Business environment report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Business environment report - Essay Example The oil and gas industry, established after the discovery oil pits near early civilisations and subsequent utilisation of the liquid, is characterised by numerous petroleum products that are because of purification processes accorded the crude oil. Petroleum is a crucial element to the economy with numerous applications across all industries, and it is, therefore, critical to maintain the supply to drive the global economy. Apart from driving the global economy, the industry provides employment chances to many workers around the world. BP plc is a major player in the oil and gas industry and is ranked fifth by market capitalisation as well as revenues. Owing to the significance of this company in the society, it is serves as a prime subject of evaluation based on performance in view various environmental factors. While focusing on environmental scanning, this paper seeks to explore the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors that influence BP†™s performance. However, this paper overlooks the physical infrastructure and corporate organisation with regard to governance since these are internal aspects influenced by the institution’s service mandate. ... Governments exercise their regulatory powers in the oil and gas industry through trading policies that seek are geared to ensure sustainability of the much-depended commodity. The recent oil spill at the Gulf of Mexico involving BP asserts the role of political organs in organisations. Following this incidence, President Obama visited the site and offered to increase the work force in efforts to clean up the spill while calling for stronger oversight to avoid such incidences. Evidently, BP has been under enormous scrutiny following the incidence that caused rifts among entities calling for harsh penalties against the company and those assisting in the clean-up exercise (Kapucu 2011, p.23). It lies within the government’s responsibility to ensure that environmental accidents are avoided or responded to promptly. Similarly, the oil industry is often subject to political stability where prices fluctuate owing to harsh economic environments created. Political instability and tensi on affects the cost of production by encouraging hoarding, which creates artificial crisis in the sector. Moreover, diplomatic relations play a critical role in fostering international trade and expansion of multinational corporations. BP is placed in a unique platform that is supported by favourable political structures, which encourage foreign investment and understand the benefits realised by the endeavour. With its headquarters in the United Kingdom, compliance to the European Union’s regulation policies with regard to fuel components is key to BP’s operations. Economic Notably, prevailing economic factors play a major role in influencing the national and international economy. For this reason, it is

Strategy management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategy management - Essay Example The company is leading independent oil company in Africa and they have increased the penetration of their operation in the continent by exploring new oil basins in Ghana. Average daily production capacity of the group is 78,300 barrels of oil. Production capacity of Tullow Oil plc has increased by 35% over the last one year while at the same time the company has achieved a profit after tax of $689 million in the year 2011 (Tullow Oil plc, 2013). Industry experts have pointed out that completion of $2.9 billion farm down in Uganda has helped Tullow Oil plc to achieve financial flexibility and inorganic growth. Industry Analysis The study will try to analyze the oil and gas sector of UK in order to analyze the business environment in which Tullow Oil plc is operating. Tullow group is basically a British firm hence it will be feasible to analyze the oil and gas industry dynamics of UK. ... large players who have achieved high degree of vertical integration in the field of oil exploration, oil refining, crude oil production, transportation and marketing. Buyer- seller relationship in the oil and gas industry of the country is flexible because a seller can act as buyer in particular stage of the transaction. There is a complex buyer seller relationship which decreases the buyer power significantly. There are two types of buyers such as individual buyer and institutional buyer in the oil and gas industry of UK. Generally institutional buyers such as chemical companies and independent retailers make large purchases from oil and gas companies hence loosing such a client would impact negatively on the revenue of big companies. Presence of buyers who make large purchases has forced oil and gas companies to customize product offering. Price of undifferentiated product portfolio such as crude oil and gas is dependent on the supply and demand equation created by mercantile excha nge of London, New York and Dubai, which has further decreased the buyer power. Overall the buyer power is assessed as moderate. Supplier Power Companies like Smith International, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Halliburton are major suppliers for large oil and gas companies in United Kingdom. Generally oil companies need technical supports such as polycrystalline diamond compact bits, measurement while drilling from suppliers in order to continue the operation (Market Line, 2012b). Supplier power is also dependent on demand and supply equation of the industry hence overall supplier power is assessed as moderate. New Entrants It is very difficult to analyze the threat of new entrant in the industry because there is a possibility that a company can work in one or more section of the value

Energy Sources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Energy Sources - Essay Example Surprisingly enough, the number of supporters of this source of energy was still high among the American participants of the McRumours forum that discussed the pros/cons of the nuclear energy use a few days after the Fukushima disaster.Apart from financial benefits, it is often said that nuclear power is environmentally friendly. For example, Steven Kerekesfrom the U.S. Nuclear Energy Institute believes that nuclear power generation plays a prominent role in the reduction of carbon emissions around the world. However, the arguments in favor of the nuclear energy use seem lame if one considers the arguments against it.The financial benefits are evidently outweighed by health risks associated with dealing with nuclear power waste and meltdown. While a generation of power seems relatively clean if compared to fossil fuels, the by-products need to be stored for hundreds of years in secluded facilities, some of which are situated â€Å"deep inside the mountains†. Given the fact tha t high-level radioactive waste has to be kept for hundreds of thousands of years till it is recognized safe to be released into the environment, opponents of nuclear waste rightfully contend that in reality there does not exist a place in the world which is truly safe. Indeed, as Jim Riccio, Nuclear Energy Campaign Director for Greenpeace, says â€Å"nothing you put the waste in will last longer than the waste itself, so burying it basically acquiesces to the fact that it will eventually leak†¦.just like every other radioactive dump site.