Illiteracy in Egypt | An overview

Illiteracy in Egypt | An overview Illiteracy in Egypt Illiteracy is a huge problem, which face the developing countries and of course some of the developed countries. Who we can call an illiterate? An illiterate is a person who is unable to read or write. The rate of illiteracy is high in Egypt especially for women. The rate of illiteracy in Egypt in 2002 is approximately 34.2, while 45.4 percent is women. According to Arab Human Development Report; the illiteracy in the Arab world has reached 65 million, two thirds of them women. The illiteracy problem is caused by many things; one of the causes is poverty and another one is the lack of education of the parents. For example poverty; people want their children to learn, but can not afford enough money to make that dream come true. For the poor parents, it is a dream to make his children enter a school, because he wants his son to achieve something he could not do. This is a reason why illiteracy is high in the rural areas in Egypt. This is not only in rural areas, but also in big citie s in Cairo and the main reason for that is poverty; people cannot afford money to pay for their children school expenses, so they do not enter school and of course they become illiterate. This essay will first demonstrate the causes behind illiteracy and will try to find solutions for this problem. There are a number of causes behind the increased rate of illiteracy in Egypt, one of which is family pressure on women specifically from husbands, most of the husbands do not want their wifes to learn, specially the illiterate husbands. In the rural areas it is nearly impossible to convince the husband to attach his wife to a learning system. The husband is convinced that his wife has no need to learn. She only needs to serve her house, so what is the need of learning. Most of the girls wants to learn, but as they grow this feeling vanishes with time. Therefore in most of the cases the illiterate husband is the cause for the illiteracy of his daughter and wife. Another aspect of the problem is that husbands do not want to learn, they say why to learn, while I got my wife and my farm to look after, learning is not important. Some people at first are convinced to join educational system, but after some time they leave. Because they are bored, or they do not understand what they were taught or the more advanced group of them leaves after learning how to read and write.† To convince people of the importance of staying with classes is one of the toughest obstacles we face â€Å"(Rashed, 2002, issue no. 604). There is another problem which is the most of the people leaves after they are able to read and write, and he or she think that this is enough, but this is a problem, because if he or she did not exercise a lot he will forget what he learned and that is the ability to read and write. You can teach people how to read and write in a nine-month program, but according to a recently conducted field study by WSA, if people stop their education at that point, there is a big chance they will forget what they have been taught in a period ranging from six to 12 months (Rashed, 2002, issue no. 604). Some of the illiterate people are wealthy, they does not see a reason for learning, as they demonstrate it â€Å"what did the educated people get? This is a result of the socioeconomic problems in the country† (Abdoun, 2009, Daily News Egypt). That kind of people is nearly impossible to convince, because he thinks that he got enough money, so he think why do I need to learn? I got enough money for my self and my children. But what he does not know that his children will suffer after he dies. Because of course he prevents his children from learning. If he has a son from he make him works with him and if he has a daughter he will make her wait for marriage. In large cities like Egypt most people are poor; maybe due to the low income. People do not find money to spend on their children to learn. Nowadays in high school every student should take a lesson after school to understand the subject, because he did not understand what he was taught in school. Most of the parent can not a fford to pay for that lesson so the student fail and leaves the school. Illiteracy has many negative effects, not only on the person himself, but also for his own country; first of all, if a country has a high illiteracy rate, it will be very hard for this country to develop, because the countries develop with its people, not with itself. If people have knowledge they can do anything like gain a lot of money, invent new things, which leads to the development of their country. Second, illiteracy make people naà ¯ve easy to trick, because if you ask a question to an illiterate person and he does not know the answer, anything you say he will believe it, so he can be trick because of his illiteracy. Finally, illiterate people can not be a well known person Can an illiterate person be a president for example? Of course not, because he does not have any information to give or to convince people with. Although there are many solutions to eradicate illiteracy, not many of them work. Why is that? Because only a small group of people accept to learn, while the other leaves after a small period or after they learned basic concept, like reading and writing and those are partially illiterate. Illiteracy eradication programs have spread in Egypt to help illiterate people, but not all of it has been successful. One of these programs tries to employ young graduates and teach them, how to teach illiterate people. But the program is not that successful, why? Because of many reasons; first the graduates are young so they lack training, of course they will be trained, but they do not have the experience of an old teacher on how to teach, not only teach, but teach and deal with an illiterate person. Most of the graduated students look for money and jobs but they did not find what they desired, so they look for any kind of job to get money. After graduating, I didnt find a job. I signed up for the Century Project when I found out it paid LE150 a month.(Nafie, 2003, Issue No. 654).thus most of the graduated student look for just work, so they might not concentrate on the people they are teaching, of course they take courses on how to deal with the illiterate people, but that might not be enough. Because experience is the key to make people learn and make them have a desire in learning. I dont think any of the volunteers really believe in the cause. Most of us are doing it just because we need the money. (Nafie, 2003, Issue No. 654).as one of the volunteers mentioned, if they did not believe in the cause, will they really succeed in what they are doing? One main goal the person whose job is to eradicate the illiteracy should have, this goal is that he really wants to eradicate illiteracy, not just take it as a job. Another main problem is the eradicating programs itself. Maybe it does not suit that illiterate person himself; maybe he can not understand from the person that is teaching him, maybe the time is not suitable for him. It is not just provide the people with classes then leave them. It is providing people with classes and monitors them see what they need, are they comfortable with the way they learn, do they need anything else. The main idea is to motivate and encourage them and make them fell comfortable and make the classes and the schedules suitable for everyone. If this is achieved they will gain a lot from what they are learning. â€Å"An important area is the development of flexible programs which suit different learners needs and interests, meaning flexible schedules and convenient locations† (Abdoun, 2008, Daily News Egypt). There are other ways of eradicating illiteracy that is claimed to work; one of them is by advertising and providing lessons through television.† Utilization of the television channels and broadcasting as a teaching aid for distance education, through the introduction of literacy lessons and educational drama, thus covering all governorates at various periods to enable illiterates follow them regardless of time or place† (UNESCO Egypt report 1).This is good and a new way of learning, but the main question is does most the illiterates have television and if they have, do they have the time to watch literacy lessons on it? Of course not, because most of the illiterate parts in Egypt are concentrated in the rural areas, most of these people are concerned with their farms and work. Moreover most of these people will not want to see these programs on the television. They will say why I should waste my time on watching some program I do not even understand. The rural areas in Eg ypt do not care so much about technology some of them might still be using radios and do not even have a television or even care to have one. They are more concerned with their work, families and their own problems. To make a program like that work it needs awareness, how to know which time this program is aired and how to understand from it. Because when an illiterate person starts to learn, especially old people (people above the age of 30) they find most of the course or the program very hard to understand, so they start to fear what is coming and they ask themselves how I am going to understand the complex parts, when I can not even understand the easy part. Many ways of eradicating illiteracy had failed, because people do not have their expectations meet. This paragraph will provide few solutions, from all the information gathered about how to eradicate illiteracy. First of all, women is not like men they are easily convinced, if someone sit with them and talk and understand their problem, they might provide a solution for them.The best suited for this mission is one who is not working for money, but the one whose gladly dedicating his life to solve this problem, who believes that he or she can solve it if he or she tries. These descriptions mostly applied on female instructors; because they are enthusiastic and realistic about their work. According to one of the volunteers she said â€Å"we will make the project succeed. As long as there are a few like us, who are keen on teaching those in need, a lot of people will be able to overcome illiteracy. (Nafie, 2003, Issue No. 654).Other are men volunteer for the illiteracy eradicating program, which this essay explained some of the works for money and the others work because they did no t find a job. These kinds of people must be removed and replaced with people such as these women who do not work for money; they work to educate illiterate people. Another one of the female volunteers said â€Å"the money was not a motivational factor.†What can you do with LE150 these days anyway? she asked. Those who were doing it for the money, she said, dont deserve the job† (Nafie, 2003, Issue No. 654).Many women do not work for money, so they are the best candidates for the jobs. The question now how to convince husbands; by telling and showing him examples of literate people and demonstrate what his wife will be if she is literate, how she will understand him and her children better. That also applies for him, what he will be after he is a literate person how it will help him with his work and also make him a better person. Fighting illiteracy is not to make people learn how to read and write, it is a long way that involves convincing the illiterate women to go on with studying in the program, and convince the husbands about the essential of letting their wives continue their education. One big way of illiteracy eradicating is the family support. If the family is supportive enough the illiterate member of this family will continue to learn, not just stop by learning how to read and write and if they continue to support this illiterate member in their family he becomes a fully literate person, it means that he will have a degree. For the wealthy people who are illiterate they should understand if they make their children learn that should make things easy for him. His son will be able to take after his father job and even expand it. Because he learned in details how this job works. In the end the illiteracy eradicating process depends on the instructors and how can they convince and encourage people to learn. To sum up , illiteracy is a huge problem which is facing Egypt, but not only Egypt, the whole world is facing that problem. There are many problems which are causing illiteracy in Egypt, one of them is family pressure on women specifically from husbands, another one is the husband themselves dont want to learn and there is the rich illiterate people who do not care about learning. The effect of illiteracy is huge, a country with huge rate of illiteracy will not be developed country and illiteracy makes people naà ¯ve easy to trick. The illiterate person will be as he is until he dies without doing anything for himself or his country. There is some solutions that did not work for eradicating illiteracy, for example; people that only work for money not to eradicate illiteracy they are not dedicated to their job, so they will teach without care about the person in front of them. Also there is the television lesson for illiterate people, which illiterate people might not understand it, another thing the government provides programs for eradicating illiteracy that do not suit all the illiterate people. Finally, there are some solutions for eradicating illiteracy. For women they are easily convinced, if someone understands their thought and what they need they can easily be convinced with the idea of learning. For the husbands, they must see an example of literate husband, to convince them what they or their family will become if they become literate. The illiteracy eradicating process depends on the instructors and how can they convince and encourage people to learn. References Rashed, Dina (2002), Life choices, Al Ahram weekly Retrieved (25/12/2009) from http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/604/fe2.htm Abdoun, Safaa (2008), Illiteracy eradication programs struggle with the numbers, daily news Egypt Retrieved (25/12/2009) from http://www.dailystaregypt.com/printerfriendly.aspx?ArticleID=18209 Abdoun, Safaa (2009), Egypts illiteracy rate drops slightly to 26 pct, daily news Egypt Retrieved (25/12/2009) from http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=25852 Nafie, Reem (2003), Illiteracy revisited, Al Ahram weekly Retrieved (26/12/2009) from http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/654/eg2.htm UNESCO (2000), country reports Retrieved (26/12/2009) from http://www.unesco.org/education/wef/countryreports/egypt/rapport_1_2.htm

