Free Post Week 9

Supply Chain Management is extremely important and growing in importance in today's businesses. This news article that I found, Proper Supply Chain Management Can Minimize Risk, tells a little bit about why it is so important to have a smooth supply chain process.

http://www.insidecounsel.com/2013/10/10/proper-supply-chain-management-can-minimize-risk

The article explains that risk management and reputation protection are key elements of the supply chain process. If the best laws are not implemented regarding proper SC processes, then laws may be broken which leads to trouble for the company's reputation and the company as a whole. Supply Chains need to be aware of what is happening and without a smoothly running process, the company sets itself up for failure. Human trafficking laws and labor laws are set up to prevent sketchy supply chain work and no company wants to work with another company with a bad reputation. Supply Chain is extremely important to both the health of a company and to the company itself.

I liked the information that this article provided, but I think it could have elaborated on details a little bit more. It did its job, in that it told me more about the importance of a smoothly functioning Supply Chain, but it didn't tell me much about specific examples. I learned that supply chain is involved with more than just getting materials from point A to point B and that it can actually affect the company in many more ways than one.

Works Cited

Steeves, Rich. "Proper Supply Chain Management Can Minimize Risk." Proper Supply Chain            Management Can Minimize Risk. N.p., 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

Week 8 Free post

Hi there! For this post,  I decided to turn to Youtube for some ideas regarding a topic. I found an informative video about business blogs and starting them! Not everyone is going to find this as interesting as I do, considering I am writing one! But, for those of us that do, this video gives a few tips to begin a business blog.

http://www.youtube.com/v/c1d5U6xUJVI?autohide=1&version=3&feature=share&autohide=1&attribution_tag=_nmH1viHBzVh9WdBmZ8PaQ&showinfo=1&autoplay=1

Shawn (the speaker in the video) gives 5 tips and short explanations regarding them. I feel like he is very knowledgable and he seems to have experience in this area.

1. Setting Goals (Why are you writing this?)
2. Unique Content (Keep readers compelled)
3. Building Traffic (Write about something that people want to read about.)
4. Monetize your blog (Do something different than what you offer on your website)
5. Leave your readers wanting more (Same as any writing!)

I learned a few things from this video and I wish that I had read it prior to starting this blog up! I do take many of these tips into consideration when I am writing, with the exception of #4, but had I seen something like this earlier, I would have changed up a few posts to make them more interesting and compelling to a wider audience. I also didn't start with any goals other than to teach myself more about the field of business, so I may have written down a few more goals prior to this project.

Until next time!

Works Cited:

NewMovementMedia. "Business Blogs - Five Tips on Starting a Business Blog." YouTube.                         YouTube, 24 Aug. 2011. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.

Week 8 Prompted Post

So this week I needed to think about a hands-on experience in my area of study. In business there are so many skills and different activities that I could participate in to get a feel for my field. You'll hear from so many accountants and supply chain management workers that Microsoft Excel is important, and that it's even a good skill to put down on your resume. But, I never understood why because so many of us have that basic knowledge in Excel that seems sufficient enough. But for most of you (and myself) you're wrong!

I never knew how hard it was so work with Excel until I took an Excel- based quiz for practice. This basic skill seemed easy enough, as I had worked with Excel in accounting 1, 2, 3, and 4. It wasn't until my mom was taking an online test recently that I realized just how important it was so be an expert.

There are so many formula shortcuts and ways to transfer information from one cell to another, so many ways to add up all of the columns without doing it manually, so many ways to format a tax statement properly, and all of this is not expected, but is admired in the business world. I knew this, so I tried to take the test myself. I was in shock at the tasks that were asked of me. I could remember the basics and in my head I knew that it shouldn't be so difficult, but the process of actually doing it was so stressful and complicated. This freaks me out a little bit because Excel is something that SO many employers look for in the business field: accountants, bankers, supply chain management professionals, marketing and sales directors, etc.

Excel can be described as complicated, but it is not until you actually give it a try that you will see how little you know. Technology is a great thing, but with so many hidden tips and tricks, it can take longer than desired to get the end result. This is what I learned from actually trying to keep up with the computer. I learned that actually attempting the skill is harder to do than it is to describe it in a text or in a lecture. It's easier said than done, and I never expected something so seemingly simple to cause so much stress and confusion!! Find a test online and try it.. You'll be surprised.

