Tanglewood Stores

1. Answering this question demonstrates that processes underlie all of our jobs. What might be surprising is how many students would put their job in the category of â€Å"other,† suggesting that many jobs do not fall neatly into any one functional area. Perhaps many in the â€Å"other† category might best be called â€Å"operations† on further reflection. Customers, both internal and external, are part of each process, and the goal is to manage the processes to add the most value for them. 2. Amazon. com offers a very broad range of services and products at competitive prices.Its competitive priorities would include fast delivery time, on-time delivery, customization, variety and low-cost operations. As a business, Amazon. com is actually assembling a customized basket of goods that must be delivered in a short window of time in a dependable fashion. Low-cost operations are needed to remain competitive. To remain in business, Amazon. com needs to maintain high v olumes of traffic. Operations strategy must focus on stock availability and quick, economical, and dependable delivery. 3.The hospital’s commitment to provide attention to patients arriving to the emergency unit in less than 15 minutes and never to turn away patients who need to be hospitalized implies that the facility must be designed to have extra capacity in both beds and emergency room facilities. It must plan on having extra personnel in the emergency room and also plan on having additional emergency personnel on call to take care of unprecedented heavy loads. In line with the mission statement, maximum utilization of the facilities (i. e. beds and emergency room personnel) would not be one of the performance objectives for the hospital.4. FedEx traditionally has competed on the basis of fast, dependable delivery. Before the boom in Internet applications, many businesses relied on FedEx to get things to other businesses overnight. Now, this need is beginning to diminish as sophisticated systems are being installed to assist companies in planning operations better. And, the internet based companies are adding more demands for low cost ground deliveries to specific customer doors.FedEx, in order to remain competitive with companies such as UPS, has moved into the door-to-door delivery business, perhaps through acquisition. Nonetheless, it will require changes to this company’s competitive priorities. 5. Technology Management. To identify a market segment, we need to determine answers to questions such as: Which colleges and departments currently offer the subject? What do instructors desire in the way of textbook support? Is there a trend toward Technology Management courses? Are there other Technology Management texts? Some needs assessment can be accomplished by survey, but the response rate may be low.A high-investment strategy would be to ask or hire instructors to review and critique a list of topics, then an outline, then a draft. Expli cit services include supplying information about the subject in the form of a textbook and instructor support in the form of ancillary publications. 6. It is often not a good idea for a company to try to excel in all of the competitive priorities because it is generally impossible to do so. Mediocrity is a predictable result. The choice and the minimum level of one or more of the competitive priorities are set by the order qualifiers for the particular product or service.The choice of the competitive priorities that the company should emphasize is usually governed by the company’s strategy driven by its mission statement and the core competencies that the company wants to harness to seek the best competitive advantage. 7. Core processes should link to a firm’s core competencies. Core processes are those processes that provide the firm the best competitive advantage. Essential to the definition a firm’s core processes is the concept of â€Å"interaction costs. à ¢â‚¬  These costs include the time and money that are expended whenever people and companies exchange services, products, or ideas.If the transaction costs are higher to retain a process within the firm’s organization than to outsource the process, the process should be outsourced. 8. Wendy’s assembles hamburgers to order. When materials are held at the stage just before final assembly, they can be used to complete a wide variety of different sandwiches. Because no finished-goods stock exists, when customers say, â€Å"Hold the sauce,† there is no delay or waste of materials. Service clerks specialize. One clerk takes orders and payment. Others fill portions of the order.Orders are processed in single file. Throughput is normally restricted by transactions at the cash register. At busy times, throughput is increased by splitting the bottleneck operation. One clerk takes customer orders, another receives payment. The Wendy’s operation has some characteris tics of assembly. Therefore, the impact of new menu items on the production operations must be carefully considered. 9. Grandmother’s Chicken. a. Kathryn Shoemaker’s strategic plans include the following: Product and service plans: Should the new location offer a new mix?Competitive priorities: If the product mix and service mix are different at the new location, the thrust could be on low volumes and high quality. Quality management: Should the goal be reliability or top quality? Process strategy: What processes will be needed to make chicken dinners in the addition or new facility? New technologies: Is it time to automate? Is this why there is a problem in service times? Capacity: How large should the addition or new facility be? Location: Should we locate in Uniontown or expand in Middlesburg? b. Attitudes toward nutrition could change the demand for chicken.Competitors such as Boston Market may be planning to move to Uniontown or even Middlesburg. There may be a tr end toward demands for ever-faster service, which cannot be supported by the processes specified in the â€Å"unique recipe. † The economy of Uniontown might not be supportive of restaurant services. Shoemaker should also consider the availability of key resources, such as servers, whole chickens, spices, and cooking oil. Will Uniontown labor organize?c. The possible distinctive competencies at Grandmother’s Chicken Restaurant include the â€Å"unique recipe,† the homey atmosphere, and friendly, prompt service. 