Lightweight Strong Materials In A Composite Surfboard

The composite surfboard is a common place in the sport today. Ever since the introduction of fiberglass composites after World War II, the surfboard industry was truly one of the first to embrace composites. Prior to fiber reinforced composites, surfboards were manufactured out of wood and could weigh over 100 lbs. Today, a composite surfboard the same size (10 feet) might weigh less then 10 lbs. To shed this enormous amount of weight, surfboards took advantage of 3 key materials: Foam Core Polyurethane foam became the core material of choice for surfboards. It is lightweight, provides thickness, and provides buoyancy. The foam core of a composite surfboard is sandwiched between FRP skins and creates the stiffness and structure of the surfboard. Often, a stringer of wood is bonded in the center of the board to provide increased rigidity, much like an I-beam. The surfboard foam industry was dominated by the company Clark Foam up until 2005, at which time the owner decided to shut down with no prior warning. Today, the foam core for composite surfboards is primarily polyurethane foam. However, expanded polystyrene (EPS) is being used more often as the use of epoxy resins increases. Regardless of the foam used it almost always closed-cell, so that it does not absorb moisture. Resin Thermosetting resins have been key to the success of the composite surfboard. Even when boards were made of wood, resins and coatings were used to help prevent the boards soaking in water. As resin technology continues to improve, boards are able to become stronger and lighter weight. The most common resins used in composite surfboards are polyester resins. This is primarily because polyester resin is inexpensive. Additionally, resin manufacturers have perfected their polyester surfboard resins so that they are easy to work with and are crystal clear. It is important that the resins used are water-clear, because a surfboard is as much a work of art as it is a functional piece of equipment. As surfboards age, they turn yellow from the UV rays. Hence, UV resistance is an important factor to the resins used today. With the advancements in resin technology, it is no surprise composite surfboards are being manufactured with epoxy. Epoxy has no VOC emissions during the manufacturing process, and it has much higher strength, fatigue, and impact resistance properties. However, the only current downside to using epoxy is, these boards tend to turn yellow faster then polyester boards. Although, this may soon change with improved formulations. Fiberglass Fiberglass is the structural backbone to surfboards. The fiberglass reinforcement provides the structure and strength to the board. Most commonly, lightweight woven fiberglass cloth is used as the reinforcement. Usually, it is between 4 and 8 ounce fabric. (Ounces per square yard). Often more then one layer is used. Currently, the weaves used are evenly balanced with equal amounts of fiberglass running from nose to tail, and rail to rail. However, engineers are designing boards with different amounts of fiber running in different directions. This provides the strength and the rigidity where required, without adding much additional weight. Future Of The Composite Surfboard Surfers are known for being progressive, and with this comes experimentation with different shapes and materials. Boards today are embracing composite technology and new materials. The composite surfboards of the future are incorporating fibers such as Kevlar, carbon fiber, and Innegra. The various properties of the many composite reinforcements available can allow the surfer or engineer, to tweak the properties to help create the dream board. It also makes a surfboard extremely cool looking to have unique materials and construction. The various properties of the many composite reinforcements available can allow the surfer or engineer, to tweak the properties to help create the ultimate surfboard. It also makes a surfboard extremely cool looking to have unique materials and construction. Not only are the materials being used changing, but the method of manufacturing is evolving as well. CNC machines are commonly being used to precisely machine out the foam core. This creates boards that are almost perfectly symmetrical and exact. At first, the fear of mass production brought concerns of removing the soul from the sport. Meaning, the traditional method of hand shaping boards is being reduced to the job of a computer. However, the opposite seems to be true. Custom boards, which are truly works of art, seem to be as popular as ever. And with composites, creativity in methods and materials to laminate boards seems to give an endless opportunity to customize and personalize boards. The future of the composite surfboard is bright. In the 1950s the use of fiberglass was revolutionary. The new pioneers will continue to push the envelope and will embrace the next generation of composite materials and processing techniques.

