My apologies

Hi Kate! I am sorry some of the open blog posts are out of order with the special blog posts. If you need any help in determining which open blog post goes with which special blog post, please let me know. Again, sorry for the confusion. Thanks!

My Summative Essay: My research, knowledge, and perspective on Supply Chain Management

So, my journey of blogging has come to an end. I learned so much information about Supply Chain Management and even developed perspectives and thoughts about this unusual "piece" of business. This essay is a reflection on what I learned about Supply Chain Management through my research and also about my writing and blogging experience. Hopefully, when I get into the business college, I will be able to continue blogging about the Supply Chain classes that I will be taking and show you all how much I am learning! Thank you all for reading my blog post and hope you all like this very last post!

Learning about my Field
      Through my long extended research on Supply Chain Management, I've learned that this unusual, logistical business field is very demanding and stressful job for Supply Chain Managers. Today's Supply Chain Managers must make sure that the products and goods must be made, transported, and distributed in a effective and efficient manner that will create successful supply chains. This process is done in a logistical manner that only supply chain managers can execute, plan, and accomplish.
        In the process of interviewing my family friends, Ramya and Rajeev, who majored in Supply Chain Management, and also through my online research, I learned many things about Supply Chain Management that I didn't know prior to this blogging project. For instance, I didn't even consider that this profession would have any sort of code of ethics and principles. However, through my research, I discovered that supplier and customer relationships and supplier and demand relationships are important aspects in Supply Chain Management and are considered to be very crucial in the whole process of making, transporting, and distributing the product and good. If these ethics are not met by the supply chain companies, the chains will suffer dramatically, causing no one to buy their product and good, and eventually shutting down their business. Customers must be satisfied and the supply and demand of a particular product and good should also meet the customer's needs in order for the supply chain to be successful. The Supply Chain Manager has a huge role in making sure that the customers needs are being satisfied with the supply and demand of a particular product. They must be able to determine how much of a product is needed, the demand for it, and also how to compromise both these aspects into the customer's needs (ethics blog and scholarly article on demand perspective). In addition, my interview with Ramya, helped me gain a lot of insight on the power that the Supply Chain Manager must have in order to things to be accomplished and the supply chain to move and distribute products and goods. Ramya explained to me more in detail about how supply chain managers must recognize their power and obtain their power over their employees so that they know that things must be done effectively and efficiently. In addition to obtaining and recognizing power, supply chain managers must be self-motivated, a sense of passion, and most importantly being a go-getter. All of these qualities will ensure that a supply chain manager can get the job done and work well with other groups of people in getting what they set out to get done actually accomplished successfully. As a result, this will create successful supply chain companies that can get products and goods made and distributed effectively and efficiently (Interview with Ramya).
             In addition, my knowledge on logistics has significantly improved after this blogging project. Through my research, I realized that Supply Chain Managers have a huge role in the logistics process and how it works in supply chains. For example, the blog on the practical applications of Supply Chain Management demonstrates the inner details of how logistics plays a huge role in supply chains. The process of making the bottled waters, putting labels on them, transporting them to different factories so that they can further be made and processed so that they can be actual water bottles that people can drink, and then finally transported to factories where they are then distributed to vending machines is a clear example of the way logistics works in a water bottle scenario. The process of making sure all this happens effectively and efficiently is once again the job of the supply chain manager. If this doesn't happen smoothly, there will be many problems not only for the supply chain, but for the customers who end up buying the product and good and the factories suffer as well (practical applications of supply chain management- youtube video- ASU).
         To conclude, the fundamental aspects of Supply Chain Management are learned and eventually these aspects, ethics, and principles are then enforced by Supply Chain Managers who make sure that the supply chains are able to make, transport, and distribute products efficiently and effectively.

Learning about your Research/Writing
   Through this blogging project, I learned and observed many stages of the writing process such as distinguishing author bias and writer bias, realizing the significance of credible and useful research, and most importantly revising the blog so it contains useful and accurate information on Supply Chain Management. These skills that I have acquired throughout this blogging project will definitely help me become a successful supply chain manager, or supply chain management professional, in which this profession entails a lot of writing, reading, and most importantly planning.
   From this blogging project, I learned many divisions of Supply Chain Management such as demand management, operation management, and network designing, all related to the logistical process of making, transporting, and distributing products and goods effectively and efficiently. Also, through my interview with Ramya, I learned that these three divisions all play a huge role in tracking and designing the entire process of a product being made from start to finish and also how the product gets disposed. Through these intricate stages of Supply Chain Management, it was interesting to discover how efficient and useful Supply Chain Management is in its way of creating a valuable and efficient way of moving a product.
   Through this blogging project, I was able to successfully comprehend the intricate material on Supply Chain Management, which was that of a graduate level. I was able to break down the information and grasp the essential and fundamental aspects of what Supply Chain Management is all about. However, some of the aspects of this blogging project that I had difficult with were recognizing credible sources and determining whether the content in a particular source was important or not. Throughout this blogging project, it was hard for me to determine if a specific piece of information was either relevant or significant to Supply Chain Management as a whole. From the material presenting itself in a graduate level of writing, it was difficult to determine what was significant and what was not.
    This blogging project definitely helped me learn a lot about Supply Chain Management. Through this project, I learned that Supply Chain Management contributes a lot to the society, which excites me a lot. In addition, I feel privileged to study at Michigan State University, where it is ranked number two in Supply Chain Management, right under Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During my four years here at MSU, I will definitely refer to my blog and perhaps write more about the other information I learn about Supply Chain Management through my classes and the clubs I join.    



