Configuring and Managing the DHCP Server Role Essay

Question 1 What is the name of the computer you are working from? W2K8xx Question 2 What is the default lease duration of a Wired subnet type? 6 days Question 3 What are three recommendations listed in Server Manager for managing the DHCP Server role? Increase fault tolerance Eliminate manual updates Allow remote Administraition Question 4 What is the name of the computer you are working fro W2K8yy Question 5 What IP addressing settings are currently configured? 10.10.1.101 Question 6 Is the computer currently configured for DHCP? How can you tell? No, it is stated in the cmd Question 7 What is the IP address of the DHCP server from which W2K8yy has obtained its IP address? 000.000.000.000 Question 8 If the answer to #7 was not the IP address of the W2K8xx computer, why might this have happened? It is not enabled Question 9 What nodes appear underneath the DHCP scope that you created in Exercise 3-1? Address pool address leases Question 10 What appears in the IP address text box? 192.168.11.1 Question 11 What value is configured in the DNS Servers: line? 172.16.2.3 172.16.4.5 Question 12 What value is configured in the DNS Servers: line? 172.16.2.3 172.16.4.5 Question 13 What is the default location for DHCP server backups? DHCP > backups Question 14 What IP address is configured on the W2K8yy computer? 172.16.227.55 Question 15 What appears in the IP address text box? 172.16.227.55 preferred Question 16 From which DHCP server are you receiving an IP address? From corexx computer Lab REview Questions Completion time 15 minutes 1.In your own words, describe what you learned by completing this lab. 2. You have installed the DHCP Server service on a computer running Windows Server 2008. You configure and activate a 10.0.0.0/24 scope; however, clients still are receiving a 169.254.x.x IP address. What should you do? 3. Configure the ip address so both are in the same format 3.You have configured a DHCP scope with an address range of 192.168.0.1 through 192.168.0.254. You have several servers and printers that use the IP address range of 192.168.0.1 through 192.168.0.20. With the least amount of administrative effort, how can you prevent duplicate IP addressing? Log which IP addresses go to what so that you dont assign the same one twice 4.You currently are using a DHCP server on your network. It assigns a default gateway scope option to clients. You use a router with a different IP address to replace a router on your network. The new router allows clients to connect to the Internet; however, clients cannot connect to the Internet using the new router. What should you do? That makes no sense you just told me the new router allows clients to connect to the internet

Equilibrium: Supply and Demand and Price

Test Version A SEMESTER I EXAMINATIONS Mid-Term Assessment ECON 30110 Microeconomics II Time Allowed: 50 minutes Instructions for Candidates This exam counts for 30% of the Module Grade. All questions carry equal marks. Note there is NO negative marking Correct answer is worth 1 mark. No answer or more than one answer, will both receive a 0 mark. Incorrect answer will receive a 0 mark. Attempt all 20 questions. Shade in the box in the appropriate space with a HB pencil on the RESPONSE SHEET. Write the test version at the top of the RESPONSE SHEET You may use the paper provided to make notes or calculations to help you.Instructions for Invigilators Foreign language/English dictionaries are permitted. Non-Programmable Calculators are permitted NO MOBILE PHONES ALLOWED 1. If two people in a pure exchange economy have identical utility functions, then they: a) may want to trade if their marginal rates of substitution are different b) will want to trade if they are on the contract curve c ) will not want to trade if their consumption bundles are not Pareto-efficient d) will only want to trade if they are not at their endowment e) may want to trade if the price ratio is not equal to one nswer a If MRSA is not equal to MRSB, the two consumers will be able to arrange a mutually beneficial trade. Mutually beneficial trade will not occur only when the allocation of resources among A and B is already efficient. In the case of our two-consumer economy, MRSA=MRSB indicates an efficient allocation of goods (on contract curve). 2. Suppose in a two-good (X and Y) two-person (Ann and Bob) exchange economy, the MRS for person A is YA/XA and the MRS for B is YB/XB. The total amount of X is 40 and the total amount of Y is 40.Ann has an initial endowment of 10 units of X and 30 of Y, while Bob has the remainder. This implies: a) No trade will take place. b) Ann will give some of Y to Bob in exchange for X. c) Ann will give some of X to Bob in exchange for Y. d) Ann will give some of X and Y to Bob. e) There is no enough information to make any predictions Answer b: MRSA = 30/10 = 3 Ann will give 3Y for 1X (or 1Y for 1/3X) MRSB = 10/30 = 1/3 †¦. Bob will give 1Y for 3X (or 1X for 1/3Y) Ann will trade Y for X (gives 1Y for min 1/3X and Bob accepts †¦.. n exchange for 1 Y will give up to 3X) 3. An Edgeworth Box is shown for individuals A and B, along with the contract curve. Which of the allocations b through i can be reached through free trade from â€Å"a†, and once they have been reached no further mutually beneficial trade is possible? a) Allocations b, e and f only b) Allocations c, i and f only c) Allocations d, c, i, g and h only d) Allocations c and i only e) None of these Answer: d Given endowment a, only points within the lens shaped area are mutually beneficial, or pareto superior (so points c, i and f).That is to say, any point outside of this lens would result in at least one of the individuals being worse off compared with point a. However, at only the points on the contract curve illustrate outcomes that are pareto efficient – where the indifference curves are just tangent (MRS of A and B are equal). That is to say, pareto efficiency means that no one can be made better off without someone else being made worse off. So all the gains from trade are exhausted and no further mutually beneficial trade is possible. Point f is not on the contract curve, represents a case where MRS of A and B are different, and hence a case where further mutually beneficial trade is possible. ) 4. An Edgeworth Box is shown for individuals A and B. The endowment point E represents the initial allocation of the goods X and Y. A price line is shown passing through points E, A and B, representing a given price ratio of –PX/PY. At this given price ratio, which of the following statements is True? a) We are at a competitive equilibrium ) To achieve a competitive equilibrium, the price of good Y will rise and/or the price of good X must fall c) To achieve a competitive equilibrium, the price of good X will rise and/or the price of good Y must fall d) To achieve a competitive equilibrium the price of both goods must rise e) We cannot achieve a competitive equilibrium given the initial endowment Answer b At the given price ratio, there is excess demand for Y and excess supply of X. This means that the price of good Y will rise and/or the price of good X must fall.Process continues until all excess demand and supply are eliminated, and IC tangent to each other (on the Contract curve) and to the price line (which will now be flatter. So in the competitive equilibrium all markets clear, MRSA = MRSB = PX/PY. (see lecture overheads) 5. Suppose the production possibilities for two countries, A and B, producing two goods, X and Y, are as follows: | A| B| X| 2| 7| Y| 4| 7| They can each produce any linear combination as well. Measuring X on the horizontal axis, the joint production possibility frontier: a) will k ink away from the origin at 7 units of X. ) will kink toward the origin at 7 units of X. c) will kink away from the origin at 2 units of X d) will kink toward the origin at 2 units of X e) will not have a kink answer: a jointly the countries can produce either a total of 9X or 11Y. MRT of A is – 4/ 2= -2 MRT of B is – 7/7 = -1 Country B has comparative advantage in X (gives up 1Y for additional 1X †¦ whereas country A needs to give up 2Y for an additional X). Country A has a comparative advantage in production of Y (gives up 1/2 X for additional 1Y †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ whereas B must give up 1X for additional Y) Jointly then can produce 9 X and 0 Y †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ or 11Y and 0 X.These define the intercepts of the joint PPF. Kink arises where both countries specialise in good in which have a comparative advantage: so B produces only X (i. e. 7X) and A produces only Y (i. e. 4Y) If jointly produce more than 7X then B produces only X, and A both X and Y (with MRT of -2). If jointly produce more than 4Y then A produces 4Y and B both X and Y (with MRT of -1). Hence answer a 6. Competition results in the efficient product mix because: a) the slope of the production possibility frontier will equal the slope of the contract curve. b) the distribution of the final output is Pareto efficient. ) producers are setting MRT equal to minus the price ratio while consumers are setting MRS equal to minus the price ratio ensuring that MRT will equal MRS. d) consumers are on the contract curve e) none of these answer c ( see self assessment sheet 2, Q1, part iv. 7. One test of whether a firm is a profit-maximizing monopoly is to check whether the firm is operating in the elastic portion of its demand curve. Why is this a relevant test and what would the elasticity be if the firm were maximizing revenue? a) If a firm were operating in the inelastic portion of the demand curve, it could raise its price and increase profit.Revenue is maximized when elasticity equals â₠¬â€œ 1. b) If a firm were operating in the inelastic portion of the demand curve, it could raise its price and increase profit. Revenue is maximized when elasticity equals 0. c) If a firm were operating in the elastic portion of the demand curve, it could raise its price and increase profit. Revenue is maximized when elasticity equals – 1. d) If a firm were operating in the elastic portion of the demand curve, it could raise its price and increase profit. Revenue is maximized when elasticity equals 0. e) None of these. Answer a see lecture and also self assessment sheet 3, question 1 part (v) for related question) 8. Consider a firm that is the sole producer of a homogeneous product. It faces a market demand function of Q =100 – P , where P is the price of the good, and Q is the quantity of the good demanded. The firm’s costs of production are given by 40Q. The profit maximising price is then given by: a) P = 100 b) P = 60 c) P = 30 d) P = 70 e) None of these so lution d: Monopoly. Profits ? = TR-TC Profit max where MR = MC Q = 100 – P and hence P = 100 – Q So TR = 100Q – Q2 So MR = 100 – 2Q TC = 40Q so MC = 40 MR = MC implies 100 – 2Q = 40Thus Q = 30 Therefore P = 100 – 30 = 70 9. Consider a firm that is the sole producer of a homogeneous product. It faces a market demand function of Q =100 – P , where P is the price of the good, and Q is the quantity of the good demanded. The firm’s costs of production are given by 40Q. Then the firm’s Lerner index is equal to: a) 1/2 b) 3/4 c) 11/7 d) 1 e) None of these Answer e: none of these From previous question, optimal P = 70 Lerner index = (p-c)/p = (70 – 40)/70 = 30 / 70 = 3/7 10. This figure shows the demand and cost curves facing a monopoly. 80 60 40 20 800 600 400 200 0 The deadweight loss of the monopoly is: a) 48000 ) 4000 c) 2000 d) 32000 e) None of these Answer c: Draw in MR curve – cuts horizontal axis at ? Q of demand function, and has same intercept at the D on the vertical axis. MR cuts horizontal axis at Q = 40 Setting MR = MC allows monopolist to charge P = 600 (and output of Q = 20) (note: alternatively, from picture can see that expression for demand function is P = 800 – 10Q †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. when Q = 0 then P = 800 †¦.. and slope given by – 800 / 80 = – 10 Hence, TR = 800Q – 10 Q2 and so MR = 800 – 20Q. Set MR = MC we get Q = 20 and substituting into inverse demand we get P = 600) Competitive output occurs where P = MC = 400 and so Q = 40DWL = area of shaded triangle = ? (600 – 400) * (40 – 20) = 100*20 = 2000 11. Suppose a monopolists price elasticity of demand is –5, and the marginal cost of production equals â‚ ¬80. The monopolist’s profit maximising price is then equal to: a) 75 b) 400 c) 16 d) 100 e) Cannot be computed with the information given Answer d Lerner index = (p-c)/p = 1/e So (p – 80)/p = 1/ 5 Hence solving for p gives p = 100 12. If the government regulates a natural monopoly by forcing it to set a price equal to Marginal Cost then a) the natural monopoly will still make high profits. b) the natural monopoly will shut down ) the natural monopoly’s marginal cost curve will shift down. d) the natural monopoly's marginal cost curve will shift up. e) the natural monopoly will earn zero profits answer b. Natural monopoly has MC below AC. So p = MC would mean loss – which would mean exit 13. perfect price discriminating monopolist: a) generates a deadweight loss to society. b) Provides quantity discounts to customers buying larger quantities c) charges each buyer her reservation price. d) charges different prices to each customer based upon different costs of delivery. e) reduces, but does not eliminate, consumer surplus nswer c see lecture. With perfect price discrimination each consumer charged reservation price, which allows monopolist to fully extract consu mer surplus (so CS is zero) and maximises total social welfare (so no deadweight loss) 14. A monopoly sells to two countries, and resales between the countries are impossible. The demand functions of the two countries are given as P1 = 100 – Q1 P2 = 120 – 2Q2 The monopolists marginal cost is â‚ ¬30. The profit maximising monopolist will set prices as follows: a) P1 = 65 and P2 = 75 b) P1 = 35 and P2 = 22. 5 c) P1 = 68. 33 = P2 d) P1 = 100 and P2 = 60 ) None of these Solution a: Profit max monop will choose p1 to max profit in country 1, and choose p2 to max profit in country 2. We have two separate demand functions. Hence, this implies MR1 = MC and set MR2 = MC TC = 30Q TR1 = 100Q1 – Q12 MR1 = 100 – 2Q1 = 30 MC Solving: Q1 = 35 And hence P1 = 100 – Q1 = 65 TR2 = 120Q2 – 2Q22 MR2 = 120 – 4Q2 = 30 MC Solving: Q2 = 45/2 = 22 ? And hence P2 = 120 – 2Q2 = 120 – 45 = 75 15. Two firms, A and B, selling identical products fac e an inverse market demand function given by P = 100 – Q, and each have a constant marginal cost of 40.The firms simultaneously choose quantities to maximise profit. Firm A’s reaction function can then be written as: f) qA = 30 – qB g) qA = 30 + ? qB h) qA = 60 – qB i) qA = 30 – ? qB j) None of these Answer d: DEMAND : P = 100 – Q Two firms in the industry, so Q = qA + qB Hence we can write P =100 – qA – qB Profit function for firm A: = TR – TC = P qA – C Thus, ? A = 100qA – qA2 – qAqB – 40qA Firm A will choose qA to maximise profit, given the qB set by its rival B †¦.. First order condition for profit maximisation then is A / ? qA = 100 –2 qA – qB – 40 = 0Rearranging, we find qA = (60 – qB) / 2 = 30 – ? qB †¦.. this is firm A’s reaction function †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ in order to maximise it’s profit, firm A will choose and output qA that is a best response to qB †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Identical firms, so similarly qB = 30 – ? qA †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. this is firm B’s reaction function †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ in order to maximise it’s profit, firm B will choose and output qB that is a best response to qA†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 16. Two firms, A and B, selling identical products face an inverse market demand function given by P = 100 – Q, and each have a constant marginal cost of 40.The firms simultaneously choose quantities to maximise profit. The equilibrium outcomes are: k) P = 40 and qA = 30 = qB l) P = 60 and qA = 20 = qB m) P = 70 and qA = 15 = qB n) P = 100 and qA = 20 = qB o) None of these Answer b Solving reaction functions: 1) qA = 30 – ? qB 2) qB = 30 – ? qA Substituting equation (2) into equation (1) we can then solve for the optimal qA that A should choose to maximise profits†¦. qA = 30 – ? (30 – ? qA) qA = 20 Since we have identical firms, we know that similarly we can so lve for qB = 20 Market quantity Q = qA+ qA = 40 And we can solve for the market price.Since P = 100 – Q this implies that P = 60 17. In a Bertrand model with differentiated products p) price is independent of marginal cost. q) firms set price at marginal cost. r) firms set price independently of one another. s) firms can set price above marginal cost. t) price may be either equal to or above marginal cost answer d 18. In a homogeneous good Bertrand model, the equilibrium price u) declines with the number of firms in the market v) is independent of the number of firms in the market w) is independent of marginal cost x) is above marginal cost . ) is the same as the monopoly price answer b (note n = 1 implies a monopoly and not an Oligopoly). for n = 2, p = mc †¦.. and for all n;2 price = mc so price does depend upon mc, is equal to mc, and is independent of the number of firms in the market 19. In the long run in a monopolistic competitive market, a) Firms will set P ; MC and produce where P = AC b) Firms will set P ; MC and produce where P ; AC c) Firms set P = MC and produce where P = AC d) Firms set P = MC and produce where P ; AC e) Total Social Welfare is maximised Answer a Have market power: set P ; MC †¦. ut no entry barriers, so in long run all profits are eroded and so P = AC and profits are zero 20. The payoff matrix for two firms, A and B, that must choose between setting a High or Low price strategy is shown as follows: | Firm B| Firm A| | Low| High| | Low| (10 , 10)| (25 , 5)| | High| (5 , 25)| (20,20)| A Nash equilibrium in this game is: a) Both firms set a High price b) Both firms set a Low price c) Firm A sets a Low price and firm B sets a High price d) Firm A sets a High price and firm B sets a Low price e) There is no nash equilibrium in this game Answer b

