Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operations Management - Essay Example The period from Friday to Monday was commercially feasible, with more or less exactly twice as many sightseers on Saturdays and Sundays than on Fridays or Mondays. People usually start coming before 4:00 pm, as they would like to see the milking and then leave for home. However, neither Fred was not ready to start earlier and neither were the cows. Nonetheless, generally, people are tolerant and every person gets their turn to observe the bit of high technology. The accessibility of the farm also causes a number of problems. The entire competences of the organisation are not within reach of every client. The once weekly deliveries by Gillian as well causes issues as shops and dealers are not capable to function in a ‘just in time’ manner, limiting the selling methods that can be put to use. The problems Gillian faces while making an effort to boost their productivity is huge. A few of which were recognized as, to increase the amount of dairy farm sightseers during the ye ar 2012 by 50 percent from 14800 paying farm sightseers during the year 2011 to 22200 paying farm sightseers during the year 2012.... Together with the small viewing space, lack of ice cream flavour variation as well as the insistent advertising drive of rivals the amount of business generated from every client is lesser as compared to the amount that is required. Key to business expansion is repeatedly raising sales by means of boosting the business generated from every client and increase the concentration of the business on client contact. With the intention of examining as well as suggesting alternative preferences, information on the condition of the market as well as the opposition present must initially be collected. The major crisis is evidently the amount of visitors presently being received by the dairy farm and the way this figure could be improved. â€Å"Sudden changes of previous trend hardly happen excepting entering strong new players into the region, spoiling the farm's reputation hugely and investing tremendously on the marketing for its farm shop. Moreover, in terms of Holly Farm's managing on it s farm visitors, this sudden change of the number of visitors could lead to collapses of its operations. These reasons discussed above clearly show that Gillian's demand forecast is not reliable Hence, they have to forecast in the other way† (Waters, 2002, p. 82). Other then the capacity constraints, the milking parlour has queuing issues. This case indicated that more or less 80 individuals visited the gallery from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm on a busy day. As a result, a line is made earlier than beginning the milking parlour and is not explained the line for a moment. The queuing issue simply leads to customer discontent and could give rise to severe drop in its entire returns. Abolishment of explanatory audio tape through headphones would be useful. It is understandable that the tape

The factors affecting the rate of infiltration Essay Example for Free

The factors affecting the rate of infiltration Essay Method: the 2 sets of data are first rank so that the highest value has the highest rank, the difference between the 2 ranks for each location is then calculated. This refers to the letter d in the above equation. The letter n refers to the number of pairs of data points. The values are the entered in to the formulae to give the rs value. Below are the tables of calculations used to create the rs values for graphs 2 and 3. Analysis of graph 2 Soil compaction Rank A Rate of infiltration mm/min Rank B d Number of pairs of data 12 rs -0. 66084 Analysis of graph 3 Soil compaction Rank A Rate of infiltration mm/min Rank Number of pairs of data rs -0. 71429 Graph 2 creates a value of -0. 66084 which shows that there is a definite negative correlation between the rate of infiltration and the level of soil compaction. When this is compared to table 4 it gives a significance of 0. 025, which means there is a 2. 5% chance that the results were generated by chance. Graph 3 gave an rs value of -0. 71429 again showing that there is a negative correlation between infiltration and the % vegetation. The higher number shows that the correlation is stronger and the graph more closely follows a straight line. When referred to table 4 it gives a significance value of 0. 05 showing that there was a 5% chance that it was generated by chance. Table 3 shows the level of infiltration sorted in ascending order and allows the comparison of different factors to be made. % Ground cover by vegetation No of species Vegetation height cm Soil compaction Rate of infiltration mm/min Location 6, Dirt track frequently used by heavy machinery resulting in a heavily compacted soil with a loose covering of sand. 0Location 12, Permanent grass pasture grazed in summer months located on flood plains. Soil was wet and had and sticky. Location 2, Permanent pasture which has been grazed over the winter resulting in heavy trampling,   Location 9, Grassland for 2 years previous use was arable. 95 Location 10, 10 years set aside, ground was observed to have higher water content.   Location 5, Winter barley, prior land use was arable.   Location 8, 1 year set aside, prior use was arable. Location 4, Spring barley, prior usage was arable. 35 1 5 4 12 Location 7, Land recently ploughed, prior use was arable. 5 Location 11, Deciduous woodland. Location 3, Potato seedbed, field recently tilled, very soft ground, prior usage was arable. Table 3 Conclusion The most significant factor that affects the rate of infiltration is the level of soil compaction. Vegetation plays some role but it is difficult to differentiate between varying vegetation rates and soil compaction as the soil compaction is related to the vegetation that has been planted. From graph 2 it is clear that the level of soil compaction affects the rate of infiltration and the use of the land is the major factor affecting the level of compaction. The graph also shows 2 anomalies where the rate of infiltration is low while the soil compaction is high. This can be explained because the areas where these were taken were the marshland and the long term set aside. The marsh land was expected to have a low rate of infiltration because of the deposition of clays and silts by flooding have created a soil which has a greater % of clay and silt which reduces the spaces between soil particle which lowers the rate at which water can infiltrate the soil. It was also observed that the ground had a higher water content, which also reduces the rate of infiltration. The area of 10 year set aside was also noted to have higher water content. The reason for this is not so apparent