Public relations model Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public relations model - Research Paper Example They are utilized until today for they are successful in passing on a specific message from the sender to the receiver within the public. They are utilizing these models so as to accomplish their targets of setting their message in media. This essay offers an analysis into how Saudi Telecommunication Company is using social media platforms such as Twitter to converse and build relationships with their key publics. It will extend the existing knowledge of how social media, such as Twitter, is utilized in a dialogic public relations context. Furthermore, it will offer insight on how social media platforms can be used in partnership with the four public relations models. Saudi Telecommunication Company has utilized these models greatly to communicate to the public. One of the noticeable public relations model is the public information model. Most of the tweets by this company are aligned to this model because the medium interactivity is featured in the tweets. In addition, the tweets that are made by the enterprise target the general public while self-promotion is featured in the tweets. It is evidenced by various tweets made October covering the Hajj season. The tweets also covered various topics such as those of religion and holiness; hence, creating awareness to the public. Through the tweets, the company stresses on maintenance of its public image by circulating various relevant information to the public such as the Hajj season. Under this model, the company also seems to be creative in its tweets because it delivers them with respect to the period of the year hence putting the thoughts of the audience into these meaningful tweets that later inf luence them. Messages sent through this model flow from the sender to receiver, in this case, the company’s clients and so on. Hence, it is a one-way communication (Grunig, 2013). Elsewhere, the company has incorporated the press agentry model that is also a one-way model that allows flow of information from the

The Role of Mentors in Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Role of Mentors in Leadership - Assignment Example However, mentoring is always successful when the leader and the mentor intentionally matches or pairs. This often happens in health care facilities whereby nurses change into another role. The new nurses pairs with more experienced nurses to learn new leadership skills and develop their experiences into a new role (Aston & Hallam, 2011). This paper will explore the fundamental roles of mentors in nursing profession. According to Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, it is not just mentors and leaders benefit from the mentoring relationship but also the entire nursing profession such as patients and their relatives Literature review With the general growth of nursing profession, the role of mentors in the nursing sector seems to be more effective. Much of earlier work emphasizes the importance of mentors in nursing profession. Benner (2004) states that, acquiring new skills and experiences needs progression in all levels and stages. Thus, she argued that these levels and stages are novi ce, competent, advanced beginner, expert, and proficient. Research has also shown how mentors not only benefit nurses but also patients and their families (see, for instance, Vance, 2011). Some studies, however have taken a different approach by showing how nurses should benefit from mentoring website programs, for instance, IOM report. Studies show that both mentors and leaders benefit from the mentoring process. Mentor-ship Mentoring process is more than preceptorship or orientation; it may last for several weeks or may take three-month probation duration. During this period, the leader is able to learn what he or she is unfamiliar with hence improving and developing his or her experience (Grossman, 2013). Mentor-ship duration is not limited; it is an ongoing relationship, which can last for a long period until both the mentor and leader find value and meaning in it. A mentoring process occurs at any level of ones career, whether you are a new graduate to the field, an experienced nursing working as a clinical specialist or as a manager, or an experienced clinical nurse assuming the leadership position as the shared governance council’s chairperson (Grossman, 2013). Some nurses however, become mentors in future whereby, they use their own knowledge, wisdom, and experience to train and offer meaningful experience to new leaders in the nursing field. Most authors define mentoring as a partnership between a mentor acting as a teacher and a leader acting as a learner. As an educator, a mentor acts as facilitators and guides of learning. As learners, leaders have the responsibility of maintaining their own behaviors and learning (Grossman, 2013). All people have various opportunities of becoming a new thing in their lives although this is not an easy thing. Each person has fear to the unknown, fear of committing mistakes, uncertain confidence, and always, uncomfortable sentiment. Everyone as experienced that and he or she will live to experience it repeate dly (Kilgallon & Thompson, 2012). Being a mentor, it is essential to remember your situation when you were a new leader, how it was like being new to a certain position, and how your mentors helped you to be whom you are today. This will really help one grow a helping altitude to assist others develop their skills and experiences. However, it helps a mentor to get in the leaders’ reference frame. Novice to expert continuum Benner in her book states that, acquiring new skills and experi

