Case Study: Global Hawk – Analysis

Part 1

Any process of system engineering should be a comprehensive and aimed at problem solving and applicable throughout successively through all the development steps. It should be aimed at transforming the requirements and needs into a system process and product description such that it adds value and further detail as development continues , generate adequate information for decision makers and allow for input for the next stage of development (Defence Acquisition University, 2011). The design process of Global hawk system follows these fundamental requirements at each stage of the development process. It applies the fundamental activities for system engineering which include an analysis of the requirements, allocation after functional analysis, a synthesis of the design and it is also balanced by the necessary tools and techniques (Kinzig & MacAulay, 2010).

The program established a set of performance requirements level in a document for system requirements. It emphasised on the cost of developing the system, which include the Unit Fly away cost, the development fixed price that was integrated with the wider concept of procurement for the total package (Kinzig & MacAulay, 2010). Since the developers lacked any evidence of a strategy for cost control, the process involved treating the cost as the only design requirement while subjecting all performance objectives to trade. The program then followed the strategy of sticking to a single firm requirement, and developed various characteristics for desired performance which it defined in terms of acceptable choice of values. The process allowed the contractor to set the responsibility of identifying among the parameters of required performance and such way, the contractor was to blame for any mistake. The process for the system requirement thus applied a good strategy that ensured that the user requirements are met in accordance to their specification.  For the purpose of balancing the system analysis and control the design of the process, the developer used an integrated process and product development (IPPD) (Kinzig & MacAulay, 2010). This is a technique for management that assimilates all the necessary acquisitions into various multidisciplinary teams that were organised in accordance with areas of the products rather than discipline. In the functional allocation and analysis, the teams for the integrated product are categorised according to the participants who are given the power to commit and make decisions for the functional sections that they are chosen to represent. In this stage of design process, the user and the contractor are given the opportunity to work as a team that has mutual trust, in order to have optimal result in the designing, manufacturing and supportability of the program. The design process ensured that in the development of the program, there was little interference and a high level of autonomy by the concerned contractors. The design also considered the mitigation of the risk of failure by emphasising on a low risk design for the program through equating a program that had high level of technical risk to another program that is not expected to meet the specified cost requirement. In addition the process divided up the development of the process into different phases to ensure that the specifications were fully met at the affordable cost (Kinzig & MacAulay, 2010). Thus the design process meets the fundamental requirements that include the use of integrated product teams who are tasked with a key objective of producing a design solution that will meet the initial specification. The IPTS also communicate the design solution plainly, timely and in an effective manner. The design also puts a lot of emphasis on the development of the product and process and involve all the disciplines that are right for the team (Kinzig & MacAulay, 2010).

Part 2

The SMEP program was fairly utilised in the development of the Global Hawk System since it shows the development team was organised such that there was categorisation of the integrated product teams (IPT) according to the functional areas that they were selected to represent. The process also applies a description of the decision-making and evaluation process while designing and implementation of the entire program. The development process also addresses the technical environments of the whole project and how their management will be carried out as well as discussing the relations between the pre-production conditions and the production conditions (Bracuto & Scheurer, 2008). In the management of the environments that were influenced by the project user – the government – and the contractor where the contractor was allowed as much autonomy as possible and the government was to have little interference of the entire process. The process also utilised both physical and logical design although it did not include how various issues arising in the process will be discussed and then resolved. However, it outlined how the testing procedure of the whole system was carried out. The DARPA resolved to delay the first fight of the Global Hawk, until the completion of a joint evaluation of the entire laws on flight control, software and other critical subsystems for the flight is done by the contractor. The responsibility for testing was given to TRA, where it was supposed to plan on testing, execution of the test and the Test Director designation. The process also outlined the methodology for software development that was used and showed the requirements which mainly focused on cost control measures. This was both for incremental releases and iterative builds (Kinzig & MacAulay, 2010).

Part 3

The conclusions provided for the analysis of the cost is quite reasonable since the analyses considers the duration of the entire process and the steps taken to reduce the impact of the total cost of the program on the Air Force. It also compares the estimates of the costs that were to be used in the development of the entire program and the actual cost that was incurred. The estimation of the cost for Phase III was around $512 million but the actual cost incurred by the government totalled to $963 million (Kinzig & MacAulay, 2010). The difference between the cost estimates and the actual cost incurred can be traced to the various technical issues related to the development of software and the integration of the whole system. Regardless of the direction for the development process to be maintained within the funds that had been availed, there was an increase in the nonrecurring costs of engineering. The reason for the overrun in cost can also be traced to the process of evaluating the alternatives, like having little to no basis of analysing the UFP while instead basing it on the amount the user wanted to pay for it. The other issue was basing the UFP on assumptions that were very optimistic like assumptions on the manufacturing costs and the supplier costs. In addition, the cost overran can be linked to the JPO unwillingness to ensure that the limit of UFP to the tune $10 was observed by the developers of the entire program (Kinzig & MacAulay, 2010). Also , the DAPRA delaying the program lead to a gap and the plan for $ 10 million was completely abandoned , after the strategy to have $10 million for production of 11to 20 vehicles and assumption of buying 3 to 10 Air vehicles was executed quite early thus the whole plan did not work as planned. The contractor was about to achieve the requirement for $10 million if the government maintained the initial plan (Kinzig & MacAulay, 2010). Had various alternatives for awarding the contract been analysed, the analysis indicates that the issue of cost would have been avoided to some extent.

Part 4

The analysis should have given information on other requirements of the whole program the user wanted apart from the limitation on the cost to be incurred. In addition, the analysis should have included more information about organisation structures to include all the concerned stakeholders and give description of the role undertaken by all every stakeholder in the project.  It should have also included the success attained by each technical team in the development of Global Hawk, and that way it is possible to know at which stage of the project cycle the overrun cost was incurred. Further information that should have been provided concern the sequence of the activities at each step in the integration plan and whether some activities involved much higher cost than others in the same stage (Bracuto & Scheurer, 2008). Finally analysis should have covered the issue of risk management in terms of the responsibilities of the participants in identification, assessment and mitigation of the risks.

References

Defence Acquisition University, (2011) .Systems engineering fundamentals.147-201. Retrieved from: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/aeronautics-and-astronautics/16-885j-aircraft-systems-engineering-fall-2005/readings/sefguide_01_01.pdf

Bracuto, C. Scheurer, B. (2008). Systems Engineering Plan and Systems Engineering Management Plan Alignment. Retrieved from: http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2008systems/7153bracuto.pdf

Kinzig, B., MacAulay, B., (2010). Global hawk systems engineering case study: Air Force Center for Systems Engineering

Discussion Board Reply

Trompenaar’s dimension analysis of the management culture is an area that requires a better understanding of cultural differences. This comparison involves Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the United States of America. From the various dimension Denmark is the most different company. Its figures show that it is the only company that falls into particularism dimension. As a matter of fact, the particularism dimension is oriented due to the strong relationships it finds its self in (Mead & Andrews, 2009). Sweden is a bit different from Norway and Denmark in that they are more effective than neutral in the A v. N dimension. With this difference in dimension, it is true to say that Sweden is more affectionate and it is more secure of showing it publicly while Norway and Denmark opt to control their emotion and they are not secure of showing them publicly (Mead & Andrews, 2009). The U S is seen to be more specific in culture than any other country as explained by the S v. D.

There are many differences in Trompenaar’s model of culture as well as similarities. Geographically Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are so close making it possible to have ideals similarities. These countries are identical in I v. C and S v. D. Norway Denmark and Sweden are considered to be diffuse from the S v. D dimension. These countries have large and wide private spheres and very small public spheres hence these countries are considered to be an individualist (Medeiros, 2010). By these countries being considered individualist means that they focus on themselves and their immediate families and less focus on the communities. From the dimension the united state falls into the same category as the Sweden, and Norway. From the seven dimensions United States and Denmark match in I v. C dimension.

Reference

Mead, R., & Andrews, T. G. (2009). International Management. Chichester, England: Wiley-      Blackwell.

Medeiros, E. R. (2010). Old vs recent cross-border cooperation: Portugal-Spain and Norway-       Sweden Medeiros Old vs recent cross-border cooperation. Area, 42(4), 434-443.     doi:10.1111/j.1475-4762.2010.00940.x

Acetate Department

SWOT Analysis

Question 1

Citing from the case of Acetate department, it is factual that before the re-structuring, the production was still high compared to case after the technological change (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2012).  Additionally, the variety of tasks was lower where the conversion process during production was more assessable before the re-structuring. Before the technological reform, large number of employees specialized in specific tasks which translated to few errors and problems together with less absenteeism cases (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2012). To the perception of the employees, the department was conducive and pleasant in terms of working environment. Precisely, there was less for the employees to do which inspired most of the employees to spend their entire career life in the company even in one department. Additionally, the employees were motivated by benefits, bonuses, good pays and mostly by presence of a dartboard in the working area (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2012). After changing the Acetate department, technology replaced batches to constant processing where tasks that were undertaken by the employees were now being undertaken by automated machines. This means that the machines resulted to the compression of the employees’ number by 50%; from 40 to 20 employees (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2012). A large number of the employees that were mixing the batches were replaced by the single automated machine. Furthermore, it was recorded that after the change, the absenteeism rate increased considerably which was accompanied by judgment errors by the operators of the machine thereby affecting production substantially.

