Recruitment and Diversity Enhances Customer

(Point 2) Organisation Benefits of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce: An increasing number of companies are realising the benefits of having a diverse workforce and as a result are incorporating equality and diversity objectives in their business strategies. Diversity is a widely-used concept which refers to visible and non–visible differences between individuals. There are six main strands of diversity: race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age, and religion which are covered by UK legislation. Diversity also incorporates differences such as class, personality and working patterns What is meant by a diverse workforce?Social diversity: Demographic diversity such as age, race ethics and gender Value Diversity: Psychological difference in personality and attitudes Information Diversity: Benefits are: * Diversity in employment promotes cost-effective employment relations: Employers have more choice from a greater skills base, improved employee satisfaction, red uced internal disputes, greater workplace harmony, improved retention and more effective and fairer promotion of talent * Diversity enhances customer relations: matching internal employee diversity to population diversity can provide performance benefits, which enhance awareness of consumer needs Diversity enhances creativity, flexibility and innovation in organisations: the flexibility, creativity and ability to innovate are enhanced by the existence of dissimilar mind sets * Diversity promotes sustainable development and business advantage: e. g. external recruitment of diverse top-team talent to inject new ideas and challenge the organisational mind sets and ways of doing things that can hinder change and organisational progress. (point 3) Factors that affect an organisation approach to Recruitment and Selection FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT (point 4)Different recruitment and selection methods Recruitment and selection are usually considered as one process. However, I will make t he distinction here between the initial actions and considerations when planning staff recruitment and the process of selecting an individual from a pool of applicants. Recruitment needs to be carefully planned in order to attract the right type of applicant. Recruitment The key to effective recruitment is preparation: knowing the job and what is required of someone to perform it well. The costs of recruiting the wrong person can be significant.The cost of employing someone may be at least twice their salary when factors such as training, expenses and employer's contributions to their pension are added. INTERNAL| AGENCY| EXTERNAL| Cheaper and quicker to recruitFamiliarity with the business and operationsBusiness already aware of strengths and weaknesses of candidatesProvides opportunity for promotion – motivational| Wider nets of targeted candidate attractionSaving management time interviewing only a top candidateProcess streamlining| Outside people bring in new ideasLarger p ool of workers of which to find candidatesWider range of experience|Selection Psychometric tests These are particularly useful if you want to assess candidates for Managerial or Senior appointments or candidates for appointments where there is a special need for the post – such as strong relationship building skills. These types of test are especially good at assisting with assessing how candidates are likely to behave, for example, towards a manager, towards their peers, and towards their subordinates. They will often provide a profile which should be discussed with the candidate to check validity, as they are self-perception questionnaires.Candidates should also be given feedback on the profile. The profile should be a part of the assessment, contributing perhaps up to 10% towards the final decision. They should be used carefully as they need to be used in the right way by properly trained assessors. Interviews Interviews can take many forms and styles. A type of interviewi ng recommended is Criteria-Based Behavioural Interviewing. This type of interviewing is based around the criteria identified in the person specification – the essential and desirable criteria.It is therefore really important to prepare a good person specification right at the start of the recruitment process. It is also important to identify how each of the criteria will be assessed. Some items in the criteria e. g. a qualification, can be assessed by reference to the application form, these can be called the â€Å"hard or factual criteria† and can usually be assessed on the application form or c. v. Presentations Presentations can be used in a variety of ways depending on how they relate to the job description and the normal working practices expected of the post.In assessing presentations, it is important to have decided on the criteria against which each candidate will be marked. These could include criteria which will also be assessed at interview, but may take on a particular aspect – e. g. communications skills could be assessed in the interview but will be mainly looking at how the person communicates with the panel and gets their points across, as well as how they interact with the members of the panel. In a lecture style presentation, the candidates’ communications skills to a large group will be assessed, which is much more formal