Business Operations Strategies Essay Example for Free

Business Operations Strategies Essay Cost Leadership- Cost Leadership is a way of getting a competitive advantage by finding the most efficient way of manufacturing the good or delivering the service in the industry. A cost leadership strategy is where a business aims to be the lowest cost manufacturer within its industry. Low costs can be achieved through economies of scale in production and distribution, access to cheaper raw materials or inventing an innovative way of producing a product. Visibility- Operations can be influenced with something such as what they can see from the operations in action. Service based businesses will have a higher based level of visibility, while customers will rarely see the operations process of a manufacturing based business. The implications for operations of a highly visible operations process are that the quality of labour will be significant. Operations will generally need to have well trained, highly skilled, adaptable staff that are able and willing to deal with the individual needs of customers. A close relationship with human resource will be essential. Speed is also a crucial factor in operations as customers usually have a much lower tolerance for waiting. Short time lags are important in operations between the customer ordering and the delivery. Otherwise the customer may get sick of waiting and move onto a competitor. Overheard costs- This refers to the ongoing expenses of an operating business. Overhead expenses are all costs on the income statement except for direct labour, direct materials direct expenses. Overhead expenses include accounting fees, advertising, depreciation, insurance, interest, legal fees, rent, repairs, supplies, taxes, telephone bills, travel and utilities costs. Over-head costs can be classes under four titles such as Functional classification, Classification on the nature of expenditure Element-wise classification and Classification on behaviour of expenditure. Globalisation- Gives the consumer the opportunity to purchase products from the business will provide them with the best value for money. Globalisation is the integration of different national economies into a single market where goods and services can be traded easily. This can increase the flow of goods, services, people, finance, and information around the world. It refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people, and economic activity. Cost Based Competition- A business can keep it competitive edge by structuring a cost based competition with other businesses. A business can gain price advantage over its competitors by using operational strategies that lower costs. In this approach a business can reduce its prices lower than its rivals. This should increase the profit of sales and market share. Supply Chain Management The supply chain management includes all the businesses directly linked to one another to supply goods and services to one another. This is useful in way of a business being able to consume various resources necessary to produce a good or supply a service. Good suppliers are to be found that can provide good inputs with the best price and reliability. Technology Technology is the equipment and knowledge that are available to help businesses perform certain functions or make products. Technology is very important and very crucial in businesses. The most significant influence is on businesses that fail to keep up with the progress in technology by hanging onto equipment or operation methods where competitors have released new technology giving them an advantage. Adapting new technologies may make a business more competitive if the technology is widely adopted but it prevents the loss of competitiveness. Government based policies Government policies can be a very important influence on the operations functions of a business. They can impact on the operations function include regulation, subsidies and grants, and taxes and tariffs that encourage or discourage aspects of operations or ways the operations functions are conducted. Corporate and Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility refers to the relationship between business and the broad society and the way its relationship is perceived and managed. The focus of the responsibility is to ensure the business activities have a positive impact on society and the stakeholders in the business. These days the community have high expectations about the behaviour and the behaviour of a business. Volume Volume is that amount of a product that is produced. Sometimes a business will be better off producing more than what is needed to ensure they will have the products ready to be sold. This can work out to be cheaper in ways of getting the products made in bulk, this can be both convenient for the buyer and the seller. An example of this would be Dominos pizza. If they have their pizzas already made and cooked for people, it would be more convenient for them to just walk in and buy it straight out of the oven rather than ordering the pizza and having to wait for the usual waiting period. Quality expectations A business that is customer focussed will try to produce goods and services that will satisfy the desires of its customers. Customers always have their own idea of how a product should be and what quality it should be at. The business must keep their intentions in mind. An example of this would be at JB HIFI. A woman wants to buy a pair of ear phones. She enters the shop intending to buy a $20 headset but the shop does not have the product in her price range, the woman ends up disappointed and goes to another shop. Sequencing and Scheduling These are tools that are used to identify all steps in operations process and organise them into the most efficient way and order to complete. A key role of operations when scheduling and sequencing is to perform a detailed task analysis to determine the different parts of the entire process of making a good or providing a service. There are many factors come under scheduling and sequencing such as- What production and activities are used. When a particular activity will occur. How long an activity will take to finish. What activities are independent and can therefore occur at the same time. What activities are related so that one can occur before the other What resources will be used etc. Legal Regulations Legal regulations are a very important influence on any business. It impacts