Operations management at Oregon facility Essay

There are a number of problems in the operations at the Oregon Facility which significantly impacts on its production. These problems include growing internal pressure for a new distribution facility in the Pacific Northwest. As well, there are quality related problems in Nebraska as well as material and inventory handling problems which also lead to an increase in production cost. Despite customer service being a very important aspect in the positive growth of any company, the facility is also coupled with customer service problems within its distribution locations where most customers end up wasting a lot of time in picking up their products. All these problems have since led to a decline in the performance. These problems have their significance in that they trigger the divisional research and engineering departments located at these facilities to provide internal consultation for the divisional research and engineering groups. Therefore these departments are motivated to look into the matter thus they can also identify other looming problems before they arise. (Mason & Jablokow, 2006, pp. 78-82). Another significance of the problems encountered in all the three facilities is that these problems enable the use of operation management tools geared towards improving the existing problems by developing ways that lead to significant changes and these impact on the whole facility at large not just the areas facing problems. (Simester, 2006). Solving the aforementioned problems at the T, P and S facilities, will subsequently lead to relative benefits that may subsequently arise. These benefits include the realization of increased performance for the capacity. Increase in their performance may also result to lower production costs and in turn this may also lead to fair prices that may attract the consumers. (Pearson, 2007). Solving the customer service problems means that the customer satisfaction will be raised. When customers are satisfied they are likely to keep on buying products from the Oregon facility and this will increase the facility’s sales volumes.

