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London Olympics 2012 Sustainability
London Olympics 2012 Sustainability
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Course
Tutor
August 22, 2014
Executive summary
London 2012 set out to deliver the most sustainable event in the history of Olympic Games. Making the promise was easy, but delivering the sustainability was not that easy. Sustainability is not easy to achieve, especially in a one – off event like the London 2012 games. The organizers of the London 2012, LOCOG, event were fully aware of this but since they had integrated sustainability as a core aspect of the event, they had to find ways and means of achieving it. This was in line with International Olympics Committee (IOC) guidelines.
By the end of the event, the organizers with support of partners managed to achieve unprecedented levels of sustainability. To achieve the elusive sustainability the organizers came up with an elaborate plan in which they divided sustainability into five key aspects. The aspects were then developed making them better defined, achievable and taking into account the need to include the surrounding East London community
Being the first of its kind sustainability plans in Olympic Games, the plan ran into quite a number of challenges. For those challenges that were unique to the London sustainability plan, the organizers developed own solutions that not only solved the problems but can also be used in future endeavors.
London 2012 managed to ensure that 70% of landfill was recycled. This is no mean feat considering that the average games achieve only 15%.By the end of it all the organizers managed to come up with an event that was not only sustainable but also lived to their strap line “inspire a generation.” The London 2012 event ended up being a good example of how seriously future Olympic Games organizers should take sustainability .
Just like any other project undertaken by humans, there are a few things in the London 2012 that could have done with a little more improvement. But all admit that the 2012 games set the sustainability bar very high. For instance, the event reached very high levels of water and energy efficiency but still there is more that can be done. Water was not only recycled but was gotten from sustainable sources.
Water and energy were not the only resources that saw sustainability efforts focused on during the London 2012 games. A lot of effort was also directed towards linking Olympic park, which was the main venue for the events with the rest of London. This included creating a rail road that linked the Olympic park to London’s underground rail system. The organizers set out to make the park the most connected Sports Park, something they achieved.
Food being one of the factors that affect sustainability in a big was given a lot of attention during the organizing of the London 2012 event. Despite the high number of athletes and spectators, the organizers to a large extent managed to host an event with unprecedented sustainability.
Sustainability can simply be defined as the ability to endure. In regard to a project, this simply means that it should be possible for one to carry out the project to completion without depleting all the available resources.
The London 2012 sustainability plan was pegged on five major themes. These are food vision, active transport, waste management, biodiversity, and inclusion. The organizers intended to ensure that there was sustainability right from the beginning of the event to the end of it. This was monitored by the organizers themselves.
In terms of food, London 2012 set out to ensure that people who attended the event got to taste food from the whole of the Britain. The food served was checked to ensure that it was not only healthy but it was also affordable to all attending the event, both foreigners and locals. On climate change, the London 2012 games aimed to showcase sustainable solutions in terms of food production, preparation and even distribution. The food served during the London 2012 events, was produced through a mutually beneficial cooperation between educational institutions and commercial institutions.
London 2012 sought to not only provide the spectators and the athletes with healthy nourishment but to also create sustainable food production practices throughout the food chain. As Department of Culture and Sports (2011) reported, Food for the event was sourced from suppliers who adhered to the best practices as set by the various agencies that check on quality. The catering staff was required to adhere to proper food production standards that meet international standards. All venues that served food in the Olympic park had to have tickets of compliance with the set guidelines (DCMS, 2011, p3).
All food served at the Olympic park had to be fresh and provide a variety of healthy options to the athletes and spectators. There was food for everyone including vegetarians and those who wanted food exotic to England like sushi and Mexican dishes. The prices of food were fair with a wide range to cater for people of all economic abilities. For the first few days of the event, the event food was not evenly available owing to some logistic problems but this was quickly solved.
The second sustainability aspect was active transport. The Olympic park required a very elaborate public transport system. The economic and social report council (2010) reported that Goods were delivered to the venue using the more sustainable modes such as water transport and electric vehicles(ESRC, 2010, p4). This also served t shield the environment from pollution. In buying and hiring equipment and fixtures, London 2012 stuck to the LOCOG code which clearly outlined the guidelines to be followed to ensure sustainability
London 2012 sought ways to come up with more sustainable transport systems. These included freight telematics, biodiesel trucks as well as electric vehicles. The organizing committee, LOCOG even managed to use two water barges for transport of heavy goods(DCS, 2011). Other than the eco friendliness of the vehicles used sustainability in regard to the efficient use of time was also factored in. unnecessary trips were avoided and the smaller parcels distributed in the electric vehicles
Movement of people in and around the Olympic park as well as London as a whole was made very easy during the London 2012 games. All movement for the spectators was by public transport. The only people who had a parking were the disabled. The rest had to use public transport. The public transport system moving people to and from London was effective and available at all times for people of all abilities. The venues themselves were designed with ease of movement in mind.
Games time mobility services for the London 2012 Olympic Games was also provided. The organizers even came up with a program to encourage walking and cycling on the Olympic park. New rail networks were constructed linking the Olympic park with the mainstream London transport system.
