is also due in part with the country’s adoption of advanced technology. The economic prosperity of both nations is reliant on natural resources. Likewise, both countries are consistently acquiring substantial gains through labor productivity. However, it has been noted that America is currently experiencing reductions in the worldwide value and status of dollars (CIA, 2008).Conversely, Egypt’s economy is stable and growing. Yet, despite the economic improvements, the country remained in the poor index due to the economy’s inability to sustain energy, housing and food to its people (Tristam, 2008). Anothe r point of discussion is centered on the religion of each country. The prominent culture in Egypt in terms of religious perspective is Islam, while majority of the American populace adheres to Christianity which is made up various components. Islam and Christianity trace its roots to the prophet Abraham.Currently, together with Judaism, Christianity and Islam are three of the greatest monotheistic religion practiced in the world (Ahmad, 2008). The constitution of Egypt stipulates religious freedom, but in practice the liberty to choose religion is severely limited. This is because the legal system in Egypt follows the law of Islam which is known as Sharia. Hence, despite the claim for religious freedom, religious intolerance, and discrimination against other religious groups is still present in Egypt.The law recognizes an individual’s conversion to Islam, but the law does not tolerate Islam members to convert in other religions (Tristam, 2008). On the other hand, the legal sy stem and religion in America are different set of entities. USA has a tradition of religious tolerance and each individual has the total freedom to choose their religions. The freedom to exercise the choice of religion is incorporated in the US constitution’s first amendment. Christianity is the widely practiced religion in the United States. However, there is other religious influence permeating in the United States.Still, it is claimed that despite the differences Americans remained religious (â€Å"Religion,† 2008). Islam is ruled by the notion of conservativeness and honor. Such notion strictly applies among all the Egyptians but especially for the women. Egyptian women are expected to behave and dress modestly. Thus, women who reveal themselves by dressing inappropriately, having a loud voice and sensual behavior within the public eye is regarded as a dishonor to their hosts and kin, and is therefore considered as an insult to their families (â€Å"Egyptian View point,† 2000).Because religion and state functions are separate in the US, American’s especially the women are enjoying their freedom in terms of personal choice of clothing, although there are also Christian groups in America that require appropriate dressing during church services. Despite of the traditional belief in the value of marriage, American society practice and fully recognizes divorce. Islam, on the other hand, although discourages such action, does permit and grant divorce upon the initiation of either the husband or wife (Ahmad, 2008).Human rights record is also a distinct characteristic between the two countries. Egypt’s human rights records are poor and showed little improvements in the past years. Egyptian prisons are known for notorious tortures and arbitrary detentions. Torture is not only inflicted among political dissents, but also among ordinary people who were detained due to petty crimes (Human Rights Watch, 2005). Likewise, women and stre et children are also violated and non-governmental and political organizations are under the unwarranted control of the government.In addition, the creation of associations is heavily guarded and engagement in political unions is subject to penalties (Human Rights Watch, 2005). United States has long recognized itself as an effective advocate of human rights worldwide and a country that puts into action what it preaches. However, such picture has never been perfect, and America’s reputation is undermined by the long standing presence of institutionalized discrimination and the reported coercive interrogation and maltreatment of the detainees in Afghanistan (Human Rights Watch, 2005).Apparently, Egypt and the United States share little resemblance and myriads of differences. Each country presented cultural backgrounds that are at some point enticing and at times were not. However, whatever similarities and differences that each country has, it is with no doubt that each has ma naged to influence different nations with their rich cultural background. References Ahmad, S. (2008). Islam in a nutshell. Tour Egypt. Retrieved November 14, 2008 from http://www. touregypt. net/featurestories/islam. htm. Boehm, R. (2008). United States Geography. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia.Retrieved November 14, 2008 from http://encarta. msn. com/text_1741500822___0/United_States_Geography. html Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (2008). United States. Retrieved November 14, 2008 from https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us. html. Egypt: Economy. (2008). Infoplease. Retrieved November 14, 2008 from http://www. infoplease. com/ce6/world/A0857909. html Egyptian view-point. (2000, June 01). Tour Egypt. Retrieved November 14, 2008 from http://www. touregypt. net/magazine/mag06012000/mag6. htm. How the U. S. economy works. (2008). US Info.Retrieved November 14, 2008 from http://usinfo. state. gov/products/pubs/oecon/chap2. htm. Human Rights Watc h. World Report. New York: Human rights watch, 2005. Johnson, D. (2008). Egypt. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 14, 2008 from http://encarta. msn. com/encyclopedia_761557408/Egypt. html. Religion. (2008). Just Landed. Retrieved November 14, 2008 from http://www. justlanded. com/english/USA/Tools/Articles/Culture/Religion. Tristam, P. (2008). Egypt: Country profile. About. com. Retrieved November 14, 2008 from http://middleeast. about. com/od/egypt/p/me080116. htm. Cultural Differences Cultural Differences COM/360 November 12, 2012 The movie Crash (2004) is about a handful of disparate people’s lives intertwined as they deal with the tense race relations that belie life in the city of Los Angelos over a thirty-six hour period.All the players involved in the movie are: a Caucasian district attorney, his Caucasian wife who believes her stereotypical views are justified, therefore they’re not racist; two black carjackers that use their race to their advantage; two Caucasian police officers, one who is racist and abuses his authority to non-whites, and the other who hates his partner for his racist views; a black film director and his black wife, who feels her husband does not support their own culture enough especially with the wife being violated by the racist cop; the two detectives and sometimes lovers, one Hispanic female and a black male; an East Asian man who gets hit by a car, but is hiding valuable cargo in his van; a Persian store owner who feel s he is not getting enough satisfaction or respect from American society when his store is continuously robbed; and a Hispanic locksmith who is just trying to keep his family safe out of harm’s way (Imbd, 2012). Each person’s story interlocks in some way as they all crash into one another through a series of racist endeavors and stereotypical judgments. Hall argues that every human being is faced with so many perceptual stimuli—sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and bodily sensations—that it is impossible to pay attention to them all.Therefore, one of the functions of culture is to provide a screen between the person and all of those stimuli to indicate what perceptions to notice and how to interpret them (Lustig & Koester, pg. 109, 2012). Hall splits cultures into high/low context and describes how high context cultures use high-context messages where the meaning is implied by physical setting or presumed to be part of the individual’s beliefs, value s, norms, and social practices; very little is in the coded message. These cultures include; Japanese, African American, Mexican, and Latino. The low-context cultures prefer to use low-context messages, where the majority of the information is vested in the explicit code. These cultures include German, Swedish, European American, and English (Lustig & Koester, pg. 109, 2012).An example of high-context communication; is when the two black carjackers interpret the same meaning and gestures in all their actions. Their actions do not need to be discussed explicitly because they both act the same and carry the shared understanding based on their relationship. An example of the low-context communication is when the Hispanic locksmith goes into the Caucasian attorney’s house to fix the locks and deals with the wife. She harasses him on how she needs every statement to be precise and all his actions to be accounted for. She is looking for his every move to be overt and very explicit because she immediately judges his performance and morale on his race.Hofstede’s five dimensions were identified in his early research when he came to find which dominant patterns of a culture can be ordered, these are; power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, and long- term versus short-term orientation to time. His findings have provided an excellent synthesis of the relationships between cultural values and social behaviors, which are identifiable throughout this movie. Power distance is one dimension believed to be most present throughout the movie Crash. One basic concern to all cultures is the issue of human inequality and knowing that all people in a culture do not have equal levels of status or social power. A persons power and social status depends more upon their culture and things such as; wealth, age, gender, education, physical strength, etc.As Hofstede’s research expresses; â€Å"cultures al so differ in the extent to which they view such status inequalities as good or bad, right or wrong, just of unjust, and fair or unfair. That is, all cultures have particular value orientations about the appropriateness or importance of status differences and social hierarchies† (Lustig & Koester, pg. 114, 2012). Power distance is extremely visible in this movie as far as each race having their individual degree of institutional and organizational power, and how to distribute it. For example, when the two Caucasian cops pull the black film maker and his wife over after leaving a work party and are blatantly playing the authority card based on their race and job description.The one racist white cop violates the black woman right in front of her husband for no apparent reason, while the husband is made to feel that if he makes one move he will be punished for his actions. Another example is when the Persian store owner walks into the Caucasian male’s gun store and wants to buy a gun. He has his daughter with him to help translate and pick the right weapon. As they are exchanges words in their language, the white man insults him by referring to him as â€Å"Osama† and tells him to leave his store immediately. The Persian man yells that he is an American citizen and has every right to purchase a gun, the white man replies with, â€Å"not in my store you don’t, now get the fuck out. That of uncertainty avoidance is also seen within the movie from the more foreign cultures that feel they may be presented â€Å"under† the more dominant white race. For example, when the Hispanic locksmith is in the Caucasian attorney’s home changing the locks on the doors, the wife flips out on her husband about how the locksmith is going to go sell their house keys to his â€Å"amigos† and she wants them changed again. She storms off to the kitchen where she looks up to see the locksmith starring at her with a look of shame. He walks to her counter, drops the spare sets down and expects nothing from her, feels no room to express his feelings to her assumptions.Because of his race he is immediately seen by the dominant race as being untrustworthy and sneaky. â€Å"Cultural Identity refers to one’s sense of belonging to a particular culture or ethnic group. It is formed in a process that results from membership in a particular culture, and it involves learning about and accepting the traditions, heritage, language, religion, ancestry, aesthetics, thinking patterns, and social structures of a culture (Lustig & Koester, pg. 142-43, 2012). The formation of one’s cultural identity is known to form from three different stages known as; unexamined cultural identity, cultural identity search, and cultural identity achievement.The first stage is one’s cultural characteristics being taken for granted and not much interest in exploring cultural issues. The second stage is that of wanting to explore and q uestion one’s culture in order to learn of the strengths and learn acceptance of both themselves and their culture. Last stage, is known as being the clear and confident stage of acceptance to one’s culture and self-identity. In this stage, a person has learned to develop ways of dealing with stereotypes and discrimination as well as being clear about the personal meanings of their culture. Throughout this film, it is justifiable through all the characters actions and perceived self-identity that all three stages are experienced by everyone.A good example is the two black carjackers, in the beginning they questionable as to why their appearance caused them to wait over an hour to eat at a restaurant†¦they were paying customers like everyone else. The two men began to question their race and cultural backgrounds with one another, where they found it justifiable to carjack a white couples’ vehicle (being the attorney and his wife) when spotted in the streets. Towards the end, it became clear to the one black male that he can accept what cultural identity may be fixated on him, but he does not need to follow a society’s outlook, he can learn to deal with stereotypes and discrimination.At this point of his realization, he took the stolen van he had planned to sell, filled with Chinese/Japanese people, and let them go free with $40 of his own money for them to eat. Cultural similarity and fluency allows different cultures to reduce that cultural bias aspect that many of us suffer from when interacting with people of a different race or culture. It has been pointed out that culture really does exist in the minds of people, but that the consequences of culture—the sared interpretations—can be seen in people’s communication behaviors. These provide people with guidelines on how they should behave, and indicate what to expect when interacting with others (Lustig & Koester, pg. 148, 2012).This film indicates how each culture is so self- involved with their own beliefs and cultural patterns that they all seem as if they are unfamiliar with different cultures surrounding them. This is not the truth though. Each race and culture is assumed by those who are different because it’s the unknown, those who act similar to one another share interpretations that reduced uncertainty; create predictability, and also stability in their lives. Although, there are several different scenarios in the movie where interracial mixes are seen working together such as; the black and Latino police detectives, the Caucasian attorney working with the police (white and black) about their car being stolen.Although, these type of interactions are solely based on the individual’s interpretation of the unknown culture. â€Å"Interaction only within one’s culture produces a number of obvious benefits. Because the culture provides predictability, it reduces the threat of the unknown. When something or som eone that is unknown or unpredictable enters a culture, the culture’s beliefs, values, norms, and social practices tell people how to interpret and respond appropriately, thus reducing the perceived threat of the intrusion† (Lustig & Koester, pg. 148, 2012). â€Å"Your beliefs become your thoughts, thoughts become your words, words become your actions, actions become your habits, habits become your values, values become your destiny. † (Mahatma Gandhi).A good example of trusting those with similar cultural patterns is the white cop and his father; The frustrated and racist cop with a chronically ill father who believed, that only a â€Å"white† supervisor or person was competent enough to help him with his ill father’s medical needs (Wolfe, 2010). Another cultural pattern in the film is seen by the two black carjackers, â€Å"systematic and repetitive instead of random and irregular. † The two young men and their discussion of why they should be scared being the only black people in an all-white restaurant, even though they were not, instead others being scared of them because of the color of their skin.This in turn led them both to steal the car because it was expected of their race to steal. Nonverbal communication can send messages to the receiver just as loud and clear as any verbal communication message. There are many different instances of both these concepts being utilized in the film making each culture really â€Å"pop out† in their identity. Nonverbal messages can work to either complement or contradict the intended verbal message. They also help maintain the back-and-fourth sequencing of conversations, which function to regulate the interaction. Nonverbal messages can also work to substitute for the verbal channel by replacing verbal words. In intercultural communication, difficulties in achieving competence in another verbal code are compounded by variations in the nonverbal codes that accompany the spoken word† (Lustig & Koester, pg. 200, 2012). An example of nonverbal and verbal message in the film is a message of action that expresses emotion as well as specific information; How the racist white cop unprofessionally conducted himself after pulling the black Buddhist film maker and his wife over for a traffic violation. He physically man-handled and shamefully performed his search on the wife up against the vehicle. He aggressively communicated that he was in charge and he can do what he wants (Wolfe, 2010).Another example of nonverbal and verbal communication is toward the end of the movie where the young white cop picks up the young black boy hitchhiking and they begin to discuss where the black guy has been, seeing how he was covered in dirt and visible blood spots. The white off duty cop continuously looks him over for evidence, when the boy starts laughing out loud about the statue that was sitting on the cops dashboard. The cop kept asking what was wrong and as th e boy went to reach inside his pocket, the cop grew nervous, grabbed for his gun, and shot the boy. Only to realize that the boy was carrying the same statue that was sitting on the cops dashboard (Wolfe, 2010).The film Crash, is a remarkable, must see film with bravery and honesty in showing fear, prejudice and the dismembered society that people live in. It truly expresses the characters in a way that they are able to see the ugliness inside them as well as others who work to redeem themselves after realizing their cultural beliefs and ways. This movie is socially important in teaching its viewers the meaning and emotions behind the lives people realistically walk through on a daily basis. It teaches the importance of understanding cultural identity and working through cultural bias. Far too often, people are quick to make judgments simply based on someone’s physical appearance.It is imperative that people learn to accept their cultural identity but be mindful and respectfu l of those who are different around them. Initial perspectives, such as those presented by Hall, can be deadly towards others and lead to Hofstede’s dimensions that can destroy a relationship in many ways. References: Imbd. (2012). Crash. http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0375679/plotsummary Lustig, M. and Koester, J. (2010). Intercultural competence: Interpersonal communication across cultures (6th ed. ). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon Wolfe, J. (2010). Cramberry. Intercultural communication Indentifies in Movie- â€Å"Crash. † https://cramberry. net/sets/28641-intercultural-communication-indentifies-in-movie-crash-by-j-wolfe