Communication and Personality in Negotiation Paper

The act of negotiating happens on a daily basis sometimes without people even noticing. When thinking about negotiations, car purchases, salary increases, and buying new homes are obvious examples of negotiating. Nonetheless, negotiations are simple as deciding where to eat with a friend or family member.There are three main reasons for negotiating; deciding on how to split or share a limited supply, the reation of a new idea that involves more than the immediate parties, and to resolve issues between individuals involved (Lewicki, Barry, & Saunders, 2006). Everyone who has bought a new car knows that it is an exciting period in one's life, though a stressful one. The pleasantries start and end with the car itself as the stressful side to it is the negotiating with the dealership. Purchasing a new car is sometimes nerve racking and leads people to rush through the process Just to get it over with.Unfortunately, rushing is the last thing one should do because with the amount of oney o n the line, it is important that the purchaser understands the full parameters of what they are buying. Having the basic understanding of car negotiations through research and patience, will make the car buying experience much more enjoyable and worthwhile. Conducting Research Purchasing a new or used car has become must easier and fulfilling with the use of the internet. The internet is an open door resource to the car buyers where they can research dealer inventories, actual costs, consumer reports, and so much more.With his information, a buyer can be more prepared when walking through the doors of a dealership. Having the knowledge of how much a dealer has paid for the car immediately allows the consumer to gauge if the dealer's offer is reasonable or absolutely ridiculous. Before even stepping foot on the lot, knowing how much the car a buyer may want costs with all the desired options will allow a new buyer to negotiate effectively. Information is a strong mutual basis for pow er (Lewicki, Barry, & Saunders, 006) Witn this intormation, perspective buyers may nave the upper nand against a greedy dealership.Information is Power The power of information comes from each party or each negotiator have the ability to gather date that supports their position or argument. The majority of new car purchasers dislike the sight of a car salesman approaching as they enter the lot. Though this may be common throughout society, the ultimate purpose of the salesperson is to assist and serve the customer. The dealership is completely independent unless the car buyer decided to purchase. If the sale doesn't go through, the sales person, the management team, and the dealership will not get paid. Closing the deal is more important to the dealership.Therefore negotiating is the only way for both parties to get what they want. The best strategy for a consumer is to know exactly what they are looking for, such as a Sudan, SUV, 4WD, etc. Then test drive what meets those requireme nts and get an initial quote. Dealerships and car salesmen will expect a commitment from potential consumers, but it is important that there are no promises made on the initial visit. They may seem desperate and even provide sob stories, anything to close a sale, but staying firm and stating that here will be no purchases on the first visit is important in starting the negotiating process.Consumers who live in locations with various dealerships have an advantage because they can compare prices during negotiations which will get them closer to their desired price. As with other items supply has a direct effect on price. Dealerships will in most cases not allow a potential buyer to walk out with a quote in writing because they wouldn't want it to be matched or beaten by another dealership. Emotionless and Effective Communication When negotiating for any reason, it is important that one stays focused on facts ather than involving emotion and ego (Lewicki, Barry, & Saunders, 2006).Negot iating is essentially interactive communications through the use of verbal and nonverbal communication skills in efforts to resolve a conflict. Ineffective communications introduce negotiation problems, which is why it is critical that the negotiators efficiently. If negotiators know that humans communicate ineffectively, then this can lead to a better and more cautious approach to negotiations. Asking questions is a great way to increase the amount of information known as well as a great tactic to egotiating.The more questions a negotiator may ask, the more they may learn about the opposition which will give them the upper hand in negotiations. Without actually listening to the answer, the question is as pointless as communicating ineffectively. Therefore when asking information seeking questions, it is important that one waits and listens to the answer that is full of the information one may seek. Depending on how you perceive the answers, this information can have multiple meanin gs and in identifying those meanings without offending the opposition can be difficult.There exist three types of listening; passive, acknowledgement, and active listening. Passive listening is where the message recipient provides no reaction of the information accuracy. Without responding, the sender will continue to send information. Acknowledgment involves a little more effort on the recipient's end where they acknowledge that they are receiving the information which is being sent by the sender. This can include a constant eye contact, a nod, or responses such as â€Å"sure†, â€Å"l see†, or â€Å"go on. † This style of listening displays acknowledgement that the recipient is earing everything the sender is explaining.However it also gives the misinterpretation that the recipient agrees with the opposition. The third type of listening is active listening, where the receiver repeats or restates the sender's information through their own interpretation and wor ds. Active listening in the negotiations is a great way for one to encourage the opposition to elaborate on their views. This creates an open dialogue from one end and allows the receiver to have a clearer concept of what the opposition beliefs are and their supporting information.Studies on the effects of negotiation conflicts date back to the 1950's (Lewicki, Saunders, ; Berry, 2006). Similar research continues today where studies examine the fact-based variables like gender, ethnicity, age, marital status, socioeconomic status, and cultural background. Negotiations don't Just happen in hostage situations or when buying a car. They occur on a daily basis from determining salary increases or where the family should eat for dinner. The reason for the negotiation doesn't matter, what matters is the art in which one negotiates.If done properly, the egotiation could end in a positive manner by resolving the conflict. By gathering the appropriate information, organizing it accordingly, in taking available information from the opposition, and weighing the facts of both ends, negotiating may be far less complex. Effective communication in the verbal and nonverbal form is important to overall success. Organized information, effective communication, and active listening are important assets to effective negotiations.

