The Inuit People Inuit A People Preserved By Ice Thousands Of Years A

The Inuit People Inuit: A People Preserved By Ice Thousands of years ago, during the last ice age, mile-thick glaciers covered a vast portion of North America, and the Asian continent was joined to North America by a land bridge. The Arctic areas of Alaska, Beringia, and Siberia were free of ice. Vast herds of caribou, muskoxen, and bison migrated to these plains. Following them were the nomadic Asian ancestors of today's Inuit and Indians. The doorway to Asia closed about three or four thousand years later as the glaciers receded and melted. These people: the Inuit (meaning the people), adapted to their harsh tundra environment and developed a culture that remained untainted for a long time. The Inuit people relied solely on hunting for their existence. With summers barely lasting two months, agriculture was non-existent. Animals such as caribou and seal were vital. Groups of hunters would stalk and kill many caribou with fragile bows made of driftwood, and their bounty was split evenly amongst the tribe. Bone spears were fashioned to hunt seals which provided food, oil, clothes, and tents. The seal skins were also used to construct kayaks and other boats that the Inuit would use to travel and to hunt whales. One advantage of the sterile cold of the arctic was that it kept these people free of disease (until they met the white man.) Inuit tribes consisted of two to ten loosely joined families. There was no one central leader in the group: all decisions were made by the community as a whole. Nor was there any definite set of laws; the Inuit, though usually cheery and optimistic, were prone to uncontrolled bursts of rage. Murder was common amongst them and it went unpunished unless an individual's murders occured too often. At that point, that person was deemed unstable, and the community appointed a man to terminate him/her. In their society, the duties of men and women were strictly separated. The males would hunt, fish and construct the tools used by the family. Women, however, were responsible for cleaning the animal skins, cooking, sewing the clothes ( a woman's sewing ability was equally as attractive to a man as her beauty was), and raising the children. Male children were preferred because they could care for their parents in their old age; female children when often strangled soon after birth. Although today Christianity has breached some of the southernmost tribes, the vast majority practice a form of animism. Their rituals are based mainly on the hunt and the handling of slain animals. Magic talismans and charms are believed to control spirits, and shamans are consulted in the case of injury or illness. There are traces of beliefs in an afterlife or reincarnation, but they are very minor. The Inuit people, like many other tribal minorities, are greatly stereotyped and misunderstood by the common man. For example: the Inuit word igloo means house and can refer to the cabins made of sod that most Inuit occu py. Also, the word Eskimo is a misnomer meaning "eaters of raw flesh" given to the Inuit by the Algonquin Indians. This is a simple culture that remained undisturbed until whales became a precious commodity. Their isolation is slowly coming to an end as western civilization puts them into government housing and snowmobiles are increasing as a means of transportation. They are beautifully eccentric, and we must work to preserve their culture. References: "Seasons of the Eskimo: A Vanishing Way of Life" by Fred Bruemmer; Microsoft Encarta96 Encyclopedia; Microsoft Bookshelf. The Inuit People Inuit A People Preserved By Ice Thousands Of Years A The Inuit People Inuit: A People Preserved By Ice Thousands of years ago, during the last ice age, mile-thick glaciers covered a vast portion of North America, and the Asian continent was joined to North America by a land bridge. The Arctic areas of Alaska, Beringia, and Siberia were free of ice. Vast herds of caribou, muskoxen, and bison migrated to these plains. Following them were the nomadic Asian ancestors of today's Inuit and Indians. The doorway to Asia closed about three or four thousand years later as the glaciers receded and melted. These people: the Inuit (meaning the people), adapted to their harsh tundra environment and developed a culture that remained untainted for a long time. The Inuit people relied solely on hunting for their existence. With summers barely lasting two months, agriculture was non-existent. Animals such as caribou and seal were vital. Groups of hunters would stalk and kill many caribou with fragile bows made of driftwood, and their bounty was split evenly amongst the tribe. Bone spears were fashioned to hunt seals which provided food, oil, clothes, and tents. The seal skins were also used to construct kayaks and other boats that the Inuit would use to travel and to hunt whales. One advantage of the sterile cold of the arctic was that it kept these people free of disease (until they met the white man.) Inuit tribes consisted of two to ten loosely joined families. There was no one central leader in the group: all decisions were made by the community as a whole. Nor was there any definite set of laws; the Inuit, though usually cheery and optimistic, were prone to uncontrolled bursts of rage. Murder was common amongst them and it went unpunished unless an individual's murders occured too often. At that point, that person was deemed unstable, and the community appointed a man to terminate him/her. In their society, the duties of men and women were strictly separated. The males would hunt, fish and construct the tools used by the family. Women, however, were responsible for cleaning the animal skins, cooking, sewing the clothes ( a woman's sewing ability was equally as attractive to a man as her beauty was), and raising the children. Male children were preferred because they could care for their parents in their old age; female children when often strangled soon after birth. Although today Christianity has breached some of the southernmost tribes, the vast majority practice a form of animism. Their rituals are based mainly on the hunt and the handling of slain animals. Magic talismans and charms are believed to control spirits, and shamans are consulted in the case of injury or illness. There are traces of beliefs in an afterlife or reincarnation, but they are very minor. The Inuit people, like many other tribal minorities, are greatly stereotyped and misunderstood by the common man. For example: the Inuit word igloo means house and can refer to the cabins made of sod that most Inuit occu py. Also, the word Eskimo is a misnomer meaning "eaters of raw flesh" given to the Inuit by the Algonquin Indians. This is a simple culture that remained undisturbed until whales became a precious commodity. Their isolation is slowly coming to an end as western civilization puts them into government housing and snowmobiles are increasing as a means of transportation. They are beautifully eccentric, and we must work to preserve their culture. References: "Seasons of the Eskimo: A Vanishing Way of Life" by Fred Bruemmer; Microsoft Encarta96 Encyclopedia; Microsoft Bookshelf.