but it could be related to a possible greater depth of an organic layer, which may help to retain water and slow the rate of infiltration. The graph did follow the hypothesis that was made. Graph 3 however did not follow the hypothesis that vegetation would increase the rate of infiltration. It in fact was the opposite of this. There are a few explanations for this, the increase in vegetation cover and therefore density of a root system would result in a laver of vegetation that would create a barrier impeded the rate of infiltration or the vegetation cover is linked to the level of compaction as areas of low vegetation levels have been tilled most recently and therefore there has been less time for compaction to occur or the vegetation could be responsible for drying out the soil leading to compaction. There had been very little rain in the past weeks, which could have lead to the formation f a hardened and impermeable crust. Table 3 shows the ranked data and from that it can be observed that there are no apparent trends between the number of species present or vegetation height and the rate of infiltration. The locations with the highest rates of infiltration were the potato ground followed by the woodland then the ploughed area. The potato ground has the highest rate because it is heavy cultivated to create a very loose soil structure for potatoes to grow in the high rate of infiltration would help to explain why it is necessary to frequently irrigate this land to maintain potato growth. The woodland has a high infiltration rate because there is a significant layer of loose litter and there is little compaction because no vehicles use this area. The areas of lowest infiltration were the marshland because of the increase in clay and the track because of the extreme level of compaction by tractors. This explains why erosion is significant in such areas because there is little or no infiltration resulting in a great deal of runoff. Evaluation The spearman statistical analysis shows that the results that were achieved had a reasonable significance level and it is unlikely that they were generated by chance. The determination of the rate of infiltration was accurate but the level of compaction was highly subjective and produced only an estimate. There are several other factors, which could be investigated in order to extend this investigation. These could concentrate on the soil structure and profile. This would require the drilling of core samples. the amount of water and organic matter could be investigated with the help of a laboratory. The investigation could also be extended to other farms to show the different affect on different soil and bedrock types. The effect of recent rainfall could also be investigated. Bibliography Geography for AS, By Clive Hart, 2000 Geography An Integrated Approach, David Waugh, 1990 Problem Solving Geography, Normam Law, David Smith, 1993 www. google. co. uk www. multimap. co. uk, aerial photos and Os maps http://www. nkw. ac. uk/bgs/w3/cust/images/map_50k_s. gif geological maps.

Automotive Industry: General Motors

Automotive Industry: General Motors General motors Introduction Since, from the industrial revolution the automotive industry has been playing an important role in the growth of economies throughout the world. In the 21st century, greater challenges were face by the industry. During this time, the industry undergoes fundamental changes. GM is one of the largest automotive corporations operating in over 70 countries with a presence in more than 200 countries, they have more than 260 major subsidiaries, and they have 395,000 employees working with them in worldwide that translate in to global opportunities that span the planet. On 1908, General motors was founded since then 1931 it has been the global automotive sales leader. Its founder was William c. Durant, James whiting promoted his automobile in 1904. In the present time, GM is having its manufacturing operations in 32 countries and their vehicles are selling in more than 190 countries. General Motors, is also involved in telecommunication, Aerospace, financial and insurance service, Defence, locomotives, automotive systems and Heavy Duty Automotive Transmissions. Here are some of the popular brands of GM such as Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, HUMMER, Opel and some more. The vision of Generals Motors is to be the world leader in transportation products and related services. In addition, to earn customers enthusiasm through continuous improvement driven by integrity, teamwork and the innovation of GM people. The General Motors company officially became general motors corporation on October 13, 1916. During the Second World War, for helping the allies to victory GM manufacture trucks, tanks, aircrafts and a variety of other military supplies. GM became a dominant force, in the post-war period, a position it would maintain for decades. The post -second war was the golden period for the GM, with a variety of innovations that continually boosted sales. During the 1950s, Chevrolet and Pontiac introduces V8 engine. The CHEV small block V8, it has become one of the longest-lived engine designs in automotive history. By the year 2015, GM is deciding to launch near about nine Hybrid models for sale in the U.S. The Automobile industry has to cope with many unpredictable changes over the next coming years and they can only survived by appropriate strategic planning and implementing them in most suitable way. Analysing the micro economic factors in GM General Motor is an American multinational corporation and is one of the worlds largest automobile companies. According to the NADA, GM total revenue in 2006 was 207.349 billion and in 2008, 182.347 billion and currently employs 284,000 people and their average sales per dealership is 31.9 billion. Key macroeconomic factors that affect GM and the automobile industry are as following Gross domestic products (GDP), Automobile manufacturers policies and prices, Weather peaks Recessions, and Telecommunications and technology Gross domestic product Thegross domestic product(GDP) orgross domestic income(GDI) is a basic measure of a countrys overall economic output. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year. The automobile manufacturing industry is one of the largest industries within the U.S., and is a vital engine for the U.S. economy contributing greatly to employment and productivity. Reports indicate that motor vehicle production represents over 5 % of the U.S. private sector GDP.The U.S. is the worlds largest producer and consumer of motor vehicles with production reaching 12.2 million units in 2002.The U.S. automotive industry continues to experience on-going organizational and technological change, and have taken steps to increase its global presence by expanding global alliances and seeking greater collaboration with other U.S. automakers. The Big Three U.S. automakers makeup approximately 76 % of U.S. passenger vehicle production, while Japanese automakers, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Isuzu represents 18 %, and European automakers, BMW and Mercedes (division of Daimler-Chrysler) make up nearly 2 %. If they stay off the job to the end of the month, then automotive output, instead of adding 0.1% to third quarter GDP, will subtract 0.2%. If automakers stick to their previously planned reduction in assemblies for the fourth quarter, that quarters GDP will be reduced by 0.5% (at an annual rate). If the UAW stays out through the first week of October, that drag becomes 0.8%. If theyre out for all of October, that drag becomes 1.7%. If UAW members at Ford and Chrysler also walk out and stay out through all of October, fourth quarter GDP would probably shrink. (Economists currently project GDP to grow 2.2% in the current quarter and 1.9% in the fourth, according to a survey by WSJ.com.) According to a Reuters report over 3-thousand U.S. car dealerships could fail this fall and into 2009. All this because of weak sales and customers unable to get the credit they need. However, on a local level one car dealer says things are different. Gross domestic product includes all goods and services produced by either citizen-supplied or foreign-supplied resources employed within the country. The automobile manufacturing industry is one of the largest industries within the U.S. and is a vital engine for the U.S. economy contributing greatly to employment and productivity. Reports indicate that motor vehicle production represents over 5% of the U.S. private sector GDP. Automotive dealerships like GM are required to make profits in order to support their operations. Automobile manufacturers policies and prices The policies and pricing strategy help automobile dealers to create the operating environment for their business. From the 2008 to 2010 we have seen a lot of fluctuation in policies and price due to global financial downturn. The crises have mostly affected the American automobile manufacturing industry. Energy crises from 2003 have lead to the higher price for the automotive fuels discouraging customers to buy sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pickup trucks, which have low fuel economy. As SUV and pickup trucks was the main focus of big American automobile companies like General Motors which have few fuel efficient models to offer to customs due to which sales began to slide and with the beginning of 2008 situation had turned critical as thecredit crunchplaced pressure on the prices ofraw materials. Most of the American turned to Japanese car more fuel-efficient creating competition and prices war making huge loss for the GM. GMs most of the production line had SUVs and large pickup truck which were more profitable than smaller cars, they would have 15% to 20% profit margin on SUVs and pickup trucks , compared to 3% or less on small fuel efficient cars. Gasoline price rose above $4 per gallon in 2008 most of the Americans stop buying big vehicles that collapse the sales and profitability of the GM.Robert Samuelsonhas advocated a more consistent energy policy, arguing, Wild swings between low and high fuel prices have crippled the U.S. industry by erratically shifting buyer preferences to and from SUVs. In 2008, financial crisis was playing its role stock prices were fallowing down and people were less interested in buying new cars, GM shares fell below 1946 levels creating a panic situation for all the major car manufactures. There was a ray of hope when oil prices fall to $33.87 per barrel on December 19, 2008, but that could help them recover as financial crisis continues even after that. The graph below is showing gasoline prices from January/ 03/ 2003 to November/03/ 2008. We can see how it was steadily going upwards from Jan 2008 when it was $ 28 per barrel until it reached $135 per barrel on July 2008 then going steeply down to$33.87 per barrel on December 2008. Oil prices has a invertible effect on the car sales if oil price is cheaper then sales of big cars will go up and if oil gets expensive sales of cars goes down, though there are also other factors responsible for that but oil prices is definitely one of the major factor. Polices Pension and Health Care Issues A report issued on behalf of the GM stated that an average cost of per car would increase by $1200 per vehicle because of their aging work forces, increase number of retirees and old age benefits and healthcare. This will indirectly affect the sales and prices of the vehicles. Currency Exchange Rates Exchange rate highly affects the automobile industry as many automobile suppliers are from china or any other country. GM have complained to Automotive Trade Policy Council that exchange market intervention by Japanese monetary authorities has frequently prevented market forces from appreciating the yen and thus make difficult for GM to compete against Imports from Japan. Fuel Economy and Emission Standards U.S government has develop higher fuel economy standards and emission standard for carbon dioxide and other green house gases that has highly effected the GM as it mostly produces SUV and other light trucks as it needs to change the design and to introduces new technology which is more clean and reliable. Broader Issues of Automotive Trade Policy As most of the foreign government has trade restrictions and polices that prevent the GM to enter in those country effecting its growth and expansition.GM with the help of the U.S government they are being trying to be active in WTO aimed in removing trade restrictions and policies. Such countries are Brazil, India, Indonesia and the Philippines as they have discriminatory policies so that they are able to promote domestic vehicle and develop national automotive development strategies. Weather peaks The highest selling seasons for automobile dealers are spring and summer. During the spring and summer, the optimism index rises 141% from the downfall incurred during the fall and winter months Recessions From the begin of the 2008 automobile industry was hit hard by the credit crunch specifically U.S market. There was a panic situation people were losing jobs, stocks were going down and customers would not prefer to buy cars on credit or loans even if would buy car that would be more of fuel efficient rather than the GM pickup trucks. According to the John Fleming, president and chief executive of Ford Europe Sales are going down and markets are softening. Means that they are not able to control the market and