Tag: distribution

The concept of elite for understanding the distribution of power in either Britain or the United States

Posted on | by KN Simon

Sociology Essay     

  How useful is the concept of ‘elite’ for understanding the distribution of power in either Britain or the United States? Introduction in America perhaps only race is a more sensitive subject than the way we sort ourselves out in the struggle for success. The eminent sociologist Robert Merton calls it the ‘structure of opportunity’. In the understanding of the usefulness of the term ‘elite’, there are some common historical variables, which must be looked at in order to appreciate the power organisms at work even in American society, and how from the days of Thomas Jefferson to the era of Newt Gingrich, the assumption of superiority is an undercurrent in American life and society. In this essay I will attempt to show that elitist power in America is controlled by a few at the top of the political, corporate, social and religious pyramid. Moreover, the concept of natural aristocracy, or meritocracy, has a powerful resonance even in the United States of America. Historical Antecedents In understanding the usefulness of the term elite in American society, late 19th and 20th century history provides the pretext for what was called a “ fluid society “. This was a highly mechanized, industrial age in which people’s roles were being determined by their merit, talents, character and ‘grit’. By 1910, Harvard Professor Frederick Jackson Turner was influential in transforming this ministerial training school into an Ivy League institution, dominated by the children of a distinct upper class… most Northeastern and mostly business. This class came to be known as the Episcopacy, after its predominant religion – Episcopalianism. The genesis of the Episcopacy at the end of the 19th century represented the merger of what appeared to be an irreconcilable conflict between two rival elite groups: the old pre-industrial New England – based on upper-class norms, with its high-minded, non-urban mores, and the big, rough New York based – Gilded Age rich. This merger of the traditional with the modern socialite grandeur of the New Yorker was pivotal to the formation of the American elite. Out of this marriage came the founding of British-style boarding schools like Groton and Hotchkiss, new social institutions such as private country clubs, debutante societies, and restricted suburbs. Outsiders who somehow found their way into the educational institutions of the Episcopacy were usually horrified by what they saw. The enormous inheritability of status, the devolution of the ideals of gentlemanliness into a glorification of undergraduate carousing, the lack of academic standards, the casual and unearned assumption of superiority, the inability to see immigrants, Catholics, Jews, and the poor as fully human. The Episcopacy provided plenty of evidence to support the idea that it was, as Newt Gingrich would say, ‘a corrupt elite’ (The Atlantic Monthly 1995) Political Power: Two Major Theories The two broad theories of how power work or is distributed in societies, the first suggest that power in the USA resides with its citizens (one person, one vote), or in the groups where citizens belong. This is called the pluralist view. Pluralists argue that power is distributed around society through representatives who act on behalf of others or other groups, and are controlled in expressing the wishes of the groups involved. Criticisms of this theory suggest that people at the top mislead the American public, which means that people with greater information have more power. Appointed positions wield considerable power, more than just a vote, and that campaign financing leaves politicians indebted to contributors not to everyone as is assumed. (Domhoff 1967) The other point of view is the elitist view or conflict view. The argument is that in reality, power is concentrated in the hands of a few, a very small group of people (an elite) who manipulate the masses through control of the media, visible government leaders, with a right wing conspiracy version which argues that the elitist ideology is subversive, anti-capitalist, anti-individualist, anti-patriotic, pro-welfare, and pro-one world government, with the sole aim of undermining traditional American values. Power Elite (made popular by C . . . W. Mills) argue that the corporate, executive, and military run the government elite. Mills suggest that the three components of the elitist structure are more or less equal in power, with the corporate elite becoming a little stronger in recent years. (C .Wright Mills 1956) Criticisms of this theory may ask the questions: Are there conflicts between the elite groups and are the elites really equal in power? Are there issues not under the influence of these groups or issues they don’t care about? And is congress really a puppet of these groups? Corporate Ruling Class Theory ‘ If a ruling class hypothesis says anything, surely it asserts that within some specific political system there exist a group of people who to some degree exercise power or influence over other actors in the system ’. (Dahl 1957) Within American society there is an upper class that gets more than its share of wealth, income and power. Its membership in controlling institutions and key decision making groups gives it disproportionate influence. It is broader based than Mills power elite and it influences, but it does not control Congress. It exercises control by financing candidates, its control of parties, its control of investments, and by being appointed to government positions. (Dumhoff 1968) Leaders within Corporate America Researchers continue to seek ways to explain the image or the shape of the power structure in America, whether it is polylithic, monolithic, parallelograms, towers, or hexagons. Floyd Hunter saw power as a pyramid with a small number of top leaders at the peak, a somewhat larger number below [middle level leaders] and a large segment below [powerless individuals]. (Hunter 1953) Much of the capitalist wealth of America today has been created by a dynasty of some the nation’s richest families of the Industrial Age, i.e. the Carnegies, Rockefellers, Fords, Motts, Pews and others. According to research done by Middle American News, the Foundations set up by these rich and powerful families constitute a hidden economy of some $300 billion, a sum which exceeds the GDP of Switzerland and is used to bankroll elitist activism profoundly influencing social policy and legislature. (Holland 1998) According to Robert Holland, these giant foundations or non-profit organizations are channeling their resources into key liberal and radical The Violence projects, so as to influence social policy. Some examples are:  Policy Center, a group that advocates gun control even more extreme than Sarah Brady’s Handgun Control, Inc., runs almost 90% on foundation money. Some of its enthusiastic backers are the George Gund Foundation, the Joyce Foundation and since 1990, the Ford Foundation has funded a Campusthe MacArthur Foundation. Diversity Initiative at dozens of major universities. These programs have insisted on group preferences in admissions and hiring, feminist and Afrocentric curricula, sensitivity training to get students and faculty engaged in group-think, and campus convocations to trumpet the need for much more  The Rockefeller Foundation has been the self-conscious “diversity”-mongering.  Chief bankroller of radical multiculturalism in education and the arts. In recent years, it has put the clout of its $2 billion portfolio aggressively behind the notion that “diversity” trumps quality in the arts. For example, it dispensed grants in 1994 to the likes of the National Black Arts Festival, Inc., in Atlanta, for “Celebrate Africa!”; the Nuvorican Poets Café in New York for “a series of development screenplay readings” by Puerto Ricans living in New York; $50,000 to the National Cultural Alliance, which lobbies for continued tax support of the National Endowment for the Arts; and Arthur Dong for “They Called Us Lesbians”. Holland concludes, that these powerful organizations have the money and the clout to shape American social and ethical policy, laws and culture in a way that Middle America despise. The question is whether there are politicians courageous enough to try and curb their elitist power. (Holland 1998) Corporate Oligopoly and the TNC During the 1970’s, the US transnational corporations had revenue equal to 30% of the planet’s entire gross annual product (Madsen 1980). In 1989 the revenues of the ten transnationals, with the highest sales (Mitsui, General Motors, C. Itoh, Sumitomo, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Ford, Exxon, Shell, and Nissno Iwai) totaled $1,000 billion – nearly twice as large as Canada’s GNP. The combined profits of the ten most profitable transnationals (IBM, Ford, Exxon, Dow, AT&T, General Electric, DuPont, General Motors, Shell, and British Telecom) at $40 billion equaled Iraq’s entire GNP in the year before the Gulf War. (Business Week 1989) In 1992 TNCs employed 73 million people, 10% of global non-farm jobs and 20% of jobs in more prosperous countries. The 100 largest TNCs controlled one quarter of all global output. The power of these privately owned collectives is greater than the numbers imply. According to World Investment Report 1994, published by the United Nations, TNCs indirectly employed another 77 million people. The reports concluded that the power of these giant companies and the power they wield are still in the hands of an elite group whose global dominance is unmistakable. Oligarchy and Mass Media Domination One of the important issues of the 21st century is monopoly ownership of the mass media. The issue is not that the elite own virtually all the Western media, but the fact that it is owned by a very small handful of media moguls. The shocking truth is that ownership of newspapers and TV stations has already been consolidated to such a staggering degree that unmanipulated news coverage has practically ceased to exist. Only one man and his media holding need be mentioned to provide some semblance of understanding of the scale of this dilemma. His name is Rupert Murdoch. His holding spans four continents. He own 5 magazines in Britain, 20 magazines in the US, and more than 100 newspapers in Australia, he owns a 4 channel satellite television network called SKY television in Britain, Metromedia in the US worth $2 billion, which include 20th Century Fox, Harper Row Publishers, The