Summary of the Viking Raids in Ireland

Summary of the Viking Raids in Ireland Burying items of personal, social or economical value in hoards was not only exclusive to the Viking era, indeed hoards have been found dating back to the hunter gatherer period during the Mesolithic and Paleoindian era.  [1]  By analysing Viking hoards it is possible to glimpse into the wide ranging grasp of the Viking economy and into the minting process and silver metallurgy of the world at the time. Silver was used as the principal means of exchange throughout the Viking world . Silver hoards in Ireland are crucial evidence for trade, status and lifestyle of the Vikings and the Irish, and the relationship both societies had with one another due to the many finds. In order to fully understand the implications the Viking settlement had on Ireland and the subsequent relationship which was built between the two communities; a brief summary of events leading to the burial of hoards in Ireland is required to draw any possible links between the two. However it is tempting and someti mes unwise to assume a link between the deposition of particular hoards with specific historical events as some may have been deposited for purely local or family reasons. What is certain is that a vast majority of hoards were buried for safe keeping, which is proven by the fact that the majority of coin hoards found coincided with the defeat of the Vikings at Tara in 980AD. Gold hoards found in Hare Island and silver hoards found in Lough Ree (which a Viking fleet from Limerick dominated during the 920s and 930s) also show a connection between occupation of land by Vikings and the subsequent burial of hoards.  [2]   Nevertheless all plausible circumstances must be researched in order to come to a conclusion or at least a range of possibilities concerning the purpose of a specific hoard. This essay will concentrate on case studies of specific hoards after a brief summary of Viking settlement in Ireland. Chapter I: Brief Summary of Viking raids and subsequent occupation in Ireland The first recorded Viking raid in Ireland took place in 795 AD in Rathlin. Thereafter Viking attacks continued in the form of costal raiding. After a series of raids in the north the Vikings moved westward where there were multiple monasteries in 807AD, of which some were raided. For the first time annals begin to report violence (although no battles) between the Vikings and the Irish. After a break there began attacks once again by the Vikings on the south coast of Ireland in 821AD along with further raids in the north-east in 823AD. From 825AD the annals report severe attacks along the east coast of Ireland on churches and local costal kingdoms. There was also significant engagement with local Irish kings and with this the first Viking Age in Ireland had begun.  [3]   In 832AD a Viking fleet once again invaded Irelands northern and eastern coasts. During the 830s raids, the Vikings began to push deeper into Ireland. In 838AD a small Viking fleet entered the river Liffey. The Vikings set up a base there called a Longphort which eventually became Dublin. Dublin became the most important and wealthiest centre in Viking Ireland. It is no coincidence that the majority of silver hoards were found in the Dublin area which had a wealth unequalled in the west of Ireland and indeed the majority of the Viking world.  [4]  Silver which was used throughout the Viking world as the main material of exchange has been found in large quantities in Ireland, over a hundred and thirty silver hoards to be precise. A hundred and twenty of these were found in Dublin dating from the 9th until the 11th century. The Vikings were able to branch off into different areas in the country by sailing through the river Liffey. The Vikings then began to build trading centres that developed into towns and cities around the Irish coast from the middle of the 9th century. It was in these places that the first coins in Ireland were minted as well as trading goods and slaves. Economic links were established with the wider Viking world for example the town of Jorvik (York) in England, across Europe and the Near East. After 840AD, Vikings had several bases in strategic locations throughout Ireland. In 902 the Vikings were temporarily expelled from Dublin due to an Irish alliance, however they soon returned. The Viking rulers of Dublin became involved with the political conflicts between Irish kingdoms which reached its pinnacle when in 1014 the Vikings of Dublin allied with Leinster in their battle for supremacy against Munster. The Vikings and Leinstermen were defeated in the Battle of Clontarf which is se en as the end of Viking power in Ireland. However Vikings still played an active role in Irish life until the Anglo Norman invasion of 1169.  [5]   The earliest raids which occurred up to the second decade of the 9th century are said to have been undertaken from the Vikings from south-west Norway. The more violent attacks which occurred in 821AD and later were conducted by a larger and more organized force. There would have been logistical problems bringing large fleets from Norway and therefore a theory is that the invaders came from nearby, namely the Viking settlements in the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland.  [6]  These large scale raids led to the occupation of the Irish east  midlands. Full term occupation in Ireland can generally said have begun with exploratory raids, then heavy plundering and slaving in order to break the resistance of the Irish population and then finally occupation and the establishment of a regional kingdom. Vikings in Ireland adopted a different strategy of colonising Ireland namely economically. From the mid 9th century Vikings became very involved in politics by siding with Irish kings against other Irish kings. In the early decades of 10th century, Vikings realized they could not conquer through force and started founding trade centres instead such as the aforementioned Dublin which became important for Irish sea affairs and commercial centre of international importance. The raids and consequent settlements by Vikings in the east of Ireland were particularly intense due to the Viking Kings of Scotland in the middle of the 9th century having previously exercised authority over the Vikings and their settlements in Ireland (though not over all as annals report activities of Viking adventures with no commitments to Scottish Viking royalty). Whereas the Norwegian raids of the north and the west Ireland were conducted by small, mobile Viking groups, by 830AD Viking raiders consisted of large fleets of ships which led to permanent bases being established on the coasts by 840AD. Dublin was to be the most significant of these settlements long term. Chapter II: The debates surrounding Viking hoards in Ireland Viking hoards in Ireland can be defined in three categories, coinless hoards, mixed hoards and coin hoards. Using silver in form of coinage did not happen until the late Anglo-Saxon economy of the Viking Age and so the worth of silver was measured in weight and therefore was acceptable in other forms which some hoards represent by including a mixture of cut up fragments of ingots and/or ornaments and later on, coins.  [7]  Silver started appearing in Ireland from 850AD in the form of coins and ingots which correlates with the beginning of Viking settlement in Ireland. Single Viking age silver finds in Ireland also appear which raises the question of what the purpose of burying silver hoards was. The threat of Viking raids would be sufficient for the burial of hoards in order to protect the wealth which could be later, but was not, reclaimed. This is a plausible explanation however there are other possible reasons why hoards were buried and then not recovered. One theory is that pagans in the Viking Age believed that the deceased would need riches in the afterlife which were the treasures he had buried whilst still  alive. However this story was written long after the Christianisation of Scandinavia and so it in uncertain about its accuracy. Another possible reason for burying hoards was in order to protect silver generally (without specific threat of invasion) by leaders so that they could in time reward their followers with silver. This display of wealth and power could also have lead to hoards of silver being buried in order to eliminate them from circulation, creating a talking point for others.  [8]   Another debate is who buried which hoards. Hoards do not seem to completely correlate with the pattern of Norse settlement, although there are numerous finds near Dublin. More hoards are found in territories controlled by independent Irish Kings than in areas controlled by Vikings.  [9]  All this information raises the question of what use hoards had for the Irish and Vikings. The study of distribution of hoards shows us that many of them where in native ownership when buried. However it is also possible that the hoards were given to the Irish by Vikings for political reasons, or were looted items. Many other hoards on the other hand represent Viking wealth. By end of millennium Viking hoards contained rarely anything but coins.  [10]   Chapter III: Coinless hoards Generally coinless hoards consist of a range of ornaments and/or ingots and hack silver. In total there are to date fifty-one coinless hoards of early Viking Age date . Coinless hoards can be divided into three sub-groups on the basis of their form and structure. Analysing hoards in this way enables a more specific research into their intended purpose and origin. One type of Viking age coinless hoard contains neither hack silver nor ingots and is composed exclusively of complete ornaments. Most of these ornaments are of Hiberno Scandinavian type and vary in their style from four examples. These types of hoards account of nearly half the total number of coinless hoards.  [11]   Half of all Viking age hoards from the 9th and 10th century fall into the coinless category and consist largely or wholly of Hiberno-Scandinavian ornaments. Examples of these finds consist of hoards from Raphoe in County Donegal and Cushalogurt in County Mayo. The most common item found in coinless hoards are the broad band armrings which are Hiberno-Scandinavian silver artefacts. Their dates range between 850AD and 950AD. This case study concerns itself with this sub-group of Viking silver hoards. Case Study:A Hoard of Viking silver bracelets from County Donegal and County Mayo: Until 1966 there were the remains of what appears to have been a rath or cashel in the townland of Roosky in east County Donegal.. The owner of the land decided to build a house with a ford and cleared away most of the surrounding wall. Several foundation trenches were cut for the foundation walls of the new house but no archaeological evidence was found. However whilst demolishing the wall of the fort, four silver bracelets where discovered on the surface of the ground on the inside. This lead the finder to believe that the bracelets had fallen down with the wall itself which would mean that they had been hidden in one of the gaps between the stones of the wall. This indicates that the fort was built earlier that the making of the bracelets. The four objects were found so closely together than they could only be interpreted as a hoard. The four bracelets are common in types of Viking silver work in Europe. In Ireland no silver bracelet resembling those from Roosky has so far been found. Those found in Britain range in dates from 900AD to the 11th century. 7 In Eastern Europe, bracelets which have been found that have resemblance to the Roosky bracelets date to the first half of the 12th century. This suggests the original source being from the west and/or influence from that area. Muslim Spain has also been suggested as the original source but little evidence supports this.  [12]  J. Raftery concludes that the bracelets were probably Norse in origin as their shape has no forerunners in Ireland and the nature of the ornamentation on them has no parallels amongst native Irish material. This does not however dismiss the possibility of the bracelets being made in Ireland by Norse or Irish silversmiths. The conclusion by à Ã‚ . à Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Ó Rà ­ordà ¡in that Viking silver ornaments of Irish provenance were made in Ireland and the material used is the product of silver mines in Ireland has little evidence to back the claim up.  [13]  14 This hoard is interesting because of where it was, namely near the coast. Most Viking hoards come from near the coast. This could suggest that the pattern of chance finds of Viking objects coincided with what we know of the movements of Norsemen. However some of these discoveries could represent Irish loot from Vikings who had ventured ashore. The number of Norse items from non costal areas is quite small. A hoard of 25 silver bracelets and fragments was discovered in 1939 on the peninsula in the townland of Cushalogurt, Kilmeena parish, Burrishoole barony, County Mayo. The discovery was only six yards from the shore. This hoard is the largest of its king known in Ireland. It is connected to the Roosky hoard findings in that as regards to shape and decoration, the bracelets are unparalleled amongst earlier Irish material but do occur often in Viking age contexts of Scandinavia and Europe. Their popularity continued in Scandinavia until the 13th century but in Britain their popularity assessed on deposition ceased at an earlier date. à Ã‚ . à Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Ó Rà ­ordà ¡in pointed out when discussing the bracelets from Carrowmore in Co. Donegal that numismatic evidence from Scotland and England demonstrated that the bracelets were in fashion during there during the 10th and 11th centuries. That the Vikings were responsible for their introduction into Ireland can be seen by the occu rrence of the Runic letter R incised on the back of one of the bracelets from the hoard from Roosky which emphasised its Scandinavian derivation.  [15]   The second sub group of coinless hoards contain ingots and/or ornaments but no hack silver. This type of hoard is more uncommon and makes up only 16% of the total number of coinless  hoards. In most cases these ornaments are of Hiberno-Scandinavian type and vary in number from two to four examples. Case Study: Hoard from Carraig Aille, County Limerick The next sub group accounts for 36% of the total coinless hoards and is characterized by the presence of hack silver. Most of these hoards also contain ingots. A classic example of this type of hoard in that from Carraig Aille, County Limerick, which contains one complete ring, three ring fragments, two ingots and an ingot fragment.  [16]  The fragments of bracelets found here link to the hoard mentioned previously which consisted of 25 silver bracelets from County Mayo. Both are the same type of bracelet (rectangular and cross-sectioned) and are dated to the 10th century.  [17]   The context in which the hoard from Carriag Aille, Co. Limerick was found is quite interesting. On the hill where the hoard was found stand two Iron age stone Cashels which are on the bank of Lough Gur and dated between 8th and 11th century AD. Both forts are quite low, the wall only maybe 1- 1.5m high although originally they would have been considerably higher. There is an entrance in both of them to the east. This fort is not unusual in style and would have been built by the native Irish.  [18]  The question lies on who was responsible for creating the hoard and who buried it. It seems that the bracelet is Scandinavian whereas the ingots have no evidence to suggest their origin. The 10th century was a turbulent time in Co. Limerick. The Vikings founded the town Limerick in 922 AD as a strategic point between the Shannon and Abbey River. However the Vikings often fought each other (seen with the attack of Vikings from Dublin on Limerick in 924) as well as fighting the native Ir ish. In 968 the Irish gained control over Limerick but it was short lived as in 969 the Vikings regained their authority. It would be until the early 11th century until the Irish assumed full control of the town once again and this time the Vikings absorbed into Irish society.  [19]  Carraig Aille is roughly 20km from the town of Limerick and would have been easily accessible by rivers. There is evidence of the Waterford Vikings creating a base at Lough Gur, which Carraig Aille is in close proximity to on the east side. Carriag Aille would have witnessed the base which was built as an advancement point for the Waterford Vikings to Limerick. During the disputes with the Limerick Vikings and Dublin Vikings, the Waterford Vikings sided with Dublin. The Waterfordmen were defeated by the Limerick Vikings and their Irish allies, apparently at Kilmallock (which lies in between Limerick and Logh Gur) in 927.  [20]  Geographically Carraig Aille could have been caught amongst the disp utes and the subsequent burial of the hoard could be a consequence as the date of the bracelets coincide with the power struggles in that area. What is not certain is whether the native Irish or the Vikings buried the hoard, as that would depend on who had control over the forts, this evidence is not available. Their similarity to the 25 silver bracelets found in County Mayo suggest that they were made by Hiberno-Norse silversmiths. Chapter IIII: Mixed hoards: Mixed hoards consist of non-numismatic silver combined with coins. Around 16 of Irelands hoards are of this type, fifteen of which were deposited during the 10th century. Most of these hoards contain ingots or ingot derived hack silver in addition to coins and occasionally ornament derived hack silver. The 10th century first see substantial amounts of coins be buried with hoards in Ireland. It was the period of the second half of the 9th century and the first half of the tenth century that saw Hiberno Vikings develop their silver-working. From 920 until ca 1000 begins the most debatable phase of hoard deposition. It was in this period that the Vikings increased their power in Leinster and Munster and consequently there was an upsurge in violence between the Vikings and the Irish and indeed the Vikings amongst themselves. Dublin was also rapidly growing as a trading port. The deposition of hoards reach a peak in c.970 and the scholar Dolley has suggested that this coincides with risin g violence prior o the defeat of the Vikings at the battle of Tara in 980.  [21]   There were a large number of coins minted in York found in hoards dating to the early part of the period and this reflects close political links between Viking York and Dublin. Hoards from c.925-c.975 are dominated by Anglo-Saxon coins minted in Chester which reflects the importance of the trade route between Dublin and Chester. After c.975 the number of coins from Chester decline and the number of coins from the West country rises which show the growing importance of the Dublin to/from Bristol trade route. The re-establishment of Dublin and the growth of other Viking towns during the first decades of the 10th century saw a gradual transition from bullion towards coin usage in economy. Whereas previously coins were often melted, now they began to be retained as familiarity for coin usage in trade increased which would finally lead to the minting of the first Hiberno-Norse coins in Dublin c- 977. The earliest hoards of Hiberno-Norse coins from Dundalk, County Louth and Clondalkin, Cou nty Dublin were deposited around c.997-1000. The practise of hoarding continued, however by the end of the millennium Viking age silver hoards contained rarely anything except coins.  [22]  23 The distribution of coinless hoards are relatively evenly spread over much of Ireland, however mixed hoards and coin hoards display a strong concentration on the east coast of the east Midlands. This can be seen as evidence for the central role of Viking costal settlements, particularly Dublin in the dispersal of silver within Ireland.  [24]   Case Study: Mixed hoard from Dysart Island, County Westmeath This hoard is a relatively recent and was deposited ca. 907 AD. This hoard contains Kufic dirhams and coins from Anglo Saxon England, Viking York and possibly Carollingian in Germany as well as ingots and a variety of fragmentary ornaments. This important hoard may in part be derived from wealth captured by the Irish as a result of the sack of Dublin. The Dysart Island hoard could reflect the expulsion of the Vikings from Ireland in 902 and their subsequent settlement in north-west Britain. Metal analysis of the silver in the Dysart hoard demonstrates close affinities with the nearby hoard from Carrick which contained 60 ingots and it is possible that they are of similar date.  [25]   The Dysart hoard is significant in that it has ingots which are quite like those from the infamous Cuerdale hoard. Graham Cambell uses this as evidence that the Norse remained actively involved in Irish affairs despite their loss of Dublin in 902.  [26]  Graham Cambell has shown that the massive Cuerdale Hoard of ca. 903 is of likely Hiberno-Norse origin. Cuerdale was in Danish-Viking Northumbria but close to Norse Viking strongholds in Ireland. The hoard contained about 7,000 coins and over 1,300 pieces of silver. The range of the material, including Hiberno-Norse armrings and fragments of both bossed penannular brooches and thistle brooches, is closely comparable with Dysart. The slightly later hoard from Goldsborough c.920, Yorkshire also contains fragments of similar brooches and armrings. Hoards outside of Ireland could be possible evidence of the sudden defeat of the Vikings in Ireland and the subsequent bringing of the silversmith trade to Britain. The publishers of the Dy sart coin hoard conclude that the hoard was deposited in an entirely Irish context at a time when the Vikings had been expelled from Dublin.  [27]   Chapter V: Coin hoards Finally the last category of Viking hoard in Ireland is the hoard which consists exclusively of coins. These hoards represent in bullion terms and insignificant element of the overall silver wealth of the Viking Age in Ireland. There are over sixty examples of coin hoards on record however most of these are quite small in size. The majority were deposited after c.940 and the type of issues found in them are predominantly Anglo Saxon. However Arabic coins as well as those issued by the Viking Northumbrian and East Anglian rulers are also represented. Hiberno-Norse coin issues dominate the composition of the 11th century hoards. Michael Dolley has established some theories about coins from Viking age Ireland. Coins were first imported by the Dublin Hiberno-Norse and coin use in Ireland was confined to the Norse. Graham Cambell has remained non-committal on the subject of whether the native Irish used coins. Irish coin use, as opposed to the study of coins themselves as been of secondary interest in works by scholars such as Michael Dolley. Marilyn Gerriets states that closer examination of evidence demonstrated that the conclusion that the Irish rejected the use of coins is based on little evidence.  [28]   She argues that hoards do not correlate with patterns of Norse settlement but rather more hoards are found in territories controlled by independent Irish kings. Secondly, non-coin Viking artefacts are better correlated with Viking activity in the interior of Ireland than are coins. Dolleys theory of spatial distribution of coin hoards and other artefacts is an unreliable indicator of coin use. Many factors, including the pattern of contemporary violence and the distribution of modern economic activity, bias the pattern of finds. The hypothesis that the Irish did not use coin still could be supported if the assumption was made that coins founds in Irish territories bordering Dublin arrived as plunder from rains on Dublin or were lost by Vikings resident in Irish kingdoms. Although some hoards lost in Irish territory could have been the booty of plunder, many hoards correlate poorly with instances of plunder recorded in the Annals according to Gerriets.  [29]  Irish regions have mo re hoards during their periods of greatest power when Irish natives were in control instead of Vikings. Gerriets argues that too little is known about early Irish society to support the argument regarding how the Irish might have used coin, or whether they used it at all. Case Study: Coin hoard from Dunbrody, County Wexford This coin hoard is the largest found in Ireland with over 1600 examples of coin. It was discovered in 1836 beside Waterford harbour. This reflects the function of the estuary as a trade route. It could also relate to trading activities with the adjacent monastic centre of Kilmokea, situated at a strategic ferry crossing on the road linking the Norse towns of Wexford and Waterford.  [30]   The hoard consists of predominantly Hiberno-Norse phase coins In addition there were ca. 200 late Anglo-Saxon pennies from editions by Cnut to Edward the Confessor, the majority being of the latter. The hoard therefore can be dated to c.1050 based on the Anglo-Saxon element.  [31]  Waterford Harbour was under the control of Vikings during this period and therefore it is plausible that the hoard was buried by Vikings, however we cannot be certain. Conclusion: The distribution patterns of silver hoards in Ireland give us the most information about the relations between the Vikings and the Irish. Coinless hoards are fairly evenly spread, however with a concentration in the central midlands. Mixed hoards and coin hoards are found predominantly in the midlands and east coast of Ireland. The majority of silver hoards were deposited in areas of Ireland that were not under control by the Vikings which can be taken as evidence that although many of the finds were Viking in style, they were in fact in the ownership of the native Irish. We cannot be certain how the wealth was acquired but the fact that the hoards were found in contemporary native Irish territory suggests evidence of trade and the process of giving receiving gifts between the Irish and the Vikings. The changing economy of Viking Ireland can be seen by the steady transformation of what was contained in hoards. From the late 9th century to the early 10th century there is a steady tran sition from a bullion economy (seen in the coinless hoards) to an economy which imported and used coins. Coins were in existence before the burial of coin hoards, however many were melted to their silver state in order to be used for other objects. Coins began being retained, and this transition is represented by the mixed hoards which can be associated with the foundation of the Scandinavian towns during the beginning of the 10th century. From the mid of the 10th century, coinless and mixed hoards decline dramatically whilst coin hoards become more prominent. By the beginning of the 11th century the transformation from bullion is completed.

