Thursday, September 5, 2019

Apple Computer Corporate and Business Strategy

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APPLE 00 CASE ANALYSIS


STUDENT NUMBER 8


Executive Summary


Apple began with the mission to "change the world through technology." More specifically, the company sought out to make the personal computer an accessible and affordable device to the mass market. The proliferation of new software and hardware technology drastically changed the landscape of the industry and Apple adopted a differentiation strategy. Software and hardware integration allowed Apple products to be more "versatile," reliable, and superior in performance.


Rapidly changing industry dynamics dictated Apple's competitive strategy. In essence, the intended strategy did not develop into the "realized" strategy. In fact, empirical evidence shows us that realized strategy tends to be about 10-0 percent of intended strategy. What really determines strategy is the "patterns of decisions that emerge from individual managers adapting to changing external circumstances and the ways in which the intended strategy was interpreted." . What is Apple's mission and strategy today? Apple's mission is to deliver a highly innovative and superior solution to a customer's personal computing needs. Apple's present day competitive strategy is a return to differentiation. Key elements to this strategy are an emphasis on design, service, branding through advertising, and quality. Drivers needed to attain these objectives are through the firm's unique marketing abilities, engineering skills, creativity, and R&D.


Apple's long range objectives are to obviously regain market share leadership and return the company to profitability and maximize shareholder return. Can Apple do so by continuing a differentiating strategy? Yes. To do so, every aspect of the way Apple conducts business and relates to its customers must be involved and driven by strategy. Apple's distinctive core competencies lie within their ability to provide quality products through their vertically integrated inbound activities. Not only are Apple's finished goods differentiated by quality, they are innovative and cutting edge. Innovation is driven by consistent investment in R&D.


Although the company has excelled in delivery and order processing, it still has yet to prove its operational efficiency. Therein lies Apple's principal weakness. In the past, Apple has failed to reconcile the added cost of differentiation with operational efficiencies in production and distribution. Apple has also shown competencies in building brand reputation and generating buzz for its products. Their marketing campaigns have been successful and remain a value added activity. Financially, the company remains liquid with substantial cash reserves and is not highly leveraged in debt.


Apple's differentiation strategy is uniquely aligned with the changing dynamics of the industry. Firstly, Apple owns the only viable alternative to a "Wintel" machine. All other major computer manufacturers are only slightly differentiated because they are forced to conform to the "Wintel" standards of an Intel chip and Microsoft operating system. They are limited to differentiating themselves based on accessibility, service, and marketing.


Apple has successfully differentiated itself as the only viable alternative to the PC standard. The two major forces that have affected market share loss are the misconception that Apple computers are incompatible with available software for Wintel machines and buying one will result in losses in functionality. This can be overcome with aggressive marketing campaigns in which Apple has demonstrated value added competencies. The second major factor contributing to Apple loss in market share is the unmatched price erosion from the PC market. Apple has failed to narrow the gap because of its operational inefficiencies. If Apple can narrow this price gap and overcome the negative software perception, it will undoubtedly regain market share.


Internal Analysis


Mission, Long-Range Objectives, Current Strategy, and Performance


Between the years of 180 and 001, Apple slid along a turbulent slope of declining market share and profit erosion where it lost its leadership position and now lags as a market follower with a mere % total market share. (See Exhibit 1.) Apple's inability to defend its market share and leadership status can be directly attributed to one general, yet prevailing driver. Throughout this fleeting tenure, Apple lacked a clear mission and competitive strategy that drove the value creating activities of the firm.


Between these years, Apple morphed itself between alternating cost leadership and premium priced differentiation strategies. Four CEO's took the helm between this time and each brought with them a compelling strategy for the company. Strategy links people and cross functional departments to an overall goal, or vision. However, without a consistent vision and an accompanying roadmap, a company looses sight on how it is creating value. When a company fails to understand its competencies and value creating processes, it looses the continual ability to innovate, improve, and learn.


Apple began with the mission to "change the world through technology." More specifically, the company sought out to make the personal computer an accessible and affordable device to the mass market. The proliferation of new software and hardware technology drastically changed the landscape of the industry and Apple evolved into a leader in desktop publishing. The crucial point not to be overlooked is that the company's mission did not guide Apple into this differentiating strategy. Rapidly changing industry dynamics dictated Apple's competitive strategy. In essence, the intended strategy did not develop into the "realized" strategy. In fact, empirical evidence shows us that realized strategy tends to be about 10-0 percent of intended strategy. What really determines strategy is the "patterns of decisions that emerge from individual managers adapting to changing external circumstances and the ways in which the intended strategy was interpreted." If Apple had decided to be consistent with its vision, it wouldn't have introduced "Lisa," an incredibly expensive machine that limited its mass market appeal. Instead, strategy would have focused on cost leadership and the processes that optimized operational efficiencies in order to compete with the new entrants, such as IBM, who had cost advantages.


The adopted differentiation strategy explains Apple's future decisions to vertically and horizontally integrate. Software and hardware integration allowed Apple products to be more "versatile," reliable, and superior in performance. However, superior and integrated products meant higher manufacturing costs. Products were priced at a premium to their PC counterparts. It is no surprise that when the company, in response to higher costs decided to change its strategy by attempting to become a cost leader overnight, failed in this endeavor. The executive team overlooked the firm's value creating activities and picked a strategy that was inherently incompatible with the company core competencies.


I argue that during this time, management should have realized that the company's true value was bringing to the market a highly differentiated product based on form, features, design, and quality. Although this has taken some time, I believe Apple has finally arrived at this conclusion and its strategy today incorporates the company's core competencies and value added benefits.


What is Apple's mission and strategy today? Rather than focusing on delivering a mass market product, which inevitably translates into a low cost commodity-like product, Apple's mission is to deliver a highly innovative and superior solution to a customer's personal computing needs. Is this product designed for everyone? No. Because the mission statement focuses on superiority and innovativeness, it inherently segments the broad market into consumers whose computing needs demand a solution that is powerful, cutting edge, reliable AND who are willing to pay a slight premium for such value added features and functionality.


With such a mission in mind, it logically follows that in order to provide a superior computing solution, Apple's corporate strategy must not limit itself in terms of scope. A complete computing solution expands industry and market boundaries. We are not just talking about a personal computer anymore. Apple's corporate strategy is to compete in the markets that encompass all the devices, peripherals, and software to make a computing solution or "experience" complete. This corporate strategy implies vertical integration. As one Microsoft executive so eloquently put "this isn't the post-PC era; it's the PC-plus era."


Apple's present day competitive strategy is a return to differentiation. Key elements to this strategy are an emphasis on design, service, branding through advertising, and quality. Drivers needed to attain these objectives are through the firm's unique marketing abilities, engineering skills, creativity, and R&D.


For Apple, differentiation encompasses tangible and intangible dimensions. Tangible differentiation is concerned with the physical characteristics and performance of a product, in this case, a personal computer. Physical characteristics include form, features, performance quality, durability, reliability, and style. Products that are enhancements or complements to the personal computer are also vital in pursuing this differentiation strategy. The scope, functionality, and ease of integration of these complements affect the "utility" consumers will gain from an Apple PC. Apple adopted a competitive strategy that vertically integrates these complementary products that include the iPod, digital cameras, PDA's, and wireless devices.


In an effort to gain market share, Apple is pursuing several growth strategies. Obvious to this pursuit is international market expansion into the explosive Asian and European markets. Domestically, Apple is focusing on three variables concerning its growth strategy. Firstly, it must convert nonusers before they choose a competitor. Secondly, they need to enter new markets such as server based and mainframe computers. Thirdly, they are trying to win their competitors' customer base through aggressive advertising and promotion. Apple can also attain domestic growth though convincing users to use their products on more occasions as in entertainment, research, and communication. Apple can likewise convince customers to use more of each product on each occasion and use their products in new ways. Who would have thought that a computer can be used to watch movies, play songs, talk over the internet using voice over IP technology, and much more?


Apple's long range objectives are to obviously regain market share leadership and return the company to profitability and maximize shareholder return. Can Apple do so by continuing a differentiating strategy? Yes. To do so, every aspect of the way Apple conducts business and relates to its customers must be involved and driven by strategy. These goals are indeed attainable and the company actually made significant headway once it committed and aligned the entire organization to the differentiation strategy.


I would argue that the introduction of the iMac, with its sleek design, innovative features such as "Fire Wire" ports, "Blue Tooth" technology for peripherals, and its Herculean advertising budget, wasn't Jobs at his best, but differentiation at its best. During this time, PCs were standardized, lacked unique form and features, and their open and interoperable system allowed for performance deviations.


It is also important to note that adopting a differentiation strategy by no means insinuates that a company is not concerned with cost. Although differentiation adds costs by way of higher quality inputs, skilled labor, higher advertising, and increased vertical integration, these costs need to be continually assessed an evaluated so that they can be improved. Apple made significant progress in this arena. They streamlined operations to the point where they now have the highest inventory turnover in the industry. This feat has significant implications. Dell's core competency is in their direct model that leverages JIT inventory. They pioneered this method and had a first mover advantage for quite some time, yet Apple has been able to surpass their arch rival in terms of inventory turnover. In 1 and 000, Apple's operating and profit margins exceeded industry averages. (See Exhibit .) Although 001 was a dismal year, this was more due to industry wide demand contraction as industry sales declined by over 5%. (See Exhibit .) If Apple had maintained its year growth rate, their operating and profit margins would have been competitive with Dell, Compaq, and HP.