Short essays on Harriet Jacobs and Fredrick Douglass

Short essays on Harriet Jacobs and Fredrick Douglass By Lee A. Zito1.Harriet Jacobs pulished under the psuedonym, Linda Brent. With pseudonyms she was able to protect herself, and the people within her book. If she had used her real name, it might have caused a huge controversy during the period in which she wrote. Jacobs had many anxieties on publishing her story. First of all her story was very personal, sharing your personal life with the masses can be very nerve wrecking. Second of all Jacobs was an ex-slave. She feared that this could influence readers, damaging her career as a writer, or even endanger her life.When It came to feminism, Jacobs was ahead of her time. During the nineteenth century, the unspoken feminine code included piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity. To Jacobs, these were absolutely impossible to follow. She had her own ideas about true womanhood, to which fought against sexual harrasment, exploitation, and suppression.English: The four remaining towers of the Fredrick...2.Slave narratives recast the Am erican ideal of the "self-made man" to African Americans, because it is easier for both to relate to eachother. When you are reading something that you relate with, it is easier to understand where the author is coming from, because you too have been their before. For instance, Fredrick Douglass built onto and transformed the legacy of Benjamin Franklin, who's auidience was primarily white men like himself. Fredrick Douglass was able to take Franklin's virtuous feelings and ideas of humanity, but include the African American race as well.3. Harriet Jacobs and Fredrick Douglass both share a relationship within their stories. Both authors had to fight the same fight, in escaping from lives of slavery. Jacobs may have borrowed and modified some of Douglass' conventions in her story, she does this to include to women as well. Jacobs, having a double predjudice...

How to Write a Book Review Top 3 Stages to Creating a Masterpiece

How to Write a Book Review Top 3 Stages to Creating a Masterpiece The value of a book review can never be underestimated. Whenever we want something more than a book abstract, the review format is what we should be looking for. It saves readers heaps of time by providing the gist of the book in just one or two pages. Readers dont have to go through two or three hundred pages of a book to see if it is what they are looking for. Having to read a piece of fiction is one thing, but when you need to go through hundreds of, say, scholarly books and you need to keep up the pace, you understand the value of book review writing. But lets get to the core. BOOK REPORT Book reviews are different from book summaries, where you have to enumerate characters, sum up the events and so on. Book review writing requires you to state your opinion regarding the book and provide critical commentary. In this sense, a book review is related to critical appraisal or critical essay. Preparation before Reading Preparation is the key to success. You will always be at an advantage if you know the context of the book and author, i.e. when it was written, what inspired the writer to work on it, how he prepared for it and so on. You will be able to understand the product better and understand the historical circumstances it was created in. Plus, it will show you have taken extra steps to prepare, taken some time to investigate and learned the details. That will give you an extra credit in your class. Reading Note-Taking Once you have gathered the background information, you are ready to dig in. Sit down with a sheet of paper and a pencil and write out the important stuff. Here is what you should state in your book review: Full Title Author Name Last Name Publishing House Year of Publication Edition and Number Include your overall impression into the introduction to state your opinion about the book you are commenting on. Speak about the purpose of the book, its intended audience, and the general message. You should also introduce your main thought (or thesis statement) and maintain it throughout the paper. Once you  are done with the introductory part, proceed to the body, where you should dwell in greater detail on the ideas expressed in the introduction, support them with evidence, point strengths and weaknesses of the book and so on. Conclusion reiterates and sums up the thoughts from the introduction and body paragraphs. Post Writing Post writing refers to proofreading and editing phase of writing. Once you are done with the draft, go ahead and put your book review aside. It works best to put it aside for a few hours or days and then return to read through it once again. The second pass will help you spot grammar and spelling mistakes will show if your book review needs to be structured differently, whether or not its convincing to the reader and so on. As soon as proofreading is done, you are ready to publish and/or submit your paper. BOOK REPORT vs. BOOK REVIEW If book report is the assignment you need to deal with, but arent just sure how   and its team of professional writers are happy to help. We can help you to work on either a part of your book review (e.g. doing background research), or assist you with writing the entire paper. All papers are scanned for plagiarism, so you are guaranteed to receive a fully authentic paper thats been custom written to meet your needs. is the service you can trust! Place an order and get your professionally written book review in time!