Study of diary products supply chain with its various components and Essay

Study of diary products supply chain with its various components and aspects - Essay Example We ensure that the amount of fat is reduced and this fat which has been removed is used in the making of products such as butter and cream, all these being the ingredients found in cheese, which will be our primary focus in this paper. Good manufacturing practices such as hygiene, quality assurance and marketing are critical (Andreas & Carl, 2011). Production requirements Cheese storage area capacity is predominantly determined by the target cheese types which are intended through put plans. The equipment which will be necessary for cheese making depends on the type of cheese being produced and facilities which are specifically designed are required, and advice/factory design should be sought. According to the nature and complexity of making cheese, which usually requires precision if one is considering going into cheese making, proper training is a basic requirement. The key areas for consideration in the manufacturing of cheese are pasteurization process of milk, quality control, h ygiene and finally marketing and distribution (Andrew, Dan, & Tom, 2006). Legal requirements There are stringent hygiene regulations to be adhered to since safety is an important consideration in the cheese business as is in any other food business. ... Cheese is a complex food comprising of only a few simple ingredients. There are thousands of varieties of cheese around the world developed by cheese makers, each with a unique taste, texture and nutritional profile. Absolutely, no cheese is similar and we have a large number of standards, due to the existing ways in adjusting the basic recipe of products such as mozzarella, Brie, blue, Swiss, Cheddar and many more. There are two basic types of cheese which we deal with and they are: Natural cheese which comprises of about four ingredients which are basic and they include salt and milk among others. The cheese nutrients such as calcium, protein and phosphorus are due to the milk being the main ingredient. Salt is required for the final transformation of liquid milk into cheese while also acting as a natural preservative. Processed cheese which is made from high-quality natural cheese. Therefore, it also comprises of the said nutrients (calcium, phosphorus and protein). One of its maj or differences with natural cheese is that processed cheese can be modified to have more calcium as well as extra vitamin D. For processed cheese, the processing is known to stop the aging process, thus maintaining its flavor, texture and smoothness over extended periods of time. Processed cheese can be customized for flavor and qualities such as a smooth melt responsible for making it versatile, tasty and easy-to-use food. There has to be careful application of amount of salt used since it will impact its firmness, flavor, food safety and preservation crucial for our customers. Supply Chain At the start of cheese supply chain, we have the farmers who supply the milk. There are well known unions who we deal with and have been in operation for well over a decade, who specialize in dairy

The Quality of Interpretive Provision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

The Quality of Interpretive Provision - Essay Example According to the study conducted Natural England manages Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) including some of the country’s wonderful and splendid habitats. Globally famous wildlife sites are ranked as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPSs). Natural England has fixed themes and priorities for 2008-2011 for the use of ALSF grant. Out of the selected themes, theme 4 dealing with education and understanding stresses on the provision of educational and interpretive opportunities in the context of landscape, biodiversity and geo-diversity constituents of the natural environment on and in proximity to the sites affected by extraction. Innovative approaches to education and interpretation is one of the priorities of theme 4. See the map below for the number of grants and their percentages for various regions of the Natural England. Effective interpretation must be fulfilling the audience expectations. It should provide vivid experience to the l isteners. It should be a planned composition and adhere to an essential theme so that the visitor follows it and feels engrossed to match it with own similar experiences. Audience should get a feeling of reverence by the interpreter. The researcher states that heritage interpretation has progressed in the past decades to become mellowed since Freeman Tilden wrote ‘Interpreting our Heritage’ in 1957. Interpretation has played a significant part in enlivening decreasing urban, industrial and rural regions via tourism and conservation programmes. ... Direct interaction with the visitors can be customised as per visitors’ inquiries and interests by answering 'on the spot’; comparatively interpretive signage is less flexible as the visitors can not provide instant response on signage. It is, therefore, critical for signage to be much more pertinent than other kinds of interpretation (UQ, 2006). Ideally interpretive signs should be inspected from visitors’ point of view, their inquisitions, anxieties and their knowledge. The visitors’ responses should form the basis of an interpretive signage (UQ, 2006). Warning Signs Extra precaution needs to be taken for not creating any ambiguity over the content of the message for double-meaning and culturally particular statement. It is more relevant while designing warning signs, as any wrong communication can be detrimental to the life of visitors. Local people may be well aware of possible environmental risks but visitors have no idea of the place. Therefore, wani ng signs need to provide functional information for the prevention of possible loss (UQ, 2006). Designing warning signs There are four key elements that a warning sign include, which are the word ‘Warning’, or ‘Caution’, a sentence about the risk, a possible outcome of ignoring the risk and instructions on taking precautions, as shown above (UQ, 2006). A warning sign should be easily visible and differentiable from general instructions such as interpretive information. It can be written in colour for enhanced visibility, as red colour is linked with danger zone. Contrast between the background and text provides clarity to the message (UQ, 2006). Size The size of the alert message and the type font used is critical although research is not

Outsourcing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Outsourcing - Term Paper Example e would be the hotel industry where they would include managing of the premise, catering, asset management, landscaping, and supplying the kitchen with the items required. Therefore, both of these industries have available options that an outsourced team may find relevance in as a way of promoting concerted efforts on the core activities for a business entity. Subsequently, outsourcing as a business process becomes the analyzing of the enterprise processes in a business firm to ascertain whether business process should be in house or obtained from the outside. This is because many business entities involved in either service or the manufacturing sectors of the economy have disengaged from activities that attract dismal profits for their firms. With this, many businesses involved in service delivery have opted to outsource most of their activities that range from payment collection, customer service and call answering, and billing services among a list of others. On the other hand, th e outsourcing aspect has been visible in the information technology departments within business firms as the number of IT professionals in the market has risen over time. In essence, the rapid transformation aspects that the information technology tends to experience makes it expensive for a business company to keep up. This is because of the regular trainings that the business would have to undertake to ensure that their IT department staff stays in line with the advancements. Therefore, this has resulted in many companies adopting outsourcing aspects that is relatively cheaper and essential in the continued running of a business. Certain areas within a company’s IT department have influenced companies to engage the services of professionals from the outside such computer software and... Outsourcing in business management refers to an arrangement in which an outsider company undertakes service provision that the company would have provided in house. In recent times, the outsourcing trend has become common practice in business management. The aspect of outsourcing helps in the improvement of business relations with suppliers. On the contrary, outsourcing serves as a contributor to enhanced company performance as it allows a company to focus on its competencies. The establishment of the outsourcing theory brought about significant changes to the management concept as it sought to enrich product provision and development. With these ideas in mind, this essay will delve on principles of outsourcing in management and activities that this aspect of business management oversees within a business environment. The increased cost of operations experienced by manufactures has made them adopt drastic measures that would ensure that their profit generations remain high despite th e high costs of production. Therefore, processing exports refer to the products manufactured through the process of international outsourcing by use of imported inputs. International outsourcing has generated interest for many researchers because of the relation between the choice of organizational structure and trading activities at the local and the international levels. Their subject of interest may also be on the factors that may influence a business entity to engage international outsourcing both on the theoretical and practical basis.

CT scans to detect lung cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CT scans to detect lung cancer - Essay Example In this research, the researchers have concluded that 80 percent of lung cancers can be detected in early stages through CT screening and what they are trying to tell is lung cancer is not all that bad, which is actually beneficial for a tobacco company because, the worst health problem projected against smoking is lung cancer. Funding by any other company other than a tobacco company could have avoided this conflict of interest. 2. CT screening is fraught with risk of radiation. It is also an expensive procedure and can contribute to unnecessary biopsies and surgeries in those with cancers that actually do not progress. Because of this, critics have raised ethical issues about routine screening of individuals at risk of cancer, i.e., those with history of smoking. The better way to prevent lung cancer is to educate people about the risks associated with smoking a nd various measures to prevent smoking. 3. The researchers, Dr. Henschke and Dr. Yankelevitz did not disclose one patent and 10 pending patents concerned to screening of lung cancer with CT scan. The patent was issued to general Electric, one of the prominent makers of CT scanners.

