Qrb 501 Week 2 Essay Example

Qrb 501 Week 2 Essay Running Head: INVENTORY SYSTEMS Inventory Systems Summary University of Phoenix QRB/501 Quantitative Reasoning for Business Instructor Joe Krupka September 21, 2010 Inventory Systems Summary In today’s economic recession, business owners are constantly looking for opportunities that would enable them to remain competitive through lowering their overhead cost. Kehrer (2010,  ¶ 1) explained, â€Å"Bloated overhead is one of the major threats to small business competitiveness†. For this reason, it can be determined that business analysts are evaluating the different types of inventory management systems that could be applied to help reduce the cost of overhead and increase product turnaround. â€Å"Dell has achieved a system that at times leaves them with average inventories for long enough to last only three days. Instead of incurring holding costs, Dell doesn’t order until the demand is in place† (Atkinson, 2005,  ¶6). Dell refers to this system as the Just-In-Time inventory system. The Vendor Managed Inventory system, a concept pioneered by Wal-Mart, is another inventory system that is paving the way for the future with its ability to communicate the demand of the customers directly to the supplier (Wal-Mart’s Focus on EDI, 2010). The summary will briefly describe the Just-In-Time and Vendor Managed Inventory Systems. Following the brief description, will be a comparison that indentifies both the advantages and disadvantages of each inventory system. Inventory Systems Description We will write a custom essay sample on Qrb 501 Week 2 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Qrb 501 Week 2 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Qrb 501 Week 2 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Just-In-Time Inventory Management System Dell Computer is a large personal computer (PC) provider. The company adopted the just-in-time inventory system to manage their profitability status and to gain momentum in the computer industry. In the former years Dell struggled with their finances in the computer technology industry because of miss-managed capital. The company maintained a large amount of inventory regardless to customer demands and forecasts. The large amount of inventory Dell retained created a significant decline in finances. In 1994, Dell introduced a new business plan that entailed a build-to-order process that included a direct sales process to the customers. Using the build by order process Dell sought out methods to eliminate excess large inventory. In the build to order process Dell would only produce the inventory when requested by the customer. The build to order process would afford Dell the opportunity not incur financial losses from overstocked inventory practices. The process would additionally allow Dell to allocate the financial resources to other critical areas. Over the course of a four-year span the revenue for Dell grew from $2 billion to $16 billion at more than a 50% annual growth rate (Greenberg, 2002). Dell’s stock earnings per share increased 62% in1998 and Dells return on invested capital catapulted to 217% (Greenberg, 2002). Dell’s profitability is credited to the management and coordinating of the organization’s activities including the thorough management of the inventory system. In the new process for Dell the inventory system maintenance did not require large expenditures of advanced capital as the former inventory system required. The process involved targeting long-term corporate/individual customers and predicting the needs of the customers and their budget cycles. Dell developed a customized intranet Website with predetermined specifications and budgets for corporate customers (Greenberg, 2002). To retain high computer demands for individual customers Dell concentrated on using the latest technology products to entice repeat customers with regular upgrades and purchases that require little technical support. The system also requires the clients to pay up front by credit card. The demand management process enables Dell to match incoming demands to predetermined supplies and the pricing system reflected in real-time demand management. The just-in –time inventory system allows the sales executives, marketing executives, and supply chain associates to ascertain accurate demand trends and to anticipate any supply issues concerning computer equipment surpluses or shortages that could likely to occur (Johnson, 2001). In summary, in the just in time manufacturing system inventories are decreased significantly with real time pricing and in some cases the inventory is zero. Vendor Managed Inventory System Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and Costco are a couple of today’s big businesses that have decided to center their focus on implementing the Vendor Managed Inventory system for their respective organizations. When utilizing the VMI system, the distributor is able to communicate directly to the supplier, via internet or web-based server, and retrieve real-time data of what items are and are not selling (Definition of Vendor Managed Inventory, 2010, p. 1). Being able to identify and communicate this valuable and accurate information, on which products are currently in high demand, is essential to the success of both organizations. Understanding the consumer demand is important because it allows the organization to properly plan for the needed supply of products in direct relation toward the demand of the consumers during similar periods of time. Hunter, King, and Lowson (1999) stated