Category: Business 11471

Introduction

In this fierce competition, companies are implementing cutting-edge strategies to compete in the market. The business plan describes advanced techniques and arrangements that boost the success of the organisation. Killashee Hotel is the company under consideration in this study to examine the strategic management issues (Barros, 2021). The hospitality industry is human-oriented, and the general performance of the trade relies entirely on the interaction between the customers and the workers. Employees at Killashee are taught to promote the tradition of serving customers (Pogodina, Muzhzhavleva and Udaltsova, 2020). This studys fundamental purpose is to discuss the aspects of the strategic issues faced by Killashee and propose potential solutions.

Company Overview

The Killashee Hotel is located in Naas, in a remote suburb. Local icons, such as Russborough House and Kildare Shopping Village, and tourists seeking to shop, will want to visit Whitewater Shopping Centre in County Kildare (Killashee Hotel, 2021). There are 2 bars, a full-service salon, and an indoor swimming pool at this smoke-free hotel. A free complete meal, unpaid wireless internet service in public locations, and unrestrained self-parking are also available (Lai and Wong, 2020). The TVs come with satellite channels, and visitors can even find espresso machines and hairdryers (Killashee Hotel, 2021). Killashees President and CEO contend that staff treats customers with zeal and affection, even beyond the institutions physical facilities.

Evaluation and Review of Concerns

External Environment-Pestel

The PESTEL model is a methodology that examines the external market climate that has a significant effect on the companys results. This analytical system lets the company reach new markets through the development or introduction of new goods.

The facets of the macro-environment examined by PESTEL are explored in conjunction with the Killashee Hotel in the following section:

• Political Factors: The countrys political climate has a significant effect on the organizational dynamics of the sector. The level of funding for new industries, the easing of international investment, and other regulatory issues in Ireland have an important role (Matovic, 2020). Irelands leadership ranking in the 2020 Economic Freedom Index was the sixth highest globally (Matovic, 2020). Consequently, the state offers the Killashee Hotel a secure and progressive atmosphere for the growth of the company (Killashee Hotel, 2021).
• Economic Concerns: The nationwide financial condition influences the organizations growth. The development of Killashee Hotel will keep escalating economic development in Ireland (Webster, 2019). For example, in any world championship, Killashee Hotel is fully booked and makes a good profit. The higher the net income of Irish citizens, the greater the disposable revenue and the better quality of life (Bronskaia, 2018).
• Social Factors: A wide range of social standards has an impact on the business of Killashee in Ireland. Killashee is a well-known hospitality brand, and visitors worldwide come to Ireland for stress relief and corporate reasons (Pierscieniak and Grzebyk, 2020). The changing patterns of consumer behaviour, demographic features, and regional customs have a tremendous impact on Killashees business in the state.
• Technological Issues: Ireland is a technologically developed country that encourages scientific competence. The Killashee Hotel integrates innovative types of technology into its structure. The company also implemented an online reservation method, feedback process, and facilities management in its branches.
• Environmental Matters: Country, state, and federal government agencies in Ireland collectively enact and track environmental conservation initiatives. Killashee Hotel must comply with environmental requirements to ensure that its systems run smoothly throughout the country (Jhaiyanuntana and Nomnian, 2020).
• Legal Issues: The Irish government has imposed a vast amount of company registrations and prohibitions. Goods and utility levy, Tax file Number, Ireland Company number are some of the countrys limitations (Bronskaia, 2018). The Irish Government has also imposed visa limits. This restriction negatively impacted Killashee Hotel service as visitors came from all over the planet.

Porters Five Forces-Industrial Environment

Porters Five Forces Precursor is a technique that analyses the market situation within the same sector. This approach aims to evaluate the attributes within the business that affect the efficiency ratio of the company (Osterrieder, Budde and Friedli, 2020).

• Competition with the New Entrants: The entry barriers into the hospitality sector are low, which does not help the Killashee Hotel Company (Malmström, 2020). A huge range of hotels and restaurants are opening up in tourism locations in Ireland and around the country, making this brand an extreme competition.
• Threat from the Existing Rivals: Killashee Hotel belongs to the first tier of resorts. The amount of rivalry in this kind of hospitality sector is strong. However, the company has diversified its profits to various areas of the sector and is maximizing its business.
• Negotiating Power of Vendors: Killashee Hotel has launched a new initiative called the Supplier Diversity Program, which enables the company to buy from various suppliers, granting them individuality and pricing strategy (Lata, 2020). In the case of Killashee Hotel, the vendors negotiating power is flawed, as the organization buys its supplies from a wide range of vendors.
• Bargaining Power of Buyers: Killashee Hotel is under immense strain owing to customer-end negotiations. Clients have a wide variety of hotels to pick from across a luxury range of resorts. Consumers, thus, possess substantial negotiating leverage in this regard.
• Threat from Substitute Services: Replacement services are insignificant in the hospitality field, especially in Ireland. Customers do not have the choice of substituting a location other than spending at a relatives place. This proportion appears to be small, thus, Killashee Hotel does not encounter any problems in this market.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is a critical review of the vital components of the company itself. It provides an incentive to use their core competencies and develop in the fields where the business needs a foothold (Gürel and Tat, 2017). This tool is focused on the evidence, details, and actual data relevant to the companys executives.

Table 1: SWOT analysis: Killashee.

Evaluation of the Appropriate Method for Strategic Implementation

The Killashee Hotels strategic strengths detail certain events that take advantage of all available tools and expertise to gain a tactical advantage over rivals and float in the business sector. To achieve a sustainable edge, Killashee Hotel has taken three strategic steps. The business balanced its entry modes around cultural lines (Darvishmotevali, Altinay and Köseoglu, 2020). Next, Killashee Hotel plans to extend its business to developing market. The corporation established market prospects in a rural area and grew appropriately (Jhaiyanuntana and Nomnian, 2020). Killashee Hotel is not just the leading company; it is the business leader in creativity (Punt et al., 2016). The company has reached this role due to the successful application of its service separation policy, HR strategies, and CSR operations.

Recommendation

It is suggested that the Killashee Hotel should concentrate its next step on developing digital expertise. Therefore, they should offer digital education to their staff. In addition, the organization does not make full use of the ability of social networking platforms.

Professionals who have experience in social network campaigns must be hired (Punt et al., 2016). Moreover, the provision of training and expertise to staff on modern tools would enable the business to motivate individuals to succeed in contemporary times. Net revenues will improve if sufficient material is written using digital resources. Social networking marketing is the newest type of advertising tool that reaches billions of people worldwide, and the information may be shared within seconds. The recruitment of social networking professionals would also help to brand the business in any country corner.

Conclusion

According to the above details and secondary research, it can be inferred that Killashee Hotel has succeeded in this aggressive market for ten years due to its striking tactics, customer-focused offerings, and sophisticated technology solutions. Killashee Hotel has given the greatest priority to Porters five forces strategys common principles, which shows that customer service is of the greatest priority to this company. The PESTEL study illustrated that Irelands political and economic circumstances are stable for the expansion of Killashee. Nevertheless, Killashee Hotel must conform to environmental requirements and legal requirements.

Threats from potential competitors and consumers purchasing power are essential for the Killaschee Hotel. However, the negotiating power of the vendors and the competition from providers are low. Killashee Hotel has an extensive network of suppliers, an outstanding record of success, and exemplary service efficiency as its advantages. It does not, however, blend with the diverse cultures of Ireland. The customer satisfaction record of the company is their central competent jurisdiction. Product distinction and digitization initiatives have rendered Killaschee the industry leader. The company is alienated from the majority of these two aspects. However, the hotel chain is increasing because of its successful capacity to accommodate clients.

References List

Barros, H.M. (2021) Neither at the cutting edge nor in a patent-friendly environment: appropriating the returns from innovation in a less developed economy, Research Policy, 50(1). Web.

Bronskaia, T.A. (2018) Marketing environment analysis as the key component of the companys competitiveness evaluation, Journal of the Belarusian State University. Economics, 1, pp. 93101.

