Quality of Information Sharing and Supply Chainâ€MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Quality of Information Sharing and Supply Chain. Answer: Introduction As the present day scenario suggests, all the business organizations have to keep in mind several factors for their successful business expansion. The most important aspects that any and every business organization must take into consideration are the customer satisfaction. This era is the era of rapid development and advancement. The customers now are looking forward to not only the quality and the quantity of the goods and services, but also to several other additional stuffs. The most important among them is the customer service. The companies for this reason have to keep a sound logistics and supply chain management. They need to maintain this logistic and supply chain management chain right from the suppliers to the final customers. It usually involves a long and complex network of activities like warehousing, inventory, planning and scheduling, customer service and many others. One of the most complicated food sectors is the ice cream industry, since it needs several additional facilities like cold temperature, special kind of packaging and refrigerated carriers etc (Pang et al .,2015). One of the major challenges that the supply and logistics section of the ice cream industry face in todays scenario is the maintenance of proper temperature. This is because the ice cream is such a product that needs to be stored at proper temperatures right from the beginning to the end of the supply chain. In other words, the company has to pay much attention towards the temperature control and handling in the SCM The first and important thing that the company must do is to make a proper plan. A sound business plan must contain detailed information about each and every operation details. It has to take many decisions based on customer choices like what to produce, and for whom to produce. The company also has to decide the sources that are the suppliers. Once the sources of the raw materials are decided the company must go for negotiations and scheduling deliveries. The performance can be measured via the performance of the employees like timely delivery of raw materials, settlement of payment, quality of the raw materials etc. This is the part where the companies have to look after almost all the important aspects like testing of the raw materials, storing of data, regulatory compliance etc. It can be measured by seeing the overall performance of the company and the market share that the company has in the industry. This includes the selection of the transportation and the distribution options. In other words, the Companies must see to it that the deliveries reach the customers within the stipulated time period. The performance can be measured from the customer feedback that is whether or not the customers are satisfied with the services, and also the quality of the final products after it reaches them. The functioning of the com pay does not end only with the delivery of products to the customers, but the company also has to see to the other factors, like managing the defective returned goods, identifying the defects, sending them for recycling. This can be measured by the records of inventory product, the amount of product returns, t he management of the defective products etc. Integration considerations Earlier the company used to follow several aspects of the supply chain and logistics functions like transport, controlling of the inventory, handling of the material and also warehousing. However, it has been seen that the needs and demands of the customers are changing day by day. In order to cater to the needs and demands of the customers, the company has to modify and upgrade their supply chain management in several ways (Stadtler, 2015). The main motif of the company is to see that how they can gather and bring g all the different activities of the supply chain management into a single, balanced and well co ordinate supply chain. As far as the integration is concerned, it is mainly divided in to two different parts; they are the internal and the external integration. The internal integration of tip top ice creams The tip top ice cream has to import several raw materials for its production like- Fats, sugar, emulsifiers, stabilizers, flavors, milk powder, milk cream and several other such input products. As far as the marketing of the tip top ice creams products is concerned, it has a good local and global demand as well. It is one of the chief producer and distributor of dairy products and ice creams in different parts of New Zealand. The universal supply chain stretches its marketing and distribution over all the firms in New Zealand. They also have several clients and patrons located in several parts of the world. Tip top has been making delicious ice creams and operating in New Zealand for over seventy five years. As the tip top company mainly deals in ice cream and dairy products, it has to take very much care of the fact that, the temperature is well maintained in every stage of their logistics and supply chain (Govindan et al .,2014). In order to see that there is no compromise with the quality of the ice cream, the tip top company maintains a particular kind of supply chain called the cold supply chain. They have to take very much care of the fact that there is no heat, rathe r no unwanted risk of temperature created while the ice creams are being taken from one place to the other. The delivery truck that is to be used must be heat proof and designed accordingly, so as to see that the ice creams do not melt and stay intact (Juan Ding et al .,2014). The integration can however take place only after the combination of the two that is the material management as well as the physical distribution. In other words both the inward as well as the outward flow of products must take place in a proper manner so that the whole process runs smoothly. Right from the starting point, that is from the point of acquiring the raw materials from the suppliers, transporting the raw materials from the place of origin to the different production units. Food industry in general needs to pay special attention to this aspect, so that there are no issues with the quality of food. There are mainly several different stages that the food industry needs to follow in order to upgrade and integrate its supply chain. In order to integrate the supply chain, the industry must question its existing supply chain in the first instance. After thorough questioning and analyzing session, it was seen that there are some or the other loopholes existing in the supply chain and logistics that they were using. Currently, there are three trends that will enable a much increased level of integration in the supply chain process. The first is the pending food safety legislation. This legislation needs that there must be time limitations I posed and maintained. This time limitation must be on the product tracing. Apart from this, the food chains are something that always is very diverse in nature and requires the participation of several kinds of entities at different points of tome. This is because in the food industry, there is often a huge diversity in terms of geography, size, locations, resource, experience etc. In the modern day scenario, it is highly essential for each and every industry to maintain the e commerce facilities. In other words, the companies must try and use the internet based facilities in order to manage and operate the logistics and the supply chain in a better way. The must make use of different software (Eksoz, Mansouri Bourlakis 2014). The company and try and seek for measures of using the technology and the modern scientific methods to control the power cuts. As the tip top ice cream company has realized that the major problem it faces, is that of power cuts. Among all the other food products, ice cream is the one that is extra sensitive to temperature. Thus, frequent power cuts will greatly harm the quality of the ice creams (Beske, Land Seuring 2014). As a result of this problem, the company has decided to use the special power back up methods. Apart from this, they might also consider using dry ice. Adding dry ice to the packages or in the trucks will help the ice creams stay intact without any damage being done to the quality of the ice cream (van Elzakker et al .,2014). Among all the other general food products, ice cream is one that needs special temperature control methods right from the