delivery. Recruitment and Diversity Enhances Customer (Point 2) Organisation Benefits of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce: An increasing number of companies are realising the benefits of having a diverse workforce and as a result are incorporating equality and diversity objectives in their business strategies. Diversity is a widely-used concept which refers to visible and non–visible differences between individuals. There are six main strands of diversity: race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age, and religion which are covered by UK legislation. Diversity also incorporates differences such as class, personality and working patterns What is meant by a diverse workforce?Social diversity: Demographic diversity such as age, race ethics and gender Value Diversity: Psychological difference in personality and attitudes Information Diversity: Benefits are: * Diversity in employment promotes cost-effective employment relations: Employers have more choice from a greater skills base, improved employee satisfaction, red uced internal disputes, greater workplace harmony, improved retention and more effective and fairer promotion of talent * Diversity enhances customer relations: matching internal employee diversity to population diversity can provide performance benefits, which enhance awareness of consumer needs Diversity enhances creativity, flexibility and innovation in organisations: the flexibility, creativity and ability to innovate are enhanced by the existence of dissimilar mind sets * Diversity promotes sustainable development and business advantage: e. g. external recruitment of diverse top-team talent to inject new ideas and challenge the organisational mind sets and ways of doing things that can hinder change and organisational progress. (point 3) Factors that affect an organisation approach to Recruitment and Selection FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT (point 4)Different recruitment and selection methods Recruitment and selection are usually considered as one process. However, I will make t he distinction here between the initial actions and considerations when planning staff recruitment and the process of selecting an individual from a pool of applicants. Recruitment needs to be carefully planned in order to attract the right type of applicant. Recruitment The key to effective recruitment is preparation: knowing the job and what is required of someone to perform it well. The costs of recruiting the wrong person can be significant.The cost of employing someone may be at least twice their salary when factors such as training, expenses and employer's contributions to their pension are added. INTERNAL| AGENCY| EXTERNAL| Cheaper and quicker to recruitFamiliarity with the business and operationsBusiness already aware of strengths and weaknesses of candidatesProvides opportunity for promotion – motivational| Wider nets of targeted candidate attractionSaving management time interviewing only a top candidateProcess streamlining| Outside people bring in new ideasLarger p ool of workers of which to find candidatesWider range of experience|Selection Psychometric tests These are particularly useful if you want to assess candidates for Managerial or Senior appointments or candidates for appointments where there is a special need for the post – such as strong relationship building skills. These types of test are especially good at assisting with assessing how candidates are likely to behave, for example, towards a manager, towards their peers, and towards their subordinates. They will often provide a profile which should be discussed with the candidate to check validity, as they are self-perception questionnaires.Candidates should also be given feedback on the profile. The profile should be a part of the assessment, contributing perhaps up to 10% towards the final decision. They should be used carefully as they need to be used in the right way by properly trained assessors. Interviews Interviews can take many forms and styles. A type of interviewi ng recommended is Criteria-Based Behavioural Interviewing. This type of interviewing is based around the criteria identified in the person specification – the essential and desirable criteria.It is therefore really important to prepare a good person specification right at the start of the recruitment process. It is also important to identify how each of the criteria will be assessed. Some items in the criteria e. g. a qualification, can be assessed by reference to the application form, these can be called the â€Å"hard or factual criteria† and can usually be assessed on the application form or c. v. Presentations Presentations can be used in a variety of ways depending on how they relate to the job description and the normal working practices expected of the post.In assessing presentations, it is important to have decided on the criteria against which each candidate will be marked. These could include criteria which will also be assessed at interview, but may take on a particular aspect – e. g. communications skills could be assessed in the interview but will be mainly looking at how the person communicates with the panel and gets their points across, as well as how they interact with the members of the panel. In a lecture style presentation, the candidates’ communications skills to a large group will be assessed, which is much more formal delivery.