Darvishmotevali, M., Altinay, L. and Köseoglu, M.A. (2020) The link between environmental uncertainty, organizational agility, and organizational creativity in the hotel industry, International Journal of Hospitality Management, 4(87). Web.

Gürel, E. and Tat, M. (2017) SWOT analysis: a theoretical review, Journal of International Social Research, 10(51), pp. 994-1006.

Jhaiyanuntana, A. and Nomnian, S. (2020) Intercultural communication challenges and strategies for the Thai undergraduate hotel interns, Journal of Language Teaching and Learning in Thailand, 7(59), pp. 204-235.

Killashee Hotel (2021). Web.

Lai, I.K.W. and Wong, J.W.C. (2020) Comparing crisis management practices in the hotel industry between initial and pandemic stages of COVID-19, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 3(1), pp. 7-16.

Lata, L. N. (2020) Negotiating gatekeepers and positionality in building trust for accessing the urban poor in the Global South, Qualitative Research Journal, 1(4), pp. 19-26.

Malmström, S. (2020) Competition and competitive actions in the hotel industry in Finland, Jyvaskyla University School of Business and Economics, 1(1), pp. 89-97.

Matovic, I. M. (2020) PESTEL Analysis of external environment as a success factor of startup business, ConScienS, 1(4), pp. 96-100.

Osterrieder, P., Budde, L. and Friedli, T. (2020) The smart factory as a key construct of industry 4.0: a systematic literature review, International Journal of Production Economics, 221(9), 107476. Web.

Pierscieniak, A. and Grzebyk, M. (2020) Searching key macro-factors for cooperation in cross-border tourism: institutional matrix vs PEST concept, European Research Studies Journal, 23(3), pp. 249-259.

Pogodina, T.V., Muzhzhavleva, T.V. and Udaltsova, N.L. (2020) Strategic management of the competitiveness of industrial companies in an unstable economy, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 7(3), pp. 1555-1564.

Punt, A.E., et al. (2016) Management strategy evaluation: best practices, Fish and Fisheries, 17(2), pp. 303-334.

Webster, B. (2019) Ireland national ploughing championships: industry, The Dairy Mail, 26(12), pp. 26-27.

While Trimco is QS 9000 certified, its quality control procedure varies. Please find online how QS9000 certification is conducted, and develop a plan for Navistar to audit the performance of Trimco by itself (hint: you may determine whether you want to audit an area which has already been audited by QS 9000).

QS 9000 certification begins by monitoring the standards embraced by manufacturers of different automobile supplies. The first section of the standard is the automotive requirements. The supplies and materials should meet the minimal requirement for the intended automobile. The second section is the additional requirements and focuses on the expectations of the automaker. The third section is the customer specific requirement. The supplies and materials should be unique depending on the targeted truck manufacturer (Chopra and Meindl 38). Although Trimco is QS 9000 certified, it is agreeable that most of its supplies have been defective or inappropriate. Navistar can use a powerful plan to audit the performance of Trimco. The first step is monitoring the aspects or sections already audited by QS 9000. This approach will ensure the unique gaps affecting the quality of ordered parts are clearly understood. The firm will go further to audit Trimcos business model, operations, and ability to meet the outlined requirements. Logistical operations undertaken by the supplier should also be audited in order to establish the main cause of the trim part shortages.

Trimco and Navistar use JIT between them. Do you think JIT is appropriate in this case, given the quality and delivery problem? Can you recommend some ways to improve the JIT delivery?

The use of a Just in Time (JIT) system is appropriate between Navistar and Trimco. This is the case because the system ensures that the required trim parts are delivered in a timely manner. This process makes it easier for Navistar to install the parts in a timely manner and deliver the products to the targeted customers. Unfortunately, the system has led to numerous quality and delivery challenges. The two companies can go ahead to revise the JIT system in order to deal with the problems. The first recommendation is improving the nature of communication. This approach will ensure Trimco is informed about the needed materials and their specifications in a timely manner. The second strategy is for Trimco to use the presented data and information from Navistar to produce the required materials. The third stage is ensuring that the packaged materials are checked and counterchecked before being shipped (Simon et al. 29). Inappropriate or poor-quality trim parts should be replaced immediately. Trimcos warehouse should also keep inventory and countercheck the trim parts. These measures will ensure the JIT approach is sustainable and supports the manufacturing process.

Trimco has labor related issue such as high turnover. What should the Navistar do to address this issue?

It is clearly indicated that Navistar monitors the practices undertaken by Trimco in order to ensure quality materials and trim parts are delivered in a timely manner. The case study shows conclusively that Trimco has been a reliable business partner despite the few challenges affecting the delivery process. The high turnover at Trimco must also be contributing to the current problem. Navistar should go a step further to address the labor related issues at Trimco. The firm should begin by encouraging Trimco to develop a new organizational culture (Ross 47). The new culture will ensure the workers are empowered and guided in order to improve the quality of materials supplied to Navistar. The firm can support and guide Trimco to implement a powerful change. The new change will focus on the best approaches to empower the workers, increase remunerations, and promote the concept of work-life balance. Some measures will reduce the level of turnover and ensure quality materials are produced. This move will definitely result in a win-win situation (Chopra and Meindl 62).

Trimco may delivery incomplete kit to Navistar. Is there any way that the two parties can improve the procedure on either side to handle missing and defective parts, thereby reducing potential delay?

The case indicates clearly that Navistar has been receiving incomplete kits for the trim parts. Several reasons explain why such incomplete kits are delivered. For example, the lack of coordination, emerging labor concerns at Trimco, and improper warehousing management have contributed to the problem. These companies have the potential to address this problem. They can do so by streamlining the supply chain process. The use of effective supply chain management will ensure Trimco is willing to improve its practices. The company will be guided to monitor the produced trim parts and detect defects.

Navistar should ensure every new design or layout change is communicated to Trimco in a timely manner. Trim parts should be matched with the specifications presented by Navistar. Trimcos warehouse manager should go a step further to ensure the specifications and requirements are met. Proper labeling and matching will ensure incomplete kits are identified and corrected (McDaniel 321). At Navistar, the kits should be checked once again before installing the trim parts. Constant collaboration and communication with Trimco will ensure the number of defective and missing parts is reduced (Simon et al. 33). Robbing of parts from different kits should be avoided in order to reduce delays at Navistar.

Develop a plan for Trimco and Navistar to improve their communication. Be specific about what information should be exchanged and how they should be exchanged.

More often than not, the layout changes made at Navistar are not communicated to Trimco. This malpractice has led to delays and delivery of inappropriate trim parts. Effective communication between these companies can streamline the process and improve efficiency. The current nature of communication can be improved through the use of modern technologies. Information should be relayed and exchanged between the companies in a timely manner (McDaniel 319). Navistar should lead the way by creating a communication department. The role of this department will be to link key stakeholders involved throughout the process. The assembly department will be required to give timely updates depending on the changes and progresses made. The information to Trimco should then be relayed real time (Mensah et al. 68). The managers at Trimco should Navistar is informed about the contents of every kit. Although the move is complicated, the agreeable fact is that it will address the major challenges affecting the level of performance. The use of modern technologies, videoconferencing techniques, and social media platforms can ensure images are exchanged in a timely manner. The move will minimize confusions, reduce delays, and ensure every kit is perfect. The level of communication will eventually support the firms business models.

How should Navistar improve its supply chain strategy?

Navistar can improve its supply chain strategy in an attempt to drive business performance. The first idea to consider is the establishment of a supply chain department. This department will have a manager to oversee every supply chain process. The department will monitor the performance of different suppliers such as Trimco. The manager will ensure there is constant collaboration and coordination between the company and the supplier (Ross 39). The company can go a step further to come up with its own warehouse. The warehouse will be characterized by the use of modern technology to match trim parts and kits with the targeted trucks. The manager should also consider the unique needs and specifications of different customers. This move will ensure every new kit has the right trim parts for the intended truck. The workers in the company should also be involved throughout the supply chain process (Boyens et al. 57). The approach will make it easier for them to report errors before they can affect the assembly process. A strategic relationship between Trimco and Navistar will streamline the supply chain process, improve inventory, and reduce delays.

