Module 9

Before beginning this IST 1100 course and reading The World Is Flat I honestly had NO IDEA that Dell computers and laptops were made to order.  I had just assumed that just like every other PC you were able to just saunter into a Best Buy and pick one up.  Knowing  that Dell is in other words special order, I can already tell you that it is not the computer for me.  I always need immediate satisfaction and I barely have the patience to wait for any of the items I purchase online.  What makes Dell unique is it's supply chain management and it's built to order approach.  Dell delivers individual PC's that are configured to the customer's specifications.  I can see the appeal in that approach, and I suppose I could manage to wait if it meant I was getting a laptop with a custom design made specially for me!
In order to provide efficient service and production of goods, Dell uses multiple suppliers for most of the key components that go into their products.  All you have to do as a consumer is pick up the phone or jump online and start your order.  You choose exactly what you need and depending on the inventory levels of certain components you just might get discounted upgrades on extra memory for example.  Just like the text says: "today memory might be on sale, tomorrow it might be CD-ROMS".  Dell has remained a very efficient company because it only produces based on the demand, which is a valuable skill to have in a business based in technology, especially with how rapidly it changes.
Does Al-Qaeda have a supply chain?  Indeed they do.  After googling the question I saw in a few different places that Al-Qaeda is nothing but a "mutant supply chain", and the sad part is is that it is fueled in part by the purchase of illegal drugs like heroin here in America.  Al-Qaeda raises money, recruits victims, and brainwashes them into thinking they are doing good by becoming a candidate for their suicide missions.
Because oil is not abundant for all countries the curse of it lies in the fact that it is a highly valuable resource that is fought over.  If countries and powers are fighting over it now imagine how bad the fighting will be when the oil supply dwindles down to almost nothing.