Global Commodity Chains Example

Essays on Global Commodity Chains Essay Globalization is a phenomenon that most people are unaware of. And yet, it extensively encompasses various aspects of our lives whether we are awareof it or not. It is in the cars we drive, the clothes we wear, and yes, even the food we eat. Our political, socio-cultural, and economic relations with other countries are very much international and global in nature. Many events in the past two decades or so helped to open our borders to our neighbours. The end of the cold war and the birth of the internet are just some of the events that now shape our international relations. We are living in an era of globalization. Growing population and with it, difficulties in filling in growing economic needs, have made it necessary for many countries to import, to ‘outsource,’ and to contract out. As a result, commodity chains have infiltrated our economic system. Commodity chains are â€Å"[a] functionally integrated network of production, trade and service activities that covers all the stages in a supply chain, from the transformation of raw materials, through intermediate manufacturing stages, to the delivery of a finished good to a market. It consists of a series of events in the production line that ends up with the end-consumer getting the finished product† (Rodrigue, 2008). With growing demands from a growing population, many countries find it difficult to fulfil the needs of their consumer public. Their domestic resources are overly strained and greater production costs are needed to fill the demands of the consumers. Consequently, the necessity of outsourcing and importing goods and services became an option that many nations and multinational corporations explored in order to keep up with the laws of supply and demand. According to Rodrigue (2008), major commodity chains involve three major components—raw materials, semi-processed materials, and manufactured goods. He goes on to elaborate that, raw materials are grown in many developing countries because of more favourable environmental conditions. Some raw materials can only be grown in certain parts of the world. Incidentally, these raw materials are found and can be grown in many developing countries. However, these developing nations do not have the necessary capital to process their raw materials for distribution to a wider and larger market of consumers. Semi-processed products have been processed to a certain degree, and some value is added to them. â€Å"They involve metals, textiles, construction materials and parts used to make other goods† (Rodrigue, 2008). They are not quite ready to be distributed as end-products, but they are now ready for the next stage of the production process. Finally, manufactured goods have underg one processing and are ready for consumption. They are usually distributed in developed countries and some developing countries by multinational corporations. Autonomy has now been replaced by interdependencies among nations and economies. This integration has necessitated the need to produce an efficient transport system. This transport system is sustained by functional and geographical integration. Functional integration is the maintenance of the link between the consumer and the supplier. The consumer maintains the demand and the supplier keeps up with the demand. This process and system helps sustain the existence of commodity chains. Any and all means are explored to meet the demands of the consumer through the utilization of various transport processes like door-to door deliveries and other transport systems. Functional integration is carried out alongside geographical integration, where various networks in the international, regional, and local levels are utilized by global commodity chains in order to get the raw and finished products to the consumers, retailers, importers, and exporters. (Rodrigue, 2008) With the above process needed for global commodity chains to effectively function, the freight system has now become an integral cog in the processing chain. These freight transport systems exemplify qualities that are essential in the maintenance of the global economy. Different shippers and freight systems are needed for different products. There are now various choices available to many importers and exporters to choose from. These shippers and transport systems are required to deliver under time constraints. They are also expected to transport raw and finished products while considering the size, mode of transport, the type, and the preservation of the shipment. These freight and transport system standards are necessary to support and maintain global commodity chains. (Rodrigue, 2008) There are various global commodity chains that now exist in the global economy. Agricultural, chemical, metal, energy, wood and paper, are just some of the more popular commodity chains in our economy. Various aspects of their production and processing are taken and undertaken in different parts of the world at different points in time. One such popular commodity chain under the agricultural commodity chain is the coffee industry. â€Å"Coffee is an extremely powerful commodity, reigning as the worlds most heavily traded product, behind petroleum, and the largest food import of the United States†(Coffee Services, 2005). The finished coffee product goes through producers, middlemen, importers, exporters, roaster, and retailers before finally reaching the end consumer. According to Coffee Services (2005), about 20 million families in 50 countries work in the cultivation of coffee. They work in over 11 million hectares of