Organization Change of Aeon Co. Malaysia Bhd Essay

AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is principally engaged in the operations of a chain of superstores selling a broad range of goods ranging from clothing, food, household goods, other merchandise and shopping centre operation. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. was started from Jaya Jusco Store Sdn. Bhd. In 15 September 1984, the first JUSCO store was established in Malaysia. In 1983, our Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir (Now known as Tun Dr. Mahathir) visited Tokyo and then met the JUSCO Co. Ltd. President, Mr. Takuya Okada to discuss the proposition of bringing JUSCO to our country. This is because he believes that it was a need for our country economic growth on that time. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. aim to be a global company, meaning that management must both meet global quality standards and at the same time remain rooted in local communities. On the basis of this code, Aeon is striving to achieve long-term prosperity and growth by building excellent relationships with its customers, shareholders, business partners, local communities, and employees, while continuing to offer products and services that satisfy customers. For example, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. provided cardholders with numerous incentives, ranging from discounts to an enhanced point system such as AEON Gold Card, the first gold card in Japan without an annual fee, and their electric toll collection (ETC) cards which offers cardholders bonus points when customers shop, have gone to great lengths to raise the number of affiliated merchants. JUSCO’s vision is to establish AEON as a leading retailer brand in consumer finance and service industry by providing excellent customer service. Its mission is to provide a wide range of consumer financial services that best meet their customer needs and they are committed to serve their customers to improve their lifestyle through AEON products and services. AEON insist to a strict code of corporate ethics and at the same time, engage in activities which contribute to society. Lastly, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is listed in Bursa Malaysia as a trust company under the Trust Companies Act 1949 and Registration of Businesses Act 1956. AEON was awarded the Green Leadership Award and Prime Minister CSR Award for Community and Social Welfare. CONTENT To analyze the company’s practices/operations in AEON Co.(M) Bhd. Change is  an organizational reality. Most managers will have to change some things in their workplace. It can classify these changes as organizational change which is alteration of an organization’s people, structure, and technology. Firstly, changing structure includes any alteration in authority relationships, coordination mechanisms, degree of centralization, job design, or similar organization structure variables. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. control the work process engineering, restructuring, and empowering result in decentralization, wider spans of control, reduced work specialization, and work teams. These structural components give employees the authority and means to implement process improvements. For instance, the creation of work teams that cut across departmental lines allows those people who understand a problem best to solve that problem. It can help cross-functional work teams encourage cooperati ve problem solving rather than â€Å"us versus them† situations. Besides that, changing technology encompasses modifications in the way works is done or the methods and equipment used. Most of the managers in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. deal with changing technology are continuous improvement initiatives on their products and services, which are directed at developing flexible processes to support better quality operations and also their employees committed to continuous improvements are constantly looking for things to fix. Thus, work processes adaptable to continual change and fine tuning, it requires an extensive commitment to educating and training workers. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. provided training to employees which are need in new technology and new methods. Lastly, changes in people refer to changes in employee attitudes, expectations, perceptions, or behaviors. The human dimension of change requires a workforce that is committed to quality and continuous improvement. Again, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. provided proper employee education and training is needed, which are need in problem solving, decision making, negotiation, statistical analysis, and team-building, and they can able to analyze and act on data. As is a performance evaluation and reward system that supports and encourages those improvements. Conclude, employees training to maintain its market leading position in their business. The main practices for AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is align the goals of a change effort with organizational strategy. This is because of organization‘s strategic plan identify the products and services and the core business, and it can help organization supporting processes  that help deliver these products and services. Furthermore, it also identifies the organization’s special competencies and help organizational enhance the core and key supporting organizational processes. For example, the goals of AEON Co. (M) Bhd. changed effort do not support the organizational strategy then the change effort will not yield significant value to the organization. Therefore, by aligning the goals of a change effort with their business strategy, the change effort will have a greater chance of succeeding because the change effort will receive greater executive commitment than if the goals were not aligned. To accomplish this, Aeon clearly define its structures, management systems, and guiding principles, policies, and procedures. Instant, executives take the time to communicate the vision to all of the organization’s employees in small groups of people. Besides that, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. created and maintained a superior change team. This is because a charter that identifies a task that is narrower in scope than the organization’s strategy statement and states the expectations of management in terms of goals and metrics. These goals and their descriptions did not change during the change effort, because should only be a few of them. However, the change team has control the goals, which able to measurable, and also define its purpose, the methods, procedures it will use, and the acceptable team behavior, because it will help to resolve conflict and define team roles. For example, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. creating a superior change team with several of good planning, it also requires good people to enact