The balance between cost and quality Essay Example for Free

The balance between cost and quality Essay Before we look closer into the subject, first we must look at exactly what is meant by quality and cost. Quality is the totality of the attributes of a good or service that meet the requirements of the buyer or customers. The materials which make up the product, the design and the engineering of the product, product performance, reliability and durability are all important characteristics of the quality package, which ultimately influence customers to buy a product and repeat-purchase It. (Pass 1995) Cost is the expenditure upon resources incurred by a firm in producing and selling its output, Each cost is a charge against revenues and profits for the use or consumption of resources during a trading period. Cost can be classified along the functional lines, distinguishing between production, selling, distribution, administration and finance costs. (Pass 1995) Quality is a term we use to signify excellence of a product or service. We think of a quality product, for example a B.M.W. motorcar. We know its well designed, well built and will therefore last a long time. If we think of car of being low quality, we think of something like a basic model type of Citroen or Fiat, with its flimsy panels, cheap components and low specifications. The quality hotel is denoted by the internationally recognised star rating system, i.e. a 1 star hotel will provide the most basic of comforts and low on hygiene, and a 5 star hotel will provide the most comforts and services. We can immediately recognise then, by simply looking at a hotels star rating how good it will be and how good of a time we will have if we stay at the hotel. Total Quality Management (TQM) is an organisational process that actively involves every function and every employee in satisfying customers needs, both internal and external. TQM works by continuously improving all aspect of work through structured control, improvement and planning activities that are carried out in concern with guiding principles that focuses on Quality  and Customer Satisfaction as the top priorities. TQM recognises that the Customer is at the centre of every activity. The customer may be external or internal. The key is to determine the gap between what the customer needs and what the system delivers. Once the gap is recognised, it would be systematically reduced and results in never-ending improvement in customer satisfaction at every level. The balance between cost and quality in purchasing is questioned when an organisation is looking to purchase the best for what they can get for their money. However, this is not always the case. One of the main considerations in the purchasing functions is that the quality in question is fit for purpose. Sometimes the overriding factor on the decision to purchase is that products are of the highest quality. E.g. luxury car manufacture Roll Royce will pride themselves on using the finest materials when manufacturing their cars. When at the ordering stage the emphasis will be on high quality rather then cost. Keeping cost to a minimum is an important factor for any business including companies like Roll Royce (to a certain degree). However, Roll Royce will not compromise their image of quality for the sake of cost. Often, a company has no choice but to use the most expensive materials or highest quality that money can buy. Sometimes safety is the overriding factor. If Rolls Royce is building an engine that is going to be mounted onto an aircraft, then titanium will be the preferred choice of material. Titanium is extremely expensive but will guarantee the utmost reliability in this situation. As mentioned above, purchasers have to take into consideration whether or not the quality is fit for purpose and what the product is going to be used for. The decisions that are made can be made personally for individual use or at corporate level. E.g. if a purchasing manager for a car manufacturer has to make a decision on the type radio to buy, then there is a combination of factors that will need to be considered. The price will have to suit his budget. The quality would have to be of a standard that one would expect from a car of that type from the company. The buyers final decision may well be to buy a radio system that he or she would never consider putting in their own car. But yet the decision made will mean that the system chosen will go into thousands of newly built cars. This is because the decision made was not personal; it was made of behalf of a company so it had to suit their needs. Many purchasing managers are under constant pressure to drive cost down. Even professionals have problems finding the balance between cost and quality when their budget is very low. If costs are too low then it seems inevitable that the quality will suffer. The Ford motor company has suffered the consequences of cutting costs too low. After rave reviews following introduction of the new Ford Focus into the US market, Ford decided to build the car using cheaper components in a bid to save money. The cheaper components included rear wheel bearings that would prematurely wear, causing noise and wheel instability. Not only does Ford now has to recall thousands of Ford Focuses, but it also has to deal with the fact the this decision has damaged their reputation even further. As people we are constantly trying to find the balance between costs and are own perception of quality on a daily basis. According to Juran, quality is: fitness for intended use. This definition basically says that quality is meeting or exceeding customer expectations. So according to this theory, we achieve quality when we buy a product that does what its supposed to do. If a purchasing manager is buying radios that he or she wouldnt use personally, this still ties in with Jurans definition of quality because the radios will meet the customers expectations, although is will not meet the buyers. When we shop we have to ask ourselves if the use of the product will justify the cost. E.g. when studying late at night, the natural choice of beverage for some students would be something like the caffeine boosting energy drink Red Bull at the cost of ?25. ?25 is far too much to pay (double) for a can of fizz pop. On this particular occasion, the beverage will not be used as a  thirst quencher or as a vodka mix, but used as an aid to keep the student awake through the studying session. The cost (?25) of the product is justified due to the products fitness for intended use. Deming states that the customers definition of quality is the only one that