Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Musical Exploration Of Isms - 1770 Words

Introduction Mickey Hart once said, â€Å"Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts are pumping blood, we are a rhythm machine, that’s what we are.† Percussion is one of the oldest instrument families and has grown to a degree of vast importance in all forms of modern Western music. Namely, this is because of the incorporation of percussion into both academia and entertainment music. At first, percussion was introduced into Western Classical music during the Classical period, as a means of getting exotic and unusual sounds for composers; however, the twentieth century works brought a unique gravitation to percussion. Twentieth century composers, such as Edgar Varese and John Cage, helped pave a way for an era of music history marked by†¦show more content†¦The Janissary instruments find their roots in the Turkish military bands of the Ottoman Empire. The term Janissary refers to the Turkish Yeà ±i-à §eri, or â€Å"new troops†. Sultan Orkhan I, of the Ottoman E mpire, created The Janissaries, but his successor, Murad I, officially established the corps circa 1360’s CE. Furthermore, they were originally an elite corps of troops made up of the Sultan’s loyal slaves. The corps eventually picked up the use of military bands, which was a highly esteemed military tradition. These military bands are even documented in a 1237 CE manuscript inscribed during the Crusades, which depicts two â€Å"long trumpets† and a pair of mounted â€Å"kettledrums† with battle flags and standards. The date of this manuscript indicates the Arabic and Persian heritages of one of the major instruments in the Janissary classification, the Timpani. In addition, the Ottoman Expansionism throughout the 1600’s gave the Western world a large amount of exposure to the Turkish military band music and instruments. Countless militarily effective instruments were carried into Western armies, such as the Cavalry Kettledrums, or Timpani. Figure 1: Mounted Trumpeters and a Kettledrummer (Persian, 1237 CE) Timpani was the first incorporated percussion instrument in Western music. Subsequently, it evolved from a Medieval instrument called Nakers. The Nakers areShow MoreRelatedEnglish Prefixes and Sufixes2595 Words   |  11 Pages |underfund, undersell, undervalue, underdevelop | Nouns The most common prefixes used to form new nouns in academic English are: co- and sub-. The most common suffixes are: -tion, -ity, -er, -ness, -ism, -ment, -ant, -ship, -age, -ery. By far the most common noun affix in academic English is -tion. e.g. prefix + noun noun |Prefix |Meaning |Examples Read MoreLearning Theories Essay6222 Words   |  25 Pagescritique of Behaviorist teaching methods, writes in his book, The Childrens Machine: Thus, constructionism, my personal reconstruction of constructivism has as its main feature the fact that it looks more closely than other educational -isms at the idea of mental construction. It attaches special importance to the role of constructions in the world as a support for those in the head, thereby becoming less of a purely mentalist doctrine. (Papert, 1993, p.142) As the inventor of LOGO, theRead MoreEssay about Postmodernism, Deconstructionism, and the Ethnographic Text5376 Words   |  22 Pagesinterrelationships, personalities, and attributes of the Orishas). In this film the voices complement each other: illuminating the role of Santeria in the lives of its practitioners, the attributes of three of the Orishas, and the structure of the musical component. In this sense there is a uniformity of voice. Textually, I see the overt one as being that of a syncretic religion serving the spiritual needs of an African diasporic community in the Americas, but covertly there are interrelated textsRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Harold Pinter s The Room 9709 Words   |  39 PagesShaw, had no doubt led to Ibsen being referred to today as the Father of Modern English Drama. Modern English Drama featured a strong and intentional break from tradition and established religious, political, and social views. The three –isms that governed the later part of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century age were Realism, Naturalism and Impressionism. Realism as observed in the works of Henrik Ibsen, G.B.Shaw, Anton Chekhov etc. was a reaction to the fantasyRead MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 Pagesreggae music as their primary weapon. Since reggae music is seen as a potent instrument for â€Å"chanting down† or â€Å"beating down Babylon,† reggae musicians and lyricists are regarded as the avant-garde in the struggle against Babylon. As an anti-Babylon musical weapon, reggae has a threefold signiï ¬ cance. First, reggae is the medium through which the people are restored to self-awareness. This is accomplished by telling them the truth about their African roots and African identity, so that they do not haveRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesontology: the ordered world of the modernist organization The epistemological level: the scientific approach to organization The technologies: how modernists get things done How modernist organization theory continues to influence the understanding and exploration of organizations: the organization as system General Systems Theory General Systems Theory builds hierarchies of knowledge that relate to different levels of sophistication in understanding organizations The basic systems of the organization: whatRead MoreManaging Information Technology (7th Edition)239873 Words   |  960 Pagesother. For example, when you are reading a document describing the Grand Canyon, you might click on The View from Yavapai Point to display a full-screen photograph of that view, or click on The Grand Canyon Suite to hear a few bars from that musical composition. The most popular Web browser as we move into the decade of the 2010s is—no surprise—Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. The Netscape browser had first-mover advantage and was the most popular browser until the latter 1990s, but has now