This is a lab report on Aluminum Detection essays

This is a lab report on Aluminum Detection essays Objective: To detect the presence of aluminum by testing both a deodorant Materials and Methods/Procedures: A boiling water bath was prepared in a 600 ml beaker, and four test tubes were cleaned, dried, and labeled with a China marker. 0.25 g of Antiperspirant (Arid XX) was weighed with one sheet of clean weighing paper and placed in Tube #2, while 0.25 g of Deodorant (Speed Stick) was weighed with another sheet of weighing paper and placed in Tube #3. Tube #1 (the Positive control tube) had a pinch of aluminum salt placed in it, while nothing was placed in Tube #4. 4 ml of distilled water was added to each tube, followed by 1 ml of 6M hydrochloric acid. The contents of each tube were mixed thoroughly with a stirring rod, and the four tubes were placed in the boiling water bath for 5 minutes. The tubes were removed from the water, allowed to cool to room temperature and then had 2 drops of Aluminum reagent added to each tube, and color changes noted. Each tube then had 6M ammonium hydroxide added until a basic pH was reached. When the basic pH was reached, the tubes were Results: The color change noted after the addition of Aluminum reagent was peach in test tube #1, light-pink in test tube#2, pink in test tube #3 and peach in test tube #4. After the 6M ammonium hydroxide was added, the color change was pink for test tube #1, light purple for test tube #2, light pink for test tube #3, and very light orange for test tube #4. The Antiperspirant did contain aluminum because it had the gelatinous cherry- red precipitate, while the Deodorant did not contain aluminum since it did not have the gelatinous cherry-red precipitate. Test tubes #1 and #4 were necessary to observe what the presence of aluminum looked like in the experiment. The Antiperspirant was different because it had aluminum as an ...

Writing Greek Letters on the Computer

Writing Greek Letters on the Computer If you write anything scientific or mathematical on the internet, you will quickly find the need for several special characters that are not readily available on your keyboard. ASCII characters for  HTML  allow you to include many characters that dont appear on an English keyboard, including the  Greek alphabet. To make the correct character appear on the page, start with an ampersand () and a pound sign (#), followed by a three-digit number, and ending with a semicolon (;). Creating Greek Letters This table contains  many Greek letters  but not all of them. It only contains uppercase and lowercase letters that are not available on a keyboard. For  example, you can type the capital alpha (A) in Greek  with a regular capital  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹A  because these letters look the same in Greek and English. You can also use the code #913 or Alpha. The results are the same. Not all symbols are supported by all browsers. Check before you publish. You may need to add the following bit of code in the head part of your HTML document: meta http-equivcontent-type contenttext/html; charsetutf-8 HTML Codes for Greek Letters Character Displayed HTML Code capital gamma Γ #915; or Gamma; capital delta Δ #916; or Delta; capital theta ÃŽËœ #920; or Theta; capital lambda Λ #923; or Lamda; capital xi Ξ #926; or Xi; capital pi ÃŽ   #928; or Pi; capital sigma ÃŽ £ #931; or Sigma; capital phi ÃŽ ¦ #934; or Phi; capital psi ÃŽ ¨ #936; or Psi; capital omega ÃŽ © #937; or Omega; small alpha ÃŽ ± #945; or alpha; small beta ÃŽ ² #946; or beta; small gamma ÃŽ ³ #947; or gamma; small delta ÃŽ ´ #948; or