E-Procurement Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

E-Procurement - Assignment Example This will lead to a reduction in the cost of procurement. This would lead to less time being used for this process. The manager would have more time to spend on other company business rather than being tied up with immaterial purchases. No orders may be lost because it would result in less paper being used in the process. This system would also help to reduce the number of late deliveries. Qatar Petroleum would computerize its procedures so that there will not have to be too many manual interventions. In this way the company may be able to deal with many suppliers instead of a few. The system could compare prices and determine which is best. The company may also be able to benefit from quantity discounts in this way The procurement system could be so set up that orders are triggered from the inventory system as soon as the re-order level is reached. This system would notify someone that an order needs to be made urgently. Transactions are automatically approved based on business rules and so there is no detailed approval process. The order will be transmitted through a central hub. Everything stage of the process would be done online. An e-procurement system is a must for a company that is seeking to reduce the cost of purchasing. Companies are on an ongoing drive to reduce cost and this is one sure way to do so. Qatar Petroleum can benefit from implementing this

Business Structure Of Burger Kings Brand Commerce Essay

Business Structure Of Burger Kings Brand Commerce Essay Burger King is one the fast food chain which is abbreviated as BK, it is operating almost all over the world with its headquarter in Florida, United States. The first store was opened over the piece of Insta Broiler. This equipment was so much popular for cooking burgers. In 1953, BK began as a franchise chain in Jacksonville, a place in Florida. In 1955, where this franchise was facing a financial problem, it was then purchased by David Edgerton and James McLamore and then it was named as Burger King. Burger King is operating in 73 countries with over 12000 outlets, of which 66% holds in US and 90%, has been runned by the private owners. It became a Corporation in 1959, and this is where when all the franchisees purchase the right to open stores and operate it. Initially, when the company started they use to sell burgers, French fries, soft drinks and ice creams. Then later in 1957, BK introduce Whopper which turns out to be the signature for them and they adopted the motto as The Home of Whopper, (Mouw, 2007). Theoretical Background The development of new ventures makes the way for most individuals to come up with an idea and develop it by generating a product or service (Gyamfi and Tontoh, 2007). According to (Morse and Mitchell, 2006), the new venture development can be competitive in the market because many activities are involved in creating a business. Barringer and Ireland (2006) said that the establishment of new ventures gives the society globalization, job creation and innovation. Different scholars and institutions have proposed many ways of developing new ventures from different angles. Moreover, many entrepreneurs have established new ventures competitively without any external influence. Wickham (2004) defined an entrepreneur as a manager which carries out a particular activity; an individual which possesses a personality, psychology and personal characteristics and an agent that adds the value to the society. Sarasvathy (2001) found the dependency of a venture issue on an individuals past knowledge, the experience of its formation, culture and his other distinctive achievements. According to Timmons (1999), the development of a new venture involves the vital factors team, opportunity and resources that are seen to be in a corresponding process. Although there are numerous ways for venture creation, there are also various failures and even it does not become successful in the long run for the few ones (Gyamfi and Tontoh, 2007). Gilkerson and Paauwe (1998) showed that most businesses fail because the choice of business opportunity was poor. Gartner (1988) suggested that entrepreneurship depends on your action and not on your identification. This has generated the interest of looking at business planning process in new venture development. It is important to know about the variables or considerations in developing the new ventures that makes the process feasible or practical and this is what has been presented in the report in accordance with the opinions of different authors (Bhave, 1994). Discussion Business planning is an important aspect that needs to be considered to fulfil the plans for a new venture or renewing an existing venture. It serves as a method to achieve the desired goals (Gyamfi and Tontoh, 2007). According to (Davidsson, 2003), a good planning process provides a good approach of having a niche in the market. It also gives you a process view of entrepreneurship. He believes that it is impossible to take a business in one decision or one act from its non-existence to existence in one step. Therefore, in creating a business, entrepreneurs have to do a number of activities sequentially. Business planning helps in finding the competitive advantage of the operation by finding, describing and refining it (Stan et al., 2003). Profit (2007) says that the planning process gives very good steps needed to reach the goals that have been set for the future. It describes the opportunities, business strengths and a road map for continuous improvement. As the growth and success of a business lies in creating a road map for it but many entrepreneurs, having the knowledge of it, do not have a good planning process (Profit, 2007). This makes it difficult to start up ventures successfully (Gyamfi and Tontoh, 2007). Harper (1991) noted that as many novices do not hesitate to position and elaborate themselves well in the market so the trial and error methods have been unfavourable for them. Profit (2007) suggested that the requirement of an entrepreneur can be accomplished by analyzing