Monday, September 30, 2019

Coffee Stand Essay

The proponents thought of a coffee business since Filipinos are known to be coffee – lovers. To satisfy consumer cravings, they came up with other blends of coffee, these blends will surely fulfill the cravings of the buyers. 1. 1 Project Proponents The proponents are composed of three (3) students from the College of Business taking up Hotel and Restaurant Management. The proponents have undergone series of brainstorming in order to come up this kind of business. Table 1: Proponents NAME| ADDRESS| NATIONALITY| OWNERSHIP| Paringit, Jerick U. | 78 Peras St. Bagong Barrio Caloocan City| Filipino| 33 1/3%| Lacabra, Elisha Grace V. | 43 Ero Bernardino Seminary St. Bagbag Novaliches| Filipino| 33 1/3%| Viloria, Vanessa DC. | 7 Pangako St. Bagong Barrio Caloocan City| Filipino| 33 /3%| 1. 2 Proposed Name of the Project The proponents named the business â€Å"Kofilicious† a combination of the words Coffee and delicious. It is a place where you can satisfy your coffee cravings at affordable prices. Kofilicious aims to serve blended coffees that are suited to the tastes of the customers. 1. 3 Type of Business Organization The proponents agreed to form a General Partnership with all three (3) partners. All of them will manage and participate in the business operation; each partner is subjected to contribute their share to come up with the required capital for the initial operation of the business. All of the proponents would be general partners with 33 1/3% shares each in capital requirement. 1. 4 Location of the business The Kofilicious will be located at the Walter Mart, North EDSA at the ground floor area. It is close to the LRT station, in front of Jackman. 1. 5 History of the business Initially, the proponents would like to start a Pizza Shop, a Restaurant or a Bar. However there is a difficulty in finding demand and supply of the main product. As time goes, the proponents have noticed that Filipinos are coffee lovers. So proponents were inspired by the idea of having a coffee shop. About the location, one of the proponent suggested to put up a business inside SM City San Lazaro at Felix Huertas St. Lacson Ave. Santa Cruz, Manila, but when they visited the said mall, the proponents found out that there are many direct and indirect competitors, so they searched for another location and found Walter Mart in North EDSA, Quezon City. It is a commercial place where it can achieve profitability through mall goers, students, employees. The most crucial factors that influenced the proponents in choosing what type of business project to establish and manage are (1) the need to obtain the necessary capital needed in establishing the business, (2) the marketability of the chosen project to ensure profit, and (3) the percentage and time needed to have return of investment in order to maintain and sustain the business project. Since the proponents are all students, capital is a limitation. The scale with which the business project will operate depends largely on the amount of money the proponents are able to commit to business. Nowadays, marketability of the product depends on the demand for the product. The project proponents chose food as their product because the marketability of beverages never decreases. As long as people drink, beverages will always be a top commodity. A survey conducted by the proponents showed that coffee is one of the most in-demand beverages. A little twist and little experiment, and the team came up with Kofilicious, coffee blended with other ingredients topped with whipped cream and wafer or wafer stick. CHAPTER 2 MANAGEMENT AND PERSONNEL The Kofilicous has a Stall Manager, Accountant, and two Store Personnel. Each personnel will work for eight hours a day, from Monday to Sunday. The term of payment will be given 15th and 30th of the month. The proponents choose personnel who have experienced and capability to work. 2. 1 Personnel The proponents formulate the policies, objectives and strategies to make the business productive and successful in its operation. The proponents will hire Stall Manager, an accountant, and store personnel. 2. 