Psychology from Descartes’ Perspective Essay

A definition of psychology takes only a few brief words: It is the systematic study of behavior and the factors that influence behavior (Calkins, 1916). Yet that simple statement covers a wide range of subject matter so vast that, just like the universe itself, its boundaries defy imagination. problems and seek ways to cope with them (Murchison, 1929). The factors that influence behavior are also many and varied. The most important is the human brain, but the brain itself is immensely complex; it is made up of 10 billion nerve cells, of scores of different kinds performing different functions, that are intricately connected and interconnected and constantly exchanging messages coded into little jolts of electricity and chemical activity (Murchison, 1929). The definition of psychology includes systematic study because psychology uses the rigorous and highly disciplined methods of science. It does not rely on some mysterious and supernatural explanation for human behavior, as our early ancestors presumably did. It is not content to describe behavior as some philosopher of the past, however brilliant, may have imagined it to be. Psychology is skeptical and demands proof. It is based on controlled experiments and on observations made with the greatest possible precision and objectivity (Calkins, 1916). Throughout the Middle Ages, intellectual and philosophical figures scrutinized behavior primarily from a spiritual rather than a scientific perspective. Then again, a number of philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries provided sizeable inputs to the expansion of psychology. Great thinkers of all times have attacked and criticized the god-idea with philosophical arguments. Despite this, the god-idea is still alive. Propped up by questionable arguments and means, it still clings to life. Rene Descartes is one of the inquisitive minds in history. Since Descartes has found a piece of certain knowledge, that he exists as a thinking thing, he starts to look around for more of self- evident truths. He discovers that he has quite a few of them, prominent among these being the truths of mathematics and logic, and he is optimistic about his chances for developing a system of certain knowledge. Then he realizes a kink in his plan. These clear and distinct perceptions are only indubitable so long as he is attending to them (Hocking, 1912) Rene Descartes portrayed the body and mind as unconnected elements that heavily shape each other. Descartes proposed that the transmission between body and mind happened in the pineal gland in the brain (Kemp, 1990). Additionally, Rene Descartes assumed that there was no problem that human reason could not solve if the correct method was employed. This was also the assumption Locke called into critical question, namely the belief that the human mind has capabilities that enable it to discover the true nature of the universe. To his contemporaries, Descartes was wasting his time by trying to discover what must be absolutely true in the real world. He is not arguing against material objects, just material object substances. He says that something can exist when either he sees or feels it, when he perceives it, or when some other spirit perceives it (Palmer, 2001). View of material object substances was that they are caused by the object itself or by God. And God would be a deceiver if he caused the ideas, but God isn’t a deceiver so material object substances exist in and of themselves. Some psychologists reject Descartes’ ideas because he thinks that God is the cause of material object substances, but that doesn’t make him a deceiver (Palmer, 2001). Descartes aimed at the more modest objective of clearing the ground a little, and removing some of the rubbish that lies in the way of knowledge. Descartes hit upon a bold and original interpretation of how the mind works, and from this, described the kind and extent of knowledge we can expect from the human mind. The scope of our knowledge, according to Descartes, is limited to our experience. This was not a new insight as both Bacon and Thomas Hobbes had urged before him that knowledge should be built upon observation, and to this extent they indeed could be called empiricists. And so through the centuries, humanity remained absorbed in the attempt to explain human nature. The philosophers like Rene Descartes speculated. Literary giants wrote of human passions, struggles, triumphs, and tragedies. But the facts were not available; only personal opinion and guesswork. It was impossible to know for sure how we see and hear until modern science learned about light and sound waves and the way they affect nerve endings within the body. Human moods and emotions could not be analyzed until science identified the substances secreted by the human glands and the complex way the glands interact with the brain. The process of heredity could not be understood until biologists discovered the chromosomes, genes, and the chemical key to life called DNA. The influence of environment was unclear until psychologists established the facts about learning and about development from infant to adult (Kantor, 1963). Though Descartes may have seen science and psychology as unified science, the relevant eternal worth of each exhibits the enormous disparity between them. Descartes’ version of psychology is rooted in conjecture that has ever since been abandoned with improved comprehension and technology brought to light, while his role in biology was found on competent annotations deduced with ardent insight that survived centuries of criticisms (Calkins, 1916). Even today, we do not know the full story, and perhaps we never will, for human behavior is so complex that it may forever defy complete understanding. But psychologists aided by the progress of other scientists have found some of the answers, and they are making new discoveries all the time. The psychological experiment, psychology itself, has come a long way since the science began. At the start, the idea of taking approach to the study of behavior required a radical shift in human thinking and invention of brand-new techniques of study. The early psychologists lacked the tools necessary for sophisticated exploration. All in all the science has had a remarkably rich history, and it would be impossible to list all of Rene Descartes’ influential ideas that have made important contributions. The progress has been especially rapid in recent years, as knowledge has built on knowledge, and many of the facts and terms were unknown even a few decades ago. Each new finding made by Descartes’ descendants raises new questions and demands new explanations, and it is unlikely that psychologists will ever complete their exploration of the vast domain they have entered. But they have gone a long way toward probing the very core of human nature and human experience, including mental processes and behavior in all their great variety from a baby’s first faltering attempts at learning to an adult’s complex emotions, strivings, conflicts, and social adjustments or maladjustments. Without taking the scientific approach, it is difficult to reach valid conclusions about human behavior. The nonscientist is almost bound to commit numerous mistakes of observation and interpretation and to make judgments based on faulty or insufficient evidence. All of us tend to generalize from our own feelings and experiences, though what we see in ourselves is not necessarily characteristic of people on general. Or we generalize from the actions and opinions of the people we know, which again are not necessarily universal. Thus the findings of Descartes often come as a surprise, even to psychologists themselves (Murchison, 1929).

