Movie Review Of The Last Song Film Studies Essay

Movie Review Of The Last Song Film Studies Essay For those hopeless romantic who get captured by the plots or meanings of any Nicholas Sparks novel, then The Last Song is the film of the year to see. In The Last Song, Sparks captures the heart of his audience by introducing themes of first love with some hints of disparity throughout the film. In his past films such as Dear John, The Notebook, and A Walk to Remember, Sparks successfully promotes the impression of young love with the framework of hope. This makes it the ideal plot for any classic romantic. As first time screenwriter Sparks effectively delivers to his audience a more sentimental film than ever before. The Last Song tells the story about family, friendship, tragedies, and reconnecting relationships. The Last Song is the tale of a rebellious musical prodigy named Ronnie (Miley Cyrus) who sent to her fathers beach house by her mother Kim (Kelly Preston) along with her younger brother Jonah (Bobby Coleman) for the summer. Ronnie is quite bitter towards the stay with her father Steve (Greg Kinnear) because she blames him for the divorce and leaving the family. She even stops playing the piano and rejects her acceptance into Julliard despite of him. Sullen and withdrawn at everyone, she explores the town and beach and bumps into a local boy named Will, (newcomer Liam Hemsworth) a wealthy, volleyball playing hunk that becomes charmed by her and falls in love with Ronnie. Despite Ronnies defiant attitude, Ronnies mother Kim hopes that the stay will give the chance for both Ronnie and Steve to rekindle their relationship. The film collectively brings together all 3 relationships of parallel love of those between a father and daughter, boyfriend and girlfriend, and brother and sister. Mo st importantly the film gives the audience the chance for Cyrus to break away from her widely known Disney pop culture phenomenon. Miley Cyrus definitely got her work cut out for her in this film in taking the role of Ronnie in The Last Song. Known for her popular role as Hannah Montana on the hit Disney Show Hannah Montana, Cyrus is given the chance to break out of her shell, separating from her childish role by transitioning into a more mature role. She surprisingly transforms herself of what we expect to see in the film in the character of Ronnie, making her lovable and quite engaging. Sparks even had Cyrus in mind while writing the story and casting the role for the movie. This film gives her the potential to be taken seriously in later films by slowly breaking away from her popular alter ego. In being her first adult role, Cyrus portrays everything from a sympathetic friend and daughter to pouting and troubled brat. Cyrus is astonishingly attractive in the way of a girl you might actually want to approach. Her acting is serious, and in working with such actors like Kinnear, the film breaks away from your ty pical boy-meets-girl story line. Director Julie Anne Robinson even does a great job as to focusing on each character by establishing a fear of abandonment in Ronnie because of the divorce. As the film progresses you notice her character transition into the kind, loving young woman she was went out to be. Audience watching the film can hopefully take Cyrus serious as an actress and like the new Miley. Personality and charm can be seen through both Ronnie and Miley, but most importantly though the help of the supporting actresses and actors. With the help of her supporting cast and actors, the typecasting in The Last Song gives the film full potential. Her costar Bobby Coleman, (who plays the role of her younger brother Jonah) gives the film more of an emotional stance by creating cutesy sayings and bringing out the right emotional feelings in the film without going overboard or too little. Kinnear plays a great character in the film by being the sympathetic dad, with his own secret and troubles that are later seen in the film. His character Steve brings out the best in all the characters in the film, which truly brings the film all together. Even the chemistry between both Cyrus and Kinnears role as daughter and father give an effective tearjerker for dads and their daughters. Kelly Preston, who portrays Ronnies mother Kim, displays her roles as the mother quite well, despite her lack of appearance in the film. As for newcomer Liam Hemsworth, he plays your typical dreamy hunk; hes nice, volunteers on his spare time, and captures the heart of pretty much any teenage girl. Other than hiding his Australian accent, Hemsworth was able to deliver the role of what seems to be the perfect boyfriend, but as the audience figures out has troubles of his own. Casting both Hemsworth and Cyrus to play the on-screen couple brought great chemistry between the two characters. Both Sparks and Director Julie Anne Robinson can be sure to be appraised for well written screenplay as well as casting. Compared to the novel, the film follows directly with the book, despite forgetting some minor background details from the book. Overall the audience can captures the messages within the film and relates can to each character in some way, whether its experiencing first love, the relationship between a father and daughter, or how close we really are to a brother. The main themes of the movie tend to deal with the idea of hope, faith, and the relationship one can have with another person. For the most part, The Last Song is a great family film to see with anyone of all ages. In delivering messages on second chances and the moments in life that lead us home, this should give audiences to give Cyrus a second chance at a more mature role like The Last Song.