Is it possible to ensure scientific rigour when conducting Essay

Is it possible to ensure scientific rigour when conducting quantitative and qualitative research - Essay Example It is worth noting that the concepts of validity and reliability of qualitative research have in the past not been well codified as in the case of quantitative research. This paper therefore, looks at the possibility of having a scientific rigour when conducting qualitative and quantitative research (Gery & Ryan 2013). The quality and reliability of any research finding depend on the techniques used in collecting data, sample choices, techniques used in the analysis and the illustration of the chosen techniques. Equally, the researcher needs to develop systematic coding patterns to assist detect deviant cases that would otherwise affect reliability. The Techniques for Collecting Qualitative Data In order to have correct inference, the analysed data must be quality data. This means that techniques of collecting data must be well chosen based on the type of research and the judgements made about the contents. Poor selection of techniques is likely to result into wrong deduction (Meyric k 2006). There are approaches and techniques that can assist to improve the validity and reliability of qualitative data and the research reports. To ensure scientific rigour, four data collection techniques can be used. ... Elicitation techniques can also be categorized into types of interviews; structured, semi-structured, unstructured, and mixed elicitation that combines the three. The use of unstructured interviews may be informal or ethnographic. To have control of the results scientific research need to avoid informal interviews but choose the structured and ethnographic techniques, which allows longer questionings and deeper probing (Seale & Silverman 1997). This leads into credibility of the data with ability for proper analysis. This is because the structured and semi-structured interviews are often designed to allow all informants to be examined on a set of similar questions, in order to provide an opportunity of making comparisons of the data across respondents or groups of respondents to improve reliability. In this method, the researcher initiates the interview, asks the specific questions, and determines whether the conversation on a particular topic has meets the research objectives. In th is case, the respondent is guided and restricted to the research questions. Data collected is likely to be reliable if there is a level of correlation across the respondents. Structured interviews are majorly employed when the research intends to measure the magnitude of an occurrence and to assist make more accurate comparisons within and across groups (Seale & Silverman 1997).The validity of such structured interviews is founded on the hypothesis that if a systematic and a set of standardized instrument is administered to a group of individuals, the variances in their responses is majorly as a result of their individual differences, but not the difference in the instrument used. Examples of structured

Modern and Contemporary Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Modern and Contemporary Style - Essay Example However, it is clear that the positioning of the portrait and transition of colour variation towards the background expresses isolation (Figura and Peter 65). It is therefore important to note the significant application of art to express the level of Isolation Gerany suufered after World War I. The shape of the portrait is an element of art that stands out very effective in addressing the central issue under consideration. Texture application reflects significant dejection and blends well with the color to give the portrait a captivating visual impression. Fauvism was an improvement on the impressionism and sought to give elaborate visual taste. The portrait is a painted work of the great French artist Henri Mattise. It was completed in 1923 and emphasizes the significance of color tonal variation in a painting. The genre of this art is consistent with its post-impressionist style which has significant style utilization (Cunningham and John 480). Texture is an element which plays a central role in giving a fascinating appearance of the work. It is clear that color differences indicate the level of creativity of the artist in influencing the emotional aspect of the audience. The positioning of the object is well done with central spacing which explores the beauty of the woman. The shape of the object is consistent with its size and offers a better balance in terms of the realistic imagination of the audience. The artist seems to have utilized lines appropriately to draw the differences between the object, background and shape. A combin ation of this artistic style gives the work maximum attraction and explores the heights of imagination. This work is a 20th century innovation that revolutionized various aspects of art in music, architecture among others. The piece of art is commonly referred to as Gebirge (Mountains) [formerly Landschaft (Landscape)] and was created in 1911-1912. It is a painting of oil on canvas. The artist has emphasized

Developing Twenty-first Century Civil Engineering Essay

Developing Twenty-first Century Civil Engineering - Essay Example Civil engineering is a discipline that is changing rapidly. There has been a major development of civil engineering in the twenty-first century due to changes in technology and weaknesses in the old civil engineering methods. This is because this century offers solutions to many problems in the building and construction industry. This includes upcoming of many institutions that offer formal training of civil engineers to create professionals in the field. There are firms formed by civil engineers that look at the construction needs and challenges to find solutions. They also act as a standard setting institution to certify civil engineers before they get to the construction industry so that they are competent enough. This century presents many challenges in civil engineering. This is because most problems that the society faces today have a direct relationship with this field. For instance, some road accidents are associated directly with poor road construction which is under civil e ngineering (Seely, 1999, p.8). This perception by the society calls for a change in the framework of our structures for professional and educational bit of this discipline. To cub this challenges, the civil engineering discipline liaises with other related disciplines like surveyors and architects so that construction of buildings is carried out to meet quality standards.It is for this reason that a framework has been set to improve the competency of civil engineering in this century.... There has been change in this trend due to factors like technology. It is for this reason that colleges and universities have been built to provide formal education on this discipline. The first college to offer formal education on civil engineering was known as Norwich University in the United States. They offered degree courses in this area to ensure that civil engineers came out competent and well equipped with all relevant skills (Seely, 1999, p.87). This has greatly led to an improvement in the construction industry. Developing Twenty-first Century Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a discipline that is changing rapidly. There has been a major development of civil engineering in the twenty-first century due to changes in technology and weaknesses in the old civil engineering methods. This is because this century offers solutions to many problems in the building and construction industry. This includes upcoming of many institutions that offer formal training of civil engineer s to create professionals in the field. There are firms formed by civil engineers that look at the construction needs and challenges to find solutions. They also act as a standard setting institution to certify civil engineers before they get to the construction industry so that they are competent enough. This century presents many challenges in civil engineering. This is because most problems that the society faces today have a direct relationship with this field. For instance, some road accidents are associated directly with poor road construction which is under civil engineering (Seely, 1999, p.8). This perception by the society calls for a change in the framework of our structures for professional and educational bit of this

The Effectiveness of Ability Grouping Kindergarten Students In Reading Research Proposal

The Effectiveness of Ability Grouping Kindergarten Students In Reading Groups On Improving Reading Scores - Research Proposal Example study, these researchers drew on the ECLS-K database, from where they included only the first-time kindergarten students, who learnt in the same school the whole year. They also excluded students with learning disabilities, and those with limited proficiency in the English language. A multilevel analysis was then used to assess the influence of within-class grouping and other school and instructional factors on the reading achievement of kindergarteners. Nonetheless, the results from this study showed that when teachers use within-class grouping more frequently, this had a positive influence on the mean school gain in reading. This study therefore, suggests that the use of ability groupings in kindergartens might lead to an improvement in the early literacy and reading (O’Connell & Levitt, 2006). In another study, Tach and Farkas (2005) used the ECLS-K data to explore the influence of within-class reading on kindergarten and first grade students. These hypothesized that the ef fectiveness of within-class ability grouping is influenced by the incoming level of reading of the students, their proficiency in mathematics, as well as their preschool behavior problems, which are more common among boys and those students from families of low socioeconomic status. The researchers used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) on the ECLS-K data, and included only those students and classrooms that had complete data, beginning from kindergarten, end of kindergarten, and first grade. Nonetheless, results of this study showed that prior reading test scores of students and the judgment of teachers on the learning ability of students influenced the effectiveness of within-class ability groupings in kindergartens. Overall, the ability groupings in kindergartens, according to this study,... This study exhibits considerable limitations. First, there will be bias in the selection process of participants. The selection criterion involved requires that only students who have never changed schools between fall and spring of their kindergarten year be included in the study sample. For this reason therefore, the results might not reflect the effect of ability grouping among all kindergarten students. In addition, the use of self-report questionnaires to establish the frequency of using ability groupings among teachers cannot generate the accuracy of teachers' self-ratings. Moreover, this data cannot determine the quality of instruction in the ability groupings and cannot establish whether the teacher modified the instruction to suit student’s needs. More so, the timing of the study might lead to misplaced levels of reading proficiency, thus leading to wrong results of the measure of academic process testing. This paper makes a conclusion that the role and effectiveness of ability groupings has not been given the attention it deserves. Therefore, as most kindergarten teachers attempt to improve the reading scores of their students, some have paid lee attention to ability groupings strategy. This study therefore, seeks to investigate the effectiveness of ability groupings on the reading scores of kindergarteners in Russell Primary School. Depending on the results of the study, ability groupings might or might not be recommended to kindergarten teachers.