the business issues and refining the goals from a good planning process. Timmons (1999) clarifies that it is important to take a decision about the investment of time and effort because some ideas may not lead to business or success. One should also size up about the existence of potential business. Therefore, a good planning method helps one to get confidence, test ideas and see the flaws in his business to avoid the waste of resources and to take the right steps forward (Gyamfi and Tontoh, 2007). In fact, for every 100 ideas presented to investors in the form of a business or proposal of some kind, usually just I or 2 or 3 get funded. Over 80% of those rejections occur in the few hours; another 10 to 80 get rejected after the business plan has been read carefully (Timmons, 1999). Theoretical Spheres The development of a new venture has been discussed by many authors in entrepreneurship. The theories from three experts of business administration, in a sequential mode, have been chosen to make the report more exigent and practical. These are of Hult et al. (1991), Stan et al. (2003) and Profit (2007). Opportunity Analysis of Burger King SWOT Analysis After the goals have been set by managements, it is their responsibility to analyse the companys current position. And to evaluate the position of the organisation, the management use SWOT analysis. This helps the upper management to plan and compare the internal organisation strengths and weakness with the opportunities and threats which are external to the organisation. This helps the management to fulfil the objective which they have stated in the mission statement. Main core competencies of the company are the main strength of the organisation in which they are best at. It is the strength which the customers values and pays for it and which the competitors lacks of. Companys faces problem when they know their weaknesses and did not work on it, the environmental threats will probably molest the weaknesses of an organisation. And these weaknesses can be overcome if they avail the opportunities which can create value to the firm (Marke, 2006). Burger King Strengths Burger King or BK is a worldwide brand which everyone knows about. It attracts all type of customers such as sex, race, age, income etc. It is one of the largest fast food ham burger restaurants (FFHR) in the world It not only distribute in US, it has many franchises situated around the globe. Weaknesses The main weakness of the BK is that they have operated mainly in US; almost 65% of their operations are in United States. BK has not focused on their brand name very well, it relies mostly on franchisees which are carries their brand name along and any mistake by them will decrease the Goodwill of the organisation. BK has the menu which is unhealthy and it does not appeal to the consumers. They brand their products less likely than their competitors such as McDonalds etc. Opportunity BK should develop a new product which can attract customers in the breakfast as well. BK is called the House of Whopper so they should emphasise their brand focusing mainly on Whopper Virgins. They should expand their business in countries like India, Malaysia, and Kuwait etc. Where there is an emerging market. Threats The main threat of BK is that they have to face a healthy competition with McDonalds, KFCs and other restaurants. BK menu is healthy food which the consumers dont prefer much, they should change their habits to attract customers diverting to healthy food. It may affect the profit margins of BK, when the labour cost rises. Source: (Kurtz, 2008) Environmental Analysis It is critical to indentify the variables which can affect the supply and the demand of the products and services by analyzing the macro environment. Whenever there is a change in the environment or the place where the company is operation, it has an impact on the organisation as well. So there are possible criterias which the analyst has to check which can have the effect on the organisation. And these can be Political, Social, Economical and Technological factors. PEST analysis examines the impact of the factors which can affect the business. If Burger King opens its new Venture in Pakistan, they can first analyse the factors which can affect their business or they think that if it is feasible to open up a chain in Pakistan. Burger King PEST Analyses Political: This includes the regulations imposed by the government in the country where they are operating. This relates to the elections, law of employment, environment laws, war, terrorism, governing body, and its structure. These are the factors which the burger king has to analyse before opening their chain in Pakistan. The political condition of Pakistan is not stable at the moments, there are lots of suicide attacks but they can still open a franchise in the popular city such as Karachi and in those areas where the security is high. Economic: It is the level of spending the local government does, taxation, growth of the country, unemployment, rates such as interest and inflation. Country such as Pakistan is one of the developing countries. This country has seen the growth but the interest rates and the inflation rates has been double in over few years but people living there are more keen to have fast food restaurants and a places like these so that there can be an increase in the economy. Social Factors: Social relates to age, gender race etc. It is the standard of living which the people adopt. Technological Factors: These factors are the inventions, research and development and information systems. In Pakistan, investments in terms of social and technological will increase the competition and requires a lot of investment. BK can invest in salads, and low fat food but again there will be a danger for moving away from its identity. It can be good economic purposes of changing their policy to sell high calorie menus because there are few costs which are attached to it. Investments in terms of technology can give an advantage over its competitors such as McDonalds. They can open up a call centre which can be centralizing where the customers can