Monday, December 16, 2019

History of Management Free Essays

Without any doubt, the question of work, roles and skills of a manager gets a mixed response. Some believe that these features are the shared by managers all over the world, while others maintain that there are significant differences in management of different countries that have given rise to such a notion and a process as the intercultural management. Which one of the above-stated arguments has an element of truth and could they be both regarded as authentic? First of all it cannot be denied that the science of management has a long history and perhaps all modern mangers employ principles and theories that have been introduced earlier. We will write a custom essay sample on History of Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now To start with, it was the Industrial Revolution that established big business and created the need for professional leaders. Furthermore, years of military and church rule added management models and terminology that are widely used today. Let us only recall Max Weber’s bureaucratic theory or that of Frederic Taylor who is commonly regarded the Father of Scientific Management and proposed some ways of increasing workers’ productivity. On the basis of his research at Bethlehem Steel Company (Pittsburgh) he drew conclusions that the job can be split into minute parts and its performance can be improved by timing performance of each part separately. Furthermore, he suggested rest periods of special interval and duration and a differential pay scale that can be found in the practice of today’s managers (1). The famous method of overlapping tasks during the period of working day in order to avoid workers becoming tired easily was offered by Henry Gantt and displayed in the form of his ‘the Gantt chart’. Though not all of the managers may know the name of inventor of this tenet, but, for sure, most of them are acquainted with its expression and benefits it can provide. Moreover, it was Gantt who stressed the significance of the leadership and management qualities and skills for creating successful industrial organizations. The man who is dubbed as the Father of Modern Management is Henri Fayol, a French industrialist who developed a framework for studying management and wrote General and Industrial Management (1). He distinguished five functions of managers, such as: planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. As we see, all theorists and pioneers of management theory originated from various countries (England, France, United States, etc. ); however this did not impede the principles they have set out from becoming universal. Times are changing and so are doing the people but some essential things and useful hints are immortal and not subject to ageing. Let us take a closer look into the work of a manager disregard of the geographical location of his working place and language he speaks. Nobody would argue that the better we understand the management role; the better it will be performed and more qualitative services will be provided. Some people wrongly consider managers to be emotionless and cold fish and claim something like: â€Å"managers see work as something that must be done or tolerated,† â€Å"management focuses attention on procedure,† and â€Å"management sees the world as relatively black and white† (2, 2005:25). Yet, from our point of view, such standpoint is biased and far from being impartial. One should keep in mind that managers are also humans but the best among them have that gift for organizing and feel themselves capable of being at the head of other people and controlling not only their work but their lives in a way. Nevertheless, the manager’s work is not restricted to the above-mentioned issues only. Putting it by words of Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, leadership is just one of the numerous facets of management, â€Å"just one of the many assets a successful manager must possess† (3). Therefore, it would be easier to determine the aim of a manager, which can be expressed as maximizing the output of his company with the help of effective administrative measures. This brings us to the definition of management itself that for short can be rendered as â€Å"the process of attaining organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, organizing, controlling, and directing organizational resources† (2). Therefore, any manager must undertake the already mentioned above functions: ? organizing ? planning ? commanding ? coordinating ? controlling Note, that leadership is covered by the single function of controlling. Planning comprises development of company strategies and goals. To put it differently, on this stage a manager has to define the direction of his business and some milestones to be taken into account. Moreover, planning involves also defining budget and plans of operation, i. e. methods of achieving previously fixed goals. In brief, on the phase of planning a manager proves to be a good forecaster capable of determining the far-reaching objectives. The following function and stage is organizing, which means right people on the right working places. In other words, this function presupposes that a manager must objectively consider knowledge and skills of his employees and offer them jobs that are most appropriate. Remarkably that some theorists of management call this function