Suburbs and the use of space Essay Example for Free

Suburbs and the use of space Essay A suburb is a residential place or a district that is situated a round a city, a central business district or a town (Kruse Sugrue, 2006). Also the suburbs can be defined as the communities that live around the cities and town centers with time the urban centers and cities have been experiencing rapid growth and this has led to development of new modern residential places around the cities and towns. The suburbs offer a bigger space for living at a lower cost than it would be in towns. The availability of residential space at a lower cost makes many people opt go live in the suburbs (Newman, 1991). In regard to this the suburbs have been found to accommodate a higher population of the people unlike the neighboring cities and town centers. Suburbs are seen to spread over a large geographical area than any other living environments. A good transport system and infrastructure and the clean environment makes people to avoid living in the city centers so that they can avoid the untidy conditions and the high density (Jahn Frances, 2006). Living in a suburb offers the resident with the freedom and independence as people are able to decide for themselves what rules to govern them and how to live. The people in suburbs are able to even come up with bodies that govern their welfare. These bodies include those that deal with matters concerning the housing among other things (Head and Pat, 2007). Suburbs have become popular because the research shows that most people in a given suburb come from the same ethnic group or same community. This makes people feel more secure as they will always have a common way of life (GarciÃŒ a, 2003). The suburbs developed due to the development of transport system. Good transport system and infrastructure is one of the key factors that leads to development and establishment of the subur bs around the cities and towns. The evolution of transport technology for the ancient time where animal were used an a means of transport up to today where we have better automobiles such as busses ,cars ,ships and even airplanes which offer the people with the fast and convenient way of transport.(Kruse and Sugrue, 2006). Transportation in urban center and cities defined the size of the geographical area where people worked from. The growth of urban centers for the ancient time has directly influenced the development of the suburbs. In New York the establishment of the Levittown after the First World War in 1944 was the first suburbs in United States. The development of the Levittown was due to high number of people and this caused the shortage of houses. Due to high demand of housing facilities Gl bill in 1944 gave people money to start building houses for the soldiers who were returning form the war. It was at this time where a man named William Levitt decided to buy thousands of acres of land outside cities such Philadelphia and New York. He then constructed houses and living areas which were fully fabricated. Later in 1946 the first Levittown community was started in a town known as Hempstead. The firm owned by the Levitt sons funded this town by providing a lot of housing facilities. On top they offered and rented the homes at an affordable and low cost. The homes in this town had a lot of shopping centers, the playground for the families and even swimming pools. This developed to a bigger suburb. Suburbs have led to the sustainability of the towns. The high demand for good housing at an affordable cost has geared the and promoted the establishment of businesses that offer this services most entrepreneur take this chance to invest in housing industries among other ventures. Due to this the construction of better houses and homes has taken place. This leads to overall development in the suburbs. Through this the cities and town are gain the capability to hold the high population of the people around. This is one of the facts that we can say that through the suburbs the cities sustainable in terms of holding the population living there without constrains. The transport and infrastructure have been developed to meet the high demand of the people living in the suburbs. The automobiles have played a very crucial role in the transport system (Newman, 1991). The easiness of the movement of people to the places of work and other places is one of the reasons the suburbs are sustainable. In suburbs also one can easily transport his goods in and out due to better road and transport system. The issue of security also makes the suburbs to be termed as the most sustainable places. This is due to the fact that most suburbs are occupied by the communities of the same ethnic groups and the people living there have a common factor that unites those (Mees, 2010). The good measures taken in maintaining the clean environment in the suburbs makes them more sustainable. Policies that regulate environment have been used .for instance proper mechanisms to regulate the greenhouse gases and maintaining general cleanliness of the suburbs. Another factor that m akes most suburbs more sustainable is the good health systems. The quick access to medical care and heath surfaces is usually available. Good medication ensures that people are prevented from the dangerous diseases. Education of the public for proper health activities and protective measures vacillates this (Bridgman et al., 1995). On the other hand some suburbs can be seen as the limiting factor toward the country achieving sustainability. For instance some suburbs may suffer economic problems due to increased number of unemployed people in the society. This lead to poor living standards due to lack of sufficient funds to sustain the living requirement of the people. The architectural view of space is quite different to other peoples’ perception and understanding about the space. In architecture the great concern when we talk about the space is how the design of a house should be. Considering the environmental factors and social-cultural factors is put in place by most architects in viewing the space of a building. In design space is used in programming that is architects conduct the space survey and planning. This is a very important task in architectural planning (Newman, 1999). The architects also collect data and information from the clients and decides on the proper space allocation standards to be used (Jahn and Frances, 2006). In the house the family space is necessary. These are rooms in a house that are used by the family members this includes the bed rooms and kitchen. During the design the architect must include this space (Newman, 1991). The suburban houses are usually big than those in the city or the central business district s. This house are characterized with a large size which include a garden in them. However it is important to note that space is an important aspect in every design. Space utilization and management need to be observed in order to ensure that there is maximum utilization of space without wastage. Space in homes inside the suburbs is managed in various ways. So many people around the cities reside in suburbs so we find that the suburbs become densely populated. To accommodate the large population the house are designed in apartments therefore saving on space (Head and Pat, 2007). The suburbs also develop gardens cities to ensure that the space is profitably used. The gardens cities offer quality and sustainable places. The new garden cities are the places where one can get facilities that provide good transport low air pollution due to carbon energy, leisure and cultural services and also the green infrastructure and network. All this facilities are available at place near the homes. With time the space of the house in Australia has evolved and changed abundantly. Most houses in the Australian suburbs were consisted of a three bedroom, a bathroom and separate living area. This has transformed so much where you find the modern houses have extra rooms such a kitchen, walk-in wardrobes among others. This is due to the increased sizes of new residential building and houses. The use of space in the houses in Australia has been of great concern. The floor space of a house, is designed in respect to the amount of space available. When a lot of space is available the floor space may include a walking path in the house. However when there is limited space such a design cannot be implemented (Bamford, 2009). The space inside the house can be used for several purposes. In a story building some space can be used for stairs and even the lift to take people from one floor to the other. In broad spectrum, questions about the realism of space in the fields the fields of engineering, physicality and architecture have been raised since time immemorial. Essentially, this happens because the human diversity is basically surrounded by space and matter in all spheres (Brayn, 2004). As a matter of fact, space in architectural terms is a flexible and ubiquitous aspect that creates the flow of architectural activities that include the designs and the real structuring. In housing, space is defined by different phenomena that range from walls, column as well as windows among many other features which conceive space. It is worth noting that space in the built environment language refers to what cannot be seen. In other words, space refers to the neutral and the subjective part of the built environment and is what human beings conceive in the event when spaces are created for specific purposes. For instance, a staircase is a good example of the most used space in the built enviro nment as it is commonly used for moving up and down in storey buildings (Bamford, 2007).Since this research paper focuses on the architectural space, it is worth noting that only thorough use and not design that space becomes architectural space not only in how the space is used but how the structures are designed. In practical terms, space in the built environment is most not given the required concern in most of the architectural designs hence posing the greatest problem of how some pieces of designs in the architectural field are viewed as artistic while others are viewed as social objects (Head and Pat, 2007). The greatest aspect that leads to such an issue with respect to space in the built environment is the connection between people and the realism of the desired architectural space as well as the relations of space themselves. To create reliable spaces in regards to structures in the environment, individuals should focus on majoring on the intuitional aspects of space by focusing on the natural strategies as well as respecting the cultural and environmental factors. Most importantly, human beings tend to divide most of their time into sections as well as dividing space into locations an endeavor that separates activities in similar architectural spheres into physical diversities in the similar environment. The locations created after dividing space in the built environment are what human beings use as a means of spontaneously allocating the necessary space for a particular activity thus easing the daily human life (Brayn, 2004). In architecture, structural designers should work towards designing the most sustainable built environment through allocating each space activity as a means of differentiating space into many pieces thus making the final product fit for human use. In this way, it is therefore significant to acknowledge the importance of space with respect to the benefits that result from architectural and planning space in the housing units, neighborhoods as well as in the suburbs in general. When this is acknowledged the critical role played by architectural space in all built environment dimensions will be cognizable to all. Structural designs in the suburbs are essential in that they create a bio directional dialogue in any design off architecture in recognition of location of the particular space, the desired movements, the utility created as well as the incorporated symbols. This allows for proper planning and design of suburbs within the context of providing the best architectural plans for the benefits of the targeted population (Hayden, 2004). In the case of the Australian suburbs, the general economic, cultural and social significance of the suburb built environment in the space perspective. Irrespective of the radical changes of the suburb life over the last few years, little changes have been realized in the structuring of the space in suburbs by the professionals in the field of planning and architecture. As a matter of fact, the role of the public spaces in the suburbs has been ignored (Ellegood et al., 2002). If these professionals can be briefed of the importance of the inclusion of the most important dimensions of social open spaces in suburbs environment as well as considering spatial architectural characteristics. According to Bently (1993), spaces in suburb gardens acts as a potential center of the entire community life as well as serving a sustainability maintenance role in its own. In addition, the spatial planning for the suburb spaces is a critical aspect as it brings people together by encouraging a social interaction. Therefore, the responsible bodies should be advised to work towards creating more spaces for the as a means to serve the economic, social, cultural and environmental purpose. Creation of more effective policies in the Australian suburb environments can serve as basic foundation for the effective inclusion of the spaces in architectural and planning designs hence serves as a key catalyst in ensuring economic and environmental sustainability (Bentley et al., 1993). The philosophy of the privacy of the Australians life’s can be greatly dealt with through the creation of more public spaces in neighborhoods, gardens and housing structures in the Australian background. To sum up, the efforts in leaving major spaces in the suburb areas has suffered a major blow as a result of the recent changes in road network expansion approaches in planning, changes in housing structuring designs as well as the diversity in housing units development. The major issue is the difference between the architectural designs adopted in the suburbs to those adopted in the high and the medium density areas an aspect that brings in confusion in relation to planning and architectural variance. References Bamford, G.(2007) ‘The Rules of the Game’, Landscape Architecture Australia. Bamford, G.(2009). Spooked by Sprawl. Architecture Australia Bentley, Ian. ‘Community Development Urban Design’. In R. Hayward S. McGlynn (eds.). 1993. Making Better Places: Urban Design, Oxford: Butterworth Architecture. Besley, J. (2002) ‘Home Improvement: Suburban Works-in-Progress.’ Paper presented at Suburbia, National Trust of Australia (NSW) conference, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Observatory Hill, Sydney. Brayn. B. (2004). Good Deeds, Good Design: Community Service through Sustainable Architecture. New York: Princeton Architectural. Bridgman, Howard, Robin Warner and John Dodson 1995 Urban Biophysical Environments. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ellegood, A., Howard, R. L., Wigley, M., New Museum of Contemporary Art (New York, N.Y.), Henry Art Gallery. (2002). Out of site: Fictional architectural spaces : New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, 6.27.2002-10.13.2002 : Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, 11.8.2002-2.2.2003. New York: Published by the New Museum of Contemporary Art in association with the Henry Art Gallery. GarciÃŒ a, M. R., International Association for People-Environment Studies. (2003). Culture, environmental action and sustainability. Cambridge, Mass: Hogrefe Huber. Hayden, D.( 2004).Building Suburbia: Green Fields and Urban Growth. 1820-2000. New York: Vintage Books. Head, L. and Pat M. (2007).Backyard: Nature and culture in suburban Australia. Wollongong: University of Wollongong Press Jahn, G., Frances, S. (2006). Contemporary Australian architecture. Sydney: State Library New South Wales Press. Kruse, K. M., Sugrue, T. J. (2006). The new suburban history. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Mees, P. (2010). Transport for suburbia: Beyond the automobile age. London: Earthscan. Newman, P. (1991). Sustainable Settlements: Restoring the Commons. Habitat Australia Newman, P.(1999). Sustainability and Australian Cities. Australian Planner . Source document