place their orders online. This will increase speed of the customer services and will cut the staff cut. After analyzing the current situation in Pakistan with the help of macro environmental analysis, we can conclude that opening a chain of Burger King, it will not be difficult for them to make money because there are so many restaurants today who have lock their suppliers and the largest companies which are already operating in Pakistan such as McDonalds have the high bargaining power and are able to bare cost such as advertisement. BK can invest more on the products and technology, they can advertise heavily on their new products so that they can attract more customers towards themselves, (Mowen, 2001). Porter 5 Forces Model Porter 5 forces model deals with factors that is outside the industry that influence the environment of competition. A firm has to know about the industries in which it is operating and should know how to compete in the market. It the forces from the competition can be drive. Competition can be created by the interaction of 5 forces which is the threat of new entrants, the power of suppliers, the power of buyers and the threats of substitute. The threats of new entrants are very high because of the fact that it does not require high investment to open up a small restaurant. But BK can advertise heavily on the advertisement where by the customers can only buy the burgers for them. Burger King appears to be in the list of those industries that have the recognized brand with all their benefits are linked with new customers so that they can attract. Supplier power: for the burgers, the ingredients require are just meat, buns and soft drinks, which can be supplied by any of the supplier and there are other supplies which also provide the services such as restaurants premises including the equipment and staff. Golden state foods started supplying McDonalds but now they are supplying the beef and other products to KFCs and BKs as well. There should always be an upper hand on the supplier by the firm. Burger King has a large number of franchised outlets almost 89%. Since after the increase in franchise for BK, they have the limited control over the franchisees and that is the main reason why there are experiencing problems in removing their supplier again and again, Bk seems to be unhappy with the supplier every time. There is a low buying power in the burger industry. It depends on the customers and their taste to which burger to want to have. There is low switching cost and lots of substitute available so the buyer power has increase. As we all know that there are so many substitutes available, there is lots of restaurant and therefore the threat of substitute is relatively very high. And this is the reason why the fast food restaurant like McDonalds and BK do more branding in order to attract more customers. Competitive Rivalry in the burger restaurant is high because there are so many restaurant but we look for the differentiation, BK promotes its burger as the tastiest burgers because it is flame grill. Differentiation is only weapon in this industry, and those customers who have realized the taste can reduce the competitive rivalry (Kurtz, 2008). Competitors Analysis Analysis of the competitive is very important and useful in the sense that the company should know how their rivals are operating and performing. This evaluation is very critical for the use of strategy formulation. A company has to identify the factors both the external as well as the internal to the organisation which can impact the forces. These factors can affect the companys objective and the goals because on these factors they can change their strategy. When KFC came in to the market, they follow the initiates of Burger King and follow the price cut strategy; it was named as the Big King competitor to the Big Mac. When Burger King came to know about this strategy they responded by: BK lowering the prices and cutting the cost on their standardize menu based on burgers, fries and soft drinks. Revenue and growth for BK are the mixture of their strategy but in the late 1990s, the volume was falling especially in US which cause their market share to decline as well. BK boosts their volume by cutting the prices and behaves accordingly to the competitors. They then use their resources and capabilities to turn into a financially strong company. The strategy used by KFC get an aggressive response from Burger King but the burger market in the world today faces a lot of competition between Burger King, McDonalds and KFCs. Source: (Youngman, 1998) Strategic Analysis For the strategic analysis it is very important to define the industries broadly, there should detailed analysis on the competition through which they can focus on the markets that are drawn narrowly in terms of both the products and geography. In the strategic analysis, the process of industries which has many dimensions is divided into segmentations. In an industry, sub markets can be differentiating through Segmentation. A company can sometimes avoid competition if they change their strategy into the segmentation. Burger King has maintained its sales by selling more Whoppers. They analyse probability at the level of customers individuality. Through Segments, key success factors can be differing. In the restaurant industry such as Burger King and McDonalds, the success of an industry can be analyse by segmenting the customers of the fast food and the luxury restaurant, (Grant, 2005). Conclusion Recommendations When the company have enough resources to utilize to its capability, the company just focus on those products for the customers demand more. After the success in the domestic market, company tries to exploit in the international market. But first they will analyse the factors which can affect them in operating in that country. They have to understand the objective that has been set by the competitors and looking into it they should make their own international strategy. There will be an effect on the market share, if the competitor is a large company, this can be a threat to the company who is entering into the market.

