Scotland Child Committee Purpose Social Work Essay

Scotland Child Committee Purpose Social Work Essay The North East of Scotland Child Protection Committee (NESCPC) has produced this Risk Assessment Framework in response to an identified need for a Pan Grampian approach. This framework is for use by all agencies located within Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray with the aim of ensuring that there is a consistency of understanding and approach to risk assessment across all sectors. The framework is written with the additional understanding that all practitioners have a responsibility to ensure that they are familiar with and follow their own organisations child protection procedures. These should all link to the overarching NESCPC Guidelines and give advice on who to contact, how to take immediate action and how concerns should be recorded. Background Several models of Risk Assessment exist but are not used in a systematic way because they are not thought to be comprehensive enough to be used in all situations (Scottish Government: Effective Approach to Risk Assessment in Social Work: an international literature review (2007). To enable greater consistency and conformity across Scotland, the Scottish Executive (2005) proposed a programme of change: Getting it Right For Every Child, incorporating the development work undertaken on an Integrated Assessment Planning and Recording Framework (IAF). This is based on requirements to gain a thorough understanding of: the developmental needs of a child the capacity of a parent/carer to respond appropriately to those needs the impact of the wider family and wider environmental factors on parenting capacity and on the childs needs This Framework emphasises the need to treat assessment as a process rather than an event. In evaluating the assessment and planning a response, practitioners are expected to consider the totality of the childs development and any unmet needs rather than focusing too narrowly on a need for protection. This approach should make sure that: Children get the help they need when they need it; Help is appropriate, proportionate and timely; Agencies work together to ensure a co-ordinated and unified response to meeting the childs needs; The plan is used to put in place arrangements to manage risk and to co-ordinate help for the child or young person; The plan is based on assessment and analysis of the childs world, including the risks, needs and resilience factors. What is Risk Assessment? Risk Assessment is a frequently used term without practitioners always being clear about what is meant. Risk assessment is merely the description of good methodical practice to risky situations (Jones, 1998). Risk Assessment is a critical element of the integrated assessment process pulling together, as it does the identified strengths within a family as well as those areas of concern or risk that need to be addressed. It is a complex, continuous and dynamic process, which involves the gathering and weighting of relevant information to help make decisions about the family strengths, needs and associated risks and plan for necessary interventions. Good systematic assessment confirms what may have happened, how this may affect the immediate and future safety of the child or young person, places this in context and informs what needs to be done. Risk assessments can also be used to predict the escalation of the presenting behaviour as well as the individuals motivation for change. Assessing risk is not an exact science; prediction involves probability and thus some errors are inevitable. Basic Principles when assessing risk. The welfare of the child is paramount. Risk assessment should be based on sound evidence and analysis Risk assessment tools should inform rather than replace professional judgement All professionals involved in risk assessment should have a common language of risk and common understanding of information sharing to inform assessment Risk assessment is influenced by professionals own personal and professional values, experiences, skills and knowledge The judgement and experience of practitioners needs to be transparent in assessment No tool, procedure or framework can adequately account for and predict human behaviour Effective communication and information sharing is crucial to protecting children Children, young people and family views should be sought, listened to and recorded with clear evidence of their involvement in decision making where possible. A good risk assessment process should elicit and highlight both commonalities and differences in professional and family perspectives Good risk assessment requires the best possible working relationship between worker and family members All staff must always be alert and aware to situations where children may be at risk and address any potential concerns through their own agencys child protection policy / NESCPC child protection guidance. Risk Assessment Framework This framework is adapted from the work undertaken by Jane Aldgate and Wendy Ross (A Systematic Practice Model for Assessing and Managing Risk, 2007) and is structured in 9 different stages: Using the SHANNARI well-being indicators (Safe, Well, Active, Nurtured, Achieving, Respected, Responsible and Included). 