Star, New York Magazine, New Woman, Elle, In Fashion, and others. Mr. Murdoch has also agreed to pay $3 billion for TV guide, Good Food, the Daily Racing Form and Seventeen. With wealth of this magnitude involved, it is not difficult to establish first of all that the bottom 90% of society is virtually excluded from media ownership. He himself has referred to newspapers as a series of “capital intensive “ “local monopolies”. (Newsweek 1988 p. 45 ) Reinhard Mohn is another such owner of one of the world’s largest media conglomerates. According to Fortune Magazine, Sept 12, 1988 edition, Mohn fortune is estimated in the billions. The Newhouse Family of New York is reported by the said Fortune magazine to be the 5th richest family on the planet. Billionaire Randolph Hearst and family, owns 14 daily newspapers, 6 TV stations, 7 radio stations and some book publishing companies. Lastly, Kenneth Irving and family of Canada, the world 8th richest billionaire has virtually monopolized ownership of all English speaking papers in Canada. Each of these media moguls probably echoes the wishes of Rupert Murdoch who has been quoted by Fortune, as saying that his objective is a “global communications company”. Covertly they are part of this elite team. Their coordination and control is best exemplified by considering how well they work together to elect the team’s political functionaries into public office. Governments today are still won or lost through the power of media manipulation. Max Weber contributed what remains the influential analysis of the role of formal organizations in the modern world. Specialization, limited spheres of competence, hierarchies of offices, specified responsibilities, rights, rules, and rewards, are all elements of the rise of bureaucratization in the world. Along with Weber most writers exempt administrators and heads of bureaucratic organizations from the rules and regulations of the organizations they supervise. “Only the supreme chief of the organization occupies his position of authority by virtue of appropriation, of election, or having been designated for the succession…. Thus at the top of bureaucratic organizations, there is necessarily an element which is at least not purely bureaucratic.” (Parsons and Henderson 1947 ) The members of the strategic elites constitute administrators for the society at large and they, too, must be partially viewed as being exempt from the constraints imposed on ordinary members of society. (Keller 1968 ) Conclusion The current world situation was deliberately created by elitist power. Though politics and government are the social structures, which dictate our human existence, many are agreed that powers still rest in the hands of a mere few. The past 100 years has seen the development of both “ left “ and “ right “ elements, which are now designed through the process of globalization, to bring us into a New World Order. It is almost as if the skillful orchestration and manipulation of both the ‘left – right’ is placed in conflict to bring about a synthesis. According to Bro. William Branham, since the rise of Kant (who stressed reason and experience ) in German philosophy, we can identify two opposing ideas of the State, society and culture. In the US, as in Britain, philosophy is based on the individual and the rights of the individual. Whereas in German from the time of Kant through to Fitche and Hegel up to 1945, basic philosophy has been universal brotherhood, rejection of individualism, and opposition to Western classical liberal thought in almost all of its aspects. It is from this Hegelian system of political thought, alien to most in the West, stem such absurdities as the State seen as the “ March of God through history “ and that the State is also God, and the only duty of a citizen is to serve God by serving the State, and that the State is Absolute Reason and its citizens can only find freedom by worship and utter obedience to the State. For Hegel the individual is nothing, the individual has no rights, and morality consists solely in following a leader. To elitists like ‘ The Order’ in the US, ‘ The Group’ in the UK, ‘ The Illuminati’ in Germany, and ‘ The Politburo’ in Russia, the State is supreme, and a self-appointed elite running the State acts as God on earth. We can draw our own determinations as to the usefulness of the word “ elite “, but the overwhelming evidence in our post-modern world will attest to the fact that there are subliminal undercurrents which gives us an ominous sense that the revolving patterns of human history will continue to evolve more frighteningly as we emerge into a more synthesized planet. BIBLIOGRAPHY Dahl, R. (1975 ) “ The Concept of Power “, Behavioral Science, Vol. 2, p.201-215. Dahl, R. (1961 ) Who Governs. (New Haven: Yale University Press ) p. 67-69 Domhoff, W. (1967 ) Who Rules America. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall ) Dumhoff, W. (1968 ) The Power Elite and Its Critics. Beacon Press Boston. Engler, A. (1995 ) Apostles of Greed. Pluto Press London, p. 39-40. Henderson, A. & Parsons, T. (1947 ) Max Weber – The Theory of Social and Economic Organizations, p. 335. Holland, R. (1998 ) Capitalist Wealth Underwrites Assaults on Middle American Values. Middle American News. Keller, S. (1968 ) Beyond the Ruling Class. Random House New York. Madsen, A. (1980 ) Private Power. Morrow, New York, p. 24-25. Mills, C. . W. (1956 ) The Power Elite (New York: Oxford University Press ) Sklar, H. (1980 ) Trilateralism: Trilateralism and Elite Planning for World Management. “Economic Nationalists v. Multinational Corporations. South End, Boston. Business Week 17th July 1989, “ The Global 1000 – The Leaders “, p.139. World Investment Report (1994 ) published by the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development, reported in Globe & Mail 31 August 1994. The Atlantic Monthly, August 1995; The Structure of Success in America; Vol. 276, no.2. p. 41-60. Newsweek 22 August 1988, “ Murdoch’s Empire “ p.45 Fortune 12 September 1988, “ The Billionaires “ p. 71 – 92 Sociology Essay Terence M. Blackett How useful is the concept of ‘elite’ for understanding the distribution of power in either Britain or the United States? Introduction In America perhaps only race is a more sensitive subject than the way we sort ourselves out in the struggle for success. The eminent sociologist Robert Merton calls it the ‘structure of opportunity’. In the understanding of the usefulness of the term ‘elite’, there are some common historical variables, which must be looked at in order to appreciate the power organisms at work even in American society, and how from the days of Thomas Jefferson to the era of Newt Gingrich, the assumption of superiority is an undercurrent in American life and society. In this essay I will attempt to show that elitist power in America is controlled by a few at the top of the political, corporate, social and religious pyramid. Moreover, the concept of natural aristocracy, or meritocracy, has a powerful resonance even in the United States of America. Historical Antecedents In understanding the usefulness of the term elite in American society, late 19th and 20th century history provides the pretext for what was called a “ fluid society “. This was a highly mechanized, industrial age in which people’s roles were being determined by their merit, talents, character and ‘grit’. By 1910, Harvard Professor Frederick Jackson Turner was influential in transforming this ministerial training school into an Ivy League institution, dominated by the children of a distinct upper class… most Northeastern and mostly business. This class came to be known as the Episcopacy, after its predominant religion – Episcopalianism. The genesis of the Episcopacy at the end of the 19th century represented the merger of what appeared to be an irreconcilable conflict between two rival elite groups: the old pre-industrial New England – based on upper-class norms, with its high-minded, non-urban mores, and the big, rough New York based – Gilded Age rich. This merger of the traditional with the modern socialite grandeur of the New Yorker was pivotal to the formation of the American elite. Out of this marriage came the founding of British-style boarding schools like Groton and Hotchkiss, new social institutions such as private country clubs, debutante societies, and restricted suburbs. Outsiders who somehow found their way into the educational institutions of the Episcopacy were usually horrified by what they saw. The enormous inheritability of status, the devolution of the ideals of gentlemanliness into a glorification of undergraduate carousing, the lack of academic standards, the casual and unearned assumption of superiority, the inability to see immigrants, Catholics, Jews, and the poor as fully human. The Episcopacy provided plenty of evidence to support the idea that it was, as Newt Gingrich would say, ‘a corrupt elite’ (The Atlantic Monthly 1995 ) Political Power: Two Major Theories The two broad theories of how power work or is distributed in societies, the first suggest that power in the USA resides with its citizens (one person, one vote), or in the groups where citizens belong. This is called the pluralist view. Pluralists argue that power is distributed around society through representatives who act on behalf of others or other groups, and are controlled in expressing the wishes of the groups involved. Criticisms of this theory suggest that people at the top mislead the American public, which means that people with greater information have more power. Appointed positions wield considerable power, more than just a vote, and that campaign financing leaves politicians indebted to contributors not to everyone as is assumed. (Domhoff 1967 ) The other point of view is the elitist view or conflict view. The argument is that in reality, power is concentrated in the hands of a few, a very small group of people (an elite ) who manipulate the masses through control of the media, visible government leaders, with a right wing conspiracy version which argues that the elitist ideology is subversive, anti-capitalist, anti-individualist, anti-patriotic, pro-welfare, and pro-one world government, with the sole aim of undermining traditional American values. Power Elite (made popular by C. .W. Mills ) argue that the corporate, executive, and military run the government elite. Mills suggest that the three components of the elitist structure are more or less equal in power, with the corporate elite becoming a little stronger in recent years. (C .Wright Mills 1956 ) Criticisms of this theory may ask the questions: Are there conflicts between the elite groups and are the elites really equal in power? Are there issues not under the influence of these groups or issues they don’t care about? And is congress really a puppet of these groups? Corporate Ruling Class Theory ‘ If a ruling class hypothesis says anything, surely it asserts that within some specific political system there exist a group of people who to some degree exercise power or influence over other actors in the system ’. (Dahl 1957 ) Within American society there is an upper class that gets more than its share of wealth, income and power. Its membership in controlling institutions and key decision making groups gives it disproportionate influence. It is broader based than Mills power elite and it influences, but it does not control Congress. It exercises control by financing candidates, its control of parties, its control of investments, and by being appointed to government positions. (Dumhoff 1968 ) Leaders within Corporate America Researchers continue to seek ways to explain the image or the shape of the power structure in America, whether it is polylithic, monolithic, parallelograms, towers, or hexagons. Floyd Hunter saw power as a pyramid with a small number of top leaders at the peak, a somewhat larger number below [middle level leaders] and a large segment below [powerless individuals]. (Hunter 1953 ) Much of the capitalist wealth of America today has been created by a dynasty of some the nation’s richest families of the Industrial Age, i.e. the Carnegies, Rockefellers, Fords, Motts, Pews and others. According to research done by Middle American News, the Foundations set up by these rich and powerful families constitute a hidden economy of some $300 billion, a sum which exceeds the GDP of Switzerland and is used to bankroll elitist activism profoundly influencing social policy and legislature. (Holland 1998 ) According to Robert Holland, these giant foundations or non-profit organizations are channeling their resources into key liberal and radical The Violenceprojects, so as to influence social policy. Some examples are:  Policy Center, a group that advocates gun control even more extreme than Sarah Brady’s Handgun Control, Inc., runs almost 90% on foundation money. Some of its enthusiastic backers are the George Gund Foundation, the Joyce Foundation and  Since 1990, the Ford Foundation has funded a Campusthe MacArthur Foundation. Diversity Initiative at dozens of major universities. These programs have insisted on group preferences in admissions and hiring, feminist and Afrocentric curricula, sensitivity training to get students and faculty engaged in group-think, and campus convocations to trumpet the need for much more  The Rockefeller Foundation has been theself-conscious “diversity”-mongering.  chief bankroller of radical multiculturalism in education and the arts. In recent years, it has put the clout of its $2 billion portfolio aggressively behind the notion that “diversity” trumps quality in the arts. For example, it dispensed grants in 1994 to the likes of the National Black Arts Festival, Inc., in Atlanta, for “Celebrate Africa!”; the Nuvorican Poets Café in New York for “a series of development screenplay readings” by Puerto Ricans living in New York; $50,000 to the National Cultural Alliance, which lobbies for continued tax support of the National Endowment for the Arts; and Arthur Dong for “They Called Us Lesbians”. Holland concludes, that these powerful organizations have the money and the clout to shape American social and ethical policy, laws and culture in a way that Middle America despise. The question is whether there are politicians courageous enough to try and curb their elitist power. (Holland 1998 ) Corporate Oligopoly and the TNC During the 1970’s, the US transnational corporations had revenue equal to 30% of the planet’s entire gross annual product (Madsen 1980 ). In 1989 the revenues of the ten transnationals, with the highest sales (Mitsui, General Motors, C. Itoh, Sumitomo, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Ford, Exxon, Shell, and Nissno Iwai ) totaled $1,000 billion – nearly twice as large as Canada’s GNP. The combined profits of the ten most profitable transnationals (IBM, Ford, Exxon, Dow, AT&T, General Electric, DuPont, General Motors, Shell, British Telecom ) at $40 billion equaled Iraq’s entire GNP in the year before the Gulf War. (Business Week 1989 ) In 1992 TNCs employed 73 million people, 10% of global non-farm jobs and 20% of jobs in more prosperous countries. The 100 largest TNCs controlled one quarter of all global output. The power of these privately owned collectives is greater than the numbers imply. According to World Investment Report 1994, published by the United Nations, TNCs indirectly employed another 77 million people. The reports concluded that the power of these giant companies and the power they wield are still in the hands of an elite group whose global dominance is unmistakable. Oligarchy and Mass Media Domination One of the important issues of the 21st century is monopoly ownership of the mass media. The issue is not that the elite own virtually all the Western media, but the fact that it is owned by a very small handful of media moguls. The shocking truth is that ownership of newspapers and TV stations has already been consolidated to such a staggering degree that unmanipulated news coverage has practically ceased to exist. Only one man and his media holding need be mentioned to provide some semblance of understanding of the scale of this dilemma. His name is Rupert Murdoch. His holding spans four continents. He own 5 magazines in Britain, 20 magazines in the US, and more than 100 newspapers in Australia, he owns a 4 channel satellite television network called SKY television in Britain, Metromedia in the US worth $2 billion, which include 20th Century Fox, Harper Row Publishers, The Star, New York Magazine, New Woman, Elle, In Fashion, and others. Mr. Murdoch has also agreed to pay $3 billion for TV guide, Good Food, the Daily Racing Form and Seventeen. With wealth of this magnitude involved, it is not difficult to establish first of all that the bottom 90% of society is virtually excluded from media ownership. He himself has referred to newspapers as a series of “ capital intensive “ “local monopolies”. (Newsweek 1988 p. 45 ) Reinhard Mohn is another such owner of one of the world’s largest media conglomerates. According to Fortune Magazine, Sept 12, 1988 edition, Mohn fortune is estimated in the billions. The Newhouse Family of New York is reported by the said Fortune magazine to be the 5th richest family on the planet. Billionaire Randolph Hearst and family, owns 14 daily newspapers, 6 TV stations, 7 radio stations and some book publishing companies. Lastly, Kenneth Irving and family of Canada, the world 8th richest billionaire has virtually monopolized ownership of all English speaking papers in Canada. Each of these media moguls probably echoes the wishes of Rupert Murdoch who has been quoted by Fortune, as saying that his objective is a “global communications company”. Covertly they are part of this elite team. Their coordination and control is best exemplified by considering how well they work together to elect the team’s political functionaries into public office. Governments today are still won or lost through the power of media manipulation. Max Weber contributed what remains the influential analysis of the role of formal organizations in the modern world. Specialization, limited spheres of competence, hierarchies of offices, specified responsibilities, rights, rules, and rewards, are all elements of the rise of bureaucratization in the world. Along with Weber most writers exempt administrators and heads of bureaucratic organizations from the rules and regulations of the organizations they supervise. “Only the supreme chief of the organization occupies his position of authority by virtue of appropriation, of election, or having been designated for the succession…. Thus at the top of bureaucratic organizations, there is necessarily an element which is at least not purely bureaucratic.” (Parsons and Henderson 1947 ) The members of the strategic elites constitute administrators for the society at large and they, too, must be partially viewed as being exempt from the constraints imposed on ordinary members of society. (Keller 1968 ) Conclusion The current world situation was deliberately created by elitist power. Though politics and government are the social structures, which dictate our human existence, many are agreed that powers still rest in the hands of a mere few. The past 100 years has seen the development of both “ left “ and “ right “ elements, which are now designed through the process of globalization, to bring us into a New World Order. It is almost as if the skillful orchestration and manipulation of both the ‘left – right’ is placed in conflict to bring about a synthesis. According to Bro. William Branham, since the rise of Kant (who stressed reason and experience ) in German philosophy, we can identify two opposing ideas of the State, society and culture. In the US, as in Britain, philosophy is based on the individual and the rights of the individual. Whereas in German from the time of Kant through to Fitche and Hegel up to 1945, basic philosophy has been universal brotherhood, rejection of individualism, and opposition to Western classical liberal thought in almost all of its aspects. It is from this Hegelian system of political thought, alien to most in the West, stem such absurdities as the State seen as the “ March of God through history “ and that the State is also God, and the only duty of a citizen is to serve God by serving the State, and that the State is Absolute Reason and its citizens can only find freedom by worship and utter obedience to the State. For Hegel the individual is nothing, the individual has no rights, and morality consists solely in following a leader. To elitists like ‘ The Order’ in the US, ‘ The Group’ in the UK, ‘ The Illuminati’ in Germany, and ‘ The Politburo’ in Russia, the State is supreme, and a self-appointed elite running the State acts as God on earth. We can draw our own determinations as to the usefulness of the word “ elite “, but the overwhelming evidence in our post-modern world will attest to the fact that there are subliminal undercurrents which gives us an ominous sense that the revolving patterns of human history will continue to evolve more frighteningly as we emerge into a more synthesized planet.

