Supply Chain Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Supply Chain Managment - Essay Example For instance, a small number of businesses were understood, less managed, and the outcomes were supply chains that were ineffective and disjointed. Supply chain management is the management of activities in the supply chain for purposes of maximizing the value of customers and achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore, supply chain companies should make efforts of developing and running supply chains in ways that are efficient and effective. Supply chain often covers a wide area ranging from development of products, logistics, sourcing and production. In addition, information systems are vital in coordinating supply chain activities. Companies or firms engaging in supply chain are connected via information and physical flows. In the physical flow, we have goods and materials transformation, movement, and storage. Through information flows, partners in the supply chain have the capability of coordinating their long-term business plans in controlling the up and down flow of material and goods in the supply chain (â€Å"What Is Supply Chain Management†). Time Context From the annual report written by the President of Japan X Ltd Company, Mr. Suzuki, the company’s problem started when it recorded a net loss of ten million yen(10m Yen) and an operating profit of four thousand million Yen (4,000M Yen). The main reason for the recorded loss was the company’s inability to react immediately to the inadequate market for their semiconductors, the main product of the company (Ostring 109). View Point Jill’s viewpoint over the company is that the company’s culture is different from the culture in Europe and the United States. This is expressed through her reactions to experiences within Japan X. She for instance noted that observation of sitting arrangement was different in the two cultures. Similarly, her experiences were often odd. When they arrived at the company for a meeting, Jill wished that her team, as she had learnt from research, were aware of sitting arrangement in the meeting. Her research must have been instigated by the opinion that Japan and her country had different cultures. Jill was the head of an audit team that was on a mission from the United States to Japan. As the head of the team, Jill’s responsibilities included guiding the audit team and being the team’s representative. As part of the team, she was also an auditor to the host company. Central Problem The core problem in the case is review of the question, ‘how different are the cultural environments in the United States’ and in Japanese corporate sectors?’ This is because the trip is centered on the Japanese culture rather that the functions of the audit team. Jill was for instance puzzled as they approached the company’s gate. She doubted her composure as she approached her host environment that she expected to be different from her native environment. A friend had for instance told he r that women in this new environment faced many problems in their workplaces. Cultural difference is also illustrated in Jill’s initial encounter in the company. She does a seemingly odd thing when she smiled at ‘office ladies’. The women’s response, bursting into giggles, indicated that Jill’s action was not a common practice in the environment. Cultural difference is similarly observed through Jill’s interpretation of their sitting arrangeme