as â€Å"staffing† but to our mind, this notion is an element of organizing. Admittedly that â€Å"given the high levels of discretion enjoyed by knowledge workers, managers’ decisions over work distribution, content and resources become more critical for commitment and knowledge creation† (4, 2005:383-424). To sum up, organizing function covers establishing superior/subordinate relationships, as well as determining the scope of staff’s obligations and responsibilities. The ‘controlling’ function means checking that work is carried out in a proper way and funds are spent with regard to their purpose. The coordinating function covers training, team building, etc. and refers mainly to work with human resources, but not the production process. It should be added that effective managers should be good communicators and analysts. They should â€Å"have guts† to resist constant stress and be able to operate under unfavorable conditions. Furthermore, managers are responsible for friendly environment within a company, which engages problem-combating, settling conflicts, searching for best solutions, etc. What is more they should be assertive enough to bring forward their ideas and convince the opponents to give preference to their views. Still, that does not mean that all managers should be inborn leaders, whatever. Even more, as J. P. Kotter wrote in his 1991 â€Å"The Best of the Harvard Business Review† article, What Leaders Really Do: â€Å"Leadership is different from management, but not for the reason most people think. Leadership isn’t mystical and mysterious. It has nothing to do with having charisma or other exotic personality traits. It’s not the province of a chosen few. Nor is leadership necessarily better than management or a replacement for it. Rather, leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary activities. Both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment† (5, 1991:26). However, in spite of the fact that there are some common features of manager work found in different countries and irrespective of borders, such as the key principles of management in a whole and functions of managers, it has been stated above that managers are the same people. Consequently, their cultural and personal peculiarities are reflected on their work. The former has even given rise to the completely new theory – intercultural management. The most significant factors that have enabled the emergence of this theory are the following: continuous globalization of economy and merge of businesses, establishment of joint ventures, foreign representative offices, etc. As a result, people started to pay more attention to the intercultural diversity of managing styles and traditions along with all-nation values and convictions. Should to go, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, but in order to comply with this rule one should know it. Notably, that in her article in the Financial Times by Elisabeth Marx titled ‘Shock of the alien can sink a merger’, for example, it was mentioned that â€Å"Research on cross-border acquisitions has shown that differences in management style (particularly in attitudes towards risk) have a negative effect on company performance. Sadly, very few companies consider the softer, cultural factors of mergers, which may be a significant contributor to their subsequent failures. Far too few companies even begin to consider the effects on staff or the human implication of a merger†. Furthermore, the article goes on to manifest that â€Å"it is easy to end up in a situation where the whole is worth less than the sum of its two parts†. Hence, the reasonable solution here may consist in following the statement and credo: â€Å"Managers’ first task is to conduct more extensive business analysis before taking the decision to merge. In addition to carrying out traditional financial and commercial due diligence, they should complete a thorough examination of the cultural compatibility of the parties involved† (6, 2005:2). The same can be applied to all spheres where business is conducted and companies in any country. Yert, the most frequent use of intercultural management tenet is observed within such association as, for instance, international markets, by merging with foreign companies, projects involving multi-cultural teams, international negotiations and so on, and so forth. Other supporting the intercultural management view theories are three well-known analyses of intercultural management by Edward Hall, Geert Hofstede and Philippe d’Iribarne that illustrate the differences between American and French management styles (7). Citing Edward T. Hall, intercultural differences in communication are based on the context, on time and on space: â€Å"Understanding between people results from the combination of information and its context. Some cultures have a rich context (close links between people, high level of the unspoken/unsaid): these cultures are highly † implicit†; other cultures valuing communication only when it is very clear in itself are said to be † explicit † (7). This can be exemplified by the French dislike of clearing procedures or by their creativity and flexibility, American productivity and utilitarianism etc (8, 2003:1333-1349). To sum up, there are common features that can be found among managers all over the world. Managers employ experience of earlier generations as well as coin modern ones. Today, theorists of management clearly define functions and goals of managing work and scope of their responsibilities and obligations. However, on the other hand, it remains disputable wither work of a manager is the same in different countries. Quite to the contrary, the intercultural management theory declares that every nation has its own management style that