Comprehensive Analysis of Staples

Comprehensive Analysis of Staples Harding University Angela Maloch Ashley Perez Keith Miller Ricky Griffin Abstract This paper will review Staples, Inc. comprehensively. The authors will discuss Staples’ visions, missions, and objectives, in addition to outlining the firm’s internal strengths and weaknesses and their external opportunities and threats. Several matrices will be included to provide visual aid and better observations of the operations and current practices of the company. Recommendations will be provided on new courses of action that may benefit the company and help increase sales and brand awareness.Vision and Mission Staples, is the world’s largest office product organization, and a reliable source for office solutions. The company products and services include office supplies, copy and print supplies, and technology to support these products. Staples, also provides supplies for facilities, break-room, and furniture (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples c onceptualized the office superstore in 1986. It has more than 88,000 associates worldwide, in 26 countries, and fosters annual sales of 25 billion (Staples, Inc, 2012).Many organizations foundations began with a vision and an organizational mission. The vision and mission are set to be accomplished by setting objectives, and implementing strategies to achieve the goals set by the organization. According to Business Improvement Architects: Creating a compelling vision and developing the strategies to achieve it is one of the organization's most difficult challenges. The vision is more than a dream; it must convey a larger sense of organizational purpose, so that employees are able to picture themselves â€Å"building the dream company† rather than â€Å"laying the stones. It is an ambitious view of the future that everyone in the organization can believe in, one that can be realistically achieved, yet offers a future that is better in important ways than what now exists. (Bus iness Improvement Architects, n. d. ) Staples mission is â€Å"to make it easy to buy office products (David, 2013). † The mission is simple yet it encompasses what the organization strives to do with the products and services it provides to its customers throughout the world. Staples, does not have a written vision, but he the organization utilizes a unique approach in identifying the future direction of the company.Staples Soul program is a program designed by Staples, Inc. to help make the organization an employer and neighbor of choice, and sets Staples brand apart from competitors. The program is also aimed at allowing Staples to grow profitably and responsibly (Staples, Inc, 2012). Objectives and Strategies In Staples 2011 Annual Report, Ron Sargent who serves as the organization’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer stated: At Staples, we take great pride in our consistent execution and our ability to evolve and meet the changing needs of our custo mers.Throughout our 25 year history we’ve succeeded by setting aggressive goals, acquiring and retaining customers, and being accountable for our performance. We took the same approach in 2011 and made progress on many of our key initiatives, despite the challenging economic environment. (Staples, Inc, 2012) Staples has established goals and objectives to keep the organization viable in the fast changing market, and the sluggish economy. The Staples Soul program, separates the organizations objectives into four pillars, and outlines the strategies to obtaining those objectives.The four pillars of focus of the Staples Soul Program are community, ethics, diversity, and environment (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples Community Objectives and Strategies Staples is dedicated to bring education, hope and opportunity to the communities of where their customers live. The community efforts are strategically approached through local grassroots programs, and large scale initiatives that build ties in the global community (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples has donated more than $17 million to nonprofit organizations, in the United States, and around the world in 2011.Through its Choose a Charity program, Staples has enabled associates to donate nearly $1. 9 million to organizations, in which they care about (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples has also been established volunteer programs, and associate volunteer programs which has led to more than 33,000 hours of volunteer work to being performed in 26 countries (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples and Ethics and Strategies Staples 2011 Annual report discusses their objective to meeting the ethical component of the organization.The report states: We believe that doing right is just as important as doing well. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of honesty, fairness and integrity, and continually implement strategies to ensure ethical conduct from the boardroom to the supply chain to the store. Our strong ethical foundation, demonstr ated in the daily relationships with our stakeholders, and ensures our continued success. (Staples, Inc, 2012) Staples stress the importance of ethics in the business organization. The good business ethics must span throughout the entire organization.In efforts to achieve and maintain an ethical environment Staples has done the following: * Ethics, helpline, and training and awareness program in every business unit and function worldwide (Staples, Inc, 2012). * Established a new Ethics scorecard that allows senior leaders and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors to monitor compliance with program requirements (Staples, Inc, 2012). * Created and established a monitoring and measurement framework to assess how well we are preventing, detecting and responding to ethics and compliance risks (Staples, Inc, 2012). Updated the Staples Suppliers Code of Conduct, by adding an Environmental and Business Ethics section, while modifying other sections (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples, the Environment and Strategies Staples Annual Report focused on environment as its third organizational objective. The organization’s 2011 report states: At Staples, our vision is to generate business and environmental benefits for ourselves, our customers and our communities by leading the way in sustainable business practices. his vision through a continued focus on sourcing more sustainable products; improving our offering of recycling and other green services; maximizing our energy efficiency and renewable energy use; and eliminating waste. In 2011, we communicated several new global sustainability goals and continued to work in several program areas to help move us closer to our sustainability vision. (Staples, Inc, 2012) As mentioned before the environmental pillar of the Staples Soul programs is beneficial to the organization, the environment, the community and the customer.Staples has been instrumental in environmental progress by: recycling more than 67 million ink and toner cartridges, and 13 million pounds of technology waste in the United States. Staples has continued the implementation of its Race to the Top Initiative, which is focused on key suppliers reducing the environmental impact of their product (Staples, Inc, 2012). At the end of 2011, Staples had 286 facilities in the U. S. that have received the ENERGY STAR ® for buildings certification. By the close of 2011 Staples had 36 solar installations at 33 facilities and purchased a large sum of renewable energy certificates.Staples has a goal of reducing operational electrical intensity by 25%, and global carbon emissions by 50% by 2020 from a 2010 baseline (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples, Diversity and Objectives Staples believes that being a successful company is dependent on people with rich backgrounds and diverse views. Staples commitment to diversity and inclusion opens the doors for the people of different races, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, physical ability, background and thinking styles. This in turn allows the company to be more innovative, because the organizations associate base reflects the diversity of the customers.Staples’ diverse workforce and suppliers help to build and enrich relationships with customers. While building upon these customer relationships, the organization is able to adapt to the ever changing global market place (Staples, Inc, 2012). Although Staples does not have a written vision statement, the Staples Soul Program has outlined the path, in which the organization wants to proceed over its business life. Fred R. David states: â€Å"A vision statement should answer the basic question, â€Å"What do we want to become? † (David, 2013, p. 45) David also states that a comprehensive mission statement is formulated by a clear vision.It is suggested that the vision statement be established first, and should be short approximately one sentence (David, 2013, p. 45). Many organizations have both a vision and a missi on statement. David states that an organization’s mission statement distinguishes one organization from another in the same industry. An organization’s mission statement is â€Å"its reason for being. A mission statement is important for effectively establishing objectives and forming strategies (David, 2013, p. 45). It is important when formulating a vision and mission statement, it is important to include the managers and the employees.When employees and managers work together to formulate the organizations vision and mission, the statements will reflect the personal visions that employees and managers alike feel passionate towards, and sets the foundation for the future. The shared vision leads to a common objective and can motivate employees and remove the mundane atmosphere in the work environment (David, 2013, p. 47). An organization’s vision and mission statement can: * Ensure unanimity of organizational purpose * Provide a standard for allocation of org anizational resources * Establish organizational climate or general tone Serve as a focal point for people to identify with the organization’s purpose * To help translate objectives into a work structure assignments and task * To specify organizational purpose and translate those into organizational objectives (David, 2013, p. 48). The Staples Soul Program sets the tone for a vision statement for the organization. Staples vision statement could read: â€Å"Staples vision is to be a world leader in providing easy assessable office supplies while being committed to improvements in ethics, environment, community, and diversity for those we serve. The Staples mission as stated before states that the company’s mission is â€Å"to make it easy to buy office products. † (David, 2013, p. 69) Staples mission and vision projected through its Staples Soul Program has set then foundation for the organizational to expand and utilize its strengths and opportunities to contin ue to be a leader in its industry. The organization can also utilize this foundation set to identify weaknesses, and potential industry threats. Eternal Opportunities and Threats External Opportunities Opportunities can give an organization an edge over the competition. Staples, Inc. isplays the potential to increase its growth in additional countries. Currently Staples has 300 stores internationally. An international