†... participants of the McRumours forum that discussed the pros/cons of the nuclear energy use a few days after the Fukushima disaster (â€Å"McRumors Forum†, 2011, [online]).Apart from financial benefits, it is often said that nuclear power is environmentally friendly. For example, Steven Kerekesfrom the U.S. Nuclear Energy Institute believes that nuclear power generation plays a prominent role in reduction of carbon emissions around the world. It does not affect the climate, therefore it is quite clean and safe, Kerekes said in his interview to Earth Techling back in 2010 (DeFreitas, 2010, [online]). However, the arguments in favor of the nuclear energy use seem lame if one considers the arguments against it.The financial benefits are evidently outweighed by health risks associated with dealing with nuclear power waste and meltdown. While generation of power seems relatively clean if compared to fossil fuels, the byproducts need to be stored for hundreds of years in secluded fac ilities, some of which are situated â€Å"deep inside the mountains† (â€Å"Nuclear Power: Risks and Rewards†, 2012, [online]). Given the fact that high-level radioactive waste has to be kept for hundreds of thousands of years till it is recognized safe to be released into the environment, opponents of nuclear waste rightfully contend that in reality there does not exist a place in the world which is truly safe. Indeed, as Jim Riccio, Nuclear Energy Campaign Director for Greenpeace, says â€Å"nothing you put the waste in will last longer than the waste itself, so burying it basically acquiesces to the fact that it will eventually leak†¦.just like every other radioactive dump site.† (DeFreitas, 2010, [online]). Apart from this, the aftermaths of nuclear accidents that occasionally happen throughout

Elizabethan society Essay Example for Free

Elizabethan society Essay At the end of the novel there can be seen to be a change of attitude of society towards Grenouille. Due to his amazing gift, Grenouille is able to create a scent that powerfully manipulates human emotion through preserving the aroma of the 25 virgin girls. At Grenouilles execution he reveals this scent and the whole town is overwhelmed by emotion. It is at this point in time that the townsfolk admire Grenouilles gift and because of their state of delirium, disregard Grenouilles crimes. It is here when Grenouille can be seen to be accepted into society. However, regardless of this Grenouille still perceives himself as an outsider. Grenouille believes that he is not loved for himself but for the perfume he created, he states; I have always found gratification in hatred, in hating and being hated, not love. He then decides to return to Paris upon finding that the satisfaction that he initially felt has transformed itself into self-hatred and disgust. In comparison to Othello the novel Perfume can be seen to be both similar and different in their representations of the Outsider. Like Grenouille, Othello is seen as an outsider because of his background. He is outcaste because of his race and his differing values due to past experiences. Grenouille can be seen to reflect this idea, as he is an outsider initially because of his background that challenges the norm of society at the time the novel was set. Another similarity that can be made between these two texts is that the perception of the outsider is perceived from society and also from within the outsider itself. Othello, even though quite underestimating at times, believes that he is inferior to the Venetians, he states; Happily for I am black and do not possess the soft parts of conversation chamberers have. Grenouille also perceives himself as an outsider and is aware of the unwelcoming presence he bestows upon others. The fact that Grenouille devotes his life to creating a scent that will make him accepted and valued in society shows how he is aware if this. Another likeness between Othello and Grenouille is that both characters share a differing attitude to women that makes them outsiders in society. They are both somewhat oblivious to women as a sexual commodity, or do not show the affiliation to what would be expected of them. Othello shows an unusually lack of affection or infatuation towards his wife Desdemona. Othello has just been married to a young, and beautiful woman but does not seem to be besotted with her at all. This can be compared to Grenouilles differing attitude to women. Although Grenouille does not have a rightful relationship towards the women he comes across, he is still obsessed with them, unlike Othello. The way Grenouille expresses this obsession or feeling, however, is still different to what would be expected of most adolescent men. Grenouille is not attracted physically to the women but is enthralled by them because of their scent. Grenouille can also be compared to Iago in the play Othello, as both are dismissive towards the values and ideologies of their context. Loyalty, love, reputation and honesty were all values of great importance in Elizabethan society. Iagos actions, however, derive from hate, vengeance and deceit. Yet Iago is still considered an insider in Venice and only chooses to disregard the values of society. Grenouille on the other hand is completely isolated from society and struggles for any kind of acceptance. His brutal actions that go against the values of 18th century France may be partially influenced by the fact that he was not introduced to the morals of society in the first place, due to this isolation. Grenouille, having seen no human affection or experienced any of the values we inherit from human interaction such as love and compassion, find it difficult to distinguish right from wrong in his actions. Another text that has enhanced my understanding of how the concept of the outsider can be portrayed is the short film The Story of Bubbleboy. The film was produced in 2006 for the annual Australian tropfest short film festival. It was directed by Sean Ashcroft, produced by Kristy Fransen and stars Andrew Supanz. The Story of Bubbleboy is a film about a man named Bubbleboy who is trapped in the past and redeemed by the future. Bubbleboy is a sad outsider who lives alone due to a fanatic phobia of pointed and sharp objects. He is so afraid that he results to wrapping everything, including himself, in bubble-wrap. He never ventures from his house because the outside world is too terrifying and he cannot comprehend his fears. The film tells the story of his self-imposed exile from the world and how one day, driven by dwindling supplies he ventures out. Bubbleboy, while growing more confident as his adventure draws to an end, is ironically stabbed in an ally way. However, having been stripped from his protective bubbles in his last moments, Bubbleboy finds salvation and feels connected with the world. Because of Bubbleboys fear and self imposed isolation, he is regarded as an outsider by society. He completely avoids human contact and is scorned by the community. Bubbleboy longs for belonging but cannot comprehend his fears. A particular scene in the novel that conveys this idea is the beginning segment where we are introduced to Bubbleboys way of life and how it differs greatly from that of society. Here, filming techniques are used to show that Bubbleboy is an outsider. A flashing mirage of everyday pointy items is shown while a narrator explains Bubbleboys situation. There is then a long shot of Bubbleboy wrapped from head to toe in bubble-wrap huddling in a corner of his home. This initiates the idea that he is definitely an outsider and is uncomfortable with his surroundings. Close-ups are used to show the trepidation on Bubbleboys face to emphasize this point. A panning shot is then used to show how every household item has been covered in bubble-wrap, emphasizing the intensity of the problem. A birds eye view is also used here of Bubbleboy moving uncomfortably through his home; this suggests that he is a victim and is clearly suffering from his phobia. To show how Bubbleboys fears cause him to be perceived as an outsider by the community is the use of dramatic contrast between the outside world and his own. A view from the inside of