“Freakonomics” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner Essay

Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, is book that not your typical economist would write it was co-authored in 2005 and if morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represent how it actually does work in this award-winning book. Steven D. Levitt is a not your typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing and whose conclusions turn the conventional wisdom on its head (freakonomics.com). Stephen J. Dubner is an award-winning author and journalist (freakonomics.com). These two authors team up to create a very insightful groundbreaking collaboration. They set out to to explore the inner workings of a crack gang, the truth about real estate agents, the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, and much more. Through much story telling and insightful knowledge, they show that economics is at the root, the study of incentives (freakonomics.com). There is not one underlying theme the book, Freakonomics, is built around, but there are many reoccurring themes throughout. The three major themes that I found occur throughout the book are: positive vs. normative analysis, incentives are the cornerstone of modern life, and the idea of â€Å"tournament† style markets, â€Å"winner take all†. Freakonomics is a brilliant, provocative investigation into motives: what are they, how they can be changed, and how they affect what people do. It is also a deceptively easy read: its style is very humorous and really grips the reader throughout the book. Freakonomics tackles some of our most basic assumptions about the way people, and society, work. I believe that Freakonomics demonstrates the basic economic principles. I will defend this argument through the underlying themes of Freakonomics. Positive vs. normative analysis is one of the many underlying themes of Freakonomics. The conclusions derived from each chapter will often surprise the reader. These conclusions may also not agree with your personal beliefs, but that is the basis of positive vs. normative analysis. Positive economics is objective and fact bases, while normative economics is subjective and  value based. Positive economic analysis statements do not always have to be true, but in order to be considered a positive analysis you must be able to test and prove or disprove the statement. Normative analyses are opinion based, so they cannot be proved or disproved. This basic economic principle is not always easy to understand because the consumer is usually very value based. Public policies are typically revolved around normative economic statements meaning the disagreements carry on because neither side can prove that is correct or incorrect. There are many examples of positive vs. normative analysis throughout Freakonomics, in chapter four, on crime and abortion, the authors brought forth the issue of how crime rates relate to abortion and backed it up with the statistical information. This is an example of positive analysis because the statistical information supports the issue being argued. Normative analysis of the issue between crime and abortion would be that they are not correlated to one another because it pledges the fidelity to notions of the way the world should be. Also, in chapter five, the coauthors believe that a child’s academic success does not come from parental efforts and they explained this through the data presented in the book. One would think a parental figure would help a child’s development in the classroom, but in reality its other external factors that does. This clearly illustrates the difference between an analytical approach that considers the world, as it is (positive analysis ) and an analytical approach that is based on how the world should be (normative analysis). Incentives are the cornerstone for modern life, people respond to incentives. An understanding of incentives is the key to clearly understanding any human behavior. Incentives are a thing that motivates or encourages one to do something. Incentives are everywhere in the world especially in economics. Corporations are often given tax incentives for hiring more employees. Incentives are a payment or concession to stimulate greater output or investment. In Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner believe incentives equivalent to the study of economics. In chapter one, Dubner and Levitt exclaim that incentives come in three varieties: moral incentives, social incentives, and economic incentives. Moral incentives are which one acts out of conscience or conviction. Social incentives are by which actions  are related to shame or glory. Economic incentives are causing people to act in their own personal financial interest. In chapter one, we saw the example of a day care center in Haifa, Israel, in which a fine was levied for parents picking up their child late from day care. Once the fine was implemented, we started seeing parents showing up late because it allowed more personal free time. Once this economic incentive was levied parents found that the free time outweighed the economic incentive. Parents were only picking up their child on time because there was somewhat of an incentive socially and morally. They morally or socially believed they had to pick up their child on time, but now that an economic incentive was implemented they did not feel morally responsible to be on time and just paid the fine. Also in chapter one, we saw the incentive for teachers and their students to do well on standardized testing for more school funding or even to keep their job, so teachers act out irrationally and help students ch eat on standardizing testing. Incentives are found in everyday life they are in every situation depending on one’s personal beliefs, which also can relate back to normative vs. positive analysis. In chapter two, real estate agents don’t have moral incentive to get the best price for their customers house being sold. Getting the optimal price on a house and time consuming. Since real estate agents make 3 to 6% commission on houses they have little incentive to put more work in then needed for a small amount of money more. They feel their time is more valuable then putting forth more effort in selling a house knowing they can sell it faster at a cheaper price. There are many examples throughout the book of incentives, but the one I found most interesting was the issue of drug dealers still living at home in chapter three. Levitt and Dubner use dealing crack cocaine as an example of an incentive to better yourself and make money through harsh working environments, but it is also an example of a basic economic principle called â€Å"tournament type markets†. They strategically use the example of dealing crack cocaine as a â€Å"tournament† type market by convincing the reader this is a â€Å"winner take all† field of work. Street-level drug salesman usually are motivated by the idea of getting promoted in the drug business, so they ultimately try to maximize the gang’s profits. Higher ranker officials however are more interested in making money since they are already in a position of high status. Overall in this market there are many players, but  one by one they are eliminated. At the end, a victor emerges and takes home the â€Å"prize† or money. As stated in the book, the top 120 â€Å"managers† in the Black disciples gang represented just 2.2 percent of the full-fledged gang membership, but took home well more than half the money. This is a â€Å"tournament† style market because these â€Å"managers† emerged from all the other competitors and are now high ranking, they won the â€Å"tournament† in essence. Overall I believe Freakonomics illustrates basic economic principles. Levitt and Dubner lay out many underlying themes in the book, Freakonomics, but there are many reoccurring themes throughout. The three major themes that I found throughout the book are: positive vs. normative analysis, incentives are the cornerstone of modern life, and the idea of â€Å"tournament† style markets, â€Å"winner take all†. These three basic economic principles are just a few of the major themes in the book, but I believe are enough evidence to convinced the reader that Freakonomics does cover major economic principles and is a book of economics. In all, Freakonomics is a brilliant book that incorporates everyday ideas into economic ones. It truly is a book about economics and the evidence given proves this. Works Cited â€Å"Freakonomics.† Freakonomics RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2014. Levitt, Steven D., and Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. New York: William Morrow, 2005. Print.

How Have Us-China Relationship Been Refashioned By The Crisis Essay

The economic crisis experienced over the recent past has had a resoundingly negative effect across the globe. Altman (2009a, p. 527) describes it as â€Å"the worst in over 75 years. † Different people and different occurrences contributed variedly toward this crisis. However, most researchers tend to point fingers towards the US and blame it solely for orchestrating the crisis through its dubious economic policies and financial excesses (Dibb, 2009, p. 3 and Altman, 2009a, p. 527). Wright (2009, p. 59) furthers this ideology by saying that the recession originated in New York and, and like a wildfire, spread to Asia and other parts of the world. According to Altman (2009b, p. 5), as a result, â€Å"The overall picture is a grim one: a deep, truly global and destabilizing downturn, with world GDP falling for the first time in post-war period. Given rising populations, such an outright contraction is stunning. † China on the other hand chooses to distant itself away from the blame game. Wright (2009, p. 64) supports this reaction by saying that â€Å"China is not blaming US for the crisis. † According to them, the crisis was a culmination of a series of events performed by different countries in relations to their trading methods, economic policies, domestic marketing tendencies as well as overall governance. This has been a tactful stand for china more so with the looming speculations of them wanting to take full advantage of the crisis to impose influence of their minimally scathed domestic economy. It also provides a platform for good interrelations with the US, if need be, since there is no bad-blood between them as opposed to the critiquing nations. For china, their strong domestic market acts as a cushion in this tough time that many nations are languishing in economic distress. Despite facing low revenues from their exports and generally having to deal with the challenge of fluctuating prices of commodities, it has been able to get solace from their stable Foreign exchange trading (Altman, 2009a, p. 31). In sharp contrast, the US-the strongest nation in the world is finding it difficult to cope with the crisis. Apart from allegedly overspending beyond their means, the financial injuries in their banks and credit-markets combined with the unprecedented liquidity levels have forced US down on their knees (Altman, 2009b, 529). To make matters worse, there have been recent concerns of the US loosing its focus from ensuring coherence, coordination and leadership. Altman (2009b, p. ) equates this tendency to the inward preoccupation of the US with severe unemployment, housing challenges and fiscal pressures. He exemplifies this by saying, â€Å"US household lost 20 percent of their net worth in just 18 months, dropping from a peak of $64. 4 trillion in mid 2007 to $51. 5 billion at the end of 2008 (p. 3). On the other hand, it looks like china could increase its diplomatic presence in the development world by sharing its vast acumen of resources and ideologies (Altman, 2009b p. 3). According to Altman (2009a p. 28), â€Å"This relatively unscathed position gives china the opportunity to solidify its strategic advantages as the united States and Europe struggle to recover† by investing in places where US and Europe can’t. In essence, this rise by china combined with other Scandinavian countries threatens to overthrow USA from the global driving seat. Altman (2009a, 527) aptly describes it as â€Å"shifting the world’s centre of gravity away from the united states. †An Analyst like Dibb (2009, p. 2) is already voicing out his opinions to this by saying the global wealth is speeding from the east to west. In fact, he goes further and says â€Å"We think that the global financial crisis will hasten the relative decline of America and Improve China’s status (2009, p. 5). † Such opinions are, however, greatly discouraged as they may just aggravate the highly polarised relationship between China and USA. Rediker (2009, p. 555-556) challenges America to copy from other well doing countries if they are to survive. He further voices out the deficit in ideology and capital which has facilitated null movement of the US economy, and asks them to swallow their pride by borrowing a leaf from the attested pages of China’s ideologies. This is especially important with the rising concerns of China’s ascendancy in geopolitical standings based on the increased car sales, freight shipment and electricity consumption; thus offering it great financial leverage (Altman, 2009b, p. 7). Nevertheless, other analysts believe that this crisis may lead to a better relationship between China and US. This they believe can be done by Obama administration giving China a more central role in the IMF as well as bringing them to the G8 (Altman, 2009a, p. 528). To them, China ideologies in terms of geopolitical measures are similar to those of the US i. . both do not want Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. Again, both China and US are capitalist in nature and therefore finding a middle ground for a starting a mutual relationship will not be very problematic. Based on such factors, Altman (2009b, p. 7) concludes that â€Å"It is increasingly clear that the US-Chinese relationship will emerge as the most important bilateral one in the world. † As a point of caution, Dibb (2009, p. 3) warns that USA and China should treat one another with respect-if such a deal is struck- or else, dire consequences could erupt in the event of a mass unrest from either ends. Of course there are underlying issues like USA routing for free markets and China supporting a controlled market; which may presumably conflict. However, proponents of better relations between China and US believe that the overall good of the world will supersede such minor differences (Dibb, 2009, p. 4). It is desperate times for US and maybe, that is the reason why they are going for desperate measures. Being into the unchartered waters of financial down-surge, the US has taken stern measures to resuscitate its economy. This is based on the trial and failure of an example is them stopping to spend on discretionary items and are only focusing on only the basics. Through this, they are able to save more and pay down their debts. China has commended this move and said it opens doors for fostering better relationships with other countries (Altman, 2009a, p. 531). In conclusion, hope is not lost even in these difficult times of financial distress. Coincidentally, this crisis coincides with the tenure of Barrack Obama as president and his message of hope even in times of hopelessness. As for now, Atman (2009a, p. 39) say that â€Å"The united states will have to operate from a smaller global platform-while others, especially china, will have a chance to rise faster. † Critics should nevertheless watch for USA’s comeback; their slip does not mean they have fallen (Wright, 2009, p. 556). In fact, this should be a chance for both China and USA to demonstrate good leadership by working together. By doing this, the economic crisis-which not only affects the US and China but also other parts of the world will eventually be a thing of the past (Wright, 2009, p. 566).

