Management and Supply Function Essay Example for Free

Management and Supply Function Essay It should be emphasised from the outset that purchasing and supply management is executed as an integrated part of the firms broader management (as part of the logistics management or supply chain management approach) *Purchasing and supply PLANNING is part of the firms general planning, mainly because the continuous supply of raw materials components services is of a strategic importance to the enterprise. The supply market is just as important for the firms survival continued profitability as the sales market is the firms own product. Firms general planning must be integrated. *The ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE of the purchasing and supply function should be aimed mainly @ linking into the firms overall structure in the most effective way. The purchasing and supply function primarily renders a service to the enterprise. *Purchasing and supply COORDINATION should be aimed @ harmonising and aligning the activities of the purchasing and supply function with those of the other business functions. When a firm vests the authority for the purchasing and supply function in 1 person or team. Advantages: ;gt;Standardisation of materials and products is possible because purchases are made at one point ;gt;Purchasing and supply staff are afforded the opportunity to become experts ;gt;Control over all aspects of the purchasing and supply function is improved ;gt;Administrative costs are reduced by eliminating duplication DECENTRALISED PURCHASING ; SUPPLY ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE Purchasing by different departments, branches or plants, while each of them enjoys an important measure of autonomy of decision making regarding the purchasing and supply function. Advantages: ;gt;Better liaision can be effected between decentralised purchasing and supply functions and the user functions of individual plants served by the purchasing and supply function ;gt;The needs users can be better satisfied because the purchasing and supply function knows them better ;gt;Different plants maintain their autonomy. Plant managers are often fully responsible  for the profitability of individual plants. According to the combined approach, common requirements of the different plants such as equipment and certain categories of raw materials, are purchased centrally head of office. The plants purchasing and supply functions are assisted by corporate   purchasing and supply in developing policies, procedures, and control measures, recruiting and training staff, auditing the   purchasing and supply performance of the plants. The main coordinating mechanisms of purchasing and supply management with other functions in the organisation, and with suppliers and customers, are definitely computer systems such as electronic data interchange(EDI), materials planning (MRPII) and distribution requirements planning (DRP). TWO TYPES OF COORDINATION Between purchasing and supply and other functional areas Purchasing coordination is lateral acts in an advisory/support method to the other functions in the enterprise. Between p and s and the supplier system Two dimensions to the coordination between p and s function and the supplier system. Firstly there is coordination with the whole supplier system and secondly with the individual suppliers. The flow of products and services from the supplier has to be effective, the p and s function has to ensure that coordination between them and the supplier ensures this occurs. This can be achieved by means of supplier alliances, integrated systems and inter-organisational teams. The supplier must become an extension of the buying enterprise. The chief coordinating mechanisms available to p and s management are open communication, strategic alliances, integrated systems, the conscious motivation of suppliers and standardisation of specifications, purchasing documents and purchasing procedures. CONTROL : PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF THE PURCHASING AND SUPPLYFUNCTION Control may be defined as a systematic attempt to reach objectives or set standards that accord with the enterprises goal, to observe actual perform- ance and compare it with the set standards, and to take corrective steps with a view to achieving the mission and goals of the enterprise. Objectives and basic principles of performance evaluation P and activities are complex, needs to have a control system. Feedback   on actual performance(measured against quantitative norms). This ensures that the p and s strategy is implemented at the various levels in the company. With this the p and s manager can monitor and improve the functions actual performance. Control ensures that all the other functions with p and s work optimally.