delta; small epsilon ÃŽ µ #949; or epsilon; small zeta ÃŽ ¶ #950; or zeta; small eta ÃŽ · #951; or zeta; small theta ÃŽ ¸ #952; or theta; small iota ÃŽ ¹ #953; or iota; small kappa ÃŽ º #954; or kappa; small lamda ÃŽ » #955; or lambda; small mu ÃŽ ¼ #956; or mu; small nu ÃŽ ½ #957; or nu; small xi ÃŽ ¾ #958; or xi; small pi Ï€ #960; or pi; small rho Ï  #961; or rho; small sigma ÏÆ' #963; or sigma; small tau Ï„ #964; or tau; small upsilon Ï… #965; or upsilon; small phi φ #966; or phi; small chi χ #967; or chi; small psi ψ #968; or psi; small omega ω #969; or omega; Alt Codes for Greek Letters You can also use Alt codes- also called quick codes,  quick keys, or keyboard shortcuts- to create Greek letters, as displayed in the  table below, which was adapted from the website  Useful Shortcuts. To create any of these Greek letters using the Alt codes, simply press the Alt key while simultaneously typing the listed number. For example, to create the Greek letter Alpha (ÃŽ ±), press the Alt key and type 224 using the keypad at the right side of your keyboard. (Do not use the numbers at the top of the keyboard located above the letter keys, as they will not work for creating Greek letters.) Character Displayed Alt Code Alpha ÃŽ ± Alt 225 Beta ÃŽ ² Alt 225 Gamma Γ Alt 226 Delta ÃŽ ´ Alt 235 Epsilon ÃŽ µ Alt 238 Theta ÃŽËœ Alt 233 Pi Ï€ Alt 227 Mu  µ Alt 230 Uppercase Sigma ÃŽ £ Alt 228 Lowercase Sigma ÏÆ' Alt 229 Tau Ï„ Alt 231 Uppercase Phi ÃŽ ¦ Alt 232 Lowercase Phi φ Alt 237 Omega ÃŽ © Alt 234 History of the Greek Alphabet The Greek alphabet went through several changes over the centuries. Before the fifth century B.C., there were two similar Greek alphabets, the Ionic and Chalcidian. The Chalcidian alphabet may have been the forerunner of the Etruscan alphabet and, later, the Latin alphabet. It is the Latin alphabet that forms the basis of most European alphabets. Meanwhile, Athens adopted the Ionic alphabet; as a result, it is still used in modern Greece. While the original Greek alphabet was written in all capitals, three different scripts were created to make it easier to write quickly. These include uncial, a system for connecting capital letters, as well as the more familiar cursive and minuscule. Minuscule is the basis for modern Greek handwriting. Why You Should Know the Greek Alphabet Even if you never plan to learn Greek, there are good reasons to familiarize yourself with the alphabet. Mathematics and science use Greek letters like pi (Ï€) to complement the numeric symbols. Sigma in its capital form (ÃŽ £) can stand for sum, while the uppercase letter delta (Δ) can mean  change. The Greek alphabet is also central to the study of theology. For example, the Greek used in the Bible- called  Koine (or common) Greek- is different than  modern Greek. Koine Greek was the language used by writers of the Old Testament Greek Septuagint  (the earliest existing Greek translation of the Old Testament) and the Greek New Testament, according to an article titled The Greek Alphabet published on the website  BibleScripture.net. So, many theologians need to study ancient Greek to get closer to the original biblical text. Having ways to quickly produce Greek letters using HTML or keyboard shortcuts makes this process much easier. Additionally, Greek letters are used to designate fraternities, sororities, and philanthropic organizations. Some books in English are also numbered using the letters of the Greek alphabet. Sometimes, both lowercase and capitals are employed for simplification. Thus, you may find that the books of the Iliad are written Α to ÃŽ © and those of the Odyssey, ÃŽ ± to ω.

