Brain vs. Computer

Human Brain vs. Computer Outline Thesis Statement: Some say computers are more smarter than the human brain but in reality a humans brain is what created it. Introduction Memory A. Human Brain 1. Memory not measurable 2. Would not overload from memory B. Computer 1. Data programed 2. Can’t learn new things on its own 3. Limited memory space III. Capability A. Human Brain 1. Learn new things easily 2. Ability to make decisions B. Computer 1. Multitasking (complex tasks) 2. No emotion Upgrades and Repairs A. Human Brain . Cannot be updated 2. Adaptable to new settings B. Computer 1. Merge current ideas 2. Problems fixed easily Conclusion Human Brain Vs. Computer The brain and computer are always being compared to each other because they both perform computations. Some say computers are more smarter than the human brain but in reality a humans brain is what created it. The brain and computer can be set apart by differences such as: memory, their capabilities and creativities. Mem ory is the ability to store and revive information.The memory process for both the computer and human brain are very different. The human brain memory is not measurable. Scientist are unsure of how to calculate the size of memory in the brain. The capacity of the human brain is so big that it can not overload from information being stored in it. Although it is said that memory is not measurable, the memory process is very complex. There have been a few educated guesses that the memory process begins with encoding, then storing the information and some how retrieving it.Computers access its memory through a memory address; a number that is assigned to each byte in a computers memory that the CPU uses to track where data is stored. Data is programmed into the computer by a human being. Computers can not learn new things on its own. The computer memory cannot work independently. It has assistance by the human brain to do most of the work. Latest computers have about a million megabytes of storage. That is a limited amount of storage compared to the human brain. The computer and the brain both are capable of doing different things to extreme lengths.The brain receives uses the five senses constantly to understand and help process information. Since it is constantly working on the information it has to quickly adapt to learning new things. The brain can think, invent, dream, solve, read without any help. It also has a mind for expressing thought and emotions. The computer has the ability to perform many tasks all at once without error. The most multitasking the brain does is using the autonomic nervous system. The computer can perform calculations faster than the human brain.In order for a computer to learn new things things have to be coded and programmed into it. The computer has no emotion, no feelings and no senses. The world we know around us is rapidly changing and evolving. The human brain can easily adapt to the new settings in our environment. If something may happen to go wrong with the brain you cannot simply repair it. Whilst it is easy to repair a broken computer and add new parts to it, that can’t be done to a brain. The computer can receive updates by merging current ideas and setting them into its hardware.The brain can adjust to the changes on its own. The brain is always actively working. There is no ON/OFF button in the brain like there is on a computer. The brain is better than the computer when it comes to general purposes and acquiring new skills. Both the human brain and the computer have their strengths and differences. In some cases they can be very alike and complementary to each other. They both have their individually unique properties that also them apart. The brain has a lot of contribution to inventing the computer.Without the power of the brain there would not be a computer. There is much more that we do not know about the brain, but we do know everything about a computer. Works Cited Chatham, Chris. â⠂¬Å"Sentient Developments: Chris Chatham: 10 Important Differences Between Brains and Computers. † Sentient Developments: Chris Chatham: 10 Important Differences Between Brains and Computers. Sentient Developments, 22 May 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. Mastin, Luke. â€Å"Memory Processes – The Human Memory. † Memory Processes – The Human Memory. N. p. , 2010. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.

Political Islam Essay

The constant failure of western secular ideologies to have a resolve for the problems facing humanity has given birth to the political side of Islam.   Since its inception in to the world, western principles have done nothing but abuse and brutalize Islamic doctrines, traditions, values, and culture.   To add more insult to injury, western ideologies have implanted a fake sound of progress to Islam in its failure to uplift the economic conditions of Islamic societies and nations.   Given the extra-religious motivations, political Islam or more ideally known as Islamic fundamentalism is fueled by a multitude of concerns that pollute Islam in numerous ways possible. In order to expound the symptoms that lead to the foundations of Islamic political thought, John Esposito lists down and discusses varying frameworks for such phenomenon.   He first explains the failure brought about by the secular philosophies justifies Islam’s legitimacy as an alternative form of ideology in governments and societies.   Esposito simply suggests that the Muslims cannot be blamed if ever they result to allegedly unorthodox ways to subsidize because the only choice left for them is to look for another non-corruptive option to uplift their worsening economic, cultural, and moral breakdown (Eposito, 2000). Esposito also contends that the role of armed forces such as the Taliban in Afghanistan have made a vital role in setting the course for Islamic fundamentalism’s resurgence (Eposito, 2000).   The resurfacing of Islam in a more extreme manner has its root cause in other angles apart from the contributions of various militia forces.   Primarily, the rise and dominance of Judeo-Christian traditions in various sects around the world is a plausible angle, this is because Judaism and Christianity have particular doctrines which are at odds with Islam.   Though they do not attack places of worship, Muslims still violate Christian and Jewish laws through their radical behavior. John Esposito (2000) implies that Islam or Islamic Fundamentalism for that matter is a case of civilization collision between two different civilizations.   He furthers that the rising influence of religion in international affairs contributes to the conflicts of civilizations.   In this particular argument, Esposito attempts to generalize the role of religion in other endeavors, but religion has its own interests to pursue.   In Islam’s case, how can its adherents postulate a world order if the doctrines that highly influence their ways of life are incoherent? The clash of civilizations theory is just as the same as clash of interests.   If a person does not concur with the concept of a particular ideology; it is his or her prerogative to disagree and not conform to it.   Esposito’s framework in this sense is as simple as the United States refusal to embrace the concept of communism and the Soviet cause during the 1950s.   Osama bin Laden for instance, expresses a great deal of resentment over the United States and its ideologies, that’s how he justifies his acts of terrorism in various cities and countries, but if he wants to claim Islam as the world order, he is then misguided by his alleged advocacies that would save the world. Democracy’s main concept is freedom; democracy refuses to be shackled by laws that hinder progress.   Religion meanwhile has its own foundations based on what is morally right and morally wrong.   It is quite considerable how Esposito gives a non-biased discussion of whether there is conflict of interest between Islam and democracy.   He concludes that politics is more influential here and not religion, and that failure to support civil society as well as failure to participate in political affairs strengthens religious and secular authoritarianism (Esposito 2000). It is plausible to think that there can be a mediating factor between Islam and democracy; this is due to the fact that both ideologies have a similar cause, which is to pursue the best interests of the people.   It is quite true that Islam and its conformists are on the receiving end of western immoralities; however, it is a person’s own will whether to conform to what certain aspects of western ideologies imply. Furthermore, although Islam and democracy may have some overlapping and conflicting principles, a certain application of mutual respect is possible to satisfy all angles in conflict. In Light of John Esposito’s article regarding the resurrection of the Islamic resentment over western secular ideologies, a number of questions are raised to address the matter: †¢ How is terrorism justified as a counter-measure against the perceived immoral and corruptive nature of western thought? †¢ In what context and up to what extent does â€Å"evil† apply in western ideologies? †¢ If Mohammed were alive today, would he be having a similar response to the nature of western views as modern political Islam conformists do? †¢ Do the Political Islamists simply advocate for the upholding of Islam’s tenets or do they also thirst for global power in other aspects such political and economic? †¢ If Islam in itself postulates a diversity of beliefs, how can Islamic fundamentalists constitute their very core ideas in to the world?

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 18

Case study - Essay Example Finally, as analyzers, Coke continue to undertake research and scan the environment for changes in demands and customers’ needs and preferences. Porter’s framework uses the five forces: rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, threat of substitutes and threat of new entrants. Coke’s success in surpassing the performance of its competitors has been due to their continued commitment to review these five forces and determine strategies would effectively address defined threats and risks and tap existing opportunities. innovative and competitive strategies, and responding to the needs of the clientele have contributed to their leadership in a global scale. By consistently delivering high quality and affordable products, coupled with effective strategies for promotions, place, and price, Coke has sustained market profitability and assumed competitive advantage over its competitors. The most appropriate competitive strategy that would allow an organization to develop a sustainable competitive advantage is offering a product with distinct competency that is difficult to copy by competitors. For Coke, their secret formula for the classic Coke had remained confidential and no competitor could copy or closely resemble the distinct taste that made Coke number 1. For Butler, the design strategy that would provide a consistency in Coke’s brand should apply the strategies as defender, prospector and analyzer, in creating a unified design for the global market. Butler’s evaluation of the 450 brands should streamline, delete, replace and maintain only those that are clearly identifiable to Coke. A unified and consistent brand would actually minimize costs and thereby maximize revenues that would further increase Coke’s financial performance and success. The competitive strategies have been successful for Coke due to their ability to implement different strategies as deemed appropriate for the

