BUSINESS ETHIC POSITION PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

BUSINESS ETHIC POSITION PAPER - Essay Example Ethics are not related to feelings of right and wrong nor are they related to a particular religion. They are not defined by law and they are not based upon the norms of a given culture group. Finally, ethics are not based upon scientific evidence of what constitutes ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. In order to try to determine what constitutes the concept of ‘ethics’, there are five general ethical standards by which one can compare personal and group ethics in prioritizing responsibilities. While corporation leaders have a responsibility to the shareholders who have entrusted them with their company, they also have a responsibility to their stakeholders, the common good of the people within the communities in which they work. From the viewpoint of three ethical standards, it is clear that the corporation must maintain a level of responsibility toward both their shareholders and their stakeholders if they wish to conduct business ethically. In general, most people understand corporate social responsibility as referring to the practice of corporate investment in community related projects, often projects that will bring no direct, quantifiable benefit to the corporation itself. In respect to these types of practices, it is often argued that the corporation is acting irresponsibly toward its shareholders when it elects to invest corporate funds into charities that do not directly benefit the shareholders themselves. â€Å"The company’s owners – its shareholders – can certainly donate their own assets to charities that promote causes they believe in †¦ But it would be irresponsible for the management and directors of a company, whose stock these investors purchased, to deploy corporate assets for social causes† (Atkins, 2006). Because shareholders don’t have direct control over how these funds are spent, which charities they contribute to or how much they wish to invest,

Emergency preparedness for Healthcare Professionals Article

Emergency preparedness for Healthcare Professionals - Article Example It is advisable that since a hospital is working as a team, then the fight and preparedness here should also be initiated as a team. To begin with, I will address the issues of someone coming in to attack the hospital with a weapon. Here, it is advisable that both patients and hospital officials should make a highway where some individuals can escape. In addition, the alarm system should be in place and in good condition, which will alarm the security officers on the attack immediately. Having put that across, it is also vital to raise concern over earthquake occurrence in the hospital. Earthquake is natural and often, hard to identify the direction to which it is originating from without machines assistance. Therefore, it is advisable for the hospital management to be well equipped with several kits that can last over seventy-two hours after the occurrence of the real incidence. Some of the kits are the ponchos, radios for communication and networking, food rations and flashlights j ust to sample but a few. Again, it is important for the hospital management to acknowledge the vitality of the emergency systems that will aid in notifications. Further, it will be awesome if the hospital is safe-guarded with earthquake safety measures, frames and foundations of the building should be reinforced to resist earthquake. Another unavoidable disaster is terrorism. Often, the increased potential of attacks by the terrorist directs the consequence and unique burden on Medicaid personnel. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the hospital management to prepare in advance for the fight against such act. Thus, the hospital officials have the mandate to implement policies that will protect health care personnel during the time when they will be attending to the victims. Therefore, it is pertinent to have ambulance in standby to evacuate some patients to other hospitals, order extra medicines and arrangements for security personnel. Again, alarming disaster is carbon Monoxide poisoning. In this regard, it is pertinent that the management team should ensure that there is proper installation of the carbon monoxide alarms, which can alert the concern authority audibly. The hospitals should have a professional checker of all burning appliances. It is not wise to be using oven or range to assist in heating the hospitals. Charcoal burning in hospital should be out of bounds. Another caution is that cars should not be left running since; this will not supply required air in the milieu. Lastly, hospital should develop extra decontamination rooms since it is not likely that pre-hospital personnel will manage to control all the contamination issues, the above will prevent hypothermia illness. Hurricane is another disaster that needs thorough preparedness. Here, for any hospitals to run effectively without worries of the severity of the hurricane, it is important that the following issues be put in place. Back-up generators are required to prevent black out conditi on. Hospital structures should be hardened and category five windows hurricane resistance put in place. Fuel tanks for the back-up generators should be available. Another natural disaster is the flood. It is worth to note that flood being a natural disaster calls for preparedness immediately when any sign shows up to avoid loss of life.