The Millennium Bug :: Essays Papers

The Millennium Bug The millennial sun will first rise over human civilization in the independent republic of Kirbati, a group of thirty low lying coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. Kirbati straddles the equator and the International Dateline halfway between Hawaii and Australia. â€Å"For those who live in a world that relies on satellites, air, rail and ground transportation, manufacturing plants, electricity, heat, telephone, or TV, when the calendar clicks ’99 to ’00, we will experience a true millennial shift (Peterson).† As the sun moves westward on January 1, 2000 and the date shifts silently within millions of computerized systems, we will begin to experience our computer dependent world in a new way. At the stroke of midnight, the new millennium heralds the greatest challenge to modern society that we have yet to face as a planetary community. Whether we experience this as chaos or social transformation will be influenced by what we do immediately. What is theY2K (Year 2000) problem? When computer systems were built in the 1960’s and 1970’s computer hardware was too expensive. To reduce costs, programmers looked for ways to reduce data storage requirements. It was common for year to be stored in databases in two digit fields rather than four digits. Why is this a problem now? The systems built during this period were not very user friendly, but the computers were most critical to business operations. Because these systems of the 1960’s and 1970’s were not designed to run in multiple centuries, most will either produce incorrect information or simply fail at the end of the century. It may not sound like much effort to fix these machines, but in fact, it involves a great deal of time and expense. The Gartner Group, a respected information technology researcher, estimates that it will cost as much as $600 billion worldwide. If the problem is not addressed in time, the consequences could be catastrophic. There is currently widespread awareness that Y2K involves more than the failure of an individual’s personal computer, or an incorrect date in a spreadsheet. â€Å"It is now widely understood that Y2K could affect the lives of individuals, but exactly in what manner is unknown (Associated P 1).† Today computers are used to operate most mechanical equipment that affects every aspect of our lives.

EPC Plant Equipment Maintenance Process

Man-hours of Planned WOW Standby Man-hours ratio 0 No. Of Standby Man-hours / No. Of total Man-hours Mean work-order execution time (Days) Maintenance cost and cost ratio 0 Total maintenance cost per month / Total equipment book value 0 Differentiated values for man-hours and spare-parts 0 Divided in separated categories of equipment (rotary, fixed, facilities, etc. ) Measured monthly Level 1 cross-functional map of the current processWe at EPIC have been able to produce and deliver high quality, high-value chemicals to our customers through modern process technologies and hallucinated equipment and facilities. However, The ever increasing competition in the market requires us to reduce our plant maintenance costs and improve maintenance productivity by reducing non-value-adding activities and idle times, optimizing our manpower and machinery resource allocation, reducing spare-parts inventories, and minimizing the equipment idle-time and maintenance/procurement delays. These objecti ves may not be achieved unless we review, assess, and improve our maintenance planning and execution processes.To achieve an acceptable level of maintenance quality and productivity aimed at increasing production reliability and continuation, we have proposed to initiate a comprehensive analysis of maintenance processes, targeted at 50% reduction in maintenance costs and time, 30% reduction in spare parts inventory, and an average inter-overhaul period of at least 8 years. Implementing the above initiative will hopefully enable us to maintain our cost leadership and remain at the top of the domestic chemicals market. Review/analysis of the current state and its problems/issues As cited in the section n symptoms/problems and the root cause analysis chart, The most basic symptoms of the maintenance process which are manifested in the internal customer's dissatisfaction are delayed execution and poor quality of maintenance work.These are mainly attributed to unskilled maintenance worke rs, poor coordination and cooperation between production and maintenance workers, and long procurement procedures, which result in several losses: 0 Downtime from breakdown and changeover times 0 Speed losses (when equipment fails to operate at its optimum speed) 0 Idling and minor stoppages due to the abnormal operation of sensors, blockage of work on hates, etc. 0 Process defects due to scrap and quality defects to be repaired 0 Reduced yield in the period from machine start-up to stable production. But the ultimate cause of all these inefficiencies lies in the non-optimized function-oriented hierarchical organization within the maintenance and other company-wide departments. In fact, this last phenomenon is the cause of fragmented processes and unnecessary control and inspection, which in turn hinder employees' motivation and empowerment as well as cause very long cycles of spare-parts procurement. Initial improvements- Streamlining