What Factors lead to hyperinflations and what can be done to eliminate Essay

What Factors lead to hyperinflations and what can be done to eliminate them - Essay Example ral cause of hyperinflation may be described as follows – an unprecedented rise in money supply that is bereft of any growth in output or services creates a disparity between the demand and supply of money. This imbalance leads to a loss of confidence in the value of the money and finally, hyperinflation. The situation becomes such gruesome that any kind of legal tender laws, price controls, fail to return the confidence on the value of the paper money, which is without any intrinsic value to the consumer. If the government resorts to excessive printing of money and if it gets a friendly environment to foster inflation, hyperinflation keeps on sustaining and in a cumulative manner, erodes the economy day by day. The government in such case often fails to match the pace of its currency printing mechanism with that of the devaluating currency (the rate at which the currency is losing its value). (Hyperinflation: causes, cures†) The incident of hyperinflation is almost always associated with the paper form of money. This is because it is the simplest way to increase money supply. In most of the cases after experiencing hyperinflation, an economy reverts to hard money. An investigation into the basic causes of hyperinflation will offer more questions than answers. According to the monetarists and the classical economists, a hyperinflation is always led by irresponsible borrowing of money by the government in order to pay all of its expenses. The monetary and classical theory regarding the hyperinflation center on the untamed seignorage on behalf of the monetary authority and the gains they can reap off the inflation tax. The neo liberals, on the other hand, explain hyperinflation in terms of the confidence crisis. The neoliberal theory of hyperinflation is known as the quantity theory of hyperinflation. According to them loss of confidence of the mass on the capability of paper money to readily transform int o hard currency like gold, silver or other form of

Project Management - Cathway Pacific Assignment

Project Management - Cathway Pacific - Assignment Example The paper "Project Management - Cathway Pacific" investigates project management in the context of Cathway Pacific. At this point, the problem’s definition is clear. What follows entails the planning on how the problem’s solution will be attained. The planning section involves identifying all the possible courses of action capable of solving the underlying problem. In this context, Cathway has three possible courses of action available to solve the problem. What remains is to select the best course of action from the three options. Selecting best course of action entails subjecting the options to a system of criteria meant to evaluate the suitability of each possible course of action. A weighted Scoring Model is the best technique to select the most appropriate option. The criteria to be used must meet the desired purpose of the project. The options will then be evaluated if they meet the criteria. These criteria include; The method should benefit the society. This mean s that the technology adopted should result in a positive effect to the subject society. Hong Kong residents have been subjected to pollution for a long time. Therefore, it is the company’s turn to compensate the locals. The method should not affect customers’ financial aspect. This means that any expenses required to install the technology should not be transferred to the customers, as this may affect their loyalty. The method chosen should serve to indicate social responsibility. Every organization has an obligation to conduct its oper

Israeli Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Israeli Economy - Essay Example This study will focus on the ethnic considerations in regards to the economy of the Israeli state as well as the Jewish state/Israeli nation discourse that accompanies it. The role of religion in economy will also be discussed. The approach of this study will be through first providing a brief background on the historical ethnic composition in regards to Ashkenazi and Sephardis and then detailing the historical and contemporary perspectives of the issues in question before concluding with a look at how Post-Zionism may respond to the issues addressed in the essay. Ethnic Background on Israel (Ashkenazi/Sephardi) Tsur (231) discusses the distribution of Jews in the pre-Zionist era, stating that Jews could be viewed geographically as European (residing in Europe) or Afro-Asian (residing in North Africa and Asia especially in the Middle East). With this categories established, it is then observed that the Zionist migration into Palestine at the time of establishment of the Israeli state (1948) was heavily inclined towards European Jewry with majority of the immigrants streaming in from Eastern Europe in comparison to those from North Africa and the Middle East. This pre-Zionist categorization spawned the major ethnic classification Ashkenazi and Sephardi that have later characterized the socio-economic and political landscape of Israel. Although it is difficult to define Jewry, the Ashkenazi Jews are the ones who originated from European nations. Originally, Ashkenazi referred to Jews from Germany who had settled in Eastern Europe and spoke Yiddish. Sephardi, on the other hand, referred to Jews from the Iberian Peninsula who had also settled in the Ottoman Empire. The two nuclei origins of Jews later incorporated other Jews, with those from Eastern Europe and later from America ascribing with Ashkenazi while those from Islamic North African and Middle East countries identified with the Sephardi (Tsur, 232; Dowty 1-3). Hence, the Zionist migration largely featured Ashkenazi Jews, with the changes all aspects of the Israeli society following showing elements of the two ethnic inclinations as is the subject of the rest of this discussion. Historical Perspectives on Ethnic Economic Considerations Kaplan notes that the immigrants from Asia and Africa (the Sephardi), generally began their lives in the new state at significant socio-economic disadvantage as compared to the dominant Ashkenazi population. While the most of the Ashkenazi seized the numerous opportunities in the working and middle class levels due to possession of marketable skills, advancement in education and considerable favour from the authorities, the Sephardi had to make do with low income jobs and settled in marginal neighbourhoods and settlements that were largely economically non-stimulating. Kaplan also indicates that economic inequality was further compounded in the entire first generation of Ashkenazi and Sephardi born in the state of Israel as the Sephardi traditionally ha d larger families which strained the already limited resources available. The manifestation of this ethnic disparity in historical economic terms can be seen in the statistics available on incomes, distribution of occupation and education before 1975. By 1956-1957, the Sephardi averagely earned 73% of what the Ashkenazi earned increasing to 82% by 1975. When the large Sephardi families are taken

New Perspective in Organisation Management Essay

New Perspective in Organisation Management - Essay Example Writers have disagreed to the ways in which organizational cultures can be changed. There are primarily two schools of thought based on the concepts of organizational culture. One of them is based on shared values while the other is based on working practices. According to Waterman and Peters, shared values form the basic component of organizational cultures. However, Hofstede has suggested that shared perceptions of the daily practices and not the shared values form the basic components or the core of organizational culture. Incorporating changes in the shared value is considered to be more difficult as compared to changes in working practices as people remain more deeply rooted with the values rather than the practices (Black, 2003, p.16). Business management consultants and organizational socialists have increasingly stressed upon the role of soft skills in organizations. This has been the case as organizational culture is the label for the shared mental software shared by the peo ple in the organization. Organizational culture can be deviated from the conventional national culture for creating a competitive advantage of the firm. This is supposed to be especially true when organizational culture reinforces the company strategies. Studies conducted at IRIC has revealed that there is a significant correlation between the cultural strength i.e. the homogeneity of the culture and the orientation of results in the organization (Black, 2003, p.16). ... Organizational culture can be deviated from the conventional national culture for creating a competitive advantage of the firm. This is supposed to be especially true when organizational culture reinforces the company strategies. Studies conducted at IRIC has revealed that there is a significant correlation between the cultural strength i.e. the homogeneity of the culture and the orientation of results in the organization (Black, 2003, p.16). The best organizations are those which have their cultures as customer driven and also performance oriented. One of the organizations with strong organizational cultures is Disneyland. The strong culture of the organizations is depicted through all its activities like the actions of employees, running of parks and the consistency and positivity with which visitors were treated in the organization (Schermerhorn, 2009). Because this study focuses on the constructs of organizational culture it is important to make reference to the iceberg model whi ch makes a strong depiction of the organizational culture. Literature has repeatedly focused on the terms organizational climate and organizational culture. Researchers have often made the two terms interchangeable. Martin (2002) has written a book on organizational culture providing a comprehensive review of the literature on organizational culture and interesting perspective on the various issues which are related with the subject (McLean, 2005, p.3). Looking at Schein’s iceberg model, this includes all the elements of the iceberg which are under the level of water and all that which are visible. This is demonstrated in the figure below. Figure 1: The iceberg model in organization culture (Source: Schermerhorn, 2009) On

The Significance of Improving Productivity in the Hospitality Industry Essay

The Significance of Improving Productivity in the Hospitality Industry - Essay Example Introduction Productivity has a huge impact on all businesses; both individual and corporate. In fact, the hospitality industry is witnessing a steady decline in productivity after World War II, and for many decades the industry effectively hid its poor productivity behind the baby boom in the size of the market. According to estimates, the hospitality industry is only 50% as effective as other industries. Still, it is surprising to note that am effective strategy that could be used to measure the productivity in hospitality industry is not available. This work intends to check why productivity is important in hospitality industry; especially bars and clubs, and also it tries to analyse the existing notion of and attitude towards productivity in the hospitality industry. Thereafter, it tries to suggest some ways that can be adopted to improve productivity in the hospitality industry, especially bars and clubs. The Productivity Paradox of Hospitality Industry The main problem with hos pitality industry, according to scholars, is poor productivity. From studies, it became evident that most people in the hospitality industry possess relatively little idea about the importance of human resources in the hospitality industry. In the opinion of Mill (2010), in hospitality industry, the role of human resources has been undervalued. ... cording to them, despite the best efforts by the hospitality industry to incorporate information technology in operations, there is no evident improvement in productivity. According to them, an important reason for this lack of evidence lies in the fact that there is no effective tool for the measurement of productivity improvement. In addition, it became evident from the study that those who used technology did not use it to improve productivity, but to improve the guest experience. Another serious issue is that different people use different set of criteria to measure productivity (ibid). Similarly, the study by Ingram and Fraenkel (2006) looked into the perception of productivity among hospitality managers. It is pointed out that they possess little idea about the notion of productivity, and the more they tried to understand what productivity is, the more confused they became. The same opinion is revealed by Mill. So, it seems useful to look into the different ideologies on produc tivity. Definition of Productivity and its Measurement In the opinion of Gummesson (1998), it is both ambiguous and inadequate to measure service productivity. However, in the opinion of Reynolds (2004), as about 30% of the hospitality cost comes from labour, a general tendency in the industry is to reduce labour costs while maintaining productivity. However, an article published by the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute warns that the productivity targets achieved in this way will not last long. This is so because reduced costs will lead to a decline in service standards. As Kimes (2001) states, this poor service, in turn, will affect customer satisfaction, which, eventually, will result in poor sales, and finally, poor productivity. There are people like Parasuraman (2002) who argue

