Marketing Management Essay

1. What do we really know about this situation? We know that along with PV Technologies, two other companies – SOMA Energy and BJ Solar are in the supplier’s shortlist that Solenergy has to provide a large quantity of utility scale central inverters for a PV solar energy power plant. Each of these companies sent their proposals, and a final decision is being reached by Solenergy. If the two competitor rely mostly on lower prices of their product, PV technologies rely on their superior efficiency and a warranty of 10 years, the double that each of the direct competitors offer. In terms of market, we know also that many governments have long-term objectives that will probably keep alive public and private investments in renewable energy power sources, where photovoltaic segments have a solid ground. 2. Is this just a brush fire or an important problem? It’s an important problem, because if the rumors are to be believed, PV Technologies are in verge of losing the contract, and this deal is strategic not only because of the large profits that it can generate, but mainly for the visibility impact that it’ll have in the marketplace, possibly a dramatic one if the contract is lost. That would have a negative impact not only in the solar plant segment, but in consumer segments too. 3. How profitable is each of the four alternatives suggested? The rationale behind on first alternative is the offering of an extended 10 years warranty with special conditions. The customer pays 18% of the purchase price of the inverters at the beginning of each year included in the extended warranty period. This sum, however, cannot be considered profit, because eventual money not spent on maintenance is returned to the costumer at the end of the year. The total profit in this scenario is $7. 128. 000, for a period of 20 years. The profits in the 4th alternative are not known, for they depend on further negotiations with Morgan. In this alternative, PVT will try to figure out if the evaluation method used by Solenergy had flaws, and show the data that they collected from their our analysis, which may have been collected with a more rigorous and thorough methods, indicated that their inverted were superior by a margin great enough to justify the price differences between their proposal and those of the competitors. 4. What other product management considerations should be addressed when planning a new product or service introduction or managing an existing product or service in this market place? The considerations that have to be taken into account when introducing new services or products and maintaining current ones in these market are slightly different. The introduction of a new product or service makes only sense if it fits well in the company’s portfolio. It should complement the existing offer, so that the customers can perceive clearly the different benefits of each distinct offer. For example, the introduction of the new 1. 25MW inverter only makes sense if its price is significantly higher than the 1. 00MW counterpart, or in alternative, the cost of the weaker version should be lowered. Such a decision can be taken accordingly to the threat level that other competitors are posing. Lowering prices is a more aggressive strategy, however is should be applied only when necessary, so that the profit margins are kept as high as possible all the times. There are other considerations that apply both to new and existing products and services. There always has to be the perspective that the offers – new or old – satisfy an actual necessity of the market. This can be asserted by market analysis, statistical processing, questionnaires or other forms of marketing research. In the specific renewal solar power market, we know that many governments around the world are â€Å"sponsoring† and giving incentives to short, mid and long-term investments in this market. This information is extremely relevant to formulate a strategy, Moreover, the major players in the same segments as the products or services must be also analyzed, so that the changes of success are high enough to risk launching – or maintaining – those product and services in the market. What will PVTs product team want to say about the new products, particularly the accelerated introduction of the new central inverter and the marketing initiative? R&D? The finance people? The engineers? The public relations people? Sales? Customer service? R&D people have reservations regarding a premature introduction of the new product in the market. They recognize that it may be an attractive offer to Morgan and Solenergy, but are concerned that by collapsing the test phase for the launch to be on time, the risks of potential operating malfunction are greater. The finance people share this concern, but don’t think that it will impress Solenergy because some opinions within the industry favor the coupling of smaller PV inverters rather than building larger ones, supposedly reducing the costs in this way. Basically, they are against this option. Contrary to the finance people, engineers are confident that this alternative could work, for the technical advantages that it offers would enable PVT to beat the competition with ease, without compromising their profits in this project. Public relations and marketing people also favor this alternative. They think that the new powerful inverter will address the market needs. Being the first company to introduce an inverter with 1. 25MW, PVT would reinforce their leadership status. Sales force are confident that the new inverter could be successfully sold by utility users and the price was attractive. 6. How should PVT promote itself in the first quarter 2012 and position the launch of the new 1. 25 MW central inverter that’s been re-schedule for introduction in January? PVT will have a great opportunity to differentiate from its competitor with the new 1. 25MW central inverter. I’ll be the first company to introduce this product to the market and the advantages comparing to the 1. 00MW version are obvious. There’s a most appreciated increase in the energy output, and thus this should be the best way for PVT to make the consumers perceive the new product – the most powerful (or prolific) inverter in the market. To avoid cannibalization, the chosen price should be higher than the current 1. 00MW inverter. 7. What conclusions can be drawn about the evolution and impending changes in technology, pricing, and buying criteria in this business? As the technology becomes more and more accessible and cheap, new low-cost companies are threatening the whole equilibrium that exists on the inverter business. Chinese companies, for example, are already offering products that, although inferior in quality and reliability, have a much inferior target price. It is reasonable to think that with time, the gap in the quality level with reduce, and as it happens the price with pose a bigger and bigger problem to the other players. However, if a differentiation strategy is applied by the companies with better technology and capable R&D department, the gap in technology and directly related benefits will enable those companies to survive and maintain a healthy portion of the market share 8. What short and long term policies and processes should PVT develop and implement to effectively improve its marketing programs? In order to enable a continuous and more effective differentiation they have to: – Continuously evaluate competitor’s products – Help states and consumers to reach the long-term government objectives in terms of percentage of energy generated by inverters.

Community Colleges Essay

Does everyone that attends community colleges know the role of them? Most people don’t know the achievement gaps or knows the importance of them. Many teens today are so excited about attending college the last decision on their mind is commuting. This is because most are ready for the dorm life, freedom, and partying. Education does cross their mind, but other times it isn’t until the hard work kicks in. This also goes for charter schools. Charter schools and community colleges are very beneficial and helpful. The two are very similar when it comes to academic reasons. Today many people work hard to close achievements gaps for people coming from high and low income families who want a better education. Many people face obstacles due to family income. Whether it’s high or low income, children fight for available educational opportunities. Everyone deserves a chance at being successful and achieving goals. It is said to be that people living in poverty won’t have the same benefits as others living on the â€Å"brighter side†. People that live on the brighter side have easier chances at getting successful. This refers back to school system, and how education is involved. (1st link) The education law center stated that the Christie administration has been moving too slow. It is suggested that they build more schools for children in struggling cities. Recently, the state of Department of Education failed to move as quickly as they should, now there are many different ranges of requests for many school repairs and fix other things in some of the poorest cities. Charter schools are very different from schools such as private and public schools. In Newark, children are grouped by ages consisting children five and younger that live in poverty. Schools are trying to help these children. Charter schools are private schools that give everyone a chance. For example, in the book Outliers, KIPP was a middle school that Marita attended. KIPP was a middle school that has a high standard of academic conduct and achievement. The success of this school is continuous with its low-income students. These students end up going to college in overwhelming numbers. (2ndlink) Gladwell has questions children being given the opportunity of getting too much schooling. (book) Gladwell compares that theory to agriculture. Rice paddies are planted multiple times a year and they follow a steady schedule. In other countries, students attend school for countless numbers of days. KIPP is introduced to the same strategy for their students. They attend school from 7a. m until 7p. m. Even on Saturdays and in the Summer they are in school learning. Marita lived in poverty and decided to change her cultural legacy by attending KIPP to better herself. Most if not all of her time is spent going to school and doing homework. This allows Marita to get out of poverty. Her grade level increases tremendously. More than half of the students will graduate, including being the first to do so. (book) Charter schools focus their studies on the children. Compared to community colleges, time is spent on the people more. Universities and public schools do not receive the same attention. New Jersey’s high school students receive less standardized test based on their education system. This made charter schools easier to open. Christopher Cerf, an education commissioner, considers the state options on allowing students who take standardized testing to get into colleges to be substituted for high school proficiency test. Also, he feels that the community college entrance exam and high school test be the same. He believes in this so the test could be based on individual subjects. Cerf is trying a new system where a charter can be in Elizabeth, but children in Newark can attend. Community colleges try to close this gap by allowing the opportunity for anyone to attend. Professors interact with students more at community colleges. For community colleges do not have to have any special talents, income, or anything to attend a community college. People fail to realize they have many benefits attending these schools. These colleges aren’t for anyone of a specific age. Everyone is treated equally. The gaps are being closed because you are worked with unlike other school where you’re more independent. For example, in Outliers, the University of Michigan only enrolled 10% of minorities’ entrance chance, when their chance was just as good as the whites. Also, Christopher Logan dropped out of Montana State because the professor showed no interest in helping him. Charter schools close these gaps by allowing them to learn equally but based on a higher level than the same grades as public schools. Christie wants to replace many of the school contract performances and set specific standards. Focusing more on test results than regulatory compliance. (4th link). In the cities with the most poverty, children fail because they haven’t had anything new. The Urban Hope Act will allow private nonprofit to build new schools in Camden, Trenton, and Newark. This will only happen if they can prove experience in education. No state or other public bond dollars will be used on these schools. They will receive 5% less per student state funding than regular district schools. They do plan on promising to do much better with less. (link 5) In conclusion, enough work is being provided. It doesn’t have to always involve money. The financial issues are slowly but surely taken care of. Attention wise, these bridges are being close with enough time and patience to help children learn in charter schools and others in community colleges. Government needs to expand to allow everyone the same opportunity, instead of allowing high incomed people have certain opportunities and advantages rather than others. It is said that prodigies have a less creative mind than a student with a lower IQ. It is not true that certain people need to be smart enough to succeed in the real world. Hard work, dedication and the right education gives low incomed people the same advantage as everyone else. http://weblib. ucc. edu:2188/iw-search/we/InfoWeb? p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=1449450EEA63BEE0&p_docnum=4&p_queryname=2. http://weblib. ucc. edu:2188/iw-search/we/InfoWeb? p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=1445F9C7B95F9388&p_docnum=5&p_queryname=2 http://weblib. ucc. edu:2188/iw-search/we/InfoWeb? p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=139BE64F7B69B398&p_docnum=4&p_queryname=2 http://weblib. ucc. edu:2188/iw-search/we/InfoWeb? p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=134F1CD19D623F50&p_docnum=7&p_queryname=2 http://weblib. ucc. edu:2188/iw-search/we/InfoWeb? p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=13C7A18781A29440&.

