Cell Membrane essays

Cell Membrane essays Cell Membrane/ Electron Transport Chain Biochemical Pathway 1. The cell membrane structure is vital to the life of the cell. The cell membrane is shaped as having a phosphate head at the very outer surface, and two fatty acid tails hanging from it. The membrane is double, so at the tip of the fatty acid tails, there are two more fatty acid tails attached to another phosphate head. This is what it looks like: The reason the cell membrane is shaped like this is mainly to control the water flow in and out of the cell. Water is very important to the cell: if too much water enters the cell, the cell will explode, and if too much water leaves the cell, the cell will shrivel up and die. This is how the cell membrane controls water flow: the phosphate heads are polar, and slightly attract water. However, the fatty acid tails in between are non polar, and repel water, so the fatty acid tails prevent too much water from entering or leaving the cell. With this tough membrane, there has to be a way for things to enter the cell. This is where the channel proteins come in. They act as gateways to the cell. There are many ways to enter the cell. Some ways require energy, while others dont. The ways that require energy are put into a category called active transport, while the ways that dont require energy are put into a category called passive transport. An example of active transp! ort is the proton pump. The proton pump is an integral part of chemiosmosis, and it pumps protons from an area of low concentration to an area of high concentration. This requires energy since things like to move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. An example of passive transport is facilitated diffusion. This is very easy since the particle is moving from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration and through a channel protein made exactly for its size and shape. 2. These membranes are very importan...

Essay on Christian Propaganda

Essay on Christian Propaganda Essay on Christian Propaganda This is a free example essay on Christian Propaganda: Throughout history, the Christian community has used various ploys in order to gain members. In the Ninth Century AD, monks, in England, recorded the folklore of their â€Å"heathen† neighbors in their own language. In the 11th through 18th centuries, in various areas, Catholics used raw torture and death to force conversion. And even today television stations such as PAX â€Å"family programming† is little more than tele-evangelists and trumped up â€Å"miracles.† Two prime examples of the texts written and some what enriched by the monks of England are, of course Beowulf and Judith. While it remains unclear as to exactly who wrote the original manuscripts, it is believed that it was a monk or priest, and it has been widely accepted that these stories were handed down, generation to generation, by oral tradition. The epic poem Beowulf directly precedes Judith in the same manuscript, leading us to believe they were recorded by the same persons, with the same motives. In Beowulf we read of a hero that destroys the enemy of his brethren, Grendel (and Grendel’s mother), believed by some to be the descendant of the biblical Cain, thus ending his lineage; a lineage that has been that of pure evil from the time of Cain’s brother Abel’s murder. Beowulf then leads his people into battle with the dragon, killing both the dragon and himself, much like St. George. In Judith we read of a heroine (interestingly an Israelite) oppressed b y a tyrant, Holofernes. Eventually Judith can take no more, and rises up and smites her oppressor, with, ironically, his own sword. Much as the Hebrews did in Exodus. We then must look at instances such as the various Inquisitions instituted by the Catholic Church for nearly eight centuries, the most commonly known being the Spanish Inquisition. Starting in the mid- 15th century (1478), the Spanish Inquisition was not suppressed until 1834. Over these 356 years hundreds of thousands of heretics, heathens and other â€Å"sacrilegious† persons were tortured and killed by some of the most horrible means possible; all for what they believed, or did not believe, as the case may be. People were hanged, burned at the stake, boiled alive, or worse, for no â€Å"good† reason except they were not Catholic. They were told if they renounced their faith, they would be spared, but as those who did found out, more often than not, they were lied to. As anyone would guess, word of these events traveled rather quickly, and the Catholic population in Spain grew rapidly. So we ask. why did the Inquisition last 356 years? The answer is it did not, at lea st not in practice. Granted there were the fanatics that continued to torture those accused of heresy, but as a whole the practice was discontinued after a relatively short period of time. The institution, however, was not officially suppressed by the Pope until July 15, 1834. If a person were to look at local television listings, the majority of what they would find would pertain to what the American public watches most, drugs, sex, and violence. However, there are a few networks, such as PAX that offer what they call family programming; what I call Propaganda. Over half of their programming consists of tele-evangelists. The network executives, rope in young parents with inoffensive material, hoping that they will watch their network almost exclusively. Before long, the children of these young parents are asking Mom and Dad, why they never go to church. Have they ever seen a miracle? And before you know it, this entire family is going to not only a Sunday worship, but Wednesday evening as well, not to mention the Tuesday-Thursday Bible Study; thus completing this vicious cycle. We have in this country, what is called Separation of Church and State, and freedom of speech. This is why we can turn on our television at five o’clock in the morning and s ee The Reverend Brother What’s his Face. But where does it stop? Will the church ever stop trying to brain wash us â€Å"heathens† into belief? ______________ is a professional essay writing service which can provide high school, college and university students with 100% original custom written essays, research papers, term papers, dissertations, courseworks, homeworks, book reviews, book reports, lab reports, projects, presentations and other assignments of top quality. More than 700 professional Ph.D. and Master’s academic writers. Feel free to order a custom written essay on Christian Propaganda from our professional essay writing service.