the following: Under a traditional relationship with the vendor, the delivery of goods to the store is determined ahead of the selling season; no in-season adjustments are made. A VMI relationship models the case where the retailer desires rapid shipment of PoS based reorders. Therefore, the vendor tries to accommodate the retailer by carrying inventory based upon the pre-season plan and hoping there is a match between reorders and stock, i. e. little forecast error. (p. 185) The VMI system has proven to be a valuable and vital instrument by helping identify consumer demand statistics that would in return contribute to a more precise and efficient supply plan, while lowing overhead. The key to the success of this inventory management system is the joint responsibility relationship absorbed between the vendors and the distributors in conjunction with their ability to develop a collaborative forecast. Advantages of Inventory Systems Advantages of the Just-In-Time Inventory Management System 1. Major capital is no longer held up in inventory and the funds can be allocated to other resources. 2. Storage space can be used for other resources rather than inventory. 3. Products are sent to customers in a timely fashion and response times from customers are faster. 4. With direct sales the customers select what they want from the latest technology therefore defect rates are reduced, and customer satisfaction is increased. Advantages of the Vendor Managed Inventory System . Planning and resupply cost will be reduced because the vendor has absorbed majority of the responsibility in this system. 2. Overall sales will increase due to the distributor having the right products during the right season. 3. The vendor will ensure that the distributor’s products are shipped within a timely manner due to the true partnership developed and the understanding of â€Å"I don’t succeed, if they don’t succeed†. 4. The real-time point of sale information assists the vendor and the distributor in figuring out an accurate forecast for each season. 5. In this system, the vendor has the ability to see the distributor’s current stock levels. This will enhance the ability to identify which products are of higher priority. 6. Purchase orders are derived from seasonal forecasts. This will ultimately cut overhead cost and increase inventory turnaround. 7. Human errors are dramatically reduced to the ability to transfer information from computers to web-servers. This will increase the speed and productivity of processing data. (Benefits of Vendor Managed Inventory, 2010, p. 1) Disadvantages of Inventory Systems Disadvantages of the Just-In-Time Inventory Management System 1. If a company wants to initially covert to the just in time (JIT) inventory system the process could cause a major reorganization of their business systems because of the complexity of the conversion. 2. The conversion is expensive to introduce. 3. JIT manufacturing exposes companies to associated risks with the supply chain users. Additionally with no back-up inventory stock to rely on, any disruptions from just one supplier could force production to halt with short notice. Disadvantages of the Vendor Managed Inventory System 1. Detailed testing and evaluations have to be conducted to guarantee the accuracy of data being sent from the distributors’ systems to the vendors’ systems. 2. If the vendor or distributor one is partnering with financially goes under, they are also affected and could potentially go under as well. 3. In this inventory management system, the distributor has to immediately identify any changes in the consumer base, big event, or promotions. If this is not done properly then it may alter ordering patterns hich would affect sales. 4. If an ordering error or overstocking occurs there has to be an agreement between the vendor and distributor of who would absorb the majority of the responsibility of the stock in each scenario. (Potential Pitfalls of Vendor Managed Inventory, 2010, p. 1) Conclusion Managing a successful inventory and planning system can be a highly complex but is necessary task to run a successful business. Inventory management is instrumentality linked toward achieving business goals by allowing the financial resources to be allocated properly. It is critical that businesses incorporate strategies for a good inventory tracking system to maintain information about the firm’s activities and to ensure accuracy in delivery of the products to customers. This is one of the main reasons retail organizations have put an emphasis on seasonal forecasting to aid the different types of inventory management systems. Possessing the knowledge of an estimate of how many units of an item should be in stock for a particular season could mean the difference in turning around on-hand inventory four times instead of only three. In properly maintaining inventory management systems, organizations are able to reduce existing overhead cost, know the product in demand from consumer along with current levels of on-hand inventory, and see a quick turnaround of their investments. The key to figuring out if the current inventory management system that has been implemented is the best for that organization would be to conduct internal and external audits to evaluate the accuracy of the current inventory data and cross-reference that information through a physical on-hand count of goods. Once the information has been gathered communicate with an external consultant to see even if it would be cost effective to implement a new inventory management system.