PKR-eIF2α Signaling Mediated Spatial Memory Impairment

PKR-eIF2ÃŽ ± Signaling Mediated Spatial Memory Impairment SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL Activated PKR-eIF2ÃŽ ± signaling mediated spatial memory impairment, tau phosphorylation, AÃŽ ² pathology, oxidative stress, selectively synaptic protein loss in mice caused by low levels of Cu Mouse behavior analysis. Morris water maze test: MWM was performed as previously described (PMID:23402899) with minor modifications and the test was performed double blinded according to the standard operation protocol. The MWM consisted of a circular pool (120 cm diameter, wall depth 40 cm) in which all the mice were trained to escape from water by swimming to a hidden platform (2 cm beneath water surface) whose location only be identified by using the visual cures on the inner wall of the pool (Supplementary Fig. 3A). The water and the room temperature were kept at 23 ±1 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™. The pool was divided into four quadrants by a computerized tracking software (Huaibei Zhenghua Biologic Apparatus Facilities Limited Company, Huaibei, Anhui, China). The platform was located half-way between the center and the wall in one quadrant and maintained at the same position during all the experiment. The navigation test consisted of 4 training trials per day and 5 consecutive training days. As can be seen in Table 1, mice were released with their heads facing the inner wall of the pool from the four quadrantal locations (N, E, SE, and NW) according the sequence as previous report (Supplementary Fig. 3B) (PMID:17406317), and not allowed to swim and search for the platform more than 60 s, after which they were guided to the platform and allowed to remain on it for 15 s. Each mouse was then returned to its cage for 30 min before its next trial. The latency to reach the hidden platform was recorded. One day or six days after the end of navigation test, mice received a probe test, in which the platform was removed. Mice were released from the NE location and allowed to a 120 s swim to find the previous location of the platform. The swimming path, the time spent in each quadrant, the distance traveled each quadrant, the probe time, the platform crossing number, the total distance traveled, and the average swimming speed was recorded by the computerized tracking software. Y-maze: In order to study the PKR role in exploratory behavior and spatial memory, we performed the Y-maze in the PKR+/+Tg+/- and PKR+/-Tg+/- mice as described previously (PMID: 8986335, 1393562). Response to novelty was tested in a Y-maze, adopting a two-trial procedure in this test. The apparatus was equipped with black materials with three identical arms each 50 cm long, 16 cm wide, and 32 cm high. Visual cues made from colored paper with different symbols and the floor of the maze was covered with soiled animal bedding (Beta wood chips). All the mice was performed with starvation treatment for 24h before Y-maze. In trial 1, one arm was blocked with black Plexiglas and referred to as the â€Å"novel† arm in Trial 2. The remaining two arms were designated as the ‘start’ arm and â€Å"other† arm respectively. Three arms were randomized between mice (but not for the same mouse) to reduce arm bias effects. At the start of testing, a mouse was placed in the start arm and was allowed to explore the start and other arms for 10 min (acquisition trial). At the end of Trial 1, the mouse was returned to its home cage and the bedding inside the maze was mixed to reduce the possibility of using odors as a cue. After an intertrial interval (ITI) of 1 h, the mouse was placed in the same start arm as in Trial 1. The previously blocked arm was opened in Trial 2 and the mouse was allowed to investigate all three arms for 5 min (recall trial). The dependent variables measured in Trial 2 were: (1) the amount of time spent in each arm for each minute; (2) the number of entries made into each arm for each minute (Entry). Those indexs reflect inquisitive behavior (i.e. response to novelty) and spatial recognition memory of the previously unvisited arm. Step-down test: This test was used to measure inhibitory avoidance and short-term memory, according to the previously described method (PMID: 24678498). The apparatus comprised a plastic chamber (12x12x18cm) with an elevated rubber platform (4.84.84.5cm) placed on the left side wall. The floor was made of caliber stainless steel bars (0.1cm in length) placed in parallel, 0.5cm apart. On the first training day, mice were exposed to a 5-min learning course, if the animals stepped down from the platform, they were exposed to an electric foot shock (36V, AC). After 24h, latency was reassessed and recorded as the learning grade (latency), which was taken as a measure of memory retention. Each acquisition trial was performed 5min in the PKR+/+Tg+/- and PKR+/-Tg+/- mice. Supplementary Table 1. Primary antibodies used for protein immunodetection in western blot analysis (WB), immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence (IF). Antigen Supplier Application PAGE (%) Species origin Incubation conditions Ab dilution 8-OhdG US Biological, H9076-02 IF N/A Goat 10% NGS, 12h, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:200 acetylated-ÃŽ ±-Tubulin Santa Cruz, sc- 23950 WB 10 Mouse 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:5000 APP Cell signaling, #2452 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 AT8 Thermo, MN1020B WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 ATF-4 Abcam, ab50546 WB 10 Mouse 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 ATF-4 Abcam, ab50546 IF N/A Mouse 10% NGS, 12h, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:100 AÃŽ ²42 Abcam, ab10148 IHC N/A Rabbit 10% NGS, 12h, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:100 BACE-1 Abcam, ab2077 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 CCS Abcam, ab16962 WB 10 Mouse 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:100 CHOP Cell signaling, #2895 WB 10 Mouse 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 CREB Cell signaling, #9197 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 complexin-1/2 Santa Cruz, sc-33603 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 Cp Abcam, ab48614 