The third aspect of sustainability in the London 2012 sustainability plan was waste management. The organizers aimed to use the games to help come up with new ways to fast track development of new structure to manage waste in that area of London. They borrowed from best waste management practices which included minimizing the amount of waste produced right at the source (LOCOG, 2011, p.6). To facilitate long term waste management, the London 2012 games organizers laid plans to encourage the environment friendly slogan of reduce, reuse, and recycle
Right from the beginning the organizers of the event had resolved that no waste from the 77 day games would be sent directly to the land fill. Processes were put into place to ensure that the food packaging was disposed off in the appropriate way. Reuse and recycling were encouraged as key components of the sustainability plan. The organizing committee settled for the three bin system whereby recyclables, residual and compostable went into different bins. This made it easy to dispose each in the most appropriate way.
The fourth sustainability aspect of the London 2012 games was biodiversity. Concerning biodiversity, the organizing committee sought to improve the fauna and flora of the lower Lea Valley (IOC, 2012, p7). They organizers also wanted to bring people closer to the environment and encourage them to support environmental conservation efforts in their areas. To achieve this, the committee ensured the park was planted with various species of trees and plants
The committee aimed to achieve what they referred to as green games. This meant taking care of environment in terms of reducing carbon emissions as well as literally covering large parts of the Olympic park with flowers, plants, trees and other greenery.
The fifth sustainability aspect of the London 2012 games was inclusion. London hosted the most inclusive games that encouraged all people from all walks of life to participate. This also included facilitating the socio- economic regeneration of the lower Lea valley and the communities living in the surrounding areas (ESRC, 2010, p4). The sustainability plan included encouraging people in the United Kingdom and world over to adopt healthy living as well as take up sporting activities since they too contributed to that. This included eating well, living in a healthy environment, and engaging in healthy physical activity
Inclusion meant that the venues themselves had to be designed to be accommodative to all, considering the fact that the event was attended by people from all corners of the earth. As Committee for Sustainable London (2012, p11) explained, Food served at the event had to cater for the dietary needs of diverse cultures from all over the world.
Travel and accommodations offered to the athletes as well as the spectators was made affordable to cater for all economic categories (CSL, 2012, p. 9). There was even free drinking water for all. The result of all these efforts was that more people both from London and upcountry participated in the games
Looking at Climate change one, of the key aspects of sustainability of the London 2012 games, one realizes the approach taken towards achieving it was comprehensive (LOCOG, 2011, p. 56). The venue itself was designed in a way that it would reduce the carbon footprint. The venue was supplied with energy that was generated using low carbon emitting technologies
The organizers of the event set out to reduce the carbon emissions emanating from the built environment by 50% (IOC, 2012, p12). To achieve this they ensured that the materials for tracks and other permanent venues was eco-friendly. Over 20% of all energy required for the games was generated from renewable energy. Athlete villages for the participants were carefully designed to comply with good environmental practices and required amount of carbon emissions
One important step that the organizers of the London 2012 games took was the decision to embed sustainability principles into the games. The Olympic park, which served as the centre of the games was created from what was previously a highly polluted and inaccessible area (LOCOG, 2011, p. 21). The area was transformed to become what is now the largest park site in Europe in the last one and a half centuries. The London 2012 organizing committee termed this transformation as a large scale sustainable project
Unlike previous Olympic Games held elsewhere, the London 2012 games paid a lot of attention to details on sourcing of equipment and materials used during the games. As Committee for Sustainable London ( 2012, p. 14) reported, Building materials, food and all other equipment needed were selected with sustainability in mind. The organizing committee went as far as developing a methodology to help them determine the amount of carbon emissions emitted from the games and associated equipment (IOC, 2012, p.13).
The methodology developed at the London 2012 games to check carbon emissions help not only report on the emissions but actually reduce them. Better still; the methodology can be easily used in several other situations other than the London 2012 games. The sustainability plan was to ensure that during the games carbon footprint was reduced and energy was used as efficiently as possible (LOCOG 2011, p. 17). The organizers of the games emphasized on use of energy sources that emitted less carbon and especially use of renewable energy sources.
One of the biggest challenges the London 2012 games faced in making the project sustainable was the little time within which they had to complete all the activities (LOCOG, 2011, p. 19). This called for sustained intensive labor which translated to higher costs. The high amount of public and stakeholder interest did not make it any easier on the organizers either
I carried out a survey to find out what were the opinions of GSM London students on how sustainably London 2012 handled climate change. A representative sample of 5 students was picked out of a class of 40 students. The five students were then asked to fill a questionnaire regarding how sustainably they think London 2012 tackled climate change. Of the Of the 5 GSM London students sampled, 80%, (Four students) were of the opinion that that the London 2012 games achieved high levels of sustainability while the remaining 20% responded that the level attained was low.