expansion would increase the profits for the organization. According to David (2013) â€Å"Growth is forecast to reach almost $88 billion by 2013, reflecting a five-year average growth rate of less than 1 percent† (p. SM-66). The advancement in technology can provide Staples with a balanced diversity for its shoppers. New technological gadgets continue to bring additional efficiency for individuals in a number of ways such as online shopping, reading books, and playing games. Staples, Inc. artnered with Barnes and Noble to offer an alternate color reader commonl y known as The NOOK. This technological device competes with Amazon’s Kindle and the Apple’s iPad. The partnership with Barnes and Noble will provide Staples with the opportunity to expand within the digital era. External Threats Threats are external and could occur at any time. Threats most often occur from other competing companies. Staples, Inc. continually competes with a number of organizations in regard to price competition and retail competition. Price competition occurs with equal ground stores such as Office Depot and OfficeMax. Staples, Inc. s the largest office supply company compared to Office Depot classified as the second place organization. David (2013) stated the following interesting fact, â€Å"Staples is larger than Office Depot and OfficeMax combined† (p. SM-76). The three organizations display similar challenges in regard to the reduction of sales because of businesses going paperless. The retail competition includes stores such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target. These organizations display the need to obtain additional market share. As stated earlier, Staples, Inc. began the route of digital services with the latest product from Barnes and Noble commonly known as The NOOK.With the consumer trend of digital services reduces the need for traditional supplies. Green initiatives continue to be another factor for the reduction of traditional supplies, which reduces the need to stock a lot of cases of copy paper in the distribution centers. Competitive Profile Matrix External Factors External Factor Evaluation Matrix (EFE) Key External Factors WeightRatingScore Opportunities International growth (only 300 stores overseas). 12 4. 48 Trends towards digital items. 12 4. 48 New partnerships (Barnes & Nobles). 11 3. 33 Implement research/development. 15 4. 60Threats Price competition. 10 3. 30 Retail competition. 12 4. 48 Unemployment rates. 06 2. 12 Oil prices. 06 2. 12 New technologies reduce need for traditional supplies . 10 3. 30 Green’ initiatives might shift demand for products . 06 2. 12 Totals12. 04 The External Factor Evaluation Matrix (EFE) demonstrates how opportunities and threats may affect the company. Similar to the IFE, this gives a visual rating of the importance of external factors that may contribute to or inhibit the success of Staples. Seen in the matrix above, new opportunities can greatly contribute to the success of Staples.With such broad expansion opportunities, it would be easy for Staples to make new connections overseas, whether in creating new locations or promoting online sales. New partnerships should be looked into as well. Staples has already teamed up with Barnes & Nobles, but opportunities with other major brands might impact Staples’ sales in a positive way as well. Implementing a research and development team can give Staples the opportunity to study consumer patterns, marketing techniques, and what products to offer to better meet the needs of society.Comp eting companies that offer similar products are the greatest threat the Staples. To best combat this, Staples needs to be prepared to offer the best customer service and technologies to stay in the competition. New technologies are changing what consumers need in regards to office supplies. For example, most consumers have switched to computer filing, rather than paper filing. This reduces the need for so much paper, files, folders, and filing cabinets. While some may still need this, Staples may want to look at reducing their inventory of these items and offering a larger supply of more current and modern items.Internal Strengths and Weaknesses Internal Strengths Strengths refer to the factors that exist within the company and exhibits formations of competitive advantage. The organization has dominance worldwide in more than 22,000 locations to include China, Australia, Germany, North America, and a number of other countries. Staples, Inc. is an established organization with a well developed infrastructure that offers business services such as supplies, technology, furniture, and office machines inside the stores as well as online. Staples, Inc. has a competitive advantage with the use of its online sales market.Instead of keeping a large inventory, the majority of the retail store locations stock approximately 7,000 products. When customers do not find a particular item inside the store, he or she can receive next day service at the local store when ordering from Staples. com. This avenue provides customers the option to review over 30,000 products in approximately 125 distributions. When the customer orders a product, he or she can request to receive shipment at the local store, at work, or at a home address. This type of service provides convenience for Staples, Inc. shoppers. In addition, Staples, Inc. ade an investment in regard to its delivery system with a purchase of small fleet of electric trucks. The purpose of this investment was to improve the org anization’s efficiency and cost minimization by reducing fuel cost by 75% compared to diesel trucks. Internal Weaknesses Weaknesses are the areas an organization needs to try to correct imperfections for improvement. Understanding potential weaknesses can help an organization to both manage and remove possible threats. In contrast to a limited inventory as strength, this concept can be a weakness in regard to customers not wanting to wait for a specific product.Customers may go to a competitor to purchase the needed product or purchase it online. A number of challenges exist because of the advanced technological era. For instance, Staples, Inc. reported a seven percent decline in stock prices according to its 2010 Annual Report. Internal Factors Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix (IFE) Key Internal FactorsWeight RateScore Strengths Strong international growth and partners. 12 4. 48 Advertising and marketing. 12 4. 48 Strong Online sales market. 10 3. 30 Many convenient Locatio ns. 10 3. 30 Staples Delivery System. 11 3. 33 Weaknesses Only 1. % increase in Sales (2010). 06 2. 12 Stock price fell 7% (2010). 06 2. 10 Poor executive compensation plans. 12 4. 48 Poor inventory management. 11 3. 33 No research/development Budget. 10 3. 30 Totals13. 19 As seen above, the Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix (IFE) is used to provide a numerical and visual score of key factors of the internal strengths and weaknesses. This gives management an idea of how to prioritize any issues that may be affecting or attributing the growth or success of the company. With more than 1500 locations throughout the United States, Staples is easily accessible to the population.Their advertising and marketing campaigns are successful and catchy; this creates brand awareness, and can potentially bring in more consumers. The internal weaknesses have caused such financial stresses on the company that it is very important that these issues are addressed. For instance, in 2010, there was only a 1. 1% increase in sales and stock prices fell 7%; however, the CEO of Staples, Ron Sargent, took a 41% pay increase. Moves like this can set Staples up for failure, so it is important for management to be aware of these internal issues through the use of an IFE.With no research and development budget, Staples is falling behind the trends of fast-paced society. They are not current on what is popular and what issues may be hurting their sales. * SWOT Analysis According to Thompson, Gamble, and Strickland (2006), â€Å"A SWOT analysis is a simple but powerful tool for sizing up a company’s resource capabilities and deficiencies, its market opportunities, and the external threats to its future well-being (Chap. 3, p. 85). A SWOT analysis is a significant portion of the strategic planning model.An organization uses a SWOT analysis that consists of strengths as internal forces of the organization to accomplish the objective; weaknesses are internal forces of the organization t hat harm the objective; opportunities are external forces that can expand the organization; threats are external forces that can destroy the organization’s success. In developing a strategic plan, leaders must ask if the current strategic plan is adequate to achieve the goal and are there allowances for contingency plans if the current plan is not working.Therefore, an effective strategy will consider the internal and external factors of the SWOT analysis by looking at the big picture of what an organization will face in the course of goal achievement. SWOT Matrix Space Matrix Current Strategies Inventory Staples is looking to reduce physical inventory in stores and offer a wider variety via Staples. com (Donoher as cited in David, 2013). In doing this, they can limit the size of store locations and be able to cut building costs, utilities and floor space on new locations.In addition, research done by Shankar, Rangaswamy & Pusateri (1999) indicates that online shopping is mor e convenient than offline shopping and allows consumers to find products to best fit their needs. This strategy, once fully implemented may promote more business to the website and offer better selections. The only issue that may arise is not having an item in stock that competitors might have. It would helpful to research buying trends and patterns of this industry and keep those items stocked. Prices Low prices have been the ultimate focus of Staples.This is understandable in retail today, however customer service and loyalty programs are just as desirable to consumers. Indicated by Shankar, Rangaswamy & Pusateri (1999), customers are not sensitive just to price increases, but rather a mixture of factors that contribute to the overall buying experience. Slightly raising prices and focusing more on customer service can produce a better experience for in-store shoppers and may encourage them to return. Also, in some cases, low prices can correlate with low quality.When Staples offer s their own brand items for extremely low prices, consumers may consider the price in relation to the quality. Recommended Strategies Based on the case study, Staples, Staples has seen gradually declining sales and profits in recent years (Donoher, as cited in David, 2013). In order to turn that around and be a successful office supply company, they need to implement new strategies. Staples is not a competitor with other office supply companies. They cannot maintain desirable inventories of what consumers are looking for and they cannot beat the prices and leverage that other similar stores offer.If left alone, Staples will go out of business. Suggestions on strategies that may offer aid to Staples are outlined below. Retrenchment â€Å"Retrenchment occurs when an organization regroups through cost and asset reduction to reverse declining profits† (David, 2013, P. 146). If Staples would try this strategy, they might be able to save the company and turn it around. In order