SUPERIOR CUISINE PORTFOLIO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

SUPERIOR CUISINE PORTFOLIO - Essay Example He was known to be a lover of gourmet food and lavish banquets. Some of the directions we see in French culinary style including serving methods were effected mainly during his time. In the seventeenth century the regions near its borders, Italy and Holland, largely influenced French cuisine for example. Due to the Italian influence French cuisine at that time was nowhere near the delicate culinary style that it is today. As is typical of Italian cuisine, the French cuisine also showed excessive use and taste of sugar, salt with strong spices. Louis the XIV was determined to present French cuisine as a delicate and exotic cuisine and thereby transform France into a culinary capital in the eyes of the world. The staple base in most of the food that was eaten at that time was still bread among the peasants in the region. Louis the XIV, love for the culinary arts was aimed at bringing gourmet food to the peasants and he held many lavish banquets where the people received an education on French cuisine and treated as a form of Art. There was a drive to make food from fresh ingredients and herbs in place of strong and taste overwhelming spices. He also wanted all the components of the cuisine to be developed and perfected in France. This was his way of showing off the aristocracy of France as a nation. To enforce this that era saw a lot of ban of foreign ingredients. He also had a passion for gardening and urged the people to also grow their own vegetables and make the cuisine richer in taste by using fresh ingredients. Many innovations were effected because of the ban in foreign imports. Although France was unified as a nation it was a build up of people with varying cultural heritages and influences. Therefore people started producing ingredients that they were used to and familiar with. Due to proximity with other nations, the cuisine of population that lived near the border regions showed strong

The Role of women in Kuwait Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Role of women in Kuwait - Research Paper Example This assessment is conducted with respect to three distinct time periods in Kuwaiti history that is the Pre-Oil Kuwait, the Post-Independence Kuwait and Modern Kuwait. The Traditional Role of Women in Kuwait Before the discovery of oil in Kuwait, the country’s economic situation was at its worse. This is reflected in the fact that during the Pre-Oil period, the nation was classified as one of the poorest countries in the world (Shelash, 1985). The traditional Kuwaiti society was essentially diversified in its sustenance, with dependency upon several industries such as fishing, while, agriculture did not play a significant role in the country’s GDP. In this simple setup, gender roles were highly stereotypical, where the male member of the house acted as the head of the family as well as the provider and economic caretaker of the house. Shelash (1985) noted that the man of the house also enjoyed complete authority over other members of the family, especially women in matt ers relating to marriage and other important decisions pertaining to the affairs of the household. Therefore, in the traditional Kuwaiti society, women had no participation whatsoever in the arrangements and affairs of the family either economically or socially. Moreover, male dominance in the attribution of roles was so stringent that any woman who was caught violating the rules faced serious and severe repercussions. Shelash (1985) concluded that such practices reflected the existence of immense discrepancies and inequalities between the rights of men and women. Men, in traditional Kuwaiti society enjoyed freedom to choose their wives while, women had no say in matters relating to marriage. This further stems the notion that the role of Kuwaiti women has traditionally been limited to accommodating to the needs and wants of the men of the society which for commentators such as Shelash (1985) is reflective of the submissive role of women in pre-independence Kuwait. Several commentat ors have sought to explore the relationship between the roles of women in countries of the Arabian Peninsula such as Kuwait, the cultural implications of their status in their countries and Islam. Shelash (1985) concludes that the seemingly passive role that Kuwaiti women were traditional expected to abide by in the Pre-Oil era of the country was a result of culture rather than the teachings of Islam. The Kuwaiti culture expected women to be docile and submissive citizens, whose roles were limited to that of mother, wife, daughter and sister (Keedie and Beck, 1978:26). Educational opportunities in traditional Kuwait were also limited and highly restricted for girls; it was not until three years before the country’s independence in June 1961 that the female population was able to go to school, significant discrepancy in the gender-based percentage of students attending school in Kuwait remained till the period of 1961-1962, as male attendance in educational institutions greatl y surpassed the percentage of female students in the classroom (Shelash, 1985). Rizzo (2005) asserts that in the case of Kuwait, the role of women has been traditionally associated with her family along with the cultural and religious values of the country. This view postulates that despite of the progress that Kuwait has experienced as a consequence of the discovery of its oil-reserves and even with its subsequent transformation into an industrialized and modern society, past, present and previous Kuwaiti governments have

Exploratory Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exploratory Research - Essay Example Case study is a method employed in qualitative exploratory research. Qualitative research involves assessing the human or social issue, and then reporting the result in comprehensive words instead of producing quantified data. According to a definition, "Qualitative case study can be defined as an intensive, holistic description and analysis of a single entity, phenomenon or social unit. Case studies are particularistic, descriptive and heuristic, and rely heavily on inductive reasoning in handling multiple data sources" (Merriam, 1988). This above definition explains that the case study method analyses rigorously, information of one few single group, organization or event. In this method, a detailed study of a situation is carried out which is somewhat similar to the main topic of the study assignment. The reader’s perceptive of the event under research is enlightened and provides the researcher with intensive data. Case studies are helpful in explaining the holistic description of a sample’s view. It is also useful when the researchers want to attain qualitative in-depth analysis of a particular event. The use of the case study varies according to the demand of the researcher. Psychobiography is the detailed investigation into the lives of important historical personalities with psychosomatic hypothesis and investigations. Its motive is to attain a clear understanding of the person and to discover the personal intention behind the open actions. In Psychobiography, the writers spend hours penning down the complex, confusing, secretive and creative lives. Psychobiography involves immense research and intelligence. A good psychobiography is one that covers each fact with several supporting data any sources. â€Å"Best psycho biographies leaves the reader feeling ineffably won over† (Schultz, 2005). Some of the eminent personalities penned in many psycho biographical books include Hitler, Freud, Gandhi,

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Essay Example There are many that content this movie depicts a rather inaccurate picture of the genius's life. However, there are many that contend it is not so accurate. This paper will discuss Mozart as he is presented in the film however true to life it may be. No matter how accurate the historical bits are, one cannot deny that Mozart was a truly driven and exotic person. The film tells the incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his story is one that is truly incredible. After viewing the movie, it becomes apparent that the dynamic of Mozart's personality was competition and a drive for perfection. In this case, it was his music that drove him however, there are points in the movie that display his fierce competitions and aim for perfection applied to so many parts of his life it is difficult to distinguish that music was his primary drive after all. The plot of this movie is far deeper than simply telling the history or life story of Amadeus. Rather it shows the man he was and his eccentric nature and his gift for music. The characters in the film are adorned in lavish costumes that seem almost outlandish at times. The relevance of this is that the costumes in the movie have much in common with the man that the movie is about. Mozart was a showman and he was without a doubt one of the best musicians that has ever lived and it is no secret that he was outlandish in his behaviors at times. In fact, one might argue, most of the time. The plot shows his rivalry and it certainly illustrates his drive and fierce competitions. The plot is developed well in this film, which is a highly regarded film even to this day. The story flows and the characters are relevant to the end of the film. The film deals mainly with Mozart but it includes many different aspects of his life. The film is not one that is dedicated solely to his musical talent. In the end, it can be said that in order to fully understand Mozart's music one has to truly understand the person. This film gives a presentation of him as a person and one that is driven to the point of insanity.Of course, the plot leads up to his mysterious death that leaves the viewer wondering if they actually really learned anything about the man at all. The movie does a good job of establishing that Mozart had an eccentric personality and shows his competitive and rivalries side. In the film there is a lot of Mozart's music included which makes it nice. Nice in the respect t hat the music is lovely to listen to and nice in the respect that the viewer can listen to the music while watching the man himself and can correlate the two. amount of Mozart's music, and does so in a way An example of this is when the insane and enfeebled Antonio Salieri's reminisces on the sheer beauty of Mozart's compositions, we hear music to match his words, "And there... an oboe, high and unwavering... until a clarinet takes over, and forms a phrase of such longing..." The effect is deeply moving. (Forman 1986) Examples of this collaboration of music and picture are many; when Mozart swaggers through the streets of Vienna taking swigs from a bottle of wine, we hear a jolly piano concerto; and he is hurled into a mass grave to the sorrowful Lacrimosa of his requiem mass. The music should move any viewer, however much they confess to hating anything classical. (Foreman 1986) In the movie, the viewer gets a glimpse of actually watching Mozart compose. This reveals many

ORGANIZATIONAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT (QI) PLAN, PART I Research Proposal

ORGANIZATIONAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT (QI) PLAN, PART I - Research Proposal Example This paper will specify the hospital’s vision-mission statements, its services and facilities available, the goal of the quality improvement plan, roles of consumers, and the quality indicators available for them. VA Medical Center Vision-Mission According to the Veterans Health Administration, the mission of any VA medical centers is to provide the best quality of medical care to the American veterans. Their vision is carried out through a patient-centered care administered by the teams, wherein the patients in the VA Montgomery are assured that â€Å"every single one gets the best care anywhere† (â€Å"V.A. Healthcare,† 2011) and for evidence-based services suitable for the patient’s medical needs. Accurate medical assessment is what the medical center targets to achieve at any time, in any patient such that they would be given appropriate care and medication. Services Offered and Facilities Available The G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center provide s major medical services for its patients which include â€Å"primary, second and tertiary medical, neurological and mental health inpatient care† (U.S. Department, 2010a). ... Department, 2010b). Goal of the Quality Improvement Plan This improvement plan shall address the challenges of this medical center in the past few years to further uplift its responsibility of providing the best medical care for the patients. Through this two-part plan, this paper aims to have quality services, assurance of safety, accurate medical delivery, knowledgeable line of staff, decrease of infection rate, increase of patient recovery, and continuous medical service for outpatients. Roles of Consumers in Quality Improvement The consumers specified in this plan do not only refer to the patients or the ones having the direct experience of hospital service, but this also looks at the importance a community-wide involvement. Families and persons with direct personal relationships with the patients particularly have roles in the fulfillment of this plan. For example, last year’s controversy about the hospital’s sanitation procedures for all its equipments was questio ned by U.S. Office of Special Counsel (â€Å"Mississippi VA,† 2010) could be negated or proved by the customers through the record of their personal experiences and certain evidences on how they perceive the medical center in its sanitation. External Quality Indicators for Consumers The medical center has provided several quality indicators available to consumers so that they would be able to have a personal assessment on the kind of service quality they are receiving while in the hospital vicinity or the quality of medical attention, in the cases of outpatients. Consumers can contact VHA via anonymous hotline, email, or direct contact with certain officers to

Receiving Higher Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Receiving Higher Education - Essay Example I am a graduate of the College of Education for Home Economics and Arts and I have acquired some experience in handcrafting and fashion design. I volunteered for summer activities for a charity foundation, some of which I actively participated in the planning process. I worked at one of Saudi Arabia’s largest firms where my job description included planning and management. Working with a team to look for means on how to improve employee performances and manage human resources was fascinating and the experience sparked my interest in public relations. Furthermore, the team was indulged in project analysis and plan examinations. I helped plan entry strategies, expansion, and diversification, as well as company businesses. As part of the team, I have carried out preliminary feasibility studies. I studied the details of the organizational structures of one of the largest manufacturers of automatic doors and determined what needed to be restructured for the benefit of the employers and the company. I also studied their system, taking note of the strengths and weaknesses and I also helped redesign it. Since I did not have sufficient training in the aforementioned tasks, I relied on internet sources for the knowledge I needed on planning techniques and management skills. I searched reliable sources like articles, news reports and online books that informed me a lot about planning and management.Building relations with individuals in the community has also been a key focus of mine.

Human rights in Pakistan Essay Example for Free

Human rights in Pakistan Essay Pakistan’s human rights situation is a complex one, as a result of the countrys diversity, large population, its status as a developing country and a sovereign, Islamic republic as well as an Islamic democracy with a mixture of both Islamic and colonial secular laws. The Constitution of Pakistan provides for fundamental rights, which include freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of information, freedom of religion, freedom of association, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and the right to bear arms. These clauses are generally respected in practice. Clauses also provide for an independent Supreme Court, separation of executive and judiciary, an independent judiciary, independent Human Rights commission and freedom of movement within the country and abroad. Although the government has enacted measures to counter any problems, abuses remain. Furthermore, courts suffer from lack of funds, outside intervention, and deep case backlogs that lead to long trial delays and lengthy pretrial detentions. Many observers inside and outside Pakistan contend that Pakistan’s legal code is largely concerned with crime, national security, and domestic tranquility and less with the protection of individual rights. In May 2012, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the National Commission for Human Rights Bill 2012 for the promotion and protection of human rights in the country. Read more:  Current Situation of Pakistan Essay Political abuse of human rights:- Provincial and local governments have arrested journalists and closed newspapers that report on matters perceived as socially offensive or critical of the government. Journalists also have been victims of violence and intimidation by various groups and individuals. In spite of these difficulties, the press publishes freely, although journalists often exercise self-restraint in their writing. The government often ignores abuses against children and religious minorities, and government institutions and some Muslim groups have persecuted non-Muslims and used some laws as the legal basis for doing so. The Blasphemy Law, for example, allows life imprisonment or the death penalty for contravening Islamic principles, but legislation was passed in October 2004 to counter misuse of the law. Furthermore, the social acceptance of many these problems hinders their eradication. One prominent example is honor killings (â€Å"karo kari†),  which are believed to have accounted for more than 4,000 deaths from 1998 to 2003[citation needed]. Many view this practice as indicative of a feudal mentality and falsely anathema to Islam, but others defend the practice as a means of punishing violators of cultural norms and view attempts to stop it to as an assault on cultural heritage. Pakistans military intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and the police have been accused of arresting and kidnapping political leaders who have demanded more autonomy or freedom from Pakistan. They have also been accused of arresting student activists and teachers protesting the exploitation of Pakistani government. Many human-rights activists in Pakistan have protested against force disappearances and kidnappings. Humanitarian response to conflict:- Violence in Pakistan and the Taliban conflict with the government have heightened humanitarian problems in Pakistan. Political and military interests have been prioritised over humanitarian considerations in their offensives against the Taliban, and issues likely to get worse as people are encouraged back home prematurely and face once again being victims of the insurgents. Displacement is a key problem and humanitarian organisations are failing to address the basic needs of people outside displacement camps, nor are they able to address issues such as the conduct of hostilities and the politicisation of the emergency response. Researchers at the Overseas Development Institute argue that aid agencies face dilemmas with engaging with the government, as this does not always produce the desired results and can conflict with their aim of promoting stability and maintaining a principled approach. A principled approach limits their ability to operate when the government emphasises political and security considerations. There were over 500,000 people displaced in 2008, mainly from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on the border with Afghanistan, and a further 1.4 million from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in May 2009. By mid-July 2009, Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) put the total of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) at just over 2m, while unofficial figures are as high as 3.5m.[4] Most of those displaced (up to 80%) were taken in by relatives, friends and even strangers Pashtun communities in particular have displayed great efforts in assisting the displaced despite their own high levels of poverty. Still others use  schools, but only a small minority live in approximately 30 official camps, mainly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems For Smes