They pointed out at the amount of effort applied to reduce carbon emissions during the event, use of sustainable renewable energy to power most of the event, and the deliberate efforts to reduce number of cars used during the event as some of the areas the event scored big on sustainable climate change efforts. The use of electric train for the event as opposed to petrol powered ones was also another score. The waste management system where over 75% of the waste was processed before being taken to the land fill as a major achievement of the London 2012 sustainability plan. 20% of the respondents however feel that the efforts were still not sufficient. They felt that further sensitization would have achieved much better (LOCOG, 2011)
Another great challenge for the London 2012 games was keeping up with the pace. Maintaining the sustainability standards, while at the same time adhering to IOC timetable, was a great challenge (DCMS, 2012, p.22). In the last minutes of organizing the London 20112 even the organizing committee was greatly tempted to sacrifice quality to keep up with time but managed to overcome the urge
In conclusion, the organizers of the London 2012 games laid out an ambitious sustainability plan which was to a large extent achievable. Compared to other previous Olympics games, for instance Sydney Olympics games, the London Olympic Games achieved high levels of sustainability especially on environment and climate change. The structures and the methodologies developed during the games will endure for generations to come and can easily be adapted for use in other places.
Other than delivering the sustainability promise, London 2012 also delivered on the radical proposals they made to the International Olympics Committee when they were bidding to host the games. They promised that the games would leave a lasting impression in the city which they were held, and it achieved exactly that for London. The games changed East London forever. One only needs to have a closer look at how they tackled climate change to understand how well they scored on sustainability. Balancing use of large amounts of resources and sustainability was never easy but London 2012 to a large extent delivered very sustainable games
Works cited
Economic and social research council 2010, Olympic Games Impact Study – London 2012 Pre-
Games Report, Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.uel.ac.uk/geo-information/documents/UEL_TGIfS_PreGames_OGI_Release.pdf” http://www.uel.ac.uk/geo-information/documents/UEL_TGIfS_PreGames_OGI_Release.pdf. accessed August 22 2014
Commission for a sustainable London, 2012, From vision to reality. Retrieved from
HYPERLINK “http://www.cslondon.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/11/CSL_Post%20Games%20Report_Final.pdf” http://www.cslondon.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/11/CSL_Post%20Games%20Report_Final.pdf accessed on August 22 2014
Commission for a sustainable London, 2012, A legacy of change. Retrieved from
HYPERLINK “http://learninglegacy.independent.gov.uk/documents/pdfs/sustainability/5-london-2012-” http://learninglegacy.independent.gov.uk/documents/pdfs/sustainability/5-london-2012-post-games-sustainability-report-interactive-12-12-12.pdf. Accessed on August 22 2014
Department for culture media and sports, 2011, Government Olympic Executive London 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Games Annual Report retrieved. from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/77633/DCMS_GOE_annual_report_february_2011.pdf . August 22 2014
London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, 2011, Towards one planet. Retrieved
from, HYPERLINK “http://www.olympic.org/documents/commissionsPDFfiles/SportsAndEnvironment/sustainability%20through%20sport.pdf” http://www.olympic.org/documents/commissionsPDFfiles/SportsAndEnvironment/sustainability through sport.pdf Accessed on August 22 2014
International Olympics Committee, 2012, A blueprint for change. Retrieved from
HYPERLINK “http://www.london2012.com/about-us/sustainability/” http://www.london2012.com/about-us/sustainability/ Accessed on August 22 2014
Department of Culture Media and Sports, 2012, London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics games
quarterly report June 2012.retrieved from HYPERLINK “https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/78228/DCMS_GOE_QR_JUNE-2012.pdf%20accessed%20August%2022%202014” https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/78228/DCMS_GOE_QR_JUNE-2012.pdf accessed August 22 2014
Effectiveness of the GLA and the Mayor of London in Tackling Key Issues that Relate to the Environment
Name
Course
Tutor
August 22, 2014
Executive summary
The mayor of London has the role to promote London economically, socially as well as maintaining the environment. The Greater London Authority, GLA, has the responsibility to formulate policies and procedures aimed at improving the general well being of Londoners. Its policies too have a great impact on the environment and the social life of the people of London. Over the last years, GLA has achieved a lot over the last few years. It has managed to develop a number of plans and services that have contributed a long way in making London a better living place.
GLA policies are geared towards achieving sustainability, equality good health and development. They have also come up with policies to deal with congestion, especially in Central London. GLA and the office of the mayor of London have to work closely together to ensure that the people of London live in an environment where they can carry out their day to day activities and grow economically.
The mayor of London and the GLA has been quite effective in tackling several issues related to environment. These include waste and water management, land management, air management as well as reduction of carbon emissions. This has come at a cost. In the process of maintain a sustainable environment, the office lifted the living standards of Londoners especially those of people living near the venues where the London 2012 Olympic Games were held.
The office mayor of London has a vision to make London, a world class city that has a strong economic base, one that allows all the residents of the city to share in the success of the city (Poynter & MacRury, 2012, p. 121). The mayor’s office also has the vision of ensuring proper utilization of resources in the city as well as proper management of the city environment. The mayor is the head of GLA and is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the city achieves its dreams.
Over the years the mayor of London and GLA has always used its influence to push for policies that support environmental conservation and social integration among the people of London (Poynter & MacRury, 2012, p. 121). Another important factor that GLA considers in formulation of its policies is value for money. It ensures that London residents get value for their money in whatever projects the city of London carries out on its behalf. Greater London has a population of over 7 million people and GLA and the mayor of London have the responsibility to ensure that London becomes an international business centre which supports its people economically and socially.
