International Joint Venture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Universal Joint Venture - Essay Example Issues are significantly knowledgeable about turn of events, association and the executives; these cause the IJV to neglect to accomplish its anticipated objectives. These difficulties are an aftereffect of various goals and inspirations of the accomplice organizations, making the specialty of adjusting their activities an issue. Further, the executives should issues in arranging and when attempting to adjust the common advantages for the accomplices. Wastefulness in the human asset the executives significantly adds to disappointments of IJV (Faulkner and Geringer 2000; Desai, Foley and Hinles 2004). Moreover, political frameworks, financial state, legitimate framework, contrast in accomplices and clashing agreements have a high ground in deciding the presentation of the board. The human asset issues are difficulties looked by the executives of the IJV in its everyday exercises and arrangement will be achieved once an effective human asset chief with aptitude on universal joint effor t is utilized. The governmental issues likewise represent some test as they can think of approaches that may undermine the accomplishment of the coordinated effort. The board should make sensible political judgment since political examination that is available in some is something to maintain a strategic distance from. The two accomplices may go into a merger with a perspective on taking out duplication of assets and procedures accordingly encouraging more noteworthy efficiencies in the board. Culture contrasts represent another test to IJV. For example, cooperation among Pirelli and Dunlop bombed in the 1980’s because of contrasts in the English and Italian societies (Barkema, Bell, Shenkar and Vermeulen 1997). Solid Charter Establishment of a solid sanction to help in protecting accomplices with the vital credits required to upgrade achievement... Global Joint Venture Joint effort has impactsly affected the food of organizations in the market just as their elimination. Market instability realized by changes in customers’ desires, new passage of rivals in the market, elements in financial atmosphere have presented extraordinary harm to numerous organizations. The board should utilize key corporate approaches in dealing with the endeavor in territories of human asset, gracefully chain, advancement, creation and client support. The administration of IJV ought to perceive development as the significant drive in development of organizations and their flourishing. Along with financial elements and globalization, mechanical change has supported the development of IJV’s. Regardless of the difficulties confronting the achievement of IJV, organizations ought to participate in effectiveness the executives framework as this will help in fighting all the difficulties and improve execution and efficiency of the firm. Moreover, organizations should utilize cooperation as venturing stones to development and innovativeness as this will help in concocting thoughts that will make the organizations to be the pioneer in the market and appreciate the benefits of huge scope activities. For organizations to be fruitful when they go into joint efforts, th ey should initially have an away from of the vital goal of the relationship they plan to make before focussing on the dangers and advantages to be acquired. Joint effort is equipped at upgrading business development.

J. K. Rowling - Biography of Harry Potter Author

J. K. Rowling - Biography of 'Harry Potter' Author Who Is J.K. Rowling? J. K. Rowling is the writer of the colossally mainstream Harry Potter books. Dates: July 31, 1965 Otherwise called Joanne Rowling, Jo Rowling J. K. Rowling's Childhood J.K. Rowling was conceived at Yate General Hospital as Joanne Rowling (with no center name) on July 31, 1965, in Gloucestershire, England. (Despite the fact that Chipping Sodbury is frequently referenced as her origin, her introduction to the world authentication says Yate.) Rowlings guardians, Peter James Rowling and Anne Volant, met on a train on their approach to join the British naval force (the naval force for Peter and the Womens Royal Naval Service for Anne). They wedded a year later, at age 19. At age 20, the youthful couple turned out to be unseasoned parents when Joanne Rowling showed up, trailed by Joannes sister, Diane Di, after 23 months. When Rowling was youthful, the family moved twice. At age four, Rowling and her family moved to Winterbourne. It was here that she met a sibling and sister who lived in her neighborhood with the last name Potter. At age nine, Rowling moved to Tutshill. The planning of the subsequent move was blurred by the demise of Rowlings most loved grandma, Kathleen. Afterward, when Rowling was approached to utilize initials as a nom de plume the Harry Potter books to draw in more kid perusers, Rowling picked K for Kathleen as her subsequent starting to respect her grandma. At age eleven, Rowling started going to the Wyedean School, where she buckled down for her evaluations and was horrible at sports. Rowling says that the character Hermione Granger is approximately founded on Rowling herself at this age. At age 15, Rowling was crushed when given the news that her mom had gotten truly sick with various sclerosis, an immune system sickness. Rather than consistently entering abatement, Rowlings mother became progressively debilitated. Rowling Goes to College Compelled by her folks to turn into a secretary, Rowling went to the University of Exeter starting at age 18 (1983) and contemplated French. As a feature of her French program, she lived in Paris for a year. After school, Rowling remained in London and worked at a few occupations, including at Amnesty International. The Idea for Harry Potter While on a train to London in 1990, having quite recently gone through the end of the week loft chasing in Manchester, Rowling thought of the idea for Harry Potter. The thought, she says, basically fell into my head. Pen-less at that point, Rowling spent the rest of her train-ride dreaming about the story and started to record it when she showed up home. Rowling kept on composing pieces about Harry and Hogwarts yet wasnt finished with the book when her mom kicked the bucket on December 30, 1990. Her moms passing hit Rowling hard. While trying to get away from the distress, Rowling acknowledged work showing English in Portugal. Her moms passing converted into progressively sensible and complex affections for Harry Potter about his folks passings. Rowling Becomes a Wife and Mother In Portugal, Rowling met Jorge Arantes and the two wedded on October 16, 1992. Despite the fact that the marriage demonstrated a terrible one, the couple had one kid together, Jessica (brought into the world July 1993). In the wake of getting separated on November 30, 1993, Rowling and her little girl moved to Edinburgh to be close Rowlings sister, Di, toward the finish of 1994. The First Harry Potter Book Before beginning another all day work, Rowling was resolved to complete her Harry Potter composition. When she had finished it, she composed it up and sent it to a few scholarly specialists. In the wake of procuring an operator, the specialist looked for a distributer. Following a time of looking and various distributers turning it down, the operator at last found a distributer ready to print the book. Bloomsbury made a proposal for the book in August 1996. Rowlings first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone was the U.S. title) turned out to be immensely famous, drawing in a group of people of little youngsters and young ladies just as grown-ups. With the open requesting more, Rowling immediately got the chance to take a shot at the accompanying six books, with the last one distributed in July 2007. Massively Popular In 1998, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights and from that point forward, very well known motion pictures have been made of the books. From the books, the movies, and the product bearing Harry Potter pictures, Rowling has gotten perhaps the most extravagant individuals on the planet. Rowling Marries Again Between the entirety of this composition and exposure, Rowling remarried on December 26, 2001, to Dr. Neil Murray. Notwithstanding her little girl Jessica from her first marriage, Rowling has two extra kids: David Gordon (conceived March 2003) and Mackenzie Jean (conceived January 2005). The Harry Potter Books Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (June 26, 1997, in U.K.) (called Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone in the U.S., September 1998)Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (July 2, 1998, in U.K.) (June 2, 1999, in the U.S.)Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (July 8, 2000, in both U.K. what's more, U.S.)Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (June 21, 2003, in both U.K. furthermore, U.S.)Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 16, 2005, in both U.K. what's more, U.S.)Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (July 21, 2007, in both U.K. what's more, U.S.)

Monocular Cues for Depth Perception

Monocular Cues for Depth Perception Theories Cognitive Psychology Print Monocular Cues for Depth Perception By Kendra Cherry facebook twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial policy Kendra Cherry Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on June 27, 2017 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on August 13, 2019 Angela Lumsden / Moment Open / Getty Images More in Theories Cognitive Psychology Behavioral Psychology Developmental Psychology Personality Psychology Social Psychology Biological Psychology Psychosocial Psychology One way that we perceive depth in the world around us is through the use of what are known as monocular cues. These are clues that can be used for depth perception that involves using only one eye. If you try closing one eye, it might be more difficult to judge depth, but youre still able to detect how near or far objects are in relation to your position. Depth perception allows us to perceive the world around us in three dimensions and to gauge the distance of objects from ourselves and from other objects. You can contrast monocular cues with binocular cues, which are those that require the use of both eyes. These are some of the common monocular cues that we use to help perceive depth. Relative Size The relative size of an object serves as an important monocular cue for depth perception. It works like this: If two objects are roughly the same size, the object that looks the largest will be judged as being the closest to the observer. This applies to both three-dimensional scenes as well as two-dimensional images. Two objects on a piece of paper are the same distance away, yet size difference can make the larger object appear closer and the smaller object appear farther away. Absolute Size and Familiar Size Absolute size, or the actual size of an object, also contributes to the perception of depth. Smaller objects, even if we dont know exactly how big they are, will look farther away than a large object placed in the same spot. Our familiarity with an object affects our perceptions of size and distance. While driving, your familiarity with the typical size of a car helps you determine how close or far away other vehicles on the road are from your location. Elevation An object position in relation to the horizon can also serve as a type of monocular cue. Objects located closer to the horizon tend to be perceived as farther away, while those that are farther from the horizon are usually seen as being closer. Texture Gradient Another essential monocular cue is the use of texture to gauge depth and distance. When youre looking at an object that extends into the distance, such as a grassy field, the texture becomes less and less apparent the farther it goes into the distance. As you look out over a scene, the objects in the foreground have a much more apparent texture. The asphalt of the road looks rough and bumpy. The vegetation in the field looks distinctive, and you can easily distinguish one plant from another. As the scene recedes into the distance, these texture cues become less and less apparent. You cannot detect every single tree on the mountain in the distance. Instead, the vegetation covering the mountains simply looks like an indistinct patch of green color. These texture differences serve as important monocular cues for gauging the depth of objects that are both near and far. Motion Parallax The perception of moving objects can also serve as a monocular cue for depth. As youre moving, objects that are closer seem to zoom by faster than do objects in the distance. When youre riding in a car, for example, the nearby telephone poles rush by much faster than the trees in the distance. This visual clue allows you to perceive the fast moving objects in the foreground as closer than the slower moving objects off in the distance. Aerial Perspective Objects that are farther away seem to be blurred or slightly hazy due to the atmosphere. As you look off into the horizon, closer objects seem more distinct while those in the distance might be obscured by dust, fog, or water vapor. Because objects in the distance tend to appear hazier, this cue tells us that blurry objects tend to be further away. Linear Perspective Parallel lines appear to meet as they travel into the distance. For example, the outer edges of a road seem to grow closer and closer until they appear to meet. The closer together the two lines are, the greater the distance will seem. Overlap (or Interposition) When one object overlaps another, the object that is partially obscured is perceived as being farther away. For example, if you see two figures standing in the distance and one figure overlaps and occludes the other one, you will perceive the occluded figure as being behind the non-occluded one. This allows you to judge how objects are placed in relation to one another and contributes to your experience of depth in the world around you. Shading and Lighting The way light falls on objects and the amount of shading present can also be an important monocular cue. Objects that are darkened and obscured may appear further off in the distance than those that are brightly lit. Accommodation In order to focus on close-up objects, certain muscles in your eye contract, altering the shape of your lens. When looking at objects that are far away, these same muscles relax. This accommodation can serve as a monocular cue, even though we are often unaware of it. How Monocular Cues Are Used When perceiving the world around us, many of these monocular cues work together to contribute to our experience of depth. The corner of a building looks larger and more textured, causing it to seem closer. Objects further down the street appear smaller, so we judge them as being farther away. The parallel lines of the highway appear progressively closer as they disappear in the distance, and the mountains in the distance seem fuzzy and indistinct. All of these monocular cues contribute to our total experience of the scene, our perception of depth and distance, and our interpretation of our position in relation to other objects in the scene. A Word From Verywell Monocular cues can play an important role in the detection of depth in the world around us. Unlike binocular cues, which involve the use of both eyes, monocular cues only require the use of one eye and can be presented in two dimensions. Because of this, many of these cues are used in art to create the illusion of depth in a two-dimensional space.