Technological Awareness of Teachers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Technological Awareness of Teachers - Essay Example Because technology provides animation and different kinds of presentation using media materials, and these helps our students to absorb information by just watching and listening. Essentially, educational technology helps to improve the overall efficiency of the teaching-learning process. It is noted that a microteaching session can be real and convincing since it issues videotape recording as evaluative medium and should be learned by our mentors. As educators became much more aware of their responsibility to deliver the best quality education to students, they have begun to recognize the need to be aware of educational technology. The perception when educational technology was first heard is a negative one but it appears that to many people it has served to inhibit the introduction of better educational technology and its use in improving the delivery with higher quality learning outcomes.2 The new technologies are radically changing the nature and configuration of adult education. With computer information, educators are no longer the primary source of factual information. Changes are therefore occurring in the methods and content of instruction, both supplementing and changing the relationship between the teacher and the learner. Still, the new technologies have freed many individuals to enjoy their leisure and to work at home in a distraction-free environment. And in the future, most educational services are foreseen to be delivered electronically by teleconferencing, cable and satellite television, computer networks and other means et to be discovered - provided educators learn how to use the media in congruence with the principles of community education. The future trends in media technology hold promise for further improving learning, reducing the barriers that limit effectiveness in the learning process, and tapping the potentials of new technological tools in instruction. The researcher will inform the teachers and would be teachers that as they enter the educational field at a very exciting moment as a teacher, human resource trainer or educational administrator. There has been expressed a critical need for an effective in-service program on the development of teaching competence. Among the alternative strategies introduced, however, Microteaching has been cited as being both a model and a real teaching encounter. In the search for strategies to develop teaching skills microteaching sessions have shown tangible to have positively contributed to the professional growth and improved teaching performance of student teachers. Background of the Research (Progressive nature of the documents that show the development process ) The researcher chose this topic to help and inform educators regarding the usage and usefulness of educational technology on their teaching profession and know what are the instructional media and technology to use. There is something that teacher's are missing on, in the tertiary education, there has been and increasing emphasis on group learning techniques. This move to group learning has been given further impetus by the development of science and technology-based games simulation and case studies. These techniques of instructions are ideally suited for use in teaching the various higher cognitive and non-cognitive skills are now regarded as essential part of a properly rounded

How Individuals Appraise Their Own Physical Attractiveness Essay

How Individuals Appraise Their Own Physical Attractiveness - Essay Example The current research was motivated by a desire to better understand how people make judgments about their own attractiveness and how such self-appraisals may systematically vary as a function of the context of time. In Study 1, individuals rated their past self as physically less attractive than their current self. This study is informative in demonstrating that judgments of self-perceived attractiveness vary as a function of temporal perspective. In Study 2, individuals rated their future self as more attractive than their current self. This study is informative in serving as an initial demonstration of how temporal biasing influences future self-appraisals of attractiveness. Furthermore, in both studies, temporal biasing of attractiveness was moderated by an individual difference variable–attribute importance (Study 1) and social comparison orientation. The results of Study 1 are consistent with the view espoused by Mac Davis — participants perceived themselves as mor e attractive now than in the past. Moreover, this pattern was found among only those individuals for whom physical attractiveness was important to their self-concept. Thus, taken together, the results supported the hypotheses. With these results in hand, a second study investigated whether people perceive their future self to be more attractive than their current self. The overall results of Study 2 are consistent with predictions: Respondents rated their future self as more attractive than their current self.