Over the last 5 years the mayors of London and GLA have laid down several policies that relate to the environment. His was clearly visible in 2012 London Olympic Games. They came up with a budget and programmes (Commission for a Sustainable London, 2012, p. 7). They came up with plans to bring to live the legacy action plan initiated by the government. They also had to provide other significant inputs related to the London 2012 Olympic Games. In building of the stadia required for the London 2012 Olympic Games, the structure of the buildings required was carefully assessed to ensure that negative impact of the new structures and the entire games on the environment were minimized.
Although there is a gap between development of policy and implementation of the same, the mayor of London and GLA have made great strides in preserving the environment of London. United Kingdom is among the top emitters of green house gases. London contributes about ten percent of the carbon dioxide emitted in the United Kingdom. This has forced the office of mayor of London in collaboration with GLA to come up with policies to reduce carbon emissions in both the greater London area as well as the in Central London (Rogan & Rogan, 2011, p. 123). Without serious policy intervention, the carbon dioxide emissions from the city would have increased to about 50 million tones by the year 2025. In response to this the mayor came up with a climate change action plan in which he seeks to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the city by over 60% by the year 2025. The city developed a waste management system that recycles about 9 tonnes of waste per year. This waste management system has proved very effective despite the fact that it requires a lot of improvement.
Since its coming into existence in the year 2000, GLA has come up with policies to ease congestion in central London among other policies. This involved renovating old infrastructure, building new ones, expanding old roads and even introduction of environment conscious vehicles. There have also been other programs to promote sustainable health, as well as the various ethnicities living in London.
Some of the projects the office of the Mayor of London has carried out in the recent past include delivering sustainable London 2012 Olympic Games and developing sustainable communities in London (Thornley, 2013, p. 18). This involved reusing construction waste and ensuring that emission of pollutant gases was reduced to bare minimum. They aimed to create a healthy natural environment that could stand the test of time. The quality of and the biodiversity were preserved in the construction.
The mayor had identified the main priorities, as initiating strong economic growth in the town, ensuring social inclusivity in the activities in London, environmental management as well as proper management of other natural resources (Commission for a Sustainable London, 2012, p. 7). So far London has witnessed several changes in these areas although there still needs a lot of improvement. The policies laid down by the mayor and GLA have led to improved air and water quality, as well and sustainable land utilization. The city has also witnessed a reduction in emission of greenhouse gases. Studies show that the London 2012 Olympic games for instance managed to achieve high levels of sustainability.
I carried out a survey to find out what were the opinions of GSM London students on how effective GLA and mayor were in tackling climate change. A representative sample of 10 students was picked out of a class of 50 students. The 10 students were then asked to fill a questionnaire regarding how effective they think GLA and the mayor of London were in tackling key issues related to environment. Of the Of the 10 GSM London students sampled, 80%, (8 students) were of the opinion that that the mayor of London and GLA were effective in tackling key issues that relate to environment while the remaining 20% responded that the level of effectiveness attained was low.
In conclusion, the mayor of London and The GLA have achieved quite a lot in their effort to tackle key issues relating to the environment. The sustainability levels witnessed during the London 2012 Olympic Games serves as an example of how effective the two have been. The policies were geared towards environmental improvement, social inclusivity and creating a strong and diverse economic base for Londoners. To a large extent, GLA and the mayor of London have been largely successful in tackling key issues related to the environment.
Works cited
Gavin Poynter, & Iain MacRury 2009, Olympic cities: 2012 and the remaking of London Sport
in the global society, Publisher, Routledge.
Matt Rogan & Martin Rogan, 2011, Britain and the Olympic Games: Past, Present, Legacy.
Publisher, Troubador Publishing Ltd.
Commission for a sustainable London, 2012, From vision to reality. Retrieved from
HYPERLINK “http://www.cslondon.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/11/CSL_Post%20Games%20Report_Final.pdf” http://www.cslondon.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/11/CSL_Post%20Games%20Report_Final.pdf accessed on August 22 2014
Andy Thornley, 2013, The search for an effective metropolitan government for London –
reflections on the Greater London Authority, London: LSE Press.
LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN THE OIL & GAS INDUSTRY
LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN THE OIL & GAS INDUSTRY
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Introduction
There is continued struggle by the oil and gas industry to find a complicated balance between the rising global demand or diminishing resources and maintenance of manageable operating and distribution costs. This coupled with recent economic downturn has made oil and gas industry to experience a challenge in controlling costs. This has therefore presented service providers in this industry to offer industry specific outsourcing solutions basically across the entire value chain. Even though mergers and consolidation still continues, oil and gas management, in a bid to recover their base lines have used other approaches such as business process outsourcing in their operational mix (Batson 2012). This reorientation has been greatly necessitated by the fact that operational processes have progressively become more complicated and more costly especially in terms of managing numerous business functions (Mangan, Lalwani & Butcher, 2008; 66). Businesses have therefore handed parts of their core work, for instance, engineering services to outside service providers. However, they have maintained sensitive parts such as accounting and finance. This report investigates the extent of outsourcing, why oil and gas operators use outsourcing, the option to manage supply chain and logistical operations, and decisions regarding outsourcing and in sourcing from strategic and operational perspective.