Works Cited

Boyens, Jon, et al. Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal Information Systems and Organizations. NIST, vol. 1, no. 1, 2015, pp. 1-282.

Chopra, Sunil, and Peter Meindl. Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operation. Pearson Education, 2015.

McDaniel, Elizabeth. Securing the Information and Communications Technology Global Supply Chain from Exploitation: Developing a Strategy for Education, Training, and Awareness. Issues in Information Science and Information Technology, vol. 10, no. 1, 2013, pp. 313-324.

Mensah, Peter, et al. Developing a Resilient Supply Chain Strategy by Exploiting ICT. Procedia Computer Science, vol. 77, no. 1, 2015, pp. 65-71.

Ross, David. Competing Through Supply Chain Management. Springer Shop, 2013.

Simon, Alexandre, et al. Evaluating Supply Chain Management: A Methodology Based on a Theoretical Model. RAC, vol. 19, no. 1, 2015, pp. 26-44.

In logistics, time, place, and space utility present the concepts that determine the choice of transportation modes. Time utility refers to the availability of the products when they are demanded by customers (Lecture 9, slide 8). Place utility is understood as moving products from the locations with lower value to those with higher value to ensure that customers have them where needed. As for space utility, it is associated with accessible storage of products that can be transported depending on place and time utility. Transportation is the core means of utilizing all three mentioned concepts in practice. For example, taking jewelleries as an example, it is possible to state that they need a high level of place and space utility security due to their expensiveness. Properly designed logistics allows for avoiding lateness and safety concerns, which is based on the maximization of available space and speed of transportation (Punakivi & Hinkka, 2006). In this connection, logistics operations are constantly developing to find better solutions, such as offering substitute products, focusing on warehouses, et cetera.

A process of mode selection involves five basic choices, including rail, road, air, sea / inland waterways, and pipelines. While globalization promoted greater cooperation between countries and distant locations, it also increased fuel costs and environmental concerns (Lecture 9, slide 10). The consideration of risks and rewards serves as the basis for choosing a transportation mode. Among the strategic factors that should be taken into account, there are inventory and facility costs. The possible quality factors include security, safety, and standards of transportation systems, which impact the products presentation and further customer satisfaction (Scott et al., 2011). Ultimately, the strategy selected by a company should provide a positive contribution in financial terms (Scott, Lundgren, & Thompson, 2011). Both advantages and disadvantages of modes should be investigated regarding a particular product and target destination. Nevertheless, it is possible to distinguish between some common factors. For roads, advantages are flexibility, variety of vehicles to choose from, and low costs, while its disadvantages include small load sizes, congestions, and negative environmental imprint. Consequently, this mode is the best decision for comparatively close distances to deliver products directly to required points.

A set of tactical factors that influence the selection of transportation modes can be composed of management policies, inventory levels, customer service, and so on. For instance, some pharmaceutical companies in Finland decided to extend their product lines by offering alternative medicines to customers, which allowed increasing logistics utilization (Punakivi & Hinkka, 2006). Customer service integrates such factors as reliability, product knowledge, and speed or lead time. The operational considerations also require paying attention to physical attributes: location points, size of products, delivery limitations, and delivery frequency / quantity. For example, if a company needs to move tons of construction materials from one continent to another, it is better to choose air or sea ways to minimize costs and time. However, if there is a need to send 20 packages of clothes between two nearby cities, road mode should be prioritized. Nevertheless, legal and infrastructure constraints can impact the final decision, which makes it especially important to anticipate potential barriers to efficient transportation.

In addition to the existing modes of transportation, the future of logistics is related to innovative fuels. Among the alternative sources of power generation, there are liquid petroleum gas (LPG), hydrogen cell, as well as biomass and natural energy as renewables (Lecture 1, slide 14). Myerson (2015) considers location decisions as a lean concept that determines the effectiveness of the entire supply chain. The author insists that a thorough analysis should be conducted to optimize a distribution and manufacturing network (Myerson, 2015). For example, the impact of time utility can be associated with the expenses on building and maintaining railroads, as well as following schedules, which restricts time availability. In contrast, space utility can be related to a limited flexibility of delivery points or overcoming relatively long distances. With the wider introduction of electric vehicles, it would be possible to reduce the environmental impact and make transportation even more flexible Lecture 1, slide 18). More to the point, the development of Nano Flow Cell Technology would promote using charged electrolyte as a fuel, which can be applied not only to road but also air and rail modes.

The primary goals of using warehouses are the maximization of resource utilization to meet customer needs or improve customer service. According to Punakivi and Hinkka (2006), since companies from various industries need warehouses to store their products in preferred locations, there is a need to maximize such service. Outsourcing warehousing operations seem to be a relevant approach to advancing logistics. 20% of warehouse operating expenses are allocated for storage of products, while 50% accounts for picking orders (Lecture 3, slide 19). In addition, warehouse decisions depend on the availability of various resources, organizational policies, and government incentives (Lecture 10, slide 17).

Order picking implies producing pick lists, scheduling operations, and providing the necessary documentation, which is often done in terms of a Warehouse Management System (WMS) (Richards, 2018). Accordingly, the process of warehouse automation and the introduction of warehouse technologies should be preceded by a preparatory process, including proper documentation and analysis of current processes in order to identify low-quality areas and further improve warehouse operations (Scott et al., 2011). The central task, in this case, is to organize the process in such a way as to shorten the route of a picker when bypassing the places of storage of products, excluding unnecessary movements (Bartholdi & Hackman, 2019). Hausman, Schwarz, and Graves (1976) rationally note that warehouse automation turnover-based rules are effective for maximizing picking efficiency. In particular, they increase throughput capacity and balance it with storage capacity.

Cost, flexibility, and service factors are critical for the automation process, while cross-docking and added value activities are considered promising operations. Baker and Halim (2007) argue that the benefits of the mentioned strategies are inventory centralization whilst maintaining acceptable costs. Moreover, demand chain management is reported to be another strategy that improves the pace of picking orders. One of the key speed increase efficient operations is the organization of different categories of products in the warehouse by storage and pick-up locations. They should be sorted according to the rate of expenditure: the most popular and fastest-consumed category products are to be located closest to the place of order picking (Baker & Halim, 2007). For less popular products, areas are to be allocated behind goods of the first category. The least consumable products are to be positioned in the farthest places. In many warehouses, products are mistakenly arranged by types of products, while the rate of their consumption is not taken into account. The organization by demand contributes to a faster picking process.

Using voice picking in the process of working in a warehouse increases picking efficiency. Being equipped with a headset with a microphone, an employee connects to the WMS system wirelessly. Performing the picking, an operator interacts with the warehouse management system using voice commands. In turn, the system transmits sound information about the place and the quantity required for the selection of goods. The key advantages are improving picking accuracy and productivity, minimizing data entry errors, and multilingualism. Capital costs and dehumanization of work are drawbacks of this picking method (Lecture 3, slide 38). In comparison, the Pick to Light system is a digital selection system that provides electronic control of all movements of goods. Information regarding all orders within the company is transmitted electronically to the WMS system, and an operator receives specific assignments (Lecture 3, slide 37). The light modules indicate the location and quantity of goods to be picked up. Simplicity, reliability, and powerlessness of operations are the main benefits, but expensiveness and manual backup problems present challenges.

Due to technology development, augmented reality glasses can be used as a working tool for warehouse employees, which make it possible to work using a Pick by Vision system. During the execution of operations for orders to ship products from a warehouse, all information is automatically transferred from the WMS management system to an employees visual interface of the glasses with a detailed description of the task, comprising the required range of goods for the set on request, exact location in the warehouse, the required quantity, and other details (Lecture 3, slide 39). Such advanced technologies as Pick by Light and Pick by Vision are simple to use and require now previous knowledge to use; nevertheless, the traditional approaches to picking are more affordable solutions that bring tangible results. Consequently, one may conclude that further research and new solutions are required to ensure that new picking methods would be widely implemented in practice since they contribute to optimization of warehouses and order picking.