Usage of ornaments and traditional aspects vs. Simplicity and no Essay

Usage of ornaments and traditional aspects vs. Simplicity and no ornaments - Essay Example Growing urban areas, especially in the rapidly developing cities, have become arenas of many contradictory forces associated with the growing of commercialism and consumption attitudes, architectural fashions and professional egoism, and many misconceptions regarding progress and modernization. Essentially, there is a potent discourse between building of simple and minimalist structures and doing away with the traditional aspects of architecture that lay emphasis on ornamental prowess. The big question is whether architecture, in its modern or traditional form, stands in harmony with the culture and environment (Trilling, 2001). Cities have thus become a symbol for the neglect of organic, cultural traditions and the destruction of the identity of places. Respect of traditions and factors specific to certain places is, however, of highest importance for a symbiotic development of the human environment relationship. As individual characteristics are different so it should be with cities, with urban planning. In the modern world, architecture has changed the values that it portrays. It reflects different set of values from the traditional local ones; buildings and space are symbols for economic and political power, importance and status, achievement and wealth, ours and theirs, poor and rich. The prerequisites are visibility and surprise; the creation of a distinct image in the observer’s mind for capturing his attention.... It is evident that ornamental architecture added to the visual appeal of architectural designs and also helped make people to easily relate to the buildings around them. However, the advent of modern architecture in the 1920s spelt death for the once popular ornamental architecture. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, it has been normal to assume that good design has to be plain and simple. Ornamentation was renounced because proponents of modern architecture believed that the decorative aspects of design were unnecessary and not cost effective (Loos, 1998) . The origins of modern architecture can be attributed to the social and political revolutions of that time. Advances in technology and engineering gave rise to new materials such as iron and steel which encourage minimalist design. The advent in modern architecture has given prominence to the concept of â€Å"internationalization†. In this regard, the design of buildings has become uniform regardless of the cultu ral background. This is evident considering that it has become a norm to have almost generic high rise block buildings in almost every city in the world. This paper seeks to analyze make a comparison between two architects. This is in respect to the traditional ornamental architecture and the modern non ornamental simple architectural design. It should be noted that architecture is an evolving discipline and thus modernity was bound to happen. However, the major issue is to evaluate the impacts of modern architecture and the how recent advances in architecture have shaped the society. The implications of discarding traditional ornamental architecture will also be evaluated. This is essential to assess the overall impact of

Generally Accepted Auditing Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Generally Accepted Auditing Standards - Essay Example the accumulation and evaluation of evidence regarding information to help determine and report on the degree of correspondence between information and established criteria (p. 4). Auditing requires that there must be verifiable information and certain standards by which the auditor can evaluate the information. The standards can vary depending on the nature of information. For instance, GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principle) is considered to be the criteria for auditing historical financial statements. Auditing requires evidence like written communication and oral testimony and auditors need to obtain sufficient quality of evidences. The final step in auditing is preparing the audit report (Arens, Elder and Beasley, 2006, p. 4). GAAS are auditing standards that suggest necessary qualifications and characteristics of auditors. The guidelines are 10 GAAP standards that have experienced minimal changes since these were first developed in 1947 (Arens, Elder and Beasley, 2006, p. 4). These GAAS standards remain the same through time and for all audits, even though auditing procedures may vary depending on the complexity of accounting systems. The 10 GAAS standards relate to the competence of auditor, his independence in both financial and managerial relations and the attitudes about professionalism (Louwers, Ramsay and Sinason, 2008. p. 39- 42). The GAAS elements also affect the standards at field that include detailed planning of the audit, risk assessment through internal control and collecting audit evidences. One of the major concerns of GAAS is regarding the standards in financial reporting and its contents. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed by George W Bush on July 2002, was intended to establish investor confidence by improving the quality of financial disclosures and audit reporting, to strengthen the independence of accounting firms and to increase the responsibilities of corporate officers (Hayes, Dassen and Schilder, 2005, p. 49). The

Governance and Risk in Finance, Term Project 1 Essay

Governance and Risk in Finance, Term Project 1 - Essay Example The macro risk factors can be political, economical, social and technological factors called PEST analysis. The macro economic variables generating macro risks are price indexes, exchange rates, commodity prices, variables of monetary policy etc. However, there are certain credit rating agencies who give credit rating to institutions from excellent to poor like A.M.Best, Dun & Bradstreet, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch Ratings. The Standard & Poor gives rating scale ranging from AAA to BBB to CCC to D. Rating lower than BBB- is considered as junk or speculative bond. Sound corporate governance enables organizations to control risk beforehand. Hostile takeovers are often seen as from governance point of view as the threat of takeover is believed to exert pressure on managers to act protecting the interest of shareholders. Content Corporate governance can be referred to as the structure and processes through which the affairs and business of an institution are mana ged and directed in order to improve the shareholder value over long term through enhancement of accountability and corporate performance considering the interest of other stakeholders. Risk management is referred to as the assessment, identification and risk prioritisation. It refers to as the effect of uncertainty on objectives. Governance and risk in finance are closely related concerns. In fact, governance, risk and compliance (GRC) are integrated in terms of avoiding conflict and gaps within an organisation. It is interpreted in various organizations in different manner. It encompasses activities of corporate governance, corporate compliance with laws and regulations applicable and enterpriser risk management (ERM). Introduction Corporate governance does not provide any single, accepted definition. It implies the way in which a company can be managed to ensure all of its stakeholders so that they can get their fair share from the earnings of the business or from the firmâ€℠¢s assets. It provides the system of directing and controlling the companies. In present days, corporate governance not only encompasses the interest of shareholders but also many stakeholders. The reason underlying this fact is that interest of shareholders can only be satisfied by taking into account the interest of stakeholders as companies accountable to all of their stakeholders are more successful and prosperous over the long term. So, corporate governance rests on the perception of maximising value creation by companies over long term by discharging the accountability to all of their stakeholders and by optimizing the system of corporate governance. It is also based on the economic concept of maximising market value that underpaid shareholder capitalism as it frames rule to conduct business in accordance with the desires of shareholders and owner, requiring to make money as much as possible confirming to the basic rules of society as embodied in local customs and law. There a re challenges in modern society to deal with risk appropriately and effectively manage it. International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) has given certain governance mechanisms to effectively deal with risks. Implementing such governance mechan

Interventions for the working Stage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interventions for the working Stage - Essay Example In another proposal, work satisfaction appeared to be affected by work attributes that can be unfavorable for some workers, such as its â€Å"low decision attitude and high job demands† (Cox, 1993, p. 15). Demands on both sides, individual and organizational, generate stressful tensions when shortcomings are foreseen on both sides. Aside from personal and work expectations, a number of maladaptive cognitive and behavioral problems appeared to further hamper better functions of adults in work areas. Cognitive areas need to be constantly updated to better meet occupations demands, thus, inadequate trainings and seminars, in combination with excess workloads, can hamper cognitive development and account for stress and discontent. Behaviorally, people appear to act up when they are not recognized for excellent performance, do not receive incentives, and are plagued by unsupported colleague interactions (Davis & McKay, 2009). The work culture of negative self-talk can aggravate the stressful atmosphere, as the need for affiliated group approvals are interspersed with events of blame for the shortcomings of others, preventing the acceptance of adult newcomers in organizations (Davis, Robbins Eshelman, & McKay, 2000, pp. 107-119).

Alexander and Hellenism cultures Research Paper

Alexander and Hellenism cultures - Research Paper Example This essay discusses the influence of Alexander the Great on Hellenistic society, economy, culture, and arts. Alexander’s Life and War When Alexander the Great’s father, Philip of Macedon, died in 336 B.C., he immediately occupied the throne. Through his mentor Aristotle, Alexander largely appreciated Greek culture. He was fascinated by the Homeric epics. He was inspired by the heroic achievements and determination of the characters, especially Achilles (Pollitt 1986, 271). But Alexander, just like these Homeric heroes, also possessed remarkable leadership and military abilities which he inherited from his father. Alexander also took over his father’s major state plan, which was the ultimate defeat of Persia. This mission fuelled the daring character of Alexander. Alexander was a student of Isocrates, an orator who supported a campaign against Persia to unify the Greeks within a single objective (Burn 1948, 11-12). Philip had planned to defend his ownership of Gr eece by preventing the advance of Persia to Asia Minor; but his son, who was very ambitious, sought to invade the whole Persian kingdom. Leading a massive army in 334 B.C., Alexander passed through Asia Minor, and finally moved forward to India. Because of his excellent military, leadership, and strategy skills, Alexander’s armed forces had built an empire which extended from Greece to India. After Alexander’s reign, the world had never been the same again. His adventures and conquests introduced Eastern and Western cultures to each other (Curtis 2000, 66). Alexander himself contributed to this massive change, whether purposely or unintentionally. He married a Persian woman, encouraged the intermarriage between his soldiers and Asian women, and enlisted Persian soldiers into his army. He built city-states in Asia, where Greek immigrants intermarried with the local peoples (Perry 2012, 616). But, as argued by Pollitt (1986), even though Alexander was not able to bring a ll the peoples and cultures together in a world-state, his conquests drove the world in a new path, toward a union of diverse populations and the mixing together of cultures. Alexander’s conquest was indeed the driving force for the advancement of the Hellenistic culture all over the Near East and western Mediterranean. His conquest also created the foundation for the establishment of Christianity, the Roman Empire, and other major features of Western history. The Influence of the Expedition of Alexander the Great on Hellenistic Culture The era of cosmopolitan culture and global interaction emerged after the semi-Hellenized Philip of Macedon had tore down the self-rule of city-states, and Alexander had invaded the Persian kingdom. In 332 B.C.E., Alexander conquered Palestine, then Egypt; and since then the situation of the Jewish people was transformed. The objective as well as the impact of Alexander’s achievements was to bring the East and the West together intellect ually and politically. Nationalistic sentiments were barely shown by the peoples of Eastern societies, except for the Jewish and Persian people (Skelton & Dell 2009, 93, 26). Nationalism was growing weaker among the Greeks. Alexander aspired to create a remarkable mixture of knowledge in a global empire, which, through a grouping of local cultures and racial superiorities in a bigger and wider political sphere, should promote arts and knowledge and spread the Hellenic

Redesign UC Davis bookstore Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Redesign UC Davis bookstore - Essay Example The university soon took control of the UCD Davis bookstore and established itself as its legitimate owner over time. After a period of time ASUCD tried to regain control of the bookstore. It culminated when; in 1982 ASUCD sued the UC Regents for one million dollars in lost profits and for control of the bookstore. The university did not respond well and even threatened to kick ASUCD off campus and to revoke ASUCD owned Unitrans’ – the primary bus service within the campus – insurance. Eventually, ASUCD dropped its lawsuit and signed a Memorandum of Understanding to relinquish all control of the bookstore; in return, ASUCD receives $20,000 a year from the bookstore’s revenue to use on the Memorial Union. The university’s ownership of the bookstore is strong and will continue to hold for the years to come. Another reason that it does not perform to it full potential and the subsequent need to redesign the space is the fact that the UC Davis Bookstore sells more than just books. The range of products available inside the store makes it more like a one-stop shop for students needs. If the space is cluttered or disorganized, the flow of goods and people within the store will also suffer.

Comparison Between Structure and Function of Human and Animal Eyes Assignment

Comparison Between Structure and Function of Human and Animal Eyes - Assignment Example This essay stresses that the human eye is adapted to sense different colors and lights of various intensities and adjust according to brightness. Color and light vision involves the simultaneous interaction between the two eyes and brain. When light from the object hits the eye, it is focused by the cornea and lens elements that form transform it to an inverted image. The image successfully transverses the aqueous humor, crystalline lens, gelatinous vitreous body, and vascular ad neuronal layers before it is focused on the surface of the retina. Rod and cone cells found in the retina detect the image, translate the light into a series of electrical signals, and transmit the signals to the brain. This report makes a conclusion that vision is insidious in the animal kingdom since; it is the sensory organ that is relied upon in finding reproductive mates, suitable food, shelter, and escaping from predators and danger. The study of human and animal’s eyes show wild disparities in their mode of vision and anatomical features. Human vision is presented as sometimes ineffective as in detecting infrared and ultraviolet lights, or overly sophisticated than that of felines. This study is important to help researchers to find cure for human eye diseases and explain the adaptation of animals to their environment. The visual perception of living creatures is dependent on how they process light using their photoreceptors.

Commercialization of Product & Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Commercialization of Product & Services - Essay Example It's only after such an analysis that the managers can decide when, how and where to launch their new product. This essay seeks to expound on the implications of launching a new product internationally in terms of commercialization. Degeeter (2004) suggests that before any form of commercialization, there is a need to invoke a strategic plan in order to define the new product in all dimensions. The product being launched into the market wisely identified based on the intention of the subject company. There is a need to come up with a unique product that the company can sustain in the long term in the market. Many economists have recommended the funnel model as the best for identifying a product that can be fully accepted in the market. According to the funnel model, the planning stage should begin by coming up with many ideas regarding possible goods or services and then narrowing down to one specific product by eliminating those that seem unappreciable. At the stage of elimination, the best product is identified by identifying the key characteristics of the products that will make it thrive in the international market. For instance, non-perishable goods and services are more acceptable for long distance transport than perishable goods. Launching, the final stage of product development during a commercialization process, is the most sensitive stage while introducing a new product and especially in foreign market. Launching occurs only when the company has certified that the new product will satisfy the standards that are deemed fit internationally. When the product has been launched into the market, there is never a point to turn back and hence the company has to prepare adequately before launching their product (Vijay, 2009: Han, 2008). International market requires that the market be standardized before it’s forwarded into the various target countries. The international market is characterized by different tastes that may vary from culture to culture, country to country or even from one continent to another. In standardization, there is need to understand the preferences that exists in the different foreign markets in order to come up with a product that will suit every person in the market. At this stage, there is need to conduct a reconnaissance pilot marketing that will assist in the comprehension of the customer value. Dave (2011) suggests that successful products are only those that solve the problems of many people in the global market. Effective entry models in global launch plans are necessary during commercialization process. One of the optimization mechanisms includes the proper timing of the launching period in order to hit the market when the demand of the new product is at a peak (Butler & Gibson, 2011). To do this, there is a need to evaluate the economic trend during the time of launching. The economy of any country has a great influence on the demand of any particular good as it determines the purchasing power of the people. The process of commercialization is expensive especially if the product requires to be rolled out into foreign markets. A lot of money is consumed in the planning, preparation and production stage and hence there is need to enter the market at a time when the returns are expected to be high. Most researchers have proposed that the best time to enter a market is when the economy of the country it at its peak on the ground that

Budgets Essay Example for Free

Budgets Essay There are certain elements that are to be considered in studying and defining the budget, especially in the field of public administration. These elements include economic, political, and ideological concerns that affect the processes budget goes through. A fourth element that defines budget is societal concerns, which proves to be an important factor for the success of the budget. The budget is said to be economic such that it paints a picture where there is a supply and demand. The supply of funds available for the organization would likewise be met by a demand by its components. The scarcity in funds, as is mostly the situation for finite resources, results to the competition of the different departments for their share in the budget. On the other hand, the political and ideological concerns would mostly be found in the budget process as reflected by the final appropriations. The debate that it has to go through in the respective legislative bodies entails a political and ideological working where each actor would pursue their interests. The last component is the concern for societal welfare. A budget, no matter how big, if it is hounded by cold gigantic infrastructures is said to be a failure. It is important that behind every amount pursued for in the budget, there should be a corresponding impact on raising the quality of life of the people for whom it is intended for. The elements of the budget? economic, ideological, political, and societal? are important elements that play several important roles during the existence of the budget and will continue to serve their purpose to make an effective appropriation.

