Analysis Of Amrhein, Lexie Sr Flavio s Home - 935 Words

Amrhein, Lexie SR â€Å"Flavio’s Home† Background Gordon Parks is an author and photographer. He was born in Kansas in 1912. He has his own museum called â€Å"the Gordon Parks Museum† that displays some of his best work to the public. Parks also has a foundations called â€Å"the Gordon Parks Foundation.† Many consider â€Å"American Gothic† to be his masterpiece. â€Å"American Gothic† is a famous image that Parks took in Washington, D.C., in 1942. He was the first African American photographer for both Life and Vogue. In addition to taking photos and writing books, Parks was also a poet. Some of his poems include The Learning Tree (1986), A Choice of Weapons (1987), To Smile in Autumn (1988), Arias in Silence (1994), and Glimpses Toward Infinity (1996). The piece below is a description essay of one of his most touching photographs that he took in 1990 of a poor boy in Rio de Janeiro. Summary â€Å"I’ve never lost my fierce grudge against poverty. It is the most savage of all human afflictions, claiming victims who can’t mobilize their efforts against it, who often lack strength to digest what little food they scrounge up to survive† (1). In â€Å"Flavio’s Home,† the author gives his readers a descriptive visual of what life is like on the Rio de Janeiro. More specifically, Parks focuses in on a twelve year old boy that goes by the name Flavio. The author and his co-worker were on a mission to gain information

Mental Health within the Criminal Justice System Essay

This essay intends to address the role that state agencies, both within the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and more broadly the institutions of education, employment and health, play in supporting and implementing diversionary programs for offenders with mental health problems. Mental health is clearly one of the most critical issues facing the Australian and New South Wales (NSW) CJS with research indicating that offenders with mental health problems constitute the majority of those within the prison system. The current strategies for diversion will be critically evaluated in order to determine their effectiveness with regard to the delivery and production of justice, cultural sensitivity for Indigenous Australians will also be considered.†¦show more content†¦48). Also for any mental disorder the inmate prevalence rate was almost three times the rate of the Australian population (15% vs. 42% among inmates) (Butler Allnutt 2003, p. 48). These statistics clearly demonstrate the critical nature of the mental health issue within the NSW CJS and in particular the prison system. The social construction of mental illness limit an individual’s life opportunities as they are labelled â€Å"psychotic stalkers, comic figures, neurotics who do everything to excess, or sometimes as sympathetic characters† (DeVoe 2003-2004, p. 926) rarely are they viewed as competent members of society as illustrated by Howard Geld experience, â€Å"many years ago, I was diagnosed manic depressive psychotic and ever since then I have tried to live up to it.† (Howard Geld cited in DeVoe 2003-2004, p. 925). However events such as NSW Mental Health Month (October) which emphasises the promotion of social and emotional wellbeing by encouraging people to maximise their health and increase their mental health literacy provides a great opportunity for reducing the fear associated with this group by raising awareness of mental illness which over time serves also to eliminate the stigma associated withShow MoreRelatedMental Health Services Within the Criminal Justice Sys tem2403 Words   |  10 PagesMental Health Services within the Criminal Justice System Kathleen Drake SOC331: Social Justice and Ethics Erika O’Quinn April 9, 2012 If anyone were to take a look at The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, 4th edition, (DSM IV), they would discover that nearly every human being could relate to â€Å"symptoms† required for some form of mental disorder. 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There is a difference between being mentally ill and being a criminal. It is no secret that the state has used the prison system as a dumping ground for the mentally ill. Common sense would lead an observer to conclude that a prison environment is not the best place for a person who is suffering from mental illness. This issue hasRead MoreMental Disorders Within The Criminal Population1357 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Mental illness has always had its place in history. For the people in today’s society, mental disorders are much easily treated allowing for a more normal living. Yet, not all individuals are able to be diagnosed with such disorders often causing negative behaviors. For low level offenders this is often the case. Nearly 20 percent of state and local jail detainees have a history of mental disorders; this percetage can increase considering that about 61.5 million adults are affected

