Supply Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Supply Management - Essay Example Further, tendering is an intense process where the government advertises the specific areas that would require procuring. Through bidding, the lowest bidder receives the contract to do supplying for a specified period of time. Therefore, all supplies receive equal treatment in terms of information access, enquiries on specifications, and lastly the responding time to participate in the bidding. However, the winner of the bid also receives further scrutiny to determine whether they are the responsible and responsive lowest bidder that submitted the bid. They have to prove that they are responsive in relation to effective answering to the questions that the issues of the bid may have. In addition, their responsive nature also applies in their ability to provide samples in good time as per the request of the bid issuer. On the other hand, the winning supplier also becomes responsible because of passing the integrity and desirable background test (UN HABITAT, 2003). In contrast, the priv ate sector operates differently as it uses sample views, interviews with potential suppliers, physical visits to the private site, and using their reference and their credit review. On the contrary, the private contract investigative agencies where the provision of information is on a confidential basis. In the public sector procurement, the process becomes flawed if the responses received are not clear enough meaning that there none qualifies to receive the tenders on offer .sequentially, the awarding of tenders experiences delay and may start all again till the suppliers comply with the set requirements. This translates to time wastage hence making the suppliers despair and losing trust in the process. In essence, this serves as one of the outcomes of an ineffective supply and management process by creating sour relations between the two parties. In addition, there exists a substantial difference between the procurement departments in both the public and private sectors in referen ce to the work force and performance. The latter invests in the workforce by ensuring that there exists competence in task execution, which may not be the situation for the former. For the public sector, it is vital for them to cut on costs rather than accessing quality, which is quite different from the private sectors view. Therefore, the supplier satisfaction in the private sector deems fit as compared to that of the government purchasing and supplies management. Levels of buyer and seller relationships Over the years, buyer and supplier relationship has been on a transformative path to make transactions between relative easy and effective. Ideally, the relationship between the two had an inclination on reactive and mechanized procurement, which later changed to proactive purchasing. In essence, the reactive form of purchasing implied that one party’s gain would be the others loss. Later, the transformation process brought partnership between the two where there would be e qual benefits. Subsequently, there are three levels of buyer and seller relationships that are the adversarial, barometric and complementary relationships. Ideally, the adversarial relationship has the buyer benefiting more than the seller as they tend to push for more discounts at the peril of supplier (Moser, 2006). Therefore, the focus is solely on accessing lower cost for the buyers desired items of choice hence making

The Tiebout Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Tiebout Model - Essay Example The main finding included the fact that inter-jurisdictional competition is a vital element of the mechanism. The key players in Tiebout’s model are individual citizens and governments. business firms are not an explicit part of the model (Brueckner 2004, p 138). It was meant to be applied to local governments and to a lesser degree, to state governments. The model assumes citizens have full knowledge of government revenue and expenditure packages, that there are a large number of communities among which individuals can choose to live, and that people will opt for the community that best satisfies their preferences. Moreover, the model assumes that government services exhibit no spillover effects (Billings 2008, p 45). Tiebout’s model made three additional assumptions; one, that jobs impose no locational constraint on individuals; two, that a community’s optimal size, meaning the size for which the average cost of producing a particular packages of public service s is minimized, can be determined; and three, that each community seeks to attain its optimal size (Feiock 2004, p. 76). The model envisions citizens sorting themselves out among available communities so that demands for government services within any particular community would become homogenous. In theory, Tiebout concluded that to the extent these rather restrictive assumptions are met, good and services provided by the local public sector will exhibit both allocative efficiency (the right amounts of the various good and services are produced ) and productive efficiency (they are produced at least cost) (Rivkin 2001, p. 206). In Tiebout’s model, community taxes would be benefit taxes, or proportional to the benefits citizens receive form public services, rather than taxes based on the ability to pay. Tiebout’s model implies that any redistribution of income is taken care of by the federal government (Rivkin 2001, p. 207). Despite all the pros of the Tiebout model, va rious changes in the finance systems of local governments over the last three decades, such as fiscal centralization, work against the establishment of Tiebout effects. This uniformity is undesirable and future reforms should target to encourage a greater diversity of service provision. Competition among local governments, cities and municipalities, as depicted in Tiebout’s model, most at times serve to improve efficiency and delivery of service and goods to the citizens. Based on Tiebout’s model, where there is competition, citizens will come together to take care of all types of demands for public goods and service (Widmer & Zweifel 2008, p. 5). Moreover, individuals will relocate to communities that best meets their demand for public goods and services and the productivity is improved and more efficient since shady and/ ineffective providers of public services and goods will not get any clients. Tiebout model has all the benefits of a competitive market (Feiock 2004 , p. 97). According to Tiebout, it is clear that decentralization of provision of public goods and services results in a positive influence on performance. The rationale is that citizens will procure from the providers who give them the best quotient between public service and tax paid. In a study on fiscal equalization, where disparities among local