0. Wild West, is recognizable as US WEST, which was bought out by Qwest in a hostile takeover in June, 2000. But many other â€Å"Baby Bells† are in a similar position. a. Strategic plans include reducing overhead, reengineering operations, and investing in new technologies to meet competition. The â€Å"do-nothing† option of remaining a local monopoly telephone company is not viable because of competition from cable systems and wireless sys tems that are capable of business and personal communication. If the mission is too broad, Wild West should sell its financial services and commercial real-estate businesses.Those businesses do not match their distinctive competencies. b. One environmental issue is whether communication, like health care, will be viewed as a â€Å"right† and therefore should be free. A significant portion of Wild West’s business is governed by regulatory agencies. Customer service in their core business is essential to maintaining a favorable regulatory environment. Other business opportunities, such as manufacturing and providing information services, are prohibited by the same court order that formed the â€Å"Baby Bells† from AT&T. c.Wild West’s distinctive competency is in connecting people (or machines) for the purpose of communication. A weakness is high overhead inherited from the era of telecommunication monopoly. 11. Although the answers may vary depending on the â€Å"niche† elements of the business, the competitive priorities would include on-time delivery, low-cost operations, and customization. The latter competitive priority comes from the capability to assemble unique â€Å"baskets† of food items for each customer. There may be a need to coordinate a given basket between two different stores.Capabilities to develop would include information systems and Web page design, efficient scheduling of delivery trucks (which must first collect the items in the basket and then deliver them to the customer’s door), and an adequate fleet of trucks with drivers. PROBLEMS 1. Boehring University a. Value of output: [pic] Value of input: labor + material + overhead [pic] Multifactor Productivity ratio: Productivity [pic] Compared to Solved problem 1, multifactor productivity has increased from 1. 25 to 1. 76. b. Value of output is the same as in part a: [pic] Labor-hours of input: pic] Productivity ratio: Labor Productivity [pic] The $192 season ticket price is not used in this calculation. It is a â€Å"red herring. † 2. Suds and Duds Laundry a. Labor productivity | |Number of |Input |Output |Output/Input | |Week |Workers |(Labor-hours) |(Shirts) |Ratio | |1 |2 |24 |68 |2. 83 shirts/hour | |2 |2 |46 |130 |2. 83 shirts/hour | |3 |3 |62 |152 |2. 45 shirts/hour | |4 |3 |51 |125 |2. 45 shirts/hour | |5 |2 |45 |131 |2. 91 shirts/hour | b. Output per person does not vary much whether it is Sud, Dud, or Jud working. Productivity declines when all three are present.Perhaps there isn’t enough work to keep three persons occupied, or perhaps there is not enough work space or equipment to accommodate three workers. 3. Compact disc players Value of Output: $300 Value of Input: Labor + Materials + Overhead Productivity [pic] 10% productivity improvement [pic] Given productivity[pic], and the value of output [pic] we solve for the cost of inputs: Productivity [pic] Input [pic] or $136 The cost of inputs must decrease by[pic]. a. A $14 reduction in material costs is [pic] b. A $14 reduction in labor costs is [pic] c. A $14 reduction in overhead is $14/$50 = 28. 00% . The output of a process is valued at $100 per unit. The cost of labor is $50 per hour including benefits. The accounting department provided the following information about the process for the past four weeks: | |Week 1 |Week 2 |Week 3 |Week 4 | |Units Produced |1124 |1310 |1092 |981 | |Total Value |112,400 |131,000 |109,200 |98,100 ||Labor ($) |12,735 |14,842 |10,603 |9526 | |Labor (hrs) |254. 7 |296. 8 |212. 1 |190. 5 | |Material ($) |21,041 |24,523 |20,442 |18,364 | |Overhead ($) |8,992 |10,480 |8,736 |7,848 | |Multifactor Productivity |2. 63 |2. 63 |2. 75 |2. 75 | |Labor Productivity |4. 1 units/hr |4. 41units/hr |5. 15 units/hr |5. 15 units/hr | a. Use the multifactor productivity ratio to see whether recent process improvements had any effect and, if so, when the effect was noticeable. Value of output [pic] Value of i nput: labor + material + overhead $12,735 + $21,041 + $8,992 = $42,768 Productivity ratio: Labor Productivity [pic] Week 1Productivity [pic] Week 2Productivity [pic] Week 3Productivity [pic] Week 4Productivity [pic] [pic] Improved 4. 45% – noticeable in Week 3 b. Has labor productivity changed? Use the labor productivity ratio to support your answer.Labor-hours of input: Labor $50/hour Labor costs Week 1 = $12,735/$50 = 254. 7 Week 2 = $14,842/$50 = 296. 84 Week 3 = $10,603/$50 = 212. 06 Week 4 = $9,526/$50 = 190. 52 Productivity ratio: Labor Productivity [pic] Week 1 = Labor Productivity [pic] Week 2 = Labor Productivity [pic] Week 3 = Labor Productivity [pic] Week 4 = Labor Productivity [pic] [pic] Improved 16. 68% 5. Alyssa’s Custom Cakes a. [pic] [pic] Solve for x = $850/1. 25 = $680 Total costs = $680 Average cost per cake = $680/10 = $68/cake b. Labor productivity Birthday cake = $50/ 1. 5 hours = $33. 30/hourWedding Cake = $150/ 4 hours = $37. 50/hour Specialty Cake = $100/1 hours = $100/hour c. Based on labor productivity, Alyssa should try to sell specialty cakes the most. d. Yes, Alyssa should stop selling birthday cakes. Based on answer a, she loses $68 – $50 = $18 everytime she sells a birthday cake. advanced PROBLEMS 6. Big Black Bird Company The Big Black Bird Company problem is based on a product made by Raven Industries. None of the numbers are representative of actual costs or volume. a. Multifactor Productivity Original Situation: Value of output: [pic] Value of input: [pic]Productivity ratio: Productivity [pic] Overtime Situation: Value of output: [pic] Value of input: [pic] Productivity ratio: Productivity [pic] Productivity decreases by: [pic] b. Labor Productivity Original Situation: Value of output (from part a) is: $500,000 Labor-hours of input: [pic] Labor productivity [pic] Overtime Situation: Value of output (from part a) is: $800,000 Labor-hours of input: [pic] Labor productivity =$800,000 / 7200 hours = $111. 