Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Essay on Causes of Crime - 1147 Words

Causes of Crime For centuries, the one plague that human civilization faces is a disease that has no evident cure - crime. Before one can even try to find solutions for it, one must understand what a crime is and the nature of crime. Crime itself is defined as any offence harmful against society. The nature of crime however deals with the motives and causes of crime, which has no one clear cut explanation. There are several different theories on the cause of crime such as heredity, gender and mental defects, but each one is not substantial enough to explain crime and why it takes place. The theory on heredity as being the source of crime is based on the idea that criminal activity is†¦show more content†¦First of all, the world in which we live in depends a lot on financial standards. This includes poverty, social classes and the simple fact that money makes the world go around. However, it is not fair enough to say all criminals come from a poor background, but evidently a majority of c rime does exist among the projects: ...postcode areas with high levels of poverty tended to have significantly higher levels of parenting deficients such as childe neglect; there is a strong relationship between the level of child neglect/abuse in a postcode area and the level of juvenile participation in crime in that area, Obviously it is implicated that children raised in the ghetto are more susceptible to crime. Youth crime is probably the most direct link since such poor living conditions, as mentioned above, can cause a youth to find comfort in stealing or protection and affection from gangs. The quotation also mentions neglect and abuse through childhood, which correlates with mental defect. Since it is an economical situation in childhood that can lead to mental defect or youth crime itself, the theory of mental imbalance is not really needed as its own branch. Also, organized crime and their leaders usually have poor beginnings. These leaders usually dont have aShow MoreRelatedThe Causes Of Crime And Crime Essay1354 Words   |  6 PagesThe cause of crime When an individual commits a crime it is society that has placed laws to find this individual guilty of such crime(s). This individual will now face the consequences of their action. But what caused this individual to participate in criminal activities? What causes crime? In order to answer such question, one has to understand what crime is. Nadia defined crime as â€Å"the breach of laws that are laid down by the ruling authority of the land† (topyaps.com) via mechanisms such as legalRead MoreCauses Of Crime809 Words   |  4 Pages Causes of Crime Crime is a part of life that all nationals must manage as it appears to have been around as long as human progress itself. Crime has violated groups for a considerable length of time and I think one declaration is that crime is more pervasive in poor inward city neighborhoods than it is in reciprocals that are more affluent. I think the three noteworthy reasons for crime stem from an absence of training, living in destitution, and being brought up in a solitary parent home. TrainingRead MoreThe Causes of Crime1530 Words   |  7 PagesThe causes of crime seem to be indefinite and ever changing. In the 19th century; slum poverty was blamed, in the 20th century, a childhood without love was blamed (Adams 152). In the era going into the new millennium , most experts and theorists have given up all hope in trying to pinpoint one single aspect that causes crime. Many experts believe some people are natural born criminals who are born with criminal mindsets, and this is unchangeable. However, criminals are not a product of heredityRead MoreThe Causes of Crime. What are the causes of crime essay1421 Words   |  6 Pagesthat has no evident cure - crime. Before one can even try to find solutions for it, one must understand what a crime is and the nature of crime. Crime itself is defined as any offence harmful against society. The nature of crime however deals with the motives and causes of crime, which has no one clear cut explanation. There are several different theories on the cause of crime such as heredity, gender and mental defects, but each one is not substantial enough to explain crime and why it takes place.Read MoreCauses of Street Crime746 Words   |  3 PagesCauses of street crimes The major causes are unemployment and illiteracy rate but there are some other factors too like lawlessness, fundamentalism, backwardness and double standards prevailing in the society. People around the world always think of Pakistannis as terrorists- we arent all like that. Yes, I agree that there is a high crime rate, however, most Pakistannis in the lesser civilised areas of Pakistan suffer from extreme depths of poverty, which is somewhat the main reason for highRead MoreCauses Of Street Crimes790 Words   |  4 PagesThere are several reasons why street crimes are increasing in our society today. Unemployment, Violent Crimes, Lack of Education, and Poor Parenting Skills play a huge role in street crimes in our society. The reason being is because they all have an extreme effect on the children in many different ways. Like for instance, not having a father in a childs life can cause children to For example, unemployment is one of the main causes because it leads to crimes such as pick-pocketing. Unemployed