Family Violence Essay Example for Free

Family Violence Essay While it is difficult to create a concrete definition of family violence or blame anyone involved in it, no one will disagree with the fact that it can be disastrous for all members of any family. The inherent complexity of such situations makes it difficult to blame any single person of the family or to underpin a particular gender as the sole guilty behind such occurrence. Therefore this study briefly explores why this issue looks so complicated and whether such complication would help to solve the situation. According to Levesque et al. (2001), family violence involves family members acts of omission or commission that result in physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or other forms of maltreatment, which eventually hampers healthy development of humans.   The above definition fairly indicates that there are many faces of family violence and it can be difficult for an outsider to identify if there is any violence ongoing in a family. However, American Academy of Family Physicians (2009), explains family violence as the intentional intimidation or abuse of children, adults or elders by a family member, intimate partner or caretaker to gain power and control over the victim. While the first definition mostly emphasizes on action, the second one stresses on intention. This adds to the complexity by highlighting the fact that family violence can take place even without the knowledge of most of the members in a family (Lau et al., 1999). For example, a father may find spanking as an effective tool to intimidate his daughter, and may intentionally does that off and on, which may not be considered as violence by her mother or other members of that family and thus such practice might continue to ruin the victims future. This is very much possible, since many acts are considered as socially accepted violence, such as spanking, and which are not considered as abusive violence, which according to the researchers an act which has a high potential for injuring the person being hit (Straus et al, 1980, pp. 21-22). The above state of affairs shows that there is much ambiguity in pinpointing family violence which in turn points at the fact that how difficult it could be to redress it or to eliminate its occurrence. This signifies the importance of spreading awareness about the damaging potential of family violence and promoting the adoption of behavioral processes that can effectively eliminate such occurrences in a family. For example, encouraging parents to abstain from using corporal punishment to their children could be a way to lessen the instances of child abuse – because the intention behind corporal punishment, i.e., to cause pain but not injury for purposes of coercion and control (Strauss et al., 1980) may be lost with raised temper and loss of control. In all, any injury has the potential to leave a scar on human mind and thus can considerably influence the actions of the victims, which may create further problems to the society. It is from this angle, the hidden niches of family violence need to be identified and redressed, and from that perspective, humans have to go through complex discussions and debates in way of finding its solution. It is not that family violence is a new phenomenon of the society, since instances of it are spread all over in the literature of all times, and earning several sobriquets in different periods, like battered child syndrome (Kempe et al., 1962), granny bashing (Burston, 1975) or battered woman (Walker, 1979). Therefore, it is the pressing lifestyle of modern times have given it some more dimensions and accordingly, the educated minds of modern times are trying to deeply investigate its root as well as its intrinsic effects on human mind. Consequently, the perception about family violence is also gradually changing, where the earlier concept of focusing on the violence on women, children as the potential victims is making way to a newer concept that includes all humans and considers any act detrimental to human development as family violence (Pleck, 1987). Conclusion The apparent complexity in defining or determining family is actually an outcome of the honest search of the researchers that has brought forth many hidden niches of family violence. This is the right process, because the more the mechanism of family becomes clear before all, the more humans will be able to eradicate it and move towards a prosperous and happy future. References American Academy of Family Physicians. (2009). Family and intimate partner violence and abuse. Retrieved July 19, 2009, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/policy/policies/f/familyandintimatepartner-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   violenceandabuse.html Burston, G. R. (1975). Granny battering. British Medical Journal, 3, 592. Kemple, C. H., Silverman, F. N., Steele, B. F., Droegemullar, W., and Silver, Hl. K.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (1962). The battered-child syndrome. Journal of the American Medical   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Association, 181, 105-112. Lau, J. T. F., Liu, J. L. Y., Tong, C. K., and Tan, P. M. E. H. (1999). Conceptualizations,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   reporting and under-reporting of child abuse in Hong Kong. Child Abuse   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Neglect, 23, 1159-1174 Lavesque, D. A., Velicer, W.F., Castle, P. H., and Greene, R. N. (2008). Violence against   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   women. Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 158-164. Pleck, E. (1987). Domestic tyranny: The making of social policy against family violence from colonical times to the present. New York: Oxford University Press. Straus, M. A., Gelles, R.J., and Steinmetz, S.K. (1980). Behind closed doors:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Violence in American families. Doubleday, NewYork. Walker, L. E. (1979). The battered woman. New York: Harer Colophon Books.