Trends in Giving Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Trends in Giving - Research Paper Example A second trend seen over the past decade is the increasing levels of contributions gathered by NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations). Funds have been pouring into these organizations because they have been billed as being able to address global issues such as famine or AIDS better than individual governments. A trend within this segment of giving is the increase of funds flowing from mega private funds such as the Soros Fund, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Ted Turner. Greater transparency in NGO’s have attracted these mega private donors because they can be more assured that their funds are going to the delineated cause. The problem of needing to steer the NGO towards the agenda of the mega private donor is a real risk, but one many NGO’s must take due to declining volunteerism and donations from other private sources (Greensmith, 2001) Another interesting gauge of trends in giving that is extremely current is the development of the PGI (Philanthropic Giving Index) at the University of Indiana. The PGI works on a similar concept as the Consumer Confidence Index. It attempts to measure the likelihood that potential donors will give to charity in the coming year. It gauges the public’s reaction to various fundraising techniques currently employed and surveys them as to how likely they would be to give if approached using these techniques. Currently, the PGI is at an all time low of 64.8. This is down 27% from the PGI that was recorded in December of 2007 (Raiton,

Refutation paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Refutation paper - Essay Example It was in 1868 when the text was first translated by John Chalmers, an Englishman, which eventually influenced Western culture. This short text is said to have two parts: The Tao Ching and the Te Ching (Lees, 2011). Because of the style of writing which is poetic in nature, there is a variety of interpretations which are even contradictory. According to Lees (2011), the sacred book is written in classical Chinese which is said to be difficult to understand thus making contradictory interpretations and translations. In Bebell and Fera’s research (2000), they cited that there are over 100 interpretations and adaptations of Lao Tzu’s text today. In the holistic analysis of the research conducted by Bebell and Fera in 2000, it revealed an overall similarity among different translation’s use of central concepts of Tao Te Ching though there are variance both minor and notable among them. The title can be translated literally to mean: Tao can be translated as â€Å"way †, or to mean â€Å"the Way†. ... Thus, it is very important to examine the topic extensively as it is very tricky and invites a lot of criticism. Support or Evidence: If the statements are contradictory, we have to re-evaluate and make sense of everything. To do this, we have to interpret the statements in a Taoist standpoint. There are statements implies that nothing at all can be said about the Tao. A Taoist will definitely declare that Taoist sage will only possess a limited and qualified truth value. Textual evidence that reveals hierarchy of values can be found in Chapter 38 which states that kindness is considered higher value to follow (Allinson, 1994). Allinson’s study (1994) stated that if statements appear to attribute amoral or immoral behaviour to Taoist sage, then the statements must be made from outside the Taoist standpoint. If there is an existence of hierarchy of value, the statements which appear to attribute farther from the Tao must be carefully examined to determine existence of other int erpretation. However, it can be said that there are only few statements that attribute to amoral or immoral behaviour. In short, interpretations must be found to be coherent to the greatest number of statements in the text. Examples of the contradictory statements are the first two in the Tao Te Ching. The first statement states that â€Å"The Tao that can be spoken about is not the constant Tao.† According to Allinson (1994), this statement appears to suggest that the Tao cannot be described. It should be noted that the Tao one is referring and its description are different such that the described Tao is really not the real Tao. The second statement in the Tao Te Ching is â€Å"The

Analysisn of Premier Food`s Code of Conduct and Business Ethics Essay

Analysisn of Premier Food`s Code of Conduct and Business Ethics - Essay Example These values are reflected not only in the company’s code of conduct, but in Premier Foods’ annual report to shareholders which emphasise corporate social responsibility as a key business success factor. Critical analysis of Premier Foods’ Code of Conduct Premier Foods has established its code of conduct, a document illustrating the expectations of both managers and employees to satisfy demands for ethical business behaviour. The code of conduct stipulates that manager should be leading by example as well as creating a decentralised environment in which employees are allowed to express their concerns openly (Premier Foods 2012). Premier Foods identifies one of its core values as trust (Premier Foods 2012), the foundation by which employees are willing to follow leadership guidance and example. According to Farrell and Knight (2003, p.541) â€Å"trust is embodied in the regulations, rules and policies by which leaders seek to get accepted by others†. The co de of conduct acts as both a reinforcement of