Patient Need During Mechanical Ventilation Literature Review

Patient Need During Mechanical Ventilation Literature Review Review of literature is a systematic search of the published work to gain information about a research topic. It is a compilation that provides the ground work for the study. A literature review is a Critical analysis of a segment of a published body of knowledge through summary, classification and comparison of prior research studies, review of literature, and theoretical articles.(Wisconsin 2004) This chapter deals with the information collected in relation to the ypresent study through published and unpublished materials, which provided the foundation to carry out this study. In the present study the review of literature is organized and presented as  follows. Literature related to patients need during mechanical ventilation. Literature related to augmentive and alternative communication methods Literature related to patients satisfaction Literature related to patients need during mechanical ventilation Wojnicki-Johansson (2001) conducted a study among nurses to evaluate the communication of mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU (n = 22). Among the 22 patients, 19 patients have had good functional communication. Three patients reported that nurses were unable to understand their messages. The author suggested that nurses should critically evaluate their communication skills and frequently verify the content of communication with patients. Rotondi, Armando J. (2006) conducted a prospective cohort study on intensive care unit patients (n = 150 ) receiving mechanical ventilation. In this study the researcher collected data on patients physical(e.g pain) and psychological( anxiety) experiences with the mechanical ventilation. The study revealed that among two third of patients were strongly associated with experience of sleeplessness , fear , inability to communicate, pain, tense and loneliness. Bergbom-Engberg and Haljamae (2003) conducted a retrospective study, interviewed 158 patients on their recall of experiences while being mechanically ventilated 2 to 48 months after their ICU experience. Approximately half of the subjects reported experiencing feelings of anxiety/fear, agony/panic, and insecurity, and found it distressing not to be able to communicate properly with the nurses and their relatives. Lance  Patak, et al, (2004) conducted a descriptive study using qualitative and quantitative methods, a total of 29 critically ill patients, extubated within the last 72 hours,. It was found that 62% of patients (n = 18) reported a high level of frustration in communicating their needs while being mechanically ventilated. There was no significant difference between the duration of intubation and the level of frustration (Spearman r 5 .109, P 5 .573). Mechanically ventilated patients experience a high level of frustration when communicating their needs, and health care providers have a significant impact on the mechanically ventilated patients experience. Stacey M. Carroll (2004) used metasynthesis and understanding of non vocal mechanically ventilated patients experiences with communication. The final sample (n=111) included 12 qualitative studies. The data, methods, and theoretical frameworks were critically interpreted. The samples are divided into two groups. In the first group, the characteristics of nonvocal ventilated patients communication experiences were often not understood, which resulted in loss of control and negative emotional responses. In the second group, nonvocal patients wanted nursing care that was delivered in an individualized, caring manner. This facilitated positive interpersonal relations between the patient and the nurse. Johnson and Sexton (2007) interviewed (n=14) patients and identified 19 factors that caused distress for these patients. In this qualitative study, the inability to speak was identified by all participants as causing distress to some degree, from mild to extreme. In addition, other factors causing distress included pain/discomfort from the endotracheal tube, suctioning, inability to determine time, and noise. These distressing factors can be alleviated by health care professionals Kefang Wang et al, (2008) conducted a phenomenological approach and Giorgis phenomenological analysis procedure was used to analyse the data. Participants (n=11) surviving from mechanical ventilation were interviewed in-depth, described their experience which were: being in an unconventional environment, physical suffering, psychological suffering, and self-encouragement and self-reflection. Self-encouragement and self-reflection enhanced patients self-confidence, which was beneficial to recovering. Critical care nurses should place the highest priority on recognizing and meeting the needs of ventilated patients in intensive care units. Fatma Eti Aslan (2009) conducted a descriptive study with patients (n=300) in a cardiac surgery ICU post-operatively for a minimum of 48 h, had a sternal incision, chest tube, and required mechanical ventilation. Most patients described their pain as aching (n = 177) and throbbing (n = 154). The presence of chest tubes (n = 95), endotracheal tube suctioning (n = 47), change of dressings (n = 27) and the use of air mattresses (n = 20) were also identified as painful experiences for patients. Nuran TOSUN et al (2010), conducted a descriptive study on patients (n = 155) who were admitted to medical or surgical ICUs and the patients were interviewed with a semi-structured interview form, to determine the experiences related to mechanical ventilation (MV) The data were evaluated with Colaizzis qualitative research analysis method (91.41  ± 34.91). Physical restriction, dependency, air hunger, thirst, pain, inability to talk and difficulty to be understood were described as uncomfortable and stressful experiences for the patients. Flexible family visits, positive thinking, praying, hope for survival, care by experienced and friendly ICU nurses were effective for coping with stressful factors related to prolonged MV and the ICU environment Literature related to augmentive and alternative communication methods Stovsky et al. (1988) used a quasi-experimental design to compare two methods of communication in patients (n=40) receiving ventilator support after cardiac surgery. The study explored patients experiences and preferences for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods during mechanical ventilation including yes/no questions, mouthing words/lip reading, facial expression reading, and use of an alphabet board, a magic slate board, a phrase board, and electronic scanning devices The experimental group (n = 20) was introduced to a communication board before surgery and they used the board during the postoperative period while receiving mechanical ventilation. The communication board used icons and pictures to represent basic needs (pain, fear, heat/cold, thirst, and bedpan). In contrast, the control group (n = 20) relied on standard care and on the experience of nurses. Patients in the experimental group were significantly more satisfied with communication using the board t han were patients in the control group (P = .05). Lawless (1975) conducted a study on ventilated patients (n=30) and the study described different types of boards that could be used to help patients communicate during mechanical ventilation: a magic slate board, magnetic plastic letters and board, an alphabet board, a picture board, and a simple writing board. Critical care nurses were used such type of AAC methods to assess their effectiveness in facilitating communication Reed (2008) conducted a study among nurses and patients regarding communication methods used to communicate. The study revealed that 60% of mechanically ventilated patients were extremely frustrated with their inability to communicate and 75% of nurses perceived their methods and 51% of patients preferred the picture board as their best method compared to other communication aids and basic methods, and 58% of nurses reported the picture board as the most beneficial method. Inke eh, light j à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã†â€™kitko l (2008) done quantitative research regarding communication between nurses and patients (n=60) with complex communication needs (CCN). The Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies that can be used by nurses to facilitate more effective à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡communication with patients with CCN. Difficulties in communication between nurses and patients arise when patients are unable to speak. . Using AAC strategies will help nurses and patients better communicate with each other when speech is not an option. Literature related to patients satisfacion Annie (2007) performed an experimental control trial of patients (n=60), and the study demonstrated that 73% patients without the communication board found their communication process was inadequate. 80% found their communication was adequate with the communication. 63% of patients reported being unsatisfied with their communication process without the communication board and with the board, 77% were satisfied. Of those who used the Communication Board, 80% were satisfied with the board, 20% moderately satisfied and none reported unsatisfied. Nurses, however, reported 53% satisfaction, 30% moderately satisfied and 17% unsatisfied. Overall, the patients with the Communication Board reported higher satisfaction with communication (p AC Jansen,et al (2009) done a study, developed a questionnaire that consisted of 60 questions in eight domains (General satisfaction, Reception, Physical care, Mental care, Empathy and attention, Communication and information, Surroundings and Physical discomfort). Answering possibilities ranged from 1 (not satisfied) to 5 (completely satisfied). all consecutive adult patients from a 29-bed, tertiary-care, medical, surgical, neurosurgical and thoracic-surgical ICU were interviewed within 4 days after discharge. Demographics and clinical characteristics were obtained from electronic records. General linear modeling (GLM) with Bonferroni-Holmes correction was used to study the relationship between overall patient satisfaction scores and the eight domains, corrected for patient and ICU-related factors. The model was tested for clinically relevant interaction between determinants. Ninety-eight patients were interviewed. The mean overall patient satisfaction score was 4.60 (SD = 0.93). Of the eight domains, only Communication and information (P = 0.039) appeared to be significant in predicting general satisfaction. Also sex (P = 0.046), length of ICU stay (P = 0.042), the interaction between Communication and information and age (P = 0.016), and the interaction between Communication and information and Minimal Mental State Examination score (P = 0.013) were significant. An indepth analysis of Communication and information showed that the interaction of communication with birth country (P Parsa-Yekta.Z, . (2009) conducted a quasi experimental study to compare the effects of two types of communication methods on anxiety and satisfaction in patients (n=90) after cardiac and bypass surgery having intubation. Patients were randomly selected by divided into two groups (experimental and control). The researchers met all patients the day before the surgery explained the reason and use of the picture chart for the experimental group and the routine communication methods for the control group. Data collection was done through a questionnaire consisting of: 1) demographic specification and clinical history, 2) Spielburgers questionnaire for obvious anxiety and 3) visual analogue scale (10cm) for patient satisfaction evaluation which is undertaken the day after surgery and after extubation. The results of the G ² test and the Fishers exact test showed significant statistical differences between the two groups concerning the level of the patients anxiety and satisfaction. The use of the picture chart for the experimental group, decreased patients anxiety resulting from speech disability and increased their satisfaction with their communication with nurses as compared to the control group.