on the operations functions of a business. Legal regulations are laws that regulate the ways things can be done. They are also important because of the potentially dangerous aspects with the use of the equipment in the business. Each State Government Have legal regulations that govern the behaviour of the employer and the employee in the work place, it is a legal requirement to provide a safe working environment. Logistics Logistics are a massive part of the functions of a business. It is a crucial aspect of the supply chain management. Logistics is important because it can be part of a source of a competitive advantage if a business can do their logistics activities more cheaply than their competitors. An example of this would be when Woolworths spent billions of dollars on overhauling their entire distribution system. This is what gave them their competitive edge over Coles. E Commerce This is one of the fastest growing aspects of supply chain management. The term E-commerce refers to the use of the internet for all aspects of commercial transactions. An example of this would be EBay. This is a website where you can buy and sell your own personal items. Businesses also use this site to sell their products too. This gives them a wider range to sell their products to all over the world. Global Sourcing Global sourcing is important in the supply chain of management because businesses are increasingly seeking raw material and component parts wherever they are cheapest. Buying and selling raw materials around the world is very useful in ways of saving money and making money. Buying raw materials from other countries may work out to be cheaper than to buy the products from the country the business is based at. Outsourcing Outsourcing is a very significant in the development in current business practises. It is a supply chain of management strategy that can provide very significant value to a business. Outsourcing is the term used when goods and services that would normally be part of the business are obtained outside of the business. Inventory Inventory is an area of operations that is undergoing significant change. It is often called stock and refers to the store of transformed resources waiting to be processed. To have an inventory can be very useful in the case of having an impulse of buyers. Having the stock already produced and ready for sale will be convenient for both the buyer and the seller. Economies of Scale (EOS) This is when the managers of a business design a factory to conduct the transformation process. They have to make the decision as to the capacity volume. Economies of scale in other words mean the expansion of a business to minimise costs through the use of high volume and production. An example of this would be Wal-Mart, they are a massive franchise and are expanding all over the world. Product differentiation The Product differentiation strategy and is a very different way of developing a competitive advantage. A product differentiation is concerned with developing products that are different from their competitors because they have benefits or attributes a customer values. This means that customers will be willing to pay more for a differentiated product. Visibility Customers appreciate being able to see what they buy and try it out before they get the product. This is an approach of having good customer service from the staff showing off the product to the interested customer. An example of this is at Athletes foot. The customer enters the shop and immediately gets attended from staff. The staff will then assist the customer in trying and showing the customer what he/she is interested in. Customer Service Customer serive is a massive part of running a successful business. With helpful staff that is able to assist you, this makes things much easier for the customer and will make them more willing to buy the product. So either way with this approach everybody wins depending on how well the customer service. Flexibility When a business is manufacturing a product or delivering a service in a dynamic environment the ability to change is important. A business must have the ability to make changes to suit the changes to keep up its competitive edge and keep up with the game. Flexibility is important for every business because businesses can fall behind and lose track of what else is happening within other businesses. Warranties Warranties are very important to customers. Potential customers often find that a number of competing products will effectively meet their needs. This is to do with products such as cars and white goods such as refrigerators, televisions etc. Warranties become an important part of the consideration in the customers choice. Speed Speed is a major factor within running a successful business. Customers appreciate quick service and prefer to be in and out of the shop as quick as possible. Speed refers to the time difference between a customers request for a good or a service to when it is actually received. Control Dependability Dependability is an important performance objective for many businesses. It means that the business is consistently good in its quality and its performance. This is a key performance indicator for all businesses. Having a dependable business will keep customers coming back for more, and will keep people talking about the reliability of the business. Environmental Sustainability Environmental sustainability is a massive concern to both the wider world and the community and of what the business has of impact on the environment. It is the ability to maintain the qualities that are values in the physical environment. Climate chance, Water, Waste etc. Quality Assurance Quality assurance involves establishing and using a set of procedures and/or processes that will prevent product defects from occurring in delivering services. Global factors There are a number of global factors that influence operations strategies. They include global sourcing, economies of scale, scanning and learning and research and development. Global sourcing is where products are acquired outside the home country and are bought from overseas for cheaper sales. Scanning and Learning This is the competitive global environment within which many large businesses operate which is constantly changing. Technology as an example is changing at a very fast rate. Businesses need to scan and learn off other businesses what is going on in the market of other businesses.