they cannot predict where it will lead them. SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE GENERAL MOTOR SWOT analysis will help to analysis market positioning and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable for the GM to achieving its objective. Strengths Large market share The market share of GM in the US is plummeting, rather than shrink; it has expected that global car industry will grow radically in the end. Sales growth is expected to come from Middle East, Russia, China and India. While in US and Europe, manufacturing is currently strong. After what happen with the GM, China gave them a good market. The year of 2009 was very successful in China for GM. Plant and equipment The GM has its plants almost all over the world; some of them are US, China, India, Russia, Europe and so many. The US plant was the one of the largest vehicle seller in the world until 2008. They adapt change according to the market and situation, they uses some latest technologies to give the people what they want. One of the technologies that they are using now days for their plants is 3D laser scanning, it can commonly seen in construction sites, GM use it to reduce the development plant layout and design. 3D laser helps them to scan the whole facility, from the roof trusses down to the plant floor. It gives us a complete 3D image, which can be viewed by the automakers throughout the world. According to Bill Campbell, they have scanned an average of 2million ft.2 per facility. The most recent projects was in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. They also believes that using of layout data derived from 3D scanning reduced travel cost and less time wasted. Innovative According to the BCG- business week 2008 survey, GM was ranked in top 20 Innovations Company in the world. Onstar satellite technology, was developed in 1996 it have 3 million subscribers and is standard on all GM vehicles. This is the technology, which helps us while in emergency and theft. Weakness Behind on Alternative Energy Movement This is GMs one of the biggest weakness. Because, in the market GM was one-step behind from the competition of alternative energy/hybrid vehicles. This create many problems for GM, includes loss of market share and the companies profit was affected by this also. Organisational structure In GM, there was a lack of information between employees from top to bottom, and this was one of the causes of falling behind of the alternative energy movement. There was a communication problem between the employees and employer. Stagnant profitability As we know GM is struggling now a days to get back in to the position where the GM was. The ROE has significantly decreased over the recent years it is now 10% and the margin of the company is 1.5%. This is also one of the falling point of GM , because the shareholders was thinking about their shares so they were not pleased with this situation. US market dependent GM became too dependent on US market. This was one of the causes of the failure. GM has been ignoring the competition in 1960s GM controlled half of the North American vehicle market and the latest figure shows its only now 19%. Poor credit The US auto industry is in a big slump. GM bank account is shrinking by $1 billion a month. The issue is can general motor will be their where it was. Since from 1992, the market share has fallen from 34% that year to 19%. The company wasted around $2 billion on an investment of Fiat and many billions on the Delphi. The management also wrecked GMAC its car loan subsidiary, by lending money to people who could not pay it back. Opportunity Globally expanding GM is the strong company with high quality production and has a range of new exciting products, which they can represent internationally. They need to inflate into the new markets and expand internationally. Many new countries have started free trade policies GM needs to explore these countries such as India and china, as its been assumed that within coming years Asia will be the biggest market for the car industries. Along the way, they need to continue to focus on there on home market. Available Governmental support GM has an immense support from the government. U.S government has supportive and encouraging polices for the American companies .GM can use government policies support to promote its growth outside the American continent. Development of the new models GM had worlds one of the first RD centre .They have scientific skills and expertise to develop new technological vehicle which are more fuel efficient and uses green technology. It is necessary for them to develop hybrid cars to protect them from enormous competition from japans car industry .the new government regulations tough and against high consumption cars which is the expertise of GM so they need to change the table round and change weakness into opportunity. They have the resources as well as technical skills all they need is the motivation and ability to do it. Threats Competition from foreign markets The slow death of GM, in the 1970 it had nearly 60% of automobile market and foreign share was only 10% that time in the US. Now the foreign brands dominate the GM market in the US and the GM shares little more than 20%. Reasons for GMs decline: GM major cost disadvantages was their production sites, which were in the U.S making their labour costly, then there competitor. Then strike threat came from sites around the country. They were threatened walkouts at plants in Parma, OH; Mansfield, OH; Grand Rapids, MI; Kansas City, KS; Flint MI and Arlington. Due to which they agreed to the demands of United Auto Workers (UAW) union that lead to increase in costs leaving GM to suffer higher loses.0 Financial slowdown From the year 2003 it has been a difficult times for GM firstly increased prices of the oil made it difficult for them to increase their sale and it decrease their profit margin, and years after they were hit by recession in 2008 that tumbled there whole industrial structure. The reason they were not able to cope up with the recession was there high cost of operation and over expansion that lead to disintegration leaving higher losses than ever. Secondly, high competition from japans companies made it difficult for the GM survival. GM and organisational development Organisational development is a soft methodology intended for use in complex situations to provide intervention strategy for the change management. GM has developed organisational strategy so that they have the ability to deal with organisational problems, cultural diversity, stability and political bargaining. Methodology for the OD was to develop unified system for the employees. However, one of the reasons it was introduce as employees