Market: Strategic Management and Adidas Essay

Adidas – a name that stands for competence in all sectors of sport around the globe. The vision of company founder Adolf (â€Å"Adi†) Dassler has long become reality and his corporate philosophy the guiding principle for successor generations. The idea was as simple as it was brilliant. Adi Dassler’s aim was to provide every athlete with the best possible equipment. It all began in 1920, when Adi Dassler made his first shoes using the few materials available after the First World War. Adidas Group (adidas) is one of the leading companies in global sporting goods industry with brands built on a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle now. The company along with its subsidiaries involves in designing, developing, marketing and retailing of sports footwear, apparel and accessories. It also involves in manufacturing and retailing of various sporting gears, accessories, golf balls, and iron rods. The company offers products through adidas, Reebok, and About TaylorMade-adidas Golf brands. Adidas brand through adidas Sport Performance offers products in five categories namely, football, basketball, running, training and outdoor. adidas continuously improved the quality, look, feel and image of our products and our organisational structures to match and exceed consumer expectations. adidas brand through adidas Sport Style offers authentic sportswear to the full spectrum of lifestyle consumers. Activities of the company and its around 170 subsidiaries are directed from the Group’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. It is also home to the adidas brand. Reebok Headquarters are located in Canton, Massachusetts. TaylorMade-adidas Golf is based in California. The company also operates creation centres and development departments at other locations around the world, corresponding to the related business activity. Effective December 31, 2011, the adidas Group employed 46,824 people. SWOT Analysis SWOT is a tool that identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organization. Specifically, SWOT is a basic, straightforward model that assesses what an organization can and cannot do as well as its potential opportunities and threats. The method of SWOT analysis is to take the information from an environmental analysis and separate it into internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external issues (opportunities and threats). Once this is completed, SWOT analysis determines what may assist the firm in accomplishing its objectives, and what obstacles must be overcome or minimized to achieve desired results. Strengths Top of brand recognition. Brand recognition of the Adidas especially its traditional three strips style is well reputed. The biggest sponsor of the sport events. Adidas is the biggest sponsor of the sport events specially football, such as 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africaâ„ ¢. adidas is the Official Sponsor, Supplier and Licensee of the FIFA World Cupâ„ ¢ and provides the Official Match Ball JABULANI as well as the equipment for all officials, referees, volunteers and ball kids. In the 2010 FIFA World Cupâ„ ¢, adidas equips more than 200 players as well as 12 teams: host nation South Africa, the tobecome world champion Spain, Germany, Argentina, Mexico, Paraguay, France, Japan, Nigeria, Slovakia, Denmark and Greece. Acquired major competitor. Adidas acquisition includes Salomon group in 1997 and Reebok in 2006 which they are the competitor previously. That increases the market share in the global sporting goods industry. Good partnership with National Basketball Association (NBA). adidas and NBA announced an 11-year strategic global merchandising partnership in 2006 that will make the adidas brand the official uniform and apparel provider for the NBA, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the NBA Development League (D-League) beginning with the 2006-07 NBA season. The Reebok brand will continue to be a global marketing partner of the NBA and will maintain the ability to create NBA branded footwear. Good reputation. The company has been obeying environmental laws and has never been accused for pollution. Such as no child labour accusations. Geographically-diversified operations. More than 170 subsidiaries guarantee marketplace presence for products of the adidas Group around the world. Sales and distribution of adidas products is grouped in four regions worldwide: Europe/Emerging Markets, North America, Asia/Pacific and Latin America. Today, the adidas Group is Europe’s biggest supplier of athletic footwear and sports apparel. Its mean adidas demographically wide spread every county have adidas outlets in every city or the branded products are scattered in different branded super marts. Product diversification. adidas Sport Style division presents new highlights of the Y-3 collection at the New York Fashion Week. Separately, adidas also have collaboration with Diesel – adidas Originals Denim by Diesel becomes available in stores in February 2008. Weaknesses The poor e-marketing. adidas e-shopping is offered only to the USA locations, some locations of Europe and Asia. Imperfect customer service. Customer service centers are not totally functional, and problems are faced specially in the case of e-marketing. Too expensive. The price is quite higher. The old version or over-quarter product still in higher price. Opportunities Improve the e-marketing. Adidas is planning to outscore its web development and ecommerce to the third party, which would then pay the company through ease at customer edge. Also can merge with them for expansion of online retail. Apps for smartphone. The smartphone very popular in the world now. The smartphone can allow users to browse the web, watch movie clips and sporting events, download music and play games; this opens new doors for Adidas Developing Technology. Although the company’s innovative technology can be regarded as its strengths yet a great deal needs to be done in this field. Business grows the importance of keeping up with changes in business computing and technology can be more important over time. Growing global footwear market. According to Prweb, Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (GIA) announces the release of a comprehensive global report on Footwear markets. Global market for Footwear is projected to reach 15.7 billion pairs by the year 2017. Growth will be primarily driven by growing world population, expanding base of middle class consumers, rising standards of living, increasing household income and per capita spends. Threats Nike has large loyal customer base. Nike that is its strongest partner is paying much attention to the diversity of models in one item that is foot wear, this leads to enhanced marketing. So if failure to expand in North America could hamper Adidas’s prospects in Asia and threaten its leadership in Europe, where Nike is growing Legal Risks. The sponsored Kobe Bryant are reflecting negative image