History And Importance Of Hydropower

History And Importance Of Hydropower Hydropower is produced by converting the kinetic energy of the moving water to electrical one. The motion of water is part of a continuous natural phenomena called the water cycle. Energy from the sun evaporates water from oceans and rivers and raise it as steam or vapor. When the watervapor reaches a colder atmosphere level, it condenses and forms cloud. The moisture eventually reaches a point at which air cannot keep carrying it, so it falls to the earth as rain or snow, this process is called precipitation. Gravity drives the water, moving it from higher ground level to lower one. The force of moving water can be extremely powerful. Hydropower is a renewable energy source because the water on the earth is in a continuous motion. As long as the water cycle continues, we will not run out of this source. In the old past people used a simple machine called water wheel to produce a specific motion using the movement of the water in the rivers or any other source. The water wheel is located below a source of flowing water. It captures the water in plates that is normal to the wheel, the water hits the plates causes the wheel to turn. Water wheels convert the kinetic energy of the water into another type of motion. That energy can then be used to grind grain, drive sawmills, or pump water. There are several examples of water wheel application in the past. For instance, the Greeks used water wheels to grind wheat into flour more than 2,000 years ago. In the beginning of the 18th century, factories at America and Europe used it also to power machines. In the late 19th century, the potential energy of water was used to generate electricity. The first hydro electric power plant was built at Niagara Falls in 1879 and it started a revolution of Hydro electrical power plants. in the following decades, many plants were built. At the peak in the early 1940s, hydropower occupies 33 percent of USA electricity. But, by the end of 1940s, inexpensive fossil fuel plants also joined the competition. At that time, plants burning coal or oil could make cheaper electrical power than hydro power plants. This fossil fuel plants was burning the fossil fuel and the hydro power plants till the 1970s. In that decade the way was opened for hydro power plants again because of the oil shocks that made people showed an interest in renewable power sources. 1.3 Importance In this part of the report, I am going to relate people and hydropower in a logical chain, that will show how much it is important to change the way that electricity is produced nowadays. People, as we all know, are part of the natural world and the materials they are using in building, clothing, food, etc come from natural resources. What surround us are composed of large numbers of built environment, the facilities built by humans for comfort, security, and well-being. As our built environment grows, we become more reliant on what it is offering to us. To satisfy our demands improvement to our built environment is needed, to do such upgrading we need electricity which can be generated by using the resources of natural fuels. In obtaining these resources, it is necessary to drill oil wells, tap natural gas supplies, or mine coal and uranium. In order to put water to work on a large scale, storage dams are needed. Some human activities have more lasting impacts than others. Techniques to mine resources from below the earth may leave long-lasting impacts on the environment. Oil wells may detract from the beauty of open landscapes. Reservoirs behind dams may cover whole valleys. The usage of energy sources can further impact the land, water, and air in different amounts. People want clean air and water and a pleasing environment. They also want power to heat and light the homes and to run machines. So, what would be the solution? Logically there are two straight forward solutions, but both are hard to be done. One solution is curbing The increasing demand for electrical power. As explained above, this is something that far from the actual trend. The other solution is that more power must be produced in environmentally friendly ways. Conservation can save electricity, but our population is growing. In other words even if we are very conservative in power consumption, our demand is still increasing. So, growth is inevitable. So again, the wisest solution is a careful, planned approach to how to bring a new, efficient ,clean and renewable resource of energy. All choices must be examined, and the most efficient, acceptable methods should be adopted. One alternative is hydro power plants and based on the characteristics of this plants it seems to be a successful choice. These features are many, one is that hydro power plants do not use nonrenewable resources to make electricity. They also do not produce pollution, rarely fail, have low operating costs and they are reliable. WAYS OF HYDROPOWER PRODUCTION I will discuss in this part of the report two methods to produce power using hydro energy that fit with the conditions in Saudi Arabia which are the lack of dams and rivers. These two ways are the sea power plants and power production in water Desalination stations. Using Sea Energy First of all I will discuss tidal energy as one type of the sea energy. The tides rise and fall eternally . Tides are changes in the level of the oceans caused by the rotation of earth and the gravitational force from both the moon and the sun. Nearshore sea level can vary up to 15 meters, depending on different factors. Tidal energy is the most promising source of ocean energy for today and the near future. Tidal energy plants capture the energy in the same manner that happened in dams, but here the dam is the whole coastal line. The water is filling this virtual dam and draining it twice a day. Then, by sitting up a set of turbines that connected to gears to convert the motion of the water into electrical power, and by building specific structures under the sea level which magnify the speed of water during the filling and draining process we will have a perfect tidal power plant. The oldest and largest tidal plant, La Rance in France, has been successfully producing electricity since 1968. Nowadays, the electricity from tidal plants costs a lot compared to other ways. It is expensive and takes time to build up the turbines and the structures, which can be several miles long. On the other hand, the fuel free, always available and green, and the plants are easy to maintain. For example, two operators are needed to run the La Rance plant at night and on weekends. And the plants is durable with little maintenance. Other type of sea energy is current and marine stems. The water in seas are continuously moving. We can use some of the oceanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s energy, but most of it is out of reach. Capturing this energy problem is not a problem, the real problem is transporting it to the land. Generating electricity in the middle of the ocean just doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make sense since there is no one living in the middle of the sea. We can only use the energy near shore. Using Steam Energy (In W.D.S.) Of course, during the process of desalinating water, steam must be produced. And the moving pressurized steam has tremendous energy in it. Energy in steam is held both in heat and pressure. When heat is applied to a water, the electrons begin to move quickly around molecules. The change of a liquid state to a gas state takes place when the moving molecules take to the air because of its rapidly moving electrons. The water molecules up in the air stay away from each other. When very large number of water molecules are heated, and all repelling each other, pressure builds. When this pressure is released, energy can be generated. When the pressure in steam is released, it transfers its energy to whatever it hits, so by putting a turbine or a piston, this steam energy will be converted to mechanical one. This movement can be used to generate electrical energy, or it can use the steam energy directly in steam machines, like steams trains. COMPARISON BETWEEN HYDRO ENERGY AND OTHER RESOURCES In this section I will come over many aspects about hydro energy like the cost of power generation depending on hydro energy. Then, I am going to mention some up and down sides of this energy source. Cost Hydropower on average is the world cheapest way to generate electricity today. No other energy source, renewable or not, can be compared to it. Today, it costs about a cent per kWh (kilowatt-hour) to produce electricity at a typical hydro plant. Comparing to others, it costs coal plants about 4 cents per kWh and nuclear plants about 2 to generate electricity. Producing electricity from hydropower is cheap because of many reasons. For instance, if a dam has been built and generators installed, the energy source becomes free one. They are cheap also due to their firm structures and simple equipment. Hydro plants are reliable and durable, and their maintenance costs are low compared to coal or nuclear plants. 3.2 Advantage The advantages of hydroelectric power are so many. The power created through the use of dams and turbines is not reliant on coal, oil, uranium, or any polluting nonrenewable resources. Unlike other sources of power, it does not create carbon monoxide smoke, nuclear waste or any other harmful materials. The second advantage is when you construct a dam, it can create power for years and years to come. For example, the Hoover Dam in the US was constructed back in 1936 and it still provides a large amount of power to California, Nevada, and Arizona, three of the most power consuming states. Another advantage is aside from initial construction costs, it is simple and cheap to maintain a turbine. The Hoover Dam again has had only one large renovation done in the 90 years ago since it was created. The last up side I want to mention, is about water, the source of the turbineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s power, is one of the earthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s most abundant resources and it is completely renewabl e. The tides, dams, streams and lakes that hydro electric power sources use to generate power are always moving about, and the turbine simply captures the power, converts it and sends it out to the needed areas. Disadvantage While I spend the majority of report explaining the advantages of hydroelectricity, there are a few disadvantages in terms of cost and wildlife damage. The major disadvantage of hydroelectric power, is its initial cost. Building a dam or marine structures is costless thing to do. Another disadvantage is the need of hiring a professional person who can locate where the dam should be built, as well as a place where the water can build up. In addition to that, redirecting the river for a few months while constructing the dam or evacuating a shore and keeping it dry until building the enormous nuzzles, which is a huge project, and will cost billions. Now, to put things in perspective, once a dam is built, all what is basically needed is a few maintenance workers, so costs become low. Secondly, there is a fact that building a hydroelectric power source is terminating the local wildlife. Whatever done, destroying the surrounding landscapes specially for the dam well happen, whether because of building a whole new lake, or because of adding a large wall into an area where fish used to swim freely back and forth hydroelectric power certainl y takes a toll on the natural habitat. Fortunately engineers started to become a little more conscious of the damage, by building smaller dams, or by providing overflow areas so that fish do not stuck being. While these changes are floating to the surface slowly, at least they are being made. Finally, there is the element of social change that can happen because of a dam being built. By their nature, all sources of hydropower must limit the flow of water in order to make them build up pressure to attain maximum results. As the water is limited, towns and villages downstream can sometimes have their water source drained down to a trickle, particularly after multiple dams, waterwheels and simple use of water can dry riverbeds and render some towns without a water source. Overall, though, considering how much potential energy can be gained by hydroelectric power, the disadvantages of hydroelectric power are probably worth enduring, since they produce so little carbon dioxide, and provide an endless source of electrical power to the area. CONCLUSION In this report, I discussed in detail the Hydro power production trend from the past till now. I gave a brief definition of hydro energy and talked about it importance. In the second part, I explained the types of hydro energy that is available in KSA to use. These types are tidal and marine streams energy and moving pressurized steam in water desalination plants. I introduced the way of each process, and its main up and down sides of them. And finally, I compared Hydro energy with other resources of energy in terms of cost, environmental impact, simplicity and durability. I found out that it is in fact the cheapest way to produce electricity, also it has a simple and firm structure that can last for years with a little care.

Disregard for Plant Life in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Lost World :: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Lost World Essays

Disregard for Plant Life in The Lost World Throughout The Lost World, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle continually portrayed his characters both revering and yet mistreating the beautiful foliage around them. It was a rather strange combination of attitudes: people usually have treated the things they revere quite well, but Doyle did combine these attitudes in this writing. Â   Take the example as the group was traveling down the river. During the trip "our two professors watched every bird upon the wing, and every shrub upon the bank" (74). They even used an Assai palm as a landmark so they could find their way back to Maple White Land (75), but what did the plant life get for a thanks? "We drew them up [the canoes] and concealed them among the bushes [probably breaking quite a few branches], blazing a tree with our axes, so that we should find them again" (77). Â   This was typical of the treatment plant life received all throughout the book. It was simply thought of as a resource and not as a living entity. It was noted for its beauty, but scarred or killed the instant one felt the need. Â   There was a much better example of this sort of treatment. To get onto the impregnable Maple White Land plateau there was a lone beech tree, a native to England but not to South America, on top of a pinnacle reasonably close to the plateau. Once the pinnacle was climbed, they cut down that "fellow-countryman in a far off land" (98) to use it as a bridge into Maple White Land. Â   I cut gashes in the sides of the tree as would ensure that it would fall as we desired. . . . Finally I set to work in earnest upon the trunk, taking turn and turn with Lord John. In a little over an hour there was a loud crack, the tree swayed forward, and then crashed over, burying its branches among the bushes on the farther side. The severed trunk rolled to the very edge of our platform . . . and there was our bridge to the unknown. (99) Â   A lone beech tree, rare enough in South America, growing out of the top of a pinnacle was quite an unusual sight and a miracle of nature, but the instant it was deemed useful in some minor way, it was forced to give up its life for the sake of exploration, with no remorse for the request.

Psilocybin :: essays research papers

Psilocybin History Psilocybin first appeared in Native American habitats as long ago as 1000 b.c. but was seriously investigated until 1936. Westerners first discovered the drug and it was first synthesized by Dr. Albert Hoffman in 1958. It was first used as a tool in psychotherapy and the treatment of emotional disorders. Yes, psilocybin is illegal and its possession, use, and sale carry heavy prison sentences and fines and disciplinary consequences. It is illegal because it had high potential for abuse and does not have any legitimate medical use. Psilocybin is in Schedule I. Schedule I is categorized as the most dangerous with no medical utility. Effects The physical effects include nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, drowsiness, and lack of coordination. Some users experience such extremely unpleasant hallucinations that the fear of that experience remains with them for life. Relationships with others are affected by use of Psilocybin just like the use of other drugs. People can become so obsessed with using that they no longer feel the need to maintain relationships with others. They sacrifice too many things, including relationships. Medical Use There is no longer any medical use for the chemical. Psilocybin used to be used to treat various emotional disorders. It is no longer used for medical purposes because studies have shown that hallucinogens do more harm than good. There is no longer any legitimate medical use. Miscellaneous Facts The drug is most often sold in the mushrooms themselves and are known by names like "psychedelic mushrooms," "magic mushrooms," and "'shrooms." Psilocybin does not produce compulsive drug-seeking behavior and addiction to hallucinogens such as Psilocybin is rare. Mushrooms have been taken in religious rituals in indigenous cultures in Mexico and

The World Within :: essays research papers fc

The World Within   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What can be done with medicine today is truly astounding. In just a little over a century, we have gone from crude, anaesthetized surgery with non-sterilized instruments to the ability to delicately rebuild a hand or bypass a major artery with little risk to the patient and without even leaving a large scar. These great heights to which we have ascended are based upon a number of breakthroughs in sanitation and sterilization, antibiotics, and any number of other small discoveries that make possible today’s operating room – but by far the most powerful and groundbreaking advances have been made in the field of human imaging.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For over sixteen hundred years, the edicts and guidelines of the Catholic Church forbade the exploration of the human body. This sad state of affairs effectively limited our knowledge of the body to studies performed upon stolen cadavers and the rather inaccurate classical-era studies of Galen. Even when the ban upon anatomical study was lifted, by the end of the nineteenth century we had still progressed no further than an understanding of the basic anatomy as observed by dissection. Then, in the last five years of the nineteenth century, two important discoveries ushered in a new era in medicine: Roentgen’s discovery of x-rays in 1895 and Bequerel’s discovery of â€Å"Uranium rays† – nuclear radiation – in 1896. These forms of electromagnetic radiation, and their derivatives, form the basis of today’s most prevalent and important imaging technology – X-rays, Computed Tomography (CT), and nuclear medicine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At its most basic level, x-ray technology works by using a high-voltage current to generate a burst of x-rays (high-frequency electromagnetic radiation), which are then focused and directed through the human body. Certain materials, such as bone and cartilage, absorb more of the radiation than other tissues, which creates a â€Å"shadow† in the x-ray beam that is recorded on a special cassette containing photographic film, situated on the other side of the patient. Upon development of the film, the image of the bone structure (and some other tissue) can be studied to diagnose any apparent pathologies (Wolbarst 33). Today, this technology is wildly popular – almost everyone has had at least one x-ray during his life. However, the two-dimensional nature of an x-ray does create some limitations in its usefulness – but a further development of this technology has eliminated these.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Computerized Tomography, invented in 1963, is essentially a development of x-ray technology that allows a physician to observe highly detailed â€Å"slices† of the human body, and today is â€Å"highly reliable, non-invasive, painless, quick, and available on an urgent, 24 hour-a-day basis at most hospitals (Kelly 50).