Question 2    

Citing from the case study regarding the Acetate department, it is factual that the case exhibits what the consultant ought to do prior to implementing any technology change and innovation particularly in a production department (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2012). One of the things that the consultant ought to consider prior to making an implementation with regard to technology change is management implications. Thus, it is exhibited that for Acetate department, continuous technology changes and process were partially executed in the department. This is proved by the fact that the number of the employees was compressed by 50% regardless of the huge technology shift. Thus, it is noteworthy that for such a technology change, the anticipated implications include incessant and considerable increase in production, few judgment errors as the machines are automated and requires less supervision, and employees’ commitment (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2012). Contrary, it appeared that instead of increasing the production substantially, the cost remained slightly the same. Furthermore, instead of increasing accuracy during production process, it appeared that cases of judgment errors increased which resulted to substantial losses (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2012). Most importantly, the motivation of the employees dropped which yielded to a significant increase in absenteeism cases compared to the situation before technology change. Therefore, it is worthwhile to assert that technology change in Acetate department posed no significant change in the organization particularly with regard to production. Additionally, this case can be used to prove the fact that downsizing in an organization is not an effective approach of increasing production. This is supported by the evidence that despite cutting off the number of employees by half, the production remained slightly the same showing that though it lowered the cost of production, it did not increase production volume as expected. Contrary, it resulted to other inevitable problems such as judgment errors and absenteeism.

Question 3         

Prior to the technological reform in Acetate department, the lower level of production in the department consisted of two mixers, two helpers, and the group leader under the command of one supervisor (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2012). After the technological restructuring, the level was replaced by one handler, one pump operator, and two head operators under the command of one supervisor. Therefore, the type of production that was adopted by the department was continuous process production strategy where the department moved from mass production to continuous production process. Thus, in assessing whether the organizational culture and other characteristics fit the technology, it is true that the culture fits citing from the requirements of implementing continuous process production (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2012). For this technology, the department should have highly skilled employees, low dignified procedures, informal communication, low centralization, and organic structure. Thus, it is true that acetate department has fulfilled all the characteristics required to conform to the technological restructuring adopted. The organizational goal of Acetate department during implementation of the technological restructuring was to enhance the production process by shifting from large batch to continuous process production (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2012). However, apart from believing that acetate department organizational structure fitted the technology, it is noteworthy that the reason for the slight change in production volume can be based on the choice of the actual number of employees to retain.

Question 4       

As aforementioned, the reason for the slight change in production volume after the technological restructuring can be based on the layoffs. From the implications that the technology yielded, it is exhibited that the motivation of the employees decreased which affected their commitment. Compared to the case before the change, there was a sense of teamwork, interdependence, low task variety, and analyzability of the conversion process. Therefore, in this comparison, what the situation after the change lacked is the employees’ motivation with regard to the sense of teamwork, lower task variety, and interdependence. This is the main reason why absenteeism cases were fewer before the change compared to after the change. As a result, one of the improvements that I can recommend for acetate department to realize their financial investment in the new technology is selection of the appropriate number of employees that fits the technology. This can be achieved by assessing the appropriate number of employees that promote the sense of teamwork and interdependence in the work place. Therefore, instead of 50% layoff, the department can decrease it to not less than 25%. This will have no significant effect to the employees’ sense of teamwork. Additionally, this will retain the analyzability of the conversion process in order to mitigate risks such as judgment errors by the operator.

Reference

Daft, R. L., Murphy, J., & Willmott, H. (2012). Organization theory and design. Andover: South-Western College Pub.     

Businesses, sweatshops and exploitation of countries and their citizens. Shell & Nigeria; Apple and Foxconn; Fast Fashion and Rana Plaza Disaster

Many facets of the material lifestyles of average citizens of the developed nations relate to the trade relations between those countries and the developing countries mostly in Asia and Africa. Similarly, many multinational organisations whose ownership is in developed nations have targeted the resources in the developing countries which include the various factors of production such as raw materials and human capital in order to maximise on production and profits. Globalisation of production has seen various large organizations seek to locate their production processes in around the globe in order to exploit advantage of the different quality and cost of these factors of production. The expansion by these multinationals has been enabled by the policies of the host countries which have encouraged increased foreign investments and this have seen organisations such as Shell and Apple establish their operations in such countries unhindered.

However, this onset of globalisation and market unification whose expansion has been quite continues has resulted to various negative aspects that relates to workers exploitation and the environmental degradation. This paper aims at studying  the cases of shell company in Nigeria , Apple and Foxconn , Fast Fashion and Rana Plaza Disaster .Issues have arisen that relate to the working conditions, wages and sweetshops that have resulted to controversies especially in the past decades. Question have been asked about the viability of the organisations maximising profits at the expense of reasonable wages for workers and environmental care and the use sweetshop for their production activities. Exploitation of workers means paying very low wages while violating the norms and standards that have been put in place to govern their employment.  Sweatshop connotes factories that have authoritative overseers who are unreasonable, unhealthy and dangerous psychological and physical   working environment and a factory that uses child labour. For the purpose of business, sweatshops are lucrative because they benefit from low-wage labour readily available in developing countries and thus reduce the production cost substantially.

Foxconn is a good illustration of the negative effects and controversies that can result from foreign direct investment. It is a scenario where the issue of human dignity violation can be proved contrary to the universal human rights as declared by the united Nation. The declaration recognizes the intrinsic human dignity and the equal rights afforded to all people as the basis of peace, freedom and justice for the entire human family (United Nations, 2015).   Since the China’s economy has been driven by FDI almost completely, its growth has by far surpassed neighbouring countries in East Asia, but which has also seen a widening social inequality and labour. While this has led to China receiving a balance of trade, the capitalist businesses are profiting only the rich in the society. FDI has made China to lose sovereignty since a lot of private organisations like Foxconn have major control over the major firms. In Foxconn, workers have to work for long hours, low wages, lack social link and have their privacy threatened. Many of the factories’ workers are exposed to high temperatures due to poor ventilation in summer periods with the rooms for assembly lines reaching a high of 95degress Fahrenheit. Concentration of aluminium dust and poor ventilation caused an explosion that lead to the death of two workers and more than seventy were injured. Moreover, workers are not allowed to socialise with one another and doing so will lead to may withdrawal of bonus. In the electronic industry, surveys have shown that various factories have failed to sign labour contracts with employees or the contracts that had been signed were later withheld from workers who claimed their wages and benefits (Josephs, 2013).  A case in example is Apple factories. There have been many accusations of these factories exploiting Chinese workers and this has resulted to suicide cases in the factories. There have been a case of seven young workers committing suicide in the Foxconn factory which shows the result of restrictive and regimented work practices which represent a model that sacrifices human dignity for the purpose of development. Investigations done by various NGOs have revealed that most of the workers who produce iPads and iPhones are subjected to exploitation and lead a very dismal life. However, a joint workforce of about 500,000 provide labour that can contribute to around $6 billion profit (Josephs, 2013). This doesn’t mean that the workers’ wages will be revised in accordance with profit increase. This scenario shows a case where profit is prioritised over human dignity.

In the case of Fast Fashion, a garment manufacturing firm can be used to analyse Rawlings theory of social justice and fairness. Due to the need to provide a wider variety of clothing to the customers, there has been a steady increase in off-shore manufacturing of garments. The sluggish European and U.S economies have resulted to consumers in those markets reducing the percentage of the expenditure on apparel, and this has forced the manufactures to seek locations that can offer plenty of cheap labour. Fast Fashions put up its manufacturing operations in Bangladesh, that provide a lot of low cost workers and where laws and restriction on labour are strict. Such factors resulted to a race to have establishment of factories for manufacturing low –cost garments which then set the stage for various deadly accidents. Though the establishment of manufacturing factories such as Fast Fashion has made Bangladesh to be the second in the exportation of cloths worldwide, concerns have risen over unconducive working environments, violation of safety and unacceptable building standards that have seen buildings falling anyhow. Such is the case of Rana Plaza garment-factory collapse. Cracks deep and severe enough to warrant raising the alarm had been observed in the building, but the managers of the factory assured the workers the following morning that the building was bound to be standing for the next 100 years, and thus should proceed inside for work failure to which they would lose their pay, something workers in this economy would not afford doing (Henniker, 2014). What is witnessed here is a conflict between the need to meet the financial goals under pressure while at the same time the issue of ethics in the process of maximising profits at the cost of human dignity.