Annotated Bibliography. Generation Challenges in the future of nursing Essay

Annotated Bibliography. Generation Challenges in the future of nursing informatics - Essay Example Moreover, the article indicates that they are expected to make a reasonable effort in addressing rising demand for the nursing care services, which are focused on increasing supply of nurses. In this case, the nurses can increase their efficiency in the provision of care through the use of health Information Technology that has been considered a crucial issue through numerous discussions. The article covers issues related to the effect of the health IT and health informatics through an outlook of the nursing profession. In addition, the vendors across the health IT field are urged to facilitate understanding of the nursing profession through gearing them to meet challenges for reforming new era attributed to collaboration in offering health care services. Ball, M.J. (1995). Nursing Informatics: Where caring and technology meet. New York: Spinger-Verlag The book focuses on markets in health care practice and education settings, whereby it aims to address the issues relating to nursing practice and students; in fact, issues discussed relates to nursing leadership, nursing faculty and nursing informatics specialists. Moreover, this book is designed meet the needs of professionals in the health care fields such are quality officers, administrators, health IT professions, who are in the health care facilities. ... /journal_of_nursing/challenges_in_nursing_informatics.htm> The article discusses challenges faced by nurses due to constrains associated with innovation technology. It also seeks to explore ways through which these challenges can be overcome. The article offers nursing documentation, thereby explaining dynamics and complexity of the processes. Moreover, the article focuses on bridging the gaps that are present in the nursing documentation to the electronic record. In addition, there are abilities of nursing students discussed in the article, thereby allowing them to understand challenges, which are involving the constants evolutions of technology. In this case, the article offers relevant issues related to nursing practice in relation to challenges. Kaminski, (2011). Organizational management and generation X. Nursing Informatics. Retrieved on 2 Feb 2012 from The article takes into consideration the challenges and threats that are faced by managers in organizations, whereby this mana ger are classified into echelon of Baby Boomer and senior Silent Generation managers. These challenges are attributed to the emergence of the work force referred to Generation X, who are considered to be offering dynamic solutions to meet the needs of the workforce. The article covers issues related to technological knowledge, thereby facilitating the adaptability to change and diversity. There are other issues discussed in the article relating to sharing of time and downsizing, which have become a challenge to the organization. In this case, the unique brands of workers that are acquiescent to the needs are reflected in various scenes, in the workplace. Ericksen, A. (2009). Informatics: the future of nursing. RN journal. Retrieved on 2

How SOX (SarbanesOxley Act of 2002) affects corporate governance and Research Paper

How SOX (SarbanesOxley Act of 2002) affects corporate governance and what additional improvements need to be added to SOX to improve corporate governance - Research Paper Example Oxley, thus the act’s nomenclature, and enacted on July 30, the act aimed to regulate and control the corporate and accounting sectors, particularly in the public company boards of management, and the management and public accounting companies (Shakespeare 333). The act goes by several names, considering its purpose. The act was referred to as the Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act when in the house, whereas in the Senate is as per the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act. The SOX (also Sabox) was proposed as an act that would protect investors by ensuring improvements in the corporate disclosures precision and trustworthiness for among other purposes pursuing the securities market and laws. The outcome of the act is sections that dictate the responsibilities expected of a public corporation board of directors, the criminal consequences to various misconduct, and creation of regulations by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on the compliance of public corporations to the act’s laws. The laws of the act are encased in eleven titles under the elements which include the Corporate Responsibility, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), Corporate and Criminal Fraud Account ability, Auditor Independence, White Collar Crime Penalty Enhancement, Enhanced Financial Disclosures, Studies and Reports, Analyst Conflicts of Interest, Commission Resources and Authority, Corporate Tax Returns, and Corporate Fraud Accountability. The section covers the legal provisions which include disclosure controls (302), Improper influence on conduct of audits (303), disclosures in periodic reports also termed as Off-balance sheet items (401), Smaller public companies (404), criminal penalties for influencing US Agency investigation/proper administration (802), criminal Penalties for CEO/CFO financial statement certification (906), and criminal penalties for retaliation against