Importance of Outsourcing of Logistics Function

Importance of Outsourcing of Logistics Function Outsourcing and 3PL, as important business functions, have drawn attention of business operators as well as academic and scholars. A large number of studies have analyzed these areas from a theoretical perspective and a practical point of view. This section will start with the review of outsourcing regarding its definition and importance as well as motivations and concerns. Then, based on the correlation between outsourcing and 3PL, the section presents the concepts of 3PL and most challenges 3PL providers are facing. Lastly, the section shows what could be the current situation of Chinas 3PL industry. Outsourcing of logistics function 2.1.1 Definition and importance Razzaque and Sheng (1998) defined outsourcing as multiple logistics services provided by a single vendor on a contractual basis. Outsourcing is becoming more important today. Due to economic and competitive pressures, it is imperative for different enterprises to pay attention to their core competencies and turn to third-parties to undertake responsibility for other secondary corporate functions. Outsourcing can create profits by improving customer service level, providing high added-value to products, benefiting in exploiting new markets, and offering dedicated resources (Foster and Muller, 1990). By means of outsourcing, companies can obtain competitive advantage through cost reduction and increased responsiveness to market change. Motivation of outsourcing Several reasons lead private business as well as government agencies to outsource logistics functions: Avoid Capital expenditures It reduces capital investment in facilities (Richardson, 1995). This allows the using firm to spending where it can get the best return as in research, manufacturing, marketing, or other functions core to the organization. Increase flexibility This can enable firms to focus on the core business, question any function or department that is not producing revenue and adapt to changes in the market and access to leading edge technology. A third-party will be invited to help a company when demand increase dramatically beyond the capability of the company to fulfill (Razzaque and Sheng, 1998). Many 3PL providers specialize in logistics functions such as transportation, warehousing management and information technology. Cost savings To save costs is identified by most literature as one of the most popular reasons for why outsourcing occurs. In principle, outsourcing will occur to companies for cost reduction when their suppliers offer a service for a low price which however still can cover added overhead, profit, and transaction costs (Harler, 2000). Those companies which outsource their logistics functions to 3PL service providers usually agree that it is more cost saving than to fulfill the same logistics task in-house (Candler, 1994). According to Bradley (1995a), there are some other reasons of logistics outsourcing such as improving service level and customer satisfaction, using 3PL providers logistics IT systems, acquiring outside sophisticated professionals, combining service and minifying number of suppliers, integrating the process of supply chain, and increasing productivity. Concerns of outsourcing Despite the fact that outsourcing is now favored by most organizations, there are still many recognized potential barriers and problems related to outsourcing. Normally the most mentioned reservation which restrains enterprises from employing 3PL service providers is loss of control of 3PLs (Richardson, 1993a). Such tendency can be caused by different objectives and attitudes of the logistics service providers and users towards strategy, profits and service or skills (Axelrod, 2004, p49). The adoption of outsourcing might also lead to a situation in which critical knowledge associated with process and customers would leak to potential competitors (Jennings, 2002). Moreover, unrealized savings with a potential for increased costs, employee moral problems, losing touch with important information, unreliable promises of the providers, their inability to respond to changing requirements have been mentioned as potential risks as well. Each of these concerns should be recognized carefully by organizations that intend to outsource their logistics function, otherwise contract logistics can be another issue to deal with, rather than a catalyst or improvement (Razzaque and Sheng, 1998). Third-Party Logistics 2.2.1 Concept of 3PL Third party logistics service has been described in a few ways, including outsourcing of one single service such as transportation, and outsourcing of a set of complicated processs (Vasiliauskas Barysiene, 2008). Generally, 3PL provide not only just separate warehouse or transport functions but also multiple, bundled services (Leahy et al., 1995). It is also worth mentioned that freight forwarders and shipping lines are included in broad definitions of the 3PL industry (Rao and Young, 1994). On the basis of above definitions, Leib et al. (1993) used the following definition: Third-party logistics involves the use of external companies to perform logistics functions that have traditionally been performed within an organization. The functions performed by the third party can encompass the entire logistics process or selected activities within that process. The authors refer to the 3PL as a new industry and growing business environment has more expectations on 3PL. The usage of 3PL has been considered as logistics alliances at strategic level. Bagchi and Virum (1996, p.193) have developed the following definitions: A logistics alliance indicates a close and long-term, relationship between a customer and a provider encompassing the delivery of a wide array of logistics needs. In a logistics alliance, the parties ideally consider each other as partners. They collaborate in understanding and defining the customers logistics need. Both partners participate in designing and developing logistics solutions and measuring performance. The goal of the relationship is to develop a win-win arrangement. Compared with the prior definition, which focuses on the logistics functional activities, the final one emphasizes the duration of the relationship between the logistics service provider and user, and also covers an extensive range of promising logistics services (Halldorsson Larsen, 2004). Many articles have disclosed that 3PL industry has progressed steadily for ages (Liu, 2008). 3PL providers started as a traditional transportation or warehousing service providers from 1980s. Nowadays, 3PL companies provide a variety services including basis logistics service as well as value added services. Main challenges to 3PL service providers As the 3PL industry has continued to evolve, the 3PL provider, sitting in the middle between the manufacturers or suppliers (the buyers of the 3PL service, known as shippers) and the end customers (the consumer of the products), will need to balance the dynamic pulls generated by upstream and downstream entities, and thus faces challenges are unique to its position. Financial issues Although 3PL providers should develop skills, improve competencies, and provide more value-added service so as to survive and expand business successfully in this flourishing market, the main challenge for them is how to obtain business and achieve acceptable financial performance. Maintain profits under price pressures from customers The economic crisis has caused serious situations for both 3PL users and providers -82 percent of shippers now are implementing cost-cutting strategies and 60 percents are reconsidering their supply chain and relationships with 3PLs accordingly (Capgemini Consulting et al, 2009). As a matter fact, economic factor is a strong motivation for outsourcing, of which cost reduction and cost saving are the main concerns. One of the most significant motivations for outsourcing logistics functions to third parties is their professional knowledge and valuable experience in logistics industry which are costly for their customers to have in-house (Byrne, 1993). However, the decision of employing 3PL providers is usually influenced by the evaluation of cost/service trade-offs (Selviaridis and Spring, 2007). Hence, no matter what strategic stances the logistics providers take, they have to keep upgrading and improving their operational potentialities in the business environment (Sum Teo, 1999). Meanwhile, as price competition is inevitable and most customers are also price sensitive at present, 3PL providers still need to be cost conscious to achieve higher margins, and to prevent themselves from being priced out of the market. Financial stability Many articles have placed emphasis on financial firmness as a critical essential for logistics providers (Bottani Rizzi, 2006). Based on the empirical survey conducted by Boyson et al. (1999) financial stability was ranked as the most significant selection criteria for choosing 3PL providers because it reduce the risk in relationship. A 3PL services provider with stable financial standing can not only better satisfy its clients and implement cost reduction through a dedicated resource, but also diminish risks for logistics partners (Bowersox Daugherty, 1990). Accordingly, Boyson et al. (1999) assert that firms prefer providers demonstrating outstanding customer service level with low price and possessing solid financial stability. Nevertheless, the financial tsunami which has weighted down the world economy has resulted in steep decreasing in logistics demand with no doubt. On the one hand, according to Li Fung Research Center (2009), the clients of the logistics enterprises asked for price cut and longer credit term, and it is difficult for them to collect the payments form clients during such hard times. Bad debts and financial losses will be easily incurred by any imprudent credit management. On the other hand, the confidence for the banks to lend had been damaged by the tsunami. Banks are now only willing to provide loans to selected enterprises or projects, which limits the financing options of the logistics enterprises (Li Fung Research Center, 2009). Clearly, it has always been important for 3PL providers to maintain a sound financial condition to survive in the recession as well as to rise superior to others in the market. Information technology (IT) Capability of information technology IT-based logistics services is considered as significant factor by 88% of shippers, but only less than half (42%) of the shippers are satisfied with the IT capableness of their providers (Capgemini Consulting et al, 2009). Accordingly, such IT capability gap result in a few difficulties for both shippers and 3PLs to collaborate in an adaptive supply chain (Capgemini Consulting et al, 2009). Information is one of the most important elements in logistics management (Cheong, 2004) and it is definitely essential to assist logistics process with effective IT (LaLonde and Masters, 1994). IT capability can be enhanced by employing advanced software, such as electronic data interchange (EDI) networking, enterprise resource planning environments, simulation software, vehicle routing packages, carrier loading optimization tools, etc. (Qureshi et al, 2008). Hardware also may be utilized to facilitate operations and to increase the production efficiency, including radio frequency devices, servers, bar code printers and scanners, global positioning system (GPS), networking and internet/intranet connections, satellite tracking devices, etc. (Qureshi et al, 2008). 