Learning to read Malcolm X Compare and Frederick Douglass and Contrast Essay

Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X both were African Americans who struggled to be successful. Frederick was born a slave for life 1817 he didn’t go to school but wanted to have knowledge. He had a lot of obstacles in his path but the fact he wanted to learn to read and write keep him going though he wanted to give up sometimes. Frederick Douglass also wanted abolish slavery.Malcolm X was born in May 19, 1925 into a family. During his early years his family moved a number of times because of racism. At age 6 his father was murder mysteriously, their home was burned and four of his uncles were murder by white people. His family struggled economically and they were living off public welfare.His mother became ill and he was sent to foster home. At age 13 Malcolm X was charge with delinquency and dropped out of school at age 15. As a teenager later he began wearing flashy clothing and jumped into criminal acts, like doing drugs, gambling and burglary. Age twenty he was sentence to 1 0 years in prison for burglary. In there he began to transform his life.Frederick was against slavery while Malcolm was against racism. They both had a dream to fight for injustice for their people against racism and slavery. Both Frederick and Malcolm taught themselves how to read and write. Frederick Douglass was a slave and it was illegal for slave to have knowledge.He didn’t wanted to be a slave he wanted to be something better, wanted to have knowledge as he saw it as power. He educated himself using various strategies, like learning from the boys on the street by trading bread for knowledge. He would even go to the lumber yard and copied the letter that the carpenter would write on the timber the name of the place it was intended to go.Then later he would meet the boys challenging them that he can write better and they would respond saying â€Å"I don’t believe you† this way Frederick got a good lesson. Malcolm X also taught himself to read and write start ing with whatever knowledge he knew before dropping out of school. After being sentence to prison he began coping words from the dictionary everything on the page down to punctuationand began reading books on history, Philosophy and religion.Reading and writing kept Frederick and Malcolm alive through their struggles in becoming something better. Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X both realize how knowledge was great as they interest in reading and writing grew. Frederic knowledge made him a wiser and smarter man than being a slave like he was, he saw better things ahead with knowledge.the both He wanted to be something better than a slave not just for himself but also for his fellow slaves too. However reading and writing open up a new world for Malcolm X, it was better and different than when he was out on the streets with flashy cloths and committing crimes.Many thoughts had started appearing in his head. The thoughts ofbeing someone better as well, like Frederick, and to fight for his fellow black people too. They both used their knowledge to help fight justice for they fellow people in the exact situation as them that is slave and racism. Frederick Douglass used his own knowledge to write his own pass and escaped and became a public speaker.A brave speaker who spoke out against those who tolerated slavery. and he was able to help abolish slavery. Many doubted that he had been a slave as he was such an impressive public speaker. On the other hand reading changed the course of Malcolm X life forever with a better understanding of many things around such as, racisms around him.He had â€Å"little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, dumbness and blindness that were afflicting the black race† which meant he was able to understood the things that the black race was going through. With his knowledge he became a speaker as well. He became the most visible national spokesman for the black mulisms.anf fought freedom for other from the Christian religion, rac ism and violence against African American. However, one difference with both writers was that Malcolm X had his own organization while Frederick didn’t.Reading and learning about these two authors has inspire me with respect to my own goals by exposing to me and making me understand more how powerful knowledge really is. That knowledge is the key to many things. The more knowledge we gain through reading and writing the more we are able to understand thing in a different and positive way.I honestly never used to like reading but when I was then introduce to a book named â€Å"the walk series† as I was finishing the first series I then realize why Malcolm and Frederic had passion for reading writing I gained form reading and my interest began to grow as well.I can see that both writers had determination regardless of the circumstance/  obstacles in order to achieve what they had wanted. Not only had they had determination but they both also had love and interest for r eading and writing. This reminds me of myself being determine to complete all my homework and assignments on time regardless the obstacles I faced like having long travel hours and chores I had to get done with limited time as my mom wasn’t around at that moment.