Evaluating China’s one child Policy Essay

During the 1970s, China felt the indenting need for a drastic policy that would be able to control its ever-expanding population and to begin development in its country and thus the one child policy was born, if the policy had not been instituted china would have faced severe famine and starvation as it would not have been able to cope with rapid growth. The policy was administrated in September 1981 and they called it ‘birth planning’ by which families were given a maximum limit of one child per family however in rural areas, couples were allowed to have two children and this was to help need on agricultural land and farming; those who try to breach this law would face severe consequences. The policy was considered as one of history’s ‘most ambitious pieces of social engineering’ as quoted from The Economist since the policy heavily intervened with families plans for the future and affected how most chines families would function in terms of having children. The policy governed by the Chinese government was said not to last no longer than a single generation and yet here in 2013, the policy still continues to proceed and there are little or no signs of a new policy or removal of this policy from the country. Administration Of Policy The policy in china was very drastic and therefore it contained many punishments for anyone who tried to breach the policy and the government also deployed many forces of administration to make sure that people were being monitored and that no one was trying for a second child. There were family-planning workers in every single workplace to grant families the ability to have a child if they had been on the waiting list and also at this point the couple would be presented with a special card which gives them authority to claim governmental benefits such as free education, free kindergarten facilities, free healthcare etc. on birth of the child. Police called the ‘granny police’, who were not actual police but represented the role of making sure woman were practicing using contraception and to had the objective of reporting on pregnancies so that the local authority would be able to work out whether a family is trying to have a second child illegally. Female women were also given education on the use of contraception and this was to try minimising the amount of unexpected pregnancies. Family planning officials levy huge fines of up to ? 20,000 from those who try to have a second child and this fine account for the estimated value of public services that the forbidden child would have received over its lifetime. Furthermore, in some areas the couple would have been stripped of their house, jobs and even the ability to live in a particular area of the country. Also in earlier time they would have been forfeited their rations and clothing benefits. Furthermore, women would have been given forced steralisations or contraceptive pills and their chances of being able to have children ever again would be removed if they were found guilty of trying to have a second child and this would impose that they would never be able to have a child even if they decide to migrate to another country. This kind of steralisations was only existent in certain provinces of China and it is currently completely abolished from all parts of china as it was considered to unforgiving for a punishment. Changes Generated by The One Child Policy. Without need to say, the obvious: the one child policy had caused a drop in the fertility rate in China. From the starting point of the policy in 1981 to now the birth rate has dropped from an above average 2. 9 to 1. 7 and this has lead to understand that the policy was successful and that it has tackled one of the country’s main concern which is an ever-expanding population. Furthermore, this drop has claimed to prevent up to 400 million births, which would otherwise have kept China’s population at 1. 7 billion currently compared to the 1. 3 billion that it actually is today. However, despite showing a drop in birth rate after the beginning of this policy, there are statistics that show that China’s fertility rates fell drastically during the 1970s and that the policy did not influence the drop in birth rates much. This suggests that the fertility rate was naturally decreasing so there was no need for the policy. This suggests that the policy did not control the country’s population greatly because the fertility rates had dropped severely just before the commencement of the policy. Therefore the implementation of such a severe policy has now indented Chinese people’s concept of families and even if the policy was to be removed people will still continue to have few children and this would not have been the case if fertility rates were allowed to naturally decrease to make the population eventually stable much alike how most other countries have progressed through the demographic transition such as Russia, Germany and Japan. The rapid fall in fertility rate just before the one child policy is clearly shown in the graph that is on the previous page; the graph was taken from the GapMinder webpage which holds information about the world demographic and thus is very reliable. Another negative impact of the one child policy was a case of female infanticide. In fact, this is an interesting concern as it has lead to china presenting a population where there are about 120 Chinese men for every 100 Chinese women and thus there is a shortage of women. There was a severe amount of female infanticide for several reasons. Firstly a male child was seen as more superior for the use on farmland and for the use on agricultural land as men were seen as stronger characters compared to women. Secondly, only the male would be able to carry forward the family name and in China there was a great cultural desire to carry forward a family name to keep the family advancing through generations. Finally, men are usually the main income-earners, either because they are more employable or earn higher wages for the same work, or because they are able to do more agricultural work in subsistence economies. Since male babies have a greater income potential, they are more desired over females and thus female births were usually abandoned or killed. There are some stories of extreme discomfort where female babies have been flushed down toilets and drowned, as they were not considered valuable to Chinese family. Furthermore, the shortage of females in China has lead to a generation where there are â€Å"too many men†, and this was caused by the desire to have a male child in the