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 Drebrin Cell signaling, #12243 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 eIF2ÃŽ ± Cell signaling, #5324 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 GSK-3ÃŽ ² Cell signaling, #9315 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 JNK Cell signaling, ##9252 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 Nitro-Tyrosine Cell signaling, #9691 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 NR2A Molecular Probes, A-6473 WB 8 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:500 NR2B Molecular Probes, A-6474 WB 8 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:500 PKR (N-Term) GenWay Biotech, GWB-A4757E WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:500 p-PKR (Thr 451) Invitrogen, 44668G WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:500 p-eIF2ÃŽ ± (Ser51) Cell signaling, #3398 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 p-GSK-3ÃŽ ² (Ser9) Cell signaling, #9336 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 p-CREB (Ser133) Cell signaling, #9198 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 p-JNK Cell signaling, #4671 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 p-PP2A Epitomics, 1155-1 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 PP2A C subunit Epitomics, 1512-1 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 PS396 Invitrogen, 44752G WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 PS404 Invitrogen, 44-758G WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 PSD-93 Cell signaling, #9445 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 PSD-95 Cell signaling, #2507 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 PSD-95 Cell signaling, #2507 IF N/A Rabbit 10% NGS, 12h, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:100 synapsin 1 Invitrogen, 51-5200 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 sAPPÃŽ ± Covance, SIG-39139 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 sAPPÃŽ ² Covance, SIG-39138 WB 10 Rabbit 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 Tau-1 Chemicon, MAB3420 WB 10 Mouse 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:1000 Tau-5 Abcam, ab80579 WB 10 Mouse 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, 4à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ 1:500 ÃŽ ±-tubulin Santa Cruz, sc-58667 WB 8-10 Mouse 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, RT 1:1000 ÃŽ ²-actin Santa Cruz, sc-47778 WB 10 Mouse 5% skim milk, 2h, O/N, RT 1:1000 N/A, not applicable; NGS, normal-goat serum; O/N, over-night; RT, room temperature. SUPPLEMENTARY FIGURES Supplementary Figure 1. Content of Cu in Serum and brain. (A-D) Total iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium content in the serum respectively; (E-H) Total iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium content in the hippocampus respectively; (I-L) Total iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium content in the cortex respectively; *P

Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents Essays -- media influence

1. Character merchandising will be processed by children at the peripheral level, aka heuristic persuasion processing, as it is a message that relies heavily on emotional attachment and source attractiveness. These appeals rely on moderate levels of consumer attention and low motivation to process the message. The persuasive message is not presented in a rational argument the consumer must cognitively analyze but rather it is presented through an attractive character that children either know or can easily attach to that is aimed at generating a positive emotional association with the brand. Product placement will be processed at the automatic level, aka automatic persuasion processing, because consumers are generally unaware that they are being targeted by a persuasive message. The brand is integrated seamlessly into media content so that children do not know it is placed their intentionally as a marketing strategy. The implicit nature of product placement relies on the consumer to devote no explicit attention to the advertised brand and rather make a subconscious positive association. Children exposed to product placement do not need to be motivated or cognitively able to process the message as it is designed for implicit brand memory. 2. Rozendaal et al. emphasize the crucial difference between conceptual knowledge of advertising and attitudinal knowledge. The study showed that being conceptually literate (recognizing and understanding an advertising message) does not increase advertising defenses in children. Therefore, interventions will most likely be ineffective as children will not use the knowledge they have when faced with a persuasive message. Moreover, most messages aimed at children are processed at the per... ...& adolescent medicine, 153(11), 1184-1189. Veldhuis, J., Konijn, E. A., & Seidell, J. C. (2012). Weight information labels on media models reduce body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls. Journal of Adolescent Health, 50(6), 600-606. Matsuba, M. K. (2006). Searching for self and relationships online.CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9(3), 275-284. Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2007). Preadolescents' and adolescents' online communication and their closeness to friends. Developmental psychology,43(2), 267. Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2008). Adolescents' Identity Experiments on the Internet Consequences for Social Competence and Self-Concept Unity.Communication Research, 35(2), 208-231. Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2009). Social consequences of the internet for adolescents a decade of research. Current Directions in Psychological Science,18(1), 1-5. Effects of Media on Children and Adolescents Essays -- media influence 1. Character merchandising will be processed by children at the peripheral level, aka heuristic persuasion processing, as it is a message that relies heavily on emotional attachment and source attractiveness. These appeals rely on moderate levels of consumer attention and low motivation to process the message. The persuasive message is not presented in a rational argument the consumer must cognitively analyze but rather it is presented through an attractive character that children either know or can easily attach to that is aimed at generating a positive emotional association with the brand. Product placement will be processed at the automatic level, aka automatic persuasion processing, because consumers are generally unaware that they are being targeted by a persuasive message. The brand is integrated seamlessly into media content so that children do not know it is placed their intentionally as a marketing strategy. The implicit nature of product placement relies on the consumer to devote no explicit attention to the advertised brand and rather make a subconscious positive association. Children exposed to product placement do not need to be motivated or cognitively able to process the message as it is designed for implicit brand memory. 2. Rozendaal et al. emphasize the crucial difference between conceptual knowledge of advertising and attitudinal knowledge. The study showed that being conceptually literate (recognizing and understanding an advertising message) does not increase advertising defenses in children. Therefore, interventions will most likely be ineffective as children will not use the knowledge they have when faced with a persuasive message. Moreover, most messages aimed at children are processed at the per... ...& adolescent medicine, 153(11), 1184-1189. Veldhuis, J., Konijn, E. A., & Seidell, J. C. (2012). Weight information labels on media models reduce body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls. Journal of Adolescent Health, 50(6), 600-606. Matsuba, M. K. (2006). Searching for self and relationships online.CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9(3), 275-284. Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2007). Preadolescents' and adolescents' online communication and their closeness to friends. Developmental psychology,43(2), 267. Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2008). Adolescents' Identity Experiments on the Internet Consequences for Social Competence and Self-Concept Unity.Communication Research, 35(2), 208-231. Valkenburg, P. M., & Peter, J. (2009). Social consequences of the internet for adolescents a decade of research. Current Directions in Psychological Science,18(1), 1-5.

Free Will in Christianity Essay

Christianity is derived from a mixture of elements of Roman religious myths, Pagan myths and god-men stories, sun worship and Gnosticism. Christianity has no room for free will, but for psychological or other reasons, many Christians have believed in genuine individual free will. Everyone is regarded as having a free choice as to in what measure he or she will follow his or her conscience or arrogance, these two having been appointed for each individual. The more one follows one’s conscience, the more it brings one good results, and the more one follows one’s arrogance, the more it brings one bad results. In Christianity God is described as not only omniscient but also omnipotent which implies that not only has God always known what choices individuals will make tomorrow, but has actually determined those choices. That is, they believe, by virtue of his foreknowledge, he knows what will influence individual choices, and by virtue of his omnipotence, he controls those factors. God still gives individuals the power to ultimately choose or reject everything, regardless of any internal or external conditions relating to the choice. For example, when Jesus was nailed on the cross, the two criminals, one on each side, were about to die. Only one asked Jesus for forgiveness while the other, even at the end of his life with nothing else to lose, mocked Jesus. This was a free and personal choice between everlasting death and everlasting life. Since God is omniscient, God has foreknowledge, meaning he knows what everyone will do in the future and what any individual would do in any given situation. This foreknowledge enables God to have a plan for everyone’s life. For instance, if God wants a particular action to occur, he knows who would choose to do that action, and under what circumstances they would choose it; thus he is able to plan for it to happen. However, God’s knowing what choices we will make is simply knowledge it does not remove our free will, for we are still the ones making the choices. The Bible also says and teaches that there is no free will and that God’s plan overrides our free will, those that do good do the specific good that God predestined them to do, and Satan rules all others because God sends â€Å"powerful delusions† to them. As quoted in Ephesians 1:4-6 â€Å"Praise be to [God], who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. † Catholic Christianity’s emphasis on free will and grace is often contrasted with predestination in reformed protestant Christianity, especially after the Counter-Reformation. However, in understanding differing conceptions of free will it is just as important to understand the differing conceptions of the nature of God, focusing on the idea that God can be all-powerful and all knowing even while people continue to exercise free will, because God does not exist in time. It is further understood that in order for Man to have true free choice, he must not only have inner free will, but also an environment in which a choice between obedience and disobedience exists. God thus created the world such that both good and evil can operate freely. Comprehensively the Christian Bible denies free will and any element of choice in what good works we do. God has picked who will do what good deeds, and God punishes and rewards people on account of what God has chosen, in accordance with God’s plan and purpose. According to The Bible, God definitely does not like being quizzed on this matter of Free will; Paul is honest about God’s lack of justice. Paul states multiple times, in accordance with the rest of the scripture we see on this page, that free will and personal choices are not the important factor in salvation: Paul then goes further in Romans 9 and admits that God is arbitrary, and it’s simply tough that people were created for ‘common use’ as slaves of Satan, and that only some are created for ‘noble purposes’. Reference: Roberts, Jenny, 1997. â€Å"Bible Facts†. Grange Books, London.

