Obesity And Its Effects On The Health Of Americans And...

Obesity is a very serious threat to the health of Americans and people all across the world. A plethora of studies have been done to confirm the adverse effects of obesity on an individual s health. Obesity rates have been skyrocketing in the past 30 years. The year 2000 marked the first time in human history that the percentage of obesity in the human population rose over 50% (Obesity: A Cultural and Biocultural Perspective). Obesity, as well as childhood obesity, is more prevalent than ever. There has been little done by the American people and the U.S. government to reverse this trend. My research has shown that the problem of obesity is a much larger problem than most people believe it to be. Many Americans underestimate the†¦show more content†¦Medical professionals define obesity by an individual s body mass index (BMI), which is calculated by taking an individual’s weight and dividing it by their height squared. For adults, a healthy BMI is considered 18.5-24.9 percent. A BMI of 25 to 29 percent is considered â€Å"overweight† which is different than obesity. An individual whose BMI is 30 percent or over is considered to be obese. The rates of obesity in America are among the highest in the world. In 2012 it was reported by the Center for Disease Control that 35.1 percent of adults living in the U.S. are obese (BMI of 30 or over). However, overweight and obese americans account for an astonishing 69 percent of the U.S. population. It is projected that by 2030 over half of all adults (115 million adults) in the U.S. will be obese. With obesity rates higher than ever, it begs the question as to what caused it? There are many reasons obesity is so prevalent. The official Mayo Clinic website lists only two causes: unhealthy diet or eating habits, and inactivity. However, although these are the only two causes they list, the actual causation of obesity goes deeper than that.There are many other risk factors that come into play and put someone at risk for being obese. This includes but is not limited to: genetics, family lifestyle, inactivity, unhealthy diet, medical problems, medications, social and economical issues, age, pregnancy, quitting smoking, and

Challenges of Development in Sumer and Egypt Essay

An analysis of the two civilizations, Sumer and Egypt reveals one challenge facing human social development: geography and environmental features tend to shape the patterns of civilizations. Although the civilization of Sumer was prosperous and powerful, its geographical features ultimately weakened Sumer, exposing its vulnerability to invasion by neighboring civilizations. Egypt was similar to Mesopotamian civilizations in many ways, but Egypt’s distinct differences led to a distinguished social systems: government, economic, and religion that contributed to the seemingly endless prosperity of the Egyptians. The Sumerians eventually fell to those civilizations that prevailed with more favoring topographic assets. Sumer was†¦show more content†¦Military was a strong aspect since Sumer had no known natural barriers. The economy used crops as a form of money, as well as trade being important since Sumer had little natural resources. To fully utilize natural resources, the Sumerians created many inventions that lead to evolutionary advancements with technology. Bronze weapons were replaced with Iron, the invention of the plow and eventual domestication of animals for agricultural purposes, and the sailboat, which was used as a mode of transportation for the trade of goods among neighboring civilizations. Among the most important inventions was the use of simple clay, the foundation of an organized communication system among the Sumerians made up of symbols, known as cuneiform. The output of knowledge by the Sumerians, despite harsh geographical circumstances, gave way as an influential role for growth and development in other civilizations such as Egypt with the invention of hieroglyphics, along the way. Similar to Sumer, Egypt was referred to as a â€Å"river valley civilization.† Egypt was divided into two geographical parts, Upper and Lower Egypt. Lower Egypt was located at the Delta of the Nile River. 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Supply Chain Integration Strategies Industries

Question: Discuss about the Supply Chain Integration Strategies Industries. Answer: Introduction: There are lots of issues at MDC presently. On the other hand, due to increased competition, its customers have started demanding complete solutions and not just material and also want to hold fewer inventories at their end. As a result, things are quite challenging for the MDC. Also, Inventory turnover is very low at MDC which means there is already too much inventory which is not getting converted to sales. Apart from this, MDC has to manufacture too many SKUs as the exact requirement of the usage of the particular SKU is predicated at the last stage and sometimes even during operations doctor decide which variant of the product is to be used. In such situations, variants which were not used become obsolete. Product obsolescence has also increased at MDC in last few months. Considering the present situation at MDC, the best strategy would be to use the VMI (Vendor Manager Inventory) as well as postponement. Together these 2 strategies will transform the MDC business operations, eliminates the current problems and also provide very good experience for its customers. Let us look into detail how each of the strategy will help: Vendor Managed Inventory: Hospitals are demanding the lower levels of stock holdings from the MDC. Thus, MDC can think of using VMI where hospitals will share their forecasts and demand information with the MDC and MDC will maintain as well as own the inventory at the hospitals location. Once the inventory is converted into Sales, it will be transferred to books of hospitals (Donavan, Manuj, 2015). This will help the hospital to lock less investment in holding the inventory which is one of their prime concerns. Also, this strategy will help the MDC to improve the inventory turnover as the bullwhip effect will be lowered over the supply chain and it can forecasts