matters. This is true but I feel that the customer does not always get quality from what they perceive as quality. This is partly to do with the fact that some companies are very good at doing some things, but is not so good at others. Designer label brand Gucci is a prime example of this. If somebody buys a Gucci designer watch for the cost of ?0, there are a host of other things that the buyer will achieve like admiration, prestige and self-esteem. Gucci is not a watchmaker and does not have the same level of expertise of watch making as Rolex or Cartier. Although somebody who does not have knowledge of watches may perceive this watch as quality. Those with know-how or those in the industry would regard this watch as crap. Watches of this nature are purely soled through success of the brand. The watches are simply a spin-off from their designer clothesline and are made with very low quality and cheap components. According to Which magazine, the life expectancy for a Gucci watch is two three years. This is very low compared to Rolexs lifetime life expectancy. looking at Passs definition of quality, a Gucci watch does not carry vital characteristics such as, reliability and durability, which are key to the quality package. This brings us to Demings theory that the customers definition of quality is the only one that matters. I appreciate that the customers opinion is all that matters them, but whether or not the customer is actually receiving quality is another matter. If a product were purchased on the basis of the customer being happy with the product initially, then it would be very difficult to apply Demings theory of quality if the product has hidden defects. Similar to the phrase, things arent always what they seem. To achieve high quality, a company does not have to always have to pay the high costs. For example the cars produced by the Japanese used to be of low quality and unreliability was common. Things have changed now. Japaneses  cars are now built to an excellent standard and reliability is second to none. Not only are the Japanese building excellent cars, they are building them at a great speed. This is partly due to lean supply techniques that the Japanese have mastered. The whole area of purchasing and suppliers is streamlined to achieve minimum waste. Adopting these techniques cannot be done over night, but lean supply is an excellent step in the right direction in achieving a good balance between cost and quality long-term. Philip B. Crosby (1979) believed in the zero-defects program adopted by the US federal government defining quality as conformance to requirements. He emphasized prevention rather than inspection (audits) and promoted a definition of quality as meeting the customers requirements the first time and every time. His work is part of TQM. Crosbys (1979) philosophy on quality is driven solely by prevention of defects. It is expressed in a phrase he uses: Do it right the first time and every time. Crosby emphasizes zero defects, given that he believes there is only one level of quality. In other words, the presence of any flaw in the product deprives it of quality. He believes managements perception and attitude towards quality needs to be transformed if the organisation is going to succeed at delivering quality consistently. For example, Deming and many managers believe that error is inevitable and one only has to deal with it. Crosby believes it is self-defeating to plan and invest in strategies that deal with errors instead of investing in strategies and processes that prevent errors from occurring in the first place (Garvin and March, 1986). The Lean thinking method allows Japanese car manufactures have strong relationships with their suppliers and offer incentives for better quality. E.g. The supplier will carry out rigorous tests on their products before the buyer receives it to ensure reliability. Purchasing can improve quality by contributing to the competitive advantage of the undertaking by participating in the procurement of bought out items at the economical cost. It is important to ensure that quality is not confused with price and grade. Managers should be using their extensive knowledge and expertise to provide high quality to both internal and external customers of the purchasing function. To maximise quality, the purchasing departments responsibilities should meet with the requirements of BS/ EN and BS 7750 Keeping the balance between cost and quality in an important factor for any business. As mentioned above, it depends on what the buyer is trying to achieve overall. If high quality is the overriding factor for a company, then this will tie in with the companies high quality image. Whether it is no frills or impeccable quality, managers will try to find a reasonable balance where appropriate. Bibliography Lysons, K (2000) Purchasing and supply chain management. 5th edition. Prentice Hall Crosby, P. (1984) Quality without tears. 1st edition. Mc Graw Hall companies Crosby, P. (1995) Quality is still free. Mc Graw Hall companies Crosby, P. (1979) Quality is free. . Dutton signet Garvin, D.A. and A. March. (1984) A Note on Quality: The Views of Deming, Juran and Crosby. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Juran, J.M. (1988) Juran on Planning for Quality, New York: Free Press,. http://www.which.co.uk/

Swot Analysis and Gatorade Essay Example for Free

Swot Analysis and Gatorade Essay So team physicians got together and determined what exactly was the problem. The athletes suffered from a lack of electrolytes and carbohydrates, which was not being replenished with just water. The group of four physicians blended a drink that had the perfect balance of carbohydrates and electrolytes. The drink would prove to help the Gator football team perform better on the field, so naturally they called the drink â€Å"Gatorade. † What happened next was rather remarkable because the players started performing better. They finished with a record of 7-4 that season and the next season they finished with a record of 9-2, winning the Orange Bowl for the first time in school history. Eventually, the drink moved into the professional leagues and the first team to adopt it was the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs had trouble practicing in the stifling heat of Missouri’s summer afternoons and they kept it on the sidelines the whole year. It resulted in the Chiefs beating the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl VI. Soon it became popular to have Gatorade on the sidelines and it started the sports drink category. By 1985, Gatorade had expanded its research in sports science by building the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. The Institute allows them to better understand the human body, its needs during the stress of competition and how to improve their products. 