to implement this strategy, they would stop opening new stores, and perhaps even close stores throughout the United States. Closing stores throughout the United States can greatly reduce costs and increase revenues.It would be most logical to close the locations with the lowest annual sales. In addition, by reducing the number of store openings would allow for more focus to be within what Staples already has. This means there would be more time to focus on customer service, inventory management, product display, management, and online sales. Online sales are such a large portion of their business, it may be more effective to put more efforts into obtaining sales through that medium, rather than brick and mortar locations. Related DiversificationIn order to remain in the competition, Staples must be open to diversifying the products they currently offer. Staples needs to revamp their current inventory and look at what it is consumers want today. With such a boom in technology, there is a consumer desire for new and up-to-date items. The items they rarely sell need to be taken off the shelves or offer a very limited inventory in stores. That clears up space for new items, and a greater inventory capacity. By stocking items that customers want can increase the traffic flow through the store.Often, consumers know competing stores, such as Office Depot and Wal-Mart have more of what they need, so Staples is eliminated completely. Recommended Annual Objectives and Policies Organizational Annual Business reports are a vital tool in making recommendations for annual objectives, and policies. The annual report identifies the company’s short falls, but more importantly it shines the light on the organizations achievements. The annual report also illustrates the plans and strategies to rectify its weaknesses, and refute potential threats.According an article by Jill Leviticus, an annual report; â€Å"provide information on the health of your company to shareholders, stakeholders, the media and your community. † (Leviticus, 2012) The article also states that the organizational annual report provides financial information, highlights achievements, promotes the organization, and other key information to the stakeholders (Leviticus, 2012). Staples 2011 Annual Business Report outlines the organization’s recommended annual objectives and policies, which is based on the needs of the employees, shareholders, and customers.Annual Business Reports and meetings cover a broad range of objectives and policies. Staples 2011 Annual Business Report covered topics on beneficial of ownership of common stock, corporate governance, and election of directors, employee stock plans, and long-term cash plans (Staples, Inc, 2012). Adjustments to these specific objectives and policies will specifically impact the viability of Staples, Inc. The aforementioned Staples Soul Program has been instrumental in making the organization the â€Å"employer and neigh bor of choice. † (Staples, Inc, 2012) Staples has been proactive in implementing policies and objectives to acilitate the organization in achieving goals centered around the four pillars of the Staples Soul Program, which are community, ethics, diversity, and environment (Staples, Inc, 2012). Strategy Review and Evaluation Defining a strategy is an educated guess. The guess is a key process in any organization. The changes that occur in today’s society can make or break an organization. Strategy, as any other process improvement, cannot be determined unless it is measured. There is an old saying that says it is hard to know where you are going until you know where you have been.Strategy has to be evaluated to determine if the direction of change is favorable or unfavorable to the organization. There are acronyms of famous cycles to help lead an organization to improve. PDCA, PDSA or DMAIC are some of the well-known cycles. These cycles define a basic process of evaluati ng changes made to determine if the actions taken reflect the desired results. A similar process of planning, doing, studying and acting has to be defined in each organization. Organizations can vary in the data used but the process will be the same. DataThere are a number of inputs that need to be included into strategy development. External inputs include items such as customer needs, customer survey results, industry trends, regulatory requirements, technological advancements, market risks and competitive intelligence to name a few. Internal inputs include company vision, mission, goals, philosophies, employee survey results, SWOT analysis and balanced scorecard results. These inputs will help determine what a company’s balanced scorecard should be. The balanced scorecard could be used by location moving up to the organizational level.It could also translate down to specific goals and objectives for individual performance management. Measure Once the balanced scorecard has been developed then it is time to capture the results. In most cases these results are measured monthly. There are some cases where the time frame may extend to a longer period of time depending on the metric being measured. For instance, financial information would probably be calculated monthly by an internal team. An external assessment could be used to challenge or protect your company such as Sarbanes-Oxley audit. These measurements help determine direction.Review Periodic reviews of balanced scorecard information are required to determine if the actions taken are effective or not effective. These reviews can occur at different time intervals. Changes or actions taken can immediately take effect or it could be a period of time before the change is realized. An example of immediate effect could be actions taken to reduce inventory levels. Depending on the action the company may see the results on the following month. An example of a longer term effect may be implementing an â⠂¬Å"open door† policy which involves a cultural change that may not be seen immediately.A general understanding of the metric and the anticipated impact time should be rationalized during the review process. Adjustment Once the review has been analyzed actions should be taken to correct metrics that are not performing to the desired results. There are several methods of problem-solving that can be used to help work through the possible contributors of poor performance. The A3 process was derived by Toyota. The process is a collaborative problem-solving tool used to manage individual issues from beginning to end.The A3 process identifies the team, the problem, the metrics used to measure the issue, potential causes, countermeasures to potential causes, responsible party assigned and results. The cycle starts again similar to the Plan, Do, Study and Act cycle mentioned earlier. Recommendation The recommendation for Staples is to have monthly reviews as well as annual reviews. Th e monthly reviews would consist of A3’s developed for each of the metrics. The A3’s would be reviewed to see how the countermeasures are impacting the metric. This type of review will help monitor performance in the short-term time frame.Annual reviews should be conducted on the internal and external inputs and balanced scorecard results. The annual review would be designed to develop the strategic plan for the following year or longer. References Business Improvement Architects. (n. d. ). Understand the organization's vision. Retrieved November 22, 2012, from www. bia. ca: http://www. bia. ca/vision. htm David, F. R. (2013). Strategic Managment: A Competitive Advantage Approach (14 ed. ). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Leviticus, J. (2012). What Is the Purpose of Company Annual Reports? Retrieved November 23, 2012, from www. smallbusiness. hron. com: http://smallbusiness. chron. com/purpose-company-annual-reports-57428. html Shankar, V; Rangaswamy, A. & Pusateri, M. (1999). The online medium and customer price sensitivity. Penn State School of Information Sciences and Technology. Staples, Inc. (2012, April). 2011 Annual Report. Retrieved November 22, 2012, from www. thomson. mobular. net: http://thomson. mobular. net/thomson/7/3218/4642/document_0/SPLS_2011AR. pdf Staples, Inc. (2012, November 14). Corporate Profile. Retrieved November 22, 2012, from www. staples. com: http://investor. staples. com/phoenix. zhtml? c=96244&p=irol-IRHome

“Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy Essay

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Spanish vs. English colonization of America - Essay Example Spanish conquest and colonization. There were millions of people living in the Americas when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. In the following centuries the population of the Native Americans decreased steadily (Brading 48). The writings of the Dominican friar Bartolomà © de Las Casas vividly depict atrocities committed on the natives by the Spanish conquistadors. â€Å"It was a general rule among Spaniards to be cruel; not just cruel, but extraordinarily cruel so that harsh and bitter treatment would prevent Indians from daring to think of themselves as human beings or hav-ing a minute to think at all.† (Las Casas 70). At the same time, the Spanish rulers in America were unhappy at the high mortality rate of the natives, since they wanted to exploit the Indians laborers. The Spaniards were committed to converting their American subjects to Christianity, often by force. However, as Cook mentions (94), â€Å"American groups simply blended Catholicism with their traditional beliefs, which could not have been regarded as a success†. Nowadays, among many scholars it is believed that epidemic disease was the main cause of the population decline — the figure of 80% is mentioned related to those who may have died due to European diseases, such as chicken-pox and measles (Cook 94, 212).

The Declaration of the Immediate Causes Research Paper

The Declaration of the Immediate Causes - Research Paper Example The document argues that the agreement between the US and South Carolina is subject to the law as stipulated in the constitution which establishes responsibilities on both sides and denounces the agreement or contract if either of the party fails to live up to the expectations of the responsibilities. Further, the document highlighted that the Federal government of the US had failed to honor their responsibilities to the State of South Carolina. For instance, some States were not willing to adapt the Fugitive Slave Act (Watson and Batchelder 1860, 77-8). Due to this and other problems, the document asserted that South Carolina had withdrawn from the Federal Union. The main purpose of this document was to protest against the Northern States that were seen as violating the constitution by failing to extradite slaves. Further, it is through this declaration that the State of South Carolina aimed at showing its resentments on the efforts made by the federal government and the Northern States to abolish slavery, which they viewed as constitutionally guarded. Therefore, South Carolina thought that the federal government and the Northern States had violated the agreement, and thus, it was not bound by it (Watson and Batchelder 1860, 76). Initially, South Carolina had issued other documents. This declaration was the second document to be issued by the State of South Carolina secession or withdrawal convention. The first document to be issued in South Carolina was the ordinance of secession.

