
This is a very interesting question to discuss in class. These punishments
are harsh compared to U.S. punishments, but with the recent number of
4. Many companies in the United States use Chinese suppliers in
the sourcing of raw materials and manufacturing of products.
Research the Internet and find three examples of recent issues
for U.S. companies because of Chinese products. What will
happen in the long run as companies use Chinese suppliers?
Answers will vary depending on the businesses the student identify.
CRITICAL BUSINESS THINKING
Instructor Note:There are few right or wrong answers in the business world.
There are really only efficient and inefficient, and effective and ineffective
business decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would
never fail. These questions were created to challenge your students to apply
the materials they have learned to real business situations. For this reason,
the authors cannot provide you with one version of a correct answer. When
grading your students’ answers, be sure to focus on their justification or
support for their specific answers. A good way to grade these questions is to
compare your student’s answers against each other.
1. POLITICAL SUPPLY CHAINS
Project Purpose: Analyzing global supply chains.
Potential Solution:The average company spends nearly half of every
dollar that it earns on production needs—goods and services it needs from
external suppliers to keep producing. A supply chain consists of all parties
involved, directly or indirectly, in the procurement of a product or raw
In the past, companies focused primarily on manufacturing and quality
improvements within their four walls; now their effort extend beyond
those walls to inCuence the entire supply chain including customers,
customers’ customers, suppliers, and suppliers’ suppliers. Today’s supply
2. ANALYZING DELL’S SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Project Purpose: Analyzing one of business’s most successful SCM
implementations.