1 1/hours Labor productivity decreases by: (125/111. 11) / 125 x 100% = 11. 1% c. Gross profits Original Situation:[pic]Overtime Situation:[pic] Weekly profits increased. 7. Mack’s Guitar Company a. Labor productivity = output/input Output = 100 guitars x 80% completion rate x price/guitar = 80 guitars/ month x $250/guitar = $20,000 Input Labor = 10/hours per guitar x 100 guitars = 1000 hours Labor productivity is $20,000/1000 = $20/hour Multifactor productivity ratio = output/input Output = 100 guitars x 80% completion rate x price/guitar = 80 guitars/ month x $250/guitar = $20,000 Input Labor = $10/hour x 10/hours per guitar x 100 guitars = $10, 000 Material = $40/guitar x 100 guitars = $4, 000Overhead = $4,000 Multifactor productivity ratio = $20, 000/$18, 000 = 1. 11 b. Option 1. Increase sales price by 10% Output = 100 guitars x 80% completion rate x ($250 x 1. 1) = $22,000 Input Labor is same as in part (a) = $10,000 Material is same as in part (a). = $4,000 Overhead is s ame as in part (a) = $4,000 Multifactor productivity ratio = $22,000/$18,000 = 1. 22 Option 2. Improve Quality Output = 100 guitars x 90% completion rate x $250/guitar = $22,500 Input Labor is same as in part (a) = $10,000 Material is same as in part (a). = $4,000 Overhead is same as in part (a) = $4,000Multifactor productivity ratio = $22,500/$18,000 = 1. 25 Option 3. Reduce costs by 10% Output = same as in part (a) = $20,000 Input Reduce costs by 10% yields 90% of the input costs from part (a). = $18,000 x 0. 90 = $16,200 Multifactor productivity ratio = $20,000/$16,200 = 1. 23 Darren should choose Option 2 and improve quality because it yields the greatest improvement in multifactor productivity. CASE: CHAD’S CREATIVE CONCEPTS* A. Synopsis This case describes a small furniture manufacturing company that has gained a reputation for creative designs and quality by focusing on producing custom-designed furniture.As its reputation grew it began to sell some standard furniture pieces to retail outlets. The overall growth in sales volume and the diversification into the production of standard furniture pieces have caused a number of issues to arise concerning both the internal manufacturing operations and its relationship to the other functional areas of the company. B. Purpose This case is designed to be used as either a â€Å"cold-call† case for class discussion or an assigned homework reading. Major points to be brought out in the discussion include: 1. The range of decisions that are made in designing and operating processes 2.The impact that these operating decisions have on the organization as a whole, such as on marketing and finance 3. The impact that decisions made in other functional areas of the organization have on the operating function 4. The need to go beyond the â€Å"functional silo† mentality and manage in an integrative manner C. Analysis Question 1: What types of decisions must Chad Thomas make daily for his companyâ€℠¢s operations to run effectively? Over the long run? The students should be able to discuss a number of short-term-oriented decisions that are facing Chad Thomas.These should include: a. How to set priorities and schedule different orders. Chad is receiving orders for both custom-made, low-volume furniture pieces and higher-volume, standard pieces. Sales have increased, but the amount of equipment and the production capacity of the company have not. Different orders with different manufacturing requirements are now competing for the same productive capacity. b. What orders to accept and how long of a lead time to plan for in promising a delivery date. c. What type of work policies should be maintained for his employees?Decisions such as the number and type of employees to employ, the number of hours to work per day, and the amount of overtime to allow are all work policy decisions that impact the available capacity level. d. The allocation of resources, equipment, labor, and money t o each product line. e. The level of inventory to maintain at various stages of the production process for both the custom and standard furniture lines (i. e. , raw material, WIP, finished goods). These decisions are linked to the longer-term, total inventory-investment decision.Examples of longer-term decisions that face Chad Thomas include: . Amount of money to tie up in the total inventory investment. b. The type of equipment to invest in to support efficient production. At what point should more specialized equipment be purchased to manufacture high-volume, standard furniture pieces more efficiently? c. What should be the overall workforce level to maintain, and what should be the proper mix of skills and capabilities? d. How should the facilities be laid out to accommodate the two different product lines? This gets the students into a whole range of capacity and equipment allocation decisions including size, type, and configuration.In these decisions it is important that the st udents see the significance of consistency of both strategic and operating decisions across functional areas. Question 2: How did sales and marketing affect operations when they began to sell standard pieces to retail outlets? Standard furniture pieces compete on a different set of competitive priorities than custom-designed pieces. Timely delivery and low costs are much more important than product flexibility. Quality may also be defined differently. The existing facilities are set up to provide flexibility with its job-shop orientation and general-purpose equipment.By introducing a standard line that should be manufactured on a flow line with some dedicated, more specialized equipment, a conflict has developed, and scheduling problems have resulted. Question 3: How has the move to producing standard furniture pieces affected the financial structure of the company? Inventory investment and operating costs are rising because of the frequent changeovers to accommodate the two differe nt product lines and their scheduling conflicts. Profit margins for the standard line are smaller, which puts pressure on manufacturing to increase productivity and reduce costs.There may also be an issue concerning the assignment of overhead costs to each product line. Finally, the potential need to rent warehouse space to store either WIP or finished-goods inventory cuts into the profit margin for the standard furniture line. Question 