3PL services providers which adopt tracking and tracing devices can grant better services to users with quick responsiveness (Rahman, 2004). According to Byrne (1993), the need of sophisticated information technology is impe rative for logistics management to link members like manufacturer, carrier and customer in the supply chain. Sauvage (2003) proposed that to fully satisfy the variety of customers demand, LSPs should continuously employ advanced information technologies in order to enhance their service performance. It is unlikely for a firm which is lagging in a technology to move to a position of leadership (Jennings, 2002). Security of information systems The sharing of so much information inevitably leads to security concerns. It can not be denied that logistics service providers usually still lose customers annually due to issues of trust in privacy and security, though they keep attracting new clients (Pattel Conners, 2008). One possible mentioned security issue is that when a 3PL provider has to serve several direct competitors, the information in relation to all of them should be kept confidential (Grover et al., 1994, p. 38; Lacity and Hirschheim, 1993a, p. 24). Other than cost, security and privacy are also considered as major concerns by many companies when outsourcing. Compatibility of information systems IT compatibility acts an essential role in logistics activities such as forecasting, order purchasing, inventory replenishment and life cycle management (Anand, 2010). According to Arshinder et al. (2007), the information system of the whole supply chain is expected to be compatible. A compatible information system means comprehensible data are quickly shared among the parties throughout the supply chain (Arshinder et al, 2007) while incompatibility will lead to costly and time consuming process because information, though can be shared as well, is rarely in synchronization. At present, it is difficult for information to seamlessly flow throughout the network as international logistics often includes some different transportation modes and carriers. Moreover, there are diverse IT systems in the different trading areas. For example, Europe adopts Administration, Commerce and Transportation (EDIFACT) standards for EDI systems while the US follows the standards of the American National Standards Institute (Rao Young, 1994). These difficulties in global supply chain have challenged 3PLs regarding how to capitalize the gap to provide a distinct competitive advantage. Reliability of information systems As one of the major industry focus in the global logistics market, the field of information systems paid special attention to user satisfaction as an important performance measure (Ives and Olson, 1984; Robey and Farrow, 1982). Bailey and Pearson (1983) have pointed out that reliability is one of the critical criteria of customer satisfaction. There could be many unknown increased reliability risk which result from two major sections of technology. One is that new technology innovations or adoptions of 3PL providers may have an unclear reliability performance. The other is that an existing technology may be applied to a new market with unknown increase failure rates (Collins, 2005). To fulfill the promised logistics service reliably and exactly, 3PL providers must identify and remove uncertainty involved with technology reliability performance. Human Resource (HR) Lack of expertise There is a tendency that firms desire to acquire the expertise from third-party logistics providers who possess particular local knowledge of customs and infrastructure of destination countries in such a growing global market (Razzaque Sheng, 1999). Although one of the drivers for companies to outsource is to acquire resources and logistics professionals (Selviaridis Spring, 2007), the results of the research conducted by Georgia Institute of Technology et al. (2009) show that many outsourcing users dont believe that 3PLs are in the capacity of strategic partners currently, 40% of shippers in the survey expect their 3PL service providers to continue focusing on execution, and a good many of them reckon that 3PL providers lack logistics expertise that would support users increasing outsourcing. Often-cited problems range from misunderstanding the demand of customers supply chain to inadequate professionals in given products and markets (Selviaridis Spring, 2007). In fact, customers are looking for 3PL providers that have expertise in multiple phases of the logistics process. An annual surveys of US 3PL firms indicates that company employee/expertise is regarded by CEOs as the most important asset of the company for business success in the competition, however those same CEOs also agree that currently the most critical problem facing 3PL companies as finding qualified people (Leib and Randall, 1996b). Different culture Almost all members in the supply chain, including third party, have their own company culture which is definitely different from each other (Babics, 2005). According to Pagell (2004), the capacity of how to harmonize its own internal culture with the external different cultures of its customers is one significant factor that 3PL providers should note in the integration of operational services in supply chains. Mckeon (1991) states that for both 3PL providers and their customers, understanding each others cultures and organizational structure is an essential factor to ensure a win-win outsourcing. Compatibility of culture and values is one of the keys to successful partnership which can result in long-term partnership (Qureshi et al, 2008). Culture conflicts often result in change orders, unexpected costs, and sometimes a negative impact on relationships (Kremic et al, 2006). In general, the ability of 3PL providers to understand the customer organizations culture is a basis for partnering. Inadequate education and training In order to remain competitive in the logistics market, 3PL providers have to be vigilant and agile to their customers needs, and continually seek to meet customer expectations as much as possible. Logistics executive should be aware that, due to rapid growth in the logistics industry, there could be a shortage of qualified logistics expertise (Yeung, 2006). Therefore, it is necessary for governments and educational services to allocate more resources, put logistics on formal curriculum, and provide more correlated training programs to fulfill the demand of the whole supply chain. The development of logistics, otherwise, might be constrained by lack of trained logistics personnel (Sum Teo, 1999). Ulengin and Uray (1999) indicate that in Turkey, senior management that is void of professional knowledge of logistics is the fundamental factor limiting the progress of logistics industry. Kerr (2005b) describes poor training as a black hole in China because neither the central government nor Chinas regulatory authorities do much to promote logistics training programs. Obviously, a firm with higher quality of human resources such as better education or training will have superior core competence in the market. Hence, it is imperative for 3PL service providers to offer more training programs to employees so that they can cope with competition in the future (Wang et al, 2006) Business Landscapes Globalization of 3PL market delivering service in new geographic regions The internationalization and globalization of 3PL providers has been boosted by the economies of scale and scope, by the internationalization and globalization of the competitors and by customer following i.e. the internationalization of manufacturing firms, which may demand that the service supplier provides a global network and/or global experience (Arvidsson, 1997, p.74). 3PL providers that take charge of their customers outsourced logistics function normally need to build up a logistics network to deal with the flow of the goods from the customers factory to the end customers (Cheong, 2004). In current global economic environment, manufacturing companies tend to establish partnerships with 3PL service providers and they desire to cooperate with some global freight forwarding companies (Lemoine et al, 2003). 3PL service providers with well-content characteristics, such as far geographical spread and wide range of services are popular among the shippers (Qureshi, 2007). As per Bottani and Rizzi (2006), companies favor the 3PL providers with wide range of advanced services more than those traditional ones which can offer mere single logistics functional service. However, supply chain requirement keep changing. Customer demand can change in spatial and temporal terms. In response to the shippers new requirement, 3PL service providers endeavor to extend service coverage geographically and to expand breadth of service so that they can fulfill the interest of their customers as an integrated logistics provider (Qureshi et al, 2008) Relationship with customers 3PL service providers are normally very concerned with the relationship with their customers because they attempt to establish a long-term one with the users (Cheong, 2004). Long-term customer relationships can enable 3PLs to provide more sophisticated services, reduce the risk of replacement, achieve more earnings, and avoid expense of developing new customer (Cahill, 2006). In addition, long-term relationship is built on the basis of mutual trust and sharing of risk and reward (Qureshi et al, 2008). Bothe shipper and 3PLs will benefit from such long-term relationship (Qureshi et al, 2008). Most of 3PL services users agree that logistics costs could decrease even more through strategic relationships with 3PL service providers. Langley et al. (2004) point out that the successful relationship with 3PL service providers will assist the users to achieve their major objective. Customer relationship management is necessary once a 3PL provider first establishes a relationship with a shipper. To keep customers satisfied and coming back, 3PL providers must demonstrate their capabilities and the value these capabilities provider to customers (Wisner et al, 2005). Third-party logistics service providers in China: China has become the most attractive country for more and more foreign investments, manufacturers, and retailers from all over the world, which results in the fast growth of the Chinese economy (Liu, 2008). Accordingly, the development of 3PL has been spurred in China and 3PL industry has achieved significant achievement. Currently, most logistics companies offer extensively various value-added services and have confidence in the continuous development of Chinas logistics industry. Many literatures have research the Chinese logistics area from diverse perspectives and some supply chain-related difficulties facing foreign 3PLs are identified. High transport cost It is not deniable that Chinese government has invested a lot in the logistics sector to improve traffic in recent years. However, poor transportation is still considered as one significant challenge for logistics industry in China, which may result in the increase in logistics cost and the decrease in company profits (Lau Zhang, 2006). Li Fung Research Center (2009) notes that the transportation occupies more than 50 percent of the total logistics cost in China, and undoubtedly the operation costs of 3PL service providers will still be ascending due to the price upswing of commodity and fuel. Another culprit is high local road tolls and other hefty transportation fees (Kerr, 2005b). Underdeveloped physical infrastructure Many MNCs find that it is difficult for them to implement coherent strategies in China because underdeveloped transportation system hinders their distribution and sourcing throughout the country (Speece and Yukiko, 1995). Although Chinas economy and industrial production have been developing rapidly, the current logistics system is loaded with new challenges as it can barely keep pace with the growth rate of economy (Carter et al, 1997). The undeveloped logistics infrastructure in China, including deficient highways, aged port facilities, and limited runways and airports, can hardly fulfill the growing logistics demand in the progress of new economy (Pollit, 1998). The insufficiencies of present distribution system have restricted foreign enterprises to immensely exploit the plenty opportunities in Chinas market (Goh and Ling, 2003). It is thus imperative that the distribution of products and services be supported by a reliable transportation system. The need for guanxi Literally, guanxi means relationship. It is noted that Chinese culture is quite distinct from Western culture in numerous aspects, including the way to conduct business (Jiang and Prater, 2003). Guanxi, which is an important concept for successful business in China, refer to relationship between people (Michailova and Worm, 2003). It suggests a conveyable, reciprocal, invisible and useful responsibility to dyadic personal relationships (Luo, 2000). It is not surprising that Chinese prefer to deal with people they know and trust. As Wang et al. (2003) indicated, guanxi which is created on the basis of mutually beneficial can lower risk as well as competition in business circles. Millington et al. (2006) also state that when looking for satisfying vendors, guanxi is more useful than other information from website, trade market or media. This implies that the knowledge and expertise to understand local circumstance and the communication skill with foreigners are absolutely necessary for establishment of a successful cooperation (Lightfoot and Almeida, 2007). Government regulation Kerr (2006) identifies that government regulation is still 3PL providers biggest challenge. The development of 3PL in China is obstructed by some barriers such as underdeveloped infrastructure and entrenched regulatory circumstance (Lau Zhang, 2006). In the meantime, various regulations set up by different provinces forcefully influence business activities so that the founding of national networks is hindered (Kerr, 2005). It also has made it difficult for 3PL providers in China to fully meet the requirements of their clients. Moreover, there are many regulations and rules for foreign 3PL providers who plan to enter China logistics market. According to Lai and Hsu (2007), foreign 3PL providers must apply for the class A license issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTERC) if they plan to establish subsidiaries as international freight forwarders in China. A survey conducted by Li Fung Research Center (2009) also identifies that the regulations and policies associated with logistics industry are not unalterable because the government will supervise the execution and analyze the effect of the existing ones and then will formulate new ones accordingly to boost the growth of the industry. It is true that a number of government departments which are involved in policies related to logistics industry have impact on the rhythm of changing regulation (KPMG, 2008). Local 3PL providers Chinas local logistics providers have been growing rapidly because foreign firms are increasingly looking to source there. To contend with foreign logistics providers, domestic companies have to upgrade facilities and enhance their service level (KPMG, 2008). Jiang and Prata (2002) indicate that in contrast with foreign 3PL entrants, local players are always in the close association with local or central governments. For instance, Sinatrans is a state owned company and is the only 3PL service provider in China who can provide a nationwide logistics service with full license. The authors also mention that a number of local 3PL providers at regional level have their own special strength in specific areas or specific business. Some of them even look for individual connection built directly with government officials which may be valuable in their daily business. Literature review summary This section has reviewed the