The meaning of the suffering of Meursault from the angle of existential

Existentialism tends to focus on the question of human existence — the feeling that there is no purpose, indeed nothing, at the core of existence. The term itself suggests one major theme: the stress on concrete individual existence and, consequently, on subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice. Sartre did not believe in God, so there was no place for the essence of humanity to be before human existence. For Existentialists like Sartre, the absence of God has a much larger significance than the metaphysics of creation. Without God there is no purpose, no value, and no meaning in the world. Existentialism posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives, as opposed to deities or authorities creating it for them. Meursault, the main character and narrator of The Outsider, lives existentially and knows that his life will terminate one day. To Meursault, Life is all a person possesses, and there is no intrinsic meaning in life: â€Å"‘Well then I’ll die.’ Sooner than other people, obviously. But everybody knows that life isn’t worth living.† Existentialist Nietzsche proclaims "God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him!† The belief in the absence of a transcendent force is the central existentialist crisis. When the magistrate waves a crucifix at Meursault and asks if he believes in God. Meursault says no. The magistrate states that his own life would be meaningless if he doubted the existence of God, and concludes that Meursault has an irrevocably hardened soul. Meursault reasserts his denial of God’s existence when the chaplain visits him: â€Å"I didn’t believe in God.† As Meursault does not believe in God, he cannot find out any meaning in his existence. This atheistic view leads him to live existentia... ...ists, Meursault has his own values which are incompatible to the values of the world. Values that would be very significant for most people, such as love for someone or suffering at a parent’s death, do not matter to him, at least not on a sentimental level. He simply does not care that his mother is dead, or that Marie loves him: â€Å"She asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so. â€Å" â€Å"What did other people’s death or a mother’s love matter to me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Finally, it can be asserted that the suffering of Meursault is a result of his disbelief in God. As he does not believe in God, he cannot find out any meaning in his life. Consequently, he is aware of the fact that no matter what choices he makes, the ultimate result is death. To him there is no life after death, so he has neither any fear for punishment nor any hope for reward. The meaning of the suffering of Meursault from the angle of existential Existentialism tends to focus on the question of human existence — the feeling that there is no purpose, indeed nothing, at the core of existence. The term itself suggests one major theme: the stress on concrete individual existence and, consequently, on subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice. Sartre did not believe in God, so there was no place for the essence of humanity to be before human existence. For Existentialists like Sartre, the absence of God has a much larger significance than the metaphysics of creation. Without God there is no purpose, no value, and no meaning in the world. Existentialism posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives, as opposed to deities or authorities creating it for them. Meursault, the main character and narrator of The Outsider, lives existentially and knows that his life will terminate one day. To Meursault, Life is all a person possesses, and there is no intrinsic meaning in life: â€Å"‘Well then I’ll die.’ Sooner than other people, obviously. But everybody knows that life isn’t worth living.† Existentialist Nietzsche proclaims "God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him!† The belief in the absence of a transcendent force is the central existentialist crisis. When the magistrate waves a crucifix at Meursault and asks if he believes in God. Meursault says no. The magistrate states that his own life would be meaningless if he doubted the existence of God, and concludes that Meursault has an irrevocably hardened soul. Meursault reasserts his denial of God’s existence when the chaplain visits him: â€Å"I didn’t believe in God.† As Meursault does not believe in God, he cannot find out any meaning in his existence. This atheistic view leads him to live existentia... ...ists, Meursault has his own values which are incompatible to the values of the world. Values that would be very significant for most people, such as love for someone or suffering at a parent’s death, do not matter to him, at least not on a sentimental level. He simply does not care that his mother is dead, or that Marie loves him: â€Å"She asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so. â€Å" â€Å"What did other people’s death or a mother’s love matter to me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Finally, it can be asserted that the suffering of Meursault is a result of his disbelief in God. As he does not believe in God, he cannot find out any meaning in his life. Consequently, he is aware of the fact that no matter what choices he makes, the ultimate result is death. To him there is no life after death, so he has neither any fear for punishment nor any hope for reward.

