The advertising world Essay

The youths are highly influenced when they hit their transitional period from adolescence to the teenage years. They are dealing with the changes in their bodies and minds. Businesses are cashing in on the ability to target these children with their products; companies have focused advertising their products to young girls. The advertising world is also using younger models to sell their products. They are using the youth to sell anything from candy to underwear for their companies. The federal government should ban advertisers from allowing young girls to model as grown women. Advertising companies has used women to model as early back as the 1890’s The ideal of a beautiful woman has changed over the decades. Women and young girls look at magazines, movies, and movie stars and they desire to look like them. This may not be a problem for some women, but it has become a problem for the young girls today. The advertising world should be limited to how the youths are used in advertising. The writer remembers a story, which was overseas, a young model about ten years old was hired to model underwear, and she had on so much make up that it made her look like she was in her twenties, and she was wearing underwear that was for a grown woman. Neither the make-up nor the underwear was appropriate for this young girl to wear and/or to be advertising for other young girls to want to purchase. Young girls should not be exploited in this manner. A lot of young girls have a negative body image of themselves. When they desire to be something or somebody, they are not can or will cause the girls to develop eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating. The young girls want to be beautiful and thin because of the ideal body image that the advertising world is demonstrating in their ads, this how they are supposed to look to be accepted within a glamorous world. The perception of a better life is you are beautiful and thin. Most people are aware of anorexia, and bulimia is eating disorders were a person eats food, and then they use laxatives or force themselves to vomit to become and stay thin. The person who has anorexia or bulimia sees themselves as fat, and they may be very thin. Most people, such as the writer have not heard of binge eating as an eating disorder. Our nation is concerned as being obese. The writer has not heard of binge eating being explained as a cause for some people may be overweight. On the House of Thin website, it talked about binge eating and suggested there is help for these people through a support group. Another eason why advertisers should not use young girls to model as grown women, they put all this make-up on a young girl and have them pose as if they are grown women. There are predators out in the world, and young girls are their targets. The writer believes young girls should look like young girls (youthful and innocent appearance) and should not look like grown women, there may be less of this problem. There are numerous website that is exploiting young girls in various ways. The writer was in disbelief while doing my research. The police are also online looking for these predators of the children. Advertising is big business, and our nation operates on a Capitalism system. The writer likes, the statement from our textbook, â€Å"Citizens are entitled to protection from harmful actions by others† (Lunsford 2010). Using young girls to advertise merchandise like they are grown women is a harmful action. Body image and the media has become big business at the expense of the youth. The children are not happy with themselves, and parents are allowing this to happen. When is enough, enough? Stop exploiting our children for the price of a dollar. Adults have the responsibility to ensure children keep their innocence, and children don’t become an adult before their time. Children must be talked to about themselves, and children should be encouraged to increase their self- esteem. A positive and nurturing environment is what children need to help fight the advertising world. The writer knows that advertising to the young is not going to change overnight, just like the problem didn’t start overnight. Parents do have a voice and can make a change within our households. Parents also need to be aware of what their child is doing. Growing up back in the 60-70’s children was always watched by somebody, whether it was a teacher, parent, family member or just the neighbor. Somebody was involved with the children; parents need to become more involved. Today, adults lead a very busy life, demands on the job, making sure to work hard and not make mistakes for fear of losing a job. The time invested in the children will make difference. The influence of the television, magazines, movie stars or their peers on the youth we will have more and more youth with eating disorders and vulnerable to predators. The United States economic system is a Capitalistic and people will say that the advertiser has the right to make money. People can argue that the parents are responsible for managing their children spending habits. Base on a survey in 1994; found that 40% of 9 years old have been on a diet (Derenne, and Beresin). Parents should limit the amount of time children are exposed to various forms of media. Monitoring the children and talking about what the children are seeing is another method to use with media. Parents are not responsible, and the federal government needs to look out for the well-being of the youth. Every society has a way of torturing its, women, whether by binding their feet or by sticking them into whalebone corsets. The American culture has come up with its designer jeans (Derenne, and Beresin). Nothing else can say it better than this statement.

Nostalgic Records Proposal

Partner, Melody Nostalgic Records March 16, 2013 Proposal Number 014298B TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Company OverviewPage 4 2. Company Information SystemsPages 5-6 3. Table of Benefits & DrawbacksPage 8 4. Projected SalesPage 9 5. ReferencesPage10 COMPANY OVERVIEW Melody Nostalgic Records will have its grand opening on May 1, 2013. We are a small, brick n’ mortar, nostalgic record store located in downtown San Antonio, Texas. We will be providing a variety of music arrangements in the form of compact discs, vinyl records, cassette tapes, and 8 tracks.This will ensure we have products for all age ranges of customers. Along with music, we will also sell music products such as headphones, posters, t-shirts and other related items. In order to meet the needs of customers, we will need to have various information systems in place so we will be able to meet the needs of the customers as well as the needs of the company. Information Systems are integrated sets of components for collecting, storing, and processing data and for delivering information, knowledge, and digital products (Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.   2013). COMPANY INFORMATION SYSTEMS In order to ensure success in our business and customer satisfaction, utilization of the following five types of information systems will be conducted. * Functional Area IS * Executive Dashboard * Electronic Commerce System * Supply Chain Management System * Decision Support System COMPANY INFORMATION SYSTEMS Functional Area IS This system will support, plan and organize particular functional areas in our business.For example, this system will enable us to effectively conduct payroll and have an overview of sales management with cost and pricing analysis, inventory control, our overall spending and budget. With the information gathered, we will perform an evaluation of weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports. Executive Dashboard This is a tool for data management. It will allow us to identify operational efficiencies , apply preventative measures and recognize the health of our organization through a visual presentation of critical information.Through these reports we will be able to improve any processes that are lacking in our business (â€Å"Executive Dashboard†, 2007). Electronic Commerce System A website of our products will be generated and correlated into our business to meet the needs of consumers who enjoy shopping from home and expanding our client base throughout the nation. This system will eventually allow us to increase our profits. COMPANY INFORMATION SYSTEMS Supply Chain Management System This will enable our company to monitor products, information and financial flow.This system will allow us to oversee our inventory and to also guarantee that we have enough products to meet the demand of our customers (â€Å"Supply Chain Management†,2010). Decision Support System This will enable our managers and company to compile useful information from raw data, documents, pers onal knowledge, and/or business models to identify and solve problems and make decisions on comparative sales figures and projected revenue (â€Å"Decision Support Systems†, 1996-2012). BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS Information System| Benefit| Drawback|Functional Area IS| Company Organization| Security and hacking issues| Executive Dashboard| Ability to produce reports from collected data| Requires person with extensive knowledge of Dashboard system| Electronic Commerce System| Ability to sell products online and expand clients| Possible online theft| Supply Chain Management| Ability to track inventory to ensure products are available on demand| Requires person with prior inventory record keeping | Decision Supports System| Ability to identify and solve problems| Identified problems may not always be accurate| Terms Expressed in Thousands REFERENCES Decision Support Systems. 1996-2012). Retrieved from http://www. informationbuilders. com/decision-support-syst ems-dss Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. (2013). Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved from http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/287895/information-system Executive Dashboard. (2007). Retrieved from http://www. iexecutivedashboard. com/ Rainer, R. K. & Cegielski, C. G. (2011). Introduction to Information systems: Supporting and Transforming Business. Chapter 2, Information Systems, Concepts and Management. Supply Chain Management. (2010). Retrieved from http://searchmanufacturingerp. techtarget. com/definition/supply-chain-management