4: What might Chad Thomas have done differently to help avoid some of these problems? Chad needs to address issues relating to functional areas. Make sure the student is able to identify decisions that relate to more than one functional area. Examples include the following: Operations Function 1. Monitoring capacity and utilization of facilities 2.Formulating inventory policies—dollars, items, and unit levels 3. Setting scheduling policies and priorities 4. Maintaining product line quality Marketing and Sales 1. Accurately forecasting orders f or standard pieces 2. Defining market segments and customer needs 3. Determining what delivery schedules can be promised to customers Finance 1. Deciding level and type of investment 2. Investigating the effect of capacity investment decisions on ROI Distribution/Logistics 1. Managing distribution and pipeline inventory 2. Comparing cost and advantages of various transportation modes 3. Meeting delivery lead timesThree possible avenues that students may focus on are: Thomas might have a. Established a plan for a more controlled growth. Part of this plan would be the development of the appropriate infrastructure to manage a controlled growth as to what markets to enter, what product lines to develop, and how to develop the proper manufacturing capabilities. b. Maintained the company focus on custom-designed furniture only.This alternative presents a whole different set of issues and decisions pertaining to future growth, but it would have avoided the issues of mixed competitive prior ities and scheduling conflicts. . Realized the different requirements for each product line and focused the manufacturing facilities into two separate sets of production facilities designed to cater to each product line’s specific needs. D. Recommendations This case is not designed to be a decision-making case per se but rather a vehicle to get students thinking about the types and the integrated nature of decisions that operations managers face. The students may, indeed, have suggestions as to what should be done to help out Chad Thomas.These recommendations will more than likely follow the alternatives already discussed. As recommendations are provided by students, make sure you push them to understand the implications of their recommendations with respect to the company as a whole and the other functional areas. E. Teaching Strategy This case can be effectively discussed in 20 to 30 minutes by following the discussion questions provided at the end. The questions are interc onnected and somewhat redundant on purpose to reinforce the interrelatedness of decisions made in various functional areas of the company.The intent is to have the students understand the range of decisions that face managers in the operating function and to realize that different types of products competing in different markets place different demands on the operating function. Therefore, productive systems will take on a variety of configurations. Exhibit TN. 1 lays out a sample table to be written on the board displaying important issues in the class discussion. Each column can be used to compare and contrast the differences in the requirements imposed by custom versus standard furniture for each area.|EXHIBIT TN. 1 |Board Plan | |Important Issues |Custom Furniture |Standard Furniture | | | | | |Marketing | | | | | | | |Quality level and quality control | | | | | | | |Process equipment | | | | | | | |Process flow | | | | | | | |Production scheduling system | | | | | | | |Purchasi ng | | | | | | | |Type of inventory and inventory control system| | | | | | | |Type of engineering | | | | | | | |Type of labor and supervision needed | | | | | | | |Wage/reward system | | | | | | | |Layout | | | CASE: BSB, INC. : Pizza Wars Come to Campus * A. Synopsis BSB, Inc. resents the situation where launching a pizza service at a food service operation on a college campus turns out to be very successful. As the manager of the food service operation is contemplating an expansion of the service, an announcement by the university that a new food court will soon be opening in the new student union causes some concern. The new food court will contain, for the first time on campus, other food service companies, including a new Pizza Hut kiosk. This causes the manager of BSB, Inc. to reevaluate the competitive environment and her own competitive priorities.B. Purpose BSB, Inc. provides the students an opportunity to discuss a number of strategically focused issues to include the fo llowing: 1. Mission statements: Mission statements describe the fundamental purpose for which the organization exists. The university decided that a focus on food service operations was not part of its primary mission, so it contracted the service out to BSB, Inc. Students should be able to describe a mission statement for BSB, Inc. This statement will help in discussing the second major focus of this case. 2.Comparison of competitive priorities: When the pizza service was launched a year ago, the competitive priorities were to expand the product line to offer pizza that could be delivered quickly at a reasonable price. Costs were kept low, and turnaround time was short due to the limited combination of toppings available. With the addition of the food court and Pizza Hut on campus, competitive priorities may change. Delivery may still be a differentiating competitive priority, but product flexibility (variety) and volume flexibility (large order sizes) may become more important. BS B, Inc. ay not be able to compete on low cost when compared to Pizza Hut’s operations. 