time of its procurement, through the entire process of transportation, manufacturing, packaging and finally followed by the last step that is delivering them to the customers. It must also be noted, while upgrading the supply chain and logistics, that ice creams are exclusively seasonal products and there are some additional up gradations and adjustments that are to be made in the supply chain management and logistics of such products. One of the most important steps that can be adopted by the Tip Top ice cream company is developing resilient supply chain. In other words, this supply chain must be able to build the flexibility in the entire process and also for changing the prevalent corporate culture (Acar et al., 2017). This can be done by increasing the number of suppliers from whom the company purchases its raw materials. This will increase the number of alternative options at the hands of the company. It can so happen that during the business transactions, there are several unwanted disputes that arise. However, the production must not get hampered in any way. It is hence, beneficial for maintaining a large number of suppliers from whom the company can get the required amount of raw materials from them. This will also enable the tip top ice cream company to hold some excess amount of food inventory (Beg et al .,2017). Adapting to climatic change and building resilience Apart from this, another strategy that the tip top ice cream company can use is combining the procurement strategy with supplier relationship (Manzin Accorsi 2013). Maintaining a good and healthy relationship with the suppliers is indeed useful. It will act as a very good in built strategy for the company. Apart from thus, the tip top ice cream company may also consider shifting the entire supply chain from one specific geographical location to the other. As the food products in general and the ice cream in particular are very climate sensitive items, the companys manufacturing them have to be very much concerned about this factor. As the geographical location of the company is subjected to several extremes of climatic conditions, they might consider shifting the hub of their supply chain away to some other place that has favorable climatic conditions. Keeping in mind the contemporary issues that are faced by the logistics and supply chain of the food companies, one of the most essential step that is to be taken by the company is sharing the relevant information of the supply chain systems with their consumers. This can turn out to be an important step, as it will help in minimizing the risk of consumer vulnerability. The consumers also must be trained about the harmful impacts of food wastage (Allata, Valero, Benhadja 2017). As the tip top ice cream company mainly deals in the ice cream and the dairy products, they must make use of the proper refrigerating facilities. The increasing availability of technologies cab greatly is used to enhance the logistics of the company. This will enable to control and monitor the risk areas to which the company is exposed to (Acar et al., 2017). This is one of the most essential aspects of the smart integration of the supply and logistics system of the food industry. This is highly useful in order to check and manage the food inventory of food and also the wastage of food that often can disrupt the production of the company. Value Generation Three of the most essential and significant value creation stages are- The first important thing that the company needs to do is to understand the demand of their customers. In other words, they need to understand what the driving forces are for their customers. The company has to understand and provide their customers with things that are actually important to them. Tip Top ice creams must understand the exact demand of their customers. They need to know the exact flavors that the customers are looking for or any additional benefits that the customers want. Market segmentation is also very much crucial here. Ice cream is something that has a huge demand for children, young adults but not that much for the old generation of people. Hence the company must de3sign their product in such a way so that it becomes much more attractive to that particular segment of targeted customers. Apart from this, they might also consider setting up a new branch at a particular geographical location that is easily accessible by the targeted group of customers (Grimm, Hofstetter Sarkis 2014). In proper to create value, the company will surely have to make some investments. However, this must be kept in mind that all these investments must be made in the right place that is for the right customers that will provide the right value in return. Sales promotion, product up gradations, RD everything must be done in order to suit the tastes of the targeted customers (Aung Chang 2014). Conclusion Thereby, it can be concluded from this paper that in proper to expand the business properly, the Tip Top ice cream company has to analyze and understand the customer demands. It is only after that they will be able to make modifications and up gradations in their supply chain and logistics. It is also necessary for them to integrate the supply chain and logistics system from time to time; keeping in mind the changing consumer needs and demands. Reference List Acar, M. F., Acar, M. F., Zaim, S., Zaim, S., Isik, M., Isik, M., ... Calisir, F. (2017). Relationships among ERP, supply chain orientation and operational performance: An analysis of structural equation modeling.Benchmarking: An International Journal,24(5), 1291-1308. Allata, S., Valero, A., Benhadja, L. (2017). Implementation of traceability and food safety systems (HACCP) under the ISO 22000: 2005 standard in North Africa: The case study of an ice cream company in Algeria.Food Control,79, 239-253. Aung, M. M., Chang, Y. S. (2014). Traceability in a food supply chain: Safety and quality perspectives.Food control,39, 172-184. Beg, M. S., Ahmad, S., Jan, K., Bashir, K. (2017). Status, supply chain and processing of Cocoa-A review.Trends in Food Science Technology. Beske, P., Land, A., Seuring, S. (2014). Sustainable supply chain management practices and dynamic capabilities in the food industry: A critical analysis of the literature.International Journal of Production Economics,152, 131-143. Bigliardi, B., Galati, F. (2013). Models of adoption of open innovation within the food industry.Trends in Food Science Technology,30(1), 16-26. Eksoz, C., Mansouri, S. A., Bourlakis, M. (2014). Collaborative forecasting in the food supply chain: a conceptual framework.International Journal of Production Economics,158, 120-135. Govindan, K., Jafarian, A., Khodaverdi, R., Devika, K. (2014). Two-echelon multiple-vehicle locationrouting problem with time windows for optimization of sustainable supply chain network of perishable food.International Journal of Production Economics,152, 9-28. Grimm, J. H., Hofstetter, J. S., Sarkis, J. (2014). Critical factors for sub-supplier management: A sustainable food supply chains perspective.International Journal of Production Economics,152, 159-173. Juan Ding, M., Jie, F., A. Parton, K., J. Matanda, M. (2014). Relationships between quality of information sharing and supply chain food quality in the Australian beef processing industry.The International Journal of Logistics Management,25(1), 85-108. Manzini, R., Accorsi, R. (2013). The new conceptual framework for food supply chain assessment.Journal of Food Engineering,115(2), 251-263. Pang, Z., Chen, Q., Han, W., Zheng, L. (2015). Value-centric design of the internet-of-things solution for food supply chain: Value creation, sensor portfolio and information fusion.Information Systems Frontiers,17(2), 289-319. Sel, ., Bilgen, B. (2015). Quantitative models for supply chain management within dairy industry: a review and discussion.European Journal of Industrial Engineering,9(5), 561-594. Stadtler, H. (2015). Supply chain management: An overview. InSupply chain management and advanced planning(pp. 3-28). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. van Elzakker, M. A. H., Maia, L. K., Zondervan, E., Raikar, N. B., Hoogland, H., Grossmann, I. E. (2014). Considering both Environmental Impact and Economic Costs in the Optimization of the Tactical Planning for the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry. Vellema, S., van Wijk, J. (2015). Partnerships intervening in global food chains: the emergence of co-creation in standard-setting and certification.Journal of Cleaner Production,107, 105-113.