Anonymous

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AHMEDABAD INDIA Research and Publications The Logistics Sector in India: Overview and Challenges Pankaj Chandra Nimit Jain W. P. No. 2007-03-07 March 2007 The main objective of the working paper series of the IIMA is to help faculty members, Research Staff and Doctoral Students to speedily share their research findings with professional colleagues, and to test out their research findings at the pre-publication stage INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AHMEDABAD-380 015 INDIA INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AHMEDABAD INDIA Research and Publications The Logistics Sector in India: Overview and ChallengesPankaj Chandra Nimit Jain Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380015 [email  protected] ernet. in, [email  protected] ernet. in Abstract The logistics industry in India is evolving rapidly and it is the interplay of infrastructure, technology and new types of service providers that will define whether the industry is able to help its customers reduce their logistics costs and provide effective services (which are also growing). Changing government policies on taxation and regulation of service providers are going to play an important role in this process.Coordination across various government agencies requires approval from multiple ministries and is a road block for multi modal transport in India. At the firm level, the logistics focus is moving towards reducing cycle times in order to add value to their customers. Consequently, better tools and strategies are being sought by firms in order to enhance their decision making. In this paper, we provide a perspective on these issues, outline some of the key challenges with the help of secondary information, and describe some interesting initiatives that some firms & industries are taking to compete through excellence in managing their logistics.IIMA INDIA Research and Publications 1 Introduction The Indian economy has been growing at an average rate of more than 8 per cent over the last four years (Srinivas, 2006) putting enormous demands on its productive infrastructure. Whether it is the physical infrastructure of road, ports, water, power etc. or the digital infrastructure of broadband networks, telecommunication etc. or the service infrastructure of logistics – all are being stretched to perform beyond their capabilities.Interestingly, this is leading to an emergence of innovative practices to allow business and public service to operate at a higher growth rate in an environment where the support systems are getting augmented concurrently. In this paper, we present the status of the evolving logistics sector in India, innovations therein through interesting business models and the challenges that it faces in years to come. Broadly speaking, the Indian logistics sector, as elsewhere, comprises the entire inbound and outbound segments of the manufacturing and service supply chains.Of late, the logistics infrastructure has received l ot of attention both from business and industry as well as policy makers. However, the role of managing this infrastructure (or the logistics management regimen) to effectively compete has been slightly under-emphasized. Inadequate logistics infrastructure has an effect of creating bottlenecks in the growth of an economy, the logistics management regimen has the capability of overcoming the disadvantages of the infrastructure in the short run while providing cutting edge competitiveness in the long term.It is here that exist several challenges as well as opportunities for the Indian economy. There are several models that seem to be emerging based on the critical needs of the Indian economy that can stand as viable models for other global economies as well. Chandra and Sastry (2004) have pointed towards two key areas that require attention in managing the logistics chains across the Indian business sectors – cost and reliable value add services. Logistics costs (i. e. inventor y holding, transportation, warehousing, packaging, losses and related administration costs) have been estimated at 13-14 per cent of Indian GDP which is higher than the 8 per cent of USA’s and lower than the 21 per cent of China’s GDP (Sanyal, 2006a). Service reliability of the logistics industry in emerging markets, like India, has been referred to as slow and requiring high engagement time of the customers, thereby, incurring high indirect variable costs (Dobberstein et. al, W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 3 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications 2005).However, the Indian logistics story is one with islands of excellence though there has been a general improvement on almost all parameters. It is this aspect that we explore further in this paper. The paper is organized as follows: the next section gives a brief introduction of some of the peculiarities of the Indian logistics sector. In section 3 we discuss the determinants of growth in this industry. In section 4 we prov ide some interesting initiatives that point towards a renewal of the sector. The challenges facing the sector are discussed in the last section. 2 Some Peculiarities of the Indian Supply ChainsThe Indian logistics sector has typically been driven by the objective of reducing transportation costs that were (and often continue to be) inordinately high due to regional concentration of manufacturing and geographically diversified distribution activities as well as inefficiencies in infrastructure and accompanying technology. Freight movement has slowly been shifting from rail to road with implications on quality of transfer, timeliness of delivery and consequently costs except for commodities which over long distances, predominantly, move through the extensive rail network. More on the infrastructure issues later.Figure 1 shows the relative value of transportation costs vis-a-vis other elements of the logistics costs in India. The transportation industry is fragmented and largely unorga nized – a large number of independent players with regional or national permits that carry freight, often with small fleet size of one or two single-axle trucks. This segment carries a large percent of the national load and almost all of the regional load. This fragmented segment comprises owners and employees with inadequate skills, perspectives or abilities to organize or manage their operations effectively.Low cost has been traditionally achieved by employing low level of technology, low wages (due to lower education levels), poor maintenance of equipment, overloading of the truck beyond capacity, and price competition amongst a large number of service providers in the industry. Often, one finds transportation cartels that regulate supply of trucks and transport costs. However, the long run average cost of transport operations across the entire supply chain may not turn out to be low. W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 4 IIMAINDIA Research and Publications Figure 1: Elements of Logistics Cost in India Trans por tation 40 War e hous ing, Pack aging & Los s e s 24 26 Inve ntor y Or de r Pr oce s s ing & Adim ins trative 0 5 10 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 percent contribution Source: Sanyal (2006a) Table 1 gives a breakup of the logistics cost across different sectors of the Indian industry and the changes therein over the last five years. It shows how the logistics spend is increasing, sometimes dramatically, across various industrial sectors. Steel, harmaceuticals, food & agro-business, and auto have also been the sectors that are growing most rapidly in the national economy – it is no surprise that their logistics costs have been increasing at a faster rate. A few observations are in order here. The low change in order processing & administrative costs in the cement sector could possibly be due to the use of call centers by various producers for order processing and dispatch planning. Steel and pharmaceutical sectors have seen maximum changes in compon ent costs.The distribution practice of pushing goods down the channel might be responsible for high increase in the inventory and warehousing costs in the pharmaceutical industry. Investments in new cold chains and losses might be the causes of high change in the warehousing, packaging & losses related costs. Warehousing, has also been typically dominated by small players with small capacities and poor deployment of handling, stacking and monitoring technologies. While it has had detrimental effect on almost all sectors, the food sector has been the one that has suffered the most due to low investment in cold chains and allied machinery.Erratic power outages have also meant low dependence on technology and a more manual operation. Another fact that has affected both the location as well cost of operating a W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 5 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications warehouse has been the â€Å"octroi tax1. † Firms have been locating warehouses outside city limits. Ta ble 1: Distribution of Logistics Costs across Some Sectors (2000-2005) Logistics Cost Components (in US $ mn) Transport ation Inventory holding Warehousing, packaging & loses Order processing & administrative Total Logistics cost SectorAuto Cement Consumer Durables FMCG Food Garment Pharmaceutical Steel Source: IAEIS 2000-01 2005-06 Avg. Change 2000-01 2005-06 Avg. Change 2000-01 2005-06 Avg. Change 2000-01 2005-06 Avg. Change 2000-01 2005-06 Avg. Change 2000-01 2005-06 Avg. Change 2000-01 2005-06 Avg. Change 2000-01 2005-06 Avg. Change 285. 0 406. 5 20. 3 50. 6 55. 4 4. 8 331. 9 398. 9 11. 2 201. 5 280. 7 13. 2 398. 7 524. 5 21. 0 337. 3 454. 4 19. 5 174. 0 310. 0 22. 7 438. 3 693. 6 42. 5 171. 0 243. 9 12. 2 30. 4 33. 3 2. 9 199. 1 239. 3 6. 7 120. 9 168. 4 7. 9 239. 3 314. 7 12. 6 202. 4 272. 11. 7 104. 4 186. 0 13. 6 263. 0 416. 1 25. 5 185. 3 264. 3 13. 2 32. 9 36. 0 3. 1 215. 7 259. 3 7. 3 131. 0 182. 5 8. 6 259. 2 340. 9 13. 6 219. 2 295. 3 12. 7 113. 1 201. 5 14. 7 284. 9 45 0. 8 27. 7 71. 3 101. 6 5. 1 12. 7 13. 8 1. 2 83. 0 99. 7 2. 8 50. 4 70. 2 3. 3 99. 7 131. 1 5. 2 84. 3 113. 6 4. 9 43. 5 77. 5 5. 7 109. 6 173. 4 10. 6 712. 6 1016. 4 50. 6 126. 5 138. 5 12. 0 829. 6 997. 3 27. 9 503. 8 701. 8 33. 0 996. 8 1311. 2 52. 4 843. 2 1135. 9 48. 8 434. 9 775. 0 56. 7 1095. 7 1734. 0 106. 4 They delay moving goods into retail network as late as possible.It has also led to the development of a unholy business-government nexus to avoid the tax and extract rents. Use of technology is quite limited – both IT and engineering equipments in order to increase productivity and service. An in-appropriate evaluation of the diverse benefits of technology has led to higher usage of manual labour across the logistics industry whether An entry tax on goods coming into a city. The tax is a major source of revenue for city municipal corporations. W. P. No. 2007-03-07 1 Page No. 6 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications it is in the distribution activities or within pla nts.Many firms try to compete through the factor advantage of low wages which have necessitated hiring low or no skill personnel thereby sacrificing productivity related gains in the long run. Understanding the linkage between inventory and transport planning is a key to reducing operational cost of distribution. Chandra and Sastry (2004) identify transport & dispatch planning as an area of concern in a survey of manufacturing firms in India. Ninety eight per cent of sample firms in that survey have a contract with trucking companies for making dispatches and only 11 per cent own their own fleet of trucks.While 36 per cent of these firms use third party logistics (3PL) service providers for making dispatches, about 30 per cent use 3PL service providers for procuring their material from their suppliers. Somehow, transport planning has remained a unglamorous area within Operations despite the fact that about 10 per cent of the cost of sales comes through physical distribution (Sanjeev i, 2003). Transport planning (e. g. , optimal dispatch quantities & frequency of dispatch, vehicle routing, loading pattern in the trucks etc. ) does not appear to have received the required attention.For example, in the same survey, only 21 per cent of sample firms report the use of some software for scheduling dispatches. It is worth understanding the structure of the Indian supply chains, in aggregate, to get a better appreciation of many of the issues raised earlier. In Figure 2 Chandra and Sastry (2004) present the structure of the supply chain of a sample of firms. It can be seen that about 4 per cent of firms have less than five suppliers, about 85 per cent of firms have less than five plants, about 14 per cent of firms have less than five regional distributors, and about 9 per cent of firms have less than five retailers.A similar statistics is obtained for other ranges of suppliers, plants, distributors, and retailers. What is worth noting is that 63 per cent of firms have m ore than 100 suppliers, about 39 per cent of firms have more than hundred distributors, and 77 per cent of firms have more than hundred retailers. In addition, about 17 per cent of firms claim to have more than 500 suppliers. The same for distributors and retailers is 22 and 54 per cent respectively. This is perhaps where difficulties in managing logistics in India lie – larger the number of suppliers or distributors, higher is the cost of coordination.W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 7 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications Figure 2 : Structure of the Supply Chain of Sample Firms 90 80 70 Percent of Firms 60 50 40 30 20 10 5000-10000 1000-2000 2000-5000 500-1000 100-500 50-100 10-15 15-25 25-50 0 5-10 0-5 more than 10000 Range Suppliers Plants Approved Retailers Regional Distributors Source: Chandra and Sastry (2004) When we look at the spatial distribution of both plants and suppliers, the above statement becomes even stronger. Of the sample firms that operate more han one plant , 48 per cent of these plants are located more than 100 kilometers away from each other, 33 per cent of these plants are located more than 500 kilometers away from each other and 18 per cent of these plants are located more than 1000 kilometers from each other. Similarly, on an average, only 4 per cent of suppliers are located within 5 kilometers of the manufacturing plant, about 13 per cent are located within 5-25 kilometers of the plant, 16 per cent are located within 25-100 kilometers of the plant and about 67 per cent of suppliers have facilities that are more than 100 kilometers away from the plants.Location policies of the past may have forced some firms to locate plants away from each other. However, this may be coming to haunt today as the cost of coordination increases and the ability to provide quick response to customer requirements might reduce. This problem gets exacerbated with suppliers. Manufacturers have to either develop suppliers separately for each location (ther eby increasing the number and affecting consistency in quality, price & delivery times) else material has to travel longer distances if there is a common supplier to all plants. W. P. No. 2007-03-07Page No. 8 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications The logistics challenge in such an environment is immense – build the infrastructure, manage the requirements of a changing structure of various sectoral supply chain, change industrial policies to facilitate efficient production and movement of goods and services, deploy effective managerial practices and technology to enhance the competitiveness through better management of logistics networks, and develop new models for new sectors especially in the service sectors as well as traditional areas like agri-business etc.It must be mentioned that the logistics industry in India is transforming itself very interestingly despite its peculiarities by developing innovative business models and by chipping away at the such structural and polic y based rigidities. In a later section, we discuss some of these innovative initiatives that are leading the renewal of the logistics industry in India. 3 The Changing Logistics Infrastructure With rising consumer demand and the resulting growth in global trade, the role of infrastructure support in terms of rails, roads, ports & warehouses hold the key to the success of the economy.In this section we provide a quick overview of the status of the logistics infrastructure in India and the current initiatives, both private and public, in that area. Goods are transported predominantly by road and rail in India. Whereas road transport is controlled by private players, rail transport is handled by the central government. With the second largest network in the world, road contributes to 65 per cent of the freight transport (Rastogi, 2006). Road is preferred because of its cost effectiveness and flexibility.Rail, on the other hand, is preferred because of containerization facility and ease in transporting ship-containers and wooden crates. Sea is another complementary mode of transport. Ninety five per cent of India’s foreign trade happens through sea (Deccan Herald, 2006). India has 12 major ports, six each on the West and East coasts and 185 minor ports. Table 2 maps the various modes on different performance indicators, clearly indicating the vitality and importance of road transport in Indian economy. There is also evidence of an, across the board, increase in freight traffic for all modes indicating an increased logistics activity.For instance, the per cent change in road, rail, air and sea cargo traffic has increased, between 2001 and 2005, from 5 to 14 per cent, 4 to 7. 5 per cent, 6 to 20 per cent and 3. 5 to 11 per cent respectively (CMIE Database, 2006). W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 9 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications Table 2: Comparison Chart for Various modes Rail 214760 10. 66 0. 11 Road 3487538* 5. 12* 3. 34 Sea 806 7. 9 12 Number (wagons, tr ucks, ships) Freight Capacity(mn ton) Route Length (mn km) /Number of major ports Freight Revenue (US $ bn) 7. 00 coal, steel, petroleum, primary metals 38. 64 automobile, electronic items, garments etc. 304 iron ore, coal, petroleum (and industrial and consumer products on the outbound export) Major Products Source: IAEIS, 2005-2006, Financial Express, 2006a *This figure is for 2002-03 1 US$ = Rs 44 In keeping with the increasing demand for road transportation, the National Highway Authority of Indian (NHAI) has been strengthening and widening national highways in multiple phases. As part of the National Highways Development Project, the work on the development of golden quadrilateral (connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata) and the North-South and East-West links were started in 1998.It will build 13000 km expressways that would connect the nation (Surabhi, 2006). NHAI is investing about $650mn towards the development of an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) which will make transport services on the highways (like reducing congestion, advance signaling, medical assistance, accident management, etc. ) efficient and automating many processes like toll collection etc. (Sanjai, 2007). Because of the growing opportunity and potential for high revenue, the Ministry of Railways has been taking measures to expand the rail connectivity and recapture the market share of freight business.By focusing on improving wagon utilization, the Railways have managed to reduce the freight cost from 61 paise2 per net tonne km (ntkm) in 2001 to 56 paise per ntkm in 2005 (Rastogi, 2006). At present, goods train run on same 2 100 paise = 1 Rupee W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 10 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications railway tracks as passenger trains at an average speed of around 25 kmph (Gill, 2006). With the proposed dedicated west and east freight corridors, the goods trains are expected to run at 100kmph. The West and East rail corridor of 1469-km and 1232-km will be bu ilt with an investment of $2. 0 bn and $2. 40 bn respectively and will be equipped with the latest centralized traffic control systems (Acharya, 2006a). Indian Railways has also decided to collaborate with bulk users of freight transport to build the rail network in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The first project on this line comprises nine public and private sector companies that are building a 82-km rail line between Haridarpur and Paradip at a cost of $ 120mn (Telegraph, 2006). Recently several steel companies have also shown interest in linking iron and coal mines in Orissa with a 98-km rail line (Business Standard, 2006).Multi-modal transport in India was a monopoly of the Container Corporation of India till 2005. With licenses being given to 13 new private players (Acharya, 2006b), rail trade should improve considerably. In order to encourage trade by small scale industries, Indian Railways has started a â€Å"road-railer†system where container vehicles are c apable of running both on highways hauled by trucks and on rail (Guha and Sinha, 2006). In 199899, the Konkan Railway (one of the railway zones in South-Western India) pioneered the ‘roll-on, roll-off' (‘RO-RO') concept between Mumbai (Kolad) and Goa (Verna).Privately owned trucks are loaded with their goods which are driven on to a rake of flat cars and are carried (trucks and their cargo) to the destination. In 2005-06, the ports handled 456. 