The Pursuit for Preservation - Environmental Paper

The Pursuit for Preservation - Environmental Paper The Pursuit for PreservationSome sixty-five million years ago, just after the demise of the dinosaurs, a small rat-like species of mammal (now known as a prosimian) left the ground and took to life in the trees. Eventually after fifty million years had passed, this creature returned to the ground as the ancestor of man. The period spent in the environment of the trees was of great formative importance because it promoted many physical changes. These changes included a massive increase in body size, the development of paws into hands and 3D color vision. (Clifford) The physical changes were mapped by an increase in the size and the capability of the brain. Thus, prosimian developed into simian. (Oklahomawebdesign.com) The increase in stature led to changes in posture which enabled some simians to stand upright. Eventually one of these species was able to walk on two legs. It was these changes that led to the descent from the trees and eventually to homo sapiens; therefore, it can be s een that without trees the evolution of prosimian into man would never have taken place.Dawn O’NeilWithout trees we would not be here. (O'Neil)The development of human civilization has been dependent on wood-based technologies. Where would we be without the discovery of fire, agriculture, the wheel, the use of metals, spinning, weaving, water and land based transport, building, and printing? Our technological culture could not have developed without wood. How has this situation come about? In part it is because in developing into an organism that has had great evolutionary success the tree has created a material with many useful properties. At the same time, because trees have been so successful in colonizing large areas of the surface of the world, they now find themselves in competition for living space with a...

Business Reporting and Strategic Planning

In present scenario, every business depends on computers for every type of task from data entry to reporting and strategic planning. The software are the basic need of companies for communication, entertainment and reporting tools. The need of accounting software is very obvious as there is severe requirement of tracking assets and handling transactions on regular basis. MYOB is an accounting software that is being used by small traders and new start-ups in Australia. LiveAccounts is its first accounting software that is based in cloud based accounting solution. This software has minimized functions specially designed for small businesses. By using this software small businesses can easily manage finances on cloud anytime anywhere through internet. (R2bmanagement.com.au, 2016) The complete business data is saved on cloud. It makes the information available at all times in updated form. Due to cloud storage the data is stored on a centralized cloud server. This server is shared among all the employees of company. It has a very simple and clear interface, which allows all the basic functionalities in very easy manner. As the application is very light weighted, it can easily accessible through virtual machines. (BIT, 2016)This software provides the facility of raising invoices, payroll generation on monthly basis for employees, track expenses of organiz ation and the managing GST online. Automatic banking integrated feeds will ensure the income tax calculation, deductions and bonuses features. MYOB accounting software is the short form of Mind Your Own Business. It is a well-known brand name of an Australian MNC. This company deals in the software related to accounting, retail, CRM, HRM, tax products and payroll software along with web hosting support for small and medium sized businesses. These products are mainly adopted in Australia and New Zealand. This company was started in 1980 founded by Christopher Lee and Teleware Inc. Teleware was later on adopted by Best software Inc. in 1993. It is a public sector company having headquarter at Glen Waverley, Victoria in Australia. The MYOB software is available in two versions the trial version and licensed version. (Myob.com.au, 2016) The trail version is available for limited time period (30 days) and it can be converted anytime in the licensed version. Trail version is used for evaluation purpose only. In case of trail version user can create and access company files for 30 days only. After it user must purchase the full version of this software. As per the MYOB business letter reveals that near about 35% Australian companies having their own websites and only 18% of them are actively using social networking sites