World Trade Organization (WTO)
April 30th, 2010 by Noah
The World Trade Organization (WTO), established on January 1, 1995, is an open, non-discriminatory trading system. As a successor to the GATT, established in the wake of the Second World War, it is to help world trade flow freely, fairly and predictably. Members of the WTO follow three most important principles:
— the most-favored nation concept, i. e., every contracting party grants all other parties any tariff advantages that it grants to any other country.
— although customs duties are recognized as a legitimate instrument of protection,
they should be reduced as far as possible.
— the abolition of quantitative restrictions on imports; these are permissible,however, if necessitated by reasons relating to the balance of payments, and these exceptions are carefully supervised.
While the WTO is still young, the multilateral trading system that was originally set up under GATT is already 50 years old. The system celebrated its golden jubilee in Geneva on 19 May 1998, with many heads of state and government leaders attending.
The past 50 years have seen an exceptional growth in world trade. Merchandise exports grew on average by 6% annually. Total trade in 1997 was 14-times the level of 1950. GATT and the WTO have helped to create a strong and prosperous trading system contributing to unprecedented growth.
The system was developed through a series of trade negotiations, or rounds, held under GATT. The first rounds dealt mainly with tariff reductions but later negotiations included other areas such as anti-dumping and non-tariff measures. The latest round—' 1986-1994 Uruguay Round—led to the WTO's creation.
The negotiations did not end there. Some continued after the end of the Uruguay
In February 1997 agreement was reached on telecommunications services, with moments agreeing to wide-ranging liberalization measures that went beyond those agreed in the Uruguay round. In the same year 40 governments successfully concluded negotiations for tariff-free trade in information technology products, and 70 members concluded a financial services deal covering more than 95% of trade in banking, insurance, securities and financial information.
At the May ministerial meeting in Geneva, WTO members agreed to study trade issues arising from global electronic commerce. The next ministerial conference is due to be held in the United States in late 1999. In 2000, new talks are due to start on agriculture and services and a range of other issues.
China was an original member of GATT but for historical and political reasons it was withdrawn from GATT by the government in Taibei in 1950.
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Quality-oriented Education
April 29th, 2010 by Noah
The National Conference on Education, the third of its kind since China began its reform and opening policies in the late 1970s, was hosted in Beijing in June by the central government and the State Council. It endorsed a blueprint for promoting quality-oriented education that highlights the cultivation of independent thinking, creative spirit and the practical ability of the nation. Convening at the turn of the century, the conference's endorsement paved the way for the development of a vigorous socialist educational system with Chinese characteristics as the country enters the 21st century. It also pointed out the need to enhance the quality and the competitiveness of Chinese people in the new century.
The promotion of quality education and the fostering of originality are in line with the trend of the times and conducive to China's social, economic and scientific development. The world is about to enter a new era of knowledge-based economy. In developed countries, statistics indicate intelligence and knowledge factors already contribute to 60 to 80 percent of economic growth. Since knowledge-based economy will prevail, we have reason to believe that in the new century an individual who possesses talents, innovative spirit and comprehensive knowledge will wield an upper hand in international competition. Education is the base for knowledge acquisition, popularization and application, as well as a cradle for nurturing people with innovative spirits.
The past few years saw healthy advancement and forceful reforms in China's education sector. Significant headway has been made in different education fronts especially in the implementation of the nine-year compulsory education — six years in primary school and three years in middle school, the elimination of illiteracy and the enhancement of higher education and vocational training. According to statistics released by the Ministry of Education (MOE), more than 73% of the country's population had gone through nine-year compulsory education by 1998. Some 98.93% of children of primary school age attended classes, whereas 87. 3% of children attended middle schools. Last year, China's 1,022 regular colleges and universities enrolled 1.08 million students for bachelor degrees, while its 962 adult higher learning institutions enrolled more than 1 million students. These institutions were set up more than a decade ago specially for those who failed the entrance exams for regular colleges and universities. They have helped train millions of people with specialized skills in
agricultural, industrial, educational, medical, financial, public security and other economic sectors. More will be done within the next few years to promote on-the-job and reemployment training programs.
However, much is still to be desired. The traditional examination-driven education system has bridled young people's thinking and has made them mere passive learners with little practical abilities and innovative spirits. The promotion of quality education will offset shortcomings of the old system. It will foster modern talents, creative spirit and expertise in order to better shoulder the responsibility of rejuvenating the Chinese nation.
The Chinese Government promises to increase its education expenditure gradually to reach 4% of the GDP in the near future. Local governments should prioritize funding for education when drafting fiscal budgets. With concerted efforts from the government, the education sector and society as a whole, we believe quality education will progress smoothly and contribute to China's modernization drive.
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Red for Danger
April 28th, 2010 by Noah
During a bullfight, a drunk suddenly wandered into the middle of the ring. The crowd began to shout, but the drunk was unaware of the danger. The bull was busy 5 with the matador at the time, but it suddenly caught sight of the drunk who was shouting rude remarks and waving a red
cap. Apparently sensitive to criticism, the bull forgot all about the matador and 10 charged at the drunk. The crowd suddenly grew quiet. The drunk, however, seemed quite sure of himself. When the impatiently sentient to criticism bull got close to him, he clumsily stepped aside to let it pass. The crowd broke into 15 cheers and the drunk bowed. By this time, however, three men had come into the ring and they quickly dragged the drunk to safety. Even the bull seemed to feel sorry for him, for it looked on sympathetically until the drunk was out of the way before once more turning its attention to the matador.
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Sold Out
April 27th, 2010 by Noah
'The play may begin at any moment,'
'It may have begun already,' Susan answered.
' I hurried to the ticket-office. 'May I have two tickets please ? I asked.