Sport Obermeyer

*Sport Obermeyer:* Case Analysis Pratyusha Lakshmi Puranam Executive Summary: Obermeyer offers a broad line of fashion ski apparel, including parkas, vests, ski suits, shells, ski pants, sweaters, turtlenecks, and accessories. Parkas are considered the most critical design component of a collection; the other garments were fashioned to match the parkas’ style and color. Their products were offered in five different genders: men’s, women’s, boys’, girls’, and preschoolers’. The company segments each â€Å"gender† market according to price, type of skier, and how â€Å"fashion-forward† the market was. Within each â€Å"gender†, numerous styles are offered, each in several colors and a range of sizes. In the current situation, Obermeyer is facing two major issues: inability to meet the demand of retailers during peak sales and a confusion of where to produce the garments – Hong Kong or China. The best way to mitigate the inability to meet the demand of retailers during peaks sales would be to forecast the demands with either past data or with the help of a forecasting committee. It would be idea for Obermeyer to forecast future demand with the help of a forecasting committee. To come over the confusion of which city to continue production in, Obermeyer should choose to continue short term production in Hong Kong but the Long Term production should be in China. Sport Obermeyer has the following main problems: Inability to meet the exact demand of the retailers of the latest fashion which is actually a result of poor forecasting of the jackets: Sport Obermeyer depends on the Las Vegas show to determine what fashions were going to dominate the season coming up and then produce the best fashions. This was a problem because the gap between the show and the production of final product and making it available to the retailer takes time and meanwhile anything can happen. Thus a rigid and accurate forecast must be made based on data as well as experience. They are in a dilemma of which location to continue their production in – Hong Kong or China: Raymond Tse had built the new factory in China where the cost was less but the quality had to be compromised. Moreover, the labor had to be trained and a higher minimum order was required. These issues were addressed by the Hong Kong facility where quality of product was good, the labor could multitask, a lower minimum order size was required and the time of production was low. But the overall cost was high. Recommendations: In order to overcome the forecasting issue, effective forecasting methods like forecasting with the committee should be adopted. The calculations can be based on the newsvendor problem and will help to forecast the optimum requirement of products. To overcome the dilemma of where to produce, the production initially continue in Honk Kong andshould be eventually moved to China. Later, Hong Kong should be used when the minimum order size does not suit that in China. Supporting Analysis: Sport Obermeyer has the issue of lack of stock during peak sales of certain types of parkas. This is very similar to the New Vendor problem. The newsvendor problem is a classic in management science partly because selecting an optimal inventory level in the face of uncertain demand is an important problem but also because the solution is so elegant and intuitive: the inventory should be selected so that the probability that the vendor stocks out should be set equal to the ratio of the item’s unit cost to its unit price. Precisely, the Newsvendor Framework is: One chance to decide on the stocking quantity for the product you’re selling Demand for the product is uncertain Known marginal profit for each unit sold and known marginal loss for the ones that are bought and not sold Goal: Maximize expected profit Numerically, P(x)Marginal Profit – (1 – P(x))Marginal Loss = 0 i. e. P(x) = Marginal Loss/(Marginal Profit + Marginal Loss) Obermeyer’s situation is more complicated than the Newsvendor problem because it is highly dependent on what color, style in the most popular at the moment. Moreover, the higher lead time and constraints of minimum number of orders defined by factories worsen the situation. Risk associated Production: Sport Obermeyer should produce the designs and styles that have the least standard deviation because they are least risky. For these products, the demand uncertainty is very less and thus there is a very low chance of incurring a huge loss. A loss, if any, will not be taxing for Obermeyer and will be in a very low level. Moreover, the trade show results from Las Vegas are not required to produce these parkas. Thus their production can be started immediately. On the other hand, Obermeyer would want to wait till the trade show is complete before starting the production of the parks with a high standard deviation because it has a higher risk. Any loss incurred sue to this segment will be huge and taxing. Demand forecast: The following table shows the demand forecast by the forecasting committee. According to basic principles of statistics, in a sample there is a 68% probability of