Nursing Care Plan For Catherine

Question: Discuss about the Nursing Care Plan For Catherine. Answer: Nursing diagnoses: Disturbed thought processes related to the inability to coordinate daily activities. Disturbed sleep pattern related to hyperactive mental stimulation secondary to bipolar disorder with manic presentation (Hooks, 2016). ASSESSMENT PLANNING/OUTCOME IMPLEMENTATION EVALUATION NANDA Nursing diagnosis Disturbed thought processes Evidenced by: In the past two weeks, Catherine exhibited bizarre and excited behaviours that saw her do house activities in half, commencing one without finishing the other. When her husband, Greg, questioned about anything, she got defensive and irritable. She also spoke in a rapid way without coordinating the topics, an evidence of flight of ideas. She started knocking on the doors of her neighbours in the name of starting a keep-fit club. She applied too much makeup and was dressed in bright colored clothes and jewelry. She also has delusions of grandeur as she says that the neighbours have brought her to the hospital because they are jealous of her super powers. Short term goals In the first 24 hours of admission, Catherine shall demonstrate a mood that is stable and shall practice coordinated activities that promote self-care. They include taking a bath, completing one task after the other, interacting well with the other patients among others (Barlow, 2011). After 48 hours, Catherine shall be able to control her processes of thoughts and demonstrate it physically by being rational and organized in the unit. She shall also cease to exhibit delusions such as the grandiosity that she feels. Long term goal Catherine shall relate well with her husband and stop being irritable by regaining her normal mood status. Moreover, her daily activities shall be restored, and the disturbances to the neighbours shall cease. Furthermore, Catherine shall have an enhanced mental orientation for as long as it takes. Nursing Interventions: During the phase of mania Identify the stimulants within Catherines environment and remove them to enhance sleep and promote relaxation. Monitor the levels of lithium in Catherines blood. Channel Catherines energy in pace activities and also in one direction. Implement the precautions against suicide when Catherines mood swings to depression. Consider the use of other mood stabilizers such as carbamazepine if clozapine and olanzapine do not work (Smith, 2016). During the phase of depression Formulate a contact of safety with Catherine after doing a suicide assessment. Establish the baseline information of Catherine by assessing the intensity and level of her depression. Select activities for Catherine which ensure that she succeeds and accomplishes them in order to boost her self-esteem. Spend much time with Catherine by utilizing the provisions of Hildegard Peplaus theory of interpersonal relations. Observe Catherine on a daily basis for compliance to medications and any adverse effects (Blake, 2012). Day 1-2: Catherine interacts with other clients although the manic characteristics are still expressed. Moreover, she took a bath, went to the toilet and spread her bed without any help. Thus, the goal was partially met. Day3: Catherine remains destructed and fails to demonstrate an understanding of her illness. She still insists that she was wrongly brought to the hospital for treatment and mental assessment. She also remains uncooperative to Greg and her daughter after visiting, and it has sparked some emotional instability to Greg because he often tears and remains worried about his wife. NANDA Nursing Diagnosis Disturbed sleep pattern Evidenced by: Catherine has been having difficulties in sleeping and could wake up during the wee hours of the night such as 3 am and make calls to her friends. She can also wake up at midnight and knock on the doors of her neighbours to explain to them about her plans. The sleeping problems were translated to disturbances. Expected Outcome: Catherine sleeps comfortably just like any other normal adult Short term goals Catherine shall have a regular pattern of sleeping for an adult with an average of 8 hours per day. She shall also have enough time resting during the day and between activities such as family visits and group therapy. This