Male Character Essay

Masculine roles have effective power in recent movies. In the chapter, the author who is Kenneth Mackinnon talks about ‘masculinity in movies’ by variety ways. He not only considers about the different kinds of movie genres, individual movies and those male movie stars in general, but also introduces the hard body and soft body contrastively for audience. Moreover, Mackinnon mentions about the disadvantages of masculinity in the films and provides three recent illustrations in 2000 to answer the questions of masculinity clearly. The evidence which author selected is widespread but all come from the main idea of masculinity such as technological advances, the homoeroticism and heterosexuals, the feminism and masculinity and even the culture and history about masculinity in movies. At the beginning of the chapter, Mackinnon introduces the different genres about masculinity in movies by using lots of examples. There are variety of movie types such as action genres, bond movies, westerns, war films, slasher movies, sports movies and something else. One of the most important types is action movie. As Mackinnon said, action movie is †a version of heroism was promoted in these movies that depended on visual evidence of physical strength and might. †(P294) For this reason, the publishers pay much money to superstars in order to get the extraordinary effects in action films. For example, Sylvester Stallone in ‘make rampage’ movie. Similarly, bond movie, as an action series, depicted a new type of masculinity, which found in †Gentleman Chivalry† from 1962 to the present. The kind of movie continues to execute the heroism, which is popular among audience. For instance, the famous identities of 007 are James Bond and his ‘bond girl’. However, there is too much â€Å"technological excess† and special effects in recent years. That’s captured audience’s attention negatively. The author has also stated the westerns, which are â€Å"the supreme genre for the depiction of traditional, laconic, dominating masculinity. † (P297)The protagonists are usually cowboys in Hollywood film. The consequence of those boys usually be alone. Moreover, western movie allows violence, homosociality and â€Å"evasion of domestication†. The author’s opinion of masculinity in sports movies is that they provide a kind of lifestyle, which is a pure physical machismo for audience. In other words, it is â€Å"a highly stylized version of traditional masculinity†(P300) people have chance to watch a â€Å"natural† masculinity in sports movie. (i. e. Field of Dreams). Another genre has been mentioned is comedy. It’s a different side of masculinity. Comedy always shows audience the irony of traditional masculinity, especially in vulnerable side. They focused more on conflicts from fatherhood rather than motherhood. In order to understand the masculinity movie deeply, the author selected a few individual movies such as Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Ringers, The Crying Game and The Full Monty. The protagonist of Born on the Fourth of July is Don Kunz who acts as a â€Å"heroic masculine ideal† in the movie. He thinks winning is the most important thing. â€Å"to win, others must be losers†(p304)make him full of physical strength. He is a typical figure of masculine in movie. Male stars are also an important factor for masculinity movie, because female audience, even some of male audience will follow the movie stars. In the chapter, Mackinnon introduce male stars such as Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson. Furthermore the author has talk about hard body and soft body. ( ) Everything has two sides. Masculinity movie also has some problems. One of the disadvantages is insistent heterosexuality. In the past, masculinity means the opposite of femininity. However, people focus on â€Å"make guy men nurturing and domesticated† (p310)in nowadays. In other word, Reference Kenneth Mackinnon (2003). Masculinity in Movies. In Gary McCarron (Third. ) Introduction to Communication Studies (pp. 294-315) Canada: Pearson Custom Publishing.

Hurricane Katrina - New Orleans Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hurricane Katrina - New Orleans - Research Paper Example Hurricanes basically originate due to the temperature difference between the land and the sea. The peak time of these tropical cyclones is during the September season. The month of May is usually inactive with regard to the tropical cyclones because the temperature difference is the least. The cyclones formed in the Atlantic Ocean in the end of the summer season are referred to as tropical cyclones because they usually originate from tropical locations and one more fact that makes them different from normal cyclones is that their cores or center of the large spiral is warmer as compared to any other part of the spiral at any point of height. The spiral of the cyclone comprises of thunderstorm clouds that are ready to burst out and hence when they move they produce high and strong winds and heavy rainfalls. A special characteristic of tropical cyclones is that they have extremely low atmospheric pressures. Some of the pressures of tropical cyclones are the least that have been recorde d above the seas. Several factors have been found out as the reason for the origination of tropical cyclones but still not all the responsible factors have been discovered and tropical cyclones are a common topic of research and study (Reider, & Connecticut, 1999). The year 2005 was a devastating year with respect to the hurricanes and tropical cyclones that it brought with itself. Each year almost around 10 tropical cyclones originate and around half of them turn into hurricanes and a half of that lie in the severe category but the Atlantic hurricane season of the year 2005 was an extremely active season in which almost 27 tropical cyclones originated and around 17 of them turned into hurricanes and there were 7 hurricanes that fell into the severe category that is of category 3 or above. Among these severe hurricanes one was named Katrina and this was the deadliest hurricane as compared to other hurricanes. Hurricane Katrina has been placed in the category five if the hurricanes

Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paraphrasing - Essay Example What was the level of difficulty of the performed surgery? Was the doctor not able to execute the surgery without causing the accident? Or, may be, was the risk involved in the surgery so high that death was inevitable under all circumstances? Almost 1750 US partners of Andersen are worried that many people who were not involved in the company’s proceedings for the Enron Corp. were also held liable through the spoiled audit. Many of them are seeking legal advice to know the extent to which their limited-liability partnership makes them protected from the liabilities. The limited-liability partnership has not been tested for the sort of challenges that Andersen is now encountering since this corporate structure is relatively new. However, this testing may just be carried out as the workers, shareholders and creditors of Enron are making effort to retrieve their lost hundreds of thousands of dollars from somebody. It is expected that the partnership and bankruptcy lawyers will closely follow the matter because there is very subjective knowledge of the extent of protection they Andersen partners can get from the LLP structure. The law professor from the George Mason University, Larry Ribstein said that the strength of LLP’s protection has been tested for litigation and the number of cases of LLP regarding liability is very low. The LLP was created almost ten years ago in an attempt to provide the protect the members of partnerships against the firms’ tendency to wipe them out because of their claims. The LLP structure makes the partners’ share in the company fair for the creditors. Theoretically, no partner can lose his/her share in the company. A professor from the University of California Los Angeles law school, Lynn LoPucki said that the conventional practice disallows the removal of corporate veil to follow individual partners unless special circumstances. However, there is a lot of subjectivity

CRIMINAL LAW Barrister advice and defence statement Essay

CRIMINAL LAW Barrister advice and defence statement - Essay Example Mr. Olmeda saw the defendant, Joseph Wearn, hovering around a display of walking sticks. Mr. Wearn was looking around rather suspiciously. Mr. Olmeda contacted his colleague in the video control room to have the camera operator focus on Mr. Wearn. Mr. Olmeda then witnessed Mr. Wearn take a walking stick. Mr. Wearn camouflaged the walking stick and made a speedy exit through the front of the store without stopping to pay for the item. Mr. Olmeda followed Mr. Wearn all the way to the main concourse area inside Brent Cross shipping centre. Mr. Olmeda took hold of Mr. Wearn’s arm and cautioned him that he was the store detective and that he watched him remove a walking stick and exit the door without paying for it. Mr. Olmeda asked Mr. Wearn to step inside the store with him while he contacted the store manager, Mrs. Linda Levison. Mr. Olmeda retrieved the walking stick from Mr. Wearn when he stopped him outside of the store. Mr. Wearn repeatedly shouted obscenities while on the w ay to the store manager’s office, Mrs. Linda Levison’s office. Mr. Olmeda explained to Mrs. Levison what had just transpired and handed her the walking stick. The store manager, Mrs. Linda Levison, phoned the police who arrived at 12.50 hours. Mr. Olmeda explained what had transpired and then he returned to his post. Witness: Mrs. Linda Levison Occupation: Store manager of John Lewis, Brent Cross, London Statement taken: 9 December 2010 Summation: Mrs. Linda Levison is the store manager for John Lewis, Bent Cross, London. On 8 December 2010, Mrs. Levison was met in her office by store detective, Javi Olmeda. Mr. Olmeda informed her that he had apprehended Mr. Joseph Wearn for taking a walking stick from the store without paying for it. Mrs. Levison took Mr. Wearn, who was escorted by the store detective, Javi Olmeda, to her office. She proceeded to call the police who arrived on or about 12.50 hours. This is pursuant to the store policy of contacting the police wheneve r a theft is alleged. According to Mrs. Levison, the alleged perpetrator, Mr. Wearn was crying while they awaited the police to arrive. Once the police had arrived, Mr. Olmeda, the store detective, recounted the allegation and returned to his post. According to Mrs. Levison, the walking stick that she had been given by Mr. Olmeda was characterized by a prominent lion’s head handle. It also had the store’s label attached to it so that Mrs. Levison was able to ascertain that the item in question was indeed sold at her store and part of the inventory. With the information from the label of the walking stick, Mrs. Levison was able to identify it as part of the store inventory and that such a walking stick, according to computer records, was not sold on 8 December 2010. Mrs. Levison handed the walking stick over to one of the attending officers, PC May. She then witnessed Officer May arrest Mr. Wearn and watched them leave her office. Mrs. Levison is producing the computer records from 8 December 2010 (Exhibit LL/1), and is willing to give evidence in court. Witness: Richard Fairchild Occupation: Security camera operator Statement taken: 9 December 2010 Summation: Mr. Fairchild is employed as a security camera operator by Securigard PLC. On 8 December 2010, he was working at the John Lewis Partnership’s central office manning the camera desk. Mr. Fairchild is responsible for operating the security camera. The security camera is set up to monitor and record

Poverty or hunger in either Asia or Africa and solutions to help Essay

Poverty or hunger in either Asia or Africa and solutions to help improve conditions - Essay Example Poverty in Africa has being captured in different avenues to demonstrate the suffering that the people of the continent undergo due to lack of access to basic facilities in their countries. The increased presence of low economic levels in Africa despite the progress and input that has been made by different international organizations has been associated with a number of factors and courses. Solutions are however available that if adopted and adequately implemented can address the food and basic needs shortage in the continent and eliminate the suffering of the people (Altman, Zitha and Gemma 349). The continued presence of abject poverty in Africa despite the economic progress in other parts of the globe has been attributed to a number of policy issues and political factors associated regional policies and approaches. While the poverty levels in other parts of the world have witnessed a steady decline, the problem in Africa has remained relatively stable and this has been associated with poor policy formulation and implementation. Africa has large tracts of arable and fertile farming lands especially in countries to the southern of the Sahara desert. However, the farming approach in the regions have not been effective in increasing the national harvest as farm ownership in these regions is subjected to tribal groupings and clanships (Beasley 24). This leads to unnecessary division of the arable land for subsistence farming which produces less output to feed the growing population and a reserve for the unforeseen future. The lack of freehold land holding in major African countries has been contributed to the increased lack of agricultural production and heightened poverty levels. In countries like South Africa, Kenya and Uganda, there are widespread unused lands which have a great agricultural potential and can contribute immensely to the agricultural basket of the country. However, the

Zeitgeist Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Zeitgeist - Movie Review Example The first part of the movie was more or less based on the birth of Jesus Chris, stating that he wasn’t infact born on this date. Here again, the director has to prove the fact that the birth date of Jesus Christ is not actually the 25th of December and that it should be in the season of winter solstice but the director has yet again avoided the theories which point otherwise. The next topic being discussed in the video is regarding the cross. The director claims that the cross is actually the symbol of the zodiac and is persistent on proving that the symbol is somewhat astrological by origin. The author has done this by discussing the myths. But it could be easily said that the cross has no relation whatsoever from astrological point of view rather it is used because Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross because crucifixion was the conventional method of punishing someone by law. Similar things can be said about the claim the author makes regarding the crown of thorns. The author also makes claim that the Bible is not actually a work of God and the stories of various prophets such as Noah, Moses mentioned in the Bible are actually again similar to other stories of the past. But the one thing that is problematic here is if the director is trying to prove wrong of the Bible why he is not trying to prove the reliability of the stories which he mentions in order to contradict the teachings of the Bible. The author also says that Horus was the God of the sun in Egypt, this shows that the author has a lack of understanding regarding the topic being discussed and he needs to do research regarding them. Every one, particularly Egyptians know that Horus was infact the God of the sky and Ra was the Sun God. This is one of the many examples which show the baseless facts that the director has mentioned in the entire video. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this video is that the religion, especially Christianity is the basis of