of the brand through their illegal activities like sexual abuse. Rising costs of raw materials. The company is facing higher raw material and wage cost. This is one of the key threats to Adidas. Counterfeits. Industry world-wide loses large amounts to counterfeiters. These losses not only affect the producers of genuine items, but they also involve social costs. According to estimates by the Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau (CIB) of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), counterfeit goods make up 5 to 7% of world trade. This has become a key threat. Conclusion of SWOT Analysis According to the SWOT Analysis, adidas is strong in the market. They can gain more market share in the future. But they must improve the e-marketing and control the costs. They should be select the sponsor carefully, that is affect the company image. Porter five forces model Michael Porter (1980) examines the structure of industries by determining the forces that shape them. It is important to emphasise that the extent to which each force determines the structure of the industries differs. The model can also be used to illustrate which forces the firm can influence, in order to best position itself within its chosen industry. The new competitors are high barriers of entry to global sporting goods industry. Such as, high set up costs, economies of scale, marketing barrier. The five forces that examine are 1) the threat of new entrants, 2) the power of buyers, 3) the power of suppliers, 4) the threat of substitute products & 5) the competitive rivalry between existing firms. There are several reasons for this using the five forces analysis can clearly demonstrate how each force contributes the profitability of the industry. The threat of new entrants New entrants to an industry bring new capacity, the desire to gain market share, and often substantial resources. There are major sources of barriers to entry: By the economies of scale, the barrier is determined by size of operation required to operate efficiently with in the market. This is important when existing firms within the market can achieve cost advantages from their scale of operation. In industries that have minimum efficient scales of operation (MES), firms wanting to enter the market must compete at the level or incur a disadvantage. The global sporting goods industry where to be competitive there is a need to operate on a substantial scales. Just is Footwear market is projected to reach 15.7 billion pairs by the year 2017. By capital requirements to entry, the new competitors need the very expensive to start up and run a company. This relates to the pure finance required to enter an industry, but is often liked to the other barriers to entry. The need to invest large financial resources in order to compete can deter new entrants. Capital may be necessary not only for fixed facilities but also to extend customer credit, building inventories, and fund starting up losses. By Cost disadvantages independent of size, entrenched companies may have cost advantages not available to potential rivals, no matter what their size and attainable economies of scale. For example good relationships and knowledge of customers and suppliers can be utilized to defend a firm’s position. The new competitors may not produce easily. So the new competitors should be deriving some other competitive advantage, but that is hard. By access to distribution channels, the newcomer must secure distribution of its product or service. The new competitive is hard to obtain exclusive deals with retailers so that they sell only their products. They should give higher slotting fees to the retailers if want a good place in the shop. By Product differentiation, brand identification creates a barrier by forcing entrants to spend heavily on marketing. adidas have a good brand loyalty. The new competitor is very hard to build up their brand name in shortly. By expected retaliation, responses by existing competitors may depend on a firm’s present situation in the industry. Such as Price retaliation, increase the advertising cost to the potential entrant and creditable threat such as predatory pricing. The top lending such as adidas and nike should not be easy give the new competitor entry to the market. The power of buyers All firms at some time buy resource and are therefore faced with the power of buyers. It will effects on restricting the freedom of the organization to determine its price and strategic position. The products are mainly sold in bulk to major sports outlets and online stores, since they offer premium shelf space they command lower price. However, adidas have their own shop. So there are a small amount of customers who buy products directly in these shops. When Adidas sell their products to one off customers they can dictate the price as Adidas don’t rely on making these sales. The power of suppliers Same as the power of buyers, the power of suppliers also effects on restricting the freedom of the organization to determine its price and strategic position. Supplier provides a differentiated input that enhances the quality of performance of sellers’ products or is a valuable part of sellers’ production process. adidas raw materials to make football boots are not supplied by a monopoly. This gives adidas more power to dictate the price at which they buy their raw materials, as there are a large number of competitive suppliers. The threat of substitute products Substitutes often come rapidly into play if some development increases competition in their industries and causes price reduction or performance improvement. Many companies produce football boots are available to the consumers. However, adidas produce football boots that have unique features, such as nylon sole, rubber pads and Traxion. So adidas’s have an edge over their competitors. Also, the substitutes for football boots also include footwear and sports clothes for other sports. That can help develop other business such as Y-3. The competitive rivalry between existing firms The final force to consider is the rivalry that exists between firms already in the market. In this industry where growth is slow, competitors wish to expand at a faster rate need to obtain additional market share. There are some companies competing adidas for more market share, including Nike, Puma and Umbro. Adidas should keep their market share in the industry. They must control the price, improve product introduction and innovations, increase the cost of advertising and improved customer service. Conclusion of Porter five forces model According to the Porter five forces model, it is hard to entering global sporting goods industry. Most of the forces are strong. There have higher barriers for new entrants. adidas have good power of buyer and suppliers. The new competitor can find the substitute products of adidas may not easily. Final, the industry growth is too slow, so new competitors are hard to competing the market share from adidas.