Relationships in The Girls in Their Summer Dresses Essay

How would one feel if ones significant other was constantly disobeying the relationship? In Irwin Shaw’s â€Å"The Girls in Their Summer Dresses†, he shows how important having a trustworthy and honest relationship is. This short story highlights the flaws in romantic relationships by demonstrating how one needs some type of relationship in life, how fragile a relationship can be, and how many take loved ones for granted. Friendship, Role model, Boyfriend/Girlfriend- all these are examples of a relationship. Everyone sees them constantly begin and end throughout life, but they are still always there. In this short story, Frances and Michael are having a problem with their marriage because Michael can’t keep his eyes off other women. â€Å"This†¦show more content†¦They go from walking down fifth avenue happily, enjoying each other’s company, to Frances saying â€Å"You always look at other women, At every damn woman in the city of New York† (Shaw 2). â€Å"Although he reassures Frances is a good wife, she believes that he only wants freedom† (Petty 2225). They are fighting over Michael looking at other women, which makes Frances extremely insecure about herself. This is building up the tension between them and it finally snaps when Michael tells her why her looks at the other women. â€Å"Almost immediately, however, the tension becomes evident and they ha ve to stop and get a drink in the early afternoon† (Giles, 7). The relationship breaks, showing how fragile it was. Having a fragile relationship relates back to having a relationship in everyday life. Most of the time, people try to push the problem aside so they can keep the relationship strong and have it continue that way. â€Å"Frances appears to have no defense against the ravages of time except her marriage, and she finds the prospect of losing the security difficult to bear† (Archer 5). Frances can’t handle the fact the she is slowly losing interest in her relationship. Throughout this short story, the idea of taking loved ones for granted is constantly portrayed. â€Å"They decide to spend the day alone,Show MoreRelated Irwin Shaws The Girls in Their Summer Dresses Essay687 Words   |  3 PagesIrwin Shaws The Girls in Their Summer Dresses In The Girls in Their Summer Dresses, it is necessary to explore the personal differences that cause problems in the relationship of the couple. The details of the story will lead to a conclusion that for Michael the relationship could just be a mere convenience or an affection solely generated by his physical wanting of Frances, so with the way she looks and appreciates the girls of New York. Frances calling the Stevensons shows her attitudeRead MoreThe Girls Of Their Summer Dresses By Irwin Shaw955 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"The Girls in Their Summer Dresses,† by Irwin Shaw, Michael and Frances’s relationship lacks these qualities; therefore, their marriage was not ideal. Most importantly, the husband and wife need to both want the relationship and the lifelong commitment. In â€Å"The Girls in Their Summer Dresses,† part of the reason Michael and Frances’s marriage is falling apart, is because marriage is something Michael clearly did not want. When Frances asks him if he wants to be free from their relationship, he respondsRead MoreAn Analysis Of Irwin Shaw s The Girls 846 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Girls in Their Summer Dresses† is a short story by Irwin Shaw, which presents readers with a daily basis relationship situation of a young woman and her husband. The story goes through refined changes of tone and mood in the dialogue; the narration is done from a dramatic perspective, which creates suspense and tension. The author lets the story advance through the characters’ conversation. In addition, the writer’s voice comes in to describe the emotional states, reactions, and tone of voiceRead MoreWhat Is Love? Definition Essay1113 Words   |  5 Pagesand love, betrayal and devotion. For instance, let us compare the visions of marriage we observe in three short stories: Raymond Carvers What we talk about when we talk about love, Kate Chopins story The Storm and Irwin Shaws The Girls in their Summer Dresses. Raymond Carver’s â€Å"What we talk about when we talk about love is a story about two couples who gather on a pre-dinner drinking meeting and one of them-Mel, starts talking about love. He cannot admit that his wifes abusive ex-husbandRead More Irwin Shaws The Girls in Their Summer Dresses Essay774 Words   |  4 PagesIrwin Shaws The Girls in Their Summer Dresses   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Irwin Shaw?s ?The Girls in Their Summer Dresses,? Michael?s character may be questioned by the reader. He may seem to portray himself as an unfaithful husband who essentially gets caught in the act early on in the story. However, Michael had yet to do anything to physically betray his wife, and there is no proof that he would in the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In society, many spouses or fiancà ©es have fantasized about having sexual relations withRead MoreA Failure in a Marriage† a Critical Analysis of The Girls in Their Summer Dresses780 Words   |  4 PagesDaljit Ghotra Eng 102 Jan./10/11 Prof: Mr. Elvis Tirado    A Failure in a Marriage† A critical analysis of The Girls in their Summer Dresses       The Girls in their Summer Dresses by Irwin Shaw is about romantic love, fidelity, and marriage. The story is about Michael and Frances, a rich, young, outgoing couple living in midtown manhattan,  whos marriage is going downhill because of Michaels desire for other women. Eventhough Michael has desires for other women, his wife, Frances, isRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie 500 Days Of Summer 1136 Words   |  5 Pages500 Days of Summer Breaking traditional conventions of film creates a unique, thought provoking experience for the viewer. It is this originality that interests and captivates the viewer. Marc Webb’s ‘500 Days of Summer’ does exactly this through the films non-linear narrative, reversal of gender stereo types and the distortion of time in the film. Webb’s film breaks customs and challenges traditions of contemporary film making. ‘500 Days Of Summer’ breaks filmmaking tradition and distortsRead