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems For Smes Several researches have revealed that Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems bring greater benefits to organisations, small or large. These reports asserted that successful implementation of the right ERP solution will empower the financial success of the organisation while its failure can spell doom and gloom. SMEs in contrast to their larger counterpart have peculiar challenges that further make the choice of ERP solution difficult. These challenges have defined the expectations and requirements of SMEs from ERP solutions. Various ERP software are available in the market for their use, with the software leader being SAP, but it is essential for an SME to select the appropriate software solution that appropriately address their needs putting in consideration their peculiar predicament. This is easily achieved through an adequate software selection and evaluation process. This research looks into past works on ERP implementations for SMEs to come up with ERP requirements for SMEs ; available software (and hardware) solutions available to them and a detailed software evaluation and selection process in line with industry best practice which they can use. It also addresses current ERP market and market trends. Methodology This paper is largely based on review of previous academic documents in form of journals, conference documents and books. These were reviewed extensively in line with the topic of discussion. Another helpful source of information used in the report is the internet. Through the internet, we were able to get more current information and data to support previous academic works. While we have done extensive research on this topic, it should be noted that the academic documents used in this research represent just a subset of the numerous documents that have been written concerning this topic. They are by no means a perfect representation of all the possible views. Table of Contents 1 Abstract 1 Methodology 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems 4 Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) 4 ERP Market and Market Trend 6 ERP Requirements for SMEs 9 Analysis of ERP Solution (Software and hardware) 11 SAP 11 Oracle ERP Software 14 International Financial Services (IFS) 15 SAGE Accpac 15 Microsoft Dynamics 16 Open Source Software (OSS) 16 ERP Evaluation and Selection process 17 Stage 1 Plan Requirement 18 Stage 2 Request for Proposals (RFP) 19 Stage 3 Solution Evaluation 19 Stage 4 Contract Negotiation 19 Stage 5 Selection and Agreement 20 Introduction Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, according to Joseph et al 2003, is now being promoted as a desirable and critical link for enhancing integration between all functional areas within an enterprise and between the enterprise and its upstream downstream trading partners. Despite all benefits potentially offered by ERP systems (Banker, 1998; Hicks, 1995; Minahan, 1998) however, the issue of organisational changes needed by ERP implementation as well as predicting return on investment assumes particular importance within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because of their peculiar challenges. In SMEs, the implementation and the evaluation of the potential benefits is still a difficult task. (Ravarini, 2000). (Chan, 1999), asserted that many SMEs either lack enough resources or are not enthusiastic about committing a huge fraction of their resources to ERP implementation due to long implementation period and high fees associated with ERP, (Chau, 1995). These amongst other factors have resulted in slow ERP adoption by SME (Tagliavini et al, 2002). Nowadays, some SMEs are not only seeking ways of integrating their various island-of-information within the organisation, but have also moved to extend the whole scope beyond their organisation to include their suppliers, trading partners and customers (Charlesworth et al., 2002). Therefore, implementation of a right and cost effective ERP solution is essential. This however must be preceded by an accurate ERP software evaluation and selection process. This paper explores ERP for SMEs and is formatted as follows; Introduction, Methodology, Background on ERP, ERP Market and Trends, ERP and SMEs, ERP requirement for SMEs, Different Software (and Hardware) Solutions Analysis a Detailed Software Evaluation and Selection Process, Discussion, Conclusion and Future Research work. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems ERP systems can be defined as the most predominant computing systems for business in a lot of organisations, both in the public and private sectors (Gable, 1998) The ERP software can be customised to support critical existing processes which organisations follow (Stefanou, CJ., 2001) Included in an ERP system are: Storage, orders, assets, vendor contacts, purchasing, financials and human resources (Dahlen C. and Elfsson J., 1999) (OLeary, 2000) stated that An ERP system integrates the majority of business processes and allows access to the data in real time. However, (Gardiner et al., 2002) also stated that an ERP system improves the performance level of a supply chain by helping to reduce cycle times. Other benefits which enterprises enjoy by implementing an ERP system include: better customer satisfaction, reduced quality cost, increased flexibility, improved resource utility, improved decision-making capability, improved information accuracy and improved vendor performance (Siriginidi, 2000). The flip-side to this is that, most ERP software tend to be complicated, large and expensive (Mabert et al., 2001). The implementation of an ERP system is time consuming and puts pressure on an organisations information technology (IT) department or outside professionals (Khaled Al-Fawaz et al., 2008) Putting ERP in place requires new procedures, employee training, and both managerial and technical support. (Shang and Seddon, 2002) Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) SMEs, in most countries are businesses that employ fewer than 250 people. For some other countries, SMEs are those which employ fewer than 500 people. Countries like these include: USA, Italy and Australia. 99.9% of the businesses in Albania come under SMEs. (Nito E., 2005) ERP customers are usually split into three market divisions by annual income. These include: large, midà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ market and small. The borderline of these divisions tend to be different, depending on which ERP vendor is using them. For small enterprises, Sage, SAP, Microsoft, Infor and to a slight extent Lawson, compete with a number of smaller vendors for ERP systems. Figure 1: Source: bla bla bla As shown in the diagram above, only SAP and Sage have set ERP products designed for the small enterprise market. The other vendors compete in this division with products that they also use for the midà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ market. The top six vendors compete in the mid-market. A lot of these products are industry specific e.g. pharmaceutical distribution, projectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ oriented services, process manufacturing, etc. Successful competition has been attained by the leading ERP vendors adding sector specific focus to their products. This has been approached by: Industryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ specific preà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ configured templates using a standard ERP product being developed by the ERP vendor (e.g. Oracles Business Accelerators or SAPs Best Practice Templates). ERP Market and Market Trend Trend, as defined by (Kotler, 1997) is: A direction or sequence of events that have some momentum and durability. Over the last decade, the ERP market has grown very quickly. The three main reasons for this growth are: globalisation, year 2000, and the need for better information integration. (Dahlen C. and Elfsson J., 1999) As at 1998, Merrill Lynch estimated that 40% of companies with revenues over $1billion had already implemented base ERP systems in the USA (Caldwell Stein, 1998) and had started implementing additional applications, a market that was estimated at $8billion by 2002. An American-based research firm, AMR Research, also predicted the enterprise applications market could hit $78billion by 2004 compared to $27million in 1999 (Stefanou, CJ., 2001). However, according to Gartner group, a high percentage (88%) of the ERP market is concentrated in the western countries. SAP, the German flagship company, holds a global market share of 32%, while Oracle has a global market share of 14.5%. Both vendors have the lion share of the Global ERP market. However, this is not the case in the Chinese market where SAP and Oracle hold a combined market share of 24.4% and the domestic companies holding a combined market share of 51.6%. (Huigang Liang et al., 2004) Total ERP market revenue grew to over $28B in 2006. This was driven by a combination of strong customer demand and leading vendors expanding their product portfolios through acquisition. (Jacobson S., 2007) As at 2000, the AMR Research, Inc. predicted that the ERP market would grow at a compound annual growth rate of 37% over the following five years. Currently, SAP and Oracle have dominated the market. Their competition, however, lies in the SMEs market With rivals like: Sage group, Microsoft, Epicor and Lawson (Jacobson S. et al 2007) Below is an ERP application revenue estimate for 2006 2011 This was estimated as at 2007 by the AMR, Research GroupFigure 2: (Jacobson, S. et al 2007 The ERP Market sizing Report, 2006-2011, AMR Research., ERP 2007 Market sizing series). In recent times, the ERP Vendor Outlook has changed a lot. Six vendors are responsible for almost two thirds of global ERP sales. Oracle and SAP control 50% of the World market by income. At the start of the last decade, Infor and Microsoft did not have a market presence. Below is a pie chart showing Global ERP Revenue by Vendor (2008) Figure 3: Source: BSM, ERP. May 2010 ERP Requirements for SMEs According to Huin 2004, SMEs have an enormous difference in needs, operating requirements, logistics fulfilment and financial capabilities compared to their large counterparts. First among these requirements is a cost effective ERP solution. Costs associated with ERP solution include not only the software, but also to items such as training, hardware and consulting (Willis et al 2001). Besides, most ERP software available in the market, according to Bounanno G. et al 2005, are just too expensive for SMEs. Chan R. 1999, supported that many small-medium enterprises either do not have sufficient resources or are not willing to commit a huge fraction of their resources due to long implementation times and high fees associated with ERP implementation. This emphasises the fact that cost is a major factor for SMEs when attempting to undergo a capital intensive venture like ERP implementation. A research of 50 Italian SMEs carried out by Federici 2009 suggested that small and medium enterprises mostly chose systems provided by small national software houses obviously for cost reasons. Contrast to larger establishments, SMEs have limited experiences, human resources and skills that are necessary for some kind of ERP implementations according to Adam and ODoherty 2003 cited in Winkelmann and Klose 2008. It is a well known fact that most SMEs have a scaled down number of employees who handles more than one function. This position is further supported by Huin 2004, which confirmed that most SMEs experience a high turnover rate compared to large companies. That work further stated that high turnover rate adversely impacts how SMEs manage their labour resource-a key resource input in any ERP project. This is in line with the research work of Winkelmann A et al 2008 which emphasised that a dedicated IT department addressing the selection and implementation of an ERP system dont actually exist in most SMEs. As such most SMEs have requirements for ERP solutions (software and hardware) that leverage on their lean human resources, especially in the IT department and provide a user friendly platform not riddled with so many complications. Achanga et al 2006 confirmed in his work that most SMEs do not have a good management structure on which innovations such as ERP thrives. It is customary to have the Managing Director or the CEO involved in daily administration of the companies in addition to making strategic decisions. They further explained that most SMEs were established by owner managers who may not have the tactful management know-how. As such, strategic progress is usually hampered by lack of good leadership traits which bring about informal working processes. This was supported by (Mintzberg H. et al 2003 p.217). Processes here according to Beretta 2004 is the medium that coverts activities efficiently and effectively in order to generate value for a specific customer. It is important to note that these processes are what ERP serves to integrate. As such ERP solution for SMEs must be simple and flexible to accommodate these peculiarities of most SMEs. Such flexibility involves things like allowing only specific modules or even sub-modules to be implemented. The type and focus of the SMEs should begat the requirement for consideration in the choice of ERP solution. Most SMEs have very specific operations and as such have very specific processes. These processes differ according to the specialisation of the company. Example is the case of a construction company in Taiwan that wanted to implement ERP but could not get software fit because of its unique operations (Yang J et al, 2007). Another example: Made-To-Stock (MTS) manufacturing companies have different ERP requirements from Made-To-Oder (MTO) companies (Deep A. et al 2007). The implication is that MTO and MTS have different production processes and thus will need a system that aligns with their peculiar requirement. We can therefore conclude according to Deep A. et al, 2007 that issues relating to the specificity of an organisation will need to be determined before proceeding to make a choice on the ERP solution for implementation. Analysis of ERP Solution (Software and hardware) ERP software belongs to a suit of software called Enterprise system software. According to Shanks G. et al 2003, it is; a set of packaged application software modules, with an integrated architecture, that can be used by organizations as their primary engine for integrating data, processes, and information technology, in real time, across internal and external value chains impound deep knowledge of business practices that vendors have accumulated from implementations in a wide range of client organizations, that can exert considerable influence on the design of processes within new client organizations is a generic semi-finished product with tables and parameters that client organizations and their implementation partners must configure, customize and integrate with other computer-based information systems to meet their business needs. Thus, ERP software are sold to organisations on the platform that its a way for them to implement best practices in an organisation (Wagner and Newell 2004), but