How does term accountability from a legal viewpoint impact higher Research Paper

How does term accountability from a legal viewpoint impact higher education - Research Paper Example Because the legislators are mandating these measures, and, as such, has the means for enforcing the measure, this would be considered to be legal accountability. This is in contrast to constitutional accountability, which means that the higher education institutions are not only accountable to the legislature and courts but also to myriad stakeholders who enforce accountability. The constitutionally accountable higher education institutions tend to have more autonomy from state legislatures than the legally accountable institutions. This paper will focus mainly on the legal aspects of accountability, and how this impacts higher education. 2. What is accountability? To understand how accountability occurs, in general, in a higher education setting, first the standard definition must be examined. According to Burke (2005), accountability is â€Å"an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions† (Burke, 2005, p. 2). Burke also said tha t the term accountability places six different demands on the higher education institution. The first demand is that the institution can show that their powers were properly used. The second demand is that the institution can show that it is working to achieve the priorities that are set by the organization. The third demand involves transparency, in that the institution must report on its performance. The fourth demand involves efficiency and effectiveness, in that the organization must demonstrate that they can account for the resources that they use and the outcomes that they create. Fifth, the university must account for the quality of the programs and services that it produces. Sixth, and last, the university must demonstrate that it caters to the public needs (Burke, 2005, p. 2). So, generally, a university is held accountable by being transparent with its mission, goals and effectiveness, and must answer to a variety of stakeholders, including the public and the student body. Similarly, Leveille (2005) states that accountability has three prongs. The first is performance. This simply means results, with absolute performance as a benchmark for accountability. The second is transparency. For Leveille, this means that the public is made aware of the university and college performances, and the way that these institutions do business is similarly subject to public scrutiny. This enables key stakeholders to ascertain how well a certain institution of higher education is doing, and how their business is conducted. The third prong of accountability, according to Leveille, is culture of evidence. This simply means that the higher education institutions consider routine evidence at all levels when contemplating and planning action. Thus, the culture of evidence prong is satisfied when an university uses its accountability practices to learn about itself, its strengths and weaknesses, and uses this knowledge to improve itself and its operations, taking its missio n and stakeholder values into account (Leveille, 2005, pp. 9-10). 3. The concept of legal accountability Mortimer (1972) states that there should be a delineation between legal accountability and constitutional accountability. Legal accountability means that accountability is enforced through legal means – the courts and disciplinary control of departments. On the other hand, constitutional accountability means that universities and colleges are not necessarily only beholden