the house looking out into the street brings a striking contrast of lively colors. When this is compared to the insides of Bubbleboys house, which is mostly colored in grays, the fact that he is an outsider is emphasized. Two young girls ride past the house and stop mocking Bubbleboys strange appearance from the window. Bubble boy then shuts his curtain and disappears. The use of the window here also symbolizes the physical barrier between himself and society. Contrast is used in a further scene in the film when illustrating the differences of Bubbleboys lifestyle to that of people his own age. Here, Bubbleboy is seen looking longingly into the window of a house where a lively and entertaining dinner party is taking place. A camera angle is used to show how Bubbleboy is looking up into the scene creating a sense of his inferiority and isolation. There are then a series of flashing images back and forth between the vibrant and colorful party life, with Bubbleboys lonesome isolation, again reinforcing this idea. When Bubbleboy finally faces his fears and leaves the house, more techniques are used to show how new and trepidating this is for him due to his experience as an outsider. For example when he opens the door into the outside world, a blinding and foggy light is emitted suggesting the unknown. Once outside the house, Bubbleboy again contrasts greatly with his surroundings as his general appearance is confronting and obviously very odd. Close-ups are used to show the looks of mockery and confusion on the towns peoples faces to convey this idea. The attitudes towards Bubbleboy as an outsider may be seen to change towards the end of the film. When he is ironically stabbed on his way home from his healing journey his is stripped of his bubble-wrap protection. It is here when society can accept him as his true self is revealed. This is shown by a woman rushing to the aid of injured Bubbleboy, truly concerned for his wellbeing. Bubbleboys perceptions of himself as an outsider can also be seen to change. A narrators voice is used to explain that at that point, Bubbleboy finds salvation, and for the first time feels connected to the world once outside his shell. There are not many similarities to the play Othello as the short film is such a vastly different text. Though it is clear that both characters; Bubbleboy and Othello are perceived as outsiders by society. However, it is Othellos unforeseen and irrational actions that confirm his status as an outsider. While it is Bubbleboys out of the ordinary actions that enable him to be accepted into society. Also, Bubbleboy is portrayed to be a victim of the imposing views of society, as he is a lonely and lost character, but on the other hand Othello victimizes society itself when he undergoes the actions that make him an outsider. Evidently, the three texts; Othello, Perfume and The Story of Bubbleboy have all increased my understanding of the outsider as they illustrate a vast use of techniques and concepts that make a person an outsider in society.

Zero-Day Vulnerability Attack

Zero-Day Vulnerability Attack As Forensics Expert discuss the process involve in investigating Zero-Day Vulnerability attack Introduction The Internet became essential in this 21st generation and people can’t live without Internet. As the growth of the use of Internet, new technologies are also invented to support our life. However this new technologies may also exploit to the vulnerability attack. One of the vulnerability attack is zero-day attack (0day). A zero-day attack is an attack that exploits a previously unknown vulnerability in a computer application, one that developers have not had time to address and patch.( Wikipedia, (2014)) The zero-day threat can be undetectable and unknown for most of the antivirus software and it is keep increasing in new form which try to hide itself. The incident handlers have to fight against this threat which may include both corporate and home users and security vendors. Once they found or discovered the new threat, they have to respond to it. In order to investigate and have better understanding to zero-day attack, research and pratices are carrying out. Different security researchers have different opinion and ways to handle the zero-day threat. Most of the incident response program will usually implemented using a aphased methodology. This is because by using phased methodology will allow the lifecycle of incident response to be break down into seperate managable components. However, there are two popular methodology which one is from SANS Institute and one from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Both the phased methodology are useful for handling incidents when zero-day exploits. The benefits of both the phased incident response plan and corresponding measures are they can detect and identify zero-day threat efficiently. 1. Phased Methodology 1.1 SANS Institute phased methodology SANS Institute phased methodology consist of six phases which include 1) Preparation 2) Identification 3) Containment 4) Eradication 5) Recovery 6) Lessons Learned (Murray,2007) 1.2 NIST phased methodology NIST version phased methodology consist of four phases which include 1) Preparation 2) Detection and Analysis 3) Containment, Eradication and Recovery 4) Post-Incident Activity (Scarfone, Grance, Masone, 2008) Both of the phased methodology have the similarity. However, the incident response team (IRT) may need to modify the methodology so that it can specifically to handle zero-day attack. From IRT, the phases that have most impact to zero-day incident response will be preparation, identification or analysis and containment. This three important phases is essential when handling incident response to zero-day attack. 1.3 Incident Response Team Methodology In order to deal with the zero-day threats, IRT have a methodology to perform proactively and reactively. The proactive will be focus to external threat when zero-day is known but haven’t any impacted to the organization. The reactive will be focus on how to response to the actual zero-day incident. This methodology consist of a cycle of three phases which are : 1) Monitor 2) Analyze 3) Mitigate The monitor phase refer to monitor the public resources which is still ongoing. This is to identify the zero-day threats. The analyze phase refer to analyze of the threats exploited which conduct in a lab environment. This purpose is to identify the potential threat that may impact to the organization. In mitigate phase, the information that gathered from analysis will be build and implement inside the mitigation mechanisms. 2. Three important phases 2.1 Preparation The two primary objective of preparation is to ensure incident response team (IRT) and sufficient controls to mitigate security incidents. (Scarfone,Grance,Masone,2008) First of all, IRT need to monitor on the Internet at all times to ensure the security. IRT should be able to react immediately to ensure the risk is mitigated. IRT need adequate controls to prevent and detect any possible attack. Besides that, this can be divided into two types of response which is external response and internal response. 2.1.1 External Response External response can include analyzing external advisories. This can help to gather the information about zero-day attack through 5W1H (what,where,when,why,who,how). How does zero-day works and exploits? What is the target is? When is the exploitation? Where zero-day exploited? Who get impacted by zero-day? Why zero-day attack such platform? The following methodology is for external response. 