Effects of imagination on a child from the perspective of Peter Pan by Essay

Effects of imagination on a child from the perspective of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie - Essay Example As his life is a life of dreams, his real life only being in his imagination, the writer will show how he goes between the need of nurturing and the need of nature or his concept of reality. A conclusion will be made associating the need of Peter Pan in an adults' society. We all wish to live in a wonderful perfect family with a strong mother figure. In chapter 7 Peter had saved the life of the Redskins who referred to him as "The great white father"." Secretly Wendy sympathised with them a little but she was far too loyal a housewife to listen to any complaints against father. "Father knows best", she always said..." Peter Pan served as a father figure to two groups, the set of Indians and the lost boys. He would never admit is as "it was only in Peter's absence that the lost boys could speak of mothers" (chapter 2) In chapter 6, the Little House, the lost boys "went on their knees, and holding out their arms cried, "Oh Wendy lady, be our Mother." "There was a step above, and Wendy, you may be sure was the first to recognize it. "Children, I hear your father's step. He likes you to meet him at the door." At end of the chapter, "Dear Peter, with such a large family, of course, I have now passed by best, but you don't want to change me do you?" "No Wendy... I was just think, it is only make-believe, isn't it, that I am their father. It would make me so old to be their real father." Wendy then asks."Peter what are your feelings for me? " "Those of a devoted son". The purpose was to illustrate the use of the imagination to nurture children who don't have the love of a mother and father figure. Peter Pan and Wendy formed a surrogate family for a short while. A wonderful transition from the imagination of nurture to the imagination of nature is the use of the clock. Hook was not angry to have lost his arm, he said "I want Peter Pan, who first gave the brut(the crocodile) its taste for me...by lucky chance it swallow a clock which goes tick tick inside. "When you wan t the time on the island was to find the crocodile, and hen stay near him till the clock struck" (chapter 10)He is afraid of the crocodile when he no longer can hear the tick tock of the clock, he will lose his life. This is a child's imagination of death (Chapter 5 ) . He can prevent himself from dieing. Another more playful side of childhood is to use the imagination to pretend that he can change the nature of time, events, school, people etc...."I shall pour my medicine into Nana's bowl, and she will drink it, think it is milk!" (chapter 3) Mr Darling is completely in the role of a child, the dog is in the role of a nanny, and the children are acting as though they were adults. The imagination of nature is the concept of what goes on in the present. Children think about the here and now. There is no concept of time for any of the children. "The boys on the island vary...when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out". (chapter 5) ""He did this b ecause there is a saying in the Neverland that, every time you breathe, a grown-up dies; and Peter was killing them off vindictively as fast as possible". (chapter 11) A child's imagination dreams of a world of being able to live without the constraints of adults. What fun to have control over all the grown-up world, not to have to take medicine, and not to have to do school work. To live in a place where one could play to his heart's content. These two concepts interchange in a child's head. Wendy dreams of

Aviation Safety Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Aviation Safety Program - Essay Example The security blunder that took thousands of lives on that fateful day is still a cause for debate. How could a few terrorists manage to walk through security, and after hijacking the planes, crash them into prominent, high-security areas in New York and Washington D.C This security lapse may well go down in history as the biggest human error to be recorded in the modern times. The airport security got it all wrong. This factor is applicable to other fields as well. The risk of deliberate acts of terrorism, sabotage, vandalism and theft can cause the release of highly hazardous chemicals and biological gases from a process facility. This could have severs repercussion. Unless managed properly, the result could have catastrophic impact on civilization. The risk from such acts must be assessed to determine if existing security measures and safeguards are adequate or need improvement. Risk assessment is the heart of a security program (Human Factors and Human Error Analysis, http://www.primatech.com/consulting/services/human_factors_and_human_error_analysis.htm) People are key components of the process. They are involved in process design, production, operation, maintenance, and security. No step in the process life cycle is complete without some human involvement. Also, processes are generally not well-protected from human errors since many safeguards are directly focused on equipment failure. This is evidenced by the number of major accidents that have been attributed to this cause. Aviation is no different. Technical flaws, mechanical malfunctions, security lapses, and human error have all been attributed to aviation accidents. The human factor is perhaps the major cause for concern in safety procedures. It is vital that the factors influencing the likelihood of errors be identified and assessed to determine where, and if improvements in design of a process are needed. Surprising but true, human factor is most poorly understood in safety management. However, the standards from regulatory agencies and industry groups have underscored the importance of addressing human factors in process safety and risk management programs. This is motivating more companies to evaluate and address human factors issues in their facilities. Improving the human factors design of a process can produce not only improvements in safety, but also gains in quality, productivity and job satisfaction (Human Factors and Human Error Analysis, http://www.primatech.com/consulting/services/human_factors_and_human_error_analysis.htm) 2.0 Introduction "The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS), is a general human error framework developed and tested within the U.S. military as a tool for investigating and analyzing the human causes of aviation accidents. Based on Reason's (1990) model of latent and active failures, HFACS addresses human error at all levels of the system, including the condition of aircrew and organizational factors. This was used to analyze human error data associated with commercial aviation accidents that occurred between

Marketing Plan for Atlantic Quench Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Plan for Atlantic Quench - Essay Example The researcher states that the current marketing strategy of Atlantic Quench is to push its product portfolio of existing juice products in its existing market. Atlantic Quench has specialized in producing cranberry juice products, which are known for its high nutritional value. Based on the current marketing strategies and the environmental condition, the marketing plan for the next year has been designed. The marketing plan of a company acts as a blueprint which guides the future marketing efforts of an organization. The marketing plan encompasses the developing the desired marketing mix and isolating the target customers based on the product category and posting of the company. This paper is focused on the marketing strategies and future marketing plan of a hypothetical fruit juice company called Atlantic Quench, which is a cooperative firm originated in the US. It covers a detailed study of the existing marketing strategies of the company along with the internal and external envi ronmental analysis. The marketing plan has been outlined by SMART objectives and it includes the strategies to devise the future marketing mix and marketing communication strategies for the next year. The political environment of the nation largely influences the marketing strategies of a firm. It dictates the trade policies and regulations both in terms of domestic and overseas operation. Atlantic Quench mostly operates in the US which is its home country and it has also diversified into UK. These nations have a relatively stable political structure to support the growth of a fruit juice company like Atlantic Quench. However, the rise of the interest rate by the US government has made it relatively difficult for companies to finance their business. Moreover, the political relationship between the home country and the host country can also influence the supply chain of the companies. Therefore, the success of internationalization of Atlantic Quench is dependent of the political stat us of the US.