should be taken into account when conducting international negotiations and making business with foreign countries. The majority of businessmen can no longer escape the necessity to purchase, sell or communicate and work with people from different cultures and thus with different traditions and convictions. And we are strongly sure that our future is multinational one! Bibliography 1. History of Management. Retrieved on December 21, 2005 from: http://ollie. dcccd. edu/mgmt1374/book_contents/1overview/management_history/mgmt_history. htm 2. MANAGERS; PERSONALITY; ENTERPRISES |AU| Welbourne, TM. ; Cavanaugh, M. A. ; Judge, T. A. |AD| U. S. A. ; Cornell University. Centre for Advanced Human Resource Studies, IRL School. Ithaca, NY 14653-3901 3. Leader or Manager? Which Are You? Which Should You Be? The Case for Being Well-Rounded by Dick Mooney. Bradford University Journal. Retrieved on December 21, 2005 from: http://www. amputee-coalition. org/communicator/vol3no2pg2. html 4. The difference a manager can make: organizational justice and knowledge worker commitment by Marc Thompson. International Journal of Human Resource Management, Volume 16, Number 3, March, 2005, pp. 383-404 5. The Best of the Harvard Business Review by J. P. Kotter, 1991. 6. Shock of the alien can sink a merger by Elisabeth Marx. Financial Times, 5 April 2001 7. French management style. Retrieved on December 21, 2005 from: http://www. understandfrance. org/France/Intercultural3. html 8. Comparing business ethics in Russia and the US by Rafik I. Beekun, Yvonne Stedham, Jeanne H. Yamamura, Jamal A. Barghouti. International Journal of Human Resource Management. Volume 14, Number 8 / December 2003 How to cite History of Management, Essays

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Purchasing Management And Operation of Zara †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Purchasing Management of Zara. Answer: Introduction Purchase management is direct and costs benefit business expansion that needs legitimate planning and preparation for the acceleration of business. Purchasing management pushes the organization to the greater opportunity and evaluates the situation for achieving a long-term goal. Purchase management needs to get focus about the strategies and concepts of marketing so that the involvement of cost they deliver for the product will be regained with some, thus their business expansion upgrades a bit. Purchasing management or managers have to understand the internal organizational task and external collaboration task. In these two forms of the task, managers have to validate the necessary requirement of the company and have to define the purchasing strategy to make join activities and develop the supply chain. Zara is one of the best fashion brands retailing house which produces the quality product and has gained the customer trust and belief. Zara is the third largest retail brand in the World. Zara has 2169 stores in all over the world and has gained the revenue of $15.9 billion as per the report of 2016. Zara has accumulated with men and women clothing and now they are introducing the kid's sections as well named as Zara Kids. Zara has produced 450 million items per year and all their products are based on the contemporary customer trends (Zara.com/sg 2017). Zara has launched 12,000 new designs in every year and they have the policy of zero advertising. Instead of advertising the company prefers to open a new store from the percentage of revenue they have gained through the process. Zara aims to develop new design instead of copy from the other. Zara has no vendors thus they used to sell their commodities from their own stores. As the company manufacturing price is considered only thus they maintain a low cost while selling the product (See-To Ho, 2014). Zara has the competitors like Hennes and Mauritz, GAP and Mark and Spencer. All these are reputed brand and they have a different base too. As the currency fluctuation is there in European market thus company may have tagged some high price that decreases their sales growth. Supply chain management and affordable purchase costing are the major issues that impact on the growth and sales of Zara. Supplier Selection Criteria A supplier selection criterion is a strategic decision that accomplishes companys growth for executing the objectives of the company on a long-term basis at a low risk. The organizational resources must have the conventional impact over the supply chain so that proper supply can be provided by the parent company in any adverse situation. this may engross the structure of the company as well as infuse the characters of their belongings (Uhl et al. 2017). In case of Zara, they have their own resources and all these made from their parent company thus they have a strong supply chain, they do not have any vendors thus the product they have produced has been distributed to all their stores for selling. Products are in affordable rate as there is no retailer or franchises intervention. There are two types of sourcing are noticed like single sourcing and multiple sourcing. In case of single sourcing, the production method is linear, where the products are depending on the customer judgments (Wengang Suicheng, 2015). It has a cost ratio too which provide the financial information about the marketing structure of the product. In case of multi-sourcing, the goal operating programming and mixed integer programming are the main formulation of process handling. There is a maintained structure of supplier selection where performance assessment, human resource, quality system assessment, manufacturing, business criteria, information technology all these are associated with the development of the company (van et al. 2015). There is a standard