Investigative Lab Proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Investigative Lab Proposal - Assignment Example eshwater that has a pH of 6.0–8.0, a 5.0–19.0 dGH water hardness and 4 to 41 Â °C temperature range Despite they they may not survive long enough at higher temperatures. Infact, they are taken to be not suited to living in a tropical fish tank that is heated, as they are employed to the greater oxygen amount in unheated tanks as well heat can burn them. (Copp and Sayer, 2010) Materials: Infrared gas analyzer, Fish tank with a heater, three gold fish, thermometer and two hot water bags. For this experiment, Gold fish 1 will be placed directly into the fish Tank with temperature near to 40c . Gold fish 2 will be placed in fish tank with room temperature. Gold fish 3 will be placed in fish tank with a temperature near to 4o0c.The temperature recording will be done through placing the thermometer in the fish tank. The machine will be expected to match after every five minutes. Alteration will be done at different points. The experiment will be carried out to ascertain if temperature has a significant effect on respiration rates of the Gold fish. It is based on the fact that there is kinetic energy alteration of enzymes involved in respiration with change in temperature thus its rate of reaction can either be faster or slower Copp GH, Sayer CD (2010) Norfolk Biodiversity Action Plan – Local species action plan for crucian carp ( Carassius carassius). Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership Reference:LS/3. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, 9

Ensuring children and young people’s safety Essay Example for Free

Ensuring children and young people’s safety Essay Ensuring children and young people’s safety and welfare in the work setting is an essential part of safeguarding. While children are at school, practitioners act in ‘loco parentis’ while their parents are away. As part of their legal and professional obligations, practitioners hold positions of trust and a duty of care to the children in their school, and therefore should always act in their best interests and ensure their safety – the welfare of the child is paramount (Children Act 1989). The Children Act 2004 came in with the Every Child Matters (ECM) guidelines and greatly impacted the way schools look at the care and welfare of pupils. Children and young people should be helped to learn and thrive and be given the opportunity to achieve the five basic outcomes: be healthy; stay safe; enjoy and achieve; make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being. Children are vulnerable and depending on their age and level of development, do not see danger or recognise risks. They do not know when or how to look after themselves and need adults to protect them and ensure their safety, whilst encouraging their independence in an age appropriate manner. All organisations that employ staff or volunteers to work with children need to use a safer recruitment practice. In March 2005, following the Soham murders and the subsequent Bichard Inquiry, the DCSF – Department for Children, Schools and Families (previously the DES and the DoH) proposed that Recommendation 19 of the Bichard Inquiry should be carried out: ‘new arrangements should be introduced requiring those who wish to work with children, or vulnerable adults, to be registered. The register would confirm that there is no known reason why an individual should not work with these clients.’ As a result, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 was passed, providing the legislative framework for the new Vetting and Barring scheme. This Act established the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) to make decisions about who should be allowed to work with children, the elderly and other vulnerable adults and to maintain lists of those who are barred. Under the Act, it is an offence for an employer to employ a barred person in a role with children. It is also an offence for a barred person to apply for  such a role. Employers must also advise the ISA if an individual harms a child whilst working for them. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 merged the ISA with the CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) to form the DBS (Disclosure and Barring Services). It also differentiated between supervised and unsupervised activities. Schools should have policies and procedures for safer recruitment practice, which should be applied at every stage in the recruitment process, from advertising, references and pre-interview checks, to the selection of candidates, interviewing process and the offer of appointment. As part of the process, every adult wanting to work with children or vulnerable adults must have a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Services) check. There are three levels of DBS disclosure: -Basic disclosure: details relevant information about the individual, together with any convictions (spent or in force), cautions or warnings that the individual has received. -Enhanced disclosure: includes the same as the basic disclosure, plus any additional relevant information held by the police. -Enhanced disclosure with Barred List Check. Schools must also ensure that any adults (including cleaners and caretakers) or volunteers in the workplace do not have unsupervised access to children unless they have been DBS checked. Schools need to ensure that they provide children and young people with a happy safe environment to learn and develop, with trusted and supportive adults. Practitioners need to actively promote the well-being and welfare of every child. This includes providing a wide range of activities to promote development through play as well as formal learning. These activities should include age appropriate toys and games that meet the Toy (Safety) Regulations 1995 and are in a good state of repair. Practitioners should check for Kitemarks and CE markings. Kitemarks are symbols that show products have been tested and meet the British Standard Institute requirements. CE markings show that products meet European standards as set out by the European Community. Children also need to communicate and socialise with their peers, children from other age groups and other adults. They need to feel safe and secure in their environment so that they feel able to speak to adults about any concerns they may have, or to ask questions and seek help without fear of embarrassment. They need good role models who can help them extend their decision making skills and develop independence appropriate to their age and development level. Practitioners have a further responsibility to provide additional support to children who may have special educational needs. This may be through individual sessions within the school, liaison with external services such as educational psychologists or through the CAF (Common Assessment Framework) process. The CAF process was developed to gather and assess information in relation to a child’s needs in development, parenting and the family environment. It is a service that should be offered to children (and their families) whose additional needs are not being met through universal services within the school. Practitioners also need to protect any children who may be at risk of significant harm because of their home life and personal circumstances. There are a number of policies and procedures that should be in place in schools to ensure children and young people’s protection and safety: †¢Working in an open and transparent way – adults should make sure that another member of staff is always aware of where they are working, especially if they are alone in a room with a child, there should always be visual access or the door should remain open. †¢Duty of care – adults should always act in the best interests of the child and ensure their safety – the welfare of the child is paramount (Children Act 1989). †¢Whistleblowing staff should understand their responsibilities to raise concerns of malpractice. Staff will be deemed to be failing in their duty to safeguard children if they do not act. †¢Listening to children adults relationships with children should always be professional, caring and respectful. Children need to feel valued and listened to. †¢Power and positions of trust adults working with children hold positions of trust due to their access to the children in their care, and relationships between pupils and staff will  always have an unequal balance of power – these positions should never be abused. †¢Behaviour teachers should behave in such a way as to safeguard children’s well-being and maintain public trust in the teaching profession. †¢Physical contact staff should ensure that any contact with children is entirely professionally appropriate. †¢Off-site visits staff must take particular care to ensure that clear boundaries are maintained and full risk assessments must be carried out prior to a visit. †¢Recording of images – there must be age-appropriate consent from the person or their parents or carers. †¢Intimate personal care all children have a right to safety, privacy and dignity when intimate care is required. †¢Sharing concerns and information highly confidential information about children and their families should only ever be shared on a need to know basis, and anonymously wherever possible. †¢Security – school premises should be made secure with fencing, gates and locking doors with secure access codes to prevent unwelcome visitors and to stop children from leaving the premises unaccompanied. There should be clear locking and unlocking procedures and stringent rules for visitor access to the buildings. Contractors should be LA approved or selected using safe selection procedures and should have carried out appropriate risk assessments in advance. They should be given information to enable them to follow the school’s safety procedures. The three main areas that address the protection of children from harm in the work setting are: child protection; health and safety, and risk assessments. †¢Child protection. It is the responsibility of all adults in the setting to actively safeguard children and young people and to prevent abuse or neglect. The setting should detail how the policies and procedures should work on a daily basis and outline current legislation in this area (see Task A). The policy should describe the responsibilities of the setting as well as those of individuals. It should include a summary of the possible signs of abuse or neglect for staff to refer to (see Task D1). Staff are required to respond to any concerns in an appropriate and timely manner. There should be clear guidelines on how staff should proceed when there are concerns, or  allegations have been made, including the role of the designated CPO (Child Protection Officer) (see Task D2). Staff should also be made aware of the procedures if the allegation concerns another member of staff or the head teacher (see Section 2 below). The policy should detail external services that may be required, including names and telephone numbers etc. There should be specific guidance about how to behave if a child or young person makes an allegation of abuse. The policy should detail other procedures and policies that support staff responsibilities in this area, such as the behaviour and anti-bullying policies (see Task E) and the whistleblowing policy (see Section 3 below). †¢Health and Safety. Schools are legally required to have a Health and Safety policy to ensure that there is a plan for how health and safety is managed in the setting and that all staff are aware of all their responsibilities. This policy should be read and implemented by all staff and it should form part of the induction process for new members of staff. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 were designed to protect everyone at work. The employer in a school must take reasonable steps to ensure that staff and pupils are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. This applies to activities on or off school premises. The employer is required to carry out regular reviews of the school, its premises and activities. There should be a designated health and safety representative at every setting who is responsible for the reviews and any subsequent action. The reviews should involve regular walks around the school as well as safety checks on equipment. All electrical items should be checked annually by a qualified electrician. Fire extinguishers should also be checked annually. Staff should ensure that they use any safety equipment provided and store it safely. All materials and equipment used in schools should meet recognised safety standards. Practitioners should check for Kitemarks and CE markings. Kitemarks are symbols that show products have been tested and meet the British Standard Institute requirements. CE markings show that products meet European standards as set out by the European Community. The Workplace, (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 deal with physical conditions in the  workplace and require employers to meet minimum standards in relation to a wide range of issues, including: maintenance of buildings and equipment; lighting; provision of drinking water; temperature; ventilation; rest rooms; toilet facili ties; room dimensions and space; cleanliness; condition of floors and traffic routes. The School Premises (England) Regulations 2012 apply to all maintained schools in England, and came into effect in October 2012. This legislation works in conjunction with the Workplace Regulations, but applies specifically to school standards, which are often more stringent i.e. the provision of a medical room for pupils, or a lower maximum temperature for hand washing in children’s toilet facilities. To protect children and young people from harm on the premises, the school should consider the following: †¢Safety of the indoor and outdoor play equipment, including water and sand play. †¢Safety in the school kitchen, including the storage, preparation and cooking of food. †¢Fire safety, including maintaining clearly marked exit routes and doors. †¢Appropriately sized furniture and equipment for the children. †¢Safe storage of hazardous materials under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002. †¢Appropriate adult-child ratios at all times. †¢First aid training for staff, with sufficient numbers of first aid trained staff on the premises at all times. †¢Safety in the dining hall, including hot food, spillages, choking risks etc. †¢Vigilance in challenging unidentified adults. †¢Procedures for cleaning up bodily fluids, vomit or faeces. †¢Internet safety. †¢Hand washing facilities and practices. †¢Adaptations where necessary for children with special needs or disabilities. †¢Safety of outdoor play areas, including access, space and floor surfacing. †¢Safe storage and supervision of medicines. †¢Implementation of procedures for children and staff with illnesses, i.e. remaining away from school for 48 hours after sickness or diarrhoea. †¢A  nominated person for asbestos and legionella competency. †¢Tidiness and safety of traffic routes around the premises. Off-site educational visits have additional issues that could affect children’s safety. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires full risk assessments to be carried out prior to a visit. Employers must assess the risks of activities, plan measures to control the risks and inform employees of the measures. Staff must follow school and Local Authority regulations, policies and guidance, which include: evidence of parental permission; emergency procedures; first aid kit and trained staff; appropriate clothing and equipment; qualified staff for activities; adult to children ratios; special educational or medical needs of the children; approval of volunteers (including DBS checks); age and competence of the pupils and transport arrangements. Health and Safety arrangements also require members of staff to keep colleagues/senior staff aware of their whereabouts and movements. †¢Risk assessments. It is a legal requirement for all employers to carry out risk assessments. Risk assessments are a formal examination of things that could cause harm to people. The Health and Safety Executive guidance sets out a simple Five Steps to Risk Assessment: Step 1: Look for the hazards and risks. A hazard is something that can cause harm. A risk is the likelihood of harm together with the consequences should it take place. Step 2: Decide who could be harmed and how. Step 3: It is necessary to differentiate between hazards and risks and then to prioritise them, dealing with the most serious risks first. Decide whether the existing precautions are sufficient. If not, decide what other precautions should be introduced and ensure that they are put in place. Step 4: Record your actions and findings. Step 5: Review the assessment at regular intervals, or if circumstances  change, and revise if necessary. Risk assessments should be used within the school setting e.g. for a new climbing frame or for outdoor water play, and also for off-site visits regardless of their duration. The head teacher is usually responsible for risk assessments and should sign and date them after they are completed. If existing precautions are not satisfactory, then activities may have to be restricted or stopped until changes are made. Changes may involve staff training or additional equipment. Risk assessments will also need to be carried out for individuals with special needs or disabilities and specialists may come to the school to carry them out. Other individuals may require a risk assessment in certain circumstances, i.e. a pupil on crutches or temporarily in a wheelchair. Ofsted inspectors would expect risk assessments to be available as part of their inspections. Risk assessments should form part of a school’s management processes and help to formalise working practices and arrangements. They are a valuable tool for identifying problems and potential problems, monitoring situations and ensuring precautions are taken to keep children and adults safe from harm.