Teatro Campensino :: Mexico Spanish Essays

Teatro Campensino Teatro Campensino can be described as an artistic outreach program with political ramifications, the actors are farm workers that find it necessary to spread their message throughout villages composed primarily of poor, Mexican farm workers. The group performs skits that attack "white-washed Mexicans", the Vietnam War, and racism. In "Los Vendidos", director and writer Luis Valdez tackles issues that have plagued Mexican- American history. In fact, by analyzing his play one can deduce several social stigmas and draw parallels to the actual history through the character skits in the play. Furthermore, in order to analyze this play one must delve into the setting, name, characters, and the social ramifications of their situations in order to fully incorporate the scope that this play affects. The name of the play itself has social and political ramifications, that is it reflects the Mexican situation throughout history. Furthermore, the literal meaning of the title is quite ambivilous, "venderse" means to sellout, to betray, or to give away. This can be applied to how Mexicans are treated by Americans and other Mexicans. For instance, Mexicans have been discriminated against for generations, ever since the Spanish conquest. They have been "repatriated" into Mexico during the 1930s, and they have never received the same political or social programs that Anglo- Americans have, such as schools. However, it has also become evident that Mexicans have discriminated against each other throughout the years for various reasons. One of the most prevalent was the schism in the Mexican community between the "American- born of Mexican Parents†¦", "†¦those born and raised in Mexico†¦", and "†¦the largest group were those born in the United States whose parental line age ran back to the original settlers and the early immigrants of the Southwest." (Morin qtd. in Vargas 305). The Old Mexicans, those that were living in the present day United States were somewhat assimilated and accepted by Anglo- Americans because they were a good source of labor. However, the migratory patterns of Mexican immigrants, legal and illegal, allowed the farm owners greater accessibility to a cheap labor force. In fact, the migrations sent the wage of a farmhand to the basement and the Old Mexicans resented this phenomenon. Another way in which this play explores the social and political history of the Mexican-American is through the analysis of the set. For instance, in the window "Honest Sanchos Used Mexicans" indicates that the stereotypical Mexicans "sold" in the store are accurate representations of all Mexicans.

