Amazons Distribution Strategy

Amazons Distribution Strategy Introduction While taking a decision on the design of supply chain, companies should focus on its strategy, decision on operations and most importantly, proper planning. In a company, based on the needs of the customer and design of the systems, flow of supply chain management varies. While designing, reviewing constantly at different stages also helps companies differentiate various processes in their supply chain. Amazon.com is an e-commerce company with its presence worldwide and headquartered in Seattle, United States. Amazon.com, in its early days dealt only with Books but later on it diversified into a lot of other product lines like Video Games, Electronics, Toys, Jewellery, Furniture, MP#s, DVDs among other products. Today they are a huge $75 billion organization with a very diverse product portfolio and successful operations round the globe. The new Kindle Fire Tablet computer is one of their latest notable product and their Cloud Computing business is one of the industry leaders. Going by the revenue, growth and market capitalization, Amazon is the 4th most successful start-up of all times. Jeff Bezos started this amazing company in 1994 with the intention of â€Å"Get Big Fast†. This strategy was a brilliant one for the company in US as they were able to function with a competitive lead time for delivery after the orders were placed. Now this strategy was also put in place for the expansion in Europe. Not only were the European markets culturally different from US but also the market conditions and the consumer behaviour expectations different from a consumer in US. The challenges here were very dissimilar to the operational challenges in US in terms of transportation, stocking and distribution. The report will look into the challenges that Amazon faced in Europe and the operational/supply chain decisions they had make to overcome those challenges, also, â€Å"How has globalization made strategic fit even more important to company’s success†. The recommendations/ analysis are based on the concept of centralization of the distribution across a full continent and the concepts taught in the class. AMAZON US â€Å"Earth’s Biggest Bookstore† Amazon used the Internet to change the business of buying books into a very fast, easy and enjoyable shopping experience. Amazon has more than 2.5 million different book titles in its kitty and is very rightly called the â€Å"Earth’s Biggest Bookstore†. From the very beginning, Amazon always kept the wholesalers and the publishers on their side which thereby allowed them to keep a very truncated inventory and low inventory holding costs. These tie-ups with wholesalers and publishing houses not only allowed Amazon to reduce costs on warehousing but also get huge bulk discounts, for example From a publishing house Amazon used to get a discount of approximately 48% and around 41% from the wholesalers) Amazon had a general lead time for delivery of 4 to 7 business days across the whole country of United States. Amazon developed its infrastructure hugely in the late 90’s and eventually launched their Music and Video businesses also. The idea was to â€Å"Get Big Fast† through diversification and geographic expansion by having more distribution centres in their business geography. Some would say that the expansion of Amazon was the fastest expansion experienced by any company for its distribution capacity. Expanding and making distribution was the first step, next step was to figure out which distribution centre will carry which all products, given the fact that Amazon not only expanded in distribution capacity across geographies but also in terms of the product lines in its product portfolio. The 3 aspects of deciding the products to be carried by a distribution centre are: Amazon employed a lot of systems to enhance their operation efficiency. The ones which were the most impressive and successful are: Pick-To-Light System Radio Frequency Technology Voice Technology Pick Profiles Amazon Standard Identifying Number (ASIN) Performance measuring key metrics As Jeff Wilke, the Vice President of Operations at Amazon said about what Amazon had, Amazon quickly adapted to the Six Sigma DMAIC reviews as a tool to reduce variations and defects in its distribution centres. Jeff Wilke’s team followed 5 strategies to improve inventory management Better forecasting of customer demand by improving the ability of the software by refining it to the tune of better anticipation of the demands, both seasonal and regional. This made sure that risk of buying either too much or too less was reduced. Better relations with the wholesalers and direct vendors to cater to any sudden surge in demand for any particular bestselling book title. This was also used to get some needed momentum for the slow velocity titles. Available-to-Promise Functionality: Amazon integrated the supply chain management systems of its suppliers with its own thereby getting a synergy in the process. Now amazon was able to tell its customers the exact time frame in which it could deliver the products to them. For example, if a product is available with the Amazon distribution centre themselves, then the lead time for the delivery of the product was within 24 hours. But if the product was not available with the Amazon DC then the lead time for delivery increased to 2 – 3 business days. This allowed Amazon to have the information about the inventory of the suppliers at all times at the very item level. Cascading Buying Rules: These rules by Amazon determined which supplier was the best fit for which product in terms of the price and the options for delivery such that if the item is not available with the