success i. e available demand in the range (Mean + or – Standard Deviation) and 97% probability of available demand in the range (Mean + or – 2*Standard Deviation). The uncertainty in these two cases is the chance of being outside the range. For example there is a 32% uncertainty of availability that if the demand is below 823 or above 1211 in the Gail model. Similarly it follows for the rest of the data. With the Newsvendor problem, the Demand Forecast would be: Here, P(x) = Marginal Loss/ (Marginal Profit + Marginal Loss) Z has been taken from the frequency distribution tables. Produce = Average +Z*Standard Deviation First Production Quantities: tyles for which expected demand is more than twice the minimum order quantity styles for which expected demand is less than the minimum order quantity all other styles From the above data we have the least forecasted order as 639 which are higher than 600, which is the minimum order quantity for Hong Kong. If the demand is more than double of what has been forecasted there is no issue at all and any factory (Hong Kong or China) can be chosen. If the demand is less what we have forecasted it again depen ds on how much lesser than the minimum order size it is. As we have seen all the forecasted demands are greater than 600 and therefore there will not be much of an issue. A typical scenario is when the demand is in between the minimum order and the double the minimum order. For such a situation we will have to further analyze. We cannot blindly order the minimum both times not can we split the demand into half. In such a situation we have to choose a combination of both factories. *Effect of reducing minimum order quantities on profits*: If there is reduction in the minimum order quantities, then it would be profitable only in case of Hong Kong. There may not be a big difference in profitability if China lowers its minimum order quantity. The reason being, if the company selects China for its order, it is probable that the order is of bulk quantity. Hence, the minimum would not matter for bulk orders. As discussed earlier, it is a good idea to choose Hong Kong for quick and small orders. Hence, if Hong Kong lowers its minimum order quantity, then the number of orders with low quantities will increase for Hong Kong – because, Hong Kong produces the product in half the time as China. Hence, minimum order quantities are directly related to quick orders, which implies, if there is a reduction in minimum order quantity in Hong Kong, then it is profitable than the minimum order quantity reduction in China. Thus when we have to choose a location based on the aspect of reducing the minimum order quantities, we must go ahead with Hong Kong as it is more profitable than reducing minimum order size in China. *Increasing the capacity to react to observed demand*: The second order happens immediately after the Las Vegas show. Hence, to improve the capacity to react for the demand, more number of resources need to work for gathering and capturing the market ASAP during the trade show. This would marginally affect the order date, by increasing the time for Obersport to deliver to sport Obermeyer. But, at that moment, every moment is highly crucial. Once, Obersport is asked to deliver on a prior date, the retailers have the chance to start selling the products at an earlier date. From a profitability point of view, it may not affect a major percentage of profit. But, gaining every penny is the motto of a business. Hence, the capacity to observed demand if increased might result in improved profits. Thus Obermeyer should hire extra resources for this job. Improving Performance: Effectively and efficiently forecasting the demand will be the key factor in improving the performance of Obermeyer another important point would be to reduce the lead time. These two aspects will ensure that when retailers are in the peak sales period and request for replenishment of stock, Obermeyer is in a position to do the needful. Reducing lead time is the easiest to control and will help a lot in improving the performance. Moreover, Obermeyer can also restrict its suppliers (fabric etc) to one to two suppliers. Finally, Obermeyer should define the functionality of Obersport. Obersport should be restricted to can be in charge of sewing and cutting the clothes. Shipping and handling can be taken care by another smaller company so that it will be more efficient and timesaving. Sourcing in China versus Hong Kong Although the time taken for production in china is higher compared to Hong Kong, Sport Obermeyer should give the larger proportion of orders to china, to save labor costs. There are orders which need lesser quantity in lesser time. The urgent orders from retailers can be diverted to HK to save time and business. Hence, as decided previously by the company, over 50% of the orders can be given to China. Bibliography: http://www. hbs. edu/research/facpubs/workingpapers/papers2/0102/02-024. pdf http://www2. isye. gatech. edu/~sman/courses/2030/Newsvendor. pdf http://www. slideshare. net/glenferry/sport-obermeyer? src=related_normal&rel=708013 