   

Open Blog on Delivery and Style

Ok, so I know I have been apologizing for delaying some of these open blog posts, but I hope you all can bear through it. I thought I wrote a open blog on this blogging assignment, but apparently I didn't. Well, this blogging assignment was definitely interesting and also very useful because I got to learn so much not just through one source, but three! This blogging assignment gave me the opportunity to learn about Supply Chain Management through a scholarly article, a trade journal, and a blog post. Some aspects that all three of these sources have in common are that they both emphasize the importance of the social media, communications, personal relationships,  and being a "go-getter" and how all these aspects affect your chances of getting a job not only in the Supply Chain field, but also in any other business profession. Although each source had a different styles and purposes, they all were very informative and influential in demonstrating the fundamental aspects of what Supply Chain Management is all about. Like I said earlier, the importance of social skills and communication was emphasized a lot through these sources and it discusses how strong and confident social skills can place employees in higher positions in the Supply Chain Companies. From this blogging post, I realized that it is very important to learn about a topic from various sources, not just the same type of source all the time. It can definitely broaden your perspective on a particular topic if you study from various sources. From here on, I will try and study Supply Chain Management through books, trade journals, scholarly articles, youtube videos, and even through our own prestigious Supply Chain program here at Michigan State University.

Open Blog Post on Remix Knowledge- Brochure

Once again, I would like to apologize for doing these very late! The brochure was definitely very informative and improved my perspective on how supply chain companies work. Through Oracle Supply Chain, I learned how supply chain companies are so determined in getting what they need to get done accomplished quickly and efficiently. Through this brochure, I learned that you must be well informed about the risks such as volatile markets that can hurt and ultimately make the supply chain companies suffer, and I also learned through this brochure that each supply chain company should set business goals/plans before going through the process to see if what they are doing is reasonable and practical for the whole of the chain. Through this brochure, I learned that the purpose, rhetoric, and audience better helped me understand more about the Oracle supply chain company and how it uses the fundamental supply chain concepts to distribute and delivery their goods and products. From this blogging post, I learned that supply chains are more difficult to manage that you would think. I will continue to study research based on how supply chain managers make their supply chains successful in accomplishing their business goals/plans.

Open Blog Post on the Significance of trends in Supply Chain Management

Once again, I would like to apologize for delaying this open blog post. Well, this blog post was very important because I learned that specific trends can help make supply chains become more efficient in getting their products and goods from one place to the other. Supply Chain Segmentation strategies are very useful in supply chain companies because it basically speeds up the process of getting things made and distributed. Also, Demand Management, production methods, inventory strategies, and distribution and transportation paths are also other important trends in supply chain planning because they help distribute more products and goods into more than one channels/chains so that they are distributed and delivered faster and more effectively. Supply Chain Managers, once again, have a big responsibility to fulfill by making sure that their plan is meeting their financial objectives and they are making sure that everything is turning out smoothly. From this blogging post, I realized that some trends/strategies that are implemented in the process are beneficial and definitely useful in speeding up the process of getting goods/products from one place to the other effectively and efficiently. From now on, I will try and do more research to see what other techniques/strategies supply chain managers implement to make things faster and more effective.

Open Blog Post on the Applications of Supply Chain Management

First off, I would like to apologize for writing this post now. Well, my blog post on the practical applications of Supply Chain Management dealt with the movement of bottled water products and how they are made, transported, and finally distributed into vending machines. From this whole process of making the bottled waters to distributing to factories where they take care of shipping the bottled waters to other factories, negotiating prices, paying the people in the factories, and finally distributing the bottled waters in the vending machines, there are many things that I learned about this very long and tedious process. Firstly,  the logistics, planning, and distributing of the bottled waters are all the responsibilities that come with a supply chain manager. Through this process, the supply chain manager is solely responsible for the entire process of making the bottled waters to distributing to factories where they take care of shipping the bottled waters to other factories, negotiating prices, paying the people in the factories, and finally distributing the bottled waters in the vending machines to be done effectively, efficiently, and most importantly successfully! The dealings of logistics, planning, and authorizing is the task of the supply chain manager. It is the supply chain manager who figures out how these bottled waters will be distributed into the vending machines. From this blogging post, I was able to watch/observe the entire process of how a product is being made, moved, and finally distributed to its planned destination. It was so interesting to see how everything was able to work out so effectively and efficiently! I cant wait until I learn more about this complex and logical process!

