Challenges Facing the Development of Social Enterprises in China Essay

Challenges Facing the Development of Social Enterprises in China - Essay Example This essay stresses that the development of the social enterprises is hindered by the challenges regarding attracting, retaining, and developing talents. With the social enterprise sector being young compared to other countries across the world, they can only achieve growth by ensuring that new ideas are refined in order to create growth opportunities to the enterprises. Many of the multinational organizations have been able to thrive in the markets because they have experienced workforce which is able to guide the rest of the subordinates. However, in China, the social enterprises are young. Therefore, the managers do not have the necessary skills to guide the young generation working in these enterprises on how to nurture their talents in order to make a difference in the organization. This report makes a conclusion that The complexity of registering a social enterprise has made it hard for them to expand to other areas, an aspect that would enable them to increase the number of beneficiaries. Many of these enterprises are located in urban areas. With lack of support from the government and many registration hurdles, the enterprises have been unable to open up various subsidiaries in the rural areas in order to help more people. In addition, constant internal wrangles regarding the best places to establish these branches have been affecting the progress of these institutions in China. The reason is that there are no effective internal mechanisms to solve these issues.

Case Study The Samosa Company Marketing Essay

Case Study The Samosa Company Marketing Essay The Samosa company was conceived by the three founders Jake, Neeytantee and Naynesh Karia. Our vision was to recreate authentic true to origin hand made delicacies. We had realised that the market had become complacent and that quality and authenticity had compromised. It had been the diligent pursuit of these qualities that has made The Samosa Company so famous and successful today. The constant research by the new product development team ensures that we stay one step ahead and being a family run business we are able to adapt and react to market demands and act upon our customers requirements swiftly. Servicing comes to the finest establishment we have a selection that is both authentic and contemporary. Our kitchen adhere to the most rigorous of standards and our staff is trained to the highest level. Through the vigilance of the quality assured team the standard never falters and the quality is always consistent. The kitchens are located in the heart of the midlands and it is entirely manned by people sharing a passion for creating food that is beyond expectation. Our products are available throughout the United Kingdom and soon Europe. All are frozen and do not need to be defrosted before cooking. The Samosa Company set out to emulate a modern day imperial banquet. Setting out to explore much of the far eastern cuisine and reproduce it for your delectation. Producing some of the most common delicacies found at the oriental buffet table we have flavours that are very distant but instructive, paramount to this style of cooking. With opulent flavours. With opulent flavours originating from the Thai style to the unobtusive but highly delicious Chinese style we have tried to create a range that would any respectable restaurant or buffet table proud. Multi Food Industries is a leading manufacturer and exporter of Frozen Ethnic Asian Foods (Ready to Cook, Heat Eat, Bake Eat Frozen Foods). These consist of Asian Flat bread, Frozen Naan, samosa, spring roll, puff patties, pastry and a wide variety of similar but great tasting products. We are an ISO 9001:2000 and HACCP certified company. We export to USA, Canada, and all over Europe. We produce under private label as well as in our own brand named Prime-Harvest Mazedar. All our products are in attractive multilingual packing (French, English, Arabic). We would be glad if you can go over our website www.multifoodindustries.com for further information. Product pricing is one of those aspects of the marketing plan that is neglected- in some plans it is completely absent! The reason for this stems from thefact that all other aspects of marketing can be easily identified and quantifiedwhereas pricing is more of an art than a science. The product pricing issues that face any company are verycomplex in nature due to the numerous variables that have to be consideredbefore understanding pricing parameters. A company may have two objectives in its pricing policy. One may be to increasemarket share the other to increase profitability. It is NOT possible toachieve both objectives simultaneously. We will now consider the factors that should be taken intoaccount when trying to resolve the question of whether the business should tryto gain market share or increase profitability. Objectives and the product portfolio Every business should have a series of objectives relating to sales, profits,market share and return on capital. The business objectives might be such thatit calls for short term profits. However, the business owner should be consciousthat any decision made only for short term profitability will impact the longterm survival of the business. This is especially true if pricing decisions aremade in an ad-hoc manner it is probable that the goodwill that the company hasgenerated with its customers will be destroyed due to unreasonably high prices. The setting of marketing objectives for any particular product is thereforewithout doubt the starting point in any consideration of pricing. Product life cycle According to the product life cycle a product passes through 4stages, they are: Introduction: Product has been just introduced to the market so the price will typically be at the higher end; Growth: this is the stage in which a products sales increases rapidly price is set high at the growth phase to skim the market; Maturity saturation: Here the product reached optimal sales and plateaus out price is gradually reduced to maintain market share and meet the threat of competition; Decline: The product ceases to be popular due to a variety of reasons and decline sets in price cutting is in full swing to make sure that all inventory is exhausted before market demand runs out, a type of harvesting the market. The importance of the product life cycle in pricing cannot beunderstated. Obviously the pricing strategies at the different stages shoulddiffer to ensure that profits are maximized. Product Positioning The term product positioning has already been explained. It is avery important concept in setting the price of the product. It is clearly veryfoolish to position a product as a high quality exclusive item, and then priceit too low. Price is one of the clearest signals that the customer has aboutthe value of the product being offered. So there should always be a sensiblerelationship between the product and the price. Competition and potential competition Although the product has been well positioned there will alwaysbe competitors and it goes without saying that the threat of the competitionshould be carefully considered. In a situation of high competition it isimportant to note that competing purely on price is counter productive. Thebusiness should consider all elements of the marketing mix and how they interactto create demand and value for the product should be considered in setting theoverall competing strategy. Some firms launch new products at high prices only to find thatthey have made the market attractive to competitors who will launch similarproducts at much lower prices. A lower launch price might make diffusion in themarket quicker and allow for greater experience and the margin for a competitorto enter the market will be reduced.