for the promotion of their business. (Theicehouse.co.nz, 2016) The most of the users who are actively using the social media in present conditions in Australia are 27%. This figure can be classify as 24% of users who belong to age group 18-39, 22% business owners who belong to Retail and Hospitality, 20% businesses spend on advertise on websites and only 20% of businesses use SEO/SEM in their market trends. Although the earlier data available explains about the low adoption of technologies in business but the latest figures shown by MYOB CEO Tim Reed explains that online marketing is now growing in Australia. (Growthpath.com.au, 2016) MYOB has gained a huge rise with the completion of Banklink purchase in Australia recently. MYOB has disclosed that it has successfully completed the purchasing of accounting solution provider of New Zealand named Banklink In the accounting software market of Australia, there are three main big companies on limelight, MYOB, Intuit and Xero. (Heber, 2015) The main competition among these companies is for dominance. This software provides the convenience of tracking accounts in a simple way. The need of physical books, invoices is now not necessary and all the decisions regarding cash flow can be manage through the software. The main objective of all these companies is to capture the market share, and they are actively involved to do anything for this. There is a huge contribution of these companies in the market share of accounting software. MYOB has built successfully its own offering and managing its market share between $AU831.7 and $AU833.8 million. If we discuss about the Xero, it is a new venture which spends near about $250 million on the software development. The company has more than 400000 clients across the globe, which uses transactions and invoice services of the software in the ratio of 240:95 The Intuit is also planning for the heavy investment in Australia. The accounting software has a wide scope in the Australian market. Intuit has developed the functioning of PDF data extraction, which supports the data extraction from bills and automated entry in software. MYOB is now in condition of valuing the company at a very impressive enterprise vale that exists in between $A2.34 and $A2.69 billion. As per the Evans and Partner the analysis figures if all these three companies can be represented as: As we have seen that there is a huge competition between MYOB, Xero and Intuit in the market of accounting software. In this section we are going to elaborate the comparison between the Xero and MYOB and the outcome is that both products have their own advantages and disadvantages. Not any of the products is completely fit the need of customer. For example if there is requirement to handle exchanging of transactions and stock control then MYOB is much preferred as compare to Xero. If we have to deal with small sized business then Xero is preferred and it offers the services in very easy and simple manner. (Itseducation.asia, 2016) Because of the competition every company tries to provide the services in an efficient and much better way. Following are the advantages on various parameters: MYOB provides the online services with the facility of cashbook having cost of $16 per month and the accounting facility on the cost of $29 per month. MYOB facilitates the Account right live that can be used on desktops and is not fully online. Although it has slow speed and higher cost but it will be resolve in the coming future as per the commitment of MYOB. MYOB provides the Account right premier that is available for desktop only and it has the capability to handle the management of inventory and foreign exchange. This is used mainly in large business organizations. MYOB provides the facility of data storage on cloud also. That’s why the data security must be taken seriously. The software has the option of security implementation that is very secure for online banking system. MYOB live is the cloud product that can be used in online as well as in offline mode. There is provision to toggle between the two modes. Only we have to deal with the versions that will be created in this case by syncing data on regular basis. The major concern in the implementation of MYOB is providing data security. (Technologies, 2016)Â   This is the major concern as the software can be accessed in online way and it increases the chances of vulnerability issues. Although MYOB has very high security architecture, some of the organizations are not able to follow security aspects. Second challenge regarding MYOB is that it is not an easy to use software, the employees of organization must be trained for