The Current Major Outsourcing Deals
By meeting more than two-thirds of the world’s energy demand, oil and gas industry is arguably the world’s most important sector. Given the large scale global operations, oil and gas companies basically represent a significant portion of the world’s economy. According to a list released by Fortune in 2009, oil and gas companies ranked seven out of ten top positions. In order to maintain high performance and maximize their efficiency taking their large in consideration, oil and gas companies have entered into many outsourcing deals. The IT infrastructure service deal between Shell and EDS is one example of such mega outsourcing transactions. This deal costs US$1 billion in total. In addition, PWC and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation have entered into a five year outsourcing deal in September 2008 to manage the supply and logistics support on behalf of the corporation (Milberg, William & Winkler, 2013; 212).
Key Industry Challenges
Oil and gas industry faces several challenges. Issues faced by the industry include high volatility of the price of oil products, talent shortage, aging infrastructure, and compliance requirements that change constantly. Others challenges that relate to broader macro economy include low reserves, rising consumption and declining production (Giunipero & Eltantawy, 2004; 700).
1. Uncertain Energy Policy
Oil and gas companies face uncertain energy policies particularly those relating to how overseas businesses are conducted hence complicating matters for them energy companies are required to be global in their execution despite their inflexible and less automated processes. These companies therefore face huge risks when they try to make operational changes because the costs are high (Bidgoli 2003; 530-31).
2. Aging Oil and Gas Infrastructure
Oil and gas industry relies heavily on large volumes of physical assets like IT systems, refineries, and drilling rigs. These physical assets are not easily changed owing to their complexity and enormous size hence subject to wear and rear (Collier & Evans 2010). This therefore poses a great challenge on the companies as they urgently need to replace them with newer asset components.
3. Volatility of Oil and Gas Prices
Management of these companies find it very difficult to manage their profitability targets and forecast sales values because of the constant fluctuation of oil and gas prices basically in the global market. Trends in oil prices have become harder to predict because supply and demand can no longer explain them (Barrar & Gervais 2006). Further, increasing speculative behaviors by hedge funds and investment banks outside energy industry has also made them harder to predict.
4. Talent Shortage
Oil and gas companies are experiencing huge skill gap in their human capital requirements basically due to imminent retirement of some of their workforce, relatively unskilled labour supply and limited educational opportunities. This condition has necessitated them to increasingly invest in the knowledge management and training hence transferring knowledge to the younger generations that enter the industry. The greatest challenge is the lack of interest in the industry by the younger workforce (Coyle et al., 2013; 71).In order to address these challenges, oil and gas companies have managed to outsource a significant amount of their value chain. Outsourcing provides the following benefits.
Advantages of Outsourcing/Benefits of Outsourcing
1. Stronger Focus on their Core Competencies
By outsourcing significant amount of their value chain and logistics, the company’s management is able to focus on the strategic decision making because they have more energy, time and efforts. They are therefore able to add value to their projects through forecasting, analysis, budgeting and strategic planning (Collier, at el., 2012; 231). In addition, they are able to re-evaluate and reengineer outdated business processes because they have enough objectivity, time and focus. Outsourcing is very relevant to the oil and gas industry because they considerable time is needed in the company’s strategic exploration initiatives. Further, outsourcing enables the companies to avoid some cots which may be associated with the physical assets hence reducing distractions from the core competencies (Slack, Chambers & Johnston, 2013).
2. Minimal Overall Costs and Cost Reduction
Outsourcing enables the companies to use the knowledge, expertise and connections of a professional organization hence reducing its overall expenses. This organization work on logistics together with other resource providers in a way that enables them to come up with a plan that is most cost-effective as possible. The changes necessary to achieve this includes better management of inventory, transportation optimization and by obtaining less expensive materials for the company. The company’s savings are boosted more should the organization decide to go offshore (Jacoby 2012; 99).
3. Increased Access to New Technologies and Talent Pool
The challenge of talent shortage and diminishing talent shortages experienced by oil and gas industry is overcome by outsourcing particularly offshoring. Offshoring offers the methodologies, proficiency, tools and solutions that are required by the unique and evolving requirements of an upstream company (Giunipero & Eltantawy, 2004; 692). Outsourcing therefore enables these companies to access the required labour pool at a lower and reduced cost.
4. More Flexibility
By outsourcing, companies are able to have access to the resources of the third party organization which help it create a more extensive infrastructure. Outsourcing supply chain management gives a company an opportunity to pick and select the organization to work with hence able to make its adjustments along the way with ease thus, increasing the overall efficiency of the company (Bozarth & Handfield 2013). A right choice of the organization reduces stress, makes life easier and gets more things done. Further, it raises customer satisfaction, fuel growth and drive high profit margins for the company.