2. Getting the child and familys perspectives on risk. Drawing on evidence from research and development literature about the level of risk and its likely impact on any individual child. 4. Assessing the likely recurrence of harm. 5. Looking at immediate and long-term risks in the context of My World triangle. Using the Resilience Matrix to analyse the risks, strengths, protective factors and vulnerabilities. 7. Weighing the balance of that evidence and making decisions. 8. Constructing a plan and taking appropriate action. 9. Management of Risk 1. Using the SHANARRI well-being indicators: The Scottish Executive (2004) agreed a vision for Scotlands Children. They should be: Safe Healthy Active Nurtured Achieving Respected Responsible Included Using these SHANARRI indicators, professionals consider the childs holistic needs. In any assessment professionals should ask themselves the following key questions: What is getting in the way of this child being safe, healthy, active, nurtured, achieving, respected, responsible and included? Why do I think that this child is not safe? What have I observed, heard, or identified from the childs history that causes concern? Are there factors that indicate risk of significant harm present and is the severity of factors enough to warrant immediate action? What can I do? What can my agency do? Do I need to share / gather information to construct a plan to protect this child? What additional help may I find from other agencies? 2. Getting the child and familys perspectives on the risk. The involvement and partnership with children, young people and their families is integral and essential to successful risk assessment and management. Information is incomplete and a good understanding of the risks of harm and needs of the children cannot be reached without families perspectives on the risks to their childrens difficulties. An open and transparent approach that actively involves all involved, including the children and families is of clear benefit in that: Children, young people and families can understand why sharing information with professionals is necessary; Children and families can help practitioners distinguish what information is significant; Everyone who needs to can take part in making decisions about how to help a child; Everyone contributes to finding out whether a plan has made a positive difference to a child or family; Professionals behave ethically towards families; Even in cases where compulsory action is necessary, research has shown better outcomes for children by working collaboratively with parents. 3. Drawing on evidence from research and developmental literature about the level of risk and its likely impact on any individual child. Risks need to be seen in the wider context of short and long term risks to childrens wellbeing and development. Core factors can be identified in relation to abuse or neglect but these should not be used as predictors for current and future abuse without being considered in the context of the childs own nature and environment. In all cases of child abuse, parenting capacity should also be considered and this involves taking account of historical information as well as assessing the here and now. Protective factors need to be weighed up against risk factors and vulnerability to determine the level of risk to the individual child or young person and the likelihood of future harm. The factors should be used as a knowledge base to underpin more detailed assessments of strengths and pressures based on the My World triangle. (See Section 5). Factors to be considered: (This list is not complete but is a general guide). Adapted from City of Edinburgh Risk Taking Policy and Guidance (2004). Consideration of significant harm (link to Safety Threshold considerations, Section 3 NESCPC guidelines for further explanation); Current injury/harm is severe: the more severe an injury, the greater the impairment for the child/young person and the greater the likelihood of reoccurrence; Pattern of harm is escalating: if harm has been increasing in severity and frequency over time, it is more likely that without effective intervention the child/young person will be significantly harm; Pattern of harm is continuing: the more often harm has occurred in the past the more likely it is to occur in the future; The parent or care-giver has made a threat to cause serious harm to the child/young person: such threats may cause significant emotional harm and may reflect parental inability to cope with stress, the greater the stress for a person with caring responsibilities, the greater the likelihood of future physical and emotional harm to the child/young person; Sexual abuse is alleged and the perpetrator continues to have access to the child/young person: if the alleged perpetrator has unlimited access to the child/young person, there is an increased likelihood of further harm; Chronic neglect is identified: serious harm may occur through neglect, such as inadequate supervision, failure to attend to medical needs and failure to nurture; Previous history of abuse or neglect: if a person with parental responsibility has previously harmed a child or young person, there is a greater likelihood of re-occurrence; The use of past history in assessing