Studies Show Black Women Are Healthier at a Higher Weight Than White Women

Studies Show Black Women Are Healthier at a Higher Weight Than White Women Studies reveal that African American women can weigh significantly more than white women and still be healthy. By examining two standards of measurement - BMI (body mass index) and WC (waist circumference) - researchers found that while white women with a BMI of 30 or more and a WC of 36 inches or more were at greater risk for diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, black women with those same numbers were considered medically healthy. African American womens risk factors did not increase until they reached a BMI of 33 or more and a WC of 38 inches or more. Typically, health experts consider adults with a BMI of 25-29.9 to be overweight and those with a BMI of 30 or greater to be obese. Peter Katzmarzyks Studies The study, published in the January 6, 2011 research journal Obesity and authored by Peter Katzmarzyk and others at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, only examined white and African American women. No similar racial difference between black men and white men were studied. Katmzarzyk theorizes that the weight gap between white and black women may have to do with how body fat is distributed differently throughout the body. What many call belly fat is primarily recognized as being a significantly greater health risk than fat in the hips and thighs. Dr. Samuel Dagogo-Jacks Findings Katzmarzyks findings echo a 2009 study by Dr. Samuel Dagogo-Jack  of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association, Dagogo-Jacks research revealed that whites had more body fat than blacks, which led him to theorize that muscle mass may be higher in African-Americans. Existing BMI and WC guidelines are derived from studies of predominantly white and European populations and do not take into account physiological differences due to ethnicity and race. Because of this, Dagogo-Jack believes that his findings argue for a review of the existing cutoffs for healthy BMI and waist circumference among African-Americans. Sources: Kohl, Simi. Use of BMI and waist circumference as surrogates of body fat differs by ethnicity. Obesity Vol. 15 No. 11 at Academia.edu. November 2007Norton, Amy. Healthy waist may be a bit bigger for black women. Reuters Health at Reuters.com. 25 January 2011. Richardson, Carolyn and Mary Hartley, RD. Study Shows Black Women Can Be Healthy At Higher Weights. caloriecount.about.com. 31 March 2011.Scott, Jennifer R. Abdominal Obesity. weightloss.about.com. 11 August 2008.The Endocrine Society. Widely Used Body Fat Measurements Overestimate Fatness In African-Americans, Study Finds. ScienceDaily.com. 22 June 2009.

How Many Pounds in a Ton A Fascinating Story

How Many Pounds in a Ton A Fascinating Story SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The most basic answer to the question of how many pounds in a ton? There are 2000 pounds in a ton. Still feel confused? You're not alone. But why is the ton a measurement that no one ever quite understands or remembers? This conversion is endlessly confusing because a ton can refer to different forms of measurement. In this article, I’ll explain exactly what a ton is, what it measures, and how to convert tons to pounds. I'll go into the differences between a ton, a metric ton, and several other kinds of tons. And finally, I'll give you a brief history of this often mixed up and misused unit of measurement. The Basics: What’s a Ton? How Do You Convert Tons to Pounds? First things first: here are the most basic facts you should know about tons. If you live in the US, then when you encounter a reference to a ton, you're looking at a measurement of mass. The conversions for tons to pounds and pounds to tons are below: 1 ton = 2000 pounds 1 pound = 1/2000 of a ton But what if you dig a little deeper into this unit? Let’s check out some other kinds of tons around the world. What’s the Difference Between a Short Ton, a Long Ton, and a Tonne (Metric Ton)? One of the reasons the ton is such a confounding measurement is that there are actually three different kinds of tons in use around the world. Short Ton The United States has never adopted the metric system for measuring things. Instead, our country uses a system called customary units. To measure mass, this system uses pounds and ounces as well as the tons I described in the previous section. The US ton is called a short ton. 1 short ton is 2000 pounds. Long Ton The United Kingdom uses a mix of the metric system and the older Imperial system for its measurements. This means that they measure mass sometimes in kilograms and other times in units called stones. The ton that is used in Imperial measures is a little heavier than the US one, so the UK ton is called a long ton. 1 long ton is 2240 pounds. Tonne (or Metric Ton) Most other countries have by this point fully adopted the metric system, and use grams and kilograms to measure mass. The metric ton is never officially called a metric ton, and is instead called a tonne (pronounced just like the word â€Å"ton†). 1 tonne is 1000 kilograms, or 2,204.6 pounds. Short Ton, Long Ton, and Tonne Conversions 1 short ton = 0.89 long tons = .9 tonnes = 2000 pounds = 907 kilograms 1 long ton = 1.12 short tons = 1.01 tonnes = 2240 pounds = 1016 kilograms 1 tonne = 0.98 long tons = 1.1 short tons = 2204 pounds = 1000 kilograms So, in order from lightest to heaviest, it goes: 1 short ton 1 metric ton 1 long ton. Tons are like nesting dolls- each a slightly larger version of the next. Why Are There So Many Different Tons? The word "ton" originally comes from a measurement of volume called a â€Å"tun†- basically a very big wine-making cask. And you're right- this does, in fact, mean that originally a ton was a measurement of volume rather than mass! Eventually, it was determined that a tun could hold about 2000 pounds worth of wine, and the term "ton" evolved to describe this weight. The short ton and long ton measurements diverged when this wine-making measurement was standardized. In the US and the UK, the ton was defined as 20 hundredweights (another unit of mass). But, while in the US 1 hundredweight = 100 pounds, in the UK 1 hundredweight = 8 stones. Since 1 stone = 14 pounds, the UK hundredweight = 2 pounds. The US took the road less traveled- and that has made all the difference. At least as far as short tons are concerned. What Other Kinds of Tons Are There? In addition to the three types of tons above, there are many other sorts of tons that are used to describe a wide range of measurements. These less common tons are generally quite specialized, meaning you're unlikely to encounter them in your day to day life. Still, the diversity of usage certainly helps explain why the word ton is frequently so confusing. As we go through the other kinds of tons, notice how sometimes the ton is used to measure mass, sometimes to measure volume, and sometimes it's not a measurement at all- but instead a standard quantity! Tons in the Ocean At sea, tons typically have to do with measuring ships- and in this context, tons are generally a way to express volume rather than mass. Deadweight Ton. A volume measurement of a ship's carrying capacity, including cargo, ballast, crew, and supplies. It is expressed in tonnes or long tons. Register Ton (or Tonnage). A volume measurement of a ship’s cargo capacity. Tonnage isn’t the same thing as the weight of a ship (called â€Å"displacement†). Ton Class. A volume measurement that categorizes types of yachts based on the capacity of the hold. Displacement Ton. A measurement of the weight of a ship. It’s called â€Å"displacement† because you calculate it by measuring the volume of water that a ship displaces, and then converting this volume into weight. Tons in the Ground One of the uses of "ton" as a standard amount rather than a measurement happens with ore. Check out the "assay ton" to see that a ton can sometimes mean a very small amount of something! Dry Ton (or Tonne). A measurement of mass used for material that’s usually wet but has been dried for transportation (think sludge, slurry, or compost, for example). Assay Ton. This is not a unit of measurement, but is always either 29 1⠁„6 grams (short assay ton) or 32 2⠁„3 grams (long assay ton)- much lighter than a pound! This amount is the standard quantity of ore necessary for testing the ores of precious metals. Tons of Energy Here, the ton is so removed from its original meaning that it's used to measure energy output in the same way that units like the joule or the calorie do. Ton of TNT. This kind of ton is not a measurement of volume or mass, but instead, a specific amount of energy- 109 calories (about 4.184 gigajoules)- generally used to describe nuclear weapons or earthquakes. This energy unit hasn't had anything to do with the actual chemical TNT for a long time. Tonne of Oil Equivalent. Another standard energy value, based on the amount of energy released by burning one tonne of crude oil. The very similar "tonne of coal equivalent" is the amount of energy released by burning one tonne of coal. Tons of Cold Ton of Refrigeration. This is a measure of heat absorption used for refrigeration and air conditioning, and comes from the days when cooling was accomplished only through ice. 1 unit ton of mechanical refrigeration is the capacity to meet the consumption of 1 ton of ice in 1 day. That's a good-looking ton of ship. So, Really, How Many Pounds in a Ton? All you really have to know is that in the US, a ton measures mass and is the same as 2000 pounds. It helps to have a general sense that the US short ton, the UK long ton, and the metric ton are slight variations on the same measurement. To be a ton superstar, you should remember that the ton started as a measurement of volume and is still used that way about ships.