Functional Analysis


Using Porter's value chain analysis, we are able to identify differentiation potential for Apple. Porter's method divides a firm's endeavors into 5 primary activities encompassing inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. (See Exhibit 4.) Inbound logistics involve relationships with suppliers and include all the activities required to receive, store, and disseminate inputs. Inputs for an Apple personal computer include an operating system, chassis, memory, CPU, etc. Apple practices horizontal and vertical integration of computer components to a greater extend than any other PC manufacturer. As a result, the firm's ability to influence quality control of inputs and intermediate processes such as logistics is greater. Apple can specifically define its specifications for product form and features and can logistically control where and when they are manufactured. A higher degree of quality of components and materials is therefore perceived by the end user as a differentiating factor and to the company, a key value added activity.


Supporting activities such as technology development also plays a major role in developing value added activities in the inbound logistic environment. Apple allocates the most amount of capital to R&D when benchmarked against competitors. This allows Apple to produce highly innovate products and technologies. With an R&D rate of 8% in 001 (See Exhibit 10), Apple has introduced several successful products such as the iBook and iPod, technologies like Fire Wire and Blue Tooth, and a superior operating system.


Historically, Apple hasn't been on the forefront of integrating efficiencies into the manufacturing process. Operation activities refer to all the activities required to transform inputs into outputs. In general, operation activities refer to production or assembly. It is here where assembly line innovations, inventory management, and supply chain management drive down costs and act as value added activities. However, as mentioned, Apple has made significant improvements to its operations, streamlining them to a great extent. Restructuring efforts such as closing facilities, outsourcing specific manufacturing tasks, and centralizing core functions improved Apple's operating efficiency. From 17 to 18, operating margins improved by 0% and continued to approve in 1 and 000. (See Exhibit .)


Human resource management plays a significant supporting role in operations. By downsizing, more is expected from workers and productivity has to increase per employee. Training and hiring skilled employees that can immediately contribute their skills to the production process is in itself a value added activity. Jobs also recruited an executive team that instituted and managed these drastic operational improvements.


Outbound logistics refer to the activities required to collect, store, and distribute the output. Apple specifically excels in these activities. Their efficient web site order processing allows them to have the highest inventory turnover rate in the industry. The firm infrastructure supports these fast response capabilities through investments in MIS and knowledge sharing systems. Apple also eliminated thousands of resource draining distribution outlets and complemented their direct selling efforts with wholly owned retail boutiques. Additionally, Apple expanded their presence in national chains. These value added outbound activities translated into reduced distribution time and increased delivery reliability to the end user.


Marketing and sales activities act to build brand reputation and stimulate sales. In 18, Apple demonstrated its competencies in marketing with the unveiling of the iMac. Backed by a $100 million campaign, clever strategic advertising helped sell 78,000 iMacs in just six weeks and 6 million in .5 years. This massive advertising campaign generated positive buzz for Apple and helped reinvigorate its image.


This campaigned strategically targeted young and contemporary market segments and helped position Apple as a differentiated product with plug and play multimedia peripherals that seamlessly complemented the PC. This advertised differentiation was by no means an accident. The iMac sold 6 million units at premium prices compared to its PC counterparts because the marketing campaign succeeded in communicating the differentiation advantages of the iMac over the cheaper PCs.


Service represents the last primary company activity in Porter's value chain analysis. Service activities include all the activities required to keep the product or service working effectively for the buyer after it is sold and delivered. Here, Apple demonstrated value by creating nation wide support groups. Leveraging the ubiquitous attributes inherent to the Internet, Apple was able to establish regional and local software and technical support groups for its installed customer base. Strategically, Apple forged alliances with over 400 software developers to provide more than 100 new software applications for Apple. The company's ability to continually add functionality to its PC line via new software availability is a key value driving activity. What good is it from the customer's perspective to have a quality product that is limited to a few functions?


To summarize, Apple's distinctive core competencies lie within their ability to provide quality products through their vertically integrated inbound activities. Not only are Apple's finished goods differentiated by quality, they are innovative and cutting edge. Innovation is driven by consistent investment in R&D. Although the company has excelled in delivery and order processing, it still has yet to prove its operational efficiency. Therein lies Apple's principal weakness. In the past, Apple has failed to reconcile the added cost of differentiation with operational efficiencies in production and distribution. Apple has also shown competencies in building brand reputation and generating buzz for its products. Their marketing campaigns have been successful and remain a value added activity. Financially, the company remains liquid with substantial cash reserves and is not highly leveraged in debt. (See Exhibit 10)


Opportunities exist for Apple to emerge as a leader in providing a complete system that seamlessly integrates peripherals as these complements become more prevalent and adopted. By horizontally integrating, Apple can maintain stringent conformity standards and ensure all its peripheral offerings are compatible with its PC offering. Please see Exhibit 5 for a more a complete SWOT analysis.


Competitive Environment Analysis


Product Life Cycle


Domestically, the PC market seems to be in its maturity stage characterized by a slowdown in sales growth as a result of mass acceptance. (See Exhibit 6) Following its worst year ever in 001, unit growth is expected to exceed revenue growth, indicative of falling prices and profit erosion, both characteristics of a mature market. The industry consists of well entrenched competitors whose basic drive is to gain or maintain market share.


A commonly used statistic to measure market structure is the Herfindahl index. The Herfindahl index equals the sum of the squared market shares of all the firms in the market. If perfect or monopolistic competition exists, then index should be below .. Anything above . reflects either an oligopoly any anything above .6 usually points to a monopoly. The Herfindahl index for the PC industry in 001 is ..05 or 5%. The top market share leaders dominate 60% of the world wide industry. (See Exhibit 7) Firms with a market share of .01 or lower are too small to significantly affect the final calculation.


Porter Five Forces Analysis


Unfortunately, the PC industry is presently experiencing a contraction period after achieving impressive expansion during the last two decades. Demand has been stagnating with a 5% drop in sales for 001. Accordingly, each individual firm has been experiencing larger than average excess capacity. These two factors have elicited intensified competition among current incumbents.


Factors such as the ability for consumers to switch from one competitor to the other with relative ease, the absence of any cooperative pricing, and the ability of incumbents to adjust prices quickly all attribute to intense internal rivalry within this industry. And as a result, these factors have exerted a downward pressure on prices. In fact, prices are expected decline by 6% going forward to 005. This is consistent with the internal rival theory, where increases in rivalry will result in further price competition and erosion. Aside from Apple, there is little differentiation among sellers and cost differences among sellers are relatively low. (See Exhibit 8)


Threat of entry into this industry is relatively low for this industry. With an industry consisting of over 100 incumbents ranging from powerful brand names such as Dell and Compaq to no name cloners, it is reasonable to conclude that the industry has reached a certain saturation point. This accompanied by several structural barriers to entry make it highly unfeasible for new companies to enter the market unless significant consolidation or exit occurs within the incumbent group. Economies of scale, learning curve advantages, access to distribution channels, and relationship specific investments into direct sales channels all make the threat of entry highly unlikely. (See Exhibit 8)


Currently, substitutes are becoming more of a realized threat to the industry as they become closer in functionality to the PC. With the ability of PDAs, WebTV, and SmartPhones to handle email, word processing, communication, and other ancillary functions, the demand for a bulky home desktop or laptop computer is being flanked. One could argue that these some of these devices are complements to the PC an one should pursue a differentiation strategy that incorporates these devices into a product offering such as Apple's strategy. Nevertheless, as computer technology continues to evolve and bandwidth increases, a PDA may soon be able to duplicate most of the functions inherent to the PC. (See Exhibit 8)


Supplier power is relatively high in this industry. Two major components are a computer's operating system and CPU. These two components are supplied by their respective industries that are more consolidated than the PC industry. Intel and AMD own over 80% of the CPU market and Microsoft owns 0% of the operating system market. There are few substitutes for these input devices. Firms make relationship specific investments that creating extensive switching costs if a change were to be made in the choice of operating system or CPU chip. Although these firms pose little to no threat of forward integration, they can charge PC manufacturers premiums due to their market dominance. (See Exhibit 8)


Buyer power is relatively low to medium in the PC industry. Because firms make relationship specific investments by choosing to adopt a OS and CPU chip, they are forced to maintain long lasting relationships with their suppliers. The PC industry is more fragmented than the OS and CPU industries and PC manufacturers pose little threat in their ability to backward integrate. Apple has already accomplished this feat with its own proprietary OS. Because price elasticity is high for the PC industry, and increase in price will adversely affect sales and profit for PC manufacturers. This exerts downward pressure on component prices.


The key success factors associated with this industry can be generalized into rapid technological innovation. Technological innovation has consistently stimulated the demand for more powerful products in the areas of performance (computing speed), reliability, and data storage. The proliferation of the Internet has also been a major factor affecting PC adoption rates. Likewise, a steady and continual flow of complementary products that enhance the "computing experience" also has positively affected the industry's success. PC companies must keep up with the pace of technological innovation to remain competitively viable. Systems must be able to comply with new and innovative complementary products and performance must match what component suppliers such as Intel are providing.


With that said, is Apple's competitive strategy aligned with the industry's dynamics? I would argue that Apple's differentiation strategy is uniquely aligned with the changing dynamics of the industry. The following industry characteristics serve as supporting premises to this argument. Firstly, Apple owns the only viable alternative to a "Wintel" machine. All other major computer manufacturers are only slightly differentiated because they are forced to conform to the "Wintel" standards of an Intel chip and Microsoft operating system. They are limited to differentiating themselves based on accessibility, service, and marketing. Differentiation has been realized by the way the industry evolved and Apple is positioned as the only alternative to the PC.