current functioning is critical. Factors relating to the child or young person Physical harm to a child under 12 months: very young children are more vulnerable due to their age and dependency. Any physical harm to a child under 12 months should be considered serious and the risk assessment should not focus solely on the action and any resultant harm, but rather that the parent has used physical action against a very young child. This could be as a result of parenting skill deficits or high stress levels. Child is unprotected: the risk assessment must consider parental willingness and ability to protect the young child. Children aged 0-5 years are unable to protect themselves, as are children with certain learning disabilities and physical impairments. Children, who are premature, have low birth weight, learning disability, physical or sensory disability and display behavioural problems are more liable to abuse and neglect. The child/young person presents as fearful of the parent or care-giver or other member of the household: a child/young person presenting as fearful, withdrawn or distressed can indicate harm or likely harm. The child/young person is engaging in self-harm, substance misuse, dangerous sexual behaviour or other at risk behaviours: such behaviour can be indicators of past or current abuse or harm. Factors relating to the parent or care-giver The parent or care-giver has caused significant harm to any child/young person in the past through physical or sexual abuse: once a person has been a perpetrator of an incident of maltreatment there is an increased likelihood that this behaviour will re-occur. The parent or care-givers explanation of the current harm/injury is inconsistent or the harm is minimised: this may indicate denial or minimisation. Where a parent or care-giver fails to accept their contribution to the problem, there is a higher likelihood of future significant harm. The parent or care-givers behaviour is violent or out of control: people who resort to violence in any context are more likely to use violent means with a child or young person. The parent or care-giver is unable or unwilling to protect the child/young person: ability to protect the child/young person may be significantly impaired due to mental illness, physical or learning disability, domestic violence, attachment to, or dependence on (psychological or financial) the perpetrator. The parent or care-giver is experiencing a high degree of stress: the greater the stress for a parent or care-giver, the greater the likelihood of future harm to the child or young person. Stress factors include poverty and other financial issues, physical or emotional isolation, health issues, disability, the behaviour of the child/young person, death of a child or other family member, divorce/separation, and large numbers of children. The parent or care-giver has unrealistic expectations of the child/young person and acts in a negative way towards the child/young person: this can be linked to a lack of knowledge of child development and poor parenting skills. Parents or care-givers who do not understand normal developmental milestones may make demands which do not match the child/young persons cognitive, developmental or physical ability. The parent or care-giver has poor care-giving relationship with the child/young person: a care-giver who is insensitive to the child or young person may demonstrate little interest in the child/young persons wellbeing and may not meet their emotional needs. Indicators of poor care-giving include repeated requests for substitute placement for the child/young person. The parent or care-giver has a substance misuse problem. Parental substance misuse can lead to poor supervision, chronic neglect and inability to meet basic needs through lack of money, harmful responses to the child/young person through altered consciousness, risk of harm from others through inability to protect the child/young person. The parent or care-giver refuses access to the child/young person: in these circumstances it is possible that the parent or care-giver wishes to avoid further appraisal of the well-being of the child. Highly mobile families decrease the opportunity for effective intervention, which may increase the likelihood of further harm to the child/young person. The parent or care-giver is young: a parent or care-giver under 21 years may be more likely to harm the child through immaturity, lack of parenting knowledge, poor judgement and inability to tolerate stress. The parents or care-givers themselves experienced childhood neglect or abuse: however caution has to be exercised here; parenting skills are frequently learned/modelled but later positive experiences can counteract an individuals own childhood experiences. Factors relating to the Environment The physical and social environment is chaotic, hazardous and unsafe: a chaotic, unhygienic and non-safe environment can pose a risk to the child/young person through exposure to bacteria/disease or through exposure to hazards such as drug paraphernalia, unsecured chemicals, medication or alcohol. Conversely, an environment with overly sanitised conditions, where the childs needs are not recognised or prioritised is also harmful. 