Sport Obermeyer *Sport Obermeyer:* Case Analysis Pratyusha Lakshmi Puranam Executive Summary: Obermeyer offers a broad line of fashion ski apparel, including parkas, vests, ski suits, shells, ski pants, sweaters, turtlenecks, and accessories. Parkas are considered the most critical design component of a collection; the other garments were fashioned to match the parkas’ style and color. Their products were offered in five different genders: men’s, women’s, boys’, girls’, and preschoolers’. The company segments each â€Å"gender† market according to price, type of skier, and how â€Å"fashion-forward† the market was. Within each â€Å"gender†, numerous styles are offered, each in several colors and a range of sizes. In the current situation, Obermeyer is facing two major issues: inability to meet the demand of retailers during peak sales and a confusion of where to produce the garments – Hong Kong or China. The best way to mitigate the inability to meet the demand of retailers during peaks sales would be to forecast the demands with either past data or with the help of a forecasting committee. It would be idea for Obermeyer to forecast future demand with the help of a forecasting committee. To come over the confusion of which city to continue production in, Obermeyer should choose to continue short term production in Hong Kong but the Long Term production should be in China. Sport Obermeyer has the following main problems: Inability to meet the exact demand of the retailers of the latest fashion which is actually a result of poor forecasting of the jackets: Sport Obermeyer depends on the Las Vegas show to determine what fashions were going to dominate the season coming up and then produce the best fashions. This was a problem because the gap between the show and the production of final product and making it available to the retailer takes time and meanwhile anything can happen. Thus a rigid and accurate forecast must be made based on data as well as experience. They are in a dilemma of which location to continue their production in – Hong Kong or China: Raymond Tse had built the new factory in China where the cost was less but the quality had to be compromised. Moreover, the labor had to be trained and a higher minimum order was required. These issues were addressed by the Hong Kong facility where quality of product was good, the labor could multitask, a lower minimum order size was required and the time of production was low. But the overall cost was high. Recommendations: In order to overcome the forecasting issue, effective forecasting methods like forecasting with the committee should be adopted. The calculations can be based on the newsvendor problem and will help to forecast the optimum requirement of products. To overcome the dilemma of where to produce, the production initially continue in Honk Kong andshould be eventually moved to China. Later, Hong Kong should be used when the minimum order size does not suit that in China. Supporting Analysis: Sport Obermeyer has the issue of lack of stock during peak sales of certain types of parkas. This is very similar to the New Vendor problem. The newsvendor problem is a classic in management science partly because selecting an optimal inventory level in the face of uncertain demand is an important problem but also because the solution is so elegant and intuitive: the inventory should be selected so that the probability that the vendor stocks out should be set equal to the ratio of the item’s unit cost to its unit price. Precisely, the Newsvendor Framework is: One chance to decide on the stocking quantity for the product you’re selling Demand for the product is uncertain Known marginal profit for each unit sold and known marginal loss for the ones that are bought and not sold Goal: Maximize expected profit Numerically, P(x)Marginal Profit – (1 – P(x))Marginal Loss = 0 i. e. P(x) = Marginal Loss/(Marginal Profit + Marginal Loss) Obermeyer’s situation is more complicated than the Newsvendor problem because it is highly dependent on what color, style in the most popular at the moment. Moreover, the higher lead time and constraints of minimum number of orders defined by factories worsen the situation. Risk associated Production: Sport Obermeyer should produce the designs and styles that have the least standard deviation because they are least risky. For these products, the demand uncertainty is very less and thus there is a very low chance of incurring a huge loss. A loss, if any, will not be taxing for Obermeyer and will be in a very low level. Moreover, the trade show results from Las Vegas are not required to produce these parkas. Thus their production can be started immediately. On the other hand, Obermeyer would want to wait till the trade show is complete before starting the production of the parks with a high standard deviation because it has a higher risk. Any loss incurred sue to this segment will be huge and taxing. Demand forecast: The following table shows the demand forecast by the forecasting committee. According to basic principles of statistics, in a sample there is a 68% probability of