family. The result of the one child policy has meant that there are 1000 million women whom would else be existent if the policy wasn’t introduced and thus this social engineering has converted the a balanced gender country into an imbalanced country with more men. This has lead to desire to import woman known as human trafficking where women are smuggled using from Burma and North Korea and the women are used as prostitutes or sold as wives and domestic servants in parts of china. This is a negative outcome of the policy by which women are used inappropriately and are illegally imported from other countries. Furthermore, it is expected that by the year 2030 there could be up to 20-30million bachelors in chine whom are unable to find a partner and this would further increase the desire and temptation to want female prostitutes and this will create an illegal transportation of women to china from neighboring countries. Another disadvantage of the policy is that a generation of not enough children is developing in china and this results in not enough children to look after parents which could mean that the country could grow old before it is able to develop it’s economy and becoming rich by limiting the mouths to feed as it is trying to do so using the one child policy. In china this lack of children is called the ‘4-2-1’ dilemma and as The Economist suggests this is where each couple has the job of looking after four parents and one child. This creates a dilemma as the couple’s parents become aged and need the help of the couple and thus the couple have the cost of having to look after their parents all on their own as they would not have any siblings and thus china has created a problem for families trying to develop as they will have a shortage of money to spend elsewhere in the economy to try boost the countries development stage. The imbalanced structure of china’s population also hints that the working force will come to an end by 2020 and therefore this would mean that the country would not be able to further develop and this has again raised pressure on the Chinese government to introduce further amendments to the one child policy. For example, Hu Jintao suggested allowing more than one birth but between longer gaps and also the scrapping of the birth quota so that couples could still have a child even if the maximum number of children in a certain area is reached. This would help to regain a large population of workers in the future generation to continue with the countries development without having to deal with another expanding population. The article presented by The Economist has dealt with many defects of the one child policy including the extortionate amount of female infanticide, the illegal need for a second child, female imports, ‘4-2-1’ issue and the fact that the country could have still developed without the policy as statistics showed that fertility rates were naturally decreasing as people become more educated and this would therefore have reduced to country’s large population and allowed the country to develop as the government would have to feed fewer people and also if the policy had not been introduced there would not be effects one some females lives who have been sterilized permanently after the birth of the first child because this would prevent the mother from having another child ever. Also, the Chinese government are now unable to scrape the policy because they have not alternatives that could be administrated on the scale of the one child policy and therefore the government suggests ‘we will stick to the family-planning policy for decades’ and this implies that the removal of the policy would have a considerate difference on China’s population and that it could possibly improve the gender imbalance which is not of great interest to china as demographers suggest the removal of the policy would suggest a rapid increase in population once again and this would mean that the country would not be able to achieve its goal which is to become a well developed country with a high GDP. The charts below show what would happen to china’s population and its structure by 2050 if the policy was to be removed and as the first graph clearly suggests, the one child policy has been heavily successful in maintaining a smaller population and emphasis should be placed on the fact it is just a smaller population. Although, the population is smaller the structure of the population between men and women and groups of elderly, working class as well as those under 15 is highly imbalanced and as the chart on the right clearly imposes, if the policy was removed the demographic structure will become more balanced once again.

Fractional Distillation Experiment

In the experiment of distillation we separated two miscible liquids. The purpose of distillation is to identify and purify compounds. We began our experiment by setting up an apparatus for macroscale simple distillation. We used 60 ml of Cyclohexane/ Toluene. We began with the temperature at 50 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, we reached an error when the compounds evaporated too rapidly. The compounds evaporated so quickly that we lost data from 2 ml to 13 ml. The heat was lowered and as a result we started to see a constant rate. From 14 ml to 18 ml it stayed at the rate of 90 degrees Celsius, from 19ml to 25 ml it was at 93 from 26ml to 38ml it stayed in the 90’s for several minutes. When it reached the 50ml mark our temperature was at 108 degrees Celsius. Next we conducted the fractional distillation experiment. We tightly packed the fractionating column with a copper metal sponge, poured our mixture into the 100 ml flask and waited for the mixture to reach boiling point. The boiling point temperature started at 83 degrees Celsius we then decreased the temperature until we reached 25ml which was 82 degrees Celsius. Our results for the Toluene were 1. 4810 and 1. 4350 for the Cyclohexane. Unfortunately in the experiment for simple distillation, we reached an error when the compounds evaporated too rapidly. This was one source of error that disarrayed our data. The compounds evaporated so quickly that we lost data from 2 ml to 13 ml. Even though the data was not recorded it still was a successful experiment. This mistake has taught me to always keep a close eye on experiments no matter how slow the rate is. In the experiment of fractional distillation our results were reasonable but I believe that if we would have placed the aluminum foil around the fractionating column we could have minimized the temperature fluctuation during distillation.