Torture Is A Violation Of Human Rights - 1337 Words

In discussions of torture, one controversial issue has been if it is right to use torture to interrogate suspect terrorist (s) if they have information that can save civilian and military lives. On one hand, some argue that torture is never justified no matter what the situation is. On the other hand, some even contend that torture is a violation of our human rights. Others even maintain that it is ineffective and only causes more conflict. Some even think that it should be used as punishment to serious criminals such as murderers or rapist. My own view is, however, torture should never be used no matter what circumstance there may be even if there is a ticking time bomb. Torture used as a punishment to criminals is barbaric and should never be done. Torture is a violation of the Geneva Conventions and violates the 8th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America; also, torture is not effective because captives will often break, and give the interrogators phony info rmation just to stop the pain. A man who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations named Kofi Annan believes torture should never be used. He uses an agreeable quote when he states â€Å"Let us be clear: torture can never be an instrument to fight terror, for torture is an instrument of terror† (Annan). In other words, what Annan is saying is two wrongs don’t make a right. He is saying that you can’t fight terror with terror because some want to useShow MoreRelatedTorture : The Greatest Violations Of Human Rights887 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction: One of the greatest violations of human rights is torture. Torture is not simple to define but the most generic definition is the execution of physical distress upon others through brutality and assault, for different reasons most of the time for extracting data or for a declaration of guilt, however sometimes it is for the delight of being sadistic. Jonathan Power describes it as â€Å"the systematized use of violence to inflict the maximum amount of pain in order to extract informationRead MoreThe Effects Of Torture On Human Rights Violations1907 Words   |  8 PagesAlthough the use of torture has been around since the first century, most Americans did not debate on the controversial topic until after the Abu Ghraib incident surfaced in April 2004. The Baghdad Central Prison, formerly known as Abu Ghraib prison was a complex west of Baghdad. During the war in Iraq, US armed forces committed a number of human rights violations, including â€Å"pouring phosphorus liquid on detain ees, pouring cold water on naked detainees, beating detainees† (Hersh) and committing otherRead MoreViolation of Human Rights820 Words   |  3 Pages â€Å"What are human rights?† When asked this question, many people would list 2 to 3 basic rights, the ones you learn in school basically, like the right to speak freely, to eat, to have a proper education†¦ But that is not even half of the human rights. In the early ages, they were no human rights to abide by. Every country or culture had its own regulations and rules. However, in the beginning of World War II (What are human rights par1), an idea emerged entitled â€Å"freedom†. With it came out a documentRead MoreThe Convention Against Torture Essay1122 Words   |  5 Pages Around the world and around the clock, human rights violations seem to never cease. 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This led to a politicalRead MoreHuman Right Violations. Around The World The Thirty Different1243 Words   |  5 PagesHuman Right Violations Around the world the thirty different rights that are provided to every human being are being violated. The countries that are very notable to their human rights violations are Germany, Israel, Gambia, Kenya, Russia, Syria, and more. A solution that has been put to stop human rights violations are sanctions against countries, however these sanctions cost money and some countries do not have money therefore not all sanctions can be made. How can we the United States bring aboutRead MoreThe Role Of Custodial Torture And Its Removal Of Body Parts Essay1560 Words   |  7 Pagesexposures in wounds, body cavities †¢ Attacks by animals, dental torture †¢ Exhaustion, forced labour, starvation Psychological Torture †¢ Threatening to harm or kill the victim or the victim s relatives †¢ Forced witnessing or hearing the torture of others †¢ Mock execution, forced to harm others †¢ Denigration and humiliations, threats of attacks by animals †¢ Violations of taboos, violation of religion INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENT Custodial Torture has been the concern of international community as the problemRead MoreShould Torture Be Allowed or Not1342 Words   |  6 PagesShould Torture Be Allowed or Not The issue of torture is being very current and it arouses debate between those who are totally against it; those who think that it sometimes can be used for good; and those who are in between. The idea of torture was seen only as something that happened far away in time, and it should not even be considered as an issue of the modern society. Furthermore, torture was seen as a violation of the fundamental human rights, which were protected by different human rightsRead MoreShould Torture Be Allowed or Not1342 Words   |  6 PagesShould Torture Be Allowed or Not The issue of torture is being very current and it arouses debate between those who are totally against it; those who think that it sometimes can be used for good; and those who are in between. The idea of torture was seen only as something that happened far away in time, and it should not even be considered as an issue of the modern society. Furthermore, torture was seen as a violation of the fundamental human rights, which were protected by different human rightsRead MoreThe Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Violation1498 Words   |  6 PagesArticle 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that â€Å"No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment† (O’Byrne, 2003, pg. 400). This human rights violation is also discussed in Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (408). While torture is discussed in many covenants and declarations as morally and legally wrong, many still arg ue that torture can be justified in certain situations. There are many answers

A Research Study On Microbial Ecology Biogeography,...