4. Assessing the likely recurrence of harm. When assessing how safe a child is consideration must be given to likelihood of recurrence of any previous harm. Factors for consideration: The severity of the harm (How serious was it? How long did it continue? How often?) In what form was the abuse / harm? Did the abuse have any accompanying neglect or psychological maltreatment? Sadistic acts? Was there any denial? This could include absence of acknowledgement, lack of co-operation, inability to form a partnership and absence of outreach. Are there issues with parental mental health? This could include personality disorder, learning disabilities associated with mental illness, psychosis, and substance/alcohol misuse. These also link to consideration of additional family stress factors, the degree of social support available to the family, the age of the children and number of children and the parents own history of abuse. Other agencies may be able to add additional knowledge and expertise to inform an effective risk assessment. Looking at immediate and long-term risks in the context of the My World triangle. The Assessment Triangle Being healthy Everyday care and help Learning and achieving Keeping me safe Being able to communicate Being there for me Confidence in who I am Play, encouragement and fun Learning to be responsible Guidance, supporting me to make the right choices Becoming independent, looking after myself Knowing what is going to happen and when Enjoying family and Friends Understanding my familys background and beliefs Support from School Work opportunities family, friends and for my family other people Enough money Local resources Belonging Comfortable and safe housing An important principle underpinning the evidence-based planning in Getting it Right for Every Child is that there are many positive and negative influences in the world each child experiences. Each child is unique and will react differently to these influences but all children will react to what is going on in different parts of the family and the wider world in which they are growing up. This is why recent thinking in child development urges that we take a look at all the different influences in a childs whole world when assessing childrens development. This is called a childs ecology and is encapsulated in the My World triangle. Each domain of the My World triangle provides a source of evidence that enable a full developmental holistic assessment of any individual child. The domains can be used to identify strengths and pressures, which balance risk and protective factors. 6. Using the Resilience Matrix to analyse the risks, strengths, protective factors and vulnerabilities. The Resilience Vulnerablity Matrix As defined by Daniel and Wassell, (2002). RESILIENCE Normal development under difficult conditions eg.secure attachment, outgoing temperament, sociability, problem solving skills. High Support / Low Concern PROTECTIVE ENVIRONMENT Factors in the childs environment acting as buffer to the negative effects of adverse experience. ADVERSITY Life events / circumstances posing a threat to healthy development eg. loss, abuse, neglect. Low Support / High Concern VULNERABILITY Those characteristics of the child, their family circle and wider community which might threaten or challenge healthy development eg. disability, racism, lack of or poor attachment. Low Support / High Concern Families assessed to be in this category are the most worrying. Low Concern / High Support. Families in this group have a network of support and are generally more able to cope with advice and guidance from standard services. Resilience includes the protective factors that are features of the child or their world that might counteract identified risks or a predisposition to risk such as: Emotional maturity and social awareness. Evidenced personal safety skills (including knowledge of sources of help). Strong self esteem. Evidence of strong attachment. Evidence of protective adults. Evidence of support networks (supportive peers / relationships). Demonstrable capacity for change by caregivers and the sustained acceptance of the need to change to protect their child. Evidence of openness and willingness to co-operate and accept professional intervention. Protective factors do not in themselves negate high risks, so these need to be cross-referred with individually identified high risks and vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities are any known characteristic or factors in respect of the child that might predispose them to risk of harm. Examples of these include: Age. Prematurity. Learning difficulties or additional support needs. Physical disability. Communication difficulties / impairment. Isolation. Frequent episodes in public or substitute care. Frequent episodes of running away. Conduct disorder. Mental health problems. Substance dependence / misuse. Self-harm and suicide attempts. Other high risk behaviours. The more vulnerabilities present (or the more serious one single vulnerability is) then the greater the predisposition to risk of harm. The presence of vulnerability in itself is neither conclusive nor predictive. These must be set alongside identified risk factors to be properly understood as part of an assessment process. 