Sikh Religion Essay -- essays research papers

The movie that I chose to do this report on is titled, ‘Bend it Like Beckham.’ It is about a Sikh girl who is being raised in England. This girl is confronted with a lot of issues pertaining to her culture and religion and how these both clash with the culture of England. She wants to do things that her fellow colleagues are doing, but is not allowed due to her parent’s strict respect of their religion. In the following pages, I will first explain the significance of the man on the wall in the picture. Then I will move on to cultural issues and their significance with the marriage scenes. The last section will discuss the overall reason for Jess not being able to play soccer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sikhism is a religion that was started by a man named Guru Nanak Dev around 500 years ago. He wanted to spread a simple message; â€Å"we are all one, created by the one creator of all creation.† During this time India was being split up by differing religions. He simply took no sides, yet respected them all. This is who is in the picture that resides above the mantle. He is considered the first and most important of the ten Gurus. In researching the culture of the Sikhs, I found that they treat these Gurus as Christians would treat saints. (sikhs.org) As Catholics pray to certain saints for certain things, the Sikhs do the same with their Gurus. Whenever they feel they need the help or guidance of one of the Gurus, they simply pray to them. As well as praying to these Gurus, th...

Behavioral Science

The article â€Å"Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Early Parental Employment on Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth†, Elizabeth Harvey continues the exploration of an enduringly contentious subject. She walks us through findings reported by six different studies. The researchers performing those studies based their findings on the same data set taken from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY).Elizabeth made reference throughout the article of the widely differing results these six studies presented. No one study agreed in whole with any of the others. Elizabeth attributed this to the fact that the data taken was widely varied and the approaches were also diverse. She took these studies into account and proceeded to perform her own investigation. In her analysis, Elizabeth was able to incorporate inconsistencies found in previous studies and was also able to use more recent data to validate or void these results.Using factors such as income, age, IQ and hours worked in a day brought no conclusive figures. Elizabeth was only able to come up with slight variations and consistencies. Two of the more prominent results were: 1) â€Å"Early parental employment appeared to be somewhat more beneficial for single mothers and lower income families. † And 2) â€Å"There was some support for the hypothesis that early parental employment positively affects children’s development by increasing family income.† If a broad view is taken of these studies, children are not any more or less likely to develop negative or positive traits based on whether their parents employment status. Children have rarely been well defined by statistics. While this study certainly has its merits, specific details not included would make it difficult to attach mental and cognitive development to parental use of day care. One such detail was suggested in the article.The quality of care provided would most certainly have an impact on any chil d’s development. A nurturing environment would allow a child to flourish and be successful while a hostile atmosphere would produce opposite results. Another factor would be the involvement of the parents in the child’s development. If a child is in attendance at day care all day and comes home to a parent who is attentive and interactive in a positive way, there is a better chance that child will know mental and cognitive advancement.A third factor addressed generally in the article deals with the age of the child when they enter into a day care situation. It is widely known infants go through an attachment phase through their first year of life. After the successful completion of this phase, infants are more prepared to enter into social settings when they are older. On the same note, children who are enrolled after their second or third year are better equipped to handle adjusting to time away from their parents as well as interacting with other children their same age.Discoveries made through this existing data offer insight to parents and care givers alike. Making information like this available permits them to make the best decision possible for their families, loved ones and for themselves. While many of the facts are still imprecise, further research will produce additional insights. Works Cited Harvey, Elizabeth. â€Å"Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Early Parental Employment on Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. † Developmental Psychology 35. 