Argentine Military Terror Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Argentine Military Terror - Essay Example Other than the communist and capitalist struggles, the Argentine military played a significant role in the dirty war, which targeted the citizens. This essay will therefore investigate how Argentina military became an integral element of the 1970-1980 s terrorism. The essay will also investigate factors that caused left wing and right wing struggles to degenerate into brutality. The dirty war had its origin in the early 1970 s where military officials played a key role in committing acts of genocide against the civilian population. The operations were conducted under the leadership of Jorge Rafael Videla who took over from Isabella Martinez. Under Videla’s leadership, the Argentine military was ready to deal with anyone who opposed the authoritarian regime of Jorge Videla (Marvin web). Firstly, the military targeted trade unionists and college students, protesters and right wing activists. The military applied immediate tactics in dealing with protesters such as kidnappings and detentions without trials. In the late 1970 s, the target changed from those who opposed the government to those who were suspected to be against the regime or those who had conflicts with the regime (Marvin web). The military is also accused of mass murder of dirty war victims most of whom were never accounted for. The Argentina’s dirty war is considered as the darkest moment of the country’s history. During this period, the government is accused to have killed between 9,000 and 30,000 argentines in its effort to curb social activism that came to be known as left wing movement. It is obvious that the argentine regime was part of the right wing faction. There are various reasons that led the left and right conflict to degenerate into a brutal confrontation. Firstly, the US government offered support to the argentine authority in its effort to eliminate the right wing activism that was champion by the Russians. The independence of Argentina also introduced social

ESSAY 2 - THE MINISTERS BLACK VEIL Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

2 - THE MINISTERS BLACK VEIL - Essay Example But the situation changes owing to just one small factor. Mr. Hooper starts wearing a black veil and his image is changed from a dignified person. People are scared of him and try to avoid him. They do not understand why he has worn the veil. The veil gives him a frightening appearance and it separates him from the entire society. Elizabeth was the lady he loved but she also deserts him owing to his refusal on taking off the veil. He confides in Elizabeth that the veil also scares him but he has to keep on wearing it. The story has been written in a very intriguing way presenting a clear picture of all the emotions of the characters. It portrays the theme of human nature that one decision by a person can result in isolating him from the society. The black veil can be considered to be a symbol of a curtain used by Mr. Hooper to segregate him from the society. He may have opted for this decision to overcome some grief in his life or for the purpose of hiding himself owing to some sin that he may have done. Mr. Hooper is very determined and he does not take off the veil even when he is about to die. This story reminds me of a woman who used to live in our neighborhood. She was a very lively young lady who was social and liked intermingling with people. She was outgoing and bold. She was liked by everyone in the neighborhood as she was very welcoming and was always ready to help everyone. She was a very sensible lady but an event changed her life. She was very attached to her family but her son passed away in an accident. The incident totally changed her and she was not the same woman that she used to be. She stopped talking to everyone and locked herself in her house. She stopped going out and cut off all her social connections. Her life totally changed and she died a few years later. Her isolation is similar to the veil that was used by Mr. Hooper to segregate him from the