7.Weighing the balance of that evidence and making decisions. Decisions now need to be made about what to do to address the needs relating to the childs safety. These decisions lead to a plan to protect the child. This plan should also address the childs broader developmental needs. Stages of decision-making: Data gathering Weigh relative significance Assessment of current situation Circumstances which may alter childs welfare Prospects for change Criteria for gauging effectiveness Timescale proposed Childs plan (child in need plan, child protection plan or care plan, depending on the status of the child). What Factors Reduce the Effectiveness of Risk Assessment? Poor integrated working practices between agencies and individuals. Lack of holistic assessment. Inadequate knowledge of signs, symptoms and child protection processes. Information that has not been shared. Difficulty in interpreting, or understanding, the information that is available. Difficulty in identifying what is significant. Difficulty in distinguishing fact from opinion. Difficulty in establishing linkage across available evidence. Working from assumptions rather than evidence. Over confidence in the certainty of an assessment. A loss of objectivity. Making Effective Risk Assessments Assess all areas of potential risk Define the concern, abuse or neglect Grade the risks Identify factors that may increase risk of harm Consider the nature of the risk its duration / severity Set out and agree time scales for the assessment to be carried out Specifically document the identified risk factors Gather key information and evidence Has all the required information been gathered? Assess the strengths in the situation Check if any risk reducing factors exist? Build a detailed family history and chronology of key events/concerns Assess the motivation, capacity and prospects for change? What risk is associated with intervention? Be aware of potential sources of error Identify the need for specialist supports Plan your key interventions. Constructing a plan and taking appropriate action. Constructing the childs plan is a fundamental part of the Getting it Right for Every Child (Scottish Executive, 2005) initiative. This specifies that there will be a plan for a child in any case where it is thought to be helpful. This can be in both a single agency and a multi-agency context. The assessment of risk and the management of risk is incorporated into the childs plan. This also includes an analysis of the child or young persons circumstances based on the My World triangle and should cover: How the child or young person is growing and developing (including their health, education, physical and mental development, behaviour and social skills). What the child or young person needs from the people who look after him / her, including the strengths and risks involved; The strengths and pressures of the child or young persons wider world of family friends and community; and Assessment of risk, detailing: The kind of risk involved; What is likely to trigger harmful behaviour; and In what circumstances the behaviour is most likely to happen. The plan should note risk low, medium or high as well as the impact of the child or young person on others. (Guidance on the Child or Young Persons Plan, Scottish Executive. 2007, page 13). The plan should address key questions: What is to be done? Who is to do it? How will we know if there are improvements? The Childs Plan should be monitored and reviewed and amended as need, circumstances and risks change. (Scottish Executive, 2007). Child Protection Case Conferences play a key role in the management of risk. A Child Protection Case Conference will be arranged, where it appears that there may be risk of significant harm to children within a household and there is a need to share and assess information to decide whether the childs name needs to be placed on the Child Protection Register and be subject to a Child Protection Plan. (Link to Part 4 NESCPC guidelines) 9. Principles for Risk Management There is a need to ensure that the ongoing shared plan: Manages the risk Puts the decisions into a recorded form that clearly shows how and why decisions were reached. Makes the risk management an ongoing process that links with all areas of agreed and informed professional practice and expertise. Ensures that the decisions made have actions with named persons, clear timescales and review dates. Ensures that any agreed timescales can be reduced if new risks / needs become apparent. Ensures that new risk assessments and analysis inform reviews. Lessons from Significant Case Reviews. Significant Case Reviews repeatedly describe warning signs that agencies have failed to react to which have should acted as indicators that children and young people at risk of serious harm. Examples include: Children and young people who may be hidden from view; are unavailable when professionals visit the family or are prevented from attending school or nursery. Parents who do not co-operate with services; fail to take their children to routine health appointments and discourage professionals from visiting. Parents who are consistently hostile and aggressive to professionals and may threaten violence. Children and young people, who are in emotional or physical distress, but may be unable