Analysis of E-Commerce and Supply Chain for Silver Spoon

Analysis of E-Commerce and Supply Chain for Silver Spoon Silver Spoon Snacks is a fast food eatery established first in Gulshan in the year 1965. It has expanded to a second branch in Tariq road. During its heyday it revolutionized the fast food industry by introducing the concept of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"rolls on the menu. It enjoyed this untapped market till competitors jumped on the band wagon. The menu is diverse, including Pakistani, Chinese, Continental, Western and Indian items. There is plenty of consumer traffic in both branches especially during the evening. The Tariq Road branch serves all kinds of BBQ items, club sandwich, zinger burger and the well known rolls. The restaurant is owned and operated by a family. The branch managers are actually brothers and share shifts during the day and night. There are a total of 4 active brothers that are responsible for handling the day to day running and operations of the system. Key purchase decisions, menu expansion and supply chain decisions are handled solely by them. They have been following a paper based system since its inception. All the accounting work and record keeping is done manually in registers that are stocked at the residence every month. Literature Review According to Laudon and Laudon (Information Systems and Decision making, 2000), the supply chain is a collection of physical entities linked together into processes that supply goods or services from source through consumption. The supply chain consists of suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retail outlets, logistics and consumers. This list also includes those activities that are necessary in facilitating the supply chain. Managing a supply chain is a difficult task that requires keen insight and understanding of the business processes and the environment in which it operates. The struggle is to create a network which has no weak links in terms of time delays, information gaps or inefficiencies in other words, all processes must be integrated. This is best achieved by the creation of networks with a smooth inflow and outflow of relevant information. This is the heart of e-commerce. The internet has allowed the growth of e-businesses across borders and physical limits. The use of an intranet is greatly appreciated within a company. Based on internet technology, the intranet is used primarily within a single company which allows the internal users to expand and share information across floors and walls. These locations may be domestic or may even be throughout the world (Bartoo, Elliot, and Naik-lyer, 2000). E Commerce is one of the most important facets of the internet to have developed in this day and age. Ecommerce, sometimes referred to as E Business, involves carrying out business over the Internet with the use of computers that are linked to each other forming a network. E-commerce includes the buying, selling, marketing, and servicing of goods or services through telecommunication technologies. E-Business, on the other hand, carries a broader definition, not just the buying and selling of goods and services, but servicing customers, collaborating with business partners, and conducting communications and transactions within and outside an organization. (Electronic Commerce a managerial perspective by Efrahim Turban, David King, Prentice Hall; US Ed edition October, 1999) According to ComScore a marketing research company that provides marketing data and services to many of the Internets largest businesses, E-commerce has had its first $1B day on 2nd December 2010. The heaviest online spending day in history and the first to surpass the billion-dollar threshold, declares ComScore. This goes to show how far and wide the scope of electronic buying and selling has reached. It is revolutionized the way business models are created and defined numerous opportunities for entrepreneurs and the like. E- Commerce can help a supply chain over the internet in areas such as placing and receiving orders, providing product information, tracking orders, filling and managing inventory, and recording inflows and outflows (Sunil Chopra and Jan A, Van Mieghem, Supply Chain Management Review, April 200) A critical area where e-commerce has established its presence in a supply chain is in the resource planning and inventory management function of an organization. It helps users track the inventory and where it is distributed from the organization. It helps plan for future forecasts and deal with shortages. It creates a hub where information is shared among relevant members of a business model; this is known as EDI Electronic Data Interchange. Similarly ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems have emerged that serve similar functions in terms of smooth data flow between members of an organization. Relevant information relating to key business functions is then shared, matched and cross matched between departments and related companies that have partnered with the business. The goal is to streamline operations and produce a cost and time efficient process altogether. IBM and Siemens are 2 prime examples of organizations that heavily rely on supply chain applications produced by business management software such as SAP. This application has streamlined its processes thereby creating a real-time and efficient business model. Inventory management models are heavily used in large scale organizations in the fast food industry. Giant franchises such as Subway, KFC and Pizza Hut use business intelligence software for its operations. Zap is a leading software house that creates web based packages for KFC and Pizza Hut. As a starting point, a basic open source inventory management software coupled with internet technologies is an ideal way for a small to mid-sized business to start. The diagram below shows how e-commerce can efficiently distribute and coordinate the flow of information between the entities and business functions of the supply chain. The importance of information sharing and interchange is crucial to improve operational effectiveness. Research methodology Secondary research Secondary research consisted of going through research articles and existing information on e-commerce and supply chain models. Text books, class lectures and the internet served as sources for secondary research. This type of research was necessary to gain an understanding of existing supply chain models that are benefitting with the integration of e-ecommerce and its technologies. Primary research This is first hand research that needed to be conducted to gain an understanding of Silver Spoon Snacks This form of research was conducted over 2 face to face interviews and short telephone calls with the Branch Manager and Operations Manager A set of questions were asked to understand the existing supply chain model and how operations are carried out on a daily and weekly basis These questions also attempted to surface any inefficiencies and weaknesses that exist in the current setup Interviews were necessary to collect direct and relevant information from the involved people Data Analysis Input details pertaining to the Tariq Road branch Raw material listing Chicken Beef Mutton Flour Vegetables Ketchup/mustard Seasonings Equipment used Oven Fryer Coal Freezers Stove Tables and chairs Utilities used Electricity Gas Telephone Water Labour employed Head Chef Kitchen staff Head Waiter Waiters Cleaners Watchman For simplicity, the supply chain of chicken as a key and widely used ingredient will be studied throughout this report. Supply Chain system of Silver Spoon Snacks explained with the help of a flow chart. Supply Chain Defined Chicken Butcher Thursday morning or earlier depending on needs, the Chicken supplier receives an order of Boneless Chicken and Tikka pieces for the week. This order is placed via telephone by the branch manager. The quantity for chicken in Tikka and Boneless variation is verbally specified via telephone. The supplier confirms the order and a delivery time is specified. The butcher cuts the chicken according to pieces specified either Tikka pieces or Boneless for Chicken rolls. Delivery vehicle As per initial agreement between Silver Spoon and the supplier, the chicken supply will be delivered to the warehouse in the suppliers vehicle. This is part of the negotiation. The supplier will have the chicken delivered to the warehouse and settle the payment at the end of the month. Warehouse The warehouse is owned and operated by Silver Spoon owners. It has been part of the business model since 40 years and is situated off Tariq road near the Tariq road branch. The warehouse serves as a sorting point most of the raw materials. Individual branch demand is catered to and planned here. The warehouse has a large kitchen and a storage bay. Warehouse kitchen The warehouse kitchen department is responsible for all the cleaning and preparation of the raw food. This entails cleaning the chicken, removing the fat and making it hygienic and fit for cooking. Staff is employed in this department to manage the cleaning. Warehouse storage After the chicken has been cleaned, it goes into cold storage. The amount which has to be distributed to the branches on a daily basis is dispatched and the rest goes into freezers. The amount is determined in advance by branch managers. Keep in mind that a weeks supply is available for both branches at the warehouse. Official vehicle A Suzuki Pickup is on standby at the warehouse and the workers load a days worth of chicken and transport it to the both branches. 60% of the chicken goes to the Tariq Road Branch as its chicken utilization is the highest. Tariq road branch At the Tariq Road branch, the official vehicle arrives shortly with the chicken for the day. This chicken thawed, cleaned and semi marinated at the individual branches before it is ready to be finally added with the secret spices and recipes. It is immediately transported by the workers to the freezer. Kitchen + freezer As noon approaches a portion of the boneless chicken is removed from the freezer and brought to the preparation room. Here the chicken is added with seasoning, sauce and the secret spices which are made early during the day. This preparation is done by the head chef. The boneless chicken goes to the Roll preparation area and the Tikka pieces go to the BBQ area where they are cooked. Customer Once cooked, the Rolls and Tikkas are served to customers Planning system For the sake of simplicity we will go through a typical week of ordering chicken to get a grasp of the current supply system at the Tariq Road branch. This boneless chicken is used for Chicken Rolls and Chicken Boti. Whereas full chickens are used to create 4 Tikka pieces per chicken. Demand for the week is established by looking at previous trends. Basically a base demand for consumption has been established for boneless chicken of 210 kg per week. The base demand of 210kg worth of boneless chicken is always used for Rolls and Chicken Boti. On an average, 220-250kgs of boneless chicken is purchased as demand from consumers never dips below 210kg per week. For Tikkas, the base demand is 80 Tikkas per day, which makes it 560 Tikkas on an average per week. A full chicken is able to provide 4 Tikka pieces. The key considerations that determine and influence demand for chicken are: Stage of the week Friday, Saturday and Sunday are days where demand for boneless chicken is at its highest. During these days the public goes out to eat with family. Public holidays the restaurant operates during public holidays. During these days of the calendar, families choose to visit eateries and therefore the consumption of boneless chicken is high. City turmoil during expected city turmoil and expected strikes, the public operates at an accelerated pace and attempts to get things out of the way. This may entail visiting Tariq Road for work 1-2 days before the expected turmoil or unrest. Furthermore, consumption of boneless chicken falls during the days of turmoil, hence purchasing is planned accordingly. Level of commercial activity Tariq Road is heavily populated with shops and vendors. If the activity in malls and shopping strips is high, then demand for food, especially Chicken Rolls is also high as it serves the fast food concept and is economical. The factors above have the capacity to influence demand for chicken and hence the purchasing patterns vary. Chicken that is not used is then stored in freezers for next days use. This chicken is bought on Thursdays of the week from a vendor that has been partnered with the business. An order is placed via telephone on Thursday morning by the Branch Manager and it arrives by noon. If for some reason demand is abnormally high, the regular chicken supplier is contacted and is urged to make an emergency drop to the warehouse. If he is unable to do so from his own inventory, then he is responsible for making other arrangements. Supplier selection A chicken supplier is selected on the basis of: Total cost Cleaning and cutting Cost is the most important factor that ultimately determines which supplier/butcher to choose from. Silver Spoon negotiates on the basis of the foremost is cost (low or discounted price), quality, and delivery service. Secondly, it is favourable if the supplier can clean and cut the chicken into pieces at his outlet before delivering it to the Silver Spoon warehouse. Although Silver Spoon has a chicken slaughtering and cleaning/cutting facility, but is used for only further cleaning of the chicken and cutting for marinating purposes. Financial costs pertaining to Tariq Road Branch Cost for chicken: this rate is Rs. 4 per kilo less than the prevailing marketing rate. The chicken suppliers set the price every Thursday of the week. Price of chicken per kilo varies on a weekly basis and is determined by the laws of demand and supply. For example, if chicken is in excess supply then the price falls. Conversely if there is high demand then the price rises such as on weekends. Due to this the chicken suppliers set their prices on Thursday. The Tariq Road branch bears 60% of the total cost of the chicken whereas the Gulshan branch, only 40%. Consumption and sale of chicken items is the highest at the Tariq Road branch. The basis for making profits for Tikkas is to earn Rs. 20-25 profit per Tikka. Utilities Electricity Bill: varies between Rs. 50,000 to 60,000 per month. Gas Bill: varies between Rs. 10,000 to 12,000 per month Telephone Bill: Rs. 1,000 per month on an average Coal Usage: worth Rs. 1,500 on a daily basis.    