Post Mortem

Victorian post mortem photography was a custom prevalent in Europe and, to some lesser extent, the United States. It was a culture where people used to pose for photographs with their deceased loved ones for memory purposes. This was a way through which families could mourn and accept the loss of their loved ones. Remembrance encouraged the practice of post mortem photography since most people, especially infants and young adults, were photographed together with their family members to keep their memories alive.This paper will argue that many individuals from the Victorian era who participated in post mortem photography were heavily influenced by religious beliefs that in time developed into religious fixations. Post mortem photography is defined by modern psychiatry as an aspect of acute grief, which occurs in the early aftermath of a death. Acute grief can be intensely painful and is often characterized by behaviors and emotions that would be considered unusual in normal everyday l ife.Some individuals from the Victorian era (1837-1902), who believed in post mortem photography, saw their life here as an entrance to eternal life in heaven. However, these individuals from the Victorian era further believed in freeing the soul so that it was not enslaved in the body after death and further believed that post mortem photography would so free the soul of the deceased. Background: Even though post mortem photography and the dead have a long history, most associate post-mortem photography to the Victorian period in Europe and, to some lesser extent, the United States.Post-mortem photography was very popular in this 19th century period because the invention of the first photographic process, daguerreotype (a photographic process, which a picture on a silver surface sensitizes tit iodine was developed by exposure to mercury vapor, invented in 1839) made photography much more affordable. Daguerreotype photography was embraced since it was cheap and fast as compared to d rawing; this faster and cheaper technique also offered the middle class with a way to remember the deceased.Basically meaning, that those authorizing a post-mortem photographic sketch of a relative or friend also had the financial ability to meet the cost. Because of post mortem photography new nature, society embraced the daguerreotype quickly without having a second thought. â€Å"Post- mortem photography thrived in hydrotherapy ancient decades, among costumers who preferred to posses a photo of their deceased members as compared to lacking a memory. † (Cornwall, 2004, p. 61). The photographs were used as keepsakes to remember family and friends.Some photographers dedicated a substantial portion of their time to photograph the deceased. The strict relation between post mortem photography and the Victorian period inclines to overlook a number of variables. For instance, post mortem photography is still appreciated today in the same way as it was in the 19th century (Carmicha el, 1966, p. 53). Nevertheless, there is a limited amount of photographers wrought the United States who still perform post mortem photography, and death masks.However, many modern post mortem photos put less effort on giving the deceased a life-like appearance, and instead captures pictures of the deceased in coffins. Main Point 1: During the Victorian era, it was clear there were bizarre superstitions and rituals that families abided by to ensure their loved ones got the proper burial. In addition, to the bizarre superstitions and rituals, during the Victorian era some individuals participated in witchcraft and Joined cults. Victorian society was full of bizarre prepositions and rituals, like covering all mirrors with black fabric when someone died.Most people participated in this bizarre superstitions and rituals because it was feared that the mirror could steal the decease's soul and keep it. Also, during the Victorian era many individuals in Europe and, to some lesser extent, t he United States believed in death omens, which is an indicator that the person who is visited by bad spirits is going to die. For instance, seeing themselves in dreams, or seeing an owl during the day. Main Point 2: An initial dwelling of the deceased is considered to be normal.However, Jean Calenderer, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill of Victorian ghost stories and early psychology, describes acute grief as pathological (meaning evidence of being mentally disturbed). It then becomes a fixation. (Spirit Photography: Victorian Culture of Mourning, 17). These bizarre superstitions and rituals were really Just symptoms of some deeper-seated pathological issues. Prevailing Theories There are other psychological answers to the obsession with the deceased.Post mortem photography in and of itself is not necessarily evidence of some sort of pathological issue. Even though the today's society looks at post mortem photography as a morbid action, most of us stil l practice it in various ways. Only the actual real life posing for the pictures is what has been abandoned. People have cultural practices that make them still value the practice of post mortem photography for purposes of remembrance. Also, the practice of post mortem photography is still essential in some religions, such as for Catholics, who cherish respecting the deed for several reasons.One is the continued need to memorial the deceased using a worshiped treasure, such as a photograph. A second reason is to maintain the continuity of church growth and ideas, as the process of the passing down of information regarding certain prominent church personalities and how they dedicated their life to serve could trigger the use of post mortem photography. This is because in current society, we identify ourselves with these people. Post mortem photography also is currently used in criminal investigations.The use of post mortem photography is essential in ensuring that even the dead can b e accorded Justice. Post mortem photos are often used as aids to deduce the cause of death of an individual, specially in a case where the death occurred under mysterious circumstances. This shows that the current use of post mortem photography in our Justice system is justifiable. Documentation does have limits. For example, in a massacre, for purposes of evidence, it is essential for the Journalist and people concerned to take pictures of the dead, but to be able to pose them for the public is not accepted.Nature always exposes human beings to challenges that need to be recorded for future generations. The use of post mortem photography as a record for future reference is commendable. For instance, in the field of anthropology, photographic communication of events is essential for they act as proof of what actually happened. Though, some people depict this as uncultured to some extent. There are certain photos that anthropologists would use, but societal moral values and beliefs r estrict the use of such photos.Yet, in order to validate the scientific findings, it is still justifiable to use post mortem anthropology to achieve this purpose regardless of societal values. Rebuttal People today are scared of death, it is not perceived as in the early 19th century when people used to take death as a normal thing. Death was more of a way of life urine the Victorian era for several reasons. Mothers died in childbirth, children died from preventable diseases, adults lived much shorter life spans. Modern medicine and technology have eliminated all of these as concerns.Celebrations such as Halloween show how people today are scared of death, as, for example, the masks used are normally from images related to death. They are intended to scare people, but at the same time they actually depict what was meant for post mortem photography. People avoid death, it is still something that happens to all of us eventually, but modern society has made it into something to be afra id of, something o scare little children and something to be kept at a distance. Most people no longer associate death as being a normal event as in the 19th century.Thus, what occurred in the 19th century was more related to trying to understand death as a normal part of life, not a pathological condition requiring medical treatment. Conclusion Even though post mortem photography was mostly attributed to the Victorian era, today people still practice this through recordings as keepsakes, the taking of post mortem pictures for use in our Justice system, the use of methods such as tattoos rented on our skin, graffiti painted on our cars and walls, images and pictures of the dead in their graves, as well as statues.We are not running away from death and post mortem photography, but we are only distancing ourselves from death while adopting other ways to remember the departed ones.

Telecommuting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Telecommuting - Essay Example Telecommuting has been touted as the wave of the future as far as workplace trends go. This is due to the large number of individuals and corporations that are opting for this method of work against the physical work at the office model. Telecommuting basically is the idea where one works outside the confines of the conventional office space (Amigoni, 2009, 3). There are various benefits that have been attained by firms that have adopted this method as part of their human resources management strategy. While some have had success other firms have experienced a negative effect with their bid to try and adopt telecommuting policies. A recent incidence may have brought the issues that are raised by telecommuting to the fore and this was with the recently appointed chief executive (CEO) of Yahoo banning the telecommuting policy of the company. Discussions have been raised on whether this was a good move or not? What may have called for her action? How does this affect the future producti vity of Yahoo as a company? There are a number of advantages that a company may stand to gain from adopting a telecommuting policy. Various different studies have been conducted that have looked at the improvements that a firm may get from having a section of its workers telecommuting to work. Some of these studies have found that telecommuting helps boost the performance of the workers and this has been attributed to a number of factors. One of these factors is the amount of time that is saved by workers who do not have to commute to work every day. Each day there is an increasing number of hours that workers spend on the road on their way to and from work. These hours can be better spent working on their various tasks if they telecommute. This savings are also in the fact that a large percentage of the workers are now not forced to endure traffic jams that also consume a lot of the time which limits the workers productivity. If this time is spent doing company related tasks and as signments they can help improve greatly on the output of the company (Johnson, 2001, 169). The other idea is in the fact that those who telecommute to work have been found to have an increased amount of productivity as compared to their colleagues who do not telecommute.  

Business Environment in Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business Environment in - Essay Example This paper focuses on external factors. Britain has increased regulations to the car industry. The automotive industry is being subjected to huge trade taxation. Political factors influence the strategic plans of Volvo Corporation because the government laws and regulations are strict on the production of environmental friendly cars. As a result of the environmental issues, the corporation has to adhere with the regulations that aim to lower the pollution. Non-compliance with the politically influenced changes attracts huge fines that are costly to the company. Politics has also cautioned the industry against manufacturing of many automated motors. Automation will take up the local jobs leading to unemployment (Henson 2009). There are always fluctuations in fuel price. The economic condition affects its performance as it has to reduce its rate of motor production. As a result of the high fuel prices, customers are now opting fuel efficient cars. The need for the fuel-efficient cars among Britons leads to low sales of the luxury cars that tend to consume more fuel. The constant population also reduces the number of people purchasing cars. The social factors that alter the business are affecting its profits immensely. Customer’s preference is shifting from large luxurious engine cars to small cars because of low carbon emission levels, increase in fuel prices, and above all, the state’s tax free and parking incentive for those who purchase eco-friendly cars. Consumer tastes are also affecting the operational cost planning of Volvo Motors Corporation. Customers are continually demanding safer and better quality cars at very low prices. The situation is forcing Volvo Corporation to get resources and ways of production such as outsourcing its parts from far away countries such as China (Henson 2009). Other motor production companies such as Toyota continue to occupy a large share in the market. The companies have adopted and implemented new and

Fine Jewelry Brand Lorraine Schwartz Research Paper

Fine Jewelry Brand Lorraine Schwartz - Research Paper Example Since she is a unique designer since she has the creativity by combining precious stones and gems like exceptional black or blue topaz diamonds, colorful jades, pink gold, sapphire, serpentine, ruby, titanium, and others to come up with an exceptional masterpiece. Her designs include engagement rings, watch, bracelets, necklace, and rings for men, women, and children. She has also managed to fit together gold in a mesh-like cloth that twists giving you contours of the body. She has taken advantage of the experience gained by her family’s predecessors, for example, she says most of her designs and creativity makes her look like those of her late mother. Lorraine E. Schwartz Inc. is the company name based in New York. The jewelry business has been part of her family for three generations but then it operated as a small business in Manhattan’s diamond trade. When compared her family business back then and hers now, she has a larger business. She took the family business in 1989 after the death of her mother, renamed the company to Lorraine Schwartz Diamonds & Fine Jewelry, and made Bergdorf Goodman the only place for selling her designed works by appointment (Cheftreks, 2013). Her breakthrough came when Hale Berry wore her designer jewelry at the SAG Awards in 2002. Since then she has been the favorite of top celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Beyoncà © Knowles, Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams, Cate Blanchet, and many others. She loves to create unique pieces from bold and rare stones using amazing artistry and styles. For instance, in 2012, she created some particular pieces all of which were so different yet made by the same person within a short period. For someone to perfect this kind of profession and master the art it takes a generation and Lorraine Schwartz proves to this. Schwartz believes in designing and earns her acclaims from merit, unlike other designers who have to pay celebrities in order to wear their jewels. She  does not also vie for a spot in the red carpet events by offering her designs as gift bags.  

