E- Commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

E- Commerce - Essay Example Many people call this as the knowledge revolution, characterized by an international data highway that works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It has been far too long since people have acknowledged that the wired or networked world is revolutionizing business. This phenomenon has paved the way for organizations to better communicate with their market and all the stakeholders involved in the production and selling of goods and services. In a nutshell, companies use technology and electronic mediation not just to reach out to its consumers and suppliers but also to automate back-office tasks and industrial operations while pushing ahead with research and development. eCommerce eCommerce or eBusiness is the most prominent consequence of electronic mediation in business. Here, individuals and organizations can sell and/or purchase goods and services through the Internet. The standard definition for eCommerce has been put forward by the US Census Bureau , which defined eCommerce as â₠¬Å"any transaction completed over a computer-mediated network that involves the transfer of ownership or rights to use goods or services.† (Storz 2007, p. 126) The Internet, however, is not the only channel by which eCommerce can operate. For instance, transactions can be made through different communication and technological channels such as the phone. Nonetheless, the Internet dominates the electronic commerce today. It was created thanks to the personal computer (PC), telecommunications, business software, as well as the advances in office technology industries. (Shi, p. 25) What ecommerce did for companies is to tear down the traditional bricks and mortar business models and imposing its own brand that features increased performance, speed and cost efficiency. In addition, according to Kellerman (2002), â€Å"globalization is quite unique to eCommerce, permitting the creation of global market areas for many products and services,† and that its â€Å"attribute is â €Å"intelligence, whereby eCommerce is aided by sophisticated information tool, such as databases, search engine and the like.† (p. 128) There are fundamentally two classifications by which eCommerce operates: B2B eCommerce and B2C eCommerce. The transactions that are electronically mediated between enterprises are called business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce, while electronically selling goods and services by a company to its consumers is called as business-to-consumer (B2C) eCommerce. Together they manifest the best possible benefits that a company could reap out of communication and technology. Business to Business With regards to the organization, electronic mediation poses several benefits and opportunities. The most important of these is cost efficiency, productivity and convenience. In the past, for instance, a company would follow the traditional method of procurement, which entails numerous work and human resource in order for products to be bought and sent to the buy er. The consumer would order through a thick and burdensome catalog and would be punished by having to browse each and every page that could rival the number of pages of the telephone directory. After, making the selection, he would then have to phone the selling party, be given several forms to fill, fax his information and proceed with the buy and sell process. This setup can be extremely be aggravated when products and serv

Critical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Critical Analysis - Essay Example At the same time they aim to deliver specific suggestions through analysis of the research outcomes. The suggestions would be of much benefit to education and in making educational decisions. The article, Motivating boys and motivating girls by Marsh and Martin, supports positivist and anti-positivist research paradigms (Babbie, 2006) to explore the effect of gender as well as other educational constructs on student motivation from different levels of understanding. This combined paradigmatic model on one hand is necessary to dig into the psyche of those who believe in the gender stereotypic model and that of the students who are at the centre of all discussions. On the other hand it would help in accumulating tried and tested factual details of the factors affecting motivation and engagement. While the qualitative or the subjective approach helps in generating meaningful responses from the groups, the quantitative or the objective approach backs the subjective findings by providing with significant data. Depending upon the nature of the research topic, this combined approach is undertaken as any one approach would have been insufficient in critically assessing and evalu ating the validity of the research outcome. A qualitative approach based on interviews and case study of students and teachers gives the research its basic direction. An approximate idea could be formed about the practicality of each model. The authors held interviews with teachers, educational practitioners and students of either gender. The subjective interrogation has been of much help in comprehending the standpoints of the two groups. While the educational practitioners hold the gender stereotypic model functional in student motivation within the class room, the students have been observed to hold neutral views implying the need of good teachers rather than fussing over teacher gender. The subjective approach has actually established the relevance of the

Grading and Recommendation Assessment Assignment

Grading and Recommendation Assessment - Assignment Example This could be measured through the utilization of trial and error process wherein the practice is tried and tested as to how much it could attest to the needed specifications of a particular need to which the evidence based practice has been basically made for. After the trial and error procedure, the weaknesses and the strengths of the process shall be identified. Likely, the strengths would depend on how the stakeholders responded to the program or the process applied through the use of the evidence-based practice. If the participants responded well with lesser level of error occurrences, then the practice tried and tested could be noted to have a strong implicative effect on the things that it is supposed to have direct changes on. Meanwhile, even though it has been proven strong, it should still be measured and identified with the possible weaknesses it has. Through this, the specification of the needed advancement could still be recognized as part of its possible improvement in the future. If these procedures are specifically carried on, it could be expected that the upcoming GRADE system could be well assured to have a better effect in approving or disapproving evidenced based practices that are used for the specific

