Thursday, October 31, 2019

Culture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Culture - Assignment Example Consequently, we shall be required to hire a language and cultural interpreter for dealing with Chinese in addition to engaging in selective hiring of expats based on their past international experience particularly with the Chinese. Furthermore, ethical aspects of the Chinese culture may be weak leaving scope for bribery and gift-giving at various levels of business operations. Additionally, team work may be difficult to achieve with the Chinese who do not possess any concept of teams in their culture. However, binding based on understanding of the Chinese language could prove to be a successful strategy in developing strong cross-cultural teams involving Chinese. Finally, the company may have o consider the conflict of home country versus subsidiary strategy based on different cultures prevailing in the two countries. It is recommended that Primark engages in cross-cultural training and engages in selective hiring on expats so that the need for repatriation is minimized. 1. Introdu ction National culture is stated as having a profound effect on the strategy adopted by organizations. Furthermore, the formulation of strategy for our subsidiary in China at our headquarters in U.K could entail the risk of having one national culture dominate over the other when it comes to strategy formulation. A stark difference between the national culture of China and U.K based on Hofstede’s dimensions is also apparent. 2. Chinese culture and HR Policy The Chinese culture is marked by hierarchical ties based on status, paternalistic leadership and emphasis on trust building amongst relationships (Guanxi) which is contrary to the Western notion of formal planning, more objective business dealings and a participative style of management. It is important to understand the key dimensions of masculinity, power distance beliefs, uncertainty avoidance and long term orientation laid down by Hofstede identifies that highlight the differences between the Eastern(including Chinese) and Western (including U.K) national culture(Hofstede, n.d.). The Chinese societies possess high power distance beliefs, collectivism, long term orientation and conformity. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the Chinese to derive satisfaction from collective gains rather than personal achievements. Furthermore, the Chinese people tend to avoid conflict in an attempt to â€Å"save face† and appreciate harmony and cohesion. On the other hand, Western societies such as U.K tend to be more work-centric and highly individualistic with low power-distance beliefs(Edfelt, 2010). Clearly, we run the risk of engaging in what is known as an ethnocentric approach. Sending expatriates from the parent country (in this case, U.K) to assume top managerial positions in the foreign country (China) would be part of our HR policy. However, it is necessary that there is sufficient coordination between these expatriate bosses and the local intermediate managers in China. Research also suggests tha t prior international experience provides valuable work-related and non-work related information for cross-cultural interaction, particularly if that experience has been with a culture similar to the current one(Selmer, 2001). 3. Socialization and business dealings At this stage, hiring of expatriate managers based on their past experience of dealing in cross-national assignments/projects (particularly projects with China) would be necessary as

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Teamwork experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Teamwork experience - Essay Example The researcher states the cultural differences made him stand out of the group at a communicative level. The Australians fluently spoke to one another and quite often, the researcher would feel left out. He tried to join them in the conversation. But he used to take too long to think about right words to construct the sentence, which would not only be embarrassing for him, but would also require them to display patience while listening to the researcher, which ultimately broke the temp of conversation. The author of this article understood English sufficiently to know the meaning but founds it difficult to speak with the required fluency and appropriate usage of words. Anyhow, he did not have any choice as the authority rested with majority and conversation had to be made in English. Besides, English is the course language so he had better give up any attempts to devise another language as the medium of communication. He mostly listened to his group members as they spoke. This not on ly maintained the tempo of conversation, but also provided him with an opportunity to improve his English speaking skill. There was a great deal of difference between the comfort he felt in speaking English between the start of the project and the end of the project. There is another positive aspect of interacting in foreign language which is that it reduces cultural differences among team members and helps in the development of strong rapport among them. (Neyer and Harzing, 2008, p. 13). In week 6, we learned how to work in a diverse group. The diversity among team members can be there in terms of difference of age, gender, culture and such other factors. In our case, our team was diverse in terms of culture as we were all boys and belonged to the same age group. I learned that diversity can cause many conflicts if not handled in the appropriate manner. In order to minimize the conflicts, we needed to minimize the cultural differences by understanding one another’s culture. Therefore, we established a culture based meeting. In that meeting, I was supposed to introduce Chinese culture to my group mates whereas they would talk about the Australian culture. That meeting was specifically meant to enhance our understanding of each other’s cultures. It is possible to reduce the cultural differences between team members if â€Å"mental processes associated with national culture are relatively fluid, and can be changed and sustained by appropriate situational factors† (Leung et al., 2005, p. 367). In the culture based meeting, the specific area that required to be discussed was ethics. Standards of ethics vary from culture to culture. What actions are considered respectable and honoring in one culture may be considered insulting in another, Therefore, in order to make sure that we respected each other’s cultural ethics, we discussed ethics of Chinese and Australian culture in this meeting. This way, we handled the cultural diversity in a v ery good manner. Not only was this meeting very enjoyable and informative, it also helped us escape a lot of dysfunctional conflicts as we knew each other’s cultural demands and would act accordingly so that nobody’s feelings were hurt. In week 7 and week 8, we learned how to work in a team, minimize the conflicts and be successful. Teamwork is very helpful for achieving big tasks that require a multitude of competences all of which are not the property of one individual. Therefore, in a team, members benefit from one another’s competences in order to attain their mutual goals and shared objectives. In our team, students A and B had a stronger bond with each other than with the rest of team members. They would often make fuss over petty issues, and we had to be patient in order to keep the ship