The Divergence of U.S. and UK Takeover Regulation Essay - 1

The Divergence of U.S. and UK Takeover Regulation - Essay Example who decides the rules of takeover in both countries. Rules of takeover in the UK are the outcome of the self regulation where interests of institutional investors play an important role while on the other hand the US judicial setup holds the responsibility of takeover rules and thus, limiting the influence of shareholders over making of rules. In the UK, shareholders’ perspectives play an important role in deciding about takeover bids and thus, takeover regime is â€Å"privatized†. Easterbook and Fischel proposed limited capability of managers to defend takeovers which did not become part of practice in the US after its dismissal by the Delaware Court and takeover decisions are still based on decisions made by those who manage businesses and they are allow to undertake several types of defense actions such as the â€Å"poison pill† or shareholder rights plan to undermine bidder’s stake. These tactics are prohibited in the UK and without the consent of shar eholders managers cannot maneuver any tactic in defense. However, in the UK managers are allowed to make use of â€Å"embedded defenses† which may involve issuance of dual-class voting stock or several other ways to take action before any bidder takes an offensive position (Armour and Skeel). Takeovers do not always result in higher returns for shareholders therefore it seems more appropriate to leave the decision in case of takeover to shareholders as in the UK. However, it is noted that the number of takeovers in the US has been greater than the UK. There could be several reasons including the veto power of directors who may feel that they are not entitled to sufficient incentives from the shareholders. In the UK, bidder can lodge a protest against managers’ actions to the Takeover Panel comprising of representatives from LSE, BOE, major banks and institutional investors. There is a greater flexibility in dealing of this Panel and limited

Wegmans Essay Example for Free

Wegmans Essay Core competencies are the things that give a company one or more competitive advantages, in creating and delivering value to its customers in its chosen field. Also called core capabilities or distinctive competencies. It can be composed of different elements such as superior quality, customer services, innovation, team building, flexibility and responsiveness, etc. Firstly, Wegmans has a better customer service. Wegmans focus on customer service, their goal is to build an emotional connection with their customer. Wegmans give a college scholarship for both its full and part-time employees to locations around the world to learn about or to locate new and unique sources of foods. Wegmans employees have a rich knowledge can give a better support for their customer. Secondly, Wegmans has a good team building. Wegmans instituted a host of employees-friendly benefits such as profit-sharing and full medical coverage. Also, Wegmans’ annual salaries for full-time workers and hourly wages for part-time workers are among the highest in the industry. The result is Wegmans generous pay scale and its consistent listing as one of the 100 best companies to work for also attracts quality workers. Those strategies can build a sense of belonging of the employees. Thirdly, Wegmans has an innovation idea. For example, Wegmans built a 300-seat cafà © in their first store in Rochester, New York, a concept that was unheard of in 1930. Fourthly, Wegmans can provide a high quality product to customer. Because of Wegman employees have a rich knowledge of the food, they can locate a high quality supplier to Wegmans and provide some better product to customer. Finally, Wegmans has a good flexibility and responsiveness. For example, Wegmans employees can explain 500 varieties of cheese to customer, which types of crackers to serve them on, and which wines go best with them. Wegmans employees can give different suggestion to customer depend on what the customers needs.