Kuwait and US Universities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kuwait and US Universities - Essay Example Education is funded by the Federal, State and Local governments. Education up to high school is compulsory from the ages of five to eighteen. In Kuwait education is funded by the government, and has 8-9 years of compulsory schooling for all children, The Kuwait evaluation and certification system is adopted from the British and American curriculum and the government usually hires teachers from these two countries. This has resulted in developing a comprehensive education system that takes the specific requirements of the region into consideration and educates the youth by consultation and their active participation in the education process. The system also strengthens communication and propagation for reform and addresses â€Å"technical details† for the proper implementation of the education system in the context of recent innovations in technology and the social sciences. In the States education is easily available, with school curricula, funding, funding and policy matters being determined by the school board which has jurisdiction over all schools in its district, with guidance from state legislatures School districts are separate from other local legal authority, with independent budgets and officials.Decisions for educational and testing standards are made by the state government. ... The government of Kuwait provides scholarships for students who qualify and are accepted by Universities in the West, especially in the United States and Britain. In the United States, the age for compulsory education varies with states, and the requirements for essential education is met by educating children in public state certified schools. In most schools in America, education is carried out at three levels, elementary, middle and high school. In all levels children are divided by age, and the exact range of students in different grade levels is different from state to state and area to area. Kuwait has made tremendous strides in education considering that there was absolutely no formal education available at the beginning of the 20th century. Education consisted of a few religious schools that taught reading the Quran, including some basic writing and arithmetic. Because of revenues from oil exports, Kuwait prospered and the government started providing formal education to its citizens. This greatly encouraged education and by 1950 there were more than 65,000 boys and girls studying in many schools. In 1965m following the implementation of a formal constitution for the country, education was considered a basic right for all citizens, and was made compulsory for children between the ages of 6 to 14. The Ministry of Education in Kuwait has prepared a long term education strategy up to the year 2025, to prepare its citizens for life in an increasingly globalised world. The government is also providing training for women to promote female participation in the affairs of the country. In the United States there are more than 85 million students enrolled from kindergarten to graduate schools. Amongst them a few million were also studying in private

Creative brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Creative brief - Essay Example The information is equally vital in determining emerging lifestyles, habits, and way of thinking because the creative design team finds relevance with the single parent. Evaluation of the psychographic information, on the other hand, helps the team in designing both interesting and smart products that appeal to the single parent who prefers IKEA products. A single parent in the above case is in her late 30s, uses modern communication platforms such as emails, Facebook, and Twitter, and prefers e-commerce delivery systems. Consequently, it is upon the creative design team to assess new marketing tools that match the customer’s tastes and preferences while targeting the wider market segment. That suggests that advertising attracts clients similar to the single parent with the need to expand the business in terms of increased profits (Sutherland 156). The message, thus, is to add more people through innovative ways that do not interfere with the overall operation of the business. As a result, audiences would believe this message because it resonates with their desires and contemporary ways of conducting

Jazz music Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Jazz music - Assignment Example Others in accompaniment of the musicians were: conductor: Paul Schwartz; arrangers: Kendall Moore and Paul Equihia; saxophoners: Derrick Dymalski, Derrek Smith and Joey Rosin; trumpeters: Derek Ganong, Jesus Malto and John Britton; pianists: John Britton and Tyler Giroux; tromboner: Eric Bowman; basser: Tim Smith; drummer: Jonathan Hullet and percussionist: Ryan Hecker. The Paul Equihia jazz trumpet performance transformed the Brian Lynch studio into an intimate set for jazz music. The concert was entitled Paul Equihia jazz trumpet performance, explored the rearrangement of already existing pieces by musicians causing their transformation into original pieces. To fully appreciate the concert, there was a need for inputting of a well-tuned ear for jazz (Franz and Smulyan19). This is in order to pinpoint the similarities and differences of the pieces played and their transformation. Music director Paul Equihia provided the history of the pieces as well as instructions on how to carefully listen to them. Entirely throughout the show, the musicians did give an outstanding performance. Each of the soloists captured perfectly the emotion of the music. Every one of the musicians played with a tangible energy even when there was no solo. The first half of the performance was full of noteworthy pieces. The ensemble got the audience warmed up with â€Å"Daahoud†. The original composition by Clifford Brown was slow and flat, however, the re-arrangement by Kendall Moore literally did breathe life into the piece, with a great solo by Derrick Dymalski (Howland 10). The next piece, â€Å"Delilah† was played at a slower tempo other than the normal vocal version by Victor Young. But the solo of the tenor saxophone by Derek Smith almost rivaled Young’s. Delilah ended in a smooth transition into â€Å"a trumpet and piano nocturne†, which

Analyse the way Beatrice and Benedick Essay Example for Free

Analyse the way Beatrice and Benedick Essay The characters Beatrice and Benedick in the William Shakespeare play â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing† can be described as sparring lovers. At the start of the play, it is difficult for them to converse without becoming involved in a â€Å"merry war† or a â€Å"skirmish of wit†. This attitude gradually changes as the play progresses. I shall analyse the way in which this attitude changes as Beatrice and Benedick engage in parlance. From Act One, Scene One, Beatrice demonstrates hypocrisy when to Benedick she says â€Å"I wonder that you will still be talking, Signor Benedick, nobody marks you†. The ironic part of this is that she is actually listening to him. Therefore, as much as she may like to deny it, she is giving the man she â€Å"detests† her undivided attention, and is noticing him. Benedick, in a quick flash of wit answers back â€Å"What, my dear Lady Disdain! Are you yet living? † As Benedick asks Beatrice if she is living, it presents the witty assumption that Benedick has not been aware of Beatrice’s presence. A very well-put reply to this from Beatrice is that â€Å"Disdain† can’t die whilst Benedick is there â€Å"feeding† it to carry on. This battle of wit which occurs between the both of them illustrates the deep loathing that they appear to have for one another. As we shall discover further on in the play, this seems only to be a guise for the immense passion they have for each other. There is, here, however, a suggestion from Beatrice that both of them have had a relationship before: â€Å"You always end with a jade’s trick. I know you of old†. The aforementioned evidence of a possible relationship provides a reason for the skirmish of wit, and also implies there may still be romantic feelings between the two. In Act Two, Scene One, Beatrice is dancing and having a conversation with a masked Benedick. It is not clear, and remains the decision of the reader whether Beatrice truly knows that she is speaking with Benedick. She goes on to describe him as â€Å"the prince’s jester, a very dull fool†. As there is a sense of possession â€Å"the prince’s jester†, it creates the impression that Beatrice sees Benedick as nothing more than a puppet. When speaking with Claudio, Benedick makes it clear he was shocked by this: â€Å"Lady Beatrice should know me, and not know me: the prince’s fool! Hah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  †¦ â€Å"Every word stabs†. Here, Shakespeare has used a dramatic device, ie: the masqued ball, and the inherent identity confusion to make Benedick believe that Beatrice had all along intended to speak ill of him. It is for this reason that I believe that Beatrice knew full well that she was indeed speaking to Benedick. In Act Two, Scene Three, Benedick is successful tricked into thinking that Beatrice is in love with him. However, this trick has not yet been carried out on Beatrice. In the garden, Beatrice approaches Benedick and announces â€Å"I do spy some marks of love in her†. This is ironic because there are none. The passion she shows is one of hate for what she is about to say: â€Å"Against my will I am sent to bid you come in to dinner†. When asked by Benedick if she â€Å"takes pleasure in the message†, she says â€Å"Yea, just so much as you may take upon a knife’s point† (ie: not at all). Benedick has got completely the wrong end of the stick in his soliloquy: â€Å"there’s a double meaning in that†, and thinks that she does not want him to come in, but instead to stay out in the garden with her. Hence, his going inside would not be a pleasurable message for her. However, this is an example of dramatic irony as we know this is not the case at all. Shakespeare points out the truth beneath the characters surface, as well as using language as his tool to juxtapose these feelings, in effect, switching the meaning around so that the connotations are what illuminate the truth. He is also able to use a technique to capture the truth beneath the surface of the characters. Everything that is spoken by the characters seems to have a deeper or double meaning under the words. In Act Four, Scene One, Benedick declares his love for Beatrice. He does this so she will call upon him to right Hero from the terrible injustice that recently occurred at the wedding scene. He asks her if it seems strange that he loves her. This is again an example of dramatic irony, because the audience knows that it’s not strange – she knows already that he loves her. Beatrice, usually extremely able to articulate herself is strangely not able to here. The use of commas and colons break up the following speech, as she is overcome by fierce emotions. She is therefore not able to articulate anything but the fact that she feels sorry for her poor cousin who has been wronged. â€Å"It were as possible for me to say, I loved nothing so well as you, but believe me not, and yet I lie not, I confess nothing, nor I deny nothing. † Beatrice, therefore equivocates here being deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information, ie: her love for Benedick. This is particularly emphasised by the long sentence length. Benedick’s immediate rejection at the idea of killing Claudio â€Å"Not for the wide world! † elicits anger, and impatience in Beatrice who doesn’t wish to converse with Benedick any longer. After much deliberation, knowing it will please Beatrice, Benedick agrees to â€Å"use† his hand â€Å"in some other way than swearing by it†. In other words, he has agreed to engage Claudio in a duel. Beatrice’s reason for wanting him killed is that â€Å"he is now as valiant as Hercules†. This allusion to Hercules implies that Claudio has become too boastful, too big for his boots. In conclusion, it’s clear to see how the attitude between the two changes, and the relationship progresses. Shakespeare employs the use of juxtaposition to mask true feelings. The best illustration of this juxtaposition masking is of the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick. Their incessant banter and wit-battles mask the true feelings each has for the other.