MoreFashion Changes Over Time Of Fashion1269 Words   |  6 Pagesfashion reflects the staidness of the majority, but also the subversive elements of the minority. All collectively form a synergistic relationship with fashion, each informing, influencing, and cross pollinating the other in various turns. Fashion is also a pop culture manifestation of the intellectual and cultural trend of postmodernism. Fashion depends on newness; summer, fall, winter, spring are seasons that occur inexorably each year, and with them, the demand for new fashion lines. Fashion is theRead More F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby - Nick Carraway as Narrator1651 Words   |  7 Pagesbusiness in New York. He talks about having a dog, his old Dodge and a Finnish woman who helps him around the house and ends by saying that he had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer. At this point, by opening up to the reader, a close relationship has been established between the two which is set to last throughout the novel.    Nicks opinions and criticisms are accepted by the reader as impartial which greatly influences the readers interpretation ofRead MoreEssay on Keep Your Eyes on Your Wife563 Words   |  3 Pages Keep Your Eyes on Your Wife nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Shaw’s depiction of Michael in The Girls in Their Summer Dresses is that he is happily married to his wife of five years. He thinks he supports his wife and loves her dearly; however, this is not true because his actions show otherwise. When he stares at other women, he hurts his wife’s feelings and hurts their relationship. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Marriage is portrayed as something that is a fact of life, not the special bond it is

The Industrial Revolution Essay example - 985 Words

Peter Stearns claims that the industrial revolution was an intensely human experience. What initially arose as scientific advancements in metallurgy and machine building, the industrial revolution period saw a redefinition of life as a whole. As industry changed, human life began to adapt. Work life was drastically changed which, in turn, resulted in family life being affected. As is human nature, major change was met with great resistant. Ultimately, the most successful people during the transition were those that adapted quickly. The industrial revolution is often mistakenly thought of simply as a time period when science was becoming more organized and resulted in the production of new machinery. The Industrial revolution was a†¦show more content†¦Industrialization led to the creation of the factory. The factory system resulted in the formation of cities as large numbers of people sought work in the factories. â€Å"Manchester, Britain’s cotton capital, grew from a modest town of 25,000 in 1772 to a metropolis of 367,232 by 1851.† The increase in population led to a more youthful distribution of age. Employers could pay a child less than an adult and since strength was not a particularly useful attribute, with machines providing the power, productivity would be minimally affected. Industrial period home life was changed significantly. Homes were no longer a source of production. The rate of marriage increased as far more people could support a family and marriage itself offered advantages. Men, women, and even children were making contributions to the family’s income. An issue arose in the form of long work hours that would put a strain on family, or at the very least refine roles. Family time was often spent emotionally supporting one another after a very difficult day. â€Å"In the long run, obviously, the chief impact of the industrial revolution was to dissociate children from productive labor.† Families increasingly kept their sons from work until twelve or fourteen. Education was seen as more important than making a contribution economically. By the 1830s, compulsory education was first starting to appear. A redefinition of childhood had a bigShow MoreRelatedIndustrial Of The Industrial Revolution1666 Words   |  7 PagesMartinez English IV, 1st hour 4/29/16 The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution set people away from farms and small villages and moved them to cities and towns because of the job opportunities that arose in the cities. The Industrial Revolution not only helped people move along in the late 1700s and early 1800s but also it has made the people what they are today. During the Industrial Revolution, the movement from an agrarian society to an industrial one reshaped the roles of families, widenRead MoreThe Revolution Of The Industrial Revolution917 Words   |  4 PagesWhen thinking of the industrial revolution, I usually correlate this transitional period to great advancements in machinery, and an increase in jobs. However, after looking past the surface of the industrial revolution, in regards to the promise of great wealth, this promise was not kept, along with other issues. I believe that a â€Å"better life† would mean that people would not have to go through the same struggles they once did before the revolution, struggles such as not having a job, money, homeRead MoreThe Industrial Revolution943 Words   |  4 PagesThe Industrial Revolution, a Revolution that began in Britain in the nineteenth century, saw people move from working in the farming industry to working in factories. This transition from an agrarian society meant that many people moved to cities in search of jobs. New methods of manufacturing allowed goods to be produced far more cheaply and quickly than before. However, the Revolution came with its own negative consequences. The lives of children during the Industrial Revolution were torturousRead MoreThe Industrial Revolution1633 Words   |  7 Pagesmeans of communication, factories to manufacture the products you need, places to work, and ways to travel and transport goods. And what made these possible? The answer is the Industrial Revolution, which started in Europe around the year 1730. A revolution is a major change or turning point in something. The Industrial Revolution was a major turning point in history and in the way people lived. Their careers, living situations, location, values, and daily routines all changed, and they needed it desperatelyRead MoreThe Industrial Revolution1097 Words   |  