1 Product Features Gatorade helps performance in organs such as the kidneys, stomach, lungs, muscles and most importantly the brain. By battling dehydration, Gatorade fights off noticeable thirst, muscle cramps, weakness, decreased performance, nausea, fatigue, headaches and loss of focus. Gatorade’s all-important aspect of hydrating people, has carbohydrates to maintain energy levels during exercise, which water does not. Gatorade has greatly expanded the sports drink category since its conception in 1965 with drinks such as â€Å"Gatorade Rain†, â€Å"Gatorade Fierce† and as seen on the left â€Å"Gatorade G2. † 2 Current Branding Strategy †¢ Sports being Gatorade’s biggest focus, they brand themselves as the best sports drink for an athlete trying to reach their peak performance. †¢ They have done this through source credibility, by gathering a group of athletes like Peyton Manning, Dwyane Wade, Derek Jeter, Kevin Garnett and Michael Jordan. All of these athletes are memorable and influential to kids and adults, but Jordan has the most impact. †¢ Jordan probably has the most source credibility of anyone in sports, having him on their side has certainly helped. Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players ev er, certainly helped Gatorade sales with campaigns like â€Å"Be Like, Mike. † Dewyane Wade, a Marquette University alumni, has been with Gatorade since 2005 3 Demographic The demographics of the Gatorade target market are active males, aged 18 to 25. They can be students, just starting their career, or well-established, regardless of status the majority of them believe they are athletic. They grew up idolizing many different sports athletes and teams, which still have an influence. They make a very wide variety of incomes because Gatorade is inexpensive. It could be anywhere from $10,000 to $60,000. Education could vary also, most have at least high school level education and some have college experience. Their attitudes can vary a little, but most of them are competitive, care about sports and enjoy their perspective athletic endeavors. The average customer for Gatorade is about 18-25 These types of consumers may also be interested in other sport-related clothing and accessories. They maybe interested in items such as jerseys, hats, shoes or anything that will show off their allegiance to a team, sport or player. 4 Competition PowerAde is the main competition for Gatorade, others like All Sport exist, but they do not present a challenge to Gatorade. The brand of PowerAde has essentially the same target market as Gatorade; 18 to 24 year old males who are engaged in athletics. However, PowerAde appears to be looking for the trendier types of consumers.

Operation management of Primark and Atlas Honda

Operation management of Primark and Atlas Honda INTRODUCTION The report describes the operation management of PRIMARK and the ATLAS HONDA LIMITED PAKISTAN which are two different companies in two different industries. PRIMARK in garment industry is a big retailer in the high streets for the readymade cloths which is basically belongs to tertiary sector (service) in which it distribute/sell the manufactured goods(cloths)in his retail stores and the ATLAS HONDA is a joint venture which manufacture and sell automobiles which is in manufacturing industry. This report is structured in a way that describe both companies 1: Competitive priority 2: Marketing strategy and also compare and contrast their operations in their industries and report also include the analysis of their internal factors as capacity planning, inventory management, quality control and the external factors as environment, innovation. After the report we will be able to understand the operating management of the two different industries which help us to gain knowledge to design one best operating model which help us in both industries. Before forwarding to the report structure as discuss above we need to know about both companies to be familiar with their operations. PRIMARK PRIMARK is the subsidiary company within the ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS and one of the biggest retailer in UK who sell readymade clothes with stylish fashion, design and variety at affordable prices. It focus on womenwear, menwear, childrenwear and home products. In 1969 the first store opened in DUBLIN(IRELAND) in the name of first Pennys store and till 1973 the number of stores reached at18 in all around the IRELAND, in the following year it expanded to GREAT BRITAIN and opened his first stores in DERBY and BRISTOL and in within next 10 years the number of stores become 22 in each. After expansion to GREAT BRITAIN, in 1995 PRIMAK applies the acquisition policy in his expansion and acquire first BHS ONE-UP discount chain in UK 16 stores,then CO-OP with 11 stores, 11stores from retreat ion of A C. After 2005 PIMARK moved to Europe for more expansion and opened stores in SPAIN,PORTUGAL,HOLLAND,GERMANY,BELGIUM. Till September 2010 it has 150 stores in UK. Its competitors are NEXT, ZARA, GAP, RIVER ISLAND etc which compete in different bases of competitive advantage. We take only UK market for the Primark business operation. http://www.primark.co.uk/page.aspx?pointerid=eb44df4565934edca627dac6ec12145a Last access 10th march 2011 ATLAS HONDA LIMITED (AHL) PAKISTAN ATLAS HONDA LIMITED PAKISTAN is a joint venture of ATLAS GROUP and HONDA MOTOR CO.LTD which manufacture and sell motorcycles. The company was created by the merger of Panjdayar LTD and Atlas Autos LTD, in 1988. AHL manufactures and markets Honda motorcycles in collaboration with Honda Motor Company. The Company also manufactures various hi-tech components in-house in collaboration with leading parts manufacturers like Showa Atsumitech, Nippon Denso and Toyo Denso. Honda motorcycles are by far the largest selling motorcycles in the country with an unmatched reputation for high quality, reliability and after-sales-service. ATLAS HONDA manufactures four models of motorcycles 1: CD 70 2: CD 100 3: CG 125 4: CG 125 DELUXE Company has two big inhouse manufacturing capability at Karachi (Sindh) which manufactures 300 units of CD 70 only and Sheikupura (Punjab) plants which manufactures all four models. A vast and growing network of over 1600 sales service and spare parts dealers has been established in all over the country. Company has more than 60% of market share in Pakistan motorbike industry, it exports the products to Bangladesh and Afghanistan. http://www.atlashonda.com.pk/company. Last access 10th of march 2011 COMPARISON/CONTRAST OPERATIONS IN BOTH ENTITIES In any organization the operation function is the part of organization which produces the products and services for that entity, it is not called with same name all the time but it is concerned with managing the core purpose of organization which produce some mix of products and services. nigel slack, stuart chambers, robert johnston , alan betts (2009).operations and process management. 