Marketing information system (MIS) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing information system (MIS) - Essay Example Putting into consideration factors such as market trends, changes and needs occurring in a market, and how the rival businesses conduct their activities is what a good marketer needs to do before venturing into a business (Michael, 2012 p. 67). The components of a Marketing Information System such as marketing research, internal records and marketing intelligence are most crucial when trying to obtain information on marketing (Esad, 2013 p. 35). However, to understand the role information systems play, what managers do must be examined as well as what kind of information they require to make decisions. How decisions are made as well as the decision problems that be solved by information systems must also be understood. This paper stands to examine the role Marketing Information Systems play in assisting managers with their marketing endeavors. Marketing managers have roles such as organizing, planning, deciding, controlling and coordinating. Any information has to be built with the role of a marketing manager in mind if it is to serve him/her well. Recently, there has been stressing on the aspects of behavior in management decision making (Jules, 2013 p. 35). On this, marketing managers are supposed to be highly voluminous in their jobs, work at high speeds, they should be diverse, or able to offer variety, they should also be specific, highly interactive and able to use verbal communication. Researchers suggest that a manager’s day has many tasks, but very little time assigned to each. Marketing managers prefer being speculative and gossiping in brief. This helps them keep up to date with up-to-date information. Routine and historical information, usually receives less attention. Even from researchers, marketing managers are found to prefer verbal communication in comparison to written information. Verbal communication has been found to offer more