20 million tonnes of cargo traffic. This is expected to increase to 700 million tonnes by 2011-12. In keeping pace with the growing demand, the government plans to increase port capacities to around 1 billion tonnes per annum in the next six years (Raja, 2006). Under the National Maritime Development Programme (NMDP), the government is encouraging public-private partnership to build and maintain ports.This scheme will cover 276 port related projects at an investment of $12. 40 bn (Raja, 2006). With rising congestion levels at majo r ports and with high average turnaround time, the government has decided to develop minor ports in seven states to ease the traffic of major ports (Financial Express, 20006b). Tables 3 the operational performance of various ports in India – while there is an improvement in performance, the pace is slow. The estimated cost of this development is expected to be around $350 mn. Further, private sector is likely to invest $ 7. 67 billion over the next six years.W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 11 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications Table 3: Average Turnaround Time At Ports (in Days) Port Chennai Cochin Haldia Jawaharlal Nehru Kandla Kolkata Marmugao Mumbai New Mangalore Paradip Tuticorin Vishakhapatnam Average Source: IAEIS 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 CAGR 6. 40 5. 80 5. 30 3. 70 4. 60 3. 80 (9. 90) 3. 23 3. 10 2. 37 2. 19 2. 22 2. 33 (6. 32) 5. 21 3. 96 4. 01 3. 02 2. 87 3. 00 (10. 45) 1. 72 2. 48 2. 34 2. 28 2. 04 1. 84 1. 36 6. 15 4. 72 6. 55 5. 94 5. 06 4. 62 (5. 56) 6. 59 5. 50 4. 71 4. 47 4. 29 4. 7 (8. 75) 4. 30 4. 25 2. 04 3. 86 4. 47 4. 35 0. 23 5. 60 5. 20 5. 47 5. 06 4. 10 4. 21 (5. 55) 3. 80 2. 89 2. 73 1. 90 2. 35 2. 96 (4. 87) 3. 89 4. 16 3. 99 3. 37 3. 42 3. 41 (2. 60) 6. 39 4. 10 4. 11 3. 59 2. 59 2. 66 (16. 08) 4. 75 3. 71 3. 51 3. 72 3. 33 3. 20 (7. 60) 4. 84 4. 16 3. 93 3. 59 3. 45 3. 38 (6. 92) Currently, fifteen private sector projects are operational at various major ports and four more projects are under implementation (Raja, 2006). One of them aims to build the deepest port in the world at an investment of $ 1bn (Financial Express, 2006c).This project is handled by a three-firm Chinese consortium with a Mumbai-based partner, Zoom Developers. Interestingly, firms like Ambuja Cement have been using barges for transport of clinkers from their factories to crushing and packaging plants all over the coast, thereby, reducing transport costs considerably. It can be seen that there is a fury of activity in enhancing the in frastructure capacities in the country. 4 Determinants of Logistics Growth in India The Indian logistics business is valued at US$ 14bn and has been growing at a CAGR of 7-8 per cent.As mentioned earlier, the logistics cost represents 13-14 per cent of the country’s GDP. The market is fragmented with thousands of players offering partial services in logistics; it is estimated that there are about 400 firms capable of providing some level of integrated service (Mahalaksmi, 2006). The economy is expected to grow around ten per cent over the next ten years and sectors like chemicals, petrochemicals (especially distribution), pharmaceuticals, metals and metal processing, FMCG, textile, retail and automobile are projected to grow the fastest.New business models are emerging as new firms, both domestic and foreign, enter the market. As a result of the ensuing competition, linkages with global supply chains and domestic market growth W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 12 IIMA INDIA Resea rch and Publications promise to change the face of logistics industry beyond recognition. In this section, we discuss how these are going to determine the growth of the sector. The scale of operations in manufacturing is changing and so are their markets and sourcing geographies.Growth in manufacturing in India has happened across clusters that are located in different parts of the country, e. g. , Ludhiana, NCR, Baddi and Dehradun in North, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Pune and Mumbai in West (along with Ankleshwar, Vapi, Aurangabad, and Kolhapur and most recently Kutch), and Coimbatore, Vishkahpatnam, Bangalore, Hosur, Chennai, Pudduchery and Sriperumbudur in the South. Assembly plants at these locations are being fed with raw materials and intermediate products from all over the country and abroad (as well as these locations).Moreover, distribution networks with emerging hubs in Indore and Nagpur (i. e. , Central India) supply all over the country and abroad. This is going to increase the n ature and extent of movement of goods and services across the country. This has been accompanied by the expansion of domestic production capacity (e. g. , ORPAT in Morbi has added capacity to produce 40,000 units of quartz clocks and time pieces at a single location) as well as a big MNC entry into the Indian manufacturing scene (e. g. NOKIA’s new factory at Sriperumbudur produces 1 million mobile phones per month). As the volume of production grows, so will the extent of movement of goods either to the ports for export or to the rest of the country. Some of the large players to enter (or expand significantly) the Indian market recently have been Reliance Retail, Big Bazaar Hypermart, Pantaloon and RPG in Retail; Nokia, LG, Samsung, Motorola, Sony, Blue Star in Consumer Electronics; Bajaj, Hero Honda, Maruti, Honda, Toyota, Audi,Volkswagen, Renault, Volvo in the Automotive sectors; Holcim in Cement; etc. It can be expected that their operations will drive the growth of logist ics industry. The liberalizing Indian economy is experiencing entry of large domestic and global firms in new businesses as well as enlargement of distribution network of many regional Indian firms. The announcement of large retail projects by Reliance and Bharti (in collaboration with Wal-Mart) will bring new technology, add additional warehouse capacity and will require fast and reliable movement of goods across the country.Reliance is thinking of establishing large warehouses in Thailand to take advantage of low cost sourcing from South-East Asia once the Free Trade Agreement with Thailand (as well as ASEAN) gets finalized. Similarly, regional food & grocery retail leaders like W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 13 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications Subhiksha who are present very extensively in the South Indian market are now entering the rest of the country with more than 600 new retail stores in 2007. Their logistics strategy and needs are transforming very significantly with this nationwide expansion.New retail chains are entering the non-metro towns and non-State capitals. It may be mentioned that the growth of the courier industry post-liberalization has helped change the parameters of service evaluation in the industry from cost alone to cost, time, and reliability. This sector has also seen a number alliances between regional and local players especially in the small package (less than 500 grams) market thereby creating networks of small players who are not only cost effective but also more flexible than the large national players.This segment of the industry has taken advantage of the large manpower and is gradually moving away from â€Å"Angadiyas† or manual inter-city couriers to a more organized network that shares transport infrastructure (and even consolidates sub-packages from various small couriers in a single large courier bag to be transported by air cargo or road transport rather than these sub-packages being carried by several manual couriers on the train; the courier firms are gaining on service and are sharing fixed costs).The entry of large third party logistics (3PL) carriers like Federal Express and DHL and the expansion of domestic networks of Indian firms like Gati and Shreyas Shipping is also transforming the nature of services and the business practices across the sector. Table 4 gives an idea of the investment plans announced by the various firms for the coming financial year and gives a sense of their increasing activity. Another trend driving growth in this sector has been the consolidation amongst the logistics player.Mergers & Acquisitions amongst Indian and MNC logistics firms is starting to increase the reach of MNC 3PLs in the domestic Table 4: Investment Plans of Major 3PL Service Providers Firms DHL TNT Gati *Shreyas Shipping and Logistics Investment Details/ Plans (2007-08) (in US $ mn) 260 115 200 350 Source: Baxi (2006), Sanjai (2006a) W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 14 IIMA INDIA Research an d Publications market while consolidating the business (e. g. , DHL acquired Blue Dart, TNT acquired Sppedage Express Cargo Service, Fedex bought over Pafex etc. ).Consolidation is expected to be beneficial to both the service providers as well as the consumers. Initially MNC 3PL firms were providing only custom clearance and freight forwarding facility to their international clients. With the logistics market growing we should see a shift in this trend. The complexity of managing the supply chain in the pre-consolidation era is illustrated through the following scenario at Nokia (Figure 3) . Logistics activity for Nokia’s India Hub was maintained by a large number of Figure 3: Typical Logistics Supply Chain of NokiaDHL, Panalpina Inbound logistics Nokia Hub in Sriperumbudur Gati, Blue Dart Domestic Outbound logistics UPS Warehouse in India Export Market International Outbound logistics DHL Source: Mishra et al. (2006 service providers. Coordination and handover was a problem at times. With DHL acquiring Blue Dart, it is now able to provide seamless end-to-end integrated supply chain solutions. Downstream distribution channels have also seen some consolidation.Manufacturing firms, particularly, in the FMCG sector have started to reduce the number of wholesalers (and at times, distributors) so as to increase the reach and consequently the returns to each wholesaler. This also induces them to invest in new productivity enhancing technology and effective managerial practices. Technology in the logistics chain is being upgraded bringing better visibility on customer off-takes (though an absence of cash registers and the accompanying regulatory discipline to avoid tax evasion stand in the way of automated data updation).Introduction of more efficient transport technology and mobile communication has the potential of changing the logistics practices in the industry. Increasing competition and the low penetration of IT also implies that the scope for change is immense and imminent. The agri-business sector’s supply chain, for example, has changed significantly with increasing investment in coldchains across the country. With this, fruits and vegetables are being transported long distances (often more than 1500 kms) and milk grid is able to pickup and deliver liquid W.P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 15 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications milk from and to remote areas more frequently. Here the role of cooperatives like AMUL has been exemplary both in increasing the size of the distribution network and also in reorganizing the supply network very efficiently along with enormous buildup of social capital – a pre-requisite for growth in emerging economies (Chandra and Tirupati, 2003). Low penetration of hand eld technologies for order processing and tracking, product tracking and material handling accessories, as well as IT for improved decision making can be seen as opportunities for growth. Mobile technologies also hold the potent ial for rapidly using information for real time decision making as well as for coordinating both the inbound and outbound logistics. Indian customers exhibit strong value and variety seeking behaviour hence developing capabilities in the process of product and service delivery will induce loyalty (i. e. , process loyalty).Government policies have been another driver of change in the logistics industry. The trend towards a higher road cargo traffic as compared to rail is going to require better logistics control and coordination. The golden quadrilateral road project and the east & west rail corridors are expected to change the reactiveness of Indian firms through shorter lead times as well as lower maintenance costs on the transport equipment. They also have the potential of reducing the procedural delays on highways by reducing the number of checks and related stoppages of vehicles.Its impact on perishable good will be most significant. Thirteen States and three UTs have already am ended the State laws allowing private sector participation in direct purchases of farm produce from farmers (Ahya, 2006) which is making procurement more efficient and is bringing better technology as well as products in the rural production and distribution network (e. g. , see ITC echoupal in the next section). Banks have developed venture capital funds for logistics players. Small Industries Development Bank of India or SIDBI, for instance, has invested $ 2. mn in the Mumbai based firm Direct Logistics (Baxi, 2006). The unbundling of the logistics supply chain (both the physical pickup, storage and movement of goods as well as allied services like invoicing, order management, freight forwarding, customs clearance, octroi tax management etc. ) will lead to business opportunities and add value to the customers. An interesting example is that of Reliance Connect Service Centres that have been established on Indian highways by Reliance industry along with petrol stations.The Connect Centres provide a place for truckers to relax (sometimes with overnight stay facilities), send information (including data) to parent firms on their location, completed transactions etc. , receive material/instructions from the firm, remit money to parent firm, W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 16 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications etc. It has become a one-stop shop for truckers and their companies to keep in touch. Similarly, once VAT is introduced, it will simplify the process of goods servicing and will lead to rationalizing of many operational decisions.The implication of the emergence of a strong service industry on logistics performance is not well understood. Perhaps, a new business segment will emerge that is technology driven and will help coordinate activities across business channels. For example, there is a need to integrate the flow of information, goods and services between a medical physician, a diagnostics center, hospitals & nursing homes, and retail medical outlets à ¢â‚¬â€œ all of which are un-coordinated independent entities at the moment.This could range from digital transmission of MRI scans from a diagnostics center to a computer to blood collection and delivery from physician’s various city centers to nursing homes/blood banks or directly to dispersed operation theatres. The role of a coordinating agency becomes, organizationally, valuable in such an environment. The need is to link physical logistics processes with communication technologies –building on the strengths of the IT and mobile communication industries. 5 The Renewal of the Sector: Some Innovative ExperiencesThere have been several instances of firms undertaking innovative re-design of their logistics systems or deployment of interesting business models to enhance the effectiveness of their networks in order to deliver value to their customers. Sometimes it was done to overcome an inherent disadvantage that may exist in the supply chain. In this section, we presen t a few such experiences both at the firm level and at the industry level, through brief caselets highlighting their innovative contribution. They also represent the renewal process that is transforming the logistics sector and the distribution strategy of firms.GATI3 Established at a time (in 1989) when firms in India hardly outsourced their logistics requirements, Gati has transformed itself from a cargo movement company to become one of the leading end-to-end logistics and supply chain solutions provider in India. Continuous innovation and high end technological investments to improve service 3 Source: www. gati. com, Sharma and Thakur (2006), Prowess (2006), Reddy (2007) W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 17 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications quality, speed and efficiency can be ascribed as the reasons behind their success.It is staring to connect with mass retail market in several cities through 1500 Customer Convenient Centres. It is also the first Indian company to operate in th e far-east market with its own subsidiary in Hong Kong. On the service front, there have been several firsts in India by Gati – a money back guarantee on cargo services, cash-on-delivery and a tollfree number for convenience of customers. Gati operates one of the largest road networks linking 594 districts out of a total of 602 districts in India at a turnover of $104mn in 2005-2006. It covers 3. 2 lakh4-km every day with a fleet size of 2000 trucks.Its automated shipment tracking ability has brought it closer to the customers – for example, the SMS based tracking system has allowed the customers to continuously get an update on the status of their consignment. Another feature also enables customers to get email based conformation of any delivery. Gati has also transformed the warehouse management practices in India with its modern system, WMS – a web based warehouse management system that provides both functionality and flexibility to customers in managing thei r warehouse operations. WMS enables Gati and its customers to track inventory status in real time.Along with its transportation related capabilities, this has allowed Gati to manage the entire outbound logistics (i. e. , warehousing, transport and dealer/retailer replenishment) of Blue Star for his home air-conditioning division. Order processing times and shipping errors have decreased and customer service levels have improved, as a consequence. Currently, Gati operates with 10 warehouses and plans to setup another 25 over the next three years at an investment of $100mn. It is designing these new warehouses with mechatronic systems that could lead to a paradigm shift in warehouse management in India.It has implemented CRM and ERP systems, using IT to full advantage delivering value to the customers. AMUL5 The Kaira District Milk Cooperative Union or better known as AMUL was established in 1946 in Anand in the western State of Gujarat with an aim to remove the intermediaries in the milk procurement and distribution process and thereby increase return to milk farmers. The milk farmers were mostly marginalized members of the society and most of 4 5 1 lakh = 100,000 www. amul. org; Chandra and Tirupati (2003) W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 18 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications hem barely poured a few litres of milk each day. They, however, depended on this for their livelihood and any money lost to the middleman or to uncertainty in the environment meant a threat to their existence. Thus was born AMUL (which means invaluable in Hindi)! The Story of AMUL is an extraordinary story of vision, effort and power of networks for the benefit of the poor. From being a net importer of milk in 1947 when India became independent, India has now emerged as the largest milk producer in the world. This remarkable story has been scripted by a network of cooperatives called AMUL.The AMUL network is coordinated by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (or GCMMF) which markets milk and milk products that are produced by 12 Milk Unions (each having several factories) one of which is AMUL at Anand. The Unions are spread in twelve districts of Gujarat. Each Union collects milk from farmers through cooperative Village Societies. (This structure is now replicated in almost all the States of India. ) In 2005-2006, GCMMF had a sales turnover of $860mn through milk and milk products (its Unions or plants produce 15 categories of milk products with several products in each category).The 12 Unions collect about 6. 3million litres of milk every day from 2. 