Perspectives on Various Issues of Interest

English is a Crazy Language

Let's face it: English is a crazy language.

There is no egg in the eggplant, no ham in the hamburger and neither pine nor apple in the pineapple. English muffins were not invented in England;

French fries were not invented in France. We sometimes take English for granted. But if we examine its paradoxes we find that Quicksand takes you down slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

If writers write, how come fingers don't fing. If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn't the plural of phone booth be phone beeth?

If the teacher taught, why didn't the preacher praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what the heck does a humanitarian eat!!!? Why do people recite at a play, yet play at a recital? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language where a house can burn up as it burns down and in which you fill in a form by filling it out.

And a bell is only heard once it goes!

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which of course isn't a race at all). That is why when the stars are out they are visible, but when the lights are out they are invisible.

Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery? If Love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist, but a person who drives a race car not called a racist?

Why are wise men and wise guys opposites? Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?

If horrific means to make horrible, does terrific mean to make terrible?

Why isn't 11 pronounced onety one?

If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked and dry cleaners depressed?

Why is it that if someone tells you that there are 1 billion stars in the universe you will believe them, but if they tell you a wall has wet paint you will have to touch it to be sure?

If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times, does he become disoriented?

If people from Poland are called "Poles," why aren't people from Holland called "Holes?"

And why it is that when I wind up my watch it starts but when I wind up this story ends?

Management of Service Parts

Some important points to consider:

1. AMR research in 2003 calculated that major industry service parts inventory value was about $194 billion
2. In many service organizations, the cost of parts now exceeds the cost of labor.
3. Several firms organize their service parts business as a profit center; many businesses make more profit from service parts than they do from service labor or the sale of finished goods.
4. Deliotte Research estimates that service profits are 46% of manufacturing companies’ total profits.
5. AMR research estimates that service sales in 2004 provided 29% of corporate revenues and 50% of corporate profits.
6. Forrester Group predicts that service parts will overtake products as a base revenue source for manufacturers by 2012.
7. Deloitte Research survey results show that 67% of companies are growing service at the same rate of slower than production. The median company gets only 40% of after sales service and 75% of parts sales to its own captive installed base.

Source: “Service parts balance: Practical ways to enhance your bottom line,” by Joseph D. Patton, Jr., APICS Magazine, February 2007, p. 44-46.

The Changing Landscape of PC Industry and the Future of Microsoft

The article “Microsoft Beyond Vista” by Robert A. Guth (WSJ, Nov. 27, 2006: pp. B1 & B6) presents an insight into the changing landscape of the PC industry and the future directions for Microsoft in it. In recent years, the spread of high-speed broadband Internet access and a host of new technologies have made it easier than in the past for people to use the Internet for tasks such as storing music to watching videos and writing documents. Consumers are increasingly using sites such as Flickr, for online photo site, and You-Tube, to store pictures and videos online. Increasingly, applications such as email and word-processing are offered as Internet services and the need for software running on a PC is reducing. The releases of new versions of services are happening with much lesser fanfare.

In this changing context, Microsoft would be required to create a delicate balance as it tries to retool its software for fast-changing Internet while trying to preserve one of the richest cash cows in business history. To put things in perspective, last year Microsoft Windows contributed $13 billion towards revenues and $10 billion towards profits.

The adjustment to the role of Internet in the PC industry is becoming critical. Some companies such as Oracle Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc., predicted that PCs would be replaced by simpler terminals that just ran Web browsers. Yet, the reality is that the Internet has in fact propelled PC sales, as consumers bought them in order to access the Web. This was again a great situation for Microsoft to be in. However, how this situation will unfold in the future is not clear. As an example, Google is gaining steady ground by means of a combination of Web services and online advertising, instead of relying on developing and selling software.

For Microsoft it is important to utilize its strength in software and pursue initiatives that will be instrumental for future success. Under the brand name Windows Live, for example, Microsoft plans to offer online services that complement Windows. A separate set of services called Office Live will be aimed at small businesses. Those services are still taking shape, though Microsoft already has an online service called Windows Update that allows users to automatically receive software fixes, security enhancements and other features. In another shift the company is trying to make its software modular by breaking in into individual components. The development of Vista was a stepping stone in this direction. To try to stay a step with Google, for example, Microsoft could release search software for finding data on a PC over the Web without having to wait until the next major release of Windows.