References

Lecture 1. Future logistics fuels.

Lecture 9. Transportation logistics and modal choice.

Myerson, P. (2015). How location decisions impact a lean strategy. Web.

Punakivi, M., & Hinkka, V. (2006). Selection criteria of transportation mode: A case study in four Finnish industry sectors. Transport Reviews, 26(2), 207-219.

Scott, C., Lundgren, H., & Thompson, P. (2011). Guide to supply chain management. Berlin: Springer.

Baker, P., & Halim, Z. (2007). An exploration of warehouse automation implementations: Cost, service and flexibility issues. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 12(2), 129-138.

Bartholdi, J. J., & Hackman, S. T. (2019). Warehouse and distribution science. Atlanta, GA: Supply Chain and Logistics Institute, School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Georgia Institute of Technology.

Hausman, W. H., Schwarz, L. B., & Graves, S. C. (1976). Optimal storage assignment in automatic warehousing systems. Management Science, 22(6), 629-638.

Lecture 3. Put away, storage and picking processes.

Lecture 10. Distribution models and network design.

Richards, G. (2018). Warehouse management: A complete guide to improving efficiency and minimizing costs in the modern warehouse (3rd ed.). London: Kogan Page Publishers.

Scott, C., Lundgren, H., & Thompson, P. (2011). Guide to supply chain management. Berlin: Springer.

Natureview Farm, Inc. is a small yogurt manufacturer established in Cabot, Vermont, in 1989. The companys founder developed a family recipe of yogurt made of natural ingredients, and Natureview began manufacturing refrigerated cup yogurt without adding any artificial components. The average shelf life of Natureview Farms yogurt is 50 days, while its competitors yogurts have only a 30-day shelf life. In 2000, Natureview produced twelve flavors in 8-oz. cups, equal to 86% of its revenues, and four yogurt flavors in 32-oz. cups, which is 14% of revenues. The company has earned $13 million by this time, while ten years ago, its revenue was $100,000. Natureview Farm settled strong connections with such huge natural food vendors as Whole Foods and Wild Oats.

Natureview Farm aims to grow its incomes to $20 million by the end of 2001. The issues to be addressed are: a venture capital (VC) firm needs to profit from its investments in the company, and Netureview has to find a way to increase its revenues by 50% by the end of 2001. The question arises: should Natureview Farm expand into a supermarket chain or not?

Successes of the Natureview Farm

From a marketing perspective, Natureview Farm succeeded in the natural foods channel, using sales brokers who distributed its yogurt to the natural food stores. The paper will discuss the main secrets of its success further. Natureview Farm produces only natural yogurt and does not add artificial flavors to its products like other manufacturers do. In addition, yogurt prices are affordable according to the natural foods channel. Its low-cost guerilla marketing helped promote Natureview yogurts and allowed it to grow to national distribution. The company attained a positive reputation with its high-quality and tasteful yogurts. Introducing a new product  fruit on the bottom yogurt  helped increase Natureview Farms revenues. The longer shelf life of its yogurts is another advantage over the competitors. All these aspects made Natureview succeed in the natural foods channel.

The role of the companys staff should not be underestimated when talking about its success. The vice president of marketing, Christine Walker, conducted a meeting and considered three different options for the companys growth plan. She summarized the main points of each of the proposed projects and identified their strengths and weaknesses. The companys chief financial officer, Jim Wagner, had established financial controls that helped the company achieve steady profitability. The work of these and other staff members and the high-quality products and strong reputation allowed Natureview Farm to achieve success in the natural foods channel.

Strategic Advantages and Risks of the Three Options Presented

The first option is to enlarge six stock-keeping units (SKUs) of the 8-oz. product line in the West and Northeast supermarket regions. Its main advantage is that it seems to earn the highest revenue and profit. At the same time, if Natureview Farm enters the supermarket distribution channel, it will need to make changes in its current operations. The launch expenditures and the promotion expenditures will increase significantly, whereas supermarket yogurt sales will only grow by about 3%. Horizontal channel conflicts will also occur because supermarkets usually sell the same products for lower prices. Supermarkets will gain more power because of their ability to drive higher sales, and the company will need to readjust its prices accordingly. All these risks should be considered when deciding on the best option.

The second option focuses on the expansion of four SKUs of the 32-oz. product line nationally. This option has a high revenue too, but its profits will be lower. As in the previous case, the company will enter the supermarket channel with all the risks mentioned above, which means that the supermarkets will gain more power and negatively influence Natureview Farms price policies. The marketing expenses will be only 10% of those projected for the 8-oz. size in every region, representing $120,000 per year. At the same time, the risk exists that the new users will not be ready to use a new multi-use size. Besides, it is not easy to attain full national distribution in one year. The company will need to employ sales professionals and develop contacts with supermarket dealers. Thus, the second option will increase sales, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses by $160,000.

The last option will present two SKUs of a children multipack into the natural foods field. The advantages of this option are an attractive financial potential and the strongest profit contribution. Since the natural foods channel is growing seven times faster than supermarkets, it will succeed if the company develops some new products for this field. However, one can identify this option with several risks. Natural foods channel will start making demands like those the marketing director Riley feared from the supermarkets. Moreover, this option will not help the company achieve its objective in one year.

Which Option to Choose?

Having reviewed all pros and cons of the three options, one can conclude that the first option is the best one for Natureview Farms growth. This option allows reaching the target objective of the revenue and go beyond because 8-oz. size yogurt is in highest request on the market. The supermarkets will increase the number and variety of customers. As a natural yogurt manufacturer, the company will take the lead in this field to enter supermarkets. Although this option has some risks, in the long-term view, it will generate the highest revenue.

Introduction

Background of the study

Strategy has gone from being the hot management buzzword of the 1980s and 1990s to the care of how organizations think as we enter the 21^st country. Today, everything is supposed to be strategic. This includes business in general, management, human resource etc (Mintzberg, 1998)

According the Pearce and Robinson (1991) strategy is concerned with how to adhere objective of the organization. It relates the business and human resources. It defines the condiment within which an organizations personnel determine the success of the company.

Purpose of study

The purpose of this study shall be to identify the relationship between business strategy and human resource strategy at BHP Billiton. The research shall seek to determine the role of human resources in the achievement of business, that is the relationship between HR strategy and business strategy.

Company background

Prior to the year 2001 BHP and Billiton were different companies. In 2001, BHP Billiton was created as a result of the merger between BHP and Biliton.

However, BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc continue to exist as separate companies, but operate on a combined basis as BHP Billiton. The headquarters of BHP Billiton limited are in Melbourne Australia.

The company has a total of 39,000 employees based at the countries of operation. Employees work in more than 100 operations in 25 countries. The company deals with major commodities and businesses like aluminum, energy coal, metallurgical coal, copper, manganese, iron ore, uranium, nickel, silver, and titanium minerals. It also has substantial interests in oil, gas, liquefied natural gas and diamonds.

Research Design & methodology

This section shall cover the overall methodology used in the study. It will inclduen

• Research design
• Target group
• Data collection methods

Research design

Research design is a plan and structure in terms of which the study is carried out so as to obtain answers to research problems. In this study descriptive design shall be adopted.

Target group

People targeted in this study shall be employees in the age bracket of 25  45 years at the middle and upper  middle level management. Copper and Schindler (2000) define a target group as an element subject on which the measurement is being taken and is the unit of study.

Data collection methods

Use of questionnaires shall be distributed to the employees to fill and return them

Limitations of the study

There are various limitations of the study. Some of them being failure to obtain information from all respondents who were issued with questionnaires. The study only covered one area (country) as against the company is in operation. Failure to meet some of senior middle and senor upper middle level employees in the organization. Gender disparity was also observed. Most respondents were male as against females who either hired or feared to participate.