supplier giving the best price then the next supplier in cascade will be selected for the delivery. Drop Ship Orders: Amazon took some time to adopt this strategy which they should have adopted in the very beginning. According to Drop Ship strategy, whenever the customer orders an item and the distribution centre of Amazon does not have the product then Amazon places the order on its supplier. Then instead of the supplier shipping the item to Amazon DC and then the Amazon DC shipping the item to the customer, the supplier directly ships the item to the customer, thereby drastically decreasing the lead time for delivery by removing the unnecessary steps of the supply chain products. In addition to the above mentioned processes and strategies, Amazon also used method called â€Å"Postal Injection† or â€Å"Zone Skipping†. In this method, the fully loaded truck from the distribution centre directly goes to the major cities, easily bypassing the postal service’s sorting hubs where the delivery packets are sorted according to the respective cities and states. AMAZON EUROPE The initial targets for Amazon were UK and Germany, primarily because both these countries were the prime markets for book selling and online purchasing in the continent of Europe. Germany had an excess of 2000 publishing houses and UK had an excess of 3000 publishing houses. Amazon made an acquisition in Europe by acquiring Bookpages and TeleBuch in UK and Germany respectively. Again, in line with the idea followed in US, Amazon Europe wanted to â€Å"Get Big Fast†. Both the UK Amazon.co.uk and German Amazon.de increased their product portfolios by integrating the music and video businesses along with the books business at the very offset of the culmination of the respective expansions in the two countries. Even though the competition from the online bookstores of the respective countries was fierce, Amazon was successful in becoming the market leader in both the countries. The combined sales of the 2 countries crossed the 10% of the total Amazon revenue mark, signifying the epic success of the geographic expansion. The next venture was in France. When Amazon entered UK and Germany they did it through acquisitions, however when they entered France they did not acquire any established company, instead they got the business up and running from the scratch. The formula was simple here too, â€Å"Get Big Fast†, which is why the business started with the complete portfolio of books, music, video, toys, et al. Growth in International sales for Amazon grew by 74%, which in turn helped the European business to cross the 13.4% of the total Amazon revenue mark. Challenges in replicating amazon’s US model in EUROPE Although Amazon was doing well in Europe but the ambition was high as they had the intention to repeat the success of Amazon US in Europe too. However they were confronted with some heavy challenges from the European markets. These challenges could be tackled but to do that they required some radical change in the strategies that Amazon applied and adopted in US. The 4 main challenges were: Selling regulations in Germany France The prices of the books being sold in Germany France were fixed. No discounts could be offered on those prices. The selling model for Amazon in US was to offer discounts on the prices of the books, which they got from the wholesalers and publishing houses. Over here they could not provide those discounts that they got on the bulk purchases from the wholesalers and publishing houses. Payment options In Europe, more than 62% of the customers used cheques to make the purchases. The core competency of Amazon was online retail which meant online purchasing via credit cards. This came as a major challenge to Amazon as they did not have any brick or mortar store where the concept of payment through cheques can happen. Different supply market factors In US, Amazon relied heavily on the suppliers for the books. However in Europe they suffered a setback because of the dearth of wholesalers and big suppliers. In UK although they were able to manage the supply with a handful of suppliers, but in France there were none. This forced Amazon to have tie ups with umpteen number of publishers for the supply of books. Low penetration of EDI in European countries Amazon used EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) to have a communication with the supply chain management of the suppliers in US. This increased the efficiency of their own supply chain tremendously. In case a supplier was having a stock out of a particular item in his inventory, he could respond back in real time to Amazon with a rejection to take the order from customer. This enabled Amazon to immediately send the information back to the customer about the unavailability of the item. This, however, was not much in use in Europe as they still used the concept of emailing and Fax but not any sort of real time data sharing. In addition to the challenges mentioned above there were other challenges too. Amazon relied comprehensively on the national postal services in the respective countries of Europe where they were operating. But they were competitive only in their own countries and not in other countries. This created a challenge for Amazon because they had a lot of shipments which were cross country shipments. Problems Identified Recommendations With the challenges in mind there were a certain number of options for Amazon, which could solve these challenges for Amazon as they go forward and expand more and more into the European market. These recommendations require radical change in the strategy from the one which was followed in United States. Should Amazon Europe build an EDN? Europe as whole is