5. Improved Regulatory Compliance and Conformity
Oil and gas firms face substantial compliance and organizational burden as a result strict government laws and complex business planning. By offshoring, oil and gas firms are able to access specialists having more exhaustive knowledge to handle the complex tax systems, industry standards and reporting policies (Gadde, HaKansson & Persson 2010; 185). Outsourcing brings about scale and leverage. It involves the use of global network to deliver services.
6. Meet Customer Demand
Companies may plateau due to insufficient or lack of resources thus being able to supply its customers with a finite volume of products. When this case happens, the growth and building of the company’s brand equity can be nearly impossible (Close 2006). However, outsourcing can help in this department simply because a third party organization will take the necessary steps t acquire or obtain the needed number or quantity of products to the company’s customers. Outsourcing therefore acts as a catalyst for major growth hence propelling the business into the future. In addition, they are able to provide constant coverage for their consumers who actually require 24-hour support, particularly when other competitors (foreign and domestic) are also doing the same.
The Better Option for Managing the Supply Chain and Logistical Operations
According to me outsourcing proves to be the best option for managing the supply chain and logistical operations even though currently, many companies are shifting to in-sourcing. Many firms argue that cost reductions would not be actually experienced if outsourcing is used however, if well managed, cost reductions would be realized (Oshri, Kotlarsky & Willcocks, 2011; 58-60). Outsourcing being a strategic partnership requires that all parties work for common objective basically with mutual interest. The parties should establish transparency by disclosing all the required information to one another. This will ensure that costs are reduced, for instance, CAPGEMINI 2010 report reveals that companies that outsourced reported 11 percent reduction in inventory, 25 percent reduction in the deployed capital and 15 percent cost savings (Flynn, Morita & Machuca, 2011; 253). This disputes the claims that outsourcing does not lead to cost reductions.
However, some argue that logistical operations are too important to be outsourced. Logistic function has some activities that are mundane in nature. These ones can be outsourced so that logistics or supply chain manger can be allowed to focus on activities that add value rather than day-to-day routine functions. It is therefore necessary to develop an outsourcing strategy to enable identify those activities that are not core. A SWOT analysis should also be developed so that weaknesses and threats of outsourcing can be understood. In my opinion, warehousing and transportation are non-core functions and should therefore be outsourced so that costs can be saved (Jenster, Pedersen & Plackett 2005; 62). It would be close to impossible, in the current economic conditions, to develop infrastructure globally. Thus, it is advisable for companies to form strategic alliances and partnerships through outsourcing to expand globally and save cost at the same time.
A proposition that control over outsourced activities or functions would diminish is a myth according to me. Even though it is true that a shipper may lack transactional control, overall control may not diminish because the responsibility lies with them. Just like in-sourcing, outsourcing safeguards control. This is true because it is the transactional operations that are outsourced and not control (Cinquini, Di-Minin & Varaldo 2012; 77). Companies in this industry may not lose control because the shippers are in a position to develop and regularly monitor the key performance indices (KPIs) for all the outsourced functions and activities.
It is argued that logistics is a firm’s core competency and should therefore be in-sourced instead of outsourcing it because core competencies are managed internally. However, when this operation function is maintained at higher levels, the organization maintains a high cost infrastructure compared to when it is outsourced (Barrar & Gervais 2006; 54). In addition, rapid globalization demands that organizations form strategic alliances to be able to compete in a global platform. In my opinion, logistics being a core competency is myth and it should therefore be outsourced so that costs can be reduced.
Conclusion
The essay established that increasing need for globalization coupled with key industry challenges have necessitated companies in the oil and gas industry to outsource parts of their core work and the non-core functions to outside service providers. The expansion of logistics landscape has presented the companies with more opportunities to get more value than before particularly from their supply chain operations. A firm begins by analysing their requirements and expectations then selecting the right outside service provider to meet their customer demands, reduce costs, access new technologies and talent pools and focus on their core competencies to be able to add value to their projects. Further, it optimizes total value that is provided to the oil and gas industry because they integrate with the core business in a manner that maximizes the overall benefit to the organization.
Reference List
Top of Form
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Horsemeat Consumption in Europe
Over the recent years, horse meat has been a major problem in the United Kingdom. One major source originates from Northern America in places like Canada as well as Southern America in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. The European horsemeat problem began when meat testing within Ireland proved that some beef products contained the equine DNA. This menace has spread across the European continent and in the process, entangling many distinguished brands, which result to timely product abandonment and therefore poor customer concerns by the relevant authorities as well as poor government investigations into the continent’s complex food dispensation chains.
Findings
Due to the ongoing European horsemeat contamination scandal, a good number of the beef supplies company executives are considering looking at their risks and uncertainties and on a regular basis. The horsemeat contamination in the beef lasagne is one example of the unexpected interference that occurs when the company executives ought to prepare themselves to handle. Economic pressures contribute to a larger percentage of the risks, which contribute to contaminations in the supply chains (Doeg, 2005 166). According to Humane Society International (2012), every year about one hundred thousand tonnes of horsemeat become imported to the European Union states and the origin of this meat is from the above countries. In addition to the large amounts of meat supplied to the European Union nations, about tens of thousands of this meat is slaughtered for human consumptions within the European Union itself. The Humane Society International (2012) has carried out studies over the issue of horsemeat in the European meat consumption market especially in three member states, which include France, Netherlands and Belgium where meat consumption is a normal phenomenon.