2.1.1.1 Build an Incident Response Lab IRT can have a lab environment which consist of system that can simulate the role of attacker and victim. The lab should also include machine that have tools, interpreters and compilers in order to provide different types of source code files that related with zero-day. However, the victim machines should in exactly the same condition within that organization include operating system used. 2.1.1.2 Monitoring to Public Resources Monitoring what happen to the Internet is one of the essential component in our daily life. IRT needs to be constantly monitoring and keeping an eye on new trends of attacks, public internet resources and any other security vulnerabilities. One of the well-known resources for notification is the SANS Internet Storm Center (ISC) (http://isc.sans.org). The ISC monitors different types of public resources which included the logs from devices that used by businness and home users. 2.1.1.3 Analyze the Threat Once a zero-day is found, IRT should able to reproduce it in lab environment to find out the impact level of it. This consist of few steps need to carry out. The first step is to review the targeted software or application, operating system or version of it. After that, all the settings and platform are set up so that it is applicable to the environment. The last step is to monitor the system and it should run a sniffer to capture all the packets. Once completed, the exploit is launched to attack the target. After the attack succesful, IRT can start to investigate and identify the threats include the ports use, payload size and others. 2.1.1.4 Mitigation Once the threat is been analyzed, IRT should gather all the information and start to mitigate. All the ports that was used, can be checked and filtered through firewall to ensure that it is blocked. 2.1.2 Internal Response For the internal response, the following methodology is used. 2.1.2.1 Monitoring Internal Log The log monitoring is an essential factors in secure network. All the information should recorded in log in order to trace back and secure the network. On eo f an open source platform is Alien Vault’s Open Source Security Information Management (OSSIM) (http://www.ossim.net). 2.1.2.2 Monitoring Suspicious Network Activity As most of the malicious are try to hide itself and traverse through the network, network activity logs is crucial. The network analyser should look for the malware propagation, command of communication and the network traffic. There are different types of tools that can be used to improve netowrk security systems such as Ourmon (http://ourmon.sourceforge.net/), Bothunter (http://www.bothunter.net/), Honeynet (http://www.honeynet.org/) and others. 2.1.2.3 Monitoring Host Activity In order to improve the monitoring, monitoring an individual systems can be also crucial to identify zero-day. This is because it attacks can be unnoticed, so host monitoring is important for indentification and detection. Some of the tools can used to identify anomalous activity such as Tripwire (http://www.tripwire.com), OSSEC (http://www.ossec.net) and others. 2.1.2.4 Malware Analysis and Collection In order to collect the malware and respond to it, some of the tools is needed to capture it. The IRT should ensure that they have the ability to capture and analyze malware. One of the best way to capture malware is using honeypots. Honeypots are used to identify new types of attack, track hackers and collect the malware. There are some tools that can be used as honeypots such as Honeyd (http://www.honeyd.org/). 2.1.2.5 Application Whitelisting Application whitelisting is popular used recently. It permits all known and safe production applications to run and install, but block all unkown applications. This will prevent any remote code execution. One of the benefit by using application whitelisting is it only allowed known trusted applications to run. On the other hand, the limitation could be malware injected itself into the whitelisting process memory. 2.2 Detection and Analaysis In order to detect and analyse, the following methodology is used. 2.2.1 Identify The IRT needs to identify the potential signs of compromise, gather events and investigate it. After gathered the information, it should analyzed and mitigated. The potential signs oof compromise may include strange log entries or network activities or any others anomalous activity. Besides that, end users are also can be indicators of suspicious activity. They may click suspect links, surf social netowrking sites and respond to phishing emails. 2.2.2 Correlate After all the information is identified and gathered, correlate events to investigate the source of the suspicious activity. All the connections should be identified in the netowrk logs and determine where is the source come from. One of the tools is Sysinternals (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb545021) used to gather system information which included incident response tools (Helix). 2.2.3 Analyze After the process is identified, it is going to analyze it. IRT should analyse all the suspicious process include the processes that hidden in Explorer.exe. As most of the times malicious are try to hide itself, IRT needs some trusted tools to identify and analysis all the processes. One of the tools that is useful to dump a process without killing it is Microsoft’s User Mode Process Dumper.( http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=4060) 2.2.4 Mitigate Once the processes is identified, in order to protect the mechanism, IRT should prevent it from executing. IRT should identified the child process launched, DLLs, and any related user information. One of the tools is CurrProcess by NirSoft (http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cprocess.html). This useful tools will show all the process information which include name, priority level, process id and memory usage. 2.3 Containment The purpose of the containment phase is to prevent any further spread of the threats or incident. Once the incident is been detected and analyzed, action should be taken in order to prevent any further damaging make by the threats. 2.3.1 Network Level Containment In network level, the best way is to block on network devices. While IRT identified the particular was zero-day, other systems may get infected too. It is important that to implement containment across the network. This is to prevent any incident from propagation from one system to another. 2.3.2 Host Level Containment In host level containment, the information gathered previously in detection and analysis phase can be used. First of all, IRT should kill all the running processes which related to the incident analyzed. After that, firewalls should be configured to disallow any incident traffic. In addition, anti-virus programs need to allow for custom anti-virus signatures to be created. This helps to detect and eliminate the new form of malicious. 3. Conclusion Zero-day threats are a big challenge to all the incident response teams (IRT). As long as there is a software vulnerability been exploited, IRT need to fix it immediately for secure purpose. IRT need to approach different types of methodology in order to prevent, analysis and mitigate the zero-day threat. However, by having all these of methodology, IRT can conduct the incident response to zero-day threat much more easier. References : Wikipedia, (2014). Zero-day attack. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-day_attack Scarfone,K.,Grance,T.,Masone,K. (2008,March). Computer Securit Incident Handling Guide. Retrieved March 1,2011, from NIST Special Publications (800 Series): http//csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-61-rev1/SP800-61rev1.pdf Kliarsky, A. (2011,June). Responding to Zero Day Threats. [online] Available at : http://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/incident/responding-zero-day-threats-33709

Narrative Recollection in Faulkner’s The Unvanquished :: Unvanquished Essays