How Does Light Affect The Rate Of Photosynthesis? :: essays research papers

Biology Investigation Problem: How does light affect the rate of Photosynthesis? The Plan In my experiment I am going to see how light affects the rate of photosynthesis. To do this experiment I am going to set up the apparatus as shown in figure 1. The apparatus I am going to use are the following: - 1 Tripod 1 300ml Beaker 1 Boiling Tube 1 Clamp Stand 1Clamp 1 Boss 1 Ring Binder 1 Lamp 1 1 Metre Ruler 1 Thermometer 1 Stop Clock To do the experiment I will set up the apparatus first. I will firstly place the tripod on top of the base of the clamp stand and fill the 300ml beaker with 250ml of water to create the water bath. I will place the boss in the middle of the bar on the clamp stand and place the clamp in the boss. I would then fill the boiling tube 43ml of water, put the pondweed in it and place it in the clamp. I would place the ring binder around the clamp stand surrounding the water base. Finally, I would plug in the lamp and place it 10cm away from the pondweed. I done a preliminary experiment to get an idea how to do the main and proper experiment and what would happen in the experiment. In the preliminary experiment we didn’t use the safeguards so it wasn’t fair experiment. We did this because it gave us the idea what problems we might face when we did the main experiment and gave us the idea how to do it. The pondweed should create photosynthesis by the following equation: - 6CO2 + 6H2O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6C6H12O6+ 6O2 Photosynthesis occurs when plants take in Carbon Dioxide from the surrounding air in its leaves and water from the nearby soil in its roots. The leaves then take light energy from the Sun, which is absorbed in the chlorophyll in the cells and passes it along for it to be used in photosynthesis. Glucose is produced and is converted into Starch to be stored. Oxygen is produced from the water and it is a waste product so it is released into the air. The plant uses Carbon Dioxide and water to create Carbohydrates. Glucose is a small, soluble molecule which is useless for a plant to use as energy but it converts it into Starch, which is a large and insoluble molecule, so it can be stored for to be converted back into Glucose. I made this experiment as fair as possible.

Steroid Pros and Cons

The effects of steroid use has been widely documented, especially in the past couple of years with all the high profiled athletes subjecting themselves to a tainted legacy because of the need to keep there competitive edge while there skills where slowly diminishing with age. Sending shock waves through the sports world and fans feeling disappointed and confused, athletes have been slowly coming out In the public eye for their past and current steroid abuse. These athletes have been emotionally distressed and this I imagine is extremely hard to adapt to and handle.But what bout the physical demographer bodies are enduring with these powerful anabolic drugs? This Is where a lot of different pollens come In to play, between the so-called experts and the self proclaimed experts. The so called experts being doctors and self proclaimed experts being â€Å"JUICERS† In the bodybuilding world. Some people would say â€Å"_Well look, he Is a doctor he must be right† _ and I woul d say that I rather take advice after a bad break up from a friend with the same experience than a happily married radio show love expert telling me what Is politically correct.But It Is very arid to argue science, which leads me to read up on many different articles from the other side. Rick Collins a writer for littleness. Com had a interesting article in 1999, that stated how the public was fooled by the physicians into thinking that steroids was not a performance enhancer and did not make people stronger. He then went on to say that congress, was more worried about making competitive sports pure and not so much on the actual health of steroid users. This being his own belief (not fact) says to me that he might be right.The United States of America has a way of gnashing athletes who use these drugs as criminals with huge penalties. This makes Rick Collins argument strong. Something that I also found pretty interesting was that the same physicians who said in the sass's that stero ids did not enhance ones performance retreated form that theory in the sass's. This left a bad taste in the sports communities mouths and made Doctors not look so bright. Where the physicians believed to be credible sources anymore? A majority of the sports and bodybuilding community said yes, they should be credible but Just not when it came to steroids.There is a large population of steroid users that believe the â€Å"JUICE† had a positive impact on their life. These feelings probably came from people who did the drug in proper dosages. But like anything, too much can be unhealthy. Example tanning, alcohol, sleeping and so on. What I feel bothers America about steroids Is not so much the health risks. Turn on a TV and flick through the channels. I would say you can probably come across something to do with steroids, but how much you want to bet It will be about a sports figure. Do the same thing on the Internet, Google steroids. Bet you won't get a story of a death due to steroids.Is It because there arena any stones on everyday people and steroids. No. I'm sure there Is someone who Is suffering from side effects from steroids. But who cares? It's truly about Integrity of competition. And I believe It Is truly blown out of proportion. I am so sick of seeing these ball players getting smashed through the media, getting critiqued on every little thing they say and do. When the concerns are not about health In the news It Is always about an athlete who â€Å"Cheated† -Always drama, I feel like newspapers and articles on two writers sitting on the other side of the fence on this topic.