Procurement and supply chain management Essay Example for Free

Procurement and supply chain management Essay This Publication is concerned with the vital subject of business logistics and supply chain management, an area that can be essential to a firm’s competitive strategy and revenue generation. This management area has been described by many names, including physical distribution, materials management, transportation management, logistics, and supply chain management. Relevant business activities may include one or more of the following areas: transportation, inventory, order processing, purchasing, warehousing, materials handling, packaging, customer service standards, and production. The focus of this Publication is on the planning, organizing, and controlling of these activities key elements for successful management in any organization. Special emphasis is given to strategic planning and decision making as an important part of the management process. Managerial efforts are directed towards setting the level of the logistics activities so as to make products and services available to customers at the time and place required, and in the condition and form desired, in the most profitable and cost-effective way. Logistical activities have always been vital to organizations, and so business logistics and supply chain management represents a synthesis of many concepts, principles, and methods from the more traditional areas of marketing, production, accounting, purchasing, and transportation, as well as from the disciplines of applied mathematics, organizational behaviour, and economics. This Publication attempts to unify these elements to assist in the effective management of the supply chain. The Publication aims to present ideas, principles and techniques that are fundamental to good business logistics practice. It concentrates on important activities of management such as planning, organizing, and controlling, and also on a triangle of interrelated transportation, inventory, and location strategies, which are at the heart of good logistics planning and decision making. Contemporary trends that affect the scope and practice of business logistics and supply chain management have been integrated into the body of the text. Firstly, emphasis is placed on logistics and supply chain management in a worldwide setting to reflect the growing internationalization and globalization of business in general. Secondly, the shift towards service-oriented economies by industrialized nations is emphasized by showing how logistics concepts and principles are applicable to both service-producing tirms and product-producing ones. Thirdly, attention is given to the integrated management of supply chain activities. 1 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk The Publication contains many practical and contemporary examples that show the applicability of the textual material and assist in the understanding and learning of the key points and concepts. Each Chapter in this Cambridge International College Publication on Logistics, Chain Supply Transport Management includes: †¢ An introduction section †¢ Examples and/or figures and diagrams to explain the concepts being covered †¢ A summary of concluding comments †¢ Review Questions designed to reinforce learning and contemplation of what is covered in the Chapter Advice on How to Study this Program Every individual CIC Member approaches his/her study in a different manner, and different people may have a particular study method that they find most effective for them. However, the following is a tested and proven Study Method, suggested to you as a CIC Member in order to assist in making your study and learning easier and enjoyable and to assist you to quickly master the contents of this CIC Publication on Logistics, Chain Supply Transport Management: Step 1: Set yourself a flexible study schedule, depending on the time you have available and what is best for you. For example, the target set could be to study for 1 or 2 hours a night, or for 8 or 9 hours a week, or to complete one Chapter every 2 weeks. There is no set or compulsory schedule, but simply setting a schedule or goal is often an important action in ensuring that study is undertaken successfully and within the specified timeframe. Step 2: Read the whole of the first Chapter at your normal reading pace, without trying to memorise every topic covered or fact stated, but trying to get â€Å"the feel† of what is dealt with in the Chapter as a whole. Step 3: Start reading the Chapter again from the beginning, this time reading more slowly, paragraph by paragraph and section by section. Make brief notes of any points, sentences, paragraphs or sections which you feel need your further study, consideration or thought. You may wish to keep any notes in a separate file or notebook. Try to absorb and memorise all the important topics covered. Step 4: Start reading the Chapter again from its start, this time paying particular attention to and if necessary studying more thoroughly those parts on which you earlier wrote notes for further study. It is best that you do not pass on to other parts or topics until you are certain you fully understand and remember those parts you earlier noted as requiring your special attention. Try to fix everything taught firmly in your mind. 2 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk Step 5: There are self-assessment review questions at the end of the Chapter, and you are strongly advised to try to answer or think about them as best you can but do not send your answers to the College. If these questions/exercises highlight any areas that you feel you need to revise or re-read in the Chapter, then go ahead and do that before moving on to Step 6. Step 6: Once you have completed steps 1 to 5 above, move on to the next Chapter and repeat steps 1 to 5 for each subsequent Chapter. 3 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk LOGISTICS, SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM MODULE ONE BUSINESS LOGISTICS/SUPPLY CHAIN A VITAL SUBJECT (based on Chapter 1 of ‘Logistics, Supply Chain and Transport Management’ by Ronald H Ballou) Contents Introduction Business Logistics Defined The Supply Chain The Activity Mix Importance of Logistics/Supply Chain (SC) Costs Are Significant Logistics Customer Service Expectations Are Increasing Supply and Distribution Lines Are Lengthening with Greater Complexity Logistics/SC Is Important to Strategy Logistics/SC Adds Significant Customer Value Customers Increasingly Want Quick, Customized Response Logistics/SC in Non-Manufacturing Areas Service Industry Military Environment Business Logistics/SC in the Firm Objectives of Business Logistics/SC Questions and Problems Introduction As far back as history records, the goods that people wanted were not always produced where they wanted to consume them, or these goods were not accessible when people wanted to consume them. Food and other commodities were widely dispersed and were only available in abundance at certain times of the year. Early peoples had the choice of consuming goods at their immediate location or moving the goods to a preferred site and storing them for later use. However, because no well developed transportation and storage systems yet existed, the movement of goods was limited to what an individual could personally move, and storage of perishable commodities was possible for only a short time. This limited movement-storage system generally constrained people to live close to the sources of production and to consume a rather narrow range of goods. Even today, in some areas of the world consumption and production take place only within a very limited geographic region. Striking examples can still be observed in the developing nations of Asia, South America, Australia, and Africa, where some of the population live in small, self-sufficient villages, and most of the goods needed by the residents are produced or acquired in the immediate vicinity. Few goods are imported from other areas. Therefore, production efficiency and the economic standard of living are generally low. In this type of economy, a well-developed and inexpensive logistics system would encourage an exchange of goods with other producing areas of the country, or even the world. 4 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk As logistics systems improved, consumption and production began to separate geographically. Regions would specialize in those commodities that could be produced most efficiently. Excess production could be shipped economically to other producing (or consuming) areas, and needed goods not produced locally were imported. This exchange process follows the principle of comparative advantage. This same principle, when applied to world markets, helps to explain the high level of international trade that takes place today. Efficient logistics systems allow world businesses to take advantage of the fact that lands, and the people who occupy them, are not equally productive. Logistics is the very essence of trade. It contributes to a higher economic standard of living for us all. To the individual firm operating in a high-level economy, good management of logistics activities is vital. Markets are often national or international in scope, whereas production may be concentrated at relatively few points. Logistics activities provide the bridge between production and market locations that are separated by time and distance. Effective management of these activities is the major concern of this Program. Business Logistic Defined Business logistics is a relatively new field of integrated management study in comparison with the traditional fields of finance, marketing, and production. As previously noted, logistics activities have been carried out by individuals for many years. Businesses also have continually engaged in movestore (transportation-inventory) activities. The newness of the field results from the concept of coordinated management of the related activities, rather than the historical practice of managing them separately, and the concept that logistics adds value to products or services that are essential to customer satisfaction and sales. Although co-ordinated logistics management has not been generally practiced until recently, the idea of co-ordinated management can be traced back to at least 1844. In the writings of Jules Dupuit, a French engineer, the idea of trading one cost for another (transportation costs for inventory costs) was evident in the selection between road and water transport: â€Å"The fact is that carriage by road being quicker, more reliable and less subject to loss or damage, it possesses advantage to which businessmen often attach a considerable value. However, it may well be that a saving induces the merchant to use a canal; he can buy warehouses and increase his floating capital in order to have a sufficient supply of goods on hand to protect himself against slowness and irregularity of the canal, and if all told the saving in transport gives him a cost advantage, he will decide in favour of the new route. † The first textbook to suggest the benefits of co-ordinated logistics management appeared around 1961, in part explaining why a generally accepted definition of business logistics is still emerging. Therefore, it is worthwhile to explore several definitions for the scope and content of the subject. A dictionary definition of the term logistics is: â€Å"The branch of military science having to do with procuring, maintaining, and transporting material, personnel, and facilities. † This definition puts logistics into a military context. To the extent that business objectives and activities differ from those of the military, this definition does not capture the essence of business logistics management. A better representation of the field may be reflected in the definition promulgated by the Council of Logistics Management (CLM), a professional organization of logistics 5 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk managers, educators, and practitioners formed in 1962 for the purposes of continuing education and fostering the interchange of ideas. Its definition: â€Å"Logistics is that part of the supply chain process that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption in order to meet customers’ requirements. † This is an excellent definition, conveying the idea that product flows are to be managed from the point where they exist as raw materials to the point where they are finally discarded. Logistics is also concerned with the flow of services as well as physical goods, an area of growing opportunity for improvement. It also suggests that logistics is a process, meaning that it includes all the activities that have an impact on making goods and services available to customers when and where they wish to acquire them. However, the definition implies that logistics is part of the supply chain process, not the entire process. So, what is the supply chain process or, more popularly, supply chain management? Supply chain management (SCM) is a term that has emerged in recent years that captures the essence of integrated logistics and even goes beyond it. Supply chain management emphasizes the logistics interactions that take place among the functions of marketing, logistics, and production within a firm and those interactions that take place between the legally separate firms within the product-flow channel. Opportunities for cost or customer service improvement are achieved through co-ordination and collaboration among the channel members where some essential supply chain activities may not be under the direct control of the logistician. Although early definitions such as physical distribution, materials management, industrial logistics and channel management all terms used to describe logistics have promoted this broad scope for logistics, there was little attempt to implement logistics beyond a company’s own enterprise boundaries, or even beyond its own internal logistics function. Now, retail firms are showing success in sharing information with suppliers, who in turn agree to maintain and manage inventories on retailers’ shelves. Channel inventories and product stockouts are lower. Manufacturing firms operating under just-in-time production scheduling build relationships with suppliers for the benefit of both companies by reducing inventories. Definitions of the supply chain and supply chain management reflecting this broader scope are: â€Å"The supply chain (SC) encompasses all activities associated with the flow and transformation of goods from the raw materials stage (extraction), through to the end user, as well as the associated information flows. Materials and information flow both up and down the supply chain. † â€Å"Supply chain management (SCM) is the integration of these activities, through improved supply chain relationships, to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. † After careful study of the various definitions being offered, Mentzer and other writers propose the broad and rather general definition as follows: â€Å"Supply chain management is defined as the systematic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and the tactics across these business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole. † 6 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] The supply chain management model in Figure 1-1 viewed as a pipeline shows the scope of this definition. It is important to note that supply chain management is about the co-ordination of product flows across functions and across companies to achieve competitive advantage and profitability for the individual companies in the supply chain and the supply chain members collectively. It is difficult, in a practical way, to separate business logistics management from supply chain management. In so many respects, they promote the same mission: â€Å"To get the right goods or services to the right place, at the right time, and in the desired condition, while making the greatest contribution to the firm. † Some claim that supply chain management is just another name for integrated business logistics management (IBLM) and that the broad scope of supply chain management has been promoted over the years. Conversely, others say that logistics is a subset of SCM, where SCM considers