Sampling studies carried on beef lasagne in France, Belgium and Netherlands.
Beef Lasagne is an Italian flat dish, which is made by incorporating several ingredients and sauces into several layers and then baking the dish in an oven. This dish is an olden Italian meal, which is very delicious. The ingredients are made from pork and beef mixed with fresh pasta, creamy béchamel and Italian mozzarella. According to a sampling food survey conducted by the European Food Standards Agency over the wide spread of horsemeat in beef products, one of the products found to contain traces of more than one percent pig meat include Apetito Beef Lasagne (FSA, 2013). The Apetito Company in their defence state that they produce majority of beef lasagne just like any other company however, their beef products in most cases, are imported in large chunks or as whole muscles from their approved suppliers. They inspect their meat but do not carry out comprehensive analysis of the Bute found in the imported meat so as to detect traces of harmful substances (FSA, 2013). The sampling done of the beef lasagne was carried out in two phases and the results obtained proved that out of the 224 Apetito Beef Lasagne sampled in phase one, 214 contained more than one percent pig DNA or contain both pig and horse DNA (FSA, 2013). As for the second phase, the Apetito Beef Lasagne tested contained a threshold of more than one percent pig DNA but did not contain any horse DNA above the one percent threshold.
Also, a report by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2013) proved that there were undeclared traces of horse as well as pork DNA were found in meat products especially lasagne, beef burgers and Bolognaise, which are already readymade meat products that have been contaminated by horse meat as well as pork DNA. The European government and the related meat industries are conducting a large scale and nationwide meat testing to determine the problem. Each and every year, beef lasagne, which contains traces of horsemeat, is being delivered to France, Netherlands and Belgium in large numbers, which are more than ten thousand tones. In most cases, most of the livestock slaughtered are not bred in France, Netherlands and Belgium. According to Humane Society International (2012 1), not all the livestock slaughtered for beef lasagne are raised in these countries however, they are transported across the European Union borders and then slaughtered in the states for meat consumption. Live animals in the past years have been transported across the three nations partly due to the close proximity of slaughterhouse in either country (Humane Society International, 2012). In France, exportation of beef for making lasagne has extended to the neighbouring states of France like Spain as well as Poland (Humane Society International, 2012).
The governments within the European Union and especially in the United Kingdom have begun efforts to ensure the coordinated response towards the establishment and investigations of the menace across Europe. The European Union on its part agreed that the tests for the imported beef products in foreign countries should be tested for the presence of horsemeat and more so throughout the entire meat food chain. The report also indicated that the major people responsible for the distribution and sale of horsemeat are the food retailers and manufacturers as well as the food suppliers who are legally responsible for making sure that the beef products are labelled correctly. The British Food Standards Agency, who are responsible for ensuring food safety, and the Food Authenticity Programme, which develops the required testing methods that check whether the beef lasagne products have been properly labelled or have contaminations, are responsible for the illegal distribution of horsemeat (Humane Society International, 2012).
Processed beef lasagne in Ireland and Spain
Taco Bell, which is an American Based food retail company was involved in the horsemeat scandal and in recent times, has withdrawn the sale of its taco beef product in the European nations and the reason was the fact that some of the sols beef lasagne were found to contain more than ten percent horse DNA (Humane Society International, 2012). These products include beef skewers, made by Brakes catering company, beef lasagne and spaghetti Bolognese, which are ready Birds Eye meals. In Europe, Taco Bell has various outlets in Europe, one in Essex, the other in Manchester and about three in Spain. The companies in recent times said that after testing their beef lasagne, the presence of horsemeat became evident in the products. The Taco Bell Company revealed that some of the beef products, which they bought from their suppliers in Europe contained traces of horsemeat. Immediately the company realized this mistake, they withdrew their sale of beef and also discontinued their purchase of meat products, and later contacted the Food Standards Agency (Humane Society International, 2012).
The presence of low level horse DNA in beef products prompted the Birds Eye to go ahead and remove their readymade beef meals from supermarket shelves based on the fact that they were made from Belgian Companies (Meikle, 2013). The products include the traditional 340g spaghetti Bolognese, the 400g Shepherd’s Pie and the 400g beef lasagne. Further tests that have been conducted on the Birds Eye product, and in particular on the beef lasagne and spaghetti Bolognese, show that these products contain traces of Horse DNA. This has prompted beef manufacturers and traders to introduce a new DNA testing program, which will make sure that no pulverized beef product will be distributed to the retail stores without undergoing thorough screening and DNA testing (Meikle, 2013).