land in their countries in order to fulfill the demands of the millions of coffee drinkers around the world. Arabica and Robusta are two of the popular blends of coffee in the market. Arabica is produced in Latin America, and Robusta is produced in Africa and Asia. Many importers buy the harvests of small farmers. These small farmers, who are eager to dispose of their harvests in favor of much needed income, usually do so under lower trading prices. These importers have the capital to purchase large inventories of coffee and have the necessary storage facilities to store and process the coffee for distribution to various roasters. These importers sell the semi-processed coffee to coffee roasters in different countries. In the United States alone, there are about 1200 roasters. These roasters then sell their blends to the large reta ilers like Maxwell House, Sanka, and Kraft. (Coffee Services, 2005) Importers profit greatly from this enterprise because they are able to avail of raw products at lesser trading prices. In areas where they have established coffee plantations, cheap labour is practiced by many importers and multinational corporations. They later sell their coffee products on standard market prices. Consequently, their profit is increased by their decreased production cost. Various anti-globalization groups have argued that many developing countries are being taken advantage of by multinational corporations via cheap labour and lower trading prices. They argue that globalization has greatly benefited developed nations and multinational corporations but have driven developing nations deeper and deeper into poverty. However, it is interesting to note that many poor countries favour globalization because, â€Å"[t]he total number of extreme poor (living on less than $1 per day measured at purchasing power parity) increased throughout history up to about 1980. Since 1980 that number declined by 200 million, while world population increased by 1.8 billion† (Dollar, 2003). Global commodity chains are widely popular in the global economy. It has managed to provide us with what we essentially need without it being sold at astronomical prices. It has also managed to provide many developing nations opportunities that 20 or so years ago were not available to them. Globalization has opened our borders to other nations who are eager to share with us their wealthy resources. Globalization has deeply penetrated many aspects of our economic, political, and social life. Commodity chains are just one among the many features of our global economy that are making our world, which seemed to be so big, now seem so small and accessible. Through globalization, we experience the fruits of labour and the products of the lands of people and nations halfway across the globe. Works Cited. Coffee Industry Commodity Chain (2005). Coffee Services. Retrieved 15 August 2008 from http://www.coffeeserviceplus.com/commod-chain.html Dollar, D. (2003) The Poor Like Globalization. Yale Global. Retrieved 16 August 2008 from http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=1934 Friedland, W. (2004) Agrifood Globalization and Commodity Systems. Ohio Online. Retrieved 16 August 2008 from http://www.ohioline.osu.edu/~hcrd/people/staff/friedland.2004.pdf Global Commodity Chains (n.d) Wiego.Org. Retrieved 15 August 2008 from http://www.wiego.org/program_areas/global_markets/WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION.doc Globalization, Identity Social Conflict (2005). Manchester Metropolitan University. Retrieved 16 August 2008 from http://www.sociology.mmu.ac.uk/globalization/globalchains.php Global Value Chains Concepts and Tools (2006) Global Value Chains.Org. Retrieved 15 August 2008 from http://www.globalvaluechains.org/concepts.html Rodrigue, J. (2008) Commodity Chains and Freight Transportation. Hofstra University. Retrieved 15 August 2008 from http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch5en/conc5en/ch5c3en.html

Dining Feature Free Essays

It was an intelligent idea to go against conformity, and Open this kind Of restaurant – not a Korean dining place. Singling is a slang term for Singapore and Western (English). Its menu holds Asian cuisines that are not commonly around the metro and Western delicacies which the Filipinos are quite used to. We will write a custom essay sample on Dining Feature or any similar topic only for you Order Now The restaurant had a unique attack on food; it is the first to introduce Singapore dishes in the streets of Marking, and mind you, its menu is usually the mall-worthy and overpriced type of menu, but hey, they offer food at a very reasonable price. Walking along Lilac street, a residential and dining road in Barraging Conception Dos in Marking, it is quite noticeable that Singling Cafe is a newly opened cafe because for those who know the place, the stall they are now occupying has long been vacant, and with long, I meant really really long. Another is when you look from the outside, their accent of red and black details over light brown wooden furniture looks unique compared to the other 3 restaurants beside it. Entering the empty restaurant on a Sunday afternoon, what greeted me was an edgy and laid back interior design. All pieces of furniture are wooden, a few chairs and the frame of a huge mirror are wooden but are colored red. Their menu is along the counter and also on top of all tables. They also have a chalkboard menu that holds the drinks they have. I took a seat on the left side of the diner just across their gigantic mirror with red wooden frame. At my back is a wooden wall with white small frames with photos of food that they offer. The menu on the table is only printed in bond paper, but a clipboard holds it and makes it a little more presentable. I decided to order 4 dishes, ND below are my reviews on the four: MME Green (PH 168. 