Metaphysics - ontology Essay Example for Free

Metaphysics ontology Essay â€Å"I think therefore I am-Descartes;† â€Å"All noble things are as difficult as they are rare- Spinoza. † Decorates and Spinoza are unique; they are like nothing this class has studied previous. They focus on nature, existence and power as the fundamental building blocks to their unique philosophies. The beauty of these two men’s philosophies is not only in their contrasts but in all the ideas the students can draw from their logically thinking strategies; ultimately creating an individual philosophy and bettering ones own life from it. They both use logic but the use of language is the â€Å"wild card† that allows the real questioning to happen. Spinoza and Decorates are masters at using concrete facts and twisting them in such a way so as to question their existence entirely. Almost like one is pressing the reset button on life and starting fresh. The best example I can give is our day-to-day class discussion. Previously our tangents have been focused and connected. But with Spinoza and Decorates they have been different. They have become sporadic, wide spread, and eye opening. Yes the focus has and will always remain to be on the ideals that these men present; but the beauty in these philosophies are not restricted to just their points. The beauty lies within what the student (since we are all students’ not philosophy kings yet) can question and provide. This paper will discuss all the points crucial to these two men’s philosophies; however, throughout the paper the tangents I will draw will reveal my own conclusions that I have been taking note off from our class discussion in order to shed some light on the impact these philosophies have had to myself and philosophy itself. First thing that this paper will cover, and the biggest topic of debate between the two is the dialectic about the mind and body. Descartes is a substance duelist. He believes substance is divided into two things: mind substance and body substance. They are also independent entities in his eyes. In the second meditation he concludes that doubt is possible about the existence of the body but there can be no doubt as to the existence of the thinking mind; the mind simply cannot doubt the existence of thinking, since even the doubt itself would require thinking to exist (this concept itself is confusing and brilliant at the same time basically embodying who Descartes is in a one thought). Therefore Descartes is able to conclude that since there is doubt about the existence of the body, the mind can think without the use of the body. Thus independence is the only logical result. After all of that, duality in substances is born and realized. On the contrary, Spinoza believes mind and body are the same substance. Mind is dependent of the body and vice versa. The mind is united to the body because the body is the object of the mind (Ethics 2, prop 21). However one does not determine the other: The body cannot determine the mind to think, nor the mind the body to remain in motion or at rest (Ethics 3, 2). † Simply put, it is illogical to believe that one act causes the other act to happen. The mind is in place to insure the survival of the body. He rejects the idea of substances that Descartes suggests. Spinoza believes that there is only infinite substance, and no finite substance; which is a contradiction and a double negative (proving a statement false with false evidence). Each thing, mind and body, is both a thought and an extension. The thought is what is known through ideas and the extension is what exists and is sensed physically. Therefore thought is mental and extension is physical. For Spinoza, the mind and body act as a mirror image of each other; neither has any freedom from the other; dependence is therefore born. Then the role of infinite substance is introduced. Spinoza argues that God is the only infinite substance in nature. There can be only one substance that satisfies the idea difference between the two philosophers and that is that Spinoza views thought and extension as inseparable not having independent extensions. While in Descartes philosophy there are two distinct extensions. The mind substance is further divided into infinite and finite thinking. The infinite is God, the finite is each individual mind and soul. There is only one infinite thinking substance and that is God. Thinking is not a physical action (it is a behavior). It is an individual act that only the individual can control. One doesnt have to think a normal way, Descartes would argue. This connects to his views on education and how it can sometimes â€Å"cloud† individuals from their true passions and loves in life. Thinking with a clear mind is something that goes hand in hand with self-knowledge; learning from experience through one’s own paths and mistakes. Accepting that one cannot control everything (only one’s thoughts and physical actions) and understanding the necessity for an open mind to nature. Only then when this is all applied is it possible to live an active life; living life to the fullest and embracing all it has to offer. This leads into Spinoza’s definition of affect. He defines it as â€Å"the modifications of the body whereby the active power of the said body is increased or diminished, aided or constrained, and also the ideas of such modification (Ethics, prop 130). † Simply put, that which is affected does not exist; meaning the only thing that can possibly exist is God. Everything is dependent on something in order for it to survive; a book, a tree, a person, is dependent on something else for its survival. One could argue (and will now) that the mind has the ability to affect too. The only thing that can affect the mind is the mind itself. But the mind can be deceiving. Overthinking or over analyzing can change our perception of what reality is. Emotions and senses also add to the deception the mind can cause. A smell could lead somebody to not eat a meal; hearing somebody’s voice can be appealing or completely â€Å"turn off† the individual from furthering the conversation. The mind can also cause passive moments. Being passive is a huge part of nonexistence to Spinoza. Although the passive moments in ones life are inevitable, Spinoza suggests that we must attempt to control them in order obtain maximum freedom in life. Freedom is that in which someone lives an active life (living in the moment, embracing all that life can offer). By developing good habits, living actively, one can limit the passive moments and bounce back (not fall too far down the divided line). The goal in life is to live the most active life and experience nature to the fullest. Descartes believes in the exact opposite. He beliefs that mind and body are two separate substances that dont rely on each other. Therefore the mind cannot affect the body and the body cannot affect the mind. Thus all that Spinoza would suggest is a â€Å"waste. † The four cores of life are sadness, joy, weakness and power. Each person will experience one in his or her lifetime (if one does not then their alien [interesting what an alien is or is not]). The key, Spinoza would argue is that one experiences the cores in their own way. The question he would ask is: â€Å"will you live your life or the way others tell you too. † God is the key answer to this question. What does it mean to say that God is substance and that everything else is â€Å"in† God? Spinoza suggests that rocks, tables, chairs, birds, mountains, rivers and human beings are all properties of God. Thus all we are is a creation off God. It’s crazy to think that we are merely just part of an image of some other higher substance. When a person feels pain, sadness and joy; does it follow that all the emotions are ultimately just a property of God, therefore suggesting that God feels it too (chills run down*). This is the gut of Spinoza’s philosophy as he devotes the first 15 proportions to defining God and all that he does. Descartes is similar on his view with God. Gods existence is inferred, simply because of existence. For example, God is not an extended thing but only a thinking thing; God exists in a higher form, and he and only he can cause its existence. The idea of God is the idea of an infinite substance. Since a finite substance is less real than an infinite substance. A finite substance does not have enough reality to be the cause of its own idea. But the idea must have come from something. So that something is God, which must be an infinite substance. Therefore, God exists as the only possible cause of this idea. These comparisons that the two philosophers naturally bring to the table lead the mind to wonder. The possibilities are endless when it comes to questions and conclusions. The beauty lies within these questions. It is up to the individual, as Spinoza would say, to stop living a passive life and â€Å"attack† these philosophers in order to create something beautiful.