Beef testing in Europe
The local authorities in European countries as well as the Food Standards Agency carry out close to one hundred thousand tests annually, as part of their routine, to detect the numerous food safety issues and fraud issues encompassing the food industry by using the risk based approach system (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2013). The Food Standards Agency requires a more vigorous response from the food industry so as to demonstrate their campaign in fighting the horsemeat scare across Europe. The Food Standards Agency aims at ensuring that every food industry prepares food, sells their products and deserves their product with the quality it has advertised on its cover paper. Food operating businesses are required to carry out authenticity tests on every processed beef products, for example lasagne, beef burgers and meatballs, and then provide the tested results to the Food Standards Agency (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2013). The tests results, which have been submitted to the Food Standards Agency, ought to be published by the specific retail company that was responsible for carrying out the tests. This ensures there is maximum transparency in the food testing and authenticity system for the benefit of the beef product consumers. Additionally, the Food Standards Agency is conducting a nationwide inspection incorporating the various beef products, which are available for consumption to UK consumers. The companies responsible for supplying public institutions like schools and even hospitals are part of the Food Standards Agency sampling programme.
The various countries’ local authorities aim at identifying and understanding the various factors that lead to the presence of meat products, which have not been labelled as ingredients so as to eliminate, explain and correctly label such products. The local authorities have undertaken numerous activities including carrying out surveying in order to come up with relevant information regarding the possible presence of pig DNA or possible traces of horse DNA in the wide range of beef products, which are available to the UK consumers (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2013). According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2013), the survey will take samples from pre-packed beef products at retail stores, which claim the products are beef or either beef combined with other labelled meat species. These include meat balls, burgers, sausages and minced beef. The other samples that will be sampled include frozen beef products, imported beef products from the third world countries and fresh beef products. This survey will aim at selecting a percentage of the beef products, which represent the goods that are available on the consumer market and the samples are taken in such a way that enforcement actions ought to be taken, if necessary, in order to protect the well being of the consumers.
Conclusion
Even though the horse meat scandal has proved to be detrimental especially to the well being of the European citizens, the realization of this vice by the relevant agencies as well as the local authorities has proven successful in the fight against the consumption of such products. In Europe, chilled horsemeat, fresh horsemeat as well as processed horsemeat products are readily available for the consumption of the population. According to the report by the Humane Society International (2012 14), horsemeat is commonly sold in the form of smoked meat slices or can either be incorporated as a cheap convenience ingredient to the meat products rather than selling it as meat steaks with such products including beef lasagne, which is a common delicacy in Europe. The low levels of occasional consumptions that have been reported indicate that horsemeat is a readily available commodity in most European countries. The high levels of horsemeat importations especially from the third world countries is not accounted for and therefore; not reflected in the labelling packages as beef products that come from a reliable country of origin (Humane Society International, 2012 15).
Recommendations
The survey carried out shows that about ninety percent of the companies involved in the study together with the local authorities have been involved in the uncertain economic growth and the impact on supply chains management (Doeg, 2005 169). On a risk management perspective, numerous European beef processing and supply company executives ought to try and understand how their suppliers operate. It is their right to be part of the supply and logistics by carrying out their own independent inspections and analysis of the specific beef product and in so doing, the companies would comply with the standards required by their clients (Doeg, 2005 24). As soon as a company determines that the beef products obtained from the supplier contains traces of horsemeat, then the company ought to introduce a benchmark system, which will be responsible for testing fully all the products bought so as to ensure there is no other trace of pig DNA or horse DNA within the purchased products. In so doing, it would create a system whereby the suppliers and retailers have a disclosure agreement concerning the presence of horse DNA in the food products (Doeg, 2005 25).
Safety is the key factor to consider when managing the movement of beef products from the source to the retail store. However, due to mistrust issues on terms of correct labelling of the beef products, horsemeat contamination has become a major problem in European countries (De Leon, Meacham & Claudio, 2003 68). An example is the Taco Bell food retail chain, where apart from horse DNA being found on their beef products, the supplier on the other hand had agreed to supply only Irish beef since they had Polish meat in their preservation chambers for supply during harsh economic times (Sullivan, Barthorpe & Robbins, 2011 18).
The truth aspect has not entirely been lost on the clients. A UK based Consumer Intelligence company conducted research and suggests that about twenty percent of British grown patrons have confessed to buying of less meat due to the horse-meat scandal (Donald & Waters, 2007 118). About two thirds of the adult population surveyed confessed that they have trust issues with food labels, at the same time, more than sixty percent alleged to having plans of buying meat from their neighbourhood butchers due to the horse-meat contamination (Meyer, 2013). This means that the retailer companies such as Taco Bell ought to become accustomed to the risks involved and act accordingly because the horsemeat contamination might become a menace and if not realized early, then the food processors might continue with their insufficient standards of manufacturing beef products, which turns out to be cost cutting more so to the suppliers of the beef products.
The control of food imports especially from countries, which are outside the European Union, ought to comply with the strict food safety standards and requirements so as to make sure the products are equivalent to the produced foods found in the European nations (Belasco & Horowitz, 2010 71-74). The imported foods become subject to constant food checks especially by the local authorities and health officers at the ports as it helps to ensure that they comply with the regulations (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2013). The other important factor to consider is having one entry point for the imported beef products. These border examination posts ensure that meat products are inspected and the health officers make sure there is no pig or horse DNA in the products (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2013). In case the imported products pose any threat to human consumption, then the present legislation permits the ban of such imports. The Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 uplifts bans against contaminated meat since the products risks human health (De Leon, Meacham & Claudio, 2003 95).
Reference
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