treated as a single entity by amazon. Although they have separate units for separate countries, the parent company, Amazon, thinks of it as a single market. Therefore they intend to have a EDN (European Distribution Network). As per this concept, the entire Europe will have a single distribution network not separate distribution networks of individual countries. This is a massive step because Europe as a market is huge in size and very fragmented. But we suggest that a single EDN will be much more beneficial and the reason for that are mentioned in the bullet points below: Operating independent units is much more expensive than a single unit EDN implementation ensures uniform product offerings in each country which in turn will help in the consolidation of the business across the entire continent EDN implementation ensures procurement department centralizes purchases, and avails higher volume discounts as this is the prime strategy on which Amazon grows and thrives In case of system failures, EDN implementation reduces risk of relying on single DCs, making sure that the plan B for every failure is in place Hence implementation of EDN is a logical choice. Should Amazon use a single centralized DC or keep the existing 3 DCs and let them share orders? Another major problem for Amazon is to figure out whether or not to have multiple individual DCs or have just a single unified Distribution Centre at a strategic location. This problem is in line with the strategy for the implementation of EDN in Europe. We suggest that they should integrate Amazon’s European operations as a whole and accept it as a single market. With that in mind they should follow the following steps to achieve this target, How to sustain customer satisfaction after implementation of EDN? A major drawback for EDN is that this will cause a serious impact on the customer satisfaction levels. This is primarily because the customers who are used to getting their items delivered free of cost in very less time due to the distribution centre being in that country itself will have to either pay to get the item delivered in less time or get the item delivered in a longer time. All in all the lead time for delivery will increase and only additional cost for the customer can decrease that. To improve customer service Amazon must follow the following steps, Should the French Distribution Centre be left operational? This problem is a slightly tricky one as this requires Amazon to decide on whether or not to cut off an important limb from their body. Since the operational usage of French Distribution Centre will be redundant, is it viable to keep it running or remove it from the unified distribution network of Europe? This question can have multiple answers and no answer is possibly entirely correct. However we suggest that Amazon should not immediately close the French DC but gradually phase it out of the distribution network. During the expansion phase of Amazon into the rest of the Europe this DC can act as a support for the newer countries where Amazon wishes to venture in the European Distribution Network. Immediate disposition of this DC is not a viable option as this will cause a lot of complexities for the entire EDN. Since this DC will have some competencies and must be having some items which are solely kept in the inventory at this DC itself, this Dc will serve its purpose for some more time. The best option is to decommission the French DC in a phased manner over a period of time. How to detect demand trends, especially for fast moving items, if European level buying is consolidated? The only way to make sure that the inventory levels in a distribution centre is at an optimum level is through better forecasting. Making sure that the replenishment in a warehouse is done at proper interval in adequate quantities is by having an accurate information about the demand in future. Demand estimation is the backbone for any supply chain management system. Proper implementation and information processing through ERP is the method used by the most successful companies in the world. ERP helps improve the planning for the supply chain, both inbound and outbound aspect of it. Besides that money saved through the cost cutting initiatives should be invested to develop the supply chain, logistics and distribution characteristics of the EDN. In addition to that, it is very important to capture the easy wins first and get a hold of the market. It is very critical for Amazon to have standardization and build synergies across the divisions in Europe. To do that it is important that Amazon defines and implements comparable metrics (for example vendor lead time) across the European countries to develop enhanced understandings of their operational activities References Childerhouse, P, Towill, D 2011, Arcs of supply chain integration, International Journal Of Production Research, 49, 24, pp. 7441-7468 Forbes.com 2011. Why Amazon Is The Best Strategic Player In Tech. Retrieved February 27, 2014 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/venkateshrao/2011/12/14/the-amazon-playbook/2/ Joseph Bonney 2012. Amazons Supply Chain: Delivering Clicks and Bricks. Journal of Commerce. Retrieved February 28, 2014 from https://www.joc.com/economy-watch/amazons-supply-chain-delivering-clicks-and-bricks_20120130.html?qt-webcasts_podcasts_whitepapers=0 Knowledge @ Wharton 2009, November. Fit for the Holidays: Amazon Is Shaping Up and Shipping Out. Retrieved February 27, 2014 from http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/fit-for-the-holidays-amazon-is-shaping-up-and-shipping-out/ Lichocik, G, Sadowski, A 2013, EFFICIENCY OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT. STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL APPROACH, Logforum, 9, 2, pp. 119-125 Mark Brohan. InternetRetailer.com 2010. Amazon’s secret European weapon: Square footage. Retrieved February 28, 2014 from http://www.internetretailer.com/2010/08/31/amazons-secret-european-weapon-square-footage Modern Materials Handling 2012, December 14. Supply chain: Amazon is changing the rules of the game. Retrieved February 27, 2014 from http://www.mmh.com/article/supply_chain_amazon_is_changing_the_rules_of_the_game MWPL. Amazon Global Fulfilment Center Network. Retrieved February 28, 2014 from http://www.mwpvl.com/html/amazon_com.html Roh, J, Hong, P, Min, H 2014, Implementation of a responsive supply chain strategy in global complexity: The case of manufacturing firms, International Journal Of Production Economics, 147, Part B, pp. 198-210 Viswanadham, N, Samvedi, A 2013, Supplier selection based on supply chain ecosystem, performance and risk criteria, International Journal Of Production Research, 51, 21, pp. 6484-6498

DNA Profiling Techniques in Forensic Science Essay

Abstract Since 1985, DNA profiling in forensic science has become very important in this virtual era of technology and in the world of science that solves both major and minor crimes. Small traces of DNA are considered in all circumstances from how the DNA was collected to fully obtaining the profile in its significant form. Traces of sweat, blood and semen are the most common type’s evidence found at crime scenes. There are several different methods for creating a DNA profile such as STR (Short Tandem Repeat), PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), Y chromosome analysis, Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) and Mitochondrial DNA (MtDNA) analysis. All these types of methods are able to extract DNA from a chosen sample taken from a crime scene. DNA profiling is the information of how a sample is processed and analysed and a DNA profile must be created by collecting and analysing VNTR’s (Variable Number Tandem Repeats), these are unique sequences on the loci which is an area on chromosomes. Most DNA sequences in different people look too similar to tell apart whereas VNTR result in bands that are unique enough for identification of individuals. Introduction DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the hereditary material in almost all living organisms. In 1953 researchers J. Watson and F. Crick saw the structure of DNA. DNA consists of two long strands that are built up chain like, each consisting four nucleotide subunits, attached to a sugar phosphate backbone. Adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and thymine (T) are bases that are arranged pairwise in the middle of the DNA stand. The nucleotides are covalently linked together, from which the bases A and T, G and C bind by a hydrogen bond (Bray et al 2010: 173). Figure 1 shows the order of the bases, which determine the biological information available for building, and maintaining an organism, the sugar phosphate group molecules form the vertical side piece and the base pairs form a ring shape to create a spiral called a double helix. The two backbone chains run in opposite directions, this is specific for base to base bonding which allows this genetic information contained in DNA to be copied accurately from one generation of cells to the next. Figure 1 – DNA By Jaspreet (Bray et al 2012) There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans inherited from our parents, with each parent contributing one half of each pair. Chromosomes are made up of DNA, 22 pairs are autosomes and the last pair is a sex chromosome fig 2 shows this. Autosomes are chromosomes that are not sex chromosomes; they are individual which means that each person has a DNA profile as unique as a fingerprint. No two DNA profiles or fingerprints can be the same due to the combination of marker sizes found in each person makes up his/her unique genetic profile. When determining the relationship between two individuals, their genetic profiles are compared to see if they share the same inheritance patterns at a conclusive rate. Chromosomes are located in the nucleus of each cell and consist of long DNA strands where they are tightly packed and coiled around specific proteins called histones, which are looped and fixed to specific regions of the chromosome. There are 5 different kinds of histones (H1, H2A H2B, H3 and H4); they all bind to DNA to form chromatin in the nucleus during cell division where the chromatin condenses into visible structures that are the chromosomes itself. The DNA wrapped around each histone core is 200bp (base pair) long. Histones can be purified from DNA as H2A and H2B stick together as do H3 and H4 therefore making 8 proteins in each histone core with DNA wrapped is called a nucleosome which is 10nm (nano meter) fibre thickness, H1 is not part of the histone core as it binds to the nucleosome to give an even more structure to the chromatin and waits for the next interaction to take place. Fig 2 – 23 pairs of Chromosomes DNA is specific to its kind where identical twins are formed when a fertilised egg splits into two and develop into a full embryo. Identical twins will have the same genes making them alike in everything controlled by the genes itself. Although they have different phenotypes the DNA itself is expressed in different ways too. If identical twins are raised in different environments and stimuli they can develop some changes such as a genotype for a particular weight and height but this can only happen if they have enough food or a genotype for a potential IQ but again this will rely on the education and the right kind of stimulus received for that