Facebook and Privacy Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Facebook and Privacy Issues - Essay Example While social networking has its advantages, it is also important to note that, there are drawbacks related to the use of social media platforms. This is because, social networking involves sharing of information between two or more people, and in some occasions, the information shared can reach wrong hands. This in essence, creates problems concerning privacy issues since users may want some of the information they share through the social media to remain private. In this regard, a leading social media site like Facebook is embattling problems related to privacy issues for its users. This paper examines privacy issues as one of the drawbacks for Facebook considered the leading social media platform globally.Prior to the advent of digital communications, sharing of information between persons or institutions in the society was rather cumbersome. This is because in order to interact with other people, this had to be done physically and involved moving from one point to another point. I n addition, dissemination of information was slow and mails had to be delivered physically to their destinations. The only means of a quicker communication network in the 19th and early 20th century was through the telephone or telegram. But these communication tools were the preserve of those with higher social standing. The rest of the society was left to rely on one-on-one communication or postal mails. While it was slow to interact with other people or disseminate information in this era, issues related to privacy were not a concern for people.

War and the media (focusing on the First Gulf War) Essay

War and the media (focusing on the First Gulf War) - Essay Example It is believed that although the main cause of the war was a very ancient conflict of Persians and Arabs. At that time and moment there was a great social and revolutionary change that was occurring in Iran. There was a whole lot of establishment of religious leadership. The reforms that were occurring in Iran were of quite a serious nature. The reforms were both social and political. Saddam Hussein judged the fact that this conflict would put Iran in a weaker position and hence make it easier for the Iraqi soldiers to get hold of the situation and thus invade Iran. The master mind behind this war was Saddam Hussein who believed, that if they attacked the Iranian at this point and time of conflict and turmoil, they will not be able to counter attack and hence face quite a lot of issues with their own security. He considered as the best time for the Iraqis to take over and establish their own supremacy over the whole area. They believed this as the most opportune moment. There was als o a fear of loss of power that had driven Saddam Hussein to consider the attacks. He believed that the Shiite uprising in Iran can ultimately affect the people living in Iraq too. Iraq has a dominant Shiite population and hence he feared that the Shiite Iraqis might feel motivated and rise against the Sunni establishment. It was this fear and the will to become the leader in the region that Saddam Hussein leapt into war. The reason that Saddam Hussein also felt fearless and jumped into war was that they had the support of Americans as well. Iran was undergoing a complete religious transformation and they had always considered Americans as the great Satan. They had declared openly their anti US feelings. This was what fueled the US and they sided with Iraq in this war to terrorize Iran and take control of it. Also, after the First World War , there was a demarcation that was made between the countries. The continued border disputes within both the countries also fueled the incident. If we consider the role of media, media has always been in the hands of those who are in power. In this case it was America who was quite at much stake. They had freshly lost a battle in Vietnam, which despite being a prolonged war turned out to be a gift of deaths alone for the Americans. It was highly important for them that they get a good name and reputation for themselves. Therefore, in this case they favored the Iraqi. The Iranians were very openly against the Americans and therefore, to be able to have their own say and hold in the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf they sided with Iraqis. Iraqis had the worst fear in the form of their own Shiite population who might rise up against them as they attacked the Iranians, whose majority population was Shiite. This was what made the war more of name saving game for the Americans. They very publicly showed their support for the Iraqis and provided them with help and guidance so as to be able to overcome Iran. The first two years of t he war proved to be difficult for Iran as they had a very weak army , and which had been further weakened by the constant uprising that was occurring in their state. They could do little to protect themselves, with the continuous infiltrations of the Mullahs in the army. Once they had been able to regain a bit of their control over the army their attack had turn to offensive instead of a defensive one. America just to prove that they were