Sunday, October 27, 2019

How Information Systems Can Influence Commerce Essay

How Information Systems Can Influence Commerce Essay In this paper I will focus on how Information Systems can influence each of Porters Five Forces of Competitive Position differently .Firstly I will provide a brief description of Information Systems, then I will look at Porters 5 forces model and how Information Systems can influence each of those five Forces of Competitive. The five competitive forces arises out of Michael E. Porters work Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors(1980). This model has now become a tool which is commonly used for analysing a companys structure and its strategic processes. An information system (IS) includes information technology (IT) and peoples activities to assist in operational management and decision making. Information technology refers to the relation between people processes, data and technology. This definition, not only apply to the information and communication technology (ICT) used within the organisation, but also to the way in which people interact with this technology to support the business processes. Some writers distinguish between information systems, computer systems, and business processes. Information systems typically include an ICT component but are not purely concerned with ICT, focusing instead on the end use of information technology. Information systems are also different from business processes. Information systems help to control the performance of business processes. As such, information systems inter-relate with data systems on the one hand and activity systems on the other. An information system is a form of communication system in which data represent and are processed as a form of social memory. An information system can also be considered a semi-formal language which supports human decision making and action. An Information System consists of five basic resources, namely: People, which consists of IT specialists (such as a Database Administrator or Network Engineer) and end-users (such as Data Capture Clerks). Hardware, which consists of all the physical aspects of an information system, ranging from peripherals to computer parts and servers. Software, which consists of System Software, Application Software and Utility Software. Data, which consists of all the knowledge and databases in the IS. Networks, which consists of communication media and network support. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_system An information system is made up of all the elements which collect, manipulate, and disseminate data or information. Usually this includes hardware, software, people, communications facilities like telephone lines, and the data itself. This will entail inputting data, processing of data into information, storage of data and information, and delivering outputs ,for example management reports. http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Information_Systems In short information system Information system consists of five basic resources which are people, hardware, software, data and networks so as to facilitate planning, control, coordination, and decision making in an organization. According to Porter there are five competitive forces that shape every single industry and market. These five forces consist of, the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of customers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of substitute products or services, and the level of competition among current competitors within the market. Such forces help to carry out an analysis of the organisations current position ranging from the level of competition it faces, its profitability and attractiveness. We deal with these 5 forces on a daily basis. The relationship between the different competitive forces is illustrated below. http://www.businessteacher.org.uk/wp-content/porters-5-forces-analysis.jpg http://www.businessteacher.org.uk/wp-content/porters-5-forces-analysis.jpg Bargaining Power of Suppliers -The term suppliers comprises all sources for inputs that are needed in order to provide goods or services. http://www.themanager.org/Models/p5f.htm Suppliers are more likely to be in a good bargaining position when, a few large suppliers rather than a fragmented source of supply have command of the market, for example, companies like Microsoft and Intel, which control the highly-fragmented PC industry. In such instances suppliers of these major components are in a dominant position which can affect price, terms, and quantities of operating systems and CPUs. This will create a PC industry which is far less profitable than the suppliers of vital parts components like Microsoft and Intel, as there are no substitute, or few for a component, for example, CPUs. Such customers are isolated rendering their bargaining power weak. There are high costs involved when switching from one supplier to another. Suppliers may integrate forward to find higher prices and margins. This threat increases when, buyers profitability increases as compared to than the supply industry. The buying industry can prevent suppliers from developing, such as, the reluctance in accepting new products release. The buying industry has low obstacles for entry and frequently they are subjected to high pressure on suppliers margins in such conditions. Being associated with powerful