LEARNING OBJECTIVES UNDERSTAND THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPORTATION.

IDENTIFY THE VARIOUS MODES OF TRANSPORTATION

DESCRIBE HOW TRANSPORTATION IMPACTS SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT. EXAMINE THE INTERRELATEDNESS OF TRANSPORTATION, WAREHOUSING, AND MATERIAL HANDING.

TRANSPORT OR TRANSPORTATION IS THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE AND GOODS FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER.

INDUSTRIES WHICH HAVE THE BUSINESS OF PROVIDING EQUIPMENT, ACTUAL TRANSPORT, TRANSPORT OF PEOPLE OR GOODS AND SERVICES USED IN TRANSPORT OF GOODS OR PEOPLE MAKE UP A LARGE BROAD AND IMPORTANT SECTOR OF MOST NATIONAL ECONOMIES, AND ARE COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS TRANSPORT INDUSTRIES.

CHANNEL CONFLICT OCCURS WHEN MANUFACTURERS (BRANDS) DISINTER MEDIATE THEIR CHANNEL PARTNERS, SUCH AS DISTRIBUTORS, RETAILERS, DEALERS, AND SALES REPRESENTATIVES, BY SELLING THEIR PRODUCTS DIRECT TO CONSUMERS THROUGH GENERAL MARKETING METHODS AND/OR OVER THE INTERNET THROUGH ECOMMERCE.

SOME MANUFACTURERS WANT THEIR BRANDS TO CAPTURE THE POWER OF THE INTERNET BUT DO NOT WANT TO CREATE CONFLICT WITH THEIR OTHER DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS, AS THESE PARTNERS ARE TYPICALLY NECESSARY FOR A MANUFACTURER TO GAIN AND MAINTAIN SUCCESS.

THE CENSUS BUREAU OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE REPORTED THAT ONLINE SALES IN 2005 GREW 24.6 PERCENT OVER 2004 TO REACH 86.3 BILLION DOLLARS. BY COMPARISON, TOTAL RETAIL SALES IN 2005 GREW 7.2 PERCENT FROM 2004..

THESE IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS ARE ATTRACTIVE TO MANUFACTURERS, HOWEVER THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE SALES WITHOUT HARMING THEIR CHANNEL RELATIONSHIPS

CHANNEL CONFLICT CAN ALSO OCCUR WHEN THERE HAS BEEN OVER PRODUCTION. THIS RESULTS IN A SURPLUS OF PRODUCTS IN THE MARKET PLACE. NEWER VERSIONS OF PRODUCTS, CHANGES IN TRENDS, INSOLVENCY OF WHOLESALERS AND RETAILERS AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF DAMAGES GOODS ALSO AFFECT CHANNEL CONFLICT. IN THIS CONNECTION, A COMPANY'S STOCK CLEARANCE STRATEGY IS OF IMPORTANCE

. TO AVOID A CHANNEL CONFLICT IN A CLICK-ANDMORTAR, IT IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE THAT BOTH CHANNELS ARE FULLY INTEGRATED FROM ALL POINTS OF VIEW. HEREWITH, POSSIBLE CONFUSION WITH CUSTOMERS IS EXCLUDED AND AN EXTRA CHANNEL CAN CREATE BUSINESS ADVANTAGES.

THIS PAPER EXPLORES THE POTENTIALLY CENTRAL ROLE THAT MANAGERS PLAY IN A MODEL OF EMPOWERMENT. ISSUES OF ORGANIZATIONAL GOAL ACCOMPLISHMENT AND EMPLOYEE TRUST OFTEN PLAGUE APPLICATION OF EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES, AND MANAGERS LIKELY PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF EMPOWERMENT.

IN THIS STUDY, MANAGERIAL USE OF POWER BASES (REWARD, EXPERT, REFERENT, LEGITIMATE, COERCIVE) WAS PROPOSED TO IMPACT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MANAGERIAL EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES AND EMPLOYEE PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT.

WE FOUND A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT. MANAGERIAL USE OF POWER BASES (AS PERCEIVED BY SUBORDINATES) WAS RELATED TO EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT.

FINALLY, MANAGERIAL USE OF POWER BASES FULLY MEDIATED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MANAGERIAL EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES AND EMPLOYEE PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT. WE CALL FOR FURTHER RESEARCH INTO THE MANAGERIAL USE OF POWER BASES IN DEVELOPING A MORE COMPLETE MODEL OF EMPOWERMENT.