Monday, June 4, 2012
TWIF Flattener 7 - Supply-chaining
Use one of the current events sources linked at http://mrsfridaysclass.wikispaces.com/Current+Events to find a recent news article that relates to, supports, or refutes Friedman's assertion that supply-chaining was a "flattener." Your comment should include the title of the news article, a link to the article, and a summary of the article including an explanation of how the article relates to this point. Don't forget to check your rubric for evaluation criteria!
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Title: Wal-Mart China accused of new food safety violations
ReplyDeleteLink: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18453967
This article talks about how there have been multiple problems and violations with different Wal-Mart stores. Recently Wal-Mart China has had some food safety violations. Also, in other Wal-Mart stores there has been an accusation that Wal-Mart was selling mislabeled pork. In addition, there were accusations made that some Wal-Mart stores even sold pork from diseased pigs.
This relates to Diamond's flattener supply-chaining because Wal-Mart is a major supply-chain throughout the world. Diamond talks about how Wal-Mart tries to find the lowest prices to sell to people and is very popular. Now, that there are violations going on Wal-Mart could lose business and start to decrease in popularity and get a bad reputation.
In the article "An iPod Has Global Value. Ask the (Many) Countries That Make It," the author implies that everyday products that we use, including the Apple iPod, are made in different countries but shipped here for our benefit. That many Asian organizations, such as Asustek, Inventec Appliances, and Foxconn, play a part in creating the 451 parts that make an iPod. Also explained was that the most expensive component in making an iPod, the hard drive, is manufactured by Toshiba, in Japan. However, Toshiba has most of its hard drives made in China and the Philippines, therefore showing that even a manufacturer indeed has its product made in different countries.
ReplyDeleteThis article relates to supply-chaining because, like said in the book The World is Flat, Wal-marts products are not made by Wal-mart. They are made around the world. Supply chaining is flattening the world because as supply chains grow for companies, other countries will try to make their options for manufacturing goods better than others. Companies will compete with each other for business, therefore causing the world to flatten greatly.
Article Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/business/worldbusiness/28scene.html?gwh=4A2A21FDEB9F0C98C1D8151CCCB7137C
In the article "Dire Health Conditions In South Sudan Prompt Airdrops". It talks about how South Sudan witch recently became independent is having a health catastrophe.It states that two to five children are dieing each day. It also says that the camps in south Sudan depednded on food from humanitarian aid.
ReplyDeleteThe way that this article relates to supply chains is that to get all the food to south Sudan they must move it from other nations where there is food. They are transporting it thousands of miles. They do the same thing in supply chains ,but instead of mechandise they are transporting food. That is how flattener #7 relates to the article.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/08/23/159942018/dire-health-conditions-in-south-sudan-prompt-airdrops?ft=1&f=1004
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/24/target-cheaper-than-walmart_n_1827883.html#slide=1067858
ReplyDeleteThis article, entitled ‘Target Cheaper than Walmart in August: Bloomberg’. This article proves through statistical-information that Target’s prices in the month of August have actually been cheaper than Walmart’s.
This refutes Friedman’s argument about Walmart being a huge power high above all else when it came to supply chains, because here we have Walmart not being in first, but is in second place, to a store that Friedman never mentioned. Although his point was that now Walmart is the most successful by selling for cheap almost directly from the manufacturers, his argument about Walmart now being an indestructible, irreplaceable franchise is proved false with this article.