someone who is extremely passionate and enthusiastic about biological sciences, especially in topics covering microbiology and molecular biology. I am presently working as a Research Scientist at 3-Cs Ltd, United Kingdom and I am writing to express my interest to pursue the PhD topic; â€Å"Microbial ecology: biogeography, disease dispersal and potential source of new biotech products†; because it is engaged in an integrated approach of using many interesting subjects like molecular genetics, histology, microbiology, bioinformatics etc. Going through the advert of the mentioned PhD programme, I am positive that I have the required qualities to be a successful PhD student for this programme; because along with proficient theoretical understanding of this topic, I believe that I also have a clear idea of the laboratory techniques needed to approach and complete this topic. The reason why I have chosen to study under the world renowned Bournemouth University is because of its ou tstanding reputation for scientific achievement and the advanced research facilities. I am optimistic that I will not only gain intellectual benefits from this PhD programme, but would also be considered as a strong competitor in the outside world. By completing my PhD at the Bournemouth University, I will be prepared to fulfil my personal and career objectives as I work to improve my research and developmental skills. Furthermore, I am extremely confident that working under honourable supervisor Dr. G.

Fast Fashion Free Essays

string(108) " a Spanish company owned by Inedited, Ezra produce its products mainly in Spain and Portugal \(Wood 2010\)\." Introduction The clothing industry, as one of the most globalizes industries in the world (Fibonacci et al 1994), is currently undergoing a restructuring, especially the fast fashion sector. Fashion markets are synonymous with rapid changes and short product life cycles. Therefore, changes in consumer demand for newness and fashion trend force the emergence of fast fashion’ strategy in retailers like Ezra and H;M and shifts in the focus of competitive advantage from price towards quick response. We will write a custom essay sample on Fast Fashion or any similar topic only for you Order Now That is to say, clothing firms, which are adopting global or offshore sourcing strategy, are not noninsured to have more competitive advantages as before. However, the question is: should fast fashion retailers adopt quick response strategy instead of overseas sourcing strategy immediately, or adopt both strategies? In the first section, a literature review of the nature of fashion market and related arguments will be introduced. The overseas sourcing strategy and the quick response strategy will be explained with examples of existing clothing firms in the second and the third section. The fourth section will compare and contrast the advantage and disadvantages of these two strategies. Combining theoretical knowledge with empirical case studies, it is argued that companies could reach the maximum profit by adopting overseas sourcing strategy as well as quick response strategy. 1 . Literature Review Fashion retailers, such as Ezra, H;M, Benton and Marks ; Spencer have revolutionized the fashion industry by creating a concept of fast fashion’. The change in the culture of fashion from haute couture to fast fashion has attracted numerous researchers to identify and explore the nature of fast fashion market (Tokomak 2008, p. 22, Christopher et al 2004, p. 367, soul and -raccoon 2008, Tactile et al 2008). Accordingly, short life cycles, rapid prototyping and high volatility are identified as the key features of the fashion market. Compared to other industries, apparel product manufacturing has unique features, for instance, numerous SKIS (stock keeping unit) in a season, hard to estimate customers’ demand and wide range of products for basic to fashion items Non 2004). All these unique characteristics require a different approach to production sourcing, Soul and Turn-on (2008) pointed out that fast fashion retailers prefer using an opportunity-pull approach to the traditional designer-push model. By adopting the new approach, retailers could respond to the shifts in the market as quickly as possible. As a result, the more continuous production schedule (eight to twelve fashion ‘seasons’) has substituted for the traditional two to four ‘seasons’ calendar (Tactile et al 2008, p. 264, Dickens 2011, p. 316). In relation to global production networks, Dickens (2011) identified the ‘core’ of a global production network as the circuit of four basic operations, which refers to inputs, transformation, distribution and consumption. Theoretically, the quicker the production circuit flows, the higher the gross margin the company can gain. When we apply the theory into the clothing industry, the cost of production and the speed to response to changes in consumer demand are equally important. Both of them could contribute to the flow of production circuit. Since numbers of studies have elaborated the benefit of production relocation, the implementation of quick response strategy by fashion retailers has attracted the interest of researchers in recent years (Bristle et al 2003, Perry and Shoal 2000, leer and Bergen 1997). However, results of an exploratory study (Bristle et al 2003) shows that the advantages of quick response strategy have not been fully understood by fashion retailers. They tend to implement quick response strategy for internal supply chain management. Moreover, leer and Bergen (1997) tried to use formal model to examine the impact of quick response strategy on fashion retailers. Although there is companies already adopted both strategies, limited attention has been paid to the combined effect of these two strategies by researchers. Hypothesis: In an era of fast fashion, companies that adopt both global sourcing strategy and quick response strategy have better chance to succeed in the fashion looting market. 