BP Angola Supplier Relationship Management

BP Angola Supplier Relationship Management Introduction The results of this study are based on a qualitative research conducted in BP Angola with Procurement and Supply Chain Management professionals, Suppliers Performance Leaders (SPL) from Operations Department and Suppliers. The selection of the interviewees was based primarily on their involvement in supplier management and their availability at the time when the researcher was gathering data. The researcher intended to interview at least nine people, three from each group (Procurement professionals, Suppliers Performance Leaders and Suppliers), since three people from each group had been deemed as an appropriate sample size. A period of two weeks was set for the completion of the interviews. Therefore, at the end of the two weeks period, only seven interviews, not nine, were completed. Three from Procurement department, two suppliers and two from BP Angola Operations Departments (end users of supplier services or Supplier Performance Leaders). The Researcher attempted to obtain confirmation for the interview with the third supplier, but for reasons unknown until today, this supplier never confirmed or rejected the invitation, although the constant follow up with telephone calls. The third interviewee from the End User group had to leave the country due to unplanned compassionate leave. Although the reduced number of interviewees, the Researcher decided to keep the sample size at seven, as the key stakeholders involved in supplier management in BP Angola were included in the interviewed population. As may be inferred from above, this chapter presents the results of the interviews conducted and also the internal BP Angola document reviewed. There are several purposes to doing so. The first is to examine the current methods and systems in place in BP Angola (Exploration and Production) for Supplier Relationship Management, second identify whether the current Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) process is adding value. Third is to determine whether or not, as earlier hypothesized, these methods and systems for supplier relationship management post contract award were effective and compare them with best known practice models. The fourth and final purpose is to evaluate the validity of the earlier stated hypothesis pertaining to the implementation of Supplier Management strategy. The main themes that emerged through the research are vastly consistent with the reviewed in the literature. These themes are definition, business drivers leading to supplier relationship management, value that can be derived from proper supplier relationship management, types of relationships, forms of implementation, benefits, challenges and improvements. However, the research shows that there are some differences between the literature and the case under study especially around the understanding of what supplier relationship management really is, modes of implementation, as well as the challenges. The key themes that emerged from the research and the identified differences will be discussed throughout this chapter. Supplier Relationship Management is a very broad topic and it was not possible to cover all aspects of this topic in this research, however, the Researcher tried to cover as much as possible the key elements pertaining BP Angola SRM, challenges and benefits that can be obtained through SRM. Supplier Relationship Management in BP Context The main objective of this research was to investigate and explore the effects of various dimensions of supplier relationship management (SRM) through effective contract management at BP Angola (Exploration and Production) in order to improve added value. More specifically, this study aimed at analyzing the perception of various internal stakeholders in BP Angola about the concept of Supplier Relationship Management, who should own it, interface between internal stakeholder in BP Angola with suppliers, type of relationships that BP Angola maintain with its suppliers and to examine the issues associated with the implementation of Supplier Relationship Management initiatives from Supply Chain Management perspective. Furthermore, the purpose was to increase the understanding of Supplier Relationship Management approach and its benefits. As may be inferred from above, this Chapter explores and explains the relationship between the contracting strategy used to establish the relationship between BP Angola and its Suppliers and what value can be derived from this approach. Before addressing this connection through the analysis of primary data, it is worth explaining the Supplier Relationship Management in BP context. Over the past several years, there has been a growing interest in BP to develop a strategy that helps to optimise the relationship with its key suppliers. In todays highly competitive environment, there is intense pressure to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of procurement activities. BP is implementing globally a segment defined practice for procurement, to drive effective management of suppliers and segmented spend across major categories of goods and services called Category Management. This approach is supported by key four pillars. The first pillar is Category Management Planning, which defines spend categories the business needs to focus on, defines an integrated plan to address the prioritised categories; the second pillar is Market Sector Strategy, which identify strategic levers to be pulled to maximize value from the supply markets and provides overall direction for a market sector. The third pillar and one of the most used by the Local Business Units is Strategic S ourcing, the same as the previous pillar identify the strategic levers to be pulled to maximize value from the supply markets, define approach to the supply market, negotiate and deliver contracts in line with the strategy. The last but not least is the Supplier Management, which rigorously manage supplier performance with realistic key performance indicators (KPIs), determines the appropriate management approach and structure so that supplier performance meets or exceeds BPs stated expectations and goals. This last pillar of the Category Management strategy was the focus of our primary data analysis, as it is where the Supplier Relationship Management takes place. However, BP Category Management approach seems to contradict with OBrien (2009). The four pillars that OBrien (2009) referred to support the Category Management strategy are: breakthrough thinking, customer focus, cross-functional teams, facts and data supported by three foundations like: strategic sourcing, managing the market and driving change. OBrien, 2009, argues that Supplier Relationship Management is big enough to be a concept entirely separate from Category Management. However, although these foundations and the pillars are different; the principles of Category Management are the same. According to OBrien, 2009 in his book Category Management in Purchasing, Category Management can deliver dramatic results to organizations in different economic and market conditions and can help to respond positively to a variety of different business needs and drivers. The former CEO of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing Supply, Ken James, stated that: Category Management when deployed effectively delivers many benefits to the organization through optimizing the value that