demand better when they have full visibility of the data at the hospital. Thus, it is a win-win situation for both the parties. Postponement at Warehouse: Another strategy is the postponement which is also known as delayed differentiation. Thus approach is usually followed by the organization that provides mass customized products like Dell, Paint industry and so on. In this approach, organizations manufactures subassemblies/common components which are common across the product and then manufactures final product only after the customer order is received. Thus, it can first push material to a point in the supply chain from where it is pulled based on the customer requirements (Ivanov, Tsipoulanidis, Schonberger, 2017). MDC also provides quite a large number of variants so it can adopt this strategy at its warehouses. This will help the MDC to fulfill the demands of the hospitals in a less lead time and that too without building too much inventory. This will improve the inventory turnover rate at MDC and also decrease the product obsolescence. Cross docking: Currently, Products are shipped to 15 warehouses from manufacturing plants. From these 15 warehouses, products are again shipped to other 40 warehouses which are located near the urban areas across Europe. Thus, there will be excessive material handling where first material is unloaded for storing in warehouse and then again it is handled for putting in outbound vehicles. Cross docking is a strategy where material is not stored at warehouse; it will be simply transferred from incoming vehicles to outbound vehicles (Nikolopoulou, Repoussis, Tarantilis, Zachariadis, 2017). If this strategy is not followed for all the products, it can be employed by MDC at least for those products which relatively have a higher and predictable demand. This will help the organization to save the cost, time as well as space on warehouse. Organizations like Coca cola uses this strategy and has benefitted by it. Postponement at Hospitals locations: This approach will be the best for the MDC. Although it can be little expensive as it had to install some machines and appoints some people at hospitals location who can build the exact product at the last moment. But this will drastically cut down the product obsolescence rate, the levels of inventory owned by the Hospital as well as by the MDC. Also, this approach will work if Hospital is agreed form VMI and allocating a space to MDC at its locations. MDC can also start pilot project of combing VMI and postponement and then can roll out this strategy for other customers once it realized the huge benefits of this approach (Sabet, Yazdanu, De Leeuw, 2016). The fundamental reasons for success, with a comparison to another successful and an unsuccessful company? Logistics strategy is one of most important in any organization because it also helps in the formulation of high level strategy. While some years back, logistics was used to be considered as a part of supply chain but now it has been treated as an independent function which drives the while supply chain. Agility, cost, responsiveness, quality, high inventory turnover which are some of the parameters to measure supply chain excellence can be influenced heavily by the logistics strategy of the organization. In its most basic sense, logistics is how the organization is fulfilling the needs of its customers and also buying the raw materials from the suppliers. There are often multiple tradeoffs. For instance, lower lead time will increase the agility and responsiveness of supply chain and helps you to lower your inventory levels but costs will be higher so as to use fastest means of transportation like Air. Waterways are the cheapest means of transportation but they are quite slow and of ten increase the lead time. Different organizations compete with each other not just based on their business model but also based on its logistics strategy. During 1990s, Compaq was the worlds leader in selling PCs. Compaq provides more reliable and high graphics PCs at reasonable prices. However it did not offer the customization. When Dell came, it was able to provide the customized products to every customer using its innovative logistics strategy which is of delaying differentiation to farthest point in supply chain as possible which is also known as postponement (Brumme, Simonovich, Skinner, Van Wassenhove, 2015). There were other vendors like Microsoft, IBM and HP but they have many other business lines and also cash rich. In this case study, Like Dell, MDC also has unpredictable demand for its products and also the lead time is on the higher side, so the postponement strategy will work for MDC also. MDC also has to keep the many variants ready but only Doctor decides on the spot which variant to choose and hospitals also wants to bear the cost of that variant also and not the other variants. Thus, Postponement will be the best solution for MDC to satisfy customer as well as to improve its own financial statistics. How can the company maintain its competitive advantage? MDC can maintain its competitive advantage by delivering not just the medical devices but by delivering entire solutions to its customers. In this complex and dynamic world where companies have to constantly innovate their business model to keep the pace with the competitors, it becomes imperative for them to provide complete solutions to their customers. Thus, MDC can maintain its competitive advantage by tailoring the solution for its customers and solving their business problems (Thompson, Peteraf, gamble, Strickland, Jain, 2013). For instance, Hospitals want to hold less inventory so as to lock less investment, MDC can provide VMI solution to address such solutions whereby inventory will be owned by the MDC but will be maintained at the premise of the hospital. It will be transferred to hospitals only when it is converted to sales. Hospitals inventory turnover ratio in such cases will become very high and keep them quite competitive. And if the Hospital business is thriving i.e. Hospital in this case due to MDC business strategy, then it is definitely a competitive advantage for the MDC (Thompson, Peteraf, gamble, Strickland, Jain, 2013). Another