Paper 3 (The Final) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Paper 3 (The Final) - Essay Example Beyoncà ©, on the other hand, had been a role model of popular culture for more than a decade now. She depicts talent and beauty that most young people look up to and desired to be. These two personalities in their own ways set the standards for beauty and define what popular culture is. By this, my paper will try to evaluate the effect of popular culture in people’s perception of beauty. I will explore two photos to prove that there is a connection between the photos, the popular culture and its role in influencing people’s lives and perspectives in terms of their social roles and in the aspect of beauty in particular. In her study â€Å"Britney, Beyoncà © and me – Primary school girls’ role models and constructions of the ‘popular girl’†, Barbara Read, discussed how gender and culture shape the values of young girls today into aligning them with what their role models are, like for example Lady Gaga and Beyoncà ©. According to Read (2), children’s peer culture play an important role in shaping the way they value things and construct meanings such that the more their friends want to become like their role models, they wanted the same things to happen to them too. According to the results of the study (Read 5), school girls look up to their female teachers primarily as their role models but this can be argued to be normal as teachers are the next best thing they normally look up to. The next school girls’ role models include female singers and performers such as Britney and Beyoncà © (Read 5). The photo above showed Beyoncà © as she performed Oxygen Festival in Ireland. The photo is an example of a framing vector in which the artist used edges of the image as well as other vectors within the image to direct viewer’s attention; this type was specifically used to include certain elements while excluding

E-mail protocol Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

E-mail protocol - Research Paper Example Anonymity of all the parties together with message security and integrity can be ensured by use of digital signature protocols that make it possible for delivery of electronic mail to be certified. i. Several reasons make it necessary to certify delivery of electronic mail. These include: a. To eliminate the danger of hacking, reverse engineering and eavesdropping. b. To ensure that the parties to an electronic message remain anonymous to each other for security reasons. c. To make it possible to safely transfer information from one party to another or from one sender to multiple recipients while at the same time addressing the issue of repudiation. ii. Certifying delivery of electronic mail has several advantages over conventional mail because: a. It improves efficiency of mail delivery while at the same time taking care of security concerns. b. Either of the parties to the message is barred by the protocol from ever denying having received or sent the message. iii. The protocol ens ures that only the intended message is sent. E-mail Protocol Abstract The issue of security can never be overlooked in this digital age when it comes to corporate emails. A simple leakage of confidential information can create a huge social, economical and political scene that can be costly in terms of money. Therefore, the need to add value to delivery of important data over the internet to safeguard individual and corporate interests cannot be overemphasized. To guarantee delivery of email messages, it would be paramount to consider using certified mail and lay down stringent rules to govern employee conduct towards the use of conventional email. However, there are controversies that surround the use of certified mail in that it deals only with a single sender and a single recipient. So, what happens when there is the need to send an email message to more than one recipient? The answer lies in the use of a multi party certified e-mail protocol with multiple recipient capabilities. It enables the sender to realize his intention of sending similar message to multiple recipients. Any recipient who acknowledges receipt of the sender’s message is guaranteed to have received the email. To appreciate the role of email protocols best, it would suffice to not only consider how security loopholes can be sealed in the current internet infrastructure but also look at possible ways of curtailing weaknesses and optimizing on strengths of email protocol. Introduction Without email protocols, it would not be possible to maintain a consistent and orderly system for transporting, routing, handling, retrieval and storage of email messages. Email protocols provide the rules for governing such activities. There are several protocols that enable a mail server and a mail client to exchange information but this will be dealt with later on in this document. Though these protocols differ in some ways, yet they all follow similar pattern. First, one computer will normally start a conversation with another. Second, as the conversation is taking place, the server acknowledges the command using a certain code. The code informs about the success of the command or if an error occurred and finally the conversation is ended. The email protocol helps eliminate communication barriers in email systems thereby making it unnecessary to rely on proprietary protocols. This has the overall effects of making communication to be efficient by eliminating the need of

Syndicated Data And Standardized Services And Their Differences Marketing Essay

Syndicated Data And Standardized Services And Their Differences Marketing Essay At work, I am involved in the selection process of research suppliers for the sake of annual staff surveys, benefits surveys and for mystery shopper program and analysis, I realize the services offered by the research industry has grown greatly in the past decade. So I am interested to find out the kind of services research agencies offer, and about the marketing research industry worldwide. This paper is therefore relatively informational, in which I have included a lot of named research suppliers who were listed and found from the various book references, library and internet sources in order to support the different categories of the services. There will be little emphasis on opinionated discussion, as the objective of this paper aims to explain the syndicated data and standardized services offered by research agencies, distinguish their differences, various applications and sources of data. Both services are common nowadays in Asia, especially the SMEs (Small to medium sized ente rprise) that are using such research data for nurturing the success of their organizations, however the difficulties to operate a nation-wide approach in Asia is discussed. I have also included a sample of a standardized service in Hong Kong, WorkHKà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ by Towers Watson, in the area of job satisfaction survey and its process is shared here. Introduction What is Syndicated data and Standardized services Today, over $20 billion a year is spent on marketing/advertising/public opinion research services around the world. Spending on marketing research is $6.9 billion in the United States alone. During the past two decades, the research market has become highly concentrated, with about 54 percent of the market being held by the 50 largest worldwide organizations. The other half of the market is shared by a thousand or more small research firms. The concentration is even more pronounced in the United States, where the 10 largest firms account for 64 percent of total U.S. spending for marketing research (Wileys Marketing Research Industry and Research Ethics article, p.26). In the highly competitive retail market, understanding the customer is paramount. In order to fill in the gaps of consumers buying motive and actual buying, companies have to understand the customers, and of course, marketing research is the tool for gaining knowledge about the customers. Marketing research is a systematic gathering of information and such analysis of data gathered connects the consumers and the public to the marketer so as to identify the marketing problems and opportunities, assess marketing actions, manage the marketing performance, and improve the overall marketing process. Marketing research information is provided by research suppliers which can be either an internal supplier or an external supplier. Most manufacturers, retailers, and service businesses, such as McDonalds, Kraft Foods or American Airlines, have small internal marketing research departments, and Procter and Gamble (PG) has a large internal research department. External suppliers are