can be derived from the supply chain. It gives a clear structured framework that can be applied across the organizations purchasing requirements. (OBrien, 2009) Although the academics and practitioners tend to agree on the benefits of Category Management, however the secret of the success reside in the implementation of that strategy. IntOpsR1 supports the view: We pick a strategy and we drive everyone towards execution of that strategy and then something will happen and adjust our strategy and make an intervention. Another strategy appears instead of developing existing strategy, we tend to go to one size fit all, we tend not to take into account the unique circumstances of the locations. The success of a strategy is not the type of strategy you choose, but it is mainly linked to how you implement it. BP Group in the interest of determining how to develop more effective relationship with its key suppliers has enlarged the focus from formal contracts to more behavioural and relational approach in the current Category Management approach. The Supplier Relationship Management approach and its implementation is discussed in greater in the section below. Supplier Relationship Management Approach and Implementation Most respondents declared that they are not familiar, even though aware, of an entirely separate Supplier Relationship Management initiatives being undertaken in other business units other than the Supplier Management approach under Category Management initiative which is being implemented globally in BP, and therefore did not provide insight into similarities or differences between the different business units. However, the review of answers to other questions, other documents, company data from global Category Management initiative implementation revealed that the initiatives are broadly similar in strategic intent in the sense that they respond to the strategic objectives of BP to establish an appropriate supplier relationship management approach and structure to ensure that the performance of the suppliers are meeting or exceeding BPs stated expectation and goals. However, the data also revealed that there is not a cohesive view of the baseline activities undertaken to achieve th is BP strategic objective stated in the Supplier Management. Before discussing this difference, we will look at the general approach adopted to implement Category Management and the principle that underlines the Supplier Relationship Management under supplier management in the Category Management. The primary data revealed that Supplier Management is implemented through four steps. The first step is validation of the appropriate type of relationship with the supplier. The aim is to ensure delivery of the value objectives identified in the Sourcing Strategy and to focus the resources on suppliers who have the greatest impact on BPs performance. Suppliers are prioritised based on spend and their criticality to the business. Suppliers are categorised into four levels of relationship types, which require increasing levels of BP effort and rigour to manage: Transactional, Managed, Core and Strategic. Transactional are those suppliers where performance has limited impact on day-to-day ope rations, low expenditure and minimal opportunities for Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). However, this is similar to what Kraljic, 1983 called in the Product Purchasing Matrix as Non-Critical Items (low profit, low supply risk). Managed are those suppliers with commodity services/materials, with moderate volume spend and with some opportunities to address TCO through improved supplier performance. In the Kraljic Model, this is similar to Leverage Items (high profit, low supply risk). Core are those suppliers with major impact on core processes, high spend, high risk, can provide competitive advantage and opportunities for TCO reduction, value creation and risk mitigation may exist. In Kraljic model this is similar to Bottleneck Items. Strategic suppliers are those which are critical to BPs core processes; can stop operations if issues arise, highest volume/highest expenditure or highest risk, can provide competitive advantage, significant Total Cost of Ownership reduction/value creatio n/risk mitigation opportunities may exist. In Kraljic model this is similar to Strategic Items (high profit impact, high supply risk). This, therefore, brings clarity on what suppliers BP needs to focus on. IntSCMR2 claims: if we keep using Category Management as a base, also helps to determine the strategic, core and managed suppliers and helps to determine what type of relationship are you going to have with them Dyer (1998) supports the view that with limited resources that firms has to focus on supplier relationship management, it is important that companies segments their suppliers based on criticality of the services or goods provided and impact on bottom line revenue. Gordon (2008) added, with so many suppliers companies cannot possibly manage performance plans for every single supplier of their supply base. Firms should concentrate on strategic suppliers who are integrated business partners as well as core suppliers, who require integration and development plus other suppliers that may supply a high-cost or high risk services, (Gordon, 2008). Gordon (2008) concluded that supplier segmentation process is a starting point for discussion among Procurement and other stakeholders about which suppliers may have the greatest impacts on the companys own performance, which suppliers harbour the greatest potential risks, and which suppliers need to be measured, monitored, or improved. Supplier segmentation also helps identify supplier relationships that should be targeted for termination (Gordon, 2008). The second step is establishment of Supplier Relationship Management governance structure. The aim of this step is to define the roles, responsibilities, accountabilities and decisions rights so that they are known and understood by all participants from PSCM, the End User and other Functions. This step reinforces the company standards defined under companys code of conduct and how each individual must behave individually or collectively. According to BP process and procedures for Category Management, the supplier management governance structure exists to ensure that suppliers comply with the contracted service levels and to provide assurance of the suppliers performance. The governance structure also ensures that appropriate management resources are being allocated in accordance with the importance of the supplier to BPs business. This also helps to establish an accepted structure for the management of risk and escalation of issues within BP and supplier organisation. IntSCMR3 claims: I think Category Management model is the way forward. It defines what everybody should be doing and what the relationship with supplier should be, which is fantastic. OBrien, 2009 supported this view when argues that Category Management helps to provide structure to supplier management and define roles and responsibilities for the supplier relationship management. The third step consists of developing and agreeing performance metrics based on value objectives. The targets for performance are reviewed annually to promote year-on-year improvement. Qualitative and quantitative data is collected, collated and reported through the communication channels established by governance structure. However, the legal contract between BP and