Understanding Inventory Management And Its Theories

Understanding Inventory Management And Its Theories Inventory management or inventory control is an attempt to balance inventory needs and requirements with the need to minimize costs resulting from obtaining and holding inventory. There are several schools of thought that view inventory and its function differently. These will be addressed later but first we present a foundation to facilitate the readers understanding of inventory and its function. Inventory Definition Inventory is a quantity or store of goods that is held for some purpose or use (the term may also be used as a verb meaning to take inventory or to count all goods held in inventory). Inventory may be kept in house meaning on the premises or nearby for immediate use or it may be held in a distant warehouse or distribution center for future use. With the exception of firms utilizing just in time methods more often than not the term inventory implies a stored quantity of goods that exceeds what is needed for the firm to function at the current time (e.g., within the next few hours). Why we should keep inventory Why would a firm hold more inventory than is currently necessary to ensure the firms operation? The following is a list of reasons for maintaining what would appear to be excess inventory. MEET DEMAND. In order for a retailer to stay in business it must have the products that the customer wants on hand when the customer wants them? If not the retailer will have to back order the product. If the customer can get the good from some other source he or she may choose to do so rather than electing to allow the original retailer to meet demand later (through back order). Hence, in many instances if a good is not in inventory a sale is lost forever. KEEP OPERATIONS RUNNING. A manufacturer must have certain purchased items (raw materials components or subassemblies) in order to manufacture its product. Running out of only one item can prevent a manufacturer from completing the production of its finished goods. Inventory between successive dependent operations also serves to decouple the dependency of the operations. A machine or work center is often dependent upon the previous operation to provide it with parts to work on. If work ceases at a work center then all subsequent centers will shut down for lack of work. If a supply of work in process inventory is kept between each work center then each machine can maintain its operations for a limited time hopefully until operations resume the original center. LEAD TIME. Lead time is the time that elapses between the placing of an order (either a purchase order or a production order issued to the shop or the factory floor) and actually receiving the goods ordered. If a supplier (an external firm or an internal department or plant) cannot supply the required goods on demand then the client firm must keep an inventory of the needed goods. The longer the lead time the larger the quantity of goods the firm must carry in inventory. A just in time (JIT) manufacturing firm such as Nissan in Smyrna Tennessee can maintain extremely low levels of inventory. Nissan takes delivery on truck seats as many as 18 times per day. However steel mills may have a lead time of up to three months. That means that a firm that uses steel produced at the mill must place orders at least three months in advance of their need. In order to keep their operations running in the meantime an on hand inventory of three months steel requirements would be necessary. HEDGE. Inventory can also be used as a hedge against price increases and inflation. Salesmen routinely call purchasing agents shortly before a price increase goes into effect. This gives the buyer a chance to purchase material in excess of current need at a price that is lower than it would be if the buyer waited until after the price increase occurs. QUANTITY DISCOUNT. Often firms are given a price discount when purchasing large quantities of a good. This also frequently results in inventory in excess of what is currently needed to meet demand. However if the discount is sufficient to offset the extra holding cost incurred as a result of the excess inventory the decision to buy the large quantity is justified. SMOOTHING REQUIREMENTS. Sometimes inventory is used to smooth demand requirements in a market where demand is somewhat erratic. Consider the demand forecast and production schedule outlined in Table 1. Notice how the use of inventory has allowed the firm to maintain a steady rate of output thus avoiding the cost of hiring and training new personnel while building up inventory in anticipation of an increase in demand. In fact this is often called anticipation inventory. In essence the use of inventory has allowed the firm to move demand requirements to earlier periods thus smoothing the demand. Controlling Inventory Firms that carry hundreds or even thousands of different part numbers can be faced with the impossible task of monitoring the inventory levels of each part number. In order to facilitate this many firms use an ABC approach. ABC analysis is based on Pareto Analysis also known as the 80/20 rule. The 80/20 comes from Paretos finding that 20 percent of the populace possessed 80 percent of the wealth. From an inventory perspective it can restated thusly: approximately 20 percent of all inventory items represent 80 percent of inventory costs. Therefore a firm can control 80 percent of its inventory costs by monitoring and controlling 20 percent of its inventory. But it has to be the correct 20 percent. The top 20 percent of the firms most costly items are termed An items (this should approximately represent 80 percent of total inventory costs). Items that are extremely inexpensive or have low demand are termed C items with B items falling in between A and C items. The percentages may vary with each firm but B items usually represent about 30 percent of the total inventory items and 15 percent of the costs. C items generally constitute 50 percent of all inventory items but only around 5 percent of the c By classifying each inventory item as an A B or C the firm can determine the resources (time effort and money) to dedicate to each item. Usually this means that the firm monitors A items very closely but can check on B and C items on a periodic basis (for example monthly for