literature ranging from some fundamental definitions of outsourcing and 3PL, to challenges for 3PL industry globally and especially in China which represents the current situation foreign 3PL providers are facing in China. In table 2.1, we summarize the above referred articles in each of the focus challenges. Importance of Outsourcing of Logistics Function Importance of Outsourcing of Logistics Function Outsourcing and 3PL, as important business functions, have drawn attention of business operators as well as academic and scholars. A large number of studies have analyzed these areas from a theoretical perspective and a practical point of view. This section will start with the review of outsourcing regarding its definition and importance as well as motivations and concerns. Then, based on the correlation between outsourcing and 3PL, the section presents the concepts of 3PL and most challenges 3PL providers are facing. Lastly, the section shows what could be the current situation of Chinas 3PL industry. Outsourcing of logistics function 2.1.1 Definition and importance Razzaque and Sheng (1998) defined outsourcing as multiple logistics services provided by a single vendor on a contractual basis. Outsourcing is becoming more important today. Due to economic and competitive pressures, it is imperative for different enterprises to pay attention to their core competencies and turn to third-parties to undertake responsibility for other secondary corporate functions. Outsourcing can create profits by improving customer service level, providing high added-value to products, benefiting in exploiting new markets, and offering dedicated resources (Foster and Muller, 1990). By means of outsourcing, companies can obtain competitive advantage through cost reduction and increased responsiveness to market change. Motivation of outsourcing Several reasons lead private business as well as government agencies to outsource logistics functions: Avoid Capital expenditures It reduces capital investment in facilities (Richardson, 1995). This allows the using firm to spending where it can get the best return as in research, manufacturing, marketing, or other functions core to the organization. Increase flexibility This can enable firms to focus on the core business, question any function or department that is not producing revenue and adapt to changes in the market and access to leading edge technology. A third-party will be invited to help a company when demand increase dramatically beyond the capability of the company to fulfill (Razzaque and Sheng, 1998). Many 3PL providers specialize in logistics functions such as transportation, warehousing management and information technology. Cost savings To save costs is identified by most literature as one of the most popular reasons for why outsourcing occurs. In principle, outsourcing will occur to companies for cost reduction when their suppliers offer a service for a low price which however still can cover added overhead, profit, and transaction costs (Harler, 2000). Those companies which outsource their logistics functions to 3PL service providers usually agree that it is more cost saving than to fulfill the same logistics task in-house (Candler, 1994). According to Bradley (1995a), there are some other reasons of logistics outsourcing such as improving service level and customer satisfaction, using 3PL providers logistics IT systems, acquiring outside sophisticated professionals, combining service and minifying number of suppliers, integrating the process of supply chain, and increasing productivity. Concerns of outsourcing Despite the fact that outsourcing is now favored by most organizations, there are still many recognized potential barriers and problems related to outsourcing. Normally the most mentioned reservation which restrains enterprises from employing 3PL service providers is loss of control of 3PLs (Richardson, 1993a). Such tendency can be caused by different objectives and attitudes of the logistics service providers and users towards strategy, profits and service or skills (Axelrod, 2004, p49). The adoption of outsourcing might also lead to a situation in which critical knowledge associated with process and customers would leak to potential competitors (Jennings, 2002). Moreover, unrealized savings with a potential for increased costs, employee moral problems, losing touch with important information, unreliable promises of the providers, their inability to respond to changing requirements have been mentioned as potential risks as well. Each of these concerns should be recognized carefully by organizations that intend to outsource their logistics function, otherwise contract logistics can be another issue to deal with, rather than a catalyst or improvement (Razzaque and Sheng, 1998). Third-Party Logistics 2.2.1 Concept of 3PL Third party logistics service has been described in a few ways, including outsourcing of one single service such as transportation, and outsourcing of a set of complicated processs (Vasiliauskas Barysiene, 2008). Generally, 3PL provide not only just separate warehouse or transport functions but also multiple, bundled services (Leahy et al., 1995). It is also worth mentioned that freight forwarders and shipping lines are included in broad definitions of the 3PL industry (Rao and Young, 1994). On the basis of above definitions, Leib et al. (1993) used the following definition: Third-party logistics involves the use of external companies to perform logistics functions that have traditionally been performed within an organization. The functions performed by the third party can encompass the entire logistics process or selected activities within that process. The authors refer to the 3PL as a new industry and growing business environment has more expectations on 3PL. The usage of 3PL has been considered as logistics alliances at strategic level. Bagchi and Virum (1996, p.193) have developed the following definitions: A logistics alliance indicates a close and long-term, relationship between a customer and a provider encompassing the delivery of a wide array of logistics needs. In a logistics alliance, the parties ideally consider each other as partners. They collaborate in understanding and defining the customers logistics need. Both partners participate in designing and developing logistics solutions and measuring performance. The goal of the relationship is to develop a win-win arrangement. Compared with the prior definition, which focuses on the logistics functional activities, the final one emphasizes the duration of the relationship between the logistics service provider and user, and also covers an extensive range of promising logistics services (Halldorsson Larsen, 2004). Many articles have disclosed that 3PL industry has progressed steadily for ages (Liu, 2008). 3PL providers started as a traditional transportation or warehousing service providers from 1980s. Nowadays, 3PL companies provide a variety services including basis logistics service as well as value added services. Main challenges to 3PL service providers As the 3PL industry has continued to evolve, the 3PL provider, sitting in the middle between the manufacturers or suppliers (the buyers of the 3PL service, known as shippers) and the end customers (the consumer of the products), will need to balance the dynamic pulls generated by upstream and downstream entities, and thus faces challenges are unique to its position. Financial issues Although 3PL providers should develop skills, improve competencies, and provide more value-added service so as to survive and expand business successfully in this flourishing market, the main challenge for them is how to obtain business and achieve acceptable financial performance. Maintain profits under price pressures from customers The economic crisis has caused serious situations for both 3PL users and providers -82 percent of shippers now are implementing cost-cutting strategies and 60 percents are reconsidering their supply chain and relationships with 3PLs accordingly (Capgemini Consulting et al, 2009). As a matter fact, economic factor is a strong motivation for outsourcing, of which cost reduction and cost saving are the main concerns. One of the most significant motivations for outsourcing logistics functions to third parties is their professional knowledge and valuable experience in logistics industry which are costly for their customers to have in-house (Byrne, 1993). However, the decision of employing 3PL providers is usually influenced by the evaluation of cost/service trade-offs (Selviaridis and Spring, 2007). Hence, no matter what strategic stances the logistics providers take, they have to keep upgrading and improving their operational potentialities in the business environment (Sum Teo, 1999). Meanwhile, as price competition is inevitable and most customers are also price sensitive at present, 3PL providers still need to be cost conscious to achieve higher margins, and to prevent themselves from being priced out of the market. Financial stability Many articles have placed emphasis on financial firmness as a critical essential for logistics providers (Bottani Rizzi, 2006). Based on the empirical survey conducted by Boyson et al. (1999) financial stability was ranked as the most significant selection criteria for choosing 3PL providers because it reduce the risk in relationship. A 3PL services provider with stable financial standing can not only better satisfy its clients and implement cost reduction through a dedicated resource, but also diminish risks for logistics partners (Bowersox Daugherty, 1990). Accordingly, Boyson et al. (1999) assert that firms prefer providers demonstrating outstanding customer service level with low price and possessing solid financial stability. Nevertheless, the financial tsunami which has weighted down the world economy has resulted in steep decreasing in logistics demand with no doubt. On the one hand, according to Li Fung Research Center (2009), the clients of the logistics enterprises asked for price cut and longer credit term, and it is difficult for them to collect the payments form clients during such hard times. Bad debts and financial losses will be easily incurred by any imprudent credit management. On the other hand, the confidence for the banks to lend had been damaged by the tsunami. Banks are now only willing to provide loans to selected enterprises or projects, which limits the financing options of the logistics enterprises (Li Fung Research Center, 2009). Clearly, it has always been important for 3PL providers to maintain a sound financial condition to survive in the recession as well as to rise superior to others in the market. Information technology (IT) Capability of information technology IT-based logistics services is considered as significant factor by 88% of shippers, but only less than half (42%) of the shippers are satisfied with the IT capableness of their providers (Capgemini Consulting et al, 2009). Accordingly, such IT capability gap result in a few difficulties for both shippers and 3PLs to collaborate in an adaptive supply chain (Capgemini Consulting et al, 2009). Information is one of the most important elements in logistics management (Cheong, 2004) and it is definitely essential to assist logistics process with effective IT (LaLonde and Masters, 1994). IT capability can be enhanced by employing advanced software, such as electronic data interchange (EDI) networking, enterprise resource planning environments, simulation software, vehicle routing packages, carrier loading optimization tools, etc. (Qureshi et al, 2008). Hardware also may be utilized to facilitate operations and to increase the production efficiency, including radio frequency devices, servers, bar code printers and scanners, global positioning system (GPS), networking and internet/intranet connections, satellite tracking devices, etc. (Qureshi et al, 2008). 3PL services providers which adopt tracking and tracing devices can grant better services to users with quick responsiveness (Rahman, 2004). According to Byrne (1993), the need of sophisticated information technology is impe rative for logistics management to link members like manufacturer, carrier and customer in the supply chain. Sauvage (2003) proposed that to fully satisfy the variety of customers demand, LSPs should continuously employ advanced information technologies in order to enhance their service performance. It is unlikely for a firm which is lagging in a technology to move to a position of leadership (Jennings, 2002). Security of information systems The sharing of so much information inevitably leads to security concerns. It can not be denied that logistics service providers usually still lose customers annually due to issues of trust in privacy and security, though they keep attracting new clients (Pattel Conners, 2008). One possible mentioned security issue is that when a 3PL provider has to serve several direct competitors, the information in relation to all of them should be kept confidential (Grover et al., 1994, p. 38; Lacity and Hirschheim, 1993a, p. 24). Other than cost, security and privacy are also considered as major concerns by many companies when outsourcing. Compatibility of information systems IT compatibility acts an essential role in logistics activities such as forecasting, order purchasing, inventory replenishment and life cycle management (Anand, 2010). According to Arshinder et al. (2007), the information system of the whole supply chain is expected to be compatible. A compatible information system means comprehensible data are quickly shared among the parties throughout the supply chain (Arshinder et al, 2007) while incompatibility will lead to costly and time consuming process because information, though can be shared as well, is rarely in synchronization. At present, it is difficult for information to seamlessly flow throughout the network as international logistics often includes some different transportation modes and carriers. Moreover, there are diverse IT systems in the different trading areas. For example, Europe