2. Cost, the most basic consideration. In order to have higher profit margin, one of the most effective ways is to cut down production costs. In view of the low labor cost in developing countries, global sourcing seems to be a good choice to reduce costs. With the development of global production networks and the increasing competition, fast all fashion clothing firms have shifted their manufacturing operations to low lost locations over the past decades. The shifts in the Shares manufacturer Levi Stratus’s global strategy could vividly demonstrate how global sourcing strategy works and affect its supply chain. At first, the company was created in the USA. As it developed and became a global company, they began to employ workers all over the world. However, in face of fierce competition, Levi Strauss started to shift its operation to lower-cost countries in the late sass. By the year 2003, Levi Strauss closed the last four plants in North American and ‘has become an entirely offshore producer’ (Dickens 2011 p. 318). The German fashion company Hugo Boss also provides similar example. In face of high production cost, namely high labor cost in domestic market, more and more fashion retailers choose to outsource their production. Moreover, some fast fashion retailers even have no manufacturing competency (Tokomak 2008). The representatives of this kind of retailers are Gap, HM and Mango. As they do not own any factories, the only way for them do produce their products is outsourcing. The success of these retailers without factories proves the feasibility of global sourcing strategy. By contrast, when most retailers were busy outsourcing their production to lower cost countries, some fast fashion retails still insist on domestic sourcing strategy, for instance, Ezra, Benton and Marks Spencer. They held the view that ‘market legibility and lean inventories may be more important than cheap labor’ (Tokomak 2008). However, could efficiency really overcome the lost in higher production cost? Maybe no one could answer this question. If we take Ezra as an example and find out where Ezra produce the products, we could develop our own view. As a Spanish company owned by Inedited, Ezra produce its products mainly in Spain and Portugal (Wood 2010). You read "Fast Fashion" in category "Fashion" Whereas their competitor found suppliers from worldwide low-cost countries, Ezra choose to produce products near its domestic market. That maximizes time efficiency. In fact, the unit labor costs in these two countries were low enough in the sass (Tokomak 2008), therefore, there is no need for Ezra to outsource its productions to other locations. It has the similar competitive advantage as other companies have, besides, by domestic sourcing and producing Just-in-time, Sara’s production cycles are much faster than its competitors. In this respect, it is better for Ezra to adopt the domestic sourcing strategy. However, recent years, the geography of Sara’s production network has become diverse. Ezra started to outsource and 34 percent of its production was carried out in Asia (Dickens 2011). Similar situation have also occurred in Benton and Marks Spencer. On one hand, the unit labor cost among European countries has increased in recent years. On the other hand, the supplier firms in countries like Turkey, India and Asia have gained the ability to meet the higher requirement of flexibility and speed. It is inevitable for fast fashion retailers sourcing from these countries. However, companies should also be aware of the potential risks and hidden cost brought by overseas sourcing. Global sourcing strategy requires close coordination of RD, manufacturing, and marketing activities on a global basis. Managing geographically separated RD, manufacturing, and marketing activities, those companies face difficult coordination problems of integrating operations and adapting them to different legal, political, and cultural environments in different countries (Daniels et al 2013). Furthermore, separation of manufacturing activities involves an inherent risk that manufacturing in the value chain will gradually becomes neglected. Such neglect can be costly as continued involvement in manufacturing tends to lead to pioneering product design and innovation over time. An effective global sourcing strategy calls for continual forts to streamline manufacturing without sacrificing marketing flexibility. 3. Time, the growing consideration. With the wide spread of fast fashion’ principle, fast fashion retailers are aware of the importance of efficiency. They notice that consumer demand is changing more rapidly and customers more discerning about quality and choice. Although a substantial cost advantage can be gained by adopting overseas sourcing strategy, it cannot compress time in the supply system. To solve this problem, companies tend to choose the quick response strategy, which focuses on providing shorter lead times. According to Bristle et al (2003), quick response strategy was first developed as a result of the need to compete with offshore manufacturers in the USA. The quick response strategy emphasizes on flexibility and product velocity and relies on a measure of trust in sharing information (Barnes and Lea-Greenwood 2006 p. 63). In addition, while maximizing the diversity of products, quick response could minimize lead-times, expenditure, cost and stock of inventory. Quick response is not merely about reducing lead-time by the use of domestic or nearby sourcing strategy, it also involves the ability to gather latest information and use real-time data to understand the needs of the consumers. To some extent, quick response help to sho rten the product cycle times and decrease risks and inventories at each stage of manufacturing and retailing operations. The Spanish Ezra, as mentioned before, is ‘an excellent example of a vertically integrated retailer using quick response methods’ (Bristle et al 2003). Despite successful application of the concept â€Å"fast fashion† in H;M and Top Shop, Ezra utilizes the â€Å"fast fashion† strategy in all aspects dominant, fast fashion in Ezra meaner, within only two weeks from concept to sales faster than any other company. Unlike most of its competitors, Ezra still produces most of the products in Spain and Portugal and only outsource basic items in lower cost countries. By adopting quick response strategy, Ezra focused on creating a short, flexible, tight and innovative supply chain and tried to balance the higher labor cost by shorter (3-6 weeks) lead times. As a result, Sara’s short deliveries have made it ‘as much as 12 times faster than the competition’ (Newsweek 2001, p. 36, cited in Tokomak 2008, p. 30). Ezra launches almost 11000 new products in a year, which meaner the update speed is about two or three times a week. In 2005, sales grew by 21 percent over the prior fiscal year in Ezra, which makes Inedited ahead of HM for the first time (Daniel et al 2013). The good result indicates that domestic sourcing still works as long as the company finds out a way to compensate for the losses in production cost. Having witnessed the successful experience of Ezra, competitors started to follow the lead of Ezra. For instance, Benton now replenishes stores once a week, Forever 21 Inc. And Unique are able to get new products in store thin 6 weeks (Ordered and Johnson 2008). Another example that worth to be mentioned is the Next brand in the ELK. Base on the quick response strategy, the company uses a limited edition approach to accelerate the update speed. Moreover, in order to respond to the changes in demand as soon as possible, next has even purchased part of a multi-national clothing supplier to enable constantly changing ranges by reducing lead time (Bristle et al 2003). As we can learn from the case studies, time becomes a priority consideration in the fashion market. The adoption of quick response method should be able to make manufacturer to ‘adjust the reduction of different styles, colors and sizes in response to retail sales during the season’ (Seen 2007). 