is to be achieved on her first day in the facility. Catherine shall not disturb other patients and the hospital staff during the night to promote their comfortability unless if it is necessary during activities such as emergencies and physiological needs like micturition and defaecation. Long term goal After discharge, Catherine and her family shall report a normal sleeping rate and eliminated levels of lethargy due to disturbed sleep. Nursing Interventions: Administer a mood stabilizer and a tranquilizer during the night for a proper sleep. Adjust the environment to favour a comfortable sleep during the night in order to prevent provocation of Catherines disturbed sleep (Gen et al., 2017). Reassure Catherine that sleep is good for health and she should have enough for a comfortable day. Offer Catherine some clean sheets and blankets and enhance her self-care by asking her to spread the bed for a comfortable look that she wishes to have. Use a calm language or an authoritarian approach when asking Catherine to go to sleep depending on the necessity of the approach. Put off the lights and regulate the room temperature to enhance a peaceful sleep for Catherine during the night. This is also suitable for other patients. Monitor the effects of mood stabilizers to prevent an overdose and adverse reactions. If necessary, administer amitriptyline 75mgs when needed as an antidepressant during the depressive phase of Catherines bipolar (Hazard, 2016). Utilize Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to help Catherine moderate her moods and engage in activities that promote sleep such as meditation (Jones, 2012). Enroll Catherine in group therapy so that she can learn some sleeping techniques from other patients with a similar problem (Munsterberg, 2014). Administer therapeutic drugs against a headache, and other side effects of antidepressants and mood stabilizers. Side effects like sweating, acute akathisia, tardive dyskinesia among others deprive Catherine of sufficient sleep. Day 1: Catherine exhibits some difficulties in sleeping but still manages to sleep for 5 hours for the entire night. Day2: Catherine begins to have a normal sleeping pattern with the help of medications. Day 3: She now sleeps well without any form of night disturbances and awakenings. She only woke up due to the urge to evacuate the bowels. The goal was fully met. Nursing care plan rationale First diagnosis. The nurse has a responsibility of protecting Catherine and ensuring that the environment is safe to prevent any form of environmental agitation and fear. Lithium has side effects especially weight gain and therefore needs to be monitored to manage themin advance. Channeling energy in one direction promotes conservation. Taking suicide precautions prevents the overwhelming pressure for suicide especially during the depressive phase of bipolar. Mood stabilizers act by preventing agitation (S.27.04 Emotional processing in mood disorders, 2014). Second diagnosis Reassurance promotes patient comfortability. Clean sheets and blankets ensure that the patient sleeps well and remains calm through the night. Calm communication with Catherine develops rapport and enhances trust. A reduced light in the room during the night promotes sleep by activating retina pigments during the night (Terao and Hirakawa, 2016). Group and cognitive behavior therapies enhance alertness, lowers anxiety and promotes a feeling of confidence as Catherine will realize she is not the only one with the same problem. Compliance to medications prevent the manic and depressive symptoms of bipolar disorder (Munsterberg, 2014). References Barlow, D. (2011).Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Blake, T. (2012). Three medication pathways for bipolar disorder.Nursing, 42(5), pp.28-35. Gen, A., Kalelio?lu, T., Karamustafal?o?lu, N. and Eml, M. (2017). Peripheral Biomarkers in Bipolar Disorder Manic Episode.Journal of Mood Disorders, p.1. Hazard, J. (2016). Amitriptyline.Reactions Weekly, 1599(1), pp.20-20. Hooks, R. (2016). Developing nursing care plans.Nursing Standard, 30(45), pp.64-65. Jones, S. (2012). Cognitive behaviour therapy in the treatment of bipolar disorder.Bipolar Disorders, 4(4), pp.275-275. Munsterberg, H. (2014).Psychotherapy. 1st ed. Auckland: The Floating Press. S.27.04 Emotional processing in mood disorders. (2014).European Neuropsychopharmacology, 15, p.S355. Smith, J. (2016). Olanzapine is effective at a cost in adolescent bipolar manic episodes.In pharma Weekly, NA;(1616), p.22. Terao, T. and Hirakawa, H. (2016). "Light Modulation Therapy" for Bipolar Disorder.Bipolar Disorder: Open Access, 1(1).