2nd ed. england: pearson education limited. 1-1. In another words the operation is defined as the systematic design, direction and control of process that transform input into services and products for internal, as well as external. Primark and Atlas Honda are two different companies in two different industries, one is a retailer in service industry and 2nd is in manufacturing industry. the service sector create value or add value to the product and manufacture industry produce the tangible product so some similarities and contrast appeared in their operations which can be analyzed and criticize on the basis of their marketing strategy and their competitive priority. MARKETING STRATEGY Market strategy is developed by the entities to fill the gap between current performance and the forecasted performance which is the objective/targets of the entity to achieve, so the company develop the marketing strategy for its product in target market for targeted customers to make them aware to the products and service it provides. Cim,bpp, 76-77 2008 We can use the Ansoffs growth model which is used to analyze the product and market of the company in its marketing strategy. cim (2007). professional diploma in marketing. 3rd ed. london: BPP. 76-78.http://franteractive.net/resources/Ansoff-Matrix.GIF We will use this model to define and criticize the marketing strategy of the Primark and Atlas Honda. MARKETING STRATEGY STRATEGY PRIMARK AHL Market penetration Y N Product development Y Y Market development Y Y Diversification N N Primark has its objective of DELIVERING VALUES AND TRADE ETHICALLY http://www.primark.co.uk/ethical/values last access 10th march 2011 Primark use the leaflets drop, ads on bus shelters, the London Underground and radio ads. university of wales, marketing, database source complete Above marketing strategy used by Primark for his new stores in BRITAIN and it opened six more new stores one of which is in the oxford circus. According to Ansoff model we can explain the marketing strategy of Primark as follows Market development strategy which is in new market in existing product so the entry from Ireland and to Britain and other European countries is the example of entry in new market. Product development is in new product in new market, so Primark products are women, men, child wears but it include homemade garments as well, product development strategy basically elicited the customers to come in the store for all his garment needs. But the problem in market development strategy is the high distribution cost which Primark used to distribute his merchandise which it get form Asian countries and distribute them to his different stores which cost him high and reduce his profit. http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jun2009/gb20090616%5f4 498429.htm. Market penetration is to enter in the market with the low price to compete in the market as the GILLETTE company sell his MACH 3 new product in the market on 60% of cost which is the best example of market penetration to enter in the market with low price, so the entrance of Primark in the BRITAIN garment industry is the market penetration in the presence of GAP,NEXT etc, with low cost strategy, but market penetration strategy has the main criticize is that it starts the price war in the market and through the small entities out of business Diversification is to diversify from the industry to another industry which comes into unrelated diversification so the parent company of Primark ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOOD, who diversify from food to garment is the unrelated diversification. But Primark has it self not any diversified activity in any other industries. ATLAS HONDA use mostly the electronic media for his products marketing as internet, television ads, salesmen etc. For CD 70 and CD 100 Atlas Honda target middle income families and mostly these bikes used in villages due to the brand loyalty and durability. CG 125 and CG125 DELUXE these both bikes target the special segment of market with the customers who want to pay more for high speed and beauty of the products. DIVERSIFIATION is the Honda joints venture in Pakistan as Atlas Honda is his related diversification in motorbike industry. The problem with Atlas Honda in his joint venture is that it manufacturing units in Pakistan and the changing political parties and insecurity affecting its this diversified product making units which affect the motorbike production and the business as well. Product Development is the four type of product CD 70, CD 100, CG125, CG125 DELUXE are the example in market for product development, the Atlas Honda believe in quality in return of high prices which opened the ways for his competitors with low cost and low price strategy like Chinese company STAR, SOHRAB, LIFAN etc. which affect the market share ( 63% in Pakistan) and the profit of the company. Market Development strategy of ATLAS HONDA is it exporting the products to Bangladesh and Afghanistan is its market development in other countries, this means the distribution cost will be high for Atlas Honda and affect his sale and profit in the market. COMPETITIVE PRIORITY Competitive priority include low cost operations, top quality, consistent quality, delivery speed, on time delivery, development speed, customization, variety and volume flexibility, these are the competitive priorities which set a company aside and superior to the rest of the companies in the industries by the result of his operations, it is not necessary that a company acquire all of them to compete but it can get any mixture of them to perform well. Under we show the similarity and contrast in the competitive priority of the PRIMAK and ATLAS HONDA LIMITED. It is need to be cleared that under the table the element of competitive priority is categorized in four broad concepts. COMPETITVE PRIORITY C.P PRIMARK ATLAS HONDA LTD QUALITY TOP QUALITY N Y CONSISTANT QUALITY Y Y COST LOW COST OPERATIONS Y N TIME DELIVERY SPEED N Y ONTIME DEIVERY N Y DEVELOPMENT SPEED Y Y FLEXIBILITY CUTOMISATION N Y VARIETY Y Y VOLUME FLEXIBILITY Y Y QUALITY Quality is