of GM are quite inflexible and they could not cope with such pressure from the change. Change is never easy, especially in a vast, global organization like GM, which has been struggling with a change agenda for years and they have to change as shares are going down as last year it weathered an 18% dip in its U.S. market. GM finally understands that keeping its leadership position in the worldwide auto business demands deep-seated change. GM wants to develop the change management so that they are able to- Create a care work place in professional practice environment that promotes a high quality service, equality of opportunity, and political and public accountability. Making best use of money, people and other resources for and with the users of services to achieve the agreed objectives; Supporting best qualities direct and public services; Given clear messages to everybody about everything we do GM needs to diagnose the issue by theOrganisational Design Wheel that they are able to build momentum for change. Organisational tool gives us insight that for any organisational success its focus should be Mission and vision, which need to be align with organisation, process, people and direction setting and it should be backed up by the its organisational structure ,strategy,leadership,processes,culture and performances. This is the kind of the structure, which GM needs to develops but to reach here they need to go through a lot change management. For the development of the OD and change management, GM needs to Connect OD initiatives to strategic business models and Use the action research process to diagnose opportunities for improving the organisation. Define critical success factors and target specific interventions for hard-hitting, bottom-line OD. Articulate their role as an internal OD consultant. Leave with practical tools and advice that are immediately applicable to the companys OD initiatives. Organisational Analysis and Design The design of an organisation can affect everything as for the GM has gone through over expansion creating disintegration in controlling the organisation effectively. They will need to change the structure from the top to bottom so that they are able to develop proper workflow that will lead to ultimate success at the bottom line. GM needs to develop a change management program that targets GM employees that will help them to learn the dynamics, processes, and challenges inherent in analysing and designing an organisation to achieve business results. These applications of a systematic approach for guiding an organisational design effort, from problem identification, and planning the transformation, will ensure these efforts are align with the organisations mission and values. Organisational Culture and Change In todays worlds, Organisations today experience change in faster cycles than ever before. This is due to the mergers and acquisitions, turnaround situations, and organisational restructuring place pressure on strategy and performance. General motor has over expanded through merger and acquisition making them difficult to restructure their organisation. If they want to be able to deliver positive business results they need to competent internal change agents and access them, test their reliability. During the change management employees are most affected by it so GM needs to change in most appropriate way so that they are able to adopt it. According to the Bennis in his early work Organizational Development: nature, origins prospects defines OD as: a response to change, a complex educational strategy intended to change the beliefs, attitudes, values and structure of organizations so that they can better adapt to new technologies, markets and challenges. According to the change, curve employees go through five stages shock and denial, anger, depression and detachment, dialogue and bargaining and acceptances. Shock and denial- when organisation implements change management in the company employees at first avoid and as well, as get confused with it. Anger with the new regulation and rules make employees frustrated and irritated against the change, which for any organisation is difficult, and they need to overcome from it very quickly. Depression and dialogue are interrelated stage, which lead to the acceptances. Acceptances is when employees are able to understand and explore new system how is it more efficient and beneficial for employees and organisation. Best Practices in Succession Management Succession management is a critical determinant of marketplace longevity for organisations. To develop best practices that will help to sustain competitive edge. For the GM employees and HR managers have to develop skills of succession management such as- Select options for assessing the core talent pool, and identifying and supporting high potentials Set up and execute effective succession planning review meetings Integrate succession management within the broader human resource system Utilise techniques for knowledge transfer of critical intellectual property Implement new models for both technical and management succession planning Drill down into succession management beyond the top management layer Design and Implement Leadership Development Systems When it comes to developing the leaders within an organisation, the stakes are high and the potential payoff is enormous. How to create a rationale for developing leaders in the organisation Identifying the leadership capabilities required in the near future, and assess talent gaps Determine the most efficient and effective means of developing the talent to meet the organisations needs Incorporate action learning into leadership development initiatives Understand how to create a system that aligns the organisational leadership programs with elements of strategy, culture, and business initiatives Model for Change Management There are numerous well-organized models that can help in change management in the organisation and for the GM will be The McKinsey 7S Framework. Some of the approaches have been around for many years. For example, many organizations undertake strategic planning. The implementation of strategic planning, when done in a systematic, cyclical and explicit approach, is strategic management. Strategic management is also one model for ensuring the success of change efforts. The McKinsey 7S Framework There are many models for the analysis of the organisations position and its objects some of them will analysis internal factors, others will analysis external ones, some of them combines these perspectives, and others look for congruence between various aspects of the organization. At the end it comes down to which factors that will affect the organisation. Tom Peters and Robert Waterman