3. The impact changing competitive priorities has on operating decisions: Students need to discuss the potential impact that different competitive priorities have on process design and operating systems. If product flexibility and volume flexibility become more important, then there are implications for: a. Equipment needs—conventional oven versus continuous chain drive b. Capacity requirements—order size and delivery cycle c. Inventory issues—inventory needed to support product flexibility 4. Product life cycles: Demand for pizza on campus has leveled off.Why? Has it reached its mature, steady state? What will be the impact of new competition? What can be done to reposition pizza into a growth stage? These are questions that should be asked of students to get them to think about pizza’s product life cycle. C. Analysis A good analysis of the situation can be perf ormed by going through the five questions at the end of the case. The following is what you can expect from a first-year MBA student given the case as a take-home assignment to read and to respond to the questions at the end. Question 1: Does BSB, Inc. enjoy any competitive advantages or distinctive competencies?BSB’s competitive advantage is close proximity to the customers. Though 43 percent of meals are eaten off campus, 57 percent of meals are still eaten at BSB’s facilities. For pizza delivery the close proximity is critical, as it allows for quicker delivery. In addition, delivery can be done at a lower cost because bikes can be used. BSB’s distinctive competencies are the location of facilities and market know-how. Being on campus, BSB can provide delivery service quicker and at a lower cost. In addition, by being on campus, BSB is closer to the customer base, which allows Kershaw, the manager, to be more knowledgeable of her customer’s needs.She e mploys environmental scanning, such as the customer surveys, to keep abreast of her market. Question 2: Initially, how did Renee Kershaw choose to compete with her pizza operations? What were her competitive priorities? Initially, Kershaw chose to compete on delivery service and price. She used quick delivery as a key selling point. In addition, without a reasonable price, she could not compete with the off-campus pizza companies. In effect, her order qualifier was price, and her order winner was service.Her initial competitive priorities for pizza were delivery speed and price. Her on-campus location and limited standard toppings make these priorities possible. Unfortunately, this policy limits the variety of pizzas available. The increased requests for additional topping combinations and the leveling of sales suggest this policy may be hurting BSB. Question 3: What impact will the new food court have on Kershaw’s pizza operations? What competitive priorities might she choos e to focus on now? The new food court introduces new competition that has the same on-campus advantage as BSB.In addition, these companies can also provide products at reasonable prices, but unlike BSB, they have brand names. Her direct competitor, Pizza Hut, can probably provide a similar price. Most likely Pizza Hut will also have limited varieties; however, BSB still maintains its delivery advantage. The most likely new competitive priorities for BSB will be expanded product variety and longer service hours. The increased requests for alternate toppings show a customer interest in variety, and the expanded hours will enable BSB to offer service when the Pizza Hut is closed or when students are in their dorm rooms.Question 4: If Kershaw were to change the competitive priorities for the pizza operation, what are the gaps between the priorities and capabilities of her process? How might this impact her operating processes and capacity decisions? An increase in product variety will a ffect both service and cost. Kershaw probably cannot have as many premade pizzas ready to throw into the oven. She will also need to stock additional toppings. If she wants to maintain service, she will need to hire additional workers. She will inevitably have some trade-off between service and price if she adds product variety.Kershaw will also need to add capacity. At present, she is near capacity with her pizza ovens. She may even have to consider a new location, as there seems to be limited space at the grill location. Clearly she will need to determine the viability of pizza service before she takes this step. Question 5: Can you outline a service strategy for Kershaw’s operation on campus? If she chooses to stay in the pizza business, delivery will remain important. Food, most likely pizza, delivered from off campus, is a significant competitor. These competitive companies likely offer many pizza combinations.Therefore, BSB will need to increase variety to remain compet itive. The key to this strategy is to maintain quality and to innovate on product offerings. Kershaw must use her proximity to the customer to maintain her competitive advantage in determining their pizza delivery needs. The other strategy would be total price competition. This would require her to keep the limited menu and to push to keep costs at a bare minimum. Unfortunately this means maintaining the same basic strategy she has now. However, this strategy will most likely lead to an inevitable decline in market share.This strategy seems best if she decides to exit the market, but it gives her the opportunity to milk the market before exiting. In reviewing the student responses the instructor should note the following: 1. On question three, the student overlooks the continued importance of convenient, quick delivery. The other food services do not provide this service. 2. Students tend to hedge on question five. They should be pressured into putting together a service strategy as opposed to describing alternative choices only. There are a number of positions Kershaw may take.What is important, however, is to look for consistency in the strategies that students provide. D. Teaching Strategy This case is best assigned as a take-home assignment. Have the students focus on responding to the questions at the end of the case. Tell them to pay particular attention to the last question. The first four questions all lead up to the last one where students should describe a service strategy for pizza operations of BSB, Inc. Tell students you want them to settle on a specific strategy they can support. In class, start with the first question and cycle through to the final question, which describes their service strategies.It is helpful to try to get two or three different strategies on the board to compare and contrast approaches. It is important that students see that there are a number of good alternative strategies and not just one best one. A thorough discussion of this case will take 45 minutes to an hour, especially if alternative strategies are discussed. *This case was prepared by Dr. Brooke Saladin, Wake Forest University, as a basis for classroom discussion. *This case was prepared by Dr. Brooke Saladin, Wake Forest University, as a basis for classroom discussion.

