Thomas L Friedman, from his book the book “The World Is Flat”,

Thomas L Friedman, from his book the book “The World Is Flat”,

1. Quotes Thomas L Friedman, from his book the book “The World Is Flat”, talking about outsourcing versus offshoring, especially in regards to China and its joining the WTO in 2001. On page 419 of that book here introduces to supply chain management the concept of geopolitics and the dangers it poses.

Please answer the question. Each question should be no more than 100 words.

How can classic geopolitical threats cause problems for supply chains?

What are some of these traditional threats?

How can classic geopolitical threats be moderated or influenced by new forms of collaboration in a so called flat world? Hint: the Dell Theory of conflict Prevention and global J-I-T supply chains.

2. Please read below and answer the question no more than 150 words.

Companies in the United States have a significant capability to expand, but some prefer to buy products from foreign companies. This may be due to the price variation, the legal requirement for producing a product, trade agreements or even the consideration of the production cost. The pros of buying from a foreign company are; maintaining good business relations; the firm gets high quality products, wide variety of products, faster access to the products and higher chance of negotiations for discounts and other benefits. The cons of buying from a foreign firm are; lack of supply due to political risks in the country, foreign exchange risks, and change in legal requirements may disrupt supply and even the products may be lost at sea due to piracy.

I would add diversifying your suppliers so as to eliminate over-reliance on any one supplier, or group of suppliers. As for the cons, I would like to ask you and classmates what are some ways of mitigating the various risks you outlined so well? For example, are there ways to reduce political risks or FX risks?

3. Please read below and answer the question no more than 150 words.

Chapter 8 briefly discusses gap errors in healthcare management. The text describes gap errors as “information mistakes that arise when a task is transferred or handed off between people or groups” (Jacobs & Chase, 2011, p. 275). Although the text specifically mentions the healthcare industry and the life or death consequences, it seems that gap errors, according to the text’s description, can happen in any industry.  I am sure that most of us have witnessed the consequences due to a gap in process flow due to a failure to communicate important information. In healthcare it is extremely important to avoid gap errors, as life or death situations may result from that “gap.” However, in other industries, gaps may have both costly effects due to time, labor, supplies, and money wasted due to information not being passed on.  Some examples from my experience of gap errors are wasted time and reagent due to poor hand off that calibrations were completed; wasted time and fuel refueling aircraft when missions were canceled; patient care delayed due to no hand off of patient’s sample to be sent out for testing. Some methods I have utilized for closing the gaps are: start and end shift meetings (face to face); maintain a communication log; clear and complete documentation on individual worksheets; and keep a phone roster handy in case there are any gaps discovered after the previous person leaves.

Class, can these methods be used in military combat situations or are they only applicable to industry? I ask because I have always been a believed that much of our strategy in commerce comes from the military. What say you?

Is this the question you were looking for? If so, place your order here to get started!