5 PagesBefore the advent of the Industrial Revolution, most people resided in small, rural communities where their daily existences revolved around farming. Life for the average person was difficult, as incomes were meager, and malnourishment and disease were common. People produced the bulk of their own food, clothing, furniture and tools. Most manufacturing was done in homes or small, rural shops, using hand tools or simple machines. Did You Know? The word luddite refers to a person who is opposedRead MoreThe Industrial Revolution1090 Words   |  5 PagesShort Term Misery†¦ Long Term Gain There are two major industrializations that have occurred through out history, both which began in England. The Industrial Revolution was from 1750 until 1800. The first and second industrialization were filled with many inventions, new societal ideas, new raw materials, new sources of power, also new ideas and societal implements were made enabling the world and society to evolve. Overall these industrialization was filled with death, neglect, and disease but endedRead MoreThe Industrial Revolution936 Words   |  4 Pageseconomist Robert Emerson Lucas wrote in regards to the Industrial revolution: For the first time in history, the living standards of the masses of ordinary people have begun to undergo sustained growth. The novelty of the discovery that a human society has this potential for generating sustained improvement in the material aspects of the lives of all its members, not just the ruling elite, cannot be overstressed.† (Lucas 2002). The revolution itself was ce ntred in Britain before spreading to theRead MoreThe Industrial Revolution705 Words   |  3 PagesThe Industrial Revolution was the quintessence of capitalistic ideals; it bred controversy that led to Karl Marx’s idea of communism as a massive grass roots reaction to the revolution’s social abuses. Firstly, the Industrial Revolution featured the construction of machines, systems and factories that allowed goods to be manufactured at a faster rate with a lower cost. The seed drill made it so there could be â€Å"a semi-automated, controlled distribution and plantation of wheat seed†(Jones 2013). SecondlyRead MoreIndustrial Revolution1160 Words   |  5 Pagesend of the 19th century, a significant change took place in the fundamental structure of the economy. That change was industrialization. During this time period, the United States of America changed from a large, agricultural country, to an urban industrial society. The process of industrialization began to take place in America, and eventually took over the economy during this period. Entrepreneurs and inventors put together various machines and businesses to help better the country function on aRead MoreThe Industrial Revolution Essay2099 Words   |  9 PagesThe Industrial Revolution was one of the largest social and cultural movements that changed the methods of manufacturing of metal and textiles, the transportation system, economic policies and social structure as well. Before the Industrial Revolution, people used to live by season due to agriculture. They thrived on whatever food was in season. Now, as a result of the Industrial Revolution, we live regimented and almost everything that is made, is mass produced. I will discuss three major topics

Women s Rights And Gender Equality Essay - 2428 Words

At first glance, the words feminism, veganism, and locavorism may induce many different thoughts and images. One might think of a celebrity, a stereotype, a character trait, or a group of specifically similar people associated with each word. For some, these three words may not even bring anything or anyone significant to mind. But no matter what thoughts arise through them, all three of these words represent an ideology, and two of them commonly have to do with diet. Feminism, or the advocacy of women’s rights and gender equality, and veganism, or the lifestyle and diet of avoiding animal products, are widely known and decently popular. However, locavorism, which is the lifestyle and diet of purchasing and eating locally and sustainably grown food in order to help the environment and be healthy, is more of a modern concept that was not always relevant or present in American society. In fact, it only became popular in the past decade (Rudy, 2012, p. 27). Nonetheless, the point still stands that feminism, veganism, and locavorism may not seem to have any connections aside from the fact that they are indeed all ideologies and they share a suffix. However, when observed on a deeper level, it is discovered that the widely held feminist views of gender and socioeconomic equality coincide with the views of vegans that also focus on equality for beings thought to be inferior. Even further, feminist views pertaining to the equitable distribution of food and positive treatment ofShow MoreRelatedWomen s Rights And Gender Equality Essay1506 Words   |  7 Pages All men and women were created equal. However, this obvious truth is not universally shared. Fortunately, there is a very real fight for gender equality that we are currently engaged in, and a participant in that fight that holds a fundamental role are non-governmental organizations (NGOs). NGOs exist as private, voluntary organizations that function without government restriction and bias because they are not for profit and not funded by the government. These organizations coordinate strategiesRead MoreWomen s Rights For Gender Equality1441 Words   |  6 PagesWhatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult (Charlotte Whitton). Women’s rights promote an equality between men and women. Equality between males and females would be both genders being treated equal and fair in all aspects of life. Many people have been fighting for centuries to transform women’s rights. Women’s rights regarding job opportunities, military advancements and pay gaps have transformed over centuries and need to continueRead MoreWomen s Rights Of Gender Equality And Women1005 Words   |  5 PagesHistorically women have not been provided equal opportunities in competitive and collegiate sports. In the late 1800’s, social perception was that females were weak and although they were admired by me n, they were treated like objects (Lumpkin, 2013). Competitive and collegiate sports were dominated by males, with little