Labour Employed Waiter: The starting salary per waiter is Rs. 6000 per month. Senior waiters (determined by length of employment) are paid Rs. 8000 per month. There are a total of 8 senior waiters (8 x 8000 = Rs. 64,000 per month) and 6 junior waiters (6 x 6000 = Rs. 36,000 per month). Kitchen Staff: these employees include assistants to the chef (3 assistants), and additional workers who produce other items on the menu (5 kitchen workers). They are assigned various tasks in the kitchen to add value to the system. On an average, the total labour costs assigned to the kitchen staff are Rs. 75,000 Head chef: There is 1 head Chef who is paid Rs. 12,000 per month. Total labour costs per month = Rs 64,000 + Rs 36,000 + Rs. 65,000 + 12,000 = Rs 187,000 Discussion Inefficiencies or weaknesses in the supply chain Supplier/butcher: Silver Spoon has had the same supplier for chicken for nearly 20 years. They should search the market for other suppliers that can offer competitive rates for bulk purchases of chicken. The order is placed on the phone and a Silver Spoon official does not personally monitor the chicken selection, which means an old chicken or unhealthy chicken can be part of the mix Warehouse: At the warehouse, the supplier delivery vehicle drops off the chicken and drives away after collecting the payment. There is no check here, no one counts the chicken or weighs it upon arrival so there is no way of making sure if they received the amount they paid for. There is no record system or inventory management. The chicken is not à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"logged in, just immediately shifted to the kitchen where it is cleaned for use. Therefore there is no actual account or record for the amount of chicken that entered the facility nor is there any receiving slip or receipt. Warehouse Storage: Once the chicken is cleaned and processed fit for use, it goes into storage freezers and only the days worth is kept outside for delivery. However, there is no one who counts the number of chicken breasts or legs, or kilograms of chicken that goes into the freezer. So there is no check or monitor system. Silver Spoon Snacks Vehicle The days worth of chicken is transported to the Tariq Road Branch, but there is no formal record of the amount that leaves the warehouse, nor is there any receiving document from the branches end. Branch Again, there is no counter checking or counting system of the chicken that arrives in the branch. It is blindly kept in the freezer. Customer The customer does not receive an electronic receipt. Which means that there is no formal record at Silver Spoons counter of the items sold and the cash received. There is an informal scribble in a worn out register. Other deficiencies with the current setup Marketing: There are limited marketing efforts carried out by the restaurant. At most, marketing involves re-doing the company banner or releasing a dozen flyers in the area. No website exists. Recording: It is a complete paper based system with not a computer or digital device in sight. Records are loosely maintained at the warehouse and branch in registers and journals. There is no formal record keeping system. Customers are not given receipts therefore there is no cross checking. Tracking: there is no way for Silver Spoon Snacks to forecast demand judging by trends, as figures and statistics for trends do not exist. Paper based: it is a paper based system with information regarding transactions loosely recorded in registers. Checks and balances: checks and balances do not exist, there is no tangible record keeping when it comes to inventory and purchases. It is not possible to confirm orders with suppliers and inter branch as orders are verbally given. There is no proof. Proposed system The proposed system involves the purchase of computer hardware and the use of an internet connection. The idea is to create a basic centralized system at the warehouse as the server with 2 additional linked systems at the branches. The purpose is to track and record inventory that moves into the warehouse and out to the branches. A real time system is proposed where inventory levels are monitored by the hour. The systems will need to be linked by an internet connection to provide a real time feed of information between the branches and warehouse. With an inventory management and tracking software, the loopholes and loose-ends in the current system will be neutralized. How it works Once the systems have been installed and made operational, the current stock, inventory and work in progress are uploaded to the servers. The software will be used be the warehouse, and both the branches. Each user will update the records from their end so it can be seen at the warehouse server. The software will have section for the warehouse, branch A and branch B. Depending on the fresh demand levels, the warehouse determines the quantity of chicken needed and sends an order via telephone to the butcher. Had the butcher/supplier been using a computer system (example Makro), then an email would have been dispatched instead. The quantity ordered is punched into the system and falls under the status of pending. The rate per kilo is noted. Order time is also noted. Once the stock of chicken arrives at the warehouse, its exact quantity is manually counted and weighed by an employee and then the numbers are punched into the warehouse server. This will cross check the amount ordered with the amount received. Once the figures tally, a receiving slip is generated electronically and printed after the order has been confirmed and accounted for. A slip is generated and given to the supplier and a formal record now exists in the system. A notification is sent in a matter of seconds to both branches informing them of the added inventory levels. The levels now appear on the screens of both branch A and B (Tariq road and Gulshan). Preparations are made. Depending on the opening inventory and the base level demand of 210kg of chicken and 80 Tikka pieces, each branch sends its required amount of chicken (bonless and Tikka pieces) through the softwares built in messaging system. Each transaction and order is then recorded. After the warehouse server acknowledges receipt of the order from the branch, it then forwards it verbally to the warehouse freezer where the employee loads the Silver Spoon vehicle (Suzuki pickup). The vehicle then travels to the relevant branch. A printed slip is dispatched. From the warehouse, the inventory levels are then reduced and this is also reflected in each branches terminal. Once the vehicle is unloaded at the branch, a branch employee manually supervises the unloading and stocking of the chicken in the freezer. Once confirmed and signed, the branch manager then updates his terminal with the added inventory of chicken. Back at the warehouse, the reduction in inventory is equal to the gain in inventory at both branches. As the day goes by and the orders accumulate and dispatch, the inventory levels are monitored not only at the branch, but at the warehouse as well. Each chicken Tikka order placed or each chicken roll uses a certain portion of the inventory. And once the orders are fed and updated in the Silver Spoon register, the chicken based inventory is automatically deducted. Towards the end of the day, the ending inventory is tallied and counted. The warehouse manager reads these inventories on an hourly basis and incase of a shortage dispatches a vehicle to make up for the shortfall. The cycle is then repeated every day depending on the closing inventory levels. Notes on the proposed system The recommended software for Silver Spoon Snacks is inFlow Inventory management software (http://www.inflowinventory.com/). The software is easy to use and does not require extensive training. A simple understanding of images, inputting data and confirming orders is all it takes. Free software exists, but does not provide security, reliability and expansion as inFlows suite. Each terminal is given a unique pin code which only the operator is aware of. This means only the relevant person in charge can use the terminal which is a security check as well as a confirmation. Each transaction is logged and stored in a log file sent to the warehouse computer. Backups are made on a daily basis Financial Costs involved with this system Software: although many free software packages exist, inFlow Inventory Management provides the best balance between features and cost. To create a multi user network (ideal in this case), the license cost $299 per computer for lifetime use. 3 licenses will be needed. $299 x 3 = $897 = ~ Rs. 75000 (@ Rs. 84 per U.S Dollar) Hardware needed: processor, motherboard, RAM, hard drive, casing, power supply, monitor. Based on the software requirements, the hardware cost is as follows: Tariq Road Branch cost: Rs 23,000 Gulshan Branch cost : Rs 23,000 Warehouse cost: Rs. 27,000 Total : Rs. 73,000 Internet connection: 3 connections Initial setup cost : Rs. 800 x 3 Monthly cost: Rs. 1000 x 3 Total initial investment: Rs. 75,000 (3 licenses) + (73,000 (hardware) + 2,400 (internet setup) + 3000 (first month internet payment) = Rs. 153,400 Benefits of the proposed system Accountability: first and foremost, the new system will hold each branch accountable for what it has received in its inventory. Once its handed over the inventory, it is held accountable for its storage, sales and payment. The sales of the branch should match the inventory received. Inventory control: from the moment the chicken supply reaches the warehouse, it will be tracked and accounted for. The system will make sure that there is adequate supply at all branches at all times so as to not lose out on potential sales Economic order quantity: the ideal quantity of chicken to order each week and the ideal quantity to store in the freezers can be calculated based on demand and supply conditions. Inventory planning is thereby improved. Accuracy: with figures, statistics and numbers well accounted for and cross references, the books of Silver Spoon will present and accurate picture of state of affairs. A reduction in human error in terms of calculations, counting and so on will also be witnessed. Record keeping: instead of scribbling in registers and writing journals, an electronic system with constant updates is hence created with the use of e-commerce technologies. Past transactions, exchanges, buying and selling are stored electronically thereby staying safe. The option to print out the records exists, thereby creating tangible records. Electronic Data Interchange: Information sharing between branches and the warehouse will be more convenient as real time updates and inventory levels can be monitored. Offers and promotional schemes by suppliers can also be entertained. Expansion: This inventory monitoring and management system is not just limited to chicken; it can be used for the entire product line, mutton, beef, vegetables, cold drinks, seasoning, flour and so on. The scope is limitless with unlimited suppliers and customers. Improved Customer Service and loyalty: when a customer always gets his or her desired order in desired quantity, it creates customer satisfaction and creates repeat customers. It improves loyalty as well. A computerized receipt also creates a positive impression on the customers. Reduce stock-outs and overstocks: with supply synchronized with demand, the chances of ending up with à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"expired inventory or facing shortages are greatly reduced. Shortages are prevented as inventory as planned well in advance, and in the same way excess inventory is also reducing thereby curbing inventory carrying costs. Ready alerts: if the inventory dips below a certain level at a branch, an automatically generated alert is sent to the warehouse or Gulshan branch and inventory can be moved around. Furthermore this will act as an early warning sign to the warehouse to acquire more inventory. Meeting demand: demand is almost always met unless outside forces have some play. With inventory always available due to a tracking and trend analysis system, sales will always be met. Forecasting: due to its ability to track charts and record daily transactions, the stored information can be used to conduct trend analysis for certain times of the calendar year. This will allow better planning for inventory and sales. Website: Silver Spoon Snacks Pvt. Ltd. can go on-line and have a web presence. This on its own is a marketing tool Networking: since Silver Spoon is now on-line and has a presence on the world wide web, it will be able to reach out to suppliers and customers on a larger scale. It is a ready marketing tool. It can partner with other restaurants, sponsors, FMCGs and causes. Marketing: with the use of e-commerce technologies, Silver Spoon Snacks can expand its marketing operations by sending out e-mails and creating ad banners and partnering with other websites. Costs of proposed system Change: it is possible that managers and top management may resist the change/transition from a paper based system to a technical system. The current system, though not ideal sets comfortably with current management. A management paradigm shift is required. Training: the system users will require some short initial training to understand the use of the software and technology in general. Although the Operations Manager Mr. Talha Awan is well versed with computer software and hardware, there will still be a slight lag due to training. Initial investment: although a small amount, roughly Rs. 150,000 will need to be diverted for a project that has no immediate monetary returns. Software support: although a helpline for customer support exists, it can become cumbersome to ask for guidance incase of software failure or confusion. Hardware failure: at the mercy of KESC and the elements, the computer hardware may fail thereby causing confusion and a stop in information flow. Although an uninterrupted power supply may be purchased, as well as a warranty plan, it will only add up in costs and delays. Internet failure: from time to time, the internet service provider may fail to provide a 100% uptime. This can cause delays and lags in the system. Industry Standard Bar B Q Tonight Inventory Management System To further add value to this report, I studied Bar B Q Tonights current inventory management setup which is computerized. Information was gathered through telephonic interviews and e-mail exchange with the Operations Managers, Sardar Ishaq and Mr. Abur Rehman. The findings are compiled below. Bar B Q Tonight is one of Karachis most famous restaurants that came into being in 1988. It prepares all kinds of cuisine that caters to thousands of customers on a daily basis. In-fact the multi storeyed establishment can house upto a thousand customers at a time. The restaurant has enjoyed high growth levels consistent with every year. Recently a branch has been erected in Lahore. Chicken, Beef, Fish, vegetables, pastas, fruit, ice cream, mushrooms, sausages, cheese, beverages and tissue rolls are just a small list of the inventory that are in storage and continuous use at the restaurant. These are key inputs needed to give customers a full service and experience backed by quality that the restaurant promises. To ensure proper delivery of storage, roughly 500 employees and 2 dozen management level officers are part of the work force. The availability of sufficient inventory and especially at the right time is perhaps the single most crucial factor at the restaurant. Insufficient inventory levels can result in a loss of potential sales. Furthermore due to the sheer quantity of inventory that enters and exits the building, checks and balances, control and proper monitoring of stock are required. This serves a number of functions such as quality control, waste management and theft protection. The current supply chain is as follows: SUPPLIER à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   DRY/COLD STORAGE à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   CUTTING/PROCESSING à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   RELEVANT FOOD DEPARTMENT à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   CUSTOMER The suppliers supply meat, chicken, tinned items, cold drinks, eggs, vegetables and basically all the inputs needed. Once the orders are received, they go into processing/cleaning/cutting/batching dependin