the change, change team members are experts and have positions of authority, possess good management and communication skills, and the ability to focus on the change vision and objectives. In closing, a superior change team will effectively create a plan for change, identify the processes to change, and acquire support for the change effort of organization at all the levels. Thus, the quality of such verification is highly suspect. On the others hand, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. plans for continuous improvement. This is because of continuous process improvement will cause an organization to produce better products or goods more reliably and efficiently to enhance customer satisfaction and value. For example, to achieve continuous improvement of organization, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. uses good performance measures and management monitor their employees as necessary. In addition, managers should verify that the selected metrics are accurate  measures of business goals in managing organizational changed. To identify and explain the relevant principles and concepts of management in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. those are being applied in the company. The principles and concepts of AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is Customer Centre Approach. AEON’s mission is always to be contributed to the customers. The goal of AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is to operate as an â€Å"international-scale retailing group† which focused on the quality management to enhance their capabilities. The increasing in the Malaysia population shows tha t there is a probability that the target customers for the retailing industry have grown. A wide range of customers involves in the market mostly tend to purchase household products which is suits for family members, children and adult. This is an opportunity for AEON to achieve the mission of company for contribute to their customers. With the changes in the customers’ lifestyle, that is means that the trends would also changes. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. will provided with higher quality products, so that the customers will aware that the AEON’s goal of quality management is exactly aligned with their demand and needs. In addition, this will also give impact on the company’s goal to satisfy their customers. To designed an image to satisfy the ever changing needs and desires of consumers, AEON’s constant interior refurbishment of stores. The management’s acute understanding of target market needs and the provision of an optimal product-mix enhanced the company’s performance. In Malaysia for 28 years, Aeon has been successfully to positioned itself as a benchmark in excellent customer service, such as high worker’s discipline and maintain high standard level of their food as w ell environment. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. provided variety of products for their customers. On the others hand, the principles and concepts of management of AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is division of work. This principle tells us that as far as possible the whole work should be divided into different parts and each individual should be assigned only one part of the work according to his ability and taste rather than giving the whole work to one person. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. applied this principle to manage organizational change from Jusco Shopping Centre to AEON Co. (M) Bhd. where all department need to change since Aeon Credit Service combined together with Jusco Shopping Centre on 12 January 2012. When a particular worker in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. performs the same job repeatedly such as in marketing department, financial department, leadership department and so on  will make the job an expert in doing that particular part of the whole job for them. Consequently, the benefits of specialization will become available in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. For example, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. gets an order for prom otion. They have five to six departments who will do their own job for the promotion. Everyone will do the job in short time and come out with the successful promotion. The principle of division of department applies not only to the workers but also equally to the managers and leader. For example, if a manager is tuned to work on the same kind of activities for a long period of time, he will certainly be an expert in his particular job. Consequently, more and beneficial decisions can be taken in a comparatively less time by him. Business processes must support business needs is the one of the principle and concepts of management. Every process will be increase organizational value by supporting the business vision and supporting strategies. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. created a vision for each process to be changes and also develop a new vision for each process it expects to change. The process of vision described the new capabilities of the process and the expected performance improvements. Furthermore, it identify how the AEON Co. (M) Bhd. will support the strategy, respond t o customer needs, and respond to competition. This will lower the utility of a change effort and would place it at risk because it probably would not gain the necessary organizational support to make it successful. The issue of organization design would be solved because environment will be free from uncertainty and there no need to adapt. Besides that, the creation of work teams that cut across department lines allows those people who understand the problems and have the best solutions to solve the problems. Besides that, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. made a formal case. This is because individuals are inherently rational and will question to what extent change is needed, whether the company is headed in the right direction, and whether they want to commit personally to making change happen. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. looks to the leadership for answers it will due to the articulation of a formal case for change and the creation of a written vision statement are invaluable opportunities to create or compel leadership-team alignment. Firstly, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. confront reality and articulate a convincing need for change, then demonstrate faith of the company has a viable future and the leadership to get there and l ast provide a road map to guide behaviour and decision making. Thus, leaders  customize this message for various internal audiences, describing the pending change in terms that matter to the individuals. In a series of offsite meetings, the executive team built a brutally honest business case that downsizing was the only way to keep the business viable, and drew on the company’s proud heritage to craft a compelling vision to lead the company forward. By confronting reality and helping employees understand the necessity for change, leaders able to motivate the organization to follow the new direction in the midst of the largest downsizing in the company’s history. To identify and explain the pros and cons in the application of the relevant principles and concepts of management in order to find the problems that will be the encountered by the company. PROS Build up the customer’s loyalty By satisfy the customer’s need, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. able to keep their customer’s loyalty. Loyalty of customers is typically repeat customers. The customers will feel comfortable when shopping at AEON mall, which aligned with their needs and lifestyle. If a certain customer enjoys shopping at a particular business, it will return to shop again. The loyalty of customers may lead to stabilize the company’s income. Higher productivity Division of work for AEON Co. (M) Bhd. is to achieve higher productivity in Aeon by using â€Å"practice makes perfect† slogan. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. concentrating on the repeating the same task again and again, a worker acquires dexterity, skill and speed, and more ­over, division of works avoids waste time and effort caused by changes from one task to another. Specialization requires a simplification of tasks and facilitates for AEON Co. (M) Bhd. saving devices. Due to all these the quantity and quality of work increase tremendously. Lower cost Division of work in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. increases the efficiency of workers, managers and leaders in each department. In addition, wasteful duplication of process and tools is avoided, it able gain good result and save cost. Large scale production offers several economies in the used of materials, machinery and skills. Therefore, costs of operations in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. are reduced to earn more profit. Trusted brand AEON Co. (M) Bhd. operated in market more than 20 years. Nowdays, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. pay attention on differentiation of products and services, however when times pass by, due to many competitors, there are too many of new feature or increase of new offers in the market. It will cause Aeon pay attention on customers’ needs and wants and able to learn customers’ oriented strategy. Therefore when AEON Co. (M) Bhd. produce a product, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. makes sure the brand is clear, distinctive, easily understood and expresses a unique, compelling benefit that customers believe can see the value of. Diversification of brand Product diversification strategies should aim at expanding markets either by brand extensions or new complementary products, but sometimes this is also achieved by creating new uses for the original products with a new twist. The strategy should avoid being too similar to current products and markets, but at the same time it should not be too different from current ones. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. practiced this so that they can offer new products to customers, it able to compete in the market. CONS Higher cost burden To fulfill the changing of the customer’s demand and needs, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. may face to higher cost burden. To improve the customer’s satisfaction for shopping at AEON mall, AEON have to keep on improvement on the shopping environment. This might lead to higher cost for renovation and decoration the shopping mall. In order to fulfill the changed in customer’s lifestyle, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. have to come out with higher quality product which may leads to higher cost of product. Lack of responsibility Under division of work AEON Co. (M) Bhd. lack of responsibility in creating something new product. Such as, the final project is not the task of a single person but the creation of several workers, managers, and leaders. Therefore, no any individual can be held responsible if anything goes wrong in the project. Therefore, involvement of workers in their work is reduced. Too much interdependence Division of work in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. leads to interdependence between individuals, firms, industries and countries. Failure of any one link due to strike, war, breakdown in transport and communication, depression and so on it may cause great harm for the company. Inferior output by one worker in AEON Co. (M) Bhd. may spoil the quality of the entire product. Specialists know only a single process of production. In case of unemployment, they find is difficult to get jobs. Poor advertising AEON Co. (M) Bhd. does not advertising due to the cost. The advertising activity only will take place during peak seasons like school holiday and festival season. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. mainly depends on word of mouth whereby, customers pass the news to other customers about promotion or new products. AEON Co. (M) Bhd. should aware this tactic may harm business if customers are not satifity with the products and they will start to complaint and others will get negative thinking about the company. In the end, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. may loss customers and it is not easy to pull back their attention. Thus, sales and profit of company will drop. Create rigidity AEON Co. (M) Bhd. created rigidity in their operations. It can lock an organization into specific goals to be achieved within specific timetables. This is because the goals set under the assumption. Thus, when the environment is random and unpredictable can be recipe for disaster. It may cause AEON Co. (M) Bhd. not able to compete and survive in a rapidly changing environment. RECOMMENDATION AEON Co. (M) Bhd. should perform annual process assessments and benchmarks. This is because annual process assessments help to identify areas for process improvement, whereas benchmarks help to identify where an organization stands relative to an industry. Based on each assessment and benchmark provides a snapshot of an organization’s capabilities, which should be the basis for determining whether it needs to change and the value of such change. Furthermore, auditors can easily determine whether an organization performs assessments and benchmarks by verifying the existence of reports documenting their execution. Besides that, AEON Co. (M) Bhd.  should analyze an organization’s software portfolio, which is the total number of applications it owns. A portfolio analysis include counting the number of copies of each application, it can examining the status of each application in terms of defect levels, and identifying the overall importance of each application. Due to this, the highest level of importance indicates that an application is critical to the success of the