Wal-Mart Strategic Management free essay sample

Though out the years since their inception in the 1960’s, Wal-Mart has grown at an alarming rate. Although in the early years Wal-Mart was thought to be unsuccessful, it has since proven to be a retailer of the future. It is the largest retailer in the world. It has the highest gross profits of any company in the world as well as the highest net profits.Wal-Mart has also topped the Fortune 500 4 times. According to â€Å"Wal-Mart Out in Front†i it has the following Corporate strategies: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Broadening Our Appeal to All of Our Customers Becoming an Even Better Place to Work Improving Business Operations and Efficiency Driving Growth in Our International Business Making Unique Contributions to Communities Because the public view of Wal-Mart is some what tarnished, they are making an effort both corporate and globally to address the image issues that they have. Many communities have refused or at least petitioned to have Wal-Marts banned. We will write a custom essay sample on Wal-Mart: Strategic Management or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Wal-Mart has tried to gain public interest by lining itself with politicians to achieve its overall goals. While the goals that Wal-Mart has currently for its corporate strategy may lead them to their overall achievement, Team Wal-Mart does not believe that it will lead Wal-Mart into continued success. Wal-Mart has addressed all the issues listed above. However, our team thinks their success, although driven by these goals, contains major problems that arise while putting these goals into action.Some of the recommendations that we have developed are more at the local store level, where some of the goals need to be implemented globally. The public image needs to be addressed, the treatment of their employees both with regards to their pay scale as well as the traumatic treatment that is displayed in the view of the media. Corporate hunger for additional market gain has clouded their judgment when it comes to hiring to retain vs. hiring to fill head count. Wal-Mart also needs to address its views on how to navigate, infiltrate and dominate the global discount retail industry.Wal-Mart needs to address the issues that they currently have with the public, their employees and themselves. Although many work for Wal-Mart it is not the best place to work if you are a single mother, student or minority. Wal-Mart also needs to implement changes on how it treats and work with physically disabled people. Problem Statement The best way to describe the problems that Wal-Mart is facing is the lack of being able to or just not implementing their once believed motto that â€Å"customers are always right†. Although customers are not always right, associates at Wal-Mart should treated people, customers and the public with respect and admiration. The associates at Wal-Mart once had a great company behind them that believed that without them, they would not be where they are today. Wal-Mart needs to regain that perspective in order to propel itself into the future of success. Their corporate tactics of making money and reducing costs incurred by employee benefits needs to be readdressed and realigned with the views of Sam Walton. -2- Situational Description and Strategic AnalysesThrough continual research and readings Team Wal-Mart has gained a better understanding and perspective of America’s fascination with Wal-Mart. Despite the constant barrage of negative press relating to its handling of labor issues, employee benefits, vendor practices and customer service, the retailer is able to thrive. Wal-Martfacts. com brings an enlightening perspective on Wal-Mart views and how they and the public perceive its pitfalls. First, we are going to examine the history of the company. Where did Sam Walton get the idea to come up with a retail store like Wal-Mart?Did he actually expect to be as large of the retailer as it is now? Our team wanted to better understand where Wal-Mart is with its corporate level strategy, business level strategy, strategic formulation and it own views on its implementation. W We will further explore some alternative solutions and make recommendations as to where the public views the company in regards to the topics of discussion, and where our team’s views, and its perceptions of where they are today in how well it is or is not implementing their own strategies.We will also make recommendations and explain how and why those recommendations were derived and how they should be implemented, as well as how Wal-Mart should take action to address those needs. Throughout the entire document you will gain insight into the tactics that Wal-Mart has used to achieve its goals. By reflecting on ideas and principles of where they were, where they want to be and how they perceive their path to gaining the success to achieve its goals a better understanding will emerge. Although our ideas may have some of the same fundamental principles, we view Wal-Mart’s path to achieve its goal in a much different light.Strategic Analysis Overview and History In 1962 Sam Walton opens his first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas. His low price approach to retail soon became a model that all Wal-Mart stores would follow. Sell brand merchandise at low prices. ii Interesting enough, 1962 was the same birth year for Kmart, Target and Wal-Mart. Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and establish a discount retail company. In the beginning the stores were started in the small towns in the south. During that time period it was considered as the least successful retailer, however it has outgrown most of its competition.Sam’s mission was to have an everyday low price discount retail store. Five years into founding Wal-Mart, Sam felt that he needed to expand before his competitors out ran him. â€Å"During the 1970s, the retail industry became highly competitive, but at the same time the economy became weak due to inflation Sears was the leading retailer in the nation, during the 1970s, however, the recession of 1974-1975 and inflation affected Sears adversely. Sears targeted middle class families and expanded its overhead. WalMarts strategy was to compete with its rivals and lower overhead expenses.Compared with -3- Sears, who consisted of more than 6,000 distribution centers, Wal-Mart had only 2,500 comparable units. †iii Although Wal-Mart was under financed, it managed to have 30 stores in the 8 years. In order to sell the merchandise at a low rate, Wal-Mart’s purchasing cost must also be at a low rate. However, suppliers and vendors were not willing to supply merchandise at the rate Wal-Mart was asking. As result of this he built warehouses so that merchandise can be bought in bulk at a cheaper price because of the large volumes.At the same time Wal-Mart needed to expand, but did not have enough capital. Sam decided to go public to raise capital. Over all, while his competitors were under the impression that Wal-Mart’s business model will not be successful, Sam has taken the advantage of the time and strategically placed his business to grow. Sam was also able to convince his establish an internal culture in order have everybody on the same boat. This resulted in everyday low prices. He did not have any sophisticated systems, which resulted in less overhead cost.Currently, Sam’s vision has become a global company employing more than 1. 8 million associates worldwide and nearly 6500 stores and clubs spanning across 14 countries. The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want, Sam wrote in his autobiography. And really, if you think about it from the point of view of the customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience (www. almartfacts. com). † In the 1980s, Wal-mart’s growth, among retailers, placed them in the top sellers in America. Company sales in 1980 were an all time high; those figures were dwarfed in 1989 by a record 26 billion in sales (www. walmartfacts. com). At the end of the 80’s, the company had almost 1400 stores in existence. â€Å"Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. branched out into warehouse clubs with the first SAM? S Club in 1983. The first Supercenter, featuring a complete grocery department along with the 36 departments of general merchandise, opened in 1988.Social Environment: Wal-Mart had launched several programs to highlight popular social causes-â€Å"Buy American†, 1985. The theme was â€Å"bring it home to USA† and its purpose was to communicate Wal-Mart’s support for American manufacturing. In the program, the firm’s exerted substantial influence to encourage to manufacturers to produce goods in the United States rather than import them from other countries. Vendors were encouraged to initiate the process by contacting the company directly with proposals to sell goods that were made in the United States. Also, WalMart was one of the first retailers to embrace the concept of â€Å"green marketing†. The program offered shoppers the option of purchasing products that were better for the environment in three respects: manufacturing, use, and disposal. Management The greatest strength for Wal-Mart from its start in 1969 to this day has been the vision and dedication of the top level management CEO’s David Glass and current CEO H. Lee Scott and no one can deny Sam Walton the founder for his great vision that he made become crystal clear.From the founding to this day Wal-Mart’s top level management has been striving to come up with greater ways to bring Wal-Mart at level it is today and keep it at tops of all retailers and companies world wide. Wal-Mart’s greatest strength after its management is its size which management has helped it to grow with increasing sales and net income since 1993. The way they have implemented their strategic strengths in the industry is first by coming up with multiple store fronts to reach all markets and segments of people. They have created a careful strategic planning on where and when to open new stores.This geographic expansion strategy has focused on opening outward into new geographical areas. Wal-Mart expands into adjoining geographic areas, saturating each area with stores before moving into new territories. This type of strategy created synergy by doing this by clustering new stores in a relatively small area, Wal-Mart could spread advertising expenses for breaking into new markets across all area stores, and a tactic the company used it used to keeps its advertising cost at 1% of sales compared to 2-3% for competitors.Wal-Mart although not the first but the best at everyday low prices having 8-27% below those of such leading supermarkets this in turn has been Wal-Mart’s winning strategy against competitors in find all ways to cut cost and create synergy through the cost cutting there for keeping prices way lower than that of its competitors therefore being the most popular amongst cons umers when it comes to low price retailing. Wal-Mart cut cost on many different levels but its most effective strategy