adopts Administration, Commerce and Transportation (EDIFACT) standards for EDI systems while the US follows the standards of the American National Standards Institute (Rao Young, 1994). These difficulties in global supply chain have challenged 3PLs regarding how to capitalize the gap to provide a distinct competitive advantage. Reliability of information systems As one of the major industry focus in the global logistics market, the field of information systems paid special attention to user satisfaction as an important performance measure (Ives and Olson, 1984; Robey and Farrow, 1982). Bailey and Pearson (1983) have pointed out that reliability is one of the critical criteria of customer satisfaction. There could be many unknown increased reliability risk which result from two major sections of technology. One is that new technology innovations or adoptions of 3PL providers may have an unclear reliability performance. The other is that an existing technology may be applied to a new market with unknown increase failure rates (Collins, 2005). To fulfill the promised logistics service reliably and exactly, 3PL providers must identify and remove uncertainty involved with technology reliability performance. Human Resource (HR) Lack of expertise There is a tendency that firms desire to acquire the expertise from third-party logistics providers who possess particular local knowledge of customs and infrastructure of destination countries in such a growing global market (Razzaque Sheng, 1999). Although one of the drivers for companies to outsource is to acquire resources and logistics professionals (Selviaridis Spring, 2007), the results of the research conducted by Georgia Institute of Technology et al. (2009) show that many outsourcing users dont believe that 3PLs are in the capacity of strategic partners currently, 40% of shippers in the survey expect their 3PL service providers to continue focusing on execution, and a good many of them reckon that 3PL providers lack logistics expertise that would support users increasing outsourcing. Often-cited problems range from misunderstanding the demand of customers supply chain to inadequate professionals in given products and markets (Selviaridis Spring, 2007). In fact, customers are looking for 3PL providers that have expertise in multiple phases of the logistics process. An annual surveys of US 3PL firms indicates that company employee/expertise is regarded by CEOs as the most important asset of the company for business success in the competition, however those same CEOs also agree that currently the most critical problem facing 3PL companies as finding qualified people (Leib and Randall, 1996b). Different culture Almost all members in the supply chain, including third party, have their own company culture which is definitely different from each other (Babics, 2005). According to Pagell (2004), the capacity of how to harmonize its own internal culture with the external different cultures of its customers is one significant factor that 3PL providers should note in the integration of operational services in supply chains. Mckeon (1991) states that for both 3PL providers and their customers, understanding each others cultures and organizational structure is an essential factor to ensure a win-win outsourcing. Compatibility of culture and values is one of the keys to successful partnership which can result in long-term partnership (Qureshi et al, 2008). Culture conflicts often result in change orders, unexpected costs, and sometimes a negative impact on relationships (Kremic et al, 2006). In general, the ability of 3PL providers to understand the customer organizations culture is a basis for partnering. Inadequate education and training In order to remain competitive in the logistics market, 3PL providers have to be vigilant and agile to their customers needs, and continually seek to meet customer expectations as much as possible. Logistics executive should be aware that, due to rapid growth in the logistics industry, there could be a shortage of qualified logistics expertise (Yeung, 2006). Therefore, it is necessary for governments and educational services to allocate more resources, put logistics on formal curriculum, and provide more correlated training programs to fulfill the demand of the whole supply chain. The development of logistics, otherwise, might be constrained by lack of trained logistics personnel (Sum Teo, 1999). Ulengin and Uray (1999) indicate that in Turkey, senior management that is void of professional knowledge of logistics is the fundamental factor limiting the progress of logistics industry. Kerr (2005b) describes poor training as a black hole in China because neither the central government nor Chinas regulatory authorities do much to promote logistics training programs. Obviously, a firm with higher quality of human resources such as better education or training will have superior core competence in the market. Hence, it is imperative for 3PL service providers to offer more training programs to employees so that they can cope with competition in the future (Wang et al, 2006) Business Landscapes Globalization of 3PL market delivering service in new geographic regions The internationalization and globalization of 3PL providers has been boosted by the economies of scale and scope, by the internationalization and globalization of the competitors and by customer following i.e. the internationalization of manufacturing firms, which may demand that the service supplier provides a global network and/or global experience (Arvidsson, 1997, p.74). 3PL providers that take charge of their customers outsourced logistics function normally need to build up a logistics network to deal with the flow of the goods from the customers factory to the end customers (Cheong, 2004). In current global economic environment, manufacturing companies tend to establish partnerships with 3PL service providers and they desire to cooperate with some global freight forwarding companies (Lemoine et al, 2003). 3PL service providers with well-content characteristics, such as far geographical spread and wide range of services are popular among the shippers (Qureshi, 2007). As per Bottani and Rizzi (2006), companies favor the 3PL providers with wide range of advanced services more than those traditional ones which can offer mere single logistics functional service. However, supply chain requirement keep changing. Customer demand can change in spatial and temporal terms. In response to the shippers new requirement, 3PL service providers endeavor to extend service coverage geographically and to expand breadth of service so that they can fulfill the interest of their customers as an integrated logistics provider (Qureshi et al, 2008) Relationship with customers 3PL service providers are normally very concerned with the relationship with their customers because they attempt to establish a long-term one with the users (Cheong, 2004). Long-term customer relationships can enable 3PLs to provide more sophisticated services, reduce the risk of replacement, achieve more earnings, and avoid expense of developing new customer (Cahill, 2006). In addition, long-term relationship is built on the basis of mutual trust and sharing of risk and reward (Qureshi et al, 2008). Bothe shipper and 3PLs will benefit from such long-term relationship (Qureshi et al, 2008). Most of 3PL services users agree that logistics costs could decrease even more through strategic relationships with 3PL service providers. Langley et al. (2004) point out that the successful relationship with 3PL service providers will assist the users to achieve their major objective. Customer relationship management is necessary once a 3PL provider first establishes a relationship with a shipper. To keep customers satisfied and coming back, 3PL providers must demonstrate their capabilities and the value these capabilities provider to customers (Wisner et al, 2005). Third-party logistics service providers in China: China has become the most attractive country for more and more foreign investments, manufacturers, and retailers from all over the world, which results in the fast growth of the Chinese economy (Liu, 2008). Accordingly, the development of 3PL has been spurred in China and 3PL industry has achieved significant achievement. Currently, most logistics companies offer extensively various value-added services and have confidence in the continuous development of Chinas logistics industry. Many literatures have research the Chinese logistics area from diverse perspectives and some supply chain-related difficulties facing foreign 3PLs are identified. High transport cost It is not deniable that Chinese government has invested a lot in the logistics sector to improve traffic in recent years. However, poor transportation is still considered as one significant challenge for logistics industry in China, which may result in the increase in logistics cost and the decrease in company profits (Lau Zhang, 2006). Li Fung Research Center (2009) notes that the transportation occupies more than 50 percent of the total logistics cost in China, and undoubtedly the operation costs of 3PL service providers will still be ascending due to the price upswing of commodity and fuel. Another culprit is high local road tolls and other hefty transportation fees (Kerr, 2005b). Underdeveloped physical infrastructure Many MNCs find that it is difficult for them to implement coherent strategies in China because underdeveloped transportation system hinders their distribution and sourcing throughout the country (Speece and Yukiko, 1995). Although Chinas economy and industrial production have been developing rapidly, the current logistics system is loaded with new challenges as it can barely keep pace with the growth rate of economy (Carter et al, 1997). The undeveloped logistics infrastructure in China, including deficient highways, aged port facilities, and limited runways and airports, can hardly fulfill the growing logistics demand in the progress of new economy (Pollit, 1998). The insufficiencies of present distribution system have restricted foreign enterprises to immensely exploit the plenty opportunities in Chinas market (Goh and Ling, 2003). It is thus imperative that the distribution of products and services be supported by a reliable transportation system. The need for guanxi Literally, guanxi means relationship. It is noted that Chinese culture is quite distinct from Western culture in numerous aspects, including the way to conduct business (Jiang and Prater, 2003). Guanxi, which is an important concept for successful business in China, refer to relationship between people (Michailova and Worm, 2003). It suggests a conveyable, reciprocal, invisible and useful responsibility to dyadic personal relationships (Luo, 2000). It is not surprising that Chinese prefer to deal with people they know and trust. As Wang et al. (2003) indicated, guanxi which is created on the basis of mutually beneficial can lower risk as well as competition in business circles. Millington et al. (2006) also state that when looking for satisfying vendors, guanxi is more useful than other information from website, trade market or media. This implies that the knowledge and expertise to understand local circumstance and the communication skill with foreigners are absolutely necessary for establishment of a successful cooperation (Lightfoot and Almeida, 2007). Government regulation Kerr (2006) identifies that government regulation is still 3PL providers biggest challenge. The development of 3PL in China is obstructed by some barriers such as underdeveloped infrastructure and entrenched regulatory circumstance (Lau Zhang, 2006). In the meantime, various regulations set up by different provinces forcefully influence business activities so that the founding of national networks is hindered (Kerr, 2005). It also has made it difficult for 3PL providers in China to fully meet the requirements of their clients. Moreover, there are many regulations and rules for foreign 3PL providers who plan to enter China logistics market. According to Lai and Hsu (2007), foreign 3PL providers must apply for the class A license issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTERC) if they plan to establish subsidiaries as international freight forwarders in China. A survey conducted by Li Fung Research Center (2009) also identifies that the regulations and policies associated with logistics industry are not unalterable because the government will supervise the execution and analyze the effect of the existing ones and then will formulate new ones accordingly to boost the growth of the industry. It is true that a number of government departments which are involved in policies related to logistics industry have impact on the rhythm of changing regulation (KPMG, 2008). Local 3PL providers Chinas local logistics providers have been growing rapidly because foreign firms are increasingly looking to source there. To contend with foreign logistics providers, domestic companies have to upgrade facilities and enhance their service level (KPMG, 2008). Jiang and Prata (2002) indicate that in contrast with foreign 3PL entrants, local players are always in the close association with local or central governments. For instance, Sinatrans is a state owned company and is the only 3PL service provider in China who can provide a nationwide logistics service with full license. The authors also mention that a number of local 3PL providers at regional level have their own special strength in specific areas or specific business. Some of them even look for individual connection built directly with government officials which may be valuable in their daily business. Literature review summary This section has reviewed the literature ranging from some fundamental definitions of outsourcing and 3PL, to challenges for 3PL industry globally and especially in China which represents the current situation foreign 3PL providers are facing in China. In table 2.1, we summarize the above referred articles in each of the focus challenges.