Operations Management in Daimond Manufacturing Essay Example for Free

Operations Management in Daimond Manufacturing Essay Definition Operation Management is the activity of managing the resources which produce and deliver goods and services (Slack et al, 2010). These activities commences from the very initial production stage of information gathering right up to the final stage of consumer consumption of the product. Every organization does operation management even if they do not notice it. All organizations produce goods and/or services and to create goods and/or services, the organization must perform a number of operations which must be effectively and efficiently managed. 1. 2 Role of Operations Management Operations Management is of prime importance in all sectors, cells, functions, units and groups within the organization. An organization is a system and according to the business dictionary, (http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/system. html) a system is ‘An organized, purposeful structure that consists of interrelated and interdependent elements (components, entities, factors, members, parts etc. ). These elements continually influence one another (directly or indirectly) to maintain their activity and the existence of the system, in order to achieve the goal of the system’. Read more: http://www. usinessdictionary. com/definition/system. html#ixzz2QSyXAP1f . All employees are part of this system and have a common interest in making the consumer to receive goods and/or services in the best way possible. So I will say every manager in every part of the organization is to some extent an operational manager. According to James (2011), the role of operations manag ement is to manage the transformation of an organization’s inputs into finished goods and services using processes. Processes are actually present in all areas of the organization from Human Resource to Finance to Marketing to Procurement etc. 1. The ‘Input – Transformation – Output’ process Resources can either be transforming resources or transformed resources. After the transformation process is complete, transforming resources give rise to transformed resources. According to James (2011), there are 2 main types of transforming resources: * Facility which comprises of land, building, plant and equipment. * Staff which comprises of everyone involved in the operation process. There are 3 main types of transformed resources: * Material. Transformation can be physical (manufacturing), by location (transportation), by storage (warehousing), or by ownership (retail). Information. Transformation can be by property (accountant’s information), by p ossession (market research), by storage (libraries) or by location (telecommunication). * Customer. Transformation can either be physical (plastic surgery), by storage (hotel accommodation), by location (airline transport), by physiological state (hospital), or by psychological state (entertainment). Input Output Input that will be transformed * Material * Information * Customer Input that will transform * People * Facility * Goods * Services Transformation Input Output Input that will be transformed * Material * Information * Customer Input that will transform * People * Facility * Goods * Services Transformation Figure 1: The ‘Input-Transformation-Output’ process 2 Operations Strategy 2. 1 Definition Strategy is defined by Johnson et al, (2008) as ‘the direction and scope of an organization over the long term: ideally, which matches its resources to its changing environment and in particular its markets, customers or clients so as to meet stakeholder expectations. ’ 3. 2 Levels of Strategy Strategy can be viewed from 3 levels which are: The Corporate level: This level looks at the long term position of the company. It answers questions like ‘where will the organization be in 10 years? Or are we going to launch a new product in a new market? ’ The Business level: This level looks at the market and is concerned with the goods and services which the organization has to offer. It answers questions like ‘how do we compete? ’ The Functional level: This level deals with the functional aspect of the organization like finance, marketing, human resource etc. It answers questions like ‘how do we manage our financial resources’. . 3 Operations Strategy Operations strategy is the total pattern of decisions which shape the long-term capabilities of any operation and their contribution to overall strategy, through the reconciliation of market requirements with operations resources (Slack and Lewis, 2011). A 5 step structure has been designed by Hill (2005) so as to design and understand a goo d operation strategy. The steps are as follows: 1. Define Corporate Objectives Here, long term objectives are set-up so as to give the company balance and a good direction. At this stage, Sparkle does environmental scanning and the company also looks at its core competences, core processes and its global objectives. Performance Indicators (KPIs) are also established here so as monitor the accomplishment of these objectives. Top management uses a number of models which includes PESTEL, SWOT and Porter’s 5 forces. See appendix A. 2. Set Marketing Strategies Here Sparkle identifies the market it wants to compete in and then it looks on how to compete in these markets. Ansoff’s matrix is used. | New Product| Existing Product| NewMarket| Diversification| Market Development| Existing Market| Product Development| Market Penetration/ Market Growth| Figure 5: Ansoff Matrix. Source: Kaplan Financial Ltd, 2008. Sparkle uses the market penetration/market growth pathway for now. With time, they will start manufacturing out of the UK thus implementing the market development strategy. It is yet not known if they are thinking of one day starting up the production of a new product. 3. How do we gain competitive advantage? At this stage of Hill’s structure, the organization is to find ways to make its product win other products in the market. For this to happen, the organization must have a base to make its competition and this base is usually one or more of the following performance objectives: speed, quality, cost, dependability and flexibility. See chapter 3. Sparkle uses the above performance objectives to gain competitive advantage but it must be noted that, competitive advantage must: * Be real * Add value (to the consumer) and * Be difficult to imitate. 4. Choose a delivery system Here, the organization has to choose an appropriate delivery system so as to meet up with speed and maybe dependability. In Sparkle, most orders are icked up by the customer but if not, Sparkle uses their vans which have a high level of security for close distances or they post the jewelry for faraway distances. 5. Choose your Infrastructure The company at this phase has to choose all necessary infrastructures that it has to obtain so as to gain an edge over its competitors in the market. Different organizations in different industries wi ll need different types of infrastructures. But in the diamond manufacture industry, the infrastructures are almost the same and can hardly give competitive advantage. 3 Performance Objectives In the present congested and very competitive business environment, companies must do something extra so as to stand out of the crowd. For them to do this, they must react to what customers value and these fall into the following category. They are called performance objectives. 1. Cost 2. Quality 3. Dependability 4. Reliability 5. Speed Sparkle is aware of the tight competition in the diamond market and it takes its performance objectives very seriously so as to gain competitive advantage. Before achieving the above performance objectives, they must achieve the 4 Cs (see appendix B). * Cost. The principle of cost is doing things cheaply. Sparkle changes its processes, its materials and its suppliers every now and then so as to operate on a lower cost scale. They buy rough diamonds directly from the companies who buy them from the mine and sometimes the make orders directly from the mine so as to reduce cost because the more intermediaries there are, the higher the final price. They sometimes buy more rough diamonds than what the actually need so as to gain discount for bulk buying. They automate most of their processes to reduce the number of hours worked by human beings thus reducing total wages. Quality. This involves producing durable high standard error-free goods that consumers perceived to the good. In the fashion business, quality is king because consumers are becoming more conscious of what they wear. One can say that everything in the diamond industry is of good quality so in this kind of high standard industry, quality is not the issue but superb quality. Spark le buys the best of the rough stones which are hand-picked one after the other so that their final product will be of the best quality and they will have very little waste during production. * Dependability. This is doing everything on time so as to keep commitments and promises made to customers. Sparkle has a track record and reputation of never keeping its customers waiting. Customers’ diamonds are always fully processed before the pick-up date. Customers love coming to this organization because they know they can rely on them when it comes to delivery. There was a scandal in March 2008 in Real Diamonds where a couple arrange for their wedding rings costing thousands of pounds to be manufactured but the company was unable to meet up with the due date so the couple had to use different rings for the wedding. Flexibility. This is being able to change what you produce or how you produce it. Sparkle is very flexible in regards to their products because they produce apparently anything requested by the customer. We pride ourselves on being different, you won’t find our jewelry just anywhere, we appreciate that you want something special to you (Source: sparlediamonds. com/abo ut). They manufacture dressing rings, marriage rings, engagement rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, bangles and designers jewelry out of diamond. Over the years, they have come up with different diamond designs thought by others as impossible and have now gained a name as being the company that uses diamond to manufacture anything and everything. On the other hand, their production process is flexible too but not very flexible. They change little bits of their production process all the time to cut down cost and to increase the quality of the diamonds but this change is never a big change (process improvement). Figure 5: Different items made out of diamond. Source: * Speed. This can be described as how responsive an organization is to the customers’ demands and complain. It is a measure of the time between a customer’s order or complain to the time when that customer’s order or complain is sorted out fully. Sparkle is very fast in dealing with complains. Any customer who comes to the company with a complaint is not allowed to leave when the matter concerned has not been resolved. Complains made online take a maximum of 2 working days to be dealt with and those by post takes a little more time. Figure 5: Different colors of diamond. Source: 4 Product Design . 1 Definition Product/service design is the process of defining the specification of products and/or services in order for them to fulfill a specific market need (Slack et al, 2009). According to Russell and Taylor (2009), new product designs can provide a competitive edge by bringing new ideas to the market quickly, doing a better job of satisfying customers’ needs, or be ing easier to manufacture, use and repair. Product design is of great importance in any organization because consumers are becoming more and more conscious of the products they consume and their contents. Almost everybody in the organization is involved in product design because bringing in a new product design is not just about the market requirement but it is also about anticipating future demand and this needs imagination and creativity. In coming out with a good product design, market requirements, technical issues, cost, quality, investment information and the target market must be considered and dealt with appropriately. Diamond design ‘step by step’ Various steps are followed when coming out with a good diamond design. 