MANAGING INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MANAGING INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS - Essay Example Most of the EU trading occurs in between the European countries itself, owing to its flourishing nature it stands first among exporting and second among importing countries. The key concepts of European Union are, Integration- combining a range of different pieces into a single body, or the removal of barriers to enable the pieces to move closer together (Jones 2008,pp.88-87), Supranationalism – which express the power of EU decisions that override those made by national governments whenever the two conflict (Ibid ,pp.137-138) and the Intergovernmentalism – the idea of different governments of EU working together to protect its national interests (Ibid 2008,p.87). The most important key institutions of European Union are The council of the European Union representing the governments of the member states; European commission which consists of the commissioners appointed by the member states ,the executive body and driving force ; The European Council that comprises the h eads of state/government of the member states which gives political direction to the EU and sets policy agenda and strategies for the EU and European Parliament elected by the people of the member state, law-making body. ... n spreads some precious lessons to the whole world through their integrated efforts and activities which if put into effect may enable all human beings to live in peace and harmony around the Globe. References Jones, A. (2008) A Glossary of the European Union. Edinburgh University Press. The EU & Supply Chain Management The Supply Chain Management (SCM) can be defined as the† management of upstream and downstream relationship with suppliers and customers in order to deliver superior customer value at less cost to the supply chain† which refers to a system of organizations in moving a product from supplier to the customer (Christopher, 2011, p. 3). SCM heavily depends on the areas of operation management, logistics, procurement, and information technology (Ibid). Some suggest it is more accurate to use the term â€Å"Supply network†, viewing the supply chain as â€Å"a network of connected and interdependent organizations mutually and cooperatively working together to control, manage and improve the flow of materials and information from suppliers to end users† (Chopra & Meindl 2010). Different SCM models were proposed for the better understanding and systematic coordination of the business functions. For instance, Supply Chain Council promotes Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) whereas the Global Supply Chain Forum (GSCF) promotes SCM Model. By going truly global with the SCM, business firms can understand the competitiveness and can identify significant links in the network. It also helps to focus on long term issues. According to Chopra and Meindl (2010), the decision phases of a supply chain includes 3 steps the Supply Chain Strategy or design, Supply Chain Planning and the Supply Chain Operations. Essentially the fundamental role of SCM is to facilitate the