 

 

                        

                        

Bibliography:

Dahl, R. (1975 ) “ The Concept of Power “, Behavioral Science, Vol. 2, p.201-215. Dahl, R. (1961 ) Who Governs. (New Haven: Yale University Press ) p. 67-69 Domhoff, W. (1967 ) Who Rules America. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall ) Dumhoff, W. (1968 ) The Power Elite and Its Critics. Beacon Press Boston. Engler, A. (1995 ) Apostles of Greed. Pluto Press London, p. 39-40. Henderson, A. & Parsons, T. (1947 ) Max Weber – The Theory of Social and Economic Organizations, p. 335. Holland, R. (1998 ) Capitalist Wealth Underwrites Assaults on Middle American Values. Middle American News. Keller, S. (1968 ) Beyond the Ruling Class. Random House New York. Madsen, A. (1980 ) Private Power. Morrow, New York, p. 24-25. Mills, C. . W. (1956 ) The Power Elite (New York: Oxford University Press ) Sklar, H. (1980 ) Trilateralism: Trilateralism and Elite Planning for World Management. “Economic Nationalists v. Multinational Corporations. South End, Boston. Business Week 17th July 1989, “ The Global 1000 – The Leaders “, p.139. World Investment Report (1994 ) published by the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development, reported in Globe & Mail 31 August 1994. The Atlantic Monthly, August 1995; The Structure of Success in America; Vol. 276, no.2. p. 41-60. Newsweek 22 August 1988, “ Murdoch’s Empire “ p.45 Fortune 12 September 1988, “ The Billionaires “ p. 71 – 92

                        

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. Discuss how we can confirm that this is a valid probability distribution.

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Rationale
Assignment 2 is designed to assess the following learning outcomes: that students will
• be able to calculate and interpret probabilities, and use standard discrete and continuous probability distributions;
• be able to use a statistical package to analyse data appropriately, and then interpret the output;
• be able to evaluate whether the assumptions underlying statistical techniques are valid in a given scenario.
• be able to apply basic principles of survey design, such as determination of appropriate sample sizes and sampling techniques.
Presentation
The assignment must be neatly handwritten with any Excel output inserted where required at the appropriate place in the assignment not in an Appendix at the back of the assignment. Mathematical formulae and notation is too difficult to type up.
Marks will be deducted for assignments which do not follow these guidelines.
The assignment is to be uploaded to EASTS as a single Word or PDF file. PDF files maintain the integrity of the document when images are included so you may prefer to upload a PDF file rather than a Word file. Assignments submitted in non-printable formats such as a ZIP file or as a collection of images will not be marked. If your scanner produces separate graphics files please paste them into a Word document before submitting to EASTS. Pages must be numbered, and your name and student number must be included on every page.
Please view your uploaded assignment in EASTS to ensure all pages, graphs, images have uploaded correctly. If they have not, then please review the format of your assignment and resubmit. A PDF file retains the integrity of the document so you might consider submitting as a PDF file.
Marking Criteria:
The marking criteria for each question are given in a table immediately below each question. Please read these tables carefully so you know what the marker is expecting.
The grade that you receive for this assignment as a whole is determined by the cumulative marks gained according to the tables below (FL 0-49%; PS 50-64%; CR 65-74%; DI 75-84%; HD 85-100%).
Question 1 (20 marks)
a. If P A( ? ?B) 0.08,P A( ) ? 0.2 and P B( ) ? 0.4, then
i. calculate P A B( | ) ii. state whether the events Aand B are independent or not iii. justify the decision you made in ii.
(4 marks) Marking Criteria
0 marks 1 mark 2 marks
a.i. Formula/working incorrect or not provided; incorrect answer Correct formula and working
or correct answer (no working) Correct formula and working and correct answer
a.ii. Incorrect answer Correct answer
a.iii. Incorrect or irrelevant justification Relevant justification
b. A coffee shop manager randomly selects 40 of the patrons of his coffee shop. He surveys them about their coffee and tea drinking habits. Twenty of them drink coffee, fifteen of them drink tea and five drink both.
i. How many of them drink neither tea nor coffee?
If C is defined as the event that a patron drinks coffee and T as the event that a patron drinks tea, ii. calculate PC( ) .
iii. calculate PT C( | ) and write a sentence that describes this probability in terms of the question.
iv. calculate PT( ) and write a sentence that describes this probability in terms of the question.
(8 marks) Marking Criteria
0 marks 1 mark 2 marks 3 marks
b.i. Incorrect answer Correct answer
b.ii. Incorrect answer Correct answer
b.iii. None of three aspects listed under 3 marks correctly provided. One out of three aspects listed under 3 marks correctly provided Two out of three aspects listed under 3 marks correctly provided Correct answer; relevant working; clearly expressed description of probability
b.iv. None of three aspects listed under 3 marks correctly provided. One out of three aspects listed under 3 marks correctly provided Two out of three aspects listed under 3 marks correctly provided Correct answer; relevant working; clearly expressed description of probability
c. One of the questions in a recent household survey asks respondents to count the total number of mobile phones owned by members of the household. The table which follows shows the probability distribution for the number of mobile phones per household.
X 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 or more
p(x) 0.00 0.02 0.18 0.30 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 0.00
i. Discuss how we can confirm that this is a valid probability distribution.
ii. Calculate the mean number of mobile phones owned per household.
iii. Calculate the standard deviation number of mobile phones owned per household.
iv. What is the probability that for a randomly selected household, the number of phones in this household is at least 3?
(8 marks) Marking Criteria
0 marks 1 mark 2 marks 3 marks
c.i. No relevant justification One relevant statement Two relevant statements
c.ii. Neither of two aspects listed under two marks correctly provided One out of two aspects listed under two marks correctly provided Answer correct with relevant working including formula
c.iii. None of three aspects listed under 3 marks correctly provided. One out of three aspects listed under 3 marks correctly provided Two out of three aspects listed under 3 marks correctly provided Correct Formula; relevant working; Correct answer
c.iv. Incorrect Answer. Correct Answer
Question 2 (12 marks) 11+1 for sentences which answer the questions in parts c. and d.
A manufacturing company uses two bottling machines to produce 2 litre bottles of apple juice. Machine A can bottle 200 bottles of juice per hour. Machine B can bottle 300 bottles per hour. Their quality control process has found that if a bottle of juice has been bottled by Machine A, then the probability that it has been under-filled is 4.5%. If a bottle of juice has been bottled by Machine B, however, then the probability that it has been under-filled is 6%.
a. Using letters of the alphabet, define the two simple events described in this problem and also their complements. (4 events altogether). Probability notation is not required to do this.
(2 marks)
b. Draw a probability tree to represent the information given in the question using the same letters that you used to define the simple events in part a.
Note: Marks will be deducted if the probabilities do not appear along the branches of the probability tree.
(3 marks)
c. Determine the probability that a randomly chosen bottle contained the right amount of juice.
(3 marks)
d. Given that a randomly selected bottle was not under-filled, what is the probability that the bottling was done by Machine B?
(3 marks)
Marking Criteria
0 marks 1 mark 2 marks 3 marks
a. Fewer than 2 definitions 2 or 3 definitions using letters of the
alphabet 4 definitions using letters of the alphabet
b. No
probability tree Probability tree with several flaws Correctly labelled probability tree with some probabilities missing from branches of the tree or incorrect Correctly labelled probability tree with correct probabilities included along all branches of the tree
c. 0 of the 3 aspects listed under 3 marks 1 of the 3 aspects
listed under 3 marks 2 of the 3 aspects
listed under 3 marks Correct translation of question into a mathematical probability statement and formula; correct numerical calculations and answer
d. 0 of the 3 aspects listed under 3 marks 1 of the 3 aspects
listed under 3 marks 2 of the 3 aspects
listed under 3 marks Correct translation of question into a mathematical probability statement and formula; correct numerical calculations and answer
Sentences Sentence answering the question included for one or fewer parts Sentence answering the question included for parts c. and d.