1. Generating Ideas Ideas to bring up a new diamond designs can come from anywhere and comes from everywhere. Some organizations look only within the organization and come up with a diamond design but this approach is very dangerous because it can easily back fire leading to a poor design. Ideas in Sparkle usually come from: * The customers who will use the product. Most at times, the customer comes to the organization with a design in mind. The design team in the organization then sits with the customer and adds ideas to perfect the customer’s request. * The employees who serve the customers. These groups of persons know exactly what customers wants because they are the people who take customers specifications, demands and complaints. They play an important role in the creation of a new design. * Competitors and any new technology. Sparkle sometimes looks at the designs of its competitors like Avi Paz and tries to modify it so as to create something better than theirs. * Research and Development (Ramp;D) Department. One of their major roles in the organization is to look for new possible designs which will entice customers. It is at this stage that the diamond color, size, weight, cut grade, clarity grade, carat weight, laser inscription and shape is decided. Figure 4: Computer simulated diamond designing in progress. Source: www. sparklediamonds. com 2. Product Screening According to Slack et al (2009), not all concepts and ideas generated will be capable of being developed into products and/or services. Each idea generated is taken and examined to see whether or not they are acceptable, feasible and vulnerable. Fig 5 illustrates. Figure 5| Some typical evaluation questions for marketing, operations and finance. | Evaluation Criteria| Marketing| Operations| Finance| Feasibility| Is the market likely to be big enough? | Do we have capabilities to produce it? Do we have access to sufficient finance to develop and launch it? | Acceptability| How much market share could it gain? | How much will we have to reorganize our activities to produce it? | How much financial return will there be on our investment? | Vulnerability| What is the risk of it failing in the market place? | What is the risk of us being able to produce it acceptable? | How much money could we lose if things do not go as planned? | Fi g 5: Slack et al (2009) Some typical evaluation questions for marketing, operations and finance [e-book] p. 89 3. Preliminary Design At this stage, the design is reviewed by the cutters and polishers to see if the can really produce the diamond and any unnecessary complexity in the diamond’s design is eliminated because such complexities can build cost. For example; there are some unnecessary and unnoticed cuts in a diamond’s design but these cuts could split the whole diamond if not done carefully. Because customers will not even notice the additional cuts and even if they do, they will not be willing to pay an addition for it so the cuts are eliminated. Figure 4: Different diamond designs (drawing). Source: Figure 4: Different diamond designs. Source: 4. Final Design After all the above has been done, a prototype is then created out of glass and tested to see if it meets market requirements, technical requirements and the financial limit. Tangible prototypes are created and virtual (computer simulations) model too to properly assess the diamond before production goes any further. Sometimes, customers are called in to see the prototype and give their feedback from which some adjustments may be made on the product’s design. An after acceptance, diamond cutting commences. Figure 5: Prototype diamond made out of fine glass. Source: 5 Process Design 5. 1 Definition Process design is Sequence of interdependent and linked procedures which, at every stage, consume one or more resources (employee time, energy, machines, money) to convert inputs (data, material, parts, etc. ) into outputs. These outputs then serve as inputs for the next stage until a known goal or end result is reached (www. businessdictionary. com). Read more: http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/process. tml#ixzz2QTQAtoBi When deciding a product design, it is advisable to simultaneously come up with a matching process design. This will entail the flow of the process and Barnes (2008) said that the design of processes is different in all organizations and these designs will be based on the volume and variety of the demand for the product in the market. He further categorized the processes under project, jobbing, batch, line and conti nuous. Types of Processes There are different production processes namely project, jobbing, batch, line and continuous. See Appendix C. Sparkle is in a business of very expensive products which are very small in size so they do jobbing. Customers usually give orders which are produced by the company (make to order). They usually hold little or no fully-processed inventory. The Production Process Diamond ore is sorted by density using X-rays. Before that technology became available, grease belts were used to separate diamonds from the rest of the ore, due to the diamonds greater tendency than other minerals to stick to grease. Rough diamonds are then set to be cut as gemstones in the cutting laboratory. A diamond has different cuts and different professional specialize on different cuts. This is the most daunting task of diamond production because a bad cut will cost the company a fortune. Figure 5: Diamond plan before cutting. Source Cutting produces the facets associated with a diamond. The angles of the facets maximize light, giving the diamond its greatest possible luster (dispersion of white light). The cutting process can take as much as 50% of a rough diamonds weight. Figure 5: Illustration of diamond facets. Source: A number of factors come into play when deciding how a diamond should be cut. X-rays are employed to analyze the stones crystallographic structure, its hardness and ability to cleave. The diamonds flaws are considered, and the cutter decides which to remove and which can remain. Either a hammer or a diamond saw can be used to split the diamond – the hammer is quicker, but the saw is surer. Figure 5: Diamond cutting. Source: A number of institutes in the diamond industry offer courses for diamond cutters, but the bulk and most crucial part of the training for this delicate trade take place during the cutters apprenticeship. A diamond may get its final cut from many skilled hands: the diamond marker or designer; the diamond sawyer; the diamond cutter or brute; the cross-worker; and the brillianteer. After the initial cutting, diamonds undergo the polishing stages, usually performed by a technician as the process is a standard one. Polished diamonds are reexamined for flaws, which can be addressed through enhancement techniques or disguised when set in jewelry. Figure 5: Diamond Polishing. Source: Finally, the polished diamonds are sold to individuals, retailers, wholesalers and jewelry shops. Figure 5: Diamond quality check. Source 6 Planning, Control ;amp; Innovation In any good type of project or manufacture to be successful, it must be planned at the very beginning and at the end, it has to be controlled to make sure that the planned processes and cost is not very different from the actual. Businesses must also continuously innovate so as to move line to line with the changing tastes of consumers and to beat numerous designs from competitors. 6. 1 Planning Eur says this about planning â€Å"It lists the phases and encapsulates all the main parameters, standards and requirements of the project in terms of time, cost and quality/performance by setting out the ‘Why’, ‘What’, ‘When’, ‘Who’, ‘Where’, and ‘How’, of the project. † Planning therefore looks at the entire process, product and project but in an imaginary form which has not yet happened but it is wished that it should happen that way. 6. 1. 1 Advantages of Planning 1. It gives direction of what has to be done and how it has to be done. 2. It assigns responsibilities on every person thus answering â€Å"Who does what? 3. A good plan will see problems a project, product or process will encounter before the problem strikes. 4. A plan helps us to manage cost, quality and design side by side with the profit we will want to make on the product. 5. Plans are used to assess how well a product, process, p roject or person has done. 6. 1. 2 Disadvantages of Planning 1. It is usually made up by top management and given to the employees down the management ladder who just follow it. 2. Plans are usually followed to the latter. Even when some changes have to done, it is not because a plan is being followed. 3. Plans are usually just estimates and it has no use in turbulent economic environments as the plan and the actual are usually very different. 6. 2 Control Control involves measuring the actual results against the plan and then taking action to adjust actual performance so that it moves in line with the plan. So in other words, control is only possible when we have a plan. Control has a feedback phase and this involves adjusting the actual to move in line with the plan or reporting differences between actual and budget so that there may be no such discrepancies in the future. 6. 3 Innovation Innovation is defined by the oxford dictionary as â€Å"changing something established by introducing new methods, ideas or products. † Just like there is no control where there is no plan, there is no innovation where there is no control. They all rely on one another. After control has been done, feedback is sent back and improvement or innovation is made. But in the complex business environment operating now, innovation just not just come from within the company but from outside the company like from competitors and especially from the consumers due to the rapid change in customers taste, design and fashion. In the diamond manufacture industry, there are many different innovative ways manufacturing diamonds and Sparkle has had the following innovations: 1. The Supercut design Sparkle has introduced the innovative supercut design into the industry: a patented ideal emerald cut, with more than twice the facets of a traditional Emerald – providing unparalleled brilliance and fire. The culmination of three years of research, the supercut gives extraordinary brilliance and reflection and this innovation gives Sparkle competitive advantage in terms of having good designs with extraordinary glittering. 2. Precision cutting Since 2010, Sparkle has brought in a technology of cutting the diamonds using computer software and this cut is so exact that less than 0. 000002% waste is created from diamond cutting. Waste use to be about 0. 5% during diamond cutting and this innovation has caused drastic cost saving making Sparkle to be more competitive in terms of cost. 3. Sparkle offers a wide range of jewelry manufacturing processes, including design, modeling, prototyping, grooving, setting, finishing and meticulous quality control; all featuring our own fine diamonds, and designed for clients to sell under their private labels. . 4 The ‘Planning – Control – Innovation’ Cycle. From the above notes, it can be seen that planning, control and innovation work together. Sparkle’s cycle looks like this. Plan Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Actual Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine dia mond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Control Looks at the difference between what was planned and what actually happened. External Information Customer specific design New tastes and fashion Design from competitors Market Research (Ramp;D) Feedback and Innovation Plan Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Actual Procurement of unrefined stones. Process the stones into fine diamond. Sell and make a reasonable gain. Control Looks at the difference between what was planned and what actually happened. External Information Customer specific design New tastes and fashion Design from competitors Market Research (Ramp;D) Feedback and Innovation Figure 7. The ‘planning-control-innovation’ cycle. 