The Photoelectric Effect Essay - 1436 Words

Introduction The Quantum Theory was the second of two theories which drastically changed the way we look at our physical world today, the first being Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Although both theories revolutionized the world of physics, the Quantum Theory required a period of over three decades to develop, while the Special Theory of Relativity was created in a single year. The development of the Quantum Theory began in 1887 when a German physicist, Heinrich Hertz, was testing Maxwell’s Theory of Electromagnetic Waves. Hertz discovered that ultraviolet light discharged certain electrically charged metallic plates, a phenomenon that could not be explained by Maxwell’s Wave Theory. In order to explain this phenomenon termed the†¦show more content†¦The threshold frequency varies with each metal. When the sodium plate was exposed to high frequency light, electrons were emitted and were attracted to the positive terminal, causing a flow of current. However, when a low frequency light was used no electrons were emitted and therefore there was no current. Observations of the Photoelectric Effect 1. Current flows as soon as the negative terminal is illuminated. 2. High frequency light causes electrons to be emitted from the sodium, however, a lower frequency light does not. 3. The energy of the emitted electrons does not depend upon the intensity (brightness) of the light, it is dependent on the frequency of the light. A higher frequency of light causes higher energy electrons. 4. The amount of current that flows is dependent upon the intensity (brightness) of the light. Prior to the 1900’s light was considered to be wave-like in nature. This was due to the success of Maxwell’s Electromagnetic Theory. However, much of the phenomenon observed during the photoelectric effect was in contradiction to the Wave Theory of Light. For instance, the energy contained in electromagnetic waves, and the amount of energy that would strike a sodium electron can be calculated. Such a calculation shows that an electron could indeed gain enough energy to be liberated from the sodium, but only after the sodium had beenShow MoreRelatedContents Introduction: 2 What is the photoelectric effect? 2 Origin of the photoelectric1000 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction: 2 What is the photoelectric effect? 2 Origin of the photoelectric effect: 3 5 Modern day applications of the photoelectric effect: 5 Bibliography: 6 Contributors: 6 â€Æ' On how the photoelectric effect affects our daily lives Christiaan Myburgh Elmar Roux Tijmen van der Steenhoven Introduction: The photoelectric effect has a big effect on our daily lives. It is used in several important technological devices, like solar panels and anti-burglary sensors. The effect was discovered over a longRead MoreThe Physics Of X Ray Tube2196 Words   |  9 Pageswhen it interacts with nuclei creating a nucleon fragment. There are five specific mechanism interactions between x-ray photons and matter. The coherent scattering, compton effect, photoelectric effect, pair production and phtoto distegration. Most commonly used in radiology are compton effect and photoelectric effect. Coherent Scattering the x-ray photon interacts with a whole atom and causes it to become excited. This excitation causes the atom to released an x-ray photon on equal wavelengthRead MoreSolar Energy Paper : The Sun987 Words   |  4 Pagesspread out through a large field. No matter where they are located, they all face directly straight up towards the sun to harvest the light directed onto them. Using what are called solar cells, or photovoltaic cells, they are able to use the photoelectric effect which is the ability of matter to emit electrons whenever a light is shined upon it. 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The property of a small current being producedRead MoreThe Physics Of Quantum Mechanics1076 Words   |  5 Pagesin the acceptance of the wave theory of light, vanquishing the corpuscular theory of light proposed by Isaac Newton, which had been the accepted model of light propagation in the 17th and 18th centuries. However, the later discovery of the photoelectric effe ct demonstrated that under different circumstances, light can behave as if it is composed of discrete particles. These seemingly contradictory discoveries made it necessary to go beyond classical physics and take the quantum nature of light intoRead MoreHow the Angle of a Solar Cell Effects the Voltage Produced1451 Words   |  6 PagesHow the Angle of a Solar Cell effects the Voltage Produced Introduction: In this experiment, I will be experimenting the effect of adjusting the angle of a solar cell relative to the direction of light and the voltage produced based on the angle change. Factors: Some of the possible factors that could affect my experiment are * ------------------------------------------------- The angle of the solar cell. * ------------------------------------------------- The distance of the solarRead MoreTwo Features of the Photo-Electric Effect Essay2277 Words   |  10 PagesThe photo electric effect, which was first documented by Einstein in 1905, and posited that the energy of liberated electrons is linearly dependent on the frequency of incident photons. This paper investigates this relationship and measures Plancks constant ($4.36\pm 0.04\e{-21}$MeVs), and the work function of the photo diode ($-1.52\pm0.02$V). Another phenomena which is checked is the charging time of the stopping potential voltage. While there was some dependence between stopping voltageRead MoreA Basic Understanding Of How Solar Energy And Solar Panels Work1882 Words   |  8 Pagesthem at a quicker rate than we can produce them. Eventually, we will run out. Therefore, a contingency plan must be made, beginning with tasks such as using alternative energy sources to power our machines. This project is a means to combat the effects of pollution and consummation of fossil fuels. Task 2. Form a basic understanding of how solar panels work In order to initialize this project, it is crucial to understand how the technology we are using works. The concept of using solar energy and