outside marketing research companies hired to supply marketing research data; and they can be classified as full service supplier firms and limited service supplier firms; full service suppliers are companies that offer full range of marketing research activities, they provide standardized information which involves two broad classes, namely the syndicated data services and standardized services which this paper focuses to discuss. Figure 1.0 indicates the overall services provided by an information supplier. What it means by Syndicated Data and Standardized Services According to Curry (1993) and Kolb (2008), syndicated data is a form of external and secondary data supplied in a standardized format and ready-to-use routine information made available to multiple subscribers known as a syndicate in a common database, which means the information is not tailor made to meet the needs of any particular company or designed to solve client-specific problems, the data format is designed to provide a standard, ongoing vehicle to facilitate the collection of data. Syndicated data is provided in a common data base for a service fee charged to subscribers and these research firms which provide the data are known as syndicated data service firms. These suppliers offer syndicated data on a subscription basis to all subscribing members of the syndicate, such detailed information can be of value to companies in a specific trade but may not be available in libraries. Syndicated data suppliers collect data on a continuing basis regarding the consumption of a specif ic product or products or the purchasing behavior of a specific target market segment. These data are then sold to companies, which specify how much data they want and the analysis they require; the more data and analysis that are required, the higher the price and what they do not do is conducting research specifically for any single client company. With syndicated data, both the process of collecting and analyzing the data and the data itself are standardized, firms supplying syndicated data follow standard research formats and uniform reports that enable them to collect the same standardized data over time at periodic intervals. Common types of syndicated data measure retail sales, wholesale product shipments, consumer panels, advertising media audiences, advertising effectiveness, and consumer attitudes. ACNielsen TV Ratings and IRI are examples of two large syndicated data services firms, ACNielson collects information on TV and media viewing and also on ad recognition on the i nternet, anyone, including the public, can buy the products they sell by visiting their website. On the other hand, standardized services rarely provide clients with standardized data, rather, they provide the research process. Zikmund (2003, p.74) explained that standardized services refer to a marketing research process that is standardized and used to generate information for a particular user and the application of that standardized process will result in different data for each client, even though the standardized process is the same in gathering the data. For example, a client will use a standardized service firm to measure customer satisfaction, instead of developing its own process. Several other marketing research services, such as test marketing, naming new brands, pricing a new product, or using mystery shoppers, can be provided or purchased from standardized service firms. Synovates ProductQuest service assists in developing new products and improving existing products. Baltimore Research offers a Mock Trials service to clients involved in litigation, to listen to di fferent attorney presentations so that the litigants attorneys can have better presentation ways to impact the jurors. Advantages and Disadvantages of Syndicated Data and Standardized Services Advantages of Syndicated Data A key advantage of syndicated data is on the shared costs of the data among users as many clients may subscribe to the same information, thus making the cost of the service greatly reduced. Burns Bush (2010, p.205) made it clear that due to the quality of the data collected is typically very high and requiring a huge amount of cost, so the share of affordable cost with several users maintains the validity and reliability quality of the data. Another advantage is that the data are normally disseminated very quickly because of the routinized systems, standard procedures and methods used to collect and process the data over and over again on a periodic basis. Besides, the information is current, the more current the data, the greater is the use. Syndicated data services can at least aid in the formulation of the clients decision problem, suggest types of data for meeting the information needs, and service as a source of comparative data by which internal data from within the organizati on cannot achieve. Advantages of Standardized Services The advantage of using standardized service suppliers is mainly buying the experience of the research firm, especially when the buyer company does not have enough the experienced personnel to carry out a particular research process. Besides, using standardized services helps to reduce cost of the buyer when the trial and error process and potential errors can be minimized. Since the standardized service suppliers has been conducting the service for many clients regularly, their procedure is therefore efficient in delivering the result as compared to having the research processed by the buying company themselves. Most importantly is the time saved for buying company in collecting similar data by themselves, because several weeks or months may be required to design, pretest a survey or questionnaire, train the interviewers, devise a sampling plan, collect and process the data. In addition, such cost of the project could be tremendous but it can be much reduced by employing the services from external standardized suppliers. Due to the always availability of standardized services, it is therefore important in the marketing research application. Disadvantages of Syndicated Data Since the format is standardized, buyers have little control over what information is collected and must be satisfied with the standardized information received. Buyers may feel helpless if the units of measurement or definition of classes, recency of data, publication currencies and the units of geographical data are not appropriate which are summarized as the data fit problem. Burns Bush (2010, pp.205-6) gave a second disadvantage, that buyers must often commit to a long-term contract which only serves to secure the expenses required by the syndicated data supplier on the quality and vast scope of research. The last and most crucial disadvantage is that the same data is available to competitors, that is, what the client firm buy and see from the report, the competitors also see the same analysis and picture. Disadvantages of Standardized Services Naturally, the word standardized automatically implies the service is not customized, standard service suppliers do not design a service specifically for the clients project. Besides, Zikmund (2003, p.113) stated that the standardized service supplier may not know a particular industry well so it becomes the responsibility of the buying company to ensure the standardized service really fits their intention. This accuracy problem poses a limitation and can only be minimized if the buying company has a comprehensive knowledge of the research process so as to evaluate the accuracy of the data and assess the evidences regarding the quality of the data as well. Applications of Standardized Information Standardized information is a type of secondary data which can be either syndicated or standardized, in which the data collected and/or the process of collecting the data are standardized for all users. Standardized information can have many applications, in general, it includes measuring the consumer attitudes, clarifying market segments, conducting market tracking and monitoring the usage of media and effectiveness of promotional activities. Measuring consumer attitudes and opinion polls Burns Bush (2010, pp.206-207) gives plenty of examples for this kind of suppliers: The Maritz Poll uses a standardized process to ensure that consumer attitudes and opinions are properly measured, and these polls are examples of a standardized service. ESRIs Tapestryà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Segmentation is a standardized service that uses a process to profile residential neighborhoods. This information is purchased by clients desiring to better understand who their customers are, where they are located and how to reach them. The Yankelovich Monitor measures changing