enterprise’s missions. In addition, Aeon should know the role each application plays in the future of the enterprise. By understanding the software tools that an organization uses, it can identify those areas that have the greatest need for tool support, as well as where it can derive the greatest benefit tool use or change. Instant, such understanding will also influence the training activities of an organization. On the others hand, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. should listen to the customer. An organization must capture the needs and desires of its customers since their perceptions of its strengths and weaknesses are vital to its success. Wherefore, Aeon should ask its customers what it must do today to satisfy them two, three, and five years in the future. Since customer input helps to improve the products of organization develops and the most important is processes that addres s their concerns, auditors should examine that documentation exists that verifies that the organization obtains and uses customer feedback on a periodic basis. Furthermore, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. should align the infrastructure. The successful change requires that Aeon align its human resource, information, financial, organizational, and other support systems around the core business processes. Organizational structure should be an operational response to an organization’s mission and strategy. Thus, the reporting relationships among an organization’s business units should represent its actual workflows, it should help them establish and develop the necessary competencies by providing appropriate training. If an organization does not do this, old practices will render new organizational changes meaningless and a business’s operating units will not function efficiently or effectively. Thus, it is vital that auditors identify the workflow between business units whether the organization’s infrastructure matches it, and also personnel within those business units have the skills to effectively and efficiently perform their work. Lastly, AEON Co. (M) Bhd. should foster a creative and innovative environment. Aeon must be systematically and deliberately identify on new ideas and ways of  doing things better. This requires organizations to challenge the basic assumptions on which its organization has been built. Due to this, Aeon change these assumptions requires creativity, which is the generation of ideas and alternatives and innovation, which is the transformation of those ideas and alternatives into useful applications that lead to change and improvement. In particular, an organization must always challenge assumptions, create solutions, and look at problems from different perspectives. . As a result, auditors should objectively assess how experimental an organization is when conducting their business. CONCLUSION In conclusion, from the AEON Co. (M) Bhd. we has identified four organization change management principles, which are vitally important to organizing change. Furthermore, we also have analyze the company’s practices and operations in managing organizational change. Consequently, organizations should adopt these change management principles and practices based on their business needs. To promote success, an organization should address the three identified critical processes which are achieving executive commitment, creating a vision of the future organization, and communicating that vision to the organization. In addition, a select group of people, having the necessary skills and personal characteristics, should lead software process improvement efforts. Organizational changes because of uncertainty, habit, concern about personal loss, and the belief that a change is not in the organization’s best interests. There are needs many techniques for managing resistance to change included education and communication, participation, facilitation and support, negotiation, manipulation and co-optation, and coercion. Last, the important part which is human resource variables. It included high commitment to training and development, high job security, and encouraging individuals to be idea champions. REFERENCE Robbins, S. P., DeCenzo, D. A., & Coulter, M. (2012). Fundamentals of management: Essential concepts and applications (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Robbin, S. P., & Jones, G. R. (2010). Management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Brealey, Richard and Myers, Stewart: Principles of Corporate Finance, 2nde d., McGraw-Hill (l984). American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: Guide for the Preparation of Operational Concept Documents. ANSIIAIAA G-043-1992 (1993). Carr, David K., Hard, Kelvin J., and Trahant, William J.: Managing the Change Process: A Field Book for Change Agents, Consultants, Team Leaders, and Reengineering Managers. McGraw-Hill(l996). lO.Gouillart, Francis J. and Kelly, James N.: Transforming the Organization. McGraw-Hill(l995). Ronald K. K. (2010). Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Journal of management changing, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91 109, USA ronald. k. John Jones, DeAnne Aguirre, and Matthew Calderone (2004). Principles of change management. Retrieved April 15, 2004, From: http://www.strategy-business.com/article/rr00006?pg=all

Dell’s Supply Chain Management Essay

The term supply chain management (SCM) was initially used in wholesaling and retailing to denote the integration of logistics and physical distribution functions with the goal of reducing delivery lead times. Manufacturers and service providers have used the same term to describe integration and partnership efforts with first- and second- tier suppliers to reduce cost and improve quality and delivery timing. Terms such as integrated purchasing strategy, integrated logistics, supplier integration, value chain management, supply base management, strategic supplier alliances, lean production, Just-In-Time (JIT) logistics, and supply chain synchronization have been used in the literature to address certain elements or stages of this new management philosophy (1998; 1994). Conceptually, SCM includes all value-adding activities from the extraction of raw materials through the transformation processes and through delivery to the end user. SCM spans organizational boundaries and treats the organizations within the value chain as a unified virtual business entity (1991; 1995). (1995) further expanded SCM to include recycling or reuse activities. In general, SCM seeks improved performance through elimination of waste and better use of internal and external supplier capabilities and technologies (1996). The retailing industry has focused on different aspects of SCM, namely, location, transportation, and logistics issues. Indeed, the origin of supply chain management can be traced back to efforts to better manage the transportation and logistics functions (1997; 1995; 1994; 1993; 