2 (1999): 445-459. Behavioral science Family violence is used to refer to the many forms of abuse or mistreatment or neglect that adults or children face within the family setting. Lately more focus is put on the groups that are victimized. Child abuse and spousal abuse are most emphasized areas. It is not definite how family violence is widespread as in most cases it remains untold. Spousal abuse is a major type of family violence. It entails any form of maltreatment of a woman or a man by their partners.There are different forms of spousal abuse and they include physical abuse, which includes any physical force meted on the person, sexual abuse which could be inform of degrading where one can withhold finances required for necessities, stealing or using fraudulent means to take the partners finances. Spiritual abuse can also be used whereby one is denied the freedom of worship or engaging in spiritual or religious activities. Most causes of spousal abuse go unreported, as partners are less willing to see the abusers pu nished. Most believe that using the criminal justice system will not suffice.They also fail to trust that the system will protect them. Males and females get the same exposure to spousal abuse. Males are less likely to report their condition than females. The consequences of spousal abuse affect the physical, mental health and emotional aspects one’s self esteem is reduced and their self-efficacy and worth consequently declines. Spousal abuse affects children growth in the homes where it occurs. It instills fear and hinders their reasoning ability. Spousal abuse can ensure a circular link whereby those who are abused maintain the cycle.Death for the abused person is the ultimate solution of those who are abused. Abused spouses undergo extra costs in terms of medical and health costs. Partners used in the process of ensuring the reduction of spousal abuse include lawyers, psychologists, police, social workers and those who work with battered spouses. These parties work incorpo ration with the government of the day to ensure that family violence comes to a stop. A major government role in ensuring that this aim is reached is to strengthen the criminal system so that people shy away from committing such claims for fear of the punishment.Ways of enforcing the government is increasing the penalties and ensuring privacy and confidentiality of those who report violent cases. (Holden, pp320) To tackle spousal abuse the victims need to report the acts. The police tact is required so that justice prevails when responsible abusers are arrested. Police protection will ensure that abused people come and report their cases with a tactful police force. Justice will prevail when they are arrested and taken to authorities. Public education will be a necessary step to ensure that spousal abuse is addressed.It sensitizes the public about their rights and how they can fight exploitation by their spouses. Organizations dealing with battered spouses will help them heal from t he wounds caused by the abuse. Dissemination of information about people’s right and access to services that facilitate reduced abuse can be through publications. The governments of respective countries should increase their funding to projects that are geared towards eradication of family violence especially spousal abuse. (http://www. justice. gc. ca/en/ps/fm/spouseafs. html). The police ensure that the country abides the laws of the day.They allow promotion of respect for the rights and freedoms. Live free is an organization that deals with battered spouses. It acknowledges the importance of awareness in preventing and reducing family violence especially spousal abuse. It helps members of society understand the causes of the abuse and the forms by which it occurs. It also gives people a clear picture of the effects of family violence to the society at large. It sensitizes people of how the abuse can be stopped. It assists victims understand how denial and isolation promote s the vice.The organization harbors victims of spousal abuse where it offers the basic needs and counseling services. Those who undergo their program are changed by it eventually. Their perception about abuse and their rights enable the halting of such abuse. It ensures support and safety for the victims and instills in the minds of ‘survivors’ that only them are accountable for stopping their violence. Inside the organization, social network groups are formed and through sharing experiences protection of members is sustained. (Tan et al, pp444) Inadequate resources to fund the projects are a major challenge for the organization.The demand or needs of their services are increasing overwhelming and this hinders their efficiency. Battered immigrant women face challenges in seeking their services. Language barriers, fear of deportation and mistrust of the government hinder them from accessing ‘Live Free’ services. It has succeeded in offering shelter for the a bused spouses in society. It gives them a new lease of life where they are able to understand and end abuse. This is done through informative presentations or skills performed before officials like law enforcement and service providers.The organization uses art, music and fun in promoting awareness about family violence. It offers training for leaders to equip them with information and skills geared towards eradicating family violence. It has succeeded in ensuring people’s perception has changed. The judicial system has incorporated some guidelines aired by Live Free organization. It has also promoted leadership and empowerment development. Another problem faced is that some members in society may be unwilling to accept the organizations point of view. The police are influential in a country’s legal institutional context.Police intervention on family violence is highly dependent on the people’s willingness to report the matters to them. The society determines wh at is crime and people will report family violence to the police if they consider it a crime. Police efforts of combating spousal abuse are negatively affected by women’s attitudes. Sometimes women are ashamed of reporting incidences of violence. At other times they fear what will befall them after authorities handle their abusers. Fear of own victimization will hinder a woman from reporting a rape incidence.There is a high tendency of women understanding of violence and they try to justify their husband’s actions. Notions used to justify violence against them include jealously, alcohol influence or hardships like unemployment or stressful work. (E. G et al, pp320) The police have succeeded in rescuing victims of spousal abuse who almost got killed. These incidences