opportunity for women to participate. Females eagerly wanted to participate, however sports were perceived inappropriate which would put their femininity in question and putRead MoreGender Equality And Women s Rights1274 Words   |  6 Pages Women in the world still face discrimination and gender equality takes action to achieve women’s rights. AAUW provides and gives women the chance to have an education, while Catalyst reaches out to women to carry out equal pay, equal participation in the workplace, and remove discrimination. UN Women attains to human rights for women. Throughout history women have fought for gender equality in the workplace and in education, and every year organizations like AAUW, Catalyst, and UN Women haveRead MoreGender Equality And Its Effects On Women s Rights1962 Words   |  8 Pageshas also caused it to regress. Prior to the occupation of these treacherous groups, Afghanistan had a relatively liberal outlook, with a hopeful progression of women’s rights. More specifically; â€Å"Afghan women made up 50% of government workers, 70% of school teachers, and 40% of doctors in Kabul.† In recent years the public life of women has been completely effaced due to the effects of war and the Taliban regime. They are isolated, confined to their homes and masked with an all-encompassing burqa; prisonersRead MoreGender Equality And The Movement For Women s Rights On A Global Scale1174 Words   |  5 Pagesawareness about gender equality and the movement for women’s rights on a global scale. In fact, there are two controversial perceptions of the meaning of feminism and what feminists stand for. For many years, feminism is considered a series of mere actions exhorting for only women, which is anti-men and overaggressive. Recently, there is a gradual change in the understanding of what femin ism is. It is all about the equality that every living human should be treated regardless of gender, race, religionRead MoreGender Roles : Women s Rights On The Ground Of Political, Social And Economic Equality1531 Words   |  7 Pagesisa loaded term. Defined as the advocacy of woman’s rights on the ground of political, social and economic equality to men, feminism has become a movement for woman to have the same rights and respect as men, but just as racism is still relevant, so is the inequality of woman because of stereotypical gender roles. Woman have alway had their role in history, but those roles are often dictated by men. Historically woman have been shown doing woman s work and are defined in terms of their marital statusRead MoreSummary Of Looking For Alibrandi By Goria Steinem1077 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"A gender-equal society would be one where the word â€Å"gender† does not exist: where everyone can be themselves. â€Å"said by Goria Steinem. I disagree with Steinem’s statement in relation to gender equality in contemporary Australia. In this essay, three arguments would be addressed, which directly referred to Melina Marchetta’s 1992 novel, Looking for Alibrandi that enacted a story of a teenage girl who had to face difficulties in the society and fight with the original Australians as she was an illegitimateRead MoreGender Inequality Between Men And Women1255 Words   |  6 PagesHowever feminism maintains that women are treated in an unfair ways. Social gender roles lead to various forms of inequality and disparity between men and women, which in relation to the socio economic, political and cultural ideologies plays a negative role in girls (Asley 2014) .While some societies, defend gender differences based on their cultural norms and religious beliefs, this tends to restrict women physical and mental space.†Across social classes girls tends to have less physical mobilityRead MoreDoes Feminism Cre ate Equality?1037 Words   |  5 PagesDoes Feminism Create Equality? Feminism is an umbrella term for people who think there is something wrong with the idea that gender has the capability to limit an individual’s social and political right. Even if there is inequality between men and women, feminism has never been the main reason to give women their civil rights. Feminism started among European activists in the 19th century, when women were not treated equally and were not elected to high positions of power. Indeed, it sought to eliminate

Pros and Cons for Outsourcing Free Essays

The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing services in the US By Berend Schoute (1713035), student of the VU university Amsterdam. INTRODUCTION Hillary Clinton, â€Å"I don’t know what reality the Bush administration is living in, but it’s certainly not the reality I represent, from one end of New York to the other. † This response came on the statement of the head of U. We will write a custom essay sample on Pros and Cons for Outsourcing or any similar topic only for you Order Now S. President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers, Gregory Mankiw. He said: â€Å"outsourcing is just a new way of doing international trade,† which makes it â€Å"a good thing. † In the last decade most economists are a proponents of offshoring services outside of the US. They say that the benefits of outsourcing exceed the disadvantages. The main discussion is more likely a political one. It shows that a lot of citizens are pursuing protectionism to prevent any problems for American workers. THEORY Outsourcing occurs when a company fragmentizes a production process and sends this to another outside company. When companies are outsourcing to other countries/continents, it is also known as offshoring. A survey held by Lewin and Peeters (2006) showed that 90 of the 650 companies that are listed on the US Forbes Global 2000 are offshoring major business functions at that time. This outcome says that many major companies are interested in outsourcing jobs. Further outcomes mentioned that overall IT-functions (66% of the survey participants) are mostly shipped elsewhere, followed by Finance/accounting functions (60%). The most attractive destination for offshoring is India, where 60% of the functions of companies participated in the survey is to be offshored to. (Lewin and Peeters,2006) There are multiple arguments for offshoring jobs to another country. Some of these reasons can be examined by simply looking at the numbers, but most of them are