1991; 1987). The wholesaling and retailing industries incorporate a logistics focus within their strategic decisions. In this respect, SCM is synonymous with integrated logistics systems that control the movement of goods from the suppliers to end customers without waste (1991). Moreover, integrated logistics systems seek to manage inventories through close relationships with suppliers and transportation, distribution, and delivery services. A goal is to replace inventory with frequent communication and sophisticated information systems to provide visibility and coordination. In this way, merchandise can be replenished quickly in small lot size and arrive where and when it is needed (1994; 1993). Firms that use advanced process technology to increase flexibility and involve manufacturing managers in strategic decision making alter the role of logistics in firm success (1998). A supply chain can reduce overall inventory while maximizing customer service by efficiently redistributing stock within the supply chain using effective postponement and speculation strategies (1998; 1993; 1991). New logistics technology gives businesses a complex way to make things easier for their customers and suppliers. Within logistics industry, Dell’s system is recognized as one that takes advantage of technology to decrease storage and increase efficiency. The computer company’s supply and shipping networks exemplify the latest trend in logistics, that is, visibility. Companies with the money and foresight are making sure their inventories can be traced and tracked throughout their entire logistical operations, even if their systems are entirely outsourced. Executing a supply chain with full visibility gives companies better information to work with and a more agile system. Dell has a better control of their operation which has reduced safety stocks and has operate faster to get cash-to-cash conversion cycles. By producing custom products at a rapid pace, the computer manufacturer receives payments from customer before it pays suppliers. Companies can do this only if there’s a short window between receiving an order and shipping it. In addition, Dell’s customers can also keep track of their order status. They can trace their computer as is moves through assembly and testing, and can track its shipment due to the technology of major shipping companies. The pulse of Dell’s execution effort centers on increasing business velocity and eliminating waste. Dell employees are constantly focused on driving down backlogs, promoting best practices, and creating synergies among adjacent processes as seen in cross-functional initiatives such as the design-for-manufacturability effort between manufacturing and R&D. This initiative successfully promoted product designs that are easier to assemble. In 1994, Dell was a struggling second-tier PC maker. Like many others, the company ordered its components in advance and manufactured to inventory. Then Dell began to implement a new business model. It converted its operations to a build-to-order process, eliminated its inventories through a just-in-time system, and sold its products directly to consumers. Dell carefully targeted corporate relationship customers that had predictable, budgeted needs and that wanted a pre-determined set of product models. The company also selected individual customers who were high-end, repeat purchasers with a preference for early technology adoption. Both account segments had the stable, predictable purchase patterns that Dell needed to make its joint build-product-to-order/buy-component-to-plan system work. In connection with this, Dell developed a set of new operations capabilities in five crucial areas (2005). First, it created the flawless make-to-order system that has been widely noted. Secondly, Dell worked at length to build an effective supplier management function in order to shorten component lead times and maintain the absolute quality standards required by the just-in-time operation. Third, Dell developed the â€Å"sell what you have† system that was essential to matching supply and demand. Fourth, it instituted an extraordinarily crisp set of product life cycle management capabilities that yielded great cost reductions and strategic advantage. Fifth, the company worked with its suppliers to shorten their product life cycles, extending the Dell business model to the whole channel. Together these operating capabilities formed a cornerstone for Dell’s business model. Moreover, to maintain its rapid growth, Dell needs to hone its just-in-time process. Dell believes that the key to JIT is integrating with the suppliers into its operation. It is important for the company to work with the suppliers to figure out how to minimize the supply chain and hold the least amount of inventory in it. Inventory can add costs, damage quality, slow production, and wreak havoc with Dell’s rapid response reputation. To guard against this, Dell has optimized its supply base and developed a tightly run system in which it â€Å"pulls† parts from suppliers just as they are needed for production. Dell has manufacturing facilities in Austin; Limerick, Ireland; and Penang, Malaysia, each of which produces PCs on a JIT basis. In order to ensure the smooth flow of production supplies into these plants, Dell has developed a two-tiered strategy that employs different sourcing arrangements and delivery schedules for custom and commodity parts. When Dell receives an order for a PC, it faxes or phones its requirements to suppliers who pick the proper parts and pack them in reusable bins with kanban cards attached. Trucks on a continuous loop between suppliers and Dell, known as a â€Å"milk run,† deliver the sorted parts to the computer maker’s plant for final assembly. This process frees Dell from having to manage inventories and the costs associated with them. However, Dell has made efforts to ensure that suppliers don’t get stuck with much inventory. The computer maker allows suppliers to participate in a â€Å"revolver program,† where they can sell parts stored at the warehouse to other customers. In comparison with Dell’s supply chain management, Baxter, a hospital supply company, developed a powerful new type of partnership with its hospital customers. Baxter develops a strategy which is the vendor-managed inventory system, then called the Stockless System in managing its customer’s inventories within their hospital facilities (2001). The hospital specifies its stock requirements for each ward; an on-site Baxter employee counts the stock in each ward each day or every few days; the employee enters this information into a hand-held device and transmits it to Baxter’s warehouse, where a replenishment order is derived; at the warehouse, the order is picked into ward-specific containers; that order is delivered the next day or in a few days directly to the ward, and the Baxter employee puts the stock away; finally, Baxter invoices the hospital. Baxter’s Stockless System