2 Personnel Requirements A. Stall Manager * Must be 21-35 years old * Must be a graduate of four year course which is related in Management, Hotel & Restaurant Management or any other business course * Must be willing to work on shifting hours * Must have passion about coffee. B. Store Personnel * Must be 18 to 25 years old * At least 5’4 in height (male) or 5’2 (female) * With pleasing personality * Must have at least college level of education * Must be hardworking & flexible * With skills in coffee mixing C. Accountant * Preferably a certified public accountant * With experience in financial statements preparation. 2. 2 Duties and Responsibilities A. Stall Manager * Oversees all the activities, * responsible for ensuring that the coffee shop maintains adequate supply levels, * maintains relationships with customers and staff, * identifies and estimates quantities of supplies to be ordered, * schedules staff work hours and activities, * organizes, plans, * bears the responsibility of ensuring that the coffee shop is adequately staffed, * makes sure employees are trained, * must handle all the advertising and promotion, * must manage the store and maintain the work flow and. * Must train the crews, and implements all the rules and policy. B. Store Personnel * are responsible for the preparation of coffee, * responsible for cleaning duties, * discover customer needs and appropriately suggest products with every customer to enhance service and meet sales goals, * Demonstrate the â€Å"Just Say Yes† behavior by taking care of customer needs, * Take responsibility to learn all aspects of the store personnel position, * are responsible for self-initiated learning, * enter purchases into cash register to calculate total purchase price, * accept cash payments, * count money, give change and issue receipt for funds received, * maintain sufficient amounts of change in cash drawer. * Keep register area neat and stocked with necessary supplies, * are responsible for inventory count, and * summarize daily sales and expense activities. C. Accountant * reports all financial matters to the owners, * prepares the business financial statements, * maintains of transaction records and the books of the firm, * manages the financial account of the business, * prepares the payroll. D. Proponents * oversee all work flow of the establishment, * Whenever the stall manager is not present, one of the proponents will be doing the after work inventory of sales. 2. 3 Organizational Chart Kofilicious adapted the line and staff organization that provides supplementing arms between the different levels of management. This type of organization is effective for good communication from top management to lower management. This form of organization is simple but helps avoid several organizational problems. FIGURE 1 Organizational chart STALL MANAGER Accountant STORE PERSONNEL 2. 3. 1 Proposed Rate of Salary Store personnel will be compensated on the number of hours and days of work they have ended. All employees will receive their salaries and wages every two (2) weeks. 2. 3. 2 Mode of Payment Payment of salaries and wages will be in the form of cash. Payment to be made twice in a month will be received by the employee on or before the 15th and 30th day of the month. 2. 4 Proposed Business Policies and Programs Be pleasant. Employees must wear a smile at all times. It should be part of daily operation. Be attentive. Employees must listen to every request made by the customers. Employees should exercise respect with customers at all times. Be patient. Employees must be patient in dealing with customers. They must exercise patience in order to please customers. Be accurate. Employees must give exact change at all times; make sure that accuracy is not only extended as to money matters, but in rendering service as well. The order is to be received correctly; the order is always to be repeated to the customer. Be loyal. Employees should give a loyal and honest service to the customer. Be observant. Employees must make it a habit to be on the lookout for little errors in service; and correct this in time. Be prompt. Employees must report for the duty promptly, and remain until relieved or until the manager has arranged for someone else to cover the work. Be clean. Employees must have a neat and clean appearance while on duty. Uniforms should be complete and in good order, properly buttoned and without spots or tear. They should observe proper hygiene daily. Management will not allow flashy jewelry, and excessive use of cosmetics. 