Stock Management In The Supply Chain Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 18 Words: 5307 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? This chapter reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on the role of stock management in the supply chain. According to Saxenian (1991), inventory management has traditionally been viewed as an internal procedure that took account of inventory within one building, warehouse or location. However, organizations have looked beyond this due to advancement in technology and their quest to effectively manage inventory and reduce costs. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Stock Management In The Supply Chain Finance Essay" essay for you Create order In any company inventory management is an important area that the management always focuses on when it comes to improving business efficiencies and cutting costs. Supply chain inventory management is so critical for planning or forecasting for the future needs and for developing strategic plans to handle the market situations (Smeltzer, 1997). 2.1. Theoretical Evidence of Stock Management This segment reviews the fundamental concept underlying inventory management in the supply chain. It highlights that there are several roles that stocks can play in the supply chain management in an organization. 2.2 Definition of Terms 2.2.1 Stock Stock is any stored resources that are used to satisfy a current or future demand and are held in different forms by an organization which typically include raw materials, work in progress (process)-WIP and finished goods. According to Cachon Fisher (2000), organizations necessarily hold stock to assist in future consumption and sale. While stocks are at times considered to be evil in organizations, most organizations hold stocks for various reasons, which include physical necessities, functional purposes, speculative purposes, etc. Stock control shows how much stock is held by companies at any time and how they are monitored (LaLonde and Masters, 1994). It applies to every item organizations used to produce a good and this covers inventory at every stage of the manufacturing process, from procurement and delivery to usage and re-ordering the stock. Bartlett (1990) stated that efficient stock control allows an organization to have the right quantity of stock, at the right pl ace and at the right time. It also ensures that resources in terms of capital are not tied up, and protects production of goods and services if there are bottlenecks within the supply chain. 2.2.1 Supply chain Van der Veen and Robben (1997) defined supply chain as the network of organizations that are linked through upstream and downstream activities that produce value in the form of goods and services in the hands of the ultimate customer. Supply Chain can also be viewed as set of organizations directly linked by one or more of the upstream and downstream flows of goods, services, finances, materials and information from a source to a customer. 2.2.2. Supply Chain Management Supply chain management has received substantial attention from researchers and practitioners, yet in many companies management is struggling to implement supply chain processes within their firms and across the supply chain. Supply Chain Management is the management of a network of activities that processed raw materials, transforms them into work in progress goods and then to finished goods, and delivers the goods and services to customers through a distribution system. It covers procurement, manufacturing and distribution. Lee Billington (1995) maintained that maximization of the overall performance of the chain and also adding value at reduce cost is the main objective of supply chain management. In other words, it aims to increase productivity in the supply chain and benefits deliver to all stakeholders and also linked them to work together within the organization (Finch, 2006). According to Mentzer et al. (2001) the management of supply chain is also known as supply chain management. In addition, Lambert (2006) pointed out that SCM deals with a network of businesses and relationships; both intra- and inter- organizational integration and management. Since 1980s the adoption of Supply chain management practices in organizations has gradually risen. A number of definitions have been proposed and the concept discussed at many areas of study. Cousins et al. (2006); Sachan and Datta (2005) and Storey et al. (2006) provided an excellent evaluation on supply chain management literature. These papers determine the concept, principles, nature, and major developments of SCM and also highlighted wider research being done on Supply Chain management. They also critically assessed and analyzed major changes in the theory and practice of supply chain management. 2.3 Stock Management in the Supply Chain Inventory management is about optimizing the balance between the costs of supply, cost of production, costs of holding inventory and the need to provide the highest level of service that will exceed customers expectation(Hughes et al, 1998). Stock management is therefore the set of policies and controls that monitor levels of stock and determines the levels to maintain, when to replenish stock and the size of orders (Davies Heineke, 2005). In a broad context, stock or inventory could include equipments and inputs meant for further processes in the form of raw materials, components at interim stages of the process, such as semi-finished goods or work-in-progress; and outputs such as parts, components and finished goods (Davies and Heineke, 2005). Towill (2003) posit that inventory management acts as a major component of any supply chain irrespective of whether it is a product or service supply chain. Inventory management plays an important role in matching demand and supply w ithin the entire supply chain, ultimately providing flexibility in coping with external and internal events of the todays uncertain, globalized business environment. According to Storey (2006), the 17th annual state of logistics report of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals stated that, huge amount of cost is recorded as the cost of holding inventory in United States economy. It is evident that this truth is applicable to many other countries of the world especially in the manufacturing sector. In situations where all the partners in a supply chain manage inventory effectively and efficiently, this will be resulted with less interruptions in production process, reduction in storage cost, product availability and many other organization specific quantitative and qualitative benefits leading to the organizational performance. Grablowsky (2005) asserted that the world has been moved towards integrated and collaborative approach to inventory management within the supply chain rather than isolated approach to manage inventory. In previous research studies like Hari (2004), it was found out that most of the inventory managers tend to