4. Comparison between overseas sourcing strategy and quick response strategy One of the biggest differences is that overseas sourcing strategy uses cost as a competitive weapon while quick response strategy uses time. As we known, both cost and time are the keys for retailers to gain more market share and profit; The dilemma for fast fashion companies is: Whether fashion retailers should outsource production overseas for lower production cost or keep manufacturing nearby to facilitate speed. As highlighted earlier, the fashion market is volatile and unpredictable. Quick response strategy emerges in such an environment. Compared to overseas sourcing strategy, which faces long transport times and difficulty in controlling over production, quick response strategy enables retailers to cope with uncertainty or changes in the fashion market. On the other hand, although domestic sourcing provides companies from paying for higher logistic cost and other hidden costs, offshore sourcing secures lower cost inputs, (Christopher et al 2004). It is argued that fast fashion companies need to adopt strategies that optimally mix overseas sourcing ND quick response to win the market. The changes occurred in Marks Spencer over these years could help us understand the advantages and disadvantages of both strategies. As a major British retailer, it chooses to use local suppliers for decades. However, in face of the downward pressure on price, it abandoned its domestic sourcing strategy and started to relocate production overseas (Christopher et al 2006). Accordingly, the average hourly labor cost in the I-J is nine times higher than in Morocco and even nineteen times higher than in China, Pakistan and Indonesia. After adopting oversea suppliers, Marks Spencer on noticed that they overlooked the related problems, such as the cost of transportation, the need to forecast styles, colors and volumes in advance and the risk of stock inventory. Facing the challenge of adopting global sourcing, Marks Spencer tend to use â€Å"dual supply chains†. By combing global sourcing strategy and quick response strategy, â€Å"fashionable items† are manufactured in locations with a journey time no more than four days. For â€Å"basic items†, for which demand is easier to be predicted, Marks Spencer continue producing them in lower cost locations (Christopher et al 2006). Likewise, Ezra has also adopted both strategies for its supply chain. Today, price is no longer the determined factor that concerned by customers. Many companies consider not simply price but also quality, reliability, and technology of components and products to be procured. These companies design their sourcing decision on the basis of the interplay between their competitive advantages and the comparative advantages of various sourcing locations for long-term gains. By contrast, they care more about the quality, design and the level of popularity. Therefore, companies have to find the balance between cost and time. If fast fashion tillers make good use of these two strategies, like MS and Ezra did, the negative effect could be covered to a large extent. Conclusion Volatile markets, short product lifestyles and high product variety are the characteristics of today are clothing industry. This essay mainly discusses the adoption of two common strategies- global sourcing strategy and quick response strategy, in fast fashion clothing sector. Although most companies already have chosen outsourcing strategy to maintain the competitive advantage, the nature of today’s fashion market forces companies to consider the importance of speed and flexibility. The analysis of both strategies with the help of real companies’ experience shows that both of them have positive and negative effects on fast fashion retailers. However, overseas sourcing strategy and quick response strategy are not mutually exclusive. In practice, the successful examples of MS and Ezra have proved the feasibility of combing global sourcing with quick response strategy. How to cite Fast Fashion, Essays

Fast Fashion Free Essays

string(108) " a Spanish company owned by Inedited, Ezra produce its products mainly in Spain and Portugal \(Wood 2010\)\." Introduction The clothing industry, as one of the most globalizes industries in the world (Fibonacci et al 1994), is currently undergoing a restructuring, especially the fast fashion sector. Fashion markets are synonymous with rapid changes and short product life cycles. Therefore, changes in consumer demand for newness and fashion trend force the emergence of fast fashion’ strategy in retailers like Ezra and H;M and shifts in the focus of competitive advantage from price towards quick response. We will write a custom essay sample on Fast Fashion or any similar topic only for you Order Now That is to say, clothing firms, which are adopting global or offshore sourcing strategy, are not noninsured to have more competitive advantages as before. However, the question is: should fast fashion retailers adopt quick response strategy instead of overseas sourcing strategy immediately, or adopt both strategies? In the first section, a literature review of the nature of fashion market and related arguments will be introduced. The overseas sourcing strategy and the quick response strategy will be explained with examples of existing clothing firms in the second and the third section. The fourth section will compare and contrast the advantage and disadvantages of these two strategies. Combining theoretical knowledge with empirical case studies, it is argued that companies could reach the maximum profit by adopting overseas sourcing strategy as well as quick response strategy. 1 . Literature Review Fashion retailers, such as Ezra, H;M, Benton and Marks ; Spencer have revolutionized the fashion industry by creating a concept of fast fashion’. The change in the culture of fashion from haute couture to fast fashion has attracted numerous researchers to identify and explore the nature of fast fashion market (Tokomak 2008, p. 22, Christopher et al 2004, p. 367, soul and -raccoon 2008, Tactile et al 2008). Accordingly, short life cycles, rapid prototyping and high volatility are identified as the key features of the fashion market. Compared to other industries, apparel product manufacturing has unique features, for instance, numerous SKIS (stock keeping unit) in a season, hard to estimate customers’ demand and wide range of products for basic to fashion items Non 2004). All these unique characteristics require a different approach to production sourcing, Soul and Turn-on (2008) pointed out that fast fashion retailers prefer using an opportunity-pull approach to the traditional designer-push model. By adopting the new approach, retailers could respond to the shifts