peopleRead MoreThe Causes And Trends Of Crime969 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Crime is a very prominent issue. Most of us know someone who has been a victim of a crime, has committed a crime or have committed a crime ourselves. News outlets are filled with crime stories. Television shows depict criminals and the agencies trying to bring criminals to justice. Being such a dominant part of life, it is essential that we take a deeper look into the causes and trends of crime. Discussion of Theory I believe there are many different motivating factors as to why peopleRead MoreWhat Causes Crime?2748 Words   |  11 Pagesone another bringing about a break in the order of human life, this is where the social roots of crime would be discovered and Chicago sat center stage. It was during this time that Chicago won the rights to hold the World’s Fair and with it saw a rise in the city’s population and where researchers of the Chicago School and elsewhere would dispel crime as a reasoned action or genetic circumstance. Crime would be found right in the heart of growing cities, like that of Chicago, and rapid invasion wouldRead MoreMental Illness And Crime Is Not Cause Crime And Violence1282 Words   |  6 Pagescover up? Does mental illness really cause crime? There are so many questions all with varying supplementary scenarios however, I will focus on my belief that although mental illness does not cause crime and violence, it does contribute to it. I believe that th e first and most important problem in this controversy is the lack of understanding what both mental illness and crime is. Robert Schug refers to both terms as â€Å"umbrella terms† in Stacy Mallicoat’s Crime and Criminal Justice: Concepts and ControversiesRead MoreEssay about The Causes of Crime1537 Words   |  7 PagesThe causes of crime seem to be indefinite and ever changing. In the 19th century, slum poverty was blamed; in the 20th century, a childhood without love was blamed (Adams 152). In the era going into the new millennium, most experts and theorists have given up all hope in trying to pinpoint one single aspect that causes crime. Many experts believe some people are natural born criminals who are born with criminal mindsets, and this is unchangeable. However, criminals are not a product of heredity.

Monday, December 23, 2019

Australia s Lack Of International Competitiveness

External stability is an aim of government policy that seeks to promote sustainability on the external accounts so that Australia can service its foreign liabilities in the medium to long run and avoid currency volatility. Australia has persistently had a high CAD around 4.2% of GDP since the mid 1980s. Australia has also experienced a rising terms of trade to 130.0 in late 2011 due to the commodities boom as a result of the industrialization of the BRICs, whereby Australia has experienced high export and national income, but has resulted in less competitiveness in other sectors due to the high AUD, causing the ‘Dutch disease’ whereby non-commodity sectors lose competitiveness. Similarly is can be seen in its narrow export base whereby in 2012-13 one third of export revenue came from coal and iron ore ($96 billion from 300 billion), furthermore 57% of Australian export revenue is made up of mineral and energy exports, whereby Australian growth has been largely fuelled by commodity exports and mining boom. Australia’s lack of international competitiveness as a result of geographical location and small population, as well as the decline of the manufacturing industry to overseas low cost producers, with the problem being further increased by the high AUD exchange rate, as a result of the mining boom. The fall in domestic production has led to an increase in imports and a fall in productive innovation compared to advanced economies has led to a rise in CAD. The growth ofShow MoreRelatedThe Consequences of Globalization in Australia1293 Words   |  5 PagesWhat factors are involved and consequences of globalisation for Australia? Much discussion has been conducted on the topic of globalisation of the world of economy. Globalisation may be defined as the increasing economic and financial integration of economies on a global scale. Factors enabling globalisation include the change in technology which is the socialised knowledge of producing goods and services, as well as the reduction in the protection of the world economy such as the successive reductionRead MoreAustralia And Australia s Optimum Population Level1601 Words   |  7 PagesThe argument surrounding the unemployment rate in Australia, in relevance to Australia’s optimum population level, has been often heavily debated; whether Australia has reached its optimum population remains particularly contestable. However the real issue for Australia has been in regards to the Labour force. Job availability has steeply declined over the last decade which has prompted the government to increase the migration intake, through the skilled migrants syst em, to provide companies andRead More4.3 Current Performance. 