Comparison Between Two Poems Essay

The two poems, Plug In, Turn On, Look Out and Portrait of a Machine both talks about machines and they are related to our everyday lives. There are quite a few differences and similarities in the two poems, Plug In, Turn On, Look Out and Portrait of a Machine. To start off with, the poem Plug In, Turn On, Look Out is warning everyone about how the machines would take over the world and teaching all of us what we should do usually to prevent them taking over and hurting us. The poem picks out all those horrible facts of machines, but on the other hand, the poem Portrait of a Machine is praising how beautiful and fantastic machines are. Both poems has one voice in the poem, only one person is talking and their intended audience are both the world in general, although, the poem, Plug In, Turn On, Look Out also speaks directly to you whilst you are reading the poem. Both poems have two stanzas, enjambment was used in both and the vocabulary in both poems were carefully chosen, each word stringed together into a phrase would add more detail to the image constructed in our minds. There are also quite a few differences, Plug In, Turn On, Look Out is a free verse, when Portrait of a Machine is a sonnet. In the poem, Plug In, Turn On, Look Out, all three tenses are used, to give the feeling that the machines has already started taking over the world, but it has not ended yet. On the other hand, Portrait of a Machine only uses the present tense throughout the whole poem. For the poem, Plug In, Turn On, Look Out, a lot of techniques were used but for the poem, Portrait of a Machine, not many techniques were used. In Plug In, Turn On, Look Out, personification was used, for example. machines are on the march. It emphasises that the machines are coming to get you, by using the word march. Metaphors were effectively used, for example, it came at me, snarling through its thirty-four rotary teeth and flicking its flexy tail. Those both quotes are used to build up atmosphere and add to the image created in the readers mind. It also exaggerates the terrifying side of machines. Alliteration was used, for example, I turned the telly on tonight and it turned itself off  again and flicking its flexy tail. The repetition of t starting words in I turned the telly on tonight and it turned itself off again makes us think of the ticking sounds when switching on and off the telly, coming from the remote and telly. The repetition of f in flicking its flexy tail is to make us think of flipping noises of tails. The poem was quite imperative as well, having the phrases, Keep your electric lawnmower securely tethered and Cut down supplies of food to your refrigerator. It is ordering you to do it immediately in order for you to stay safe. But for the other poem, Portrait of a Machine, there are only a few techniques used. Sibilant was used; the s sound was exaggerated in hiss. There was also a standard sonnet rhyming scheme to it, abbabba cdcdcd. If you put all the rhyming words from abbabba, it would create the sounds of huge machines at work with rods plunging down. The poet in Plug In, Turn On, Look Out seems to be quite scared about machines taking over the world. But the poet in Portrait of a Machine seems sarcastic and seems to be making fun of the people who uses machines in their daily life. Both poems are written to warn the world that we are replying too much on machines and technology that it is taking over our lives and we are losing ourselves. These two poems have different ways of warning us, Plug In, Turn On, Look Out has a very explicit warning to us, telling us to be careful what they will do, but on the other hand, Portrait of a Machine has a very implicit warning to us, telling us how beautiful machines are, in the eyes of people who are living in the modern society, then reminding us about not to lose ourselves. I had totally different emotions and reactions to the two poems. After reading Plug In, Turn On, Look Out, I was amused and I thought it was very interesting because it seemed to entertain me more than warn me, due to the fact that I know machines will not literally take over the world, on the other hand, Portrait of a Machine made me think, it was very deep that I read it over a few times, before I got the real meaning and purpose of the poem. The effectiveness of Plug In, Turn On, Look Out was not that effective but, for Portrait of a Machine, it had a strong effect and it was so heavy, that I will respond and think about the poem after reading the poem. Bibliography, http://www.oldmonovians.com/text2/allpassverse1962.htm

Literary criticism

Literature represents a language or a people: culture and tradition. But, literature is more important than just a historical or cultural writing. Literature introduces us to new worlds of experience. We learn from books and literature; we enjoy the triumphs and the tragedies of poems, stories, and plays; and we may even grow through our literary journey with books. In conclusion, we may discover meaning in literature by looking at what the author says and how he/she says it. We may interpret the author's message. However we interpret literature, there is still an artistic quality to the works.Literature is important to us because it speaks to us, it is both universal and individual, and in many ways it affects us, for the better. When some people think of the word â€Å"Literature† they think of books like, Walden, Old man and the Sea, Tom Sawyer, Great Expectations, or Moby Dick. These are what some call â€Å"the classics. † While these few books are indeed literatur e do we subconsciously judge other books based on the styling’s of these few? People believe that the true meaning of â€Å"Literature,† is a literary work in which the readers mind is opened to new concepts and