Assessment of a social networking company Essay

Assessment of a social networking company - Essay Example Among these sites, MySpace.com is undoubtedly the market leader. MySpace.com accounts for an impressive 47.4% of the total market share. Facebook is second on the list with the market share of around 18%. Orkut and Flickr are next in the list and they account for almost 7% of the market share, each. (MC Marketing Charts) Many experts claim that the websites operating in this industry may experience a fast growth and an eventual chill if they do not develop long-term strategies. For example, new websites can easily take away the market share of old, if they do not innovate and strategize their operations. To support their argument they give the example of Orkut. In the past, Orkut was growing at a very fast rate but it did not innovate as result new websites came and experienced a massive growth at the expense of Orkut. It is also believed that with the passage of time, as the industry matures, these sites are going to attract more and more traffic. This large turnover will encourage companies to advertise more on these websites. As a result, these websites will experience an even larger growth in their revenues. As a result, many big brands consider advertising on these sites as a better way to grab the attention of "target market" towards their products. (Nielsen) This industry, in the recent times, moved from niches to become one of the most coveted sectors. This growth has also caused creative destruction for the other mediums of marketing like radios and televisions. Earning Revenue from Advertising: The boom in social networking has blossomed opportunities for advertisers to start using these networks as a vehicle to reach their target market. For e.g. in Italy, Maserati is using social networking websites to reach out to its customers. However, if we analyze the situation, we can reach a conclusion that those advertisers who want to advertise on social networking sites have to overcome a few challenges. Though, advertising on the social networking websites is increasing, but it is still very less, compared to the number of people who use these networks. (Review) The diversified nature of the environment means that standard ads won't be able to succeed in this market, and it is imperative that different approaches should be tried to find out the mindset of people who use these networks. Since, advertising all over the world is losing credibility, it is better for these companies to advertise with a more humble and candid perspectiv

Service learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Service learning - Essay Example Someone has to do those kinds of jobs that no one wants to do but must by done by someone in order for the mosque to remain presentable. What kept me going was the thought that I was not doing this for myself, but for the worshippers who frequent the mosque. I might not have received any recognition for it, but I can still be pleased by the contribution that I made. The final task that I did was really pleasing because I was able to make a noticeable different in the lives of young kids. I gave a presentation to these kids on how to overcome culture shock. Many of these kids have never really mixed with people of other cultures, so they really learned something by what I had to say. I was able to tell them of my own experiences as an international student trying to adapt to a different environment and also the challenges that I faced along the way. I could really tell that I made an impact on some of those kids because I could see it in their faces. They asked many questions about wh at it was like to move overseas, and I was able to answer their questions based on my own personal experiences. 2. The main thing that I learned was that I could receive great satisfaction from being able to serve others. I am not usually the servant type, but I now realize just how much it can mean to a person to have a task performed for them. Being able to do that for someone else gave me joy and I realize that I need to be able to serve others in everyday normal life too. The biggest thing that I got out of this service learning process was that there are some things in life that are beyond measure. Serving others is one of the greatest gifts that we can give another person, and this was something that I did not think about before. My whole attitude and outlook on life has changed considerably because I what I have experienced during my time serving at the mosque. If I could do it all again, then I would not hesitate to do

Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 4

Research Methods - Essay Example Whilst he acknowledges that legal compliance and laws may provide a correlation to state behaviour and international politics, Waltz feels that is theory that explains them and to this end attempts to reconstruct classic realism through a somewhat scientific approach. Therefore, Waltz’s book seeks to go beyond the classic realist position of politics in terms of state characteristics and state interaction with each other. Therefore Waltz’s central theory of neo-realism in international politics is underpinned by Waltz’s proposition that the system of international politics is inherently dependent on a system of anarchy. This system of anarchy according to Waltz effectively creates the international order of hierarchy, which is further defined by states who are unitary rational actors on the one hand and rational actors on the other. To this end, Waltz’s discussion of the Cold War highlights his propensity towards viewing the international political order from a systemic perspective as opposed to considering the intentions of individual states and human behaviour, which is arguably the inherent weakness of the book in context of contemporary international politics. For example, in focusing on the international politics as a whole state system as opposed to individual state level factors, Waltz avoids assumptions about human nature and morality and power in international politics. Waltz’s neo-realist paradigm proposes that the central factor in international politics is security and whilst gathering power, often results in destructive effects. Therefore, in propounding the idea that state survival is imperative in international politics, Waltz suggests that gathering power isn’t prominent however the goal of survival necessarily results in power being obtained by default. To this end, Waltz’s theory posits that the international system is the dominant factor, which he