These two conflicting issues can be addressed in in the theory of social contract and fair play duty. The fair play duty results from the agreement by the members of the society to fair rules or practices that will govern their behaviour. The duty involves adhering to these rules in good faith an obligation whose basis is on social contract. This fair play covers the ethical void left and it is well understood the concepts of how the obligation can bind the society members and fairness definition that provide a method which can be used to individuals religious background to agree on basic principles and practices of behaviour guide (Baxter& Rarick, 1987). Thus in the case of these organisations , the issue is not about obeying the rules and laws in the society , but the exploitation of the void or loopholes left in the application of the laws. This is where ethics comes into play. Rawlings regards social contract to be a living thing which is always changing and allows renegotiation and therefore it’s necessary to determine the fair practices that this product should have. To provide fairness, Rawls came up with a method that can determine fairness that he claimed independent from morals outlined by religions. The independence resulted to a view of ethics that can be used in the industrial world with having to interfere with religious and moral sensibilities and assist in understanding ethics. The society highly regards the struggle to be on top, and people’s imaginations is that they may be multi-millionaires one time. Rejection of exploitative behaviour that is profit driven matters little unless it violates actual regulations (Baxter& Rarick, 1987).

The pursuit for profit gain or financial gain should happen within the laws and rules of the land. The issue of exploitation by the multinational firms extends to the production activities that lead to the degradation of the environment , regardless of the welfare of the community that depend on it resources. The emphasis on these firms should be the alignment of their actions, any pro-action and the performance of their social obligation. The important point is therefore to ensure the reconciliation of the organisation’s economic intention with the expected social orientation. This recognises that the firm should not only be concerned with its economic or legal obligation, but also its ethical obligation. Therefore, firms must come up with social goals and programs, and implement them while considering the ethical matters in their decisions, actions and policies (Schwartz and Carrol, 2011).  Following such a course means that the firms have integrated the interests of the all the stakeholders. A firm that is actively taking care of the natural environment will have achieved part of the ethical expectation and thus the issue of exploitation will no arise. This approach can be elaborated by the case of Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria which has widely been accused of environmental degradation. The kind of environmental degradation the company has caused in Niger Delta has caused a lot of resistance from the surrounding community, considering that this area has been characterized as among the most ecological units that are polluted severely by petroleum. It is estimated that about 1.5 million tons oil has spilled over in this ecosystem (Earth-Rights International, 2009). This is a clear example of an organisation that was reckless in adhering to its ethical obligation or social responsibility, resulting to a lot of suffering for the community that depended on that particular ecosystem. Even after the Nigerian government passed laws on ending flaring, the company continued with the practice choosing rather to pay the fine than cleaning up the operations, which shows lack of moral, ethical code (Earth-Rights International, 2009). Ethical responsibilities involve the measure, expectations that serve as a reflection of what is considered fair and just enough by all stakeholders to protect or respect their moral rights (Schwartz and Carrol, 2011).

In order to solve the issue of exploitation of workers in developing nations by the multinationals, it is important that the same firms to come up with redemptive measures that will ensure that the welfare of workers is observed from within, and regulations that will ensure they have moral and ethical responsibility to stakeholders. To ensure that the rights of the workers are not violated, the company should support the employees to create a Labour Association. This association will ensure fairness in the employment terms and provide a platform for solving dispute between the firms and the firms. Firms like shell should include all stakeholders in formulation of policies and agreements that will oblige them to bear the cost of environmental degradation. To eliminate any issue relating to child labour, the government should enact legislations that will force the firms to abandon the practice while providing earning opportunities for all children. The implication of these measures include workers future prosperity after work restrictions become reasonable and satisfaction of workers translate better performance of the firms and the economy.

References

Baxter, G. D., & Rarick, C. A. (1987). Education for the moral development of managers: Kohlberg's stages of moral development Rawls, John.  Justice as Fairness: Political not Metaphysical, Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 14, No. 3. (Summer, 1985), pp. 223 -251  

Schwartz M. and Carrol, A. (2011). Carrol CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: A THREE-DOMAIN APPROACH. 6-20

United Nations (2015).Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/en/udhrbook/pdf/udhr_booklet_en_web.pdf

Josephs, H. (2013) Productions Chains and Workplace Law Violations: The Case of Apple and Foxconn. Syracuse University College of Law. 3-18

Earth-Rights International (2009). Shell’s environmental devastation in Nigeria. Retrieved from: http://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/assets/4.6.09%20Environment%20Devastation%20Factsheet.pdf

Henniker, H (2014).The Bangladesh Factory Collapse: A Case for Intervention and Policy Change. Retrieved from: http://sevenpillarsinstitute.org/case-studies/bangladesh-factory-collapse-case-intervention-policy-change

Human resource

Q 1

            Dictatorial leadership style is one of the undeveloped leadership styles that can be referred to as not develop. All those persons who use this leadership style have all the supremacy, make all their decisions and do not talk about it to anyone.  For those who work for those dictatorial leaders, they have to do what they are commanded to do.  Dictatorial leaders sustain their supremacy by power, intimidations and pressure, motivations and punishments. Although these leaders do not have the prospect of the organization or may not be the course-plotting of the firm, they are not concerned with whether anyone else accepts their decisions. Based on the leadership experience that I have had, I think if I had used this dictatorial style as undeveloped style, it would have turned out well (Lussier, Robert & Kimball, 154). 

            I have been a mutual leader where my main aim was to foster the mutual process of the organization.  I empowered the staff and those who were involved in the organization.  This was all to control the vision and the workings in the organization.  Due to this leadership style, most of the staff and other members did not follow the rules and this gave me a great experience of turning my style.  The supposed outcome is better than the real outcome and this is due to the fact that the democratic leaders make it conducive in the working environment thus providing a secure and effective leadership. The style has made me get loved by the workers and also esteemed. This mainly depends on the personality of the leader, the leader must be willing to listen and act on other’s ideas (Lussier, Robert & Kimball, 163).           

Q 2

            The idea roles for the HR subdivision and the procession organization in the recruitment and the assortment course are to be in touch often and regularly for them to verify the aptitudes and the experience of the action in the section functions. If there is any vacancy in the procession manager’s section, the HR employment specialist and the line director assess the work explanation for exactness and entirety. Throughout the enrollment and the assortment procedure, the HR recommends the procession managers on how to spot capable applicants and the accessible branch personnel skills. The relevant decisions and actions that are to be made by the two departments mainly focus on supporting their decisions on the recruitment and the selection process.  This advances the organization in taking an action to satisfy on that requirement (Lussier, Robert & Kimball, 144). 

            If the HR department is an actual partner in the planning process, it must take a planned accomplishment as a line manager does. They participate in the firms activities in two ways; they make the HR plans that make the firm’s planned goals in the same time that the business sections are advancing their objectives. Second, they make the firm’s and the leadership assessment performed in the same time as business and the performance reviews are done. Competent leaders are the main success factor of the human resource and the line managers.  Thus understanding the aptitude that the company needs to have attracts and lead these departments in advancing their abilities to have the challenge of building and sustaining the firm for the future (Lussier, Robert & Kimball, 179).            

Q 3

            The KSA’s that I will use in developing and maintaining the objectives of the development plan include the ability to lead, stabilize and manage the organizations programs and people. This is a leadership skill that develops and sustains effective connections and the makeup of the organization into a unified outcome leaning team.  As the leader, I have to develop and maintain open communications with the other firm members, thus I openly plan a set up task that have to accomplish. My current connection with the firm and the members is rewarding. It helps me in dealing with the firm’s conflicts and disagreements in a positive way and this lessens the personal outcome such as controlling one’s feelings and reactions. The method that I use for developing the KSA skill is flexibility. This is a way that makes mi deal with pressure and helps in sustaining focus and concentration even under difficulty. The elements of development are shown in the development plan based on making change in the firm. This is featured by implementing good leadership and encouraging managers to incorporate vision, tactical planning and having good elements of balancing change (Halelly, 43).             

Q 4

            Need based assumption mostly describe the human manner in the work place. According to it, one must be in good health, protected and secure with meaningful connections and confidence. Making a team to acknowledge the importance of their job to the firm and to the people they are dealing with is most effective in explaining the motivation theory.  The leaders must show the workers the value of their responsibilities thus making them feel adored and motivated to work harder.  In order to get the best results from the team, the leaders should also ensure that they support them in other aspects of their lives outside work.  Maybe the y can be given flexible working hours to give them time to concentrate on their families and ensure that they are fairly paid and help them in their finances (Lydia, 280). 

            This theory found the submission in trade scenery.  Thoughtful of what people need offers the opportunities to understand them. The ladder is a means of viewing about the dissimilar requirements that the workers have which also defines the responses that they might have to the same conduct.  A worker may be attempting to please the social wants and this makes them to feel satisfied when their leader praises an accomplishment. Self actualization requirements may be gratified by giving of advancement growth chances on the work as sound as by that labor that is attractive and demanding. This will make the association to guarantee a extremely provoked personnel (Lydia, 310).     

Q 5

            I have a business that I am experienced with and through those personal experiences an improvement on certain factors to advance on their human resource management can be achieved. The business needs to first advance on the leadership skills that they have. Leadership is the skill of a person to establish the latent of a group in the aim of a general attention.  Through training, leaders can expand best management manner. A manager does not rule by force, does not divide however unites; a leader looks for harmony .For instance, in the food business that I worked in, the main challenges were recognized when spotting their controlling style of leadership. These made each leader to assess the in favor of and swindles of every approach and know how to relate the most important style in every situation (Cooper, Cary & Burke, 90).