Schematic Overview of the Purchasing Process - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3601 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? 2.1 Introduction: Despite some authors (Constantino and Pellegrino, 2009; Ramsay and Wagner, 2009; Svahn and Westerlund, 2009), criticising that the purchasing function, as an issue, has received too little attention in the past and has yet to find a home in an existing academic discipline (Ramsay, 2001), Van Weele (2004), Collignon et al (2007), Zheng et al (2007) and Pressey et al (2009) argue that it is a too valuable unit that should not be disregarded. Bailey et al, (2008) and Chen and Paulraj (2004) both highlight that not only should purchasing have strategic importance, but it can have a proactive long-term focus. Bailey et al continue to argue that as attention to the purchasing function increases, the emphasis centres more on activities around the formation of long-term buyer-suppler relations and total cost reduction as opposed to simple ordering and replenishment routines. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Schematic Overview of the Purchasing Process" essay for you Create order 2.2 Schematic Overview of the Purchasing Process To highlight, develop, and help implement purchasing processes, Collignon et al (2007) present an overview (adapted in figure 2) that analyses the function at three separate levels within the organisation: strategic, tactical and operational. The rationale behind the model is that it draws attention to what purchasing activities (processes) could be found at differing levels of a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s strategic direction. Ramsay and Croom (2008) note that higher inter-organisational status is usually associated with more strategically inclined activities, and questions why companies fail to recognise the purchasing functionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s contributions to strategic survival as some perceive purchasing to be largely tactical and operational. Despite this, Pressey et al (2009) declare that due to competitive pressures, many firms have in fact elevated the purchasing role into that of a strategic function. Figure 2.1: Schematic overview of the typical purchasing processes. Adapted from: Collignon et al (2007). Strategic Level Tactical Level Operational Level Long range planning. Long term impacts on competitive strategy. Purchasing research carried out. Responsibility of top-management. Cost reduction techniques. Direct supply policies for Commodities/segments. Medium term impacts. Expediting. Enquires/quotations/returns. Supplier performance measurement. Records and systems maintenance. In their study, Ramsay and Croom (2008) claim existing purchasing and supply literature embraces a widespread belief that the function has not attained the status it deserves. Throughout their paper, multiple references are made to Reck and Longà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1988) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"strategic evolution stages of the purchasing functionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, which is presented in appendix X. They use this model throughout to compare the influence of academic theory on practitioner behaviour. In their pilot study, Ramsay and Croom (2008:201) concluded that the top three activities that provide differing amounts of strategic contribution (from practitioner responses) were cost control, negotiation, and supplier selection. Linking to Reck and Longs (1988) evolution stages, they note that it is considerably at odds with the academic consensus; cost control appears lowest in this model, negotiation fails to appear and supplier selection is made reference to at the lowest evolution stage of purchasing. Exactly why this divergence occurs is not answered by Ramsay and Croom, but is left open to further investigation, concluding that such purchasing development models are mostly unhelpful. In a direct response to Ramsay and Croom (2008), Rozemeijer (2008) stresses the opinion of the relevance of purchasing development models emphasising the usefulness of them to classify organisations positions, and providing directions for possible strategic changes. In addition to this, Rozemeijer further rejects the observation that professionals and academics regard purchasing as solely a strategic activity and instead asserts that operational activities are in fact at the core of the function and that they can also play a crucial role in realising competitive advantage through closer relations. Rozemeijer (2008) further questions the validity of Ramsay and Croomà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (2008)methodology, believing a sample size of twenty-one professionals personally known to the authors may present bias in participants trying to provide answers that match the researcherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s beliefs. Taking this into account Ramsay and Croom justify themselves by omitting any mention of the aim of the study. Nevertheless, Rozemeijer (2008) does note that the simplicity of the purchasing development models may contradict the complexities in a change process, and that they are guides, rather than substitutes, for strategic thinking. Consequently then, determining how to classify and select suppliers to examine the divergence mentioned previously (Ramsay and Croom, 2008), is likely to be a valid issue to investigate and through the use of Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1983) purchasing portfolio matrix, this can be analysed. 