Question 3 (9 marks) 8+1 for sentences which answer the questions in parts b. and c.
A manufacturer vacuum cleaner parts knows that for every 1000 units produced, 4 units are faulty. The manufacturer wants to estimate, using probabilities, the likelihood of faulty units in a selection of 500 randomly selected units.
a. Write down the names (using single letters or Greek symbols) of the two parameters of this binomial distribution and their values.
(2 marks) b. Use the appropriate probability formula to calculate the probability that there are no faulty components among these units.
(3 marks)
c. Use Excel to calculate the probability that there are more than 10 faulty units among these units. Express your answer as a decimal correctly rounded to 6 decimal places.
(3 marks) Marking Criteria
0 marks 1 mark 2 marks 3 marks
a. Parameters named incorrectly and values incorrect Both parameters named correctly or both values correct or one parameter and one value correct Parameters named
correctly; parameter values correct
B 0 of the 3 aspects listed under 3 marks provided correctly 1 of the 3 aspects listed under 3 marks correct 2 of 3 aspects listed under 3 marks correct Correct translation into probability statement along with correct substitution into formula and correct answer
c. 0 of the 3 aspects listed under 3 marks provided correctly. 1 of the 3 aspects listed under 3 marks correctly provided. 2 of 3 aspects
listed under 3 marks correctly provided. Correct translation of ‘more than’ into a mathematical inequality along with correct Excel formula and correct answer correct to 6 decimal places
Sentences Sentence answering the question included for one or fewer parts Sentence answering the question included for parts b. and c.
Question 4 (9 marks) 8+1 for sentences answering the questions
A shire council has found that historically 20 % of ratepayers choose to pay their rates by instalments. A sample of 25 new ratepayers to the shire were asked if they had paid their current rates by instalment.
a. Write down the name of the distribution being described in this problem and write down the name/s of its parameter/s (using single letters or Greek symbols) and its/their values.
(2 marks)
b. Using the tables appropriate for this distribution, calculate the probability that fewer than a quarter of those new ratepayers sampled had paid their rates by instalment.
(3 marks)
c. Using Excel, calculate the probability that more than 5 but fewer than 12 had paid their rates by instalment.
(3 marks)
Marking Criteria
0 marks 1 mark 2 marks 3 marks
a. Incorrect distribution and at least one parameter(s) missing Distribution incorrect or at least one parameter(s) missing Correct distribution and parameter(s)
b. 0 of the 3 aspects listed under 3 marks 1 of the 3 aspects
listed under 3 marks 2 of 3 aspects listed under 3 marks Correct translation of ‘fewer than’ into a mathematical inequality; correct value of X in the inequality and correct answer.
c. 0 of the 3 aspects listed under 3 marks 1 of the 3 aspects
listed under 3 marks 2 of 3 aspects listed under 3 marks Correct translation of ‘more than…but fewer
than…’ into a mathematical inequality along with correct Excel formula and correct answer
Sentences Sentence answering the question included one or fewer parts Sentence answering the question included for parts b. and c.
Question 5 (9 marks) 8+1 for sentences answering the questions
The manager of a group of suburban service stations has noticed a high level of driveoffs at the busiest of these service stations. Using CCTV footage, the manager estimates that the number of drive-offs on a Saturday night is 4 on average. (A driveoff involves a driver driving off without paying for petrol).
a. Write down the name of the probability distribution being described and write down its parameter/s (using letters or Greek symbols) and its/their value/s.
(2 marks)
b. What is the probability that there is no more than 1 drive-off on a given Saturday?
(2 marks)
c. Use Excel to evaluate the probability that there are more than a total of 20 drive-offs on all Saturdays in the month of December 2016. Take care here.
(4 marks)
Marking Criteria
0 marks 1 mark 2 marks 3 marks 4 marks
a. Incorrect distribution and at least one parameter(s) missing Distribution incorrect or at least one parameter(s) missing Correct distribution and parameter(s)
b. 0 of the 2 aspects listed under 2 marks 1 of the 2 aspects listed under 2 marks Correct translation of ‘no more than’ into a mathematical inequality along with correct answer using
Statistical Tables
c. 0 of the 4 aspects listed under 4 marks 1 of the 4 aspects listed under 4 marks 2 of 4 aspects listed under 4 marks 3 of 4 aspects listed under 4 marks Correct translation of ‘more than’ into a mathematical inequality; relevant working with correct use of Excel formula; correct parameter substitution into formula; correct answer.
Sentences Sentence answering the question included for one or fewer parts Sentence answering the question included for parts b. and c.
Question 6 (16 marks) 15+1 for sentences answering the questions b., c. and d.
A company pays the staff the award rate. Some of its employees work over-time. For employees employed under a particular award, the employees receive on average $1025 per week with a standard deviation of $250 per week.
a. Write down the names of the parameters of this normal distribution (using Greek symbols) and their values.
(2 marks) b. A randomly chosen employee working under this award is selected. Calculate the probability that that he earned less than $1400 the previous week.
(4 marks) c. Twenty staff employed under this same award are randomly selected. What is the probability that the average weekly pay the previous week for this sample of twenty staff exceeded $1150?
(5 marks)
d. A randomly chosen employee working under this award is selected. There is an 80% chance that this employee earns more than $a. What weekly income is represented by the letter ‘a’?
(4 marks)
Marking Criteria
0 marks 1 mark 2 marks 3 marks 4 marks 5 marks
a. Neither parameter value is correct Only one parameter value correct Both parameter values correct
b. 0 of the 4 aspects listed under 4 marks correct 1 of the 4 aspects listed under 4 marks correct 2 of the 4 aspects listed under 4 marks correct 3 of the 4 aspects listed under 4 marks correct Correct translation of ‘less than’ into a mathematical inequality along with relevant fully labelled diagram; correct transformation of probability and numerical calculations.
c.
0 marks if incorrect distribution chosen.
1 of the 5 aspects listed under
5 marks
2 of 5 aspects listed under 5 marks
3 of 5 aspects listed under 5 marks
4 of the 5 aspects listed under 5 marks correct. Correct translation of ‘exceeded’ into a mathematical inequality along with relevant fully labelled diagram; correct transformation of probability; correct calculations and answer.
d. 0 of the 4 aspects listed under 4 marks 1 of the 4 aspects listed under 4 marks 2 of the 4 aspects listed under 4 marks 3 of the 4 aspects listed
under 4 marks Correct answer with relevant working supported using statistical tables and fully labelled diagram.
Sentences Sentence answering the question included for one or fewer parts Sentence answering the question included for parts b., c. and d.

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Accounting Information System’s (AIS) have traditionally only involved the processing of accounting and financial transactions.

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Below is my Assignment:-
Assessment item 1
The role of an AIS
Value: 10%
Length: 1,000 words
Submission method options
Alternative submission method
Task:
Accounting Information System’s (AIS) have traditionally only involved the processing of accounting and financial transactions. However, with the advancement of technology, other non-financial information has been able to be integrated into systems, giving a more complete view of the entire organisation. Looking at the manufacturing industry, respond to the following;
1.What is the role of an AIS in the value chain of a manufacturing organisation? 3 marks
2.How can an AIS assist with decision making in a contemporary manufacturing organisation? 3 marks
3.How can the value chain be used to provide a competitive advantage for a manufacturing organisation? 4 marks
Please note, this is a theoretical question. You do not need to look at a specific business within the manufacturing industry.
Rationale:
This assignment task is designed to enable you to demonstrate your ability to understand and apply foundation principles relating to computerised information systems in
contemporary organisations.
Your assignment should be presented in short answer format addressing the questions. It should include:
-a cover page; and
-appropriate headings.