Constructivist Theory of Knowledge in the Curriculum

Constructivist Theory of Knowledge in the Curriculum 1. The Constructivist Theory of Knowledge This theory has emerged from psychological theories around human learning and knowledge acquisition. Within this theory, the main preposition is that people construct knowledge and infer meaning to concepts through experience. It is a theory which is principally credited to Jean Piaget, who used scientific data to prove that the theory was of some validity. In relation to education, constructivist theories have had a significant impact on pedagogy, even though constructivism is not a pedagogy in and of itself. Within constructivism, the idea is that people respond to new knowledge by internalising it and accommodating this knowledge into their existing internal schema, the personal constructs of meaning and understanding that are unique to them. This explains one of the key facets of constructivism as applied to knowledge acquisition, that learners learn individually, and their knowledge is individually constructed and, arguably, unique to them. Therefore, learning is derived from sensory input from which the learner constructs knowledge. This seems rather simplistic, but runs counter to a number of previous theories, particularly the long-standing belief that knowledge is universal, because instead the learner must engage with the world or their social context or environment in some way, in order to learn. In constructivism, theorists posit that learners learn as they learn, in that while they are learning knew knowledge they are learning on many levels, about more than just the facts they are acquiring[1]. For example, if the student is learning about different materials, such as wood, plastic and metal, they are learning about the nature of these substances, but also they are expanding their vocabulary, learning what these substances look and feel like, and, are also processing examples of how these materials are used, and why. Applying this knowledge to their social world allows them to test their new understandings and to see what elements of their environment are constructed out of these different materials. The construction of meaning is a mental process which is enhanced by physical activities[2], but cognitive engagement with learning is key. In constructivism, learners are central to the learning process, not the knowledge they are required to acquire. Learning is both context ual and social, and so in primary science, for example, collaborative activities and experiments engage learners socially as well as individually. Learners need time to learn, but they also need opportunities to review and revisit the new knowledge, as it becomes internalised and takes its place as a building block for further learning. Primary science teaching appears to fit very well with this approach to understanding learning, because it builds from initial concepts and exploratory activities into more complex activities. As time progresses, the curriculum is designed to revisit knowledge on several occasions, and to put that knowledge into practice. How far this works for primary science, however, may depend on a number of factors[3]. This does seem to be a very constructivist approach, and while it works well in primary science, this author wonders if there are other subjects which might not so easily suit constructivist explanations of learning. As a practical subject, science at all levels allows students to take more control of their learning experiences[4] and to engage fully with new knowledge[5]. However, this theory also acknowledges that learning requires a degree of motivation, and this may be the biggest challenge to any educator[6]. 2. Discuss the issue of progression in a child’s learning in the context of a critique of the materials and properties strand of the national curriculum and the associated QCA schemes of work. The notion of progression builds upon issues of constructivism by starting what appears to be a cascade of learning through directed activities. The guidance for the materials and properties strand of the curriculum, particularly espoused in the QCA schemes of work, seem to start with an initial encounter with key concepts, such as the nature of materials, through focused activities[7]. For example, children in reception to Year 1 might be asked to identify types of materials, such as glass, wood, metal, and discuss the ways in which these are used, such as, windows are usually made of glass, or doors are usually made of wood. This knowledge is then built on later on in their learning process by learning more in detail about the properties of these different types of materials, through new information, and testing that information to learn about the properties under investigation. For example, learning about stretchiness would allow students to understand both the concept and the kin ds of materials which display this property, whilst also acquiring the new knowledge of different terms and their application. So progression of learning requires the student to understand what a property is, and the kinds of words used to describe and to explore it. The learning process challenges the student to ask questions about different properties, and then, through these answers, to apply these concepts to other materials and their properties. Progression is thus based on the student engaging at all stages, and only once the student has grasped initial concepts can they move on to the testing of those concepts in more and more detail. However, the challenge of basing a curriculum and set schemes of work on this concept of progressive learning, in this case, is that all students do not learn at the same rates, and therefore the progression of the class may be limited to the speed of the slowest student rather than responding to individual learning. However, this approach also allows students to not only revisit knowledge but to simultaneously signpost their learning[8], which may help build confidence, self-esteem and self-efficacy. The continuous programme of study that is the National Curriculum aims to ensure progression from primary to secondary school, in particularly, is less marked and more straightforward, although this is not the case for many educators. However, in principle, within science, the curriculum allows students to acquire the fundamental understandings necessary to advance to more complex science and scientific investigation. 3. How does the recognition of concepts of evidence affect a teachers approach to progression and assessment of pupils understanding in Sc1? Concepts of evidence is a fundamental scientific principle in relation to the acquisition of any kind of real scientific knowledge and understanding. Every part of the progression from S1 requires that students can recognise and work with ‘evidence’ acquired from practical activities[9], such as information gathering, observation and recording of these observations, and experimentation[10]. Experimental and investigative work in this subject, at this level, requires students to engage in the following kinds of activities: planning investigations; deciding what to change, what to keep the same and what to measure; deciding whether a fair comparison was made; and using results to draw conclusions[11]. These require students to have internalised what constitutes ‘evidence’ in scientific studies. However, in science, cognition and learning, and in particular, reasoning, is characteristically different than in other subjects, because this reasoning is carried out using ‘evidence’. Learning to work scientifically relates to a rage of ‘concepts of evidence’, which might include the purpose of observation, and how to carry out observation for specific reasons, recognising what constitutes a scientific question that can practically be investigated through accepted scientific processes, the need to carry out multiple measurements, and the need to develop through these new skills in carrying out measurement processes, and different ways of recording data and presenting findings. It also involves understanding different kinds of experiments and the kinds of results that can be gained from these. However, these kinds of concepts must be learned from engaging in practical activities, and in relation to progression from Sc1, understanding the principles of scientific activities must be demonstrated through carrying out the activities and working through these to achieve specific goals. This runs somewhat counter to the notio n of individual learning, however. However, it is not enough that students can carry out the activity required, because they need to be able to see beyond establishing ‘facts’ and look for alternative explanations or interpretations to illustrate their ‘evidence’. Not only must they be able to frame their investigations in the right language, and choose the right kinds of questions[12], they also need to be able to learn how to make robust measurements, with support and input. What this demonstrates is that it is not enough for students to learn superficially how to do an experiment, and how to record results. For students to progress, they need to be able to discuss observations and inference, questions and areas of investigation, and the different ways to produce ‘evidence’ to explain relationships or causality. And the literature does show that even young children can develop these kinds of capabilities, if they are properly supported. Therefore, the modern approach to science education where knowledge acquisition appears to be fully constructivist, particularly in relation to testing of ideas and principles, appears well suited to students developing key scientific skills, which at the next stage of their education form the basis for deeper understanding and manipulation of more complex and challenging tests and variables. Yet it could also be argued that to teach almost by rote, by following the schemes of work set out by the QCA and DfES is also to stifle individuality in learning, because not all students will grasp these concepts at the same time, or even in the same ways. Science is about universal laws and the testing of theories[13], but in order to allow students to develop a true understanding of basic principles[14], perhaps it is time for educators themselves to reconsider what are their ‘concepts of evidence’ for readiness to progress to the next level. References Gibson, J. (1998). Any questions any answer? Primary Science Review, 51, 20-21. Gott, R. and Johnson, P. (1999) Science in schools: times to pause for thought? School Science Review81(295) 21 -28 Gunstone, R.F. and Mitchell, I.J. (2005) Metacognition and Conceptual Change Teaching Science for Understanding 133-163 Hollins, W. Whitby, V. (1998). Progression in Primary Science. Great Britain: David Fulton Publishers. Johnson, P. and Gott, R. (1996) Constructivism and Evidence from Childrens Ideas. Science Education 80(5); 561-577. Osborne, J. and Simon, S. (1996) Primary Science: Past and Future Directions Studies in Science Education 26 99-147 Paivi, T. (1999) Towards expert knowledge? A comparison between a constructivist and a traditional learning environment in the university International Journal of Educational Research31 (5) 357-442. QCA/DfES (2008) http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/science/sci3c/sci3cq2?view=get  Accesed 23-10-08 Reinhartz, J. Beach, D. M. (1997). Teaching and Learning in the Elementary School: Focus on Curriculum. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Shepardson, D. P. (1997). Butterflies and beetles: first graders ways of seeing and talking about insect life cycles. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 34(9) 876-889. So, W. M. W. Cheng, M. H. M. (2001). To facilitate the development of multiple intelligences among primary students through science projects. Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, 2(1), Article 4. Available at: http://www.ied.edu.hk/apfslt/v2_issue1/sow/. Accessed 23-10-08. Watts, M., Barber, B., Alsop, S. (1997). Childrens questions in the classroom, Primary Science Review, 49, 6-8. White, R. and Gunstone, R. (1992). Probing Understanding. London: Falmer Press. 1 Footnotes [1] Paivi, T. (1999) [2] Shepardson, D. P. (1997). [3] Gott, R. and Johnson, P. (1999) [4] Gibson, J. (1998). p 20. [5] White, R. and Gunstone, R. (1992). [6] Reinhartz, J. Beach, D. M. (1997). [7]QCA/DfES (2008) [8] Gunstone, R.F. and Mitchell, I.J. (2005) [9] Hollins, W. Whitby, V. (1998) [10] So, W. M. W. Cheng, M. H. M. (2001). [11] QCA/DfES (ibid). [12] Watts, M., Barber, B., Alsop, S. (1997). [13] Osborne, J. and Simon, S. (1996) [14] Johnson, P. and Gott, R. (1996)