2.3 The Purchasing Portfolio Matrix In 1983, the Harvard Business Review published Peter Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Purchasing Must Become Supply Managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ article. In this paper, Kraljic presents his à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"purchasing portfolioà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ with an aim to allow purchasing functions to categorise products (and suppliers) to offer distinct purchasing strategies for each of these classifications. The main premise of Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s model is to reduce supply risk, profit impact and use any potential buying power that a purchasing firm may have over suppliers (Kraljic, 1983; Dubois and Pedersen, 2002; Gelderman and Van Weele, 2003; CaniÃÆ' «ls and Gelderman, 2007; Pagell et al 2010). The model itself (fig 2.1) is based on the dimensions supply risk and profit impact, resulting in four separate quadrants: strategic items, leverage items, bottleneck items, and non-strategic items. Fundamental to this initiative, is the idea that as suppliers are characterised by different interests to the company (Van Weele, 2004), purchasing functions should implement a variation of strategies towards supply markets aiming for increases of efficiency within purchasing processes (Kraljic, 1983:112, Van Assen et al, 2009:145). The adaptation of the Kraljic (1983) matrix in figure 2.1 contains each of the suggested strategies as well as brief descriptions of what allows products to be classified in to the quadrants. Table X in appendix X shows a more detailed criterion. Leverage Items Many alternative sources of supply Product or service substitution possible Largely buyer dominated Strategy: Competitive Bidding Exploit Purchasing Power Non-Strategic Items Large product variety Many suppliers/buyers/alternatives Logistically and labour intensive Little dominance à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" high independence Strategy: Optimise inventory (reduce number of suppliers) Bottleneck Items Some alternatives exist Few suppliers High Switching costs Largely supplier dominated Strategy: Secure supply and search for alternatives Strategic Items Large share of costs Very few suppliers Few (if any) substitutes Strategy: (If supplier has power) Seek long-term partnerships. (If buyer has power) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" exploit power through cost reductions/ reduce inventory levels. Supply Risk Profit / financial impact Low High High Figure 2.2 The Purchasing Portfolio Matrix Adapted from Kraljic (1983) 2.3.1 The Four Quadrants Non-Strategic Quadrant The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"non-strategicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ quadrant of Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1983) matrix is largely represented as items having both low profit impacts and supply risks, with an abundance of potential suppliers and alternative products. Van Weele (2004) remarks that these items are routine in nature: providing few technical or commercial risks. Because of this, Van Weele (2004) further highlights that neither actor will dominate the relationship as switching between suppliers is likely to involve few costs and barriers. As such the buyer-supplier relationship is somewhat independent of each other. Van Assen et al (2009) and Van Weele (2004) argue that because such products can represent high volumes of purchases, managing these is labour intensive à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" with around 80% of a purchasers time spent on these products (Van Weele, 2004:151). Therefore, Kraljic (1983), Van Assen et al (2009) and Pagell et al (2010) suggest that the purchasing strategy used in this case is to optimise inventory through increasing efficiency and reducing the number of suppliers into fewer transactions. Leverage Quadrant The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"leverageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ quadrant has low supply risk, but high profit impact, and obtainable from multiple sources (Kraljic, 1983). Van Weele (2004) notes that because these represent sizeable amounts of final costing, the strategy of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"exploit powerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ could force competitive bidding where suppliers compete for custom with offers of quantity and quality discounts, which CaniÃÆ' «ls and Gelderman (2007) state, is the exploitation of power, and assert that for such products, long-term contracts are not needed as buyers should search and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"spotà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ purchase. Van Weele (2004) mentions however, that prolonged abuse of this power could lead to supplier cooperation, resulting in price fixing and even cartels (both illegal). Bottleneck Quadrant The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"bottleneckà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ quadrant is defined as consisting of items that have high supply risks, low profit impacts, and are characterised by few alternative suppliers and high potential switching costs (Kraljic, 1983). In general, bottleneck items are vulnerable in terms of their supply and can cause significant problems and risks (Gelderman and Van Weele, 2003). As such, this quadrant is largely supplier dominated (Van Weele, 2004) and Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1983:112) strategy is to reduce dependence upon suppliers through securing supplies of these products and to search for alternatives. Strategic Quadrant The final quadrant is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"strategicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and has both high supply risks and profit impacts. Such products are likely to be highly customised with no alternatives, represent large specific investments, and incur high switching costs, making a change of supplier unattractive (Kraljic, 1983). As