00) – The first dish that arrived is the MME Green, a Singapore dish. The dish looks kind of orange with noticeable bite-sized chicken, and it had a green accent because of the cabbages which are crunchy – fresh, indeed! It came out with a strong seafood and spicy smell, but when once tasted it, it turned out not too spicy and not too neutral. It is spiced just right. You can easily water down the spiciness. No wonder that the noodles are quite firm because they are fried yellow noodles. I was just mind of confused looking for shrimps and seafood pieces, but there were not any. I, then, wondered where the strong seafood smell might come from. The dish was so oriental because of the spices incorporated in it. Juicy Lucy Burger (PH 198. 00) – This dish is the shish in Singling. This burger is their best-selling Western dish. The burger bun was presented in a unique way. It was like joint panels formed like a flower. Outside the burger were cabbage strips, a tomato slice and a cucumber slice topped with Thousand Islands dressing. These vegetables were also in the burger, but the tomato ND the cucumber were doubled, and instead of cabbage strips, the burger had a whole crunchy cabbage leaf. The vegetables and the % pound beef patty are drizzled with mustard. The patty looks ordinary, but once you begin eating it, little by little you can notice the melted cheese inside it. It is not a usual patty, I swear, it was spicy and cheesy at the same time. The cheese compliments the spiciness of the patty (with spiciness I meant full of spices). Braised Pork Belly with Steamed Rice (PH 188. 0) – The Braised pork belly and the Rice were served separately. The dish looked plainly presented with pork Cuts, brown sauce and spring onions that added a green accent to it. Its sauce is brownish and smooth. It is quite salty and resembles the taste of Showing’s Sad Sauce. The pork was still quite tough making it hard to chew. The rice goes well with the dish because it helps lessen the saltiness of the sauce. Howe ver, it is disgusting that I have already swallowed the rice yet the pork stayed in my mouth because it was difficult to chew. Cereal Shrimp (PH 298. 0) -? Looking through the menu, this dish struck me cause I have not yet tried Shrimps with Cereals. The dish was served with 3 Fried shrimps and a significant amount of oats as topping. With the oats almost overwhelming the shrimps, the dish was significantly color light brown with orange and green touches because of the shrimps and the curry leaves respectively. Began peeling the shrimps and noticed that it looks well-cooked even from the outside, and I just verified it when I tasted it. It tasted like plain shrimp until I tried it with the oats. It tasted buttery, and the oats were crunchy. How to cite Dining Feature, Papers

Types of Information Systems and its Applications †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Types of Information Systems and its Applications. Answer Introduction Information system can be defined or explained as the organization of hardware, people, software, resources, networks of communications and several policies and protocols. The information systems are applicable in case of storing, managing, processing and retrieving information in the business organization. The most important aspect of information system is the communication of information throughout the organization in an orderly manner. There are several types of information systems that are required for the purpose of running a business. This report discusses about the various types of information systems that are available to the organizations. It points out the application of each of them in brief. It also focuses on the application of these information systems in the area of various types of business. In this era of technology, information system has become an essential and integrated part of the business. A business cannot run or grow with manual labor. This report also points out the essential requirements of information system in the continuity of business. Importance of Information System The importance of information system is very high (Al-Mamary, Shamsuddin Aziati, 2014). This generation of technology needs information system to keep the operational flow of the organization in a proper way. The efficiency of businesses is improved by utilizing the information system in an orderly manner. Several projects can use information system to improve the operational efficiency of the project. Suppose the amount of stock needs to be recorded without any error. This can be well performed by information system. New products and services can be easily developed with the help of information system. A new project can be completed at a much faster pace because of the information system. The project plan will be successful by deploying any information system because it will be very simple process to design and develop a new product or business model in an effective manner. The reason behind the success of any project or company is satisfied customers and satisfies suppliers (Bajdor Grabara, 2014). A company will be able to generate more revenue and profit because they have generated goodwill in a proper way. Before starting the execution of any project, a company must select a suitable information system. Information system will be able to provide better service to the customers and suppliers resulting