2. 4. 1 Store Policies 1. The opening of the store is at 9:00 AM, exactly one hour before the actual opening of the mall, closing is at 10 in the evening. 2. All utensils used must be properly cleaned and sanitized after the operation, including the utility towels. 3. The crew should always wear their respective uniforms, caps, hairnet, and the nameplates provided by the company. 4. When the customer orders a product, the customer should be entertained and served in accordance with the span of time of making a blended coffee. 2. 4. 2 Uniforms All employees are required to wear their uniforms during working hours. The uniforms will be charged to the employee’s salary. The store uniform includes the following. a. Store shirt b. Pants c. Hairnet d. Cap and nameplate e. White socks and white clog shoes. 2. 4. 3 Attendance and Absences The company employs the strict observance on the attendance and absences of the employees or the following: 1. â€Å"No work, no pay policy† is strictly implemented. 2. Employees must work within the required hours and even during holidays, if necessary. 3. There will be a logbook and time card to have a record of the employees’ attendance. 4. Employees who intend to absent should inform the manager three hours prior to opening. 5. Employees who are absent for a day without any notice or permission to or from his/her manager are subject to: a. 1st offense- verbal warning b. 2nd offense- three-day suspension c. 3rd offense- six-day suspension d. 4th offense- discharge 6. Employees must be on time. A 15-minute grace period is allowed. Store hours will open at 10:00 a. m. as previously mentioned, but personnel are expected to be at the workplace one hour before opening time. 7. There will be a one-hour break per personnel, but this must be alternately done, that is, one personnel takes break, and the other one will be in-charge of the store, and vice versa 8. There is a one day-off, but it must be assigned and plotted by the manager. 2. 5 Proposed Management Style and Practices. The proponents will manage and supervise the operation of the business with the help of other people as their employees, and agreed to implement situational style of management in the supervision and operation in running the business. Considering the workers are one of the most valuable assets on our business, they must be treated fairly and with respect for them to work efficiently, effectively and productively. 2. 5. 1 Vision Kofilicious is committed to excellence. The partners are dedicated to offer not only the quantity but the quality of the proponents’ product, and the unparalleled service and love rendered to the people. 2. 5. 2 Mission To make Kofilicious a premium coffee house and to be competitive in coffee industry and its market. To be known through an excellent quality of coffee at affordable price with a strong reputation and consistent high growth in sales and profit. CHAPTER 3 MARKETING FEASIBILITY Coffee drinkers in the Philippines are among the most demanding ones. They favor well-brewed coffee drinks and demand great service. Kofilicous will strive to build a loyal customer base by offering a great tasting coffee located close to LRT Station. Our market research shows that 80% are the customer groups that are most likely to buy coffee. Since coffee consumption is universal, proximity to area of Walter Mart will provide access to the targeted customer. 3. 1 Market Description One of the major assumptions of this study is that the product can be patronized by all target market, since the proposed business is only small in scale. The target market population that the project covers is defined as the total estimate of people visiting the mall yearly. Since these people visit the mall and are free to go to any place at the mall, including the location of the project; all these people are potential customers. 3. 