History of Rape in armed conflict

History of Rape in armed conflict Rape and violent sexual abuse of women in armed conflict has a long history which corroborates that sexual violence is not only common; in effect it is encouraged. In war, every man could be king  [1]  . Rape has existed as an invidious expression of the domination and subjugation of women throughout the course of human existence and is compelling evidence of the subordination of women by men  [2]  .Women are raped by men of all ethnic origins, creed and ideologies. During Biblical times soldiers regarded women as spoils of war; Biblical law conveyed that soldiers could take these as plunder. [a]nd you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies  [3]  . Hebrews raped  [4]  and were permitted to keep the captives as slaves or concubines. Greeks raped; Homers Iliad offers an insight into the fate of women in war, the book opens with an argument between the Greek warriors Agamemnon and Achilles over the possession of women seized during the Trojan W ar. Chryseism a Trojan woman of lesser status was captured by the Spartans and given to Agamemnon as his battle camp entertainment  [5]  . In the History of Art H W Janson has offered an explanation of the sculpture by the 16th century Italian artist Giovanni Bologna entitled Rape of The Sabine women, which is a reminder of the fate of the Sabine women at the hands of Roman warriors  [6]  . In the middle age during the first crusade knights throughout their march to Constantinople set aside time to assault women  [7]  . In the fifteenth century French soldiers raped English women during the hundred year war  [8]  and Catholic French raped French women during the war of religion  [9]  . In 1746 King Georges army suppressed a Scottish rebellion by raping any Scottish woman ill-fated enough to be home  [10]  . George Washingtons documents recorded an occurrence of rape in the revolutionary war  [11]  .General Andrew Jackson was credited with coining the phrase Booty and Beauty during the 1812 war  [12]  ,substantiating the opinion that women during war become mere object and are no more legal su bjects. In 1914 during World War I, rape was extensively used against French and Belgian women by German soldiers, who began to abandon this practice  [13]  , when the troops switched to trench warfare making access to local women difficult  [14]  . Rape was used as a war tactic by German and Japanese armies in World War II and later by the Russian forces as a weapon of retribution .Kristallnacht or the night of broken glass was a night of rapes, arson, plunder and murder in November 1938 as Germans killed Jews, burned their properties and arrested the survivors, so that they could be moved to concentration camps  [15]  . However, it must be noted that Hitlers government expelled rapists from the Nazi party and turned them over to the civil courts as Nazis regarded rapes more reprehensible than murder since rape violated Nuremburg racial laws forbidding sexual intercourse between Gentiles and Jews. When the war changed course and the Russian army advanced into German territory, G erman women were treated exactly as the Russian women had been treated by the Germans. Hordes of Russian troops demanded the rights due the conquerors: the women of the conquered  [16]  . Moroccan armed force in 1948 fought free French forces in Italy under contract terms that included free license to rape and plunder in the enemy territory  [17]  . In 1937 during World War II the Chinese Nationalist army used Nanking as its capital but General Chiang Kai-shek decided not to defend Nanking and withdrew the army when Japanese forces arrived leaving the city full of defenceless women and children resulting in a number of them being abnormally and sadistically killed and raped  [18]  . Many old women and young girls were raped and their bodies were mutilated after the act. In the Tokyo tribunal it was noted that the Japanese government had knowledge of the rapes but did nothing to prevent them from happening  [19]  . The atrocities did not stop with Nanking, the Japane se soldiers forced almost 80,000 to 200,000 Asian women, mostly Korean who were known as comfort women, to serve as sex slaves. These comfort women were held mostly at frontline brothels and evidence shows that officials of the Japanese Imperial army  [20]  maintained meticulous records about the price per woman (one yen to use a Chinese woman, one and a half yen to use a Korean woman and two yen to use a Japanese woman) , revenue generated and venereal disease  [21]  . While giving evidence at the Tokyo tribunal, one soldier admitted that he partook in daybreak raids on Korean villages dragging women and loading them into trucks to be taken to frontline brothels  [22]  . Historians hold the view that most women held in Japanese brothels died during or soon after the World war II  [23]  . The experience of Vietnamese women in the 1960s was no different than the experience of women involved in armed conflict in the past.The sight of a womans body spread eagled with an 11th brigade badge between her legs, witnessed by an American G.I flying over a rice paddy near the village of My Lai in Vietnam, a few days after an American unit had massacred nearly the entire population, bears some evidence to this continuing abuse.  [24]  . Time and war tactics advanced but the plight of women during armed conflict saw no change. More than 20,000 Bengali women were raped and impregnated by Pakistani soldiers in the 1971 war between Pakistan and what is today Bangladesh  [25]  . Almost 5000 women were raped by Iraqi soldiers during the August 1990 invasion of Kuwait and after liberation a number of foreign domestic workers were raped by returning Kuwaitis  [26]  . Women in Rwanda  [27]  and Kashmir  [28]  suffered rape and death during internal armed conflict. During Perus 12 year internal war women were raped, murdered and threatened both by the government security forces and the communist party of Peru shining path  [29]  . Similarly women in East Timor were raped and killed since the Indonesian occupation of 1975  [30]  . During the ethnic violence of Liberias civil war, Liberian women faced rape and death  [31]  . Media reports are available of sexual violence committed against women by UN TAC in Cambodia; UN forces in Somalia and rebel forces in Dr. Congo  [32]  . Most recently, there have been reports of mass rapes which have occurred in the war torn lands of the former Yugoslavia. M. Cherif Bassiouni (head of an U N commission investigating war crimes) cited almost 13,000 to 50,000 rape victims in the Bosnian war, majority being Muslim women victimized by the Serbs  [33]  , who used rape as a weapon in order to express the totality of victory, a means for troop mollification and as a form of genocide and ethnic cleansing. The details listed above are but a few to give an insight into the historical past ; however, for ages rape has been used and continues to be used globally as a weapon during internal or external armed conflict.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Hydrogen Energy Environmental Sciences Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Hydrogen Energy Environmental Sciences Essay Hydrogen is a combination of the Greek words Hydro and Genes meaning water and generator. It is the first element in the periodic table. Hydrogen is the main component of water, which covers over 60% of the planets surface. 1Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the world, although it also exists as a free gas on Earth. Currently hydrogen is produced mainly from fossil fuels for industrial purposes in petroleum refining, chemical production, metal manufacturing and electronics production. Hydrogen technologies are the technologies will associate with the production use of hydrogen. Hydrogen technology is the key to the advancement and improvement of fuel cells running on natural gas for domestic combined heat and power systems and for the distribution of electricity. Hydrogen technologies can replace incompetent traditional combustion technologies which waste up to 2 / 3 of the fuel used. There are different ways of making hydrogen in the UK. The most inexpensive way is to convert natural gas into hydrogen by a process called reformation. The Reforming of natural gas into a hydrogen produces CO2 but no more than burning it. However, using the hydrogen in a hydrogen fuel cell or using the natural gas itself in a natural gas fuel cell .The best use from natural gas is to use it as in fuel cells, either directly or reforming it into hydrogen. 2.2 FUEL CELL A fuel cell integrates hydrogen with oxygen from the air in a chemical reaction, producing electricity. 7 One of the fuel cell types is for transport, (the proton exchange membrane fuel cell and it consists of two electrodes, and it is separated by a membrane. ) 2.3 UK DEVELOPMENT PATH Hydrogen use in the UK start with transport particularly for fuelling fleet vehicles and buses. U.K. Technology Strategy Board (TSB) Awards  £9m to Aid Hydrogen Fuel Cell Development Source : Energy technology companies are set to receive  £9 million of funding for projects involving fuel cells and hydrogen technologies, it was announced today (August 28). The government sponsored Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is to invest the money, along with a further  £500,000 from government agency the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), into nine hydrogen fuel cell projects. 8Airbus to take off with fuel cell auxiliary power October 9, 2009 by Lisa Sibley, Cleantech Group UK-based Intelligent Energy says its technology is expected to help the French aircraft manufacturer reduce emissions and decrease fuel consumption 9Hydrogen fuel cell hybrid buses to hit the road in Sunderland 10 November 2009 Two hydrogen fuel cell hybrid buses are set to hit the streets of Sunderland, UK as part of a unique RD program that is bringing Chinese expertise to the region. The UK regional development agency One North East has invested  £314  000 (US$523  000) to sponsor the ECO2Trans hydrogen buses project, which is converting two electric Gulliver U500EUK buses into hydrogen vehicles using a fuel cell, battery and capacitor combination. 4The hydrogen fuel cell buses being introduced  in London will use an electric motor, with the hydrogen stored in tanks on the roof. 3. infrastructure FOR a hydrogen economy IN the UK 7An infrastructure is defined as a collection of technologies that are connected together in a specified way and are grouped into the following five categories: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ sources of energy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ conversion (including compression) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ fuel transportation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ storage à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ demand. The technical model of hydrogen infrastructures developed on a nodal network structure. Transporting hydrogen is a very important part of the cost of the transfered product. The design of infrastructure includes the gas pipelines and rail lines for delivering inputs for producing hydrogen that will be an integral part of the delivery system. The main challenges in achieving the best delivery system include selection of the site for hydrogen production and establishing a possible transportation network.The hydrogen infrastructure in the UK was evaluate current and potential hydrogen production and storage options. The key findings of the research were that there are three main areas where hydrogen is produced at a commercial scale. These areas are the Northwest of England, Teeside (England)and South Wales. The infrastructure scenarios focus on two hydrogen production technologies-steam reforming of natural gas and electrolysis of water-and the different scales at which such plant can be installed. The majority of hydrogen is produced by stream reformation of natural gas, although a proportion of worldwide hydrogen is produced as a by-product of Ethylene production via cracking. Most Liquid hydrogen is also imported from France, however it is very expensive. In the short to medium term, the available gas production and supply system is incapable of supporting a major expansion of the use of hydrogen in fuel cell . 11Hydrogen infrastructure for refuelling London buses. Imperial College London is examining transition strategies for a hydrogen infrastructure for vehicle refueling in London under a project funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Imperial has five project partners from industry and local government to assist in this study: the Greater London Authority (GLA), BP, BOC, BMW and Air Products.