Information Connectivity and Flexible Logistics Programs

In a paper, co-authored with David Closs and Morgan Swink, we conceptualize flexible logistics programs and information connectivity as two important aspects of logistics flexibility. Flexible logistics program relate to managerial policies for flexible logistics operations and information connectivity relates to the aspects of information sharing and collaboration. We examine the role of information connectivity in making flexible logistics programs successful by exploring the mediating role of information connectivity on the relationship between flexible logistics programs and performance dimensions.

The underlying measures of flexible logistics program construct include organization-wide planning decisions and programs for enhancing the logistics flexibility capability of a firm. Specifically, the measures include: program to authorize and perform special request; flexible program for special service matched with customer requirements and preplanned solutions to accommodate unique customer requests. As can be observed, these measures refer to proactive action plan of an organization that is focused on specific customer needs. Meanwhile, the information connectivity construct captures the essence of information sharing and collaboration between supply chain partners. The specific measures underlying the information connectivity construct include: ability to share information with customers and suppliers; effective operational information sharing with customers and suppliers; information systems support; information directly obtained from customers and reduced reliance on forecasting; supply chain collaboration and time-based logistics solutions.

The performance dimensions considered in this paper are - responsiveness, delivery competence and asset productivity. The underlying measures of the responsiveness construct include: product flexibility, responsiveness to key customers, order flexibility and delivery time flexibility. The delivery competence construct is composed of delivery speed, delivery dependability and delivery consistency measures. It relates to the reliability of delivery performance attained by consistently providing dependable delivery services. The asset productivity construct is manifested in terms of improved productivity and cost performance that results from flexibility. The underlying measures of the construct are: return on assets, inventory turns and low logistics cost and these outcomes relates to direct financial performance derived from a firm’s flexible logistics programs and information connectivity. The two main research questions posed in the paper are:

- What is the relationship of flexible logistics programs on performance dimensions?
- What is the role of information connectivity in making flexible logistics programs successful?

The research questions are addressed by testing the following hypotheses:

H1: Flexible logistics programs are positively associated with higher (a) responsiveness; (b) delivery competence; and (c) asset productivity

H2: The relationship between flexible logistics programs and performance dimensions (i.e. responsiveness, delivery competence and asset productivity) is mediated by information connectivity.

The hypotheses are tested by using 306 survey responses from senior and middle level logistics or supply chain executives in manufacturing, wholesale/distributing, and retail firms. The results obtained from the hierarchical regression analysis suggest that flexible logistics programs are positively associated with responsiveness, delivery competence and asset productivity. We also observe that there is no mediation of information connectivity when the outcome construct is responsiveness. Information connectivity partially mediates the association between flexible logistics programs and delivery competence and fully mediates the association between flexible logistics programs and asset productivity.

Implications for managerial practice:

This study characterizes flexible logistics programs as the willingness and capability to respond to unique customer requests. For example, one of the dimensions of the flexible logistics program construct is the capability to authorize and perform special requests made by the selected customers. It highlights the need for organizational structure, role dependencies and a proactive preparedness in terms of managerial policies. The concept of special programs for accommodating changing customer requirements exemplifies the importance for a firm to be aware of shifting demand characteristics and the ability to tailor service delivery accordingly. This implies that logistics management should maintain a relatively decentralized decision-making environment when establishing the response strategies for key customer segments. In this regard, we consider that an important facilitator to logistics flexibility is that operational personnel are enabled to make decisions with limited administrative bottlenecks.

Performance is an important indicator of managerial decision-making effectiveness. However, performance should not be viewed at an aggregate level as it limits the ability to properly implement a plan and see its effectiveness. This research presents a disaggregate view of performance resulting from the use of flexible logistics programs. Specifically logistical performance can be classified as responsiveness, delivery competence and asset productivity.

The classification of performance into responsiveness, delivery competence and asset productivity presents implications for strategic alignment of flexible logistics programs and information connectivity dimensions. Our results indicate that information connectivity is a facilitator to improved performance, specifically for the performance dimensions asset productivity and delivery competence.

The citation for the paper is as follows:

Closs, David J., Swink, Morgan and Nair, Anand. 2005. The role of information connectivity in making flexible logistics programs successful. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 35(4), pp. 258-277.