The Kill Chain


Book Description

From a former senior advisor to Senator John McCain comes an urgent wake-up call about how new technologies are threatening America's military might. For generations of Americans, our country has been the world's dominant military power. How the US military fights, and the systems and weapons that it fights with, have been uncontested. That old reality, however, is rapidly deteriorating. America's traditional sources of power are eroding amid the emergence of new technologies and the growing military threat posed by rivals such as China. America is at grave risk of losing a future war. As Christian Brose reveals in this urgent wake-up call, the future will be defined by artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and other emerging technologies that are revolutionizing global industries and are now poised to overturn the model of American defense. This fascinating, if disturbing, book confronts the existential risks on the horizon, charting a way for America's military to adapt and succeed with new thinking as well as new technology. America must build a battle network of systems that enables people to rapidly understand threats, make decisions, and take military actions, the process known as "the kill chain." Examining threats from China, Russia, and elsewhere, The Kill Chain offers hope and, ultimately, insights on how America can apply advanced technologies to prevent war, deter aggression, and maintain peace.







Industry 4.0 and Hyper-Customized Smart Manufacturing Supply Chains


Book Description

Next-generation supply chains revolve around smart manufacturing processes and personalized customization of products and services. For businesses to stay relevant in the market today, prioritizing customer satisfaction with speed and great service has become crucial. Industry 4.0 and Hyper-Customized Smart Manufacturing Supply Chains is an assemblage of innovative research ideas surrounding the methods of modern smart manufacturing technologies and digital supply chain management in the era of Industry 4.0. While highlighting topics including blockchain diffusion, logistics system, and data analytics, this book is ideally designed for industry professionals, researchers, managers, and students seeking current research on the role of technology in business production.




Corporate Social Responsibility in Supply Chains


Book Description

Management of social issues in supply chain is increasingly becoming challenging and complex. The major challenges for a firm to counter social issues come from both internal and external stakeholders. Thus, firms adopt strategies which, while meeting the stakeholder demands also ensure performance improvements. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is adopted by the firms to address social and societal issues while achieving performance in their supply chains. Supplier development (SD) by the virtue of bringing performance improvement is a core element in implementing CSR. However, research at the intersection of CSR, Supply Chain Management (SCM) and supplier development rarely give insights into the interactions between economic and social performance in supply chains.

The main aim of this dissertation is to bring three different streams of literature (CSR, SCM and SD) and provide conceptual and empirical insights while investigating the role of SD as CSR in achieving performance improvements. Firstly, a conceptual framework based on the literature review is proposed providing more in-depth comprehension of CSR in supply chain. Secondly, based on the previous framework, a conceptual framework focusing on supplier development is proposed adding to the understanding of buyer-supplier relationships and its impact on performance outcomes. Finally empirical investigations into the Dairy supply chain in India using the constructs from these two frameworks, provide insights into the role of SD as CSR. Thus, this dissertation provides insights into the management of social issues in supply chains and makes valuable contributions at the intersection of CSR, SCM and SD.




Agri-food Chain Relationships


Book Description

Against the background of global market liberalization, increasing consumer awareness and concerns and the spreading of complex technology, new ways to produce, distribute and consume food are evolving. The organization of agricultural production and distribution systems need to adapt, including the development and maintenance of sustainable business relationships between farmers, food processors and grocery retailers. While agricultural value chains have been promoted for decades, more attention is needed on how to enable economic agents to develop lasting relationships and trust within value chains. Using qualitative and quantitative empirical results, Agri-food Chain Relationships offers an insight into the sustainability of current agribusiness relationships and discusses how these may be improved. Theoretical foundations for analysing agri-food chain relations are considered alongside case studies of different countries, food chains and chain stages regarding the issues of sustainable relationships and trust.




Supply Chain-Based Category Strategies for Global Supply Networks


Book Description

From a supply chain perspective, often big differences exist between global raw material suppliers’ approaches to supply their respective local markets. The progressing complexity of large centrally managed global supply networks and their often-unknown upstream ramifications increase the likelihood of undetected bottlenecks and inefficiencies. It is therefore necessary, to develop an approach to strategically master the upstream complexity of such networks from a holistic perspective, in order to align regional competitive priorities and supply chain structures. The research is set in the context of polyamide engineering thermoplastics in the automotive industry. Based on an initial industry analysis and a literature review, a conceptual framework is developed. The framework is matched with existing empirical and theoretical literature, as well as multiple case study analyses in the relevant supply market and a centrally managed global supply network. As a result, strategic group theory is transferred into the supply network management context, to allow for the consideration of upstream supply chain structures in the category strategy development process. The proposed approach introduces strategic groups of supply chains as a segmentation criterion for complex global supply networks, which enables the network-wide alignment of competitive priorities, flexibility requirements, and partnerships with suppliers. Supply chain-based category strategies can effectively reduce the complexity firms are facing in this context. The results of this research are applicable for certain types of global supply networks, and can be used for network alignment and strategy development. The approach can furthermore generate valuable insights useable for negotiation support with suppliers.