issue hospitals are facing is frequent stock-outs. Stock-outs occur when hospitals are not able to match supply and demand and prefer to order fewer inventories to avoid loss of obsolescence. At such times, VMI will help to eliminate the Bullwhip effect by enabling MDC to forecast and maintain the inventory at the hospitals. This will also help in tackling the issue of stock-outs for hospitals without costing them a single cent. Another solution it could offer is postponement to manufacture only those variants just in time which are actually required. Could this be suitable for other companies and if so explain why, if not explain why? Whether these strategies are suitable for other companies or not depends upon the business model of the company. For instance, the companies which have predictable demand dont need to apply postponement because demand is already known. On the other hand, an organization that does not have predictable demand and manufactures mass customized products has to use postponement. Also, postponement is also of many types. Producing mass customized products is 1 type. Another type of postponement strategy is labeling strategy which means delaying the labeling on a product to la last moment so that it can be used to fulfill the requirement for any region by using appropriate language for labeling. Walmart uses VMI approach because it had to stock the various brands with huge inventories and suppliers compete with each other to get a good shelf in Walmart. Similarly, if you are relatively new store, suppliers will not be ready to managed inventory at your end. Thus, there are numerous logistics strategies like Postponement, cross docking, VMI and there is no one size that fits all. There is always one of its kind solutions that organizations have to tailor for themselves based on their business solutions. 1 strategy could be suitable for 1 company but can be detrimental to other. Discuss the concept of sustainability and its relevance to the company featured in the case study According to a research, not more than 50% of the companies survive or at least maintain their leadership status beyond a period of 16 years (Hansen, Dunker, 2013). And that is the reason concept of sustainability is important. In this Globalized world of digital revolution where disruptive technology like internet of things and many others are evolving, it is very much important for nay organization to constantly innovate its business model in order to survive. Kodak and Xerox failed to innovate themselves and thus lost their leadership status with the time (Cuthbertson, Furseth, Ezell, 2015). Similarly, no matter how innovative range of medical devices MDC manufactures, if it has to survive it has to constantly upgrade itself. Although its range of products is very good but it can no longer be a differentiator in a todays world where competitors are ready to provide complete solutions. Customer these days (Hospitals particularly in this case) is not only expecting the products to be good but they want end to end solutions that help them to lower their cost of business. The true mantra for the success for any company is to lower the cost of operations for its customers. In this case, if MDC is able to help hospital to meet its challenges by inculcating strategies like VMI and Postponement, only then hospitals will buy the services of MDC and MDC will remain sustainable. It is possible that after few years even VMI and postponement is not sufficient. Then MDC has to innovate methods to woo its customers. Recommendations After analyzing the case at MDC, several strategies are recommended that can help the MDC and its customers. VMI is recommended to MDC so as to meet the requirement of hospitals to hold fewer inventories. On the other hand, VMI will also help the MDC to better forecast demands at the hospitals and increasing sales by decreasing the stock outs. Postponement is also recommended because hospitals want to pay for the variant which they actually use and not for all the variants. This has also resulted in the obsolescence. Thus, Postponement will help the MDC to provide hospitals exactly what they need quickly and creates win-win situation for both and it will also increase the inventory turnover for the MDC. Conclusion This case study discusses about the various challenges that MDC is facing. Not only this, its customers are also facing challenges and starts demanding more from the MDC. MDC has to innovate its strategy to meet the current challenges and provides complete solutions to the hospitals. No matter how good the products of MDC are but until they provide the complete solutions to their customers, they will not be competitive in the market. Bibliography Brumme, H., Simonovich, D., Skinner, W., Van Wassenhove, L. N. (2015). The Strategy?Focused Factory in Turbulent Times.Production and Operations Management,24(10), 1513-1523. Cuthbertson, R., Furseth, P. I., Ezell, S. J. (2015). Kodak and Xerox: How High Risk Aversion Kills Companies. InInnovating in a Service-Driven Economy(pp. 166-179). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Donovan, P. S., Manuj, I. (2015). A Comprehensive Theoretical Model of the Complex Strategic Demand Management Process.Transportation Journal,54(2), 213-239. Hansen, E. G., Grosse-Dunker, F. (2013). Sustainability-oriented innovation. InEncyclopedia of corporate social responsibility(pp. 2407-2417). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Ivanov, D., Tsipoulanidis, A., Schnberger, J. (2017). Production Strategy. InGlobal Supply Chain and Operations Management(pp. 121-140). Springer International Publishing. Nikolopoulou, A. I., Repoussis, P. P., Tarantilis, C. D., Zachariadis, E. E. (2017). Moving products between location pairs: Cross-docking versus direct-shipping.European Journal of Operational Research,256(3), 803-819. Sabet, E., Yazdani, B., De Leeuw, S. (2016). Supply chain integration strategies in fast evolving industries.International Journal of Logistics Management. Thompson, A., Peteraf, M., Gamble, J., Strickland III, A. J., Jain, A. K. (2013).Crafting Executing Strategy 19/e: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases. McGraw-Hill Education.