in the market as quickly as possible. As a result, the more continuous production schedule (eight to twelve fashion ‘seasons’) has substituted for the traditional two to four ‘seasons’ calendar (Tactile et al 2008, p. 264, Dickens 2011, p. 316). In relation to global production networks, Dickens (2011) identified the ‘core’ of a global production network as the circuit of four basic operations, which refers to inputs, transformation, distribution and consumption. Theoretically, the quicker the production circuit flows, the higher the gross margin the company can gain. When we apply the theory into the clothing industry, the cost of production and the speed to response to changes in consumer demand are equally important. Both of them could contribute to the flow of production circuit. Since numbers of studies have elaborated the benefit of production relocation, the implementation of quick response strategy by fashion retailers has attracted the interest of researchers in recent years (Bristle et al 2003, Perry and Shoal 2000, leer and Bergen 1997). However, results of an exploratory study (Bristle et al 2003) shows that the advantages of quick response strategy have not been fully understood by fashion retailers. They tend to implement quick response strategy for internal supply chain management. Moreover, leer and Bergen (1997) tried to use formal model to examine the impact of quick response strategy on fashion retailers. Although there is companies already adopted both strategies, limited attention has been paid to the combined effect of these two strategies by researchers. Hypothesis: In an era of fast fashion, companies that adopt both global sourcing strategy and quick response strategy have better chance to succeed in the fashion looting market. 2. Cost, the most basic consideration. In order to have higher profit margin, one of the most effective ways is to cut down production costs. In view of the low labor cost in developing countries, global sourcing seems to be a good choice to reduce costs. With the development of global production networks and the increasing competition, fast all fashion clothing firms have shifted their manufacturing operations to low lost locations over the past decades. The shifts in the Shares manufacturer Levi Stratus’s global strategy could vividly demonstrate how global sourcing strategy works and affect its supply chain. At first, the company was created in the USA. As it developed and became a global company, they began to employ workers all over the world. However, in face of fierce competition, Levi Strauss started to shift its operation to lower-cost countries in the late sass. By the year 2003, Levi Strauss closed the last four plants in North American and ‘has become an entirely offshore producer’ (Dickens 2011 p. 318). The German fashion company Hugo Boss also provides similar example. In face of high production cost, namely high labor cost in domestic market, more and more fashion retailers choose to outsource their production. Moreover, some fast fashion retailers even have no manufacturing competency (Tokomak 2008). The representatives of this kind of retailers are Gap, HM and Mango. As they do not own any factories, the only way for them do produce their products is outsourcing. The success of these retailers without factories proves the feasibility of global sourcing strategy. By contrast, when most retailers were busy outsourcing their production to lower cost countries, some fast fashion retails still insist on domestic sourcing strategy, for instance, Ezra, Benton and Marks Spencer. They held the view that ‘market legibility and lean inventories may be more important than cheap labor’ (Tokomak 2008). However, could efficiency really overcome the lost in higher production cost? Maybe no one could answer this question. If we take Ezra as an example and find out where Ezra produce the products, we could develop our own view. As a Spanish company owned by Inedited, Ezra produce its products mainly in Spain and Portugal (Wood 2010). You read "Fast Fashion" in category "Fashion" Whereas their competitor found suppliers from worldwide low-cost countries, Ezra choose to produce products near its domestic market. That maximizes time efficiency. In fact, the unit labor costs in these two countries were low enough in the sass (Tokomak 2008), therefore, there is no need for Ezra to outsource its productions to other locations. It has the similar competitive advantage as other companies have, besides, by domestic sourcing and producing Just-in-time, Sara’s production cycles are much faster than its competitors. In this respect, it is better for Ezra to adopt the domestic sourcing strategy. However, recent years, the geography of Sara’s production network has become diverse. Ezra started to outsource and 34 percent of its production was carried out in Asia (Dickens 2011). Similar situation have also occurred in Benton and Marks Spencer. On one hand, the unit labor cost among European countries has increased in recent years. On the other hand, the supplier firms in countries like Turkey, India and Asia have gained the ability to meet the higher requirement of flexibility and speed. It is inevitable for fast fashion retailers sourcing from these countries. However, companies should also be aware of the potential risks and hidden cost brought by overseas sourcing. Global sourcing strategy requires close coordination of RD, manufacturing, and marketing activities on a global basis. Managing geographically separated RD, manufacturing, and marketing activities, those companies face difficult coordination problems of integrating operations and adapting them to different legal, political, and cultural environments in different countries (Daniels et al 2013). Furthermore, separation of manufacturing activities involves an inherent risk that manufacturing in the value chain will gradually becomes neglected. Such neglect can be costly as continued involvement in manufacturing tends to lead to pioneering product design and innovation over time. An effective global sourcing strategy calls for continual forts to streamline manufacturing without sacrificing marketing flexibility. 