additional issues beyond those of product flow. For example, SCM may be concerned with product pricing and manufacturing quality. Although SCM promotes viewing the supply channel with the broadest scope, the reality is that firms do not practise this ideal. Fawcett and Magan found that companies that do practise supply chain integration limit their scope to one tier upstream and one tier downstream. The focus seems to be concerned with creating seamless processes within their own companies and applying new information technologies to improve the quality of information and speed of its exchange among channel members. The boundary between the logistics and supply chain management terms is fuzzy. Even then, logistics activities are repeated once again as used products are recycled upstream in the logistics channel. A single firm generally is not able to control its entire product flow channel from raw material source to points of the final consumption, although this is an emerging opportunity. For practical purposes, the business logistics for the individual firm has a narrower scope. Usually, the maximum managerial control that can be expected is over the immediate physical supply and physical distribution channels, as shown in Figure 1-2. The physical supply channel refers to the time and space gap between a firm’s immediate material sources and its processing points. Similarly, the physical distribution channel refers to the time and space gap between the firm’s processing points and its customers. Due to the similarities in the activities between the two channels, physical supply (more commonly referred to as materials management) 8 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk and physical distribution comprise those activities that are integrated into business logistics. Business logistics management is now popularly referred to as supply chain management. Others have used terms such as value nets, value stream, and lean logistics to describe a similar scope and purpose. The evolution of the management of product flows toward SCM is captured in Figure 1-3. Although it is easy to think of logistics as managing the flow of products from the points of raw material acquisition to end customers, for many firms there is a reverse logistics channel that must be managed as well. The life of a product, from a logistics viewpoint, does not end with delivery to the customer. Products become obsolete, damaged, or nonfunctioning and are returned to their source points for repair or disposition. Packaging materials may be returned to the shipper due to environmental regulations or because it makes good economic sense to reuse them. The reverse logistics channel may utilize all or a portion of the forward logistics channel or it may require a separate design. The supply chain terminates with the final disposition of a product. The reverse channel must be considered to be within the scope of logistics planning and control. The Activity Mix The activities to be managed that make up business logistics (supply chain process) vary from firm to firm, depending on a firm’s particular organizational structure, management’s honest differences of opinion about what constitutes the supply chain for its business, and the importance of individual activities to its operations. Follow along the supply chain as shown in Figure 1-2 and note the important activities that take place. Again, according to the CLM: 9 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk â€Å"The components of a typical logistics system are: customer service, demand forecasting, distribution communications, inventory control, material handling, order processing, parts and service support, plant and warehouse site selection (location analysis), purchasing, packaging, return goods handling, salvage and scrap disposal, traffic and transportation, and warehousing and storage. † Figure 1-4 organizes these components, or activities, according to where they are most likely to take place in the supply channel. The list is further divided into key and support activities, along with some of the decisions associated with each activity. Customer service standards co-operate with marketing to: a. Determine customer needs and wants for logistics customer service b. Determine customer response to service c. Set customer service levels 2. Transportation a. Mode and transport service selection b. Freight consolidation c. Carrier routing d. Vehicle scheduling e. Equipment selection f. Claims processing g. Rate auditing 3. Inventory management a. Raw materials and finished goods stocking policies b. Short-term sales forecasting c. Product mix at stocking points 10 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk d. Number, size, and location of stocking points e. Just-in-time, push, and pull strategies 4. Information flows and order processing a. Sales order-inventory interface procedures b. Order information transmittal methods c. Ordering rules Support Activities 1. Warehousing a. Space determination b. Stock layout and dock design c. Warehouse configuration d. Stock placement 2. Materials handling a. Equipment selection b. Equipment replacement policies c. Order-picking procedures d. Stock storage and retrieval 3. Purchasing a. Supply source selection b. Purchase timing c. Purchase quantities 4. Protective packaging designed for: a. Handling b. Storage c. Protection from loss and damage 5. Co-operate with production/operations to: a. Specify aggregate quantities b. Sequence and time production output c. Schedule supplies for production/operations 6. Information maintenance a. Information collection, storage, and manipulation b. Data analysis Control procedures Key and support activities are separated because certain activities will generally take place in every logistics channel, whereas others will take place, depending on the circumstances, within a particular firm. The key activities are on the â€Å"critical† loop within a firm’s immediate physical distribution channel, as shown in Figure 1 to 5. They contribute most to the total cost of logistics or they are essential to the effective co-ordination and completion of the logistics task. 11 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk Customer service standards set the level of output and degree of readiness to which the logistics system must respond. Logistics costs increase in proportion to the level of customer service provided, such that setting the standards for service also affects the logistics costs to support that level of service. Setting very high service requirements can force logistics costs to exceedingly high levels. Transportation and inventories maintenance are the primary cost-absorbing logistics activities. Experience has shown that each will represent one-half to two-thirds of total logistics costs. Transportation adds place value to products and services, whereas inventories maintenance adds time value. Transportation is essential because no modern firm can operate without providing for the movement of its raw materials or its finished products. This importance is underscored by the financial strains placed on many firms by such disasters as a national railroad strike or independent truckers’ refusal to move goods because of rate disputes. In these circumstances, markets cannot be served, and products back up in the logistics pipeline to deteriorate or become obsolete. Inventories are also essential to logistics management because it is usually not possible or practical to provide instant production or ensure delivery times to customers. They serve as buffers between supply and demand so that needed product availability may be maintained for customers while providing flexibility for production and logistics in seeking efficient methods for manufacture and distribution of the product. Order processing is the final key activity. Its costs usually are minor compared to transportation or inventory maintenance costs. Nevertheless, order processing is an important element in the total time that it takes for a customer to receive goods or services. It is the activity triggering product movement and service delivery. Although support activities may be as critical as the key activities in any particular circumstance, they are considered here as contributing to the logistics mission. In addition, one or more of the support activities may not be a part of the logistics activity mix for every firm. For example, products such as finished automobiles or commodities such as coal, iron ore, or gravel not needing the weather and security protection of warehousing will not require the warehousing activity, even though inventories are maintained. However, warehousing and materials handling are typically conducted wherever products are temporarily halted in their movement to the marketplace. 12 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk Protective packaging is a support activity of transportation and inventory maintenance as well as of warehousing and materials handling because it contributes to the efficiency with which these other activities are carried out. Purchasing and product scheduling often may be considered more a concern of production than of logistics. However, they also affect the overall logistics effort, and specifically they affect the efficiency of transportation and inventory management. Finally, information maintenance supports all other logistics activities in that it provides the needed information for planning and control. The extended supply chain refers to those members of the supply channel beyond the firm’s immediate suppliers or customers. They may be suppliers to the immediate suppliers or customers of the immediate customers and so on until raw material source points or end customers are reached. It is important to plan and control the previously noted activities and information flows if they affect the logistics customer service that can be provided and the costs of supplying this service. Management of the extended supply chain has the potential of improving logistics performance beyond that of just managing the activities within the immediate supply chain. Importance of Logistics/Supply Chain Logistics is about creating value value for customers and suppliers of the firm, and value for the firm’s stakeholders. Value in logistics is primarily expressed in terms of time and place. Products and services have no value unless they are in the possession of the customers when (time) and where (place) they wish to consume them. For example, concessions at a sports event have no value to consumers if they are not available at the time and place that the event is occurring, or if inadequate inventories don’t meet the demands of the sports fans. Good logistics management views each activity in the supply chain as contributing to the process of adding value. If little value can be added, it is questionable whether the activity should exist. However, value is added when customers are willing to pay more for a product or service than the cost to place it in their hands. To many firms throughout the world, logistics has become an increasingly important value-adding process for a number of reasons. Costs Are Significant Over the years, several studies have been conducted to determine the costs of logistics for the whole economy and for the individual firm. There are widely varying estimates of the cost levels. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), logistics costs average about 12 percent of the 13 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk world’s gross domestic product. Robert Delaney, who has tracked logistics costs for more than two decades, estimates that logistics costs for the U. S. economy are 9. 9 percent of the U. S. gross domestic product (GDP), or $921 billion. For the firm, logistics costs have ranged from 4 percent to over 30 percent of sales. The results from a cost survey of individual firms are shown in Table 1-3. Although the results show physical distribution costs at about 8 percent of sales, this survey does not include physical supply costs. Probably another one-third may be added to this total to represent average logistics costs for the firm at about 11 percent of sales. Over the last decade, physical distribution costs have ranged between 7 percent and 9 percent of sales. There may be a trend of increasing costs for individual firms, although Wilson and Delaney show over the same period that logistics costs as a percent of U. S. GDP have declined by about 10 percent. Logistics costs, substantial for most firms, rank second only to the cost of goods sold (purchase costs) that are about 50 percent to 60 percent of sales for the average manufacturing firm. Value is added by minimizing these costs and by passing the benefits on to customers and to the firm’s shareholders. Logistics Customer Service Expectations Are Increasing The Internet, just-in-time operating procedures, and continuous replenishment of inventories have all contributed to customers expecting rapid processing of their requests, quick delivery, and a high degree of product availability. According to the Davis Survey of hundreds of companies over the last decade, world-class competitors have average order cycle times (the time between when an order is placed and when it is received) of seven to eight days and line item fill rates of 90 percent to 94 percent. LogFac summarizes world-class logistics performance for domestic companies as: Error rates of less than one per 1,000 orders shipped Logistics costs of well under 5 percent of sales Finished goods inventory turnover of 20 or more times per year Total order cycle time of five working days Transportation cost of one percent of sales revenue or less, if products sold are over $5 per 500 gms As might be expected, the average company performs below these cost and customer service benchmarks, when compared with the statistics in Tables 1-3 and 1-4. Supply and Distribution Lines Are Lengthening with Greater Complexity The trend is toward an integrated world economy. Firms are seeking, or have developed, global strategies by designing their products for a world market and producing them wherever the low-cost 14 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk raw materials, components, and labor can be found (e. g. , Ford’s Focus automobile), or they simply produce locally and sell internationally. In either case, supply and distribution lines are stretched, as compared with the producer who wishes to manufacture and sell only locally. Not only has the trend occurred naturally by firms seeking to cut costs or expand markets, but it is also being encouraged by political arrangements that promote trade. Examples of the latter are the European Union, the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and the economic trade agreement among several countries of South America (MERCOSUR). Globalization and internationalization of industries everywhere will depend heavily on logistics performance and costs, as companies take more of a world view of their operations. As this happens, logistics takes on increased importance within the firm since its costs, especially transportation, become a larger part of the total cost structure. For example, if a firm seeks foreign suppliers for the raw materials that make up its final product or foreign locations to build its product, the motivation is to increase profit. Material and labor costs may be reduced, but logistics costs are likely to increase due to increased transportation and inventory costs. The â€Å"tradeoff†, as shown in Figure 1-6, may lead to higher profit by reducing materials, labour, and overhead costs at the expense of logistics costs and tariffs. â€Å"Outsourcing† adds value, but it requires careful management of logistics costs and product-flow times in the supply channel. Logistics/SC Is Important To Strategy Firms spend a great deal of time finding ways to differentiate their product offerings from those of their competitors. When management recognizes that logistics/SC affects a significant portion of a firm’s costs and that the result of decisions made about the supply chain processes yields different levels of customer service, it is in a position to use this effectively to penetrate new markets, to increase market share, and to increase profits. When a firm incurs the cost of moving