certification that has to be taken and maintained by the organization which is different from the countrys perspective. Thus the trend of business and the expansion of it depend on the supplier selection processing of that country. Quality of the product, environmental issues, customer response, revenue generation, place selection all these important aspects of establishing or enhancing the business market (Wee et al. 2014). The effective approach of suppliers selection method is important as well as relevant for the improvement of the organization. The organization needs to revise their screening process. In case of Zara, the quality of the product should be maintained so that the screening can be done in an effective way (Monczka et al. 2015). Another important aspect that needs to shed light on is the specification that needed by the customer. In case of Zara, the quality and product specification and the demand of the customer for the better design and apparels are the main and primary concern for the company. Creating a Professional supply base is important, in case of Zara their cohort and criticizer are so qualified and they impose such suggestions that ultimately engross the quality of resourcing. As their source is their own production house, hence those inputs are making a change as the production has been going on throughout the year (Wiengarten et al. 2017). Systematic supplier selection and method of inculpating the process of Zara has given a blend of Formation, design, length, color, style, fabric, material, texture which make customer-centric business. Purchasing cost and market analysis In case of Zara, the products they deliver to their customer are affordable in price, catchy in texture and color and have the touch of innovation within it. These are the purchasing requirement for a customer and that engage the cost-effectiveness within for the organization. Delivery time analysis is another cost related issue that customer has the concern. This is all about the more production in less amount of investment and makes engage more gain in terms of financial assistance. There are certain costing effects that influenced the business scenario and make a traditional approach to the customer as well as the world. There is a different analyzing system that makes a mark on the actual cost price of the product is. Cost is not being stopped there and that emphasis on the cost analysis structure (Schniederjans, Cao Triche, 2013). Ordering a large item of goods make delivered into this section where the cost analysis is being implemented where a huge amount of dealing in busine ss going on. In case of Zara the product analysis and their culture determine the quality and brand they deliver to the customer hence they have these amount of potential to mitigate the cost-effective as well. Considering the fact of optimum future of the business it is essential to understand the inventory designed those products proceed by a retail company, become an eye soothing and exiting one (Sirgy, 2015). In this kind of case, a deadline of delivery must be maintained for the inventor's end, so that customers have the belief and trust in the organization. Purchasing cost is a simple arrangement that an organization or investor pays for a particular product and that has become the investors cost (Leppelt et al. 2013). The investor has to sell the product with a major calculation of gain or loss when the product has been sold. If investor sold it out with higher prices, gain some extra amount if not then inventor could get confront of loss. Careful control and inventory needs are important for the maintaining behavior of the customer, in each case the cost affectivity is in an engagement. Activity-based costing, actual cost system, and conception and appraisal cost are in for the company like Zara where they have to put their brainstorm and make an innovation that needs those extra costs. Purchase costing can be affected by a suitable use of centralized purchasing. The procurement of saving and appropriate strategy needs to implement for the proper purchasing cycle. The involvement of obtaining the business and making use of their stores is the legitimate outsourcing and analyzing the process (Kim Choi, 2015). Short-term goals can be enriched and companies need to concentrate on their entire principle of marketing and business attire. The supplier optimization and the required quality service must be enhanced as the customer can get the product with affordable price rates. The total quality method may enrich the best purchasing practice that impacted on the customer preference and quality (Patel, Wise DelGaudio, 2017). Impact of information and Communication technology In case of Zara, Cloud computing has been used. As they are not giving their advertisement in media devices thus they want to make a streamlined channel and use ERP for their promotional purposes. The company has implemented the process so that channel marketing and web marketing can enhance. The underscore ERP solution provides more acrimony and sheds light on the resource planning of Zara. Information and communication technology is a rending service that incorporates more justification in business. Business can be enhanced by the effective use of the technology thus any acceleration that business wants can be viable by that technological assistance (Wagner Bode, 2014). There are numerous advantages that assured the disseminate information about the company. In this globalized world, businesses are based on multiple parameters. Networking is one of those where mass promotions and advancement of a product is being seen through the device. In use of cloud computing business model in novations and fashion trends and collection of innovates can be