suppliers can initially diminish organisations strategic options. Bargaining Power of Buyers Equally, the bargaining power of buyers will dictate what level of pressure can be applied to margins and volumes. Customers are in a strong bargaining position when there is less of them or when buying in large volumes. When the product is undifferentiated and can be substituted, buyers can switch to an alternative product easily and would not incur high costs. When a buyer purchases in large volumes from a supplier, this accounts for a high amount in the suppliers revenue, giving buyers an upper hand in such transactions. Buyers power also increase when the product does not have strategical importance for them. Porter argues that internet technology provides buyers with easier access to information about products and suppliers, thus strengthening buyers bargaining power. Due to the advent of IT potential buyers for products and services has increased , thus eroding their individual power as individual buyers and increasing the power of the sellers. For example, auction sites such a s e-Bay encourages competition amongst buyers and therefore increase the price of goods and increases the sellers profits. Threat of New Entrants Competition in an industry will increase, when it is easier for other companies to enter this industry. New entrants within the industry may change vital elements of the market environment, such as, market shares, prices, customer loyalty. This will pressurise existing players in this industry to react and to make adjustments. The threat of new entries will depend on the extent to which there are barriers to entry. Porter distinguishes six major barriers to entry.Barriers to entry include the following :- Customers brand loyalty ,buyers will incur high switching costs , initially there are high investments and fixed costs , existing businesses have good customer relations, such as, from long-term service contracts ,Protected intellectual property like patents, licenses etc and Legislation and government action in place. Threat of Substitutes This arises when there are alternative products offered at lower prices serving the same purpose. Products can be substituted wholly or partially. In such cases potentially this would attract a major proportion of market volume, therefore decreasing the potential sales for existing companies. This class is applicable to complementary products as well. The use of Information technology in businesses can bring about substitute products or services and also protect against them. The former occurs when different manufacturers fulfil exactly the same purpose and partial substitution of products occurs when only partially substitute by each other. There are also substitute sources, where the exactly the same product is sourced by two or more distributors. The threat of substitutes is also determined by factors which have an impact on the threat of new entrants, such as, brand loyalty of customers, good customer relations, high switching costs which customers will incur, the current price of substitutes and current market trends. In the field of communication, the economy, functions within a broad range of telecommunications and transportation technologies, therefore encourages substitute products and services which would be threats to businesses in many industries. For example on-line health and medical sites can be substitutes for contacting doctors. Competitive Rivalry between Existing Players This force deals with the level of competition in existing companies within the industry. If there is a high competitive pressure this will bring prices and margins down, thus affecting companys profits within the industry. Existing businesses are likely to face increased competition when there is a high amount of competitors with equivalent size, power and having similar strategies. If there is little differentiation between competitors and their products, this gives rise to a price competition. Market growth rates will be low, as a particular companys growth is possible only at the detriment of a competitor, for example with airlines, heavy equipments.There are high barriers to exit, for example, expensive and highly specialized equipment. The 5-Forces model assists businesses to identify weakness, e.g. those areas where it is unprepared or weak. Helps to analyse what competitive challenges are impacting the business, from suppliers, customers, etc. Such analysis helps businesses to create systems to effectively respond to those challenges and constraints. Porters model is based on the view that a corporate strategy should meet the opportunities and threats which organizations face in its external environment. The effect of Porters five forces varies among industries. However, whatever the industry type, the five forces influence profitability as they affect the prices, the costs, and the capital investment which are vital for survival and to compete within the industry. This model also helps when making strategic decisions and used by management to determine the industrys competitive structure. The Five Forces Model offers us a perspective as to how information resources can bring about competitive advantages. Porters Model, can assist Management in areas such as,(a)to envisage key sources of competition that they could encounter,(b)analyse the uses of information resources so as to improve their