supplier does not state BPs intent to implement Supplier Management through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on the scorecard in order to improve supplier performance year on year through improving safety, reliability and efficiency and thereby reducing Total Cost of Ownership. However, respondent IntSCMR2 contended that BP treats its suppliers equally regardless the distinction that BP Category Management process says. IntSCMR2 claims: We actually treat our strategic, core and managed suppliers pretty much the same, the only change we do is the number of meetings we have with them per year and actually the discussions are the same. However, IntSCMR2 argues that even the process of setting up the key performance indicators is not consistent with what is promised in the Category Management process. IntSCMR2 claims: I think even more fundamental than that, on my previous role, I have seen examples where a billion dollar contract we defined the KPIs and Metrics before the contract was agreed and actually the business did not understand the KPIs and the Metrics, you do not understand why they are there in the first place and do not understand how to measure them, the contractor does not understand them and does not know how to measure those KPIs Respondent IntSCMR2 arguments are in line with Cai et al. (2009), when he argues about supplier performance management scorecard. Cai et al. (2009), states that many companies pursue supplier performance management as the quest for the perfect supplier scorecard. Companies believe that if they get the right metrics on the scorecard, then supplier performance will improve. Cai, et al. (2009), added that supplier performance management involves more than supplier scorecards, which are only one element of the process. The success on supplier performance improvement through supplier management depends upon putting an effective business process in place (Cai, et al., 2009). The last step is to ensure consistent and rigorous management of performance to assure delivery against targets. The performance of supplier and the relationship is reviewed and tracked at set intervals against the stated objectives and goals. This step is intended to make interventions as required and performance is monitored against improvement plans and the lessons learned are fed back into the strategic sourcing process for the next contracting cycle. This step also defines the frequency of meetings depending on the relationship type defined at the first step. Strategic suppliers quarterly performance review meetings are required at business unit level, of which two performance review meetings have an additional strategic focus with executive level management in attendance (or can be separate executive relationship management meetings if required by specific business unit). For Core suppliers BP process aims for quarterly or semi-annual meetings and annual or ad hoc meetings. How ever, IntOpsR2 contended: .looking at Key Performance Indicators during the Performance Review Meetings is retrospective. The constructive way of doing this will be to look of what we need to do to get things better. It is looking forward and not backward Good supplier performance is a key driver in enabling companies to achieve performance excellence. But for the author, the question still remains, how BP Angola can effectively influence a good performance of its suppliers? Type of Supplier Relationships Wagner, 2002, argues that numerous internal and external factors have an impact on the type of relationship company maintains with its suppliers in the supply chain. The external factors are the environmental factors and characteristics of the industry. The internal factors that affect supplier relationships include interpersonal factors, disposition of the company, other company-internal factors and, in particular the type of service to be contracted (Wagner, 2002) Oil and Gas industry is a capital intensive with very high cost contracts, high risk and high technology where only few suppliers are specialized in certain strategic services. Most of these suppliers tend to dictate the rule in the relationship. This view has been evidenced during the research interview. IntSCMR3 argues that relationship with the larger suppliers who have very high technical services like Drilling Rig service providers, BP struggle to maintain a collaborative relationship, as those suppliers tend to govern the relationship and dictate the rule. IntSCMR3 claims: for example with tendering for Drilling Service for a new exploration block in 2010, we developed a scope of work which was very shiny, gold where only two suppliers could provide it. The supplier we selected to negotiate with had several barriers for negotiation and we were forced to pay these vast billions of dollars, which is a lot of money. We went through a number of negotiations with this supplier and we felt we were going to a point where we were achieving some degree of value and they turned around and said that is it. If you want this service, this is what will cost you. It was three or four times higher than our estimate. I think we tried to be collaborative with our suppliers, but I think because of the characteristic of the industry high technology, high risk, we could not develop a good type of relationship. Although all the seven interviewees knew what supplier relationship management was in term of concept and are all involved in active supplier/customer relationship management, however, the viewpoints are different around the type of relationship that BP Angola maintains with its key suppliers (strategic suppliers). While IntSCMR3 believes that BP Angola maintains collaborative relationship with its key suppliers and arms-length relationship with non-strategic suppliers, the two PSCM respondents do not agree with this view. IntSCMR2: I think it is difficult to generalise across the board, but in overall it is arms-length/transactional relationship BP Angola maintains with the strategic suppliers. Based on my experience and in what I have seen, particularly on project side it is definitely an arms-length/transactional relationship IntSCMR1 supports this view: The focus should be on strategic and collaborative approach but the reality shows otherwise. Key suppliers perception and behaviour is to look at BP as exploit. Because of the criticality of the service/ material they provide and high switch cost, BP will need to invest to change or equilibrate the power in the relationship. It is clear from the primary data collected from the review of the internal literature within the company and the data obtained through the interviews that BP Angola sees suppliers as a critical resource and as a source for competitive advantage. BP as global company seeks to structure its supplier portfolio and collaborate with its key suppliers in such way that they can take full advantage of the potential that these suppliers can offer (BP PSCMcp Handbook; Category Management 2010). While BP Leadership believes that the current Category Management approach can create more flexible, responsive relationships thereby improving BPs performance, however, the Supplier Management under the Category Management approach does not describe the model of relationship to have with different service providers. Apart from the numbers of meetings per year to have with strategic, managed and transactional suppliers, there is no difference in the approach in