Pan American World Airways, Inc :: Economy Economics Economical Papers Research

Pan American World Airways, Inc Pan American World Airways, Inc ("Pan Am") is a New York corporation organized in 1927 which is engaged in commercial air transportation which it pioneered between the United States and most areas of the world. Pan Am Corporation ("the Corporation"), a Delaware corporation, is and since September 14, 1984 has been the parent of Pan Am, it's principal subsidiary. For the past few years Pan Am's financial condition has been very poor. The company reported a consolidated net loss for 1986 of $469.3 million. The 1988 net loss included a gain of $89.1 million resulting from the sale of Pan Am's Airbus A320 aircraft and delivery positions. This gain was partially offsetted by a reserve of $25.7 million related to the loss on sale of Pan Am's subsidiary, which is responsible for the marketing of excess inventory, and 18 million of year-end adjustments. Pan Am's passenger traffic was strong in 1988. An increase of 12.2 percent on capacity of 11.2 percent. This was due to the result of strengthening of various European currencies against the U.S. dollar, fare increases in the market, enhanced management systems and procedures, as well as programs to reduce the dependence on wholesale ticket distributions throughout the Atlantic, Latin America, Domestic, and systemwide. Eventhough revenue was strong in 1988, labor and other costs increased at a higher rate as a consequence of efforts to improve service and effectiveness of the operation. Labor costs were higher in 1988 due to the result of an increase in the number of employees during the year. Also the addition of increased fuel prices, commissions, purchased services, aircraft rentals, and a $24.0 million foreign exchange loss had a negative impact on the corporation. 1987 expenses were effected by increases in expenses for fuel, commissions, maintenance materials and other operating costs which exceeded expectations. Labor cost reductions were not achieved in 1987. Other losses which occurred was the settlement of an $18 million provision for the proposed settlement of an age discrimination suit, and as well as $42.0 million for increased allowances for inventory obsolescence, uncollected receivables and costs associated with the WorldPass frequent flyer program. COMPANY BACKGROUND Pan Am lead by it's founder Juan Trippe, virtually single- handedly opened up the world to commercial flight. Teeming with adventure, international intrigue, and financial manipulations, this sky-struck young man with immense ambition and vision took a seaplane carrying mail 90 miles from Key West to Havana and expanded the operation into the vast world-wide

Divorce Essay -- Social Issues, Children

Divorce is viewed differently by many people. Sometimes this is due to experiences, what others have said, or looking at studies that are not always accurate. However, not everyone can have the same views about marriage ending in divorce. In the article, â€Å"No Easy Answers: Why the Popular View of Divorce Is Wrong† by Constance Ahrons she shows her view on divorce. Ahrons believes that divorce does not have long-lasting damaging effects on children (65). Divorce can affect children in the family but the way the decisions are made is what will change the way the kids are influenced. First of all, opposing viewpoints say that divorce can cause the child to feel like their life is not going to be the same. In contrast, this is not a highly supported statement. One thing that is commonly stated about divorce is, once two married parents with children decide to divorce, that they are no longer a family (66). Although, they may not be living together in the same house it does not mean they are still not a family. No matter what, the parents will always be linked to each other because of the children. Is that not the definition of a family? In addition, assumptions are made that if people are married with kids that they are an ideal family This is not the case, if the marriage is not working out and is only causing problems amongst the parents and kids than that is not considered a family either. Divorce does not cause children to lose their family, if anything it helps to fix them. Moreover, people say that kids feel like their life will have to change drastically because; they will have to lose one of their parents. Divorce does not mean that the children will drop a relationship with one of their parents. Some divorces may be like... ...e fairly small or big but either way the child is changed in some way. No matter how people view divorce, there is no wrong viewpoint. In the end, the effects are rarely long-term on the children. In conclusion, divorce is an extremely diverse subject, and it is going to be viewed in a different way by many individuals based on their experiences. Sometimes divorce can be the best thing for the couple as well as the child. If a marriage is only there for the child then that could affect them just as much as a divorce (65). The outcome on how serious the effects are on a child after divorce can vary. It is all revolved on how the parents handle the divorce; what decisions and choices they chose to make will change the way the child is affected. When it comes down to it, â€Å"you can choose to see your family as rearranged, or you can choose to see it as broken† (62).

Discuss the contribution of material culture Essay

The aim of this essay is to explore how useful material culture studies is to understanding societies which existed under Roman rule, especially those of Gaul and Britain. These provinces of Rome adopted Roman culture and used Roman objects for their own use, which could come under the heading of cultural bricolage, where new cultural items are obtained by attributing new functions to previously existing ones, however I shall address this later on in the essay. Woolf comments that anthropologists and archaeologists use the concept of culture as a way of making sense of the diversity of human societies that cannot be expressed simply in terms of biological variation. It is seen by many to be a more precise way of understanding societies rather than seeing how advanced or rich a society was.1 Studying and understanding social identity can also be seen as an excellent alternative to relying on narratives written by Roman authors who were biased and wrote from a ‘Romano-centricâ₠¬â„¢ position, and it also allows us to consider other elements, for instance class,status, gender, age, occupation, and religion. Material culture can be defined as â€Å"the study through artifacts (and other pertinent historical evidence) of belief systems–the values, ideas, attitudes, and assumptions–of a particular community or society, usually across time. As a study, it is based upon the obvious premise that the existence of a man-made object is concrete evidence of the presence of a human mind operating at the time of fabrication. The common assumption underlying material culture research is that objects made or modified by humans, consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, reflect the belief patters of individuals who made, commissioned, purchased, or used them, and, by extension, the belief patterns of the larger society of which they are a part.† 2 Concerning Roman culture, Woolf defines it as â€Å"the range of objects, beliefs and practices that were characteristic of people who considered themselves to be, and were widely acknowledged as, Roman.† It is believed that every man-made object required the operation of some thought and design. Therefore it is the assumption of material culture studies that this thought is a reflection of the culture that produced the man-made objects. With this theory we can see, in some way, how a culture, which had no written records of its existence, lived. One advantage of material culture studies is that it is beneficial to social historians who wish to know about an entire group and not just the elites of a particular society. A useful definition of the term archaeology is that it uses â€Å"fieldwork and excavation, and the comparative study of sites and objects to compile information about the past†¦which can illuminate aspects of Roman life which were never recorded†. However it does have its limitations as it cannot achieve certainty as â€Å"all known sites and artefacts are merely a surviving sample of what once existed- and not necessarily a representative sample.†4 So in understanding identity we may be able to place these artefacts in context as we will know what particular objects are used for certain practices, for instance burial customs or forms of pottery produced.5 Jones defines cultural identity as â€Å"that aspect of a person’s self-conceptualization which results from identification with a broader group in opposition to others on the basis of perceived cultural differentiation and/or common descent.†.6 Concerning material culture, Pitts chose 12 areas of study, these were: â€Å"architecture, art, epigraphy (inscriptions in stone), faunal remains(animal bones), floral remains, funerary evidence, literature, monumentality, pottery, settlement (morphology and landscape archaeology) and small finds(portable material culture other than pottery)†.7 Epigraphic inscriptions allows us to observe how literacy spread through Gaul and Britain, along with helping us to trace an â€Å"outline of the cultural geography of Roman Gaul†8 Woolf also comments that inscriptions are useful as they represent a wide range of Roman cultural customs which included political, cultic, and funerary practices. He adds to this by suggesting that inscriptions should be seen as attempts made by people to assert their identities and to show their achievements in terms of status. Art and architecture are important as it gives us some insight into cultural ideologies, however this type of evidence only really survived if it was owned by the elites of the society, and the art and mosaics were only limited to this class, so it has its biases. Although it does have its uses as we can see how the adoption of villa architecture by the British and Gaulish tribes shows the acceptance and spread of Roman culture throughout the conquered countries.