Narrative Recollection in Faulkner’s The Unvanquished The narrator in William Faulkner’s â€Å"The Unvanquished† is an adult looking back on his childhood experiences. This is a powerful technique, because the reader can receive two sets of images through one voice – in this case both the impressions of the young Bayard Sartoris as well as his older (and perhaps wiser) adult self. There are several ways in which the author makes this known, the first being Faulkner’s use of first person, but in the past tense. In the opening scene of the book Bayard and Ringo are playing behind the smokehouse. The past tense of the verbs make it apparent that the action has already been done, (ex.: â€Å"†¦Ringo and I had a living map†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , and â€Å"To Ringo and me it lived†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Bayard indicates several times that this narrative is a recollection. One example is in the first chapter, â€Å"†¦even though you do look bigger (to twelve, at least, to me and Ringo at twelve, at least.† (p.12). Then later, â€Å"But we were just twelve; we didn’t listen to that.† (p.15). These passages contain a rueful quality that implies that Bayard knows better in retrospect. Like memory, the narrative moves in skips and jumps, rather than an exactly linear plot. The next time the reader is told Bayard’s age is in the second chapter, but the he is near fourteen now. Uncle Buck asks him, â€Å"How old are you, boy?† to which he replies, â€Å"Fourteen,† and Ringo interjects, â€Å"We ain’t fourteen yit,† (54). Then later, when Bayard’s grandmother becomes ill Faulkner writes, â€Å"I would be sixteen years old before another year was out, yet I sat there in the wagon, crying.† (152). So how does this narrative strategy affect the representation of southern masculinities? It allows the reader a glimpse of how this particular southern male – Bayard Sartoris – becomes the man that he is. It allows the reader to see this process in action. It visualizes the relationships with other southern men, including and especially his father. It actualizes the disillusionment that can so often shape childhood, but is often easier seen in retrospect that at the time of occurrence. A poignant example of this is in the third chapter when Bayard is questioning the veracity of his elder’s war stories : †¦old men had been telling young men and boys about wars and fighting before they discovered how to write it down:

Jit in Indian Automobile Industry

INTRODUCTION Just In Time: The traditional concepts of Quality and customer satisfaction have been challenged in the recent years. Customer choices and perceptions have also been changing continuously. Japanese manufacturers were the first to meet these challenges by introducing many innovations in manufacturing systems and management, one of which is the philosophy of â€Å"Just in Time†. Just-in-time (JIT) refers to a collection of practices that is designed to eliminate waste and achieve manufacturing excellence. These organizational practices encompass the entire logistics flow of materials from purchasing through production and distribution. The elements of JIT may include shared product design with suppliers and customers, movement toward single sourcing, proximate suppliers and customers, reduced set-up times, preventive maintenance, reliance on analytic tools to identify sources of defects and plant optimization layout (re)configurations, among others Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing systems have attracted the attention of industries all over the world. The perceptible impact of JIT lies in attaining productivity and quality standards. The real challenge before Indian managers is to establish priorities among potential JIT techniques to achieve best possible advantage of JIT implementation in Indian industries.. With the variety of products on offer increasing with customization and evolving customer needs, it is but important that a manufacturing facility embraces the advantages of JIT in making the operations lean and flexible. Indian Automobile Industry: India currently has approximately 40 million vehicles. In February 2009, monthly sales of passenger cars in India exceeded 100,000 units. Current low penetration, rising prosperity and the increasing affordability of private vehicles along with importance to exports offer a healthy prospectus for the Indian automobile industry. (Source: http://www. kpmg. de/docs/Auto_survey. pdf) Several Indian automobile manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and Mahindra, have expanded their domestic and international operations. India's robust economic growth led to the further expansion of its domestic automobile market which attracted significant India-specific investment by multinational automobile manufacturers. Due to strong Global competition Indian companies started focusing on adopting new techniques and technologies which enabled manufactures to improve their processes and products JIT IN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY OF OTHER COUNTRIES Many countries have got leverage by implementing JIT techniques in their respective automobile industries. Peter Turnbul, [1] analyzes the trends in the UK automotive industry during the 1980’s, giving special focus to the adoption of JIT and TQM principles. This includes development from within the organization and relations between suppliers. Also the implications of adopting Japanese techniques on Information systems have also been looked into. It was found out in the study that Japan was way ahead of UK and US in terms of productivity and Quality in the cars manufactured due to successful implementation of JIT and TQM techniques and US and UK companies are gradually bridging this gap. Bo Hou, [2] conducted a research on the benefits and difficulties faced in implementing JIT for an automotive company in China. An international automotive company with factory located in China was taken for the Case study, examining the pre and post JIT implementation experiences. In order to collect data Semi-structured interviews were organized. Most interviewee’s support that proper design of information systems could assist JIT systems. According to the interviews, Kanban is a primary management method in the case company’s JIT model. It was found after the interviews that inventory can be maintained at a reasonably low level. Performance indicators have been employed to examine the achievement of suppliers in quality, on-time delivery etc. , in order to encourage suppliers to participate in the JIT program. JIT IMPLEMENTATION IN INDIA Several Indian companies have initiated JIT implementation into their systems or are claiming to have implemented many key features if JIT. While studying the implementation of JIT in India the following factors have to be considered. 