relationship with these suppliers. The type of relationship adopted for strategic or non-strategic suppliers is a subconscious approach rather than a defined strategy under BP relationship management approach. Interestingly one of the two suppliers interviewed argued that BP Angola maintain fantastic working relationship with his company, while the other believes that BP Angola relationship with his company vary from arms-length to collaborative. This view is supported by IntOpsR2: It ranges from Arms-length to collaborative. When we started the contract we were in position of conflict and moved to cooperation, where we build the trust in the relationship and we are now moving to more collaborative way of working. The important observation made at this stage was that when all factors and their weightings are taken into consideration, the supplier/customer relationship that results can be plotted along a continuum ranging from adversarial/arms-length relationship to long-term strategic partnerships (Dyer et al., 1998; Wagner and Boutellier, 2002.) Drivers and Benefits of Supplier Relationship Management All the respondents violently agreed on reasons and benefits for developing a good supplier relationship management with key suppliers. The reasons and benefits fall into two main categories. The first is commercial element. Most of the respondents believe that adopting the right approach for the right supplier, a good supplier relationship management leads, in long-term, to commercial benefits, of lower costs, quicker lead times, better quality, safer and reliable operations. IntSCMR2 claims: if you are actually leveraging your scale and providing a substantial volume of your work to those suppliers, you will be expecting to get lower rates while they will have a certain flow of demand Respondent IntSCMR3 agrees with above view and added that good supplier relationship in supply chains lead to reduced cost and safer operations and claims: . the only way you can understand the cost base of your suppliers is having a good relationship with them. We know that supplier will always build on some extra cost, because they want to make as much money as they can, to which with good relationship this extra cost can be minimized or reduced Respondent IntSCMR1 does not only believe on cost reduction at short run, but also argues that good supplier relationship gives a long term sustainable cost savings enabling tighter process integration. One of the supplier interviewed, strongly agrees that good supplier relationship can bring benefits to both supplier and customers. IntSupplierR2 claims: Working closer to resolve issues, shared risks and in turn benefits, transparency of activity where possible solutions can be made to cut costs to both client and supplier and in turn payments collected on time, and developments onto new contracts/facilities and areas. This in turn would reduce added costs and streamline the BP contracts globally However, respondent IntOpsR1 casts some doubt on the claim that supplier management delivers commercial benefits. This respondent state: I think it gives you a quicker response, you get a better chance to pull in the right people at the right time and they get comfortable and familiar with your expectations and your standards so we are not always reinventing the wheel because your changing your suppliers.. I guess to me is more operations efficiency than cost reduction Ambrose, et al., (2010) stated that as companies pursue a supplier relationship management approach, they do so in a sequential manner. Beginning internally, with efforts aimed at reducing costs, particularly through better sourcing strategies and then externally through Supplier Management. It can be argued that when a supplier relationship management reaches a level of maturity, the overall relationship focus expand beyond a specific contract and focus on the overall relationship with a supplier as whole (Ambrose, et al., 2010). The second category is the enhanced performance or operations efficiency through continuous improvement. Again some of the respondents believe that Supplier relationship management leads to enhanced performance or operations efficiency in long-term. Once the suppliers are selected the challenge quickly becomes ensuring that the promised value coming out of their selection actually finds its way into company. For the two suppliers interviewed, they believe that performance management is an important element in the supplier relationship management and contract management, when well implemented, make a huge difference but require discipline and rigour to implement. Respondent IntSupplierR2 claims: We believe supplier relationship management is one of the main strengths that collaborate to deliver successful contract outcomes and performance. Respondent IntSupplierR1 agrees with the above view and stated that good supplier relationship delivers enhanced value for both client and supplier and claims: working with same suppliers in a long term relationship provides stability, continuity of service, and enhanced value as the supplier has a better understanding of BPs values, goals and methods of doing business. From the suppliers perspective, the relationship provides opportunities for increased business, and an ability to deliver better results to the customer as the relationship progresses and the customers values, goals and methods are better established and understood However, respondent IntOpsR2 argues that supplier relationship management also includes working the people interface because it is the people that make decisions to support (or not) and execute the initiatives that supplier offer for a better performance. InOpsR2 claims: In term of Performance Review Meeting during supplier relationship management, it works well; there is a process and people. It allows flexibility to raise things that are important to us. The value in that is having constructive conversations. The constructive way of doing this will be look of what we need to do to get things better. All this is dependent to people behaviour BP Head of Procurement claims: The Supplier Management process helps to drive performance improvement year on year, through increased safety, reliability and efficiency, thereby reducing total cost of ownership of goods and services. This expectation is defined in the contract. However, Ambrose, et al., (2010), argues that some companies implement Supplier Relationship Management process because they have been told that it is the right thing to do. They are convinced that supplier performance will improve and the results will speak for themselves. Emiliani (2010), states that while supplier performance improvement is a distinctly possible outcome, a specific cost reduction based on that improvement cannot be guaranteed because different companies implement supplier relationship management with varying degree of proficiency. Emiliani (2010) argues that success will have a much higher probability when senior management understands the business drivers for Supplier Relationship Management and therefore truly gives it support. One of the biggest challenges, however, is that the business drivers for Supplier Relationship Management is not cut and dried. That is, it is hard to guarantee a precise return on investment for Supplier Relationship Management. Accountability for Developing and Maintaining Supplier Relationship Management It is recognised that supplier relationship