3. Time, the growing consideration. With the wide spread of fast fashion’ principle, fast fashion retailers are aware of the importance of efficiency. They notice that consumer demand is changing more rapidly and customers more discerning about quality and choice. Although a substantial cost advantage can be gained by adopting overseas sourcing strategy, it cannot compress time in the supply system. To solve this problem, companies tend to choose the quick response strategy, which focuses on providing shorter lead times. According to Bristle et al (2003), quick response strategy was first developed as a result of the need to compete with offshore manufacturers in the USA. The quick response strategy emphasizes on flexibility and product velocity and relies on a measure of trust in sharing information (Barnes and Lea-Greenwood 2006 p. 63). In addition, while maximizing the diversity of products, quick response could minimize lead-times, expenditure, cost and stock of inventory. Quick response is not merely about reducing lead-time by the use of domestic or nearby sourcing strategy, it also involves the ability to gather latest information and use real-time data to understand the needs of the consumers. To some extent, quick response help to sho rten the product cycle times and decrease risks and inventories at each stage of manufacturing and retailing operations. The Spanish Ezra, as mentioned before, is ‘an excellent example of a vertically integrated retailer using quick response methods’ (Bristle et al 2003). Despite successful application of the concept â€Å"fast fashion† in H;M and Top Shop, Ezra utilizes the â€Å"fast fashion† strategy in all aspects dominant, fast fashion in Ezra meaner, within only two weeks from concept to sales faster than any other company. Unlike most of its competitors, Ezra still produces most of the products in Spain and Portugal and only outsource basic items in lower cost countries. By adopting quick response strategy, Ezra focused on creating a short, flexible, tight and innovative supply chain and tried to balance the higher labor cost by shorter (3-6 weeks) lead times. As a result, Sara’s short deliveries have made it ‘as much as 12 times faster than the competition’ (Newsweek 2001, p. 36, cited in Tokomak 2008, p. 30). Ezra launches almost 11000 new products in a year, which meaner the update speed is about two or three times a week. In 2005, sales grew by 21 percent over the prior fiscal year in Ezra, which makes Inedited ahead of HM for the first time (Daniel et al 2013). The good result indicates that domestic sourcing still works as long as the company finds out a way to compensate for the losses in production cost. Having witnessed the successful experience of Ezra, competitors started to follow the lead of Ezra. For instance, Benton now replenishes stores once a week, Forever 21 Inc. And Unique are able to get new products in store thin 6 weeks (Ordered and Johnson 2008). Another example that worth to be mentioned is the Next brand in the ELK. Base on the quick response strategy, the company uses a limited edition approach to accelerate the update speed. Moreover, in order to respond to the changes in demand as soon as possible, next has even purchased part of a multi-national clothing supplier to enable constantly changing ranges by reducing lead time (Bristle et al 2003). As we can learn from the case studies, time becomes a priority consideration in the fashion market. The adoption of quick response method should be able to make manufacturer to ‘adjust the reduction of different styles, colors and sizes in response to retail sales during the season’ (Seen 2007). 4. Comparison between overseas sourcing strategy and quick response strategy One of the biggest differences is that overseas sourcing strategy uses cost as a competitive weapon while quick response strategy uses time. As we known, both cost and time are the keys for retailers to gain more market share and profit; The dilemma for fast fashion companies is: Whether fashion retailers should outsource production overseas for lower production cost or keep manufacturing nearby to facilitate speed. As highlighted earlier, the fashion market is volatile and unpredictable. Quick response strategy emerges in such an environment. Compared to overseas sourcing strategy, which faces long transport times and difficulty in controlling over production, quick response strategy enables retailers to cope with uncertainty or changes in the fashion market. On the other hand, although domestic sourcing provides companies from paying for higher logistic cost and other hidden costs, offshore sourcing secures lower cost inputs, (Christopher et al 2004). It is argued that fast fashion companies need to adopt strategies that optimally mix overseas sourcing ND quick response to win the market. The changes occurred in Marks Spencer over these years could help us understand the advantages and disadvantages of both strategies. As a major British retailer, it chooses to use local suppliers for decades. However, in face of the downward pressure on price, it abandoned its domestic sourcing strategy and started to relocate production overseas (Christopher et al 2006). Accordingly, the average hourly labor cost in the I-J is nine times higher than in Morocco and even nineteen times higher than in China, Pakistan and Indonesia. After adopting oversea suppliers, Marks Spencer on noticed that they overlooked the related problems, such as the cost of transportation, the need to forecast styles, colors and volumes in advance and the risk of stock inventory. Facing the challenge of adopting global sourcing, Marks Spencer tend to use â€Å"dual supply chains†. By combing global sourcing strategy and quick response strategy, â€Å"fashionable items† are manufactured in locations with a journey time no more than four days. For â€Å"basic items†, for which demand is easier to be predicted, Marks Spencer continue producing them in lower cost locations (Christopher et al 2006). Likewise, Ezra has also adopted both strategies for its supply chain. Today, price is no longer the determined factor that concerned by customers. Many companies consider not simply price but also quality, reliability, and technology of components and products to be procured. These companies design their sourcing decision on the basis of the interplay between their competitive advantages and the comparative advantages of various sourcing locations for long-term gains. By contrast, they care more about the quality, design and the level of popularity. Therefore, companies have to find the balance between cost and time. If fast fashion tillers make good use of these two strategies, like MS and Ezra did, the negative effect could be covered to a large extent. Conclusion Volatile markets, short product lifestyles and high product variety are the characteristics of today are clothing industry. This essay mainly discusses the adoption of two common strategies- global sourcing strategy and quick response strategy, in fast fashion clothing sector. Although most companies already have chosen outsourcing strategy to maintain the competitive advantage, the nature of today’s fashion market forces companies to consider the importance of speed and flexibility. The analysis of both strategies with the help of real companies’ experience shows that both of them have positive and negative effects on fast fashion retailers. However, overseas sourcing strategy and quick response strategy are not mutually exclusive. In practice, the successful examples of MS and Ezra have proved the feasibility of combing global sourcing with quick response strategy. How to cite Fast Fashion, Essays