Inaccurate Portrayal of the Dinosaur Face :: Anthropology Essays Paleontology Papers

Inaccurate Portrayal of the Dinosaur Face As time goes on, Paleontologists discover more and more fossil remains, and with that more and more information about dinosaurs. Yet even with the great deal of fossils that have been discovered in the past century, scientists are still forced to make educated guesses about certain dinosaur behaviors, traits, and appearance. Dr. Lawrence Witmer’s recent research addresses this issue. Dr. Witmer argues that the fleshy nostril of dinosaurs lies in a different place than has been assumed and portrayed for over the last one hundred years. Dr. Witmer’s discovery was published in the August issue of Science magazine in 2001 and may change how we envision dinosaurs forever. Movies like â€Å"Jurassic Park† and the BBC’s â€Å"Walking with Dinosaurs† portray dinosaurs with fleshy nostrils which lie very high on their head. Not only in popular media is this true but in sculptures, kids’ books and scholarly journals. How could so many scientists have been wrong for so long? Very easily. When a dinosaur fossil is discovered it has an extremely large nasal cavity in its skull, sometimes several feet in length. Since flesh does not preserve all too well over the course of millions of years, paleontologists have been forced to make an educated guess as to where the fleshy nostril lies within the larger nasal cavity. Since the 1880’s scientists assumed that the nostril existed near the top of the head. The reason for this is that when sauropods (long necked dinosaurs) were discovered, it was thought that they must live under water in order to avoid crushing themselves under their own weight. This would explain their long necks. It would also follow that the fleshy nostril would be near the top of the head so the creatures could breathe easily while their bodies were under water. Even after it was realized these dinosaurs did not live under the water, the idea that the fleshy nostril existed near the top of the head persisted. The idea was also spread to most other dinosaurs that were discovered thereafter. Perhaps you have noticed this in a drawing or movie, that Tyrannosaurus Rex’s large nostrils do not lie in the front of his face but instead halfway up his head. Witmer believes his years of research with his â€Å"DinoNose† project prove that dinosaurs’ fleshy nostrils actually exist on the front end of the nasal cavity instead of the back end as was once believed.

Taylor’s Scientific Management Principles

â€Å"Maximum prosperity† means not only increase prosperity and productivity of employer or companies but the overall increase efficiency of the employees in form of higher wages, increase standard of living. Taylor’s stated that prosperity for the employer cannot exists for the long term unless it is accompanied with the prosperity of employees. This statement is very true because unless employees are not satisfied with their wages, working conditions etc. cannot give their best to the organization. There are some of employers who believe in extracting largest amount of work from their employees at low wages indicates low profits in comparison to the employers who are more liberal towards their employees obtained more fruitful results because the employees do their work with full interest. It is completely true that company achieve its highest prosperity when he is making his largest daily output. Related essay: Scientific Management Theory and Inefficiencies in Healthcare For e.g. if a successful workman and employer in combination produces 2 pair of shoes in a minute while his competitor produces only 1 pair of shoes in exact time, it is very clear that the   previous workman will receive more wages than later because large profits earned by the   organization. Until both men and machine contribute their fullest capacity it is not possible to obtain highest productivity and to exist in competition around the organization and to achieve high prosperity. Therefore, we can say that there is direct relationship between high prosperity and high productivity. There has been great impact of philosophy of maximum productivity results in maximum productivity on American society. The concept develops the attitude towards work in the employees and the worker. They were became more determined towards their work as they clearly known that their result bring them handsome wages. Therefore, in early sixties America was on the peak with the wealth and money, the policy of productivity was the main factor. This concept helps to create a sense of responsibility attitude in the mind of employees because there work was directly related to work. This also result in removing dull times, unemployment or underemployment, poverty. This would insure higher wages and make shorter working hours and better working and home conditions possible. A scientific management deals with the development and coordination of the welfare of each and every individual in the organization. It has great impact even on development of management and workman by way of its principles. Taylor’s scientific ideas provided a catalyst for increasing the output of American factories beyond the promise and provided technological advancement. His principles also help in modifying the American education system by making better use of buildings and classrooms and by standardizing the work. It emphasis on evaluating teaching skills of teacher to determine whether the material used for teaching is appropriate or not and to standardize the system. The Taylor’s principle helps to generate the law of efficiency in the organization which results in higher wages for higher work than other fellow workers and directly lead to increase in productivity. It provides more flexibility in developing method of production and to apply more dynamic operations. Earlier workers in the organization were not treated as human being but with the emergence of Taylor’s principles the importance of workmen in the industry increases manifold. They are provided with high wages, regular bonus, promotions, and other non-monetary benefits. He stressed upon the careful selection of employees which match the needs and requirements of the task and also on their training. New departments appeared like personnel and quality control in the organization which results in increasing the efficiency of an organization. However instead of so much acceptability it faces certain criticism such as individual differences ignores the economic interests of workers and management and many more. REFERENCE Referred to sites:- 1.http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1911taylor.html Modern History Sourcebook: Frederick W. Taylor: The Principles of Scientific Management, 1911 People organizations theory models [email  protected] 3. http://faculty.ncwc.edu/TOCONNOR/417/417lect03.htm THE SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT ERA Dated 6th 2007      

Network Security Essay

You are interested in starting your own Music Store, QualitySounds, in a suburban area of your town. You need to design and build a network and computing solution for your stores. You have done some initial planning and you will start with two stores (but you plan to add two more stores across town within one year). Your store will sell new and used music and allow customers to get â€Å"online† in your stores and download music. You also will offer classes on how to setup music downloads and configure MP3 devices. You took computer networking courses in college and you feel you can tackle this solution yourself. Upon initial planning, you have identified the following requirements for your network: * Connects three office computers and one computer used for Point-of-Sale (POS) services at each of your stores. You also want six (6) computers in the lobby/store where patrons can download music and you can run â€Å"training classes† for people to learn about using MP3 players and get other basic information. The two offices have to be connected into one cohesive network, sharing POS services and other critical company information. You also need to provide a â€Å"hand out† casual area for people to stop in and discuss music and connect wirelessly to the Internet (you might even offer free coffee to entice people to come in to your store). * Provides adequate security for all of the company communications and documents (especially sensitive sales documents). All POS services must be protected. All general network access should be segmented from the company POS services. * Fast and have additional capacity as the company grows * Provides for centralized printing * Supports the eventual addition of other stores to the network * Provides customers with a general information Website and a secure Website where clients can buy services, and products * Provides for limited downtime (24 hour downtime maximum) * Provides for centralized management and control of the computers in the two stores, so that you can maintain the network from off-site * Provides for long-term cost effectiveness * Provides a suite of software tools for the employees to effectively communicate and a POS solution for the stores The company does not have any equipment. Your plan should include a complete network and computer system that meets these requirements and future expansion plans. The two store locations will (eventually) be within a five-mile radius of each other. The locations are within a suburban area that has current technological infrastructures and related technology offerings. The stores will need a sales system and print services for invoices. Complete your proposal including costs for computing equipment, network infrastructure, network servers, printers, and related hardware, software, and accessories. Include as much detail as possible as well as justification as to your selections. Diagram and explain your physical network and computer design as well as the logical network design (server installation, domain layout, etc.). As you are a small business, cost is a major factor and should be minimized.

Essay on Modern American HistoryEssay Writing Service

Essay on Modern American HistoryEssay Writing Service Essay on Modern American History Essay on Modern American Historywhy were Martin Luther King Jr.`s two famous addresses known as the â€Å"I Have a Dream Speech† and â€Å"I Have Been to the Mountaintop Speech† given? What is the significance?The mid- 50s of the 20th century are marked with the beginning of the era of Martin Luther King the American priest, fighter for civil rights. King tried to convince everybody in the necessity of nonviolent resistance to racism at a time when many black nationalists were talking about hatred and were ready to fight against all forces of white America. On August 28, 1963 in Washington, King delivered his famous speech I Have a Dream, in which he expressed his belief in the brotherhood of all people, it is still considered a great piece of oratory. After Kings speech, US authorities were forced to take the Civil Rights Act (1964), which prohibited segregation in public places, and then the Voting Rights Act (1965), which gave equal voting rights to African American s. The last in the life of Martin Luther King Jr. speech was Ive Been to the Mountaintop, the end of which referred to the threat of murder. The fighter for rights was killed, but the movement survived and won. Black with white could now go to the same schools and shops, live in same hotels, they were not hunted by dogs and could sit on front seats of the bus.How did America fight the Vietnam War? Do you think this strategy was successful?The Vietnam War is one of the largest wars of the second half of the 20th century. From mid- 1965 to mid- 1969 the US forces conducted a large-scale operations in South Vietnam. The main goal was to find and destroy the larger units and parts of the NLF and the North Vietnamese Army. This strategy of search and destroy was developed by chief of US forces in that period, General William Westmoreland. The General had traditional view of the war, he saw war as the fighting between the major powers. On January 27, 1973, Paris Peace was signed, an agree ment under which American troops withdrew from Vietnam. The war has stirred up public opinion of Americans, and has had a significant impact on Americans. There appeared a new youth movement – hippies, who were protesting against the war.Name and describe two genocides After World War Two and how America reacted to them?The United States of America became the dominant power of the world after the World War II. There are scientists and historians who blame the USA in genocides, which were in Asia in Korea (1950 1953), and in Indochina (1961 1975); and in Africa South Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Congo (Zaire) (1961 1990). The driving force of genocidal behavior is imperialist desire for internal cohesion and external takeovers. Strategy of total war, adopted by the United States invariably led to the mass extermination of peoples. This is explained by the lack of distinction between military and civilian targets. Historians note that resistance to US imperialism is always based on deep-rooted and widespread belief and ideology. The purpose of the invader is to reduce huge reservoirs of popular support for the resistance its potential for mobilization, food and military security.Why were movies like Rocky and Star Wars popular in the late 1970s?In 1976, the movie Rocky appeared on the screen, and became very popular. It was nominated for 10 Oscars. The story about a failed boxer gave the world a movie that confronts hopelessness. It gave people hope for the future, and therefore gained such popularity. No less popular was the movie Star Wars, the critics called it epic of modern times. The film makes its viewers think about the meaning of life. Movie Star Wars reminds people that life is enormous, and its manifestations are endless, and tomorrow can bring something very good. End of 70s was delineated by structural and economic crisis, so keeping faith in a happy future was more relevant than ever.What is Globalization? Do you think that Globalizati on is a good or bad thing for America?The process of global economic, political, cultural and religious integration is called globalization. It is a consequence of the evolution of public market systems. Concept of a global society is becoming increasingly popular in the world scientific community since the beginning of the 21st century. According to this concept, all the people of Earth are citizens of a single global society. As a result of globalization, the world becomes more connected and dependent on all its subjects. Therefore, on the one hand, globalization leads to partial lack of independence; on the other hand, it strengthens the relationship in the world community.

Greek vs Roman Philsophy on physical education Research Paper Example

Greek vs Roman Philsophy on physical education Research Paper Example Greek vs Roman Philsophy on physical education Paper Greek vs Roman Philsophy on physical education Paper Roman and Greek philosophies influenced modern physical education in deference ways. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the different philosophies or beliefs the Greek and Roman cultures had. They each had different beliefs but they also shared some similarities. The Greeks established much of the Westerns world belief about physical education. There were two metaphysical systems In Greece: Naturalistic and Anta- naturalistic. Naturalistic means a mans nature Is both spiritual and physical. Anta- naturalistic means mans nature created by mind. Both views believed In an Importance on mind, the difference In beliefs was the body. W Sparta and Athens were each a part of Greece and they each had different philosophies on physical education. Sparta believed highly In physical education. Therefore they were physically fit and great soldiers. Sparta was the military center and power of Greece. Athens was the center of culture and learning. Athens believe physical education had a prominent place in education. Romans were polytheistic like the Greeks. Most of their gods were the same as Greeks but with Roman names. Romans were great engineers although they did not do as much scientifically as Greeks did. Romans philosophy on physical education was similar to Sparta. They believed in being physically fit and strong soldiers. Philosophers of the Roman Empire provided code of conduct, critical to the development of citizens and the survival of the Republic. The early republic of Rome stayed physically fit but did not believe in the Greek way of competition. : Over time this began to change and Romans became less interested in being physically fit. They became a Republic of spectators. The games did not translate to physical education as they did in Greece. Greece and Rome both had an impact on physical education. There philosophies were a lot alike at first but, over time Romeos philosophy began to change. In my opinion the Roman change was not good. I think Sparta had the best philosophy compared to Athens and Rome. My philosophy on physical education has been Influenced by both Rome and Greece. Greek vs. Roman Philosophy on physical education By Samaritan Roman and Greek philosophies influenced modern physical education in difference education. There were two metaphysical systems in Greece: Naturalistic and Anti- naturalistic. Naturalistic means a mans nature is both spiritual and physical. Anti- naturalistic means mans nature created by mind. Both views believed in an importance on mind, the difference in beliefs was the body. W philosophies on physical education. Sparta believed highly in physical education. Influenced by both Rome and Greece.