different for different customers, quality is simply defined as the completeness of features, value for money, conformance of specification, reputation. Consistent quality In the case of Primark and the AHL both companies products have the similar feature of consistent quality as in the Primark in garment industry sell fashion cloths for men, women, children and homemade products and AHL in motorbike industry both meet their design and specifications on the continuous basis to maintain the consistent quality of their products Top quality on the other hand the AHL is manufacturing and selling the top quality motorbikes in the motorbike industry of Pakistan thats why AHL has 63% market share in the market but the Primark is selling low quality products in the garment industry of Britain against his major competitors GAP, NEXT, ZARA which is the major difference in both of companies. COST Cost feature include manufacturing cost, value added cost, running cost, service cost and selling price is included Low cost operations: Primark is the strategy of low cost on which it sell its outsourced garment products to the customers by adding its services with its efficiently designed and operation process (appendix 2).so this strategy in the motorbike industry of AHL in Pakistan is applied by Star company and Titan company is the example of low cost operations. So in the Primark business the low cost operations credit goes to its supplies from its suppliers who operating their activities in low wage and other low production cost countries like Bangladesh. But the AHL is differentiate strategy for its product so its premium charges for his products in the market and this example in the garment industry is the ZARA, NEXT, GAP etc in the garment industry of UK. AHL operations are in house system in which a efficient manufacturing process is undertaken with all new production and management techniques (JIT, MRP, TQM)and charge the highest price in the market. (appendix 1show the process of operation in both companies) TIME Time included the delivery time, manufacturing lead time, due date, frequency of delivery, rate of production of the entity. AHL has its two manufacturing plants one is in Karachi and 2nd is in Shekhupura, AHL has Karachi plant produce 300 units of motorcycle per day. AHL has design its process efficiently to minimize the manufacturing lead time and fulfill the customers orders on time but again this internal efficiency depend on suppliers relation and efficient supply chain. The production example given 300 units for Karachi plant is the best example of manufacturing speed which is short and good for the company and this in return help on time delivery system where demand occur. The Primark outsourced its garment products from ASIAN countries mainly from Bangladesh, so according to the nature of the business in its industry the Primark has face fast development speed in the products because its products become out of fashion very fast so Primark has need the good relationship with its supplier because of its fast changing industry nature so wants the continuous deliveries. AHL also used the product development in its manufacturing plants in KARACHI and SHEHUPURA for introduction of new products. FLEXIBILITY Flexibility include the customization, variety and the volume of the production. The AHL production have all the customization, variety and volume features are included for example the four different products it produce is one feature of customization, variety and volume in production process is to support larger volume production and quickly manage within fluctuating demand which is again come in AHL production system in which it produce four type of customized motorbikes for targeted customers market with the production capacity of 600000 per year. The variety and volume flexibility is also seen in the Primark retail stores in which large amount of fashion cloths for all men, women and children are on the shelf and in the warehouses but the customization is in the product is not inside its process because it sell the products TO general public in the market. B: criticize 1: CAPACITY MANAGEMENT Capacity information is used by the companies to analyze and maximize their output, understand the companies capacity cushion and use the information for long and short term decision for expansion strategies. Capacity planning is a systematic approach to three issues pertaining to capacity,estimating the amount of capacity required, evaluating the alternative methods to augmenting the capacity and devising methods to use capacity effectively. b.mahadeven (2007). operations management theory and practice. new delhi: dorling kindersley. 219-221. The firm go through the situation of overcapacity, appropriate capacity and inappropriate capacity. The size, time and capacity become the constrains in the organizations. The company use the expansion and see and wait policy to cope when they face the constrains for example the BRITISH AIRLINE use the seats as his capacity, PRIMARK floor space and the ATLAS HONDA use his machines or the process in the one constrain theory as a capacity which become the constrain at the time of demand. In short time company use to manage itself within capacity but in long term it use to expand by acquisition or investment in the operation process. The capacity management take long time to manage if it applied by expansion policy with the large investment in operations to cope with demand but in short term lose the increased demand. Capacity planning included the judgment with based on the experience and the capacity planning used to get the economy of scale but after an specific point this benefit turns into the marginal increased unit cost which start to reducing the profit. b.mahadeven (2007). operations management theory and practice. new delhi: dorling kindersley. 219-235. Inventory management. Inventory management can be defined as Systems and processes that identify inventory requirements, set targets, provide replenishment techniques and report actual and projected inventory status. The companies use the different inventory methods for managing inventories 1: Just in time (JIT) In the JIT method the company use the pull strategy according to which it place orders when it requires for production or demand by customer. CIMA P7, CIMA PUBLISHER,2005 2: Economic Order Quantity(EOQ) The EOQ system is a quantitative method for inventory management , which minimize the inventory holding cost and ordering cost by use of a formula : à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡2*A*CP/CH 3: SAFETY STOCK Is a PUSH POLICY, safety stock is normally used traditionally to cope with unanticipated demand so the large buffer stock is retained in the big warehouses to manage with the unforeseen demand otherwise the company lose the sales and there will emerge the danger to lose the customer so company pay more to stock the inventory and pay more to stocking. 