Basel Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Basel - Assignment Example Basel is unique and the greatest cities in Europe because of its exclusive culture and geographical location making it different from German and France cities (Bouvier, Craig, and Gossman 66). Humanism has to do with what someone believes in, for example, if a person is a Christian, his or her moral values are defined by Christianity. Reformation took place in Basel after an iconoclastic riot. The riot took place on the eve of Ash Wednesday 1529 though the transition of Basel was less violent. It all began with the need for balance between Catholics and evangelicals in 1520s. However, in 1529, it emerged that a significant percentage of Baslers were Evangelical, and so this was the beginning of iconoclastic riot (Grace). Basel City was a destination for refugees and immigrants from Northern Italy and France. The immigrants were traders and operators of business related activities such as dyeing, spinning, and weaving. Employment was high due to the growth of the mentioned business activities. The developers of the said businesses employed workers within the city. As such, this saw the development of Basel city in 16th century. On the other hand, Mayor Wettstein played an important role in the neutrality of the Swiss neutrality. The Mayor saw the need for negotiation with the German Empire during the Swiss Confederation in 1948. He successfully agreed with the Germans to recognize Swiss as a sovereign state. Bitterness arose among the country people of the region of Basel and the citizens. Their differences led to war between the peasants and the townsmen in Liesthal. As a result of the fight, the canton was divided based on the Act passed by the Helvetic Confederation. The results of the division were Basel town and Basel-Country. Yes, there was close collaboration between Piano and Beyeler. It is their close relationship that led to the design of the most famous museums in the world

ESSAY PROMPT Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

PROMPT - Essay Example If we talk about Hamlet, we can’t but mention that suicide represents a continuous theme in the tragedy. During the play Hamlet considers suicide many times, his thinking about the life and its essence, about the troubles of real life and the fascination of unconsciousness is famous all over the world as remains unique. The given paper will discuss two famous soliloquies of Hamlet, in which he is talking about death and prove that Hamlet does not really want and was going to die. Hamlet is naive and passionate, not suicidal. Evidence: Soliloquy in Act I When we get acquainted with Hamlet, his first soliloquy in Act I reveals his nature. We see a passionate and vulnerable guy who is extremely astounded by his father’s death. He is almost a child and can’t help crying and wishing to die to be with his beloved father. It is very difficult to lose parents, especially when you are still young. Moreover, Hamlet has one more reason to be so upset: his beloved mother doe s not share his sorrow. Instead she is celebrating her wedding with Hamlet’s uncle Claudius. A young person, who still considers love to be a sacred thing is shocked with such an indifference. The pain is stronger because he knows what love is himself – and we remember about Hamlet’s feeling to Ophelia. Hamlet knows what love is, thus he is extremely astounded by the events as he considered his father’s marriage to be happy. ... The father is dead and the mother is married to another man, thus she does not share the son’s sorrow about the death of his father. These thoughts of suicide are not true, they are the results of the young guy’s despair. Hamlet’s soul is beautiful and he was sure that the souls of other people, especially his own mother’s soul was also pure and beautiful. But now he calls his mother: â€Å"an unweeded garden that grows to seed.† (1.2.139). He considered his mother to be sacred but suddenly became a witness of her fall. He is full of negative emotions, thus he thinks about death like many other people in such state. Hamlet is also religious. He perfectly understands that death is a sin, thus he should not even think about it. He feels bad but would never commit suicide at that moment as he believes in â€Å"Everlasting† (1.2.135). In the Act 1 Hamlet still believes that the God would save him and would not let him die. Here we see Hamlet as s till young, naive and sentimental creature who cries about the love between his parents, which he considered to be true, but now he has to change his mind because of the mother’s very fast marriage. Having high moral principles and believing in God, Hamlet suffers recollecting his mother’s â€Å"unrighteous tears† (1.2.159) caused by the father’s death, the tears, which he considered to be true. â€Å"To be or not to be† does not mean â€Å"to live or not to live†. Evidence: Soliloquy in Act III In the Act 3 we already see Hamlet from another side and this makes us understand that everything he said and was thinking about in Act 1 was just childish melancholy. Hamlet also understands this and this is what his most famous soliloquy is focused on. After his conversation with the ghost he suddenly