             Advising is also another factor which should not be unplanned and needs setting of goals, plans and monitoring the results. For instance the director of my company appointed as an adviser to be taught what I desired from a sensible and individual support. This teaching helped her on improving the management approach and the organization skills of the citizens in the business.  Thus mentoring is an important factor that improves the retention and the spread of information in the business.  Solving problems is also another way of improving the human resource management.  To implement this kind of policy, the firm must educate its staff, encourage and lead it to advance the internal connections.  This can be done by implementing skills for analyzing problems and putting them in the most efficient way (Cooper, Cary & Burke, 94).

Work cited

Azulay, Halelly. Employee Development on a Shoestring. Alexandria, Va: ASTD Press, 2012. Print.

Banks, Lydia. Motivation in the Workplace: Inspiring Your Employees. Virginia Beach, VA: Coastal Training Technologies Corp, 1997. Print.

Cooper, Cary L, and Ronald J. Burke. Human Resource Management in Small Business: Achieving Peak Performance. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub, 2007. Internet resource.

Lussier, Robert N, and David C. Kimball. Applied Sport Management Skills. , 2014. Print.

Extra Credit:  Which module covered in the course so far do you think is most critical to business success?  Use the HRM lessons from the course to guide your response.  (10 points)

<insert your answer here>

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA)

Target Market Segment

It is factual that the target market for all Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO) is the internet users who can easily access their websites with minimal inconveniencies. Since 2004, the number of potential internet users has been increasing significantly as the technology continues to encroach with time ((Baloglu & Pekcan, 171). Therefore, most of the DMOs in the contemporary travel and hospitality market tend to take their internet sites as a competitive advantage factor and weapon particularly in attracting and retaining new customers. This is the reason why DMOs utilize their websites maximally and optimally through continuous redesigning in order to persuade their clients (Baloglu & Pekcan, 171). Thus, most DMOs keep advancing the custom designs of their websites in order to appear attractive to the target customer base.

Precisely, the market segments targeted by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority official website includes the freely spending millennial generation particularly individuals who were born in early 1980s. This is based on the fact that this generation of individuals spend their money freely especially for entertainment. Thus, since Las Vegas is the home of entertainment, LVCVA targets millennial customers who outspend on in their entertainment trips to Las Vegas. It is presumed that the reason why the target group within this age bracket is that they have less expenses such as car payments and mortgages. Consequently, LVCVA’s website targets both local and international travelers who visit Las Vegas for entertainment.

The Effectiveness of the Website   

According to Baloglu and Pekcan (pg. 172), the effectiveness of the hospitality and tourism website is based on web design and features which exhibit the brand image precisely. For instance, a site with contemporary and emerging features and contents helps the company with ample opportunities making it potential for customers’ attraction (Baloglu & Pekcan, 172). Thus citing from the 7 Cs of effective website design, LVCVA website fulfills all of them which makes it qualify to be regarded as a competent tourism and hospitality website.

To start with, the context of the site is covered with colorful pictures of the city of Las Vegas which expresses the beauty of the city thereby attracting the attention of the visitor. Additionally, the home page of the site is designed to promote readability and navigation using different icons which direct the visitor of different pages of concern such as funding & finance, extended destinations and FAQs pages. Secondly, the page hosts a space titled funding and finance that directs the visitor to making financial transactions that guarantees confidentiality and reliability of the page while making transactions. Thirdly, citing from the content of the site, the degree of leading the customer away from the main website are lower as the site hosts related stories to make sure that the visitor does not get lost. Precisely, the link hosts exclusively stories regarding Las Vegas as a travelling place. To enhance communication with the user of the site, LVCVA website gives the visitors an option of contacting their customer care department using an icon titled “Contact Us” at the bottom space of the page. Additionally, the site hosts a space for most frequently asked questions that direct the user to a page with those questions and their answers. On the basis of the content, the page uses colorful pictures of Las Vegas where some of them have transitions to create motion pictures. However, the site lacks sounds, animation and music. However, the site lacks user-to-user communication thereby denying users chances of sharing their experiences and ideas. Lastly, the site promotes customization using an icon at the top of the page indicating the language options for different visitors. This shows that the site allows all the visitors to personalize aspects of the site.

Work Cited        

Baloglu, S., & Pekcan, A. Yakup. The website design and internet site marketing practices of upscale and luxury hotels in turkey. Tourism Management 27 (2006) 171–176           

ORGANIZATION CULTURE

            Organizational culture includes principles and behaviors that contribute to the distinctive social and psychological surroundings of an institute. It is viewed as the way in which the organizations employees relate with each other and with the outside world and with other organizations. This involves also the company’s prospects, experience, philosophy and standards that help to enhance togetherness in the organization (Schein 2010). The organization culture ensures that the organization has shared mind-set, beliefs, way of life, written and unwritten rules over time but still measured as valid. Organization culture is witnessed in the way the organization conducts its operations, how they treat their workers, customers as well as the entire society. This is also witnessed in the extent to which the organization allows liberty in making decisions, inventing of new ideas and individual expression. The flow of information and authority through the hierarchy and the way in which all the employees maintains their collective objectivity in the organization is still portrayed in the organizational culture. Organizational culture is therefore important as it affects the productivity and the performance of the organization and it offers guidelines on customer care services, quality of services, safety measures, punctuality of the employees and the concern for all that surrounds the organization. It also ensures that the production methods, innovation methods, marketing and advertising activities are well coordinated in the organization (Schein 2010). This paper therefore will major its argument on the organizational culture of Air Canada company which has its unique organizational culture. The paper will further discuss on the background of the company and some of its unique characteristics and the management theory implemented in the company and the rationale behind its adoption.

            Air Canada is basically the biggest airline in the state of Canada and it carries along the flag of Canada. The airline was established in the year 1937 with an aim of providing scheduled and charter air travel for passengers as well as the cargo to one hundred and eighty two destinations globally. This airline happens to be in the tenth position in the world amongst the largest passenger airlines in terms of fleet size. Its headquarters are based in Montreal ion Quebec. They operate operations such as the air Canada express regionally, the air Canada rouge and air Canada cargo. It has some other supplementary operations such as the air Canada vacations to over ninety destinations. A combination of the regional partners and the international ones, the airline registers an estimate of more than 1530 scheduled flights on a daily basis. The airline is well respected as it is safe travelling with them and they occupy position four in the airline safety records. The airline employs over 28000 employees and it is currently expanding with the increment of international destinations (Pigott 2014).

            The airline stands out in their operations as they currently are the newest and only airlines who have been able to offer WI-FI connectivity together with international business class and premium economy. The company is working on installing of the satellite technology on its wide body fleet so as to ensure the access of WI-FI while travelling. This investment has helped to build on the latest strategy to develop the newest business class and premium economy seating for enhanced comfort and service rendering.  Air rouge is another wonderful feature of this airline as it offers leisure services to the passengers.  In most cases during summer season the airline offers new leisure destinations in their network for the passengers to enjoy their travels. Online services are also quite exclusive features of the airline. This is because, it allows smart phone users to be able to book and to access other self service activities such as the managing their booking.

Their website is active and available all over the world with different languages to suite different potential passengers. The daily outlook is also available at the website and it helps to keep t5he passengers updated on the weather and irregular operations of the company. The various kiosks that are available at the airport helps to provide self services to customers such as allowing them to check in, seat selection process, e-upgrades as well as extra luggage fee.

            So as to build a coherent culture, the air Canada Company has employees who shares in their main values and are willing and capable to embrace those principles. Employees in this airline are not only talented but they are as well best suited to enhance a corporate culture within the organization. As the company employees’ people they ensure that they have certain beliefs and values that are in line with the business hence they are able to reinforce the already existing culture in the organization (Sultan et al 2000). The employees in air Canada Company are subjected to follow a code of conduct where they are supposed to sign off the code of conduct annually. The code of conduct expects the employees to report any case of violation and it sets out the anti-corruption policies. The company also ensures that the employees do offer the best customer services. The policy of the company is to ensure that they carry out the performance measure so as to ensure that they are able to measure the level of customer satisfaction ranging from the flight satisfaction in relation to the value of money charged. This helps to identify the area of correction and improvement within the management and the employees so as to ensure that quality services are offered in the company as it is one of the core goals of the airline.

            Just like so many other airlines, air Canada’s culture revolved around the captains’ command and control. However, in the present day the pilots recognizes the error chain of command as they follows the standard operating steps as they reduce the errors hence resulting to increase in safety thus they now understand and accept the invention of the cockpit resource management (CRM) (Kanki et al 2010).

            Management theories are important as they help to increase the productivity and the quality of services in the company. Different management theories are implemented differently by the managers but the adoption of a combination of various theories heavily depends on the kind of organization, the purpose of the organization and its employees. In this case the air Canada has basically accepted and adopted the chaos management theory. This is because changes are always constant (Fox 2006). In as much as the company may look forward to control some of these changes, they cannot be able to fully control others. With the expansion that air Canada has been experiencing over the years, the organization has become so complex and the vulnerability of events has also increased. This has resulted to the increase in the efforts by the entire company to be able to sustain and cope with the increased complexity. However as there is so much energy that is required, the organizational structure of the company has to change so as to be able to maintain stability as the environment surrounding the company continues to change and evolve. This has therefore called for the company’s management to continually motivate their customers as well as their employees so as to achieve their shared values, mission and visions.