The Word of the Year 2011

The Word of the Year 2011 The Word of the Year 2011 The Word of the Year 2011 By Mark Nichol Each year at about this time, the English-language media rolls out various reports announcing the word of the year according to one or more authorities. These pieces imply or overtly suggest that these selections are keywords for our society’s values, beliefs, and obsessions. But a glance at such choices reveals that these words are the linguistic equivalent of candy satisfying (or not sometimes they’re the equivalent of chocolate-covered brussels sprouts) but not sustaining. The following lists of the top word for each year of the past decade suggest that one year’s byword can be the next year’s punch line (or a least a later period’s â€Å"Huh?†): Merriam-Webster 2010: austerity 2009: admonish 2008: bailout 2007: w00t 2006: truthiness 2005: integrity 2004: blog 2003: democracy American Dialect Society 2010: app 2009: tweet 2008: bailout 2007: subprime 2006: plutoed 2005: truthiness 2004: red state/blue state 2003: metrosexual 2002: weapons of mass destruction 2001: 9-11 (most often styled 9/11) Global Language Monitor 2011: occupy 2010: spillcam 2009: Twitter 2008: change 2007: hybrid 2006: sustainable 2005: refugee 2004: incivility 2003: embedded 2002: misunderestimate 2001: ground zero Oxford Dictionaries 2011: squeezed middle 2010: big society 2009: unfriend 2008: credit crunch 2007: footprint 2006: bovvered 2005: podcast 2004: chav Technological terms like app and tweet have variable staying power. Blog, which was ten years old when Merriam-Webster crowned it in 2004 (while app may be old enough to vote), isn’t going anywhere, nor is podcast. But eventually, many once popular terms evoke nothing more than a chuckle (â€Å"floppy disk,† anyone?). And to w00t, I say, â€Å"W00t-ever.† Jargon from economic and political contexts serves as a shorthand, but Steven Colbert’s brilliant-in-its-time truthiness is as stale as Bush-speak jokes (or perhaps I misunderestimate it), and â€Å"weapons of mass destruction† and embedded have acquired a derisive connotation their coiners did not intend. Variance in American English and British English is also an obstacle: Several of the Oxford Dictionaries selections are obscure to US readers. (â€Å"Big society† refers to localism in government, bovvered is part of a British TV character’s dismissive catchphrase â€Å"Am I bovvered?† and chav refers to a lumpen-prole UK subculture with a perplexing penchant for faux-Burberry plaid couture.) Environmentally oriented terms at least the ones in these lists seem to have legs: We’re still discussing sustainability and footprints (as in â€Å"carbon footprint†), though perhaps without the fresh vigor applied just a few years before. A couple of these lists offer a word of the year for 2011 (the other listmakers have not yet weighed in for the current year), but you are also entitled to your opinion. Which word (or phrase) do you nominate for the honor? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About TalkingHomogeneous vs. Heterogeneous10 Varieties of Syntax to Improve Your Writing

Ontogenetic change in skull morphology and Mechanical Advantage in the Essay

Ontogenetic change in skull morphology and Mechanical Advantage in the Spotted Hyena (Crocutacrocuta) - Essay Example Adult spotted hyena have durophagy adaptations that include large jaw, adductor muscles, simplified and robust dentition, and pronounced sagittal crest. Feeding of weaning hyena was limited by morphology compared to adult resulting from the study of ontogenetic change in the skull and feed apparatus. The study is, therefore, aimed at establishing as whether feeding of young hyena was limited by the skull shape, skull size, and the mechanical advantage of jaw muscles. The study also seeks to enquire if feeding apparatus is slow in the spotted hyena compared with other carnivores not adapted for durophagy. Various materials and methods were employed during the study. For instant, during sampling, ontogenic series of individuals of age ranging from 2 months to 18 years of 68 spotted hyenas we sampled. Most of the samples were from the southwest of Kenya in Masai Mara Reserve. Their age was estimated depending upon the appearance. On the other hand, to quantify skull changes, ‘2D landmark-based geometric morphometrics was used. Three views of the skull were analyzed that involved lateral cranium, lateral mandibles, and ventral cranium. In the analysis of fused lateral mandible and cranium for adult hyenas, semi-landmarks were used which later digitized by use of ‘tpsDig’. In addition, superimposition was used to remove variations (Holekamp, Lundrigan, Tanner and Zelditch 354). The analysis of change in ontogenetic shape was done as well as analyzing the relationship between shape and size over a given period (Holekamp, Lundrigan, Tanner and Zelditch 355). The ontogenetic trajectories were determined if they differed significantly. As a result, the sample sizes obtained from a pair of bootstrap used varied with ages. On the other hand, size of the muscle and mechanical advantage was determined first using traditional methods. For instant, size of the adductor muscle was estimated across the zygomatic arches by maximum width. The mechanical advantage was

The Vietnam War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Vietnam War - Essay Example The effects on the mental health of these soldiers has led to unemployment, drug addiction, divorce, suicide, and a range of mental illnesses. A key difference between the Vietnam War and previous wars was the intensity of the level of stress. War has always presented the combat veteran with a difficult situation in regards to stress. However, in World War II the soldier would engage in a battle that would last in terms of days. As the battle subsided, the front lines moved and combat ceased for a period of time. The battles lines were clearly marked and the enemy clearly defined. In Vietnam the soldiers faced a shadowy enemy with no front lines. They were in threat of losing their life 24 hours a day for every day they were in the country. There was no reprieve from the immediate threat of death. In past wars there were always cases of 'battle fatigue' or 'shell shock', but the Vietnam War redefined this as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) and its associated symptoms. While PTSD affects approximately 1 percent of the general population, it is as high as 15 percent among Vietnam veterans 35 years after the end of the war (Mollica et al. 2058-2059). PTSD in Vietnam veterans manifests itself through a variety of symptoms. These include social maladjustment, social phobia, guilt, difficulty controlling anger, joblessness, homelessness, and family strife (Frueh et al. 26). The Vietnam veteran is often faced with a lifetime of substance abuse, acute anxiety, and an inability to fit into a normal social setting. A problem that faced the returning Vietnam veteran was the negative attitude that society held for a veteran returning from an unpopular war. Army Captain Max Cleland, a soldier who lost both legs and was later elected a US Senator from Georgia explains, "To the devastating psychological effect of getting maimed, paralyzed, or in some way unable to reenter American life as you left it, is the added psychological weight that it may not have been worth it; that the war may have been a cruel hoax" (qtd. in Nicosia 159-160). This effect was even more magnified for the minority veterans who served in disproportionate numbers and came home to face the additional burden of racism. Limited opportunities for blacks after the war resulted in conflicting feelings about the brutality waged against the Vietnamese and resulted in rates of PTSD among black veterans that were significantly higher than among whites (Allen 55). The Vietnam veteran faced the difficulty of PTSD in a world that was unsym pathetic and ill-equipped to diagnose and treat the illnesses that the war had inflicted. The Veteran's Administration (VA) has been traditionally reluctant to recognize and adequately treat PTSD. The VA currently publishes estimates that indicate that as many as 30 percent of the Vietnam veterans suffer from PTSD, which is in excess of some other more conservative estimates ("How Common is PTSD"). However, the availability of resources has not been sufficient to meet the need. The American Psychiatric Association has reported that the reported cases of PTSD have risen by 42 percent in recent years, but funding has only been increased by 22 percent (Mulligan). The problem of under-treatment is also complicated by under self-reporting. Veterans may feel that if they

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 55

Summary - Essay Example It is argued secondly that hope is caused by merits, and therefore doesn’t qualify as a virtue. However, Aquinas contends that the occurrence of hope in itself is not based on merits but instead on the desire for happiness, which is virtuous. The last stated problem with hope being a virtue is the imperfect nature of hope, explained as a wish for something that is lacking. Aquinas states that while the desire is imperfect, hope is perfection in that it is reflective of faith in God’s rule and influence. The second article questions if eternal happiness is indeed the object of hope. Objections include denial that humans need to hope for eternal happiness since it is a constant state of the soul, examples of hope being for things other than eternal happiness, and the suggestion that hope deals with many difficulties other than eternal happiness. The replies to these issues state that eternal happiness is veiled and thus not experienced as a constant state by humans, prayers should not be for things other than eternal happiness, and all other desires should seem small in comparison to eternal happiness. In article three, Aquinas discusses the possibility of one person wishing for the eternal happiness of another. He argues that this is not possible since hopes for another person are not acts of hope at all, but are instead acts of love. Article four investigates the lawfulness of being hopeful in another person. The author’s position is that hope may be placed in a person as long as it is not believed to be virtuous hope, which is reserved for God. Discussion of the fifth article is very similar to the first. In response to arguments against the nature of hope as a theological virtue, Aquinas relates several examples that are meant to relate hope as being divinely based regardless of its superficial appearance. The distinction of hope from other theological virtues is the topic of article six. It is suggested that this

Criminal justice process Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Criminal justice process - Research Paper Example Moreover, felony cases have both direct and indirect consequences. Direct consequences are those, which are expected in a typical felony case. This includes imprisonment, fines, probation, and other related costs. Indirect consequences, on the other hand, include barring a criminal from participating in an election and bond denial, among others. Orfield (2005) argues that many people do not know what is expected of them when charged with felony. This always put a lot of pressure and fear among many defendants and witnesses and even the plaintiff in the case. However, what is important is that anybody charged with a felony should make an attempt and get a lawyer to represent him or her and give necessary advice concerning the rights of the accused. This paper will discuss the procedures expected in a typical felony case. There are usually a number of procedures and stages involved in felony probation. This includes an arrest, followed by arraignment, preliminary examination, circuit c ourt arraignment, pre-trial, trial and sentencing, appeal and probation. Arrest It is reported that the responsibility of arresting a suspect in felony matters lies with the police. In this case, once the police have gathered enough evidence from the scene of the alleged crime, he expected to pursue the suspect, apprehend, and bring the accused to the police station. However, in some instances, a suspect is only issued with court sermons advising accused to appear in court on a certain date. This usually happens for lower level offenses, which may not necessarily warrant an arrest (Cole, Smith and DeJong, 2012). Interrogation Once the police have arrested the accused, the police may interrogate him but this is not a must. However, in case the police are interested in interrogating the accused, it is always advisable that the accused insist on speaking with a lawyer. The reason for an attorney’s representation is to prevent the accused from giving incriminating statements whic h may be used against them by the police in a court of law (May, Minor and Ruddell, 2007). Initial appearance This usually marks the opening phase where the accused is arraigned in court and should be conducted within the first 24 hours after the arrest. Usually a number of things take place at this stage. This includes informing the suspect of the charges leveled against him or her. It is also here that the suspect is reminded of his right to have a lawyer’s representation. However, in case the accused cannot produce a lawyer, then the court is expected to provide one. It is also reported that it is at this stage that the conditions of release is determined such as whether the accused can be bonded or put in prison as he or she awaits the charges for the good of the society. Finally, another hearing date is set for subsequent proceedings, which is usually conducted in a superior court (Orfield, 2005). Preliminary Hearings Fourteen days after the initial appearance, the accus ed is supposed to be taken through preliminary examination. This is also a very crucial stage since it is here that the judge is expected to decide if there is reasonable ground to continue the case to the next level. It is also at this stage that the charges may be dropped in case the judge finds no reasonable ground to continue with the case. What is unique at this stage is that it is a one-sided procedure since it is only involves the review of incriminating evidence for

Hinduism and Marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hinduism and Marriage - Research Paper Example It is essentially the way in which souls of the life partners are related. In a Hindu marriage, the two partners may exchange their respective roles as per the demand of the situation i.e. a husband may play the role of a wife and vice versa. Occasionally, the two partners part ways for some time until they are reunited after a life or two. The three fundamental objectives of a Hindu marriage in the right order are â€Å"dharma, praja (progeny) and rati (pleasure)† (Sociology Guide, 2011). Marriage in Hinduism is not only a dharma i.e. an obligation but is also the samskara i.e. sacrament. Every Hindu should marry unless he/she has adopted the lifestyle of a sanyasi. â€Å"It is an essential aspect of the four ashramas (brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha and sanyasa) and the four aims (purusharthas) of human life, namely, dharma, artha (wealth), kama (sensuous pleasures ) and moksha (salvation)† (Jayaram, 2010). Her life as a maiden terminates as a Hindu woman enters into a marital relationship. After marriage, the girl has to live with her in-laws in their home and leave the parents’ home. The relationship with parents after marriage becomes minimal and quite formal. Accordingly, many Hindu women become mentally disturbed until they completely accept and are completely accepted by the husband as well as his family. In its early stages, the marriage can both make and break. The early days in the husband’s home hold a special significance to the bride because the impression she casts upon the in-laws in these days remains associated with her throughout the life. Marriage in Hinduism can be classified into five types ranging from the traditional arranged marriages to forced marriages. In a vast majority of cases, marriage takes place with due consent of the bride, the groom and their relatives. Factors that are of primary importance in case of the arranged marriages in Hinduism include but are not limited to the natal charts, caste, gotra i.e. kinship, financial status, looks, and character. Marriages between cousins may or may not be a norm depending upon the region. In Southern India, it is normal for an individual to marry a cousin. In ancient times, a widowed Hindu woman was allowed to marry the brother of the deceased husband because of progeny. In olden days, polygamy was common in Hindus but it is almost non-existent in the contemporary Hindu society. There has been an increase in love marriages among Hindus over the passage of time, though their acceptability depends upon the caste, financial status and several other factors discussed before. Couples that break the norms and marry without due consideration to caste have to bear social pressure both within and outside the family. However, as more and more people are getting education in the urban setting, they have started to become liberal which is the fundamental cause of increase in the love marriages among Hindus. The dowry system is a potential evil of the Hindu marriage. Quite often, the bridegroom and his relatives demand dowry worth millions of dollars irrespective of the financial status of the bride’s parents. In a male dominated society, such people take marriage for an event in which they can cash the fact that they parent a man. If the bride’s family can not come up to their expectations regarding dowry, the mother-in-law and the husband subject the bride to numerous hardships and may even burn her to death.