a result, Kraljic (1983) suggests long-term partnerships should be sought and highlights that in this quadrant, there are three possible scenarios in terms of who dominates the purchase. In buyer-dominated situations, Kraljic (1983) suggests the organisation exploits the situation through forcing price advantages, and inventory level reductions. Narayandas and Rangan (2004) however argue that firms will only engage in an exchange as long as the dominating firm is perceived as fair and as such may tolerate small measures of opportunism and exploitation. Conversely, Van Weele (2004) suggests that in supplier-dominated situations, the buyer will be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"locked-inà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ a relationship and should accept conditions imposed à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" even if the firm seems to behave opportunistically by for example holding up resources after making specific investments. Kraljc (1983) suggests that organisations should always look for alternatives, reduce dependence on such products, or consider vertical integration. The final scenario occurs when neither partner is in a dominating position. As such there exists a mutual interest a balanced relationship, which may develop over time into more of a partnership (Van Weele, 2004). 2.3.2 Critique Developments of the Matrix Despite Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1983) matrix receiving much attention and largely being recognised as the most dominant and seminal approach in the area (Dubois and Pedersen, 2002; Gelderman and Van Weele, 2003; CaniÃÆ' «ls and Gelderman, 2005; Svahn and Westerlund, 2009; Pagell et al, 2010), it has still encountered much criticism. Dubois and Pedersen (2002) and Gelderman and Van Weele (2005) question how complex business decisions can be based on such simple classifications and recommendations, where the two dimensions of the matrix may not represent the best parameters for the many associated variables. Gelderman and Van Weele (2005) continue to highlight that classification of products is largely subjective, and that mismatches with how buyers perceive its interactions with suppliers may prevent optimal strategies being implemented à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the classifications are subjected to emotional and relational aspects of the purchaser (Van Assen et al, 2009). Gelderman and Van Weeleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s study notes that experienced users of the portfolio respond to such critiques through acknowledging the application of the model follows no set blueprint. The process involves critical thinking and commitment of the purchasing function. Further to this, firms that find willingness to implement these changes are often blocked by the ability to because of lack of commitment or power of the supplier (Casciaro and Piskorski, 2005). Purchasing portfolios have also been subject to adaptations. Based on their research, Pagell et al (2010) observed that some organisations used Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1983) portfolio in unexpected ways purchasing functions were adopting strategic strategies for leverage items, such that firms were entering long-term agreements à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" contrary to the suggested strategy. Pagell et al (2010), through induction, put forward an adapted purchasing model (figure X appendix X). This sees the leverage quadrant split into true, transitional and strategic commodities. Whereas true commodities retain the characteristics of leverage products, strategic commodities contain noneconomic features that can be leveraged long-term. Between these two, lay transitional commodities, where shifts in information symmetry cause some products to become more strategically inclined requiring temporary changes of strategy (Pagell et al, 2010). However, it is crucial to note that the original study of Pagell et al (2010), was not intended to adapt the matrix, it was an unexpected conclusion, and that because the conclusions are fairly recent, it has yet to studied and scrutinised further. For this work and to fulfil the aims, it is likely that this adapted model should not be used until more research and critique is published. A final point to be made is the relationship that the matrix seems to share with power and dependence. Despite not explicitly dealing with power issues, Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1983) fundamental assumption is that differences in power and dependence exist in supplier-buyer relationships (Dubois and Pedersen, 2002: 37; CaniÃÆ' «ls and Gelderman, 2007:219). Some of Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s recommendations and strategies clearly refer to the power arrangement, for example, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"exploit powerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ in leverage strategies. Power and dependence may play a significant role in the approach and could be factors that affect the choices of purchasing strategy (CaniÃÆ' «ls and Gelderman, 2007). As such, to further explore supplier-buyer relations, it could be necessary to understand power differences and how they may interact with the purchasing functionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s decisions. 