there is a vast gap between this theory, the actual implementation and use of the software. The idea behind the software use is that a blend of best practice within a particular industry is built into the design so that this can be used by a similar company irrespective of where it is to automate its working process. According to Holland and Light 1999, most organizations now opt for off the shelf software instead of developing one in-house for its function. While there are over one hundred ERP software available, we will be reviewing a list of some well known ERP solutions available to an SME below; SAP A company that started in Germany, the application has captured the integrated market of most large and medium market throughout the world (Martin and Cheung 2000). With high functionality and a great deal of integration, the solution covers requirements such as financial accounting and control, sales and distribution, materials management, production planning and human resource management. Bancroft et al 1998 revealed that SAP design consists of the following layers of software; The SAP graphical user interface (GUI) representing the presentation layer; The SAP application layer; and The SAP database layer SAP supports critical business functions and processes and can actually be tailored to meet the business needs of any enterprise (SAP Global, 2010). It delivers the following solutions SAP ERP Financials: helps addressing changing financial reporting standards, improve cash flows and manage risks SAP ERP Human Capital Management: helps in automating key processes like End-user service delivery, workforce analytics, talent management, workforce process management and workforce deployment SAP ERP Operations: helps with process like procurement and logistics execution, product development and manufacturing and sales and services SAP Corporate Services: covers real estate management, Enterprise asset management, project and portfolio management, travel management, environment and safety management, quality management and global trade services SAP Global claimed that the product helps in increasing oversight of business operations and providing adequate information for strategic business decisions. It also claimed high flexibility and innovation and that modules can be implemented as needed and upgraded as the need arises. The SAP for SMEs has been implemented by over 80000 SMEs. Figure 4 below shows the SAP Solution roadmap showing the multiple level of blueprint of processes supported by SAP. SAPs benefits were echoed by the research work of Mandal and Gunasekaran 2003. This was implemented at PMB Water Corporation. They discovered greater benefit of implementing SAP. However, Al-Mashari and Zairi 2000 confirmed that SAP is a very complex solution that is too prone to failure. This position is supported by the research work of Martin I. et al, 2000 in an organization in Australia where he discovered that the training was complex, expensive and enormous. It is also not a user friendly application. For a small and medium sized company this enormous complexity and capital investment among other things is not one that can be readily and easily accommodated as previously stated in the requirements section. Figure 4 SAP Solution Roadmap (available at http://www. sap.com/businessmaps However, it should also be noted that quite a number of medium establishments have been able to implement SAP successfully and are reaping the benefits (Martin I. et al 2000). Oracle ERP Software The Oracle ERP software is part of the Oracle e-Business suite. It consists of the following modules (Oracle 2010); Channel Revenue Management: enables information driven channel management. Includes modules like Accounts receivable deductions settlement, channel rebates and point-of-sale, partner management, price protection and supplier ship and debit Financial Management: covers things like Asset lifecycle management, cash and treasury management, credit-to-cash, financial control and reporting, financial analytics, governance, risk and compliance, lease and finance management, procure-to-pay and travel and expense management Human Capital Management: includes Global Core HCM , Workforce Management, Workforce Service delivery, Integrated talent management, and HR analytics Project Portfolio Management: Involves things like project analytics, project billing, project contracts, project collaboration, project costing, project management, project portfolio analysis, project resource management and time and labour. According to Oracle, Oracle E-Business suite is the most adaptable global business platform and the most customer-focused application strategy. This opinion seems to be supported by Panorama Consulting group 2010, that the software has the highest level of predictability of all ERP software that was studied, and that the average initial cost to implement is 25% less than that of SAP. It also claimed that Oracles total cost of ownership is nearly 50% less than that of SAP. The fact remains though that its usage does not as yet compare to that of SAP. This is true considering the fact that there has not been much academic research into the use of the software as an ERP solution. International Financial Services (IFS) IFS is a single, integrated product supporting the management of 4 core processes (IFSWorld 2010); Service and Asset, Manufacturing, Project, Supply chain. It can be added to other suites of software e.g. Financials, Human Resources, Sales and services, Engineering, Project, Manufacturing and Distribution. According to IFSWorld 2010, its easy to use software that provides an attractive, intuitive and efficient user experience. It is also quite flexible, allowing an organisation to choose the required module and upgrade at a future date if so desired. The benefits of IFS was supported by the work of Lahikainen T. et al 2000 comparatively saying that ERP software like SAP is rather clumsy and large, and because of this cannot easily be reworked to suit a business process. Rather, the business will have to readjust its process for the software. SAGE Accpac This product offers middle sized organisation an adjustable enterprise resource for finance, SRM and operations (Sage, 2010). It supports global aspirations for mid-market and upper-mid-market companies with its robust financial management capabilities and flexible open architecture. Modules of the software include; Financials: General Ledger, G/L Consolidations, Reporting, Multi-Currency, Intercompany Transactions, Transaction Analysis and Optional Field Creator Purchasing: Purchase Orders, Accounts Payable, Electronic Funds Transfer (ETF), Direct payables, Document Management, Fixed Asset Management, Check and Form printing Sales and Receivables: Order Entry, Accounts Receivable, EFT Direct Receivables, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), National Accounts Management, Unit Sales Analysis, Return Material Authorization (RMA) Customer Management: Contact Management, Sales Force Automation, Marketing Automation, Customer Service Automation Inventory/Warehouse Management: Inventory Control, Lot Tracking, Serialized Inventory, Warehouse Management, Manufacturing Management Project Management: Project and Job Costing, Service and Maintenance management, Payroll: In-house Payroll, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), Direct Payroll, Sage Accpac HRMS System Administration: System Manager, Alerts and Alerts Manager Sage manages the processes that are common to all businesses, such as finance, HR, or CRM; the vertical modules give customers a greater ability to match technology to specific industry needs (Sage, 2010). Microsoft Dynamics According to Microsoft 2010, Microsoft Dynamics offer solution that can help fastrack performance, measure financial effectiveness and enhance decision making. It helps drive businesses by providing a backbone of an elastic system. It is easy to implement and adapt. Apart from on-premise installation, the solution can also be deployed to work with cloud computing, a solution some organisations are already considering. The capabilities delivered by this solution includes Financial management, Supply chain management, business intelligence, performance management, Collaboration, Project Management, Human resource management, IT management and Software-plus-Services. Open Source Software (OSS) There are also a number of open source ERP software that seems to be of an increasing interest at the moment according to the research work of Johansson and Sudzina 2008. The list includes Compiere, OpenBravo, Opentaps, Facturalux, TinyERP. It may be that most SMEs will find OSS ERP implementations able to cater for their needs since according to Raymond 2005, SMEs are highly flexible and adaptable to change. Implementation may also work out cheaper as costs associated with licensing fees are usually not incurred (Johansson and Sudzina, 2008). It should however be noted that support for implementations for OSS ERP software is quite hard, as there can be several versions of a given software and finding an expert can be daunting. ERP Evaluation and Selection process A successful ERP project requires selecting an ERP solution, implementing the solution, managing changes and examining the practicality of the system (Wei and Wang, 2004). Wrong ERP solution choice would either cause implementation to fail or weaken the system to a greater impact on the enterprise (Hicks,1995; Wilson,1994). Most enterprises often jump into looking at ERP functions and features rather than examining the strategy and business processes. According to Donovan, 2001, it is important for management to know the current strategy, processes and supporting systems compared to what they could be with the new systems. For most enterprises, the decision to implement ERP functionalities will require buying a software package from one of the more popular vendors on ERP market. But the selection process is not a straightforward task, hence thorough understanding of what ERP packages are to offer, differences in each of them and what might be at stake in selecting one package over the other should be well examined or evaluated, (Sammon and Adam, 2000). Evaluating and selecting an ERP system, even though can be a very complex process (Donovan 2001). It should be a fact-based process that will bring an enterprise to the point where comfortable well-informed decisions can be made. Figure 5 below shows an online poll conducted by ESI International survey of 2,000 business professionals in 2005. This clearly indicated that most software projects, ERP inclusive, failed due to lack of adequate requirements definition. Fig. 5: Source: ESI International survey of 2,000 business professionals, (2005). In addition to the above figure 5, Donovan pointed out that typical ERP project implementation can also fail because of a wrong choice of ERP solution. Therefore, Management Agility Inc in 2005 revealed that it is imperative to adopt a thorough evaluation and evaluation process before adopting any ERP solution in SMEs. Their report detailed eight steps necessary for a careful and reasonable level of successful ERP implementation in SMEs. This is represented in Figure 6. We have further categorised this into the following five stages for our discussion; Planning, RFP, Solution Evaluation, Negotiation, Selection Agreement These five stages are explained below based on the research carried out by Management Agility Inc in 2005. Stage 1 Plan Requirement Define business along with areas of business that require technical approach. Develop a specific business case with business value for a solution. Ensure that the project sponsor is willing to articulate the business case for change, identify vendors and get familiar with the available solutions. Get general view of investment needed, considering software, hardware, other related infrastructure and ongoing support. Evaluate the organisation readiness for the investment and decide whether to continue or not. Define priorities under must-have and nice-to-have accordingly. Stage 2 Request for Proposals (RFP) Shortlist interesting vendors based on the outcome of market survey for solutions and then for demonstration. Collects facts in line with the business need from product demonstrations for the development of unbiased RFP for vendors. Set-up a neutral body to develop RFP, using facts gathered from products demonstration aligned to the business requirements. Distribute out RFP to selected vendors. Generate basic expectations from ideal proposal in line with the business need for onward selection of the ideal software vendor. Stage 3 Solution Evaluation Identify and prioritise remaining gaps between software capabilities as demonstrated and business requirements. Identify how the gaps will be bridged in terms of configuration, process change or a combination of all these. If the gaps cannot be bridge, then discontinue the evaluation exercise immediately, otherwise consider reengineering of those affected business processes and continue with the evaluation. Stage 4 Contract Negotiation Negotiate with each vendor; establish software, hardware and other infrastructure agreement requirements, which include version, components, maintenance and support. Also negotiate participation in user groups, license costs, maintenance fees and many others. Establish service provider agreement which also include deliverables, timelines, resources, costs, payment schedules and other legal requirements. Stage 5 Selection and Agreement Upon successful negotiation with the right vendor; Review all legal terms on privacy protection, operation guidance and data manipulation etc. Approve agreements with the selected vendors. Agree on implementation plan. Fig. 6: Detailed flowchart for ERP Software, Hardware Evaluation and Selection Processes Management Agility Inc, 2005 ERP Software Hardware (Solution) Evaluation and Selection Steps Yes No Stage 4 Stage 3 Stage 2 Stage 1 Define Requirements Shop Round for Product Clarify Requirements Evaluation Vendor Inquiry Interact with Vendors Negotiate Agreement Action Agreement Define business case/need and spell-out required values. Be specific. Ensure the business sponsor is willing to push through business case for change. Look round the market for what product is available. Identify vendors that operates and their general approaches to technologies the take. Discuss with others in the same industry as you are etc. Clarify your requirements and be sure of what you are looking for in line with you business case. Refine requirements if possible and be specific too. Find out what product is looking promising in line with the business need and from which vendor. Identify which vendor and their products and invite interesting ones for demo etc. Request for proposal (RFP). Invite each shortlisted vendor over for a chat and find out more about the product. List out expectations based heavily on business requirements. At this point evaluate this approach. Can you afford to change your current process? Can you afford the change the new product will bring and many more? Initiate Negotiation for the selected product with the selected vendor. Agree on who does what, when are they to be done. Negotiate deliverables, timelines, co