competitive position when facing threats from competitors and (c) to consider likely changes in competitive threats in the future. The 5 forces model offers a simple way to understand where the industry is moving to not just within. Over recent years due to the rapid growth in Information Technology, the WEB has changed the nature of competition. Porter [2001] argues that the main impact of the Web is to increase competition, which would more likely decrease an organisations profit. It can be argued that some businesses are more prosperous than others because, they have either better resources that others do, or they can utilise commonly available resources more efficiently. This could be due to superior knowledge and information assets. Compared to their competitors they do better in areas such as, revenue growth, profitability, or productivity growth, thus increasing their stock market valuations. A companys performance in competitive markets is based on its competitive advantage, above average performance in the long term can arise by creating a realistic competitive advantage. Porters opinion on competitive advantage can be used to look at how Information Systems affect the organisations performance by changing the link within the five forces model which forms its competitive environment. Porter argues that the main element to create an above average performance in the long term is to be able to maintain a competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices. http://www.tutor2u.net/business/strategy/competitive_advantage.htm Without such advantage, a company can only reap the windfall, that is, make the largest profits it can whilst it is able to do so. He provides two basic types of competitive advantages, cost leadership and product differentiation. Porter provides four generic business strategies that could be used so as to obtain a competitive advantage. The strategies relate to the extent to which the scope of a business activities are narrow and broad and the extent to which a business seeks to differentiate its products. Organisations can follow four competitive strategies which are facilitated by the use of information systems in gaining a competitive advantage in their markets. These can mainly be achieved through the use of information technology and systems which include the following:- Low-cost leadership: This strategy aim is to offer the lowest operational costs and lowest prices. The organisation aims to become the lowest cost producer in its specific industry. A strategy of cost leadership requires more than just moving down the learning curve, it must find and exploit every source to its potential cost advantage. Normally, cost leaders sell a basic product or commodity and concentrate in pursuing economies of scale and absolute cost advantages. The company must ensure compliance with the industrys norms, that is, the product or service offered must be seen as acceptable and comparable to its competitors. To be the lowest cost producer the company has to ensure that it makes effective use of technology in the production process. 2. Product differentiation, where an organisations aim is to differentiate with one of a small number of market segments. The company must ensure that its competitors do not already have such products to satisfy the needs of those special customers. The product or service must be something that most of its customers see as important, and the company must position itself in a unique position so as to meet those needs. Being placed in such privileged position the company will be rewarded and a premium is paid for its uniqueness for the product or service .However the company must try to keep similar costs levels as its competitors so that the cost of uniqueness does not exceed the premium that the customer is prepared to pay. Unlike cost leadership, several firms can follow successful differentiation strategies in the same industrial sector, if the need arises. 3. Focus on market niche This strategy does not select the desired features of a products or services within an industry but concentrates in a specific segment or group, within the whole of the targeted industry, that is, the company seeks to take advantage of a niche market. A company whose strategic advantage is based on having a focus strategy will select its niche and, once this is done it will draw its strategy to provide essentially for the needs of that particular client group and will try to do better than its competitors. The organisation looks for competitive advantage in its own segment, though it does not need an overall competitive advantage. To be successful the company must exploit the under-performance of its competitors in that niche based either on cost or on differentiation. 4. Strengthen customer and supplier intimacies: Information systems facilitate direct access from suppliers to information within the company. Increase switching costs and loyalty to the company, such as, IBM, Amazon.com. Customer and supplier intimacy strategy, use information systems so as, to improve their relationships and loyalty with customers and suppliers as they are both vital to organisations. Improving customer and supplier intimacy is an effective strategy in itself. By making transactions and conditions easier and more user friendly for both customers and suppliers, this will increase the intimacy of the firm vis a vis the customer and supplier. This will offer great incentive to the customer and supplier so as to carry on with in business with the firm. Customer intimacy is a marketing term, which describes the ability of a supplier to become accepted and known as the regular partner with its customer. http://dewiindrianaaaa.