If differentiation results in a highly inferior yet differentiated product, then this strategy is doomed to fail. However, Apple has developed a superior product because it controls a large degree of input components, peripherals, and the operating system. The result is a differentiated product that outperforms PC competitors on speed, design, style, ease of use, and peripheral integration. Additionally, Apple is not subjected to the same degree of supplier power as PCs. It has the advantage of picking and choosing which technological innovations to pursue based on what will perform best on their system whereas PC's are forced to deal with Windows and the associated software incompatibilities that may arise with new releases.


Long term, PCs are subjected to increased competition from small brands that use alternate, yet inferior components, allowing these manufacturers to offer comparable products at discounted prices. Companies like eMachines and other small brands are undercutting costs by adopting alternative components from lesser well know brands such as AMD versus Intel. You can't clone an Apple. Therefore Apple is not directly subjected to the same threats as PC manufacturers are.


A major weakness in Apple's differentiation strategy is in its operating costs. As PC prices fall, Apple must remain somewhat competitive by narrowing the gap in production costs. This provides a continuous challenge for Apple. How high of a premium can Apple justify for their differentiation strategy? In times of economic contraction, large discrepancies between the selling prices of a PC and an Apple can result in a loss of market share for the company.


An additional weakness to Apple's differentiation strategy is that by adopting its own operating system, the company limits itself to the availability of software. With a significantly dwarfed customer base, software developers are more inclined to save costs by not developing Mac compatible versions. This remains a critical competitive issue that needs to be addressed.


Critical Issues & Recommendations For Action


The major issue facing Apple executives is how to return the company to profitability and regain market share. Although the entire industry contracted in 001, sales for Apple declined by % while Dell's sales increased and Compaq, HP, and IBM revenues were reduced by 1%, 7%, and % respectively. Apple lost strength in every market segment including its core niche markets and the company still lacked mainstream consumer awareness and adoption. Consumers weren't buying into the premium price tag associated with Apple's differentiation strategy and a major hurdle existed in overcoming the widely accepted perception that Apple computers were incompatible with major software vendors. Supplementing these issues are Apple's operating costs. Apple failed to initiate cost containment counter measures during the industry wide contraction period. In fact operating cost increased during 001 even though sales decreased by 0%.


Going forward, should Apple appeal to the mass market or entrench during economic uncertainty and focus on their niche market strongholds? Can Apple compete on cost with its PC counterparts or will they always be regarded as the "BMW" of personal computing?


My recommendations for action will be based on an analysis utilizing the Balanced Scorecard approach developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton. Central to this approach is vision and strategy. This approach will attempt to complement financial measures with operational measures on customer satisfaction, internal processes, and the company's innovation and improvement activities. These measures are the drivers of future financial performance.


Apple's corporate mission or vision is to deliver a highly innovative and superior solution to a customer's personal computing needs. This vision is strategically accomplished by differentiating Apple from its competitors on the basis of quality, design, performance, and peripheral integration, hence the term "Digital Hub." With this vision and strategy in mind, we now will examine the four elements to the scorecard approach customer perception, internal business perspective, innovation perspective, and financial perspective. (See Exhibit )


How do customers see Apple on the basis of quality, performance, service, and cost? Apple's customer base is unparalleled in loyalty and satisfaction. Customers view Apple as the only integrated alternative to the chaotic interoperable PC alternative. When paired head to head with a PC, Apple fairs very well, much better than what its current market share demonstrates. Therefore actions need to be taken to change the market's perception. The objective here is to communicate to the various market segments what Apple's current customers feel about their computing "experience." Apple needs to overcome the myth that its products are severally limited on the software side. To do this, Apple needs to leverage its value added marketing competency and initiate a testimonial like campaign that stresses the quality, performance, and functionality of Apple products, in essence, its differentiating features. Measures such as new user adoption rates need to be continually monitored so that Apple can see if their marketing efforts are succeeding.


Internally, how will Apple be able sustain its ability to change and improve? Strategically, Apple needs to continue to be on the forefront of innovation. This can be accomplished through continual R&D expenditures. New products generate buzz and free publicity and Apple's core competency rests in its ability to introduce new and exciting ways to enhance its products' functionality. Internally, the entire company from top to down must be linked with the driving strategy of delivering an enhanced computing experience. Emphasis on differentiating features such as quality, performance, and innovation should drive all processes.


What business processes must Apple excel at? Crucial to achieve its mission, Apple must excel in operational efficiencies. This is directly related to costs and Apple's premium price tag is undoubtedly the most significant hindrance to widespread adoption. Apple needs to maintain its core competencies in inbound and outbound logistics, but its greatest area of improvement is in its operations.


To succeed financially, Apple has to return equity back to its shareholders. Overcoming negative customer perceptions through marketing, building upon Apple's rich tradition of product innovation, and improving operational efficiency will drive improved financial performance. Costs will be lowered and net margins will then be buffered.


In summation, Apple has successfully differentiated itself as the only viable alternative to the PC standard. The two major forces that have affected market share loss are the misconception that Apple computers are incompatible with available software for Wintel machines and buying one will result in losses in functionality. This can be overcome with aggressive marketing campaigns in which Apple has demonstrated value added competencies. The second major factor contributing to Apple loss in market share is the unmatched price erosion from the PC market. Apple has failed to narrow the gap because of its operational inefficiencies. If Apple can narrow this price gap and overcome the negative software perception, it will undoubtedly regain market share.


Exhibit PC Industry Ratio Analysis


Exhibit PC Industry Sales & Profit


Exhibit-4 Porter's Value Chain


Exhibit 5 Industry SWOT Analysis


APPLE SWOT ANALYSIS


Strengths


• Product innovation


• Vertical integration higher perceived quality.


• Superior OS


• Segment dominance in multimedia and education markets.


• Horizontal integration PC complements such as the iPod, iBook, etc.


• Ease of use, technical elegance.


• Diversified sales channels stores + website.


• Increased ISV support


• Lowest inventory and cash conversion cycles


• Improved operational efficiency.


• Low debt levels.


• Cash reserves.


Weaknesses


• Historical higher manufacturing costs, highly uncompetitive operating margins.


• Declining market share.


• Non-interoperable, "closed" system.


• Premium pricing, higher production costs.


• Lack of available new and existing software compatibility.


• Poor stock performance.


• Short term strategic management.


• High executive turnover.


Opportunities


• Increased distribution channels national chains, Apple Stores, Web site.


• Outsourced production.


• Improved OS to compete with next generation Windows OS.


• Seamless integration of PC complements into one complete "system."


• Mac on Intel chip, "Star Trek."


• International sales.


• Market expansion into peripherals for PC's.


APPLE SWOT ANALYSIS (CONTINUED)


Threats


• Microsoft slashes OS costs, forcing PC prices to plunge.


• Increased price erosion of "Wintel components" such as CPUs.


• Hostile takeover.


• ISV no longer supporting Mac platform.


• Proliferation of "me too" PC peripheral devices.


• PC industry contraction.


• Economic recession.


• Alternative OS to Windows and Mac.


• End to Microsoft Office software compatibility agreement.


• Substitutes PDA's, WebTV


• Increased PC industry consolidation


• Joint marketing efforts by PC industry players.


DELL SWAT ANALYSIS


Strengths


• Pioneered direct selling model, first mover and learning curve advantages.


• Economies of Scale Efficient use of assets in PC industry as prescribed by ROA.


• Low overhead JIT 6 day inventory turnover.


• Profit margin leader within PC industry.


• Operating cost leader.


• Strong brand equity not highly dependant on marketing.


• Market share dominance


• Continued growth while industry contracted


Weaknesses


• Lack of product innovation lowest allocation of R&D funds in industry


• Inherent to the direct selling model is that it is easily replicated.


• Narrow product offering scope no peripherals, servers, mainframes, etc.


• Higher than average debt leverage - related to ROA.


• High COGS = low gross margins.


• Web Site integrity sales highly dependant on web site


Opportunities


• Marketing value added differentiation customer customization & direct sales.


• Line extensions growing server market


• Brand extensions monitors, printers, peripherals, etc.


• International sales


• Increased supplier competition = lower COGS.


Threats


• Price erosion


• Continued growth of "white boxes."


• Vertical integration by Microsoft or Intel.


• Substitutes PDA's, WebTV


• International Competition


• Retail exclusion


COMPAQ SWOT ANALYSIS


Strengths


• Strong brand equity.


• Market share leader.


• Extensive product line.


Weaknesses


• Longest cash conversion cycles.


• Longest inventory turnover.


• High overhead low operating and profit margins.


• Slow to incorporate direct selling model.


• Lack of product innovation tight R&D budget.


• Poor ROE


• Heavy debt load


• Declining market share.


Opportunities


• Less price erosion within high end server market where foothold is present.


• Direct selling website


• Acquisition or merger


• International sales


Threats


• Continued industry price erosion


• Continued growth of "white boxes" cutting market share


• Vertical integration by Microsoft or Intel.


• Substitutes PDA's, WebTV


• International Competition


HP SWAT ANALYSIS


Strengths


• Brand leader in printer and imaging markets complements to PC industry.


• Ability to leverage IT services and printer markets to boost profit margins.


• Product innovation pipeline largest R&D budget among top 4.


• Increasing market share.


Weaknesses


• Poor stock performance shareholder skepticism on firm's ability to generate profit.


• Lowest operating margins among PC manufacturers.


• Highly diversified, undefined core competence.


Opportunities


• Printer, Imaging, & IT services market.


• Direct selling website


• Acquisition or merger


• International sales


• Outsource production.


Threats


• Continued industry price erosion


• Continued growth of "white boxes" cutting market share


• Vertical integration by Microsoft or Intel.