Handbook on the Sustainable Supply Chain


Book Description

Supply chain management has long been a feature of industry and commerce but, with increasing demands from consumers, producers are spending more time and money investing in ways to make supply chains more sustainable. This exemplary Handbook provides readers with a comprehensive overview of current research on sustainable supply chain management.




The Faces Behind the Chains: Thousands of Interviews, Memoirs & Life Stories of Former Slaves


Book Description

DigiCat presents to you this carefully created collection of thousands memoirs & life stories of former slaves. "The Faces Behind the Chains" strongly conveys the circumstances and brutal reality of a slave's life to a reader. This unique collection consists of the most influential narratives of former slaves, including many recorded testimonies and original photos of former slaves long after Civil War. It is designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Content: Recorded Life Stories of Former Slaves from 17 different US States Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass 12 Years a Slave (Solomon Northup) The Underground Railroad Harriet Jacobs: The Moses of Her People Up From Slavery (Booker T. Washington) The Willie Lynch Letter: The Making of Slave! The History of Mary Prince Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom (William & Ellen Craft) The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano Behind The Scenes: 30 Years a Slave & 4 Years in the White House (Elizabeth Keckley) Father Henson's Story of His Own Life (Josiah Henson) Fifty Years in Chains (Charles Ball) Twenty-Two Years a Slave and Forty Years a Freeman (Austin Steward) The Story of Mattie J. Jackson (L. S. Thompson) A Slave Girl's Story (Kate Drumgoold) From the Darkness Cometh the Light (Lucy A. Delaney) Life of Henry Box Brown, Who Escaped in a 3x2 Feet Box Buried Alive Documents: The History of the Abolition of African Slave-Trade History of American Abolitionism from 1787-1861 Pictures of Slavery in Church and State Report of the Proceedings at the Examination of Charles G. Davis, Esq., on the Charge of Aiding and Abetting in the Rescue of a Fugitive Slave Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases The Duty of Disobedience to the Fugitive Slave Act Emancipation Proclamation Gettysburg Address XIII Amendment Civil Rights Act of 1866 XIV Amendment ...




The Routledge Handbook of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Management in the Hospitality Industry


Book Description

Interdisciplinary in terms of both its coverage and contributions, The Routledge Handbook of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Management in the Hospitality Industry provides an informative and systematic guide to the current state of knowledge on workforce diversity and its management. Providing empirical knowledge and reflective practice on diversity issues and their management in the hospitality industry, this handbook includes chapters written by a plethora of experts in the diversity management (DM) field, including scholars, academics, and industry experts, such as managers from leading hospitality industry firms. Logically structured and embellished with illustrative figures throughout, the volume provides critical reviews and an appraisal of current research and the future development of conceptual and theoretical approaches to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) management in the hospitality industry, including dimensions of diversity in hospitality, such as gender, cultural/ethnic, age, disability, sexual orientation, and Indigenous workers. Elucidative examples are used from different countries such as Australia, Austria, Canada, Japan, United Arab Emirates, and India, and the volume takes a solution-based approach, providing future directions for emerging diversity researchers. Global in perspective, this book is a pivotal teaching resource for academics, an illustrative reference resource for Ph.D. students and early career researchers who work on workforce diversity and a practical guide for managers and HR consultants. It will also appeal to wider audiences, including those in tourism, recreation and leisure studies, and other professional fields.




Value Chain Struggles


Book Description

Adopting a 'global value chain' approach, Value Chain Struggles investigates the impact of new trading arrangements in the coffee and tea sectors on the lives and in the communities of growers in South India. Offers a timely analysis of the social hardships of tea and coffee producers Takes the reader into the lives of growers in Southern India who are struggling with issues of value chain restructuring Reveals the ways that the restructuring triggers a series of political and economic struggles across a range of economic, social, and environmental arenas Puts into perspective claims about the impacts of recent changes to global trading relations on rural producers in developing countries