Scandinavia myself Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Scandinavia myself - Essay Example to around 1700 B.C.E. As history advanced, this area gave birth to the more modern Viking era, 600-700 C.E. that we tend to associate with much of the civilization advances from that region of the world. They were a basically pagan people who began to experience Christianity in 829, but were not released from pagan practices until around the 12th century. There were many internal struggles as well as territorial conquests that kept the Nordic region unstable until around 1300C.E. with the emergence of three distinct kingdoms; Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. ((New World Encyclopedia 2008) Scandinavians today are a peaceful people who generally hold to their traditions and values, while being accepting of new ideas and people. They have a high regard for privacy, tolerance and discretion, while at the same time hold their individual natures with respect. They often occupy peace-keeping roles in NATO and the UN. ((New World Encyclopedia 2008) The official name of Denmark is the Kingdom of Denmark. It is a Constitutional Monarchy with the current Constitution established on June 5, 1953. It has Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government which oversees 5 regions and 98 municipalities. The Capitol of Denmark is Copenhagen. It has a temperate climate with slightly rolling hills and is situated between Sweden and Norway, above Germany in the Baltic Sea. (U.S. Department of State 2011) The people of Denmark are known as Danes and Danish; population 5,557,709. There are several languages spoken there; Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic, and German, although English is the second most widely spoken language. There are multiple ethnic groups including Inuit, Faroese, Scandinavian, Turkish, Polish, German, Lebanese, Iraqi, Bosnian, Yugoslav, Pakistani, Iranian, Somali, Vietnamese, British and Afghan. Various religions are acknowledged by the regions including† Danish National Evangelical Lutheran, which comprises approximately 81% of the population, Muslims, 4 %, and others such as Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu communities make up the remaining 15 % of religious faiths in Denmark. (U.S. Department of State 2011) Danes have compulsory education through 9 years, with 100% attendance and a literacy rate of 99%. They have contributed greatly to the arts, literature, music and ballet. Denmark established a Ministry of Cultural Affairs in 1961 to oversee the development of the arts and leisure activities including museums, libraries, theatres and drama groups. (U.S. Department of State 2011) The official name of Sweden is the Kingdom of Sweden. It is a Constitutional Monarchy with the current Constitution coming into effect on January 1, 1975. It has Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches that oversee 21 counties, 18 county councils, 290 municipalities, and 2 regions. The Capitol of Sweden is Stockholm. It has a wide variety of climates from temperate in the south, maritime along the coast, and subarctic in th e north; with mountains, lakes, and lowland areas near the coast. It is located between Norway and Finland. (U.S. Department of State 11/8, 2010) The people of Sweden are Swedes or Swedish; population 9,373,379. Swedish is the official language, although English is widely spoken. There are three main ethnic groups: the Swedes, ethnic Finns, and ethnic Sami. There is also about 14% of the

Hinduism and Marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hinduism and Marriage - Research Paper Example It is essentially the way in which souls of the life partners are related. In a Hindu marriage, the two partners may exchange their respective roles as per the demand of the situation i.e. a husband may play the role of a wife and vice versa. Occasionally, the two partners part ways for some time until they are reunited after a life or two. The three fundamental objectives of a Hindu marriage in the right order are â€Å"dharma, praja (progeny) and rati (pleasure)† (Sociology Guide, 2011). Marriage in Hinduism is not only a dharma i.e. an obligation but is also the samskara i.e. sacrament. Every Hindu should marry unless he/she has adopted the lifestyle of a sanyasi. â€Å"It is an essential aspect of the four ashramas (brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha and sanyasa) and the four aims (purusharthas) of human life, namely, dharma, artha (wealth), kama (sensuous pleasures ) and moksha (salvation)† (Jayaram, 2010). Her life as a maiden terminates as a Hindu woman enters into a marital relationship. After marriage, the girl has to live with her in-laws in their home and leave the parents’ home. The relationship with parents after marriage becomes minimal and quite formal. Accordingly, many Hindu women become mentally disturbed until they completely accept and are completely accepted by the husband as well as his family. In its early stages, the marriage can both make and break. The early days in the husband’s home hold a special significance to the bride because the impression she casts upon the in-laws in these days remains associated with her throughout the life. Marriage in Hinduism can be classified into five types ranging from the traditional arranged marriages to forced marriages. In a vast majority of cases, marriage takes place with due consent of the bride, the groom and their relatives. Factors that are of primary importance in case of the arranged marriages in Hinduism include but are not limited to the natal charts, caste, gotra i.e. kinship, financial status, looks, and character. Marriages between cousins may or may not be a norm depending upon the region. In Southern India, it is normal for an individual to marry a cousin. In ancient times, a widowed Hindu woman was allowed to marry the brother of the deceased husband because of progeny. In olden days, polygamy was common in Hindus but it is almost non-existent in the contemporary Hindu society. There has been an increase in love marriages among Hindus over the passage of time, though their acceptability depends upon the caste, financial status and several other factors discussed before. Couples that break the norms and marry without due consideration to caste have to bear social pressure both within and outside the family. However, as more and more people are getting education in the urban setting, they have started to become liberal which is the fundamental cause of increase in the love marriages among Hindus. The dowry system is a potential evil of the Hindu marriage. Quite often, the bridegroom and his relatives demand dowry worth millions of dollars irrespective of the financial status of the bride’s parents. In a male dominated society, such people take marriage for an event in which they can cash the fact that they parent a man. If the bride’s family can not come up to their expectations regarding dowry, the mother-in-law and the husband subject the bride to numerous hardships and may even burn her to death.

Associate Program Material Essay Example for Free

Associate Program Material Essay Hard Drive Hard drives are complex storage devices in a computer. When installing a hard drive, you must consider numerous interface standards. You also must think about specific factors, such as the computer’s application, the type of motherboard, speed and noise, gigabyte barriers, subsystems, future storage needs, and archival issues. Refer to Ch. 8 of A+ Guide To Managing Maintaining Your PC for a deeper understanding of these issues. You may measure hard drive performance by looking at three different sources of information. The first is the data rate, the number of bytes per second the driver can deliver to the processor. The second is the seek time, the amount of time it takes when the processor requests information from the driver and the first byte of information is delivered to the processor. The third is the memory capacity of the hard drive. For this assignment, you replace the internal hard drives from the computer featured in the Computer Hardware Simulator (CHS). The current internal hard drives are old and starting to fail. You need to replace the current hard drives with similar drives or drives with more storage capacity. Search the Internet for three types of hard drives compatible with the CHS computer, and enter your information for each drive into the New Hard Drive Chart below. After comparing the two drives, make a recommendation on which you would purchase and justify your decision. You only have a budget of $45 to work with, so choose carefully.