4: ABC INVENTORY is use to cauterize the inventory according to their value in organization . The companies used to manage their inventory because on average, 56 cents out of every dollar of revenue (i.e. 56 percent of revenue) to cover the direct cost of purchased goods, with this percentage figure being even higher for the typical wholesaler or retailer (Monczka et al., 2002; Handfield, 2002). Add to this figure the indirect cost of having to manage inventory of purchased goods (which has been estimated to be 30-35 percent of the value of purchased goods see Chase et al., 2004)and the total cost of purchased goods inventory can be quite alarming. The inventory management need the investment and warehouse which used by PRIMARK who received the outsourced supplies and distribute to other stores in Europe which cost him high and reduce profit. The inventory management polices as JIT and ABC systems want the basic changes in operation and the process and affect the emplyees as well to understand the them. New inventory policy as JIT want supplier commitment because it change the whole supply chain and want the amendment in suppliers system so it affect all supply chain system. organizational management and information system,2005,oxford,c.i.m.a The PRIMRK and the AHL need to decide the inventory management system before the decision of capacity management because the JIT system not need high investment on expansion policy. PERFORMANCE MEASURE Here we use two type of performance measure 1: Multidimensional performance measure Balance scorecard 2: Qualitative performance measure Matrices 1: BALANCE SCORECARD The balanced scorecard translates mission and strategy into objectives and measure into four different perspectives provide a framework, a language, to communicate mission and strategy, it uses measurement to inform employees about the drivers of current and future success. By articulating the outcomes the organization desires and the drivers of those outcomes, senior executives hope to channel the energies, the abilities, and the specific knowledge of people throughout the organization towards achieving long term goal. It should be used as a communication, informing, and learning system not controlling. (adopted, Kaplan and nortan, 1996, p.25) Balance scorecard does not lead to a single aggregate summary control for example if we use RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) it conveniently show how things are going. No clear relation between the BSC and shareholders value. Measure may give conflicting signals and confuse management. For example high customer satisfaction lead to falling financial indicators. BSC involves substantial shifts in corporate culture to implement. So if the AHL and the PRIMARK use the balance scorecard for their performance measure the above problems also occur in the system. So the capacity management and the inventory management comes in the internal business process part of the balance scorecard. Supply chain value Normally porters value chain model used for analyzing the operating process in manufacturing industry but we can use it in service industries as well. These activities are linked with each other to create value for the customer in the product and service. (appendix 1 shows the value chain of both companies). But the supply chain value add two more componenets in the value chain. Supply value chain à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ company value chain à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ customer value chain According to a July 16 report in The Wall Street Journal, Nissan Motor Co. halted production at four factories in Japan and at two auto manufacturing plants in the United States for three days in July due to a delay in the shipment of engine control units from supplier Hitachi Ltd. Hitachi officials said the delay was caused by a shortage of semiconductor chips from its suppliers. Nissan, which had adopted the Lean model about five years ago and dramatically reduced its inventory, said the production stoppage will reduce the companys output by 15,000 vehicles. However, Lean expert Matt Wrye, who writes the Beyond Lean blog (beyondlean.wordpress.com), said that Nissans issues were the result of a misapplication of Lean techniques. If you had hiccups in procurement, Lean behavior would ask questions around what are the hiccups in procurement, he wrote. Then Nissan would solve [these] problems, not arbitrarily start to add more suppliers just in case they have a similar hiccup in the future. http://www.isixsigma.com/index.php?option=com_k2view=itemid=1699Itemid=156 last access 22 march 2011 Total Quality management TQM is a process and philosophy of achieving best possible outcomes from the inputs, by using them effectively and efficiently in order to deliver best value for the customer, while achieving long term objectives of the organization. r.ashley.rawlins (2008). total quality management. london: authur house. 5-10. TQM involves the three main components Customer satisfaction involve conformance to specification, value, fitness for purpose, support, psychological impression Employee involvement include cultural change, teams. Continuous improvement is based on the philosophy of KAIZEN theory, to improve in each aspect of the entity. Quality as four type of cost Prevention example check the inbound logistic Appraisal example quality of inbounds Internal failure include cost of failure before sell to customers External failure example warrantee, guarantee TQM is the continuous improvement in the product and services which is not enough because the quality is what the customer so the AHL not only continuous improve the process but also make sure the customers needs in his products. TQM is not easy to apply but it needs a long time to internalize in the companies all aspect and it is also expensive for any company for example if Primark want the quality in his services it need to implement in each activity. TQM want the employee commitment so it is not easy to get the person to do what you want . TQM wants the cultural change in the organization which is a challenge for the organization and if not implemented successfully its become the danger for the companys survival. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3257/is_n12_v47/ai_14858551/?tag=content;col1 last access 21 march 2011 1:

Infanticide Essay example -- essays research papers fc

Despite the clear prohibitions against child-murder by all major religions, female infanticide has been for centuries a prominent and socially acceptable event, notably in one of the most populous countries in this world, India. Even today, the extent of the problem is measured in alarming proportions all around the globe: â€Å"at least 60 million females in Asia are missing and feared dead, victims of nothing more than their sex. Worldwide, research suggests, the number of missing females may top 100 million.† The data is more astounding in India. According to the Census Report of 2001, for every 1000 males the number of females has decreased to 927 in 2001 from 945 in 1991 and continues to decrease. It is clear that the burdensome costs involved with the raising of a girl, eventually providing her an appropriate marriage dowry, was the single most important factor in allowing social acceptance of the murder at birth in India. Nonetheless, in addition to the dowry system, t he reasons for this increasing trend have also been attributed to the patriarchal society, poverty and the availability of sex-selective abortion. India's population growth has been rapid, resulting from longer life expectancy and lower infant mortality in recent decades. Before independence, the high birth rates were balanced out by high death rates. In the half century since India gained independence from Great Britain in 1947, the average life expectancy has risen from just 39 years to 63 years, as high as that in Russia today. Conversely, after independence, the numbers changed but mortality rates dropped without a matching drop in birth rates. The perception of children became very different. The urban poor contributed most to the population and the reason for this is that they started viewing children as â€Å"sources of income rather an investment†. They were seen as an old age security and the more the better. Furthermore, even though the mortality rate dropped, it was still relatively high compared to the survival rate. For this reason, fear of child death and contagious diseases caused the urban poor to contrib ute even more to the ever-increasing population. Part of the reason India is gaining on China as the most populous country in the world is that China has had very severe family planning laws, enforcing a one-child-per-family policy on most of the population. This policy was adop... ... to be effective. As mentioned before the urge has to come from within the society itself and only then it will augur well for future generations of Indian girls, yet to be born. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"The Quest for a Male Child†, article by Dr. Madhumita Das. http://www.siyanda.org/forumdocs/si20031107025140.doc 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Female Infanticide and Foeticide†, article by Marina Porras. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Again a girl! Are you not ashamed of yourself?†, article by Shoba Warrier 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Census Report, 2001 : A Government of India Publication 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Case Study : Female Infanticide – www.gendercide.org 6. â€Å"History of Infanticide†, article by Dr. Larry S.Milner. http://www.infanticide.org/history.htm 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Female Infanticide† - http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/femaleinfanticide.html 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Darwin and the Descent of Morality†, opinion by Benjamin Wiker - http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0111/opinion/wiker.html 9. â€Å"India's Population Passes 1 Billion† http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/pae/es_map/articles/article_48.mhtml

Problems with The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb Essay -- Geopolitic

The world changed June 6, 1945 when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and then again, Aug 9, 1945 on Nagasaki. The actions by the United States evoked a cataclysmic spiral in the morals and methods of how warfare is carried out. Officials within the United States government through both memorandums and meeting voiced their concerns with the use of nuclear technology. They worked tirelessly to persuade President Truman that the atomic bomb was a weapon of destruction far beyond the span of normal warfare. Truman and Japan were looking toward peaceful resolutions under their own separate terms, but each struggled with the definition of â€Å"unconditional surrender†. The decision to drop the bomb was faulty and skewed judgment on the part of President Truman, which cost the lives of innocent civilians in Japan. The recourse in not dropping the atomic bomb was made available to President Truman and the leaders of America; unfortunately no one can go back and disentangle what was done that day in Japan. Even after the first bomb was dropped, U.S. Army Chief Staff General Marshal met at the White House on June 18, 1945, with President Truman and brought to light three alternatives to the use of the atomic bomb; â€Å"1) destruction already route by air bombardment and sea blockade, coupled by 2) a landing on Japan indicating the firmness of our resolution, perhaps coupled with 3) the entry of threat entry of Russia into the war.† General Marshal also stated that the entrance of Russia into the war might be just the leverage needed to bring the Japanese to terms of surrender, rather than the use of the bomb. This memo displayed that President Truman had alternatives to consider, but yet decided to go against the ideas that ... ...mmanding General’s File, 24 Tab D ,Document (a). Henry Stimson, Memorandum discussed with the President, April 25, 1945, Henry Stimson Diary, Manuscripts and Archives, Henry Lewis Stimson Papers, Yale University, (New Haven, CT.), Document(b). Joint Chief of Staff, "Minutes of Meeting Held at the White House†, 18 June 1945†, RG 77, MED Records, H-B files, folder no. 76, Document 20. President Harry Truman, Truman's Potsdam Diary, Barton J. Bernstein, "Truman At Potsdam: His Secret Diary," Foreign Service Journal, July/August 1980, Document 38. Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, Diary Entry, April 25, 1945, Henry Stimson Diary, Sterling Library, Yale University, Document (d). Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal, Diary Entry, July 24, 1945, "Japanese Peace Feelers", Naval Historical Center, Operational Archives, James Forrestal Diaries, Document 23.