Remixing Knowledge on Oracle Supply Chain Management

This remix I decided to choose was an Oracle Supply Chain Management Brochure. Oracle is known to be the information company Oracle supply chain management solutions extend your reach around the globe. You can collaborate with partners across geographic regions, manage complex supplier networks, and quickly adapt to changing global business conditions.

The audience of this brochure would be supply chain majors looking to get a job at Oracle Supply Chain and other supply chain majors who happen to know what Oracle is and how to get a job/learn from what Oracle does and how their supply chain works. The purpose of this brochure on Oracle is to demonstrate how Oracle provides the information-driven solutions to power today’s extended supply chains.

The Overall success of this rhetoric was demonstrating how Oracle is the most efficient Supply Chain company out there. It does a great job in demonstrating how its supply chain functions, how its products and goods get distributed and delivered, and it most importantly does an incredible job with incorporating many fundamental aspects of supply chain management as well as the risks of supply chain management such as adapting to volatile markets, etc.

REVISION- Accelerate Innovation and Response to Market Demands, Create Flexible, adaptable business processes.

ARRANGEMENT-  Predict Market Requirement and Risks- Adopt to Volatile Markets- Align the Value Chain to your business goals- Become information driven

INVENTION- Volatile markets to successful business goals. How do you make successful business goals? How to you come out of a volatile market? How do you predict market risks?

DELIVERY-  Brochure on Oracle Supply Chain- Supply Chain Managers and Professionals- Through the Internet and popular Supply Chain brochures.

STYLE- Informative, Influential, Passionate, Intellectual, Business-friendly, Powerful.

Works Cited

 Http://www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/ebusiness/value-chain-management-217208.pdf. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Recognizing Significance- Trends and Insights on Supply Chain Planning

This news story explicitly describes how specific trends can ultimately affect and help out supply chains become more effective in getting their goods and products across from one place to the other. Some of the key trends in supply chain planning technology are supply chain segmentation strategies. Supply chain segmentation strategies are segmenting supply chains into multiple virtual supply chains to develop tailored end-to-end supply chain processes to support distinctly different segments of the business. This is very effective in that products and goods can be distributed in more than one single chain.  This is a very good thing for the supply chain companies because they  are tailoring their demand management process, production methods, inventory strategies, distribution paths and transportation modes to the distinct characteristics of the products, customer and channels that they serve. Demand Management, production methods, inventory strategies, and distribution and transportation paths are also other important trends in supply chain planning because they help distribute more products and goods into more than one channels/chains so that they are distributed and delivered faster and more effectively. Supply Chain Managers have a big role in the decision making of how supply chains deliver and distribute their products and goods. Supply Chain Managers want analytical tools that elevate the decision making above demand and supply planning in order to determine the impact on revenue and profit. This is when Integrated Business Planning (IBP) comes into action, where the operating plan is able to achieve the financial objectives set by the executive team. This is very important because this how supply chains will make profit and revenue on their goods and products. Supply Chain Managers are doing all they can to make sure that their supply chains are effective in the distribution and delivery of their goods and products.

Works Cited

"Trends and Insights on Supply Chain Planning." Trends and Insights on Supply Chain Planning. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2012. <http://www.scdigest.com/ASSETS/ON_TARGET/12-11-06-1.PHP?CID=6406>.

Real Life Applications of Supply Chain Management: Practicing your Knowledge

Most of us always buy products from vending machines. If we're busy going to class, work, and even going out with friends, we end up buying a product from a vending machine. Bottled water for example is a common product most of us would buy from a vending machine. How is that these bottled waters get into those vending machines? It is through supply chain managers who help get these bottled waters into the vending machines, so that everyday people can buy bottled water from these vending machines. There is a series of steps that supply chain managers deal with to get these bottled waters into the vending machines. First, supply chain managers need to negotiate the purchase of these empty bottled waters and caps. The bottled waters and caps are then placed into boxes and will then have to be shrink wrapped, so that the they don't fall out. The boxes are then put on pallets, so that they can be moved easily. In order to move the pallets, you will need a forklift, which means that you will need a fork lift driver. The role of the forklift is to move the boxes on the pallets to a truck. After the bottled waters and caps are put on the truck, the truck will take them to the plant. Most importantly, the bottled water will need a label. The supply chain managers are In this plant, there will be employees, bottling machines, and day to day items such as light bulbs and janitorial supplies. Also, there will be access to the drinking water. Machines will purify the water and other machines will bottle the water and fix the labels on the water. There will be other machines that will box,shrink wrap, and palatize the bottle of waters. In order to move these boxes that are palatize, we will need forklifts and forklift drivers that will moves them onto trucks. The trucks will need drivers to move these bottled waters into distribution centers. From the distribution centers, they will head out to retail stores from a truck will need a driver. The retail stores will need employees to unload the truck, stock the bottled waters on the shelf or the refrigerator. The trucks, insurance for the trucks, forklifts, the forklift drivers, energy, and fuel all cost money and the employees of the bottled water company need a paycheck too. It is the job of the supply chain managers to get all these done effectively and efficiently. Basically, the logistics, planning, and distributing of the bottled waters are all the responsibilities that come with a supply chain manager. This concept is way more different than actually reading about supply chain management because this is a much simpler and more easily understandable concept than reading articulate scholarly articles and journals on supply chain management and how supply chain companies work. It would be awesome to job-shadow a supply chain manager who deals and is responsible for the logistical process to work.