ideals.For a writing to be called â€Å"Literature† it doesn’t have to be considered a â€Å"Classic† nor does it need to follow the same construct as these so called â€Å"Classics†. The book, 11/23/63, is much more of a form of â€Å"Literature† than A Tale of Two Cities. Based solely on the fact that in the Stephen King novel, he places the thought of, â€Å"What if? † into your mind.. Whereas, â€Å"A Tale of Two Cities†, depicts the plight of the French peasantry in the years leading up to the revolution, as opposed to opening your mind. While A Tale of Two Cities, shows you what life was like in those times.Stephen King shows you an alternate universe in which there was but one change, and how that one chan ge affects how history takes its course. When the author helps your mind, explore worlds of endless possibility, or sheds light on a new way to perceive things. That is when the author has created a â€Å"True† work of literary merit. The thing about the term, â€Å"Literature†, is that it doesn’t have just one meaning. Literature is comprised of many things, but while Webster definition of â€Å"Literature† is, â€Å"the production of literary work especially as an occupation.† The â€Å"True† meaning is open to interpretation, meaning that one person’s definition of the word may be completely different than another person’s definition. This is both the great and horrid thing about the term. When scholars classify writing as literature, they often consider it a book or writing that has stood the test of time and despite its age it has surpassed many other great works through history by receiving merit from the scholars, based on their description of the word, influential.You may agree that it should be considered a piece of â€Å"Literature†, if it has done this, and you would be right, but what if it was a great piece of literary art that didn’t become a best seller? And thus was cast into the abyss to be forgotten until stumbled across one day by a mind ready to take in what the author wanted to say. Would you consider it â€Å"Literature? † Or would you just leave it in the abyss because it never became a best seller? Take Moby Dick for example, it is considered to be one of the Great American Novels and a treasure of world literature. However, it never received enough credit to title it a â€Å"Best seller.† One literary work, also helps define my idea of the word Literature, is The Hobbit by J. R. R Tolkien. The reason I consider this a piece of â€Å"Literature† is because of the amount of imagery Tolkien uses to bring his world to life in the imagination of the r eader. In this excerpt from that book, he describes every thought of the characters and his use of imagery helps create the scene in the mind of the reader. â€Å"The dark came into the room from the little window that opened in the side of The Hill; the firelight flickered-it was April-and still they played on, while the shadow of Gandalf’s beard wagged against the wall.The dark filled all the room, and the fire died down, and the shadows were lost, and still they played on. And suddenly first one and then another began to sing as they played, deep-throated singing of the dwarves in the deep places of their ancient homes; and this is like a fragment of their song, if it can be like their song without their music. † (The Hobbit, Page 15) Tolkien’s powerful use of imagery in that passage painted a clear picture of what happens while the dwarves sing. However, Splatterpunk also uses powerful imagery to paint pictures.The key difference between the imagery used Spl atterpunk and the imagery used in The Hobbit, is how the imagery is used. In the novel, The Cipher, which combined intensely poetic language and lavish grotesqueries, the author, uses imagery to place the pictures into the mind of the reader using powerful and descriptive words. As opposed to Tolkien, who draws upon the reader’s imagination with basic descriptions to help create a sketch in his mind. Now, many would not consider this a form of â€Å"Literature† due to the lack of personal connection between the story and the reader.However, I consider this book, and even this passage alone, to be a form of â€Å"Literature† solely because it opens my mind to a new world full of adventure and intrigue, while keeping the reader glued to the book during the time he reads. Imagery is a powerful tool for both the author and the reader, for if the author isn’t clear with his use of imagery it breaks the reader’s attention and allows him to be lost within the story, and not in a good way. Tolkien also uses diction to place an image into the readers mind, and he does this in such a way the reader begins to sing the song in his own head.Far over the misty mountains cold To dungeons deep and caverns old We must away, ere break of day, To claim our long-forgotten gold. Goblets they carved there for themselves And harps of gold; where no man delves There lay they long, and many a song Was sung unheard by men or elves. The pines were roaring on the height, The winds were moaning in the night. The fire was red, it flaming spread; The trees like torches blazed with light (The Hobbit, Page 16) Literature is important to us because it speaks to us, it is both universal and individual, and in many ways it affects us, for the better.In ways we sometimes may never understand. Ultimately, we may discover meaning in literature by looking at what the author says and how he/she says it. We may interpret the author's message in one way, while someone else finds the message a different way. In this way we see how the definition of â€Å"Literature,† is subjective to both the readers own interpretation, and the overall meaning of the work. Because even when it is ugly, literature is beautiful. Sources Cited Tolkien, John R. R. The Hobbit. N. p. : George Allen & Unwin, 1937. 15. Web.