abstract and difficult to catch. We speak of an omitted variable bias when a model that you create misses some important causal variables. The model can give you some positive results, but it isn’t reliable. This problem can occur in every survey, so the investigators need to be careful with the outcomes. The main argument for outsourcing is clearly labor cost reduction. The differences in wages are very large between the developing countries and the US. For example, an IT-specialist is paid $ 60 per hour on average in the US, where India pays this worker only $ 6 per hour. Although these cost benefits trough labor are substantial, extra costs incur when setting up the new offshore location. After taking all costs in account, there still is a cost reduction of 45 to 55 % (Mckinsey Global institute,2003). This cost reduction can cause a higher productivity because the domestic firm can focus on other important operations. Drezner (2003) said: ‘Thanks to outsourcing, U. S. firms save money and become more profitable, benefiting shareholders and increasing returns on investment. Foreign facilities boost demand for U. S. roducts, such as computers and telecommunications equipment, necessary for their outsourced function. And U. S. labor can be reallocated to more competitive, better-paying jobs’. This statement is fully supported by most economists. The commodification process allows the spread of the benefits of IT-outsourcing even further, making the growth and the competitive advantage even greater (Drezner, 2003). A simple explanation of th e advantage can be given by looking at the Heckscher-Ohlin model. This model simply suggests that countries that are capital abundant will export capital intensive products vice versa. For example it explains the fact that India focuses on labor intensive products because this abundance causes a competitive advantage caused by relatively low wages. In reality it’s off course more difficult, because the underlying assumptions are hardly realistic: 1. factors of production are perfectly mobile and 2. no difference in level of technology across countries. Drezner(2003) explained this by the following statement: ‘The logic underlying an open economy is that if the economy sheds jobs in uncompetitive sectors, employment in competitive sectors will grow. If hitech industries are no longer competitive, where will new jobs be created? ’ This previous theoretical introduction didn’t made the discussion between the pros and cons yet clear. It simply shoes some arguments of a proponent and a opponent. We still need hard evidence from both parties to give a good view on the truth. PROS VIEW Opponents of outsourcing are talking about the fact that American workers are losing their jobs cause of the labor movements. This is off course a fact, but what are the actual numbers ? The Mckinsey Global institute (2003) notes that in the upcoming 5 years , the growth was going to be around 30-40%. Forrester Research predicts that the total outsourced jobs will be around 3,3 million in 2015. According to projections, the hardest hit sectors will be financial services and information technology (IT). In one May 2003 survey of chief information officers, 68 percent of IT executives said that their offshore contracts would grow in the subsequent year (Mckinsey Global institute,2003). Therefore, at first sight the perception of the opponents is really sustainable. The total growth in the last two years (2002-2003) was really good, the productivity growth was even greater. The overall job growth have been really alarming. This indicates that the opponents are right in their perception. Controversially, if you unpack the numbers, you will find that 90% of all jobs in the US require geographic proximity. So these jobs were untouched anyway. The Forrester prediction of 3,3 million is spread over 15 years which means 220 thousand extra outsources jobs per year. Nowadays employment in the United States is about 130 million, and with approximately 22 million new jobs to be added till 2010, means that the effect of offshoring is less than 0,2% of American workers (Drezner,2003). Another argument of the proponents is that the net change in the outflow of workers against the inflow is negative. So the difference between insourcing workers because of foreign companies coming to the US and outsourcing is getting smaller. An important argument pro outsourcing is the fact that it increases the productivity of a company. The question we need to ask ourselves is can we confirm this increase with empirical evidence. Amiti Wei (2006) investigated this question and have found some nice figures. In their survey hey tried to analyze whether there are any benefits of outsourcing in the productivity of a company. To prevent an omitted variable bias, they needed to find a valid instrument for service offshoring. In their regression model they used the number of internet hosts in the countries that supply the largest shares of services to the US. These outcomes reflect the changes in new technologies that would only affect US productivity through their effect on offshoring. Their empirical outcome was that there is a positive effect on productivity through outsourcing. CONS The American citizens who are pursuing protectionism to prevent any problems for American workers. They say that they lose jobs because of outsourcing. This off course is true, but it’s important to look at the percentage that is reemployed. This number is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tells us that 69% of the workers that lost their job due to offshoring, eventually is reemployed. In the previous, I only talked about low-skilled jobs outsourced to other countries. Nowadays a new trend is unfolding with the outsourcing of high value added jobs to ‘developing’ countries. For example radiologists who can be replaced by cheaper Indian radiologists that constantly are able to screen material that was send to them by US hospitals. The exact numbers aren’t clear because this trend recently came up. The debate about the high skilled outsourcing should focus on consolidating strength of the US in higher value added knowledge services where investment in human capital will be decisive. Until there is no empirical evidence of a negative effect of this kind of outsourcing, the US must