expectations of ethical behaviour and also as a sanction by which to ensure compliance, backed by managerial role modelling of desired behaviours to gain employee commitment to achieving strategic goals. Premier Foods establishes an ethical climate by using the code of conduct to promote social justice. Under social justice theory in ethics, it is assumed that every individual in society or in the organisation maintains an inviolability of justice and human rights that cannot and should not be overridden by the broader organisational culture (Rawls 2005). The expectations of managers in promoting equality and rights in the workplace are reflected in the corporate code of conduct, emphasised under the company’s â€Å"treating people fairly† guidelines. Premier Foods ensures that fair treatment is imposed on the employee population with decisions made based on individual merit (Premier Foods 2012). The company also ensures eq ual opportunities for all employees through objective management systems. These aforementioned managerial responsibilities highlighted in the corporate code of conduct are designed around transformational leadership theory, one in which managers are interactive with employees, regularly impart mission and vision principles to gain commitment, and where managers utilise role modelling to promote ethics under social learning theory (Fairholm 2009; Schlosberg 2006). This is how trust is instilled into the organisation: the business does not simply promote its belief in social justice and equality, but injects a clear example of its ethical values into the philosophy of management utilised by leaders in the organisation. Premier Foods is able to maintain its tight and unified corporate culture by not deviating from management theory that promotes equality and shared decision-making. â€Å"Leaders who are ethical demonstrate a level of integrity that is important for stimulating a sense of leader trustworthiness† (Resick et al. 2006, p.348). Grieves (2010) iterates that change must be a negotiated order in order to gain employee commitment and loyalty. The conception of social justice and equality, as two components acting as the foundation of trust, are reinforced by establishing expectations for managerial behaviour under visionary or transformational

Adding Value In Supply Chain Management Commerce Essay

Adding Value In Supply Chain Management Commerce Essay This chapter reviews the relevant literature and starts with discussion on Adding Value in supply chain management with special focus on pharmaceutical industry and to understanding firms supply chain management and competitive advantages. With involved four major points those are Challenges, Collaboration and Planning High performance delivery, Integration Implementation. Following there is a discussion on theoretical framework on supply chain management, role of top management and overview of latest supply chain management systems. In the last this chapter conclude with summary. 2.1 Adding Value in supply chain management: First question arise that what is Value adding in supply chain? Base on literature review value adding is the difference between input cost and output value (Hines, 2004, p.224). Value added along supply chain takes the form of tangible goods added and intangible services supplied (Hines, 2004). Value added notify to any additional value created at a particular stage of service by key service factors including; tangible value added through material transformation, labour and captical goods and intangible value added through capital and building of collaborative relationships. Firms can add value in many ways, like improve supply method from current level to higher level which is also part of add value in supply chain. Value adding resources within a supply chain are the tangible (processes). Intangible capabilities of a firm (firm attributes, firm controlled information, knowledge and collaborative relationships) enhance efficiency and effectiveness (Cunningham, 1995). By reviewing literature, the value chain concept was developed and popularized in 1985 by Michael Porter in Competitive Advantage. Porter defined value as the amount buyers or customers are willing to pay for what a firm provides, and he visualized the value chain as the arrangement of nine basic values to customers. Porter linked up the value chains between firms to form what he mentioned a value system; now in present era of globalisation and collaboration the link between two firms creating value process called the value chain. As value chain name involves the interpedently processes that generate value of products and the resulting demand and funds flows that are created. According to the Martin Christopher value chain activities can be categorized into two types primary activities (Inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales and services) and support activities (Infrastructure, human resource management, technology development and procurement) (Christo pher, 2005). From the literature review, author suggests that first, we need to understand the physical resources that are required within a supply chain to create and deliver a finished service to a customer. Second, we must understand the exchange relationship between particular supply chain resources and the flow of revenue in the value chain. Third, we must also understand what it is about the ownership and control of particular supply chain resources that allows certain resources to command more of the flow of value than others. In understanding this, the process