4.3.1 External And Internal Environment.1397 Words   |  6 Pagesinternal environment According to Santos (1990), times are uncertain for business around the world. If strategic thinking has been important, several factors are those that make it imperative for any business. The increase in customer demand and its lack of loyalty as well as the economic slowdown is just a few examples. Therefore, it is essential to play close attention to the analysis of the company in its surroundings. Mozal performance through external, internal environment criteria evaluate theRead MoreI.On The 23Rd Of November, 2016, The Economist Magazine1259 Words   |  6 Pagesoriginal 12 Pacific Rim countries involved. This accounted for 40 percent of the global GDP, making it the largest deal in history with a combined GDP of $27.4 trillion (Aleem, 2017). The agreement aimed to â€Å"enhance innovation, productivity and competitiveness; raising living standards; reducing poverty in third world countries; and promote transparency, enhance labour and environmental protections.-The Obama Ministration. This was through dismantling tariffs and other trade barriers between the involvedRead More Role Of Government In Mixed Economies Such As Australia Essay1741 Words   |  7 PagesEconomies Such As Australia What role do governments have in modern mixed economies such as Australia? Using appropriate indicators (macro economic aggregates) outline the present state of the economy. In what ways is the Commonwealth government using fiscal and monetary policies to influence the Australian economy? What are the main features of the governments micro economic policy? Why is the government concerned about microeconomic reform? Synopsis: The role of government in Australia today has lessRead MoreCase Study : Advantage Kayaks : A Marketing Plan1549 Words   |  7 Pagesshare and profit. These goals should be realistic but may have to be somewhat hypothetical because of lack of time and absence of market research to provide better ones. †¢ Marketing strategy with details of the 4Ps (i.e. Product, Place, Price, Promotion) and with justifications based on the above. †¢ A brief discussion of the Integrated Marketing Communication issues which impact on competitiveness. These issues should be discussed from an implementation point of view. Because this is a short assignmentRead MoreEssay about Michael Porter’s Theory1568 Words   |  7 Pagesresulted from the studies segment, there is not an exact theory or study can be regarded as guidelines for these internationalizing firms. Overall, Michael Porter’s theory on national completive advantage is a better theory to be adopted by the international firms which want to select a better country for new entry. The dominance of Porter’s theory are its comprehensiveness, the dynamic Diamond theoretical system and analysis form both inductive and deductive sides. Meanwhile, it is at a disadvantageRead MoreInternational Economics The Current Account Deficit Australia2100 Words   |  9 PagesIn relation to International Economics the current account deficit Australia has, has been of some debate in recent years. The current account is the summation of the balance of goods and services and net income and is a component of the balance of payments alongside th e capital and financial account. When a deficit occurs in the current account it means that the value of imports (debits) are exceeding the value of exports (credits). The value of the current account has oscillated between the periodRead MoreCase Study : South African Household1413 Words   |  6 Pages(Bloomberg, 2016a). The company ´s goal is to help parents teach their children about the importance of hygiene, aiming at family households as their main target market (Twinsaver, 2015). South African household income distribution is among the world s most unequal, creating a highly budget-conscious consumer segment (Euromonitor International, 2015a). 91 per cent of South African consumers prefer low-priced economy and standard toilet paper (Euromonitor International, 2015b). Twinsaver advertisesRead MoreUsing Cloud Based Information And Communication Technology Has Helped Small And Medium Enterprises ( Smes )1409 Words   |  6 Pagesmarket by reducing their entry and opportunity costs, and by supporting collaboration and innovation activities. For some existing SMEs, the process of creating this cloud business environment can be difficult and risky, because they lack sufficient human resources and lack sufficient control over Cloud infrastructures. Research also has shown that Cloud technologies have more impact on internationally orientated SME entrepreneurship, they will become more competitive in the global market by using Cloud

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Critical Incident †Preconceived Ideas Free Essays

No names are used in this writing to maintain patient confidentiality and conform to the data protection act 1998Critical incidents originated in the United States, Colonel John C Flannagan was a psychologist who worked closely with the Air Force and their procedures for reporting evidence concerning effective or ineffective behaviour within different situations (Ghaye 2006:64-65). Tripp (1993: 24-25) claims that â€Å"critical incidents appear to be ‘typical’ rather than critical at first sight, but are rendered critical through analysis†. Critical incidents can be either positive or negative; They â€Å"are usually experiences that make you consider the events that have happened to try to give them some sort of meaning† (Hannigan, 2001). We will write a custom essay sample on Critical Incident – Preconceived Ideas or any similar topic only for you Order Now Using a critical incident as a way of reflecting helps individuals