developed the McKinsey 7S framework in the early 1980s while working at the McKinsey Company consulting firm, the basic premise of the model is that there are seven internal aspects of an organization that need to be aligned if it is to be successful. The 7S model has a ability to be used in variety of situations where an alignment perspective is useful. It will help the company to develop better strategic planning process. It is used to analysis four basic things- Improve the performance of a company. Examine the likely effects of future changes within a company. Align departments and processes during a merger or acquisition. Determine how best to implement a proposed strategy. The McKinsey 7S model involves seven either interdependent factors, which are categorized as hard, or soft elements: Hard elements are easier to identify and it directly influences management. These processes are strategy statements; organization charts and reporting lines; and formal processes and IT systems. On the other hand, soft elements are much more difficult to describe, as they are less tangible and more influenced by culture of the organisation. However, these soft elements are as important as the hard elements if the organization is going to be successful. Figure 1 below the model is representing in a way that change in one element will create a change in other .in this way it shows how these are linked other. If these new model is added in the GM organisational structure it will give them the stability they need to regain their number one marketing position. Each element represent an organisational structure and it is very important to understand how it will affect the organisation as a whole. Strategy:the plan devised to maintain and build competitive advantage over the competition. Structure:the way the organization is structured and who reports to whom. Systems:the daily activities and procedures that staff members engage in to get the job done. Shared Values:called super ordinate goals when the model was first developed, these are the core values of the company that are evidenced in the corporate culture and the general work ethic. Style:the style of leadership adopted. Staff:the employees and their general capabilities. Skills:the actual skills and competencies of the employees working for the company. This model will help and analysis GM performances. The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to perform well, these seven elements need to be aligned and mutually reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help identify what needs to be realigned to improve performance, or to maintain alignment (and performance) during other types of change. Whatever the type of change restructuring, new processes, organizational merger, new systems, change of leadership, and so on the model can be used to understand how the organizational elements are interrelated, and so ensure that the wider impact of changes made in one area is taken into consideration. You can use the 7S model to help analyze the current situation (Point A), a proposed future situation (Point B) and to identify gaps and inconsistencies between them. Its then a question of adjusting and tuning the elements of the 7S model to ensure that your organization works effectively and well once you reach the desired endpoint. Sounds simple? Well, of course not: Changing your organization probably will not be simple at all! Whole books and methodologies are dedicated to analyzing organizational strategy, improving performance and managing change. The 7S model is a good framework to help you ask the right questions but it wont give you all the answers. For that youll need to bring together the right knowledge, skills and experience. When it comes to asking the right questions, weve developed a Mind Tools checklist and a matrix to keep track of how the seven elements align with each other. Supplement these with your own questions, based on your organizations specific circumstances and accumulated wisdom.

The Arts in Boston Overcome Hard Times Essay -- Ballet Economy Economi

The Arts in Boston Overcome Hard Times Visions of the Sugar Plum Fairy may be dancing in some people’s heads for this up-coming Christmas season, but for the Boston Ballet, a non-profit organization, these visions are being high kicked out of the way by the Radio City Rockettes, who will be replacing the Nutcracker at the Wang Theatre in the 2004 season. With the poor economy that has engulfed the nation, many non-profit organizations in the Boston area are feeling a financial burden, most recently the Boston Ballet. The ballet, which is famous for its annual Christmas production of the Nutcracker, faced a $3.5 million budget cut this year, in addition to losing their space to the Rockettes and having to find a new home for next year. One ballet board member told The Boston Herald that the Nutcracker is leaving because attendance has â€Å"been a drain for some time and people are tired of it. The attendance has been falling like a rock year after year.† Despite the Boston Ballet’s recent bad fortune, many non-profit organizations in this area admit that they have seen a drop within the past couple of years, but say they are back on their feet again as far as donations and attendance. One major non-profit organization, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, or BSO, said despite the poor economy they continue their mission, which, according the their website www.bso.org, is â€Å"to increase the understanding and enjoyment of music by creating performances and by providing educational and training programs at the highest level of excellence.† The BSO admits that while they have seen some drops in donations as well as attendance, it does seem to be leveling off. â€Å"The poor economy has absolutely caused a problem as far as attendance a... ...ttract student discounts, and I think I will look into getting one for myself,† said Galanter. The success of the MFA is closely tied to the quality of its exhibits. â€Å"We currently have Rembrandt's Journey on view. Our next major exhibition is Gauguin Tahiti which opens in February,† said Petruccelli. Our cultural neighbors struggled somewhat because of the poor economy. However, these non-profit organizations have fared well in these hard times, both in terms of income and assets, and have since been recovering strongly enough that meeting their financial goals in the future seems promising. For the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Huntington Theatre Company, and the Museum of Fine arts, the worst is behind them, and they are optimistic about their future. The Boston Ballet, on the other hand, has yet to finalize a home for the 2004 production of the Nutcracker.