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Website Migration Project

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Term Paper: Website Migration Project Due Week 10 and worth 200 points Tony’s Chips has recently been sold to a new independent company. The new company has hired you to manage a project that will move the old Website from an externally hosted solution to an internal one. The company’s leadership is very concerned about redundancy for their site, insisting that a back-up site be available as a failover in case the main site goes down. In addition, they want the site redesigned to allow customers to order products online.

As part of your job, you must complete a 10-to-15 page paper that follows this project through the system development life cycle (SDLC). This assignment will require you to do the following:

•Discuss what it will take to build a Web architecture, move an existing Website with minimal downtime, and provide a disaster recovery solution to ensure the site is always available.

◦The Web architecture should describe and justify operating system choices (i.e., Linux, Apache, MYSQL, PHP, Windows, IIS, SQL, etc.). •Evaluate alternatives to the company self-hosting the site. •Build a Gantt chart using Microsoft Project or equivalent software, showing all tasks associated with implementing the Website. •The chart should include a minimum of five (5) tasks, each with three (3) sub-tasks. •Explain and justify the system architecture you have selected. •Illustrate the system architecture using Visio or equivalent software. •Create a use case that documents the event of a customer ordering a bag of chips from the new Website. •The use case should include a graphical representation using Visio or equivalent software and a text description of the events. •Discuss the support operations that the internally hosted Website will require after implementation. •Explain how you will evaluate the performance of the new site and the success of your project. The specific Course Learning Outcomes associated with this assignment are: •Design high-level logical system characteristics (user interface design, design of data, and information requirements). •Use contemporary CASE tools in process and data modeling. •Use technology and information resources to research issues in systems analysis and development. •Write clearly and concisely about Systems Analysis and Development topics using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.

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What best explains the current global distribution of marsupials?

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What best explains the current global distribution of marsupials?.

1. Many endemic species are found in areas that are geographically isolated. Suggest two plausible scientific explanations for why this is so. Back up your explanations with details and information from the course to (the reader) that these are plausible explanations.

What best explains the current global distribution of marsupials? 

2. There are three small islands with lizards on them. 

Island 1 has a species richness of 30, Simpson’s Diversity Index of 0.31, and a Shannon Weiner Index of 1.1

Island 2 has a species richness of 30, Simpson’s Diversity Index of 0.37, and a Shannon Weiner Index of 1.0

Island 3 has a species richness of 30, Simpson’s Diversity Index of 0.54, and a Shannon Weiner Index of 0.6

Based on these metrics, which island will you petition the government to preserve? Defend your answer using the concepts of species richness and species diversity, as well as what you have learned about conservation biology.

3. Evolution does NOT always lead to organisms having the traits that are best suited to their environment. Why not?

4. In nature, sometimes we observe patterns that can be created by two or more different processes. Give one example and explain the processes that could lead to that pattern.

5. What best explains the current global distribution of marsupials? 

What best explains the current global distribution of marsupials?

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Impact Of A Targeted Land Distribution Program

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Impact Of A Targeted Land Distribution Program.

Question:

Prove the following statement using the potential outcomes framework: If the stable unit treatment value assumption holds and selection bias is equal to zero then the difference in means between treatment and control groups is an unbiased estimate of the average treatment effect on the treated?

 

Answer:

The objective of program evaluation is to evaluate the net difference, which appears with respect to the difference between treated and non-treated groups should be attributed to the intervention. Notably in this condition, other variables are constant (Benjamin, 2012).

Considering the study of treatment effect over the heterogeneity, the coefficient for any indicator variable is obvious not to reflect the complexity existing in the treatment effects. The most important consideration in this regard is the treatment assignment assumption (Accetturo & De Blasio, 2012). For example in the case of the analytical approach, the results are not dependent on the assumptions. Thus, they depend on the distributional and functional forms. On the contrary, when rebalancing approach is being used, the condition becomes more alike to the results that are generated by randomization.To resolve such challenges, counterfactual statistical methods such as Heckman’s sampling, propensity scoring-matching, score sub-classification, score weighting and matching estimators models are useful.

The hypothesis is holding a stable unit of treatment value and zero value for selection bias, relates with instrumental variable estimator. For a linear population model,

y = β0 + β1x1 + β2x2 + …  βkxk + ε

E(s) = 0, Cov(xf, ε) = 0, Cov(xk, ε) ≠ 0, j=1, …. , K-1.

Here xk is correlated with ε and that xk is potentially endogenous. Here ε is believed to contain one omitted variable and is not correlated with any explanatory variables except xk. To resolve this, an observed variable z is essential to incorporate, such that

z is not correlated with ε and

z is not correlated with xk

In other case, the model considered as

y = xβ + ε

Where, it contains the constants, x = (1, x2, …, xk) and the exogenous variables is denoted with z = (1, x2, …, xk-1, z)

In practical measures, finding an exact value for the instrumental variable z is challenging. This z does not correlate with the regression model that links with endogeneity but it is correlated with independent variables which causes endogeneity.

This was resolved by Angrist, in their study (Angrist & Imbens, 1995), which focus over effect of education on wages. In this case, the residual for the regression was correlated with education, as it contains omitted ability. The authors used dichotomous variable, where the concers subjects were categorized as either born in first quarter of birth year (=1) or in remaining quarters (=0). Here they argued that compulsory school attendance was induced over people to attend school and thus, there exists a relationship between education and quarter of birth. Notably the quarter is a random variable and this not correlated with omitted variables of regression model.

Hence they suggest that non-ignorability should be avoided in the treatment received, for any indicator variable. Rather a precise and straightforward casual interpretation is needed. Such interpretation can avoid the constant effect imposed over all the units and hence it delineates the critical assumptions. Thus the focus is more over average casual effect on outcome.

This is also proved with (local average treatment effect) (Angrist & Pischke, 2010):

EE ≠ ITT (ATE) ≠ TT ≠ Naïve ATE

Where EE is efficacy effect, ITT is intent-to-treat, ATE is average treatment effect, TT is the average treatment effect for treated, and naïve is opposite to ignorable variable.

Reference:

Benjamin, D., Brandt, L., McCaig, B., & Le Hoa, N. (2012). Evaluating the impact of a targeted land distribution program: Evidence from Vietnam (No. tecipa-461).

Accetturo, A., & De Blasio, G. (2012). Policies for local development: An evaluation of Italy’s “Patti Territoriali”. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 42(1), 15-26.

Angrist, J., & Imbens, G. (1995). Identification and estimation of local average treatment effects.

Angrist, J., & Pischke, J. S. (2010). The credibility revolution in empirical economics: How better research design is taking the con out of econometrics (No. w15794). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Impact Of A Targeted Land Distribution Program

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Handbook Of Logistics And Distribution Management

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Handbook Of Logistics And Distribution Management.

Question:

Discuss about the Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management.
 
 

Answer:

Introduction

Supply chain management refers to the methods involved in the management of goods and services, its flow from the manufacturing unit to the target customers. Nippon Express is a logistics company, which has many years of experience in transportation, warehousing, distribution and other services (Abbasi & Nilsson, 2016). The report highlights the global challenges Nippon Express faces in relation to cost efficiency, greener operations, highest possible quality level of services and global access.

The key performance indicators are the powerful tools which help in understanding the structure of the business. Keeping track of the key performance indicators and measuring those helps in the improvement of the business. To improve the efficiency and revenue, Nippon Express must eliminate its infrastructure from the dispersed tasks (Beske, Land, & Seuring, 2014). They can opt for the cloud system in order to achieve their aim as well as leverage information technology resource in a cost effective yet flexible manner. Such processes help in reducing the costs, hence benefiting the company. In addition to this, cloud environment can add more value to their distribution unit and improve their processing time. Data analysts can easily automate the processes and find the right tool for visualization, hence reducing time. Interactive dashboards of KPIs must be created for highlighting the differences of each month. Improvement in the distribution services would increase the customer satisfaction, which in turn will benefit the company (Green Jr, Zelbst, Meacham, & Bhadauria, 2012).

Challenges in Achieving the KPIs

Nippon Express faces lots of challenges in achieving the cost efficiencies in terms of its supply chain management. The rising cost of fuel and increasing number of global customers is increasing the supply chain cost of the organization. Apart from that, with the advancement of technology, the organization always has to adhere to frequently changing technology and purchase highly advanced technological equipments for maintaining its supply chain. In such situation, it become quite challenging for the organization towards to achieve cost efficiency in its supply chain management (Ross, 2013).