2 Demand. The computed demand was based from the survey the proponents conducted. The demand for the past five years and the projected five years are as follows: The survey showed that 80% of the respondents drink the traditional coffee. The respondents were also asked how frequent they drink coffee (given choice every day, once a week, twice a week). Respondents who chose â€Å"everyday† comprised 10% of the total subjects, â€Å"twice a week† comprised 30%, and â€Å"once a week† comprised 48%. The remaining 12% drink coffee for a frequency of â€Å"thrice a week to six times a week† – almost every day. This table illustrates the estimated demand for the product as defined by the percentages shown by the survey and the estimated population for the past five years Table 2 Frequency of Customer Demand for Possible Purchase Year| Total population| Interested to buy (80%) | Drinks coffee everyday(10%)| Once aWeek(48%)| Twice aWeek(30%)| Thrice to sixa week(12%)| 2011| 7,786| 6,229| 622| 2,990| 1,869| 747| The proponents conducted a survey at Walter Mart, North EDSA, Quezon City. This survey helped the proponents to know the number of respondents, target market and the total demand for coffee that the proponents need in the project. Based on 100 survey sheets that the proponents distributed, 80% of those people are willing to buy the product and 20% are those who are not willing to drink coffee. 3. 2. 1 Historical Demand Year| Total population| Interested to buy (80%)| Drinks coffee everyday(10%)| Once a week(48%)| Twice a week(30%)| Thrice a week(12%)| | | | | | | | 2007| 7,218| 5,774| 577| 2,772| 1,732| 692| 2008| 7,354| 5,883| 588| 2,824| 1,765| 705| 2009| 7,495| 5,996| 599| 2,878| 1,799| 719| 2010| 7,639| 6,111| 611| 2,933| 1,833| 733| 2011| 7,786| 6,229| 622| 2,990| 1,869| 747|. Year| Interested to buy(80%)| Total Demand(Annual)| 2007| 7,218| 607,004| 2008| 7,354| 618,441| 2009| 7,495| 630,299| 2010| 7,639| 642,409| 2011| 7,786| 654,771| Year| Total population| Interested to buy (80%)| Drinks coffee daily(10%)| Once a week(48%)| Twice a week(30%)| Thrice a week(12%)| Total Demand(Annual)| 2012| 7,935| 6,348| 634| 3,047| 1,904| 761| 667,301| 2013| 8,087| 6,470| 646| 3,105| 1,941| 776| 680,084| 2014| 8,242| 6,594| 659| 3,165| 1,978| 791| 693,119| 2015| 8,400| 6,720| 672| 3,226| 2,016| 806| 706,406| 2016| 8,561| 6,849| 684| 3,287| 2,055| 821| 719,945| 3. 2. 2 Projected Demand The Statistical straight line method was used to obtain the projected demand and based on the computed projection values, the proponents’ assessment is that there is a growing demand for coffee for the next five years. 3. 3 Supply Supply is the quality of goods that sellers are willing to sell out of given prices at a particular time and place. 3. 3. 1 Historical Supply The coffee may have a fixed price that could bring profile to the proponents or they have to sell it at whatever price it will fetch depending on the packaging. It is unlikely, however that they will continue to supply it if the price remain below the required amount to cover the cost and give the least profit. Competitors| Quantity sold per day | Zagu| 80| Coffee Break| 45| Tea Zone| 60| Competitors| Quantity sold per day in pcs. | Operating days| Total Supply| Zagu| 80| 360| 28,800| Coffee Break| 45| 360| 16,200| Tea Zone| 60| 360| 21,600| Annual Supply| | | 66,600| 3. 3. 2 Historical Supply Year| Competitor| Quantity sold/day in pcs| Operating days| Total Supply| 2007| -| -| 360| | 2008| -| -| 360| | 2009| 3| 179| 360| 193,320| 2010| 3| 182| 360| 196,560| 2011| 3| 185| 360| 199,800|. 3. 3. 3 Projected Supply Year| Competitor| Quantity sold/day in pieces| Operating days| Total Supply| 2012| 3| 188| 360| 203,040| 2013| 3| 191| 360| 206,280| 2014| 3| 194| 360| 209,520| 2015| 3| 197| 360| 212,760| 2016| 3| 200| 360| 216,000| 3. 4 Demand & Supply Analysis 3. 4. 1 Historical Demand Supply Gap Year| Demand| Supply| DS Gap| % Unsatisfied| 2007| 607,004| -| 7,218| 100%| 2008| 618,441| -| 7,354| 100%| 2009| 630,299| 193,320| 436,979| 69%| 2010| 642,409| 196,560| 445,849| 69%| 2011| 654,771| 199,800| 454,971| 69%| Year| Demand| Supply| DS Gap| % Unsatisfied| 2012| 667,301| 203,040| 464,261| 69%|. 2013| 680,084| 206,280| 473,804| 69%| 2014| 693,119| 209,520| 483,599| 69%| 2015| 706,406| 212,760| 493,646| 69%| 2016| 719,945| 216,000| 503,945| 70%| 3. 4. 2 Projected Demand Supply Gap 3. 5 Proposed Marketing Practices Marketing practices include the practices that affect the relationship between the wholesaler, distributor, manufacturer and the retailer. 3. 