            In conclusion it is important to note that Air Canada is one of the service industries in Canada which has shown greater potential in all their operations. As the airline is globalizing so much changes have been witnessed in the organization but all these changes are important as they have enhanced the organization to achieve their success. The company has shown greater concern to the citizens of Canada and has offered so many job opportunities to the society and hence resulting to development of the state.  With the increasing technological advancement, the airline has also tried all they can to ensure that they cope with these technological changes and hence the increment in invention and innovation in the airline. The organization culture of the company has proven to have good and well organized management and also have ensured that there is cohesion and collaboration among all stakeholders involved in ensuring that the airline has attained its objectives towards its customers, employees, society and the government and the rest of the world.

References

Fox, W. (2006). Managing organisational behaviour. Cape Town, South Africa: Juta.

Kanki, B. G., Helmreich, R. L., & Anca, J. M. (2010). Crew Resource Management. Burlington: Elsevier.

Pigott, P. (2014). Air Canada: The history.

Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Sultan, F., & Simpson Jr, M. C. (2000). International service variants: airline passenger    expectations and perceptions of service quality. Journal of services marketing, 14(3),           188-216.

INTERNSHIP PAPER

Introduction

As a student who major in business management, I undertook an internship that offered me practical knowledge of the job training in my professional career. The internship program offers an exchange of experience in exchange for service between the student and the organization. This program offers a chance to determine the level of interest in a particular area. It also makes it possible to create a network of contact between individuals in the organization and also attain school credit (Perlin, 2012). As internship can be permanent or temporary mine was temporary. The period was limited but I gained a lot during this time upon its completion.

During my internship period, I was expected to do much. This was much expected of any intern to show great enthusiasm for the job as it was an area of personal interest. I not being different I was very energetic and tackled everything that I was supposed to do with great joy and energy because I wanted to learn more (Hodges, 2011). During this period, I was faced with data entry work which was a routine thing. Every morning I would feed the system with the previous day data. The system for filling this data was computerized and for the first couple of days, I was shown how to do it. It was a simple and there was a systematic way of doing it. I also had the responsibility of copying documents to make sure there were also hand-written copies that would be a form of backup information just in case the system failed. Making of excels was also one of my many responsibilities. This came by with the confirmation of arithmetic accuracy of the company daily expenses (Bottner, 2007). I also ensured that there were supporting documents to all the receipts and they were signed by the relevant persons. I was also faced with the responsibility of making representation for the company meetings with it clients. I was lucky to have the chance as I was able to know how to draft this presentation. The secretaries to the company help me with the documents as they made a correction to any place that I would have made a mistake. This gave me a chance to know more and be well equipped.

            With these responsibilities assigned to me, I was able to learn a lot. This includes how to cooperate with the coworkers. The building of a good relationship with them helped me in the program. I was able to learn that in order to be successful teamwork had to work. These involve respecting them, creating of boundaries and also assisting one another to achieve objectivity (Akwetey, 2011). This also created a chance for me to separate work issue with personal ones to enhance a conducive working environment. I was able to become confident in my work and also learned how an organization operates. I was given a chance and I was equipped with real life experience skills that will go a long way my career path (Dumas, 2013).

While in school were asked to look for an organization that we would work as an intern. I was lucky to have a father who owned an organization and he gave me a chance. He gave me the chance so long as I would not ask for any special treatment. I would work out just like any other internship in his company. I was expected to work as hard as all the other interns are required in order to equip themselves with life experience in the professional career path. I secured myself a position in the organization and I had to prove myself that I deserved a chance and not because it is not my father’s company (Bottner, 2007).

In this program, I was able to develop my career professional. Mostly in class business management is theoretical rather than practical. I was given a chance how to apply my business management knowledge gained in class into a business enterprise. The knowledge that I learned theoretically in class was now applicable practically at work. The data entry, presentation, copying of documents and making of excels was now in real life. This also gave me a better and a clear understanding of how to go about in business management (McGarvey, B., & Hannon, 2004). The fact that there was loads of work that I was supposed to do every day everything else was enjoyable. This is because I was on a path of shaping my career and making it better since it was something that I enjoyed. I looked forward every morning to work and gain more knowledge and gain the experience that would assist me outside when I was done with learning. It was also made even stricter for interns to miss work due to small and personal matter. The company made sure that the absenteeism trend would appear in the report. This was something that I did not like because I wanted my report to be the best. This developed me into a better business management professional to make thing right by doing it right and separating of personal issues with that of work (Dumas, 2013).

In class, there were theories of how to make a presentation which did not seem so practical. During my internship program, I was able to do the presentation. I would draft them and I was corrected in case of an error. The presentation was made according to the business and the nature of any discussion the company was to engage in. this presentation made me realize the importance they have and how important the theory learned in class was important (McGarvey, B., & Hannon, 2004). The excel documents seemed just lame figure that anyone came up with but during the internship I was proven wrong. These are actual figures that are extracted in the company’s portfolio. These figures do not just make but anyone but they are a reflection of how an organization is faring and it performance that is measured in mathematical figures. The best experience during the internship program was about business management. It involves a lot to manage an entity and make it profitable as well as making it have a better image to the community. The business area was of much assistance as I was able to learn how an organization is run and operated to achieve objectivity (Bottner, 2007).

With the internship program being the first experience I would have in a working environment I was faced with some challenges. I was expected to deliver to my supervisors who were not only strict but they were also efficient in what they were doing. I envied them which because of what they could do within a very short time frame (Akwetey, 2011). This made me feel out as I was clumsy during the first days. I felt unprepared to work in such a busy organization considering the co-workmates who looked a bit older than I was. They looked as if they were super-efficient while I was struggling to do some little work. They were so serious about what they were doing which made me doubt myself a little. I would ask myself when I will ever be serious like them (Dumas, 2013).

The impact of the internship is something to celebrate about. The internship program pinpointed my strong and weak areas. This gave me a chance to analyze my weak points and how to make them better. During this period I was able to become organized with what I did (McGarvey, B., & Hannon, 2004). I was able to perform my duties more efficiently and also within a short time frame. The work became more systematic and I also enjoyed it. During this time I was able to see how the company handles its emergencies without affecting the normal business operation. The devoting the management has in performing its work is something that I saw. How the junior staffs are motivated to enhance better work and mutual benefits of the employees and that of the organization (Akwetey, 2011). These were a theory of how employees can be motivated to make sure that they give their best during class. I saw how that happened in the company. This resulted in fewer staff turnovers with less absenteeism and lateness. The little effort of the staff was acknowledged by the management which made the employees work better and happier. This help me in my career because it showed a great balance between employees desire to be recognized and the company’s aim to achieve objectivity (Dumas, 2013).

The company’s reputation contributed to my career. The company had a better and an attractive image to the society because of the corporate responsibility the company undertook. The society was happy with the projects the organization was carrying to benefit them and in return, they became loyal customers. The way the employees treated the company clients played a big role. Clients were always happy when leaving the premise due to the good service is given to them. They always looked forward to coming back. They were treated with respect and at most care. The service was quick and convenient to any client (Bottner, 2007).

            The management, on the other hand, took their role seriously. They were respected by the junior employees. They expected order and cooperation between employees and they found it. This was made possible by punishing those who did not observe the rules of the organization such as costing them their jobs which made all the other staff be aware of what was expected of them (Hodges, 2011). The management also took part in noticing any exemplary performance by any employee and rewarding them accordingly. This made me learn that my career was more involving and it required determination in order to make it succeed. The chain of command was put in practice and everyone was expected to follow it. This was because there were proper job designations that outline the work of every individual in the company. Work was performed with the best level energy because all were to benefit (McGarvey, B., & Hannon, 2004).

During the internship program, I requested my father to give me a chance to participate in management operation in order to gain some knowledge. He was in agreement so with that provided I will be able to perform it all and I was not going to complain about it (Hodges, 2011). I grab the chance which meant that I work twice as hard. It was in line with my passion as I pursued business management. With the making of presentation that was used by the management in their meetings gave a chance to know how to go to go about it. I would appear in their top management meeting not only to see how they were conducted by how they discussed an issue and also coming up with possible solutions.

The meeting comprised of different heads of the department the company secretary and the directors together with the representatives of shareholders. The meetings were systematic but they all had different agendas. In these meetings, I would act as assistance to the secretary to whom I would write minutes and summaries of them. An issue of conflicts between departments was raised and I was able to see how they solved the problem ensuring a win-win situation between the departments without compromising on the objective of the organization as a whole. This gave me a chance to experience how to go about such issue when they arise and am in charge. The whole process was conducted fairly and the outcome was welcomed by all parties (Bottner, 2007).