of analytically mapping the properties of power within supply and value chains can commence. To deliver a value, product category and availability is also play important role in supply chain management. By reviewing literature, author understand that alternative perspective of viewing supply chains as value chains identifies economic value as being added through coordinated management of the flow of physical goods and information at each stage of the chain (Davis Stewart, 2004). The theoretical basis for supply chains, Handfield and Nichol (2002, p8), define them as including all organisation and activities associated with the flow and transformation of goods from the materials stage, through to the end user, as well as the associated information flows Information sharing is identified as a key driver for improving supply chain performance and enhancing competitive advantage (Zhang, 2006). Additionally supply chains can be characterised as value system and are defined as a connected series of organisations, resources and knowledge streams involved in the creation and delivery of value to the end customer(Handfield Nichols, 2002, P11). 2.1.2 Companys supply chain management and competitive advantage: Definition of supply chain is the network of organizations that are involved, through upstream and downstream linkages, in the different processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services delivered to the ultimate consumer (Christopher 1992). In other words, a supply chain consists of multiple firms, both upstream (i.e., supply) and downstream (i.e., distribution), and the ultimate consumer (John T. Mentzer, 2001). The philosophy behind supply-chain management has changed. Previously the central concept was to manage an inventory that acted as a buffer between a limited production capacity and variable customer demands. The scope of the task was interpreted as managing warehouses and transport operations. The current priority is to engineer the supply chain as a seamless whole, breaking down the barriers that have existed between purchasing, production, distribution and sales. These issues are particularly relevant to the pharmaceutical industry. Functions have traditionally operated independently and there has been a consequent sub optimization of the supply chain by fragmenting it along functional lines. In its new form, supply-chain management is a corporate-level task on which several strategic objectives depend, not least ensuring a satisfactory return on capital employed while ensuring the supply of goods and services to designated markets at the service levels demanded. To achieve this, even at a national level, using local facilities to supply local markets is a challenge, requiring close integration of the supply chain and subjugation of functional/ departmental objectives to the needs of the supply chain as a whole. To achieve it globally is much more difficult (Booth, 1996). 2.1.3 Contemporary approaches to achieve competitive advantage: One of the first ideas about theoretical framework for understanding firms performance is Porter (1980). He introduces a strategic and analytical approach to understanding competitive strategy, and said that Every firm competing in an industry has a competitive strategy, whether open or hidden (Porter, 1980). He proposes a framework for analysis industries and competitors and describes three generic strategies, cost leadership, differentiation and focus. He postulates that if a firm is able to do well in any of these strategic fields, It will gain competitive advantage. Porters concept is portraying in below figure. Competitive Advantage of a Firm Generic Competitive strategies Overall cost leadership Differentiation Focus Figure: 2-1: Strategies to achieve competitive advantage: source Porter (1980). -Cost Leadership is most important in competitive pharmaceutical distribution chain, efficient-scale facilities, pursuit of cost reductions, and cost minimization in all areas of the firm. This action can increase companys profit. -Differentiation of product like, different one medicine in different brand (Ports and Blister pack) or service differentiation including design and brand image, customer service, and distribution or dealer network. This action can help increase customer loyalty and ensure often purchase. -Focus on markets, buyers or product line (new line of medicine with its generics version) can help to achieve competitive advantage. The framework of Porter, in fig 2-1 shows, that the proficient strategies can provide competitive advantage. Porter (1980) also argues that competitive advantage comes from the many separate activities a firm achieve in designing, storage, marketing, delivering and creating owns products. Each of this processing contributes to a firms relative cost to position and creates a basis for differentiation. This is the Pharmaceutical logistic value chain, and a firm has to recollection its strategically relevant activities in order to understand the behaviour of costs and the existing and potential sources of differentiation. A company gains competitive advantage by performing these strategically important activities better than its competitors (Porter, 1985). The general value chain concept, and Sigmas existing concept is illustrated in figure 2-2. Supply chain advance Marketing Leadership Advance Primary Activities Profit Margin Support Activities Inbound Sigma House Picking and Customer Marketing Logistics (Warehouse) Assembling Service Tele-sales Procurement Human Resource Management Technology