Prompted Post Week 7

After reading about a few controversies in the business world today, I found an article dealing with the business of pharmaceuticals. It talks about an issue of counterfeit/substandard antimalarial drugs. The drugs originate from India or China and are distributed to African countries. There was a report of "India-made" fake drugs being sent in 2009 and the issue was traced to China. The facility was shut down. The antimalarial drug was supposed to have a low failure rate, and the quality of drugs from India is supposedly high. India strongly declines that their drugs are fake, and they have a point.

African countries may be skeptical about the drugs coming from India after the illegal Chinese business added "Made in India" to tear down India's formally good reputation.
However, they have no reason (currently) to believe that these India-made drugs are fake.

India has the right to shut down the rumors circulating about the fake drugs.
India feels that their drug companies deserve the benefit of the doubt because they have never done anything wrong.
Yes, they were accused of doing wrong, but it was not their fault.

Both sides have a point. They each want the best for their countries and their health/reputations.
There will be more research conducted on whether or not the drugs coming form India are actually counterfeit, but as of now, India is simply being accused of something that they never did wrong.


Work Cited

Mathew, Joe C. "Controversy Over Counterfeits." Controversy Over Counterfeits. N.p., 26 Jan.             2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

Prompted Post Week 6

Hi there! So this week I had to find a scholarly article that makes an argument about my field. I found one article that could be taken as either a positive thing or as a bad thing to the future of Supply Chain Management as a whole. I will look at the negative side of what the author, James Stock, is trying to say.

Because Supply Chain Management is such a growing and successful major and an important factor in running a business smoothly, it is nearly impossible to find arguments against it. It has a great future... Or does it? That's what James Stock is discussing.

Stock's argument is that technology will prove to be a problem for Supply Chain professionals in the future. He says that it is hard to adapt to new technology and the constant upgrades will make it difficult. This may be true for some people, but our generation is so focused on technology and the most recent  upgrade and the newest iPhone etc. He has a point, but at the same time, I feel like the technology advances will only help SC professionals. Stock is completely correct when he says that it will have a significant impact on the future, but I think it will be a positive effect.

Business, much like our generation, is very focused and involved with technology. Advances in technology help to find out information, spread information, have meetings face-to-face via Skype, etc. Based on this knowledge, I find Stock's argument to be informative, but not persuasive. He does not to a very good job of backing up his statements and it leaves the reader confused because he is so unclear about the point he is making.

Technology is important. It helps us to connect, communicate and learn and will continue to do so for years and years to come.

Link: http://www.supplychainquarterly.com/topics/Strategy/20130621-supply-chain-management-a-look-back-a-look-ahead/

Works Cited

Stock, James R. "Supply Chain Management: A Look Back, a Look Ahead." – Strategy – CSCMP's                  Supply Chain Quarterly. N.p., 2013. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.

Free Post Week 7

"'The government has only gathered temporary measures to be implemented year by year, and such measures will not change Japan's economic structure at all," Tenporin said.

"We should not be criticized by a business leader who failed to manage his own company," Yoshiro Mori, chairman of the LDP's General Council, reportedly said" (Daimon 1). 

This quote, taken from a scholarly article found in MSU's online library collection, tells a lot about a leader in the business world. Although we are unaware of the entire situation at hand from the quotes above, we get a strong feeling that without trust and past success, a leader is nothing. Mori says that he should not be criticized by someone who could not manage his own company. This is something everyone can relate to, even if we are not involved in the business world. If someone doesn't know how to bake a cake, then who are they to tell us that we are baking our cake wrong? 


After learning about businesses and leaders and how important it is to build good rapport and trust with employees and partners, I agree with this criticism. It is so easy to doubt someone that is doing a poor job of something. It makes the person less trustworthy and less reliable. No smart business leader would leave his/her company in the hands of someone who has failed in the past. 


Mori's argument is strong. Based on the qualities of a "good" business leader, Tenporin does not fit this description. Later on in the article, Mori again disputes Tenporin and proves to be the more knowledgable one when it comes to ethics and being trustworthy. 


Although this article is older (from 1998), it is very reliable. It discusses a common problem in business today that will continue to be a problem in the future. I learned just how important it is to be trustworthy and successful by reading this and by getting a feeling of other's attitudes about such a topic. 

Link: http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/abicomplete/docview/218942129/14119B539AE4914EB4F/2?accountid=12598

Works Cited

Daimon, Sayuri. "Criticism of Hashimoto by Business Execs Grows." (n.d.): n. pag. 4 May 1998.          Web. 13 Oct. 2013.