Ballistic Missile Defense Essay -- American Government, Nuclear Arsena

INTRODUCTION Today we live in a time where developing countries and terrorist organizations are vying for world power. A common way this is attempted is through the attainment of nuclear arms and delivery systems for them namely Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). Many of these countries are hostel to the United States and her allies. Also the existence counties with large nuclear arsenals such as Russia, increase the chance of an accidental launch. In order to counter threats form rouge nations and accidental ballistic missile launches, the United States should pursue development of a missile defense system. COLD WAR AND THE ABM TREATY The first ICBM, The R-7, was developed by the Soviet Union in 1953 (Korolev). After this event, both the Soviet Union and the United States started to develop and deploy increasingly powerful and accurate ICBMs. This build up of powerful weapons caused an escalation in tension between the U.S. and the USSR, both expecting an attack at anytime. The potential destructive force the weapons had and the high tension environment led to the theory of MAD or mutually assured destruction to come into existence. This theory works on the principle â€Å"that deterrence against a nuclear attack was to be maintained through the ability of each side to inflict an unacceptable degree of damage† (Lettow 22). MAD is the thing that kept nuclear Armageddon form occurring during the Cold War as both sides new that if they launched an all out attack, the other side would as well, destroying both. MAD relies on an equal balance of force, so that no one country feels like they could come out ahead in a nuclear war. Many top strategic experts were concerned that ABM systems could destabilize this delicate ... ...3). Although this is not a small amount it is a large improvement over the 1.2 trillion dollars required for a SDI scale project. The benefits conferred by this kind of plan: protection against small scale ICBM attacks and TBM attacks is worth the price. â€Å"The ultimate goal of missile defense is to convince countries that ballistic missiles are not militarily useful or a worthy investment and placed doubt in the minds of potential aggressors that a ballistic missile attack against the United States or its allies can succeed† (Missile Defense Agency). This form of missile defense would act as a deterrent to those countries to whom MAD does not apply. Countries hostile to the U.S. would be discouraged from attempting to use ballistic missiles against the U.S. in any first strike or strategic ways as it would provide no tactical advantage(Kaufman 116).

El Nino :: essays papers

El Nino This morning, before writing this essay, I spent a considerable amount of time watering my wilting garden. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees have been rained out for their third consecutive game. And out in California? Rain, no rain, rain, no rain... Why are we suffering such severe weather this summer? In case you have not heard, we are experiencing a weather phenomenon called El Nino. What is El Nino, and How Long Will This Last? According to Michael McPhaden, director of the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean Array, an El Nino is born when west-blowing Pacific trade winds relax or reverse. Without the wind at its back, seawater that typically piles up on the jagged western edge of the Pacific -- around Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia -- slides back toward the Americas. The sliding water moves in what scientists call Kelvin waves. "It pushes the cold water down. That causes the initial warming," said McPhaden. At the same time, the Pacific reacts to the lost wind by building another series of waves under water. Called , they roll west toward Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia. Eventually, the series of waves strikes the coasts of those countries. Then, it reverses and heads back toward South America, traveling along the equator. "As it passes," McPhaden said, "it leaves cold water closer to the surface." El Nino normally occurs around Christmas and usually last for a few weeks to a few months. Sometimes an extremely warm event can develop that last for much longer time periods. A strong El Nino developed in 1991 and lasted until 1995. We are apparently experiencing one of these stronger El Ninos, as this one has lasted for nearly six months . But how long will this last? And then what? The Onset of La Nina After an El Nino event, weather conditions usually return to normal. However, in some years the trade winds can become extremely strong and an abnormal accumulation of cold water can occur in the central and eastern Pacific. This event is called La Nina. Where El Nino refers to a body of unusually warm water astride the equator by South America, La Nina describes a sea that's abnormally cool. Two independent computer models that forecast El Nino see on the horizon a pronounced cooling of the same area of the Pacific. Sometimes, the cold water is just enough to return ocean temperatures to normal. Not always. "Sometimes, it overshoots," McPhaden said. "That would bring a La Nina after El Nino." "The models say . . . there will be a cold effect sometime next year --

The Benefits and Costs of Two or More Countries Sharing a Common Currency

Examine the benefits and costs of two or more countries sharing a common currency, and comment on the impact of the ‘one size fits all’ monetary policy of the Eurozone. Normally, the accumulation of a set of countries accepting a specific common currency is known as a monetary union. This involves the countries becoming part of the same trading bloc and accepting free trade policies between the member countries. Since the focus of the question is centrally revolved around the monetary union, the other aspects of the union will not be considered in detail. Naturally, the prime example to use when discussing the use of a common currency is the European Monetary Union. Launched on January 1st 1999, the union boasts a 16 country agreement to use the same currency- the euro. For countries to merge by a single currency requires the merging countries to meet certain criteria. This obviously brings both benefits and costs to the table. Benefits are associated with higher stability of the union as only those countries that meet the minimum requirements can join. This allows the union to ensure that the countries that join add something to the union and add value to the currency. For example, conditions in the European Monetary Union state entrant countries must have interest rates within 2% of the 3 lowest interest rate countries in the EMU and also have inflation within 1. 5%. This is important because if we take a scenario where the inflation rate is excessively high in a country, then this will affect the value of the currency by devaluing it. This devaluation has clear knock on effects as the devaluation will cause the cost of imports to rise. Domestic consumers will also shy away from domestic consumption as they see the high prices and so they will shift their consumption on consumer durables from other countries. Exports would be heavily affected by this scenario as the foreign countries would see the high prices associated with the importing of the goods and shift their interest into consumption from countries with lower relative price levels. Not only does the high inflation associated with the currency affect consumption but also investment. The unstable level of inflation will deter foreign direct investment and also reduce the net domestic investment as the returns to the investment would have a high risk associated. So obviously having specific criteria that member countries must meet help to ensure stability in the union. The negative associated with having these criteria is the one size fits all policy which will be discussed later. There are many costs and benefits associated with having the same currency. There is a key advantage to consumers and residents in the country of having the same currency. The transaction costs associated with exchanging the currencies is eliminated. This means that if domestic consumers were to travel abroad to countries within the monetary union, the identical currency would enable them to spend abroad without the need to swap currencies. This advantage is more of a social benefit as this would reduce stress to the consumer. This is because the consumer would not be worrying about if their money would arrive on time. Also the excess commission associated with changing the currencies is eliminated. Although again this commission only represents a small amount of GDP the advantage is again a social benefit as the consumer escapes the hassle associated with the exchange of the currency- often quite a stressful factor when planning to travel. There is also a benefit associated with price transparency where if the same good is sold in many of the countries in the monetary union, then it is easy for the consumer to compare prices. This should reduce price discrimination and increase competition. This is a healthy scenario for the consumer as they would benefit from price competition- often the price of the good or service falls. Despite this potential benefit there is evidence that this is not the case and that price differentiation exists- an example being price differences within member countries in the EU. The same currency and stability associated with the monetary union encourages transnational companies to invest. This is because there would multiple countries across the zone to invest in and get returns from as they all follow the same currency and would all be under the same central control. This may help the multi-national countries achieve greater economies of scale as there would be easier trading and investment capabilities across the zone. This would lower average costs for firms and increase the relative GDP in the zone. This would increase economic growth. Therefore having the same currency enables economic growth in a country through increased business confidence as there is increased stability. The drawbacks of using the same currency are also quite evident. The main and key drawback is the ‘one size fits all’ policy. Here the monetary policy is controlled by the central bank. Countries have no ability to set the interest rates in the country. This can be disastrous in a country with low consumption or investment levels. This is because if the central bank placed high interest rates on countries within the union, consumption would be further detracted, leading to a drop in economic growth. Therefore the loss of individual control is a major factor that needs to be considered before becoming part of the same currency. There can also be a case where the central bank will set interest rates that accommodate the larger, higher productive countries in the union. This will mean the smaller countries will grow at a slower rate and potentially lead to greater inequality. The one size fits all policy may mean that the union becomes less flexible and therefore the policies can place constraints on economic growth for countries. This can cause inefficiency as the production will not be at optimum potential and will limit countries. Another huge drawback is the effective exchange rate differences would be eliminated. For example, during the economic boom of the early 2000’s, England had a very strong exchange rate compared to the other European countries. This enabled cheap imports for the country, increasing domestic consumer welfare. By switching to the euro, the imports would not have been cheaper and would have left consumers with a drop in welfare as they would not have been gaining through a stronger exchange rate. Overall the costs of switching to the same currency have its drawbacks outweighing its benefits. This is especially the case for the one size fits all policy as this is the policy that loses the country its individuality and means the country loses control of its monetary policy.