2.4 Power and Dependence The best way to deal with suppliers, and what is appropriate for how buyers should behave power and leverage situations is surrounded by considerable debate (Cox, 2004). Emersonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1963) theory on power-dependence relations is largely explored by the works of Pfeffer and Salancik (1977) and Pfeffer (1981). The basic consensus of these contributions is that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“power resides implicitly in the otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dependencyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Emerson, 1963: 32). For example, Emerson highlights that the power (P) of actor A, is directly equal the dependence (D) that actor B has upon A and vice-versa, such that: Pab = Dba Pba = Dab Emerson (1963) explains both above scenarios are unbalanced (one actor is power-advantaged over the other). However, when interdependence between the two is high, the relationship is balanced, such that: Pab = Dba Pba = Dab It is important to note however, that this theory is anchored largely from researching into the exchanges of small groups (Emerson, 1963:32), so should be considered when as exchanges between organisations are likely to be more complex. Emerson (1963) tries to deal with this limitation through emphasising that the above formulations have been worded so that they could be applicable in many types of situations. Discussing the links between power and dependence in relationships is likely to be an issue that may provide a more critical view. Through assessing power, it may be able to show how purchasing strategies are influenced by the potential power, or lack of power that a firm may hold. 2.4.1 Resource Dependency Theory According to Pfeffer and Salancik (1977), power is simply the ability to get something done the way in which they are wanted to be done. In addition to this, they observe that power actually derives from activities and processes rather than individuals, further arguing that power revolves around scarce and critical resources; often resulting in power struggles to obtain them. Actors will try to use their à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"powerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to gain access to scarce resources, and enforce little power when resources are abundant à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" this is essentially what Pfeffer and Salancik (1978) call à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Resource Dependency Theoryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (RDT). Pfeffer (1982) explains that organisations are rarely self-sufficient, needing resources from the external environment, consequently, becoming interdependent on the external environment. This is important to consider in RDT as this interdependence can affect an organisations ability to get what it needs and even survive à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" this is basically the fundamental assumption of RDT (NienhÃÆ' ¼ser, 2008). NienhÃÆ' ¼ser (2008) acknowledges that within RDT, resources which concern power can differ significantly between firms. Furthermore, Hillman et al (2009) believe that areas of political actions in RDT (power structures) are less frequently explained than they should be, to better understand how power affects the internals of an organisation. In addition to this, Hillman et al highlight their concerns over the lack of recent theoretical interest in RDT, arguing that there are more opportunities for further development and application. Despite these issues, NienhÃÆ' ¼ser (2008) and Hillman et al (2009) agree that RDT is a well established topic significantly contributing towards explaining organisation behaviour and structure. 2.4.2 Power and Dependence in Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Matrix As highlighted, Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1983) matrix does not explicitly deal with power issues, it is clear they are taken as assumptions in the suggested purchasing strategies (Dubois and Pedersen, 2002: 37; CaniÃÆ' «ls and Gelderman, 2007:219). Through linking the issues of power and dependence, and RDT to the matrix, it may be able to illustrate more explicitly the role of power in the formation of purchasing strategies, thus, be useful in assessing what influences supplier-buyer relationships. Firms, to varying extents, all depend on their trading partners (CaniÃÆ' «ls and Gelderman 2005; 2007), and the partner that is most independent, is likely to dominate an exchange. CaniÃÆ' «ls and Gelderman (2007) discuss that asymmetric relations are deficient as the power-advantaged actor (most independent), may be tempted to exploit. On the other hand, they also acknowledge that unbalanced relations do not always involve power misuse. Differences may promote effective coordination and integration, legitimising the balance of power over time. In CaniÃÆ' «ls and Geldermanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (2007) study, they sampled 250 purchasing professionals testing their hypotheses (table X appendix X) based on Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1983) model to identify if the theoretical power issues are found in practice. They concluded that generally, the relative power they expected to see based on the quadrants in the matrix, were observed (table 2.1), albeit with one noticeable difference. The expectation of CaniÃÆ' «ls and Gelderman (2007) to find à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"balancedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ relative power in the strategic quadrant did not materialise. Instead they found that it was supplier dominated and emphasize that it is possible for buyers to feel dominated by suppliers in balanced and satisfactory relationships. They conclude by arguing that situations in which buyers feel dominated, but are satisfied, are desirable as the buyer will not search for alternative products / suppliers. Source: CaniÃÆ' «ls and Gelderman (2007:227) Table 2.1: Comparison of relative power and total interdependence in the Kraljic matrix Relative power Total interdependence Expected Observed Expected Strategic Balanced Supplier Dominance Highest Bottleneck Supplier Dominance Supplier Dominance