to verbalise this. Children and young people who are in physical pain (from an injury) may be told to sit or stand in a certain way when professionals visit the family or may hide injuries from view. Children and young people who have gone missing / run away (with or without their families). Workers should adopt an enquiring and investigative approach to risk assessment and not rely on parents or carers statements alone. Further corroboration of statements and challenging of parental views and perceptions is essential if to effectively determine the risk to the child or young person. Interventions should not be delayed until the completion of an assessment, but they have to be carried out in accordance with what is required to ensure the child or young persons safety, taking account of any indications of accelerated risks and warning signs. The type and level of intervention, irrespective of when it is made, must always be proportionate to the circumstances and risks faced by the child. Workers should pay particular concern to the rule of optimism. Many significant case reviews have illustrated that practitioners views can be strongly influenced by factors such as seeing indicators of progress or apparent compliance and co-operation. This does not, however, always mean that the child or young person is safe and such factors need to be balanced against the overall balance of evidence and actual risks. It is essential that those exercising professional judgement in relation to child protection take account of all multi-agency skills and expertise. This is of particular importance in relation to understanding of child development and the impact of child abuse and/or neglect on children and young people, both in the immediate and long term. Thus whilst immediate safety provisions have to be put in place, consideration must also be given to the longer term outcomes as a result of abuse or neglect. Significant case reviews highlight the importance of communication between all agencies that work either directly, or indirectly with children and/or their families. Thus it is imperative that: Adult services MUST ALWAYS consider any potential risks for any child linked to their adult clients. Childrens services MUST ALWAYS ascertain whether any adult services may be involved with their child clients. All services MUST ALWAYS ensure there is effective communication where there are concerns about the protection of a child. Concerns relating to actual or potential harm should never be ignored and are an indication that immediate intervention might be needed to ensure the protection of the child from future harm. Decisions to protect children and young people should never be delayed and where applicable, emergency measures should be considered. (see Part 3 of NESCPC Guidelines).

Battle Of The Boys :: essays research papers

Battle Of The Boys   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shape of my Heart Or Bye, Bye, Bye? Backstreet Boys or N’Sync? The latest rage is the five Boys that make up a boy band. What most teenagers don’t consider is what makes each group unique. A boy band must be judged on their personal style, their singing, and music and, there is always their performance ability. All of these should be considered when choosing a favorite boy band.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When teen-age girls see the Backstreet Boys on the television they go crazy. When the Backstreet Boys are on TV everyone sees five young men dressed in clothing that most people can not afford. The clothing they wear is preppy and expensive. Companies are always competing to have the Backstreet Boys. LL Bean, Abercrombie and Fitch, Structure and Gap. Now that is just what they wear, when you look at them you can tell who is the more popular guys are. Nick Carter the blond haired blue eyed guy that is considered the hottest guy in the group that most girls fall for. Nick usually wears the more expensive and preppy style of clothing. While Backstreet Boys had Nick and the preppy style of clothing, N’Sync had the more everyday clothing that you see on a lot of people in your every day life. N'Sync has their share of over priced clothing but they wear what they can afford. When you look at N’Sync all of them have good looks but the one that Most girls go for is Justin Timberlake. He has the blond curly hair and the wonderful green eyes. Another thing that makes him so attractive is that he is always willing to help any charity organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Neither Backstreet Boys nor N’Sync would be all that popular if it wasn’t for their music abilities. Both bands Sing and produce they’re own music and occasionally a cover song. What make the bands different are the writers of the music. Backstreet Boys are not the best in the category. The Backstreet Boys usually have other people write their music and then the five of them look the music and decide if they want to sing it or not. Occasionally one of the Backstreet Boys will write a song on a CD like on their millennium album Brian form the Backstreet Boys wrote a ballad to his mother called the perfect fan. But on the other hand their big hit I want it that way or shape of my heart was written by one of their writers.