• Substitutes PDA's, WebTV


• International Competition


IBM SWAT ANALYSIS


Strengths


• Highest operating and profit margins, extremely efficient.


• Procurement lowest COGS.


• Largest computer company by revenue economies of scale


• Diversified products and markets hardware and software.


• Horizontally and vertically integrated.


• Mainframe market leader


• Corporate market dominance bundled services


Weaknesses


• Heavy debt load.


• Inferior OS and CPU performance.


• Declining market share.


Opportunities


• Direct selling website


• Large cash reserves make acquisition possible.


• International sales


• Outsource production.


Threats


• Continued industry price erosion


• Continued growth of "white boxes" cutting market share


• Vertical integration by Microsoft or Intel.


• Substitutes PDA's, WebTV


• International Competition


• Compaq entering mainframe market.


Exhibit 7 Herfindahl Index PC Industry


Exhibit 8 Porter's Five Forces Analysis-Personal Computer Industry


Factors Affecting Rivalry Among Existing Competitors


Characterization


(Current) Future Trend


Degree of seller concentration? HIGH HIGH


Rate of industry growth? LOW LOW


Significant cost differences among firms? LOW LOW


Excess capacity? LOW LOW


Cost structure of firms sensitivity of costs to capacity utilization? HIGH HIGH


Degree of product differentiation among sellers? LOW LOW


Brand loyalty to existing sellers? MED MED


Buyers' costs of switching from one competitor to another? LOW LOW


Are prices and terms of sales transactions observable? YES YES


Can firms adjust prices quickly? YES YES


Large and/or infrequent sales orders? NA NA


Use of "facilitating practices" (price leadership, advance announcement of price changes)? NA NA


History of cooperative pricing? NO NO


Strength of exit barriers? MED MED


Factors Affecting The Threat Of Entry


Characterization


(Current) Future Trend


Significant economies of scale? HIGH HIGH


Importance of reputation or established brand loyalties in purchase decisions? MED MED


Entrants' access to distribution channels? LOW LOW


Entrants' access to raw materials? HIGH HIGH


Entrants' access to technology/know-how? MED MED


Entrants' access to favorable locations? LOW LOW


Experience based advantages of incumbents? HIGH HIGH


"Network externalities" demand side advantages to incumbents from large installed base? HIGH HIGH


Government protection of incumbents? LOW LOW


Perceptions of entrants about expected retaliation of incumbents/reputations of incumbents for "toughness"? NA NA


Factors Affecting Or Reflecting Pressure From Substitute Products And Support From Complements Characterization


(Current) Future Trend


Availability of close substitutes? MED HIGH


Price-value characteristics of substitutes? LOW MED


Price elasticity of industry demand? HIGH HIGH


Availability of close complements? HIGH HIGH


Price-value characteristics of complements? HIGH HIGH


Factors Affecting Or Reflecting Power Of Input Suppliers


Characterization


(Current) Future Trend


Is supplier industry more concentrated than industry it sells to? YES YES


Do firms in industry purchase relatively small volumes relative to other customers of supplier? Is typical firm's purchase volume small relative to sales of typical supplier? NO NO


Few substitutes for suppliers' input? NO YES


Do firms in industry make relationship-specific investments to support transactions with specific suppliers? YES YES


Do suppliers pose credible threat of forward integration into the product market? NO NO


Are suppliers able to price discriminate among prospective customers according to ability/willingness to pay for input? YES YES


Factors Affecting Or Reflecting Power Of Buyers


Characterization


(Current) Future Trend


Is buyers' industry more concentrated than industry it purchases from? NO NO


Do buyers purchase in large volumes? Does a buyer's purchase volume represent large fraction of typical seller's sales revenue? YES YES


Can buyers find substitutes for industry's product? NO NO


Do firms in industry make relationship specific investments to support transactions with specific buyers? YES YES


Is price elasticity of demand of buyer's product high or low? HIGH HIGH


Do buyers pose threat of backward integration? NO NO


Does product represent significant fraction of cost in buyer's business? NO NO


Are prices in the market negotiated between buyers and sellers on each individual transaction or do sellers "post" a "take it or leave it price?" POST POST


Exhibit Balanced Scorecard Approach


Exhibit 10 Apple Financial Ratios


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Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Materials Management

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MATERIALS MANAGEMENT


Materials Management has always been an area of scrutiny for organizations. This has become a central focal point as trends from the supply chain arena have indicated that substantial operating cash can be freed with leaner and more efficient handling of inventory.


As organizations examine the state of their inventory, they often find that visibility across locations and warehouses are inadequate, stock levels are inconsistent, demand is uncertain, and communication between stocking locations or warehouses may be minimal or non-existent. Among other things, the lack of an integrated interaction between peripheral systems and materials managers leads to unnecessary purchasing and overstocking.


The concepts of "materials management," "physical distribution management," and "logistics management" are the primary materials organizational tools-tools which have been used successfully in the past and will be used increasingly in the future to achieve closer coordination and control of a firms various materials activities.


In general materials management is concerned with bringing materials from outside of an organization to the point of production and moving in processes inventory. It deals with moving material inputs from suppliers into the organization and within the organization. The materials management concept advocates the assignment of all major activities, which contribute to materials' cost to a single materials management department. This includes the primary responsibilities which are generally found in the purchasing department, plus all other major procurement responsibilities, including inventory management, traffic, receiving, warehousing, surplus and salvage, and frequently production planning and control. Some companies also include customer service, scheduling, shipping, materials handling, and physical distribution in their definition of materials management.


It's clear that top management and materials management personnel focus their attention sharply on material costs and there is no doubt that reliable long term supply of materials is an increasingly important materials.


Physical Distribution Management is related to marketing in a manner similar to the way materials management is related to production. Advocates of the physical distribution organization traditionally refer to it as "the other half of marketing." This view divides marketing into two parts (1) conventional marketing (market research, product development, sales promotion, advertising, and selling) and () physical distribution. To people holding this view, physical distribution consists of the following minimum functions


· Sales order processing, Traffic and transportation, Production control, Inventory control, Materials handling, & Sales planning


Physical distribution can also include additional functions such as customer service and technical service.


Many of these materials function are plainly the same functions claimed by materials management. For the most part, however, the functions are concerned with different materials and are performed at different points in time in the materials system (cycle). For example, the inventories controlled by physical distribution management are finished goods inventories. The warehouses controlled by physical distribution are primarily finished goods warehouses, field warehouses, or distribution centres; those controlled by materials management are the raw materials and production stores warehouses. On the other hand, traffic and production control frequently constitute points of contention between physical distribution management advocates and materials management advocates. In the case of both of these functions, each organizational group can lay legitimate claim to them. The optimum location for traffic and production control will vary from one company to another, depending on specific operating and organisational factors within each firm.


Logistics management is a combination of materials management and physical distribution management. On the basis of the preceding discussions of the latter two concepts, it is clear that a number of similarities exist between them. Not only are the activities involved in both concepts a part of the same overall materials system, many of the skills required to perform the respective operating activates are also similar. The same skills required to perform the respective operating activities are also similar. The same skills and knowledge required to control production inventories are also those used to control finished goods used in traffic, materials planning, and materials handling are identical skills. Although physical distribution is the final stage of the marketing process, the training and orientation of physical distribution personnel is much more akin to that of the materials management personnel. These factors have combined to produce the logistics management concept.


Historically, these similarities and relationships were first recognized by military officers, and the organizational concept of logistics was initially developed in the armed forces. In industry today, logistics management includes all of the functions of both materials management and physical distribution management. In the broadest sense, logistics management views a firm as a single operating system; it seeks to minimize total costs associated with the acquisition and handling of materials from the inception of materials requirements to the final delivery of finished products to their users.


I. What is Logistics?


Logistics is the management of the storage and movement of goods and information. Good logistics cuts costs, speeds work, and improves customer service.


Logistics involves the co-ordinated management of material and information flows throughout the organisation. Supply chain management deals with the same issues throughout the chain from sources to customers. Its objective is to simplify the supply chain to control total cost, improve total quality, maximise customer service, and increase profit. Logistics is a complex discipline getting the right balance between ways of buying, moving and storing goods involves juggling a lot of balls at once. But getting it right is extraordinarily rewarding. Immediately, good practice can take a lot of non-value-added waste out of a system. Perhaps more importantly, it will add value to activities it will make the firm more competitive.


People have different names for these activities when they are managed together. Supply chain management, logistics and materials management are terms widely (and interchangeably) used. People mean different things when they discuss logistics they often concentrate on transport, and limit themselves to systems, which move goods from factory gate to customer and supply chain concentrate on transport, storage, information flows, and commercial relationships.


a. Logistics and supply chain management


Supply chain management is about getting a smooth and efficient flow from raw material to finished goods in customers hands. It is a concept which is increasingly replacing traditional fragmented management approaches to buying, storing and moving goods.


Traditionally, the management of material flows has centred around stocks of product on trains and boats and trucks; in warehouses and stores and factory-floor queues. Managing those stocks meant buying enough goods far enough in advance to ensure that long, steady production runs were seldom jeopardised by shortages of components. Tougher competition has brought shorter product life cycles and made that approach increasingly expensive. Replacing these inventory-driven systems are service-driven systems. This type of system, pulled by customer demand rather than pushed by a supply system, is long familiar in retailing and over the last decade has become a necessity in many manufacturing sectors.


b. Where logistics fits in businesses?


Before managing supply chain its better to know


· What it's needed/wanted from the business?


· What the customers want from the firm?


· How well the competitors meet customer needs?


