1. Diagram the SES/BAG supply chain. What stages are adding value? What stages are not?
2.Using the primary SES suppliers (60 percent of business), what is the minimum performance cycle for the supply chain diagrammed above and what is the maximum?
3. Can the performance cycle be improved through the use of 25 percent and 15 percent suppliers? What trade-offs must be made to use these suppliers?
4. If you were Maxwell Stevens, What changes would you make in SES operations? Why? What problems do you foresee as you try to implement these changes?
5. Assuming you can make the changes mentioned in question 4 how would you “sell” Tyler Pinto on BAG’s next bid? What will likely be the “qualifying criteria” and “order winning criteria”? Will these change over time? What does this suggest about supply chain management?

 

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Sample Solution

The SES/BAG supply chain consists of several stages, each of which adds value in some form. The primary stages that add value are the sourcing and procurement stage (where materials are acquired), the production or manufacturing stage (where materials are transformed into products) and the distribution or delivery stage (where products reach their intended destination). Other stages such as research and development, quality assurance, marketing and customer service also add value by helping to ensure that a product is fit for purpose.

Sample Solution

The SES/BAG supply chain consists of several stages, each of which adds value in some form. The primary stages that add value are the sourcing and procurement stage (where materials are acquired), the production or manufacturing stage (where materials are transformed into products) and the distribution or delivery stage (where products reach their intended destination). Other stages such as research and development, quality assurance, marketing and customer service also add value by helping to ensure that a product is fit for purpose.

The minimum performance cycle for the supply chain diagrammed above is dependent on factors such as lead times for sourcing materials and components, production run lengths, availability of transportation options etc. Generally speaking however it can be said that with an efficient system in place involving just primary suppliers with good inventory control it should take between 4-8 weeks from start to finish depending on volume involved. The maximum performance cycle could be significantly longer depending on various delays related to material availability or transport delays among other things.

In order to improve the performance cycle through use of 25 percent and 15 percent suppliers certain trade offs need to be made regarding lead time vs cost savings versus greater product variety/flexibility etc. In addition there needs to be a balance between having sufficient stock levels available while also managing storage costs efficiently so as not to incur too much wastage due poor demand forecasting practices.

If Maxwell Stevens were in charge he would likely focus his attention firstly on improving efficiency throughout each step of the supply chain from sourcing raw materials all the way down stream towards customer delivery. This could include implementing lean principles throughout operations but particularly at points where inventory is held up within either warehouse facilities or upstream processes such as component assembly lines causing delays further downstream in terms of execution speed when orders come through. He may also look at how technology advancements can help reduce waste both financially but also from an environmental standpoint such as considering ways in which digital technologies can reduce paper usage on paperwork related tasks such as invoices etc., or alternatively increasing focus towards utilizing renewable energy sources wherever they may be applicable within operations itself.

When selling Tyler Pinto on BAG’s next bid Maxwell Steven’s pitch would need to revolve around key order winning criteria such as offering competitive prices with regards to goods range, being able provide goods consistently within tight timelines whilst still being able satisfy very specific customer requirements over time if needed thereby providing superior levels of customer satisfaction over competitors bidding against them plus any additional unique offerings SES has available compared its rivals i.e faster response time when queries arise or technology integration capabilities otherwise unavailable elsewhere perhaps.. Qualifying criteria would likely include demonstrating appropriate ISO standards compliance across different aspects of operations e.g Quality Assurance & Control procedures , Financial Viability & Risk Management protocols , Environmental Impact Assessment policies amongst others . It should also go without saying that continuous improvement efforts will prove essential here whereby “order winning” criteria must continue evolving over time based upon changes taking place both internally within SES but more importantly externally keeping track changing market trends driven by customers buying habits etc.. Ultimately this process highlights importance placed upon effective Supply Chain Management especially monitoring & responding accordingly whenever new opportunities arise requiring businesses like BAG needing remain ahead competition

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