On other hand, the organization also faces difficulties in achieving the greener operation in terms of achieving sustainable supply chain management. The organization has to use trucks, ships and other vehicles for transporting their goods the clients. It is always not possible for the organization towards using electric vehicles for transporting goods, as they are quite less speedy than the normal transportation vehicles. Therefore, the organization often fails to meet greener operation in supply chain management (Jacobs & Chase, 2013). Nippon Express also faces extreme difficulties in achieving global access in regards to supply chain. Moreover, the organization faces challenges in the integration of supply chain across the global boundaries. On the other hand, the organization faces the issues in terms of managing the quality of the products and services sent to the customers. The goods can often be damaged during its transportation through different vehicles. Therefore, it prevents the organization in achieving the quality of products to be delivered to the customers (Dekker, Fleischmann, Inderfurth, & van Wassenhove, 2013).

Cost Efficiency

Nippon Express a logistics company of Tokyo, Japan is taken as an example to explain the supply chain management’s process. However, the RFID technology application can benefit the company to a huge extent, which may vary from industry to industry. The Nippon Express has been established in the year 1937, which has a strong network over forty countries. Previously, all the operations of manufacturing, producing, washing and others were being performed manually (Ahi & Searcy, A comparative literature analysis of definitions for green and sustainable supply chain management, 2013). After the introduction of RFID technology, the tagging and counting of products are done in seconds. Moreover, it has applied several strategies like cost leadership strategies and others to improve its ratio of profitability. Among all those, the focus strategy of the company helps in improving its focus on their customer satisfaction (Stadtler, 2015). The industry uses scanner, which helps in scanning the tags automatically without any error. It helps in scanning multiple tags simultaneously. It reduces the work load of the labors and does the work more accurately and swiftly. It helps in reducing the costs of the manufacturers as the maximum work is machine-based (Brandenburg, Govindan, Sarkis, & Seuring, 2014).

Greener practices at different levels of the industry can build a corporate image, which in turn, will lead the industry to sustainability, in this competitive world of business. The management plays an integral part in such implementation of green practices. The Nippon Express company is changing their business pattern to reduce the carbon footprint. Ecological imbalances and global warming are one of the biggest problems; the earth is facing in modern days (Barney, 2012). The industrial sector however, can implement various environmental friendly measures in order to save the world from global warming and climatic changes. Furthermore, several initiatives are taken by the industry as a segment of the green practice in their supply chain movement. This includes; saving paper while carrying out their services, reducing the usage of water, reduction of carbon emissions, usage of alternative energy sources for production and manufacturing, eliminating the usage of plastics while packaging and saving trees (Seuring, 2013).

Highest possible quality level of products and services

In addition to the greener practices, supply chain management of the industry benefits the distribution processes by maintaining the highest possible quality of the products as well as services. It accelerates the delivery management’s speed to a great extent, while improving efficiency and increasing accuracy in selecting and distributing processes (Ahi & Searcy, An analysis of metrics used to measure performance in green and sustainable supply chains, 2015). The company has assembled all kinds of logistics techniques to reduce distribution costs and keep a track of the items and products, by registering it in the distribution center’s computer system. The company has a network of large distribution centers and with the help of advanced technology; it can monitor its inventory levels and retain the quality of the products (Brandenburg, Govindan, Sarkis, & Seuring, 2014). It also helps in maintaining the quality of the services by putting the cartons properly in right places, sorting them quickly and also efficiently, dispatching of the cartons to its retailers in less span of time with accuracy. When the items reach their destination or store, at the entrance they get scanned as well as registered automatically. There quality is also taken care and kept intact. This in turn, helps in accelerating the delivery speed, while improving efficiency and quality, increasing accuracy and at the same time reducing distribution costs (Ahi & Searcy, A comparative literature analysis of definitions for green and sustainable supply chain management, 2013).

The implementation of information technology in the supply chain management of the company helps in manufacturing processes by reducing the manual work, which in turn reduces the costs. It also benefits in managing the warehouse by improving visibility and planning (Beske, Land, & Seuring, 2014). Once the production is complete, the producers of Nippon Express pack the items in the cartons and then deliver those cartons to the buying company’s warehouse (Fawcett, Ellram, & Ogden, 2013). However, there are several challenges faced by the supply chain management of the industry. It is required to do a detailed research of the RFID technology before its application in the supply chain management. Managers must be well equipped with the handling of the technology so that they can train their employees with the utilization of the technology. It is important to understand whether its application is beneficial for the organization or not. Moreover, the technology can be expensive and requires proper maintenance. In addition to this, the RFID technology has a troublesome relationship with liquids and metals (Wisner, Tan, & Leong, 2014).

In a manufacturing industry, efficiency, compliance, automation and speed are necessary components for fulfilling the organizational goals. Nippon Express provides timeliness as well as greater accuracy, planning and forecasting, fulfilling orders, procuring materials and more (Tayur, Ganeshan, & Magazine, 2012). In addition to this, the industry’s supply chain management tools are designed well in order to meet the requirements. However, the industry faces certain challenges which can be handled and the recommendations given are quite feasible (Christopher, 2016). To achieve “Just in Time” management, the industry should be able to understand the needs and requirements of each and every client. Moreover, there should be a phase of preparation with each supplier for delivering the goods on time. In this manner, the production demands can be met easily. Furthermore, Nippon Express information technology solutions help in increasing the visibility and accuracy of their operations (Brindley, 2017).

The application of supply chain management helps in the smooth flow of products and goods. It helps in building a relationship between the customer and the organization by fulfilling their demands. However, it is important to do a detailed research before applying the technology.

The industry must adopt innovative technologies and top quality management. The seven concepts of top quality management includes; continuous improvement, employee empowerment, benchmarking and other concepts. The Nippon express must check whether their top quality management includes all parts and staffs of the organization or not. Therefore, to improve the quality of the supply chain, top quality management is essential.

In addition to this, proper planning and execution is necessary. Six sigma procedures help in analyzing the data and improve the process. Lean system also helps in educating the suppliers, developing the workforce and reducing the job classes’ number. Other strategies include JIT or Just in Time which promises to deliver rights goods with right quality to the right people at right time. Therefore, Nippon Express can implement such strategies in order to make their supply chain processes more effective and efficient.

Five different themes of current affecting Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management:

Designing the Supply Chain from the Shelf Back: Most of the time, the consumer goods retailers and companies thought that the supply chain management ended at retail or the delivery of items to the stores. They completely forgot that supply chain exists in the areas where the consumers make their decisions. Moreover, their focus on demand driven industries still struggles to push the products to the stores (Seuring, 2013). Companies like Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble and others have senior level managers who are responsible for managing the supply chain. Managers are responsible for optimizing the processes with various retailers for streamlining the goods’ flow, in consumer goods’ company. This is done in order to manufacture floor to the retail shelf (McCormack & Johnson, 2016). This can lead to some significant improvements in delivery and transportation of the goods. Shelf level view also helps in creating other insights . For instance, Wal-Mart has changed their way of looking at the quality metrics. Previously, it was internally focused and tracked the quality of the products. It helped in changing the designs of the packages and thus, reducing damages from handling as well as stocking processes. It helped the manufacturers to look at the problems clearly and hence, providing them with opportunities for improving the procedures (Grant, Wong, & Trautrims, 2017).

Better Planning as well as Execution: In both retail companies and consumer goods, supply inefficiencies occur, which is created through the disconnection between the planning of supply chain and the execution of systems as well as processes. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, many companies have immature operations planning and sales processes. Due to this, it develops a strategy which drives supply chain management (Coyle, Langley, Novack, & Gibson, 2016). Most of the companies still have poor information flow. Both the consumer goods and retailers are looking out for new and innovative processes as well as systems to reduce the information latency. This in turn will allow them to keep a track of the store shelf happenings. Moreover, it will drive appropriate replenishment and manufacturing decisions, by closing the loops between planning as well as execution (Gereffi & Fernandez-Stark, 2016). In a recent study, it is found that, only eleven percent of the companies have highly integrated supply chain planning as well as execution processes. On the other hand, more than ninety percent companies are still planning to have a better planning and execution process in the next three years. This can be done by adopting several strategies like improving the visibility of supply chain, better integrating of existing software and collaborating with the suppliers as well as retailers (Govindan, Soleimani, & Kannan, 2015).