give the police joy as they save lives. The core purpose of the police in handling this problem is arresting culprits and ensuring justice always prevails. They offer investigative services here they invest igate cases of spousal abuse that have been reported to them.They also provide legal services where by the process of obtaining emergency or long-term protection for those who report cases to them are provided. This approach is very important in ensuring that other cases are reported. Those who shy away from reporting cases for fear of the abuser can now report their cases. The police also offer social services where counseling services are offered for the victims. The counselors are the first people to handle victims of abuse. They assess the problems of the victims to establish how they will be assisted.They aim to increase batterer accountability, empower the survivors to lead violent free lives and ensures society have zero tolerance of family violence. (Brinkerhoff et al, pp26) The police advice victims that they will lay charges if their thorough investigation demands for it. They provide information of services they provide. They obtain statements, and gather evidence at the scene of said abuse. They remain until the clouds are clear or there are no threats to the victim. Reduction of federal government funding would negatively affect the services offered by the police.Perception that spousal abuse is a private matter also limits the number of people reporting the issue. Success of the police in handling these services can be assessed by the reduction in violence overtime. (Burris et al,pp315) Ties of the offenders like economic ties, emotional ties and other shared memories make some spouses forfeit charges that could have see the abuse come to an end. Arresting offenders against the victim’s wishes hinders effective eradication of family violence. Arrests have not been very successful in promoting behavior change. Not all abusers who are arrested change their behavior.Up to date the police still use the approaches they used before. Those who abuse their spouses are arrested and charged. The police face the challenge of risking their when invest igating these cases. The people they are attempting to arrest can harm them. If the police force and the organizations dealing with battered spouses worked without hindrances like limited funds then they would be able to fulfill the needs of the victims of spousal abuse. The frustration faced by the police and organizations trying to help the abused spouses in society include the bureaucratic long procedures that hinder effective counteracting of abuse.Unwilling victims also contribute to inefficiency in the police will to combat spousal abuse. The police find joy when they help save victims of abuse from their abusers. Fear to approach the police also frustrates the police as it hinders their efficiency in promoting productive services. Dropping charges by the victims also frustrates the efforts by the police to fight spousal abuse. Officers agree that arresting offenders is not the sole way of eradicating or solving, spousal problem. Police are also accused of not responding quick ly especially if according to their judgment the person seeking for helping is not very desperate.Reference: Hattendorf, J. , & Tollerud, T. R. Domestic Violence: Counseling Strategies That Minimize the Impact of Secondary Victimization. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 1997, pp14-23 Sherman, L. W. , Schmidt, J. D. , Rogan, D. P. , Smith, D. A. , Gartin, P. R. , Cohn, E. G. , Collins, D. J. , & Bacich, A. R. The variable effects of arrest on criminal careers: The Milwaukee domestic violence experiment. The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 1992, 83, pp137-169. Brinkerhoff, M. B. , Grandin, E. , & Lupri, E. Religious involvement and spousal violence: The Canadian case Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1992, 31, pp15-31.Holden, G. & Ritchie, K. Linking extreme marital discord, child rearing, and child behavior problems: Evidence from battered women. Child Development, 1991, 62, pp 311-327. Family violence Initiative. Spousal Abuse. A fact Sheet from Department of Jus tice Canada. 2006. Retrieved on 19th October 2007 from (http://www. justice. gc. ca/en/ps/fm/spouseafs. html). Tan, C. , Basta, J. , Sullivan, C. M. , & Davidson II, W. S. The Role of Social Support in the Lives of Women Exiting Domestic Violence Shelters Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1995, pp 437-451 Burris, C. A. , & Jaffe, P. Wife abuse as a crime: The impact of police laying charges.Canadian Journal of Criminology, 1983, 25, 309-318 Spanking a child is abusive. It has been found out that in the long term it may produce adverse effects to the child. Children who start being spanked at an early age end up adapting anti-social behavior like disobedience at school and deliberate breaking of things. Levels of anti-social behavior of children who don’t get spanked were lower. The common saying ‘spare the child spoil the rod’ has been internalized in people’s mind but this has proved to have reverse effects. Spanking children has been going on for a long time with approximately 90% of parents in U.S spanking their children. Most parents regardless of their cultures spank their children occasionally. Most experts have divergent ideas as to whether it should be used but at some circumstances and that it should be done sparingly. Spanking is a way of enforcing limits to children especially when they are incontrollable and at a delicate age. Again, spanking may act as a means to warn them of activities that may be harmful to them option. Spanking is done more to boys than girls and it declines with age. Fathers are less likely to spank their older daughters while blacks and single wome

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.