Evaluating the Strategic Role of Operations Management at Nandos

Evaluating the Strategic Role of Operations Management at Nandos Nandos can be described as a casual dining restaurant, which originated in South Africa with a Mozambique/ Portuguese theme. Nandos got its name from one of its founders; Fernando who had Nandos in the later part of his name. The Restaurant chain was founded in 1987 and has grown to operate in over thirty countries in over five continents. (www.nandos.co.uk) Most commonly, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, India, Malaysia, Mauritius , Pakistan, Singapore, Zimbabwe, the united States of America and The united kingdom in which Nandos is trying to build a finger licking tradition. They received the highest accolade for excellence ( three stars) in the best companies annual accreditation awards. It is important to high light here that amongst all the large companies which entered for this award , Nandos was the only one who received the award. (www.nandos.co.uk) Nandos is specialized in serving chicken and chips , rice or mashed potatoes. They specialize in selling flames peri peri chicken and from a personal point of view I think that they do no only specialize in the selling flamed chicken grills , I think that they have revolutionarised the way in which we eat chicken and chips in the united kingdom. Chicken and chips in the united kingdom can to an extent be considered staple food, but with the establishment of Nandos in the country , its presentation and serving has been given a total over hall. The name peri peri is a south African Swahili word for what is called in Africa the birds eye chilli.. This chilli is exclusively indigenous to Africa. The chicken in Nandos is served in either quarters, halves or a full chicken. (www.nandos.co.uk)There are also butterfly breast which are sold exclusively to the Nandos restaurants in the united Kingdom. Added to chicken, Nandos also serves pitas, burgers, salads, wings and raps in their restaura nts. In other countries, Nandos sells, a large stand with a skewer of chicken breast and large peppers , chicken livers and a chicken and rice dish served in a traditional Portuguese copper dish. Nandos serves a wide range of drinks, but they are well known for their idea of serving bottomless drinks, which gives the customer the opportunity to drink and endless as much soft drink as they want, as long as they can handle it and nobody is allowed to take any away from the premises of the restaurant. (www.nandos.co.uk) Nandos thrives on excellence, this is embedded in the our promise section of the menu. In the promise, Nando says that nothing is more important that keeping a promise, and the symbol of the escudo is a sign of integrity, passion, pride and courage. (www.nandos.com)This is a promise by Nandos to give you the customer the excellent flavor and quality that you would expect. It is important to add her that every service sector company should strive to attain excellence. The survival of this type of business depends on people opinions as such it is very very essential that these kind of companies try their utmost best to keep customer satisfaction levels high. This could either be in the way of producing the best quality plate of food that a customer has ordered in the shortest time possible. (www.nandos.co.uk)This will reduce the waiting times by the customers, but still leave the customer with the excellent feeling of satisfaction of consuming your good or service According to accounts filed at companies house in 2009 , the financial crisis at Nandos worsened as they made a loss of about 23 million pounds. As a result of the financial crisis, consumer spending reduced and there was a rise in the cost of raw materials to the industry. This led to a rise in cost to the company and a fall in sale. It is important to not that the company made sales during the period of about one hundred and sixty seven million but due to other factors out of their control, they were still able to make a loss. Management also confirmed that they were happy with the performance of the company even though they did worse that the previous financial year. (www.nandos.co.uk) Operations management is responsible for designing, redesigning and overseeing business operations. It focuses on the process of producing and distributing goods and services efficiently. Operations management makes sure that business operations use as little resources as possible to produce the post resources as possible, it also has to be as efficient in the sense that it has to make sure that the customers requirements are met. Other activities that are associated with this process include inventory control, quality control, managing processes, storage , logistics and evaluation of processes. Substantial measurement and management of internal processes is therefore embedded in the operations management concept. Important to note therefore is that fact that the ways by which operations management is carried out in an organization depends sole or wholly n the goods and services that this The idea of the role operations plays in business is very important , as similarly as human beings, we have a role I our everyday existence. In the morning, we could be parents the our kids, later in the day colleagues at work, and later in the evening we could be friends to other people. The point which should be made here, is that we have a different function in every role we play. In the same way, operations in the business depending on what they are, perform a different function depending on what their overall objective is. The most basic role of strategic operations is implementing business strategy. Other important roles of operations are to act as support for the business strategy and to act as a driver for business strategy. The objectives Operation management objectives are generally every broad. However, it is important to note that operation management affect five different groups or stakeholders in the organization. (Micheal and McCathie ,2005) The first obvious group of people that are going to be affected by operations are the customers. The second group of people going to be affected are the suppliers who have to change or adapt to the changes in any operations so that the end results can be achieved. The share holders are definitely another group that are going to be affected by changes in operations. The better the operation performs, the more business will be driven to the company which in turn increases sales and in turn increases returns on shares. (Micheal and McCathie ,2005) Generally, employees implement operations processes, therefore it is important that the employees understand the objectives of this operation and are will and able to do everything possible to achieve this goal. Also there is a chance like with many companies, that if the employees perform well and this generates positive returns for the company, then they will be in turn better off as the company may be in the position to offer bonuses to them or maybe increase their employee benefits or salaries. Findings And Analysis This report is going to analyze the strategic role of operations and operations objectives, layout , flow , process, and capacity management of Nandos high cross Leicester. It finds that Nando is a high volume mass service restaurant operating with a low process variety level This report will examine and describe the main characteristics of Nandos service operations in the high cross in Leicester which was visited on the evening of Friday the first of April 2011. After making the necessary analysis, this report will end with a recommendation on how Nandos can improve their process. It is worth noting here that Nandos has become or is gradually becoming a household name in the United Kingdom. Demand for the products and services is so high in the Leicester area that they are operating two restaurants in the city center, one about four hundred yards from the other (Micheal and McCathie ,2005) Variation. Nandos can be said to have a fairly predictable variation in the daily, weekly and seasonal demand for its goods and services. Because of the type of food they sell, it is very typical for a Nandos restaurant to be virtually empty in the morning hours of the day. Generally , the most busy periods for the restaurant are evenings, weekend, launch time, and various holiday periods. Periods such as Easter, Christmas and the New year. As a result therefore, management of Nandos varies the number of staff in the shop at any one period of time so that they can be able to meet up with and adapt with changes in demand. Nandos also employs a good number of part time and temporal staff as such they can be called in at short notice so that unexpected variations in demand can be dealt with efficiently and time lags are avoided. Visibility Visibility can be said to be the level of exposure to operations that the customer experiences. Using this definition, Nandos can be said to have very high levels of visibility as they are exposed to all the front end operations of the business. In a typical Nandos restaurant , the customer is able to take a look at how his chicken is grilled. Basically take a look at how his/her meal is being prepared. However, if visibility is considered in terms of the extent to which customers can customize their meals, then visibility can be said to be between medium and low. Nandos, on most of the days and in the evenings can be considered to be a high volume restaurant. This means that you have a lot of people coming into the restaurant to eat. Customizing meals will not be very feasible as it will totally slow down operations. At some times of the day, say probably earlier on in the day, it is easier to probably try an customize meals. But id that is done then they will have to try to practice that through out the day and it will be virtually impossible to do during peak times. As such it can be said that due to its high volume nature, low to medium levels of visibility are necessary in order that the business can operate efficiently. Since customer satisfactions is greatly linked to quality of service, overtime Nandos has tried to increase visibility by increasing the options available to customers. they have brought in vegetarian options to their meals, increases they side dishes that they offer with their meal as well. Nandos used to only offer chips and rice as a side dish to your ordered chicken, now they have other additional options such as mashed potatoes. They have also introduced salads, burgers , pittas , wings and wraps. Also, overtime, they introduce the serving of desserts and now have a great variety of things you can have as desserts after you eat your meal. Hornets are a great example of something revolutionary that they have got in their starter menu. And because a lot of the stuff in the menu is unique cant be gotten from any other restaurant in the same way that it is served in Nandos, people keep on coming back. Variety. In my opinion, Nandos does not provide a lot in terms of variety on their menus. It is true that looking at the menu superficially, you have the feeling that there is a lot on there and you probably have a wide range to chose from. But for flesh loving customers, their choices are limited to chicken. On the evening of my observation, I saw a family of five , two parents, mum and dad and their children who came into Nandos to have a meal. While kids and their dad seemed to be enjoying the meal, the mum who was a meat lover but didnt like chicken had to manage through the evening. Understandably, Nandos as a restaurant cant satisfy the wants of everybody who walk into or thinks about walking into their restaurant, but a little bit of diversification in menu variety will do a lot of good and will definitely go a long way to increase consumer satisfaction. Layout, flow and process design. Nandos, high cross is kind of set in a new building which was open about three years ago. Nandos has what I will term a semi oval shape and the way the restaurant is set up, it gives easy access for movement around the restaurant even when it is at full capacity. It is important to note that customers have to go to the tills to place their orders, since bottomless drinks are very common in Nandos restaurants, customers have to be moving around as well to re fill their glasses and after placing orders, customer have to pick up their cutlery and sauces by themselves. So with all of this in mind, the restaurant is set up in such a way that it can accommodate the flow of customers at any given point in time. Just as you enter the restaurant, there is a sitting area which either provide accommodation for people who have placed take away orders and are waiting for it to be prepared or given a situation when the restaurant is so busy and at full capacity waiting customers can make use of th is area to wait. It is important to note that besides being convenient to the customers, the existence of a functional layout in the restaurant improves and increases overall efficiency of the operation. For example drinks and refill facilities are all set up at one place, plates and sauces with cutlery are also all set up at one place. This makes it really easy for staff to restock in the event that the run out . The big advantage of having a proper layout is that it allows customers for example to move directly to what they are looking for. It prevents people from wondering all around the restaurant in search of what they are looking for. Strategic performance objectives. There are five performance objectives which are common to all operations, these include dependability, speed, flexibility and cost. Quality: Customer satisfaction is directly tied to the quality of the goods and the service which is offered in a Nandos restaurant. If customers became dissatisfied service or quality of the food served in the Nandos restaurant, they might decide to eat somewhere else or why not decide to start eat strictly home made food. This will inevitable lead to a fall in revenue for the restaurant and who knows, might have a knock on effect to other companies in the same line of business. If for example, customers caught a bug from eating in the Nandos restaurant, there is really no guarantee that this bug isnt present in other restaurants, as such risk adverse customers will refrain totally from eating in restaurants, which brings on this knock on effect is spoke about . Due to the fact that this is a service sector industry and the food is prepared on the spot, it is hard to say that first piece of chick which leaves the grill will be exactly the same like another piece which leaves the grill and taking into consideration the fact that this food is prepared by human being, level of quality is susceptible to variations. Also the way the ay one staff treats a customer will not necessarily be the same way in which another staff will treat another customer. This will undoubtedly leave different customers at with different opinions about the quality of service at Nandos. Also talking to the manager at Nandos high cross, I was given the impression that student part time staff are a lot less committed and devote to their jobs as such they tends to provide a lower quality of service when compared to may be full time adult staff. Sometimes, the levels of quality can be reduced unintentionally or intentionally as a result of balancing quality with cost and flexibility. Dependability Nandos has its regular opening and closing times so that customers are clearly aware of the times at which they can attend the restaurant to have a meal. At Nandos High Cross, Sunday to Thursday, Nandos opens between 11:30 to 23:00 oclock and on Fridays and Saturdays, between 11:30 and 00:00 hours. Customers in the area are fully aware of these opening times and they are guaranteed that if they walk into the door of this restaurant between these hours , they are guaranteed to have what ever they order. To the best of my knowledge from personal experience and from talking to staff in the restaurant, I have not yet come across a scenario in which a customers order could not be met because certain things were out of stock. This therefore means that inventory in Nandos restaurants are properly taken care of and refilled where and when the need arises. Speed Speed is an issue generally in the Nandos restaurants. Sometimes you have a long queue at the till and you have only one of the tills being operated. This makes customers orders to be taken slowly and in turn makes the overall waiting experience really long. Also the waiting time for food sometimes ranged up to fifteen minutes. In the general perspective that is not a long time to wait for your food to be cooked and served, but say you dropped in for lunch in on your lunch break, you take a few ins to queue up to get your order started and wait fifteen minutes for your food to get ready, you end up discovering that when your food arrives you barely have enough time to eat properly before you get back t work. If Nandos can reduce the waiting times, I think customer experience is going to be a lot better. This is going to keep customer coming to the restaurant and in turn increase sales and income levels to the company. Flexibility. I personally do not think that Nandos is a very flexible restaurant , ninety percent of their meals are chicken dependent and demand and supply in the particular chain can be determined by factors totally out of the control of the restaurant. For example if we took the case of a bird flu pandemic in the country, this is going to lead serious fall in the supply of chickens to be prepared in the Nandos stores. This pandemic will not only affect the supply of chickens to the restaurant but it will affect customers perception. Customers will be wary about eating chicken at all and a sustained existence of this kind of pandemic will greatly affect sales at the restaurant. This will wholly be to the fact that Nandos sells only chicken do very little in the form of varying to other products. It might be nice for a change for Nandos to try and marinate beef or steak with their peri peri spices and serve with chips. This will and might increase their customer base and increase revenue. Cost. In todays economic climate, cost has become an increasingly become important. To the extend that it almost acts as a winner for restaurants. Other companies in the country such as Tesco, highlight the importance of cost in the economy by using slogans such as every little helps Personally I think that the cost of food in Nandos is fairly affordable and anybody who want to have a proper meal of chicken and chips can actually just walk into Nandos , buy a quarter of chicken and chips and have an unlimited amount of drink for themselves for a little under ten pounds. Quality Management Generally speaking, quality management is a very recent concept which gives customers the opportunity to be able to choose goods which meet a higher quality in standard that other regular goods. (Greasley, 2009) Customers have come to the realization that the quality of the good or service is a very important attribute. And companies have also come to the realization that the quality in the good or service that they provide can make the difference as to whether a customer chooses them or chooses their competitor. (Greasley, 2009) Quality management generally adopts a number of principle that cam be used by top management to organize the institution towards better or improved performance. Some of these principles include being customer focused; at the heart of a business like Nandos the customer is everything about the business. As such the present and future needs of the customer should always be looked at. Management should plan to tackle any needs that might be arising in the near future. (Greasley, 2009) Another aspect of quality management is leadership, the leaders in the organization are supposed to be able to adopt unity and direction of purpose and endeavor to stir the company in the direction of their target goals. Management has to try to involves the employees at all levels in the organization, this makes people to feel valued and it goes a long way to improve performance. A mutually beneficial relationship between supplier and business has to be built and an effective and efficient systematic approach to business has to be developed. As a company they has to be the need to constantly want to improve processes and work on customer beneficial approaches. Talking to the manager of Nandos, he told me that they keep quality at the top of their to do list. I can remember the first time I ate at Nandos I suffered from a bad after reaction, as the peri peri sauce that I used with my meal was stale. And I noticed this in a couple of other shops on different occasions. At the moment management has realized that they can no longer put sauces into a bottle and expect to refill it only when it is finished. Now the peri peri sauces are constantly renewed and refreshed to make sure that the customer enjoys the sauce when it is in its best state. Also over time, customer service in the restaurants has been greatly improved, customer focused training is given to all staff at the restaurant and they the staff are constantly being monitored by their supervisors to ensure that they carry out their work well and they have the best interest of the consumer at heart. On a negative not from a customers point of view, the sizes of the portions have constantly been reducing over time. They seem to be buying a lot smaller birds and they have even changed the bowls used to serve side dishes to smaller ones. This in effect has reduced the amount of food that is being served for exactly the same amount of money. This to the company is good, as they seem to make a lot more money for a comparatively smaller amount of good or service they are providing. In conclusion therefore, looking at the way operations are managed in Nandos, high cross Leicester, from talking to some customer and talking to staff and the manager in the shop, I think that they as a restaurant they have worked hard in the last three years to improve customer experience. They have tried to everything within their powers to reduce customer waiting times, they have worked tirelessly with staff to improves customer service and tried to build a good relationship with supplier to ensure that all goods are supplied on time and they have a rota which permits them to have adequate staff to be able to deal with all customer queries and enquiries at peak periods.

