Confucianism Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Confucianism - Term Paper Example Confucianism is a corner stone of Chinese life, and has been for thousands of years, yet during the Mao years, there was a stringent purging of this learned man’s teachings. For the people of China, Mao’s ferocious campaign against the teachings of Confucius are bewildering to say the least. However, when one reads the teachings of Confucius, it is not surprising that Mao thought all Confucian scholars were counter revolutionaries. Mao admired the political philosophy of Legalism, expounded by Han Fei, a rival of Confucius. Mao’s derision of the teachings of Confucius was because they clashed with the teachings of Han Fei. An authoritarian government like Mao’s would emphasize the absolute power of the state over its subjects, punishing everyone except for the ruler, and would consider law as a tool to keep its people under control. During the period of the cultural revolution, Mao wanted complete control. Absolutism was the way he saw for China to go forw ard. Mao believed that the government was all powerful and people were there to serve the government. This however was not what Confucius taught. Although Confucius believed that the Government was important, his view was that the government existed for the good of the people. An authoritarian system of governance believes that the system of severe punishments is necessary in order to run the state and avoid chaos, where Confucius believed in benevolence, humanity and tolerance. The political philosophy of Confucius is rooted in his belief that a ruler should learn self-discipline, and should lead by example treating his people with love and concern. â€Å"The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend, when the wind blows across it." (The Analects By Confucius Section 3 Part 12) Confucius believed that what characterized a good ruler was the possession of de or ‘virtue† which was a kind of moral power that attracted followers without the need to resort to force. "He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.†(The Analects By Confucius Section 1 Part 2) These beliefs are totally opposite to what an authoritarian regime believes , hence would not be possible for governments such as Mao’s to adopt. Another dimension of the teachings of Confucius relate to education. He does not believe in intuition and adheres to the principle that the only way to really understand a subject is to study it minutely. He said, "Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous." (The Analects By Confucius Section 1 Part 2) Confucius also emphasizes the importance of integrity and disparages sycophancy. The Mao years in China, bred a contempt for intellectuals and a dislike for learning. Mao’s Red Guards were ordered to destroy all old habits customs and think ing in society. Hence the wise teachings of Confucius were buried till the time was ripe to resurrect them once again. As China stands at the crossroads today, there is a conscious effort to reverse the effect of Mao’s hatred of intellectuals and his contempt for traditional forms of learning. The sudden turnaround in China’s policy of restoration of Confucian philosophy hint at both domestic as well as international reasons. In its effort to make the nation richer, Chinese people are being encouraged to focus on education. The number of Chinese students enrolled in universities the world over is a telling example of how China is reverting to the teachings of

Supply Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Supply Chain Management - Essay Example Supply chain management also helps to improve customer service, thus increasing effectiveness. Supply chain management is an important aspect of operation management as it has profound effects on the successful functioning of an organization. Proper supply chain management can be used to eliminate redundancy and remove barriers arising from poor communication, by monitoring, controlling and coordinating the various processes within an organization. "Identifying the components of the supply chain, facilitating better decision-making, creating improved communication, and identifying weak links in the chain causing bottlenecks in an organization are crucial to supply chain integration. There are three principle elements of supply chain integration: management of information and financial flows, inventory management, and management of relationships of trading partners." (Power, 2005) According to Czinkota, Ronkainen and Moffett, supply chain management is the integration of three concepts; they are the systems concept, the total cost concept and the trade off concept. These concepts are also important to the business logistics. The system concept is based on the notion that materials- flow activities within and outside of the firm are so extensive and complex that they can be considered only in the context of their interaction. The system concept intends to provide the firm, its suppliers and its customers both domestic and foreign, with the benefits of synergism expected from the coordinated application of size. To get the system concept works, information flows and partnership trust are instrumental. Logistics capability is highly information dependent, since information availability is key in planning and to process implementation. (http://www.oppapers.com/topics/supply-chain-concepts/0) This paper discusses how the benefits reducing cost and profits can be achieved by utilizing information systems and information technology. I will also examine the supply chain processes between sellers and buyers. Due to continuous advancement in the field of information systems technology, it is possible for supply chain partners to coordinate more effectively to optimize the performance of their various organisations. Also, information sharing is a requisite in this coordination, and information sharing has been facilitated quite a lot by these advances in the field of information technology.According to Banavar et al, "Modern businesses are dynamic in nature and to stay competitive (organizations) need to optimize their business processes by understanding and reacting to the rapid changes in their environment" (Banavar, Black, Caceres, Ebling, et al, 2005) Serious use of supply chain management started in the 1980s. "It is to describe the range of activities coordinated by an organisation in order to procure and manage their supplies." (Oliver and Webber, 1982)Inventory control is a very essential part of the supply chain process of any organization, because inventory control has to do with reducing the cost of inventory. There are 3 major factors involved in the inventory control decision-making process. These are: The cost of shortage, i.e., what is lost if the stock is insufficient to meet all demand The cost of holding the stock The