Over Reliance on Technology Essay

It’s 2010 and the human species as we know is in a monumental technological crossroads. Globally, we have defined the age of technological and industrial growth. As a whole our society has always been improving on all of the technological inventions to provide the general public with seamless automated and convenient applications to our personal and work life. In the age of pin size microchips and artificial intelligence the sky is the limit to our advancement of faster and more integrated technology. We as a society have embraced all of the new technological advancements and have integrated it throughout all aspects of human life. This over reliance on technology has taken away an aspect of human interaction that is vital to the way we have conducted ourselves in the past. It brings up many questions about the role technology is playing in our everyday lives. We seem to be on the constant search for ways that reduce the time worked. I-phones, Blackberry and other communication devices are always getting faster and more integrated. Specifically, the I-phone has applications that can be downloaded pertaining to just about anything. There is an application that can be downloaded that connects your I-phone to your house’s burglar alarm as well an application that can cipher passwords for alarm systems as well. Yes, I agree that this is the direction we have been catapulted in and it seems like there is not a safety net for us. Reliance on technology simply means that our personal world cannot function without the use of technological devices. According to a study done by National Public Radio, 68% of Americans say that they use a computer on the job. Of those 68%, 84% say that the use of a computer is crucial to their job being completed. (Mcphilson) A great example showing how technological advancements have taken away the human interactive experience involves the insurance industry. According to an article by Ara C Trembly, he explains how new customer service technology implemented by the major insurance companies across the United States has failed to live up to the satisfaction of the majority of these companies clients. He states â€Å"For example, at the beginning of this decade. Customer relationship management (CRM) technology was all the rage in insurance circles with carriers falling over each other trying to get (CRM) systems  implemented within there companies. As many now know, (CRM) was-on balance- a colossal flop in the insurance industry. It was a fully automated system that led clients through a corn maze of automated directions for the client. This idea was not accepted by the customers as a whole. It caused great confusion and landed most of the companies in hot water with there clients.† (Trembly) The main reason for the (CRM) failure was the lack of guidance for the clients and not being able to connect to a live representative in a timely manner to discuss there financial inquiries. The program was doomed from the beginning. What the insurance industry failed to realize was that the same visceral human interactive experience that secured the clients in the first place was being replaced with a robotic voice that cannot be spoken to. The public in general rejected this technological advancement due to a lack of human interaction. Further defending the viewpoint that over reliance on technology can be detrimental, an article by Shankar Vedantam explains what he describes as the â€Å"automation paradox†. He shows how disaster may erupt from over reliance on technology meant to minimize human error. Although, mainly addressing automated systems such as cruise control, he cites a cruise ship accident in which crewmembers were so trusting of their GPS that when the device accidently disconnected, the crew did not notice and simply followed the emergency plan route. He says â€Å"The problem is when individuals start to over trust or become complacent and put too much emphasis on the automation.† (Marcellus) It shows how we have become so reliant on technology especially, GPS, that we are not trained to detect if the information being relayed to the transmitter is correct or not. Back in the old maritime days before GPS and radar were available the captains and crew of all of the big ocean liners were well versed in charting maps, currents and reading compasses. The innovation of radar and sonar helped the skippers chart there courses more precisely. The invention of GPS basically allowed for complete course charts with limited crew interface. The GPS program would chart, estimate  fuel consumption and engage in autopilot so the duties of the maritime crews changed. The training is now eased with the use of computers and GPS. The real math calculations and degree settings that the crew would work as a team to produce is now being produced in seconds, not always correct I may add by a microchip and satellite. Humans are regressing in education and knowledge due to the over reliance on computers and technology. We seem to be embracing all of these technological advances without fully understanding the long term ramifications of this decision. We are constantly seeking out short term gains and improvements without really taking into consideration the whole big picture for future generations. As the absolute most vital connector we own, our computer as a tool is an amazingly useful aid. It has helped architects and engineers design and provide more reliable, interesting structures and buildings. It has allowed us to split atoms and categorize the human genome. Completely take the guesswork out of business intelligence and product demand curves. It even allows us to exchange money in the form of bits and bytes instead of actual paper money changing hands. As a foundation for an important economic pillar in our country we may heading for trouble. It is well known in the IT community that any computer can be hacked into. A question arises with amount of trust that you should put into this technology knowing that at any moment your computer could compromised by hackers and wrongdoers. We as a society have reached our capacity on our electrical grids. Being so reliant on electricity to run all of our new technological devices it sounds like a rather simple idea on how to bring down a modern day society. Cut the electric off. Talk about being thrown back into the early 1800’s real quick. As our thirst for electricity increases and our infrastructure fails to keep pace with demand we will be ultimately be forced to live like the pre-electric 1800’s era people. We as species have become very sedentary and non motile with all of our technological devices that make our lives easier but less interactive. The price we pay as a society will be enormous. Instead of trying to make our lives easier we should be developing ways to make the species as a whole more adaptative to new technology without losing the human interaction. (Technology Reliance) Maybe when it is all said and done we should have taken some meaningful advise from our Amish brother and sisters. According to an article by James Surowiecki of Technology Review â€Å"Amish people are less likely to have depression and are consistently happier than the rest of society. This is partly due to the strong community ties ,stable families and unchanging faith. Not believing in modern technology such as the Amish people believe made for reliance on there fellow man instead of a Blackberry. Towns would get together and build houses for the residents and providing what was needed to maintain a fruitful happy life. (Surowiecki) The Amish people make for a strong argument that technology does not have to be over relied upon. In conclusion, technology as we know and understand it is always compounding on itself. We as a society need to embrace the advancements of our great inventors but never forget the process it took to get that point. Technology without education is pointless. We can overcome this dilemma by not letting education standards go by the wayside while our technology races to infinity. Works Cited Page Marcellus, Jill. â€Å"Misled by GPS, Careless Drivers Reveal Dangers of Over-Reliance on Technology.† 30 July 2009. finding Dulcinea. . Mcphilson, Susan. National Public Radio. 28 July 2010. . Surowiecki, James. Technological Reveiw (2010). Technology Reliance. 6 July 2010. Trembly, Ara C. â€Å"Over Reliance on Technology is an Ever-Present Danger.† 18 August 2009: 2.