Art as Expression Essay -- Art

Artists are central to cultural, political and social discourses in the world. They are here not only to inspire us, but to provoke us as well. Four artists that broke social, political and cultural barriers were, Rene Magritte, John Heartfield Jackson Pollock and Otto Dix. While the artists were involved in different movements, each one made revolutionary statements with their works. Artists have a responsibility to use their works as a weapon to the status quo and to break these cultural and social barriers. Rene Magritte and John Heartfield were important figures to the Surrealist movement. Surrealism was a movement that developed after World War II and as a result, society was requesting art that was of the ‘norm’ to give the world a sense of stability. As a reaction to this request, the artists helped influence the Surrealist movement. It is often described as rebellious, idiosyncratic, dream-like and emotional. Maggritte’s thought-provoking pieces, and Heartfield’s anti-war messages all sent a strong message to society. Rene Magritte was a Belgian surrealist painter who was known for painting thought-provoking works that require viewers to question the most mundane aspects of life, including familiar objects such as a tobacco pipe. Magritte wanted his viewers to question the perceptions of reality and if art has the ability to truly represent an object. He believed that even the best artists could not paint an object, because it would always only be a representation of that image. If an artist drew an apple, it was only a representation of an apple, because the viewer could not eat it. In 1929, Magritte painted â€Å"The Treachery of Images†; at first glance appears to be an advertisement of a tobacco product, but underneath t... ...uld be considered: what would the art world look like now if no artist took a risk to express his or her political and social ideologies? Would artists just be creating art their society wants? Would there be any rebellion? Pollock would have painted with a paintbrush, Magritte would not have questioned our perceptions of reality and Dix and Heartfield would not have questioned the motives of politics. It is critical for artists to push these limits, no matter the criticism they will endure. The power behind the arts has been its ability to be a vehicle for expression and it should continue to do just that. Works Cited Foster, Hal. Art since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism. 1st ed. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2011. Print. Foster, Hal. Art since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism. 2nd ed. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2011. Print.

Branding and advertising Essay

In recent years there has been more of a shift towards more branding and advertising as opposed to focusing on product development, resulting in some companies having strong advertising campaigns coupled with a non-successful product. These observations lead to an important marketing theorem: Successful brands are built on successful products. The belief is that without great products, great brands could neither not exist nor withstand the competitive market. In a short paper, answer the following questions pertaining to the theorem. †¢Do you agree or disagree (partially or completely) with the theorem that successful brands are built on successful products? Why or why not? †¢Provide examples of brands and their products that a) prove the theorem and b) disprove the theorem. Explain your reasoning. †¢Why do so many companies appear fixated on branding rather than on ultimately developing successful products? In real terms, how would you as a marketing executive balance these two marketing forces? In recent years there has been more of a shift towards more branding and advertising as opposed to focusing on product development, resulting in some companies having strong advertising campaigns coupled with a non-successful product.

Identification of an Organic Unknown Essay

Introduction I am supplied with an unknown organic compound containing one of the following functional groups: * Alcohol * Aldehyde * Ketone * Carboxylic Acid * Ester * Phenol Organic compounds have different functional groups and therefore differ from each other. They also react differently, I will use this method to determine the type of organic compound I have. I will conduct various experiments to narrow down the choices. I will the using the information I have gathered construct an, easy to follow, flow diagram. Prediction While conducting these experiments, I will produce solutions, which I may need for the next step of the flow diagram. By observing physical changes to the reactants and recording any substance given off by the product, I will be able to follow my flow diagram and therefore determine the unknown compound. For example, if hydrogen gas is released, and the flow diagram gives a choice of hydrogen given off, and no hydrogen given off. I will down the appropriate route and dismiss the other route. Plan To find the organic the unknown, I will need to find the functional group and I will find this by how they react. I will now describe the experiments that I will conduct, the safety precautions and any other information. Firstly, I will need to figure out how to separate the unknown into 2 different groups. This is done by adding Sodium (Na) to the compound in a test-tube. The Na will sink and a steady stream of hydrogen will be released, this will also happen when NA is added to Phenol and a carboxylic acid. I will collect any gas released and use the ‘pop test’ to test for hydrogen. I will be wearing safety goggles because the acid and phenol are very corrosive. If there is a ‘pop’ I known that it could be one of, an alcohol, phenol or carboxylic acid. I can now split the route into two and from what I discover from the first experiment I can take either one of the routes. If there isn’t a ‘pop’ then I will take the other route, It could be aldehydes, esters or ketones, I know this because these functional groups do not react with Na. To find out if the either of these groups are the unknown, I will use Fehling’s reagent or Tollens reagent experiment. I chose to use the Fehling’s reagent. This reagent determine whether the compound contains the aldehyde. The Fehling’s reagent contains copper ions, when added to an aldehyde it is oxidised to a salt of a carboxylic acid and the Fehling’s reagent is reduced. The solution will stay blue if no reaction takes place, but if the slution turn brick red then a reaction has took place and the unknown will identified as an aldehyde PLAN To find out if the unknown is either one of these the second experiment I will do is to do either the Fehling’s or the Tollens reagent experiment. I have chosen to do the Fehling’s experiment. This experiment is used to discover an aldehyde as Fehling’s solution contains Cu ions. When this is added to aldehyde the aldehyde is oxidised to a salt of a carboxylic acid and the Fehling’s solution is reduced. If there is no reaction and the solution stays blue I will know that the unknown organic compound is not an aldehyde but if the colour changes to brick red there is a reaction and an aldehyde can be identified. The reaction equation is displayed below of an aldehyde reacting with Fehling’s solution. 