social values and their impact on consumers. It specializes in generating studies on mature populations, baby boomers and Generation Xers. These data are syndicated which is available to anyone who wishes to buy, and the information can be used for a variety of marketing decisions. Ipsos Public Affairs ® produces Ipsos Global @dvisor ® to study the companys proprietary audiences so that company can better understand how consumers and key stakeholders view its reputation as a brand. Coca-Cola is its subscribers. The Harris Poll measures consumer attitudes and opinions on government and economy, and other topics include politics, world affairs and legal issues. Harris poll is a source for identifying trend lines and is standardized information offering syndicated data. The Gallup Poll (http://poll.gallup.com/) measures public opinion polling on a wide variety of topics, such as domestic issues, private issues or world affairs, military and defense, stem cell research, smoking population percentage over time, etc. Gallup poll is syndicated data, as the information is available to all who wish to buy. Client firms can track attitudes of consumers toward buying private brands or their attitudes. Defining market segments This research method requires placing customers to share certain attributes, such as age, income, into homogeneous groups or market segments. The Stanford Research Institute, for example, conducts an annual survey of consumers and classifies them into homogeneous groups for market segmentation purposes. Some standardized information sources focus on members of the industrial market, two sources being the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system allow marketers to define industry types more specifically. Dun Bradstreet (DB) credit bureau collects vast amount of information on business firms, private and public. While SIC uses 4 digits codes and NAICS uses 6, DBs Duns Market Identifiers (DMI) uses 8 digits classification system to identify firms into very specific types of businesses. Since DB originated as a credit reporting firm and companies already supplied DB with detailed information about their operations, allow DB create databases containing a wide spectrum of business information. This is important if a marketer is trying to target specific business firms, however narrow their classification. Other standardized information sources provide information on members of the consumer market. SRI Consulting Business Intelligences (SRIC-BIs) VALSà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ program (www.sric-bi.com/VALS/) segments consumers by psychological and demographic measures, placed them in each of eight personality segments. This knowledge of consumers behaviors helps the client firm develop a deeper understanding of its target market consumer. Birn (2000, p.74) brought in the term, geodemographics, which describes the classification of usually small geographical areas and related to the characteristics of the inhabitants. Research firms specializing in geodemographics combine census data with survey data. Boyd, Walker Larrà ©chà © (1998, pp. 171-179) further substantiated this service by referring it as PRIZM, (Potential Ratings Index for ZIP Markets) which defines every neighborhood in the US based upon 66 household market segments. ESRIs Tapestryà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ also divides US residential ZIP cod es into 65 segments based upon selected demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Nielsen Claritas (http://www.claritas.com) and Acorn help sending promotion messages to targeted consumers and they have created desktop products that assist marketing managers to conduct regional and national segmentation studies. Knowing which market segments helps to make up a client firms potential customers. Conducting market tracking Tracking studies are those that monitor, or track a variable such as market share or sales over time. Tracking studies can tell a firm how well the products are being sold in retail outlets globally and also the sales status on competitors products. Nielsen SCANTRACK Services is based on syndicated retail scanning data, tracks thousands of products as they move through retail stores, allowing brand managers to monitor sales and market share and to evaluate marketing strategies. As for market tracking at the household level, it is gathered in homes using scanning devices or through the use of diaries and sending auditors to households. Nielsen Homescan ® Panel, uses scanning device to scan all bar-coded products brought home from all outlets. IRI ScanKey Consumer Network Household Panel, an example given by Malhotra Birks (2000), maintains a panel of consumer households that record purchases at outlets by using a handheld ScanKey wand. Todays technology is so advanced that a user o f information can easily be overloaded with information, various companies have therefore created decision support systems, data mining systems, expert systems and the like by using analytical tools to attach meaning to data, allowing marketers to make decisions in response to the quickly changing market conditions. Monitoring media usage and promotion effectiveness In order to measure the promotional effectiveness in media, readership, listenership effectiveness, some syndicated data service companies conduct studies on several forms of media. To track television, Nielsen Television Index (NTI) records television ratings data which are reported by DMAs (designed market areas). Naturally higher viewership of certain programs allow the television company to charge higher fee for advertisements. NTI also provides subscribers with audience characteristic information that allows potential advertisers to select audiences that most closely match their target markets characteristics. To track radio, Arbitron Panel provides syndicated data on radio station listening through selected samples who record their radio listening in diaries and Arbitrons Portale People Meter (PPMSM), a hand-held electronic device in the size of a mobile phone, automatically records the stations listened to. The procedures for measuring advertising effectiveness are standardized for comparing the results across studies. To track print, MRIs Starch Readership Survey is widely used for measuring the actual exposure of magazine ads to readers; Gallup and Robinson Magazine Impact Studies are another well-known syndicated service firms, aim to help marketers make decisions about what comprises a good ad. To track downloaded music, videos and recorded books, Nielsens SoundScan, VideoScan and BookScan separately provides information on the downloaded music, sales of VHS and DVD and sales of books. To track Multimedia, Simmons National Consumer Study gathers information on media usage linked to product usage, this information allows companies to determine the viewing/listening media habits of users. Nowadays, on-line consumer word of mouth or on-line consumer business have been shared through the internet world, via websites, blogs, facebook, discussion forums, companies can keep track of what is being said about them and their products by subscribing to BussMetrics from the Nielsen Company (Hester, 1996, pp. 169-170 and Burns Bush, 2010, pp. 219-222). Monitoring health related facilities and pharmaceutical products IMS Health Incorporated, as mentioned by Burn Bush (2010, p.76), is the worlds second largest research firm, providing services in over 100 countries. IMS services include pharmacy and hospital audits plus the measurement of disease and treatment patterns. Westat, Americas third largest research firm, conducts research and long-term follow-up surveys for agencies of the US government and businesses foundations. Major areas include health, education, social programs, environment and transportation. Sources and Suppliers of Data Primary and external syndicated Secondary Data Primary and secondary data are two main sources of data. Primary research starts from raw scratch, collected specifically for the research needs to solve the problem at hand. Secondary data already exists and are already published as they were collected for purposes other than the specific research needs at hand and usually used by someone else. Secondary data are therefore more economical than primary research which is a quick source of background information, but the format seldom meets the needs of the researcher. In a marketing problem definition process, analysis of available secondary data is an essential step and primary data should not be collected until the available secondary data have been fully analyzed. Scott (2009) alerted marketers with international marketing research that few problems may arise