In the docket of management, I was able to assist the human resource manager in conducting his duties. I saw how employees are hired using different criteria’s and how the process is supposed to be conducted. The process involved transparency, no discrimination, no favors and every job seeker was given a chance to market themselves. This helped me to gain the experience in the field of employees and what the whole process entailed. Through the activities that were performed together with the human resource manager I was able to see the condition the employees should be given and the standards level they should maintain (McGarvey, B., & Hannon, 2004). A lot is involved in an organization with quite a large number of employees, the laws governing them and the rules binding the organization to the employees and how they should be treated. I was able to experience this and also did put it in practice.

The impact of what I learned during the internship assisted me to see my career path just like a profession but something bigger and better that required devotion and passion in order to be successful.  The experienced gained gave me a stronger foundation due to the knowledge gained in class and the practical knowledge during the internship program (Bottner, 2007). My decision to pursue business management became clearer as I had supporting facts from the internship that I enjoyed what I did. This is because I went there shaky and very green to the business world but I came out better and more goal orient person than I went in.

 Conclusion

The internship program was an achievement I was in the molding process. I was equipped with business skill practically and I was able to apply the knowledge gain in class. This was a stepping stone to my career as it gave it even a stronger foundation. The whole experienced gain is a drive engine in my career path as I am more suitable to work in a business management position.

Reference

Akwetey, L. M. (2011). Business administration for students and managers. Bloomington, Ind.: Trafford Publishing.

Bottner, R. (2007). Total internship management: The employer's guide to building the ultimate   internship program. Acton, MA: Intern Bridge.

Dumas, M. (2013). Fundamentals of business process management. Berlin: Springer

Hodges, S. (2011). The counseling practicum and internship manual: A resource for graduate     counseling students. New York: Springer Pub. Co.

McGarvey, B., & Hannon, B. M. (2004). Dynamic modeling for business management: An           introduction. New York: Springer.

Perlin, R. (2012). Intern nation: Earning nothing and learning little in the brave new economy.    London: Verso.

Purchasing management

Purchasing management is one of the most sensitive departments of an organization that deals with the purchasing feats which is the first element that determines both the product cost as well as profitability of a company (Ward, 2016). The department is headed by a purchasing manager who usually approves the acquisition of goods and services that are needed by the company (Sutton, 2001). This essay will analyze how effective the three aspects of purchasing management i.e. supplier selection criteria, purchasing operations and management of the Felda Global Venture Holdings abbreviated as FGVH. This is a Malaysian-based world wide agri-commodities and agricultural company that produces oil palm and rubber plantation products, canola as well as soybean products (Koons & Mavin, 2012). The company also deals with oleochemicals and sugar products. FGVH is ranked as the third largest palm oil company whereby its dominance is felt in Malaysia. The company engages itself in a number of dealings including plantation activities such as cultivation, harvesting and production of fresh fruit bunches. It also does the processing of the fruit bunches to get the palm crude oil as its final product. The downstream activities comprise the refining of the unfinished oil into various products (Mavin, 2012). Despite being among the top dealers in the world, the company is aiming at becoming the leading and diversified integrated agri-business in the world. Basing on the purchasing power of FGVH Company, it has been able to purchase large tracks of land with over 850, 000 hectares of land in Malaysia. It has other smallholders who have occupied approximately 500, 000 hectares of land (Mavin, 2012). The palm upstream and downstream has been the focus of this company after which the company has invested in both marketing and trading of their products. Its main competitor is the Malaysian palm oil refiners. The survival of the FGVH Company majorly lies in the hands of purchasing management department controls all assets of the company. Being the purchasing manager of the FGVH Company, it would be wise to analyze various aspects that concern its operation (Mavin, 2012).

The company has been sustained by various inputs or raw materials which are supplied by distinct dealers. They include seeds, energy, fertilizers and mechanical as well as technical equipment. Labor both skilled and semi-skilled and contractors among other labor sources are required to saturate the company with the right inputs critical for the survival o the company. Critical services for the company include transportation, storing and marketing the products (Day, 2002). All these inputs demand the purchasing management team to carefully select the right suppliers. This is an activity that is much more than just scanning the price lists for those commodities from the suppliers catalogues. The purchasing team has therefore considered selection criteria that are highly dependent on a wide range of factors. The selection criteria used were majorly based on the priority to which different inputs required to ensure that the purchasing of the FGVH Company is streamlined (Weele, 2006).

Following a critical and strategic thinking concerning the selection of suppliers, the team was able to choose the potential ones using harsh though effective criteria. First, the team considered how effective the previous experience and performance was in the product in which the supplier was dealing with. This ensured that that none of the suppliers would do the trial and error mode of service. It also assessed the supplier’s potential from the basis of quality. These criteria filtered out the less qualified suppliers who may not be able to meet all the requirements of the mandated quality system of the FGVH Company. The qualifications ensured that every supplier meets the current requirement capacity desired by the company.

The criteria also considered the cost at which materials and services would be delivered by the different suppliers.  This included the communication costs, cost of the commodities he or she supplies and also the inventory requirements. The overall cost or summation of all the minor expenses was also put into consideration.  The criteria were best favoring those suppliers whose products and services were cheap (Day, 2002).

I would however recommend that the purchasing team should consider the willingness of the supplier to establish a long-term business relationship. This will help a guaranteed long-term supply of the various materials and services and also the establishment of a business relationship with the suppliers. Finally, I would recommend the team to consider the financial stability of the supplier. This would ensure that he or she would be able to deliver the required commodity at the right time, quantity and quality.

The team should go an extra mile during the selection process so as to gain the full knowledge of different suppliers. It should survey the suppliers at their respective depots to confirm their potentiality. The team should also seek to obtain some of their financial reports, formal quotes and their specifications (Day, 2002). I would also recommend that the team to hold discussions with some customers who had previously been served by the suppliers. The purchasing team should also use the quality confirmation strategy whereby I requested for a quality certificate system registration. Finally the team should evaluate various validations testing of some samples from different suppliers.

Shifting the discussion towards the ICT purchasing operations of the purchasing team, knowledge of these operations should be first considered (Sutton, 2001). Purchasing operations usually begin with a preliminary negotiation with the vendors whereby the sources of the products are identified, price quotations are obtained, a formal or informal selection is done and finally one places orders for them to be delivered. A follow-up of the purchased orders is usually done so as to ensure that the supplier fulfill all the purchasing agreement on delivery. All these purchase operations have been perfectly undertaken through the ICT technology in the FGVH Company (Sutton, 2001). The company has recently purchased an Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) which has reduced the transportation purchasing stress of the company. The company has also purchased a tablet-based Plantation Micro-Macro Program (PMMP) that is allowing the estate monitoring and management of the overall work of the company (Sutton, 2001). The ICT in supply and purchasing department of the organization has offered a streamlined working relationship between all the suppliers and the company.

I would however recommend the purchasing management team to improve the business-to-business and e–commerce software systems which shall facilitate communication both within and outside the company. My best recommendation would be Arriba or PeopleSoft software which provides a platform from which all the purchasing and supply operations can be managed. These systems use the database technology which makes it efficient to make purchases in an accurate and timely manner. The management should train more workers and offer them assistance in using procurement cards as well as the other purchased technical machines. ICT purchasing will ease my work as the manager in coordinating the suppliers and the company. Prompt suggestions for changes shall also be made possible whenever the team shall inquire for quality improvement of the products (Sutton, 2001). In the case when a hick-up is encountered, it will be easy to make communicate in a timely manner for either change of the products to be changed or even the cancellation of the order. This will provide a more flexible purchase operation that shall be more accurate and reliable than the past purchasing operations (Ward, 2016).

Once the ICT purchasing recommendations are made, the company and the purchasing management department will realize significant impacts as far as success in e-purchasing is concerned. First, a successful installation of the e-purchasing systems would reduce the purchasing costs (Koons & Mavin, 2012). This is because ICT helps in improving the supplier performance and reduces external expenditure. The reduced costs shall result from the elimination of paper work and common errors that cost the operation (Weele, 2006).

The e-purchasing operation will also allow the visibility of spending. Visibility shall be made possible due to the fact that ICT centralizes all the operations and hence the flow of orders in to the company will be easily tracked. The other important benefit of the operation is control. ICT shall allow the purchasing team to embrace the standardized approval operations and formal workflows. This shall ensure a high level of authorization by limiting access of the operational dealings only to the authorized personnel in the company (Russell, 2013).

One of the key growth targets of the FGVH Company is to become the largest sugar hub in ASEAN with a production of approximately 3.25 million tons of sugar per annum. This target is based on the vision 2025 of the FGVH Company. The purchasing team is actively seeking sources that will expand its opportunities that will focus on cost reduction initiatives in order to realize the 2025 growth target (Mavin, 2012). The purchasing team has also worked tirelessly to ensure that the company fully utilizes the existing assets to the optimum. The FGVH Company is also aiming at implementing the already improved technologies in all the sectors of its operation from the sourcing, production logistics up to the distribution process. The company is also aiming at embarking on an insistent replanting initiative that will help it to achieve the 60% target in the yields production. This program will provide the raw materials that would have been costly to purchase and therefore the strategic plan of 2025 would be best achieve using the replanting program (Mavin, 2012).