My Uncle Killed Himself Essay -- Death, Suicide

As I grumbled and griped about having an honors band rehersal only hours before the concert - as i complained about the growing callus on my thumb, about the gay kid with the neckstrap who was first chair clarinet, as i lamented the fact I could NEVER play this music, that i wouldn't get any better in that small practice, so WHY bother- my uncle killed himself. in the basement of his very own house at that, with a gun. his two little girls and pregnant wife left him, and he took his own life. at the memorial, our pastor spoke of God, of how even "Jesus wept" at a friend's death (excuse my ignorance, i know not much of religion.). he said that he knew we were angry, that he knew we would harbor hate and such for a long time, that we would always struggle to understand what happened. i was fine until that point. because i had never really thought about it. I hadn't grieved, I hadn't cried, I wasn't even able to find a friend to cry to. it's our new dark family secret. A promising, handsome, charming young man, with two beautiful daughters, a third on the wa...

The Impact of the Internet on Society Essay -- Technology Sociology

The Impact of the Internet on Society The Internet is, quite literally, a network of networks. It is comprised of ten thousands of interconnected networks spanning the globe. The computers that form the Internet range from huge mainframes in research establishments to modest PCs in people's homes and offices. Despite the recent hype, the Internet is not a new phenomenon. Its roots lie in a collection of computers that were linked together in the 1970s to form the US Department of Defense's communications systems. Fearing the consequences of nuclear attack, there was no central computer holding vast amounts of data, rather the information was dispersed across thousands of machines. A set of rules, of protocols, known as TCP/IP was developed to allow disparate devices to work together. The original network has long since been upgraded and expanded and TCP/IP is now a "de facto" standard. Millions of people worldwide are using the Internet to share information, make new associations and communicate. Individuals and businesses, from students and journalists, to consultants, programmers and corporate giants are all harnessing the power of the Internet. For many businesses the Internet is becoming integral to their operations. Imagine the ability to send and receive data: messages, notes, letters, documents, pictures, video, sound- just about any form of communication, as effortlessly as making a phone call. It is easy to understand why the Internet is rapidly becoming the corporate communications medium. Using the mouse on your computer, the familiar point-and-click functionality gives you access to electronic mail for sending and receiving data, and file transfer for copying files from one computer to another. Telnet services allow you to establish connections with systems on the other side of the world as if they were just next door. This flood of information is a beautiful thing and it can only open the minds of society. With the explosion of the World Wide Web, anyone could publish his or her ideas to the world. Before, in order to be heard one would have to go through publishers who were willing to invest in his ideas to get something put into print. With the advent of the Internet, anyone who has something to say can be heard by the world. By letting everyone speak their mind, this opens up all new ways of thinking to anyone who is willing to ... ...ia Internet." †¢ Libicky Martin. Sept.1997. Physics Today. "Information Warfare: A brief guide to defense Preparedness." †¢ Chidley Joe- Caragata Warren. May 1995. Maclean ¡Ã‚ ¦s. "Crime in Cybercity." †¢ Ricci Steven. Oct.1998. Professional counselor. "A Tangled Web." †¢ Belsie Laurent. Jul.1994. Christian Science Monitor. "The Dark Side of Cyberspace." †¢ Hayes Brian. Sept./Oct.1994. American scientist. "The world Wide Web" †¢ Elias Marilyn- Weise Elizabeth. Apr.1998. "Digital Drug." †¢ Birkerts Sven. Jul.1997. National Review. "The Net and the Self." †¢ Rogers Adams. Aug.1998. Newsweek. "Good Medicine on the Web." †¢ Mannix Margaret. Jun.1997. U.S. News & World Report. "Exposed Online." †¢ Levy Steven. Jul.1997. Newsweek. "On the Net, Anything Goes." †¢ Hellwege Jean. Jun.1997. Trial. "Privacy on the Internet." †¢ Laver Ross.Sept.1998. Maclean ¡Ã‚ ¦s. "The Sadness of Cyberspace." †¢ McAllester Matthew. Sept.1998. Newsday. "Identity Crisis." Websites †¢ http://www.privacy.org †¢ http://www.epic.org †¢ http://www.cnil.fr †¢ http://www2.echo.lu:legal/en/dataport/directiv/directiv.html †¢ http://www.usq.edu/au/dec The Impact of the Internet on Society Essay -- Technology Sociology The Impact of the Internet on Society The Internet is, quite literally, a network of networks. It is comprised of ten thousands of interconnected networks spanning the globe. The computers that form the Internet range from huge mainframes in research establishments to modest PCs in people's homes and offices. Despite the recent hype, the Internet is not a new phenomenon. Its roots lie in a collection of computers that were linked together in the 1970s to form the US Department of Defense's communications systems. Fearing the consequences of nuclear attack, there was no central computer holding vast amounts of data, rather the information was dispersed across thousands of machines. A set of rules, of protocols, known as TCP/IP was developed to allow disparate devices to work together. The original network has long since been upgraded and expanded and TCP/IP is now a "de facto" standard. Millions of people worldwide are using the Internet to share information, make new associations and communicate. Individuals and businesses, from students and journalists, to consultants, programmers and corporate giants are all harnessing the power of the Internet. For many businesses the Internet is becoming integral to their operations. Imagine the ability to send and receive data: messages, notes, letters, documents, pictures, video, sound- just about any form of communication, as effortlessly as making a phone call. It is easy to understand why the Internet is rapidly becoming the corporate communications medium. Using the mouse on your computer, the familiar point-and-click functionality gives you access to electronic mail for sending and receiving data, and file transfer for copying files from one computer to another. Telnet services allow you to establish connections with systems on the other side of the world as if they were just next door. This flood of information is a beautiful thing and it can only open the minds of society. With the explosion of the World Wide Web, anyone could publish his or her ideas to the world. Before, in order to be heard one would have to go through publishers who were willing to invest in his ideas to get something put into print. With the advent of the Internet, anyone who has something to say can be heard by the world. By letting everyone speak their mind, this opens up all new ways of thinking to anyone who is willing to ... ...ia Internet." †¢ Libicky Martin. Sept.1997. Physics Today. "Information Warfare: A brief guide to defense Preparedness." †¢ Chidley Joe- Caragata Warren. May 1995. Maclean ¡Ã‚ ¦s. "Crime in Cybercity." †¢ Ricci Steven. Oct.1998. Professional counselor. "A Tangled Web." †¢ Belsie Laurent. Jul.1994. Christian Science Monitor. "The Dark Side of Cyberspace." †¢ Hayes Brian. Sept./Oct.1994. American scientist. "The world Wide Web" †¢ Elias Marilyn- Weise Elizabeth. Apr.1998. "Digital Drug." †¢ Birkerts Sven. Jul.1997. National Review. "The Net and the Self." †¢ Rogers Adams. Aug.1998. Newsweek. "Good Medicine on the Web." †¢ Mannix Margaret. Jun.1997. U.S. News & World Report. "Exposed Online." †¢ Levy Steven. Jul.1997. Newsweek. "On the Net, Anything Goes." †¢ Hellwege Jean. Jun.1997. Trial. "Privacy on the Internet." †¢ Laver Ross.Sept.1998. Maclean ¡Ã‚ ¦s. "The Sadness of Cyberspace." †¢ McAllester Matthew. Sept.1998. Newsday. "Identity Crisis." Websites †¢ http://www.privacy.org †¢ http://www.epic.org †¢ http://www.cnil.fr †¢ http://www2.echo.lu:legal/en/dataport/directiv/directiv.html †¢ http://www.usq.edu/au/dec