created a powerful new channel that changed the ground rules for all other hospita l supply companies. However, in the long run, the shift to service competition led to significant sales increases as conversions to Baxter products naturally occurred. The company also gained significant first-mover advantage as it tied up key accounts with this new channel. In the case of Procter and Gamble (P&G), the company first partnered with Wal-Mart to develop a pioneering continuous replenishment system. Through this system, P&G replenishes Wal-Mart’s facilities without purchase orders based on the retailer’s product movement data. Based on this experience, P&G systematically shifted its strategic focus toward supply chain-based service innovation–and in the process transformed both the consumer products and retail industries. P&G also developed a careful account selection plan as part of an innovative product supply model. The company developed operating partnerships with major customers capable of linking electronically, taking full-truckload deliveries, and engaging in joint business process reorganization programs. Smaller accounts were shifted to master distributors, which in turn were selected for their ability to partner effectively with P&G. P&G, for its part, developed operations capabilities in two key areas ( 2001). First, it created a sweeping new set of industry-change programs such as ECR (efficient consumer response), CRP (customer requirements planning), and streamlined logistics. These programs required a solid new understanding of channel economics and the impact of supply chain innovation. Second, the company developed sophisticated IT ties to coordinate its product flow, enabling it to raise service levels to meet the needs of the new system. With regards with Dell’s, supply chain competency of the company comprises of four qualities which includes demand management, internal collaboration, leveraging partners, and financial fundamentals (2004). Dell’s direct model enables the company to excel at demand management. The process of selling directly to customers and building product to order creates opportunities for true real-time collaboration and synchronization between manufacturing and sales. By being in direct contact with the market, Dell can quickly see changes in customer demand. Synchronization allows Dell to respond more quickly to customer demand than its competitors can. Additionally, this true internal collaboration allows for highly accurate forecasts. Another key aspect of Dell’s success is its ability to collaborate internally. This competency is driven by a culture that values information sharing and empowers all employees. At Dell, â€Å"direct† refers not only to how the company sells but also to how team members communicate and attack issues (2004). Moreover, Dell’s culture and processes not only help the company collaborate internally but also help it leverage its business partners. Dell leverages its partners by linking suppliers’ planning and execution activities with Dell’s systems. The company uses information technology to gather and share a constant stream of data on supply and demand trends. On the supply side, Dell gathers real-time information about the inventory levels of its suppliers at various positions in the supply chain. Finally, Dell’s entire supply chain is focused on fundamental business performance. Operating margin and not just profits or growth rate is the number that Dell cares about most to ensure long-term profitability. Dell Inc.’s renowned direct sales model is regularly cited as the key reason for its overall competitive prowess. At Dell, supply chain management is truly viewed as a strategic capability; it drives coordination with, and in many instances it includes, activities such as marketing, sales, finance, and information technology.

Wireless Technology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Wireless Technology - Assignment Example Many cellular phone companies have emerged over the past few decades but few have managed to become household names. The few we acknowledge are namely, AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and ClearWire. All of these use different technologies to offer credible services to their consumers in individual ways they feel fit. These technologies offered, of course, have their pros and cons which will be addressed and compared in this study. All these organizations are established in the U.S but some have consumers across the globe. Their services include, voice transfer, internet services and subscription T.V channels among others. Subscribers may be on a personal or commercial subscription. Personal subscribers pay for their personal needs (in their homes) while commercial subscribers buy and sell these services for profit. They may do so directly or indirectly. This paper will observe the mobile telephone, the premium or pay television and the Internet access, as a means of communication. Telephony i s the construction, development and application that deploys communication and information between two or more parties through the use of wires and the device known as the telephone. Mobile telephony is similar but without the use of ‘wires’. ... AT & T is currently the biggest cellular service provider in the U.S having establishments across twenty two states and enjoys a global market of about 292 million people (AT&T, 2013). This is mainly due to its adaptation of 4G technology which makes it one of, if not the fastest data service provider in the world. ClearWire seems to have the cutting edge when it comes to speed and a wider spectrum in data communication. It uses 4G technology that offers wireless data transfer of up to 2.5 GHZ which is seven times faster than normal cellular service providers, further more it uses (TDD) Time Division Duplex technology which enables it to reuse existing IP network infrastructure which enables it to save on costs of hardware installations (Clearwire Corporation, 2013). It does not congest even in densely populated urban areas due to its deep and wide spectrum. It is also robust and cost effective.\ Verizon and ComCast seem to be at loggerheads when it comes to competition in consumer o utreach, sales and services provider. They also offer the same high speed internet and TV services and are also established in the same city, Philadelphia. Comcast had the primary advantage of having established itself well before Verizon came into the picture and had the monopoly of customers in the whole of Philadelphia. The reason for its temporary fallout was the frustration by consumers of having only one internet service provider and that is where Verizon seizes the opportunity to establish itself. Both however, offer enticing packages, premiums and bonuses on their services to attract more customers and switching between either services does not incur expenditure but you may do so only to find your previous ISP with an even more enticing offer.