This essay needs to be revised by grammar Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

This needs to be revised by grammar - Essay Example In his work â€Å"Animal Rights vs. Human Rights,† Edwin Locke declares that only creatures that possess the capability of thinking, reasoning and the capacity of making choices have rights. (1) He thus makes his stand very clear against the rights of animals. On the other hand, this viewpoint is strongly opposed by Tom Regan, who is a famous philosopher providing arguments for the provision of rights to the animals. In his work, â€Å"The Rights of Humans and Other Animals,† Tom Regan points out a few characteristics for having rights which mainly include rational autonomy and sentience. (17) However Regan gives up on rational autonomy shortly and opposes with Locke. The other controversy that exists between Regan and Locke is the point that whether animals have a moral community like humans or they do not form. To search for a link between characteristics and rights can be classified as not being moral and neither is it a respectful behavior towards other beings. To s tart with, rational autonomy is the capability of thinking, reasoning and making choices. By rational autonomy creatures have the capacity to decide the consequences of their actions. Locke claims that animals do not need rights owing to the fact that they do not reason and nor do they take decisions which will have an effect on their lives. Also, he argues that animals are instinctual and do not have the capacity of thinking as humans. Thus there is no strong justification according to Locke for the provision of rights to animals. On the other hand Regan argues that animals are not instinctual, they are living creatures and are capable of thinking just like humans. However, it is very clearly known that not all of the animals have rational autonomy and the same implies for humans as some of them also do not possess rational autonomy. If only creatures that can think or reason and make choices have the rights (Locke 1) then too many people and animals will be excluded from this grou p. Thus rational autonomy cannot be a criterion of having rights. Regan analyzes this problem and hence disapproves with Locke’s point of view. Locke asserts that rights are vital for humans, because the rational autonomy of human beings is the key element to lead a better life. Human beings need to think and make choices for choosing a path to live their lives. Locke claims that humans need rights for protecting their thoughts and themselves from other people. Thus he asserts that as long as animals are not rational they do not need rights for protecting themselves. In opposition to the justification of Locke, some animals which include dolphins, pigs are more intelligent than infants as well as mentally handicapped people. Regan argues that if rational autonomy is a criterion then these human beings would also be left out and they would also be excluded from the group of people who should be granted rights. Regan then expresses that sentience is an important characteristic for having rights. Having sentience is ability to feel pain and pleasure. By the implication of sentience as a measure for the provision of rights, all human beings irrespective of their mental state would have the approval of being granted rights. At the same time, the quality of sentience would make animals and humans equal as both of them possess the capability of sensing pain or pleasure and hence they would both deserve rights in an equal manner.

Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Marketing - Assignment Example The spa will offer massage in different variety of styles including traditional massage, deep tissue work, hot stone massage, pregnancy, reflexology, sports and others. (Bplans, 2010). Treatments on body and face using the best products such as Pevonia’s Anti Free Radical Treatment a...... Turnover will be a major consideration in formulating which marketing strategies to be used. Their type and their numbers are also equally important so as to bring a variety of the products to fit in the various types of customers. It will target potential clients both male and female within ten mile radius within our location at a busy plaza in the city. Both individual employees/self employed and non employed employees are also placed in the plan. In order to acquire clients, the spas will implement a very aggressive marketing and networking in the business community through advertising in the media and going to the business premises to carry out presentations, followed by offering the best services in the health spa business. Skilled therapists and trainers include the personnel. Their prices are also competitive in the area so will give a better financial advantage. Pricing approach includes; penetration pricing, promotional pricing and premium pricing. Penetration pricing is nor mally put first and includes setting the prices very low to gain market share. Promotional pricing comes in order to enable the business to buy for long term. Premium pricing will be used lastly which involves setting a very high price of the unique product to gain competitive advantage from the other competitors in the market. Social sites like face book, twitter, you\tube will be of great marketing help, and also in the company’s website. Sales promotion using short term incentives to encourage business to respond and undertake some activity and personal contact between Bodywise Health spa and prospective business clients through face to face meetings and tele-marketing will help maintain they spas competitive edge. The success of the business is

Critically appraise the impact that transformational leadership can Assignment