English Literature Essays Shakespeares King Lear

English Literature Essays Shakespeares King Lear Select either two or three major speeches from the play King Lear (Shakespeare) and demonstrate, by close analysis, their relevance to issues in the play as a whole The two speeches I have selected from the play to conduct close analysis on are Lears speech in Act I Scene I (Lines 121 139) and Cordelias speech of Act V Scene VII (Lines 31-43). These two speeches are reflective of some of the strongest themes of the play: familial love, anger, wrath and, most of all perhaps, pride. The first speech is placed at the very beginning of the play just after Cordelia has refused to praise her father in the same over-effusive manner as her sisters, and Shakespeare conveys in a few short lines the almost uncontrollable anger of Lear: Lear: Peace kent! Come not between the dragon and his wrath. I love her most, and though to set my rest On her kind nursery We can note here the evocation of the dragon which, as Harold Bloom (1987: 90) tells us, is not only symbolic of the male, paternal anger but of the monarchy itself and recalls the Englishness of St. George. As if metonymic with the entire play, this symbol of royal wrath and anger is twinned with an image of childish reliance the nursery. The next lines however reverse this image juxtaposition as the aggressor, in the form Lear the dragon, is painted as the victim: Hence, and avoid my sight! So be my grave my peace, as here I give Her fathers heart from her.! The knot of guilt and innocence is one that recurs throughout the entire play but it is first suggested in this speech; for instance in the lines: Call Burgundy, Cornwall and Albany, With my two daughters dowers digest this third: Let pride, which she calls plainness marry her. We witness here what Freud called projection (1991: 213) or the imbuing of an emotion or character trait onto another person; it is Lears pride that we really see here, and Lears anger that dominates the entire first section of the play but the character himself deflects that onto the figure of his youngest daughter. Linguistically, the speech is suffused with exclamations (especially the first six lines) and the rhythms and lines themselves are short and staccato. There is also an alliterative use of harsh consonant sounds, for instance in the line my two daughters dowers digest this third (Act I, Scene I, Line 128) or The sway, revenue, execution of the rest (Act I, Scene I, Line 137). This sets Lears character as one that is unbending and proud; an important facet of the plays later narrative where his harmartia (to use Aristotles (1965) term) in the form of his paternal pride, is revealed and reversed. The speech ends with a foreshadowing of the narrative of the whole play: Beloved sons, be yours; which to confirm, This coronet part betwixt you. Here, Lear unconsciously evokes the rending apart of territory as he sets in motion the fissures and fractures in the fabric of the monarchy that the play examines. The speech by Codelia in Act V in many ways represents the reverse of Lears. It is here that Shakespeare underlines the notion of familial loyalty, of constancy and of love and comes after Cordelia has reiterated her dedication for her father. Had you not been their father, these white flakes Had challenged pity on them. Was this face To be opposed against the warring winds Straight away we can notice the change in tone here, the repetition of Ds, Vs and Rs in Lears speech has been changed to Fs and Ws, creating a more sonorous timbre evocative of Cordelias gentle nature and the spirit of reconciliation that runs throughout her speech. The imagery Shakespeare uses here is reflective of the mimetic use of Nature throughout the rest of the play; Cordelia mentions the winds, the dread-bolted thunder (Act I, Scene VII, Line 34), and the quick, cross lightening (Act I, Scene VII, Line 36) all of which reminds us of Lears exile on the moors and the suggestion that this represents, for Shakespeare, the uncontrollable forces of fate. As Jay Halio (2001: 37-38) suggests, the loss of control that is symbolically evoked by the image of Nature, is a result of the splitting of the Kingdom, that we have already looked with the Lear speech of Act I and only resolves itself at this precise point in the play. The latter parts of the speech hint at Cordelias role as a restorative force; she literally makes her father human again after the treatment he is given by her sisters: Mine enemys dog, Though he had bit me, should have stood that night Against my fire; and wast thou fain, poor father, To hovel thee with swine, and rogues forlorn, In short and musty straw? Here Shakespeare layers image upon image of baseness and animality to suggest not only how far the King has been reduced but also how true and loyal Cordelia is. In the two speeches we have looked at here, we have seen many of the themes of King Lear and also some the plays complexity. The play is, at once we could assert, concerned with both pride and constancy, anger and gentleness, wrath and restoration and the two speeches I have selected show this in microcosm. Each one also represents important points in the character development of Lear himself; his initial rebuke of his daughter evoking the false pride of the all too powerful monarch and Cordelias speech prompting his character reversal. A close analysis of these two speeches reveals just how Shakespeare weaves grand themes and narratives into the very fabric, the very minutiae of his text, evoking in an audience an almost subconscious appreciation of philosophical and thematic intents. Works Cited Aristotle (1965), The Poetics, London: Penguin Bloom, Harold (1987), William Shakespeares King Lear, New York: Random House Freud, Sigmund (1991), The Essentials of Psychoanalysis, (London: Penguin Halio, Jay (2001), King Lear: A Guide to the Play, London: Greenwood Press Shakespeare, William (1982), King Lear, published in The Tragedies, London: Aurora pp.218-239