Essay for Art and Design Class Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

For Art and Design Class - Essay Example There is an understanding that is reached with the material Smith used to create this art work considering how she handled them in order facilitates viewer’s thought processes. Smith painted The Court House Steps in reaction to the conservation emergency created when a landlord bulldozed a boulder marked with petroglyphs from its escarpment site (Smith and Kastner 63). He delivered the culturally significant stone to the courthouse to object legal arbitrations barring him from constructing a building on his land. The jagged angles on Smith’s work might be kiva steps bulging into high-rise buildings that grow and fall. Transversely, a series of orbs converges in a solar eclipse across the center. Smith and Kastner assert that, The Court House Steps is the most traumatic of all her paintings (87)† because â€Å"it documents a world spinning out of control† (87). In this painting, Smith is seen to be lifting imagery from the natural world, and then changing it into modernism via abstraction. Her inhabited landscapes show the infinite human conflict over disputed lands. Her painting fuses modernist color and techniques with her unique visual vocabulary of crashing lines in a stirred expression of the human spirit. The work establishes Smith’s artistic voice, grounding it in modern abstraction, where she extends her native tradition through images of plants, animals and humans to bring the message home. The idea that smith was communicating was that the petroglyphs were subjected to individual coming in and shooting in that area – getting rid of the petroglyphs from the lava escarpment. The Court House Steps is about uniting the traditional values in a very modern and fast changing world. In this painting smith informs us that world is complex and things will be changing very rapidly so we must prepare for the change and sometimes predict it. And we must work in a mixed way with some new things or ideally add in

Earned Value & Forecasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Earned Value & Forecasting - Essay Example The budgeted cost of work performed at end of period 8 comes out to be $868,000. The same is shown in Table 1. Cost Variance (CV) can be calculated as the difference between budgeted cost and actual cost of work performed which is equal to $(868,000-1,005,000) i.e. - $137,000. A negative cost variance here implies that the project is over-budget by the end of period 8. The Cost Performance Index (CPI) is given by the ratio of budgeted cost of work performed to the actual cost of work performed i.e. (868,000/1,005,000) which is equal to .86. As the Cost Performance Index is less than 1, it again implies that the project is over-budget. Schedule Variance (SV) can be found out as the difference between budgeted cost of work performed and the budgeted cost of work scheduled till the end of period 8 which is equal to $(868,000-955,000) i.e. - $87000. A negative schedule variance here implies that the project is behind schedule by the end of period 8. The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) i s given by the ratio of budgeted cost of work performed to the budgeted cost of work scheduled i.e. (868,000/955,000) which is equal to .91. As the Schedule Performance Index is less than 1, it gain implies that the project is behind schedule. ... 500000 1.3.2 60000 80 48000 1.4.1 120000 0 0 1.4.2 40000 50 0 1.4.3 75000 100 75000 1.5.2 15000 20 0 1.5.3 30000 0 0 1.6.1 45000 20 0 1.6.2 60000 50 0 1.6.3 30000 0 0 1.6.4 25000 0 0 Total 124500 (BAC) 868000 (BCWP/EV) The planned percentage of work completed can be calculated by dividing the planned work completed (in terms of number of periods) by the total work (in terms of number of periods). The total work periods can be calculated by adding the planned durations of each activity. This comes out as 26 periods. The planned work periods can be calculated by multiplying the planned percent of work completed for each activity by its planned duration. This is equal to 15. Hence, the planned percent of work completed is equal to 15/26 i.e. 57.7%. Similarly, the actual percent of work completed is computed as the ratio of actual work completed (in terms of number of periods) to the total work (in terms of number of periods). The actual work periods are calculated as 15.2 in the same fa shion as for planned work periods. The actual percent of work completed, therefore, comes out as 15.2/26 i.e. 58.46%. The percent cost completed is simply defined as the ratio of actual cost incurred till end of period 8 to the total planned cost of the project i.e. (1,005,000/1,245,000) which comes out as 80.72% Table 2: Calculating percent task completion Task Duration Actual Percentage of work completed at end of period 8 Actual work completed (in periods) at end of period 8 Planned percentage of work completed at end of period 8 Planned work completed (in periods) at end of period 8 1.2.1 3 100 3 100 3 1.2.2 1 100 1 100 1 1.2.3 2 100 2 100 2 1.3.1 3 100 3 100 3 1.3.2 2 80 1.6 100 2 1.4.1 3 0 0 66.66666667 2 1.4.2 1 50 0.5 0 0 1.4.3 3 100 3 66.66666667 2 1.5.2 1 20 0.2 0 0 1.5.3 2 0 0 0

Rise and Fall of Empires Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rise and Fall of Empires - Term Paper Example tion and elevated levels of industrialization which may make a nation attain superpower status just like that of the People’s Republic of China (Fishman 112). In this essay, our focus will be on China as an emerging superpower capable of rivaling the status of the United States driven by its exemplary economic growth and military might. From our discussion, we find that China helped by its impressive economic growth can mount a successive campaign to become an important player capable of becoming a superpower in the world affairs. This is helped by the declining power of the United States as a major player in the international arena as it faces both domestic and international problems in its economy and policies. However, we will conclude that the People’s Republic of China is incapable of becoming the absolute global superpower to rival the United States due to certain inadequacies in its systems. For instance, China has poor governance and political situations that ar e not universally acceptable while it also has inferior military as compared to the United States of America. The People’s Republic of China has continuously risen to be a serious power as seen through its tremendous economic growth and transformation in its foreign policy aimed at increasing its power and influence (Shirk 77). The nation has used its growing influence to try and have a say on how the affairs of the world are run with the sole purpose of having the world serve its mainly economic interests. Through the increase of state power of China, it is increasingly becoming capable of creating and enforcing rules and institutions aimed at pursuing its interests and security as well as that of its citizens. Part of the reason put forward for China’s rise in global affairs can be attributed to the slow changes in its regime and its dissatisfaction of the old international order led by the United States. Though the rise of China had started during the Ming Dynasty, the foresight by the