individual. Variation within humans result in the genes inherited from your parents and the environment you live in. (David Wright, 2000: 162) Main Body The techniques for identification of DNA profiling only need just a small amount of DNA but in some methods a larger amount is needed. DNA profiling is carried out when human biological fluid or human tissue is found at crime scenes and is used for evidence to link or exclude a possible suspect from the scene. DNA profiling can only be used if there is enough DNA within the sample taken and is only useful for comparing the samples. Samples taken can be compared to a national database of DNA profiling where there are over 700,000 samples in the UK national database alone. When there is a match, the two samples may have originated from the same person but before DNA can be profiled, it must be extracted from the sample in any of the following analysis depending on what the sample is and how much of it you have. One of the first techniques that were adapted for forensic DNA profiling was Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) where this kind of analysis determines variation in the length of a single DNA fragment. If two samples originate from different sources, RFLP can differentiate them using fewer loci than other systems. RFLP can determine whether a single sample contains DNA from more than one person but this can only happen if there is a large amount of greater quality DNA, this technique is stated to be ‘laborious and difficult to automate’ (Rudin and Inman. 2002: 41) (2). Fig 3 shows the RFLP process. Fig 3 – RFLP by Jaspreet (Botstein 2012) Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a process where a specific region of DNA is replicated over and over again to make copies of a particular sequence. Fig 4 shows the process which involves the heating and cooling of samples in a thermal cycle pattern of three steps denaturation, annealing and elongation. The strands get separated and bind to primers (fig 5), which are pieces of DNA so that they attach to the DNA at each end of the region for it to be copied. PCR is very sensitive and effective in many ways in the use of forensic science. PCR only needs a small amount of blood compared to RFLP needs about a quarter. Fig 4 – PCR by Jaspreet (Prof Santiago 2012) The primers used in PCR define the region of the genome that will be analysed. Primers are short pieces of DNA that anneal to the template molecule at either end of the specific region Fig 5 illustrates this. For a forensic PCR analysis the primers must bind to the regions of the DNA sequence to effectively amplify the human DNA while at the same time taking precautions not binding DNA to any other species. (Goodwin et al, 2007) Fig 5 – Primers binding to the DNA strand which is known as the annealing stage. By Jaspreet (Davidson 2012) Short Tandem Repeat (STR) technology is a forensic analysis that evaluates specific regions, loci that are found on a DNA strand. STR is when the repeat units are shorter and each loci can be used simultaneously of two to six bases long. STR regions are analysed for forensic testing between one DNA profiles to another. The purpose of having a core set of STR loci (13 set loci) is to ensure that all forensic laboratories can get the DNA from databases and share valuable forensic information. STR’s does have some limitations on sensitivity where it will work on degraded DNA samples such as damaged body tissue or bone destroyed by fire but sometimes there just isn’t enough sample to be tested giving no results at all for example aged bone. To test even smaller sample of DNA currently mtDNA is the choice of technique. (Gill et al, 2001) Mitochondria produce 90% of a cell’s energy, and contain their own genomes in the form of a double-stranded circular molecule known as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). MtDNA is important for finding missing person’s investigations, mass disasters, and other forensic investigations. MtDNA is valuable for determining DNA recovered from damaged, degraded, or very small biological samples that techniques such as STR cannot extract with small amounts of DNA. MtDNA is a small circular genome located in the mitochondria, which are located outside of a cell’s nucleus. Fig 6 illustrates this. There are two properties of mtDNA: high copy number and maternal inheritance. Samples such as hair, bone and teeth can be used to examine common ancestry between individuals. Maternal inheritance such as grandmother, mother and daughter all have statistically the same mtDNA sequence within them as they have been passed on from generation to generation. This can help to find unidentified remains for analysis and comparison of the mtDNA profile to any maternal relative. High copy number is valuable for when the amount of material within the cell is very small for analysis. (Goodwin et al, 2007) Fig 6 – MtDNA by Jaspreet (Ferullo 2012) Y-chromosome analysis targets only the male population of biological samples as they are passed down from father to son unchanged, except when mutations occur. They can also be used to trace family members amongst males only. A reference Y-chromosome profile has to be compared with an unknown sample match for significance, to confirm that the match actually exists. The Y chromosome DNA testing is important in situations where a small amount of male DNA may be recovered in the presence of excess female DNA, such as in sexual assault evidence. Y chromosome analysis can also benefit missing person’s investigations as it extends the range of potential reference samples. Since fathers pass their Y chromosome onto their sons unchanged all males in a paternal lineage will possess a