it has found it with its suppliers.Its relationships with its suppliers are its main competitive advantage by having procurement management spend a lot of time with vendors and understanding there cost structure. Thus they made the negotiation process transparent, doing all it could to cut down cost and quote Wal-Mart an attractively low price. Some 200 vendors have established offices in Bentonville to -7- work closely with Wal-Mart on a continuing basis where they are encouraged to voice any problems in their relationship with Wal-Mart and to become involved in Wal-Mart’s future plans.Most vendors view Wal-Mart’s single bottom line price and its expectation of close coordination as a win-win proposition not only because of benefits of cutting out â€Å"funny-money† costs but because they learn collaborative efforts and mutual data-sharing which often had tremendous benefits in the rest of there operations. In executing Sam Walton’s strategic vision of become the largest low price discount retailer in the world they also increased shareholder’s wealth every year almost five times more now in earnings per share than in 1993.Wal-Mart has been the leader in i ts industry and growth rate of more than 32 countries because it has had many strengths but with all strengths there are weaknesses and although I did not see much I did see that Sam’s club was not at the top of its game as all there rest of the other store fronts. Costco the main competition to Sam’s clubs is over performing Sam’s club with fewer stores and is the nation’s biggest retailer of the fine wines (600million). As for opportunities and threats there are many opportunities and threats for Wal-Mart. One is to clean up its recent public image and try to fight or settle the 6000 lawsuits it is facing right now. â€Å"The law suites range from anti-trust and consumer issues to tort claims. A couple of lawsuits have potentially serious consequences like the alleging the company discriminates against women, which has potential to turn into the largest sex-bias class action ever. †viii WalMart also has the threats of having management put out brushfires instead of trying to grow and operate the business.All the threats Wal-Mart can use as opportunities to show the public that it is not a sex-bias company and exuberate what Sam Walton had which was care for the community and all of his employees. Porter’s Five Forces framework †¢ †¢ Potential entrants Wal-Mart does not have to worry about threat to new entrants because of high barriers of entry for companies aspiring to come into the retail industry. Bargaining power of buyers Buyers do not have to bargain wit h Wal-Mart for low prices and higher quality or more services because Wal-Mart has already established the low prices, higher quality, and more services philosophy. Wal-Mart has many pricing philosophies including â€Å"Every Day Low Price†, â€Å"Rollback†, and â€Å"Special Buy† to ensure that their customers get the lowest price possible. Also Wal-Mart does allow customers to match prices from its rivals by showing coupons from its rivals and will honor that price if it’s lower than theirs Bargaining power of suppliers Wal-Mart hand picks its suppliers and has a good and long standing relationship in order to maintain their pricing philosophies, every day low prices, roll back, special buy, Wal-Mart’s suppliers also know that they supply have to be good quality products.Wal-Mart will not sell something that is not to their satisfaction. Also suppliers are put into a tight spot where they have to play by the rules set up by Wal-Mart or loose their contracts they are forced to redesign everything from packaging to even sometimes telling them what it will pay for their goods. Threat of substitute products and services The ability of Wal-Mart to offer the cheapest products that meet both quality and its price standards ensures that it will not incur the †¢ †¢ -8- hreat off substitute products from its rivals cause they are able to meet the customers product satisfaction. Wal-Mart has an excellent customer service. Everything possible is done to ensure that shopping at Wal-Mart will be a friendly experience. Wal-mart was founded on 4 basic beliefs that all Wal-mart employees must adhere to which are, â€Å"respect for the individual, excellence in the workplace, customer service and always having the lowest prices†. Wal-Mart takes these 4 Basic Beliefs very seriously. Intellectual Assets Wal-Mart has not developed any real intellectual assets on its own. It has however incorporated other company’s assets to gain strategic success in the retailing industry. What this means is that Wal-Mart has taken and implemented RFID technology to a level that no other retailer at the time has done. They took internal IT departments and implemented it in every store location around the world, linked the information to their warehouses and made the network a real-time network. This is discussed later. Their real Intellectual Assets are those of other organizations all collaborated to one to propel Wal-Mart into history as the largest, fastest growing and dominating retailer that it is today. Strategic Formulation Business Level Strategies Wal-Mart’s competitive advantage in the world of retailing is greatly attributed to their strategic focus on value chain activities. Efficient and innovative use of inbound and outbound logistics and mastery of complex management operations with large economies of scale have made it difficult for many retailers to imitate the value Wal-Mart has supplied to