Compare and contrast the attitudes of the Scientific School of Essay

Compare and contrast the attitudes of the Scientific School of Management thought (Taylor et al) with those of the Human Relations Movement (Mayo et al) with regard to people at work - Essay Example uding the determination of the most effective way to coordinate tasks, careful selection of employees for different positions, proper training and development of the workforce, and the introduction of economic incentives in order to motivate employees. Taylor’s scientific management theory is widely used today and underlies many management techniques from work study to standard costing. In scientific management theory, Taylor believed that management’s objective should be to secure maximum prosperity for both employers and employees in both the short and long term. He was able to arrive at this principle by studying the causes of hostility and inefficiency in the workplace. In his investigation, Taylor believed that left to their own devices, workers toiled inefficiently, basing their work practices on custom and habit rather than on scientific principles. In addition, he attributed hostility to the belief among workers that increases in output would naturally result in unemployment and that the traditional practice created inefficient methods of work and that workers restricted their outputs in order to protect their interests. (Cascarion and Esch, p. 106) Taylor called this as workers’ engagement in â€Å"soldiering.† He outlined two types of soldiering: Systematic soldiering, on the other hand, is the concerted restriction of output and the more problematic of the two. This attitude was rooted in management’s failure to develop appropriate authority and legitimation for standard work. (Collins 1998, p. 11) Taylor addressed this challenge by studying each job in order to discover the best way in doing it. He was able to identify the best means of control. He developed four approaches to management designed to be able to recruit and maintain workers – whose needs and attitudes towards work are met: Through the previous principles Taylor was able to design a set of standards in regard to control and workers’ wages in terms of scientifically

Aggregate planning strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Aggregate planning strategies - Essay Example UPS is one the world’s most competitive parcel delivery companies. They have branches all around the globe and continue to seek expansion. But before these dreams of expansions can be realized, it is very important that the company invests so much in its human resource base. The company also works so much with inter-country delivery representatives as their delivery system is directly incorporated into the door-step delivery system. As part of the growth agenda, the company uses the Mixed Strategy of the aggregate planning strategy to get its corporate plan delivered. Company Purpose and Business Scope Judging from the different types of business that UPS does as a company, there is no denying the fact that the company lives up to the saying of â€Å"enabling commerce around the world†. This is said because the major business area of the company is courier services, which ensures that the company collects and distributes parcels and other forms of items to people all ac ross the globe. In the wake of globalization where internet trading has been the hallmark of global commerce (Perry, 2008), it takes the shipping services of UPS to get good and products that are purchased on the internet to travel miles around the world to reach their owners. With such services, global commerce would have been affected negatively because electronic commerce, which is the pivot of doing commerce around the world, would not have happened (Tawiah, 2009). ... ngible resources, the company needs a very large array of financial resource, human resource, transportation resources, technological hardware resource, among others. Labor skills and knowledge, intellectual property, corporate branding and competitive advantage are some of the intangible resources that the company needs to execute its services (Ankomah, 2005). Combing the urgency with each of these resources, which are varying and different must be available, it can clearly be said that UP is a company that depends largely on a greater volume of variable resources to get its businesses successfully undertaken. Job opportunities available The employability of UPS is clearly determined by its size and scope of business. Looking at the fact that the company is fast branding itself as the face of global commerce, it would be seen that the company has several branches and offices around the world. Most of these are networked and interrelated to ensure that the company operates on a simil ar organizational culture (Gabby, 2009). Due to the demand for labor, the company presently employs as many as 398,300 workers (Ankomah, 2005). This not withstanding, there remain job opportunities in areas of distribution operations managers, customer relations personnel, logistics executives, corporate branding managers, sales personnel, international public relations, marketers and drivers. Interestingly, these job openings represent the different kinds of jobs that are undertaken at the company and through all ranks of the company’s organizational hierarchy. Nature of business The jobs available at UPS are diverse and divergent. Whereas some are top executive job openings, some are corporate openings that are ideal for young graduates, and there are also jobs for non-degree holders

Small-business owner Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Small-business owner - Research Paper Example A labor-relations strategy involves identifying the goals in labor relations that are desired by both the labor and the management. They could be picked out individually or jointly. A strategy to meet these goals will then be identified (Slaughter, 2008). This could be a collaboration strategy or compliance strategy, or a combination of both collaboration and compliance (Noe, 2007). Actions necessary to carry out that strategy will then be developed. As a manager, I would motivate my employees by rewarding appropriately for the time they dedicate to the company, offering annual pay increments (Christiansen, 1983) and showing appreciation through complimenting on a job that’s been well done. Assigning a manageable amount of work to each employee would also motivate him/her to work well. Lastly, it’s important to engage in casual conversations with employees and try to learn something about every one (Noe,