this. Third challenge is that some of the organizations are not able to take advantage of cloud automation through MYOB. It is very difficult to arrange appropriate training sessions or webinars for the MYOB essentials. Although MYOB is very efficient software but for the successful implementation we must pay attention towards the following key factors: (Myob.com.au, 2016) Protecting the sensitive information from unauthorized access is very important. In MYOB the company files can be secure by taking appropriative security measures. (Myob.com.au, 2016) It must be ensure that the company files must be secure. This can be possible by providing appropriate credentials to each user account. Passwords must be strong as per the pattern specified, such as it must contain minimum 8 characters long having combination of alphabets, numeric and special characters. It must be ensure that company files must be secured by applying password. In MYOB files can be protected through AccountRight. By using this feature a password can be set for every user even for specific task, they can perform in company files. In every business organization, the systems must be protected by using a firewall. It restricts internet users for accessing system. To install the firewall on system, windows XP or above operating system can be used. Computer viruses and malwares can proved themselves dangerous from the security concerns. Before downloading and storing any file on the system, it must be scanned for any virus or malware attack. The conclusion of this literature review can be elaborated as the accounting software is the basic need of business organizations in Australia. (Bookkeepers Sunshine Coast, 2013) MYOB is software which can be used for various activities to overcome the errors and difficulties those were present in traditional manual system. Computerized system is integrated in well manner and once the data is inputted in the system, it will be recorded in different records at the same time. Using accounting software will lead a high speed processing in automated form which will generate accurate and fast invoices, purchase order and payroll documents. These are some of the positive points of using MYOB as accounting software. If any user wants to use this software he can download the trail version and after having look of various services they can go for full version. R2bmanagement.com.au. (2016). An Introduction to MYOB LiveAccounts | Articles. [online] Available at: https://www.r2bmanagement.com.au/articles/405/an-introduction-to-myob-liveaccounts [Accessed 15 Aug. 2016]. Heber, A. (2015). The cloud accounting supremacy war in Australia. [online] Business Insider Australia. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/charts-the-battle-for-supremacy-in-australias-cloud-accounting-market-2015-4 [Accessed 16 Aug. 2016]. Myob.com.au. (2016). MYOB Security Recommendations. [online] Available at: https://myob.com.au/myob/australia/myob-security-recommendations-1257829253909 [Accessed 16 Aug. 2016]. Technologies, R. (2016). MYOB: Benefits and Challenges for your Organisation. [online] Blog.rgtechnologies.com.au. Available at: https://blog.rgtechnologies.com.au/myob [Accessed 16 Aug. 2016]. Itseducation.asia. (2016). The Advantages of Using Computerised Accounting Software, MYOB, Mind Your Own Business. [online] Available at: https://www.itseducation.asia/computerized-accounting.htm [Accessed 16 Aug. 2016]. Myob.com.au. (2016). Development-X | add-on developer for MYOB accounting software. [online] Available at: https://myob.com.au/addons/developer/40/developement-x/ [Accessed 16 Aug. 2016]. Growthpath.com.au. (2016). Review of Cloud Accounting (Xero, Saasu, MYOB Essentials, QuickBooks) | Business IT. [online] Available at: https://www.growthpath.com.au/Business-IT/review-of-myob-liveaccounts-and-xero-accounting-in-the-cloud.html [Accessed 17 Aug. 2016]. Theicehouse.co.nz. (2016). Key sectors leading online business adoption – MYOB Findings. [online] Available at: https://www.theicehouse.co.nz/key-sectors-leading-online-business-adoption-myob-findings/ [Accessed 17 Aug. 2016]. BIT. (2016). 7 accounting packages for Australian small businesses compared: including MYOB, QuickBooks Online, Reckon, Xero. [online] Available at: https://www.bit.com.au/Review/344651,7-accounting-packages-for-australian-small-businesses-compared-including-myob-quickbooks-online-reckon-xero.aspx [Accessed 17 Aug. 2016]. Myob.com.au. (2016). MYOB Add-On Centre | find great 3rd party tools to augment MYOB Business Management Software. [online] Available at: https://myob.com.au/addons/category/26/network-security/ [Accessed 17 Aug. 2016].