service Development Firm (Sigmas) Infrastructure and Platform Services Figure 2-2: The value chain and Theoretical Framework to achieve competitive Advantage (Adapted from Porter 1985). The definition of supply chain including all basic activities, therefore sales, marketing and customer service activities can be construed as part of the supply chain approach show in the above figure. In company, Tele-sales and marketing processes, such as demand management, order processing and customer relationship building management are included in the internal processes shown in the figure and in the supply chain literature review. However, sales and marketing activity, such as sales calls, advertising and some post delivery support processes are excluded from supply chain activity. This is consistent with the approach taken by the supply chain model it uses to measure supply chain activity (Supply chain council, 2007). There is various types of approaches to achieve competitive advantage, strategic approach, 2.1.4 The strategic Planning approach: In important of porter (1980) approaches, a strategic planning approach that is companys competitive advantage can be planned for this. This includes planning for differentiation in the delivering a value in supply chain, low cost leadership and focus. Strategy is always the product of a complex and unexpected interplay between basic information, personalities and aspiration according to Hamel (1998). What this implies is that one does not gain for obvious solution and strategies but should look at alternatives, challenge assumptions, and look at new ways of delivering superior customer value and firm performance. 2.1.5 Marketing strategy approach: The marketing capabilities approach introduces the concept of capabilities of a market driven organization and explores the links between capabilities and a firms performance and market success (Day, 1999). A firms competitive advantage comes from two sources: Assets or resources, which are acquired over time and distinct capabilities, which are the glue that holds these assets together. Examples are DHLs secure delivery across the globe and Walmarts logistic systems. Such capabilities provide competitive advantage and help organization to deliver a value to its every customer. Other Proponents of the marketing capability approach are cool and Derrick (1989), Aaker (1989), caves and Gale (1987). The concept of capabilities is not new and was proposed much earlier by penrose in 1959. However, this has been popularized as the concept of core competencies of the corporation that can lead to a firms success by Hamel and Prahalad in 1990. They actually propose some tests to measure the st rength and success of core competencies. An example of Federal expresses its packaging and delivery process. The product differentiation approach by Trout (2000), states that what matters is differentiation of product or service, that are too many choice in todays world, and only differentiation provides competitive advantage. In Pharmaceutical business there many manufacture produce a medicine under different choice, keeping all different sort of product and supplying on time will be better advantage over the competitive. 2.1.6 The Introduction of the supply chain approach: In the competitive market of the early decade, there has been a change in management action, resulting for searching strategies that provide superior value to customers. As a result in the supply chain approach to gaining competitive advantage has moved into the frontline of business strategies, especially in developed countries. This approach has its introduced from historical military campaigns (Britannica, 1999) and recently from porter of value chain, with its importance on inbound and outbound logistics, and production operation. In a discussion on marketing logistics thinking argue that logistics has major impact on customer satisfaction, success and costs. They recommend that a firm manage its entire supply chain and that such an approach will add value in existing supply chain within the organization and will help to gain competitive advantage over rival. 2.2 Supply chain Management and factors: 2.2.1 Definition of supply chain and management: It will be helpful to go through some basic definitions of supply chain and management: Supply chain is all inter linked resources and activities needed to create and deliver products and service to customers (Hakanson, 1999). Supply chain management goes advance and including managing supply and demand, resourcing, assembling and packing, distribution across the globe and delivery to the every customer (Supply chain council, 2009). A more on supply chain management is a network of relationships, with the goal to deliver superior value, the management of upper level and lower level relationships with suppliers and customers to deliver best value in services at effective cost to the supply chain as a whole (Christopher, 1998). This definition is a key part of this dissertation in terms of gaining competitive advantage or delivering best value to sigma pharmaceutical customers. 2.2.2 Key areas of Supply chain management system: References Literature Review 1. Christopher, M. (2005). Logistic and supply chain managment. London: FT prentice Hall. 2. Handfield, R. B. Nichols, E. L. (2002) Supply Chain Redesign: Transforming Supply Chains into Integrated Value systems, U.S.A: Prentice Hall. 3. Zhang, C. (2006). Secure Information sharing in Internet-based supply chain management systerms. Coumputer Information Systems , 18-24. 4.