Pch International

CASE: GS-61 DATE: 04/01/08 PCH INTERNATIONAL: MANAGING THE FLOWS OF INFORMATION, GOODS, AND FINANCE Liam Casey, CEO of PCH International Limited (PCH), was in every way an adventurer. Born and having spent most of his youth in Cork, Ireland, Casey had never lived in China until he started traveling and working in the country in his late twenties. Yet, without speaking much Chinese, Casey managed to establish an innovative supply chain solutions company in China’s factory city of Shenzhen and grew it to almost 700 employees in just ten years.By 2007, PCH had become a global company; it had customers in Western Europe and North America and its IT operations, manufacturing and warehousing support was located in Ireland, China, Singapore, Taiwan, South Africa and Brazil. In fact, so successful was Casey’s business that the â€Å"mildmannered and extremely diligent entrepreneur won the Ireland 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year award. †1 Collecting business c ompetition accolades was not what Casey had in mind when he first started PCH.When Casey went to Taiwan in 1996 to attend a computer and electronics fair, he saw an opportunity to help global technology companies take advantage of Asia and China’s low-cost supplier base and manufacturing capabilities. Although PCH started out in the mid-1990s as a sourcing agent of low-priced electronic components from Taiwan and China to the Western world, by 2007 it had evolved into a provider of comprehensive supply chain solutions to global technology companies. PCH was designed to address the needs of a complex global technology supply chain landscape. Arthur Beesley, â€Å"Casey Picks Up Overall Award,† Irish Times, October 26, 2007, p. 12 Jennie Tung prepared this case under the supervision of Professor Hau Lee as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  © 2008 by the Board of T rustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, e-mail the Case Writing Office at: [email  protected] stanford. du or write: Case Writing Office, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 518 Memorial Way, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5015. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means –– electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise –– without the permission of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 2 STATE OF THE TECHNOLOGY SUPPLY CHAINThe Maturing Supply Chain By the twenty-first century, technology products of all sorts became ubiquitous and profoundly transformed the way people lived and worked. However, in the 1990s, in comparison to other global supply chains such as garments and toys, which had over some 50 years of outsourcing experience, the technology supply chain was still in its early development. For example, by the mid-1990s, the digital camera, the mobile phone, and the laptop computer had only just become a mainstream consumer category.As such, in addition to focusing on designing cutting edge products, technology companies were trying figure out the most efficient ways to deliver their products to end consumers. On the consumer technology supply chain timeline, the 1970s and 1980s showed only a small number of global brands, such as the large technology conglomerates Sony and Siemens, who were industry leaders in many product categories. These industry leaders relied on their vertically integrated supply chains and their ability to lock in suppliers to keep new competitors from entering the market. However, as venture capital funding became more available in the 1990s, the technology market saw continuous waves of innovation, shorter product lifecycles, new products and brands. At the same time, the 1990s also saw a drastic increase in independent manufacturers and suppliers, particularly in Asia. These businesses had developed sophisticated technical capabilities after serving the global brands for a number of years. The confluence of these factors changed what it took to win in the technology space. Vertically integrated players of the past were replaced with engineering-savvy, asset-light marketing and design companies. As such, both large and small technology companies had the opportunity to bring products to market through the use of sub-contracting. By the late 1990s, consumers not only had more product choices but also multiple channels to buy from, including online stores, which were becoming popular. Within the world of technology products, the supply chain systems for the wide-ranging product types were not uniform. For example, the more complex large systems, such as telecom base stations, had a diffe rent supply chain model from the smaller consumer electronics products, such as personal MP3 players and laptop computers.This case focuses on the small consumer electronics supply chain, whose characteristics included having many component suppliers, with assembly sites doing the final assembly and testing. The modular structure of technology products meant that the brand owners had to manage a large network of suppliers. To stay competitive, large and small technology companies began to outsource a significant part of their supply chain to third party vendors in order to focus their resources on brand differentiating activities, such as product design and marketing. This outsourcing trend in the 2 3PCH International Limited (PCH), â€Å"Information Memorandum for Potential Investors,† November 2007, pp. 3-5. Ibid. 4 www. Alibaba. com was an online directory of suppliers in China 5 PCH, op. cit. pp. 3-5. PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-6 1 p. 3 1980s created a new industry known as Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS). By the 1990s, the EMS industry had a number of global scale players, notably Hon Hai Precision Industries (Foxconn), Flextronics, Celestica, Sanmina-SCI, Jabil, Elcoteq, and a few dozen others.In addition, several thousand smaller companies continued to occupy EMS niches and served a wide range of consumer electronics brands. The business model for the EMS industry was based on large economies of scale in manufacturing, raw materials procurement, pooling of resources, and industrial design expertise, in addition to other value-added services such as warranty and repairs. Products manufactured by EMS companies were labeled with the brand owner’s brand and corporate identity.As price competition intensified in the consumer electronics industry in the late 1990s, EMS players gradually shifted their manufacturing assets to lower cost areas, such as cities in Southern China. While the leaner over head structure provided numerous operational and financial benefits, the technology companies faced enormously complex challenges in dealing with procurement, manufacturing, and logistics vendors. Fragmented Supplier Base Many technology companies looked to Asia as an outsourcing location, given the number of low- cost manufacturing and component suppliers in the region.By 2007, China became a major sourcing and production hub for many technology companies. However, to take full advantage of China’s low cost supplier base was not always straightforward. As China was rapidly developing into the factory of the world, many companies strove to achieve low cost while maintaining quality. Low cost technology goods suppliers were abundantly available in the coastal regions of China, in particular in the southern city of Shenzhen, just a 50-minute train ride from Hong Kong. As a procurement officer for a technology company, trying to identify the most suitable supplier could be a hug e headache.For example, for every cable connector, printer circuit board, and MP3 player accessory item, there were literally hundreds of suppliers to choose from in China. 4 For many technology companies, many of these components were not core or strategic. However, poor management of component parts could impact every aspect of the supply chain, leaving behind many unsatisfied customers. Therefore, to take full advantage of China’s wealth of suppliers, technology companies needed to filter through numerous vendors to find ones that optimized cost, speed to market, and quality.Working Capital Constraints While independent manufacturers and component suppliers benefited from global outsourcing trends in the late 1990s, they also had to face increasing financing challenges. Casey, who had worked with hundreds of factory owners, learned of the challenges in raising working capital: [In the earlier days of outsourcing,] suppliers were able to take a purchase order of a guarantee d volume from a well-known company to the bank and, upon verification, would be able to obtain working capital inancing. Letters of Credit (LCs) were issued by the purchaser. However, guaranteed longer term product volumes have been replaced by rolling short term product guidelines forecasts. The reason is as a technology company faces tough competition and declining PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 4 margins, it needs to manage costs aggressively by minimizing inventory build-up. This is necessary given the need to match the ebb and flow of customer taste and requirements.They in turn demand ‘just-in-time’ delivery from their suppliers— which shifted some of the inventory holding costs upstream to its vendors, further increasing its need for working capital. In addition, sometimes the purchasing company may not be one of the blue-chip globally recognizable brands; banks sometimes perceived this as an additional credit r isk. This trend resulted in substantial volatility and pressure on some suppliers as banks were not as willing to provide trade financing given the perceived increased risk levels.This meant some suppliers found it tremendously difficult, if not extremely expensive to obtain financing. Increasingly Demanding Customers Consumer technology products of the twenty-first century were about superior functionalities, seamless ordering process (both in-store and online), timely and accurate product delivery, and a memorable out-of-box experience—referring to how consumers felt when they opened the box and reacted to the overall product presentation. Of course, it was critical that the products themselves be â€Å"trendy† and â€Å"cool,† and accompanied by a whole host of accessories to jazz up the products.For many consumers, technology products were perceived in the same vein as fashion goods. Brands, therefore, needed to meet constantly changing tastes and extremely short and tight product development cycles. While professional technology products generally placed more emphasis on product functionalities, they still required support services, such as regional configuration (e. g. , language differences and pre-loaded software) and just-in-time delivery of products, in order to minimize inventory costs. Finally, technology companies needed to provide their customers these highly customized products and purchasing experiences at a competitive price, while achieving all of the above. These were just some of the characteristics that made the technology supply chain much more challenging than the supply chain of more traditional industries. EMS companies, as discussed above, while able to deliver manufacturing savings to brand owners, were unable to adequately address these pain points, given that their business model focused on large scale production.The end consumer’s increasing demand for low price and customized products made it challengi ng for EMS companies to address these evolving market trends. TECHNOLOGY SUPPLY CHAIN FLOWS AND CHALLENGES An insightful entrepreneur, Casey saw the pain points described above as opportunities. Over the years, Casey had thought a comprehensive solution addressing the market and customer challenges would provide extraordinary value for technology companies. In PCH’s menu of services, the over-arching theme was to help clients better manage the three distinctive flows in the technology supply chain: information, goods, and financial.These flows essentially addressed every element required to take a product from concept to being retail ready, including the key steps of manufacturing, packaging, product customization, logistics and supplier financing. (See Exhibit 1 for an overview of the three flows in the technology supply chain. ) PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 5 The Virtual Supply Chain The virtual supply chain referred to informa tion flow that occurred in the supply chain as goods moved through the various stages.The information requirement might be for a unique customer, such as, â€Å"when will my goods arrive at my door step;† or for the planning department in a company, â€Å"how much inventory should I order given existing inventory levels in different parts of the supply chain? † When a company outsourced each portion of the supply chain to different vendors, disbursing and piecing information back together from disparate sources could be extremely challenging. The Physical Supply Chain The physical supply chain referred to he steps by which physical goods went from product concept to their final customers; it dealt with the movement of goods from various physical locations, such as procurement of components, manufacturing, and logistics. 