Republic Of China Essays - Republic Of China, Sun Yat-sen

Republic of China The republic that Sun Yat-sen and his associates imagined slowly came about. The revolutionists lacked an army, and the power of Yuan Shikai began to outdo that of parliament. Yuan revised the constitution at will and became dictatorship. In August 1912 a new political party was founded by Song Jiaoren ( 1882-1913), one of Sun's associates. The party, the Guomindang was an blend of small political groups, including Sun's Tongmeng Hui . In the national elections held in February 1913 for the new bicameral parliament, Song campaigned against the Yuan administration, and his party won a majority of seats. Yuan had Song assassinated in March; he had already arranged the assassination of several pro-revolutionist generals. Animosity toward Yuan grew. In the summer of 1913 seven southern provinces rebelled against Yuan. When the rebellion was suppressed, Sun and other instigators fled to Japan. In October 1913 an intimidated parliament formally elected Yuan president of the Republic of China, and the major powers extended recognition to his government. To achieve international recognition, Yuan Shikai had to agree to autonomy for Outer Mongolia and Xizang. China was still to be suzerain, but it would have to allow Russia a free hand in Outer Mongolia and Britain continuance of its influence in Xizang. In November Yuan Shikai, legally president, ordered the Guomindang dissolved and its members removed from parliament. Within a few months, he suspended parliament and the provincial assemblies and forced the promulgation of a new constitution, which, in effect, made him president for life. Yuan's ambitions still were not satisfied, and, by the end of 1915, it was announced that he would reestablish the monarchy. Widespread rebellions ensued, and numerous provinces declared independence. With opposition at every quarter and the nation breaking up into warlord factions, Yuan Shikai died of natural causes in June 1916, deserted by his lieutenants. Nationalism and Communism After Yuan Shikai's death, shifting alliances of regional warlords fought for control of the Beijing government. The nation also was threatened from without by the Japanese. When World War I broke out in 1914, Japan fought on the Allied side and seized German holdings in Shandong Province. In 1915 the Japanese set before the warlord government in Beijing the so-called Twenty-One Demands, which would have made China a Japanese protectorate. The Beijing government rejected some of these demands but yielded to the Japanese insistence on keeping the Shandong territory already in its possession. Beijing also recognized Tokyo's authority over southern Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia. In 1917, in secret communiqu?s, Britain, France, and Italy assented to the Japanese claim in exchange for the Japan's naval action against Germany. In 1917 China declared war on Germany in the hope of recovering its lost province, then under Japanese control. But in 1918 the Beijing government signed a secret deal with Japan accepting the claim to Shandong. When the Paris peace conference of 1919 confirmed the Japanese claim to Shandong and Beijing's sellout became public, internal reaction was shattering. On May 4, 1919, there were massive student demonstrations against the Beijing government and Japan. The political fervor, student activism, and iconoclastic and reformist intellectual currents set in motion by the patriotic student protest developed into a national awakening known as the May Fourth Movement. The intellectual milieu in which the May Fourth Movement developed was known as the New Culture Movement and occupied the period from 1917 to 1923. The student demonstrations of May 4, 1919 were the high point of the New Culture Movement, and the terms are often used synonymously. Students returned from abroad advocating social and political theories ranging from complete Westernization of China to the socialism that one day would be adopted by China's communist rulers. Opposing the Warlords The May Fourth Movement helped to rekindle the then-fading cause of republican revolution. In 1917 Sun Yat-sen had become commander-in-chief of a rival military government in Guangzhou in collaboration with southern warlords. In October 1919 Sun reestablished the Guomindang to counter the government in Beijing. The latter, under a succession of warlords, still maintained its facade of legitimacy and its relations with the West. By 1921 Sun had become president of the southern government. He spent his remaining years trying to