Works Cited

Wpcareyschool. "Module 1: What Is Supply Chain Management? (ASU-WPC-SCM)." YouTube. YouTube, 06 Apr. 2010. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi1QBxVjZAw>.

Open Blog (Bias in Reading and Writing when learning about Supply Chain Management)

Thursday's discussion about reading bias and writing about bias seemed very interesting and I felt that I should elaborate more on my thoughts and my perspective on this topic. Well since I was learning about a controversy about Supply Chain Management, there was obviously going to be two sides to the argument. Since the argument seemed somewhat extricate and controversial for me, I wasn't able to fully understand so much about tax pricing and its regulations. However, I was definitely able to see the author's bias and I could tell what he or she was trying to prove about his or her point of view. Once I understood the author's opinion and viewpoint on tax pricing, it made me think more of how I was going to differentiate and explain the two opposing and different viewpoints of the arguments. What helped me in doing so was creating two columns and writing down the facts and beliefs of one side of the argument and the facts and beliefs for the other side of the argument. Once I did this, it was very easy from there and I was able to explain both sides of the controversy without including my personal opinion or what I thought of the controversy. This assignment was very crucial in learning about my major because it made me realize that there are lot of controversial arguments in the field of supply chain management than I thought there would be. Also it gave me a great opportunity to learn about the issue of tax pricing and how it affects supply chain companies. From this blogging post, I realized that once you gain knowledge about a specific issue or topic, you will witness facts and bias and you might be confused as to whats a fact and whats bias. However, you must be able to distinguish between bias and actual facts. From here on, whenever I am reading something about Supply Chain Management, I will distinguish between actual facts and bias.

Managing Transfer Pricing (Controversy in Supply Chain Companies)

As more countries start using transfer pricing regulations and legislations, transfer pricing becomes a big controversy for tax administrators around the world, especially supply chain companies. There are many sides to this controversy, which are very explicate and tough to deal with at times. With more employees in supply chain companies, transfer pricing increases dramatically, which causes disagreements about the facts of the products and how the rules and regulations are applied based on how transfer pricing is used. Tax authorities around the world and especially in supply chain companies  like to target transfer pricing activities and also focus on the supply chain company. Some people argue that transfer pricing can either help the company by focusing on the business supply chain and making sure transfer pricing helps the supply chain companies positively by being able to distribute and manage their products and goods. However, some argue that transfer pricing has many risks that can eventually bring down the supply chain companies. Some of these risks include double taxation, risk of a transfer pricing audit, and even litigation and arbitration. One thing that some transfer pricing professionals around the world help supply chain companies do is to help them get out of these risks and make sure that transfer pricing affects the supply chain companies positively. Advanced Pricing Agreements, Competent authority relief, Arbitration procedures, and Audit defense and litigation support are some areas transfer pricing professionals focus on to make sure that these risks are avoided and to make sure that the supply chain companies flourish.


"Global Transfer Pricing Controversy Network - Ernst & Young - United States." Global Transfer Pricing Controversy Network - Ernst & Young - United States. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <https://webforms.ey.com/US/en/Services/Tax/International-Tax/Transfer-Pricing-and-Tax-Effective-Supply-Chain-Management/Article_TP_Global_transfer_pricing_controversy_network>.

Arguments in Supply Chain Management(Open Blog)

I didn't realize that every profession has its own set of conflicts, problems, issues, and arguments. The professions that I thought would deal with a lot of arguments is doctors, engineers, lawyers, and politicians. Never did I think that the field of business, in particular, Supply Chain Management, would deal with arguments. I always thought business was about negotiations and I always thought that Supply Chain Management was all about planning, managing, and executing and done so very easily and simply. However, after doing research on argumentative topics in the field of supply chain management, particularly research on supplier and demand relationships, I found there to be a lot of arguments and different perspectives on how to deal with and go about different ethics in Supply Chain Management. It is important to deal and comply with these ethics such as Supplier and Demand Relationships. However, some believe that these ethics are not important in the business world and shouldn't be given so much importance. Many ARGUE that without important ethics, most supply chains will not be able to perform sufficiently and as a result will not be able to meet the customer's needs. It is important to meet the customer's demands in order for the supply chain companies to prosper and produce more and more products so they can be distributed to the right places and eventually being purchased by the customers. In order for all of this to happen, disciplined and principled ethics must be put in place in order for supply chain companies. Those who ARGUE for strong ethics in supply chain companies know how important ethics, negotiations, and different arguments and perspectives are important in the business world, particularly Supply Chain Management. From this blogging post, I realized that every profession is not that simple and entails a lot of complexities that can sometimes be even arguable. I will continue to learn more about the complexities in Supply Chain Management. I know there are a lot!