Importance of supply chain management

Importance of supply chain management Introduction Supply chain management is a method of moving materials and associated information effectively and efficiently within inter and intra organisations. To get this task done in the desired way, use of e-business applications is essential. Supply chain management includes the coordination of the organisation involved in the supply side activities with the customers who are receiving the products (Chaffeey, 2009, pp 331). Supply chain management starts with identifying the resources and linking them with the processes which commence with the sources of raw materials and continues until the delivery of the items done through the end consumer. A supply chain activity differs from companies to companies but they provide the benefits of specialisation of process and the economy of scale (Trkman et al, 2007). Importance of supply chain management: An improved supply chain adds superior value to the organisations operation which ultimately gives superior value proposition to the end user for which efficient customer response (ECR) is crucial because ECR deals with the demand management which is required for satisfying the demand of customer by quickly and effectively applying product assortment strategies, rapid introduction of the new product and marketing communication by reducing stocks and delivery time (Chaffeey, 2009, pp 335). Elements of supply chain management: The way the knowledge and flow of information is processes and its outcomes received along with protection of intellectual property are important part in a supply chain strategy. Knowledge here is the information that the organisation has accumulated through years of experience and applying them for planning and   implementing strategy. The improvement in the processing technology of computers and advent of softwares like MS outlook, Lotus Notes that have facilitated the arrangement of discrete information in a logical and useful manner, these abilities give rise to the concept of knowledge and information management which is crutial for effectively managing the supply chain. For an organisation which is highly influenced by customer needs and expectations for them knowledge management is of great significance in two main areas that are customer intelligence and new product innovation as during supplying to customers there are multiple touch points in the organisation where customer interacts with it, Therefore the ability of an organisation to reap information about the customers behaviour and choice on this touch points proves to be a critical wealth of information which helps in customer retaining and growing customer value. In contrast with the new product innovation, the knowledge which flows across the suppliers, customers and market factors by sharing it across the supply chain leads to innovation and increased involvement of supplier in the innovation process  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  (Croom, 2005). Benefits of adopting Electronic Supply Chain Management: The Following improvements can be found by adopting the e-business supply chain management: Cost performance: by improved productivity and lower input prices Customer Service: by providing service quality Process capability: by maintaining consistency in quality Productivity and dependability: by increased control of material flows along the supply chain (Tan, 2001) Supply chain management involves improving the internal processes, but also processes performed in conjunction with suppliers, distributors and customers. It also provides great opportunities to improve product performance and deliver superior value to the customers. As a result supply chain management can dramatically have an impact on the profitability of a company through reducing operational cost and increasing customer satisfaction and so loyalty and revenue (Chaffey, 2009, PP335). Supply Chain Models: The supply chain model from the system viewpoint can be seen as involving the following processes: attaining resources or inputs, transforming the resources/inputs into outputs that is the product/services and lastly delivering the outputs to the end customers. In terms of e-business the supply chain can be optimised to provide better and efficient delivery while minimising the cost. Push and Pull supply chain model: Push supply chain: These involves delivery of product/service to passive customers. The objective of this model is optimising the process while attaining cost effectiveness and efficiency. The features of this model are development of new products, data integration, minimised technology utilisation, longer cycle time and the large inventory. Pull supply chain: This involves value delivering to end customers. This supply chain includes active customers who encourage improved quality and value of products/services. The model emphasise and identifies the requirement of customers by carrying out market research for developing and improving the products. The supply chain focuses on delivering value while reducing cost. Upstream supply chain: Disintermediation: This involves directly buying from the supplier. This results in lesser costs and reduced cycle time. Reintermediation: This involves business to business exchange of the products. Downstream supply chain: Disintermediation: This involves direct selling to customers, while incurring reduced cost of sales and enhanced cycle time. Reintermediation: This involves competition in newer markets by business to business transactions.   