Supplier Selection Process in the Aerospace Sector

Supplier Selection Process in the Aerospace Sector Executive Summary The ever increasing competition in global markets today has led businesses and companies to find different methods for reducing production and manufacturing costs in order to maintain their competitive edge. The competition has no longer remained company to company but has become supply chain to supply chain. From a buyers perspective a qualified supplier is a key factor to reduce costs. Thus supplier selection and evaluation has gained vital importance in the supply chain management environment. It is extremely essential to develop a supplier selection model which is efficient, effective and considers all the aspects required by the company. A number of supplier selection methods are available in the current literature. Creating a model based on these methods that addresses the particular requirements of the company is vital. The following paper is in 5 sections. The literature review in the first section is on the various methods for supplier selection and evaluation. The following methods are reviewed. Mathematical Programming Data Envelopment Analysis Analytical Hierarchy Process Analytical Neural Network Fuzzy Set theory Along with the review of the methods a discussion on the evolution of supplier selection criteria is also included in the first section. In the second section, two existing supplier selection models in the aerospace sector have been critically reviewed. The description of the Aerospace industry and comparison between the two models is included in the third section. To determine the essential criteria to be included in the model and prioritizing them, the research methodology used was a survey design. The results of the survey are included in the fourth section. The fifth section contains recommendations for building a new model for supplier selection in the aerospace sector. Introduction One of the major topics discussed in most of the production and operations management literature is supplier selection and performance evaluation of suppliers. It is one of the most critical activities of firms due to the increasing significance of the purchasing function (De Boer et al., 2001). The main objective of a supplier selection process is to maximize overall value to the purchaser, reduce the purchase risk and develop a close and long term relationship between the buyer and supplier. Supplier selection is a multi-criterion decision making problem and a number of conflicting factors affect its outcome. The factors taken into consideration are wide ranged and are both quantitative as well as qualitative (Ho et al., 2009). Operational research offers a range of methods and techniques in the form of models which can support the supplier selection decision making. A number of supplier selection methods have been proposed such as data envelopment analysis (DEA), analytic hierarch y process (AHP), mathematical programming, fuzzy set theory and vague set theory, multi attribute rating systems etc. A literature review of international journal articles discussing different multi-criteria supplier selection methods is carried out in this paper. The methods that are prevalently applied in practice, the priority of the evaluating criteria and evolution of selection criteria are also discussed and reviewed. The aim of this paper is to carry out a literature review of the various methods and criteria for supplier selection available in the current literature, in order to produce a set of recommendations for building a new model for the supplier selection process in the aerospace sector. To achieve this, two supplier selection models were critically reviewed, one of which is currently implemented in an aerospace industry and the other one is a theoretical model. A survey on global sourcing and supplier selection process containing 25 questions on various aspects of st rategic sourcing was also carried out in order to identify the different characteristics that influence sourcing decisions. Supplier selection methods: Supplier selection methods or techniques are the models which are used by decision makers to conduct the supplier selection process. They act as supporting tools for the selection process. The selection of an appropriate method is essential for the overall selection process and can significantly influence the outcome of the selection results (Li et al., 1997). There are number of supplier selection methods available in the literatures. Mathematical Programming (MP): MP allows the formulation of the decision problem in the form of a mathematical objective function which needs to be minimised or maximised depending on the objective function by varying the values of the variables. It is an optimization method which selects a number of suppliers in order to maximize either a single criteria or multi criteria objective function subjected to supplier or buyer constraints (DeBoer et al., 2001). Talluri and Narasimhan (2003) used mathematical programming in the form of a linear programming model to first minimise and then maximise the performance of the suppliers against the best target measures set by the buyers, thus providing a wide-ranging understanding of supplier performance. The authors applied this model considering a set of six suppliers to a Fortune 500 Pharmaceutical company in the process of implementing a JIT system. They regarded price, quality and delivery as the top three criteria for evaluating the suppliers. One of the key features of this max-min approach was that it could identify a set of suppliers with identical characteristics, thus providing the buyer with effective alternates to make their final decision. For the supplier selection problem Ng (2008) developed a weighted linear programming model with an objective function of maximizing supplier score. He implemented the model considering 18 suppliers to a manufacturing firm producing agriculture and c onstruction equipment. He included five criteria namely quality, supply variety, delivery, distance and price. In order to maximise the revenue function Hong et al. (2005) developed a mixed integer linear model to optimize the number of suppliers and order quantity. He applied the model to the supply chain of the agriculture industry in Korea as the customer demand varied seasonally over a period of time. Similarly OBrien et al. (2001) created a mixed integer non-linear model to optimize the allocation of products to suppliers thus minimizing the annual purchasing costs. Narasimhan et al. (2006) and Wadwa et al. (2007) constructed theoretical multi-objective programming models to optimize supplier selection and order quantity and to minimise lead time, price and number of rejects. Karpak et al. (1999) constructed a goal programming model and applied it to an international manufacturing firm to minimise costs and maximise quality and delivery reliability for selection of suppliers an d allocation of products between them. The authors considered cost, quality and delivery reliability as the criteria for supplier evaluation. On one hand Mathematical programming is advantageous as compared to the other approaches as it takes into account all the constraints during the formulation of the problem. Hence it is much easier to work when a large number of constraints are considered. It can also be used for multiple supplier selection as the current situation can be taken into account in an MP model. On the other hand some of the drawbacks of using an MP model are that it often only considers the more quantitative criteria neglecting the qualitative criteria which are important in supplier selection especially when the goal is to build supplier partnership. Most of the theoretical MP models are complicated to build for the supplier selection problem, due to the large number of variables, but as it can be seen from the above mentioned examples, they can be implemented in an industry as they can be simulated and solved by computers. They are not considered as the most effective method for vendor evaluation as they do not take into account qualitative factors and are incapable of performing a qualitative analysis which is an important aspect of the supplier selection process, thus limiting their use. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA): The concept of DEA is constructed on the basis of calculating the efficiency of the decision alternatives or suppliers. The DEA is a non-parametric method the measures the efficiency without specifying the form of the production function or the weights of different inputs and outputs. The efficiencies are evaluated on the basis of benefits as output and cost as the input criteria (DeBoer et al., 2001). The efficiency of a supplier can be defined as the ratio of the weighted sum of the suppliers outputs to the weighted sum of his inputs, thus the DEA method calculates the most favourable set of weights for each supplier alternative classifying them into efficient and inefficient suppliers. The favourable set of weights that are calculated maximise the supplier efficiency ratings without altering its own rating or making the other suppliers efficiency ratings more than one (DeBoer et al., 2001). In order to measure the efficiency of alternative suppliers Braglia and Petroni (2000) applied the DEA method by proposing nine evaluating factors to measure the supplier ratings. The authors applied their proposed methodology to the supplier selection process of a middle-sized company manufacturing bottling machinery to test its efficiency. They also calculated the Cross efficiencies in which the weights chosen for a particular supplier can be applied to the weights of the inputs and outputs of the other suppliers as well as Maverick index which is the percentage relative difference between cross efficiency and simple efficiency in order to avoid the selection of false positive supplier. Talluri and Barker (2002) and Talluri and Sarkis (2002) applied DEA to evaluate suppliers, manufacturers and distributors as a three phase approach for a logistics distribution network. They also employed the DEA to measure the performance of the suppliers using six evaluating factors having two inp uts and four outputs. Ross et al. (2006) evaluated the supplier performance with respect to the performance attributes of both buyer and supplier by using DEA. The author carried out three sensitivity analysis; the first one computed supplier efficiency scores without taking into account the evaluation teams and the buyers weights. The second analysis considered the evaluation taking into account the teams preferences and the third analysis considered the buyers preference. Liu et al. (2000) constructed a DEA model to evaluate the overall performance of a supplier considering three inputs namely price index, delivery performance and distance factor and two outputs which were supply variety and quality. The authors applied the DEA model to a firm manufacturing agriculture and construction equipment containing a multi modal assembly line. The model could select suppliers with a high supply variety, thus reducing the number of suppliers. Seydel et al. (2006) developed a DEA model to evaluate technology suppliers considering three factors. He included amount of know-how transfer as a qualitative factor in the model. The author developed a five point scale to rank the suppliers in term of the qualitative factor. The DEA method provides a means to evaluate and select suppliers on the basis of their performance over a period of time. It compares supplier performance in a multi criterion setting thus allowing the purchasing firm to evaluate each suppliers performance relative to the performance of the best supplier in the market by calculating the efficiency measures. Observed supplier performance data is used in a DEA method, thus the purchasing firm does not have to calculate its own utility functions as is required in the other techniques. Some of the limitations of the DEA approach are that its focus is not on selection an optimal supplier as the other mathematical programming models; hence it cannot be used if the purchasing firm requires the selection of an optimal supplier. The DEA model also makes some assumptions like any other supplier selection model thus limiting its use. (Garfamy et al., 2006) Evolution of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP): Linear Weighting Model: Weights are assigned to the criteria with the largest weight corresponding to the highest priority, in a linear weighted model. The ratings of the criteria are then multiplied with their respective weights and the sum of weights is assigned to each supplier, thus the supplier with the highest overall rating can be selected. There are a few imprecisions in the rating mechanism such as difficulty to determine the score of a supplier on a criterion or importance of some criterion with a high degree of precision. To overcome these imprecisions the use of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was proposed (DeBoer et al., 2001). Analytic Hierarchy Process: The AHP is a decision making method first introduced by Saaty (1980) which prioritizes alternatives or suppliers when considering multiple criteria, thus allowing the decision maker to restructure complex problems in the form of a set of integrated levels or a hierarchy. It is one of the most commonly applied methods in practice as it incorporates qualitative as well as quantitative criteria and is relatively simple to understand. Various adaptations of AHP have been developed since its introduction. Muralidharan et al. (2002) developed an AHP model consisting of five stages to rate and select suppliers considering nine criteria. Some of the major criteria that the author considered were quality, delivery, price and technical ability. The model was then applied to the supplier selection process to evaluate six suppliers of a leading organization manufacturing bicycles. Liu and Hai (2005) created an AHP model and used Noguchis voting and ranking system thus allowing each manager to determine the order of criteria instead of weights for the selection and evaluation of suppliers. They used a six step process for supplier evaluation and considered eight criteria in their analysis, some of them being quality, responsiveness, delivery, technical capabilities etc. The authors applied this model for selecting one of ten suppliers for the Umbrella Scheme of Malaysias furniture industry. Chan and Chan (2004) constructed an AHP model considering six criteria namely cost, delivery, flexibility, innovation, quality and service with twenty sub-factors among them. They applied the model to the supplier selection process of a leading company that manufactures and supplies semiconductor assembly equipment assuming that the supplier had to be chosen for a critical product. The relative priority ratings were calculated based on customer or buyer requirements. Hou et al (2007) developed a decision support system based on AHP in a mass customization environment considering internal and external factors to meet market requirements. The author applied the model to the selection process of a subsidiary company of a local Chinese printer manufacturer. Chan (2003) created an AHP based interactive selection model which determined the relative importance of evaluating criteria without being subjected to human judgment. The AHP model can also be integrated with other supplier selection models in order to achieve optimized selection results. Ramanathan (2007) suggested that the qualitative and quantitative information gained from the total cost of ownership model and AHP model can be utilized to evaluate the performance of a supplier using the DEA method. The author considered the costs from total cost of ownership as inputs and the weights gained from the AHP method as outputs. Sevkle et al. (2007) applied the AHP-DEA integrated method to solve