Dear John Mower Company Essay

1) Identify and discuss the major issue(s) in the case Supply chain management is the coordination of all supply chain activities involved in enhancing customer value and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. It represents a conscious effort by the supply chain firms to develop and run supply chains in the most effective & efficient ways possible. Supply chain activities cover everything from product development, sourcing, production, and logistics, as well as the information systems needed to coordinate these activities. In that case, the issues that John Mower Company faces with their supply management part is regarding to get internal customers, whether in design engineering, plant engineering, administration and other in order to recognize and accept the advantages of early supply chain management and supplier involvement in the development of materials, equipment and services to be provided by outside suppliers. The keys are (1) the presence of professionals in supply management who will add value through their and their suppli ers’ early involvement and (2) the use of marketing skills by these professionals to convince their customers and perhaps management of the necessity of early involvement. John Mower Company  also faces a declining in market share of 10 percent. The consequences of this attributes to John’s ability to survive as a profit declined. 2) Prepare a list of advantages of the inclusion of supply management and prequalified suppliers. Every organization is a part of one or more supply chain. Either a company provides a service, sells directly to the end customer, manufactures a product or even extracts material from earth, it is characterized within its supply chain. Earlier, organizations placed little emphasis on organizations within their supply chain network. However, supply chain management had become a forefront of management’s attention due to three major developments (Balsmeier 1996). First is the information revolution. Second is Customer demands in areas of service and product cost, delivery, quality, technology and concept of cycle time brought about by increased global competition and third is emergence of newer forms of inter-organizational relationships. These developments have nurtured the emergence and integration of supply chain approach. To remain competitive, small firms have to offer superior quality goods at the lowest prices possible. The need to minimize product costs makes effective supply chain management vital. There are costs involved in every process of the product life cycle, and it is the responsibility of management to ensure that these costs are kept low, so the company can continue to pass along these savings to the consumer. The advantage of including supply chain management and prequalified suppliers is include : 1) Reduces costs 2) Increase efficiency 3) Increased Profits 4) Reduces time to market 5) Improved quality 6) Much lower stocks and inventory 3) Prepare a list of disadvantages of excluding supply management and suppliers from the new product development process. The supply chains represents the complex relationships of an organization with its trading  partners through whom it sources materials, manufactures products and delivers products or services to the customers. The supply chain links all the activities in the procurement, transformation and storage of raw materials and intermediate products, and sale of finished goods. Supply management personnel should be able to pass on information regarding new technologies and product that are available to the product design group. Supply management can aid source selection by discussing potential suppliers quality program, production capacity, lead time, delivery reliability, financial capability and management stability and strength. If the supply management and suppliers is excluding from the new product development process, hence there is some problem that may occur in th e company such as: 1) Quality problem resulting in redesign, rework, retrofit and field failures 2) Cost overruns 3) Foregone cost saving 4) New product which are late to market 5) Failure in recognize problems in timely manner 6) Major scheduling problems 4) Assuming that the three executives agree on early involvement of supply management and suppliers, develop a plan to implement this new way of doing business. Integrating the supply chain to improve logistics efficiency is a key challenge. Rather than going from no involvement to high involvement on all projects all at once, many suppliers’ professionals would begin with a sample or showcase project. A member of the supply management staff who can add value, know his or her suppliers, and one who has exemplary people and team skills should be invited by Mr Steel and the new project manager or engineer to participate in a key project. This individual in turn should invite a carefully pre-qualified supplier to participate in the project at the appropriate time. Hence, for the supply chains to be successful, it should integrate the three individual business processes of procurement, manufacturing, and distribution by consolidating the sub components in each of every area. Procurement: This is one of the major cost drivers in the supply chan. Procurement cost is influenced by the way procurement decision is made, procedures adopted in the procurement process and relationship with suppliers. Procurement cost can be controlled through long-term relationships with suppliers by considering the supplier as an extension of the manufacturing facility. The philosophy of co-partnership is based on the sharing of resources and benefits on a long term basis. The major step in this process is reduction in supplier’s base and induction of a few reliable suppliers into the supply chain, who are ready to work for the firm and can align themselves with the policy framework and requirements of the supply chain. Manufacturing: For a lean supply chain the emphasis today is not on curtailing the processing cost through economies of scale, but by curtailing the huge inventory carrying cost resulting from mass production ahead of demand. In the past, the emphasis was on building mega capacity factories to produce standard products in millions in order to reduce manufacturing costs and flood the market with low priced products. This approach resulted in the build up of a large reservoir of finished goods, which remain unsold and dead due to its inability to respond to the changing needs of the customers. Hence, today firms instead of banking on cost reduction through economies of scale are thinking of strategies of reducing the total supply chain cost through manufacturing flexibility to rapidly respond to changing markets demands of products volumes and varieties. Distribution: Traditionally, the role of distribution in the business process is warehousing transportation. However, in the supply chain model, the major task of distribution is the management of demand. It is important to make available the right product, at the right place, at the right time, and at the least cost. Demand management covers all the activities involving anticipating the customer requirements of products and fulfill that requirements against defined customer service norms. Requirement fulfillment is done through proper distribution network. The first task in demand management is to forecast customer requirement accurately. This is done only  if the firm is able to satisfy the customer as per the service level acceptable to the customer. Logistics play a vital role in understanding the demand through improved informational flow by way of quick response to customer’s demands. 5) What other suggestion can you make for improving the situation in the company? Management of The John Mower Company must be strongly committed to early supply management and early supply management involvement in all aspects of new product development. Suppliers can provide technical support technical support in the early stages of design that can decrease materials costs and improved product quality. Furthermore, early supply management and early supply involvement can reduce starts up problems and delay. When supply management join engineering in meetings with potential suppliers, it can address a price and discount issues, quantity and quality requirement, lead time and delivery schedules and financial capabilities. The supplier’s responses to this issue will allow supply management to further qualify the supplier. Besides that, management must stress standardization and limit engineering’s role in supply management issue. The engineers should concentrate on designing a reliable and timely product; as they must work with supply management to meet that end. The engineers will be motivated to spend more time in designing and evaluation a new part. Training supply management personnel is a key to further success. The division must recognize that is needed to invest in a training program for its supply management personnel in order to receive a full benefit from its supply management system. This training such as individuals training at seminars, trade shows, or classes conducted by engineers on how to read blueprints and specification sheets. The division’s management must emphasize the important of this issue to the entire organization. With such commitment, the division will be able to develop new products in the shortest amount of time for the lowest amount of time for the lowest cost and still maintain the quality and reliability that give the company the leadership position that it once enjoye d.

How TNT Pop Its Snappers Work

TNT Pop Its belong to a class of novelty fireworks collectively called bang snaps. Similar products are called snap-its, poppers, and party snaps. Kids have been using them for pranks and celebrations since the 1950s. In case you were wondering, Pop Its dont contain TNT. That is simply their brand name. Pop Its are trick noisemaker rocks, commonly seen around the 4th of July and Chinese New Year, that pop when they are stepped on or thrown against a hard surface. They look like little paper-wrapped rocks, which, in fact, is what they are. The rock is gravel or sand that has been soaked in silver fulminate. The coated grains are twisted into a piece of cigarette paper or tissue paper. When the bang snap is thrown or stepped on, the friction or pressure detonates the silver fulminate. Pop its can also be ignited, although its not particularly safe to set them off in your hand. The tiny explosion makes a sharp snap that sounds a bit like that of a cap gun. Chemistry of Pop Its Silver fulminate (like mercury fulminate, which would be toxic) is explosive. However, the quantity of fulminate in Pop Its is very small (about 0.08 milligrams) so the little exploding rocks are safe. The sand or gravel moderates the shock wave produced by the detonation, so even though the sound is loud, the force of the pressure wave is fairly minor. Snapping one in your hand or stomping it with bare feet can hurt, but is unlikely to break the skin. The sand or gravel isnt propelled very far, so there isnt danger of the particles acting as projectiles. Generally, Pop Its and related products are considered safe for use by children. While poisonous fulminates of other metals would produce a similar effect, they arent used in commercial products. Make Pop Its Yourself Fulminates are easily prepared by reacting metal with concentrated nitric acid. You dont want to go making this in any quantity yourself because the fulminate is shock sensitive and pressure sensitive. However, if you decide to make do-it-yourself Pop Its, the silver fulminate is more stable if flour or starch is added to the crystals during the filtering process. You can coat sand with silver fulminate, wrap it in paper, and use it in the traditional way. Bigger is not better — be safe.