focus on the quality of their higher value added knowledge services (Rudiger, K. 2007). There are also a couple of other disadvantages that come up when outsourcing services overseas. These disadvantages have been used by the opponents of outsourcing. A first struggle can be that a newcomer can find itself a unreliable supplier, which puts his work aside when finding a better paying partner or a supplier loses the workers who finds better paying jobs. In reality a supplier loses around 15 to 20 % of it’s workers each year (Weidenbaum, 2003). Other hidden costs or disruptions can be for example bad infrastructure, a lot of power blackouts and extra transportation costs. Weidenbaum also states ‘overseas managers often do not understand the American business environment: our customers, lingo, traditions, and high-quality control and expectations for prompt delivery of goods and performance of services’. These disadvantages can be prevented by good outsourcing preparation. CONCLUSION In the beginning of this essay I discussed the US protectionism to offshoring jobs. When looking at all the studies it came clear that offshoring brings substantially benefits to the economy of the US (and the world). In this essay we saw that firms can reduce costs up to 55 % of the particular department. Because of the cost reduction and productivity growth, the US can improve its output and competitive advantages against other countries. The disadvantages do not outweigh all the advantages of outsourcing discussed in this essay. When the politicians focus on the flexibility and quality of the economy they can create a win-win situation for the US. In the upcoming years next studies need to be about whether any skill group (high value added services in particular) is relatively more affected. REFERENCES Amiti Wei. 2006). Service Offshoring and Productivity: Evidence from the United States. NBER Working Paper no. 11926. Drezner, D. (2004). The outsourcing bogeyman. Foreign Affairs. Mckinsey Global institute. (2003). Offshoring: Is It a Win-Win Game? † Weidenbaum. (2003). Outsourcing: Pros and cons. Business Horizons (2005) 48, 311—315 Lewin and Peeters (2006). â€Å"Offshoring work : Business hype or the onset of fundamental transformation? † Long Range Planning, 39(3): 221–239. Rudiger, K. (2007). Offshoring, a threat for the UK’s knowledge jobs? A working paper prepared for the Knowledge Economy Programme. How to cite Pros and Cons for Outsourcing, Essay examples

Chosen Case Study And E-Commerce

Question: Discuss about theE-Business Application for Alibaba Case Study. Answer: Introduction E-commerce is the type of commercial exchange of products and monetary units that in which, every transactions are conducted through the internet (Yao et al. 2015). In this system, the buyer orders a product by choosing from a wide variety of products in the official website of a certain e-commerce company and the company delivers the selected product to the customers home and the transaction is conducted either through the internet (net banking, online payment by cards, etc.) or manually during product delivery. In this report, the chosen e-commerce company is Alibaba and their e-business strategies and IT infrastructure have been discussed. Chosen Case Study and E-Commerce Company Operation Alibaba Group operates its business through e-commerce system and has branches all over the world. Their main business objective is to build a worldwide e-commerce infrastructure in order to provide services to more customers and establish a strong commercial organization (Du et al. 2013). In addition to providing business options, they also allow mutual interaction between the customers as well as the product merchants in order to satisfy customer demands for more efficient business system. For all these processes, they have successfully implemented a strong Information Technology infrastructure that has led them to commercial success (Leong et al. 2016). Alibaba Groups main aim is to further develop the company in the future along with the implementation of latest technologies in order to increase the existing market competitiveness as well as gaining more control over global market. Ease of Use of the E-Commerce Site The e-commerce site of the company is very easy to use as it has a very customer-friendly interface and any new user can easily find the products and varieties the company provides. Moreover, the company provides a large number of offers and discounts as well as wide variety of products all of which are clearly displayed on the official website of the company (Zheng et al. 2015). Any user, who wants to buy a product, can find the product of his needs as well as its varieties and different sellers from which he can choose one of the choices. The company enjoys massive popularity within the regular customer base due to this user-friendly appearance of the site and the availability of the services as per the displayed information in the website. E-Business Applications Used Alibaba is the largest e-commerce company in the world and hence, it must have a suitable e-business application that will help run the business in the company efficiently. For this, Alibaba has subscribed to Big Data services paired with a microfinance system. Big data is a virtual data storage technology that stores huge amount of business and commercial data and provides an efficient system for managing and calculating the business records and statistics (Xiao et al. 2015). Again, Alibaba has partnerships with different online vendors for different online operational procedures like online payments, virtual data storage system and others. For example, the online payment system of Alibaba is managed by a vendor named Alipay. All these e-business applications together have promoted the growth of Alibaba as the largest e-commerce and e-business company in the world. E-Commerce Marketing Strategies Alibabas main marketing strategy is to spread business over different regions by taking over small and medium sized regional retailers and varying the price of products according to the demand in that particular region (Xue et al. 2015). Alibaba promotes the growth of the regional retailers, which in turn promotes its control over the regional market. Alibaba also has the end goal to expand its e-commerce business