take inventory management decisions based on intuition due to lack of the professional expertise in the field, no proper analysis of inventory data, human bias by the senior managers that result with use of rule of thumb, no user involvement in inventory management systems, inventory decisions are not integrated with strategic needs of the organizations, and ultimately result with no proper inventory management practices with an organization. Proper inventory management practices are really important for fast moving manufacturing products such as gold, copper, alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. Reasons for Keeping Stocks and Inventories. All organizations keep inventories in smaller or larger scale. They exist to smooth out gaps in the rate or timing of demand and supply. Only if the supply of products occurred exactly when they are demanded, products would never be stored. With high inventory level, many companies may also encounter problems in operations; defective deliveries, poor floor layout, untrained operators, off-standards, re-work, down times, inaccurate quantities etc. Or high stock levels can be consequences of these problems. Either way, these unexposed problems cause wastes; increase costs and prevent smooth output of operations. Waters (2002) identified and summarized the benefits of stock management as; economies of purchasing, economies of production, optimize customer service, transportation savings, hedge against future (Price fluctuation, quantity discounts), hedge against unforeseen contingencies (labor unrests, natural disasters, surges in demand, etc.) and to maintain independence of the s upply chain. 2.5 Types of Stock/Inventory Holdings To increase efficiency and responsiveness this research analyzes the main types of inventory and the way these can be classified (Chopra, 2007). 2.5.1 Cycle Inventory Represents the inventory used to fulfill the demand in the period between two deliveries of the suppliers. The size of the current inventory is the result of the production, the transportation or of the acquirement of the merchandise in large lots. The companies make or acquire large lots to exploit the economies of scale in production, transportation or the purchasing process. With the increase of the lot, the expedition costs grow too. (Chopra, 2007) 2.5.2 Safety Inventory Safety inventory is the inventory that needs to be held in the case the demand overflows the expectations or the supplier does not deliver the merchandise in time. If everything were predictable then current inventory would be enough. Because the demand is uncertain and it could overflow expectation, firms keep a safety inventory so they would be able to satisfy a high but unexpected demand. Managers are faced with a key decision as to what they must establish as the size of the safety inventory. If the safety inventory is too large then the merchandise wont sell and they will have to sell it for a lower price after the season is closed. If the firm has a small safety inventory then the firm will have smaller sales. Therefore, deciding for a certain size of the safety inventory implies a link between the cost of owning too much in a safety inventory and the cost of decreasing the sales because of an insignificant safety inventory. 2.5.3 Seasonal Inventory Seasonal inventory is used in case the demand has predictable variations. Companies create inventory in periods when demand is low and they deposit merchandise for the periods when they wont be able to produce a sufficient quantity to satisfy the demand. Managers face the key decisions when they have to decide whether they have to form a seasonal inventory and if they do decide to create it, they must decide on its size. If a company can easily change the rate of the production system at a very low cost then they must not need a seasonal inventory, because the production system can adapt itself for a period when the demand reaches high values without implying high costs. Anyway, if changing the production rate is expensive (for example, when employees must be fired or hired) then a company must establish an appropriate rate of production and they must form an inventory when the demand is low. So, the main problem for the supplying chains managers who form a seasonal inventory is the cost of it in comparison with the cost of having a flexible rate of production. 2.5.4 The Service Level The service level is a part of the demand satisfied in time by the products in the inventory. A high level of the availability of the products creates a high level of responsibility implying at the same time a growth of the cost because lots of inventory are formed but rarely used. In opposition, at a low level of product availability, the inventory cost is lower but it is possible that a client is not served on time. Traditional supply chain metrics focus on efficiency and productivity (Cohen and Roussel, 2005). Improvements in service levels, costs and inventory levels are the desired outcome of an operations strategy and are measured accordingly. A more strategic perspective looks at these measures as enablers of business objectives such as growth within a specific segment or market, accelerated product development, or immediate product availability. When aligned with key business objectives in the supply chain, service level becomes an added source of competitive advantage. 2.6 Stock Management and Corporate Profit Inventory Management system provides adequate information to properly manage the flow of goods, proper utilization of people and equipment, coordination of internal processes and communicate with customers. Inventory Management does not only make decisions or manage operations but provides adequate information to supply chain management personnel who make more timely and accurate important decisions to manage and maximize their operations. A successful business organization depends upon many factors, one of which is an effective inventory management system. Effective inventory management consists of effective record-keeping to shipping and timely receipt of goods on time. An effective Inventory management can keep the supply chain of organization running smoothly and efficiently. Inventory management problems can affect an organization profitability and customer service. They can cost an organization more money and can lead to excess inventory or overstocking that is difficult t o dispose. A work done by Roman (1999) on the effect of stocks and inventory management on Dells corporate profit indicated that average profit has increased between 19.5 to 25 percent per month. This came about as a result of the fact that Dell carries very little inventory and the whole organization concentrates on increasing manufacturing and delivery process of components and products through its supply chain. Dell delivers new products to market faster than its competitors by dealing directly with the customer thereby eliminating middlemen. However, studies done by