in the success of the new project and company. The decision making ability of the company is improved. A company is able to make correct decision regarding any plan of the project as well as while selecting a project. Correct decision will lead to correct and better outcome. It will also help to save time and energy of the people of an organization. This will lead to the better productivity of the organizations and will help the business grow. The competitive advantage of the organization is improved. Any project will gain competitive advantage over the other projects that are being initiated at the same time. Suppose there are four projects. The one that uses information system will have a competitive advantage over the other three projects. The survival of any business or project is important. This can be possible by using information system. Banks have introduced ATM for making it easy for the customers to access the accounts. These are few of the benefits that information system provides. The importance of the information system is evident from the above mentioned points. Types of Information Systems The classification of information systems can be done on the basis of their functionality and operations. Different levels of the organizations need different category of information systems. The various types of information systems are as follows: Transaction Processing System: This type of information system keeps the track record of any type of activity that takes place in the operational level of the business. The daily transactional activities are maintained by the transaction processing system. The operational levels of the organizations need this type of information system in order to carry out the daily operations in an effective manner. Process Control System: There are several processes in an organization. A business needs to monitor the progress of any activity and also monitor the processes in order to develop a business and continue its activity (Rainer et al., 2013). This is a type of information system that comprises of several computer programs as well as devices. Office Automation System: This is also known as enterprise collaboration system. This is one of the most important and widely used information systems. This system is helpful for managers to keep a track of all the employees and their activities. The daily official works of the employees are also reduced by the help of office automation systems. There is no single level in the organization where this can be used. This information system has helped to automate the manual processes of an organization. The chances of error are less and the productivity is much better. Management Information System: This is a type of information system that collects data from various departments of an organization and integrates it. This integrated data in presented to the managerial level for helping them to take decisions (Laudon Laudon, 2016). It also helps in the process of operational management. This system summarizes the entire information of the organization and presents it in a well formatted manner to the various levels in order to make decisions and monitor the activity of the entire business firm. Decision Support System: This is a type of information system that is made for a particular group in the organization. This helps to solve a decision that is semi structured. This system helps to evaluate several options that are available and select the best option out of it (Zayadskas et al., 2012). It performs calculations, comparisons and selection of any option out of various choices that are available. Executive Information System: This is a type of system that helps the executives of an organization to access information from internal as well as external sources (Mayer Weitzel, 2012). They present data in a graphical format. They even have the capacity to provide information in a detailed manner. It gathers information from DSS and MIS also. Strategic as well as tactical decisions can be taken by using EIS. Expert System: Commercial applications can be built by using the expert system (Kidd, 2012). These are totally based on knowledge and they are responsible for providing advice to the managers in taking any decision. These systems try to emulate the process of human reasoning. They have set of instructions that enable the system to work like a human expert. Strategic Information System: This is a type of information system that helps the business to make new strategies for developing and designing new services and products (Galliers Leidner, 2014).This system helps to provide competitive advantage to the business over its competitors. Information System on the basis of functional departments: An organization consists of several departments. Each of the department has its own functions. Sales and Marketing: This department uses an information system that helps in the efficient and effective sales and marketing activities of the business. Manufacturing and Production: This department uses an information system that helps to keep track of daily record and point out any type of inefficiencies that exist in the organization (Kumar, 2013). Finance and Accounting: This department handles the financial data of the entire organization. The information system used in the organization assesses the cash, investment, shares of the company (Romney Steinbart, 2012). It helps in capital budgeting and making balance sheet in a fast and effective manner. Application of Information System in Projects Research Projects: These are the type of projects where the organization has to find out details regarding