all over the world with the help of latest technical upgrades and a successful marketing strategy. Hence, the company mainly focuses on developing the e-commerce system further and mixing it with more innovative marketing strategies. E-Commerce Supply Chain Strategy Alibaba mainly operates its business with the help of supply chain strategy. Alibaba is not a manufacturer or even a retailer. Alibaba has a number of subsidiaries that manufacture and sell products (Fan et al. 2015). The products of these companies are sold in the name of Alibaba and the subsidiaries are only responsible for delivering the products to the home of the customer. Payments are also directly made to Alibaba and the subsidiary companies get their share of the sales. Since Alibaba deals with e-commerce system, it provides product description in the website as well as the name of the product seller. Upon service booking, these companies pick the selected product from manufacturer or their own factory and deliver them to the customer in the name of Alibaba (Cheung 2016). This is how, Alibaba has built up a successful global supply chain and promotes growth of its subsidiary suppliers in order to gain control over the regional market. E-Commerce Security Strategies The main weakness of the company is in the application of its security strategies. The whole business system of the company depends on the activities of the third party vendors with whom the company has forged partnerships. The company also uses highest technical systems for conducting its business (Dongwei 2016). However, aside from some basic security measures, the company will have no particular answer if it is attacked by some serious third party cyber attack. Hence, the security strategy of the company needs to be revised for ensuring the safety of the business system of the company. IT Architecture The IT architecture of Alibaba includes a worldwide network of cloud computing services as well as a central Big Data system. Alibaba has subscribed to several cloud computing services and conducts all the business related activities through these services. Moreover, the Big Data system is used to store all the business data and statistics within a central virtual storage server (Hu et al. 2014). Alibaba also has partnerships with different online vendors for different online operational procedures like online payments, virtual data storage system and others that have been successfully interconnected by the company to build up an efficient IT architecture system. Conclusion From the report, it can be concluded that Alibaba is a successful e-commerce company because of its successful business plan and a very efficient e-commerce service using the latest technologies in the internet. Their main business objective is to build a worldwide e-commerce infrastructure in order to provide services to more customers and establish a strong commercial organization. Alibaba has partnerships with different online vendors for different online operational procedures like online payments, virtual data storage system and others. All these factors as well as a successful IT architecture have allowed Alibaba to flourish over a large area of the world. Recommendations In spite of international success, Alibaba has certain weak spots. Some recommendations for compensating these weak spots are as follows. Low End Market Although Alibaba promotes growth of the regional market, it mainly deals with the high end market i.e. it mainly deals with high priced advanced technical products that are mainly purchased by the higher levels of the society. Alibaba should also promote the medium and low end markets in order to enjoy even more control over every layer of the global market. Too Much Virtual Interface Dependence Alibaba depends on the virtual interface and cloud services too much. Moreover, they use third party vendors for the online payment management. This is a very risky business as a large scale cyber attack from a third party can cause massive damage to the companys business. Hence, the company should start its own online transactions and data management systems in order to have more control over the commerce related activities. References Cheung, M., 2016. 28. the e-commerce revolution: ensuring trust and consumer rights in China.Handbook of Cultural and Creative Industries in China, p.412. Dongwei, S., 2016, January. Cross-border e-commerce helps SMEs reach global markets. InInternational Trade Forum(No. 2, p. 16). International Trade Centre. Du, J., Lu, J., Wu, D., Li, H. and Li, J., 2013. User acceptance of software as a service: Evidence from customers of China's leading e-commerce company, Alibaba.Journal of Systems and Software,86(8), pp.2034-2044. Fan, J., Tang, L., Zhu, W. and Zou, B., 2015. The Alibaba Effect: Spatial Consumption Inequality and the Welfare Gains from E-Commerce.Available at SSRN 2707293. Hu, J., Holt, S., Marques, J. and Camillo, A.A., 2014. Marketing Channels and Supply Chain Management in Contemporary Globalism: E-Commerce Development in China.Handbook of Research on Effective Marketing in Contemporary Globalism, p.325. Leong, C.M.L., Pan, S.L., Newell, S. and Cui, L., 2016. The Emergence of Self-Organizing E-Commerce Ecosystems in Remote Villages of China: A Tale of Digital Empowerment for Rural Development.Mis Quarterly,40(2), pp.475-484. Xiao, Z., Wang, J.J. and Lenzer, J.H., 2015. The role of geographic specificity of logistics for e-commerce companies' Inter-firm integration: A case study of Alibaba. InProceedings of the 20th International Conference of Hong Kong Society for Transportation Studies, HKSTS 2015: Urban Transport Analytics. Xue, W., Xiao, B. and Mu, L., 2015, December. Intelligent mining on purchase information and recommendation system for e-commerce. InIndustrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), 2015 IEEE International Conference on(pp. 611-615). IEEE. Yao, Y., Yen, B.P. and Yip, A., 2015. Examining The Effects of The Internet of Things (IoT) on E-Commerce: Alibaba Case Study. In15th International Conference for Electronic Commerce (ICEB), Dec. 6-10, 2015, Hong Kong. Zheng, L., Yihui, Z., Shen, W. and Guanqi, D., 2015. Micro Characteristics and Problems Reflected in the Development of Peasant E-businessman: A Case Study on an Alibaba's E-business Town in Fujian, China.