A Scholarly Journal on the Demand-Perspective of Supply Chain Management

First off, reading this journal was quite interesting and in fact I learned so much about how the demand for a product affects most supply chains. From my knowledge that I learned so fat about supply chains is that demand definitely is an important aspect in most supply chain companies and the supply that the company produces is in response to the demand of that product that the company represents. In my previous blog post, I talked about how supplier and demand relationships in supply chain companies is very crucial to the companies' growth and development and without good supplier and demand relationships, the company will suffer tremendously. Well, this article demonstrated and showed that the demand perspective in supply chains is one of the most important aspects in a company's growth. The demand-perspective of a product comes from the price of it, how popular it is, and what the product actually is, and what it represents. If these things are all agreeable and compatible with the customers, the demand for the product will go high, meaning the supply will also increase. So, it is important to for the supply of the product and the demand of the product to be agreeable with one another so that supply chain companies can prosper. Besides the logistics and the other types of management that deal with the development of a product, the demand-perspective is an important aspect in supply chain companies.

Works Cited

"A Demand-side Perspective on Supply Chain Management." A Demand-side Perspective on Supply Chain Management. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Journal-Supply-Chain-Management/289217546.html>.

Open Blog on the Ethics of Supply Chain Management and its Importance

To me, ethics in any profession is extremely important. Without ethics, I feel that there is no sort of credibility attached to what you are doing, resulting in less responsibilities and not caring too much about your work. Sometime, depending on the profession, it can result in executives/employees being corrupt, which can lead to many serious problems. The importance of supplier and customer relationships is an important ethic that should be enforced by all employees/executives in the supply chain management field. Without a good supplier and customer relationship, the company will not be able to meet the customer's needs, resulting in lesser amount of supply, which will make the company suffer and the company will not be able to grow and develop because of this. From this aspect of Supply Chain Management, I learned that supplier and customer relationships is an important ethic is not only supply chain management, but any other business field related and without a valuable supplier and customer relationship, the companies will suffer significantly. From today's blogging, I realized that ethics are important in many professions and if you break the ethics, than you are not being true to your profession and most importantly being corrupt and deceitful. As this blog project continues, I will research more on the ethics of Supply Chain Management and be aware of all the rules and regulations before I get any internships. Also I will work on meeting the needs of my classmates and professors, so I can be prepared in advance in meeting the needs of the customers. 

Open Blog on the interview with Alex Soave

Well, firstly I would like to apologize for writing an open blog so late. Both Alex and I had a busy week, so we were not able to meet earlier in the week. However, I did speak to Alex on Thursday and we had a great interview! He is so open and easy-going, which made the interview an awesome time! Alex gave me a lot of insight on what MSUSCMA is, what it does, and how they work as a club/organization. Through this club, Alex says that he has learned so much about Supply Chain Management besides in the classroom/lecture. He likes being able to talk to companies one-on-one and getting to know about the company and what they are all about. He told me just being a member in the club presents itself with so many networking opportunities. Not only are the networking opportunities outstanding, but the possibility of getting an internship and possibly a job after graduation through this club is extremely high. Some new things that I learned from Alex about Supply Chain Management were that you really need to know how to interact with companies when they are trying to recruit new employees. Learning communication skills, interview skills, and eye contact are key factors when talking to companies. You must convince them that your the best candidate for the position they are looking for. Also, you must be confident, convincing, and influential when talking to companies so they know that you mean what you say and believe in what you say to them. From my blogging today and from what I learned, I realized that being in the business profession is not just about your grades. Its mostly about the way you present yourselves, if your a go-getter or not, and if you are confident in your abilities. I look forward to attending the meetings next semester, since I have evening classes from Monday to Thursday, and hopefully, I will be able to be on the E-board my junior and senior year!

Ethics of Supply Chain Management

An important statement that relates to ethics in the field of supply chain management is the significance of supplier and customer relationships. Promoting positive and supplier chain relationships is very important to the customer and also to the company as a whole. The company's reputation will go up because of the importance it gives it to its customer and also because of having a lot of supply of the product which will meet the demand of the customers. These two aspects are extremely important for the company's growth and development and without these two aspects, the company can suffer tremendously and consequently these aspects will inhibit the growth and development of the company. It is really important to hire competent employs who are well known with the principles of supplier and customer relationships. It will avoid the long training that they would have had to go through if they were not aware of the principles and policies. To prevent this training, supply chain management majors can learn these important aspects in college itself. Right now, what I am doing in college to prevent training and to know more about the ethics of supplier and customer relationships, I am learning the importance of supply and demand in my microeconomics class, which is important in supply chains, improving my communication skills by talking to all different kids of people from different paths, and finally I am researching more about supply chain management and learning more about its ethics such as responsibilities to your employees and sustainability and social responsibility.