management requires both top management and people at operational level commitment. Which the author believes mean that accountability for delivery of supplier relationship management needs to be established and roles defined. The respondents were asked if they knew who the Single Point of Accountability (SPA) was for Supplier Relationship Management in the Angola Business Unit. The answers vary, depending on the respondent background (Technical or PSCM). In general, for the technical respondents, the SPA for Supplier Relationship Management is definitely the End User (Technical), for PSCM is the combined role between PSCM, supplier and the Technical team. IntOpsR1 claims: To me I think [Supplier Relationship Management] still belongs to the Line, because the relationships with a supplier is owned and administrated and driven forward in terms of learning by the technical side of the equation. So if we want to manage a vendor at higher level across locations and assets, then I still think it should be owned by technical group that have ownership on it. If we try to drive all it from PSCM perspective, from a setting up contract perspective, then we kind of missing the trick. What we may get is a little bit more a cost effective solution, but you are not necessarily getting to a point of having good technical discussions. They are technical companies and they will run circles around you This view is supported by IntOpsR2: I think that the relationship should be owned by the Line (Technical), because we understand it, and we are also dealing with people who are in the technical team in supplier side. I think PSCM role is to support and to enable and help with that relationship The above answers seem to suggest that the driver for supplier relationship management is, in one hand, improving the supplier technical performance, and in the other, that relationship with supplier is limited to the serv

7p’s marketing mix Essay

The product is basically a smooth orange juice made with natural orange and is organic, with benefits such as it’s never sweetened, never concentrated, there are 11 juicy hand-picked oranges in every bottle ,there is 1 portion of fruit in every 150ml serving. (Also used in this report will be smoothie drinks and it will be part of the marketing mix) The product itself is part of the marketing mix because if the product is unique and offers quite a few benefits then it will help the marketers in selling it, also the fact that the product has what juice drinkers looking for, for example they will be looking for good taste, good health and part of their five a day including additional benefits such as a good source of vitamin c, all these factors help the product be the best it can be and help it sell in the shelves of supermarkets. Promotion The promotion of the juice is done in many different ways, one of the most used is advertising but their other forms of indirect advertising such as sponsorship are also methods of promotion. For innocent the promotion element was very important because they were unknown in the market because they were a new start-up so they marketed their product quite heavily and managed to get their product into a major supermarket which extended their reach nationally and enabled them to advertise on TV, newspapers and major banners on the highways. Eventually all this promotion helped them get to the ? 100million pound turnover that they have today. Over the years their promotion has helped them increase market share and compete with smoothie market leader â€Å"pj† Price The 3 founders of innocent found it surprisingly easy to break into major outlets even though their retail prices were as high as ? 2 for a small, 200 ml bottle. By 2002/2003 sales had risen to ? 10 million a year and the future looked very bright. Then things became a bit tougher. The smoothie market had been originated in Britain in 1994 by a company called ‘PJ’. Stung by Innocent’s success, in 2003 PJ Smoothies were promoted more heavily, stabilising their market leading position. Then the major supermarkets started offering own-label smoothies. With a Tesco’s own-label bottle at ? 1. 39, it would be much harder to charge ? 1. 99 so innocent had to fight on price with competitors and keep growing but they focused on justifying thus making it a very good product which helped it sell at the high end of the price graph. A pro of having a high price is people automatically assume it is a good brand and this help in the marketing because they are seen as quality providers in public so when innocent launch a cheaper alternative they will not find it difficult to sell to people with tighter budgets. People The people behind the brand are well known in the public, they are two former university students who after leaving university, Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright decided to try their own business, selling fresh fruit smoothies. The idea started when they spent ? 500 on strawberries and bananas, they went to a festival and got feedback of their smoothies from the public, in the end they got amazing feedback and set up their business so it’s evident that the people behind the company are passionate about the business and have helped raise funds for the start-up and market the business, also they are famous for creating a very good environment to work in (image below) which helps the people in creativity and work productivity and this is a marketing edge which is used when innocent promote their products, they are very happy to publicise the work environment which innocent provides them. Physical The exterior appearance of innocent packaging is very attractive and overall the company projects a very attractive feel for the organisation, even the headquarter buildings of innocent are very well designed and the work place is very clean and attractive and this projects a very good image of the company and in marketing terms a very good proposition to the customer. The logo’s on bottles is very well designed and the graphic fruit images does not hinder in the marketing mix, the packaging delivers a very fresh and exciting look to the customers as much as the fruits themselves. Place The distribution channel is always very important because we all the marketing in the world if people can’t purchase your product then it pretty pointless so it’s vital that innocent are available in a lot of stores, they are available in tesco, asda and Sainsbury’s and together these stores have 80% of market share in the UK so in essence they are very well placed and this gives them a marketing advantage. Process Also important is the process in which the apple goes from field to factory, from factory to store and this logistical side of the equation is important because it’s great to be selling to Tesco, you have to be able to deliver the top quality product promised. So innocent have farms where they produce the fruit also they buy in fruit and transport the products to their production faculty where the smoothies are made and packaged thereafter they are delivered to supermarkets nation-wide, this process helps them get products into place and products to customers quick and effectively. Conclusion During this process of writing this marketing mix, I have realized that the marketing mix is inter-linked and each part works with another, so the promotion work with the price and the people and so on so forth, so in terms of innocent they are covering the marketing mix quite well.