Missed Opportunities Essay Example for Free

Missed Opportunities Essay Located between East Asia, Southeast Asia and the vast Pacific Ocean lies an archipelago of 7,107 islands collectively called as the Philippines. Due to its strategic location as the Pacific’s Gateway to Asia, as well as its abundant natural resources, the Philippines had become one of the most prized possessions of the superpowers. This archipelagic nation had been subjected to colonization under Spain, Japan, and the United States. In July 4, 1946, independence was finally granted to the Philippines by the United States. Just like many newly-independent states, it was hard for the country to undergo the process of decolonization. But despite the rough road for development and self-government, the Philippines had the best promises of economic prosperity back then. Its economic indicators were among the best in the region, just following behind Japan. It was predicted to be one of Asia’s emerging superpowers. Apparently, it seems that the Philippines fell short of these expectations. The economy plummeted, especially under the authoritarian regime of the infamous dictator, Ferdinand Marcos. This paper will take a look at the political and economic conditions of the Philippines under the leadership of Ferdinand Marcos from 1965-1986. It will strive to find explanations as to why unlike the similarly strong, authoritarian, and strict governments of Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, and Deng Xiaoping of China which brought prosperity to their respective countries – Ferdinand Marcos’s government failed, and even brought the Philippine economy into its darkest times. Background Ferdinand Edralin Marcos was a revolutionary man, a respectable figure in Philippine politics. He was the son of a teacher and a politician, and since his early years, his potential as a great leader was seen. The most remarkable story preceding his political career was when he was accused of killing his father’s political rival. He successfully petitioned the Philippine Supreme Court to release him on bail, thus allowing him to finish a Bachelor’s Degree in Law in the University of the Philippines. He eventually passed the board exam in flying colors. But shortly after this victory, the verdict has arrived, and he was guilty of murder, which sentenced him to ten years in prison. With his brilliance and wit, he prepared his own appeal and had his case defended only by him. On his own, he was able to cleanse himself of the charges accused of him. He was freed, and news of the brilliance and intelligence of this young man was known and celebrated throughout the country (Steinberg, 2007). For 6 years, Marcos served in the Philippine Army during World War 2. After the war, Marcos had his political career started, while working as an assistant to the former Philippine President Manuel Roxas. Shortly after, he was elected as a congressman in his hometown province of Ilocos. Before running in the national elections, he made a wise move by marrying a very beautiful and charming wife, a former beauty pageant queen by the name of Imelda Romualdez. During campaign period, they were like stars in a romance movie – a couple of wit and beauty, and it proved to be effective in catching the hearts of the Filipino people. This unique appeal, of providing a mother-father appeal to the country was successful – it eventually gave Marcos a seat in the Senate, and later on, the coveted Presidential Seat in 1965 (Steinberg, 2007). In the early years of the Marcos love team, the couple (Imelda, even though she was not an elected politician, was very dominant in all areas of Philippine politics) pushed for projects such as infrastructure and food production. Marcos did not fall short of the expectations of the people. He was successful in improving the country’s situation, especially its economy. In fact, GDP growth increased from 5. 1% in the 1960s to more than 60% in the 1970s. Levels of investment increased, and export growth reached 8% in the 1970s from 2. 