6 As discussed in the section on challenges facing the technology supply chain, the large number of suppliers and manufacturers in Asia made it extreme ly cumbersome for companies to identify the most appropriate vendors for their needs. In addition to price negotiation, service quality also required significant due diligence.For example, incidences of delinquent delivery and product quality issues were commonplace. Given the myriad of choices that consumers had for any given technology product, the margin of error allowed was very small. Another challenge in the physical supply chain was customization of products. A question often asked by supply chain executives at technology companies was, â€Å"how should I best take advantage of economies of scale by producing in volume while achieving the customization for each local market, and sometimes for each individual customer? This question highlighted the challenge of managing market-level customization since most technology products needed to reach multiple countries around the world. The challenge could be as simple as placing different language labels on products, to more complex tasks such as first consolidating product shipments from different manufacturing sites and then assembling various units for unique customer orders. Finally, logistics and shipment also needed to be managed in an efficient and cost effective manner.The Financial Supply Chain Tied very closely to the physical flow of goods, the financial supply chain referred to the financing required for each step of the supply chain. For example, a manufacturing contractor would need financing to buy components and pay its workers to make the products, before shipping them to the technology company to collect the revenue. Established vendors may have had enough cash to last through a collection cycle but smaller or newer vendors could be strapped for cash when a large order came through.While commercial banks could provide financing for some vendors, new or smaller vendors ended up paying extremely high interest First Capital Presentation at the Zhejiang University Innovation Institute’s Su pply Chain Forum, Zhejiang, China, November 13-14, 2007. 6 PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 6 costs, at least in the initial years of operations—until they had developed a stronger track record to borrow at more favorable rates from banks. THE PCH SOLUTIONBy 2007, PCH counted a number of global clients as customers. Among its clients were three of the top five personal computer companies, three of the top five telecom and networking companies, and the top five leading contract electronics manufacturers. 7 According to Casey, â€Å"PCH offers customized solutions for each client. PCH helps to manage the various communication, culture and geographic barriers that often create operational friction between the [technology company] and its suppliers in the supply chain. In Casey’s framework, each PCH solution could be mapped to the various challenges in the three flows of the supply chain, thereby addressing the various gaps in co ordinating these flows. For example, PCH manufacturing services addressed the needs in the flow of goods, while PCH Capital addressed the needs in the financial flow in the supply chain (See Exhibit 2 on PCH services categories). Like PCH’s technology customers, Casey believed an asset-light approach in managing his business worked the best and, therefore, he had no ownership in any of the vendors that PCH worked with.PCH was neither a supplier of goods nor an importer for global technology companies. PCH was a service provider—a coordinator that helped orchestrate and maximize the benefits of an outsourced supply chain for all parties involved. Addressing the Needs of the Virtual Supply Chain Information transparency was a highly valued feature for technology companies given the many moving pieces involved. Casey explained why its software services division was core to PCH’s offering to clients and why developing these tools was important to PCH in the long ter m: Transparency of process is a central PCH offering.This is why we’ve developed a series of online software tools that drive internal PCH activities and to provide a portal for clients to oversee and participate in the process. These systems enabled PCH, customers and third-party suppliers to view and share the same data. [As all parties] are working with the same data on the same platform, confusion is reduced, the need for status communication is reduced and clients can have full visibility to PCH’s activities even [though] they may be half a world away. By 2007, PCH had developed a set of software visibility tools that consolidated relevant information for each individual customer.Examples included StatusFlo, which showed inventory levels of goods in the various locations of the supply chain; and TransFlo, which housed all information relevant to billing and shipping documents in one central location for each order. Given the myriad of suppliers, ChinaFlo provided a database of background data on over 900 factories evaluated by PCH. Each factory profile contained detailed information ranging from basic background information, to factory qualification reports, and to capabilities case studies. Customers also had the ability to view pictures of their products and even search 7 Beesley, loc. it. PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 7 for hotels in the vicinity of the factories, as the factory profiles had GPS coordinates associated with them. Resolving the chaos and lack of data transparency in the virtual supply chain was one key value-add that PCH offered. (See Exhibit 3 for a screenshot of different sections of PCH’s information portal. ) Addressing the Needs of the Physical Supply Chain Casey reflected on the path that PCH took: The historical success of PCH was in manufacturing services where goods were sourced and manufactured for our clients.This was how the company got started. Over time, PCH had moved deeper into the product life cycle where solutions were replacing entire distribution systems; for some of our clients, [PCH] took over warehousing, inventory management, and retail preparation functions. We wanted to move to higher value services as opposed to being just a sourcing agent. With this strategy, PCH developed three core services that addressed the complexity and confusion of sourcing and manufacturing in Asia, in particular in China. As of 2007, these services were manufacturing, postponement, and fulfillment services.Manufacturing Services PCH offered its manufacturing services to clients as early as the product development phase. Technology companies would approach PCH with ideas for products and PCH’s design team then developed prototypes for manufacturing. Casey proudly mentioned how PCH’s differentiated services created benefits for the entire supply chain. Even if our clients just ask for product quotes, we would put the product through i ndustrial design optimization that yields the best cost for the customer while minimizing potential quality issues.Many of our clients did not expect this but this is the level of services that we aim for. We do not tie [the product design] to the capabilities of any specific factory group but act independently on behalf of our clients†¦This level of services also compares favorably to just a [company to outsource manufacturer] relationship where the focus is on landing the contract and meeting minimum quantities; [this also meant] final product quality and the end user experience being far down the outsource manufactures’ list of priorities.The other part of PCH manufacturing services entailed factory identification, qualification, and ongoing monitoring. For this set of services, PCH also leveraged its software services (see information supply chain in previous section) to differentiate itself from other competitors. Casey said, â€Å"Rather than just identifying the factories for manufacturing, we would map out the locations of the various potential manufacturing sites and how that would fit in the overall supply chain. This strategy ensured that the entire supply chain was optimized, taking into consideration the later steps in the process, such as warehousing and shipment consolidation. PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 8 Postponement and Fulfillment Services Traditionally, once the technology products were produced and quality checked in the approved outsourced factories, they were shipped to warehouse facilities before going to the various retail destinations.A potential downside to this model was that when the bulk shipment arrived at the retail destination, which might be in a high cost country such as the U. S. or Europe, the products still needed to be further customized for each local market; whether it was adding country appropriate labeling or putting on UPC labels. This meant that even thoug h a company had saved by manufacturing its goods in Asia, this last mile customization could bring the total product costs back up. The other downside was that a technology company also needed to pay for inventory holding costs.And, this inventory had limited flexibility; a company could not move it to other geographies, even if a particular product was running a shortage in other locations. To address these challenges, PCH offered postponement services—the act of holding goods in the supply chain (often in bulk format pending final assembly or packaging) for delivery to a warehouse, retail store or the end consumer. 8 In Casey’s words, â€Å"What we are doing is bringing a vanilla product to a stage in a process and then flavor in the last minute. So you're postponing the flavoring. The final steps would only be carried out once the demand was clearly visible. Most of PCH’s clients’ products were manufactured around the coastal areas of China, so PCH st rategically located its postponement processing facilities in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, and in Singapore. These locations were selected for their relatively low labor costs (some of the final packaging was quite labor intensive) and the availability of favorable tax-free trade zones. For example, one of PCH’s clients was a global personal computer (PC) company.When its PCs arrived in Shenzhen’s postponement processing facility in bulk, the machines had no software. Given these computers could be destined for different locations around the world, PCH would wait for the final order before it preloaded the different language operating systems into these computers for the various markets. These computers were held in Shenzhen’s Futian Tax Free Trade zone; which yielded lower inventory holding costs, as compared to having them sit at the warehouses in a higher cost country location.As PCH’s goal was to help customers fully manage the physical supp ly chain, its fulfillment services addressed the â€Å"handling of product orders from clients, their distribution chains or directly from end consumers over the Internet. †9 This meant that after products had gone through final assembly and packaging in the postponement phase, PCH could have them delivered directly to retail stores, ready for sale or to the end consumers’ doorstep. Working with third party logistics providers, PCH had several options for pickup and shipment to overseas locations.Even though PCH provided postponement in China, technology products were often transported by air, so this did not mean PCH’s response time was much worse than the conventional approach of having postponement at the retail distribution center in the U. S. Casey explained why the combination of postponement and fulfillment services worked well for PCH’s technology clients and how it addressed challenges in the broader market environment: 8 9 PCH, op. cit. pp. 9-13 Ibid. PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 9The constantly shifting consumer tastes and trends make forecast volume for any [technology] product difficult. When Internet sales direct to a customer’s home are