Analysis of E-Commerce and Supply Chain for Silver Spoon Analysis of E-Commerce and Supply Chain for Silver Spoon Silver Spoon Snacks is a fast food eatery established first in Gulshan in the year 1965. It has expanded to a second branch in Tariq road. During its heyday it revolutionized the fast food industry by introducing the concept of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"rolls on the menu. It enjoyed this untapped market till competitors jumped on the band wagon. The menu is diverse, including Pakistani, Chinese, Continental, Western and Indian items. There is plenty of consumer traffic in both branches especially during the evening. The Tariq Road branch serves all kinds of BBQ items, club sandwich, zinger burger and the well known rolls. The restaurant is owned and operated by a family. The branch managers are actually brothers and share shifts during the day and night. There are a total of 4 active brothers that are responsible for handling the day to day running and operations of the system. Key purchase decisions, menu expansion and supply chain decisions are handled solely by them. They have been following a paper based system since its inception. All the accounting work and record keeping is done manually in registers that are stocked at the residence every month. Literature Review According to Laudon and Laudon (Information Systems and Decision making, 2000), the supply chain is a collection of physical entities linked together into processes that supply goods or services from source through consumption. The supply chain consists of suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retail outlets, logistics and consumers. This list also includes those activities that are necessary in facilitating the supply chain. Managing a supply chain is a difficult task that requires keen insight and understanding of the business processes and the environment in which it operates. The struggle is to create a network which has no weak links in terms of time delays, information gaps or inefficiencies in other words, all processes must be integrated. This is best achieved by the creation of networks with a smooth inflow and outflow of relevant information. This is the heart of e-commerce. The internet has allowed the growth of e-businesses across borders and physical limits. The use of an intranet is greatly appreciated within a company. Based on internet technology, the intranet is used primarily within a single company which allows the internal users to expand and share information across floors and walls. These locations may be domestic or may even be throughout the world (Bartoo, Elliot, and Naik-lyer, 2000). E Commerce is one of the most important facets of the internet to have developed in this day and age. Ecommerce, sometimes referred to as E Business, involves carrying out business over the Internet with the use of computers that are linked to each other forming a network. E-commerce includes the buying, selling, marketing, and servicing of goods or services through telecommunication technologies. E-Business, on the other hand, carries a broader definition, not just the buying and selling of goods and services, but servicing customers, collaborating with business partners, and conducting communications and transactions within and outside an organization. (Electronic Commerce a managerial perspective by Efrahim Turban, David King, Prentice Hall; US Ed edition October, 1999) According to ComScore a marketing research company that provides marketing data and services to many of the Internets largest businesses, E-commerce has had its first $1B day on 2nd December 2010. The heaviest online spending day in history and the first to surpass the billion-dollar threshold, declares ComScore. This goes to show how far and wide the scope of electronic buying and selling has reached. It is revolutionized the way business models are created and defined numerous opportunities for entrepreneurs and the like. E- Commerce can help a supply chain over the internet in areas such as placing and receiving orders, providing product information, tracking orders, filling and managing inventory, and recording inflows and outflows (Sunil Chopra and Jan A, Van Mieghem, Supply Chain Management Review, April 200) A critical area where e-commerce has established its presence in a supply chain is in the resource planning and inventory management function of an organization. It helps users track the inventory and where it is distributed from the organization. It helps plan for future forecasts and deal with shortages. It creates a hub where information is shared among relevant members of a business model; this is known as EDI Electronic Data Interchange. Similarly ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems have emerged that serve similar functions in terms of smooth data flow between members of an organization. Relevant information relating to key business functions is then shared, matched and cross matched between departments and related companies that have partnered with the business. The goal is to streamline operations and produce a cost and time efficient process altogether. IBM and Siemens are 2 prime examples of organizations that heavily rely on supply chain applications produced by business management software such as SAP. This application has streamlined its processes thereby creating a real-time and efficient business model. Inventory management models are heavily used in large scale organizations in the fast food industry. Giant franchises such as Subway, KFC and Pizza Hut use business intelligence software for its operations. Zap is a leading software house that creates web based packages for KFC and Pizza Hut. As a starting point, a basic open source inventory management software coupled with internet technologies is an ideal way for a small to mid-sized business to start. The diagram below shows how e-commerce can efficiently distribute and coordinate the flow of information between the entities and business functions of the supply chain. The importance of information sharing and interchange is crucial to improve operational effectiveness. Research methodology Secondary research Secondary research consisted of going through research articles and existing information on e-commerce and supply chain models. Text books, class lectures and the internet served as sources for secondary research. This type of research was necessary to gain an understanding of existing supply chain models that are benefitting with the integration of e-ecommerce and its technologies. Primary research This is first hand research that needed to be conducted to gain an understanding of Silver Spoon Snacks This form of research was conducted over 2 face to face interviews and short telephone calls with the Branch Manager and Operations Manager A set of questions were asked to understand the existing supply chain model and how operations are carried out on a daily and weekly basis These questions also attempted to surface any inefficiencies and weaknesses that exist in the current setup Interviews were necessary to collect direct and relevant information from the involved people Data Analysis Input details pertaining to the Tariq Road branch Raw material listing Chicken Beef Mutton Flour Vegetables Ketchup/mustard Seasonings Equipment used Oven Fryer Coal Freezers Stove Tables and chairs Utilities used Electricity Gas Telephone Water Labour employed Head Chef Kitchen staff Head Waiter Waiters Cleaners Watchman For simplicity, the supply chain of chicken as a key and widely used ingredient will be studied throughout this report. Supply Chain system of Silver Spoon Snacks explained with the help of a flow chart. Supply Chain Defined Chicken Butcher Thursday morning or earlier depending on needs, the Chicken supplier receives an order of Boneless Chicken and Tikka pieces for the week. This order is placed via telephone by the branch manager. The quantity for chicken in Tikka and Boneless variation is verbally specified via telephone. The supplier confirms the order and a delivery time is specified. The butcher cuts the chicken according to pieces specified either Tikka pieces or Boneless for Chicken rolls. Delivery vehicle As per initial agreement between Silver Spoon and the supplier, the chicken supply will be delivered to the warehouse in the suppliers vehicle. This is part of the negotiation. The supplier will have the chicken delivered to the warehouse and settle the payment at the end of the month. Warehouse The warehouse is owned and operated by Silver Spoon owners. It has been part of the business model since 40 years and is situated off Tariq road near the Tariq road branch. The warehouse serves as a sorting point most of the raw materials. Individual branch demand is catered to and planned here. The warehouse has a large kitchen and a storage bay. Warehouse kitchen The warehouse kitchen department is responsible for all the cleaning and preparation of the raw food. This entails cleaning the chicken, removing the fat and making it hygienic and fit for cooking. Staff is employed in this department to manage the cleaning. Warehouse storage After the chicken has been cleaned, it goes into cold storage. The amount which has to be distributed to the branches on a daily basis is dispatched and the rest goes into freezers. The amount is determined in advance by branch managers. Keep in mind that a weeks supply is available for both branches at the warehouse. Official vehicle A Suzuki Pickup is on standby at the warehouse and the workers load a days worth of chicken and transport it to the both branches. 60% of the chicken goes to the Tariq Road Branch as its chicken utilization is the highest. Tariq road branch At the Tariq Road branch, the official vehicle arrives shortly with the chicken for the day. This chicken thawed, cleaned and semi marinated at the individual branches before it is ready to be finally added with the secret spices and recipes. It is immediately transported by the workers to the freezer. Kitchen + freezer As noon approaches a portion of the boneless chicken is removed from the freezer and brought to the preparation room. Here the chicken is added with seasoning, sauce and the secret spices which are made early during the day. This preparation is done by the head chef. The boneless chicken goes to the Roll preparation area and the Tikka pieces go to the BBQ area where they are cooked. Customer Once cooked, the Rolls and Tikkas are served to customers Planning system For the sake of simplicity we will go through a typical week of ordering chicken to get a grasp of the current supply system at the Tariq Road branch. This boneless chicken is used for Chicken Rolls and Chicken Boti. Whereas full chickens are used to create 4 Tikka pieces per chicken. Demand for the week is established by looking at previous trends. Basically a base demand for consumption has been established for boneless chicken of 210 kg per week. The base demand of 210kg worth of boneless chicken is always used for Rolls and Chicken Boti. On an average, 220-250kgs of boneless chicken is purchased as demand from consumers never dips below 210kg per week. For Tikkas, the base demand is 80 Tikkas per day, which makes it 560 Tikkas on an average per week. A full chicken is able to provide 4 Tikka pieces. The key considerations that determine and influence demand for chicken are: Stage of the week Friday, Saturday and Sunday are days where demand for boneless chicken is at its highest. During these days the public goes out to eat with family. Public holidays the restaurant operates during public holidays. During these days of the calendar, families choose to visit eateries and therefore the consumption of boneless chicken is high. City turmoil during expected city turmoil and expected strikes, the public operates at an accelerated pace and attempts to get things out of the way. This may entail visiting Tariq Road for work 1-2 days before the expected turmoil or unrest. Furthermore, consumption of boneless chicken falls during the days of turmoil, hence purchasing is planned accordingly. Level of commercial activity Tariq Road is heavily populated with shops and vendors. If the activity in malls and shopping strips is high, then demand for food, especially Chicken Rolls is also high as it serves the fast food concept and is economical. The factors above have the capacity to influence demand for chicken and hence the purchasing patterns vary. Chicken that is not used is then stored in freezers for next days use. This chicken is bought on Thursdays of the week from a vendor that has been partnered with the business. An order is placed via telephone on Thursday morning by the Branch Manager and it arrives by noon. If for some reason demand is abnormally high, the regular chicken supplier is contacted and is urged to make an emergency drop to the warehouse. If he is unable to do so from his own inventory, then he is responsible for making other arrangements. Supplier selection A chicken supplier is selected on the basis of: Total cost Cleaning and cutting Cost is the most important factor that ultimately determines which supplier/butcher to choose from. Silver Spoon negotiates on the basis of the foremost is cost (low or discounted price), quality, and delivery service. Secondly, it is favourable if the supplier can clean and cut the chicken into pieces at his outlet before delivering it to the Silver Spoon warehouse. Although Silver Spoon has a chicken slaughtering and cleaning/cutting facility, but is used for only further cleaning of the chicken and cutting for marinating purposes. Financial costs pertaining to Tariq Road Branch Cost for chicken: this rate is Rs. 4 per kilo less than the prevailing marketing rate. The chicken suppliers set the price every Thursday of the week. Price of chicken per kilo varies on a weekly basis and is determined by the laws of demand and supply. For example, if chicken is in excess supply then the price falls. Conversely if there is high demand then the price rises such as on weekends. Due to this the chicken suppliers set their prices on Thursday. The Tariq Road branch bears 60% of the total cost of the chicken whereas the Gulshan branch, only 40%. Consumption and sale of chicken items is the highest at the Tariq Road branch. The basis for making profits for Tikkas is to earn Rs. 20-25 profit per Tikka. Utilities Electricity Bill: varies between Rs. 50,000 to 60,000 per month. Gas Bill: varies between Rs. 10,000 to 12,000 per month Telephone Bill: Rs. 1,000 per month on an average Coal Usage: worth Rs. 1,500 on a daily basis.    