Theories of Motivation in Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Theories of Motivation in Organisations - Essay Example Michael J. Julius refers to the idea of motivation as, â€Å"The act of stimulating someone or oneself to get the desired course of action† (cited in Bagad, 2009, pp.2-39). Besides this general definition, the idea becomes more specific within an organization and referred to be an internal force that directs the behaviors towards achieving organizational goals. It deals with human motive force and desire of competence is considered to be the strongest source of motivation for human action (Bagad, 2009, pp.2-39). Raju and Parthasarathy (2009) support Badad and explain that motivation is considered to be the drive to satisfy a want or goal, and satisfaction is experienced in case of achievement. A person who has low level of motivation for a certain job might be high at satisfaction level, or the reverse (p.153). According to Moorhead and Griffin, performance at job depends on three factors: motivation, environment and ability. In order to achieve highest level of performance, employee must ‘have an urge to do the job’ (motivation), ability and material resources (environment).Deficiency of even one factor can result in low level of performance and consequently, productivity (cited in Bee, 2009). Motivation in an organization also secures voluntary cooperation from workers. It creates will to work and build confidence among both employees and employers. Understanding motivation has never been simple as it involves complex human emotions and behaviors. There are different human motivation theories and also their various classifications which developed from early approaches and ideas of motivation. According to Bee (2009), early views about motivation came from the concept of hedonism. Hedonism refers to the idea that people avoid pain and look for comfort and satisfaction. Despite explaining contemporary human ideology, this theory is unable to explain most of human behavior. For

Lifestyles in Canada and Mexico Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lifestyles in Canada and Mexico - Research Paper Example Lifestyles are outcomes of several factors present in the environment or location of a group of people including geography, weather, population, economy, government, and available natural and man-made resources. All these factors affect the kind of lifestyle that will develop among the people. Geography and weather determines the activities that people do. These activities include work, hobbies and entertainment. Weather dictates the structure of houses, the way of dressing and the abundance of certain kinds of food. Weather along with geography likewise determines the resources available. Economy and population controls the number and types of jobs available. Economy regulates the consumption and leisure activities of individuals. The government shapes the kinds of activities that the people are allowed to do. Both public and private endeavors are affected by the kind of control the government has on its people. The kind of lifestyle that the citizens practice reflects a great deal about a country and its status within the global arena. It reveals the economic stability or instability of a country and the degree of general satisfaction that the citizens of a country have. The country with the most favorable lifestyle is determined by the Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations Development Program, which is published annually. The Human Development Index ranks countries according to the quality of life of its citizens which include criteria such as educational attainment, life expectancy and adjusted real income (Most and Least Livable Countries: UN Human Development Index, 2006). According to the HDI for 2006, Canada ranked sixth and Mexico ranked fifty-third (Human Development Report 2006). Canada, ranking high in quality of life indicates a high economic ranking in the global arena. Provision of free education to all its citizens, availability of a large supply and variety of goods like food and clothing, and provision of high disposable incomes to family earners by both public and private are indicators of a stable and booming economy. Mexico on the other hand is not as economically secure as Canada. There are schools which are government funded but are not enough for everyone so some are forced or by choice enroll their children in private schools which are really expensive (Guide to living in Mexico). Not all consumer goods are affordable in Mexico. Consumer items like appliances, clothing, computers, audio/visual equipment, and cars are relatively more expensive in Mexico as compared to Canada. The benchmark used is the value of money against the cost of the goods mentioned for each country. Automobiles and real estate are also expensive in Mexico. Unlike in Canada , because of the high disposable incomes of the people and the relative affordable costs of automobiles and real estate, they can afford reasonably large homes in low-density areas and highly stylish and functional cars (Connections: Canadian Lifestyle Choices and the Environment, 2005). Canadians are very mobile because of their ready access to private automobiles. Public transportation meanwhile is more popular and more practical in Mexico. Public transportation is made affordable in Me

Recycling Essay -- Recycle Garbage Rubbish Papers

Recycling During the early 1970s, as communities across the United States saw their landfills filling up, attention turned to alternative methods of garbage disposal, such as incineration and recycling. While incineration proved to be a thorny issue due to its toxic ash byproduct, recycling was embraced by Americans as an effective way to offset rising garbage production rates. Today, demand for recycled products is beginning to match supply, and the percentage of waste going into landfills and incinerators is decreasing steadily. In 1970, when Americans produced 121 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW), three-quarters went directly into landfills, one-fifth was incinerated, and less than one-sixteenth was recycled. Now, with nearly double the MSW (more than 210 million tons per year), recycling accounts for almost one-quarter and incineration for a little over one-sixth. Indeed, widespread application of recycling throughout American communities has proven to be one of the great environmental success stories of the last quarter century. Accordingly, the trend toward fewer landfills continues. In 1988, for example, 8,000 landfills were scattered across the US; today little more than 3,000 remain. Meanwhile, nearly fifty percent of all Americans now have access to curbside recycling programs, while others, mostly in rural areas, can drop recyclables off at one of the nation's 2,600 transfer stations for recovery and diversion. And an increasing number of commercial and industrial operations are finding that recycling as much of their waste as possible saves hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on waste hauling and l... ...ls. At this time, a plastic recycling only minimally reduces the amount of virgin resources used to make plastics. Recycling papers, glass and metal, materials that are easily recycled more than once, saves far more energy and resources than are saved with plastics recycling. Consider this example: polyvinyl chloride (PVC) bottles are hard to tell apart from PET bottles, but one stray PVC bottle in a melt of 10,000 PET bottles can ruin the entire batch. It's understandable why purchasers of recycled plastics want to make sure that the plastic is sorted properly. Equipment to sort plastics is being developed, but currently most recyclers are still sorting plastics by hand. That's expensive and time consuming. Plastics also are bulky and cumbersome to collect. In short, they take up a lot of space in recycling trucks.