Moderate Leverage Buyer Dominance Buyer Dominance Moderate Non-Strategic Balanced Balanced Lowest It should be noted however, that CaniÃÆ' «ls and Geldermanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (2007) study was subject to limitations. The initial survey was confined to buyer perspectives, acknowledging that suppliers may have differing views on power and dependence. As discussed, what is appropriate for a purchasing strategy depends on the power and leverage circumstance (Cox, 2004). To understand the basic elements of understanding power and leverage situations, Cox (2004) presents a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"power-matrixà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (figure 2.3). Similar to Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s matrix, it provides four quadrants on two dimensions (attributes to supplier power, and attributes to buyer power). Coxà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s model is useful in aiding to establish what basic features actually contribute towards making a resource or supplier dominant or power-(dis)advantaged. LOW BUYER DOMINANCE () Few buyers/many suppliers Buyers have high % share of total market for supplier Supplier is highly dependent on buyer for revenue with few alternatives. Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s switching costs are high Buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s switching costs are low Buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s account is attractive to supplier Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s offering is a standardised commodity Buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s search costs are low Supplier has no information asymmetry advantages over buyer INTERDEPENDENCE (=) Few buyers/few suppliers Buyer has relatively high % share of total market for supplier Supplier is highly dependent on buyer for revenue with few alternatives Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s switching costs are high Buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s switching costs are high Buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s account is attractive to supplier Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s offering is relatively unique Buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s search costs are high Supplier has moderate information asymmetry advantages over buyer. SUPPLIER DOMINANCE () Many buyers/few suppliers Buyer has low % share of total market for supplier Supplier has no dependence on buyer for revenue and has many alternatives Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s switching costs are low Buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s switching costs are high Buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s account is not attractive to supplier Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s offering is a relatively unique Buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s search costs are very high Supplier has substantial information asymmetry advantages over buyer INDEPENDENCE (0) Many buyers/many suppliers Buyers has low % share of total market for supplier Supplier has little dependence on buyer for revenue with many alternatives. Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s switching costs are low Buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s switching costs are low Buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s account is not attractive to supplier Supplierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s offering is a standardised commodity Buyerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s search costs are low Supplier has no information asymmetry advantages over buyer ATTRIBUTES TO SUPPLIER POWER RELATIVE TO BUYER LOW HIGH HIGH ATTRIBUTES TO BUYER POWER RELATIVE TO SUPPLIER Figure 2.3: The Power Matrix Source: Cox (2004:352) While not making any references to the Kraljic matrix, it is useful to observe the similarities between Coxà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (2004) model. Where each of the item quadrants are found in Kraljicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s matrix, it appears in Coxà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s power matrix that they link directly, for example, non-strategic items are associated with balanced power and independent (see figure 2.1 and table 2.1). The same quadrant on the power matrix discusses the elements that could make relationships independent. Such links can be found across all quadrants. 2.5 Conclusion The literature shows that the role of purchasing has developed and finding adequate purchasing strategies could be considered of strategic importance. The literature presented, including the Kraljic Matrix (1983), Resource Dependence Theory, and the Power Matrix (Cox, 2004), provide insights on what influences the formulation of these strategies. The models and theories generally link well together, possibly allowing a more in-depth approach, taking into account multiple perspectives. In terms of the main objectives of this work, these linkages across frameworks should be able to help recognise the aspects of what affects buyer-supplier relationships. Even though, as discussed, there may have been too little attention paid to the purchasing function, contributions and developments from authors such as discussed provided interest to practitioners and academics. As Ramsay and Croom (2008) highlighted in their study, there seems to be some divergence in what is expected from purchasing literature, and what happens in practice. Looking at this, through combing the models and theories could provide a genuine contribution to the field. (3,173) DR14 DR40 DR41 DR38 DR42 DR43 DR22 DR30 DR27 DR28 DR29 DR34 DR31 DR16 DR20 DR21 DR32 DR37 DR33 DR11 DR7 DR9 DR5 DR34 DR15 DR39