Business strategy

Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization oven the long term which achieves advantage for the organization through its configuration of resources within a challenging environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfill stakeholder expectation (Johnson and Schooles, 2007)

Strategies exist at different levels in an organization. It ranges from individuals to business strategy. Therefore business strategy is more concerned with how a business competes successfully in a particular market. It concerns strategic decisions about choice of products, meeting needs of customers, gaining advantage over competitors, exploiting or creating new products.

BHP Billiton has developed a good business strategy, which sees it an edge forward than their competitors. Due to this high quality product, which is in demand, it has created twin-marketing hubs at Singapore and The Hague so as ensure innovative customer solutions and superior customer service.

In ensuring that the company achieves its objectives, BHP Billiton ensures that proper and rigorous recruitment and selection of staff is done diversity of skill, thought, ethnicity, language, gender, experiences and relationships are sources of competitive advantage. Training and development is also provided in ensuring that employees have new skills required in racking their tasks.

HR Strategy

HR strategy is that plan, program and intentions of developing an organization to meet its present and future competitive challenges in orders to generate superior economic value.

A new concept is provided by the concept of resources based HR strategy. A competitive advantage is obtained it a firm can obtain and develop human resource that enable it to learn faster and apply its learning more effectively that its rivals (Hamel, Prahalad, 1989). Barney (1995) defines HR to include all the experience. Knowledge, judgment, risk taking propensity and wisdom of individuals associated with the firm. The objective of resources based approach is to improve resource capability achieving strategic fit between resources and opportunities as well as obtained added value from effective deployment of resources.

Human capital theory read together with resource based theory, it emphasizes that investment in people adds to their value to the firm.

At BHP Billiton business strategies, which are long-term goals of the organization, have been linked with HR strategies. BHP Billiton recognizes the values of its human resources in attainment of the goals people are the foundation on which all activities rely and to be successful they try to identify, recount, train, develop and retain a talented, diverse workforce. In this regard they provide sufficient and regular training and development as well as rewarding their employees.

Structure

Organizational structure plays important role in an organization. It is this structure that defines various job duties and responsibilities.

BHP Billliton Ltd a dual listed company as merged in 2001 is headquartered in Melbourne Australia while BHP Billton PLC repeaters from London; BHP Billiton has chief executive officer and chairman to the executive committee as its head assisted by other chief executives. The CEO is answerable to the board of directors.

Culture

Organizational culture as practiced in the organization gives point of direction to any company. Culture should be practiced being a point of diversity where the organization draws its strength.

Culture or organizational culture encompasses the attitudes, experiences, beliefs and vales of an organization.This term has been defined as the specific collection of values and norms that are shared but people and groups in an organization which control the way they interact with each stakeholders outside the organization.(Charles W.Hill and Gareth R. Jones (2001) strategies management, Houghton Miffin)

As BHP Billiton they value creating sustainable importance to shareholders, employees, contractors, suppliers, customers, business, partners and host communities. This is achieved through god relation both vertically and horizontally in the organization. Teamwork is highly valued and practiced at BHP Billiton. The organization is committed to openness, honest and productive relationships with their employees based on the values of the charter. The company maintains and promotes dialogue with stakeholders and remains responsive to the global communitys concern and operations. The companys intent is to foster a culture which is diverse and often remotely located leaders behave in a manner that models the charter, drives superior performance and allows every employee to start each day with a sense of purpose and end it with a sense of accomplishment.

Recommendations

Both the HR strategy and business strategy of BHP Billiton is superb. However; there are a few things to improve on.

Firstly BHP Billiton after the merger has greatly expanded it operations globally. This is a good business strategy or concept. However, this expansion has more effects. As much as the operation will see BHP Billiton become a world leader in the industry, it is also susceptible to risks. Being an international company for instance has to consider establishing operations where the company can create a business impact. This is done by looking at possible competitors. What effect do they have in the local market, how their prices are, and nature of their products and the general perception of the perception of the already established companies? In other words a though due diligence should be one. Further BHP Billiton can also improve its business strategy or add value to the organization by implementing strategies through translating business objectives into people management activities. Identifying young intelligent and talented people should be the recruited and put into management training positions training positions for a certain period. Upon their completion of training, they should be independent from the board of directors is a good recipe for sustainability of company.

Conclusion

The research focused on the relationship between business strategy and the strategy, and structure of BHP Billiton. The study sought to find out how effective is the link between the two variables, i.e. business strategy and the HR strategy. After thorough examination and research, it was found that was much as the two practices are inter-linked in achieving goals of the company, some recommendations however, have been made in ensuring that the company goes an extra-mile in becoming a world leader in the industry.

Bibliography

Fleetwood, S. & Hesketh, A. (2008, in press) Understanding the Performance of Human Resources, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Brewster, C., Sparrow, P.R. & Vernon, G. (2007) International Human Resource Management, 2nd Edition, London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. ISBN.

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Hoag, B. and Cooper, C.L. (2006) Managing Value Based Organizations: Its Not What You Think.

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The existence of intricate global supply chains is one of the defining characteristics of the modern world economy. It is typical for a product sold in one location to be assembled in another from parts created at a third site using raw materials from all over the planet. As a result, numerous otherwise unconnected individuals and local and international companies can become involved in the producing of a single item. The complexity of interactions involved in creating goods often goes overlooked by the public, even though it directly relates to many everyday products such as food, electronics, or clothing. Although increasing consumer concerns over ethical sourcing and sustainability have led to corporate transparency initiatives, the high level of opacity in supply chains remains a vital issue (Crewe, 2017). Nevertheless, it is possible to track the provenance of some products and identify those involved in their creation at various stages.

Lee Cooper jeans are sold by wholesalers and retailers around the world, including the House of Fraser department store, which has several locations in London. The finished product arrives at those locations from a Lee Cooper warehouse in northern London, where it is held after being transported from Ras Jebel in Tunisia (Crewe, 2017). There, local workers make jeans in a Lee Cooper factory, using parts and materials supplied by companies from all around the world. For example, denim is provided by Italdenim in Milan, which sources its cotton from individual producers in Africa. The Coats Group, based in Uxbridge, makes polyester thread at a cotton mill in Northern Ireland. Artificial indigo dye is produced in a Frankfurt am Main factory belonging to Paris-based Sanofi S.A. Aurubis AG owns a facility in Stolberg that manufactures brass from copper and zinc mined by Ongopolo Mining, a Namibian concern. Pumice used in stone washing is acquired from Turkey, where it is exported by numerous companies such as Üçler Mining or Blokbims Mining. Brass zippers are made at a Seclin factory belonging to the Japanese multinational YKK Groups French branch.

A vast and intricate transportation network brings all of those components together in Ras Jebel. Large water carriers remain the primary means of transportation for raw materials and bulk commodities (Novack et al., 2019). Trains and trucks are used to move finished parts and raw materials, from metals to pumice and cotton, from inland locations such as mines, cotton fields, and factories to seaports. Ships move this cargo from many different locations to the sea port of Tunis. Trucks deliver materials and components from Tunis to Ras Jebel and bring finished jeans back to the capital. From there, jeans are taken by ship across the Mediterranean Sea, by train through France, and by truck to Great Britain using the Channel Tunnel (Crewe, 2017). Finally, another truck delivers the merchandise from the warehouse to the department store.

The need for such complex interactions can be seen in the deceptive complexity of the product itself. Jeans are traditionally understood to be indigo denim trousers with metal hardware, such as rivets, buttons, and zippers (Muthu, 2017). Denim, in turn, is made from cotton, which Italdenim mainly sources from Benin (Crewe, 2017). A different variety of cotton used as pocketing material is grown and processed in Pakistan. Stone washing, which gives jeans their iconic worn-out appearance, still relies in large part on pumice mined from inactive volcanoes, such as Ac1gölNev_ehir in Turkey. Lee Cooper relies on brass for its hardware, and the metals that are converted into brass can largely be traced back to the Ongopolo Mine in northern Namibia. However, YKK Frances zippers are made from brass and polyester produced and supplied directly by the parent company in Japan. Many of those components have additional or alternate suppliers as well; for example, Aurubis also sources zinc from Australia.