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/strengthen-customer-and-supplier.html In the integration of their operations, suppliers are not only being useful, but they reinforces the Customer and Supplier Intimacy, using information systems to create long-term relationship and create brand loyalty with customers and suppliers, including increasing switching costs. Also, there is fierce competition due to similar strategies which also encourages new entrants in the industry. However, the companies gain opportunities for brand building and creating loyal customer base. For example, Thai Airways and Emirates increased customers switching costs and started the collection of airline miles to increase the size of its loyal customers. Each strategy contains a different approach in creating and sustaining a competitive advantage. Therefore, each company has to make a choice about which strategy it will employ. However, a company would not normally be able to utilise differentiation and cost leadership strategies simultaneously. For example, it would be hard to be a cost leader while adopting a differentiation strategy as differentiation costs money. Though by only reducing costs may not adversely affect differentiation, a cost leader will eventually reach a stage when following a cost advantage will eventually result in sacrificing an aim. For Porter, technology is one of the principal driving forces of competition as it plays a significant role in making structural changes to existing industries and also contributes to the creation of new industries. Technological change has had a positive impact on competition, creating new opportunities for competition and plays a vital role in the existing competitive strategy. He further argues that Information Technology and Information Systems are essential as each task creates and uses information. He points out that modern information system technology plays a particularly crucial role, such as in scheduling, controlling, optimizing, measuring and co-ordinating different activities. He also noted that office or administrative technologies, which are often neglected or come under the term of information systems, also play an important role as: Due to the advancement of technology, for many organisations there has been a significant changes in how the office functions, however not many are devoting substantial resources to it. ( Porter, 1985,) A vast amount of Research has been carried out to find out whether money invested by organisations in Information Technology, has helped organisations in achieving their objectives and goals. This type of research is referred to as aligning IT with the corporate objectives. Chan Huff (1983) argue that organisations achieve IT alignment with their corporate objectives through 3 levels of alignment, (1) Awareness (2) Integration and (3) alignment. In a latter study Chan (2001) describes the 3 levels of alignment as strategic alignment viewed as the degree of congruence between Information systems and strategic orientation or strategy. Strategic alignment has two major principles. Firstly, IT strategy should concentrate on external competitiveness instead of internal operations. Secondly, IT influences competitive advantages as it changes the direction or strength of one or more of the forces within Porters model. New technologies and their use change the competitive dynamics of industries which changes the buyers power, suppliers, new entrants, substitute products and existing rivals (Sasidharan et. al., 2006). IT must be aligned in line with the organisations corporate objectives. Most organisations rely heavily on IT to operate their business. Organisations must use IT to achieve their corporate objectives and especially to build, sustain, and extend competitive advantage [Boar 1994]. One of the main criticisms of the Five Forces Model is that it is rather static. Given that it describes the current state of an industry, therefore it would appear unsuitable for our dynamic, in an ever changing and uncertain world. Some economists argue that government is the sixth force in Porters model. The strength of each of those forces serves a separate purpose within the industry structure, which is defined by Porter as the underlying economic and technical characteristics of an industry. The information revolution has had an impact on managements view regarding the role of Information Systems in businesses. In the past it was considered to be only a part of the operating of a business, whereas, now information is highly valued. Information is also seen as a depreciating asset which is to be considered as a resource that the organization could or should use in its business. ( Robson, 1997) Worldwide the concept of doing businesses has undergone major changes, brought about by the use of Internet , for example ,businesses can now attract a significant percentage of potential buyers nationally and globally through social networks websites like Facebook. . By creating a digital market the Internet has linked buyers and sellers (Laudon Laudon, 2005).