the supplier selection problem of a major Turkish TV manufacturer BEKO, in which he used AHP to derive local weights from a given comparison matrix and summed up the local weights to get the overall weights. In order to calculate the efficiency scores of all the suppliers DEA was used on the decision making units. Percin (2006) applied integrated AHP-GP method, where AHP was used to measure the priority weightings of alternate suppliers considering twenty evaluating factors. The author used the weightings obtained by AHP Goal programming method as the coefficients for five object ive functions. The integrated model was used to optimize the order quantity from the most appropriate supplier considering the capacities of the suppliers. Mendoza et al. (2008) offered an integrated AHP- GP model in order to reduce a large number of potential suppliers to a manageable figure. He ranked the alternatives considering five evaluating criteria to optimize the order quantity. Xia and Wu (2007) applied the AHP model to calculate the performance scores of potential suppliers. The authors then applied the scores as coefficients of one of the four objective functions in a multi-objective mixed integer programming model. The model was developed in order to determine the optimal number of suppliers and to select the best set of suppliers. Some of the advantages of AHP method are as follows (Chan et al., 2003) The system can be represented in a hierarchical manner to explain the changes in priority and its effect at upper and lower levels. The desired performance of the supplier is characterized by hierarchical selection criteria viz. the management of the suppliers is better if the suppliers performance is evident to the buyer. It utilizes multiple paired comparisons of criteria to rank order alternatives and it is the most exceptional Multi-criterion decision making approach. Efficiently progresses through modular construction and final assembly of modules than those assembled as a whole, this is known as hierarchical assembly of natural systems. Identifies the key elements assisting in making more accurate business decisions and is a structured method which obtains information from target respondents (decision makers or experts). It provides information regarding the structure and function of a system in the lower levels of the hierarchy and gives the outline of the criteria and their purposes in the upper levels. Limitations on the elements in a level are best denoted in the next higher level to ensure they are satisfied. It has stability and flexibility, stability as small changes have small effects and flexible in the sense that the performance is not hampered if there are any additions to a well structured hierarchy Disadvantages: (Chan et al., 2003) Most of the supplier selection problems do not have a single hierarchy. Utilization of this statistical method is complicated for most of the users and this makes the process unmanageable. It is not cost effective to procure the essential information i.e. due to lack of information /willingness to compare two alternatives with respect to some criterion the supposition of comparability is invalid. To reach an agreement with the team members by reviewing the models is time consuming. The presumption that the relative importance of criteria affects the suppliers performance is definite which cannot effectively take into account the risk and uncertainty in assessment of suppliers potential performance. Analytic network process (ANP): Sarkis and Talluri (2000) suggested the use of analytic network process, which was a more sophisticated version of the AHP method. The authors believed that the supplier evaluating factors could influence each other and this interdependency needed to be considered in the process. They applied the ANP process to evaluate and select suppliers in a company manufacturing custom-designed high technology metal-based products, considering organizational factors and strategic performance matrix. The model included seven evaluating criteria namely cost, quality, flexibility, delivery time etc. also considering their interdependencies. Bayazit (2006) implemented an ANP model considering ten evaluating criteria. Some of the important criteria included were on time delivery, quality, flexibility and delivery lead time. He classified the criteria into supplier performance and capabilities clusters and the interdependencies among them were formulated by considering each cluster as a controlling fa ctor for a pair wise comparison matrix. Demirtas and Ustun (2008) developed an integrated model in which they used ANP to evaluate the performance of potential suppliers considering 14 criteria. The weights were then considered in one of the three objective functions of a multi-objective mixed integer programming model. Similarly the authors integrated the ANP and the GP methods of supplier selection and evaluation in 2009. The only difference to the previous model was that there were four goals in the GP model. Gencer et al. (2007) developed ANP model considering various evaluating criteria. He classified them into three clusters to take into account their interrelationships to evaluate and select the most appropriate supplier. Some major advantages of ANP process over AHP are that ANP provides with additional insight as most of the real world supplier selection problems have interdependencies among the evaluating criteria. It also incorporates both qualitative as well as quantitative factors which are important in supplier selection. The ANP method can deal with various uncertainties and complexities as it makes use of ratio scales to incorporate a variety of interactions. In spite of the advantages, the ANP method does have a few limitations as it is a very complex method and requires additional effort and time as compared to AHP. Fuzzy Set Theory: The fuzzy set theory is used to model uncertainty and imprecision in the supplier selection situation. Fuzzy set systems make use of linguistic rules which are very well suited to describe the behavior of practical problems. In most of the real world applications, fuzzy rules are created by the decision makers with a few input variables. When the number of input variables increases, the possible number of fuzzy rules for a particular system increases exponentially. It is rather difficult for the decision maker to generate a complete set of rules to assess the supplier selection system (Chan et al., 2006). Chan et al. (2006) presented a hierarchy model based on the fuzzy set theory which could deal with both quantitative and qualitative criteria. The author used linguistic values to assess the ratings and the weights for the evaluation factors. The ratings were arranged in triangular fuzzy numbers. They created a hierarchical structure of the decision problem and applied the model to a high technology manufacturing company to select a suitable supplier to supply material for key components of a new product. Sarkar and Mohapatra (2006) used a fuzzy set method to eliminate the imprecision in a number of subjective characteristics of suppliers. The authors evaluated and selected the suppliers on the basis of performance and capabilities as the two major measures for evaluation. They considered a hypothetical case to exemplify their model by considering a pool of ten suppliers and the goal being to reduce that number and select the best two suppliers. Kahraman et al. (2003) applied the integrated fuzzy AHP approach to select the most appropriate supplier for the biggest white goods manufacture in Europe to supply the plastic part scroll housing for their new model of aspirators. In this model the decision makers could specify their preferences in terms of linguistic variables regarding the priority of each evaluating criteria. Chan and Kumar (2007) also applied a fuzzy AHP methodology for selection of suppliers. The authors used triangular fuzzy numbers and fuzzy synthetic extent analysis methods to choose the final priorities of different criteria. The authors applied the model to the supplier selection process of a manufacturing company to select the best global supplier for one of their critical parts used in the assembling process. The criteria considered in the model for evaluation were overall cost, quality of product, service performance, supplier profile and risk factors. Amid et al. (2006) formulated an integrated fuzzy multi-objective linear programming model which took into account the vagueness and imprecision of the input data in order to optimize the order quantity. The author developed an algorithm to solve the model which incorporated three objective functions with different weights. They considered a hypothetical case to select three suppliers for supplying a new product to a market. The purchasing criteria considered for the model were net price, quality, service and capacity. The author also formulated a fuzzy multi-objective mixed integer programming model which was similar to the earlier model but it also took into account the quantity discount. The price discount was directly proportional to the quantities ordered (Amid et al, 2006). One of the primary advantages of using fuzzy set theory for supplier selection is that it makes use of linguistic variables, which are highly beneficial when the performance values cannot be expresses in terms of means of the numerical values. Thus, taking into consideration the uncertainty and imprecision of the quantitative data gathered by the purchasing company or provided by the supplier. It is beneficial and easier to use linguistic variables instead of numerical values while assessing potential suppliers with respect to criteria and weights. A modified fuzzy set theory is capable of handling both qualitative as well as quantitative data ratings and is flexible in use, which is an added advantage (Chan et al, 2006). Some of the disadvantages of fuzzy set theory are that the analysis is based on the theory and not exploratory data; hence validation of the data may be required. It is a subjective methodology, thus justification for each step is necessary. As the number of variabl es increase the complexity increases, thus requiring a number of procedures in the sub-systems of the methodology. Other Methods: A number of other methodologies exist for the supplier selection problem such as artificial intelligence and expert systems which includes case based reasoning (Choy et al, 2005; 2002; Humphreys et al, 2003) and Bayesian belief networks (Kreng et al, 2003). Multi-criteria decision methods which include outranking methods (DeBoer et al, 1998; Dulmin et al, 2003), judgmental modeling (DaSilva et al., 2002; Naude and Lockett, 1993), interpretive structural modeling (Mandal and Deshmukh, 1994) and categorical methods (Houshyar and Lyth, 1992). Multivariate statistical analysis that incorporates structural equation modeling (Lin et al., 2005; Tracey and Tan, 2001), Factor analysis (Krause et al., 2001; Tracey and Tan, 2001) and confidence interval approach (Muralidharan et al., 2001). Group decision methods (Han and Ahn, 2005; Mandal and Deshmukh, 1994) and multiple integrated methods also exist for supplier selection. All the methods that are utilized for selections of suppliers have their own advantages and disadvantages. No method can be said to be the perfect method which covers all aspects of the entire selection process. Modifications and improvements can be made to every method in according to the requirements of the decision makers. The selection process can be improved by integrating different techniques in order to negate the limitations of the techniques taken individually. Considering this procedure, the fuzzy integrated AHP model and the DEA integrated ANN model are comparatively the best combination of methods that can be implemented for supplier selection. Supplier Selection Criteria: Evolution of supplier selection criteria: A number of criteria need to be considered for the supplier selection decision making process which makes the selection of suppliers a complicated practice. Since the early 1960s, practitioners and academics have been focusing on the analysis of supplier selection criteria and measurement of supplier performance. Dickson et al, (1966) suggested From the purchasing literature is fairly easy to abstract a list of at least 50 distinct factors that are presented by various authors as being meaningful to consider in a vendor selection decisionÂ?. In his work he carried out a survey to identify the most important criteria required for the selection of suppliers. The author came up with 23 criteria and their relative importance for vendor selection. The following table summarizes the 23 criteria and their level of importance. Weber et al. (1991) conducted a similar study on the bases of the 23 criteria identified by Dickson (1966). The authors reviewed and classified 74 related articles appearing between 1966 and 1990. Their study provided a clear indication of the issues concerning selection of suppliers. Both the studies indicated net price, quality, delivery and production facility and capacity as the top 4 criteria for supplier evaluation. These two studies were the primary studies done on supplier selection criteria and were the bases of a number of papers in the forthcoming years. A number of changes at a profound level have taken place in the business environment, including purchasing and procurement since Weber et al.s work in 1991. The basic definitions of Dicksons 23 criteria have undergone change and expansion and new criteria have emerged due to a substantial growth in business and supply chain needs. Dickson (1966) defined net price as price offered by each vendor including discounts and freight charges. In the development of the net price criteria, the term net price had been replacement by the term cost which includes a number of costs such as fixed cost, inventory costs, ordering costs, supplier costs and costs associated with quality, after-sales and technology (Current and Weber, 1994). The term total cost of ownership has also become important in recent times which include not only the purchasing price but also purchasing related costs (Bhutta et al, 2002). The delivery criterion was defined by Dickson (1966) as the ability of each vendor to meet specified delivery schedules. The delivery criterion has now been developed to incorporate lead time, cycle time, shipment quantity and quality, delivery capacity etc (Karpak et al, 1999). According to Dickson quality was defined as the ability of each vendor to meet quality specifications consistently. The quality criterion has now been extended to include inspections and certain specifications such as the ISO9001 system (Lee et al, 2003) In addition to the evolution and development of the basic criteria a number of new criteria have emerged in literature from various authors. Some of the new criteria are flexibility, which includes process and production flexibility, response to change, responsiveness to customer needs (Ghodsypour et al, 2001), flexibility to change the order and order quantity and ability to respond to fluctuating demand (Verma et al, 1998). A product design and development criterion consists of commitment to continuous improvement, product development and improvement, design capabilities and continuous improvement in product and process (Chan et al, 2003). Supplier relationship is another criterion that has gained importance in recent years due to integration of various sections of supply chain. Supplier relationship has two aspects, strategic and tactical. The criterion can be sub divided into 4 sections namely strategic long term relationship, tactical long term relationship, strategic short term relationship and tactical short term relationship. Due to the growth in the businesses, buying firms prefer to integrate the suppliers in their supply chain, thus forming a strategic long term alliance with their supplier