Many seemingly ordinary everyday products have similarly complicated backgrounds. Companies seeking to maximize profits want to offer cheap, high-quality products to their customers, but arranging an optimal supply chain is anything but straightforward. Different sources can provide the needed components and raw materials, but the manufacturing and transportation costs will vary from one source to another, as will the quality, necessitating trade-offs. Supply chain transparency has become a popular cause among consumers for a variety of reasons, including concerns about quality, ethical production, and a desire to support local producers. A critical examination of supply chains is essential for both companies and consumers if they want to create a more equitable and open economy.

References

1. Crewe, L. (2017). The geographies of fashion: consumption, space, and value. Bloomsbury Publishing.
2. Novack, R. A., Gibson, B. J., Suzuki, Y., & Coyle, J. J. (2019). Transportation: A global supply chain perspective. Cengage Learning.
3. Muthu, S. S. (Ed.). (2017). Sustainability in denim. Woodhead Publishing.

Introduction

Many organizations hire competent employees in order to achieve their goals. Younger employees embrace the concept of teamwork. Younger employees require good management strategies to realize their organizational goals (Age Discrimination: What Employers Need to Know par. 5). Older employees have different goals and beliefs. They will work late in order to make their organizations successful.

Managers encounter numerous challenges whenever hiring their employees. This essay examines the benefits of having older and younger employees. The article also examines the career orientations of older and younger employees. The paper also highlights the traits portrayed by both younger and older employees.

Benefits of Hiring Older and Younger Employees

Many employers hire younger workers in order to realize their objectives. Younger employees are hardworking, courageous, and zealous (Tolbize 6). Younger employees possess modern technological skills thus making them more admirable in many sectors. These employees can use their wits and competencies to transform their organizations.

According to Tolbize (4), younger employees might not always be the best solution towards a successful business performance. Older employees can present the best experience or credibility to their companies. Older people are always willing to work for their companies. These employees will empower and mentor their workmates. This practice will result in better performance.

Younger employees can learn new skills from their older teammates. Older employees will also establish new associations with their younger counterparts. Some functional areas within an organization require older and experienced employees (Tolbize 5). Older workers are committed to the goals of their companies. They also establish better relationships with their clients and stakeholders. The above practices will support the performance of many organizations.

Older employees can attract more customers and clients compared to younger workers. Younger workers will also provide quality and timely support to their customers. These two groups offer the best strengths towards better business performance. Senior workers are always ready to interact with their customers. They use their skills to address the changing needs of their customers (Age Discrimination: What Employers Need to Know par. 7).

Older employees will support and equip younger workers in order to achieve the targeted goals. The approach will make every workplace more effective and successful (Carr-Ruffino 86). Older employees are also ready to solve every organizations problem. They will not tolerate absenteeism or favoritism.

The decision to employ both older and younger employees will result in better results. Our modern world requires professionals who can solve organizational problems. Younger employees can multitask in order to achieve the best results. They also work hard in order to create new impressions and impacts (Age Discrimination: What Employers Need to Know par. 9). These two groups can promote enthusiasm within an organization. Younger employees can gather numerous ideas from their older counterparts. The approach will improve flexibility and accuracy. Younger workers will present better ideas thus improving performance.

Younger employees in an organization will offer the required technical skills. Their older counterparts will present the best work ethics. They will also form strong teams with the less-experienced employees (Tolbize 7). These employees will establish long-lasting relationships with their customers and stakeholders (Age Discrimination: What Employers Need to Know par. 12). Older workers understand the expectations of their employers. Younger employees will use their concepts, skills, and ideas in order to achieve their goals.

Career Orientations between the Older and Younger Employees

The term career orientation refers to a persons job pattern that remains constant or stable over his or her life (Tolbize 8). Job patterns and expectations will vary from one group to another. The first aspect of career orientation is job satisfaction. Many older employees are usually satisfied with their jobs. Younger employees will not always be contented with their jobs. Career orientation remains a critical issue whenever analyzing the level of job satisfaction. Many younger employees will not be satisfied with their jobs (Carr-Ruffino 59).

Younger employees are always optimistic and ready to achieve greater career goals. They are always working hard in order to get more opportunities. They will also look for new career opportunities. Many younger workers are looking for new jobs and opportunities (Tolbize 7). Younger employees also have independent career orientations. Such employees will focus on upward mobility. They will also report increased career success and self-management (Age Discrimination: What Employers Need to Know par. 12). The rate of turnover is also high among these workers.

Older employees tend to have different career orientations (Carr-Ruffino 89). These employees are less concerned about their career advancements and objectives (Carr-Ruffino 49). Older workers will not leave their jobs. Older employees look for stable jobs. According to Carr-Ruffino (52), older employees have traditional career orientations. These employees work hard to retain their jobs or positions. They also establish the best organizational contracts and tenures in order to realize their goals. Older employees will stick with their organizations for a very long time. Older employees will use the best ideas to manage their careers. The employees commit themselves to every organizational goal. They are also loyal to their employers.

Younger workers are always looking for better opportunities and jobs (Carr-Ruffino 94). This explains why the rate of turnover is high among the group. Many younger employees will acquire new skills in order to remain competitive. Salaries and remunerations also motivate these employees. They work hard in order realize their personal objectives and career goals (Tolbize 5). Managers should consider the above orientation whenever addressing the needs of every younger employee.

Older employees are mainly looking for permanent jobs. They focus on managerial positions and commit themselves to their career goals (Age Discrimination: What Employers Need to Know par. 16). Business managers and leaders can use these orientations to address the needs of both younger and older employees. The approach will make it easier for employers to realize their business potentials.

Values and Traits of Younger and Older Employees

Many organizations are recruiting younger employees more than ever before. They possess the best competencies and values towards transforming their workplaces. These workers have always supported teamwork and diversity. Such practices define the values and traits of every younger employee. They embrace the concept of self-expression because it results in better organizational performance. They also market, brand, and rebrand themselves in order to achieve their professional goals. Such employees can sometimes promote violence as a method of communication (Carr-Ruffino 74).

Younger employees are also working hard in order to deal with poverty. These individuals want to live better lives without accruing wealth. According to these younger employees, every human being can earn respect. Respect should not be associated with authority, title, or age. Older employees work tirelessly in order to become rich or prosperous. The other value is the possession of organizational power.

They will also micro-manage their younger workmates. They view work as a critical part of their lives. Many older employees are sometimes depressed or alienated. They can break every rule in order to achieve their goals (Carr-Ruffino 102). They are also skeptical whenever dealing with their managers or organizational leaders.

Generation Y (Millennial Generation) employees possess certain traits that make them competent. These attributes make them successful and prosperous. They adapt quickly to every new change. They are ready to tackle challenges and embrace new changes. They are resilient thus making them fit for organizational practice. They also commit themselves to their products, projects, and ideas.

They form organizational teams with individuals from diverse backgrounds. They can multitask in order to realize their potentials. Younger employees will also promote the best work-life balance (Tolbize 12). They will also look for the best working conditions. Older employees are loyal to their employers. These employees are diligent, self-driven, and optimistic. They are excellent mentors who might not embrace new changes. Older employees embrace teamwork in order to realize their potentials.

Conclusion

This discussion encourages companies to hire older and younger employees. Younger employees will present new skills and technological competencies in order to achieve every organizational goal. They are versatile and ready to tackle every challenge. Younger employees are team-centric and industrious. Older employees focus on job security and personal goals. These values encourage them to support their younger workmates. Employers must embrace the strengths and competencies of these two groups. Hiring these two groups will be critical towards better organizational performance.

Works Cited

Carr-Ruffino, Norma. Managing Diversity. New York, NY: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2012. Print.

Tolbize, Anick 2008, Generational Differences in the Workplace. PDF file.

Age Discrimination: What Employers Need to Know 2014.