The place of the logistics discipline in business depends on the answer to these questions. For some companies - largely those which assemble physical goods in volume and ship them to customers - there is an argument that managing the business is indistinguishable from managing its logistics. Procurement, transport, manufacturing, sales and customer service can all benefit from an integrated logistics function, leaving just marketing, personnel, finance and research as separate functions. In other firms, the role of time and place is less critical. Most service companies, and many low-volume manufacturing businesses would pay less attention to logistics skills.


c. What is the supply chain?


Traditionally, companies have dealt with moving and storing goods in a disparate way, and under a number of different managers. In manufacturing, transport from supplier to plant was handled by suppliers themselves or by purchasing departments. Transport and storage within the plant was handled by the stores department (in the stores) and by manufacturing operations (within the plant). Transport from plant to customer was handled by transport or distribution departments; buying was handled by purchasing; sales forecasts by marketing and communicated to manufacturing and procurement in a generally one-way information flow.


This approach splits functional departments into watertight compartments when, as every manager knows, business isnt like that. Particularly in this area, where the essence of supply chain management is managing flows across departments, sites and - often - companies. So a high degree of management integration is needed.


Logistics deals with geography, time and value. Many of its concerns are with things in places and transport between the places. In this view logistics deals with everything from raw materials through their movement into and between various stores and processes to the customer. It looks at material flows within sites as much as between sites.


Materials Management Physical Distribution Management


Procurement Activities1. Materials specifications. Value analysis. Supply market research4. Negotiation5. Buying6. Quality assurance7. Buying transportation inbound Inventory DecisionsRaw materialsSubassembliesManufactured partsPacking materials


Receiving


Transportation


Storage


Goodsin-process inventory Finished goods inventory


Materials


Handling


Production


Scheduling


&


Control


Transportation


Logistics Management


Figure-1


Systems management concepts imposed in the flow of materials and related activities in a firm's materials system.


II. Types of materials


There are different ways of classifying materials. The following is an example of the categories of classification of materials.


1. Production Items


a. Raw materials


b. Manufactured and fabricated parts


c. Component parts


d. Finished goods


. Capital Items


a. Installation items


b. Accessory equipments


. Consumable Items


a. Maintenance


b. Repair


c. Operating supplies


4. Industrial Services


Production Items are those materials that are used as an input for the production of the final product. These materials or items become part of the physical make-up of final product. It includes


Raw materials they are the basic materials that actually become part of the physical make up to the final product. They are natural or near natural resources. Natural such as minerals, iron ore, forest products, stone, etc. Near natural such as grains, cotton, and dairy products.


III. Objectives of materials management


The objective of materials management include


1. Customer Service aims at the satisfaction of the customer needs and wants through customers relations and by making materials available


a. Material Management attempts to create and maintain favourable relations with its customers (users of materials) by providing the right quantity, at the right quality and at the right price.


b. Material management should aim at making materials available to the users when they need them in order to avoid the risk of stock out and interruption of operation and production.


· Availability of materials = Satisfied need


Total Need


. Economic Operations Materials consumes the largest proportion of expenditures of the organization and is a fertile ground for reducing costs and increasing profit.


. Assure timely delivery of goods and services to meet company requirements. Provide high-quality products that meet all specifications.


4. Offer cost-effectiveness that will assure a firm's position in its markets, including obtaining the best overall value for each purchasing birr/dollar expended.


5. Continuously search for new products, equipment, and services to improve the quality of product offered to customers.


6. Cultivate mutually beneficial long-term relationships/partnerships with suppliers.


7. Adhere to the highest ethical standards in all business dealings. Comply with all company policies and procedures. Conduct negotiations ethically and without attempts to influence through personal gifts or entertainment


8. Keep all dealings confidential.


. Keep company's informed of changes in the economy or other conditions that may effect purchasing decisions


IV. Functions of Materials Management


The functions of materials management are a series of activities that are related and help the functioning of the management of materials. They include


a. Forecasting materials demand


Forecasting demand for materials is an estimate of the level of demand for materials for some period in the future. If there will not be an accurate forecasting for a level of demand for materials, organizations may end-up in having too much materials or too few materials. Therefore managers should


· Recognize the increased importance of forecasting in both manufacturing and service giving organizations.


· Know how to go about implementing forecasting at all levels in the organization.Understand how to use the various forecasting methods to decide when to add manufacturing capacity and where to locate retail service outlets for maximum sales


Types of forecasting


· Qualitative Techniques


o Non-quantitative forecasting techniques based on expert opinions and intuition. Typically used when there are no data available.


· Time Series Analysis


o Analysing data by time periods to determine if trends or patterns occur.


· Causal Relationship Forecasting


o Relating demand to an underlying factor other than time.


Comparing the Costs and Benefits of Forecasting


Components of Demand


· Average Demand for the Period, Trends, Seasonal Influence, Cyclical Elements, & Random Variation


i. Time Series Analysis


· Simple Moving Average


o Average over a given number of time periods that is updated


o By replacing the data in the oldest period with that in the most recent period.


· Weighted Moving Average


o Simple moving average where weights are assigned to each time period in the average. The sum of all of the weights must equal one.


· Exponential Smoothing


o Times series forecasting technique that does not require large amounts of historical data.


§ Benefits of Using Exponential Models


· Models are surprisingly accurate, Model formulation is fairly easy, Readily understood by users, Little computation is required, & Limited use of historical data.


§ Exponential Smoothing Constant Alpha (a)


· A value between 0 and 1 that is used to minimize the error between historical demand and respective forecasts.


· Use small values for a if demand is stable, larger values for a if demand is fluctuating.


· Adaptive forecasting


o Two or more predetermined values of alpha


o Computed values of alphaLinear Regression Analysis


o A forecasting technique that assumes that the relationship between the dependent and independent variables is a straight line.


· Standard Error of the Estimate


o A measure of the dispersion of data about a regression line.


o How well (or closely) the regression line fits the data.


ii. Causal Relationship Forecasting


· Leading Indicator


o An event, whose occurrence causes, presages or influences the occurrence of another subsequent event.


§ Warning strips on the highway


§ Prerequisites to a college course


§ An engagement ring


· Reliability of Data


o Coefficient of determination


§ The proportion of variability in demand that can be attributed to an independent variable.Mean squared error�A measure of the variability in the data about a regression line.Multiple Regression Analysis


o Forecasting using more than one independent variable; measuring the combined effects of several independent variables on the dependent variable.


· Neural Networks


o A forecasting technique simulating human learning that develops complex relationships between the model inputs and outputs.


b. Purchasing


i. The role of the purchasing department


· Many different items are not purchased by the Purchasing Department, but by Management, Accounting, and Administration etc.


· The Purchasing Department is mainly involved in the procurement of indirect materials, some less in production-related items and least in investment goods


· The involvement of the Purchasing Department is limited during the first stages of the purchasing process


· Purchasing role is most dominant in the last stages of the process, when contracts have to be drawn up and when orders have to be placed


ii. Objectives of Purchasing


A key step in the corporate procurement planning process is the specification of the objectives to be achieved through the department's/agency's purchasing activities. These activities should be consistent with the objectives of the overall organization.


Purchasing organization is the focal point for all contacts with suppliers concerning the commitment of company funds for materials and services. It is instrumental in establishing and managing effective supplier relationships. It is purchasing's responsibility to locate and maintain the best source of supply. The mutual success depends on every supplier supporting in achieving the following strategic objectives


1. Total Quality


In order to achieve excellence and customer satisfaction, the focus must be on continuous improvement in the quality of all products, processes and services. The organization and its suppliers must strive to examine and improve all of the systems by which to get things done. By making suppliers an integral part of the overall quality process, it's possible to build better products right from the start.


. Supplier Collaboration


Success in achieving Total Quality depends on viewing suppliers as a valuable extension of own business. The goal in purchasing is to build long-term business relationships with a select group of supplier who share total quality vision by consistently delivering the highest quality products and services. Ultimately, this focus means selecting fewer but better suppliers.


. Availability


Suppliers must be responsive to the rapid changes in design and manufacturing strategies. Reducing the time it takes to deliver materials and services to manufacturing facilities helps to bring products to market sooner and to reduce inventory exposure for both the organization and suppliers. The speed of technological changes drives the need for reduced cycle times, shorter lead-times, 100% defect-free materials, and on-time delivery.


4. Other Objectives


Ø To support the organization operations with an uninterrupted flow of materials and services.


Ø To Purchase competitively and wisely. This includes two distinct considerations to purchase competitively involves keeping abreast of the forces of supply and demand that regulate prices and availability of materials and services; to purchase wisely involves a constant search for better values that yield the best combination of price, quality and service.


Ø To develop and maintain reliable sources of supply.


Ø To develop good and continuing supplier relationships. Under such relationships the myriad of problems that inevitably arise between buyer and seller are readily solved.


Ø To achieve maximum integration with other departments of the firm. This requires understanding the needs of other departments in order that these needs can be translated into support actions.


Ø To train and develop highly competent personnel who are motivated to help the firm, as well as their department, meet its objectives.


Ø To develop policies and procedures which permit accomplishment of the preceding six objectives at the lowest possible operating cost.


iii. Purchasing Procedures


a. Purchase Requisition


Purchase requisition is a step used to stimulate purchasing of materials by purchasers. It will emanate directly from the user or from the stores or inventory control. Organizations have policies on how purchase requisitions will be originated. Purchase requisitions for stock items will be originated from the stores or inventory control. Purchase requisition for no-stock items may be originated from the users. Purchase requisition is usually made by using a requisition form, which contains several information such as the name and indentification of materials, quantity, the quality in terms of specification, the time it is needed, the user, recommended supplier.


b. Verification of purchase requisition


When purchasing receive purchase requisition, it will verify the following


· Is the requisition properly filled and is it clear?