Learning importance and a example of essay in learning Essay

Learning is a major part of life. People tend to learn in every steps of their life. Learning does not necessarily involve complex terms, it can also be primitive things that keeps happening in day to day life of an individual. Everybody has different interest, likewise they have a different pattern of learning things. Some people learn faster through visual medium, some through audio, and some just writing down the things depending upon what the subject matter is. I believe that learning process does not start when one settles in a formal environment but it start right from the birth of an individual. Walking, talking, decision making etc. are some examples including every other primary things are the result of learning. Every time anyone has to acquire a new skills, they need to be focused and scrutinize the subject matter thoroughly, that is how learning happens. Learning affects the confidence of a person as well. If someone learn things quickly than they have higher confidence in doing things and learning new things as well. After going through the video couple of times I realized that one who puts hard work and devotion in learning new things can automatically adapt into the ways the things are done and will become successful. I myself am very much interested in music and vaguely inspired by the beauty of it. I think music can be the most influential thing in an individual life. Music can make a person relax after a hard day at work, cure the illness, provides maximum level of comfort to an individual. Being so much influenced on music I have managed to learn a very few instruments and it always gives me pleasure and comfort when I am playing them. But I do not want to stop here. I want to learn more about music. I want to be able to read the music and understand every keys and notation in it. I want to be a musician like David Gilmour from the greatest band ever, â€Å"Pink Floyd,† who is able to play any string musical instrument that exists in planet today. I am currently doing my major in Business with Information Technology however in order to fulfill my ambition in music I have also planned to take music as my minor subject and later on carry it as my profession along with my  Business major degree. It is very much important to me because of my vague interest in it, but mostly it makes me very happy. Finally, I am profoundly inspired from the video that I just watched and it helped me to boost up my morale. I do have much respect for the people attempting to make things happen and these people are just one of those few who dare to take the challenges and do something that makes difference to others.

Analysis: Ernest Hemingway’s The Indian Camp Essay

The short story â€Å"Indian Camp† is written by Ernest Hemingway. It is written in 1921 and takes place in North America. â€Å"Indian Camp† is about a young boy named Nick, who travels with his father and Uncle George to an Indian Camp to help an Indian girl, who has been in a painful labor for two days. Nick’s father performs a very primitive cesarean, and in meantime the woman’s husband commits suicide by cutting his throat. My intention with this essay is first to make a charactersation of the most important characters of the story. Afterwards I would like to make a short analysis of the structure, narrator and language. And at last I intend to make an interpretation of the theme of â€Å"Indian Camp†. The main character of the story is Nick, and the description of him is made implicit. We know that he is a boy, who has a great relationship with his father: â€Å"Nick lay back with his father’s arm around him. † p. 1, l. 9. He is a young boy, about 8-10 years, because he is old enough to see the cesarean, but not the suicide. Nick is very brave, because he tackles the whole situation without crying and screaming. He thinks a lot and reflex on life, which is seen in the end, when he keeps asking about life and death. Nick is a complex character, because he goes through a development. In the beginning of the story he is sitting next to his father in the stern of the boat, and he doesn’t really know what a birth is, but in the end he is sitting in front of his father in the boat and is sure about what life is. Nick’s father is a flat character. He is middle-age since he has a son and a long education. He is proud of being a doctor, which is seen, when he teaches Nick about the birth. He cares a lot about his son, because he apologize him for taking him to the Indian Camp. He wants to avoid making him nervous, so he only tells him a few necessary things about the trip. Uncle George doesn’t have an active role in the story. But it seems as if he has a friendly relationship with the Indians, because he is already in the camp in the beginning of the story, and he stays there after the birth. There are many signs, that he might be the father of the baby. He stands next to the woman under the birth, and when she bites him, she smiles. Her husband commits suicide. He was maybe ashamed of his wife being together with another man. Another sign could be, that in America they have a tradition that you hand out a cigar, when you become a father. â€Å"Uncle George gave both the Indians cigars. † p. 2, l. 3. Ernest Hemingway choice of narrator and languages is focused by, that we have to think self and read between the lines. He has used a 3th person omniscient narrator seen from Nick’s point of view. But sometimes the narrator changes to someone else’s point of view: Nick’s father is not â€Å"the father† but suddenly â€Å"the doctor†. Uncle George looked at his arm. † p. 4, l. 10. Nick doesn’t see this, because he isn’t in the room. The language in â€Å"Indian Camp† is objective. There isn’t used many adjectives and there is much direct speak. The whole story starts in a boat and ends in a boat. It has the structure: home-out-home, where there at home is cosmos and out chaos. Nick’s goes through his development, when he is out in chaos. The story starts in media-res and it has an open ending. Indian Camp† has many themes. Growing up is a good theme for this story, because Nick goes through the development from child to an adult. It could also be life and death, as a man dies and a baby is born. Another theme could be the bond between Nick and his father and how it clearly changes after the suicide. His father sees how important it is to protect the one you love and therefore apologizes to Nick. Ernest Hemingway’s short story is about how a child deals the â€Å"real tough† life and also about the secession process from parents and develops.