1) Size of the firm ) Indian economy (only opening up in early 1990’s) 3) How MNC’s having manufacturing operations in India are Implementing JIT In a Survey of JIT practices conducted by Mahadevan[3], Questionnaires were sent to 400 companies but only 43 of them responded usefully. Fourteen critical factors were identified and participating organizations were asked whether these factors were important for JIT implementation in their firm s. Quality circles and cellular manufacturing have been rated low while TQM was rated very high. Vikas Kumar [4], explains the interrelationship between the different JIT elements. According to him the elements of JIT important to India are Buffer stock removal, Cellular manufacturing, Kanban and Error prevention Garg D [5] conducts a case study in JIT implementation of an Indian tractor assembly. It started implementing JIT purchasing in the mid 1980s. Initially, the company received discouraging results in almost all the areas for several years. Later on everything was streamlined and management began achieving significant results in terms of reductions in inventory, material movement, space, manpower, work in process and lead time, and an increase in productivity and quality. It can be said that in spite of old machinery, the company is sustaining its competitiveness in the tractor market by applying JIT. Vikas [6] conducted a survey on 34 Indian firms with the aim to find: 1) Those elements of JIT that might be difficult to implement in Indian Industry. These have been found to be Buffer stock removal, Error prevention, Frequent and reliable delivery, Kanban system, Multi functional worker, short lead time, Small lot size, Zero defect etc. ) Reason for slow implementation of JIT in India which have been found to be High cost of implementation, Informal and casual Auditing, Lack of support from suppliers, Lack of training, Lack of understanding of JIT techniques, shortage of multi functional workers Garg D [5] explains that the key steps in JIT implementation were: extensive training of employees on pull concepts; identification of key performance parameters; new layouts based on U-shaped cells ( wherever applicable) ; standardization of operations; a mai ntenance plan for each machine; housekeeping; visual control; and multi-skill training. Vikas Kumar [4], Several Indian industries are implementing the JIT with belief that it would be helpful to face the global competition. Yet, its effectiveness would depend upon qualities, attitudes and values of Indian work force. The paper gives focus to work culture of the organization. Some of the elements of work culture desirable for JIT are flexible workforce, Cross training, long term employment, Job enlargement and Labor unions, Work force involvement etc. Benefits Vikas Kumar [4] identified that the Potential benefits of JIT include reduced setup cost, labor cost, and move distances According to Chandra[7] the major benefits of JIT manufacturing system in ascending order are Reduction in inventory, Quality improvement, Increased productivity, Increased profit margin, Improved competitive position. Vikas Kumar [6] Highlights the most expected benefits of JIT which are Improved equipment utilization, improved quality control, worker efficiency, inventory turnover, flexibility, productivity, Profit margin, Team work, Low scrap rate etc Disadvantages of JIT Some of the disadvantages of JIT as highlighted by Vikas [6] are: * Implementation if JIT does not automatically translate to profits as many direct and indirect costs are involved in JIT implementation. Also JIT requires appropriate fit between manufacturing activities, organizational design, processes etc. * JIT programs need continuous check and control for sustained improvement * The timely of delivery of goods is extremely important which might be difficult to achieve in some parts of India * JIT may demand unrealistic commitment from employees. Managerial powers are extended to the workers JIT IN INDIAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY With respect to the Indian Automobile Industry JIT purchasing, a few elements of JIT production and JIT Logistics are given focus in this research paper. Purchasing In industries like the automobiles, where the cost of raw material accounts for almost 50-60% of the cost of the final product, Purchasing is a key element to focus for cost reduction [Haritha Saranga (8)]. According to Sultan Singh. 9] Purchasing involves determining the need, selecting the supplier, and arriving at proper price, terms and conditions, issuing the contract or order and to follow-up to ensure proper delivery on time According to Sultan Singh, Dixit Garg. [10] The traditional approach to purchasing is at the root of many problems that business faces today. High inventory levels, soaring costs, adverse relationships with suppliers and quality issues which either stop production or results in poor products are just a few of the pr oblems with the current way of purchasing JIT Purchasing Sultan Singh. [9] has found that Just-in –Time Purchasing has received an increasing amount of attention throughout the world due to its potential for quality improvement and cost saving. Jocclyn Drolet. [10] found that many studies indicate that the JIT purchasing function is of paramount importance for successful JIT implementation According to Sultan Singh, Dixit Garg. [10] The four basic principles of JIT purchasing are: * Elimination of waste * Employees involvement in decision making * Supplier participation Total quality control Sultan Singh. [9] Found that JIT purchasing has been implemented in many industries of several countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, and Korea etc. Today many reputed Indian industries have also switched to the Japanese JIT Purchasing concept to improve their product quality and productivity. In traditional purchasing importance is given mainly to the price of the product. Supplier relationship building, quality, deliv ery time, supplier satisfaction etc are in the back seat. Sultan Singh. 9] States that Japanese JIT Purchasing is an uninterrupted flow of 100% acceptable materials delivered on due dates and time at optimal cost 100% of time. In JIT purchasing environment purchasing is carried out in small lots with frequent deliveries in small standard containers used to hold exact quantity and to the required specifications from a nearby local single supplier with a long-term contract. The company relies more on performance specifications Consistent quality and delivery performance is most important parameters in the supplier evaluation while price is an important one. This area includes supplier’s management, inspection of incoming raw materials/ semi finished / maintenance components etc. The expectations of the buying firm in JIT Purchasing Dixit Garg [5] conducted a survey to identify the important attributes of JIT Purchasing with respect to the Indian Context. The importance of JIT purchasing attributes in a decreasing order as were High Quality, Mutual trust and Co-operation, Reliable delivery, Exact quantity and Increased customer support. Jocclyn Drolet. 11] Stated that the most frequently mentioned benefits are the reduction in lead times, the decrease in inventory levels, waste elimination, and improved quality of incoming parts, raw materials and the delivery process. In fact, these four benefits have been so widely cited in analytical studies, and cross validated in empirical studies, that we believe that they may no longer belong to the domain of hypothetical benefits but must be taken as factual benefits. Sultan Singh, Dixit G arg. [2] States that in JIT Purchasing no percentage of rejects from supplier is acceptable. The supplier is also encouraged to be more innovative. Jocclyn Drolet. [11] Stated that some of the success factors of JIT purchasing are JIT supplying Partnership, Restructuring supplier network, Quality of purchased products, Long term and exclusive agreement with suppliers, Proximity etc. He emphasizes that partnership is a catalyst for other JIT purchasing success factors Problems encountered in JIT purchasing implementation in India Sultan Singh. [9] Found that most serious problems, however, are not operational in nature. They are â€Å"people problems†- stemming from attitude and orientation, past experience and practices, and the passive factors of interpersonal relations. The suppliers may not fully support JIT purchasing program because of following reasons: * Lack of incentives for suppliers to adopt JIT delivery. * Lack of commitment from buyers. * Considerable strain on suppliers on JIT delivery. Sultan Singh. [9] Has found Evidences which shown that JIT purchasing can be beneficial in Indian context. The supplier is