· Is it authorized?


· Is it within the budget?


c. Request for Quotation


Possible suppliers are invited to bid through request for quotation. This could be through any communication way.


d. Evaluation and selection of Suppliers


When suppliers quote and return quotations evaluation of suppliers will be made. Evaluation is made on the basis of the criteria set in the request for proposal (RFP).


The criteria include quality factors, delivery factor, quantity, service, etc. each factor has weight based on its importance and there are methods of supplier evaluation including a weighted point method and cost ratio method.


e. Purchase order / contract


A purchase order can be made to the best supplier you have been selected. Purchase4 order can be make in a number of coped depending on te parties entitled to receive it.


f. Follow-up and expedition


Once purchase order has been made purchasing may not need to wait until materials are sent. It may require follow-up. Follow-up is contacting a supplier in order to ensure that he is taking measures to send the materials on the agreed upon time without delay.


Expediting - sometimes supplier may need materials to be delivered earlier than agreed upon date. This is requirement to enhance the delivery. This requires separate agreement with the supplier since he is not obliged in the contract.


g. Receiving, inspecting and storing


When materials are sent by the supplier they are received, inspected, and stored. In a very small organization all these activites can be done by one unit. In big organizational there may be separate units.


Receiving deals usually with general make-up of quantities, packages, damages, overages and shortages.


Inspection is concerned with find out whether the materials meet the specifications such as quality. Inspection procedures and methods are applied such as the use of census or sample.


Store make the final receipt and place the materials in stores. The receiving and stores makes the respective reports.


h. Payment


Payment will be made by finance or accounts after comparing the purchase order in various reports and assuring that the supplier has fulfilled the requirements of the agreement.


i. Post Purchase Evaluation


Post purchase evaluation is made to find out whether the supplier has supplied the materials according to the agreement and whether the materials purchased have satisfied the needs of the users. This is very crucial for future decision of purchasing of the same material and in considering the supplier.


iv. Considerations in Purchasing


There are several considerations that will be made during purchasing, which includes


a. Organization of Buying


Centralized Vs Decentralized Purchasing


Ø Decentralized purchasing


Individual departments or separate locations handle their own purchasing requirements.


Advantages


· Direct responsibility for profit centers


· Stronger customer orientation towards internal user


· Less bureaucratic purchasing procedures


· Direct communication with suppliers


Disadvantages


· Dispersed purchasing power, lack of economies of scale


· No uniform attitude towards suppliers


· Scattered market research


· Limited possibilities for building up specific expertise on purchasing and materials


· Probably different commercial purchase conditions for different BU's


Ø Centralized Purchasing


In basic terms, centralized purchasing simply describes the type of organization in which there is some form of centralized control over the purchasing function.


Ø Centralized versus decentralized purchasing some criteria to consider


· Commonality of purchase requirements. The greater the commonality of the purchased products required, the more benefits can be obtained from a centralized or co-ordinated approach.


· Geographic location. When the BU's are situated in different countries or regions this may hamper co-ordination efforts considerably because of differences in trading, management practices and culture.


· Supply Market structure. A company can be confronted with one or a limited number of suppliers in some of its supply markets. In such a situation a co-ordinated purchasing approach makes sense to adopt for a better negotiating position vis a vis these powerful suppliers.


· Savings Potential. Prices of some types of raw materials are sensible to volume in such situation buying higher volumes may immediately lead to cost savings


· Expertise required. Sometimes very specific knowledge is required for effective buying, as in the purchase of high-tech semiconductors and microchips. In such cases purchasing is centralized.


· Price fluctuations. If materials (e.g. fruit juices, coffee) prices are highly sensitive to the political and economic climate, a centralized purchasing organization is favored.


· Customer demands. Sometimes a customer will dictate to the manufacturer which products to purchase (e.g. aircraft industries). This practice will clearly obstruct any efforts aimed at purchasing co-ordination.


b. Quality Considerations


What is Quality?


"... a perception of class, excellence, a type of referential standard or (in definition) reflecting the needs and expectations of the customer."


A range of eminent champions have contributed to definitions relating to what quality is


o A product or services nature or features that reflect capacity to satisfy express or implied statements of need (Deming)


o Conformance to requirements (Crosby)


o Fitness for purpose or use (Juran)


o Product and service characteristics as offered by design, marketing, manufacture, maintenance and service that meet customer expectations (Feigenbaum)


o Owner satisfaction - the perceived quality of some products or services as interpreted by owners. An expensive to maintain, unreliable car may offer a high status experience if it is, say, a 61 Thunderbird. A set of wine glasses purchased from Harrods may provide more satisfaction than similar ones from a street trader -albeit that the Knights bridge crystal was more expensive.


o Oakland (15) suggests perceivable (and measurable) move from mere satisfaction by a customer to delight and reputation for excellence. Customer expectations are consistently met with an after-glow of well-being.


o In materials management quality can be defined in terms of specifications (such as Chemical, Physical, Performance, and Method Specification and Blue print) and standards.


A Policy for Quality


In any business a clear policy framework is needed to guide the practices and behaviours essential for quality achievement throughout the system as a whole. The policy has to be properly and consistently implemented by all concerned.


Quality to meet requirements and delight, calls for clear understanding of


1. What customers really want and like. A marketing orientation and market research is essential.


. All players in the quality chain having the scope to contribute creatively. Continuous quality improvement (CQI) needs to be embedded into personal commitments and behaviours - from top to bottom throughout an organisation. This applies to relationships along internal as well as external supply chains. The adoption of quality circles is just one element in a CQI process.


Quality Control (QC) vs. Quality Assurance (QA)


Inspection is a QC process. It generally involves inspectors who check for defects in products or services. A statistical sample is inspected e.g. some chocolates from a batch. An inspector may be stationed at the end of an assembly line testing for defects. In a bank an inspector may infiltrate as a customer to vet how counter staff are handling clients.


Inspection doesnt stop poor products being made. Action only after inspection is insufficient. Why? Quality cannot be inspected in; it must be planned, designed and manufactured.


ISO 000 (000) and TQM


· More than Quality Control


o Quality assurance is more than quality control. Assurance encompasses control beyond just inspection and testing. QA requires a structured approach to prevention of quality problems through planned and systematic activities specification, review, monitoring and documentation. QA demands a quality management system.


· ISO 000


o ISO000 is the internationally agreed set of standards for the design, installation and operation of quality management systems. The standards have a history dating back to 168 (and with earlier antecedents). ISO 001 000 recently replaced the ISO 001 (14) standard and ISO 00 and 00 (14) standards are discontinued. The 000 QMS standards define conformance, specification and consistency in quality monitoring and action.


· Total Quality Management


o TQM is an approach to improving the competitiveness, effectiveness and flexibility of a whole organisation...a way of planning, organising and understanding each activity and it depends on each individual at each level. TQM is a way of ... bringing everyone into the processes of improvement. Oakland 15 pp 18


A TQM approach promotes quality as a strategic imperative for the business. Introduction and maintenance of a comprehensive programme of TQM will require re-evaluation of the way in which organisational members address the quality of their work - their production and service processes. TQM is underpinned by a policy commitment covering


o A change or re-emphasis in organisation culture with all staff encouraged to practice positive, initiative taking behaviours and adopt a prevention and continuous quality improvement ethic.


o Quality improvement teams/circles and use of a range of methods and techniques (tools) to structure and support a TQM programmes objectives and tasks.


TQM Doctrine - still a ubiquitous, powerful, driving force.


Although specific problems may have been experienced with corporate wide TQM programmes, TQM thinking and approaches remain a powerful force in business today.


o The language of TQM drives a quality movement" as an imperative, rhetorical (persuasive) language.


o The doctrine authorises management to drive business practice as a response to the demands of competitiveness and customer-orientation.


o The vocabulary of TQM, competitiveness and customer-orientation is complementary.


c. Types of Purchasing


Ø Materials Requirement Planning


Materials requirement planning (MRP) is widely used in manufacturing and construction businesses. Once a manufacturer has established its production schedule for the coming 6 or 1 months, purchasing can then order and schedule supplies. Quantity and timing requirements are dependent upon the production schedule. Thousands of items, all with variable lead times, often are involved in a production process. The starting point is the master production schedule detailing what will be produced and when. This schedule is then exploded into a bill of materials, a detailed recipe of parts and materials. It provides precise delivery dates and quantities for each component in the recipe. If components arrive any later, production may be stopped. If they arrive any sooner, there may not be space available to store them. Ideally an MRP system runs on a Just in Time basis with no buffer stocks.


Ø Just in Time (JIT)


JIT is not a technique. Its a management philosophy, now adopted by many successful manufacturing businesses, which aims to bring certainty and smoothness to the flow of materials through the supply chain, and to eliminate wasteful practices such as holding safety stocks. Businesses hold stocks because of uncertainty, either about the future level of demand or about the lead-time to manufacture or replenish stocks. As well as coping with extra demand, buffer or safety stocks are held to cover an unexpected extension of lead times or to carry if a supplier delivers a poor quality batch. The more unreliable a supplier, the bigger a safety stocks need to be.


· What is trying to develop with a JIT approach is a network of quality-assured supply partners who can deliver the right quantity to the right place at the right time, every time. The delivery point may be to a retail outlet or it may be to a production line. Suppliers are delivered against an agreed schedule with absolute certainty on the day they are required, rendering expensive safety stocks redundant. Working towards JIT will make the entire business more competitive, for its implications spread far beyond purchasing and stock management.


d. Legal and Ethical Considerations


The purchaser's action in purchasing materials is governed by the law. The purchaser creates legal and binding commitments between the company and suppliers. Therefore knowledge of the law becomes and important requirement of purchaser. Litigation is both costly and of uncertain outcomes and be avoided except as a last resort. There are many legal issues that must be considered in purchasing


1. Contract


No legal purchase contract will arise until offer and acceptance is made between the two parties. A contract is completed when the supplier makes quotation and purchaser accepts the offer through such as purchase order or contract signature within a specified period of time.