Richardson (1995) documented that lack of efficient inventory management has led organizations incurring a total inventory carrying costs between 25 to 55 percent of cost of entire production cost. He identified that most of the problems are usually due to improper inventory processes and out-of-date systems. There are a number of problems that caused serious problems with inventory management. He identified so me Common Challenges faced by organizations in Inventory Management are: Lack of qualified Supply chain employees. Some organizations do not put qualified supply chain personnel in charge of their inventory systems and they do not have experience, apathy in their job, or dont have training on logistics and supply chain management. The processes used are not wide enough and do not cover all the aspects and activities in the company. A flawed and unrealistic business plan. To be able to forecast future performance of an organization depends upon accurate and reliable data, and to be able to analyze them accurately. This affects inventory management process because inaccurate data or information may lead to overstocking or under stocking of inventory. Failure on the part of a supervisor in charge of inventory management to check stock in his custody on regular basis and ensuring that there is availability of stock. Identifying shortages ahead of time is an important factor in achieving Customer Satisfaction. Logistic problems and weak points can affect timely delivery of goods and services. This means that if orders for outgoing shipments are not handled in an efficient manner, they can cause delays in the delivery of the products. Falling victim to the bullwhip effect. This means an organization may react disproportionate to new information in the business environment. When demand changes in the market, an organization may panic and overstock inventory, thinking that the changes in demand in the market will move the stock. Too much expired stock in inventory. Expired stock is goods or materials in inventory whose potency or efficacy to be sold at the normal price has expired or yet to be expired. This usually occurs in grocery and drug stores. As a particular food product or drug nears its expiration date, the organization may discount the item in order to dispose it quickly before it expires. Excessive inventory and the inability to disp ose it promptly. This is one of the challenges facing most organizations. Cash inflow comes from disposing inventory quickly. If an organization procures goods for their inventory and do not dispose them quickly or on time, the organization ends up losing money. Inaccurate computer information of inventory items for production or sale. There are always associated costs like loss of goodwill, if customer goes to a warehouse of an organization or supermarket to order or procure and item found out system stock do not match the physical stock. Inaccurate inventory records can easily result in loss of resources; reduce customer expectation and service level. Inventory management systems are too complicated. Many supply management software programs are available for organization and most of them are not user friendly. Some of the organizations do not have the resources for the procurement of the inventory management software, payment of yearly renewals and training of personnel. 2.7 Inventory Costs Historically organizations used to carry high inventory and which they view as sign of wealth (Waters, 2003). However this attitude has changed many years ago and companies have found it necessary to manage their inventory efficiently and effectively in the dynamic business environment. The drive to reduce cost in order to stay in business has led to companies using new method of inventory which has considerably reduced stock levels and costs. According to Monczka et al (2010) excess stock ties up capital which an organization could use more productively elsewhere. And the drawback of holding excess stock is the effect it has on the organization working capital and the inventory costs. Monczka et al (2010) identified and elaborated the main factors comprising the total cost of holding inventory which include: Cost of the items (Purchase cost or material cost),Ordering Cost (Processing of order and delivery of materials) , Cost of holding Inventory ( Taxes, Opportunity cost s, Insurance costs, Space costs and Inventory service costs), Stock out Costs (Lost sales cost and Back-order cost) 2.7.1 Cost of the items This is the total cost of acquiring an item from supplier, and production cost of item manufactured in house. Production cost is difficult to calculate as it has to cover direct material used to make the item namely Labour, overheads and opportunity costs ( Monczka et al,2010 ). 2.7.2 Ordering Cost According to Monczka et al (2010), ordering costs covers all costs associated with the release of an order and accepting delivery of the items. They include all the cost of generating and sending an order or transmitting an order electronically to suppliers, transport, receipt inspection and quality checks. Monczka et al (2010 ) further emphasized that if an organization manufactures an item in-house the preparation and equipment costs may be the ordering cost. 2.7.3 Cost of holding Inventory This covers all costs for holding and storing materials and Monczka et al (2010 )summarized them in three main components namely Financial cost , Storage cost, and maintenance cost Financial cost This is mainly for capital tied up, but also the opportunity cost. This may also include taxes and various other charges on the amount of stock held (Monczka et al 2010). Storage Cost This consist of all cost associated with providing storage for material, providing a warehouse (both internal and external), racking and administration systems (Monczka et al 2010). Other costs may include communication costs, operational costs, consumables and utilities, wages and salaries of supply chain personnel involved in warehouse operations. (Christopher, 2005). Maintenance Costs This involves costs associated in right conditions, stock checks, obsolescence, deterioration, spillages, damage and loss (Monczka et al 2010). 2.7.4 Stock out Costs These are costs of not having an item available which is needed for production and consumption. Another important function of inventory is to avoid shortages and stock outs. If an item is repeatedly out of stock, customers are likely to go elsewhere which will affect the organization reputation and reliability (Monczka et al 2010). In this view organizations are willing to incur the cost of holding stock to avoid higher cost of shortages (Waters, 2003). 2.8 Models for Inventory Management Inventory management models helps allocate time and resources in inventory management on one hand and classification system to deal with multiple product line and magnitude of stock keeping unit on another hand. Therefore, Hanna (2002) has identified four models for inventory management in the supply chain. These models will be discussed and will provide background information concerning inventory management. 