Sanitation Facilities

Sanitation generally refers to the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and faeces. An improved sanitation facility is one that hygienically separates human excreta from human contact. Improved sanitation generally involves physically closer facilities, less waiting time, and safer disposal of excreta. Poor sanitation is responsible for one of the heaviest existing disease burdens worldwide. The diseases associated with poor sanitation and unsafe water account for about 10% of the global burden of disease.The most common disease of poor health associated with poor sanitation is a diarrhoeal disease. Globally, about 1. 7 million people die every year from diarrhoeal diseases, and 90% are children under 5 years of age, mostly in developing countries. 88% percent of cases of diarrhoeal diseases worldwide are attributable to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene. In this essay I will analyse the economic benefits of sanitation, the eco nomic disadvantages, the link between a rise in GDP and the access to sanitation in regions all over the world including Asia, Africa, Europe and North America.I will do this by analysing data set curves which I have obtained from a various amount of sources such as national journals, reports and articles relating to this subject. I will be using data sets from the UNEP and carrying out multiple regressions. Finally I will be looking at the Environmental Kuznets model to see whether it applies to this relationship between economic growth and the access to sanitation.According to 2010 figures, approximately 2 billion people do not use improved sanitation facilities, two-thirds of which live in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. By looking at Figure 1 we can see that it is in the developed regions such as North America and parts of Europe where people have a good access to sanitation, while on the other hand it is the mostly the developing regions such as Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with th e poor access to sanitation. This figure already makes the relationship between economic development and access to sanitation vaguely clear.The Asian and African regions would be a good place to have a look at this relationship even more closely; this is because over the past few decades, countries in the Asian regions such as China have undergone a huge advance in economic growth while on the other hand there has been little or non-existent economic growth in the African regions. Asia is the world's fastest growing economic region. China is the largest economy in Asia and the second largest economy in the world.Moreover, Asia is the site of some of the world's longest economic booms and by looking at Figure 2 it is evident to see that over the past few decades there has been a dramatic rise in the GDP of Asia but very little in the GDP of Africa. Now by looking at Figure 3 which is a graph showing the level of improved drinking/safe water coverage, improved as in drinking-water sou rces such as piped water to the house or yard, public taps and rainwater collection. Improved sanitation facilities including flush or pour-flush toilets connected to a piped sewer system.By looking at this we can see that in Asia there has also been a dramatic rise in the access to unpolluted water which is a positive relation to the GDP. I gathered the data which is on Figures 2 and 3 onto excel and carried out a regression analysis for the Asian region to help understand to what extent the strength in the relationship between the dependent variable (GDP) and the independent variable (Sanitation) which is shown on Figure 4. By looking at the R squared we can see that this model has a strong explanatory power as it is very close to 1.According to the coefficient we can also see that every time the GDP increases by $50billion, there is an increase of almost 3. 4 million people with improved access to sanitation. Poor sanitation results in an economic loss as it is linked with the co sts of treatment to sanitation related diseases and income which is lost through productivity. Furthermore poor sanitation can also lead to a loss of time and effort as a result of poor facilities, lower quality of products due to poor quality of water and of course a dramatically reduced income coming from tourism as there is a great risk of disease.According to various studies from the WHO (World Health Organisation), there has been evidence that there are huge economic costs which arise from the poor sanitation. At a global level there is a loss of around $40billion per year due to poor sanitation; looking at South Asia alone we can see that in places such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia there is a loss of around $10billion a year, the key impacts of this came about from poor health and tourism, poor sanitation can affect everyone but especially effects those who are poor(Hutton, 2007). Several studies have also been conducted to estimate the economic costs associated with poo r sanitation. In Ghana and Pakistan, for example, the indirect effect on child mortality of environmental risk has added more than 40% to the cost of