Introduction

Embraer is the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world. The company has undertaken several strategic decisions that have improved its competitiveness. Government support and specialization in the regional jet market are some of the key success factors of Embraer (Khandwalla, 2001). Embraer faces increased competition from Bombardier. This necessitates the company to undertake several strategic decisions to safeguard its future.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Embraers supply chain provides the company with a competitive edge over its competitors. The innovative supply chain of the company leads to a significant reduction in the risks and costs of R&D. In addition, the supply chain helps in reduction of the duration of the product development process.

The E-Jet family of airlines is one of the most competitive product lines of the company (Peng, 2011). Bombardier does not have similar jets that can compete with the E-Jet family.

Weaknesses

Embraer is highly dependent on the international market for the purchase of equipment, materials, and components that are vital in the manufacture of aircrafts (Peng, 2011). This increases the companys vulnerability to exchange rate volatility.

Embraer does not have good relationships with universities, which are vital in R&D (Dillingham, 2008). This may limit the ability of the company to compete with aircraft manufacturers that have good ties with universities.

Opportunities

Increased demand of corporate jets would provide an avenue for future growth of the company. In addition, the company expects domestic sales to reach $500 million (Peng, 2011).

Embraer has enough funds to fuel its future growth. CDC Leasing Company has provided Embraer with a loan of $2.2 billion. In addition, BNDES has promised to increase financing of Embraer sales from 30% to 60% (Peng, 2011). These funds would facilitate future growth of the company.

Threats

Embraer faces increased competition from Bombardier. Bombardiers has received many orders for its new C Series jets, which have a capacity of 149 seats. However, Embraer does not have jets that can compete with the C Series jets (Peng, 2011). Inability of the company to compete with the new C Series Jets would make the company lose a sizeable percentage of its market share.

Appreciation of the Brazilian real threatens to increase the costs of Embraer jets. This is because Embraer denominates approximately 40% of its expenditure is denominated in the real (Peng, 2011). A significant increase in the price of Embraer jets would reduce the competitiveness of the company.

Key Success Factors

Embraer specialized in the development of military aircraft and regional jets. This enabled the company to build its image as a company that manufactured high quality jets. Specialization enabled the company to understand the needs of the market. In addition, government support through Finex  an export-financing program  eased the companys entry into the international market (Peng, 2011).

Market Changes within the Next Five Years

There is a significant reduction in demand for high capacity regional jets. On the other hand, the demand for corporate jets is increasing. Therefore, in the next five years, corporate jets will account for a majority of the aircraft sales in the regional jet market. Companies would differentiate their jets using inflight comfort and fuel efficiency (Inderwildi & King, 2012). Therefore, it is vital for Embraer to acquire this market prior to the entry of other companies.

Conclusion

Embraer has grown from a state-owned company to a global leader in the manufacture of aircraft. The growth of the company has been gradual. Several strategic steps have led to the current position of the company. However, drastic changes in the market necessitate the company to have a high level of flexibility (Kachru, 2009).

References

Dillingham, G.L. (2008). Aviation and the environment: NextGen and research and development are keys to reducing emission and their impact on their impact on health and climate. Cincinnati, OH: DIANE Publishing.

Inderwildi, O. & King, D. (2012). Energy, transport, & the environment: Addressing the sustainable mobility paradigm. London: Springer.

Kachru, U. (2009). Production and operations management. New Delhi: Excel Books India.

Khandwalla, P.N. (2001). Organizational designs for excellence. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

Peng, M.W. (2011). Global business. Mason, OH: South Western Cengage.

Introduction

The first hotel of Ritz Carlton Hotel Company was opened in 1898. A year later, Cesar Rits opened another Carlton hotel in London, paving way to the emergence of a great name in the hospitality industry. The company had gone through many trials and tribulations while spreading its territories in North America and elsewhere. However, the North American rights of the entitys operation was bought by the Atlanta based Johnson Company in 1983. From then on, the company experienced growth and expansion with in the US as well as overseas. Ritz Carlton started operating as completely owned subsidiary after it had bas been taken over by the Marriot International in 1997. The primary business development strategy of Carlton, somehow, had changed as a hotel managing company by the year 2000 (Sucher and Macmanus 2005).

The general manager of Ritz-Carlton Washington, James McBride was faced with the challenge of opening a luxurious hotel in Washington. The hotel was owned by Millennium Partners, with whom Ritz-Carlton had agreed to manage five other hotels. Moreover, he also faced the heat of tough competition from another contender who also had dealings with the Millennium Partners (Sucher and Macmanus 2005).

The Background of the Problem

The new hotel had covered two and a half acres of the $225 million hospitality complex in the district of Washington DC. It included a 100,000 sq.f sports club/LA, three restaurants a splash spa, 162 luxurious condominiums and 40,000 sq.f of street level restaurants and retail shops (Sucher and Macmanus 2005). The last appointment James McBride had was in Kuala Lumpur and he had been appreciated globally for being one of the best managers as he brought the hotel to the first position in the list. In spite of this success in his career, he was under tremendous pressure to perform in order to keep the relation between his company and the property owners intact and fruitful.

Human Resource Process in Ritz-Carltons Hotel Opening

A core competency of human resource development is necessary to get the hotel start and function. The firm had set up Performance Quality Indicators (PQI) against which the process of development in the functioning of the hotel could be assessed. An overlapping of company process in general including departmental and functional processes were the main drawbacks in the process of development in the Ritz-Carltons management showed by the PQI (Sucher and Macmanus 2005).

Ritz-Carlton had a tradition of letting its employers grow with the company. In other words 25% of its administrative work force has been climbed up the ladder of career within the company starting out as workers in the lower level labour. The new restaurant, at the same time, was going to be much different from a traditional Ritz-Carlton restaurant. Therefore, the recruiting and training section of the human resource was extremely challenging. In the traditional set up the quality in the firm was not assed by PQI.

The Millennium Partners acknowledged the managing prows of James McBride as manger to open the hotel, but they had concern over the distinction between effectively opening a hotel and continually running it. It was in fact a human resource challenge of keeping up with the consistency of performance that needs to be initiated and promoted by the new recruits in the managerial circle.

The company had a seven day countdown before the opening for tuning the staff. During which the company had to walk the candidate towards an effective and quality running of the hotel. The training in those days included staff orientation, departmental vision sessions, skill training and so on.

At the end of seven days when the hotel was opened, Millennium Partners had certain concerns regard the efficiency of the whole program and the teams performance. Was the process during this seven days was adequate to achieve a higher occupancy rate? What are the pitfalls in the seven days training and how would it affect Ritz-Carlton if this seven days countdown program is changed to extend the duration of the program? It was a world known best practice that standardizes the quality of Ritz-Carltons services.

Literature Review

The development of a human resource force needs to be oriented towards ultimate results in successful achievement of organizational goals through behaviourist performance improvement (Kuchinke 1999; Peterson and Cooper 1999; Peterson and Provo 2000; Rowden 1996). It would be the right motivation an employee would be able to improve the behaviourist performance. Just as many workers of the Ritz-Carlton decides to remain loyal to the organization through the highly motivating thoughts of the top level manager Schulze who advanced to be a manager from the post of a dishwasher (Sucher and Macmanus 2005).

Sheikh Umair states that the human resource in a hotel must include at least the following personal HR functioning policies. They are mainly reviewing and considering the leadership style, relationships, responsibilities, philosophy, social orientation and organisational structure. These policies are to be entrusted to significant and reliable blocks in order to give the employees with sufficient back ups and motivation to keep up the consistency in performance. Human Resource researchers have debated for quite a long time to reach at a comprehension on these functional aspects of human resource development (AHRD 2000; Rowden 1996).

The Ritz-Carlton has developed a culture of respecting the employees and that philosophical issue of respect is promoted by the leadership. The aspect of bringing the employees attractiveness through the respect is determined by the employees perception of firms Corporate Social Responsibility (Greening and Turban 2000). Moreover, this fairness of organisational action towards the employees helps to develop their positive attitude and behavioural pattern (Corpanzano et al 2001).