Ford vs. Gm

FORD MOTOR COMPANY . VS. GENERAL MOTORS Ford Automotive Company Background The Ford Automotive Company began as a vision of its founder Henry Ford. Henry Ford was born in 1863 on a farm near Dearborn, Michigan. In 1890 Ford’s hobby in the engineering field became a career as he began his employment at Detroit Edison Company. In 1892, Ford built his first gasoline buggy in which he sold in 1896 to help fund the construction of a new automobile. Three years later in 1899, Ford was forced to quit despite his promotion to chief engineer because of his hobby outside of work.The loss of his career at Detroit Edison Company did not slow Ford down. Soon after that he started Detroit Automobile Company with the help of some private investors. Shortly after, he withdrew from that business association because of accounting and prices of the cars produced by the company. On June 16, 1903 Henry Ford opened a converted wagon factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit which became known as the Ford M otor Company. After the company was formed it went through ups and down like any other company.The Ford Motor Company fought with the Licensed Association of Automobile Manufacturers over rights for a patent held on road locomotives with internal combustion engines when the company began. The Model T was the beginning mark of Ford’s success being one of its most popular cars in 1908. Ford was also involved in the war effort in World War I. The Ford Motor Company placed its resource at the disposal of the government providing large quantities of automobiles, trucks, ambulances, Liberty airplane motors, Whippet tanks, and Eagle submarine chasers.The Ford Company later expanded into other countries such as England, German, and Russia. The Ford Motor Company has been through many changes in time that include two World Wars, the Great Depression and more. General Motors Automotive Company Background William C. Durant, founder of General Motors Company was born in Boston, Massachus etts on December 8, 1861. Durant was also the grandson of Michigan Governor Henry H. Crapo. Durant dropped out of high school to work in his grandfather’s lumberyard. He went from the lumberyard to selling carriages. In 1886, Durant founded the Flint Road Cart Company which transformed from $2,000 start-up capital into a $2 million business that made sales around the world. Durant teamed up with Josiah Dort to create the Durant-Dort Carriage Company based in Flint, Michigan in 1890. Their company became the number one leading manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in the world. After Durant produced the modern system of automobile dealer franchises, he was offered a general manager position of Buick in 1904. Shortly after obtaining this position and being successful in it, Durant became president of the company taking it in a different direction.Durant arranged the incorporation by proxies of General Motors and quickly after sold stock and with the proceeds acquired Oldsmobile in 1908. After that acquisition, Durant acquired Oakland, Cadillac. In 1911, Durant went into a partnership with Louis Chevrolet, starting the Chevrolet Company. In 1916, GM was incorporated as General Motors Corporation. GM went on to expand by purchasing McLaughlin Motor Car Company in Ontario, Vauxhall Motors of England, and 80% share in German automobile manufacturer Adam Opel AG. Under the leadership of Alfred P. Sloan, GM had successfully exceeded the sales of Ford Motor Company.GM also became versatile by purchasing Fokker Aircraft Corp of America and Berliner-Joyce Aircraft in which later merged into General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation. GM manufactured vehicles and aircrafts for both Allied and Axis customers during WWII. GM continued expanding and came out with more brands the almost any other automobile company in the world. Ford Motor Company Profile Ford Motor Company is a public company that is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Ford is a worldwide company lo cated in Dearborn, Michigan which is also part of the S & P 500.The key people involved in the success of this great company include William C. Ford, Jr. (Executive Chairman) and Alan R. Mulally (President & CEO). Ford’s production consists of automobiles and automotive parts. Ford produces amazing vehicles such as the Mustang, F-150, Fusion, Taurus, Focus, etc. Ford also has subsidiaries such as Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo. Ford has its own luxury cars under the Lincoln brand. The line of services that ford provides involves automotive finance, vehicle leasing, and vehicle service.Ford Motor Company has had an exceptional year with revenue up $136. 26 billion, operating income up $8. 681 billion, net income up $20. 21 billion, total assets up $178. 35 billion, and total equity up $15. 07 billion. General Motors Company Profile General Motors Company is labeled as a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. The headquarters of GM is located in Detroit, Michiga n in the Renaissance Center. GM has 156 facilities on six different continents and serves the public worldwide. One the key people in the current success of GM is Daniel Ackerson (Chairman and CEO).Their products include automobiles and automotive parts and also financial services. GM has a many subsidiaries that consist of CAMI, Adam Opel AG, Holden Ltd, Vauxhall, and more. GM’s divisions include Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. The 202,000 employees have helped to produce revenue adding up to $150. 28 billion in 2011. To add to GM’s great year, the operating income is up $9. 287 billion, net income is up $7. 585 billion total assets are up $144. 60 billion, and the total equity is up 38. 9 billion. Employee Benefits Ford provides a great benefits package.There employee package includes: * Medical * Dental * Vision * Paid Vacation * Paid Company Holidays * Ford Flexible Work Program * Savings & Stock Investment Plan (401K) * Ford Retirement Plan * Vehicle Purchase Plan * Community Service Program * Ford Employee Recreation Program (FERA) General Motors also provides an excellent benefits package. GM employees’ benefits package includes: * Medical * Dental * Vision * Savings-Stock Purchase Program 401(k) * Personal retirement income plan * Financial planning * Life insurance * Disability benefits * 17 Paid holidays 2 Week vacation with 1-3 years of service * 5 Week vacation for longer service employees * 5 additional paid days off Employees and immediate family members purchase vehicles at a significant discount The Customer is Always Right Our principal purpose in presenting you with this information is to help you with your decision in choosing a company to work for as a communications consultant. Through our research we have found a considerable amount of data that should not only help you decide which company you will be choosing, but clarify which company would be the best choice.In presenting information there are several challen ges in deciding which categories would peak your interest in a company. While there are vast amounts of information at your fingertips we have reviewed personal accounts of employee satisfaction experiences as well as customer satisfaction surveys, challenges that each competitor faces both near and far, and the tough decisions that Ford and GMC have had to make during the times of financial crisis. It is our belief that employee satisfaction is a key to a successful business and so do most major businesses, including Ford and General Motors.Employed persons spend the majority of their time at work, and that makes it obvious that employee satisfaction should be the one of the most important categories researched. To determine if not only the company fits you, but to see if the â€Å"YOU† fit the company. Since 2009, the year of GMC filing bankruptcy, 29,000 or more salaried employees are operating under a new policy that concentrates efforts towards placing the customerâ€⠄¢s needs first, and receiving a bonus when customer retention goals are met. These efforts are to improve customer relationships with the GM products and services. Here are some comments from glassdoor. om about General motors recent customer experiences, â€Å"GM is the place to go† says a former project manager in Chicago, Illinois. A former engineer in Detroit, MI on a recent visit to a GMC dealer said â€Å"management is working hard to improve the culture which has been slow and cumbersome. † GMC since their recent financial crisis has placed a concentrated effort on employee and customer satisfaction, and it has proven to be a key to their revival. Their initiative is to increase its customer retention from 52 percent to 58 percent, if the employees reach the company’s retention goal it will add $4. billion in annual revenue. â€Å"Mark Reuss, General Motor’s North America President stated it’s the first time in his 26-year career that the automaker will reward employees based around how well they retain their customers. † General Motors is definitely creating a change in policies and procedures and only employee effort and good managing decisions will decide the future success of the company. Ford on the other hand stood strong through the financial crisis of the latter part of the 2000’s, declining acceptance of the Tarp money offered by the Government, and choosing not to declare bankruptcy.Ford’s success is due mainly to the Ford family giving up the reigns and allowing an outsider executive control over the company, and other employees making good decisions, and allowing the company to rely on employees and great customer satisfaction to keep the ball rolling. William â€Å"Bill† Clay Ford, Executive Chairman of the Board for Ford Motor Corporation, and former CEO, acknowledged that there may have been some gain from taking TARP money, but nothing is forever, and people have short memor ies. So it is really up to Ford everyday to earn our respect. GM is a great competitor, and we know that.I like where we are positioned and I like that we have positioned ourselves to earn that respect† he was quoted in an article â€Å"How Ford did it† on Cnn. com. Ford’s Pulse Survey Ford motor company has gone through great lengths to improve their company not only as an automotive manufacturer but in terms of employee satisfaction. In 2009, 80 percent of Ford’s salaried employees participated in their annual Pulse survey. The Pulse survey gives Ford an insight into employee’s actual satisfaction with the company, their job, diversity, and other aspects of the workplace.The Pulse survey includes several categories one being an (ESI)- Employee Satisfaction Index, in which 68 percent gave a good rating which was a two percent increase from the previous year and a third year with improvement to the company’s scores. The area of greatest impro vement was the employee overall satisfaction and information received from upper level management. Other areas that have improved over the years are supervision and diversity. Ford has placed a highly concentrated effort into improving communications internally to build trust and increase transparency amongst employees.Diversity in the Workplace Since 1903 Ford has been known as a leader in the automotive industry and a leader in diverse practices in the workplace. Ford is still committed to hiring a highly skilled workplace that reflects many different aspects of our country including culture, ethnicity, race, age, perspective, religion, physical ability and sexual orientation. In 1913 Ford offered five dollars a day to factory workers to attract the African American and immigrant citizens in the community helping create the black middle class.By 1916 Ford was proud to have employed with them, men and women from 62 different nationalities, and 900 disabled employees. In the year 19 19 Ford is responsible for leading to the first mosque in the United States. By 1920 Ford had more African American employees than any other automotive company in the world. That year they also employed their first Asian-Indian employee whom later established the Ford of India. In 1941 Ford negotiates its first collective bargaining agreement which was groundbreaking, mostly because it explicitly prohibited discrimination based on race, color, national origin, or creed. 944 is when Rose Will Monroe, a rivet gun operator, was chosen to appear in a commercial for the Ford Motor Company showing determined women factory workers and personifying the Ford image of diversity for all in the workplace. In 1970 several women join the company as salaried employees. They quickly moved up the executive ranks becoming the first women to enter Ford’s Marketing and Sales Management Program. Today, Ford’s efforts continue in hiring female employees in the executive, management, and eng ineering divisions. Barb J.Samardzich, Vice President of Powertrain Engineering has said that today 18% of Ford employees are women, which is 5% higher than it was when she graduated from college. In 2003, the company included an expanded definition of diversity to include not only race, ethnicity, age and gender but also many things are unique to employees unique such as backgrounds, opinions, experiences, perspectives and life situations. â€Å"It also put an emphasis on fostering an inclusive culture that is free of barriers, and in which all employees are included, respected and appreciated†, says Ford executives. At GM, we view diversity as a critical business imperative that in the long-term will benefit each of us, and all of us. We drive diversity throughout our organization by focusing on five areas: Customers, Communities, Dealers, and Suppliers† says GM executive. GMC hasn’t always made the best decisions as a company, but one of the keys to their succ ess is creating a strongly diverse workforce. On March 14 GMC hosted a luncheon celebrating their 50th anniversary of Inforum a professional organization focused on creating strategic connections and accelerating careers for women throughout Michigan.This year GMC showed a bit of Latin flair when they allowed designer Johanna Medina, designer of GMC’s Acadia to be the keynote speaker. She spoke to students of Bronx high school of visual arts about her path to working as a designer for GMC and how much she enjoys the diversity of their workforce. The General Motors African Ancestry Affinity Network (GMAAN) held its 6th Annual Black History Month Celebration on February 24, 2012 at the Grand Ballroom inside the Greektown Hotel in Detroit, MI. This year’s theme was â€Å"Influencing a New Generation† and GM’s own Mr.Ed Welburn, Vice President of Global Design, was the Keynote Speaker. Ed spoke about his love and passion for designing vehicles and how it was influenced by GM at a very early age and he was absolutely