one specific area or topic (Bell, 2014). Feasibility study is required. Here management information plays a vital role. Information from various departments are collected and presented in an effective manner. Decision Support System is also required for making certain crucial decisions. Steel Production and Mining Projects: These types of projects require monitoring of the process that is taking place. Physical processes need to be under surveillance. This type of project requires process control systems. Software Development Project: These types of projects require strategic information system, management information system and decision support system (Laudon et al., 2012). These information systems are required for saving time and improving the efficiency of the project procedure. Executive information system helps the software developers to collect information from internal and external sources to come to a decision. New Product Development Project: The strategic information system plays the most important role in developing and designing any new product, service and business models. It helps to take proper decisions and make proper choices while developing products (Pearlson, Saunders Galletta, 2016). This is a type of information system that helps the business to make new strategies for developing and designing new services and products. This system helps to provide competitive advantage to the business over its competitors. Construction Project: This type of project requires the process control information system in order to carry out a safe and efficient construction project (Sears et al., 2015). System Installation Project: These are the types of projects that require the installation of an IT system or a telephone system. Strategic information system and process control system play a major role in this project (Peppard Ward, 2016). Transaction processing system and finance and accounting systems are required in every project. In the initial planning stage the budget of a project must be prepared (Stair Reynolds, 2013).The finance and accounting system allow the project management team to carry out this task in a simple and fast manner. Transaction processing needs to be done so that the record of every activity is done. Executive information system will help the employees to communicate in a proper manner so that it leads to an effective decision. Conclusion This report concludes that there is an essential requirement of information system in this era of technology. There are several benefits of information systems that help the organizations to develop and grow. This report has discussed about several types of information systems and their characteristic. It has also mentioned about the application of the information systems in certain number of projects like construction, software development and many more. This report concludes that information systems can be used in various types of projects. In this era of technology, information system has become an essential and integrated part of the business. A business cannot run or grow with manual labor. This report has also pointed out the essential requirements of information system in the continuity of business. References Al-Mamary, Y., Shamsuddin, A., Aziati, N. (2014). The Role of Different Types of Information Systems In Business Organizations : A Review.International Journal Of Research (IJR),1(7). Bajdor, P., Grabara, I. (2014). The Role of Information System Flows in Fulfilling Customers Individual Orders.Journal of Studies in Social Sciences,7(2). Bell, J. (2014).Doing Your Research Project: A guide for first-time researchers. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). Galliers, R. D., Leidner, D. E. (Eds.). (2014).Strategic information management: challenges and strategies in managing information systems. Routledge. Kidd, A. (Ed.). (2012).Knowledge acquisition for expert systems: A practical handbook. Springer Science Business Media. Kumar, N. (2013). Implementing lean manufacturing system: ISM approach.Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management,6(4), 996. Laudon, K. C., Laudon, J. P. (2016).Management information system. Pearson Education India. Laudon, K. C., Laudon, J. P., Brabston, M. E., Chaney, M., Hawkins, L., Gaskin, S. (2012).Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, Seventh Canadian Edition (7th. Pearson. Mayer, J. H., Weitzel, T. (2012, January). Appropriate Interface Designs for Mobile End-User Devices--Up Close and Personalized Executive Information Systems as an Example. InSystem Science (HICSS), 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on(pp. 1677-1686). IEEE. Pearlson, K. E., Saunders, C. S., Galletta, D. F. (2016).Managing and Using Information Systems, Binder Ready Version: A Strategic Approach. John Wiley Sons. Peppard, J., Ward, J. (2016).The strategic management of information systems: Building a digital strategy. John Wiley Sons. Rainer, R. K., Cegielski, C. G., Splettstoesser-Hogeterp, I., Sanchez-Rodriguez, C. (2013).Introduction to information systems. John Wiley Sons. Romney, M. B., Steinbart, P. J. (2012).Accounting information systems. Boston: Pearson. Sears, S. K., Sears, G. A., Clough, R. H., Rounds, J. L., Segner, R. O. (2015).Construction project management. John Wiley Sons. Stair, R., Reynolds, G. (2013).Principles of information systems. Cengage Learning. Zavadskas, E. K., Vaini?nas, P., Turskis, Z., Tamoaitien?, J. (2012). Multiple criteria decision support system for assessment of projects managers in construction.International Journal of Information Technology Decision Making,11(02), 501-520.