As a purchasing manager, I would recommend that the FGVH Company should employ the purchasing cost reduction strategies that will positively affect the company’s profitability. The purchasing team should begin the process by conducting a thorough analysis of the purchase that are currently made and how the materials purchased consume cash (Ward, 2016). I would therefore recommend that the purchasing team should look for substitute raw materials where possible. This is possible because the different suppliers usually have a variety of similar products especially in the farming industry. Even though the team has been negotiating for the materials, they should improve it by asking discounts every time they make a purchase. In addition, they should seek for favorable financial terms such as prepaid or any other freebies.

The purchasing team in the FGVH Company should also consider the leveraging suppliers. This shall lead them to identify alternative suppliers who may offer the same delivery at a better cost. The team should also narrow their purchase depending on the need for the product rather than potential. The management team should also acquire an unprecedented control and visibility over the entire production (Russell, 2013).  This will enable the purchasing management department to lay and implement the various recommendations that I have suggested for the purpose of analyzing the purchasing cost reduction.

Conclusion

The purchasing department in the FGVH Company has already done recommendable work in ensuring that the suppliers are delivering materials in the most reliable way (Mavin, 2012). Having emerged as one of the leading agri-commodities companies in the world, the purchasing department must have played a good job. Concerning the 2025 goal of excellence of the FGVH Company, I would however emphasis or stress on various recommendations that the purchasing team need to put into account (Q3, 2015). The team should tighten the supplier selection criteria to ensure the reliability and timeliness of the suppliers. The purchasing team should therefore consider the financial stability of the supplier, the cost of purchases as well as the quality of the raw materials each supplier has (Mavin, 2012). In the purchasing operations, I would recommend the team to stabilize the purchasing operations using the Arriba software system which is able to centralize all the purchasing operations that the company shall engage in. the purchase management team need also to improve on the purchase cost reduction strategies that will ensure that the cost of production from the upstream to the downstream is favorable. Finally, the purchasing management should consider supplier leveraging so that services from different suppliers can be weighed (Mavin, 2012).

Reference

Koons, C., & Mavin, D. (2012, June 27). Felda Plants Seed of Discontent. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition. p. C14.

Mavin, D. (2012, July 3). Why Felda Global Ventures' IPO Is a Winner Over Facebook. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition. p. C12

 Day, M. (2002). Gower handbook of purchasing management. Aldershot [u.a.: Gower.

Pooler, V. H., & Pooler, D. J. (1997). Purchasing and Supply Management: Creating the Vision. Boston, MA: Springer US.

 Q3 2015 Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd Earnings Call - Final. (n.d). Fair Disclosure Wire (Quarterly Earnings Reports), Bottom of Form

 Sutton, K. (2001). Agribusiness on a Grand Scale – Felda's Sahabat Complex in East Malaysia. Singapore Journal Of Tropical Geography, 22(1),

Ward G., (2016) The Project Manager's Guide to Purchasing: Contracting for Goods and Services CRC Press,

Weele, A. J. (2010). Purchasing & supply chain management: Analysis, strategy, planning and practice. Andover: Cengage Learning.

Russell T., (2013) Teaching and Using ICT in Secondary Schools Routledge

Weele, A. J. (2006). Purchasing & supply chain management: Analysis, strategy, planning and practice. London: Thomson Learning.

Simulation Managing Segments & Customers

It is factual that the market segment that Minnesota Micromotors Inc. serves exhibits stiff competition where more than 100 counterparts operate and focus on differentiation as a tool of obtaining competitive advantage. Manufacturers of BLDC (Brushless, direct current) motors in this market segment tend to offer different but similar products which resulted to their classification in three different categories. These categories include multinational tier 1, 2 and tier 3. Being in multinational tier 3, Minnesota Micromotors manufactures BLDC motors used for orthopedic purposes only. As an aspect of their differentiation strategy, Minnesota Micromotors decided to extend their customer base by offering unique custromers services, increasing product functionality and suitability among others. This attracted the sense of uniqueness by other competitors in tier 3 market segment where most of them started producing high torque motors. Precisely, these newly introduced motors were coil multilayered and they were designed to operate under high temperatures efficiently. Thus, this called for impelemenation of appropriate marketing strategies for Minnesota Micromotors Inc.

Go-To-Market Approach

The typical customer-reaching strategy employed by Minnesota Micromotors is based on two channels. The first channel is direct sale to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the second channel is indirect sale to OEMs through distributors. The sales force for the wholesale buyers of the motors encompasses 11 staff members. The budgeting for sales and administrative expenses under go-to-market approach is approximately over $2.5 million annually. On the other hand, the company spends $200,000 on research and development annually.

Therefore, in order to improve customer relations, Minnesota Micromotors Company ought to increase the size of the sales force by at least 33%. This is based on the fact that the number of the employees serving the customers determines the time taken during the selling process. Citing from the fact that most of the large-volume purchasers bought motors from the distributors, the company ought to centralize or focus basically on direct selling without high dependence on intermediaries (distributors) in order to effectuate the strategy of increasing the size of sales force.

Furthermore, under the distribution channels, Minnesota Micromotors ought to extend these channels to be more than just two. This means that annual expenses budgeted on sales should be diverged to extending the distribution channel. This will bring the company closer to their customer base and advance their relations. Thus, it is noteworthy that depending on distributors in order to reach their customers is one of the factors that affect the competitive advantage of the company significantly. This is exhibited by the fact that most of the large-volume purchasers buy MM’s motors from their distributors but not from the retail outlets of the company. This means that the relationship between the company and its customers has not been close enough. Therefore, extending the distribution channel will bring the company closer to their potential clients.

The other implementation that the company ought to make under this approach is to increase the annual expenses budgeted for research and development. The $200,000 spent on market research can be added to approximately $300,000 which will help in assessing the preferences of the customers with regard to the distribution channels and relations with the company. This might be argued from the perception that if the customers have a direct contact with the company, the discounts offered on the products bought is higher than that offered by the distributors.

Elements of the Product

It is factual that citing from the purchasing criteria in the market, the features of a motor that the customers focus most includes thermal resistance, cost and power-to-size. Citing from the differentiation strategy that was adopted by the competitors in tier 3 market segment, one of the features that was advanced was ability to operate under high temperatures effectively. Therefore, one of the features that Minnesota Micromotors should advance in their motors is the torque together with the rating of the motor. The torque should comply with the rating of the motor in order to prevent heating up and breakdown. On the other hand, citing from the application of BLDC motors, Minnesota Micromotors should emphasize on power-to-size factor during manufacturing of their motors. In orthopedic medical application, power, size and weight are critical factors that customers consider while purchasing the motors. Therefore, through research and development, Minnesota Micromotors should assess the ratio of torque to the size of the motor used by the competitors in the market. This means that if the company minimizes the ratio, the motors will be regarded to be more efficient thereby increasing the competitive advantage of the company. Some of the things that should be assessed in research and development include the market demands with regard to the size and power of the motors, sizes and power of motors produced by the competitors, and cost effectiveness level.

Pricing and Market Positioning

 Minnesota Micromotors Company deals with the famous Orthopower Micromotor which costs $142 with discounts ranging between 4 – 16%. However, it is factual that other competitors sell their motors at $118. This shows that even though the competitors do not offer higher discounts as Minnesota Micromotors does, the discounted value of this company is higher than that of the competitors. If the price of MM’s single motor is discounted at 16 – which is the highest, the price becomes approximately $119; a dollar above the undiscounted value for the competitors’ motors. Consequently, it is factual that the only way to increase the competitive advantage is to lower the cost of the product slightly below that of the competitors. Discounting might not be sufficient for Minnesota Micromotors since the figure is higher regardless of the high discount offered. Therefore, citing from the fact competitors have advanced the features of their motors, Minnesota Micromotors ought to take pricing strategy as a reinforcement of their product differentiation strategy. In this case market positioning for the company can be achieved through strategic pricing. Therefore, the company ought to do away with the discounts offered for their products and offer fixed prices that are slightly lower than those of the competitors. Precisely, Minnesota Micromotors should sell their motors at $115; 3 dollars below the price of motors from other 3 tier market companies.  

Money, Banking, Central Banking, and Monetary Policy

Monetary policy refers to the government’s economic strategies which are used for determining the expansion or contraction of money supply in the country. Thus its major function is controlling the aggregated demand and inflation extension in the economy. Moreover, there are three main tools taken by the Federal Reserve to influence or control its monetary policy. The first one is the open-market operations in which the there is the selling of the government securities in the financial market. This securities in return influences the degree of reserves in the banking system. It thus impacts the price and volume of credit or interest rates.

The second one is the discount rate which is basically the rate of interest that the bank pays on short term loans from their respective Federal Reserve banks. Its essence is that is gives the rest of the market the Fed’s monetary plans and changes. The last one is the reserve requirement which is basically the amount of physical funds which the banks are required to hold in their reserve against the deposits in their accounts. This assist in ensuring that they maintain a minimum amount of the physical finances in their accounts reserves (Peter, 2014).