the world of discount retailing.From establishing their own logistics operations, complete with their own fleet of trucks and a private satellite system to successful management of complex cross-docking strategies at over 19 wholly owned distribution centers, their efficient utilization of value chain activities has made its mark in the world of ‘low cost’ global retailing. Wal-Mart realized very early on that the typical models of value chains in discount retailing involving cost control, efficiency in distribution and purchasing and low overhead-facilities was not going to be enough to compete for a valuable market share.They needed a strategy that would move products from location to location quickly, efficiently and often without ever taking it into inventory first. The logistics technique of cross docking offered such an advantage and has since been a central feature in Wal-Mart’s value chain activities. Instead of wasting time in warehouse inventory, cross docking is the practice of reducing handling costs by receiving new merchandise, selecting, repacking and distributing it across one loading ock to another as quickly as possible. Although efficient in use, cross-docking is extremely difficult to manage and operate effectively. For this reason Wal-Mart’s ability to implement and manage cross-docking -9- strategies provides a central advantage to their logistics operations reducing the cost of sales by 2 to 3 percent compared to its competitors. Since merchandise comes and goes from their warehouses so quickly they needed an effective inventory control system.Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) offered the ability for Wal-Mart to digitally monitor its shipments to-andfrom its warehouses and efficiently manages its supply chain without hindering the effective use of its cross-docking strategies. Wal-Mart’s Information Systems (IS) strategy is a central force in brin ging all operations and logistics of its value chain together. Their IS strategy consists of three basic principles: Centralized IS for operations all over the world, common systems and platforms across the entire organization, and â€Å"be merchants first and technologists second. Wal-Mart was the earliest adopters of supply chain software in the retail industry. Today their application infrastructure allows a scan to automatically signal replenishment of stock, trigger a payment and adjusts inventory level. Therefore, suppliers know what is selling with up to the minute statistics. Through application and maintenance of this technology, a connection was made beyond that at the store level, by analyzing that data as a mission critical requirement they are able to corner the supply-in-demand equation and set them apart from their competition.One of Wal-Mart’s pitfalls in its value chain is in its customer service. They have taken a step in the right direction by implementing interactive online tools, clearly defined their return policies, notification of product recalls, and encouraged of feedback from its customers. Leveraging buyer knowledge through advanced customer relationship management (CRM) automation allows WalMart to build stronger customer p rofiles. This allows Wal-Mart to meet customer’s demands by keeping shelves stocked while maintaining its low price credo. A full outline of Wal-Mart’s Value Chain) 10 Competitive Advantages Sustainability Through its efficient use of cost reducing value chain activities and large economies of scale Wal-Mart’s competitive advantage offers them a significant position in overall low cost leadership by providing a strong industry-wide low cost position. With aggressive construction of sole-owned efficient warehouse facilities, knowledge gained through experience of cost reduction and overhead control in its value chain, Wal-Mart is the model of low-cost leadership industry wide.Their inability to combine advantages by implementing a unique diversification strategy on top of their already successful low cost model has inhibited them from broadening their product offerings and increasing their market share. By offering one-stop shopping of groceries, electronics, lawn and garden, clothing, optical/vision care, pharmaceuticals and now health and medical facilities, Wal-Mart can assure its customers a convenient shopping experience at low prices guaranteed. By combining the differentiation of its diverse products and services Wal-Mart challenges all of its competitors.Grocery chains, optical shops and pharmacies must now all fell the impact of market share when a new Wal-Mart comes to town. The Role of IS in Wal-Mart’s Business Level Strategy Information Systems have played a key role in Wal-Marts management of its business level strategies. By developing new systems that increase performance and reporting they utilize the benefits of leveraging their human capital. By utilizing buyer knowledge information systems allow Wal-Mart to build customer profiles from which they can determine how best to stock their stores.This type of well-defined CRM business process has helped propelled Wal-Mart to its leadership position. By positioning their IT professionals in central roles in Wal-Mart’s organization it is able to develop internal systems that are more inline with the company’s vision. 11 â€Å"In any development effort, our [IS] people are expected to get out and do the function before they do the system specification, design or change analysis. The key there is to do the function, not just observe it. So we actually insert them into the business roles.