common Y chromosome haplotype. Conclusion DNA profiling technology is constantly evolving where techniques such as PCR, STR and mtDNA and new loci are being discovered and are being used widely around the world to solve crimes globally. From research and experience we know that the technique RFLP requires too much DNA for the process to take place, it also takes longer too this is the reason why forensic scientist do not use this anymore. However, PCR can be used to amplify very small amounts of DNA, usually in 2-3 hours, to the levels required for RFLP analysis. Therefore, more samples can be analyzed in a shorter time. The ability to analyse such small amounts of samples of evidence taken from crime scenes increases the automation and promises faster and more effective results for forensic evidence in court. DNA degradation can be easily identified on an electropherogram where the process can reduce the height of some alleles, making them too low to be recognised from the data. When there are too many samples of DNA degraded it is classed as no results being obtained and can complicate the interpretation of the samples if two or more are similar to each other. Degradation is more likely to occur during the technique of STR as the amplification of specific regions on the DNA strand will not be successful. References Books 1. John M. Butler, 2005, Forensic DNA Typing – Biology, Technology and Genetics of STR Marker. Elsevier Academic Press (USA). 2nd Edition, page 42 and 63. 2. Norah Rudin and Keith Inman, An introduction to Forensic Analysis, 2nd Edition, CRC Press LLC 2002, page 41, 58 3. Alberts Bray et al, 2010, Essential Cell Biology. Garland Science, Taylor & Francis Group LLC. 3rd Edition, page 173 4. William Goodwin et al, 2007. An Introduction to Forensic Genetics. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Page 41, 71, 127-132 5. David Wright, 2000. Human Physiology and Health. Heinemann Educational Publishers. Page 22, 162. Websites 6. http://www.nij.gov/topics/forensics/evidence/dna/basics/analyzing.htm#mitochondrial – accessed 21st November 2012 at 11.30am 7. http://www.iitk.ac.in/infocell/Archive/dirnov3/science.html – accessed November 20th, 2012 8. Ferullo, Daniel. 7.342 Powerhouse Rules: The Role of Mitochondria in Human Diseases,Spring 2011. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare), http://ocw.mit.edu (Accessed 29 Nov, 2012). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA Journals 9. Gill, P., Sparkes, R. and Tully, G. (2001). DNA Profiling in Forensic Science. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. (1), 1-6. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/npg.els.0001001/pdf) – accessed 19th November 2012 10. Renata Jacewicz, Krzysztof Lewandowski, Joanna Rupa-Matysek, Maciej Jedrzejczyk, Mieczysław Komarnicki and Jarosław Berent. 2012. Genetic investigation of biological materials from patients after stem cell transplantation based on autosomal as well as Y-chromosomal markers. Int J Legel Med. (1), 1-4. 11. Andreas Meyerhans, Jean-Pierre Vartanian and Simon Wain-Hobson. (1991). Strand Specific PCR amplification of Low Copy Number DNA. Nucleic Acids Research. 20 (3), 521-523.

Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made Essay

Introduction An entrepreneur is a person who sets up a business by taking on financial risks in hope to make a profit. The word entrepreneur stems from the French word entreprendrà © which means ‘to undertake’. A couple of examples are Lord Alan Sugar and Bill Gates. Lord Sugar is an entrepreneur worth  £800 million. He started by selling car aerials out of a van, he then set up his company, Amstrad which sold affordable hi-fi turntable covers. In 1993 he founded Amsair Executive Aviation with his son Daniel who provide executive and business jet charters. Bill Gates was the world’s first centibillionaire. He began programming aged 13 and continued to gain experience with computing before studying law at Harvard. He spent most of time there programming and created Microsoft. This became the most used computer software in the world. He was CEO up until 2008 and is still a chair in the company. This essay will look at the traits that many entrepreneurs have and see which ones you are born with and which are attainable through education or training allowing anyone to become an entrepreneur. It will conclude arguing that entrepreneurs are made though not all the traits can be improved through training. Traits of Entrepreneurs One trait of entrepreneurs is the need for independence (Brooks 2011). Many entrepreneurs do not want to work for other people and it is this independence that attracts them as they can control their own work and life, it is often a more flexible lifestyle as an entrepreneur can take time off when he wants to. Another trait is the need for fulfilment (Delgado-Garcà ­a et al. 2012). This is believed to be the main drive in entrepreneurs and it isn’t always making money that is the aim. Often their targets are very personal such as becoming international or to employ 100 employees (Brooks 2011). There is also the trait of having an internal locus of control. Being an internal means that you believe you control a broad array of factors in your life (Judge & Bono 2001). An external is the opposite and believes in fate and not being able to control your entire life. These people are less likely to take risks and therefore would make poor entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs need to be self confident. If an entrepreneur isn’t confident in their product or service they are providing then it will be less likely  the entrepreneur will be successful. For investors and shareholders to be confident in the