Works Cited

ISM - Tools - Principles and Standards of Ethical Supply Management Conduct." ISM - Tools - Principles and Standards of Ethical Supply Management Conduct. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ism.ws/tools/content.cfm?ItemNumber=4740>.

Interview with Alex Soave on MSUSCMA

Alex Soave, a member of Beta Theta Phi, is an active member in MSUSCMA, Michigan State University Supply Chain Management Association. I have already joined this association in the summer itself when I found out about it on the Supply Chain Management Department home page. Some of the conclusions I drew from seeing photos and events on the department page and even on facebook are that the events and meeting they hold have fortune 500 companies come in and talk about their companies and also look at future employees as well. One of the biggest events that the MSUSCMA has is the career fair in January for members of their club and also for Supply Chain Majors who are not part of this club. Since I have not been to any of the meetings, I will ask Chase some questions about the club on Sunday when I see him for our fraternity's flag football game.

1. What role do members play in MSUSCMA?
     Some members can become on the E-board and help organize many of the events. Most of the members just come and listen to the Information sessions.

2. Besides career fair, what other big events does MSUSCMA hold and participate in?
     Some major events include the pre-career fair, information sessions where companies come to the club meetings and recruit, Bar Crawl Hay Ride, where members take trips across the country to visit companies.

3. Is there a fee for membership in the club?
    Yes, depending on your grade. For freshman, its free.

4. Do freshman have a big role in the club meetings/events? What kind of role do the upperclassmen have in the club?
           Freshman mostly get to meet people and start their networking opportunities. Upperclassmen plan the events and help out with the career fairs. Also, upperclassmen can run for an E-Board position as well.

5. Can you get internships and even jobs after graduation through this club? If so, how?
          Yes, through the club website, you can submit your resume to a folder where it sends your resume to various companies.


6. Do you have any plans of running for a position within this club?
        No, it is too late for me since I am graduating this year

7. Does MSUSCMA travel around the country to visit other companies that hire supply chain majors? If so, which companies and what do the members do on the trip?
         Yes, they mostly travel in the mid-west region of the country. In the past, they visited Proctor and Gamble and General Electric in Cincinnati.


8. Does club teach its members about Supply Chain? Or is this club an opportunity for networking and job opportunities?
            Both, the club is an opportunity for networking and job opportunities and companies come in and hold information sessions on the company and also on supply chain management.



9. Which aspect do you like the most about MSUSCMA?
        Being able to talk to companies and figuring out about what they are all about

10.  Why would you advise other Supply Chain majors to join this club?
           It's a great club to meet people/new friends and also for networking opportunities You want a job after graduation!

My open blog post will be on the interview with Chase and his responses to these questions and also about more information about MSUSCMA. I am very excited for this interview!

Open Blog Post on the Interview with Ramya

So last night I was at Ramya's house for dinner. I had the opportunity to sit down with her and ask her some of my questions. Her responses were all helpful in my search of more knowledge of supply chain management. Besides responding to my interview questions, she talked more about the supply chain professors at MSU, how to be involved at MSU Supply Chain Association, and how to approach companies at the career fair. To me, one of the best answers I got out of her was how she defined supply chain. It made way more sense compared to the complex books I have been reading and the articles I have been reading too. She also told me about some of the best professors who teach Supply Chain at MSU. She suggested to email them and get more information about supply chain management and also to show them that I care about getting ahead and being successful in getting teacher recommendations for jobs and internships. Ramya's brother, Rajeev, also studied Supply Chain Management and graduated last May. He works for Amazon in Seattle and he also gave me some advice regarding classes and internships. Some aspects of Supply Chain Management that I learned from both Ramya and Rajeev is that it is such a unique style and piece of business. It deals with more with logical thinking and practical planning than any other business field. Also, I learned that in order to be a successful supply chain manager, you must be a go-getter, take risks, and put yourself out there to show that you want to achieve and accomplish something. From blogging today and my interviews with both Ramya and Rajeev, I learned that in order to be successful, you must be committed, dedicated, and passionate about what you do, otherwise you wont be successful and most importantly happy with your career choice. I could easily tell that both Rajeev and Ramya were interested and passionate about Supply Chain Management and the business profession in general. Overall, my experiences with the both of them were very helpful and I definitely know that if I have any questions, I will be able to go to them!

Interview Questions about Supply Chain Management

For this assignment, I decided to interview one of my dear friends Ramya Gudipati. Ramya has been a family friend for many years and definitely someone I look upto. Ramya went to Michigan State University and was a Supply Chain Major. She graduated in 2011 and works for Cap-Gemini in Chicago. Ramya was very active here at MSU and helped me alot with my research in Supply Chain Management. Here are some of the questions I plan on asking her about SCM and her experiences with the degree.


Q: What made you choose Supply Chain Management here at MSU out of all the other business majors?

A: I chose supply chain management for a couple of reasons. My primary reason was that it was a good program at MSU. My second reason was that it was a unique piece of business. its outside out of a regular business degree.  Lastly, I love to think logically and supply chain is all about that!


Q:  If you had to define Supply Chain Management in the simplest way, how would you describe it?