6 Proposed Marketing Program and Strategy Kofilicious main purpose is to satisfy customers’ needs specifically on their taste preference, and to provide quality and friendly service. In order to achieve the business mission, the proponents constructed different strategies. Marketing mix elements are price, place, product and promotion. A. Price Price is the one that creates sales revenues. The pricing strategy of Kofilicious is set to determine if the market is capable of purchasing. The product having affordable prices is a must. A buffer of 10% and a mark up 40% were added to the Total Food Cost to get the selling price. B. Place Proponents proposed project will be located inside Walter Mart North EDSA, this site is chosen in order to capture the target market. Walter Mart is known for being one of the most visited mall in the country. C. Product. This refers to tangible service. The brand name has a connection to the product, and in sense, customers will hopefully be back for more. There will be a variety of products for the customers to choose from to satisfy their wants and needs. Below are the following nutrition facts of each coffee blend: Cafe Vanilla Frappuccino Calories 270| Calories from Fat 100| Total Fat 11g| | Saturated Fat 7g| | Calories 220| Calories from Fat 25| Total Fat 2. 5g| | Cholesterol 10mg| | Total Carbohydrate 48g| | Sugars 46g| Protein 3g| Vitamin A 2%| | Mocha Frappuccino Trans Fat 0g| Cholesterol 35mg| Sodium 150mg|. Total Carbohydrate 42g| Dietary Fiber 0g| Sugars 40g| Protein 4g| Vitamin A 8%Iron 4%Ricoa’s ChocolateCalories 290 Calories from fat 190 % Daily valueTotal Fat 13g 20%Saturated Fat 7g 35%Cholesterol 45mg 15%Sodium 115mg 5%Total Carbohydrates 39mg 13%Sugars 32gProtein 11gVitamin A 15%Calcium 35%Iron 15%Caffe LatteCalories 150 Calories from fat 50 % Daily valueTotal Fat 6g 9%Saturated Fat 3. 5g 18%Cholesterol 25mg 8%Sodium 115mg 5%Total Carbohydrates 14g 5%Sugars 13gProtein 10gVitamin A 10%Calcium 35%Caramel MacchiatoCalories 180 Calories from fat 45 % Daily valueTotal Fat 5g 8%Saturated Fat 3. 5g 18%Cholesterol 20mg 7%Sodium 100mg 4%Total Carbohydrates 25g 9%Sugars 23gProtein 8gVitamin A 10%Calcium 35%| D. Promotion| One of the Marketing Promotion tools used are tarpaulin, flyers and discount stubs. For the opening of the store there are 50 pcs. discount cards to be distributed, the stall will also distribute of 100 pcs. flyers and will post a tarpaulin besides the stall for the consumer to have the idea what products are being offered. (3. 7 Project Sales, see page 79) CHAPTER 4 Technical/Production Production is a major step in the series of economic process that brings goods and services to people. Producing a product that would cater to high level of customers satisfaction is one of the requirements for the proponents to cope with today’s successful companies. In this part, the proponents will discuss the production flow chart, project site, layouts and production schedule, facilities, floor plan, machine and equipment, utilities and raw materials. 4. 1 Product Description Kofilicious will serve different flavors. Every product is composed of different ingredients. The proponents decided to make a unique blend of coffee to satisfy the customers. These product items and ingredient are as follows: Vanilla Cappuccino. ? c Fresh Milk 2 tsp. Sugar 1 tsp. Vanilla Syrup 2 T Coffee 1 tsp. Cinnamon 2 T Whipped Cream ? c Ice Cubes Mocha Frappuccino ? cFresh Milk 2 TRegular Coffee 2 TWhipped Cream 2 oz. Milk Magic Chocolate 3 TSugar 1 cIce Cubes Ricoa’s Chocolate Drink ? cFresh Milk 120 gRicoa’s Cocoa 3 TSugar 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract 1 cIce Cubes 2 TWhipped Cream Cafe Latte 1 oz. Espresso, brewed 1 oz. Condensed Milk 1cIce Cubes 1 tsp. Cinnamon 2 TWhipped Cream Caramel Latte Macchiato ? cSteamed Milk 1 tsp. Vanilla Syrup 1 oz. Espresso, brewed 1 TCaramel Syrup 2 T Whipped Cream 1 cIce Cubes 4. 2 Production Process. Production process starts with cleaning of the section. Then begin for preparation of the ingredients, followed by the setting of equipment, measuring ingredients, inspection of quality and then storing the ingredients. Vanilla Cappuccino 1. In a blender, put the fresh milk, sugar, vanilla syrup, and coffee. 2. Blend it for a second just to mix all the ingredients. 3. Then add the ice cubes and blend. 4. Put in a cup, top with whipped cream, cinnamon and your choice of toppings (either wafer or wafer stick). Mocha Frappuccino 1. Put the fresh milk, regular coffee, milk magic chocolate and sugar in a blender. 