The Economic Discourse Community For Business, Society And Environment

by Dag Näslund University of North Florida and Lund University Rahul Kale University of North Florida and Antony Paulraj University of North Florida

The business world nowadays is very different from the past. It is fast changing, challenging and full of opportunities. In order to sustain the business, the companies need to minimize costs, maximize profits and make the business environmentally sustainable. The management of the organization achieve these goals through supply chain management has recently focused (Fawcett, et al., 2007).

In the last few decades we have seen the emergence of the supply chain as a critical competitive force in today’s market. By understanding supply chain and fostering appropriate ties between both customers and supplier humanitarian agencies and government can realize significant benefits in the form of reduced inventories, lower costs, enhanced responsiveness and improved strategic focus in terms of design, execution and capital investments. The term was first coined in 1982 by Keith Oliver, a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, during an interview with Financial Times. Supply Chain Management is still evolving, although it is not new. Consequently, it has largely not been theoretically grounded, it is a concept that has been born of practice, grown through needs and changed in response to various challenges, threats and opportunities. Supply chain nomenclature is still in controversy whether it is supply chain, supply chain networks or value chain networks? Melnyk et al. (2010) noted a transition from the strategically price driven supply chain to the strategically value driven supply chain. Supply chain design is a rich aspect of supply chain management that goes beyond issues of

Historically, economics has focused on the study of the distribution, production, and allocation of scarce goods, and how firms and individuals make decisions while inevitably facing trade-offs between costs and benefits. Economics has slowly evolved as a discourse community characteristic of quantitative theories that seek to set the stage in which economic and political policies and decisions can be diffused through the nation and the world. The field of economics is a discourse community whose purposes are to quantitatively analyze economic research questions, come up with hypotheses, construct models and equations to test the hypotheses’ validity and argue about its findings. Economic scientists and professionals gather and publish their

Sustainable Supply Chain – working with and influencing suppliers to manage and reduce the environmental and social impacts of their operations and of the products and services they provide to Telstra.

Transforming a supply chain into a sustainable network is not an easy thing to do. Amongst the existing obstacles that Johnson (2004) gives us is the considerable size of this network: all along the differents ranks of suppliers that constitute the upstream of the chain, it is very hard to track the original source of the material and to broadcast best practices all accross that path. Furthermore, the lack of legal framework for labor conditions and environment preservation in developing countries makes it the more difficult to enforce

Supply chain management is the active management of supply chain activities to maximize customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. The management of the supply chain involves the efforts of all partners in the supply chain working together to effectively and efficiently deliver goods (Handfield, R, 20011). Supply chain standards that are shared globally throughout industries results in methods and rules that allows predictability, and agreed standard and guidelines. These standards will enable partners throughout the supply chain the freedom to apply influence on industry standards that will result in sustainable business practices that mirror the needs of and integrated supply chain aiding in maximum efficiency throughout the chain.

Supply chain management is a complex undertaking that must involve more than one organization’s efforts to succeed. A tremendous amount of skill, time, and money must be present to build and develop relationships, discover and implement a strategy, and use the capabilities of the chain to build quality at an efficient financial rate. Allowing for these requirements, it leaves one to wonder whether supply chain management is a viable option. The answer is yes, because an organization needs a strong supply chain to compete and be profitable in the marketplace. The key points for supply chain management should be to meet customer demand, produce excellent customer value, enhance responsiveness to change, build a network that can resist risk, and develop financial success.

In the business world ,fiscal command frequently triumph over the values, the values of social responsibility and ethical behavior as corporations endeavor to relieve costs and reduce contingencies in future ,nowhere is that drive for certainty and cost reduction is more enthralling then in the corporate supply chain, the global market place demands that supply chains be fleet-footed and scatter ,an efficient supply chain is responsible for changing the organization priorities by keeping the cost of the company intact and giving company the room for growth and increase productivity ( Attaran,attaran,2007)

Almost every company understands the importance of supply chain to the efficient operation, which helps improve sales and profit. Starbucks is one of the most successful firms that apply good supply chain management that not only create value for itself but also for stakeholders. Supply chain is a whole process beginning from raw materials to end consumers. This process usually involves many parties such as suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, customers… Nowadays, firms also concern about ethics and sustainable supply chain as a critical criteria for corporate social responsibility practices, which Starbucks has been doing well so far. This report provides an overview of two main aspects of supply chain which are sourcing and distribution,

Purpose – The authors perform a large-scale literature review and use conceptual theory building to introduce the concept of sustainability to the field of supply chain management and demonstrate the relationships among environmental, social, and economic performance within a supply chain management context. Design/methodology/approach – Conceptual theory building is used to develop a framework and propositions

There are numerous definitions of the terms ‘Sustainable’ and ‘Supply Chain’. For the simplistic but practical definition is “Management of raw materials and services from suppliers to manufacturer/ service provider to customer and back with improvement of the social and environmental impacts explicitly considered”. The supply chain considers the interactions between a business and its customers and suppliers. The greatest benefits are derived by extending the focus as far as possible upstream towards the raw materials, downstream towards the consumer and then back again as the product and wastes are recycled. Sustainable supply chains are among the biggest responsible business challenges. Accomplishing sustainable supply

Supply chain has gained importance in the current world of business. With the advent of globalization and competitive advantage being key aspects of organizational existence, it is essential to look into sustainability of the same. This research paper focuses on the need for this sustainability and how supply chains can make a difference to the sustainability of the planet. It will also explore supply chain practices that could be a source of competitive advantage.

No significant research contribution investigating the sustainability aspects of supply chains has been reported in the Indian context so far, and thus it is felt essential to undertake this study which targets the automobile supply chain, keeping in focus environmental and social concerns. The idea is to unearth the various pressures/ drivers, practices and performance of the adopted measures for green and socially responsible supply chains.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of MSc in Logistics and Supply Chain Management.