done by the customized handle held by the computer (Wilhelm et al. 2016). The execution of their IT infrastructure and real-time decision making have imposed the proper maintaining of their fame and extend their market in the globalized arena. Impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the development of strategies are the important attributes that presented by the company to produce more value and information to their customers. Effective use of communication for enhancement of business and the traditional inclusion of advertisement through television, newspaper, and magazines are also there for getting a better increase in business (Li, 2017). Zara is one of the biggest retail brands whose purchasing management is engrossed by the effect of critical inputs of customer belief and trust. The innovation like Digital Assistance Styling Shopper is a process where the customer can take a look at the material and innovators define the product quality by the communication process with customers (Tuta et al. 2014). This is the visual audio process where the use of mobile or tabular device people can connect any of the Zara executives and ask any query like face to face and the executive delivers all the probable answer and demonstrate the product as well as try to impress the customer but that process. If the customers like the product they can buy that instantly and will give the payment through a card. Zara service executive will be delivered the product within 24 hours at the customer residence. Conclusion Therefore, the report can be concluded that purchase management and the operational aspect of the purchasing enhance the supply chain management and provide extra value on purchasing cost with the effective use of information and communication technology. The process where the innovator invented products and customers will take the product; this will create the bonding of belief. In case of Zara, the quality they maintained for years is the best. They have numerous outlets and they share good business activity to their customers. The product quality, minimized cost and enhanced technical assistance provide a validating performance so that buyer-supplier relationship can be sustained. In comparison with other retail companies cost-effectiveness and supply market distribution play a great role to make proper importance to the adequate level of sharing the relationship with a customer. The performance of Zara in this globalized market is brilliant as their service, products, and quality is the classic in their part so that makes enhancement of their business. References Kim, Y., Choi, T. Y. (2015). Deep, sticky, transient, and gracious: An expanded buyersupplier relationship typology.Journal of Supply Chain Management,51(3), 61-86. Leppelt, T., Foerstl, K., Reuter, C., Hartmann, E. (2013). Sustainability management beyond organizational boundariessustainable supplier relationship management in the chemical industry.Journal of Cleaner Production,56, 94-102. Li, L. (2017). Exploring the Suppliers Selection Compliance with Corporate Social Sustainability. InModern Management Forum(Vol. 1). Monczka, R. M., Handfield, R. B., Giunipero, L. C., Patterson, J. L. (2015).Purchasing and supply chain management. Cengage Learning. Patel, Z. M., Wise, S. K., DelGaudio, J. M. (2017). Randomized Controlled Trial Demonstrating Cost?Effective Method of Olfactory Training in Clinical Practice: Essential Oils at Uncontrolled Concentration.Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology,2(2), 53-56. Schniederjans, M. J., Cao, Q., Triche, J. H. (2013). E-Commerce And Purchasing Management.World Scientific Book Chapters, 117-144. See-To, E. W., Ho, K. K. (2014). Value co-creation and purchase intention in social network sites: The role of electronic Word-of-Mouth and trustA theoretical analysis.Computers in Human Behavior,31, 182-189. Sirgy, M. J. (2015). The self-concept in relation to product preference and purchase intention. InMarketing Horizons: A 1980's Perspective(pp. 350-354). Springer, Cham. Tu, M., Zara, I. A., Orzan, G., Purcarea, V. L., Orzan, O. A. (2014). COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE-AN ENHANCEMENT TO BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE.Economic Computation Economic Cybernetics Studies Research,48(2). Uhl, C., Nabhani, F., Kauf, F., Shokri, A., Hughes, D. J. (2017). Purchasing Management: The Optimisation of Product Variance. van Lith, J., Voordijk, H., Matos Castano, J., Vos, B. (2015). Assessing maturity development of purchasing management in construction.Benchmarking: An International Journal,22(6), 1033-1057. Wagner, S. M., Bode, C. (2014). Supplier relationship-specific investments and the role of safeguards for supplier innovation sharing.Journal of Operations Management,32(3), 65-78. Wee, C. S., Ariff, M. S. B. M., Zakuan, N., Tajudin, M. N. M., Ismail, K., Ishak, N. (2014). Consumers perception, purchase intention and actual purchase behavior of organic food products.Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research,3(2), 378. Wengang, Y., Suicheng, L. (2015). Purchasing Efficacy: Alignment between Purchasing Practice Configurations and Purchasing Competitive Priorities.Journal of Management,4, 012. Wiengarten, F., Wiengarten, F., Ambrose, E., Ambrose, E. (2017). The role of geographical distance and its efficacy on global purchasing practices.International Journal of Operations Production Management,37(7), 865-881. Wilhelm, M. M., Blome, C., Bhakoo, V., Paulraj, A. (2016). Sustainability in multi-tier supply chains: Understanding the double agency role of the first-tier supplier.Journal of Operations Management,41, 42-60. Zara.com/sg (2017) Available form: https://www.zara.com/sg/ [Accessed on 19th September, 2017]