2. Blend it for a second just to mix all the ingredients. 3. Then add the ice cubes then blend. 4. Put in a cup and top with whipped cream and choice of toppings (either wafer or wafer stick). Ricoa’s Chocolate Drink 1. In a blender, put the fresh milk, ricoa’s cocoa, sugar and vanilla extract. 2. Blend it for a second just to mix all the ingredients. 3. Then add the ice cubes and blend. 4. Put in a cup and top with whipped cream and choice of toppings (either wafer or wafer stick). Cafe Latte 1. Put the brewed espresso and condensed milk. 2. Blend it for a second just to mix all the ingredients. 3. Then add the ice cubes and blend. 4. Put in a cup and top with whipped cream, cinnamon and choice of toppings (either wafer or stick-o). Caramel Latte Macchiato 1. In a blender, put the steamed milk, vanilla syrup, brewed espresso, and caramel syrup. 2. Blend it for a second just to mix all the ingredients. 3. Then put the ice cubes and blend. 4. Put in a cup and top with whipped cream and choice of toppings (either wafer or wafer stick). 4. 3 Flow Diagram Operation A production process can be defined as any activity that increase the similarity between the pattern of demand-goods, the quantity form and the distribution of these goods available to the market place. LEGEND * Operation * Transportation 4. 3. 1 Production Process 1. Cleaning the area 2. Setting of the equipment 3. Preparing of the ingredients 4. Mixing the ingredients 5. Presentation 6. Serving 4. 3. 2 Service Flow Customer Kofilicious Personnel 4. 4 Materials Handling Design The materials requested for the daily operation of the business will be purchased by the proponents every week. One of the staff will inspect the process of production. The store will be using FIFO or First- In First Out as its inventory method. Materials are kept in safe and secured storage. 4. 5 Project Site The project is located inside Walter Mart, North EDSA, Quezon City. The project site has a total area of 3 meters by 2 meters. The site was chosen because the business is located near public and private offices and residences. 4. 6 Project Layout The food stand is about 8ft. in height, 4 ft. length and 3ft. in width. For the proponents the area is big enough to meet the production and selling operation of the business, the storage and other equipment could still be accommodated in the proposed area. 4. 7 Plant Size and Production Schedule The proponents chose the proposed business at the first level of Walter Mart, North EDSA Quezon City with a floor area of 3 meters by 2 meters. Table – Personnel Schedule: | Stall Manager| Store Personnel (1)| Store Personnel (2)| Monday| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| 08:00 a. m -04:00 p. m| | Tuesday| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| OFF| Wednesday| OFF| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| Thursday| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| OFF| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| Friday| OFF| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| Saturday| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p.m| Sunday| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| 10:00 a. m -7:00 p. m| 4. 8. Floor Plan The stall has a total area of 3 by 2 meters which will have the operation area and the product display area. It has enough space for three personnel. The lease term is two months in advance and one month deposit. 4. 9 Utilities As for utilities, water supplied by Maynilad and electricity from Meralco will be included in the rental fee. The business will be charged Php 30,000. 00 every month with a 10% increase on rent per year. 4. 10 Coffee Materials Vanilla Cappuccino (8oz/240ml) Quantity| Ingredients| Wt. in g/ml| Product Cost| Unit Cost| Food Cost| ? c| Fresh Milk| 60 ml| P 62. 15/1000 ml| 0. 06| P 3. 60| 2 tsp. | Sugar| 10 g| P54. 00/1000 g| 0. 054| P 0. 54| 1 tsp. | Vanilla Syrup| 5 ml| P 10. 00/30 ml| 0. 33| P 1. 65| 1 tsp. | Coffee, strong| 5 g| P 66. 95/100 g| 0. 67| P 3. 35| 1 tsp. | Cinnamon| 5 g| P 38. 35/30 g| 1. 28| P 6. 40| 1 T| Whipped Cream| 15 ml| P 43. 20/250 ml| 0. 17| P 2. 55| ? c| Ice Cubes| 120 g| P 5. 00/1000g| 0. 005| 0. 60| Total Food Cost P 18. 69 +10% Buffer P 1. 87 Total cost P 20. 