The Definition of a Princess

Every little girl has once wished (upon a star) to one day be a princess in a fairy tale. However, do they truly understand what the definition of a fairy tale princess is? Fairy tales have created a definition and a set of requirements of a true princess, a definition and a set of requirements that could easily be applied to a pretty teacup or any other inanimate object. These fairy tales have defined a princess as someone who is unrealistically beautiful, passive, with no voice, and helpless and dependent. Beauty is one of the key requirements to be a princess. Every woman in a fairy tale is either a beautiful princess or an ugly witch or stepmother. There are no average looking women to be found in these tales. Since physical qualities are often an allegory to the goodness or evil of a character, beauty has been a requirement for a princess. In the picture books and movies of these fairy tales, audiences will see tall skinny girls whose waists are almost the size of their necks with eyes that are abnormally large. Though unrealistic, this appearance has been made necessary in these tales. Would Cinderella be let in to the ball or ever have a dance with a prince if she were ugly? Would Prince Charming even consider kissing â€Å"Sleeping Beauty† if she were â€Å"Sleeping Ugly†? Beauty is such an important part of a princess but how does it affect those young girls who wish to be like them? These fairy tales give the message that the only way to find love or Mr. Perfect is to be beautiful. Young girls watch and read storybooks and movies that have princesses with body types that are considered anorexic. This image will sink in to their minds subconsciously and affect them for the rest of their lives, since most children will never be able to reach the standard of beauty required to be a princess. Along with beauty, a princess has been defined to have no voice or say. In almost every fairy tale a princess never gets to express her opinion or personality. The ultimate example of this is in the Little Mermaid (Disney Version) when Ariel trades her voice so she can alter her appearance. She is told that she won’t need a voice to get the prince and all she needs to do is look pretty. This leads young girls to think their voice and opinion don’t matter and to have their â€Å"happily ever after,† all they have to do is stay quiet passive and be visually attractive. Lastly a princess is defined as someone who is helpless and dependent. Almost every single fairy tale has a damsel in distress waiting for the prince to save them. Sleeping Beauty has to wait for Prince Charming, Rapunzel has to wait in her tower, and Prince Eric saves Ariel. In all fairy tales this is a common factor; the princess is always helpless and needs saving. Never in a traditional fairy tale does a princess save the prince. In addition to the sexism in these tales, they present and promote a negative message for girls. It communicates to girls that if something bad is happening or if there is a problem, wait for a male to come and solve the situation. Putting these ideas in little girls’ heads at such an early age will discourage them from to ever becoming strong and confident women. Understanding the true definition of a fairy tale princess is, princesses should not be role models for so many girls. However so many little girls still want to be princesses, even if they are defined to be unrealistically beautiful, passive, voiceless, and helplessly dependent on others. This needs to change in order to have more confident and smart women. Society should think about these fairy tales and really consider if the princess in the tale is someone young girls should have as their role models.

Perception vs Reality - 1854 Words

Damion Stone Are Some Decisions Base on: Perception or Reality? Have you ever thought you heard something, but there was nothing there? Have you ever thought you saw someone in the corner of your eye, and when you looked there was no person there? When we look down from a high building on people, do they appear small like ants? Arent there thousands of occasions when we do misperceive? What is reality and perception? Mainstream science describes reality as the state of things as they actually exist. So reality is simply: everything we observe. Perception is the process by which organisms interpret and organize sensation to produce a meaningful experience of the world (sapdesignguild.org np). I believe people should base some decisions†¦show more content†¦I have come across this scenario in my social life and also at school. This is the first time I am involved in a situation of being accused of plagiarism. Therefore, I add it as a mark in my learning and life experiences. I am currently a student at a particular university, working hard to get good grades so as to leave with two concentrations in business. Let me share an example with my readers of an event that occurred in my life. I was accused of plagiarism. I had the choice as to how I am going to respond to it. (I use this example because it is something I have been through). I know for a fact that I did not plagiarize, and I was willing to make the truth be a reality. I can choose to see the event as something terrible and unfair to which I will respond accordingly. Or I can choose to see the event as something that will inspire me to make something more of my life, to try my best to resolve it as soon as possible, and hope I will never find myself getting trapped in this situation ever again. My teacher thought my final paper was similar in ideas to another person’s in content and structure. Therefore, she grades me down from an A to a C plus, because of suspicion of plagiarism. That was because of her perception of me, and of life which also became her reality. It did not make it reality for me and my reality was very different from hers. From this example I can see that I did not have control overShow MoreRelatedPerception Vs. Reality By John Green1060 Words   |  5 PagesTowns: Perception vs. Reality The book Paper Towns by John Green is a story about going past the imagination to actually know somebody. Quentin, who is convinced he is in love with the wild and adventurous Margo, goes on a journey to find her when she ran away. Through this journey, he finds a new Margo, the real Margo. Instead of imagining the Margo of his dreams, who is perfect and daring, he sees a different side, like looking through a fun house mirror. Using the theme of perceptions vs. realityRead MoreNursing Home Perception Vs. Reality Essay1425 Words   |  6 PagesNursing Home Perception vs. Reality â€Å"The Palace† is located in the heart of the gables. 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