identify practice that has been helpful or unhelpful in a situation. The value of a critical incident can differ from person to person; it is usually a personal experience with meaning to an individual, however critical incidents can be useful for a range of people for example, students, lecturers, service users and the general public. They give an insight into the feelings of the person writing and are often relatable to others. In appendix 1 I have described my critical incident. Following this I will explain the importance of a critical incident and the effect on practice, in particular how it has influenced my practice as a student nurse. This experience has greatly influenced my training in a number of ways. As a student nurse I believe it is hard to avoid having a preconceived judgement of a patient. After receiving a brief description of the patient’s diagnosis from my mentor, I believed this patient would possibly be frail and sedentary, laid in bed with a poor quality of life. However what I was greeted with was the total opposite. This is affected by the patient’s own judgement of her illness, often receiving a prognosis such as this prompts a dramatic change in the patient’s lifestyle. It can be argued that this is the hardest part in ‘accepting’ a diagnosis is the need to change. ‘In accessing readiness to change, we need to look at the individual’s state’ (Broome 1998:31). If a particular patient is not ready to adapt their lifestyle it can become difficult for them to come to terms with their diagnosis. Patients unable to come to terms with their diagnosis or patients finding their illness difficult after a period of time are likely to suffer from depression or anxiety (Reid, et al 2011). However upon visiting this patient it was clear to me that this patient was able to accept her diagnosis and had readily accepted the challenge to adapt her lifestyle. To me this seemed like a phenomenal act for her to achieve in such a short space of time following the diagnosis. Communication is a key aspect of any type of care, in particular terminal care as the patient in question is likely to feel scared and anxious about their prognosis. There are a number of different reasons for this;â€Å"Including diagnosis and treatment of their disease, long-term physiological alterations, fears of relapse and death, dependence on caregivers, survivor guilt and negative effects on families†. (Groenwald et al 1992: 580)Communication should be an equal conversation that allows both the nurse and patient to include what they need to say. For a nurse it is important to listen to a patient as developing a therapeutic relationship will often make the patient feel more open to discussion about their feelings and concerns. The therapeutic relationship facilitates the ability for a patient to achieve their desired state of maximum health (Brooker, and Waugh, 2007:236; Kozier, et al 2012:95-97) Patients should be able to â€Å"freely express their beliefs, values and concerns in a non-judgemental and supportive way† (Barker 2010:31). A therapeutic relationship is essential in developing trust between a patient and nurse and is fundamental for care with service users such as my patient. A therapeutic relationship can be described as â€Å"one that allows for the meeting of nursing needs to the mutual satisfaction of a nurse and patient† (McQueen 2000:9). This should reduce anxiety and may allow the patient to feel more comfortable in addressing any concerns surrounding the prognosis. This incident has made me think about the barriers to communication and the effects they can have on other staff members, patients and their families. Understanding the potential problems allows us to better understand how something might be able to work more efficiently† (Ellis 2011:88). There are a number of barriers to communication for example; physical barriers such as a door being closed, perceptual barriers for example going into a conversation thinking that the person isn’t going to understand or be interes ted in what you are going to say. Emotions can also be barriers to communication as well as cultural, gender, interpersonal and intellectual (Kozier et al 2012:46). I believe my patient may have had emotional barriers to communication with the nurse and myself. She had already accepted her diagnosis and her decision not to converse with us about her condition may indicate that it was difficult for her to discuss it with others, despite being comfortable with it herself. The fact that the patient was comfortable with her illness made me think about the definition of health. My patient had said she felt healthy and therefore to her, despite having an illness, she didn’t consider herself as ‘unhealthy’. The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes the definition of health as â€Å"a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity† (WHO 1948; Kozier et al 2012:6) although this is the most commonly used definition for health, seeing this patient led me to review its significance. The patient I saw clearly didn’t view this definition to be the same as her meaning of health. Health differs for every individual, my patient felt well and therefore in her opinion she was healthy. It is understandable that she didn’t want to be continually reminded of her cancer, it was enough that her independence had been reduced due to the fact the nurses were coming into her home