A: The simplest way to describe Supply Chain Management is following the tracking and designing the entire process of a product being made in from start to finish and also how the product is disposed.

Q: What aspect about Supply Chain Management interests you the most?

A: Network Designing- basically using different modes of transportation and how you can create the valuable and efficient way of moving a product.

Q: What kind of opportunities does a Supply Chain Management major present itself? jobs wise, internships wise, etc?

A: MSU recruits a lot of students for Supply Chain Management majors. A lot of students get internships their sophomore and junior years and a high percentage of student get great jobs right after graduation.

Q:  What kind of companies recruit Supply Chain majors?

A:  fortune 500 companies and consulting companies recruit supply chain majors

Q:  Why do you believe Supply Chain Management is the best major at MSU?

A: It's a highly ranked program at MSU
     

Q: What kind of classes did you have to take for a SCM major? What were the interesting classes and what did you learn from them?

A:  Three main classes for supply chain. operations, purchasing, and logistics. junior year. senior year- capstone course, business writing. 5 diff classes- negotiations, supply chain decision modeling. biggest thing learn is figuring out and who has power and how to manage your power. leverage that aspect. recognize your power, obtaining power, etc


Q. Apart from grades and internships, what kind of skills/abilities do you need to be a supply chain major and are these skills important to the companies you work in?

A: other than grades, you have to be able to push yourself, need to be self motivated, find purpose with what your doing and a sense of passion. Be a go-getter and need to be able to talk to people and deal with people.


 Q: Did you know a lot about Supply Chain Management when you were a freshman/sophomore? If not, how did you learn about the major?

A:  My freshman year, I didn't know much about supply chain management. I set up meetings with professors and counselors and talked to upperclassmen. I joined various clubs and organizations and only then did I know that supply chain management was the right major


Q: What kinds of management are involved in Supply Chain Management? And how are they apart of Supply Chain?

A: Operation Management- Keeping up with the daily operations and maintaining them at the optimum value, overseeing and managing different operations, balancing your execution, and managing your team.


 Q: Does Supply Chain majors have opportunities to work in companies across the world?

 A: It's what they do. The next 20 years logistics will be growing fast and doing international business.

 Q: Were you involved in any Supply Chain clubs at MSU?

 A: Yes I was. I was apart of MSU Supply Chain Management Association

 Q: What do you exactly do at Cap-Gemini? Whats your job description?

 A: I am an entry level consultant. I respond with technologies. I implant technologies with fortune 500 companies.


Professors she suggested for me to talk to - John McDonald. SCM 373.
 London study abroad- Shred Talluri  Masters PhD.
                                   
                                     
                                     



                                 

Delivery and Style and its effects on the field of Supply Chain Management

Well, firstly, I am extremely fortunate to have researched more about Supply Chain Management and discovering more and more about it through a blog post, a trade journal, and a scholarly article.  Out of the three, I enjoyed the blog post the most for the reason being that I was able to understand quite well compared to the other two articles. I was able to understand why the social media, communication, and business negotiations are important for supply chain companies. I found the style of the Infosys blog to be informative, persuasive, professional, and educational. Informative and persuasive were the two biggest stylistic choices that were employed so effectively in the article. Throughout the blog, I was convinced that social media is extremely important in Supply Chain companies to prosper and do business with other companies. The trade journal talked about communication and personal relationships in the business world. It was somewhat similar to the material covered in the blog, but with more detail and more formalities, I found this journal to be somewhat boring and dull. The style was professional, formal, and influential as well. However, it was difficult to comprehend some parts of the journal. Lastly, the scholarly article discussed the logistics aspect of supply chain management and demonstrated some statistics about the U.S. Freight Transportation Markets. It style was informative and influential and this was definitely more interesting than the trade journal. All of these pieces have been delivered on the Internet, which shows that these three blogs and articles are informative and influential for the public to read and understand, especially for people in the Supply Chain profession. The purpose of these blogs and articles is to demonstrate to the audience how important social media, logistics, communication, and personal business relationships are important in the Supply Chain profession and how it is important to have these skills and abilities to further place in higher positions in the supply chain companies.

Works Cited.

Supply Chain Collaboration and Social Media." Weblog post. Infosys, n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2012. <http://www.infosysblogs.com/supply-chain/2012/09/supply_chain_collaboration_and.html>.

 Gligor, David M.; Chad Autry,. "The role of personal relationships in facilitating supply chain communications: a qualitative study.(Report)." Journal of Supply Chain Management. National Association of Purchasing Management, Inc. 2012. HighBeam Research. 13 Sep. 2012 <http://www.highbeam.com>.

 "Focus: Transportation Management." Logistics News: Nearly All Freight Modes in Balance Right Now, Stifel Nicolaus Says, but Future May Be Troubling for Shippers. Supply Chain Digest, n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2012. <http://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/12-09-11-1.php?cid=6189>.