Analysis of Supplier Development Strategies

Analysis of Supplier Development Strategies ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Any activity undertaken by a buying firm to improve supplier performance, supplier capabilities, or both and to meet the buying firms short and/or long term supply needs can be termed as supplier development activity. A study by the Harvard Business School concluded that a primary reason for declining US competitiveness is that US companies invest less than foreign rivals in intangible investments such as supplier development. Half of the companies fail in this supplier development effort if executed. As supplier development help in increasing competitiveness and is not successful every time if implemented, it is essential to examine supplier development and factors which result towards the success of supplier development. This paper will examine aspects associated with the success of supplier development strategies within different set of industry. This research will put forward a specific set of aspects are significant contributors to supplier development; also this paper will show that some factors of supplier development have significant influence on other factors of supplier development. Data from the population of buyers and suppliers will be collected to test the extent of relationship between significant factors and success of supplier development process. Agreement was noted between dependencies of success of supplier development process on several factors. Recommendations to supply managers and purchasing manager will be provided regarding upper management involvement, enhanced communication with their suppliers, recognition of their suppliers and development of strategic processing instead of reactive processing will be offered. chapter 1 introduction This thesis is a report of ethnographic study of critical factors for supplier development strategies. The study was based primarily upon the survey with supplier development managers and professionals involved in this field. This first chapter of the thesis will discuss the context of the study, intention of the study, describe the importance and will present the overview of the methodology used. Background of Study A global economy is emerging and resources are concentrated on core business rather than the diversification which show the way towards outsourcing. Outsourcing is increased from $91 billion to $416 billion in 20 years (Tunstall, 2002), and it is expected to increase further. In 2009 the value of outsourcing deals in logistics area were projected to $ 80 billion (Hyatt, 2009) which shows the intensity of use of suppliers. Due to this voluminous use of suppliers buying companies have to rely on their suppliers to deliver defect free product in a timely and cost effective manner. To compete in their respective markets, buying firm must ensure that their supplier capability equals the expectations (Krause Ellram, Success factors in supplier development, 1997). When a supplier is incapable of meeting the buying firms need the buying firm has three alternatives: (1) Bring the outsourced item in house and produce it internally, (2) Resource with a more capable supplier, (3) Help improve t he existing suppliers capabilities. All the three strategies can work. (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000). Supplier development is defined as Any effort of a buying firm with its supplier to increase the performance and capabilities of the supplier and meet the buying firms supply needs. (Krause Ellram, Critical elements of supplier development, 1997) When the suppliers are innovative and exclusively supplying a product then the supplier development option comes into the picture. When a company is using a supplier, it is necessary to have a good relationship with them. The Harvard research suggested that supplier development started very late in USA but it was started very long ago in the Japan. Toyota, Honda and Nissan implemented these supplier development activities in their plants a long back. Although similar research has been done previously, the theme of research was same but this new research is capable to generate new knowledge , First the populations is different and for the variety of reasons they will be having different opinions and attitudes than the previous cohort . There might be a different type of interaction in between me and those to which will generate the new idea, the sample data is from different set of industry and places so the research context will be totally different from the previous researches. Even the subject might be same but the contextual issues are very different. The Problem Statement Supplier development requires both supplier and buyer to commit their maximum to get the maximum out of the program. Even though both the sides agree that the commitment is required it is not necessary that supplier development program in which they are involved will be successful. In early 90s companies start reducing the number of direct suppliers and began evolving from adversarial relationships to more cooperative ones with the remaining suppliers. (Hartley Choi, 1996), Approximate one-third projects are failed due to suppliers underperformance. So the success in the supplier development is not a foregone conclusion. Supplier development is considered as a long term business strategy and there are various factors which affects this long term strategy. These factors not only affect the end result of supplier development process but also influence each other. This research tried to establish the critical success factors for supplier development and their inter-relationship with ea ch other. Regression models approach helped to develop the interrelationship among critical success factors. Anyone especially supplier development manager and procurement professional can refer the model over the wide range of circumstances and structure. The main objective of the research paper is to create the model for critical success factors for supplier development strategies. Professional Significance Large number of companies does the supplier development and they fail as well at surprising rate. Not all supplier development initiatives are successful in fact, as many as 50% are not successful, due to poor implementation and follow-up. (Handfield R. , 2002) The failed efforts consume tremendous amount of resources over months or even years. As multiple studies have shown over half of the supplier initiatives fails. This failure takes a toll that is not only financial but also psychological. Failure demoralizes employees who have been labored diligently to complete their share of the work. As the supplier development success factors depends on both the parties so a dedicated study is required to find out what factors make the supplier development process a success. In 2000, according to the study 53% of the companies claimed that they are involved in the supplier development program but it was found that only 20% of the companies are contributing for the financial support for the suppliers and only 14% of the companies are putting their employees in the suppliers place for the development purpose. Eleven percentages of the companies are giving the chance to the suppliers to come at the buyers place and learn. Only 11% of the companies are having the formal program for supplier development, others are doing it without any of the formal program. (Anonymous, 2000). It shows that even though companies are involved in supplier development program but not fully implementing in an appropriate way. In General Motors, after implementation of supplier development program supplier productivity was improved 50%, lead time was reduced by 75%, and inventory reduction happened around 70% during their one week workshops. On one project alone, Honda of Americas Best Practices (BP) team reduced a suppliers costs by more than $200,000 per year by changing the layout of a welding process. Furthermore layout change might increase the efficiency of supplier and ultimately give advantage to buying company. (Hartley Choi, 1996). Also one of the purchasing pro for a power tool producer said that in three years of developing suppliers, his company has seen quality rejects fall from 38.4% down to 0.5% while supplier on-time delivery has risen from 76% to 97.5%. Likewise, another proponent of supplier development cites an average supplier quality metric of 98.5% and on-time supplier delivery at 97%. They claimed to have improved quality, response time, prices and cycle time improvements, The VP f or a major California-based computer maker talks about how assistance from his firm allowed one subassembly supplier to ramp up to 50,000 pieces per month in only six weeks. (Anonymous, 2000).Although it took only 6 weeks to ramp up the production but usually supplier development is very time consuming and long process which consumes plenty of resources, so it is very much required to do it correct first time. To get the results mentioned above -$200,000 saving /year it is essential to learn what are the success contributors and failure contributors of supplier development. Overview of Methodology A structured survey questionnaire with five-point Likert scale was developed. Web and email were used to circulate and gather information regarding what group of supplier development professionals thinks about supplier development activities. Survey was divided in 6 small sections and every section was having 3 questions. Total of 20 questions were mailed to random sample of 300 supplier development professionals. The survey solicited about a single instance of supplier development performed by them. Survey was face validated and content validated with the help of thesis chair and committee. Of 300 surveys circulated 50 usable responses were obtained, which provides the perception of large group of supplier development manger regarding the nature of their supplier development project. The responding population represents a wide range of industry types. Also before e-mail survey set of interviews with supplier development managers was conducted. The interview was designed to validate the success factors collected after reviewing literature review and to help focus on reliable, important success factors which have extremely high control on supplier development success. Delimitation The research study was conducted at San Diego State University during the end of the fall semester-2009. This research was limited to supplier development manager who updated their resume on resume bank. This research was limited to professionals in North America continent to reduce cultural differences within the population used in the study. Multiple Regression model was used to prove the interdependency in between critical factors instead structural equation modeling. Survey instrument was developed with the help of existing instruments. This will allow us to compare new results with the old results. This research was limited to 3 questions per factor to keep instrument short. chapter 2 literature review This chapter will review the past researches that serves as the foundation for the thesis report presented. The research papers are basically associated with critical factors associated with success of supplier development. The research paper will present purpose and rationale for writing research paper on supplier development strategies. Following will be the review of literature on Strategic process, Upper management involvement, Supplier recognition, Effective and enhanced communication and commitment of suppliers. The chapter will conclude with a summary of literature. Examples of the key word used while finding the scholar research papers were supplier development, supplier relationship, supplier evaluation, supplier management, supply chain management and buyer-supplier relationship. Combinations of keywords were used to get different research papers. Search engine used during literature search were SDSU library search engine and Google scholar. (Ekholm Pashei, 2009). Past Literature First document application of supplier development comes from Toyota in 1939. Toyota discussed the need of working together with suppliers to improve collective performance. Thereafter in 1963 Nissan implemented first supplier development project, Honda joined the club in 1973 (Monczka, Handfield, Glunipero, Patterson, 2009). It is essential to understand the significance of each factor and the role it plays in supplier development process. Past researches can be categorized in (a) Theoretical, (b) Conceptual, (c) Empirical, (d) Conceptual and Empirical. Table 1 gives the brief of past literature which were identified. Previous to mid 1990s, the supplier development literature consisted mainly of theoretical studies covering cases of several companies and surveys and the purpose was to learn the barriers which comes in the way of supplier development. In 1990s the research moved towards establishing relationship in between various supplier development constructs where in 2000 the re search moved towards influence of supplier development towards innovation and purchasing strategy (Easton, 2000). In todays business increased trend of reliance on supplier is observed. Most of the buying firms need to pursue aggressive strategies in order to increase the future rate of capabilities improvement. (Monnczka, Trent, Callahan, 1993) Having mentioned that supplier is becoming increasingly critical to the competitive success of US firms, there are several reasons behind that. First manufacturers are beginning to focus on their core competencies and areas of technical expertise. Second, developing effective supply base management strategies can help counter the competitive pressures brought about by intense worldwide competition. Third, Suppliers can support directly a firms ability to innovate in the critical areas of product and process technology. Study showed 95% of business unit sample indicated supplier contributions were increasing throughout in terms of importance. There was a 232% increase in people from 1989-1990 who agreed with the statement that suppliers are extremely imp ortant to the achievement of competitive market strategies. More and more people started to outsource and started rely on suppliers. There was a growth of 15% of people from 1991-1992. Furthermore for each sample period, respondent projected and increasing dependency on suppliers for future product technology. More and more companies started to use supplier development process. Some of them are HP, Epson, Apple Computer, 3M, and BMW etc. Strong belief is supplier warrants improvement. If improvement does not occur firms across many industries may lose market share to competitors who are able to maximize supplier performance input. Sample was non random so the result can be generalized. Thus the trend is towards increasing reliance on supplier to help achieve competitive market strategies. This reliance on suppliers and improving their performance was initially documented from Toyota in 1939. Toyota discussed the need of working together with suppliers to improve collective performan ce. Thereafter in 1963 Nissan implemented first supplier development project, Honda joined the club in 1973 (Monczka, Handfield, Glunipero, Patterson, 2009). Supplier development was ubiquitous in Japan and Korea for number of years but less evident in US firms due to perceived lack of instant return on investment allied with setting up resources required to make it successful. Interestingly this practice was recognized early in the 1900 in the US automotive industry when Ford required improving supplier capacity (Krause, Handfield, Tyler, The relationships between supplier development, commitment, social and capital accumulation and performance improvement, 2006). In 1970s other Japanese automakers implemented the system and made their own modification like Honda developed a program called BP (Best practices). Review of case studies by (Sako, 2004) allowed examining differences in between supplier development activity in Toyota, Nissan and Honda. In 1939, Toyota purchasing rules stated that- Toyota suppliers must be treated as a Toyota branches and Toyota must continue to do business with these suppliers without switching to others and also develop the suppliers if required. Toyota bifurcated supplier development activities into TPS (Toyota Production System) and TQC (Total Quality Control). TPS was having different existence from TQC which allowed suppliers to take advantage of continuous improvement. Hyundai also realized that their small suppliers cannot again and again recruit engineers thus they sent engineers from their own shops to improve suppliers productivity. Hyundai do not financially support their suppliers but offer personnel support (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000). Nissan also implemented supplier development program which were significantly different from Toyota in the terms of number of point of contacts for suppliers, approach towards sharing the ideas and one to one training strategy during program. Honda and Nissan unified the TPS and TQC offering a single point of contact (Sako, 2004). The common features of the supplier development programs at Honda, Nissan and Toyota are multipl e channels for supplier development to transfer both tacit and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is more difficult to accumulate as it needs closer interactions especially face to face with suppliers and more time thus it is difficult to replicate tacit knowledge (Clarke, 2007). In contrast to these companies in Japan, the suppliers in US and Europe distrust the buyers intention and also buyers dont have identical level of authenticity as in Japan to act as trusted well wisher who can suggest their suppliers how they should invest their resources (Sako, 2004). A recent study from Harvard school concluded that primary reason for declining USA competitiveness is that US companies invest less in supplier relations and development thus considering these points from Japan the supplier development was adopted in Eastern countries like UK and USA (Monnczka, Trent, Callahan, 1993). Supplier development activities were transferred to USA as buying firms commissioned their own plants in USA due to government regulations. By 1996 General Motors had completed supplier development projects with over 2000 suppliers and claimed productivity improvements over 50%, lead time reduction of up to 75% and inventory reduction of 70% (Hartley Choi, Supplier development: Customers as a catalyst of process change, 1996), (Clarke, 2007). By 2001 John Deere was involved in 426 different projects with 92 different supplier development engineer and delivering annual saving of $700,000 along with improvements in quality, cost and delivery. By 1994, Allied-Signal expe cted to save up to $300,000 from supplier development activities and also expected for increase in shares price (Monnczka, Trent, Callahan, 1993). At Deere and Delphi, a $100,000 investment in supplier development yields at least three to ten times the original investment (Nelson, Moody, Stegner, 2005). This illustrates that large firms adopted supplier development and it became strategic tool for them to improve quality, reduce cost and improve the delivery. The basic development process started with reduction in supplier base and then developing the remaining suppliers. Also it was adopted in service based companies from product based companies. But more focus was on the product based companies. Service based relies on the competitive pressure of market forces instigate supplier performance to a greater extent than product based firms and that then to use. In UK most companies rationalized or optimized their supple base to include fewer total suppliers. Western countries were no t getting involved in direct supplier development; Japanese companies were successful because they were involved in direct supplier development. Toyota is purchasing product from the same supplier since 1937. GM adopted this strategic supplier development in Europe. Motorola and Ford also adopted similar kind of supplier development Countries and large firms started to realize the benefits of supplier development, they recognized that supplier development must be worth if its emerging everywhere in Japan. From the national perspective, benefits of supplier development were improvement in domestic suppliers, reduction in off shoring and increase in GDP (Krause Ellram, 1997). From the corporate and large firm perspective, supplier development helped in improving quality, reliability and manufacturability of new design. Besides that supplier development also helped in knowledge sharing and improved collaboration. Furthermore responsiveness to customer needs and market dynamics also increased with supplier development (Krause Ellram, 1997). The data gathered with 527 purchasing executives by (Krause D. R., Supplier development: Current practices and outcomes, 1997) revealed that supplier development attributed to timely delivery, completed orders, reduction in defects scrap and reduced order cycle time. Research by (Blonska, Rozemeijer, Wetzels) established that supplier development guide towards getting a preferential buyer status and supplier adaptability. Supplier