in the first place. My mentor and I decided to respect the patients wishes and allow her to come to us when she felt she would like to talk rather than forcing her to speak to us, we arranged to keep nurse interaction with this patient to a minimum so she could retain some ‘normality’ in her life. â€Å"Patients are made aware that they have the right to choose, accept or decline treatment and these decisions are respected and supported. (NICE Guidelines 2012) It was at this point I began to understand the value of concordance. McKinnon (2011:69) states â€Å"a partnership of equals on which care plan is negotiated†, concordance enables patients to not only make decisions about their care, but to work in parallel with the health care professionals towards a mutually agr eed outcome. It could have been easy for my mentor to disregard the patient’s wishes and focus solely on her wound care and expect her to simply comply as the nurses are considered to be the experts, however her feelings were recognised and her autonomy wishes were responded to. My mentor displayed an excellent example of holistic care according to Linsley (2011:273), who states that nurses have to be aware of the social, environmental and psychological aspects of health and not just physical signs and symptoms of an illness. Before meeting this patient, I didn’t realise how daunting the experience of health care professionals can be, I had always wrongly presumed people would be happy to receive care to make them feel better, however in this instance it has proved to me that not everyone has this view. It has enabled me to think about my role as a student nurse and it has made me reflect on so many different aspects of good nursing care, from communication and concordance to holistic care. Before my interaction with this patient, I didn’t understand just how important it was for patients to have their say. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had been the registered nurse in that situation, would I have been task orientated and wanted to get the job done rather than taking into consideration the patients wishes? As a first year student I am aware of my limitations and understand that I have a lot to learn. I thought about how I would feel if I was in the patient’s situation and of course I’d want to be involved in the decisions made concerning my care. The experience with this patient has enabled me to develop as a student nurse, and will inform my practice throughout the whole of my career. Seeing first hand such a good example of concordance and holistic care from my mentor has given me a great platform to base my learning experiences on. References Barker, J (2010) Evidence-Based Practice for Nurses. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Berman, A. Erb, G. Harvey, S. Kozier, B. Morgan-Samuel, H. and Snyder, S (2012) Fundamentals of Nursing: Concepts, process and practice. Harlow: Pearson. Broome, A. (1998) Managing Change. Hampshire: Macmillan Press Ltd. Ellis, P. (2010) Evidence-based practice In Nursing. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd. Ghaye, T. and Lillyman, S. (2006). Learning journals and Critical Incidents. 2nd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Groenwald, S. Goodman, M. Hansen Frogge, M. and Henke Yarbro, C (eds. ) (1992) Comprehensive Cancer Nursing Review. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlet publishers Inc. Linsley, P. Kane, R. and Owen, S. eds) Nursing for Public Health: Promotion, Principles, and Practice, Oxford: University Press. McKinnon, J. (2011) ‘The nurse-patient relationship’ in Linsley, P. Kane, R. and Owen, S. (eds) Nursing for Public Health: Promotion, Principles, and Practice, Oxford: University Press, pp. 64-74. McQueen A. (2000). Nurse-patient relationship and partnership in hospital care. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 9 (5): 723-7 31. Reid, A. Ercolano, E. Schwartz, P. and McCorkle, R (2011) ‘The Management of Anxiety and Knowledge of Serum CA-125 After an Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis. ‘Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing’ 15 (6), [online], Available from: http://web. ebscohost. com. proxy. library. lincoln. ac. uk/ehost/detail? sid=7e50352a-778c-4db4-be37-388bb618120d%40sessionmgr114vid=1hid=103bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=c8hAN=2011371794 [Accessed: 26th February 2013]. Tripp, D. (1993) Critical Incidents in Teaching, Developing Professional Judgement. Routledge: London. NICE Guidelines (2012) Supporting patient choice [online] National Health Service online. Available from http://www. nice. org. k/guidance/qualitystandards/patientexperience/SupportingPatientChoice. jsp [accessed 3rd February 2013]. Nursing Times (2004) Reflective thinking: turning a critical incident into a topic for research [online] London, Nursing Times online. Available from: http://www. nursingtimes. net/refle ctive-thinking-turning-a-critical-incident-into-a-topic-for-research/200145. article [Accessed 3rd february 2013]. World Health Organisation (1948) World Health Organisation Definition of Health [online] New York, World Health Organisation Online. Available from: http://www. ho. int/about/definition/en/print. html [Accessed 1st March 2013]. Bibliography Barker, J (2010) Evidence-Based Practice for Nurses. London. Sage Publications Ltd. Barrat, D, Wilson B, and Woollands, A (2012) Care planning A guide for nurses. Second edition. Harlow. Pearson Education Ltd. Benner, P. (1984) From Novice to Expert, Excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice. Menlo Park Addison Wesley. Berman, A. Erb, G. Harvey, S. Kozier, B. Morgan-Samuel, H. and Snyder, S (2012) Fundamentals of Nursing: Concepts, process and practice. Harlow: Pearson. Brooker, C. and Waugh, A. (eds. ) (2007) Nursing Practice: Fundamentals of Holistic Care. Philadelphia: Elsevier. Broome, A. (1998) Managing Change. Hampshire: Macmillan Press Ltd. Ellis, P. (2010) Evidence-based practice In Nursing. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd. Ghaye, T and Lillyman, S. (2006). Learning journals and Critical Incidents. 2nd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Groenwald, S. Goodman, M. Hansen Frogge, M. and Henke Yarbro, C (eds. ) (1992) Comprehensive Cancer Nursing Review. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlet publishers Inc. McQueen A. (2000). Nurse-patient relationship and partnership in hospital care. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 9 (5): 723-731. Tripp, D. (1993) Critical Incidents in Teaching, Developing Professional Judgement. Routledge London. (Appendix 1) During placement I have managed to gain experience with terminal cancer patients. When you go into a patient’s house, I feel you can’t help but have a preconceived idea of the type of patient you are about to meet. I was surprised when visiting one patient, as I was told before I entered the home that the patient had terminal epithelial ovarian cancer. This type of ovarian cancer arises from a malignant transformation of the ovarian surface epithelium, how this transformation occurs is unknown. † (Groenwald et al, 1992: 466-467) When I met this patient I was unsure of what I would discover. I expected a woman that was going to appear physically ‘ill’ and I imagined her to be like all the other patients I had seen with terminal cancer. To my surprise we found her sitting in her conservatory reading the newspaper looking well, she was dressed appropriately and had her hair and makeup done. The patient seemed genuinely happy and didn’t meet any of the previous preconceptions I had when I was originally told about her. We were there to change a fluid bag from the patient’s abdomen and support the patient if she had any concerns about her illness. This is the only thing the nurses do for this patient, her partner, with some help from the Macmillan emergency care team complete the rest of her care. This patient had a persistent disease that couldn’t be controlled. She had previously been treated with chemotherapy to try and eliminate the cancer however this had been unsuccessful. The patient had then decided along with the healthcare professionals, to withdraw treatment and only accept pain relief and support. â€Å"The staging of ovarian cancer is based on surgical evaluation and forms the basis of subsequent therapy†. (Groenwald et al, 1992: 466-467) The district nurse has only just become involved in her care, currently she is 5 months into her diagnosis. When the nurse and I tried to speak to the patient about her illness and how she was feeling, she seemed reluctant to talk about it. The patient decided she felt well in herself and didn’t want to be reminded of her illness, she went on to explain that she had already How to cite Critical Incident – Preconceived Ideas, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Supply Chain of Apple-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignmenthelp

Question: Critically analyse the challenges Apple face in managing their global supply chain? Answer: Introduction: Supply chain management forms the base of the productivity of multinational companies, their revenue generation and consequent market leadership. Supply chains have become empirical to the competitive advantages companies enjoy in the global market. The supply chains the MNCs maintain also pose certain challenges to their user companies. The assignment would view the challenges posed by the supply chains through the lenses of Apple, the leader in the IT industry. The paper would also delve into the importance and hardships the companies face in strategic sourcing of raw materials and their expectations from the suppliers. The discussion with proceed on these three topics with Apple as the substratum. Supply chain challenges Apple Inc faces: Apple owing to its high-end and diverse product line has to face several challenges while operating in the global market: Competition from other multinational companies: The greatest challenge which Apple faces as far as supply chain in concerned is competition from other multinational companies. The product line of Apple consists of smart phones, Mac, music applications and hardwares, Ipads, TV app, smart watches and accessories. This means the company competes with multinational companies like Samsung and LG in terms of smart phones and smart watches, Google in terms of TV apps and Microsoft in case of Mac OS. The company in order to maintain high quality of these products and meet the demands of the upper class customers, its main customer segments, has to compete with these MNCs to get best quality hardware and software for its products. Moreover, the main operations of the company is concentrated in North America while Asian market is experiencing rapid rise in demand for products like