2% in the 1960’s. The Philippines also became a leader in rice production during the Green Revolution, with food production per capita growing to more than 20%, allowing the country to be self-sufficient in rice (Jayasuriya, 1986). These statistics partly came from the first presidential term of Marcos. In 1969, he won a second term, thanks to the aforementioned achievements. Growth continued until the first few years of his second term. However, many fundamental problems gradually appeared in the beautiful scenario of the growing Philippine economy. In the South, insurgency among the Separatist Muslim groups was emerging; there were many demonstrations against the government’s support for the US policies in the Vietnam War, as well as the presence of their military bases in the country; and the economy was weakening, painting a picture of dissatisfaction among the Filipino People (Steinberg, 2007). Marcos took advantage of this unfavorable political and social climate of the country. Under the Constitution, a person can only hold on to the Presidential Seat for a maximum of two terms (Jayasuriya, 1986). Clearly, time was running out for Marcos, and so in 1972, with the excuse of stabilizing the country, he declared Martial Law and tightened his grip on to power and wealth through authoritarian rule. Another part of the statistics mentioned before is attributed to the early years of the Martial Law. Martial Law in fact, was lauded by international entities, including the World Bank, stating that â€Å"recent developments offer an opportunity for a more serious attack on the very difficult social and economic problems presently confronting the Philippines† (Boyce, 1993). Under Martial Law, however, there was no free press, key opposition figures were jailed, numerous human rights violations were committed, a curfew and many other restrictions were imposed among the population, and everything the dictator said was a decree. Indeed, power was solely under the hands of the Marcoses and their allies (Steinberg, 2007). However, despite this strict rule, the Philippine Economy was continuing to deteriorate. And by the early 80s, there was crisis and uncertainty in the country’s politics and economy. It was a combination of internal and external factors – there was world recession caused by the second oil shock in 1979, oil imports were becoming more expensive while export prices were falling, and there was a steep increase in the interest rates of foreign borrowings, where the Philippines was heavily dependent on (Bresnan, 1986). He eventually lifted Martial Law in 1981, but called for an election which he eventually won again. Even so, the problems faced by the country were still the same, and Marcos himself started suffering from complications. He acquired an illness by the name of lupus erythematosus, which made required him to undergo dialysis and have his kidneys replaced. His credibility as a leader was further questioned as he appeared to be dying. It was indeed a hard time for the Philippines. All these events climaxed when Benigno Aquino, opposition leader and greatest rival and critic of the Marcos government, was assassinated on August 21, 1983. It was the ultimate event that would trigger and stimulate the urge of the people to let Marcos step down. For the years to come, a sentiment of disgust against the Marcos regime grew. To appease the people, a snap election took place, and the candidates for presidency were Beningno Aquino’s wife, Corazon Aquino, and Mr. Marcos himself. The election appeared to have no credibility, as both parties claimed that they won, and both of them had sworn as President at the same time in different locations. Most people however, doubted the victory of the dying dictator, they believe that Mr. Marcos has cheated his way on to power this time. The people were simply tired of the injustices under the Marcos regime, as well as his greed and tight grip to power. In February 22 1986, hundreds of thousands of people wearing yellow peacefully gathered on Metropolitan Manila’s most important highway, EDSA (Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue). It was a prayerful demonstration urging Marcos to step down and leave the Palace. Eventually, after four days of tireless demonstrations, Marcos flees and flies to Hawaii for exile (Weir, accessed 2008). The rest was history. Corazon Aquino became the first female Filipino President, and EDSA Revolution inspired other nations, such as Germany during the Collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, to start their own peaceful revolutions.