added into the array of distribution possibilities, the processing needs become even more complex. With postponement and fulfillment services located close to the manufacturing sites, it drastically shortens time to market. By offering a variety of packaging and shipment options, PCH is able to both manage fast and slow moving inventory in a manner that reduces the overall supply chain costs to [technology companies].This approach provides clients with substantial leverage in their operations: total factory commitments remain somewhat unchanged, product inventory quantities shrink, warehouse networks shrink, if not disappearing all together, and the cost of operating the supply chain falls. PCH’s Unique Position In summarizin g PCH’s value proposition, Casey believed PCH’s role as the coordinator in the supply chain was beneficial for all parties involved: Our purpose as a company is developing partnerships, delivering peace of mind.None of our customers have ever gone direct to a factory. Some customers have made phone calls to factories, but the factories will call us immediately because [those factories also made products for five of our other clients. ] So we bring a very big book of business to these component suppliers and that's why they like to work with us. The factories are getting a steady flow of business through our volume consolidation. At the same time our customers also benefit from economies of scale by consolidating their orders with their competitors, which are nonproprietary stuff.Casey believed that in the 1990s, global companies operating in China were all about the knowledge challenge and everyone was just trying to learn about the landscape. By 2000, â€Å"it was al l about the execution challenge; that is, how do you actually do it and benefit from what China has to offer,† said Casey. Client Case Example10: Managing the Physical and Information Supply Chain PCH worked with a wide range of technology clients; but perhaps its partnership with one global consumer technology company provided the best example to illustrate the principles behind technology supply chain outsourcing.Situation The client was a global consumer electronics company and, since the early 2000s, had produced a number of blockbuster products that were sold worldwide. Sales revenue was growing rapidly and most of its products were manufactured in Taiwan and China. These products were sold over the Internet, in addition to a variety of retail outlets, and were often sold with accessories such as protective carrying cases, spare parts, and alternative configurations of the products. PCH operated under a confidentiality agreement with most of its clients; hence, actual cli ent names have been disguised.Some of the company data provided was fictitious to preserve anonymity. 10 PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 10 Playing in the extremely competitive consumer technology space, this client had introduced new products every year or so—sometimes with an entirely new product line and sometimes with upgrades to existing models. Complication In the initial years, this client worked with a global logistics provider to operate its more than five North American and European warehouse facilities; inventories from Asia arrived in bulk and were stored in these locations.Its products were delivered to end consumers or retail locations upon ordering. Its accessory parts were produced by different factories in Asia and were then shipped separately to various destination markets. For example, when customers ordered four accessories, they might receive four different shipments on four different dates, leaving them sometim es confused and unable to track the status of their orders. This arrangement was also expensive for the technology company, given the high cost of inventory storage and the multiple airfreight bills for each customer.More importantly, the client promised its end consumers more than just beautifully designed products, it also promised a superior consumer experience—from placing the order on the Internet to actually receiving the product. The order status had to be available real-time and visible to consumers at each stage of execution; the delivery commitment to its end consumers was two to three days to the doorstep, which was often half a world away from where the goods were produced.Finally, considerable care and attention were given to the packaging and presentation of the products to ensure that end consumers were truly delighted when opening the box. Solution In serving this client, PCH set up an on-site real-time data transfer between client’s and PCH’s sy stem in Shenzhen, China. As customers place orders in North America, the orders were consolidated and fed live to PCH’s processing facilities.PCH had already stored bulk inventories of various accessory parts in its facilities; once information for each orders were received, the PCH teams in Shenzhen then go and grab the various parts and assemble them into one single package for each customer order. Customized and country appropriate packaging, including items such as usual manuals and in-country product support, were added to these parts. Finally, product codes were added to products in case the consumer wanted to a return or obtain customer services in their local customer service centers.This solution brought all product handling (post manufacturing) into China and all orders were shipped directly from one location to the final destination. This translated into savings on logistics as customers were now receiving only one shipment as opposed to multiple shipments. Address ing the Needs of the Financial Supply Chain As discussed in the state of the technology supply chain section, component suppliers and factories sometimes ran into a working capital crunch when unable to obtain feasible financing from commercial banks.On the opposite side of the table, the commercial banks generally appreciated the opportunity to help finance the components suppliers and factories, thereby gaining more visibility into the operations of these small to medium size operations. Casey drew insights from observing these challenges and decided that PCH was actually in a great position to help de-risk the entire supply chain—for the technology companies, banks, and the factories. Casey described how PCH’s services were different from those of other global PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 . 11 logistics providers: â€Å"The FedExes and DHLs know where the boxes are, but PCH knows what’s inside the boxes. † Gi ven its span of participation in the supply chain, PCH gained a wealth of knowledge about the factories, the products, and the ultimate client. This knowledge became extremely valuable in doing risk assessment. For example, PCH staff (including Casey) had personally visited the factories and had worked with the owners and the technology companies for months. This level of understanding far exceeded what could be accomplished by lending officers.This unique position enabled PCH to effectively play the trade finance role in the supply chain cycle. By 2008, Casey envisioned the ways in which PCH could play a broader role in the financial supply chain as it saw pain points in the retailer to factory relationship. In the past, U. S. retailers (customers of PCH) placed purchase orders (POs) with outsourcing factories in China. The U. S. retailers would then apply for a Letter of Credit (LC) with a bank that would provide the required financing to the factory. Once the orders had been manu factured, the factories would then ship the goods directly to the retailers.As the consumer electronics industry evolved, retailers were no longer willing to place large purchase orders, given the uncertainty of the market. In order to protect their margins and to minimize inventory costs, retailers changed payment terms on the factories. The factories were required to obtain financing on their own and would only be paid 90 days after the retailers received the products. This put a tremendous amount of pressure on the factories. PCH saw this as an opportunity for another value-added service.Casey envisioned that PCH could play the role of an intermediary to facilitate the financial flow from the moment the retailers placed their orders to the delivery of goods. The new model was such that retailers would place orders with PCH and PCH would then place the orders with the factories. Given PCH’s size and its relationship with global technology firms, banks would be willing to le nd funds to PCH. At the same time, PCH could then lend funds back to its factories and suppliers at a higher interest rate, but still lower than what the factories and suppliers would have gotten on their own.PCH effectively made the interest spread between the banks and the factories and suppliers. JOURNEY TO-DATE AND PATH GOING FORWARD Casey, the business adventurer from Ireland seemed to have demystified the often chaotic Chinese manufacturing landscape. Casey recalled the tremendous difficulty in initially setting up the business in 1996: I found companies in Ireland that were buying cables, connectors and audio accessories through British distributors†¦ who were actually sourcing them from Asia anyway.It took a long time to convince these Irish companies to go source directly from Asia because their perception was that you couldn't get quality or the right products in Asia, plus they were worried about dealing with the time difference. With only $20,000 in start-up capital and unable to afford staff, Casey worked alone for two years, getting to know factories in China, opportunities, and the business. Just ten years into the PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 12 ame, Casey disclosed that by 2007, PCH generated over $100 million in annual revenue, not a small feat for someone who still claimed to â€Å"not speak much Mandarin. † As the company grew into a much larger company since its start-up days, Casey believed one of the most important things to preserve in the company culture was the sense of urgency. In the initial years, he remembered that every single customer contract determined the survival of the company. â€Å"That sense of urgency, to get things done, to exceed customer expectation continued to stay in the company even after all these years.This sense of urgency was a trait of PCH—the speed and the can-do attitude,† said Casey. (See Exhibit 4 and 5 for revenue breakdown. ) A lo ng-time customer of PCH was Better Energy Systems (BES), the brand owner of Solio portable solar power. PCH had been managing BES’s end-to-end supply chain. â€Å"Put simply, PCH understands the business and quality requirements of the West, while at the same time can effectively manage the day to day complexities of a Chinese supply chain,† said Christopher Hornor, chief executive of BES. 1 While Casey believed PCH’s end-to-end solution provided a unique value proposition to technology companies, he also humbly admitted: â€Å"there’s nothing that would prevent our customers from going directly to the suppliers in the future. † In trying to chart out the growth plan for his company in the years to come, he was contemplating several options: expanding service options or obtaining strategic investors. Regardless of the growth strategy, Casey had always believed in â€Å"building PCH one client at a time. You do a good job, they give you more work,à ¢â‚¬  he said. It's all about service—making sure they get what they want, when they want it. â€Å"12 And such was the truism in operating any supply chain. 11 12 Clifford Coonan, â€Å"Understanding the Rules Is Key to Success in China,† Irish Times, September 25, 2006. Anna Healy Fenton, â€Å"Irish Rover Now Fluent in Solutions-Speak,† South China Morning Post, March 26, 2005. PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 13 Exhibit 1: PCH Integrated Supply Chain Approach Technol ogy Suppl y Chain Sol uti on V i rtual Supply Chai n †¢ Flow of inf ormation Physi cal Suppl y Chain †¢ Fl ow of productsFi nancial Supply Chai n †¢ Fl ow of f unds Source: Company Internal Information Exhibit 2: PCH Services Categories PCH International: Managing Goods, Information and Financial Flows GS-61 p. 14 Exhibit 3: PCH Information Portal Source: Company Internal Document Exhibit 4: Revenue Breakdown by Category 2005 49% 19% 13 % 10% 10% 2006 42% 32% 12% 6% 7% 2007 45% 29% 14% 5% 6% Electronics Telecom Medical PC Other Source: Company Internal Document Exhibit 5: Revenue Breakdown by Geography 2005 51% 23% 9% 17% 0% 2006 46% 26. 5% 0. 4% 27% 0. 1% 2007 48% 22% 3% 25% 1% USA Ireland Europe Asia Brazil Source: Company Internal Document