Critically appraise the impact that transformational leadership can have on organizations and society - Assignment Example Transactional leaders work within and with the rules and norms that already exist in the organization, while transformational leaders in comparison are those who ‘transform’ their organizational culture and align it with values and norms that are essential to be more effective. Transformational leaders have been characterized as having four components; idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration. Transformational leaders use these four tools to transform their organizational culture into one that is most conducive to growth and advancement. Transformational leaders who work thus, and exhibit a sense of vision and purpose are more likely to be found in organizations that cherish innovation and progress. They align their subordinates with the goals of the organization and its culture and are most likely to foster creativity than support a culture with a status quo (Bass 1991; Gardiner 2006). Organizational cultur e and leadership will forever remain interconnected. Leaders are the ones who develop the organization’s culture and strengthen its norms and beliefs. The culture thus takes shape according to what the leader concentrates on, and this is what the subordinates are taught to follow by their leaders. But it is not only the leader who affects culture, organization cultures are often as impacting of their leaders as well. For example, it can influence how decision making is done by top management regarding concerns like hiring new employees and placing them within the organization etcetera. In accordance with the evolutionary process of an organization, the leader must change the culture to suit the organization’s needs. In order to maintain change while incurring the least resistance, the leader must not completely let go of the initial culture. The past should be referred back to for inspiration and the understanding of core strategies that must be maintained in the futur e. Changes should however, reinforce innovation so that the organizational culture is aligned for present and future need (Gardner, J. 1990; Avolio et al 1991). Organizational culture styles can also be categorized into two separate categories, according to the leadership style of the leader at the helm of the organization. Theoretically, if the leader is transactional, then the culture is also transactional and if the leader is transformational, then the culture is also transformational (Gardner, J. 1990). However, in reality organizational cultures posses some aspects of both types of cultures and the trick really, is to make a conscious movie towards a transformational culture by incorporating more and more transformational aspects while still maintaining the much needed structural transactional aspects (Simola et al 2010). A transformational culture can be characterized by a sense of purpose and unity. In such cultures, commitments are made for the longer run. The top management and the consequent subordinate levels have a certain level of interdependence and mutual goals. In such cultures, management goes beyond what is required to further their self interest to do what is good for the collective wellbeing of the organization. Top management acts as mentors for subordinate management levels, the norms are flexible and adapt to the changes in the organization’s external environment and due importance is given to the organization’

Mangment 3000 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mangment 3000 - Research Paper Example What is even more interesting is the fact that EI has received its due place within different literature subjects and also been termed as an applicable entity in a number of domains and applications (Sala 2006). The first usage of the term EI is accredited on the shoulders of Wayne Payne as he brought the philosophy of emotional intelligence in front of everyone through his doctoral thesis. Indeed this formed the basis for eventual growth and development within this very field and thus many researchers and theorists started to work individually to find out more and more about the manner in which emotions brought about a significant change within people’s personalities. I have supported the basis of EI because it has been based on the earliest works of Darwin and hence there is solid evidence available which manifests its genuineness. The emotional intelligence domains suggest the emotional expression which are required for an individual’s survival and his adaptation with the environment of which he is a part. The non-cognitive concepts have been given significance with the passage of time under the aegis of EI and this is indeed a very important basis for comprehending where the success domains have cropped up from in the recent times. The three main models of EI include the ability EI models, the mixed models and lastly the trait EI models. The ability-based model is used to decipher the ability to consume the emotional basis as well as mix together the emotional side with the thought process, which in return makes the whole domain of emotions understandable and helps in growth and development of an individual over a period of time (Nelson 2007). The mixed models of EI take care of the emotional competencies (Goleman) model and the bar-on model of emotional-social intelligence (ESI). Similarly, the trait EI model is a combination of emotions which are boxed within self perceptions; however the same are situated within

Critical thinking Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Critical thinking - Case Study Example The bid is recorded as â€Å"one of the shock and exasperation† that could only bring jubilation among the small bid team from the tiny Gulf state that had travelled to Switzerland.    The success of the bid brought with it a mired of questions from the potential counterparts who could not make it. First was the manner in which it could have succeeded with the vast representation of big countries in the committee. The capacity to host an event of such magnitude and their inexistence in the football arena was questionable. The country itself has very hash temperatures, which could not favor any tournament of this kind. It was evident that high profile and highly influential figures like The UEFA president Michel Platini had voiced their opposition to the notion. He said, â€Å"You cannot possibly play football in Qatar.† (YANKS ABROAD 2013) One of the executive committee members Mr. Franz Beckenbauer stated, â€Å"One should think about a different solution.† It was more evident that there were some hidden tactics behind the bid when a number of senior FIFA officials with the inclusion of Qatar head of the Asian Football Confederation, Mr. Mohammed bin Hammam were suspended as a result of questioning the legitimacy of Qatar wining the bid. There are also concerns raised on the country’s commitment to Sharia law, which does not support homosexuality and the questionable human rights records. The case has been viewed as a possible reaction from the looser of the bid that controls the huge numbers of football fans in the aim to water down the tournament and get a revote. This is possible because they have millions on internet users. The temperatures were viewed to be attainable through control but would cost the country billions of cash higher that the expenses used in the South African tournament. On the bribery case, FIFA President exclaimed, â€Å"we are anxiously