. Cancellation of contract


Once a contract is made it is not allowed to cancel the contract in favour of one party. Cancellation of a contract in favour of one party cause financial and other loses on the other party and becomes illegal.


Conditions that one party has the right to cancel the contract


§ Default when one of the party fail to perform to the terms and conditions of the contract


§ Force majure when situations are beyond control such as disasters, earthquake, war, etc.


. Shipping Terms/ Trade Terms


Shipping terms tells us


§ When the legal title of ownership passes from supplier to the purchaser?


§ Who is responsible for freight?


§ Who has the right to claim for damage in case of damage?


e. Supplier Evaluation


As a matter of good procurement practice, periodical evaluation of all major suppliers on the basis of actual performance as compared to promised delivery dates, their ability to meet rush requirements, the number of rejects due to poor quality, and adherence to purchase order prices is essential. Subsequent buying decisions are strongly influenced by this evaluation. It does also have an active cost reduction and savings program. Thus, the ability to give and maintain low prices, combined with consistent quality and service, is of great importance in selection of suppliers.


There are two major ways of evaluating suppliers


1. Weighted Point Method


§ In the weighted point method, purchase set criteria against which they can evaluate the performance of the supplier. Criteria may include quality, delivery, and price.


. Cost-Ratio Method


§ The cost ratio method relates all identifiable purchasing costs including receiving to the value of total purchase. The higher the ratio of cost, the lower is the rating and selection. Quality, delivery, service, and price are the usual factors used in cost-ratio method.


f. International Buying


Ø Initial Foreign Purchases the easiest way for buyers to start making foreign purchases is for them to place initial orders wit a trading company orj an important merchant. Trading companies are large organizations that deal in imported and exported products of all types. The trading company guarantees quality, and it takes care of all the necessary documentation. Import merchants buy and inventor commodities for their own account, assume all importing risks, take care of all needed documentation, and sell through their own outlets.


Ø Unique Considerations in foreign Purchasing


1. Product categories international purchases of raw materials involve considerations different from those involved in purchases of components, subassemblies, and operating supplies.


. Distance between supplier and buyer the greater this distance, the more difficult it is to get satisfactory service and economical transportation.


. Government polices government regulations and trade polices frequently make international purchasing uneconomical or impractical.


4. Nationalism some buyers are totally prejudiced against making any foreign purchases.


5. Marketing pressures firms frequently differentiate their products to be sold in foreign markets; thus, domestic firms wanting these products are forced into foreign purchasing.


6. Supplier industry characteristics some suppliers are so powerful economically that they are capable of forcing their customers deal with domestic suppliers.


7. Buying firm characteristics some firms grow so fast that they outgrow the resources of domestic suppliers; thus they are forced to use foreign suppliers.


Ø Potential Difficulties in International Buying


Reduced tariffs, trade agreements, and the formation of free trade regions have resulted in worldwide competition and reduced prices for many materials. Nonetheless, buying in international markets presents unique situations one does not encounter when buying locally. A brief overview of some of the more difficult foreign buying situation follows


o Communications not only must the buyer and seller be able to communicate clearly in a common language, but the buyer must also understand the culture and the customs of the foreign country in which he or she is buying. Only this type of perceptiveness can give the buyer an insight into matters such as the important elements of business etiquette in the seller's country, the capabilities of the foreign country's selling agents, their honesty, their intention of keeping contract commitments, their political stability, and the specific products they produce at low unit costs.


o Financial, Legal, and Related Issues Potential difficulties in these categories, to cite some of the more important ones, arise from factors such as export-import license requirements, currency differences, non tariffs barriers, laws and ethics, exchange restraints, documentation requirements, payment terms, government controls, and transportation facilities.


Buyers and sellers work in different legal systems, and the laws affecting purchasing activities are different in each country. Consequently, the terns used in negations and the methods for setting disagreements or disputes must be explicitly defined.


Financing foreign purchases involves matters such as knowledge of currency exchange rates and documentation requirements, including bills of lading, invoices, certificates of origin, weight certificates, analysis certificates, insurance policies, and the marking of packages. Payments are another matter, including such things as terms of payment, letter payments, letters of credit, and drafts. Each of these financial issues requires decisions, which should stem from solid financial expertise.


o Quality the principal difficulties focus on two dominant factors (1) a scarcity of international standards, () the real possibility that foreign products entail greater obsolescence risks and longer corrective cycles for design changes.


o Lead Time because of the larger number of variables involved in foreign purchasing activities additional lead times, which traditionally exceed thirty days, must be considered in planning foreign purchases.


o Selecting Foreign Suppliers for foreign products and materials, buyers must search out desirable suppliers. For large dollar/birr volume and highly technical purchases, visits to selected foreign suppliers' plants are usually a necessity.


c. Inventory Control


Inventory incurs costs, ties up working capital, it consumes space and must be managed in and out. Stocks can deteriorate or get stolen. Most operations, capacity planning and scheduling, depend on inventory. Stocks serve to smooth out timing gaps in the rates of supply and demand. Inventory offers insurance and good planning/ control can minimise the associated costs and satisfy efficiency/effectiveness requirements.


In order to manage stock effectively, firms must know how much it have, its value, and where and how it is stored. Some of this is about information systems ('Information handling'); some is about analysing the physical storage, which interacts closely with materials handling systems ('Materials handling'). It must also know what inventory costs. That includes


Ø Carrying costs. In addition to the interest on the working capital tied up, there are the costs of storage space, stores staff, handling, deterioration, loss through damage or pilferage, obsolescence (particularly important in retail clothing and electronics), and insurance.


Ø Opportunity costs. Stock is normally unproductive capital. Carrying it restricts other investments you could have made with the same money.


Ø Stock-out costs. In retailing, if an item is out of stock it could mean a sale is lost. In manufacturing, for the want of a spare part for a machine tool, production could be halted. A shortage of a raw material could mean using a more expensive substitute.


The costs above suggest trade-offs between the factors. A few large orders mean low purchase costs but high stock costs; many small orders mean low stock costs but high purchase costs. High buffer stocks mean low stock-out costs but high stock carrying costs. Firms need to strike the right balance between these various factors.


i. Out-of-stock situations


Operations mostly depend on stock. Raw materials shortage in manufacturing means halting production, rescheduling to make something that has raw materials or quick action to secure alternative supply.


Obviously average inventory for a stock item is represented by half the stock. A replenishment delivery is received (Q) and is added to any remaining stock. In an out of stock situation some of it may indeed be allocated already to outstanding (waiting) orders. The stock is now issued to jobs and orders and steadily depletes.


A personal computer assembly line that runs out of memory chips must stop; if a Wimbledon runs out of strawberries might perhaps change to peaches. If a paper supplier is hit by strike action urgent approaches will be made to other suppliers.


If finished goods are out of stock, or raw materials or consumables shortage affects the customer (sorry, the soup is off today) then customers may go off elsewhere, orders may be cancelled. Loss of goodwill means that competitors develop a relationship with your customer. All stock outs involve costs.


ii. Costs of Inventory


Costs are tied up in the inventory itself and in ordering and carrying the stock.


Ø Holding costs


· Expressed as a % of stock value and may be 15-0 % per annum.


o Cost of capital tied up in inventory (the opportunity cost of money).


o Storage costs space, equipment, warehouse and stores staff, services etc often 5-10 % of stock value per annum.


o Stock losses/wastage (legitimate or otherwise). Theft, accidental damage, stock exceeding its shelf life, and stock obsolescence and write-offs. How much depends upon the goods (perishables, rust, aging designs) but the write-off level will usually be greater than zero.


Ø Acquisition/ordering costs


Costs arise from ordering/acquiring goods regardless of the actual value of the goods. In both making to stock and making to order, stock acquisition costs are incurred. Replenishment and purchasing administration paid for. It may take a skilled operator an hour to set up equipment for a new order or scheduled batch. Material may be wasted in the set up process. On completion of the job, equipment must be cleaned and tools put away. The inventory associated set-up costs include labour, material wastage, associated loss of production time collecting or waiting for stores, paperwork and administration. The set-up cost may easily be $45-75 irrespective of the order or batch size.


The purchasing order processing costs include receiving the goods, delivery for large or small orders and invoice processing. Precise costs per ordered unit are often elusive, but the staff and overhead costs are significant. In actual terms £40 may be incurred to initiate and process one purchase order.


Ad hoc purchasing must be compared with long-term contracts involving regular deliveries perhaps with just-in-time supply or amounts that the operation can call off from a supply agreement over, say, a quarter. There are costs in


o Researching and negotiating the supply contract (requires a expenses of its own given the specialist nature. A whole team may be involved with travel and hotel costs)


o Processing each consignment (packaging, bill of lading, insurance, transport planning etc).


iii. Economic order quantity (EOQ)


We could buy-in, or make for stock either a few large orders or frequent small orders for a given usage. Few big orders involve low acquisition and high holding costs. Conversely many small orders result in low holding and high acquisition costs.


Purchasing an economic order quantity (a.k.a. economic batch quantity, economic lot size or EOQ) seeks to reconcile ordering and holding costs to obtain an optimum order size.


Therefore Total cost = Ch + Co


These relationships can be seen in the graphic representation of EOQ.