'I'm sorry, we've sold out,' the girl said.'What a pity!' Susan exclaimed. Just then, a man hurried to the ticket-office.
a man hurried to the ticket-office
'Can I. return these two tickets?' he asked.
'Certainly,' the girl said. 15 I went back to the ticket-office at once.
M1 'Could I have those two tickets please?' I asked.
'Certainly,' the girl said, 'but they are for next Wednesday's performance. Ob you still want them?' 'I might as well have them,' I said sadly.
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Split daily rest.
April 26th, 2010 by Noah
A dally rest can be split into two or three separate periods as long as the total rest is extended by one hour to at least 12 hr, each part is of at least an hour, arid the last part of the split is a period of at least 8 hr. Therefore, a driver who has a split shift or who has a gap between jobs during the middle of the day can take part of his daily rest early and reduce the rest time to be taken at the end of the day to a minimum of 8 hr.
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Project considerations
April 24th, 2010 by Noah
It is probably still true that designing and building an automated system takes longer than a more conventional system, although as more experience is gained overall project times tend to reduce. A very approximate comparison would be that a conventional system requiring one year designing and building would take 18 months of automated. A significant part of the time requirement for an automated system is commissioning the control systems. Other key project considerations for some automated systems include obtaining planning permission from local authorities if a "high bay" installation is proposed, and exploring the insurance and fire protection implications.
Other factors
There is a perception that automated systems are inflexible in the sense that they are designed for a specific set of operating parameters, and any significant change to the market or other requirements may not be easily accommodated. There is some truth in this, and certainly it can be difficult to dispose of or significantly modify such an asset if future changes make it inappropriate for the business. Hence long - term business forecasts are crucial in planning such an installation.
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Information process (RFI)
April 23rd, 2010 by Noah
Request for information process (RFI) and then short list Each potential contractor that appears on the long list should be contracted with a brief description of the likely requirements. This is to ascertain whether the contractor would be interested in tendering for the business and to identify whether or not it would be appropriate to include the company on the short list of contractors. This description is often known as the request for information, as follows:
A. Introduction and confidentiality clause
B. Description of the company - operation and product overview
C. Description of opportunity
a) Overview of strategy and likely requirements
b) Contractual relationship
D. The selection process
a) Procurement process
b) Key selection criteria
E. Content of response
F. Format of response
a) Overview of strategy and likely requirements
b) Contractual relationship
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Order preparation
April 22nd, 2010 by Noah
Order preparation refers to the activities of gathering the information need-ed about the products or services desired and formally requesting the products to be purchased. It may involve determining an appropriate vendor, the filling out of an order form by a customer or a salesperson, determining stock availability, voice communication of order information by telephone to a sales clerk, or making selection from a computer menu. This activity has benefited greatly from electronic technology, as illustrated next.
• We all familiar with the bar code scanning of our grocery selections at the checkout counters of supermarkets. Such technology speeds order preparation by electronically gathering information about the requested item (size, quantity, and description) and presenting it to a computer for further processing.
• Some field salespeople now carry laptop computers when calling on purchasing agents and other customer attachment types. Buyers are able to call up their specifications about particular products, determine availability and price, and make their selections, all via a computer attached to the seller's computer.
• Some industrial purchase orders are generated directly by the company s computer, often in response to depleted inventory levels. By connecting buyer and seller computers through electronic data interchange (EDI) technology, paperless transactions are accomplished by lower order preparation costs and reduced order replenishment times.
Technology is eliminating the need To fill out order forms manually, voice -actuated computers and wireless encoding or product information, called the radio frequency and identification system (RK/ID), arc new technologies that will further reduce the time for the order preparation phase of the customer's order cycle.
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Product integrity
April 21st, 2010 by Noah
Warehousing and handling systems should be so designed and managed that product is maintained in a suitable state for the final customers. This implies having systems in place to minimize damage, loss or deterioration, and to satisfy stock rotation or product life requirements, and any legal constraints on storage environment such as temperature limits.
Working conditions and safety
Traditionally many warehouse tasks have been respective, monotonous, sometimes arduous, and often not in a particular congenial environment. This is an area of increasing importance. Some recent significant innovations in fork ~ lift truck design, for example, have been specifically aimed at improving opera-tor environment and minimizing risk of repetitive strain injury. Lighting levels, temperature and humidity, and hygiene also impact deftly on operator environment and therefore on operator performance in the long term.
Safety has always been of prime importance in warehousing because of the amount of movement, lifting and manual handling involved. Even with the levels of mechanization and automation in some modern installations, safety remains of key importance. This is given further emphasis by the amount of legislation that has come from the Health and Safety Executive (UK), and the various European directives that have come from Brussels.
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Design procedure
April 20th, 2010 by Noah
The design of a warehouse and handling system involves a number of stages, starting with the definition of system requirements and constraints, and finishing with an evaluated preferred design. Although set out sequentially below, the design process is developed, and assessing the interactions that necessarily occur throughout the process. Any design process uses a range of skills and disciplines. As well as warehouse design expertise, it is appropriate to draw on the operational experience of managers and staff to incorporate their perspective and help produce a design that is technically, financially and operationally viable.
The design process includes the following steps;
Define system requirements and design constrains
The design requirements for a warehouse or distribution depot operation,
taking account of future growth forecasts and other likely business developments
are likely to include:
• required capacities, both storage and throughput;
• service level to be achieved;
• specified facilities such as packaging, quality control or other.
Relevant constraints can include:
• time, e. g. facility to be up and running by a specified date;
• financial, e. g. limit on capital expenditure or on cost per unit of throughput;
" technical, e. g. to be compatible with existing company technology, to enable flexible throughput to meet seasonal variations, or technology level to present "a leading - edge" company image.
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