Angels Demons Chapter 74-79

74 Langdon saw what he was looking for a good ten yards before they reached it. Through the scattered tourists, the white marble ellipse of Bernini's West Ponente stood out against the gray granite cubes that made up the rest of the piazza. Vittoria apparently saw it too. Her hand tensed. â€Å"Relax,† Langdon whispered. â€Å"Do your piranha thing.† Vittoria loosened her grip. As they drew nearer, everything seemed forbiddingly normal. Tourists wandered, nuns chatted along the perimeter of the piazza, a girl fed pigeons at the base of the obelisk. Langdon refrained from checking his watch. He knew it was almost time. The elliptical stone arrived beneath their feet, and Langdon and Vittoria slowed to a stop – not overeagerly – just two tourists pausing dutifully at a point of mild interest. â€Å"West Ponente,† Vittoria said, reading the inscription on the stone. Langdon gazed down at the marble relief and felt suddenly naive. Not in his art books, not in his numerous trips to Rome, not ever had West Ponente's significance jumped out at him. Not until now. The relief was elliptical, about three feet long, and carved with a rudimentary face – a depiction of the West Wind as an angel-like countenance. Gusting from the angel's mouth, Bernini had drawn a powerful breath of air blowing outward away from the Vatican†¦ the breath of God. This was Bernini's tribute to the second element†¦ Air†¦ an ethereal zephyr blown from angel's lips. As Langdon stared, he realized the significance of the relief went deeper still. Bernini had carved the air in five distinct gusts†¦ five! What was more, flanking the medallion were two shining stars. Langdon thought of Galileo. Two stars, five gusts, ellipses, symmetry†¦ He felt hollow. His head hurt. Vittoria began walking again almost immediately, leading Langdon away from the relief. â€Å"I think someone's following us,† she said. Langdon looked up. â€Å"Where?† Vittoria moved a good thirty yards before speaking. She pointed up at the Vatican as if showing Langdon something on the dome. â€Å"The same person has been behind us all the way across the square.† Casually, Vittoria glanced over her shoulder. â€Å"Still on us. Keep moving.† â€Å"You think it's the Hassassin?† Vittoria shook her head. â€Å"Not unless the Illuminati hires women with BBC cameras.† When the bells of St. Peter's began their deafening clamor, both Langdon and Vittoria jumped. It was time. They had circled away from West Ponente in an attempt to lose the reporter but were now moving back toward the relief. Despite the clanging bells, the area seemed perfectly calm. Tourists wandered. A homeless drunk dozed awkwardly at the base of the obelisk. A little girl fed pigeons. Langdon wondered if the reporter had scared the killer off. Doubtful, he decided, recalling the killer's promise. I will make your cardinals media luminaries. As the echo of the ninth bell faded away, a peaceful silence descended across the square. Then†¦ the little girl began to scream. 75 Langdon was the first to reach the screaming girl. The terrified youngster stood frozen, pointing at the base of the obelisk where a shabby, decrepit drunk sat slumped on the stairs. The man was a miserable sight†¦ apparently one of Rome's homeless. His gray hair hung in greasy strands in front of his face, and his entire body was wrapped in some sort of dirty cloth. The girl kept screaming as she scampered off into the crowd. Langdon felt an upsurge of dread as he dashed toward the invalid. There was a dark, widening stain spreading across the man's rags. Fresh, flowing blood. Then, it was as if everything happened at once. The old man seemed to crumple in the middle, tottering forward. Langdon lunged, but he was too late. The man pitched forward, toppled off the stairs, and hit the pavement facedown. Motionless. Langdon dropped to his knees. Vittoria arrived beside him. A crowd was gathering. Vittoria put her fingers on the man's throat from behind. â€Å"There's a pulse,† she declared. â€Å"Roll him.† Langdon was already in motion. Grasping the man's shoulders, he rolled the body. As he did, the loose rags seemed to slough away like dead flesh. The man flopped limp onto his back. Dead center of his naked chest was a wide area of charred flesh. Vittoria gasped and pulled back. Langdon felt paralyzed, pinned somewhere between nausea and awe. The symbol had a terrifying simplicity to it. Angels & Demons â€Å"Air,† Vittoria choked. â€Å"It's†¦ him.† Swiss Guards appeared from out of nowhere, shouting orders, racing after an unseen assassin. Nearby, a tourist explained that only minutes ago, a dark-skinned man had been kind enough to help this poor, wheezing, homeless man across the square†¦ even sitting a moment on the stairs with the invalid before disappearing back into the crowd. Vittoria ripped the rest of the rags off the man's abdomen. He had two deep puncture wounds, one on either side of the brand, just below his rib cage. She cocked the man's head back and began to administer mouth to mouth. Langdon was not prepared for what happened next. As Vittoria blew, the wounds on either side of the man's midsection hissed and sprayed blood into the air like blowholes on a whale. The salty liquid hit Langdon in the face. Vittoria stopped short, looking horrified. â€Å"His lungs†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she stammered. â€Å"They're†¦ punctured.† Langdon wiped his eyes as he looked down at the two perforations. The holes gurgled. The cardinal's lungs were destroyed. He was gone. Vittoria covered the body as the Swiss Guards moved in. Langdon stood, disoriented. As he did, he saw her. The woman who had been following them earlier was crouched nearby. Her BBC video camera was shouldered, aimed, and running. She and Langdon locked eyes, and he knew she'd gotten it all. Then, like a cat, she bolted. 76 Chinita Macri was on the run. She had the story of her life. Her video camera felt like an anchor as she lumbered across St. Peter's Square, pushing through the gathering crowd. Everyone seemed to be moving in the opposite direction than her†¦ toward the commotion. Macri was trying to get as far away as possible. The man in the tweed jacket had seen her, and now she sensed others were after her, men she could not see, closing in from all sides. Macri was still aghast from the images she had just recorded. She wondered if the dead man was really who she feared he was. Glick's mysterious phone contact suddenly seemed a little less crazy. As she hurried in the direction of the BBC van, a young man with a decidedly militaristic air emerged from the crowd before her. Their eyes met, and they both stopped. Like lightning, he raised a walkie-talkie and spoke into it. Then he moved toward her. Macri wheeled and doubled back into the crowd, her heart pounding. As she stumbled through the mass of arms and legs, she removed the spent video cassette from her camera. Cellulose gold, she thought, tucking the tape under her belt flush to her backside and letting her coat tails cover it. For once she was glad she carried some extra weight. Glick, where the hell are you! Another soldier appeared to her left, closing in. Macri knew she had little time. She banked into the crowd again. Yanking a blank cartridge from her case, she slapped it into the camera. Then she prayed. She was thirty yards from the BBC van when the two men materialized directly in front of her, arms folded. She was going nowhere. â€Å"Film,† one snapped. â€Å"Now.† Macri recoiled, wrapping her arms protectively around her camera. â€Å"No chance.† One of the men pulled aside his jacket, revealing a sidearm. â€Å"So shoot me,† Macri said, amazed by the boldness of her voice. â€Å"Film,† the first one repeated. Where the devil is Glick? Macri stamped her foot and yelled as loudly as possible, â€Å"I am a professional videographer with the BBC! By Article 12 of the Free Press Act, this film is property of the British Broadcast Corporation!† The men did not flinch. The one with the gun took a step toward her. â€Å"I am a lieutenant with the Swiss Guard, and by the Holy Doctrine governing the property on which you are now standing, you are subject to search and seizure.† A crowd had started to gather now around them. Macri yelled, â€Å"I will not under any circumstances give you the film in this camera without speaking to my editor in London. I suggest you – â€Å" The guards ended it. One yanked the camera out of her hands. The other forcibly grabbed her by the arm and twisted her in the direction of the Vatican. â€Å"Grazie,† he said, leading her through a jostling crowd. Macri prayed they would not search her and find the tape. If she could somehow protect the film long enough to – Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. Someone in the crowd was groping under her coat. Macri felt the video yanked away from her. She wheeled, but swallowed her words. Behind her, a breathless Gunther Glick gave her a wink and dissolved back into the crowd. 77 Robert Langdon staggered into the private bathroom adjoining the Office of the Pope. He dabbed the blood from his face and lips. The blood was not his own. It was that of Cardinal Lamasse, who had just died horribly in the crowded square outside the Vatican. Virgin sacrifices on the altars of science. So far, the Hassassin had made good on his threat. Langdon felt powerless as he gazed into the mirror. His eyes were drawn, and stubble had begun to darken his cheeks. The room around him was immaculate and lavish – black marble with gold fixtures, cotton towels, and scented hand soaps. Langdon tried to rid his mind of the bloody brand he had just seen. Air. The image stuck. He had witnessed three ambigrams since waking up this morning†¦ and he knew there were two more coming. Outside the door, it sounded as if Olivetti, the camerlegno, and Captain Rocher were debating what to do next. Apparently, the antimatter search had turned up nothing so far. Either the guards had missed the canister, or the intruder had gotten deeper inside the Vatican than Commander Olivetti had been willing to entertain. Langdon dried his hands and face. Then he turned and looked for a urinal. No urinal. Just a bowl. He lifted the lid. As he stood there, tension ebbing from his body, a giddy wave of exhaustion shuddered through his core. The emotions knotting his chest were so many, so incongruous. He was fatigued, running on no food or sleep, walking the Path of Illumination, traumatized by two brutal murders. Langdon felt a deepening horror over the possible outcome of this drama. Think, he told himself. His mind was blank. As he flushed, an unexpected realization hit him. This is the Pope's toilet, he thought. I just took a leak in the Pope's toilet. He had to chuckle. The Holy Throne. 78 In London, a BBC technician ejected a video cassette from a satellite receiver unit and dashed across the control room floor. She burst into the office of the editor-in-chief, slammed the video into his VCR, and pressed play. As the tape rolled, she told him about the conversation she had just had with Gunther Glick in Vatican City. In addition, BBC photo archives had just given her a positive ID on the victim in St. Peter's Square. When the editor-in-chief emerged from his office, he was ringing a cowbell. Everything in editorial stopped. â€Å"Live in five!