6. Changes happening in the diamond industry. * Researchers are on the verge of bringing in new materials which reflect light better than diamond and these materials are stronger and more durable than diamond. But, they will be far cheaper than diamonds and this is going to be a big problem to diamond manufacturers as the demand for diamond will surely drop. An example is synthetic stones. * In response to growing concern over illicit trade in conflict or blood diamonds, the United Nations General Assembly established the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in 2003. This scheme is going to make sure of the source of every single diamond so as to ensure that they are from a genuine source. This happening will increase the price of diamond because more than 55% of diamonds are from Africa and the mines there are operated by very cheap labor and sometimes by slaves, women and children. The UN will come in and stop this practice thus increasing the cost of labor, working conditions and ultimately the price for diamonds. 7 Quality Management Quality is one of the performance objectives and it is taken very seriously by all organizations because if achieved, may give them competitive advantage. Some organizations rely on quality more than others and the fashion and health industry takes quality as primary considering the fact that people want to look good and in good health. Quality is a matter of perception so what can be called quality for A might not necessarily be called quality for B. According to Garvin (1984), the attributes in quality for a product are: * Performance * Features * Reliability * Conformance * Durability * Serviceability * Aesthetics * Other perceptions Parasuraman et al. (1985), on the other hand listed 5 attributes in defining what is quality of a service? nd they are: * Reliability – Are we always going to get on time delivery? * Responsiveness – Are the always going to respond quickly to our demands and complaints? * Assurance – Are we assured of their competence? * Empathy – Does the organization feel and understand customers’ needs and concerns? * Tangibles – Is the physical surrounding conducive? 7. 1 Qu ality in the Organization But in relation to Sparkle, the best definition of quality is that as per Slack et al. (2009) â€Å"quality is consistent conformance to customers’ expectation† and I will say and even surpassing those expectations. Sparkle uses total quality management as their quality management technique. They look for means and ways to maintain and continuously improve quality at each stage of the production process. All employees meet once a month to discuss on how to improve the organization’s present performance. Books by Deming, Crosby, Juran, Hill and other total quality management gurus are in the company’s library and research department for employees to read and be motivated to contribute into the organization’s performance. All employees are made to know that quality and customer’s requirements being met comes before any other thing. The organization has a suggestion box where employees can write any inspiring idea that comes in mind and this box is emptied every day and read by the research staff and it is summarized and sent to the manager examine. 7. 2 The Cost of Quality Quality has a cost which is like a double-edged sword meaning that good quality will have a cost and bad quality will also have a cost. 7. 2. 1 The Cost of Good Quality This is also known as the cost of quality assurance. Sparkle has a lot of this cost because they are continuously always trying to get better in quality all over the organization so as to better serve customers’ needs. The cost of quality assurance is further divided into prevention cost and appraisal cost. * Prevention cost is the cost of trying to make everything right on first attempt and some of this cost are: * Sparkle does not give a command for precious stones and wait for the stones to come. They go to the supplier’s premises and pick the stones one after the other and not in groups to ensure the best stones are taken. The supplier charges more for this. * The cost of designing the jewelry in a computer automated system and running several checks with other very expensive bespoke software before the design is confirmed. Sparkle trains its employees every 6 months and buys books to update them on new technologies and to keep their skills up and awake. * All employees are taught a wide variety of skills so that if a certain employee is not available to do a specific thing, there will always be another to do it. * Appraisal cost is concerned with controlling quality and this is achieved by testing the process before the product is manufactured and testing the product before it gets to the customer. Some of these costs are: * The cost incurred in testing all equipment, machines and ensuring staffs are fit and able before any diamond is processed. The cost of checking the diamond after manufacture by employees and with the use of a computer aided personalized software which is very expensive to make sure that the diamonds are flawless. * The time spent in testing the diamonds ensuring the pass all the set of test before and after manufacture. 7. 2. 2 The Cost of Bad Quality All organizations including Sparkle wants to evade this cost because it is very dangerous and it can even bring down the entire organization in a blink of an eye. The cost of bad quality is divied into internal failure cost and external failure cost. Internal failure cost is cost incurred before the product reaches the customer. Some of this cost are: * The cost of scrap. Diamonds are very expens ive so any little scrap of badly shaped diamond is worth a whole lot. So Sparkle makes sure the best quality diamond is procured and diamond cutting should be not less than perfect. * The cost of reshaping ill-shaped diamonds and gluing broken once. * The resources lost in repairing diamonds. Labor, machine time, and electricity are used which should have if the diamonds were made right the first time. External failure cost arises after the product has been received by the customer and some of this cost include: * The cost listening to customer complaints and responding to them. * The cost of replacing a defective diamond which a customer has rejected. This can cause the organization a fortune. * The customer might have to take the company to court and the organization will pay a huge sum if the lost the lawsuit. Some compensation may run to millions of pounds and could bring the organization to its end. * One of the most dangerous costs is that which we don’t see. An example is the lost sale and contribution. When a customer is dissatisfied, he will most at times not want to come back and he will discourage a potential customer who will discourage another customer to come to us. Saying all this, quality should be treated like an egg in the midst of rocks. 8 Supply Chain Management 8. 1 Definition Supply Chain is the management of the interconnection of organizations that relate to each other through upstream and downstream linkages between the processes that produce value to the ultimate consumer in the form of products and services (Slack et al. 2010). A supply chain is a holistic network starting from the sourcing of material, through its transportation to the organization’s premises, to manufacturing, to storage and warehousing and finally to consumers. So it is a whole system and it works as one therefore is one part of the chain is broken, the whole system will fall apart and consumers’ will not be satisfied. 8. 2 Sparkleâ⠂¬â„¢s Supple Chain Stage 1 Sparkle’s supply chain starts from the diamond mines in Africa which produce more than 50% of total diamonds to mines in India, Russia, Canada and Australia. The mines usually dug very deep but the deepest diamond mine runs for about 160km passing through sand, rocks, and gravel to be blasted drilled, crushed and processed. It should be noted that only 20% of diamonds from mines can be polised and used for jewelry; the rest is used for industrial use. The stones picked here are very rough still with no beauty (see figure 10). Stage 2 Companies and independent buyers go to these mines and buy the rough stones from the mine owners and take them to their premises for processing. These stones are then processed to make them a little bit more presentable so that diamond manufacturers can then buy them and further process them into diamonds. Diamonds at this stage looks like that in figure 11. Figure 8: Trapping stones to look for diamonds in an African mine. Source: Figure 9: A typical unprocessed diamond. Source: Figure 10: Unprocessed diamonds directly from the mine. Source Figure 11: Diamonds which have been slightly processed. Source: Stage 3 Sparkle buys the diamonds in fig. 11 and examines them with the use of a computer aided personalized software. After a series of checks, rejected diamonds will be sent back to the suppliers and the good ones will be cut into different shapes so as to give the greatest value. After cutting, the diamond goes through computer aided software to confirm its perfection and after this, it is polished and cleaned. Sparkle will also buy what the diamonds are going to be fitted on because people will scarcely buy a chunk of diamond. Diamonds are usually fitted on rings, pens, earrings, belts and many more (see figure 14). These things are usually bought from top manufacturers with good design and quality and they are usually very expensive. Figure12: Diamond cutting in Sparkle. Source: Figure 13: Diamond polishing in Sparkle Source: Stage 4 After polishing and the diamond have an unblemished shine, shape and color, it is then taken by the customers. Some of the customers ordered just a few and sometimes even just one special diamond while other big customers like jewelry shops order bigger quantities at ones. It is either Sparkle delivers the diamond to the place agreed by the customer or the customer comes to the organization’s site on an agreed date and after a phone call to pick up the diamond. The supply chain ends after the diamond has reached the customer. Figure 14: Finished diamond ready for the customer. Source: Figure 15: Diamonds bought by jewelry shops. Source: The Mine The Cutting Company Polishing Customers Jewelry Shops Manufacturing The Mine The Cutting Company Polishing Customers Jewelry Shops Manufacturing The supply chain of Sparkle is a good and effective. Its success can sometimes be attributed to the information technology they use. They use the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which brings in data from all sources and this is used to know when suppliers have diamonds and the variouse categories, to know when jewelry shops are running short of iamonds, and many more (all discussed in chapter 9). Figure 16: Sparkle’s Supply Chain 9 Information Systems As seen in chapter 1, â€Å"Operation Management is the activity of managing the resources which produce and deliver goods and services† (Slack et al, 2010). For these activities to be properly managed, it needs the help of automated process and compu ter aided techniques. Information systems are found throughout an organization and if used well reduce costs and can be a source of gaining competitive advantage. 9. 1 Computer Aided Techniques Sparkle uses information systems in many ways in its business. Listed below are some specialized computer aided programs used. 1. They use Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) which gives an optimum layout of the cutting steps and their sequence (this is different for different diamonds). There are many diamond cutting machines and they all have different cutting styles and they are operated by specialist in the different cutting sectors. So the CAPP examines a diamond and gives different possible steps on which machine to use first and which not to use so as to minimize waste and give the diamond the best possible cuts so as reflect light in an optimal way. 2. They use Computer Aided Designs (CAD) to design the shape of diamonds on a computer and finished diamonds can actually be seen even before processing starts. If an error is made in the design, it can be corrected but this could have been impossible without CAD. 3. The also use Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) which takes the drawings and designs from the CAD and test them for perfection. Different test are administered and the flawlessness of a diamond can be confirmed even before manufacture. 4. Automated Material Handling (AMH) system is also used. Diamonds are very expensive and so care must be taken at each step. The AMH system improves efficiency in diamond movement, storage and retrieval. 