The EOQ is found at the lowest point on the total cost curve. Here the order size optimises the cost of stockholding with the cost of acquisition. The equation is


iv. Inventory Control Systems


It is important to understand systems of inventory management. As demand and lead times vary we can order fixed quantities of stock at variable times or order variable quantities at fixed times. Each has implications for safety stock, operational responsiveness, the level of risk involved given variable demand and supply and security. Many factories will use a two-bin replenishment system. Stock records systems; computerised more often than not today, provide move detailed control over stock levels, issues and receipts. They are essential to stores management. The data content and flows of such systems are needed by just-in-time methods. It must be aware also that the records say we have 5 in the warehouse but only three can be found and one of these is damaged.


Ø Pareto (ABC) Analysis


Pareto analysis (a.k.a. ABC analysis or 80/0 rule) can be used to classify stock groups. Stock items are ranked in descending order of usage value, and plotted on a cumulative frequency curve. it is common to find that 0% of items account for 80 % of usage value, the next 0% has 15% of value. The final 50% have 5% of value.


ABC or Pareto analysis points the way to where control efforts are best directed. Judgment is needed on critical inventory items or security matters that Pareto analysis in itself does not reveal.


Ø Safety stock and service levels


We may run out of stock because of a re-supply delay or higher than anticipated usage. If we can predict demand then we merely place EOQ orders on time.


But firms risk a stock-out with unpredictable demand, usage and resupply. So introducing a safety or buffer stock reduces the risks of variable demand/lead time.


Ø Lead-time


o The time between replenishment need arising and new deliveries being ready for use. It includes e.g. time to detect then authorise replenishment


o Establish supplier contact and complete admin/paperwork


o Obtain, produce and have the goods delivered


o Goods inwards/receiving and quality checking time


Ø Service Levels


Rather than guarantee 100% stock availability for any foreseeable need, inventory managers would normally agree a inventory service level (% probability of stock availability to meet demand). This mediates the estimated costs of stock-outs with the cost of carrying a safety reserve. If demand and lead times are normally distributed, the safety stock formula is


§ Safety stock levels


Calculating safety stocks requires understanding of demand and lead-time. Assuming that these are normally distributed then


Safety stock = (L Dv+D Lv)


L = mean lead time, D = mean demand (in the lead time) Lvar = variance of lead time, Dvar = variance of demand and


For a safety stock level in a service agreement, an Sdev (standard deviation) value of 1.6 gives 5% stock availability and . gives %.


The controllable aspects of lead-time should be investigated. It is seldom normally distributed and improved control over the length and variability of lead-time will reduce the need to maintain safety stocks.


d. Receiving, Inspection and Storing


Deliveries can usually be anticipated because of shipment notices, delivery dates on requisitions, or other notifications, and preparations should consequently be made to receive the material. Receiving personnel should be ready to inspect the material, storerooms should be ready to receive the material, and the necessary arrangements for working parties should be made well in advance so that once the anticipated material arrives, it maybe stored immediately to prevent temperature fluctuations. Such fluctuations will reduce the quality and storage life of the materials.


Ø Receiving


Many manufacturers lack clear documentation of receipt of shipments. This can cause problems when the business has to prove that there was a shortage in shipment or that the shipment does not meet quality specifications, or when other problems exist.


Upon receiving purchased goods or even services from a supplier, it is important that the shipment is checked to make sure that the correct quantity and quality was received. A receiving report should immediately be completed which indicates


o The date the material was received or service was performed


o Whether the delivery was on time


o The quantity of material received and whether any discrepancies exist when compared with the packing slip


o Whether the quality of the material meets specifications


o The names of the personnel who performed these checks


This receiving report can be of great help to the bookkeeper in maintaining accurate records, and when paying the bills.


Ø Inspection


It is important, upon receiving a shipment, to make sure that the material meets quality specifications. If it is of great importance that no defects in quality exist, you will probably want to run a quality check on each item of the entire shipment.


If, in your manufacturing process, you are able to detect defective materials, and it is clear that the problem lies with the supplier, then the incoming quality check can be limited to assuring that there is no massive quality problem which would disrupt your production.


In some cases, however, defective material could pass through manufacturing operations unnoticed, or a problem in production could be the fault of your people. In such situations, it is wise to conduct a quality check of materials, upon receiving the shipment.


However, since checking items against design specifications can be quite time consuming and expensive, it is rarely necessary to run a quality check on all items received.


Instead, spot checks on quality can be made on a small representative portion of the shipment. The reasoning behind spot checks is that if some of the material is defective, then you should have a fairly good chance of finding some defects if you sample items at random. Thus, you might pick some material from different places in the shipment. In the case of several packages, you might select a few pieces from the top of one package, from the bottom of another one, from the sides of a third one, etc., and run quality checks on this material instead of on the whole shipment.


Ø Store


There are many activities under stores including identification, stores counting (stock taking), stores accounting, materials handling, classification of materials, etc.


e. Materials Handling


Within a node - a warehouse, a plant, a retail store - goods have to be moved between incoming transport, storage, processes, and outgoing transport. The spectrum of available systems ranges from one person with strong arms through the supermarket trolley (in its way a revolutionary technology) to fully automated systems incorporating robot order picking and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). Most handling systems, and the packaging adopted by suppliers, are geared to supplier-warehouse-process transactions. In fact increasing numbers of businesses are moving towards JIT deliveries once supplier quality is sorted out, incoming goods can go directly into the process, without inspection or spending any time in a store.


This can have important implications for handling and packing - for instance, shrink-wrapped pallet loads of small parts are unlikely to suit JIT deliveries where the processes are based on assembly stations. A smaller load unit, with no unpacking needed, might be the right answer, at the price of higher-cost machinery to unload from the suppliers truck into robot carts. Bar-coding gives instant recognition of individual items to stock management systems - and to production systems.


Analysing the effectiveness of the existing handling systems involves assessing their cost and appropriateness to the rest of the firm's operations. It also means knowing something about the characteristics of different systems. The key factors for assessing a materials handling technology are


§ The physical characteristics of loads


§ The number of loads to be moved


§ The distance to be moved


§ Speed of movement required.


f. Transportation


Transportation provides access to natural resources and promotes trade, allowing a nation to accumulate wealth and power. Transportation is usually classified by the medium in which the movement occurs, such as by land, air, water, or pipeline. Within each of the first three media, many different methods are used to move people and goods from place to place. Pipelines are used mainly to transport liquids or gases over long distances.


g. Value Analysis/Value Engineering


The terms value analysis/value engineering originated in the early days of development of the techniques. The first approach was rather than reduce costs, to increase values. Hence the need to analyses value. Value Analysis is currently used to describe the application of the techniques to existing products or services. Value Engineering is used when the techniques are applied to projected products or services. Value Analysis/Value Engineering can be applied with equal success to any other cost generating areas.


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Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Mary Shelly Frankenstein Chunk Writing

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Mary Shelly uses the effects of isolation and alienation throughout the novel Frankenstein.


Throughout the novel Mary Shelly depicts the loneliness and deslatude through each of the characters. An example of isolation illustrated in the novel is when Felix and a group of people were at home playing music, and all of a sudden someone at the door is knocking. "The lady was dressed in a dark suit and covered with a thick black veil" (101). The veil that the lady wore represented isolation and alienation because it blocked off her face from the rest of the world. The darkness of the veil symbolized alienation because she did not want the light to hit her face. This also symbolizes dark versus light. The light is more open and carefree yet dark is more secluded and more mysterious.


All through the novel Victor is much supported by his father and his fianc�, but he lacks the caring toward his family to tell them what his plan is or what he is planning on doing. He forgets his responsibilities and alienates himself from his own father and furthermore is future wife. Unfortunately his family will soon find out what he is working on. "He little you know about me if such a wretch as me felt pride" (156). He isolates from himself from the rest of the outside world because he is too prideful of his great masterpiece. He does not consider his families' support in his greatest work therefore causing a big problem at the end. Victor alienating his only loved ones causes him to make a big mistake, creating the monster. When the monster is alive dead is shined upon his fianc� as well as his father. Alienation and isolation plays a major part throughout the novel creating a cause and effect situation for many of the characters.


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Rosa parks

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Report on Rosa Parks


Rosa parks was born on February 4th 11 in Tuskegee Alabama. At the age of 11 she enrolled in Montgomery industrial school for girls. Later on she then worked as a seamstress in Montgomery. Did you know that Rosa parks has been called the "mother of civil rights movement" and one of the most important citizens of the 0th century. In the early 150's the bus in Montgomery were segregated which means that the black people had to sit at the back of the bus and the white people got to sit at the front. (Personally I like sitting at the back of the bus but if I had to sit there because I was of different color then I would be mad because its wrong to contain people like that.) Any way if you were sitting on the bus and you were black then you had to give up your seat to a white man if there was none left. And well Rosa Parks had had a hard day at work. And her feet were killing her so she sat quietly on the bus. And there was a white man that had came onto the bus and decided he wanted her seat. Well she said that she did not want to give up her seat. Because she had had a hard day at work so she needed the seat more. And besides why should she have to give her seat up to a white man who was capable of standing or taking another seat. She said she would have gladly given up her seat for an elderly lady or a child. But she was mad with the way that the white race was treating them. So she stood up and refused to so on that day of on December 1st of 155 she was taken to jail for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus. She then started a boycott in all of Montgomery and surrounding areas. This further helped the black to be treated better. I think that it impacted on Canadian's because we listened to the news and stories and read about it in our homes and schools etc. and we realized that it was so horrible. So we maybe tried to not be so prejudice.


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