56 Mark-up 40% P 8. 22 Selling Price P 28. 78 or P 29. 00 Profit P 10. 00 Vanilla Cappuccino (12 oz./360ml). Quantity| Ingredients| Wt. in g/ml| Product Cost| Unit Cost| Food Cost| ? c| Fresh Milk| 120 ml| P 62. 15/ 1000ml| 0. 06| P 7. 20| 3 tsp. | Sugar| 15 g| P 54. 00/1000g| 0. 054| P 0. 81| 2 tsp. | Vanilla Syrup| 10 ml| P 10. 00/30 ml| 0. 33| P 3. 30| 2 tsp. | Coffee, strong| 10 g| P 66. 95/100 g| 0. 67| P 6. 70| 1 tsp. | Cinnamon| 5 g| P 38. 35/30 g| 1. 28| P 6. 40| 2 T| Whipped Cream| 30 ml| P 43. 20/250 ml| 0. 17| P 5. 10| ? c| Ice Cubes| 180 g| P 5. 00/1000 g| 0. 005| P 0. 90| Total Food Cost P 30. 41 +10% Buffer P 3. 04 Total cost P 33. 45 Mark-up 40% P 13. 38 Selling Price P 46. 83 or P 47. 00 Profit P 16. 00 Mocha Frappuccino (8 oz. /240 ml) Quantity| Ingredients| Wt. in g/ml| Product Cost| Unit cost| Food Cost| ? c| Fresh Milk| 60 ml| P 62. 15/1000 ml| 0. 06| P 3. 60| 1 tsp. | Coffee, strong| 5 g| P 66. 95/100 g| 0. 67| P 3. 35| 1 T| Whipped Cream| 15 ml| P 43. 20/250 ml| 0. 17| P 2. 55| 1 oz. | Milk Magic Chocolate| 30 ml| P62. 15/1000 ml| 0. 06| P 1. 80| 2 tsp. | Sugar| 10 g| P 54. 00/1000 g| 0. 054| P 0. 54| ? c| Ice Cubes| 120 g| P 5. 00/1000 | 0. 005| P 0. 60| Total Food Cost P 12. 44 +10% Buffer P 1. 24 Total cost P 13. 68 Mark-up 40% P 5. 47 Selling Price P 19. 15 or P 20. 00. Profit P 7. 00 Mocha Frappuccino (12 Oz. /360 ml) Quantity| Ingredients| Wt. in g/ml| Product cost| Unit cost| Food cost| ? c| Fresh Milk| 120 ml| P 62. 15/1000 ml| 0. 06| P 7. 20| 2 tsp. | Coffee, strong| 10 g| P 66. 95/100 g| 0. 67| P 6. 70| 2 T| Whipped Cream| 30 ml| P 43. 20/250 ml| 0. 17| P 5. 10| 2 oz. | Milk Magic Chocolate| 60 ml| P 62. 15/1000 ml| 0. 06| P 3. 60| 3 tsp. | Sugar| 15 g| P 54. 00/1000 g| 0. 054| P 0. 81| ? c| Ice Cubes| 180 g| P 5. 00/1000 g| 0. 005| P 0. 90| Total Food Cost P 24. 31 +10% Buffer P 2. 43 Total cost P 26. 74 Mark-up 40% P 10. 70 Selling Price P 37. 44 or P 38. 00 Profit P 13. 00 Ricoa’s Chocolate drink (8oz. /240 ml) Quantity| Ingredients| Wt. in g/ml| Product cost| Unit cost| Food cost| ? c| Fresh Milk| 60 ml| P 62. 15/1000 ml| 0. 06| P 3. 60| 60 g| Ricoa’s Cocoa| 60 g| P 52. 85/200 g| 0. 26| P 15. 60| 2 tsp. | Sugar| 10 g| P 54. 00/1000 g| 0. 054| P 0. 54| 1 tsp. | Vanilla Extract| 5 ml| P 10. 00/30 ml| 0. 33| P 1. 65| ? c| Ice Cubes| 120 g| P 5. 00/1000 g| 0. 005| P 0. 60| 1 T| Whipped Cream| 15 ml| P 43. 20/250 ml| 0. 17| P 2. 55| Total Food Cost P 24. 54 +10% Buffer P 2. 45 Total cost P 26. 99 Mark-up 40% P 10. 80 Selling Price P 37. 79 or P 38. 00. Profit P 13. 00 Ricoa’s Chocolate drink (12 oz. /360 ml) Quantity| Ingredients| Wt. in g/ml| Product cost| Unit cost| Food cost| ? c| Fresh Milk| 120 ml| P 62. 15/1000 ml| 0. 06| P 7. 20| 80 g| Ricoa’s Cocoa| 80 g| P 52. 85/200 g| 0. 26| P 20. 80| 3 tsp. | Sugar| 15 g| P 54. 00/1000 g| 0. 054| P 0. 81| 1 tsp. | Vanilla extract| 5 ml| P 10. 00/30 ml| 0. 33| P 1. 65| ? c| Ice cubes| 180 g| P 5. 00/1000 g| 0. 005| P 0. 90| 2 T| Whipped Cream| 30 ml| P 43. 20/250 ml| 0. 17| P 5. 10| Total Food Cost P 36. 46 +10% Buffer P 3. 65 Total cost P 40. 11 Mark-up 40% P 16. 04 Selling Price P 56. 15 or P 57. 00 Profit P 20. 00 Cafe Latte (8oz. /240 ml) Quantity| Ingredients| Wt. in g/ml| Product cost| Unit cost| Food cost| 10 ml| Espresso ,brewed| 10 ml| P 60. 00/60 ml| 1| P 10. 00| ? oz. | Condensed Milk| 15 ml| P 30. 75/300 ml| 0. 10| P 1. 50| ? c| Ice cubes| 120 g| P 5. 00/1000 g| 0. 005| P 0. 60| 1 tsp. | Cinnamon| 5 g| P 38. 35/30 g| 1. 28| P 6. 40| 1 T| Whipped cream| 15 ml| P 43. 20/250 ml| 0. 17| P 2. 55| Total Food Cost P 21. 05 +10% Buffer P 2. 11 Total cost P 23. 16 Mark-up 40% P 9. 26 Selling Price P 32. 42 or P 33. 00 Profit P 11. 00 Cafe Latte (12 oz. /360 ml) Quantity| Ingredients| Wt. in g/ml| ProductCost| Unit cost| Food cost| 15 ml| Espresso, brewed| 15 ml| P 60. 00/60 ml| 1| P 15. 00| 20 ml| Condensed milk| 20 ml| P 30. 75/300 ml| 0. 10| P 2. 00| ? c| Ice cubes| 180 g| P 5. 00/1000 g| 0. 005| P 0. 90| 1 tsp. | Cinnamon| 5 g| P 38. 35/30 g| 1. 28| P 6. 40| 2 T| Whipped Cream| 30 ml| P 43. 20/250 ml| 0. 17| P 5. 10| Total Food Cost P 29. 40 +10% Buffer P 2. 94 Total cost P 32. 34 Mark-up 40% P 12. 94 Selling Price P 45. 28 or P 46. 00 Profit P 16. 00 Caramel Latte Macchiato (8 OZ. /240 ml) Quantity| Ingredients| Wt. in g/ml| Product Cost| Unit Cost| Food Cost| ? c| Steamed Milk| 60 ml| P 61. 