business or business plan then the entrepreneur must be 100% confident in what he is pitching. Entrepreneurs must be innovative also. They must be able to use innovation to create an opportunity. It is a key skill to be able to spot gaps in the market, and take this opportunity to develop a successful business to make money and produce new products. Born or Made? Starting with the first trait independence, independence meaning not wanting to be an employee but be self employed. This is a personal preference which you may be born with and always have a desire to be your own boss. However, this preference may come down to a parent being self employed and seeing him/her having the freedom to take days or afternoons off work and be more flexible may encourage their offspring to be entrepreneurs. The trait of needing fulfilment is one that most people are either born with or not born with. Many people may be happy in a job where they are earning a decent amount and don’t feel the need to try and move up in a company’s hierarchy or leave their job and become an entrepreneur. However, people may not be born with the need for fulfilment but have an idea they genuinely think will succeed and this may encourage them to become more motivated and they will want it to succeed. Overall, the trait of needing fulfilment and achievement is one that can be adopted when older and not necessarily born with. In the case of the internal locus of control, this is something that people may have strong views about and many people make up their own mind about whether they control their own lives or whether fate decides. Education and training is unlikely to change people’s perspective. This perspective is likely to arise from how the person has been brought up, if their parents always told them how fate doesn’t exist then they will probably grow up to believe the same, this means it isn’t something that you are born with (genetic) but is something you may pick up during childhood through the surrounding environment. As shown above confidence is key to being a successful entrepreneur, confidence is something that many people are born with. However, confidence can be built up through therapy or by changing mental attitudes. On the whole, confidence can be made but some people are more naturally confident than others and will need to work less at being that  confident entrepreneur. Innovation is something that is hard to teach and is a trait that you are born with, some people would struggle to come up with ideas and find a gap in the market just as some people are naturally talented at painting and some have to work at it. Innovation is slightly harder to teach that painting however, this is the one trait which would be hard to improve in a person. Conclusion As the above shows many of the traits entrepreneurs need are born with however, they can be improved through education and training later in life. The only one that cannot be improved very easily is innovation. Many people may argue that none of the traits are born with and that they are all developed during childhood and through the environment a person is brought up in. For this reason entrepreneurs are made and many of the traits can be improved to allow a person to become a better entrepreneur. References Billett, M.T. & Qian, Y., 2008. Are Overconfident CEOs Born or Made? Evidence of Self-Attribution Bias from Frequent Acquirers. Management Science, 54(6), pp.1037-1051. Burns, P., 2008. Corporate Entrepreneurship 2nd Edition. Hampshire. Palgrave Macmillan Delgado-Garcà ­a, J.B., Rodrà ­guez-Escudero, A.I. & Martà ­n-Cruz, N., 2012. Influence of Affective Traits on Entrepreneur’s Goals and Satisfaction. Journal of Small Business Management. 50(3), pp.408-428. Judge, T.A. & Bono, J.E., 2001. Relationship of Core Self-Evaluations Traits – Self-Esteem, Generalized Self-Efficacy, Locus of Control, and Emotional Stability – With Job Satisfaction and Job Performance: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology. 86(1), pp.80-92 Piperopoulos, P.G., 2011. Business Emergence and Growth. Hampshire. Palgrave Macmillan.

Ancient India Vs. Ancient China Essay - 950 Words

Ancient India vs. Ancient China Early Indian and Chinese civilizations were very advanced for their times. For example some areas of the Indus Valley had sewer systems while the Chinese mastered the art of spinning Silk. The first modern humans in China date back 50,000 years. Their populations today outnumber any country to date, which can be linked to their rich heritage dating back thousands of years. The early people of the Indus Valley were seen as the first civilization of India beginning around 3200 B.C.E. and lasted until the Indo-Aryans came at around 1600 B.C.E... Judging by the varying qualities of the homes discovered, they had a class system of some sort. They also had an economy consisting of agriculture and domestic animals. And, as mentioned before, they even had sewer systems in the more populated areas. Once the Indo-Aryans came, the culture of the Indus Valley people became intertwined in the new ideas of these new people. The Indo-Aryans brought with them an economy dependent on cattle. Other animals like sheep, goats, and horses were also valued. Grains such as barley were grown as well. They also had musical instruments, including flutes, drums and cymbals. Their government consisted of a Raja, or king, of certain areas. The Raja mainly protected the people, taking on the responsibility of defending his land. The gods were called Devas, similar to the Greek gods, and were used as personifications of natural forces. One deity was called Indra, whoShow MoreRelatedAncient China vs. Ancient India753 Words   |  4 PagesAmber