Publicly there is general consensus that managers should not violate laws (Smedley 2008). Therefore most of the ethical issues in workplace might go unnoticed. Though the employees are respected in the firms culture, there are other ethical issues that might drive the workers morale down and thereby affecting the business badly. The initial human resource training did not effectively address this problem.

The working culture of the firm insisted on a friendly basis of relation between the employees and managers. Whereas the seven day period would not be ample time to translate this concept because persevering constant quality would lead to a power distance between the employees and the administration. Power distance is where the employees and administration would keep a certain professional distance. The administrators become directors and advisors altogether (Lawrence & Yeh, 1994; Stephens & Greer, 1995: Teagarden & Glinow, 1990; Kras, 1995; De Forest, 1994; Hecht & Morici, 1993). The quality of service is not an occurrence in Ritz-Carlton but the fruit of transparency created from hard work based on a vision, which is why employees are not afraid to report mistake. To the new recruits this idea might remain beyond their grasp for a long time if the training would not be sufficient to make them realise avoidance of uncertainty culture. Uncertainties in the culture can cause devastating consequences in the staffing area of the human resources (Geringer & Frayne, 1990; Stephens & Greer, 1995; Teagarden, Butler, & Von Glinow, 1992).

The job specification with an added responsibility to stick to ones responsibility is a vital aspect of todays quality concerns. Specialised skill training is also an indispensable part of human resource development. The standardised quality assessment showed number of overlaps in the specific job functional processes. Furthermore, the Ritzs basics had exhorted to brake away from any regular duty and resolve the issue one is faced with. Lack of adequate training and experience can bring out disastrous conflict if this notion is practiced with out care. Hence, the suggestions of Sheikh Umair on human resource planning and job specification have a telling effect in the consistent quality of an organization.

Sharma and Sharma (2009) concluded that enlightened people and management practices can run successful programs. That enlightenment can be brought by motivating and training to adapt changes and improve according to the changing circumstances. Thus the issue need to be addressed is how can the firm look forward to a change of human resource plan that would help to avoid uncertainties while keeping up with the traditional functional process of a seven day count down.

Conclusion

The above stated facts derived from different studies serve to analyse the pitfalls in the human right development policies of a management firm. When the HRD functioning needs to be planed with in the traditional constraints of the firm with limited investment, it turns out to be an added challenge for the policy makers. However, the updating of the HR department functional processes can bring consistent quality in the service performance of the firm.

References

Academy of Human Resource Development Conference Proceedings., 2000 (ED 441 084-137), edited by K. P. Kuchinke. Baton Rouge, LA: AHRD. Austin, TX: AHRD.

Cropanzano, R, Byrne, S, Bobocel R, and Rupp, E., (2001). Moral virtues, fairness heuristics, social entities, and other denizens of organizational justice, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58: 164209.

De Forest, M., 1994. Thinking of a Plant in Mexico. Academy of Management Executive, 8 (1): 33-40.

Geringer, M and Frayne, C., 1990. Human Resource Management and International Joint Venture Control: A Parent Company Perspective Management International Review, 30(Special Issue): 103-119.

Greening, W., and Turban, B., 2000. Corporate social Performance as a competitive advantage in attracting a quality workforce, Business and Society, 39: 254280.

Hecht, L. and Morici, P., 1993 Managing Risks in Mexico. Harvard Business Review, 71 (4): 32-34.

Kras, D., 1995 Management in Two Cultures. Bridging the Gap between US &Mexican Managers Yarmouth. Intercultural Press.

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The difference in Investment strategy between FedEx and UPS

FedEx in comparison to UPS focuses more on operating independently. The management in all its companies is given the freedom to make independent decisions to deliver the best kind of service to its customers in their consequent markets. They, therefore, end up serving more people using a wider area of service. FedEx has got two main focuses in terms of how they have brought about change; these are operations and strategies. In looking at operational changes, we realize that the company has implemented newer systems, structures and has adapted more recent advanced technologies to improve its business strategies. Strategic changes that they use include a recent vision statement that is more focused.

On the other hand, the strategy adopted by UPS involves great investment in partner businesses of distribution and logistics, creative use of technology, the attraction of talent, and encouraging innovation. In addition, UPS has a business strategy that focuses on the customer (Levy, 2001, para.2). It aims at studying the demand and behaviors of the customer so that to improve its services to its customers.

In my view, FedEx is more structured and more advantaged compared to its competitor. This is because; as much as one would want to make the customer more comfortable, FedExs structure enables them to reach out to more, thus increasing its customers. The fact that the companies run independently gives them more freedom to analyze their customers tastes and needs. This makes it easy to enable them to supply their customers with what they require. In addition, their products are designed according to their customers preferences; thus enhancing their satisfaction.

FedExs move communicate and shoot strategy

Considering that the company is the top amongst its competitors, the company has decided to take up this challenge as a means to keep it ahead of its competitors. This strategy is simply a move that will see to it that the company does not stall on its investment in technology. The reason why this is a good strategy for FedEx is that it is the only available way to keep on top. Its focus on innovation rather than copying what others do to hang on top makes it the only way to survive. The CIO explains that they spend more than $1 billion just on technology (Colvin, 2006, p.2).

Sincerely speaking, it is a rather ambiguous plan for other up and coming companies and the reason is that these companies may not have enough resources in terms of information, humans, and finance to purely invest in such a way to make them a top brand. It is more sensible for such companies to take time and reach a competitive place at which such ambiguous strategies as these would become of effect.

By saying that his company is in the business of engineering time the CIO of FedEx tries to imply that his company is trying to create products or services that will assist its customers to get their different work done within the timeline they were supposed to (Colvin, 2006, p.4). I would want to believe that this is a good strategy seeing as time seems to be of the essence for virtually everyone in this shrinking and changing world. People would love to have jobs done faster and in a more efficient way. Anything that would make this happen would be highly welcomed. IT assists the group work more effectively. Its main task is to offer communication solutions to other businesses. In an example, FedEx can be able to provide tracking systems for a companys cargo in three different fields: The internet, the website for the company, and finally, shipping software created by FedEx.

Analysis between FedEx, UPS, and DHL

For FedEx, services provided range from transportation of parcels, various business services, and also e-commerce services. It also provides shipping services, air cargo distribution, and also custom clearance services. It has revenues worth $33.16 billion as of 2009. In addition, it extends a service that offers 10-20% discount using certain American delivery services. Stock prices are high for the company at 107. An increase of $500000 since 1999 reveals the extent to which its doing well. It has a P/E ratio of 27implying that the company is getting more and more internet affiliated.

As for DHL, revenues stand at a high of $33.1million. This has been a drop from $44 billion with other numbers reading as follows: Operational expenses are at $54.2million and gross profit is at $9.8million per year on average. UPS concentrates its delivery overseas as it does more mail delivery, feeding over 70million people per week. In addition, it also provided outsourcing for mail.

Finally, we have UPS. The revenues thereof are at a high of $78 altogether. Nevertheless, it has been making losses of$2billion as of 2009. Other figures include annual expenses of 64million per year and shares of the company going at $2.31 per share. Just like FedEx UPS concentrates its delivery on overseas shipping, with an expanded luggage shipping structure. Custom clearance services and air transport of cargo are also common features of UPS.

FedEx War on terrorism

It is quite attractive for any terrorist organization to transport its devices (for example bombs) through some of these services provided by the company. Nevertheless, the CIO makes it clear that the chains of services that are owned by FedEx are a bad place to have vices like that going on. The company keeps a record of its usual customers; therefore anyone coming in as a new subscriber to this service must pass through a series of checks to ensure safety and top-ranking security. The CIO also explains that the company works closely with the DEA, FBI CIA, and other anti-terrorism organizations to curb the vice (Colvin, 2006, p.4).

Reference List

Colvin, Geoffrey. (2006). The Colvin Interview: The CIO. C-Suit Strategies.

Levy, Mitchell. (2001). Case Study: United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS). PeachPit.