success i. e available demand in the range (Mean + or – Standard Deviation) and 97% probability of available demand in the range (Mean + or – 2*Standard Deviation). The uncertainty in these two cases is the chance of being outside the range. For example there is a 32% uncertainty of availability that if the demand is below 823 or above 1211 in the Gail model. Similarly it follows for the rest of the data. With the Newsvendor problem, the Demand Forecast would be: Here, P(x) = Marginal Loss/ (Marginal Profit + Marginal Loss) Z has been taken from the frequency distribution tables. Produce = Average +Z*Standard Deviation First Production Quantities: tyles for which expected demand is more than twice the minimum order quantity styles for which expected demand is less than the minimum order quantity all other styles From the above data we have the least forecasted order as 639 which are higher than 600, which is the minimum order quantity for Hong Kong. If the demand is more than double of what has been forecasted there is no issue at all and any factory (Hong Kong or China) can be chosen. If the demand is less what we have forecasted it again depen ds on how much lesser than the minimum order size it is. As we have seen all the forecasted demands are greater than 600 and therefore there will not be much of an issue. A typical scenario is when the demand is in between the minimum order and the double the minimum order. For such a situation we will have to further analyze. We cannot blindly order the minimum both times not can we split the demand into half. In such a situation we have to choose a combination of both factories. *Effect of reducing minimum order quantities on profits*: If there is reduction in the minimum order quantities, then it would be profitable only in case of Hong Kong. There may not be a big difference in profitability if China lowers its minimum order quantity. The reason being, if the company selects China for its order, it is probable that the order is of bulk quantity. Hence, the minimum would not matter for bulk orders. As discussed earlier, it is a good idea to choose Hong Kong for quick and small orders. Hence, if Hong Kong lowers its minimum order quantity, then the number of orders with low quantities will increase for Hong Kong – because, Hong Kong produces the product in half the time as China. Hence, minimum order quantities are directly related to quick orders, which implies, if there is a reduction in minimum order quantity in Hong Kong, then it is profitable than the minimum order quantity reduction in China. Thus when we have to choose a location based on the aspect of reducing the minimum order quantities, we must go ahead with Hong Kong as it is more profitable than reducing minimum order size in China. *Increasing the capacity to react to observed demand*: The second order happens immediately after the Las Vegas show. Hence, to improve the capacity to react for the demand, more number of resources need to work for gathering and capturing the market ASAP during the trade show. This would marginally affect the order date, by increasing the time for Obersport to deliver to sport Obermeyer. But, at that moment, every moment is highly crucial. Once, Obersport is asked to deliver on a prior date, the retailers have the chance to start selling the products at an earlier date. From a profitability point of view, it may not affect a major percentage of profit. But, gaining every penny is the motto of a business. Hence, the capacity to observed demand if increased might result in improved profits. Thus Obermeyer should hire extra resources for this job. Improving Performance: Effectively and efficiently forecasting the demand will be the key factor in improving the performance of Obermeyer another important point would be to reduce the lead time. These two aspects will ensure that when retailers are in the peak sales period and request for replenishment of stock, Obermeyer is in a position to do the needful. Reducing lead time is the easiest to control and will help a lot in improving the performance. Moreover, Obermeyer can also restrict its suppliers (fabric etc) to one to two suppliers. Finally, Obermeyer should define the functionality of Obersport. Obersport should be restricted to can be in charge of sewing and cutting the clothes. Shipping and handling can be taken care by another smaller company so that it will be more efficient and timesaving. Sourcing in China versus Hong Kong Although the time taken for production in china is higher compared to Hong Kong, Sport Obermeyer should give the larger proportion of orders to china, to save labor costs. There are orders which need lesser quantity in lesser time. The urgent orders from retailers can be diverted to HK to save time and business. Hence, as decided previously by the company, over 50% of the orders can be given to China. Bibliography: http://www. hbs. edu/research/facpubs/workingpapers/papers2/0102/02-024. pdf http://www2. isye. gatech. edu/~sman/courses/2030/Newsvendor. pdf http://www. slideshare. net/glenferry/sport-obermeyer? src=related_normal&rel=708013