the product toward the customer or making an inventory available in a timely manner, for the customer â€Å"value† has been created that was not there previously. It is value as surely as that created through the production of a quality product or through a low price. It is generally recognized that business creates four types of value in products or services. These are: form, time, place, and possession. Logistics creates two out of these four values. Manufacturing creates form value as inputs are converted to outputs, that is raw materials are transformed into finished goods. Logistics controls the time and place values in products, mainly through transportation, information flows, and inventories. Possession value is often considered the responsibility of marketing, engineering, and finance, where the value is created by helping customers acquire the product through such mechanisms as advertising (information), technical support, and terms of sale (pricing and credit availability). To the extent that SCM includes production, three out of the four values may be the responsibility of the logistics/supply chain manager. Customers Increasingly Want Quick, Customized Response Fast food retailers, automatic teller machines, overnight package delivery, and electronic mail on the Internet have led us as consumers to expect that products and services can be made available in increasingly shorter times. In addition, improved information systems and flexible manufacturing processes have led the marketplace toward mass customization. Rather than consumers having to accept the â€Å"one size fits all† philosophy in their purchases, suppliers are increasingly offering products that meet individual customer needs. Companies too have been applying the concept of quick response to their internal operations in order to meet the service requirements of their own marketing efforts. The quick response philosophy has been used to create a marketing advantage. Saks Fifth Avenue applied it, even though big profits are made through big margins and not on cost reductions that might be achieved from good logistics management. Supply chain costs may even rise, although the advantage is to more than cover these costs through increased profits. Logistics/SC in Non-manufacturing Areas It is perhaps easiest to think of logistics/SC in terms of moving and storing a physical product in a manufacturing setting. This is too narrow a view and can lead to many missed business opportunities. The logistics/SC principles and concepts learned over the years can be applied to such areas as service industries, the military, and even environment management. Service Industry The service sector of industrialized countries is large and growing. In the United States, over 70 percent of all jobs are in what the federal government classifies as the service sector. The size of this sector alone forces us to ask if logistics concepts are not equally applicable here as they are to the manufacturing sector. If they are, there is a tremendous untapped opportunity yet to be fulfilled. Many companies designated as service firms in fact produce a product. Examples include: McDonald’s Corporation (fast foods); Dow Jones Co. , Inc. (newspaper publishing); and Sears, Roebuck and Co. (merchandise retailing). These companies carry out all the typical supply chain activities of any manufacturing firm. However, for service companies such as Bank One (retail banking), Marriott Corporation (lodging) and Consolidated Edison (electric power), supply chain activities, 16 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: Britain. International Headquarters: College House, Leoville, Jersey JE3 2DB, Britain Telefax: +44 (0)1534 485485 Email: [emailprotected] com Website: www. cambridgecollege. co. uk especially those associated with physical distribution, are not as obvious. Even though many service-oriented companies may be distributing an intangible, nonphysical product, they do engage in many physical distribution activities and decisions. A hospital may want to extend emergency medical care throughout the community and must make decisions as to the locations of the centers. United Parcel Service and Federal Express must locate terminals and route pickup and delivery trucks. The East Ohio Gas Company inventories natural gas in underground wells during the off-season in the region where demand will occur. Bank One must locate and have cash inventory on hand for its ATMs. The Federal Reserve Bank must select the methods of transportation to move cancelled cheques among member banks. The Catholic Church must decide the number, location, and size of the churches needed to meet shifts in size and location of congregations, as well as to plan the inventory of its pastoral staff. Xerox’s repair service for copying equipment is also a good example of the logistics decisions encountered in a service operation. The techniques, concepts, and methods discussed throughout this Program should be as applicable to the service sector as they are to the manufacturing sector. The key, according to Theodore Levitt, may be in transforming an intangible service into a tangible product. Problems will remain in carefully identifying the costs associated with the distribution of an intangible product. Perhaps because of this, few service firms or organizations have a physical distribution manager on their staff, although they frequently do have a materials manager to handle supply matters. However, managing logistics in service industries does represent a new direction for the future development of logistics practice. Military Before businesses showed much interest in co-ordinating supply chain processes, the military was well organized to carry out logistics activities. More than a decade before business logistics’ developmental period, the military carried out what was called the most complex, best-planned logistics operation of that time-the invasion of Europe during World War II. Although the problems of the military, with its extremely high customer service requirements, were not identical with those of business, the similarities were great enough to provide a valuable experience base during the developmental years of logistics. For example, the military alone maintained inventories valued at about one-third of those held by all U. s. manufacturers. In addition to the management experience that such large-scale operations provide, the military sponsored, and continues to sponsor, research in the logistics area through such organizations as the RAND Corporation and the Office of Naval Research. With this background, the field of business logistics began to grow. Even the term logistics seems to have had its origins in the military. A recent example of military logistics on a large scale was the conflict between the United States and Iraq over Iraq’s invasion of the small country of Kuwait. This invasion has been described as the largest military logistics operation in history. The logistics support in that war is yet another illustration of what worldclass companies have always known: Good logistics can be a source of competitive advantage. Lt General William Pagonis, in charge of logistics support for Desert Storm, observed: â€Å"When the Middle East started heating up, it seemed like a good time to pull out some history books on desert warfare in this region . But there was nothing on logistics. Logistics is not a best seller. In a couple of his diaries, Rommel talked about logistics. He thought the Germans lost the battle not because they didn’t have great soldiers or equipment in fact, the German tanks outfought ours almost throughout World War II but because the British had better logistics. † 17 LSCTMMOD1 Send for a FREE copy of our Prospectus book by airmail, telephone, fax or email, or via our website: The first wave of 200,000 troops and their equipment was deployed in a month and a half, whereas troop deployment took nine months in the Vietnam conflict. In addition, the application of many good logistics concepts was evident. Take customer service, for example: â€Å"We believed that if we took care of our troops, the objectives would be accomplished no matter whatever else happened. The soldiers are our customers. It is no different than a determined, single focus on customers that many successful businesses have. Now, you take care of your soldiers not only by providing them cold sodas, and burgers, and good food: you make sure they have the ammunition on the front line, so that when they go fight the war they know they have what they need. † This meant that when 120 mm guns rather than 105 mm guns were desired on tanks, they were changed. When brown vehicles were preferred over the traditional camouflage green, they were repainted at the rate of 7,000 per month. Environment Population growth and resultant economic development have heightened our awareness of environmental issues. Whether it is recycling, packaging materials, transporting hazardous materials or refurbishing products for resale, logisticians are involved in a major way. After all, the United States alone produces more than 160 million tons of waste each year, enough for a convoy of 10-ton garbage trucks reaching halfway to the moon. In many cases, planning for logistics in an environmental setting is no different from that in manufacturing or service sectors. However, in a few cases additional complications arise, such as governmental regulations that make the logistics for a product more costly by extending the distribution channel. Business Logistics in the Firm It has been the tradition in many firms to organize around marketing and production functions. Typically, marketing means selling something and production means making something. Although few business people would agree that their organization is so simple, the fact remains that many businesses emphasize these functions while treating other activities, such as traffic, purchasing, accounting, and engineering, as support areas. Such an attitude is justified to a degree, because if a firm’s products cannot be produced and sold, little else matters. However, such a pattern is dangerously simple for many firms to follow in that it fails to recognize the importance of the activities that must take place between points and times of production or purchase and the points and times of demand. These are the logistics activities, and they affect the efficiency and effectiveness of both marketing and production. Scholars and practitioners of both marketing and production have not neglected the importance of logistics. In fact, each area considers logistics within its scope of action. For example, the following definition of marketing management includes physical distribution: â€Å"Marketing (management) is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges with target groups that satisfy individual and organizational objectives. † Marketing’s concern is to place its products or services in convenient distribution channels to facilitate the exchange process. The concept of production/ operations management often includes logistics activities. Now, viewing product flow activities as a process to be coordinated, product flow aspects within marketing, production, and logistics are collectively managed to achieve customer service objectives. The difference in operating objectives (maximize revenue versus minimize cost) for marketing and production/operations may lead to a fragmentation of interest in, and responsibility for, logistics activities, as well as a lack of co-ordination among logistics activities as a whole. This, in turn, may lead to lower customer service levels or higher total logistics costs than are necessary. Business logistics represents a regrouping, either by formal organizational structure or conceptually in the minds of management, of the move-store activities that historically may have been partially under the control of marketing and production/ operations. If logistics activities are looked upon as a separate area of managerial action, the relationship of logistics activities to those of marketing and production/ operations would be as is shown in Figure 1-7. Marketing would be primarily responsible for market research, promotion, sales-force management, and the product mix, which create possession value in the product. Production/ operations would be concerned with the creation of the product or service, which creates form value in the product. Key responsibilities would be quality control, production planning and scheduling, job design, capacity planning, maintenance, and work measurement and standards. Logistics would be concerned with those activities (previously defined) that give a product or service time and place value. This separation of the activities of the firm into three groupings rather than two is not always necessary or advisable to achieve the coordination of logistics activities that is sought. Marketing and production/operations, when broadly conceived and co-ordinated, can do an effective job of managing logistics activities without creating an additional organizational entity. Even if a separate functional area is created for logistics within the firm so as to achieve effective control of the firm’s immediate logistics activities, logisticians will need to view their responsibility as one of coordinating the entire supply chain process rather than being just a local logistics activity administrator. To do otherwise may miss substantial opportunities for cost reduction and logistics customer service improvement. The interface is created by the arbitrary separation of a firm’s activities into a limited number of functional areas. Managing the interface activities by one function alone can lead to sub-optimal performance for the firm by subordinating broader company goals to individual functional goals-a potential danger resulting from the departmental form of organizational structure so common in companies today. To achieve interfunctional coordination, some measurement system and incentives for cooperation among the functions involved need to be established. This is equally true of the inter-organizational co-ordination required to manage product flows across company boundaries. It is important to note, however, that establishing a third functional group is not without its disadvantages. Two functional interfaces now exist where only one between marketing and production/ operations previously existed. Some of the most difficult administrative problems arise from the interfunctional conflicts that occur when one is attempting to manage interface activities. Some of this potential conflict may be dissipated if a new organizational arrangement is created whereby production/ operations and logistics are merged into one group called supply chain. Just as managers are beginning to understand the benefits of interfunctional logistics management, inter-organizational management is being encouraged. Supply chain management proponents who view the area more broadly than some logisticians have been strongly promoting the need for collaboration among supply channel members that are outside the immediate control of a company’s  logistician, that is, members who are legally separate companies. Collaboration among the channel members that are linked through buyer-seller relationships is essential to achieving cost-service benefits unable to be realized by managers with strictly an internal view of their responsibilities. Supply chain managers consider themselves to have responsibility for the entire supply channel of the scope as illustrated in Figure 1-8. Managing in this broader environment is the new challenge for the contemporary logistician. Objectives of Business Logistics/SC Within the broader objectives of the firm, the business logistician seeks to achieve supply channel process goals that will move the firm toward its overall objectives. Specifically, the desire is to develop a logistics activity mix that will result in the highest possible return on investment over time. There are two dimensions to this goal: (1) the impact of the logistics system design on the revenue contribution, and (2) the operating cost and capital requirements of the design. Ideally, the logistician should know how much additional revenue would be generated through incremental improvements.