adaptation is perceived as an attainment of a goal of supplier development aimed at supplier performance improvement (Blonska, Rozemeijer, Wetzels). With help of two in depth case studies (Reed Walsh, 2002) established that supplier development activities enhance technological capabilities in their suppliers. Also some of the firms expected technological improvement should follow from improved business processes. Supplier development also helped in developing mutual trust in between buyers and suppliers (Reed Walsh, 2002). As mentioned earlier this increase in reliance was due to improvement in performance after implementing supplier development program. BMW strives to be 20% above industry average in quality performance. Management believed supplier development made it possible to attain that quality standard and increase in revenue (Rhodes, Warren, Carter, 2006). Also in Honda dramatic improvement was seen in product quality since Honda began to develop suppliers in North America, In 1985 quality level was 7000 parts defective per million and In 1995 quality level was increased to 100 defective parts per million (Berlow, 1995). A team of purchasing professionals from Honda of America worked with 12 stamping suppliers to reduce cost by $4million in six months in 1995 with its supplier development efforts (Berlow, 1995). In the context of supplier development, suppliers and buyers state that they want to practice more supplier development methods to enjoy its benefits but there are myriads of barriers that hinder the effective supplier development strategies. Research by (Lascelles Dale, 1989) utilizing survey responses from UK based suppliers to 3 major customers in automotive industry illustrated that poor communication and feedback, unstructured quality improvement programs, credibility of buyers, misconception regarding purchasing power and supplier satisfaction are the foremost barriers in the supplier development programs. Also in an empirical study with 89 minority goods and service providers (Krause, Ragatz, Hughley, Supplier development from the minority suppliers perspective, 1999) demonstrated that the main barriers towards minority owned supplier development are poor communication, non-profit situation and racial biases. Results also indicated that small minority owned suppliers were le ss positive about supplier development activities as compared to large minority owned suppliers (Novak, 2008). Survey by (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000) on supplier development strategies with 84 companies established several other barriers apart from already mentioned that deter supplier development strategies. It includes Lack of supplier commitment, insufficient supplier resources, lack of trust, and poor alignment of organizational cultures, unsupportive upper management and insufficient inducement to suppliers. Research by (McDuffie Helper, 1997) established that supplier development might fail if suppliers are not having a strong identification or if suppliers are not dependent on buyers. It will show the way to break down in learning relationship. Another major barrier towards supplier development program found from research by (Forker, Ruch, Hershauer, 1999) is difference between perceptions of buyer and suppliers about supplier development practices. These di fferences in perception are due to disparity in understanding in preference, intention, and process of supplier development program (Forker, Ruch, Hershauer, 1999). Supplier might agree initially for the proposal but later fail to implement due to difference in understanding. This problem can be cured with the help of clarification of issues. Researchers came up with number of conceptual models for building solutions to overcome these barriers. A ten step generic process model was developed based on the examination of in-depth response to open ended survey questions. Such a model was a step towards strategic supplier development. It was ranging from identification of critical commodities for development to systematically instituting ongoing continuous improvement. The model also suggested proposition that firms competing in markets characterized by high rates of technological changes and high level of competition are more likely to be involved with this model (Krause, Handfield, Scannell, An empirical investigation of supplier development: reactive and strategic processes, 1998). This model was slightly changed by proposition of seven steps generic model (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000). Also it was found most organization deployed first three steps but was less successful in deploying later stages. Similar t o previous model a process oriented four step generic supplier development model was proposed. This model was designed to help suppliers sustain and continue the change process and effectively build the capability for improvement within the organization (Hartley Jones, Process oriented supplier development: Building the capability for change, 1997). This model also increases the suppliers capability to act on its own and the improvement effort will continue once the buying firm finishes its activities (Wagner S. M., 2006). Also supplier structure was developed on the basis of specific vendor development strategy. Conceptual link was generated in between generic business unit strategies based on framework proposed by Porter and generic supplier development strategies, in other words linkage between supplier development strategies and company strategies (Chakraborty Philip, 1996). Execution of case study of five firms by (Dunn Young, 2004) results in a process model that enables th e buyers to pinpoint specific areas where improvement is required. Highlighting these small areas can impact on long term strategic supplier development initiatives. A review of the conceptual model and context of supplier development resulted in the identification of several elements that appear to be critical to the success of the supplier development program. These comprise of effective and enhanced communication, supplier commitment, top management involvement, strategic processing and long term commitment and supplier recognition/rewards (Krause Ellram, 1997). Background What is supplier development, why is the supplier development critical, what made this required to study and how the factors might affect the supplier development? Big things happen when you do little things right (Don, 2000). In this case if small generic steps for supplier development are deployed correctly then it can contribute towards success in supplier development. (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000) Developed seven step generic process map for set up supplier development activities. These are recognized as (a) Identify critical commodities (b) Identify critical supplies (c) Form a cross functional team (d) Meet with supplier top management (e) Identify key project (f) Define details of agreement and (g) Monitor status and monitor strategies. A discussion of each as follows. Identify critical commodities and suppliers Upper management involvement is vital to assess the relative importance of commodities and services procured by business unit. A corporate level executive committee analyzes the purchasing portfolio developed during strategic process. This analysis is extension of company strategic planning (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000). As a result critical commodities are identified and warranted for supplier development activities. Steps adopted here are mainly observed in strategic approach supplier development where in reactive approach respondents skip this step in supplier development process (Krause, Handfield, Scannell, An empirical investigation of supplier development: reactive and strategic processes, 1998). Choosing which supplier to develop is a critical task again because supplier development involves resources such as money and time, thus the decision should be strategic not reactive (Gordon, 2008). (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000). Many situations exist which are not mutually exclusive but warrant supplier development. To decide which situation needs supplier development is calculated judgment. Companies have formal supplier measurement system with help of which they assess suppliers performance. If any gap is found in measured and expected results, these suppliers are identified for development process where in reactive approach respondent skip this step in supplier development activities (Krause, Handfield, Scannell, An empirical investigation of supplier development: reactive and strategic processes, 1998). Also buying firm carefully evaluates suppliers quality, volume, delivery cost performance, launch readiness and potential kaizen opportunities to identify a prosp ective supplier development program (Novak, 2008). Hence, Strategic processing and upper management involvement have significant influence on the outcome of this first step of supplier development-identifying critical commodities and suppliers. These two will be among the variable of interest in the research thesis. Form a cross functional team Each firm must develop their suppliers according to their requirement. For example, some firms need managerial assistance and some need technical assistance. Thus it is essential to evaluate each supplier individually to create a plan that benefits both supplier and buyer (Daghfous, Campa, Hamde, 2008). As a result to face this complex challenge of developing dissimilar suppliers, innovative ideas are required to break down knowledge barrier between buyers and suppliers and to facilitate a transition of knowledge transfer from buyers to suppliers, a cross functional team is necessary to form (Blindenbacj-Driessen, 2009). Before approaching suppliers and ask for enhanced performance, it is also important to build up cross functional consensus and build up their own house before expecting commitment from suppliers (Monczka, Handfield, Glunipero, Patterson, 2009). In particular commitment of buyers and strategic approach is essential for buildup of cross functional consensus. Also a b uyer must establish its supply chain strategies and roles of procurement so that the business objectives are clear. Hence, Commitment and strategic process have significant influence on the outcome on creation of cross functional team. Therefore, these two will be among the variable of interest in the research thesis. Meet with supplier top management Upper management involvement again prevails but this time it is of suppliers side. Cross functional team must meet upper management of supplier side and establishes stra Analysis of Supplier Development Strategies Analysis of Supplier Development Strategies ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Any activity undertaken by a buying firm to improve supplier performance, supplier capabilities, or both and to meet the buying firms short and/or long term supply needs can be termed as supplier development activity. A study by the Harvard Business School concluded that a primary reason for declining US competitiveness is that US companies invest less than foreign rivals in intangible investments such as supplier development. Half of the companies fail in this supplier development effort if executed. As supplier development help in increasing competitiveness and is not successful every time if implemented, it is essential to examine supplier development and factors which result towards the success of supplier development. This paper will examine aspects associated with the success of supplier development strategies within different set of industry. This research will put forward a specific set of aspects are significant contributors to supplier development; also this paper will show that some factors of supplier development have significant influence on other factors of supplier development. Data from the population of buyers and suppliers will be collected to test the extent of relationship between significant factors and success of supplier development process. Agreement was noted between dependencies of success of supplier development process on several factors. Recommendations to supply managers and purchasing manager will be provided regarding upper management involvement, enhanced communication with their suppliers, recognition of their suppliers and development of strategic processing instead of reactive processing will be offered. chapter 1 introduction This thesis is a report of ethnographic study of critical factors for supplier development strategies. The study was based primarily upon the survey with supplier development managers and professionals involved in this field. This first chapter of the thesis will discuss the context of the study, intention of the study, describe the importance and will present the overview of the methodology used. Background of Study A global economy is emerging and resources are concentrated on core business rather than the diversification which show the way towards outsourcing. Outsourcing is increased from $91 billion to $416 billion in 20 years (Tunstall, 2002), and it is expected to increase further. In 2009 the value of outsourcing deals in logistics area were projected to $ 80 billion (Hyatt, 2009) which shows the intensity of use of suppliers. Due to this voluminous use of suppliers buying companies have to rely on their suppliers to deliver defect free product in a timely and cost effective manner. To compete in their respective markets, buying firm must ensure that their supplier capability equals the expectations (Krause Ellram, Success factors in supplier development, 1997). When a supplier is incapable of meeting the buying firms need the buying firm has three alternatives: (1) Bring the outsourced item in house and produce it internally, (2) Resource with a more capable supplier, (3) Help improve t he existing suppliers capabilities. All the three strategies can work. (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000). Supplier development is defined as Any effort of a buying firm with its supplier to increase the performance and capabilities of the supplier and meet the buying firms supply needs. (Krause Ellram, Critical elements of supplier development, 1997) When the suppliers are innovative and exclusively supplying a product then the supplier development option comes into the picture. When a company is using a supplier, it is necessary to have a good relationship with them. The Harvard research suggested that supplier development started very late in USA but it was started very long ago in the Japan. Toyota, Honda and Nissan implemented these supplier development activities in their plants a long back. Although similar research has been done previously, the theme of research was same but this new research is capable to generate new knowledge , First the populations is different and for the variety of reasons they will be having different opinions and attitudes than the previous cohort . There might be a different type of interaction in between me and those to which will generate the new idea, the sample data is from different set of industry and places so the research context will be totally different from the previous researches. Even the subject might be same but the contextual issues are very different. The Problem Statement Supplier development requires both supplier and buyer to commit their maximum to get the maximum out of the program. Even though both the sides agree that the commitment is required it is not necessary that supplier development program in which they are involved will be successful. In early 90s companies start reducing the number of direct suppliers and began evolving from adversarial relationships to more cooperative ones with the remaining suppliers. (Hartley Choi, 1996), Approximate one-third projects are failed due to suppliers underperformance. So the success in the supplier development is not a foregone conclusion. Supplier development is considered as a long term business strategy and there are various factors which affects this long term strategy. These factors not only affect the end result of supplier development process but also influence each other. This research tried to establish the critical success factors for supplier development and their inter-relationship with ea ch other. Regression models approach helped to develop the interrelationship among critical success factors. Anyone especially supplier development manager and procurement professional can refer the model over the wide range of circumstances and structure. The main objective of the research paper is to create the model for critical success factors for supplier development strategies. Professional Significance Large number of companies does the supplier development and they fail as well at surprising rate. Not all supplier development initiatives are successful in fact, as many as 50% are not successful, due to poor implementation and follow-up. (Handfield R. , 2002) The failed efforts consume tremendous amount of resources over months or even years. As multiple studies have shown over half of the supplier initiatives fails. This failure takes a toll that is not only financial but also psychological. Failure demoralizes employees who have been labored diligently to complete their share of the work. As the supplier development success factors depends on both the parties so a dedicated study is required to find out what factors make the supplier development process a success. In 2000, according to the study 53% of the companies claimed that they are involved in the supplier development program but it was found that only 20% of the companies are contributing for the financial support for the suppliers and only 14% of the companies are putting their employees in the suppliers place for the development purpose. Eleven percentages of the companies are giving the chance to the suppliers to come at the buyers place and learn. Only 11% of the companies are having the formal program for supplier development, others are doing it without any of the formal program. (Anonymous, 2000). It shows that even though companies are involved in supplier development program but not fully implementing in an appropriate way. In General Motors, after implementation of supplier development program supplier productivity was improved 50%, lead time was reduced by 75%, and inventory reduction happened around 70% during their one week workshops. On one project alone, Honda of Americas Best Practices (BP) team reduced a suppliers costs by more than $200,000 per year by changing the layout of a welding process. Furthermore layout change might increase the efficiency of supplier and ultimately give advantage to buying company. (Hartley Choi, 1996). Also one of the purchasing pro for a power tool producer said that in three years of developing suppliers, his company has seen quality rejects fall from 38.4% down to 0.5% while supplier on-time delivery has risen from 76% to 97.5%. Likewise, another proponent of supplier development cites an average supplier quality metric of 98.5% and on-time supplier delivery at 97%. They claimed to have improved quality, response time, prices and cycle time improvements, The VP f or a major California-based computer maker talks about how assistance from his firm allowed one subassembly supplier to ramp up to 50,000 pieces per month in only six weeks. (Anonymous, 2000).Although it took only 6 weeks to ramp up the production but usually supplier development is very time consuming and long process which consumes plenty of resources, so it is very much required to do it correct first time. To get the results mentioned above -$200,000 saving /year it is essential to learn what are the success contributors and failure contributors of supplier development. Overview of Methodology A structured survey questionnaire with five-point Likert scale was developed. Web and email were used to circulate and gather information regarding what group of supplier development professionals thinks about supplier development activities. Survey was divided in 6 small sections and every section was having 3 questions. Total of 20 questions were mailed to random sample of 300 supplier development professionals. The survey solicited about a single instance of supplier development performed by them. Survey was face validated and content validated with the help of thesis chair and committee. Of 300 surveys circulated 50 usable responses were obtained, which provides the perception of large group of supplier development manger regarding the nature of their supplier development project. The responding population represents a wide range of industry types. Also before e-mail survey set of interviews with supplier development managers was conducted. The interview was designed to validate the success factors collected after reviewing literature review and to help focus on reliable, important success factors which have extremely high control on supplier development success. Delimitation The research study was conducted at San Diego State University during the end of the fall semester-2009. This research was limited to supplier development manager who updated their resume on resume bank. This research was limited to professionals in North America continent to reduce cultural