5. The Laser Security System (LSS) is used where diamonds are kept be it rough stones, semi-processed diamonds and fully processed diamonds. Invisible laser rays crisscross the diamonds and it needs a password to be deactivated. Only top managers have the password and the password of each of them is different making it easy to know who accessed the diamond safe. If someone tries to pass through the laser rays, it can kill or paralyze them and the security alarm is automatically triggered and an automated call goes to the nearest police station. . Security Camera Systems (SCS) make use of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) at all times to monitor the whole building especially where inventory is held. 7. The Inventory Control System (ICS) gives detail information about each diamond rough, semi-processed or fully processed held in inventory at any point in time. Management must no go into the safe to see what t hey have in stock because the ICS does it all. This system is also used online to make customers see the diamonds, its specification and all other relevant information. Figure 16: The CAD system used to design a blue diamond. Source: Figure 17: The virtual version of the diamond in fig 16. Source: 9. 2 Pros and Cons of Information Technology (IT) IT is a very necessary tool in any organization be it a big or a small one. IT has advantages and disadvantages. They are listed in Appendix D including ‘Why IT cannot replace Human Beings’. 9. 3 Information Systems ‘Information system can be defined as a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store and distribute information to support decision making and control in an organization’ (Laundon amp; Laundon, 2006). Most organizations use some form of computer-based technology to accumulate, organize and distribute information’ (Ted, 2011) and Sparkle is not an exception. They use a set of interrelated information systems. 9. 3. 1 Transaction Processing System (TPS) This system is used to account for day by day transactions of Sparkle. It records all sales, purchases, expenses, income, tax, bills paid, equipment bought and all other transactions performed by organization. This system is also used to account for employee’s attendance, absences, pay, overtime, bonuses, remuneration, and all other things concerning the employees. . 3. 2 Supply Chain System (SCS) This system deals with customers and suppliers. It monitors the stock in the jewelry shops so as to know when to give the shops an offer. It monitors the stocks which are demanded more and those demanded less so as to know when to produce. It tracks frequent and valuable customers and grades them into groups so as know how to give discounts. This system also monitors the stock in the cutting companies. It looks at the new stocks and compares price side by side quality so as to know which supplier to order rough diamonds from. 9. 3. 3 Knowledge Management System (KMS) In Sparkle, all manufacturing processes are recorded and stored in the KMS. Any ideas gotten either by inspiration, customer’s requirement, employees’ suggestions or business intelligence are stored in the KMS for future use. Sparkle is said to be very innovative and has this edge over its rivals because of its mastery of the KMS. When a new employees is recruited, he has 2 weeks probation where he is taught how to operate in the organization and how processes function. Before the implementation and use of the KMS, probation was 3 months so this system has greatly reduces learning time. 9. 3. Management Information System (MIS) This system takes all the information from the above systems and summarizes them into financial statements and reports. It is used by management to make decisions on how to run and control the business. 9. 3. 5 Decision Support System (DSS) This system looks like an advance of the MIS. It takes data from all sources (internal and external) and su mmarizes them for top management to make decisions on the long term plans of the organization. Information from this system appears as statements, reports, charts, graphs, ratios, statistics and trend analysis. . 3. 6 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) This can be called the overall system. It takes information from all sources of the organization and brings them together in one large database. From there, required information is taken out and implemented or used to make decisions in Sparkle. It should be noted that all other systems deposit their information in ERP. Figure 18: Example of ERP. Source: LSBF MBA Intake 14, SOM Lecture 3, Session 9, Slide 34. 9. 6 Intranet and Extranet Sparkle uses intranets to deal with its employees and management. Staffs all have a particular passcode which the use and your code depends on your position within the company. Some passcodes can access some areas which other codes can’t. They also use extranets to communicate and share information with customers, suppliers, some competitors and the government. This system is more secured and less vulnerable to attacks as compared to the internet. 10 Job Design It is said that the blood stream of any organization is money and I will say the skeleton holding an organization and making it stand up straight is its workforce. An organization manages resources so as to be able to deliver acceptable goods and services to its customers and one of these resources is its workforce. An organization’s workforce is its most valuable and the most complicated of all its resources because unlike other resources, humans have a mind of their own. To be able to deal with human beings, you must know what they like and this is different for different people but these needs though different are similar. In providing this, it motivates the employees and when motivated, they produce better output eventually yielding higher profits, quality and flexibility. 0. 1 Motivation Motivation is the urge to take action to achieve something or to avoid something (BPP, 2010). Motivation can either be intrinsic (wanting to satisfy an internal urge like being happy to be able to help others) or extrinsic (reliant on tangible rewards like money, fame and power). Continues in Appendix E. 10. 2 Empowerment This is the act of delegati ng work to employees making them feel more superior because of the added responsibility and new accountability. This is good motivation for many employees. ‘Job design is about how people carry out their tasks within a process. It defines the way they go about their working lives. It positions the expectations of what is required of them, and it influences their perceptions of how they contribute to the organization. It also defines their activities in relation to their work colleagues and it channels the flows of communication between different parts of the operation. But, of most importance, it helps to develop the culture of the organization – its shared values, beliefs and assumptions’ (Slack, 2009). In designing any job, the following have to be put into consideration. * Safety. Jobs should be design in a way that it will bring no harm to the employee be it physical, psychological, mental or emotional harm. Workers in the mines especially those in Africa are exposed to a lot of risk and still earn less than the minimum wage. The mine owners wanting to make more profits cut down on cost by reducing expenditure on employees’ safety. The employees of Sparkle all have safety equipment like hats and new ideas are being implemented to make the process safer. The organization has also fully insured its entire staff. * Legal and Ethical Issues. Jobs should be design in such a manner that those doing the job will not go against the law or their code of ethics. * Own time. Job design should create time for the employees to catch up on something other than work. For example visiting new places, being with their families or performing other social activities. Employees working in the mines have little of this, but Sparkle’s employees all have right to a paid holiday and taking permission to be out of work if the need arises. * Employee’s Ability. An employee’s ability to do the job or a range of task should be considered before designing the job. For example; only heavy built men carry cargo from the trucks into the warehouse because of their physical ability to carry heavy weight unlike their colleagues. * Wage and Benefits: In designing any job, the wage and benefits to be paid for the job should be considered if not the employee can be over-paid or under-paid for the job. 10. 3 Division of Labor Unlike traditional production approaches that stipulated that one person should know everything in the company so that he can serve any function, Henry Ford came in with the idea that one man should only know one thing and should be an expert in that thing. He suggested that with specializing in a particular function, the whole organization will be specialized and will give the best quality goods and services. So jobs should be broken down into smaller portions and given to different individuals who will specialize and bring forth quality cost-effective products. 10. 3. 1 Advantages of Division of Labor (Slack, 2009) * It is easier to learn. Short and simple tasks are easier to learn compared with long and complex tasks. This will be very advantageous when training new recruits because training will take a shorter time and it will be better mastered. Automating. Short and simple task are easily automated as compared to long and complex task. * Time. More time is spent on one long task compare to time if that task was broken down. This extra time is as a result of picking different tools up and putting them down, looking for equipment, thinking of what to do next etc. 10. 3. 2 Disadvantages of Division of Labor (Slack, 2009) * Monotony. The same small task will be repeated every hour, week, month and year. This will make the job boring and less fulfilling thus resulting to absenteeism, staff turnover and errors. Over-reliance. If one employee is absent, no other will be able to perform his duty and this may bring the whole production process to a halt. * No flexibility. Employees let to do one particular thing over the years turn to lose the skill of being able to learn another thing. So if the production process was to change, many employees will not be able to cope with learning how to perform a new task. * Physical Injury. The repetitive use of one part of your body let’s say arm or wrist will in the long run cause pain to that part. This is known as Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). Sparkle teaches their employees a wide range of task during their probation but the employees are assigned to do just one thing when they fully start work. Teaching them a wide range of task is to expose them to the processes of the whole organization so that they can contribute ideas in the development of a department or process which does not involve them. Another reason for giving employees holistic training is to make an employee being able to do an absent employee’s work. This tactic was also implemented because the organization did not want an employee to feel indispensable. 0. 4 Job Design Approaches In coming out with a good job designing, the following approaches should be implemented:- 1. Job Simplification: The organization tries to the range of task and their complexities. Polishing diamond use to be a very complex task at Sparkle but with the introduction of DiamondShines TM a specialized software where diamond polishing is programmed with exact details. 2. Job Ro tation: This is periodically interchanging employees performing different task to do the task of the other. Sparkle does a lot of job rotation and this makes the employees’ job more exciting. Job rotation is successful in this organization because they train their employees to perform a number of task but if division of labor was strictly implemented, this approach could have been impossible because employee A will not have a clue of employees B’s task. 3. Job Enlargement: This involves integrating same level tasks to the ones already performed by the employees to make the job more exciting. This is not practiced in Sparkle. 4. Job Enrichment: This involves integrating different level tasks to the ones performed by the employees. The new tasks are usually higher level tasks giving employees more responsibility and decision making power. Sparkle once a week picks an employee randomly and gives him the power of a supervisory manager so as to see the changes and innovations he is going to bring to the organization. Sparkle also makes employees work in small teams and the organization creates a competitive strain amongst the teams. The competition amongst the teams brings a lot of hard work, efficiency and effectiveness.