Shell chemicals: Shell chemicals is one of the largest petrochemicals producers in the world who supplies the bulk material to the large industries for the manufacturing of industrial and the consumer goods. It is very crucial for such an organisation like shell to have a well planned and controlled Supply chain management. Issues: Prior to the adoption of electronic supply chain management in shell, everything was managed manually that involves lot of time consuming activities. Due to this time consuming process there was a threat that a customer might bear a lack of important ingredient at plant time. Hence to tackle these kind of problem companies maintain safety stocks to avoid shortage, it involves cost to maintain any safety stocks. Supply chain process: SIMON: In 1995 shell has adopted SIMON (Shell Inventory Managed Order Network) system that acts as a Electronic data interchange initially for managing the downstream supply chain. Soon after its success in downstream it was applied to upstream process. SIMON facilitates supplier to get anticipated demand, calculate stock and track shipment status for which customer needs to input three kinds of data, that are current stock level, estimated demand for stock and location, timing and quantity for the shipment details.   Elemica: In the year 2005, shell updated itself by implementing Elemica in its supply chain that was founded by around 22 leaders of the chemical industry. The major benefit to adopt Elemica was standardisation. It offers value to their customers by automation of the processes in the business. For instance the buying and selling of chemicals and then expand the value of that connection by making the new marketing channels and efficiency opportunities by means of our web solutions and supply chain offerings (Elemica, 2010).   Integrated Supply chain: Elemicas revolutionary and new business network completely links the operational base, while eliminating the hurdles of transaction and communication between the processes. Flawless accessibility and transparency of the supply chain provides the power of efficiently carrying out the operations and removing access personnels, assets and inventory. Elimica utilises a standard format in its integrated supply chain structure, which is also favourable for organisations existing in similar industries.   Process: The supply chain Elimica records and maintain inventory and sales forecast on daily basis, that helps in analysing customer satisfaction. This is further collaborated with the ERP system of the Elimica hub (). Global reach and connectivity: Elimicas founders happen to be the most renowned and established leaders in the global industry. This provides an international base for business, that helps in drawing the attention of both buyers and sellers. This phenomenon further builds up an opportunity to develop relations with new customers. Elimica acts as a facilitator for business transactions on this global platform. Security: Elemica has adopted several measures to protect accessibility and data flow. This helps in safeguarding the transactions of customers/participants. Strict data protection measures, encryption technology and transparent firewalls are features of security offered by Elimica. The policies and processes are regularly checked to meet the security standards. Conclusion: After critically evaluating the supply chain management of Shell chemicals, it was found that the benefits of adopting Elemica is seen in the form of improvement in supply chain management that includes reduced cost resulting in cost efficiency, improved quality resulting in customer satisfaction, increased capability of process and increased productivity and dependability. Ultimately these improvements fuelled the profitability of the company. Recommendation: While dealing with the decisions regarding the implementation of e-business in the process of supply chain, companies should look for the strategy that is most appropriate for the unusual processes combined with the blueprint of the operation. It is mainly important for those small organisations which cannot invest huge money at particular time period. Managers should carefully consider coherence between the internet tools to adapt choices in terms of integration with customers and supplies. The internet can support and facilitate information sharing, both in collaborative or in market-type relationships, or can be used to support closer integration (system coupling) with the partners (Cagliano et al, 2005). Prior to a client switching to a new SCM system there should be adequate testing to see if the system meets the clients requirements. When a standard supply chain template is modified to suit a customers requirements, particular care should be used in the implementation and provider firms should be very insistent that client forms follow the providers implementation methodology (Sridharan et al, 2005 ). Reference: Croom, S.R (2005), The impact of e-business on supply chain management, International journal of operations and production management, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 55-73. Chaffey, D (2009) Supply chain management E-business and E-commerce management. Harlow. Prentice Hall,PP 331 Chaffey, D (2009) Supply chain management E-business and E-commerce management. Harlow. Prentice Hall,PP 335 Cagliano, R., Caniato, F. and Spina, G. (2005) How companies are sharing their supply chain through the internet International Journal of operations and production management, Vol15 No.12, pp1309-1327. Elemica (2010) Supply chain [Online]. Available from: http://www.elemica.com/solutions/elemica-solutions.html Accessed on [15/03/2010]. Sridharan, U.V., Caines, W.R., Patterson,C.C (2005), Implementation of supply chain management and its impact on the value of firms, Supply chain management: An International Journal, Vol10 No. 4, PP 313-318. Trkman, P Stemberger, M.I Jaklic, J and Groznic, A (2007) Process approach to supply chain integration, Supply chain management: An International Journal, Vol12 No.2, pp 116-128. Tan, K.C. (2001), A framework of supply chain management literature, European Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 39-48.