B items and quarterly for C items). Another control method related to the ABC concept is cycle counting. Cycle counting is used instead of the traditional once a year inventory count where firms shut down for a short period of time and physically count all inventory assets in an attempt to reconcile any possible discrepancies in their inventory records. When cycle counting is used the firm is continually taking a physical count but not of total inventory. A firm may physically count a certain section of the plant or warehouse moving on to other sections upon completion until the entire facility is counted. Then the process starts all over again. The firm may also choose to count all the A items then the B items and finally the C items. Certainly the counting frequency will vary with the classification of each item. In other words an item may be counted monthly B items quarterly and C items yearly. In addition the required accuracy of inventory records may vary according to classification with A items requiring the most accurate record keeping. Balancing Inventory and Cost As stated earlier inventory management is an attempt to maintain an adequate supply of goods while minimizing inventory costs. We saw a variety of reasons companies hold inventory and these reasons dictate what is deemed to be an adequate supply of inventory. Now how do we balance this supply with its costs? First lets look at what kind of costs we are talking about. There are three types of costs that together constitute total inventory costs: holding costs set up costs and purchasing costs. Holding Costs. Holding costs also called carrying costs are the costs that result from maintaining the inventory. Inventory in excess of current demand frequently means that its holder must provide a place for its storage when not in use. This could range from a small storage area near the production line to a huge warehouse or distribution center. A storage facility requires personnel to move the inventory when needed and to keep track of what is stored and where it is stored. If the inventory is heavy or bulky forklifts may be necessary to move it around. Storage facilities also require heating cooling, lighting and water. The firm must pay taxes on the inventory and opportunity costs occur from the lost use of the funds that were spent on the inventory. Also obsolescence pilferage (theft) and shrinkage are problems. All of these things add cost to holding or carrying inventory. If the firm can determine the cost of holding one unit of inventory for one year (H) it can determine its annual holding cost by multiplying the cost of holding one unit by the average inventory held for a one year period. Average inventory can be computed by dividing the amount of goods that are ordered every time an order is placed (Q) by two. Thus average inventory is expressed asQ/2. Annual holding cost then can be expressed asH(Q/2). Set Up Cost Set up costs are the costs incurred from getting a machine ready to produce the desired good. In a manufacturing setting this would require the use of a skilled technician (a cost) who disassembles the tooling that is currently in use on the machine. The disassembled tooling is then taken to a tool room or tool shop for maintenance or possible repair (another cost). The technician then takes the currently needed tooling from the tool room (where it has been maintained another cost) and brings it to the machine in question. There the technician has to assemble the tooling on the machine in the manner required for the good to be produced (this is known as a set up). Then the technician has to calibrate the machine and probably will run a number of parts that will have to be scrapped (a cost) in order to get the machine correctly calibrated and running. All the while the machine has been idle and not producing any parts (opportunity cost). As one can see there is considerable cost involved in set up. If the firm purchases the part or raw material then an order cost rather than a set up cost is incurred. Ordering costs include the purchasing agents salary and travel entertainment budget administrative and secretarial support office space copiers and office supplies forms and documents long distance telephone bills and computer systems and support. Also some firms include the cost of shipping the purchased goods in the order cost. If the firm can determine the cost of one set up (S) or one order it can determine its annual setup order cost by multiplying the cost of one set up by the number of set ups made or orders placed annually. Suppose a firm has an annual demand (D) of 1,000 units. If the firm orders 100 units (Q) every time it places and order the firm will obviously place 10 orders per year (D/Q). Hence, annual set up order cost can be expressed asS (D/Q). Purchasing Cost Purchasing cost is simply the cost of the purchased item itself. If the firm purchases a part that goes into its finished product the firm can determine its annual purchasing cost by multiplying the cost of one purchased unit (P) by the number of finished products demanded in a year (D). Hence, purchasing cost is expressed asPD. Now total inventory cost can be expressed as: Total = Holding cost + Set-up/Order cost + Purchasing cost or Total =H(Q/2) +S(D/Q) +PD If holding costs and set-up costs were plotted as lines on a graph the point at which they intersect (that is the point at which they are equal) would indicate the lowest total inventory cost. Therefore if we want to minimize total inventory cost every time we place an order, we should order the quantity (Q) that corresponds to the point where the two values are equal. If we set the two costs equal and solve forQwe get: H(Q/2) =S(D/Q) Q= 2DS/H The quantity is known as the economic order quantity (EOQ). In order to minimize total inventory cost, the firm will order every time it places an order. For example, a firm with an annual demand of 12,000 units (at a purchase price of $25 each), annual holding cost of $10 per unit and an order cost of $150 per order (with orders placed once a month) could save $800 annually by utilizing the EOQ. First, we determine the total costs without using the EOQ method: Q= $10(1000/2) + $150(12,000/1000) + $25(12,000) = $306,800 Then we calculate EOQ: EOQ = 2(12,000)($150)/$10= 600 And we calculate total costs at the EOQ of 600: Q= $10(600/2) + $150(12,000/600) + $25(12,000) = $306,000 Finally, we subtract the total cost ofQfromQto determine the savings: $306,800 à ¢Ãƒâ€¹Ã¢â‚¬   306,000 = $800 Notice that if you remove purchasing cost from the equation the savings is still $800. We might assume this means that purchasing cost is not relevant to our order decision and can be eliminated from the equation. It must be noted that this is true only as long as no quantity discount exists. If a quantity discount is available the firm must determine whether the savings of the quantity discount are sufficient to offset the loss of the savings resulting from the use of the EOQ. There are a number of assumptions that must be made with the use of the EOQ. These include: Only one product is involved. Deterministic demand (demand is known with certainty). Constant demand (demand is stable through-out the year). No quantity discounts. Constant costs (no price increases or inflation) While these assumptions would seem to make EOQ irrelevant for use in a realistic situation it is relevant for items that have independent demand. This means that the demand for the item is not derived from the demand for something else usually a parent item for which the unit in question is a component. For example the demand for steering wheels would be derived from the demand for automobiles dependent demand but the demand for purses is not derived from anything else purses have independent demand. Other Lot Sizing Techniques There are a number of other lot sizing techniques available in addition to EOQ. These include the fixed order quantity fixed order interval model the single period model and part period balancing. Fixed Order Quantity Model EOQ is an example of the fixed order quantity model since the same quantity is ordered every time an order is placed. A firm might also use a fixed order quantity when it is captive to packaging situations. If you were to walk into an office supply store and ask to buy 22 paper clips chances are you would walk out with 100 paper clips. You were captive to the packaging requirements of paper clips i.e. they come 100 to a box and you cannot purchase a partial box. It works the same way for other purchasing situations. A supplier may package their goods in certain quantities so that their customers must buy that quantity or a multiple of that quantity. FIXED ORDER INTERVAL MODEL. The fixed order interval model is used when orders have to be placed at fixed time intervals such as weekly biweekly or monthly. The lot size is dependent upon how much inventory is needed from the time of order until the next order must be placed order cycle. This system requires periodic checks of inventory levels and is used by many retail firms such as drug stores and small grocery stores. SINGLE-PERIOD MODEL. The single period model is used in ordering perishables such as food and flowers and items with a limited life such as newspapers. Unsold or unused goods are not typically carried over from one period to another and there may even be some disposal costs involved. This model tries to balance the cost of lost customer goodwill and opportunity cost that is incurred from not having enough inventory with the cost of having excess inventory left at the end of a period. PART-PERIOD BALANCING. Part period balancing attempts to select the number of periods covered by the inventory order that will make total carrying costs as close as possible to the set up order cost. When a proper lot size has been determined utilizing one of the above techniques the reorder point or point at which an order should be placed can be determined by the rate of demand and the lead time. If safety stock is necessary it would be added to the reorder point quantity. Reorder point =Expected demand during lead time + Safety stock Thus an inventory item with a demand of 100 per month a two month lead time and a desired safety stock of two weeks would have reorder point of 250. In other words an order would be placed whenever the inventory level for that good reached 250 units. Reorder point =100/month ÃÆ'- 2 months + 2 weeks safety stock = 250 Other thoughts in Inventory Management There are a number of techniques and philosophies that view inventory management from different perspectives. MRP AND MRP II. MRP and MRP II are computer based resource management systems designed for items that have dependent demand. MRP and MRP II look at order quantities period by period and as such allow discrete ordering only what is currently needed. In this way inventory levels can be kept at a very low level a necessity for a complex item with dependent demand. JUST-IN-TIME (JIT). Just in time (JIT) is a philosophy that advocates the lowest possible levels of inventory. JIT espouses that firms need only keep inventory in the right quantity at the right time with the right quality. The ideal lot size for JIT is one even though one hears the term zero inventory used. Theory of Constraints Theory of constraints (TOC) is a philosophy which emphasizes that all management actions should center about the firms constraints. While it agrees with JIT that inventory should be at the lowest level possible in most instances it advocates that there be some buffer inventory around any capacity constraint e.g. the slowest machine and before finished goods. Future of Inventory Management The advent through altruism or legislation of environmental management has added a new dimension to inventory management reverse supply chain logistics. Environmental management has expanded the number of inventory types that firms have to coordinate. In addition to raw materials work in process finished goods and MRO goods firms now have to deal with post consumer items such as scrap returned goods reusable or recyclable containers and any number of items that require repair reuse recycling or secondary use in another product. Retailers have the same type problems dealing with inventory that has been returned due to defective material or manufacture poor fit finish or color or outright I changed my mind responses from customers. Finally supply chain management has had a considerable impact on inventory management. Instead of managing ones inventory to maximize profit and minimize cost for the individual firm todays firm has to make inventory decisions that benefit the entire supply chain.