smart phones and smart watches. The suppliers in the Asian market prefer supplying materials to Asian manufacturers like Samsung and Sony. Hence, it can be pointe d out that Apple faces stiff challenge in gaining the high quality raw materials for its products. Dependence on competitors: The second supply challenge which Apple faces in the global market is its dependence on competitors like Samsung for raw materials. Samsung is the largest manufacturer of electronic components like chips and batteries used in the electronic gadgets like smart phones. The company also supplies Apple with various components for its high end devices. Thus, Apple becomes dependence on its toughest competitor, Samsung for components for its products (samsung.com, 2018). This would give Samsung the power to control the product strategies and business operations of Apple indirectly. This heavy dependence on competitors is a big threat because it can pose serious threats to its productivity. For example, Apple often enters into legal disputes with its competitors and suppliers like Samsung over product features (usatoday.com, 2018). These disputes breach the relationship between the two companies which ultimately hampers the productivity of Apple since is former is dependent on the latter co mpanies for the components for its parts. Shipping challenges: Apple faces shipping challenges in its supply chain owing to macroeconomic influences over which the company has no control. Apple acquires components from selected number of suppliers spread all over the world. The company has also spread its supply and manufacturing operations into Asian nations like China to tap the markets growing profitability. The company is increasing depending on these overseas units for its supply of parts and manufacturing of its finished products. The differences in laws pertaining of crucial areas like manufacturing, shipping and labour in these countries pose serious threats to the productivity of the company. For example, it often takes months to get clearance to ship supply of components from China to the US manufacturing facilities. Again, riots and other political disturbances in the foreign markets from where Apple sources its supply of components pose serious threats to its continuous supply of raw materials and production of finished goods (firstp ost.com, 2018). This shows that shipping challenges stemming of political and other macro economical influences pose serious supply challenge to Apple. Sustainability issues of supplies: As pointed above, Apple is dependent on a limited number of suppliers for its supply of components. The suppliers of the company are spread all over the globe like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company manufactures the processors for Apple. Again, it obtains a large proportion of its components from local suppliers like China. These supplying companies are themselves coming under pressure like cost cutting and enforcement of sustainable production of parts. The governments of supplying countries like China today necessitate these companies to pay environmental taxes which add to their cost of production of parts they supply to Apple (xinhuanet.com, 2018). Thus, Apple has to acquire supply of raw materials at high prices which in turn adds to its own cost of production of its finished products. These financial sustainability issues faced by the suppliers often result them in supplying less amount of supplies to the company which in turn impacts productivity products (forbes.com, 2018). This fall in productivity results in delayed supply of finished products to the retailers and distributors, which are already reeling under increased expenditures just like the supplying companies. Thus, sustainability of the supply chains is one of the biggest challenges Apple faces while operating in the market. This issue is so serious that it has breached the markets goodwill of Apple as customers complain due to delay in supply of finished (fortune.com, 2018). Benefits and limitations of sourcing strategies and their application in Apple: Strategic sourcing has several advantages and limitations to the companies, especially MNCs like Apple whose supply chains spreads across continents. Advantages: The following are the advantages of strategic sourcing particularly in case of companies like Apple: Cost savings: The strategic sourcing enable companies to curtail their costs of acquiring raw materials and their overall cost of production. The companies like Apple have to acquire their components from various countries having different market conditions like tax rates. Thus factors adds to the cost of acquiring raw materials which adds to the cost of production. These factors impacts the production of finished products in the company which ultimately culminates in delay in supply of finished products to customers (bloomberg.com, 2018). This delay in supply of raw materials often result in loss of customers to its competitors and reduces the revenue generation of the company. This fall in revenue generation also impacts the capital generation of Apple as show in its share index below. Strategic management of sourcing of its main components would enable Apple to plan its sourcing according to the various parameters like costs. For example, Apple can source components from Europe for its American manufacturing facilities while for the Asian market it can