Hardware and software report Essay Example for Free

Hardware and software report Essay This logo is attractive as it advertises its name in its logo and so it is a useful selling point, this is unlike other logos such as the Apple logo where there is no text. Secondly logo uses two colours and therefore it looks clean and professional and unlike other logos such as the old Fanta logo (which is cluttered and not colour coordinated). Thirdly this logo is a definite improvement for previous BA logos, such as the one released on the Queens Birthday in 1991. However the logo hasnt been updated for just over fifteen years, certainly there have been modifications and improvements, and however BA hasnt changed it completely. A report done by The Economist shows this could be why BAs sales have been dropping gradually over the past decade. This logo represents the British based airline; Monarch. This logo uses two complementary colours, which are purple and yellow. The crown image is very clever because it matches the name of airline. The colours are used to great effect on the crown, the middle part of the crown is filled in with a golden yellow, and the two sides match the purple font. The crown is in a bold shape of an M so that people will notice that it belongs to Monarch Airways. It is extremely simple but also very clever and unique Ryan Air is an Irish Airline company who specialise in cheap flights. This logo is simple and quite plain and dull. The writing is big and bold so that people can read it from a long distance and so that it stands out and it has a short slogan underneath persuading potential customers to fly with them. It also has a small image of a golden harp but its not on the subject of flying, planes, or holidays. The Ryan Air logo is far too plain and doesnt use the beautiful two colours to effect. 2. 2 My Logos 2. 3 My Final Logo Mr Jones chose this logo, because he believed this logo represents the ethos and nature of the company. This is one of the only logos to have the slogan of the company underneath. He believed that this was an essential marketing point, which reflects the company. After research of existing logos (both travel and non-travel) and their colour scheme, I chose brow, yellow, and black. He chose the computer designed logos because they look more professional and pleasing to the eye. Another factor that was imperative to my chosen design is the survey I carried out (see Appendix C for completed survey). 2. 4 Task Evaluation How did you choose what features to include in your logo? I looked at three different logos and evaluated the good and the bad things about each logo, and then created each of my own logos and trying to include all of the good features that I had spotted, to make it as effective as possible. I also created a survey on what customers wanted to see in a logo which has given me more of an insight into customers needs. What hardware and software did you use? To create these particular logos I used: Hardware Dell Dimension DM 051 Software Microsoft Publisher 2007 Microsoft Word 2007 Corel Graphics Designer Internet Explorer 7 (www. logomaker. com) Suggest an alternative way for completing the task and what other hardware or software could you have used? For this task I could have used different programs or I could have edited my drawn designs on the computer Software Microsoft PowerPoint 2003/7 Adobe Photoshop CS2 Hardware Apple Mac (OS 3. 0 Beta) How well did this task work? Overall I think I did quite well on this task, as I managed to use different programs and explore the different features of them, also I looked at the differences in the features between Microsoft Word 2003 and Microsoft 2007, I feel this has benefited me greatly. My logos look professional and smart, and I am pleased and the end result, however I feel I couldve put a slogan on all of the logos, not just one.