2Cu (aq) + RCHO(aq) + OH (aq) + H O(l) Cu O + RCOOH(aq) + 3H (aq) I would wear safety goggles during this experiment and handle the solutions with great care. When doing this experiment when adding solutions I should stay clear of the reaction area, as I do not know how the reaction will occur and if it is vigorous. Now that I am left with to other functional groups to identify from I can carry out one more experiment to identify the organic compound. At this stage I would have discovered that it does not react with Na so is not an alcohol, phenol or carboxylic acid. It also does not react with Fehling’s solution so is not an aldehyde so it has to be either a ketone or an ester. The experiment that I have chosen to see the difference between the two would be the reaction with 2,4 DNPH. I would get the unknown compound and place a bit of it into a test tube, I will then add drop by drop the 2,4 DNPH if I see a change in the solution from clear to a yellow precipitate with yellow crystals I will be able to identify the compound as a ketone if not it will be an ester. Now that I have the experiments I will do to indicate if the unknown compound was one of the three that did not produce hydrogen when reacted with Na. I will now describe the experiments I will need to carry out to discover if the unknown compound has either the functional group of an alcohol, phenol or a carboxylic acid that would release Hydrogen when reacted with Na. A further experiment I need to carry out to identify if the compound is an alcohol or is it not. To do this I will do a simple experiment by adding a few drops of universal indicator to a test tube with the unknown organic compound. This will identify to me if there is an alcohol functional group present. If this functional group is present then the solution would go blue/green therefore it would be near neutral although it will turn pink/red if a functional group of either carboxylic acid or phenol is present as they are acidic. After this experiment I will have two functional groups that I would not have identified as I have identified the alcohol. If I had carried out the first experiments I would know that hydrogen is released by this compound when reacted with Na therefore it would be an alcohol, phenol or a carboxylic acid. From the second experiment in this category I would either discover by adding universal indicator if the unknown is an alcohol or if it is both carboxylic acid and phenol. I can now do another experiment adding sodium carbonate to the compound and discover if there is a reaction. I would have a test tube with the unknown compound and I will add the sodium carbonate. I know that if a carboxylic acid is present then carbon dioxide gas will be released. I will have a measuring cylinder or larger test tube turned upside down in a water bath where a plastic tube will allow the gas produced to be collected in the measuring cylinder or test tube. This plastic tube will be connected to the reaction test tube via a rubber bung. The gas collected could then be tested to see if carbon dioxide is released. To do this I will add limewater to the test tube and if the solution forms a milky precipitate then carbon dioxide gas is present. I will then know that the compound is a carboxylic acid. If the precipitate does not go milky then I have identified the unknown organic compound as a phenol. I have discovered that I can do two further experiments on the alcohol. I could reflux the alcohol that I have discovered to discover if this is a tertiary alcohol or one of the primary or secondary alcohols. I will use reflux equipment such as the pear shaped flask and a condenser. I will add it up right and will heat the unknown compound containing anti bumping granules to make it less vigorous. I will use a Bunsen burner to heat the solution in the pear shaped flask. I will then release drop-by-drop potassium dichromate to the pear shaped flask. If there is no change in the colour of the solution and it stays orange then it is a tertiary alcohol. If there is a reaction and the colour of the solution goes blue/green a primary or secondary alcohol is present. To discover if the alcohol is a primary or secondary I could add 2,4 DNPH to the alcohol discovered and if it goes orange/yellow it is a secondary alcohol and if there is no precipitate it is a primary alcohol. In all experiments I will need to take great precautions as many of the solutions are corrosive or flammable. As I will not know the functional groups present in the unknown organic compound I will not know if it is flammable or corrosive therefore I have to handle it with care and try to minimise any spillages. I will wear gloves and wear goggles to protect my hands and eyes. I will not have anything close to the table that may be obstructive and may catch fire. I have described all apparatus that I will use in the description of the experiment therefore have not listed them. In all of the experiments I will add the same amount of unknown compound to the reactant. I will therefore add 2cm of unknown organic compound to 2cm to its reactant. I will however not do these when adding universal indicator, as a few drops will be efficient. Any further reaction equations that may be helpful are written on the sheet with the flow diagram. I have used the chemistry 2 textbooks written by Brian Ratcliff and Helen Eccles. I have also used the Heinemann Advanced Science chemistry textbook written by Ann & Patrick Fullick.