2.8.1 Just In Time (JIT) As part of the inventory management principle JIT is not a technique, it is a stock management philosophy (Giunipero and Law, 1990), that eliminates waste in the supply chain by producing and delivering the required product quality at the time and the place needed (Manoochehri, 1984). A JIT system aims at bringing certainty and smoothness to the flow of materials across organizational boundaries and therefore requires the full support of supply chain members (Daugherty et al, 1994). A JIT approach to supply and distribution develops a network of quality assured supply partners working towards making the entire network competitive (DTI, 1995), as a result, logistics systems are characterized by closer relations with suppliers and better forecasting techniques based on consumer demand (DTI, 1995). 2.8.2 Economic Order Quantity One of the challenges most organizations and manufacturers faces is to determine what quantity of a given item to order when ordering supplies. A great deal of literature has dealt with this problem. Many formulas and algorithms have been created, of these the simplest formula is the most used: The economic order quantity (EOQ) or Lot Size formula as analyzed by Cargal (2000). The purpose of using EOQ is to determine the order quantity that balances the order cost and the holding costs in order to minimize total costs of holding stock. This is the most common approach to deciding when stock needs to be ordered. 2.8.3 Economic Production Quantity (EPQ) The assumption of EPQ model is the instant receipt of stock, thus the whole order is delivered in one batch at a certain time. In many cases, however, an organization may build up its inventory steadily over a period of time. For example, an organization may receive consignments from their suppliers within a certain period of time (Ferber and Les 2003). In a production process, there will be a setup cost instead of having an ordering cost. Both costs are independent of the size of the order and the size of the production run. This set up cost is the cost of setting up the manufacturing facility to manufacture the desired good. It usually comprise of costs associated with engineering and design which make the setup, and the other costs involve include paperwork, supplies, utilities, salaries and wages of employees. The same factors are used to compose carrying cost per unit and the EOQ model, although the computation of the annual carrying cost changes. In EPQ model also occur s when the total setup cost equals the total carrying cost. One should note, however, that making the total setup cost equal to the total carrying cost does not always guarantee optimal solutions for models more complex than the EPQ model. 2.8.4 ABC Analysis: An Important Inventory Management Tool ABC analysis is an inventory classification technique in which goods are classified according to the value generated in annual sales ( Fuerst ,1981). ABC is method of inventory that divide stock items into different categories namely A, B and C based on the value of the item or the quantity held or turned over a period of time .It is the most common and widely used classification model for inventory control (Kilgour et al,2006) According to Onwubolu and Dube (2006) when ABC analysis is applied to inventory situation it determines the importance of items and the level of control placed on them. According to Bloomberg et al (2002) inventory classification allocate resources in th e inventory management and allow organization to deal with multiple product line and multitude of stock The segregation of items based on ABC analysis enables the organization to segregate its inventory into significant categories. A Category items are about 10% of total number of items, but carries 70% of value of an inventory or whatever importance the organization is using ( Kumar 2010). According to Baily (1987) the inventory policy for A items is to order once a month unless it is possible to cover them by contract for several months supply with monthly, or weekly or even in the case of high volume items deliveries are done daily. The items deserve close attention and effective monitoring by inventory managers in organisations . B Category items generally represent about 20% of total number of items and about 20% of the value. According to Baily (1987) the inventory policy for B items is to order four times in a year. The items can managed with a formal inventory sy stem like EOQ Model. C Category items are often around 70% of total number of items but carries only 5% of the value (Kumar 2010). The inventory control policy is to order C items once a year (Baily, 1987) Relaxed inventory process can be used for these items by organizations. 2.9 Inventory Management in the Mining Companies. A good number of studies have been carried out in this area (Parunak, 1999). However, as far as the mining industry is concerned, the literature on this subject is inadequate. But in recent years the mounting accumulation of inventories in public and private mining companies made them to realize the importance of the inventory management. For mining companies, inventory management includes a companys activities to acquire, dispose, and control of inventories that are necessary for the attainment of a companys objectives. The management of inventories concerns the flow to, within, and from the company and the balance between shortages and excesses in an uncertain environment (Tersin, 1988). In relation to mining companies, McPharson (1987) stated ,inventory management systems are designed to obtain concise and accurate information for control and planning of planned goods, issues, cuts, projections, raw materials and semi-finished goods basically for export. Inventory manageme nt has been a concern for practitioners especially in the mining industry, in that overall investment in inventory accounts for relatively large part of the companys assets. In the mining sector, inventory may account for 40 to 60% of total assets (Tersin, 1988; Verwijmeren et al, 2009). Inventories tie up money, and the success or failure in inventory management impacts a companys financial status. Having too much inventory can be as problematic as having too little inventory. Too much inventory requires unnecessary costs related to issues of storage, markdowns and obsolescence, while too little results in stock outs or disrupted production. Besides, long-run production associated with a high level of inventory conceals production problems (e.g., quality), which can damage a companys long term performance (Vergin, 2006). Therefore in the mining sector, the primary goal of inventory management has been to maximize a companys profitability by minimizing the cost tied up with inven tory and at the same time meeting the production requirements (Lambert, Stock, and Ellram, 2004). Traditionally, for mining companies, inventories cause conflicts between functional units within a company. For example, within a company, purchasing, production, and marketing people want to build a high level of inventory for raw material cost reduction, efficient production run, and suppliers service level, while warehousing and finance people want to reduce the inventory level for storage space and economic reasons (Tersine, 2003). As global competition between suppliers in the open markets has increased, power has been shifted from suppliers to customers (Verwijmere, 2008). 