FePt Nanoparticle Films Under in-situ Applied Magnetic Field

FePt Nanoparticle Films Under in-situ Applied Magnetic Field Synthesis and characteristics of FePt nanoparticle films under in-situ applied magnetic field Mo-Yun Gao, Xu Qian, Ai-Dong Li*, Xiao-Jie Liu, Yan-Qiang Cao, Chen Li, Di Wu Abstract FePt nanoparticle with L10-phase has extremely high magnetocrystalline anisotropy, good chemical stability, and resistance to oxidation, and has been considered as the most promising candidate for untra-high-density magnetic recording media. In this work, in-situ magnetic field was applied during the synthesis of FePt nanoparticles via a chemical solution method. FePt nanoparticle films were prepared by a dropping method. The effect of in-situ applied magnetic field on the structure, morphology and magnetic properties of FePt nanoparticle films was characterized. Under magnetic field as-synthesized FePt nanoparticles are monodispersed and can be self-assembled over larger area by a dropping method. The chemically ordered L10-phase FePt can be obtained after annealing at 700  °C for 60 min in forming gas (7% H2+93% Ar). It is revealed that applied magnetic field during the synthesis of FePt nanoparticles not only significantly improves the nanoparticles’ c-axis preferred orientation with the larger perpendicular c-axis preferred orientation degree D(001) of 3.47, but also benefits the phase transition of FePt nanoparticles from fcc to fct structure during the annealing process. The FePt nanoparticle films synthes ized under magnetic field also shows some magnetic anisotropy. Keywords: L10-phase FePt; Chemical solution synthesis; Applied magnetic field; C-axis oriented; Magnetic anisotropy 1. Introduction With the rapid development of magnetic recording technique, the superparamagnetic effect becomes the bottleneck to further increase magnetic storage density. The ferromagnetic L10 FePt assemblies with face-centered tetragonal (fct) structure has extremely high magnetocrystalline anisotropy, good chemical stability, and resistance to oxidation [1-3], considered as the most promising candidate for ultra-high-density magnetic recording media. Chemical solution method has become an attractive route to obtain FePt nanoparticles (NPs) with the controllable size, well-defined shape, and ordered monolayer assemblies since Sun et al. made great success in preparing monodisperse FePt NPs [4]. Based on this, a lot of studies have been conducted to explore and optimize the synthesis of FePt NPs, such as modifying fabrication methods [5-13], optimizing assembly methods [7,14-21] and fabricating FePt one-dimensional nanorods /nanowires [22-28] and so on. As-prepared fcc-FePt NPs need to be transformed to ferromagnetic fct-FePt, high temperature annealing will produce severe grain growth and particle aggregation, leading to the decrease of the particle positional order [29]. Great efforts have been made to suppress the unfavorable phenomenon upon annealing and worked. For example, element such as Ag [30], Au [31], and Sb [32] with low surface energy is doped into FePt NPs to abstain from the influence of annealing by decreasing the phase transition temperature of FePt. However, one defect is that the phase transition temperature is too high to avoid particle aggregation, another is that the morphology of FePt nanoparticle will become uncontrolled and self-assembled array over large area are destroyed after Sb doping. In addition, the core-shell structure of inorganic substance such as ZnO [33,34], MnO [35], NiO [36] and SiO2 [37] covering on FePt NPs solves the problem of sintering and aggregation of NPs. However, as the thickness and morphology of core-shell structure is uncontrolled and there exists strong magnetic dipole interaction between FePt magnetic NPs, making it difficult for self-assembled of NPs and orderly array over large area fail to form. Recently it reported that nonmagnetic films like Al2O3 deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) upon FePt NPs self-assembly array can improve the stability of FePt NPs under high temperature, preventing NPs from sintering and aggregation [38]. Other work like dispersing FePt NPs into the TiO2 substrate by sol-gel is a good way to protect FePt NPs during annealing [39], but element Fe of FePt will be lost in acidic TiO2 sol. In this work, we reported that in-situ magnetic field was applied during the synthesis process of FePt NPs and the dip coating process to form FePt NPs films. The FePt NPs were prepared via chemical reduction of Pt(acac)2 and thermal decomposition of Fe(CO)5 under different magnetic conditions in the presence of oleic acid (OA) and oleylamine (OAm) at 220à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™. The prepared FePt NPs films were than annealed at 700 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ for 60 min in forming gas (7% H2 + 93% Ar) to form the L10 phase of FePt. It is revealed that applied magnetic field not only significantly improves the c-axis preferred orientation, but also benefits the phase transition of FePt NPs from fcc to fct structure. The FePt NPs thin film synthesized under magnetic field also shows some magnetic anisotropy. Under magnetic field as-synthesized FePt NPs are monodispersed and can be self-assembled over larger area by a dropping method. 2. Experimental 2.1 Synthesis of FePt NPs FePt nanoparticles were synthesized through a standard polyol process with a modified synthetic condition using standard airless procedures under a gentle flow of pure nitrogen (N2) [12,39]. Typically, the FePt nanoparticles were prepared via chemical reduction of Pt(acac)2 and thermal decomposition of Fe(CO)5 under different magnetic conditions in the presence of oleic acid (OA) and oleylamine (OAm) at 220à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™. In a typical procedure, 0.125 mmol of Pt(acac)2 was mixed with 20 mL of phenyl ether under the gentle nitrogen gas flow. The mixture was heated to 50 °C, and stir until the platinum source dissolved completely in the solvent. After that the mixed solution was heated to 150 °C and 40 ÃŽ ¼L of oleic acid (OA),42.5 ÃŽ ¼L of oleylamine (OAm), and 80 ÃŽ ¼L of Fe(CO)5 were added step by step under different magnetic conditions with continuous stream of nitrogen. After that, the solution was heated up to 220  °C at the rate of 10  °C per minute., and refluxed for 30 min under the nitrogen protection. After the prepared black solution cooling down to the room temperature naturally, 50 ÃŽ ¼L of oleic acid (OA), 50 ÃŽ ¼L of oleylamine (OAm) and absolute ethanol were added into the mixture to a total volume of 80 mL. The black products were then precipitated by centrifugation (8000 r/min for 10 min) and the solution supernatant was discarded. The precipitate was then dissolved in 10 mL of hexane and precipitated again in 40 mL of absolute ethanol by centrifugation. The black FePt NPs were synthesized by repeating the separation process for 2~3 times. The magnetic NPs were dispersed in 6 mL of octane and stored in brown glass bottle under the nitrogen conditions. 2.2 Preparation of FePt NPs films Assembled FePt NPs on the HF-treated n-Si (100) substrates (1.0Ãâ€"1.0 cm2) were prepared by droping a drop of 2 mg/mL FePt solution (FePt NPs dispersed in octane) including a small amount of OA and OAm. As the organic solvent on the surface of FePt NPs was dried under the protection of N2 at room temperature, the FePt NPs were then heated to 120  °C and maintained for 2h in the baking oven to remove the organic solvent completely. In-situ magnetic field was applied in a patr of the samples during the dip coating process to form FePt NP films and another part were in nonmagnetic field for comparison. Three kinds of samples with different external magnetic field applied during the synthesis process and the dip coating process were listed in Table 1. The prepared FePt NP films were than annealed at 700 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ for 60 min in forming gas (7% H2 + 93% Ar) with a rising speed of 5  °C/min to form ordered fct-FePt before characterization. 2.3 Characterization The structure and crystalline phase were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD, D/max 2000, Rigaku) using Cu KÃŽ ± radiation (ÃŽ » = 1.5406 Ã…) operated at 40 kV and 40 mA. The morphology and microstructure of various samples were characterized using a transmission electron microscopy (TEM, Tecnai G2 F20 S-twin, FEI) operating at 200 kV. The compositions of all samples were analysed by the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) attached to a field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM, Zeiss). Magnetic properties of the fct-FePt were measured by a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID, MPMS XL-7, Qauntum Design) with a maximum field of 35 kOe. 3. Results and discussion Figure 1 (a) and (b) show the XRD patterns of unannealed and annealed FePt NPs films under different magnetic conditions. In Fig. 1 (a), the emergence of two broad peak at 40.3 o and 46.9 o of all samples which represent the Bragg peaks (111) and (200) illustrate the fcc-FePt NPs of average grain size of 4.1 nm calculated by Scherrer equation were obtained. It is obvious that in sample 2# and 3#, the peak (200) are stronger and closer to the highest peak (111) where diffraction is most likely to occur compared with sample 1# without magnetic field applied, indicating that in-situ magnetic field applied during the synthesis process exhibit the trend for FePt NPs to align perpendicular to the (100) crystal plane. While magnetic field applied during dip coating process make no obvious effect before anneal via comparing sample 2# with 3#. High temperature annealing make the phase transform from fcc to fct as indicated by the emergence of the Bragg peaks of (001), (110), (002) and (201) a s shown in Fig. 1 (b). The Bragg peak (001) and (002) are much stronger with the magnetic field applied during the synthesis process among which the intensity of peak (001) has been ahead of main peak (111) and peak (002) split from peak (200) are higher than peak (200) apparently. It means that the fct-FePt NPs films with the magnetic field applied during the synthesis process after high temperature annealing exhibit c-axis preferred orientation that is fct-FePt NPs align along the c-axis perpendicular to the surface of films which is the easy axis of magnetization [40]. Magnetic field applied during both during the synthesis process and the dip coating process has slightly improve c-axis preferred orientation, inferior to sample 2#. We define the degree of c-axis preferred orientation D(001) of fct-FePt in direction [001] as follows [41]: D(001)= (I(001)/I(111))measure/(I(001)/I(111))standard where (I(001)/I(111))standard=0.3 is got in diffraction patterns of fct-FePt powder with random orientation, while (I(001)/I(111))measure can be calculated from the XRD patterns of annealed sample 1#, 2# and 3#. Degree of the chemical ordering parameter S was introduced to illustrate the degree of order of FePt NPs films quantificationally. It is defined as follows[42,43]: S2=[1-(c/a)measure]/[1-(c/a)standard] where c and a are the lattice constants for the fct-FePt, evaluated from the (001) and (110) Bragg peaks of the XRD patterns and the axial ratio (c/a)measure for the partially ordered phase can be calculated then. For the fully ordered-phase FePt, (c/a)complete = 0.9657. Some data of samples under different magnetic conditions are listed in Table 2, including unannealedI(200)/I(111), annealed I(001)/I(111), degree of the chemical ordering parameter S and degree of c-axis preferred orientation D(001). It is easily seen from Table 2 that samples 2# and 3# with external magnetic field applied have a certain degree of [200] preferred orientation before anneal, making [001] preferred orientation more obvious after anneal. Comparing the degree of the chemical ordering parameter S of all samples, we can see that applied magnetic field during the synthesis of FePt nanoparticles not only significantly improves the NPs’ c-axis preferred orientation with the larger perpendicular c-axis preferred orientation degree D(001) of 3.47, but also benefits the phase transition of FePt NPs from fcc to fct structure during the annealing process. The reason for obvious c-axis preferred orientation may attribute to the anisotropy induced by external magnetic field during the nucleation of FePt for that applied magnetic field changed the barrier of nucleation in different orientation ,making the ratio I(200)/I(111) bigger in superparamagnetic particles and a-axis orientation enhanced, which is mor e likely to be transformed to c-axis orientation during the process of films formation and high temperature annealing. 4. Conclusion Acknowledge This project is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51202107), a grant from the State Key Program for Basic Research of China (Grant No. 2011CB922104), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. Ai-Dong Li also thanks the support of Priority Academic Program Development in the Jiangsu Province and the Doctoral Fund of Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 20120091110049). References [1] S. H. Sun, Adv. Mater. 18 (2006) 393. [2] H. Zeng, J. Li, J. P. Liu, Z. L. Wang, and S. H. Sun, Nature. 420 (2002) 395. [3] D. Weller, A. Moser, L. Folks, M. E. Bet, W. Lee, M. Toney, M. Schwieckert, J. U. Thieleand, and M. F. Doerner, IEEE Trans. Magn. 36 (2000) 10. [4] S. H. Sun, C. B. Murray, D. Weller, L. Folks, A. Moser, Science 287 (2000) 1989. [5] B. Jeyadevan, K. Urakawa, A. Hobo, N. Chinnasamy, K. Shinoda, K. Tohji, D. D. J. Djayaprawira, M. Tsunoda, M. Takahashi, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Part 2 42 (2003) L350. [6] M. 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