Labour Employed Waiter: The starting salary per waiter is Rs. 6000 per month. Senior waiters (determined by length of employment) are paid Rs. 8000 per month. There are a total of 8 senior waiters (8 x 8000 = Rs. 64,000 per month) and 6 junior waiters (6 x 6000 = Rs. 36,000 per month). Kitchen Staff: these employees include assistants to the chef (3 assistants), and additional workers who produce other items on the menu (5 kitchen workers). They are assigned various tasks in the kitchen to add value to the system. On an average, the total labour costs assigned to the kitchen staff are Rs. 75,000 Head chef: There is 1 head Chef who is paid Rs. 12,000 per month. Total labour costs per month = Rs 64,000 + Rs 36,000 + Rs. 65,000 + 12,000 = Rs 187,000 Discussion Inefficiencies or weaknesses in the supply chain Supplier/butcher: Silver Spoon has had the same supplier for chicken for nearly 20 years. They should search the market for other suppliers that can offer competitive rates for bulk purchases of chicken. The order is placed on the phone and a Silver Spoon official does not personally monitor the chicken selection, which means an old chicken or unhealthy chicken can be part of the mix Warehouse: At the warehouse, the supplier delivery vehicle drops off the chicken and drives away after collecting the payment. There is no check here, no one counts the chicken or weighs it upon arrival so there is no way of making sure if they received the amount they paid for. There is no record system or inventory management. The chicken is not à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"logged in, just immediately shifted to the kitchen where it is cleaned for use. Therefore there is no actual account or record for the amount of chicken that entered the facility nor is there any receiving slip or receipt. Warehouse Storage: Once the chicken is cleaned and processed fit for use, it goes into storage freezers and only the days worth is kept outside for delivery. However, there is no one who counts the number of chicken breasts or legs, or kilograms of chicken that goes into the freezer. So there is no check or monitor system. Silver Spoon Snacks Vehicle The days worth of chicken is transported to the Tariq Road Branch, but there is no formal record of the amount that leaves the warehouse, nor is there any receiving document from the branches end. Branch Again, there is no counter checking or counting system of the chicken that arrives in the branch. It is blindly kept in the freezer. Customer The customer does not receive an electronic receipt. Which means that there is no formal record at Silver Spoons counter of the items sold and the cash received. There is an informal scribble in a worn out register. Other deficiencies with the current setup Marketing: There are limited marketing efforts carried out by the restaurant. At most, marketing involves re-doing the company banner or releasing a dozen flyers in the area. No website exists. Recording: It is a complete paper based system with not a computer or digital device in sight. Records are loosely maintained at the warehouse and branch in registers and journals. There is no formal record keeping system. Customers are not given receipts therefore there is no cross checking. Tracking: there is no way for Silver Spoon Snacks to forecast demand judging by trends, as figures and statistics for trends do not exist. Paper based: it is a paper based system with information regarding transactions loosely recorded in registers. Checks and balances: checks and balances do not exist, there is no tangible record keeping when it comes to inventory and purchases. It is not possible to confirm orders with suppliers and inter branch as orders are verbally given. There is no proof. Proposed system The proposed system involves the purchase of computer hardware and the use of an internet connection. The idea is to create a basic centralized system at the warehouse as the server with 2 additional linked systems at the branches. The purpose is to track and record inventory that moves into the warehouse and out to the branches. A real time system is proposed where inventory levels are monitored by the hour. The systems will need to be linked by an internet connection to provide a real time feed of information between the branches and warehouse. With an inventory management and tracking software, the loopholes and loose-ends in the current system will be neutralized. How it works Once the systems have been installed and made operational, the current stock, inventory and work in progress are uploaded to the servers. The software will be used be the warehouse, and both the branches. Each user will update the records from their end so it can be seen at the warehouse server. The software will have section for the warehouse, branch A and branch B. Depending on the fresh demand levels, the warehouse determines the quantity of chicken needed and sends an order via telephone to the butcher. Had the butcher/supplier been using a computer system (example Makro), then an email would have been dispatched instead. The quantity ordered is punched into the system and falls under the status of pending. The rate per kilo is noted. Order time is also noted. Once the stock of chicken arrives at the warehouse, its exact quantity is manually counted and weighed by an employee and then the numbers are punched into the warehouse server. This will cross check the amount ordered with the amount received. Once the figures tally, a receiving slip is generated electronically and printed after the order has been confirmed and accounted for. A slip is generated and given to the supplier and a formal record now exists in the system. A notification is sent in a matter of seconds to both branches informing them of the added inventory levels. The levels now appear on the screens of both branch A and B (Tariq road and Gulshan). Preparations are made. Depending on the opening inventory and the base level demand of 210kg of chicken and 80 Tikka pieces, each branch sends its required amount of chicken (bonless and Tikka pieces) through the softwares built in messaging system. Each transaction and order is then recorded. After the warehouse server acknowledges receipt of the order from the branch, it then forwards it verbally to the warehouse freezer where the employee loads the Silver Spoon vehicle (Suzuki pickup). The vehicle then travels to the relevant branch. A printed slip is dispatched. From the warehouse, the inventory levels are then reduced and this is also reflected in each branches terminal. Once the vehicle is unloaded at the branch, a branch employee manually supervises the unloading and stocking of the chicken in the freezer. Once confirmed and signed, the branch manager then updates his terminal with the added inventory of chicken. Back at the warehouse, the reduction in inventory is equal to the gain in inventory at both branches. As the day goes by and the orders accumulate and dispatch, the inventory levels are monitored not only at the branch, but at the warehouse as well. Each chicken Tikka order placed or each chicken roll uses a certain portion of the inventory. And once the orders are fed and updated in the Silver Spoon register, the chicken based inventory is automatically deducted. Towards the end of the day, the ending inventory is tallied and counted. The warehouse manager reads these inventories on an hourly basis and incase of a shortage dispatches a vehicle to make up for the shortfall. The cycle is then repeated every day depending on the closing inventory levels. Notes on the proposed system The recommended software for Silver Spoon Snacks is inFlow Inventory management software (http://www.inflowinventory.com/). The software is easy to use and does not require extensive training. A simple understanding of images, inputting data and confirming orders is all it takes. Free software exists, but does not provide security, reliability and expansion as inFlows suite. Each terminal is given a unique pin code which only the operator is aware of. This means only the relevant person in charge can use the terminal which is a security check as well as a confirmation. Each transaction is logged and stored in a log file sent to the warehouse computer. Backups are made on a daily basis Financial Costs involved with this system Software: although many free software packages exist, inFlow Inventory Management provides the best balance between features and cost. To create a multi user network (ideal in this case), the license cost $299 per computer for lifetime use. 3 licenses will be needed. $299 x 3 = $897 = ~ Rs. 75000 (@ Rs. 84 per U.S Dollar) Hardware needed: processor, motherboard, RAM, hard drive, casing, power supply, monitor. Based on the software requirements, the hardware cost is as follows: Tariq Road Branch cost: Rs 23,000 Gulshan Branch cost : Rs 23,000 Warehouse cost: Rs. 27,000 Total : Rs. 73,000 Internet connection: 3 connections Initial setup cost : Rs. 800 x 3 Monthly cost: Rs. 1000 x 3 Total initial investment: Rs. 75,000 (3 licenses) + (73,000 (hardware) + 2,400 (internet setup) + 3000 (first month internet payment) = Rs. 153,400 Benefits of the proposed system Accountability: first and foremost, the new system will hold each branch accountable for what it has received in its inventory. Once its handed over the inventory, it is held accountable for its storage, sales and payment. The sales of the branch should match the inventory received. Inventory control: from the moment the chicken supply reaches the warehouse, it will be tracked and accounted for. The system will make sure that there is adequate supply at all branches at all times so as to not lose out on potential sales Economic order quantity: the ideal quantity of chicken to order each week and the ideal quantity to store in the freezers can be calculated based on demand and supply conditions. Inventory planning is thereby improved. Accuracy: with figures, statistics and numbers well accounted for and cross references, the books of Silver Spoon will present and accurate picture of state of affairs. A reduction in human error in terms of calculations, counting and so on will also be witnessed. Record keeping: instead of scribbling in registers and writing journals, an electronic system with constant updates is hence created with the use of e-commerce technologies. Past transactions, exchanges, buying and selling are stored electronically thereby staying safe. The option to print out the records exists, thereby creating tangible records. Electronic Data Interchange: Information sharing between branches and the warehouse will be more convenient as real time updates and inventory levels can be monitored. Offers and promotional schemes by suppliers can also be entertained. Expansion: This inventory monitoring and management system is not just limited to chicken; it can be used for the entire product line, mutton, beef, vegetables, cold drinks, seasoning, flour and so on. The scope is limitless with unlimited suppliers and customers. Improved Customer Service and loyalty: when a customer always gets his or her desired order in desired quantity, it creates customer satisfaction and creates repeat customers. It improves loyalty as well. A computerized receipt also creates a positive impression on the customers. Reduce stock-outs and overstocks: with supply synchronized with demand, the chances of ending up with à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"expired inventory or facing shortages are greatly reduced. Shortages are prevented as inventory as planned well in advance, and in the same way excess inventory is also reducing thereby curbing inventory carrying costs. Ready alerts: if the inventory dips below a certain level at a branch, an automatically generated alert is sent to the warehouse or Gulshan branch and inventory can be moved around. Furthermore this will act as an early warning sign to the warehouse to acquire more inventory. Meeting demand: demand is almost always met unless outside forces have some play. With inventory always available due to a tracking and trend analysis system, sales will always be met. Forecasting: due to its ability to track charts and record daily transactions, the stored information can be used to conduct trend analysis for certain times of the calendar year. This will allow better planning for inventory and sales. Website: Silver Spoon Snacks Pvt. Ltd. can go on-line and have a web presence. This on its own is a marketing tool Networking: since Silver Spoon is now on-line and has a presence on the world wide web, it will be able to reach out to suppliers and customers on a larger scale. It is a ready marketing tool. It can partner with other restaurants, sponsors, FMCGs and causes. Marketing: with the use of e-commerce technologies, Silver Spoon Snacks can expand its marketing operations by sending out e-mails and creating ad banners and partnering with other websites. Costs of proposed system Change: it is possible that managers and top management may resist the change/transition from a paper based system to a technical system. The current system, though not ideal sets comfortably with current management. A management paradigm shift is required. Training: the system users will require some short initial training to understand the use of the software and technology in general. Although the Operations Manager Mr. Talha Awan is well versed with computer software and hardware, there will still be a slight lag due to training. Initial investment: although a small amount, roughly Rs. 150,000 will need to be diverted for a project that has no immediate monetary returns. Software support: although a helpline for customer support exists, it can become cumbersome to ask for guidance incase of software failure or confusion. Hardware failure: at the mercy of KESC and the elements, the computer hardware may fail thereby causing confusion and a stop in information flow. Although an uninterrupted power supply may be purchased, as well as a warranty plan, it will only add up in costs and delays. Internet failure: from time to time, the internet service provider may fail to provide a 100% uptime. This can cause delays and lags in the system. Industry Standard Bar B Q Tonight Inventory Management System To further add value to this report, I studied Bar B Q Tonights current inventory management setup which is computerized. Information was gathered through telephonic interviews and e-mail exchange with the Operations Managers, Sardar Ishaq and Mr. Abur Rehman. The findings are compiled below. Bar B Q Tonight is one of Karachis most famous restaurants that came into being in 1988. It prepares all kinds of cuisine that caters to thousands of customers on a daily basis. In-fact the multi storeyed establishment can house upto a thousand customers at a time. The restaurant has enjoyed high growth levels consistent with every year. Recently a branch has been erected in Lahore. Chicken, Beef, Fish, vegetables, pastas, fruit, ice cream, mushrooms, sausages, cheese, beverages and tissue rolls are just a small list of the inventory that are in storage and continuous use at the restaurant. These are key inputs needed to give customers a full service and experience backed by quality that the restaurant promises. To ensure proper delivery of storage, roughly 500 employees and 2 dozen management level officers are part of the work force. The availability of sufficient inventory and especially at the right time is perhaps the single most crucial factor at the restaurant. Insufficient inventory levels can result in a loss of potential sales. Furthermore due to the sheer quantity of inventory that enters and exits the building, checks and balances, control and proper monitoring of stock are required. This serves a number of functions such as quality control, waste management and theft protection. The current supply chain is as follows: SUPPLIER à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   DRY/COLD STORAGE à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   CUTTING/PROCESSING à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   RELEVANT FOOD DEPARTMENT à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   CUSTOMER The suppliers supply meat, chicken, tinned items, cold drinks, eggs, vegetables and basically all the inputs needed. Once the orders are received, they go into processing/cleaning/cutting/batching dependin