source components from China or Taiwan (Brindley, 2017). Thus strategic sourcing would enable the company to reduce cost of sourcing of raw materials which would in turn reduce its cost of production, thus increasing its profit margin. Figure 1. Figure showing stock index of Apple Inc. (Source: nasdaq.com, 2018) Alignment of sourcing with business targets: Strategic sourcing of raw materials would enable Apple to align its sourcing of components with its business targets. The apex management of company today plan the ordering of materials as per the demand forecast of finished products. This means they order appropriate quantity of raw materials using methods like economic order quantity from suppliers which ensures smooth production (Nia, Far Niaki, 2014). Moreover, ordering appropriate raw materials prevents the companies from holding huge amount of inventory. This ensures liquidity of the current assets of companies which they can channelize to address other business needs. Again, the companies like Apple do not have to hold immense amount of finished goods which again ensures liquidity of capital and reduction of warehousing expenses. Apple can as a result make finished products available to customers which generates huge revenue. This analysis shows that the strategic sourcing enables MNCs like Apple align their sourcing of mater ials with their business targets like high revenue generation (ft.com, 2018). Limitations of strategic sourcing: Strategic sourcing of raw materials and components have following limitations: Delays decision making: Strategic sourcing requires companies align their acquisition of raw materials with their business decisions like demand forecast of finished goods which delays decision making. MNCs like Apple have tall organisational structure which delays decision making. For example, the organisational structure of Apple shows that the company has no specific person delegated to supervise sourcing of raw materials from specific markets at the apex level, which is the main criterion of strategic sourcing (apple.com, 2018). This delays decision-making regarding sourcing of components which results in loss of productivity and business opportunities. These loss of business opportunities add to losses of the companies. Thus, strategic sourcing apparently aligns sourcing raw materials and reduces costs but in reality tall structure and delay in decisions making adds to business losses to the company. Complicated process adds to the costs of operations: Strategic sourcing involves multiplicity of documentation, legal complications and results in surges in the costs of operations. Multinational companies align their sourcing of raw materials from different markets to the business strategies formed by the apex management. This requires the apex management to gain information about the market conditions in various countries like China and Taiwan (Stadtler, 2015). This prolongs the time required to source raw materials from these countries which delays actual sourcing of components, delays productivity and results in business losses. Moreover, if raw materials are sourced by the headquarters of Apple in the US from sourcing countries like China and Spain, it would involve legal complications and increase in costs due to involvement of two countries (the US and the raw materials supplying country) as well. However, if the branch offices do the sourcing, it would save legal complications, reduce multiplicity of documents and save costs. F or example, if the European subsidiaries of Apple sources raw materials from the European markets, they would be able to avail rebate due to the EU rates between the European nations. Thus, sourcing of raw by headquarters using strategic sourcing increases the complications and costs to acquire the raw materials (Seidel et al., 2015). Performance objectives suppliers of Apple are expected to meet: Multinational companies expect their suppliers to meet the following objectives while operating in the markets and provide them with raw materials: High quality raw materials: The multinational companies expect their suppliers to provide them with high quality raw materials. For example, Apple expects suppliers of its components to provide it with high quality electronic goods components and software. One of the product strategies of Apple is to produce limited number of high quality products to upper class customers and maintain leadership in the market. This means that the company needs to source high quality components from its suppliers. The company requires its suppliers to provide it with high quality components in conformity with its central quality standards (Chan, Pun Selden, 2016). Ethical business behaviour: The suppliers are expected to aim to operate in ethical manner while operating in the market. The suppliers are expected to abstain from using unethical means like discrimination among their employees on basis of gender and use of child labour while operating in the market (apple.com, 2018). Conclusion: One can sum up from the discussion that strategic management of supply chains bear great importance to companies. However, global supply chains cannot be controlled efficiently from the headquarters of the companies alone. The companies must delegate power to their branch offices to take decisions regarding supply chain management. 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