2.9.1 Storage, Distribution and Disposal Management Since materials stored is equivalent to cash and forms a major part of the total product cost, it is essential that the material should be properly accounted for and safe guarded in an efficient and organized store. With a judicious and proper control of management of stores, one can minimize the losses due to the obsolescence, pilferage, excess storing, etc (Lambert, Stock, and Ellram, 2004). Preservation of items in the space provided in the stores is of great importance because floor space accommodation is a costly issue. Keeping of items at various places in stores, particularly the slow-moving and non-moving items is a crucial concern. But this is often given least importance in the mining industry (Ariba, 2004). To have an effective storage programme, factors such as nature of the item, codification of the item, the expected idleness, economic value of the item and the need for protection should be taken care of. To identify the item in an easy way on the shelves and ra cks, it is necessary to have good lighting (Ariba, 2004). The stores section which is a part of commercial department in the selected mining companies has to maintain good relationship with branches of its own other departments in the organization. The stores and purchase sections functions are complimentary and close cooperation between these two sections will result in better standardization, codification, value analysis, variety reduction, inventory control, salvage, disposal of obsolete and materials. Even in the absence of integrated materials management in mining companies, the stores and purchase sections have close cooperation and co-ordination (Stone, 2000). The stores section is responsible for the issue of materials to various departments and sections in the mining companies. Basing on the bill of materials, work order, material requisition notes, the stores personnel need to issue the material as prescribed in the authorized documents as mentioned above. While deli vering the quantities of material, the personnel in stores section, enter an entry in the books of stores and also an entry has to be made in electronic data processing (Niak, 2004). The store is expected to maintain documents like bin card, codex, obsolete items, rejected items, suppliers index, indents and bills of materials. Even after the computerization of the stores section, the selected shipyard companies are depending mostly on manual documents because one cannot rely on the information given since inexperienced people work in the EDP (Electronic Data Processing) section. For this, the selected shipyard companies should arrange for training in the area of material information system of EDP people and thereby minimize the expenses of maintaining both (Gofin, 2004). Surplus, obsolete and metallic items management assumed tremendous importance in the materials management activities. Surplus originates from three sources namely scrap, obsolete materials and damaged equi pment. Holding these items is costly to the organization. These costs include carrying charges, cost of maintaining the records, loss of the use of capital held up in inventories. In view of this, special efforts need to be made to avoid keeping them (Jawade, 2009). 2.9.2 Critical Evaluation of Inventory Practices in the mining sector Inventory management is an integral part of materials management and plays a key role in the smooth and uninterrupted running of the mining industry. To have higher operational efficiency and profitability of an organization, reduction of the capital locked up in inventories is very much essential. The same will help in improving the liquidity position of the enterprise. As inventories involve locking up of capital, proper care must be given in dealing with the problem of inventory management. The sum of the value of the raw materials, fuels and lubricants, consumables spare parts, processing material and finished products are called as inventory (Richard, 1998). The basic objectives of inventory management in the mining companies would be to keep down capital investment at a minimum level in inventories without endangering the process of extracting mineral, to minimize the idle time of men, machinery and capital caused by shortage of various kinds of materials, to reduce the co sts in maintaining the inventory and to minimize the losses of obsolescence. Inventories account for a major portion of working capital of a mining unit. The predominant position in the total working capital obviously warrants for their maximum efficiency. Thus, inventory management in mining sector aim at balancing between too much inventory and too less inventory. A firm cannot afford either excessive or shortage of inventory. To achieve higher degree of operational results, it is inevitable to maintain effective control and management of inventories (Richard, 1998). The structure of inventory of the mining sector undertakings can be studied by classifying their total inventory into five categories: Raw materials, goods in process, finished goods, stores and spares and miscellaneous items. The structure of inventory can be analyzed in two ways. First, the share of each component of inventory is in relation to aggregate inventory. Secondly, appropriate indicators about adequacy or inadequacy of each type of inventory may be developed and applied to capital positions obtained in mining sector enterprises.(Waller and Johnson, 2003) 2.10 Summary of Literature Various studies reviewed in the foregoing literature have revealed that efficient and effective stock management in a supply chain can play a vital role in cutting stock holding costs across the different stages of the supply chain, thus emphasizing the need of a general model for managing inventories within a supply chain. Studies document that the main reasons for holding stocks of inventories include economies of purchasing, economies of production, optimizing customer service, transportation savings, hedge against future, unforeseen contingences, etc. Holding stocks has it cost which include non-value added costs, opportunity cost, complacency, inventory deteriorate become obsolete, lost, stolen, etc. Models of stock control from the literature indicated that stock management does not necessary mean holding lower stock but ordering stock at a level where total cost of holding stock is minimized (Economic Order Quantity).