Richey October 15, 2012 World History Ancient India and Ancient China Different but the Same Ancient India and Ancient China have as many similarities as they do differences. Over many decades of being so close they have had very little run-ins with one another. They have thrived living by the basic principles of a peaceful co-existence society. They have accepted each other’s differences and come to realize just how many similarities they have. Today it is almost impossible the seeRead MoreEssay on Exploring International Psychology1045 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction In researching the ancient roots of international psychology, I found that I gravitated with special interest to the ancient roots of Greek, Chinese and Indian psychology. In this research, I found myself replaying a statement I read when learning about the hypothesis regarding the history of psychology. This statement is â€Å" It may be possible that parts of history have indeed been chaotic whereas other parts have been linear and progressive and still others have been cyclical† (KingRead MoreA Vegetarian Vs. Vegan Essay1372 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"A vegetarian vs. vegan? What’s the difference?† Although the differences may be known by some, many are foreign as to what distinguishes these two lifestyles. While vegetarians refrain from consuming an animal s flesh, vegans choose to rid themselves of the consumption and use of any animal derived products. With dietary limitations established, it is clear that these two differ greatly, but what unites them i s how the lifestyles came to be. As a vegan myself, I have developed core arguments andRead MoreHinduism and Buddhism’s Influence of Indian Culture in Southeast Asia1903 Words   |  8 Pagesaccepted by the rulers and people of the area. Within examining the evidence it is assured that Southeast Asians adopted and adapted to these religions. Hinduism originated in India, which is a polytheistic religion that follows the goal Enlightenment. Certain people and different territories spread Hinduism throughout India. Hinduism in Southeast Asia was a choice that was accessible for its people. This allowed them to worship whatever they wanted. Hinduism is practiced on people’s social statuesRead MoreUmayyad vs Abbasid Dynasties872 Words   |  4 PagesUmayyad vs. Abbasid Dynasties In the rise and spreading of the Islam religion, there were many dynasties that were similar and different in their own way. The Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasties can be compared: culturally, through religious tolerations and cultural blending; politically, through bureaucracy and misuse of government powers; and economically, through trade and advancements of technology. Culturally through religious toleration and cultural blending, the Umayyad and Abbasid dynastiesRead MoreThe Word Of History By Frederick Dielman1569 Words   |  7 PagesEtymology History by Frederick Dielman (1896) The word history comes ultimately from Ancient Greek á ¼ ±ÃÆ'Ï„Î ¿Ã ÃŽ ¯ÃŽ ±[12] (historà ­a), meaning inquiry,knowledge from inquiry, or judge. It was in that sense that Aristotle used the word in his ÃŽ  ÃŽ µÃ Ã¡ ½ ¶ ÃŽ ¤Ã¡ ½ ° ÃŽâ€"á ¿ ·ÃŽ ± á ¼ ¹ÃÆ'Ï„Î ¿Ã ÃŽ ¯ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ¹[13] (Perà ¬ Tà   Zà ´a ÃŽâ€"istorà ­ai Inquiries about Animals). The ancestor word á ¼ µÃÆ'τωÏ  is attested early on in Homeric Hymns, Heraclitus, the Athenian ephebes oath, and in Boiotic inscriptions (in a legal sense, either judge or witness, or similar)Read MoreTypes Of Materials And Archaeological Sites1437 Words   |  6 Pagesmost general sense is the study of our humanity. Examples include physical or biological anthropology, cultural, linguistic, and finally archaeology. Archaeologists use different types of material, artifacts, and remains found on earth to find out ancient civilization culture. Biblical archaeologists work in a lot of the same ways as the anthropological archaeologists, but with reference to events set out in the Bible. Archaeology has some aspects in common with both history and with scienceRead MoreChinese Culture2090 Words   |  9 PagesMainland China is rooted in more than 4,000 years of rich Chinese cultures and history.   Its known for their lives, travel, history, business and food, their people and customs.   Traditional Kung Fu is as much of the culture of china according to statistics. The Chinese people have shared a common culture longer than any other groups on earth.   China is one of the cradles of the human race.   For thousands of years the culture of china has attract and moved many people from all over the world, beingRead MoreWhiteness1119 Words   |  5 Pagesreferred to as a matter of great importance. race consciousness is a modern phenomenon. India race predjudice manifested 5000 years ago. Invasion by the Aryans of the valley of the Indus. Conquered the dark hued people (flat nosed barbarians) Less racist basis than might be supposed In the ancient times the higher caste individuals had lighter skins and narrower noses than others. Not so much the case today. China Han Dynasty. Described the yellow haired, green eyed barbarian people in a distantRead MoreStrayer World History Chapter 112348 Words   |  10 Pages1258 2. but Islamic civilization continued to flourish and expand B. The Case of India 1. Turkic-speaking invaders brought Islam to India 2. establishment of Turkic and Muslim regimes in India beginning ca. 1000 a. at first, violent destruction of Hindu and Buddhist temples b. Sultanate of Delhi (founded 1206) became more systematic 3. emergence of Muslim communities in India a. Buddhists and low-caste Hindus found Islam attractive b. newly