determined to work for the company that inspired him. He manages 11 Global design studios in eight countries and over 1,800 creative people that continue to design the best award-winning vehicles around the world. Ed is the 6th person to lead GM Design in the company’s 100 year history and the first to lead a united GM Global Design organization.GM also supports diversity by recognizing women of color in the workplace. In 2011, Chevrolet was the sponsor for BET’s first annual award show for women of color, BLACK GIRLS ROCK! â„ ¢ & Soul Tour. GMC has constantly showed their efforts to encourage diversity in the workplace from Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. to being one of the Gold sponsors of the Special Olympics of Michigan which were held on Macomb Community College Campus in Warren, MI. First Lt. Travis Manion was moved by the members of FDNY Rescue Company One, one of the first fire companies to respo nd to the World Trade Center on Sept. 1, after spending a day with them before his last tour of Iraq in 2006. Their hard work and sacrifice only reinforced Travis’ belief in serving his country. While Travis was killed by enemy fire in Fallujah later that year, his spirit lives on thanks to the Travis Manion Foundation. In July 2011, the GM Foundation and Chevrolet donated $250,000 to the Travis Manion Foundation to help take its 9/11 Heroes Run fundraiser nationwide. Ford and GMC are two very great companies that show much promise for the future. They have increased size, profitability, technology, but most importantly employee and customer relations.Ford was built on tradition and has set several market trends in which most automotive companies have followed including GMC. General Motors has also made a name for itself in the automotive industry becoming a known producer of quality cars and other automotive parts. They have partnered with several diverse groups to spread an image of how much they care about keeping culture, diversity, and employees ‘ rights and freedoms amongst the highest priorities. These are only a few aspects that define both of these companies without diving into financial statements and stock prices.The more important points we hope to reach in coming to a conclusion on the decision for you is what the companies plan to do with their futures. What challenges does each of these competitors face? What difficult decisions have each had to make for each of them to still be thriving as much as they are today? Looking Ahead The most important part of planning your future career with a company is to research what decisions they are making currently about guiding their future. The automotive industry faces several challenges in today’s struggling economy while trying to make those choices.Globalization, Demographics, General Motors is currently going through a complete renovation with their new business model in place, comb ining automotive aspects with new digital technology, and competing with new entrants into the industry that now have a competitive advantage with smaller more economical alternative vehicles. In today’s U. S. automotive market there are companies such as Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Fiat, and more who have become heavyweight competitors in the national and international industry.Detroit was for years the epicenter of the American automotive industry; it was not until recently when the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) allowed foreign companies to open factories in the South-Eastern areas of the country. This move actually gave foreign companies a great perception in the public’s eyes because it created thousands of employment opportunities for locals and those who lived in northern states who were struggling to find jobs. The Southern Auto Corridor† which includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Ca rolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia serves as the production center of foreign automotive companies and provides the biggest competitor for auto makers such as Ford and General Motors. They not only have to compete with the public’s opinions of the companies providing better jobs, but also the foreign companies cornering the fuel efficiency market. Ford, since it was established has been an innovator in the automotive industry, from the T-model to the Ford F-150.Ford has set the standard with being the first to release new technology and set trends in the highly competitive industry. In the 1960’s it was the Mustang and today it’s vehicles such as the Fusion, and Focus with incredibly economical technology setting the car’s estimated fuel economy over 40 miles per gallon. General Motors has also been one of the industries top competitors and most creative innovators. In the 1960’s when Ford released the Mustang, setting an industry stand ard for American vehicles, General Motors released the Camaro and Firebird which became the Mustang’s number one competitor.Today they are at the top of the American automotive industry, releasing the Chevy Volt a hybrid vehicle that offers consumers enough fuel efficiency to make a trip to the gas station only once a month with regular charging. The competition continues between these two mega competitors in the research and development of hybrid vehicles, Sports Utility Vehicles that can hold large families and achieve the same fuel economy as the smaller hybrid vehicles.In today’s economy efficient personal finance has become the key to our success, and as a smart business model Ford and General Motors has realized that creating smarter, more economical vehicles is the best way to increase consumer perception and retention. With gas prices fluctuating daily, hybrid and alternative vehicles have become the future of the automotive industry. They have become the futur e not only because of consumer’s personal finances, but because of global warming. The environmental affects of motor vehicles is threatening the way of life as we know it.Global Warming is a rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and is affected heavily first by the ocean, but secondly by large factories and vehicles such as cars and trucks giving off large amounts of CO2. As time goes on the Earth will be plagued with horrible climates and scarce resources, that’s why the automotive industry and the people of the world are strongly pursuing alternative vehicle options to save the environment. The environment changes as well as the societal views and opinions. Cars that were once considered popular are no longer the talk of the town.The age group that vehicles are sold to is often identified by the amount of digital technology it has or the sport styled body kits. Demographic and Consumer behavior have always been a challenge for the automoti ve industry. It is why they change models yearly in efforts to incorporate new and improved functions. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are America’s legendary competitors in the automotive industry. There is not a person in the United States that does not know at least one or two vehicle models of either company.Who Has the Advantage? Ford Motor Company and General Motors have both competitive advantages over each other and over other automobile companies. Both companies make all types of automobiles, from cars to SUV’s, which gives them an advantage of offering all types of automobiles. â€Å"Ford Motors adopted the strategy that allowed it low production cost by cutting all the excessive cost involved in its operations. †(Ford Case Study) This strategy gave Ford a big cost advantage over other competitors in terms of lower cost.By cutting the costs on materials and production supplies that were not being used effectively, Ford increased their profits and could increase their market share. Ford increased its market position in the automobile industry by increasing consumer trust by fighting against bankruptcy. A competitive advantage that both companies have in the industry is the cost of their products. Both companies provide affordable vehicles that consumers are looking to buy during these hard economic times.Although the automobile industry has taken a huge hit in recent years due to the recession, they are still fighting hard to produce new and eco-friendly vehicles for consumers. General Motors has a competitive advantage in the selection of vehicles they offer to the public. Since General Motors is made up of four widely known automobile companies (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC), they have a wider target market and are therefore able to appeal to more consumers. Both Ford and GM offer great service. This gives them a competitive advantage over other automobile companies that lack in service and part availability.Compani es such as Mercedes-Benz and Audi, which are built in foreign countries, sometimes take a little longer to get parts and that could make some consumers shy away from them. Our conclusion is that Ford Motor Company’s ability to cut cost while still making a quality product gives them the advantage over General Motors. The Great Automobile Recession Both Ford Motor Company and General Motors have faced challenges in the past that were hard for them to overcome. We can start to look as recent as the last ten years to see challenges that had to be overcome.Ford and General Motors were both near bankruptcy due to the most recent depression. â€Å"In 2006, Ford posted its biggest operating loss to date: $12. 6 billion. This coincided with continued deterioration in market share, with the majority of these losses being captured by Toyota and General Motors. From 1997 to 2007, Ford’s United States market share plummeted from 25% to 15%. †(Oasis Consulting) Ford is makin g moves to try to get the company back on its feet and moving in the right direction. One thing that Ford did to get through these rough economic times was to sell Jaguar and Land Rover.They are also in the process of trying to sell Volvo, which could be very economically productive for them. The Ford Motor Company is trying to get rid of all their other companies to cut costs and help overcome the enormous debt owed by the company. General Motors went through the same economic challenges as Ford, except their situation was a little worse. As General Motors got right to the threshold of bankruptcy, they were bailed out by the U. S. Treasury in an effort to keep the United States automobile companies afloat. â€Å"GM, critically short of operating cash, received a bridge loan from the U. S.Treasury, under the conditions that the company further accelerates a tough restructuring of its U. S. operations that had been underway for several years. †(General Motors web site) These e conomic hardships pushed both of these companies to the limit, but they were both able to overcome these challenges and become stronger because of it. Due to the extreme consequences General Motors had to face during the recession, we believe that Ford Motor Company is in better shape as an overall company. General Motors had to be â€Å"bailed out† by the government, which means that they were going bankrupt before being given money by the government.Company Success Both companies have had plenty success in their histories. One of Ford Motor Company’s biggest successes is the creation of the Mustang in the 1960’s. â€Å"The sharp, four-seat 1965 Mustang became the â€Å"darling† of America. The â€Å"love affair† brought about the sale of 100,000 Mustangs in the first 100 days. Total sales for the year reached 418,812, far exceeding the 100,000 projected by market research. † The Mustang has been one of the most popular cars in the automobi le industry. For forty years, Ford has made a huge profit from the selling of the Mustang.Another success story was the creation of the Thunderbird. This car came out before the Mustang, and was equally as popular. â€Å"The 1955 Thunderbird made its first public appearance in dealer showrooms on Oct. 22, 1954 with a selling price of $2,695, although delivery prices ranged from $3,000 to $4,000. The public went for the Thunderbird in a big way, placing more than 3,500 orders in the first 10-day selling period. † This shows just how popular this Ford model was in its time. Two thousand dollars was a lot during that time period, and to sell that many means major profit for Ford Motor Company.General Motors also has their share of success stories. â€Å"To be the best, General Motors must continually meet and exceed customer expectations. To be flexible and successful across our organizations – Vehicle Manufacturing (Assembly, Powertrain and Stamping), Manufacturing Engi neering, and Service Parts Operations – we use a single common manufacturing system to ensure high quality and reliability. † This shows that General Motors takes great pride in making sure that each vehicle is created to the best of their ability. For most of the twentieth century, General Motors was biggest company in the automobile industry.We have given several reasons why we have chosen Ford Motor Company as the company you would prefer to work for. Ford Motor Company is in better financial shape, has remained a leader in employees overall Quality of Life, and has made smart, progressive, and innovative decisions concerning the future of their company as a leader in the automotive industry. General Motors, who had been bailed out by the government is making a turn around since the crisis, but the company is still searching for an identity as a brand, and has a lot of work to do in directing their company.There are several challenges for both companies and with comp etition comes job opportunities. As a communication consultant for Ford or GMC would be a great career, but our consulting group is sure that we have displayed to you that Ford is the company for you. Works Cited A&E Television Networks, LLC. â€Å"William Durant creates General Motors†. http://www. history. com/this-day-in-history/william-durant-creates-general-motors (2011). Dornbach-Bender, Rhett, Bill Slade & Joe Thorpe. â€Å"Strategic Report for Ford Motor Company. † Oasis Consulting. 20 April 2009. Web. 11 April 2012. http://economics-files. pomona. du/jlikens/SeniorSeminars/oasis/reports/F. pdf Ford Motor Company. â€Å"An American Legend. † Web. 13 April 2012. http://media. ford. com/article_display. cfm? article_id=81 Glassdoor. â€Å"Ford Motor Reviews†. http://www. glassdoor. com/Reviews/Ford-Motor-Reviews-E263. htm (2012). GM Historical Pamphlets. General Motors. http://www. gmheritagecenter. com/gm-heritage-archive/historical-brochures. html (2012). Sabatini, Jeff. â€Å"GM now tying all employee bonuses customer Loyalty†. Automotive News. http://www. autoblog. com/2012/06/05/gm-now-tying-all-employee-bonuses-to-customer-loyalty/. (2012). Sustainablity Report: â€Å"Employee Satisfaction†.