Who I am, What I am all about, and My goals in Life

To be honest, I would not consider myself to be a great writer. Whenever I am writing, it is usually for an assignment in my English class or for some sort of job that I had in the past, but importantly never for pleasure. However, I do realize the significance writing has on our education system today and the impact it has on our career paths in the future. As a student, I was always strong in math, social sciences, and communication which are all the qualities of a successful businessman. I love solving simple arithmetic, learning about economics and history, and communicating with different groups of people from all paths of life. I figured with these extraordinary talents, I could flourish in the business world and do well for myself and perhaps even one day own a company relating to my major. I plan on studying Supply Chain Management here at Michigan State University. Before starting my freshman year, I read a lot about Supply Chain Management and it was very interested. The logistics and strategy of getting products and goods from one place to the other fascinated me and made me curious about this major. Also being ranked number one in the country at Michigan State University excited me, knowing that I will go great places with this degree. Through my writing class, I am very glad and excited to know that I will be researching more about my major. I will find out more information through reliable sources such as textbooks, journals, newspapers, and maybe even advisors. My goals for my blog include finding more information about my major, what I can pursue with it, what companies I could work for in the future, will this major take me to even bigger places, will this major make me earn a decent amount of money, and finally if this actually what I want to do for the rest of my life. Hopefully, this blogging assignment will improve my writing abilities and will help me learn a lot more on my major.

Why MSU? Why Supply Chain Mgt.?- Free Topic Blog(1)

Well, there are mean reason why I chose Supply Chain Management as a major here at Michigan State University. Supply Chain Management is one of the best business majors at this university. It is a popular major here and a good major for getting a nice, stable job right after the graduation. My whole life I was always wanted a sense of security especially through my academic career. When I heard about Supply Chain Management, I was interested to know about this popular major rapidly growing here at MSU. I did a lot of research on it, talked to family friends and cousins who pursued the same major, read articles and journals, and talked to people currently in the profession. They all responded with positive messages and suggestions about the major and how you can do so much with the major. But I questioned and doubted myself. Why do something that is just good and that everyone says you should? Shouldn't you be passionate about what you want to do? So, that is what I did. I became passionate about Supply Chain and the profession.  I read more and more about the profession and major, and even took use of all the opportunities that MSU has to offer through promoting Supply Chain. I hope to be part of the MSUSCMA club here, get great internships in the upcoming summers, and hopefully at the end of my four years at MSU, find a great job through one of the best companies in the country that offer jobs to Supply Chain Majors. Also watching couple of videos on youtube made me understand a lot more about Supply Chain Management, then reading articles and journals about Supply Chain. These videos basically emphasized the importance of Supply Chain Management and how it is an important business major. They emphasized the importance of manufacturing, logistics, distributing, strategizing, and most importantly logistics. Through my blogging today and through the lecture(video), I learned that Supply Chain Management is a complex business field that requires a lot of research and study on it. Mastering the content of Supply Chain and developing a good understanding of it can eventually get you into some of the best companies in the country such as Microsoft, Proctor and Gamble, Amazon, Accenture, and Cap Gemini.

Works Cited 

"Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi1QBxVjZAw." Arizona State University's Twelve-part Introduction to Supply Chain Management Video Series. Arizona State University, Metro      
Phoenix. 2010. Lecture.

Questions and Answers on Global Supply Chain Management

1. Question: When did Global Supply Chain Management become prevalent?
    Answer : It has become a "hot topic" in the last 15 years. Every company today either sources globally, sells globally, or competes with some company that does. Thus, global supply chain management represents a central area of focus for many businesses and business schools today.

2. Question: How complex is GCSM?
    Answer: This field is diffuse and complex. Many methods and perspectives on GSCM have emerged from logistics, operations, marketing, management, economics, sociology, information systems, and international relations.

3. Question: What exactly is GCSM?
    Answer: the systemic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole.


4. Question:  How does Management play a role in GCSM?
     Answer: Value Management, Product and Service Management, Demand Management, Relationship Management, Resource Management are play huge roles in GCSM which help get products and goods from one place to the other.

5. Question: How does Managing Value play a role in GCSM?
     Answer: Managing Value means to develop formal processes that uncover what customers around the globe value and create products and services that help to create value for customers.

6. Question: What is the process of General Value Management Strategy?
     Answer: Identifying the value, choose the value, provide the value, communicate the value,assess the delivered value.

7. Question: What are the top schools for Supply Chain Management in the country?
    Answer: Michigan State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ohio State University, Arizona State University

8. Question: What are some of the companies that Supply Chain Majors work for after graduation?
     Answer: There are a lot. Some companies include: General Electric, Deloitte, Accenture, Microsoft, Nestle, Coca-cola, JcPenny, BP, Amazon, etc

9. Question: What is Demand Management?
     Answer: the creation across the supply chain and its markets of a coordinated flow of demand.

10. Question: What is the one central element of GCSM?
       Answer: Logistics

Works Cited

Mentzer, John T., Matthew B. Myers, and Theodore P. Stank. Handbook of Global Supply Chain       

Management. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2007. Print.