encouraged to be more innovative. He is given â€Å"loose specifications â€Å". The company relies more on performance specifications than on product design. Counting and receiving inspection of incoming parts is eliminated. Formal paper work is reduced to minimum delivery schedule or quantity can be changed by simple telephone calls/fax/telex message. Supplier is evaluated by consistence in quality, delivery performance and price. It can be concluded that JIT Purchasing is a key element for the successful implementation of JIT. The benefits of JIT purchasing can be summarized as reduction in lead time and inventory levels, improved quality of raw materials and better delivery process. Also there are increased supplier participation and employee involvements. Many companies in different countries have successfully implemented JIT purchasing. Some of the problems which Indian companies encountered were Lack of support from suppliers, Lack of support and commitment from Top management, Low product Quality, Employees resistance to change and Lack of communication. Maruti is focusing on Supplier development and sharing its quality and manufacturing practices with them. Mahindra and Mahindra is now working to minimize supply constraints through advanced capacity planning, long term contract with suppliers and capacity enhancement. JIT Production According to Vikas[4], The major elements of JIT production in Indian context include Buffer stock removal, Cellular manufacturing, Kanban, Error prevention and others. In this research paper the attributes taken for study are Cellular Manufacturing and Kanban. Cellular Manufacturing Mahadevan [12] infers that there has been an increasing demand for more variety in the recent years thereby pushing volumes down. It is estimated that 70 % of manufacturing industries will have mid-volume, mid-variety scenario. Cellular manufacturing provides a solution for the mentioned situation. According to Frost ; Sullivan [13] Cellular manufacturing is based on the Group Technology concept and involves the use of work cells. A Work Cell is a group of equipment and workstations arranged in the logical sequence of production, which can produce a product (or part of a product). To successfully maintain One-piece flow in manufacturing cells companies employ quick change over techniques The key factors that affect the design of an efficient cell can be grouped broadly as the number of process required, number of products that fit into the cell, market segments/requirement, and degree of automation. Mahadevan [12] mentions the benefits of Cellular Manufacturing as: * Production planning and control become easier as it is similar to breaking the Manufacturing process into smaller units which are independent and more manageable. * Material handling and traceability becomes easier as materials seldom go outside the respective cells for processing. Work enrichment: Employees would be in a position to better relate to the workplace and make improvements The benefits as mentioned by Frost ; Sullivan[13] are: improved resource [both man and machine] utilization reduced lead times, improved product quality, better space utilization, lesser blocked capital in inventory, and an overall improved work space. Timothy[14] identifies the disadvantages of cellular manufacturing as: * Increased capital expenditure * Decreased machine utilization * A breakdown can cause work stoppage in cell Shishir Bhat [15] analyses the impact of cellular manufacturing in a Gear manufacturing Machine shop. The evaluation was done based on two outputs, throughput and flow time. It was found that the average monthly throughput [order completed in a month]for Main Gears before implementation of Cellular Manufacturing was 59. 5 and that after implementation was 90. 5. Also the average flow time [man hours a product spends on shop floor ] for main gears reduced from 58 to 30. The paper shows that when a job shop manufactures a group of products with similar characteristics and stable demand, Cellular Manufacturing is an effective way for performance improvements. Kanban Kanban is a system of continuous supply of components, parts and supplies, such that workers have what they need, where they need it, when they need it. Kanban facilitates elimination of waste and is one of the most powerful tools of the â€Å"Toyota Production System†. Kanban is designed for quick response to actual consumption and ensures material availability at all times even in the face of temporary demand swings. Improved material availability helps achieve agility and flexibility in production. Kanban Systems are usually custom designed for each client and each item. A good design takes cognizance of all relevant factors such as consumption level, lead time, transit time, optimum shipping lot, and desired delivery frequency. It can be quickly adjusted in response to seasonality of demand. Inventory reduction is regarded as one of the key strategic levers to improve productivity and profitability of the firm in theory and practice (Lieberman and Demeester 1999, Chen et al, 2005). Kanban which facilitates visual control was originally designed for manual operation. This encourages employee involvement at all levels. However it can be integrated with any ERP system. Many tasks can then be automated, thus increasing the speed of material flow and accuracy of transactions. B. Vijaya Ramnath,C. Elanchezhian and R. Kesavan [16] wrote a paper which deals with implementation of lean manufacturing in Engine valve machining cell in a leading auto components manufacturing industry in the South India. The main objective of the paper was to present an overview of manufacturing wastes and introduce the tools and techniques that are used to transform a company into a high performing lean enterprise. Value stream mapping was a main tool used to identify the opportunities for various lean techniques. One of the methods used for reduction of waste was the Kanban system. A Kanban job Flow is arrived at which is used for building the future state of Value stream mapping. The elimination and or reducing of wastes is by making the process improvements in the current manufacturing line by adopting some lean tools like JIT, set up time reduction, WIP reduction etc. JIT Logistics Today Indian Automobile players seek to increase their global footprint and supply chain for many of these companies extends across several countries. Hence Logistics is a key area Indian Automobile companies are focusing on. According to Kee-hung Lai. [17] Just-in-Time (JIT) which has been effective in manufacturing operations can also contribute to cost and service advantages in Logistics. However, the potential of JIT has not been widely recognized in logistics. Kee-hung Lai. [17] has identified the major areas in Logistics in which JIT can be applied such as 1) Transportation management 2) order processing 3) Inventory management 4) Customer service, and a number of supporting lements including materials handling, packaging, purchasing and warehousing. 