Key factors that influence the quantity of money that people desire to hold

1. a) Interest rates _ Bonds and money are regarded as the store of wealth since they are substitutes. They only differ in two ways i.e. usually money pays less interest although it can be used for purchasing goods and services. On the other hand, although bonds also pays interest they can only used for making purchases once converted into money. This then implies that in case bonds pays the same interest as money, nobody will be willing to use them in making purchases since they are perceived as being less convenient as compared to money. So the higher the bond’s interest rates the less the demand for money and vice versa.
2. b) Consumer spending_ In most case, during the time of higher consumer spending like Christmas, people do end up cashing in other forms of wealth for instance bonds and stocks for the exchange for money. The reason for that is that they will be demanding money for making purchasers. Thus, the increase in consumer spending will result to the rise in demand for money and vice versa.
3. C) Precautionary motive_ in case people feel that they will require money in the near future for making purchases; they will be forced to sell their bonds and hold onto money hence increasing the demand for money (Peter, 2014). For instance, in case people will think that there might be an opportunity of purchasing an asset at low cost in the near future, they will prefer to hold onto money.
4. d) Transaction cost for bonds and stock _ At times, in case people will feel that they might experience some difficulties in buying and selling their bonds and stocks quickly, it means that both of them will be desirable. Thus, they will be forced to hold onto money as the ultimate store of their wealth hence making the demand for money to rise and vice versa.
5. e) Change in the general level of prices _ if inflation strikes a country, it means that goods and services will be more expensive hence making the demand for money to rise. Equally, what it implies is that the level of money holding will also increase the same rate at which the prices for goods and services will be increasing.

The equation of exchange

This usually consists of, M, which is to be multiplied by the V. The velocity of money is Therefore,      M x V = P x Q = Total spending or the GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

Where, M = is the money stock

               V = velocity of money (or basically the number of times funds will be turning over during the        year

             P = price level

             Q = the quantity of goods and services produced       (Peter, 2014)

Reference

Peter D, (2014). Macroeconomics: A Fresh Start. Springer Press

Self-Reflection

Self reflection can be delineated as the perception of a person on something or an issue (Valsiner & Rosa, 2007). Therefore, self reflection creates an image or a representation of a situation being either negative or positive. This means that self reflection can initiate an idea or teach a person through the experience of the situation (Valsiner & Rosa, 2007). According to Scarnati, (2001), teamwork helps the members in achieving different end results. These results are the ones regarded as the self reflection on teamwork. In this case, self reflection regarding the teamwork in our project initiated several ideas both on the project itself and on the effectiveness of teamwork.  According to Scarnati, (2001), teamwork helps the members in achieving different end results. Therefore, citing from the progress of my team project, it was factual that the effectiveness of teamwork in a project is not determined by evading conflict. This is based on the fact that teamwork is based on certain goals and objectives that are only achieved through mutual and effective relationship (Harris & Harris, 1996). Precisely, the effectiveness of team work is achieved through drawing out perceptions and ideas which will be assessed and analyzed in order to obtain a constructive feedback to be used in conflict management (Fisher, Hunter & Macrosson, 1997).

It is worthwhile to state that the peaceful progress of the project is not always a reflection of its effectiveness (Morteza & Kamyar, 2009). This means that lack of conflict in a project depicts that the team members are not thinking critically and individually. This is based on the fact that in a teamwork that utilizes subjective and critical thinking, conflicts are very prevalent (Chua, Kog & Loh, 1999). Thus, in our project, we endured conflicts over several issues regarding the progress and management of the team work. The effectiveness of our project was based on conflicts settling which we did in different ways. To start with, we decided to have numerous team discussions prior to making major decisions regarding the progress of the project. Some of the issues that were being discussed included the number of conflict cases that the project has faced in the last week. Therefore, every member was informed to put the name of every team member on everything he or she does (Critchley & Case, 1986). This meant that it was unethical for one to pass in a material that have been worked on alone or not shown to other team members. This was based on Fisher, Hunter & Macrosson, (1997) assertion that effective teamwork is determined by social interdependence and collaboration instead of competitive subjective goals. This was meant to solve conflicts that arise from making subjective decisions in teamwork. The other way of solving conflicts in our project was based on utilizing relaxation technique as offered by Robinson, Segal and Smith (2011). Relaxation technique focuses on taking a deep breath in the workplace as a way of coping up with the current situation and stress (Rice et al, 2008).  This was one of the methods of managing conflicts on an individual level that was discussed in the team discussion time.

One of the things that I learned during the progress of the project is based on evaluation of teamwork components. It is factual that regardless of the presence of major tasks in a project, evaluation of individual member performance can be regarded as equivalently a major task that determines the effectiveness of the project (Smith, 1996). Therefore, it can be asserted that evaluation of team members is a major challenge although the efforts of project team are seen through the end results. Most of the project managers tend to assess the group for grading with regard to the outcomes of the efforts of every member. However, according to Falchikov (1986), this method of team members assessment might seem unfair since it might end up awarding every member the same grade.  This is the reason why we decided to utilize models of team members assessment such as collaborative peer, tutor and self evaluation (Johnson, Heimann & O'Neill, 2000). At the start of the project, we thought that there was no need for evaluation of each member’s contributions with the notion that they will be reflected by their outcomes. However, it came to our attention that this might affect the outcomes of the general project if it appeared that some of the team members were not as participatory as it was projected.

The other thing that I learnt from our project was based on planning and organization. Citing from the issue of conflict and evaluation of members contribution which are some of the major factors determine the effectiveness of a project, planning and organization played a critical role. To start with, in proposal of teamwork assessment, organization was the easiest and the most effective way that guaranteed positive results (Geraldi & Adlbrecht, 2007). Precisely, we were able to evaluate the challenges together with strengths and weaknesses exhibited by each team member. Additionally, while conducting the assessment, organization helped in assigning tasks to appropriate team members. Planning on the other hand was the foundation of effective conflict solving strategies. Without well planned team members discussions, conflict management and effective progress of the project would have not been achieved. Planning played a critical role particularly in allocation of time before holding other meetings that was meant for team discussions. For these discussions matters that were being tackled diverged from major objectives and tasks of the project. This means that effective planning was required for the allocation of sufficient time for the discussions. Generally, our effective planning can be regarded as the determinant of overall effectiveness of the project management strategies that we adopted (Forsberg et al, 1996). Achieving the projected results of our project was promoted by effective time allocation for different tasks and prioritizing the most important matters such as conflict solving. Generally, risk management, norming of the team and information gathering was effectuated by successful planning and project management (Westerveld, 2003).  

References

Chua D., Kog Y. & Loh P. (1999), “Critical success factors for different project objectives”, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 125(3), pp. 142-50

Critchley, B., & Case, D. (1986). Teambuilding – At what price and at whose cost? In A.Mumford (Ed.) Handbook of Management Development. Gower Publishing Company Limited, University Press Cambridge

Falchikov, N. (1986). Product Comparison and Process Benefits of Collaborative Peer Group and Self Assessment. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. 11, 146-166.

Fisher, S. G., Hunter, T. A., & Macrosson, W. D. K. (1997). Team or group? Managers' perceptions of the differences. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 12(4), 232-242.

Forsberg, Kevin, Hall Mooz, and Howard Cotterman. (1996). Visualizing project management. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Friedrich, D.R., J.P. Daly, and W.G. Dick. (1987). Revisions, repairs, and rework on large projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and management 113 (3): 488-500 

Geraldi, J.G. and Adlbrecht, G. (2007), “On faith, fact, and interactions in projects”, Project Management Journal, 38, pp. 32-43

Harris, P. R., & Harris, K. G. (1996). Managing effectively through teams. Team Performance Management:An International Journal, 2(3), 23-36.

Johnson, P. R., Heimann, V. L., & O'Neill, K. (2000). The wolf pack: team dynamics for the 21st century. Journal of Workplace Learning: Employee Counselling Today, 12(4), 159-164.

Morteza, Sh. Ch. & Kamyar, K. Ch. (2009), “Generic Project Success and Project Management Success Criteria and Factors: Literature Review and Survey”, WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics, 8(6), pp. 456-468

Rice, M., Kang, D., Weaver, M., & Howell, C. C. (2008). Relationship of anger, stress, and coping with school connectedness in Fourth-Grade children. Journal of School Health, 78 (3).

Robinson, L., Segal, R., Segal, J. & Smith, M., 2011. Relaxation Techniques for Stress Relief: Finding the Relaxation Exercises That Work for You. Relaxation Techniques for Stress Relief.

Scarnati, J. T. (2001). On becoming a team player. Team Performance Management: An International Journal, 7(1/2), 5-10.

Smith, K. (1996). Cooperative Learning: make groupwork work. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 67, Fall, pp. 71-82.

Valsiner, Jaan & Rosa, Alberto, (2007). The Cambridge handbook of sociocultural psychology. Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology. Cambridge University Press, pp. 678-691. ISBN 9780521854108

Westerveld, E. (2003), “The Project Excellence Model: Linking success criteria and critical success factors”, Int. J. Project Manage, 21, pp. 411-418