Friday, October 25, 2019

Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development: The First Stage Essay

The first stage is called the Sensorimotor stage. It occupies the first two years of a child's life, from birth to 2 years old. It is called the Sensorimotor stage because in it children are occupied with sensing things and moving them. From these activities they learn what makes things happen, what the connections are between actions and their consequences. They learn to grasp and hold and what happens when they let go.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This happens later on in the stage. When they are new-born they have no concept of there being anything else apart from themselves in the world. In fact they think that they are the world. Piaget called this Egocentism; he said that children with this attitude were totally Egocentric. This does not mean that they are just plain selfish; it means that they do...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Biographical Sketch: Kasturba Gandhi Essay

Biographical Sketch: Kasturba Gandhi Kasturba Gandhi was a renowned figure for all of India and was always there to help Mohandas Gandhi out. Kasturba was born on April 11, 1869 to Gokuladas MakharJi, a wealthy business man. She married Mohandas Gandhi in 1882 when she was only 13 years old. At that time she could not read or write because she hadn’t had the proper schooling. Mohandas taught to both read and write and that would come in handy later when she was delivering speeches that led India to its independence. This was also a dangerous move considering the roles and places of India and the caste system. Kasturba and Mohandas had their first child right before Mohandas had to leave for a business trip so Kasturba stayed in India to tend to the child. After the first one they had three more together until in 1906 Mohandas decided to observe brahamacharya and from there on they never had sexual relations. She was very religious minded and broke many barriers in the caste system and also supported her husband in all of his political views. She also had her own view nd spoke out against working conditions in South Africa for Indians which is Just one example of her many times speaking out. She supported hygiene, discipline, reading, and writing to women and children. Kasturba suffered from chronic Bronchitis and the stress on top of that she had tremendous amount of stress during the Quit India Movements arrest also aggravated her illness. She contracted pneumonia but her husband disagreed with the use of penicillin. She died ofa major heart attack on February 22, 1944. Gandhi died in January 30, 1948 after Kasturba and he were married for 62 years

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Bio-Polymer Chemistry Assessment Task

Production of Materials: Chemistry Assessment Task Part A: Biopolymers Definition: The term â€Å"Biopolymer† refers to polymers that are produced by living organisms. Since these are polymers, biopolymers contain monomeric units that are covalently bonded to form larger sructures. Biopolmers are divided up into 3 main classes. These are: Polynucleotides (which include RNA and DNA), Polypeptides ( short polymers of amino acids) and Polysaccharides. Examples of some Biopolymers include: Cellulose, Starch and Proteins. Source: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Biopolymer#Polypeptides Biopolymer: Polylactic acidFormation: PLA is produced from a renewable source. For example corn. Corn is harvested and then milled to extract the starch from the raw materials. From the starch, dextrose is produced. The dextrose is then fermented, transforming into lactic acid. The lactic acid is altered into a polymer by the process of condensation, then forming long chain molecular compounds into pol ylactic acid. The organism is Lactic Acid. Source: http://www. hitachi-pt. com/products/ip/process/pla. html Properties and Uses: Being able to degrade into lactic acid, PLA is used as medical implants in the form of screws, pins, rods and as a mesh.PLA can also be used as a compostable packaging material. Cups and Bags have been made out of PLA. In the form of film, PLA shrinks upon heating allowing it to be used in shrink tunnels. PLA is also useful for producing loose-fill packaging, compost bags and disposable tableware. PLA can also be used in treatment in the body. Depending on the exact type used, it breaks down in the body within 6 months to 2 years. This degredation is desirable for a support structure because it gradually transfers the load to the body as the organ heals.Source: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Polylactic_acid#Manufacturers Assessment: The impact of PLA on the society is that due to the high demand or PLA products from resources such as corn, corn growers ha ve been tampering with the genes of the corn to produce higher yields in order to suffice the demand. Even though PLA is biodegradable it still takes at least three months in a controlled environment to properly break down into it’s components. However it is estimated to take 100 to 1000 years to decompose in landfill.PLA is also from a different origin than regular plastics, therefore it needs to be kept separate when recycling. PLA is an alternative to the common plastic bag or plastic cup since it can be recycled which can be useful to the society. Source: http://www. scientificamerican. com/article. cfm? id=environmental-impact-of-corn-based-plastics Judgement: Even though PLA is an alternative to common plastic due to it being recyclable and biodegradable, PLA still needs to be refined to make it more efficient to produce, be cost effective and to be able to degrade at a much faster rate.Part B: Batteries Sources: Vertex Learning Centre: Book, HSC chemistry, Vertex Learn ing Centre: Book, Production of Materials Section 6 and 7 Button Cell Plastic seal Zinc case Graphite rod Electrolyte Negative terminal Positive terminal Plastic seal Zinc case Graphite rod Electrolyte Negative terminal Positive terminal Leclanche Cell (Dry Cell) Sources: http://www. comf-hk. com/zcart/index. php? main_page=page&id=3&chapter=1 Leclanche Cell diagram- 4. 6 cells and batteries word document By Bernard Broekhuizen