1) Transport Management: Typically materials were ordered in large lot shipments to obtain economies of scale. Similarly full truckloads or railcars were more efficient. For less than full truckloads loads of different companies having similar destinations were combined. Ken alternburg. [18] States that In JIT Transport all the three parties i. e. the supplier, the carrier and th e customer work more closely with one another. One option is formation of Transport partnerships just like supplier partnerships. The carriers would be single source for a family of businesses that will treat these carriers as in-house carriers. In some JIT Environments the parts manufacturing facility is constructed at or near the final assembly plant, allowing small deliveries of parts to be made with greater control over timeliness. Ken alternburg. [18] Suggests that where local manufacturing is not feasible, closed loop transportation is employed in which delivery trucks make stops at various suppliers on a predetermined schedule. Disposable packaging can be replaced with reusable containers and racking compatible with assembly line use, eliminating the costs of removing and disposing of packaging materials and simplifying and speeding the loading and unloading processes Materials can be unloaded at or near final point of use in JIT System as inspection is eliminated. Costs associated with equipment used to speed the delivery process, such as specially configured trucks, containerization, and unloading equipment, are offset by improvements in efficiency as implied by Ken alternburg. [18] Ken alternburg. [18] States that JIT environment has affected transportation providers, requiring them to change and streamline their methods of operation, and make long-term investments in technology, 2) Order Processing: According to Kee-hung Lai. [17] JIT adopts technologies such as Logistical Information System [LIS], often in the form of Electronic Data Interchange [EDI], Internet, Value Added Network etc so that different parties in the logistics processes can gain access to the needed information for decision making 3) Customer service: Kee-hung Lai. 17] states that In JIT logistics, all the activities that take up motion time, for example, order picking, shipment arranging, transporting and so on, need to be managed efficiently. The aim is to meet customer service requirements at the lowest possible cost KPMG conducted a survey on the Indian Automotive supply chain to analyze the key challenges faced by different sections of the Industry, identify the areas that need attentio n and also identify opportunities. A primary survey was done among the heads of supply chain of some major Indian Auto companies. KPMG [19]) The participants of the survey identified the following as the key challenges in order of priority: Integrating the end-to-end supply chain and managing it as a single integrated entity: While past efforts of OEMs have been focused on streamlining and improving different areas of the supply chain independently, through efforts in dealer management, operations planning, vendor rationalization, IT package implementation etc, it is expected that the linking up of these activities is expected to provide significant benefits to players Managing Inbound Logistics/JIT Supplies: is a key concern which faces challenges related to reliability of data, lead time and absence of quality logistics players on the upstream side. Respondents felt that as OEM and Auto component players become more global in nature it would have a significant impact on automotive supply chain. Managing costs: Cost, Quality and Timely delivery continue to become the key concern area for players. Many OEM’s have implemented JIT inbound logistics which is not by increased visibility across the supply chain and improved planning, it has only resulted in the burden of inventory getting shifted from OEMs to their Tier-I vendors. The Key initiatives taken up by the companies to address these challenges according to KPMG [19]) are: Increased Investment in IT and processes: Implement Integrated IT systems [such as ERP], but survey revealed that they were not able to leverage on such systems as their business process were not streamlined or aligned with the needs of the IT System. Vendor/Dealer rationalization: Many respondents agreed that Indian Industry has not evolved into fully tierized structure where Tier-I vendors take on responsibility for modules / sub-assemblies Outsourcing to logistics service providers: Outsource key activities along the supply chain to logistics players, in an effort to reduce costs and increase focus on their customers and core activities. Most OEMs and large Tier-I suppliers have already outsourced their outbound logistics activities. These activities include carrying out ‘milk runs’ to collect and deliver parts to OEMs on a daily basis, transferring materials across hubs and warehousing/inventory management. Key logistics players have started maintaining warehouses in close proximity to OEMs’ plants, and supplying materials on a JIT basis. Related services being provided by large third party logistics service providers (3PLs) include consolidation of materials, packaging, incoming inspection, cleaning, etc (KPMG [19]) JIT at Maruti Udyog Limited: Maruti was the first Indian company where Japanese Manufacturing culture was implemented from top to bottom. At the Maruti factory in Gurgaon the eight typical wastages at each operational point (over-production, man movement, material movement, idle time of  operator,  work-in-process, machine  availability,  waiting  time and  needless  processing) had been measured by observation and even videos. The bottlenecks have been identified and a lot of work has been done to streamline the process. In 1995, when Maruti had 4,800employees, it was producing at the rate of 730 cars a day. Later with 4,500 employees, the plant was producing at the rate of 1,700 cars a day. Simultaneously, the supply chain system is being modified. A delivery instruction system places orders with the vendors for the next day's production target. Maruti is now working with an inventory of four hours maximum for local items and six days average for imported materials. The inventory to sales turnover ratio, on the scale of 100 in 1999-2000, is now down to 41. Maruti has also started working with its vendors  to reduce their cost of  production so that its own cost can be reduced. It has also launched a quality enhancement scheme, called the Quality Gate system. Maruti has implemented JIT for some of its major suppliers. Some others are in the process of doing so. There is a stress on quality in this highly competitive industry. The bargaining power of suppliers of some components is high, because of capacity constraints. This makes them accept only large orders, and therefore makes it difficult for assemblers to implement JIT CONCLUSION With India emerging as one of the important markets for Automobiles it is imperative for Automobile manufactures to gain production and cost efficiency. JIT would help the companies in achieving this end. The Japanese had perfected the implementation of JIT. Based on research material available it can be concluded that JIT has been successfully implemented in Automobile companies of many other countries such as United States, United Kingdom, China to name a few. Indian Manufacturing environment has huge prospects of advancement through JIT. Some of the key aspects of JIT important for the Indian industry are Total Quality management [TQM], Cellular Manufacturing, Kanban, Error Prevention to name a few. Some of the reasons for slow implementation of JIT in India can be concluded as High cost of implementation, Lack of support from suppliers, Lack of understanding or conviction in JIT techniques leading to non effective implementation. Also work culture plays a crucial role for JIT. JIT would require a work force that is flexible, can engage in cross training, and would be committed to their work on providing long term employment prospects. The Major benefits identified by the implementation of JIT are Improved Quality, reduction in inventory, increased productivity and flexibility. There is enough evidence to prove that Indian companies who have implemented JIT [at least partly] successfully have reaped the benefits. The Case study of Tractor assembly factory and Maruti are testimony for the same. Also Mahindra and Mahindra had implemented JIT techniques during the 1990’s to their advantage. 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