† the man boomed. â€Å"On-air talent to prep! Media coordinators, I want your contacts on line! We've got a story we're selling! And we've got film!† The market coordinators grabbed their Rolodexes. â€Å"Film specs!† one of them yelled. â€Å"Thirty-second trim,† the chief replied. â€Å"Content?† â€Å"Live homicide.† The coordinators looked encouraged. â€Å"Usage and licensing price?† â€Å"A million U.S. per.† Heads shot up. â€Å"What!† â€Å"You heard me! I want top of the food chain. CNN, MSNBC, then the big three! Offer a dial-in preview. Give them five minutes to piggyback before BBC runs it.† â€Å"What the hell happened?† someone demanded. â€Å"The prime minister get skinned alive?† The chief shook his head. â€Å"Better.† At that exact instant, somewhere in Rome, the Hassassin enjoyed a fleeting moment of repose in a comfortable chair. He admired the legendary chamber around him. I am sitting in the Church of Illumination, he thought. The Illuminati lair. He could not believe it was still here after all of these centuries. Dutifully, he dialed the BBC reporter to whom he had spoken earlier. It was time. The world had yet to hear the most shocking news of all. 79 Vittoria Vetra sipped a glass of water and nibbled absently at some tea scones just set out by one of the Swiss Guards. She knew she should eat, but she had no appetite. The Office of the Pope was bustling now, echoing with tense conversations. Captain Rocher, Commander Olivetti, and half a dozen guards assessed the damage and debated the next move. Robert Langdon stood nearby staring out at St. Peter's Square. He looked dejected. Vittoria walked over. â€Å"Ideas?† He shook his head. â€Å"Scone?† His mood seemed to brighten at the sight of food. â€Å"Hell yes. Thanks.† He ate voraciously. The conversation behind them went quiet suddenly when two Swiss Guards escorted Camerlegno Ventresca through the door. If the chamberlain had looked drained before, Vittoria thought, now he looked empty. â€Å"What happened?† the camerlegno said to Olivetti. From the look on the camerlegno's face, he appeared to have already been told the worst of it. Olivetti's official update sounded like a battlefield casualty report. He gave the facts with flat efficacy. â€Å"Cardinal Ebner was found dead in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo just after eight o'clock. He had been suffocated and branded with the ambigrammatic word ‘Earth.' Cardinal Lamasse was murdered in St. Peter's Square ten minutes ago. He died of perforations to the chest. He was branded with the word ‘Air,' also ambigrammatic. The killer escaped in both instances.† The camerlegno crossed the room and sat heavily behind the Pope's desk. He bowed his head. â€Å"Cardinals Guidera and Baggia, however, are still alive.† The camerlegno's head shot up, his expression pained. â€Å"This is our consolation? Two cardinals have been murdered, commander. And the other two will obviously not be alive much longer unless you find them.† â€Å"We will find them,† Olivetti assured. â€Å"I am encouraged.† â€Å"Encouraged? We've had nothing but failure.† â€Å"Untrue. We've lost two battles, signore, but we're winning the war. The Illuminati had intended to turn this evening into a media circus. So far we have thwarted their plan. Both cardinals' bodies have been recovered without incident. In addition,† Olivetti continued, â€Å"Captain Rocher tells me he is making excellent headway on the antimatter search.† Captain Rocher stepped forward in his red beret. Vittoria thought he looked more human somehow than the other guards – stern but not so rigid. Rocher's voice was emotional and crystalline, like a violin. â€Å"I am hopeful we will have the canister for you within an hour, signore.† â€Å"Captain,† the camerlegno said, â€Å"excuse me if I seem less than hopeful, but I was under the impression that a search of Vatican City would take far more time than we have.† â€Å"A full search, yes. However, after assessing the situation, I am confident the antimatter canister is located in one of our white zones – those Vatican sectors accessible to public tours – the museums and St. Peter's Basilica, for example. We have already killed power in those zones and are conducting our scan.† â€Å"You intend to search only a small percentage of Vatican City?† â€Å"Yes, signore. It is highly unlikely that an intruder gained access to the inner zones of Vatican City. The fact that the missing security camera was stolen from a public access area – a stairwell in one of the museums – clearly implies that the intruder had limited access. Therefore he would only have been able to relocate the camera and antimatter in another public access area. It is these areas on which we are focusing our search.† â€Å"But the intruder kidnapped four cardinals. That certainly implies deeper infiltration than we thought.† â€Å"Not necessarily. We must remember that the cardinals spent much of today in the Vatican museums and St. Peter's Basilica, enjoying those areas without the crowds. It is probable that the missing cardinals were taken in one of these areas.† â€Å"But how were they removed from our walls?† â€Å"We are still assessing that.† â€Å"I see.† The camerlegno exhaled and stood up. He walked over to Olivetti. â€Å"Commander, I would like to hear your contingency plan for evacuation.† â€Å"We are still formalizing that, signore. In the meantime, I am faithful Captain Rocher will find the canister.† Rocher clicked his boots as if in appreciation of the vote of confidence. â€Å"My men have already scanned two-thirds of the white zones. Confidence is high.† The camerlegno did not appear to share that confidence. At that moment the guard with a scar beneath one eye came through the door carrying a clipboard and a map. He strode toward Langdon. â€Å"Mr. Langdon? I have the information you requested on the West Ponente.† Langdon swallowed his scone. â€Å"Good. Let's have a look.† The others kept talking while Vittoria joined Robert and the guard as they spread out the map on the Pope's desk. The soldier pointed to St. Peter's Square. â€Å"This is where we are. The central line of West Ponente's breath points due east, directly away from Vatican City.† The guard traced a line with his finger from St. Peter's Square across the Tiber River and up into the heart of old Rome. â€Å"As you can see, the line passes through almost all of Rome. There are about twenty Catholic churches that fall near this line.† Langdon slumped. â€Å"Twenty?† â€Å"Maybe more.† â€Å"Do any of the churches fall directly on the line?† â€Å"Some look closer than others,† the guard said, â€Å"but translating the exact bearing of the West Ponente onto a map leaves margin for error.† Langdon looked out at St. Peter's Square a moment. Then he scowled, stroking his chin. â€Å"How about fire? Any of them have Bernini artwork that has to do with fire?† Silence. â€Å"How about obelisks?† he demanded. â€Å"Are any of the churches located near obelisks?† The guard began checking the map. Vittoria saw a glimmer of hope in Langdon's eyes and realized what he was thinking. He's right! The first two markers had been located on or near piazzas that contained obelisks! Maybe obelisks were a theme? Soaring pyramids marking the Illuminati path? The more Vittoria thought about it, the more perfect it seemed†¦ four towering beacons rising over Rome to mark the altars of science. â€Å"It's a long shot,† Langdon said, â€Å"but I know that many of Rome's obelisks were erected or moved during Bernini's reign. He was no doubt involved in their placement.† â€Å"Or,† Vittoria added, â€Å"Bernini could have placed his markers near existing obelisks.† Langdon nodded. â€Å"True.† â€Å"Bad news,† the guard said. â€Å"No obelisks on the line.† He traced his finger across the map. â€Å"None even remotely close. Nothing.† Langdon sighed. Vittoria's shoulders slumped. She'd thought it was a promising idea. Apparently, this was not going to be as easy as they'd hoped. She tried to stay positive. â€Å"Robert, think. You must know of a Bernini statue relating to fire. Anything at all.† â€Å"Believe me, I've been thinking. Bernini was incredibly prolific. Hundreds of works. I was hoping West Ponente would point to a single church. Something that would ring a bell.† â€Å"Fuco,† she pressed. â€Å"Fire. No Bernini titles jump out?† Langdon shrugged. â€Å"There's his famous sketches of Fireworks, but they're not sculpture, and they're in Leipzig, Germany.† Vittoria frowned. â€Å"And you're sure the breath is what indicates the direction?† â€Å"You saw the relief, Vittoria. The design was totally symmetrical. The only indication of bearing was the breath.† Vittoria knew he was right. â€Å"Not to mention,† he added, â€Å"because the West Ponente signifies Air, following the breath seems symbolically appropriate.† Vittoria nodded. So we follow the breath. But where? Olivetti came over. â€Å"What have you got?† â€Å"Too many churches,† the soldier said. â€Å"Two dozen or so. I suppose we could put four men on each church – â€Å" â€Å"Forget it,† Olivetti said. â€Å"We missed this guy twice when we knew exactly where he was going to be. A mass stakeout means leaving Vatican City unprotected and canceling the search.† â€Å"We need a reference book,† Vittoria said. â€Å"An index of Bernini's work. If we can scan titles, maybe something will jump out.† â€Å"I don't know,† Langdon said. â€Å"If it's a work Bernini created specifically for the Illuminati, it may be very obscure. It probably won't be listed in a book.† Vittoria refused to believe it. â€Å"The other two sculptures were fairly well-known. You'd heard of them both.† Langdon shrugged. â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"If we scan titles for references to the word ‘fire,' maybe we'll find a statue that's listed as being in the right direction.† Langdon seemed convinced it was worth a shot. He turned to Olivetti. â€Å"I need a list of all Bernini's work. You guys probably don't have a coffee-table Bernini book around here, do you?† â€Å"Coffee-table book?† Olivetti seemed unfamiliar with the term. â€Å"Never mind. Any list. How about the Vatican Museum? They must have Bernini references.† The guard with the scar frowned. â€Å"Power in the museum is out, and the records room is enormous. Without the staff there to help – â€Å" â€Å"The Bernini work in question,† Olivetti interrupted. â€Å"Would it have been created while Bernini was employed here at the Vatican?† â€Å"Almost definitely,† Langdon said. â€Å"He was here almost his entire career. And certainly during the time period of the Galileo conflict.† Olivetti nodded. â€Å"Then there's another reference.† Vittoria felt a flicker of optimism. â€Å"Where?† The commander did not reply. He took his guard aside and spoke in hushed tones. The guard seemed uncertain but nodded obediently. When Olivetti was finished talking, the guard turned to Langdon. â€Å"This way please, Mr. Langdon. It's nine-fifteen. We'll have to hurry.† Langdon and the guard headed for the door. Vittoria started after them. â€Å"I'll help.† Olivetti caught her by the arm. â€Å"No, Ms. Vetra. I need a word with you.† His grasp was authoritative. Langdon and the guard left. Olivetti's face was wooden as he took Vittoria aside. But whatever it was Olivetti had intended to say to her, he never got the chance. His walkie-talkie crackled loudly. â€Å"Commandante?† Everyone in the room turned. The voice on the transmitter was grim. â€Å"I think you better turn on the television.†