directly caused child mortality. If one took into account the effect of such malnutrition, they will be able to see the huge impact on impairing school performance and delayed entry into the labour market, the cost would double to around 10% of the GDP.Improvement to sanitation can bring various types of benefits to an economy, one of which are the direct benefits of preventing or avoiding illnesses as there would be no money spent on healthcare treating patients with diseases due to sanitation. There will also be indirect benefits such as a decrease in the amount of work days absent being sick and longer life, and finally and very importantly there will be a lot of time saved. As we have seen already, sanitation is also important when it comes to economic development.In Africa many young women are dying every year as they are the ones which carry the polluted water, they are also then forced to drop out of education during puberty years in order to look after their sick children as a result of the polluted water, this means that women are not able to be educated and they can even find it difficult to join the labour supply. Every 10% raise in female literacy (due to increased attendance at school) a nation’s economy can grow by around 0.3% (Dollar et al, 1999). According to Hutton (2008) there could be an estimated that annual investments of around $27million in Tanzania and Vietnam would result in benefits of around $70million for the health sector alone. Hutton also estimated that there is a potential to save around $6billion in many parts of Asia if improved sanitation can be introduced. Overall Hutton stated that there are many costs and benefits available however the benefits still do overpower the costs.Moreover, the Disease Control Priorities Project recently found that hygiene promotion to prevent diarrhoea was the most cost-effective health intervention in the world at only $3. 35 per DALY loss averted, with sanitation promotion following closely behind at just $11. 15 per DALY loss averted. This is to say that economic growth and sanitation for sure have a strong relationship within one another; this can be shown on the environmental Kuznets curve.The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) is a relationship between income and pollution which is hypothesized to have an inverted U-shape. The idea of an inverted U-shaped Kuznets curve stems from the Kuznets' work in income equality (Kuznets, 1955). The EKC hypothesis states that as income increases pollution goes up initially but after certain time pollution eventually declines. The point at which pollution level is the highest is called a turning point. This then evidently applies to developing countries as they are the ones which have the higher levels of income.Looking at Figure 5 we can see that in Europe up to the year 2000 w ater pollution was on a rise, however sometime in the year 2000 there was a turning point where the pollution of water started to decline. According to the Kuznets curve, in the year 2000 the economies within Europe produced a certain GDP and a certain GDP per capita which led to the decline of the water pollution. According to Figure 6 in the year 2000 the turning point on the Kuznets curve was at $18000 per capita, this is the level of GDP per capita needed in the European region in order to reverse the trend of water pollution.Looking back at Figure 5 we can also see that in the North American region up till 1998 there was an increase of water pollution however sometime in 1998, just like in Europe, people’s incomes were growing and GDP per capita was on a rise. Looking at Figure 6, according to the EKC, GDP per capita in North America will be at $36000 which is where there will be a turning point. Both the EKC’s for Europe and for North America are shown on Figure 7. This analysis clearly tells us that the relationship between the two is dependable on the economic stages of development.In the other regions around the world there will not be a turning point on the EKC as people do not earn enough to have this effect, good sanitation facilities are the main way in which water pollution can decrease, more developed economies around the world have the funds to invest in good sanitation, however as we have discussed, the less developed countries do not have access to these sanitation facilities therefore their economies are heavily impacted and the funds for the technology needed to provide improved sanitation are hard to come by, therefore these countries are on the upwards slope of the EKCmeaning they have not yet achieved the GDP per capita in order to have a turning point. I have aimed to show the various ways in which sanitation is fundamental to good health and also economic development. Given the data I have analysed, I can surely state tha t the investment in improved sanitation would be beneficial to an economy. Ultimately, I can say that there is a strong relationship in economic growth and access to sanitation and I can also say that the EKC does apply to the water pollution we have in the real world. Finally I can also say that the level of the turning point also depends on the stages of economic development.