differences within the population used in the study. Multiple Regression model was used to prove the interdependency in between critical factors instead structural equation modeling. Survey instrument was developed with the help of existing instruments. This will allow us to compare new results with the old results. This research was limited to 3 questions per factor to keep instrument short. chapter 2 literature review This chapter will review the past researches that serves as the foundation for the thesis report presented. The research papers are basically associated with critical factors associated with success of supplier development. The research paper will present purpose and rationale for writing research paper on supplier development strategies. Following will be the review of literature on Strategic process, Upper management involvement, Supplier recognition, Effective and enhanced communication and commitment of suppliers. The chapter will conclude with a summary of literature. Examples of the key word used while finding the scholar research papers were supplier development, supplier relationship, supplier evaluation, supplier management, supply chain management and buyer-supplier relationship. Combinations of keywords were used to get different research papers. Search engine used during literature search were SDSU library search engine and Google scholar. (Ekholm Pashei, 2009). Past Literature First document application of supplier development comes from Toyota in 1939. Toyota discussed the need of working together with suppliers to improve collective performance. Thereafter in 1963 Nissan implemented first supplier development project, Honda joined the club in 1973 (Monczka, Handfield, Glunipero, Patterson, 2009). It is essential to understand the significance of each factor and the role it plays in supplier development process. Past researches can be categorized in (a) Theoretical, (b) Conceptual, (c) Empirical, (d) Conceptual and Empirical. Table 1 gives the brief of past literature which were identified. Previous to mid 1990s, the supplier development literature consisted mainly of theoretical studies covering cases of several companies and surveys and the purpose was to learn the barriers which comes in the way of supplier development. In 1990s the research moved towards establishing relationship in between various supplier development constructs where in 2000 the re search moved towards influence of supplier development towards innovation and purchasing strategy (Easton, 2000). In todays business increased trend of reliance on supplier is observed. Most of the buying firms need to pursue aggressive strategies in order to increase the future rate of capabilities improvement. (Monnczka, Trent, Callahan, 1993) Having mentioned that supplier is becoming increasingly critical to the competitive success of US firms, there are several reasons behind that. First manufacturers are beginning to focus on their core competencies and areas of technical expertise. Second, developing effective supply base management strategies can help counter the competitive pressures brought about by intense worldwide competition. Third, Suppliers can support directly a firms ability to innovate in the critical areas of product and process technology. Study showed 95% of business unit sample indicated supplier contributions were increasing throughout in terms of importance. There was a 232% increase in people from 1989-1990 who agreed with the statement that suppliers are extremely imp ortant to the achievement of competitive market strategies. More and more people started to outsource and started rely on suppliers. There was a growth of 15% of people from 1991-1992. Furthermore for each sample period, respondent projected and increasing dependency on suppliers for future product technology. More and more companies started to use supplier development process. Some of them are HP, Epson, Apple Computer, 3M, and BMW etc. Strong belief is supplier warrants improvement. If improvement does not occur firms across many industries may lose market share to competitors who are able to maximize supplier performance input. Sample was non random so the result can be generalized. Thus the trend is towards increasing reliance on supplier to help achieve competitive market strategies. This reliance on suppliers and improving their performance was initially documented from Toyota in 1939. Toyota discussed the need of working together with suppliers to improve collective performan ce. Thereafter in 1963 Nissan implemented first supplier development project, Honda joined the club in 1973 (Monczka, Handfield, Glunipero, Patterson, 2009). Supplier development was ubiquitous in Japan and Korea for number of years but less evident in US firms due to perceived lack of instant return on investment allied with setting up resources required to make it successful. Interestingly this practice was recognized early in the 1900 in the US automotive industry when Ford required improving supplier capacity (Krause, Handfield, Tyler, The relationships between supplier development, commitment, social and capital accumulation and performance improvement, 2006). In 1970s other Japanese automakers implemented the system and made their own modification like Honda developed a program called BP (Best practices). Review of case studies by (Sako, 2004) allowed examining differences in between supplier development activity in Toyota, Nissan and Honda. In 1939, Toyota purchasing rules stated that- Toyota suppliers must be treated as a Toyota branches and Toyota must continue to do business with these suppliers without switching to others and also develop the suppliers if required. Toyota bifurcated supplier development activities into TPS (Toyota Production System) and TQC (Total Quality Control). TPS was having different existence from TQC which allowed suppliers to take advantage of continuous improvement. Hyundai also realized that their small suppliers cannot again and again recruit engineers thus they sent engineers from their own shops to improve suppliers productivity. Hyundai do not financially support their suppliers but offer personnel support (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000). Nissan also implemented supplier development program which were significantly different from Toyota in the terms of number of point of contacts for suppliers, approach towards sharing the ideas and one to one training strategy during program. Honda and Nissan unified the TPS and TQC offering a single point of contact (Sako, 2004). The common features of the supplier development programs at Honda, Nissan and Toyota are multipl e channels for supplier development to transfer both tacit and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is more difficult to accumulate as it needs closer interactions especially face to face with suppliers and more time thus it is difficult to replicate tacit knowledge (Clarke, 2007). In contrast to these companies in Japan, the suppliers in US and Europe distrust the buyers intention and also buyers dont have identical level of authenticity as in Japan to act as trusted well wisher who can suggest their suppliers how they should invest their resources (Sako, 2004). A recent study from Harvard school concluded that primary reason for declining USA competitiveness is that US companies invest less in supplier relations and development thus considering these points from Japan the supplier development was adopted in Eastern countries like UK and USA (Monnczka, Trent, Callahan, 1993). Supplier development activities were transferred to USA as buying firms commissioned their own plants in USA due to government regulations. By 1996 General Motors had completed supplier development projects with over 2000 suppliers and claimed productivity improvements over 50%, lead time reduction of up to 75% and inventory reduction of 70% (Hartley Choi, Supplier development: Customers as a catalyst of process change, 1996), (Clarke, 2007). By 2001 John Deere was involved in 426 different projects with 92 different supplier development engineer and delivering annual saving of $700,000 along with improvements in quality, cost and delivery. By 1994, Allied-Signal expe cted to save up to $300,000 from supplier development activities and also expected for increase in shares price (Monnczka, Trent, Callahan, 1993). At Deere and Delphi, a $100,000 investment in supplier development yields at least three to ten times the original investment (Nelson, Moody, Stegner, 2005). This illustrates that large firms adopted supplier development and it became strategic tool for them to improve quality, reduce cost and improve the delivery. The basic development process started with reduction in supplier base and then developing the remaining suppliers. Also it was adopted in service based companies from product based companies. But more focus was on the product based companies. Service based relies on the competitive pressure of market forces instigate supplier performance to a greater extent than product based firms and that then to use. In UK most companies rationalized or optimized their supple base to include fewer total suppliers. Western countries were no t getting involved in direct supplier development; Japanese companies were successful because they were involved in direct supplier development. Toyota is purchasing product from the same supplier since 1937. GM adopted this strategic supplier development in Europe. Motorola and Ford also adopted similar kind of supplier development Countries and large firms started to realize the benefits of supplier development, they recognized that supplier development must be worth if its emerging everywhere in Japan. From the national perspective, benefits of supplier development were improvement in domestic suppliers, reduction in off shoring and increase in GDP (Krause Ellram, 1997). From the corporate and large firm perspective, supplier development helped in improving quality, reliability and manufacturability of new design. Besides that supplier development also helped in knowledge sharing and improved collaboration. Furthermore responsiveness to customer needs and market dynamics also increased with supplier development (Krause Ellram, 1997). The data gathered with 527 purchasing executives by (Krause D. R., Supplier development: Current practices and outcomes, 1997) revealed that supplier development attributed to timely delivery, completed orders, reduction in defects scrap and reduced order cycle time. Research by (Blonska, Rozemeijer, Wetzels) established that supplier development guide towards getting a preferential buyer status and supplier adaptability. Supplier adaptation is perceived as an attainment of a goal of supplier development aimed at supplier performance improvement (Blonska, Rozemeijer, Wetzels). With help of two in depth case studies (Reed Walsh, 2002) established that supplier development activities enhance technological capabilities in their suppliers. Also some of the firms expected technological improvement should follow from improved business processes. Supplier development also helped in developing mutual trust in between buyers and suppliers (Reed Walsh, 2002). As mentioned earlier this increase in reliance was due to improvement in performance after implementing supplier development program. BMW strives to be 20% above industry average in quality performance. Management believed supplier development made it possible to attain that quality standard and increase in revenue (Rhodes, Warren, Carter, 2006). Also in Honda dramatic improvement was seen in product quality since Honda began to develop suppliers in North America, In 1985 quality level was 7000 parts defective per million and In 1995 quality level was increased to 100 defective parts per million (Berlow, 1995). A team of purchasing professionals from Honda of America worked with 12 stamping suppliers to reduce cost by $4million in six months in 1995 with its supplier development efforts (Berlow, 1995). In the context of supplier development, suppliers and buyers state that they want to practice more supplier development methods to enjoy its benefits but there are myriads of barriers that hinder the effective supplier development strategies. Research by (Lascelles Dale, 1989) utilizing survey responses from UK based suppliers to 3 major customers in automotive industry illustrated that poor communication and feedback, unstructured quality improvement programs, credibility of buyers, misconception regarding purchasing power and supplier satisfaction are the foremost barriers in the supplier development programs. Also in an empirical study with 89 minority goods and service providers (Krause, Ragatz, Hughley, Supplier development from the minority suppliers perspective, 1999) demonstrated that the main barriers towards minority owned supplier development are poor communication, non-profit situation and racial biases. Results also indicated that small minority owned suppliers were le ss positive about supplier development activities as compared to large minority owned suppliers (Novak, 2008). Survey by (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000) on supplier development strategies with 84 companies established several other barriers apart from already mentioned that deter supplier development strategies. It includes Lack of supplier commitment, insufficient supplier resources, lack of trust, and poor alignment of organizational cultures, unsupportive upper management and insufficient inducement to suppliers. Research by (McDuffie Helper, 1997) established that supplier development might fail if suppliers are not having a strong identification or if suppliers are not dependent on buyers. It will show the way to break down in learning relationship. Another major barrier towards supplier development program found from research by (Forker, Ruch, Hershauer, 1999) is difference between perceptions of buyer and suppliers about supplier development practices. These di fferences in perception are due to disparity in understanding in preference, intention, and process of supplier development program (Forker, Ruch, Hershauer, 1999). Supplier might agree initially for the proposal but later fail to implement due to difference in understanding. This problem can be cured with the help of clarification of issues. Researchers came up with number of conceptual models for building solutions to overcome these barriers. A ten step generic process model was developed based on the examination of in-depth response to open ended survey questions. Such a model was a step towards strategic supplier development. It was ranging from identification of critical commodities for development to systematically instituting ongoing continuous improvement. The model also suggested proposition that firms competing in markets characterized by high rates of technological changes and high level of competition are more likely to be involved with this model (Krause, Handfield, Scannell, An empirical investigation of supplier development: reactive and strategic processes, 1998). This model was slightly changed by proposition of seven steps generic model (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000). Also it was found most organization deployed first three steps but was less successful in deploying later stages. Similar t o previous model a process oriented four step generic supplier development model was proposed. This model was designed to help suppliers sustain and continue the change process and effectively build the capability for improvement within the organization (Hartley Jones, Process oriented supplier development: Building the capability for change, 1997). This model also increases the suppliers capability to act on its own and the improvement effort will continue once the buying firm finishes its activities (Wagner S. M., 2006). Also supplier structure was developed on the basis of specific vendor development strategy. Conceptual link was generated in between generic business unit strategies based on framework proposed by Porter and generic supplier development strategies, in other words linkage between supplier development strategies and company strategies (Chakraborty Philip, 1996). Execution of case study of five firms by (Dunn Young, 2004) results in a process model that enables th e buyers to pinpoint specific areas where improvement is required. Highlighting these small areas can impact on long term strategic supplier development initiatives. A review of the conceptual model and context of supplier development resulted in the identification of several elements that appear to be critical to the success of the supplier development program. These comprise of effective and enhanced communication, supplier commitment, top management involvement, strategic processing and long term commitment and supplier recognition/rewards (Krause Ellram, 1997). Background What is supplier development, why is the supplier development critical, what made this required to study and how the factors might affect the supplier development? Big things happen when you do little things right (Don, 2000). In this case if small generic steps for supplier development are deployed correctly then it can contribute towards success in supplier development. (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000) Developed seven step generic process map for set up supplier development activities. These are recognized as (a) Identify critical commodities (b) Identify critical supplies (c) Form a cross functional team (d) Meet with supplier top management (e) Identify key project (f) Define details of agreement and (g) Monitor status and monitor strategies. A discussion of each as follows. Identify critical commodities and suppliers Upper management involvement is vital to assess the relative importance of commodities and services procured by business unit. A corporate level executive committee analyzes the purchasing portfolio developed during strategic process. This analysis is extension of company strategic planning (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000). As a result critical commodities are identified and warranted for supplier development activities. Steps adopted here are mainly observed in strategic approach supplier development where in reactive approach respondents skip this step in supplier development process (Krause, Handfield, Scannell, An empirical investigation of supplier development: reactive and strategic processes, 1998). Choosing which supplier to develop is a critical task again because supplier development involves resources such as money and time, thus the decision should be strategic not reactive (Gordon, 2008). (Handfield, Krause, Scannel, Monczka, 2000). Many situations exist which are not mutually exclusive but warrant supplier development. To decide which situation needs supplier development is calculated judgment. Companies have formal supplier measurement system with help of which they assess suppliers performance. If any gap is found in measured and expected results, these suppliers are identified for development process where in reactive approach respondent skip this step in supplier development activities (Krause, Handfield, Scannell, An empirical investigation of supplier development: reactive and strategic processes, 1998). Also buying firm carefully evaluates suppliers quality, volume, delivery cost performance, launch readiness and potential kaizen opportunities to identify a prosp ective supplier development program (Novak, 2008). Hence, Strategic processing and upper management involvement have significant influence on the outcome of this first step of supplier development-identifying critical commodities and suppliers. These two will be among the variable of interest in the research thesis. Form a cross functional team Each firm must develop their suppliers according to their requirement. For example, some firms need managerial assistance and some need technical assistance. Thus it is essential to evaluate each supplier individually to create a plan that benefits both supplier and buyer (Daghfous, Campa, Hamde, 2008). As a result to face this complex challenge of developing dissimilar suppliers, innovative ideas are required to break down knowledge barrier between buyers and suppliers and to facilitate a transition of knowledge transfer from buyers to suppliers, a cross functional team is necessary to form (Blindenbacj-Driessen, 2009). Before approaching suppliers and ask for enhanced performance, it is also important to build up cross functional consensus and build up their own house before expecting commitment from suppliers (Monczka, Handfield, Glunipero, Patterson, 2009). In particular commitment of buyers and strategic approach is essential for buildup of cross functional consensus. Also a b uyer must establish its supply chain strategies and roles of procurement so that the business objectives are clear. Hence, Commitment and strategic process have significant influence on the outcome on creation of cross functional team. Therefore, these two will be among the variable of interest in the research thesis. Meet with supplier top management Upper management involvement again prevails but this time it is of suppliers side. Cross functional team must meet upper management of supplier side and establishes stra