because customers may vary due to different cultures, traditions, beliefs and expectations. If this happens, separate country should collect individual countrys secondary info rmation and then compare the data difference, which means international marketing research better counts more on original primary data instead of secondary information. Primary data sources Primary data is original and normally organizations commission external researcher to establish the techniques, measurement and analysis for them. The technical aspects of conducting various types of primary marketing research relies on qualitative research methods, which means working with focus groups, conducting surveys, questionnaires, interviews and experiments. Wilson (2006, pp. 37) said this is a skilled task that requires careful thought and planning whereby a poorly designed questionnaire can jeopardize the response rates and provide incomplete or inaccurate data. Besides, determining the sample involves clearly specifying the types of respondent to be included, the number of respondents required and the method by which individual respondents will be selected. To conduct focus groups and interviewing, the researchers need to be well trained to ensure unbiased judgment and uphold the ethics to respect the rights of the respondents. Most companies will outsource the data colle ction process and rarely have it conducted by the companys internal personnel. Syndicated sources and Suppliers of Secondary Data Secondary data can be classified as coming from internal sources or external sources. Boyd et. al. (1998, p.80) specified clearly that internal sources can be available within the organization when every organization has at its disposal valuable internal secondary data, such as sales invoices, estimates of total annual usage of a product, advertising and promotion activities recorded, research and development and manufacturing reports or service by location, etc. that can be an important starting point for any marketing research project. External data can be available from various sources, such as government statistical publications, trade association data, books, bulletins, annual reports and business periodicals which can be free from library resources. Otherwise, external data sources not available in libraries are usually standardized data which are comparatively expensive. These secondary data are supplied by syndicated services suppliers to many client firms, anyone willing to pay the price can buy the data. One method of obtaining secondary data is frequently through surveys, which could be periodic surveys on the same set of variables conducted at regular intervals; or panel surveys to measure the same panel respondents over time but not necessarily on the same variable; or shared surveys are developed and executed for multiple clients when each of them share the cost. A number of firms maintain panels of respondents who are matched to the general population in terms of age, income and who agree in advance to participate in surveys, typically by mail or phone and response rates within the panels tend to be high and the demographic and lifestyle information are already available . Curry (1993) classified syndicated data sources as a) consumer data, b) retail data, c) wholesale data, d) industrial data, e) advertising evaluation data, and f) media and audience data. Consumer data normally relates to purchases and the circumstances surrounding the purchases. Kinnear Taylor (1991, pp.151-155, 164) provided examples of these suppliers: The National Purchase Diary (NPD, http://www.npd.com/) maintains over 30,000 households who keep diaries of purchases. The Marketing Research Corporation of America (MRCA) maintains a diary panel that records details on purchase of groceries and personal care items. Mediamark Inc. has annual survey that includes overall breakdown of usage by demographic category. The Roper Reports monitor public opinion and consumer behavior and interests on a broad range of social and political topics and on opinions of various consumer products and services. Yankelovich Clancy Shulmans Monitor Service conducts annual survey of households on social trends. Regarding consumers attitudes and buying behavior, Burgoyne Consumer Surveys provides in-store consumer on-the-spot reactions to marketing and product innovations, DDB Needham an d Gallup Omnibus conducts long term tracking of attitudes and opinions. PRIZM serves to explain, predict target consumer behavior while the Survey Research Center at University of Michigan monitors consumer consumption patterns, attitudes and intentions on financial issues. Retail Data collected focus on the products or services sold through the outlets and/or the characteristics of the outlets themselves. Hair, Bush Ortinau (2006, pp. 12-13) mentioned ACNielens Retail Index and Audits Surveys National Total-Market Audit provide data on total sales by product class, sales by brand and of competing brands in supermarkets, drugstores. IRI (http://www.infores.com/) and ACNielsen (http://www.acnielsen.com/) basically dominate the retail scanner business. Scanner data are collected in two separate forms (household level and store level) and for two distinct sets of clients (manufacturers and retailers). In addition, three other sets of data are also maintained, they are (a) prices, features and displays at the retail level; (b) coupons and other promotions (c) advertising on TV, print, radio. Audits Survey also provides National Restaurant Market index on the commercial restaurant market annually. Ehrhart-Babic Group provides syndicated in-store distribut ion data and new-product-introduction performance data through their National Retail Tracking Index. BehaviorScan and InfoScan by IRI assist in multiple market testing and tracking services while DBs National Scan Track provides projection to monitor displays in supermarkets. Wholesale data are warehouse shipment data used to estimate sales at retail. Birn (1999) told us that SAMI (Selling Areas-Marketing, Inc.) is the best known syndicated service of this type, especially for retail food stores. SAMIs data allow the client to analyze trends in sales or package size and the impact of promotions and competitive actions. These data also serve as an intermediary audit purpose in the distribution chain, wholesalers and formal examination of product movement by analyzing inventory. Pipeline Research Inc. provides audit service on warehouse inventories of drug products monthly. Then P-O-S Research audits the national warehouse movement and trend line of products sold through food store distribution, including grocery, frozen, dairy, household, health and beauty aids. Industrial data are more syndicated data services available to consumer goods manufacturers rather than to industrial goods suppliers. Birn (1999) shared that DBs Market Identifiers provides data on companies rated by DB, which can be used to construct sales prospect lists, identify sales territories, sales potentials, and so forth. McGraw-Hills Dodge Reports collects data from building material manufacturers and distributors so the data can be used in marketing building products while Polk Companys Motor Statistics provides vehicles registration data. Advertising Evaluation data help advertisers in measuring the effectiveness of their ad expenditures in broadcast and print media. AdTel, ARS (Advertising Research Service), CATS (Comprehensive Advertising Tracking System) offer comprehensive and continuous tracking of weight and quality of commercial ads in terms of GRPs (Gross Rating Points). Starch Message Reports, Gallup and Robinson Magazine Impact Studies are most widely used syndicated services on readership. Burns Bush (2010, p.150) cited Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) is a standardized, independent third party audit bureau, aims to confirm methodology, verification of lists and credibility of the content of magazines which are very helpful to the magazine industry providing advertisers with richer data on magazine readership. Media and audience data Media companies include advertising agencies, sales promotion companies, public relations agencies, and direct marketing firms which are all concerned with getting the right message to the right target market, the advertising effects of competitors, how much they are spending and the media mix, hence marketing research information is often required to accomplish this goal. For example, companies that advertise on network television want to select shows that reach their target customers most efficiently so they need information on the size, demographic and psychographics composition of the audiences for various TV programs. Firms like NMR and