5 million farmers through 11,962 Village Societies. (with an annual collection of 2. 28 bn litres in 20052006). Each village society may have 100 to 1000 member farmers who pour milk twice a day. Twice daily, about 500 trucks collect milk from these Village Societies and bring them to either of the five chilling centers or the processing plants (or Unions). The Unions process the liquid milk – produ ce milk of various types for consumption, convert some to powder as inventory and use both powder and liquid milk for producing milk products.These products are distributed to consumers through a channel comprising 4000 stockists (or distributors) and 5,00,000 retailers. It is not difficult to imagine the complexity of coordinating such a network of perishable products with an explicit social objective, in addition to a commercial one. The network realized the need for a unique model to deliver value to customers and through that serve the key objective of setting up of the cooperative – making a producer out of a poor consumer and helping her get better returns. W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 19 IIMA INDIA Research and PublicationsBriefly, we will illustrate the unique mechanisms used by this network to coordinate the complex supply chain through the intervention of a number of third party service providers (distributors, retailers, logistics service providers and IT support groups). The network practices frequent delivery and works with low inventory levels in the chain, supported by extensive information network and IT kiosks at the milk pickup locations that provide a variety of services. Payment to farmers for RM procurement is instantaneous (well, almost! ) – during the same or in the next pouring shift by the Village Society staff.Milk is carried in cans by trucks (twice daily) or in chilling trucks, once in a day, to the plants. The routes of the trucks are well established and the arrival timetables at each Society well known and rarely is there any delay. This helps provide visibility to every member of the chain and improves the return on investment in the channel. The network operates with a zero stock out through improved availability of products and quick delivery. Disciplined planning to reduce variability at each stage helps in maintaining timeliness in the channel.GCMMF coordinates the production plan between the twelve Unions and ensures matching of geographic markets with supplies. TQM and Hoshin Kanri are the key tools used to plan and implement daily production and change programmes – these have facilitated a six-sigma performance throughout the network and has led to a doubling of sales revenue in the last ten years. Most interestingly, AMUL has the largest market share in every product category that it competes in – its competitors are both large MNCs and large & small Indian firms.AMUL illustrates how good managerial practices can help bridge the gap between profits for the supplier and low cost, highy quality products for consumers – all through exceptional coordination of logistics operations across an extensive network. AMUL operates with one umbrella brand for products from all its member Unions – a testimony to strong quality and cost coordination across all Unions and Village Societies. In addition, its has been singularly responsible for pulling out several million o f its members from poverty, ill health and illiteracy through its business model (called Anand Pattern) and social programmes.For details on this case study see Chandra and Tirupati (2003). W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 20 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications The DABBAWALLAHs of MUMBAI6 The â€Å"dabbawallah’s† or the ‘lunch box delivery people’ of Mumbai pickup and deliver lunch boxes from homes or restaurants and deliver it to the customer’s office – all within a specified time frame – and then deliver the empty box back to the place of pickup. It is an example of how processes can play an important role in coordinating logistics of an important service industry in India.The Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Charity Trust of Mumbai was established in 1891 to provide pick-up and delivery of lunch for Britishers working in Mumbai. Since then it has become the leading lunch delivery cooperative in the city. It picks-up and delivers 200,000 lunch boxes in a standard container every day and returns the same to the place of pickup. The firm has an annual turnover of about $12 mn and employs 5000 people for pickup and delivery – almost all of them are uneducated. However, there are less than 10 boxes mis-delivered or un-picked in a month!We discuss, briefly, the processes that help make this logistics network errorproof and deliver such an astonishing performance. The operations of the group has attracted global attention and won them many awards. They represent a growing group of service providers that exist as an element of the logistics network, provide niche service and generate value in return for the customer. The Trust which is organized as a cooperative is operationally organized in hierarchical teams – pick-up teams, consolidation teams, delivery teams (and then the reverse logistics for empty boxes with reversing of the functions for the teams).Typically, each dabba or the lunch box passes through more t han four pair of hands and may be transported up to 60 km each way. Pickup is done between 7. 30am-9. 00am, delivery between 12. 00 and 1. 00pm and return between 2. 00-5. 00pm. These represent tight time-windows where a team of 20-25 members (and supervised by a team leader who also fills in as a pickup person in case of any absence) pick-up lunch boxes from homes – about 30 per pick-ups person. The boxes are carried in a specialized fixture on a bicycle to the nearest train station where the boxes are consolidated by destination.A consolidation team performs this task and carries the boxes (which may have been picked by members of different teams but need to travel to the same destination geography) into the train. Often tiffin or lunch boxes are un-loaded at intermediate train stations – re-consolidated with boxes coming from other locations (i. e, cross-docked) and carried on a third train to its 6 Lecture of Mr Megde, President of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppl iers Charity Trust at IIM Ahmedabad, 2003; Chandra (2004) W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 21 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications estination station. At the destination station, the lunch boxes coming from various origins/cross-docking destinations, are once again segregated by the building where the delivery is made. Finally, a delivery team picks up their boxes, i. e. , boxes that they will deliver to specific owners in specific buildings, carry them on their bicycles and deliver them in the office of the owner of the box. Later in the afternoon, the same person picksup the empty box and pursues the reverse logistics and the box is ultimately delivered at its point of origin – either a home or a restaurant.With this as the complexity, what may be plausible reasons for such low errors? Contextually, the group members see their role as very important – they are responsible for delivering food to their customers – socially, it enhances their commitment to their tas k and establishes a critical customer-service provider link. Operationally, the handoff is done successfully through simplification or breaking down of tasks, codification and repetition. The designed process is simple and easy to understand for each operator.More important, each operator has a limited yet definite role. This role is one of pickup, consolidation & transfer and delivery (and the similarly for reverse logistics). Each pickup operator does not pickup more than 25-30 boxes as that is the number of addresses etc. that he can remember accurately which helps in avoiding mistakes. The lunch box is enclosed in a standard container which carries a unique code for the destination station, the building where the box is to be delivered and the floor number in that building where the office of the customer is located.Each operator recognizes a limited set of codes that are relevant to him (and does not have to learn the entire coding scheme). And finally, repetition of the task ( i. e. , same pickup location, same place for cross docking, same delivery location etc. ) helps in making the task foolproof. Of course, what helps is the linear geography of Mumbai, the punctuality of trains, relatively stable demand and strong inter-dependence between operators. It is an example of how manual logistics systems can be organized to effectively deliver value to the customer.ITC e-choupal7 The e-choupal project was launched by ITC (a large diversified company with strong FMCG presence) in 2000 in the central Indian State of Madhya Pradesh (MP) to reorganize the distribution of soyabean in rural markets. Today e-choupal reaches out to Source: www. echoupal. com, Talk by the eChoupal CEO S Sivakumar at IIMA, 2003, Mitra (2004), MBS CS (2006) W. P. No. 2007-03-07 7 Page No. 22 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications more than 3. 5 million farmers in 31,000 villages through 5,200 internet enabled kiosks and now covers a variety of agri-business products.The e-choupal was a u nique venture which aimed to eliminate the middlemen from the agricultural commodity supply chain and reduce information asymmetry for the farmers. It is an extremely profitable rural distribution system with its unique design features. The e-choupal was started with an objective to re-organize the soybean trade which was operating in an inefficient manner. Farmers used to sell their produce through government mandated markets called â€Å"mandis. † Mandi trading was conducted by commission agents who bought and sold the produce.As the produce was sold through auction by these traders, farmers would find out the market price only upon arrival at a mandi. If the buyers had purchased enough for the day at this mandi then either the auction prices fell dramatically or the farmers had to wait for the next day’s auction. While all this may have been happening at one mandi, the farmers were unaware of the auction status at other mandis where there could have been shortages. The decision regarding the quality of the produce was also dependent on the trader.Similarly, distortions in price and quality effected agro-business trading firms like ITC who were, by government law, required to purchase from the mandi and through these traders and not directly from farmers. Under the e-choupal model, kiosks were setup in villages providing farmers information in local language on agricultural inputs, best practices in farming, market price realized at various mandi auctions, weather details etc. Nevertheless, it enabled ITC to purchase products directly from farmers (through a change in the law), enhancing quality of products and significant cost reduction (e. . , it saved $5. 40 per tonne on soyabean). The e-choupal now has just two service providers in its procurement chain – the sanchalak, a person between the kiosks and the farmers who inspects the produce and based on his assessment of the quality, the price of the commodity is decided (he gets 0. 5 p er cent commission on the volume sold) and samyojak, a person who manages the ITC warehouses (he gets 1 per cent commission on transactions). Samyojaks also handle much of the logistics at the procurement hub like storage management and transportation from the hub to processing factories.ITC was able to overcome the hurdles posed by infrastructure inadequacy in villages. It uses solar energy to power the batteries of the computer kiosks and has shifted from W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 23 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications dialup connection to satellite based technology (VSAT). Farmers are now able to make informed decisions as they understand the market better leading to higher productivity. Various seed and fertilizer companies are now able to reach wider market with lesser transaction cost.The e-choupal has provided a market for more than 64 companies (to name a few, Monsanto and Nagarjuna Fertilizers). This innovative direct procurement channel is a win-win mechanism for all the involved parties. ITC is now building a rural retail infrastructure on the foundation of the e-choupal network thereby changing the rural distribution landscape. Transforming the Auto-Component Replacement Supply Chain With changing government policies and consumer preferences, the distribution supply chain of Indian companies has been effected significantly. This poses new challenges for various channel partners.We illustrate this transformation process through the lens of the auto component replacement market supply chain and discuss its implications. We surveyed 21 manufacturers and 22 channel members (distributors, wholesalers and retailers) spread equally in Northern and Western clusters of auto component Industry in India for this purpose. The auto component industry produced parts worth $6. 7 billion (2004-05) with 57 per cent of the demand coming from the replacement market (ACMA, 2005). Low entry barriers have led to a large number of players in the replacement market.T here are about 400 firms in the organized sector and more than 5000 in the unorganized sector. Another feature of this sub-sector is the long duration of ownership of vehicles in India which leads to high requirement of parts. It is also found, anecdotally, that willingness to pay for parts decreases with the length of ownership. This has led to an intense segmentation of the parts market by price. Pre–1991, this industry was still in a nascent stage. It was characterized by few manufacturers and low demand. Consequently, the distribution network was flat (Figure 4a).Availability of spare parts was a key issue with long delivery lead-times and manufacturers sought large order sizes. This also led to the growth of un-branded parts or parts branded by regional producers (often supplied by small firms) in the replacement market. The product was sold chiefly on personal relationship with the buyer; quality, brand and price were not the selling propositions. Maruti Udyog Limited h ad created a W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 24 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications network of suppliers of quality parts for its vehicles.Hero Honda had done the same for its motorcycles. Post-1991, the liberalization of the automotive industry led to an entry of many foreign auto players. Because of the impending automobile industry boom and high margins for distributors, the demand for spare auto-parts was expected to grow. The distribution channel was modified with the entry of two more channel members, i. e. , wholesalers and semi-wholesalers (Figure 4b). The latter were smaller versions of the former and locally oriented. The period 1994-2007 saw a major transformation of the distribution structure (Figure 4c).OEMs started to operate in the replacement market through a parallel supply chain selling parts through their service stations. Additionally, the entry of large number of channel members caused semi-wholesalers to move out of the supply chain – they either moved up the chain to become wholesalers or moved down to become retailers. To strengthen the coordination of this extended supply chain and to buffer against the differential tax structure across states, companies started to operate with Carry and Forwarding Agents (C&FA). Transportation related activities are carried out by all the members of the supply chain.Manufacturers use services of 3PL for transferring their stock to C&FA and distributor locations. But thereafter, the transportation activity is solely managed by channel members themselves. An analysis of the available IT infrastructure and its usage pattern for all the channel members in our sample survey indicates that there is a high deviation in the usage of IT in the replacement market supply chain. Eighty seven per cent of the sampled firms use an ERP package – most of which is customized and developed locally. The main impediment in the use of a branded packages is the high cost of purchase and mplementation. These pac kages are used to generate sales report, order from suppliers, account for the financial transactions and track the level of inventory at plant and C&FA. Manufacturers order the stock from suppliers mostly through emails. In order to track inventory in the channel, firms also made IT investments both at C&FA and within the firm. Linking the C&FA to the company website enabled firms to check stock status at the C&FA and reduce the order processing and customer response times. Larger firms are also providing a similar setup to their distributors.Since the C&FA is mostly owned W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 25 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications and managed by the firms, manufacturers are also able to check the inventory status, dispatching status and customer records. Distributors have invested primarily in computers for keeping track of the inventory and updating accounting details. On the other hand, rest of the channel partners (wholesalers and retailers) don’t even own comp uters. Parts are ordered primarily on the phone. Interestingly, most distributors were found to be following periodic review olicy while the rest of the channel members were following continuous review policy because of their low sales volume. Post 2007, with the implementation of a uniform tax structure across all states, there will be some changes in the way firms operate. The C&FA will, perhaps, become redundant as most manufacturers will prefer to deal directly with distributors. The concept of an exclusive distributor is expected to vanish. It is expected that with the increase in variety of components, distributors might become wholesalers and will stock multiple brands for the same product.Two parallel distribution channels are expected to be in operation – the OEM chain and the non-OEM chain (Figure 4d). OEM network will primarily handle the passenger car replacement parts and the non-OEM distribution network will sell parts for Light Commercial Vehicles, Heavy Commer cial Vehicles, 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers as the car customer is becoming more brand conscious even while replacing parts which comes along with superior service. Further, we perceive that the more advanced automobiles, Free Trade Agreement with other Asian countries and VAT are going to change the way the replacement market operates.There will be a rationalization of this market in terms of number of firms competing thereby leading to an improvement in quality, delivery time and availability of parts. The size of the firms is expected to increase with an emergence of large national players (in addition to OEMs). This may reduce the number of producers exclusively focusing on the local markets. W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 26 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications Figure 4a Manufacturer Figure 4b Manufacturer Distributors Distributors Retailers Institutional Buyers SemiWholesalers Wholesalers Institutional Buyers RetailersGovernment Agencies & Transport Companies Garage-station Govern ment Agencies & Transport Companies Garage-station Vehicle owners Vehicle owners Figure 4c Manufacturer Figure 4d Manufacturer Institutional buyers C&FA OEMs Institutional buyers OEMs Wholesalers Distributors Authorized Service Stations Authorized Service Stations SemiWholesalers Retailers Wholesalers Vehicle Owners Vehicle Owners Retailers Government Agencies & Transport Companies Garage-station Government Agencies & Transport Companies Garage-station Vehicle owners Vehicle owners W. P. No. 2007-03-07 Page No. 27 IIMA INDIA Research and Publications Challenges Ahead Several challenges remain before the Indian logistics sector and its future success will depend on the ability of the industry to overcome these hurdles. Some of these impediments are at the firm level while others are at the policy level. At the policy level, the issues of infrastructure and integration of the nation’s logistics network remain the two most critical areas that require attention. The growth of inf rastructure, since 1991, has been quite extensive (covering a wide geographical area) as well as strategic – linking the key industrial, consumption and transshipment centers.However, some imminent weaknesses need be addressed. Movement beyond the golden quadrilateral is required to bring goods from upcountry production sources to main shipment centers. The rate of growth of expressway has to increase. Poor road conditions increase the vehicle turnover, pushing the operating cost a