Transportation Costs: The main focus must be on the transportation costs as the fuel costs are raising rapidly. However, with innovative technology and measures, these issues can be solved. Efficient planning of production helps in the smooth movement of products and its raw materials in a less span of time. Previously, in companies all the works were done manually (Zhu, Sarkis, & Lai, 2017). It was necessary to count the products several times which includes the stages of manufacturing, production, washing of the products and its packing. Previously, all these operations were being performed manually. After the introduction of RFID technology, the tagging and counting of products are done in seconds. RFID scanner helps in scanning the tags automatically without any error. Moreover, it helps in scanning multiple tags simultaneously (Rushton, Croucher, & Baker, 2014). It reduces the work load of the labors and does the work more accurately and swiftly. It helps in reducing the costs of the manufacturers as the maximum work is machine-based. Most of the companies are embracing different strategies for lowering their transportation costs. For instance, Clarks Company found that it can gain substantial profit by replacing its center of consolidation in China, instead of shipping from Asian locations. It helped in reducing the shipping costs through the usage of larger containers (Myerson, 2016).

Proper Forecasting: Proper forecasting is essential for any organization or industry, as it ensures in having enough supply in hand, in order to satisfy the demands and desires of the consumers. Business analysts utilize the systems of logistics and supply chain management as well as some other tools, in order to forecast the demands in advance (Mangan & Lalwani, 2016). For example; Amazon uses forecasting techniques to increase the satisfaction of the consumers, reduce the inventory stock outs, schedule the production effectively, lowering the safety requirements of stocks, reduce obsolescence costs of products, manage the shipping better, improve price and promote management (Awudu & Zhang, 2017). The three major forecast types used within supply chain’s context are; demand forecasting to investigate the demands and requirements of the buyers, supply forecasting to know about the current suppliers and producers and lastly, the price forecast, which is the compilation of demand’s and supply’s information. Forecasting abilities of any business varies from organization to organization. In order to improve the forecasting abilities, one needs to understand the size of the demands and the uncertainty drivers. The demand planning and strategy needs to be kept simple. The organizations should always have backup plans as well as change their strategies when needed (McKinnon, Browne, Whiteing, & Piecyk, 2015).

Green Supply Chain: Consumer goods and retailer companies are taking the initiative of reducing their carbon emissions in order to develop a Green Supply Chain Management. Wal-Mart Company has announced several strategies and initiatives over the past years for undertaking green supply chain measures. This will not only help in reducing the carbon emissions, but also lower the transportation costs (Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero, & Patterson, 2015). The companies are changing their business pattern to reduce the carbon footprint. Ecological imbalances and global warming are one of the biggest problems; the earth is facing in modern days. The industrial sectors however, can implement various environmental friendly measures in order to save the world from global warming and climatic changes (Heizer, 2016). Green practices at different levels of the industry can build a corporate image, which in turn, will lead the industry to sustainability, in this competitive world of business (Coyle, Langley, Novack, & Gibson, 2016). The management plays an integral part in such implementation of green practices. For instance, Nippon Express takes several initiatives as a segment of the green practice. This includes; saving paper, reducing the usage of water, reduction of carbon emissions, usage of alternative energy sources for production and manufacturing, eliminating the usage of plastics while packaging and saving trees (Grant, Wong, & Trautrims, 2017).

Conclusion

To conclude, supply chain management helps in the smooth flow of products and their distribution. It compiles all the steps of distribution along with the decisions of marketing, desires of the consumers in accordance with the company’s goals and strategies. Moreover, it gives a brief explanation of the application of several technologies in the supply chain management. As per the findings of the report, application of such technology helps in the smooth movement of products and goods. In addition to this, the five different themes of global logistics and supply chain help in providing with useful insights.

Bibliography

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Ahi, P., & Searcy, C. (2013). A comparative literature analysis of definitions for green and sustainable supply chain management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 52, 329-341.

Ahi, P., & Searcy, C. (2015). An analysis of metrics used to measure performance in green and sustainable supply chains. Journal of Cleaner Production, 86, 360-377.

Awudu, I., & Zhang, J. (2017). Uncertainties and sustainability concepts in biofuel supply chain management. A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(2), 1359-1368.

Barney, J. B. (2012). Purchasing, supply chain management and sustained competitive advantage: The relevance of resource?based theory. Journal of supply chain management, 48(2), 3-6.

Beske, P., Land, A., & Seuring, S. (2014). Sustainable supply chain management practices and dynamic capabilities in the food industry. A critical analysis of the literature. International Journal of Production Economics, 152, 131-143.

Brandenburg, M., Govindan, K., Sarkis, J., & Seuring, S. (2014). Quantitative models for sustainable supply chain management: Developments and directions. European Journal of Operational Research, 233(2), 299-312.

Brindley, C. (2017). Supply chain risk. Taylor & Francis.

Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson UK.

Coyle, J. J., Langley, C. J., Novack, R. A., & Gibson, B. (2016). Supply chain management: a logistics perspective. Nelson Education.

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McKinnon, A., Browne, M., Whiteing, A., & Piecyk, M. (2015). Green logistics: Improving the environmental sustainability of logistics. Kogan Page Publishers.

Monczka, R. M., Handfield, R. B., Giunipero, L. C., & Patterson, J. L. (2015). Purchasing and supply chain management. Cengage Learning.

Myerson, P. (2016). Lean supply chain and logistics management. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Handbook Of Logistics And Distribution Management

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Radicals use the term “political economy” instead of _____ to describe their critique of capitalism and the inequitable distribution of wealth among nations.

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Radicals use the term “political economy” instead of _____ to describe their critique of capitalism and the inequitable distribution of wealth among nations..

(TCO 7) Radicals use the term “political economy” instead of _____ to describe their critique of capitalism and the inequitable distribution of wealth among nations.

Marxism 

laissez-faire 

public choice 

Keynesian 

Question 2

3 / 3 pts

(TCO 7) How do Keynesian economic policies differ from the traditional laissez-faire policies developed by Adam Smith?

Laissez-faire policies advocate for “cutthroat” capitalism, and Keynesian policies seek to spread wealth equally among a nation’s citizens.

Keynesian economics advocates for increased government control of economics, and traditional laissez-faire argues for a hands-free approach.

Smithian policies advocate for increased spending and stimuli for government-run businesses, and Keynesian economics argues for a hands-free approach.

The more liberal Smithian economies distribute wealth more evenly among society, and Keynesian economics tends to distribute wealth among the top 1%.

Question 3

3 / 3 pts

(TCO 7) During the 1970s, critics developed this new term to describe inflation with stagnant economic growth.

Growth Slope 

Quagmire 

Stagflation 

Recession 

Question 4

3 / 3 pts

(TCO 7) Between 1965 and 1973, the percentage of Americans living below the poverty line _____.

doubled 

greatly decreased 

slightly increased 

rapidly increased 

Question 5

3 / 3 pts

(TCO 7) The _____ administration simplified the Food Stamp program by eliminating the provision that recipients buy the stamps at a discount with their own money.

Kennedy 

Johnson 

Ford 

Carter 

Question 6

3 / 3 pts

(TCO 7) Medical costs consume nearly _____% of the U.S.gross domestic product, most of it paid through government and private health insurance.

11 

18 

22 

26 

Question 7

3 / 3 pts

(TCO 7) Many Americans think the federal budget goes primarily toward welfare, which is _____.

absolutely true 

somewhat exaggerated

not at all the case 

slightly offensive 

Question 8

3 / 3 pts

(TCO 7) How does the American welfare state compare to those of other industrialized nations?

Much less is allocated to welfare in the United States. 

Other nations allocate less to welfare than the United States. 

The United States allocates about the same to welfare. 

Few nations besides the United States maintain funds for welfare. 

Question 9

3 / 3 pts

(TCO 7) What was the poverty line in 2012?

$14,505 

$17,060 

$23,050 

$26,750 

Question 10

3 / 3 pts

(TCO 7) Investigate what historically happens to conservatives when firms are supposedly “too big to fail.”

Conservatives argue for expensive bail-out packages. 

Most conservatives suggest letting the free market run its course. 

Most argue against expensive stimulus packages. 

They switch parties.

Radicals use the term “political economy” instead of _____ to describe their critique of capitalism and the inequitable distribution of wealth among nations.

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