American Research Bureau provide standardized TV audience ratings to a syndicate group of clients. The Simmons Market Research Bureau compares audience characteristics. Kolb (2008, p.64) mentioned it would be greatly inefficient for company to collect these data by themselves, only ad agencies have internal research depar tment as they need to find the correct marketing message and the best image to represent a client company and also the best media to use. Marketing Evaluations, Inc., for example, offers several Q Scores ® services, one of its services measures the familiarity and appeal of performers, such as actors/ actresses, authors, athletes, sportscasters, and so forth. Such information helps companies to choose the most appropriate spokesperson or help a movie producer select a performer for an upcoming movie. Scott (2009) gave an interesting fact that Tom Hanks and Bill Cosby, for example, are performers who have high Q scores. Nielsen Media Researchs Nielsen Television Index (NTI), is another example of a syndicated data provider, supplying subscribers with data on TV viewing, available to anyone wishing to buy it. Arbitron and ACB (Advertising Checking Bureau) offer syndicated data on the number and types of listeners to the various radio stations. This standardized information helps advertising firms reach their target markets; and also helps radio stations define audience size and characteristics. One must not undermine the service by the research giant, VNU Inc. (VNU), founded in 1964, is a major international media and information company and the largest company owned by VNU is ACNielsen. Hair et.al. (2006) gave a thorough introduction of ACNielsen, that it is broken down into several companies: a) Nielsen Media Research (NMR) provides television audience measurement information; b) NetRatings Inc. (NR) reports on internet and digital media syndicated research; c) Entertainment Information Division (NE) serves the entertainment industry, including movies, music and home entertainment; d) Media Solutions Division includes PERQ/HCI providing healthcare audience measurement, Scarborough Research (SR) measures local and regional shopping patterns of American consumers, Standard Rate Data Services (SRDS) offers the worlds largest database on media rates, Interactive Market Systems (IMS) offers audience profiling. Single Source Data Single source data means continuously monitor a panel of respondents on media exposure, promotional material exposure, and buying behavior to measure their exposure to promotional material

Early Childhood Services Norway Essay

Government goal – â€Å"all children whose parents wish it should have a place in a barnehage, full-time or part-time. † (OECD, 1999:12) â€Å"All municipalities must offer an ECEC place to all parents †¦ who want to enrol their child. As yet, corresponding legislation has not been drafted to give a legal right to all parents to a place for their child. † (OECD, 2006: 399) Two separate traditions brought together in Barnehage – * Educationally focused barnehage (19th century – Froebel) * Daghem – (translates as day home) Precursor was barneasyl (children’s asylum 1837) – more social , focused on poor families. Norways approach to Early Childhood Care and Education Barnehage – viewed as having â€Å"an integrated care and educational role† †¦ â€Å"care and learning are seen as inseparable activities. † (OECD, 199: 12) Provision grew slowly – 1970’s increase in service (1970 attendance – 5% of 3/4 yrs olds to 1990’s – attendance rates for 1 – 5 yr olds = 47-60% and increase since then) Very few children under 12mths in barnehage (well developed parental leave system) Barnehage – vary in terms of ownership, management, and funding. 47% – public, owned and managed by local authorities (kommune). Remainder are private – owned and managed in a variety of ways (parent groups, non-profit organisations). All receive state subsidy – all parents make payments – all local authorities subsidise public barnehager that they own and manage. Local authorities vary re policy subsidising private barnehager. Consequence – 3 types of barnehage in relation to funding (public, private – receive local authority funding & private – who do not receive local authority funding). Variations in public funding – parental fees higher in private barnehage – (except those who fall under the local authority funding). Variations in parental fees in local authority barnehage – some cases fees the same for all families. Norwegian System – 4 other types of provision; 1. ‘open kindergarten’ – children attend with parent/carer. 2. Family Day care divided into two groups – Private (a) offer totally private service; 3. Family day carers (b) networks (familiebarnehager) – can be public/private managed & supervised by one trained pre-school teacher per 30 children. 4. SFO – care and recreation for school aged children (6yrs was 7yrs) outside school hours. School in first 4 grades – from 6 yrs = 20 hours per week – child spends rest of time in SFO. SFO – may be located at school, or separate accommodation. Attendance rates vary. Education system overall dominated by groups care in a particular type of centre. Staff in Barnehager 3 types of staff†¦ 1. Styrere (leader) – management. 2. Pedagogiske (trained teacher). 3. Assistents . Remaining staff†¦ * Bilingual assistants (ethnic minority groups) * Other teaching staff (special needs) * Other persons (chefs/cleaners) All styrere & pedagogiske – have to have qualified as ECEC teacher (both types of staff have the same training). Training in ECEC Norway  3 years full time study – possible to do 4 year distance learning training (mature students with some experience avail of this). In service training available. Admission to pre-school training – 3 year study in general subjects at upper secondary. No special requirements for assistents (recently introduction of 2 years of school and 2 years in workplace = can choose health & social care /child & youth workers option to cover work in the barnehager, SFO, clubs and other services. Salaries – depends on training & position. (OECD,1999: 16) Most staff in barnehager are female. Men 8% of all staff direct contact with children. (OECD 2006) Emphasis on men in childcare – two main motives: 1. gender equality 2. right of children to meet both men and women. Male workers seen as important to boys. Childhood institutionalised (role models mainly women – concern from Norwegian Government) (Research into this needed †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ) Children with diverse needs (OECD 2006) Children with disabilities: Children with disabilities have a priority right to services provided it is deemed by an expert that the child will be able to benefit from attending the day care institution. Children from low-income families: The child poverty rate in Norway is 3. 4% after taxes and transfers, compared to the OECD average of 11. 2%. The barnehage is considered to play an important role in terms of preventive child welfare. Children living in at-risk circumstances, places are fully funded by municipalities. Supports are provided also to enable barnehager accommodate children with disabilities, children from low-income families and bilingual children. Ethnic and bilingual children: An indigenous ethnic group, the Sami, constitute 1. 7% of the Norwegian population. Sami language kindergartens are funded generously whenever there is a concentration of Sami families. Curriculum and pedagogy: The first national curriculum plan, called a Framework Plan, came into force in 1996. The curriculum, which must be used by all barnehager, is based on the Nordic tradition of combining education and care. A Sami supplement is integrated in the plan. All barnehager, including familiebarnehager and open barnehager, must base their annual plans on this Framework, which is the National Curriculum. The Framework Plan emphasises that both local cultural values and the national cultural heritage, as reflected in the childhood environment, must be represented in the activity of the barnehage (Background Report for Norway, 1999). A revised Framework Plan enters into force on 1st August 2006. The main principles are the same, with the new Kindergarten Act giving children a legal right to participate in all questions concerning their daily lives in ECEC. The Norwegian Child (OECD, 1999:21) â€Å"strong idea of how the Norwegian child should be and what it means to live a good childhood† (OECD, 1999:21). â€Å"Important to protect childhood from too much adult control† (OECD, 1999:21). â€Å"Adults should not take childhood away from children, but bring it back to them. † (OECDm 1999:21) Value of childhood & children seen as a social group within society.