80/1000 ml| 0. 06| P 3. 60| 1 tsp. | Vanilla Syrup| 5 ml| P 10. 00/30 ml| 0. 33| P 1. 65| 10 ml| Espresso, brewed| 10 ml| P 60. 00/60 ml| 1| P 10| 2 tsp. | Caramel syrup| 10 ml| P 59. 15/120 ml| 0. 43| P 4. 30| 1 T| Whipped cream| 15 ml| P 43. 20/250 ml| 0. 17| P 2. 55| ? c| Ice cubes| 120 g| P 5. 00/1000 g| 0. 005| 0. 60| Total Food Cost P 26. 30 +10% Buffer P 2. 63 Total cost P 28. 93 Selling Price P 40. 50 or P 41. 00 Profit P 14. 00 Caramel Latte Macchiato (12 oz. / 360 ml) Quantity| Ingredients| Wt. in g/ml| Product Cost| Unit Cost| Food Cost| ? c| Steamed milk| 120 ml| P 61. 80/1000 ml| 0. 06| P 7. 20| 1 tsp. | Vanilla syrup| 5 ml| P 10. 00/30 ml| 0. 33| P 1. 65| 15 ml| Espresso, brewed| 15 ml| P 60. 00/60 ml| 1| P 15. 00| 3 tsp. | Caramel syrup| 15 ml| P 59. 15/120 ml| 0. 43| P 6. 45| 2 T| Whipped cream| 30 ml| P 43. 20/250 ml| 0. 17| P 5. 10| ? c| Ice Cubes| 180 g| P 5. 00/1000 g| 0. 005| P 0. 90| Total food Cost P 36. 30 +10% Buffer P 3. 63 Total cost P 39. 93 Mark-up 40% P 15. 97 Selling Price P 55. 90 or P 56. 00 Profit P 19. 00 Costs for packaging Materials| Product Price| Plastic Cups (8 oz. )| P 47. 50/50 pcs. | Plastic Cup (12 oz. )| P 51. 50/50 pcs. | Straw| P 75. 00/200 pcs. | Tissue| P 40. 00/bundle| TOTAL:| P 214. 00| 4. 11 Equipment, Kitchen Tools & Packaging Requirements Equipment Item| Quantity| Unit Cost| Total Cost| Food Kiosk| 1| P 40,000| P 40,000| Blender| 2| P 1,200| P 2,400| Freezer| 1| P 9,847. 00| P 9,847. 00| Coffee Maker| 1| P 2,100| P2,100| | | Total:| P 54, 347. 00| Kitchen Tools Item| Quantity| Unit Cost| Total Cost| Measuring Cup| 2 set| 60| P 112. 00| Measuring Spoon| 2 set| 80| P 160. 00| Plastic Container| 6| | P150. 00| Kitchen Scissors| 1| P 30. 00| P 30. 00| | | Total:| P 452. 00| Packaging Requirement Item| Quantity| Amount| Total| Plastic cup| 50 pcs. | 0. 60| P 30. 00| Plastic straw| 50 pcs. | 0. 18| P 17. 50| Tissue| 1,000 pcs. | 0. 005| P 50. 00| | | Total:| P 97. 50| 4. 12 Man Power Requirements Manpower Requirement Position| No. | Work load| Basic Rate| Stall Manager| 1| Eight hours a day| Share to the capital| Accountant| 1| Twice a month| 1,500. 00/visit*2/month. Php 3,000. 00| Store Personnel| 2| Eight hours a day| 404/day*26days/month. P 10,504. 00| 4. 13 Wastes and Waste disposal Kofilicous will implement proper ways of disposing solid and liquid wastes. Solid wastes include used cups and plastic straws.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Atlantic Computer: a Bundle of Pricing Options

[Case Write-Up #5, 2011-11-14] Case 6. Atlantic Computer Group 11 2010123281 Lim, Min A 2010123380 Lee, Yoon Ji 2010101026 Na, Hyeon Jung 2010123031 Park, Jae Eon ?. Executive Summary At the present, with the growth of the Internet, the basic server market is growing rapidly and the Atlantic computer, which is aimed at producing the high performance server, is ready to sell the basic server. It launches the Tronn loaded with PESA. PESA, the software increases the speed of file sharing and web servers, two of the most used application for the consumers, so it should be sold with the Tronn, the hardware.At first year, if we assume that the firm will be able to sell all of the Tronn servers it can produce, Atlantic’s resulting share of the basic server segment will be 4%. We suggest that possibility as our goal to pursue. But the basic market is already full with the competitor, Ontario with the Zink and the company has a tendency to stick to the traditional marketing approach. T o overcome these impediments, we suggest to set the price based on the calculation of cost-based pricing and to abandon the original direct marketing methods and accept the indirect ways like online-marketing and the advertisement through diverse media. . Problem Analysis (Goal & Impediments) Goal As new-comer of the basic server market, Atlantic’s computer begins from the scratch. If Atlantic’s computer can sell all of its product, the Tronn, it can occupy 4% in basic server market. But the thing is, it is a ground stone to enlarge the market share in the long run, so it would better not to harm the revenue to reach that figure. The targeted consumers is people who have demand for basic server, especially who are interested in one application, especially either of file sharing and web servers, and who seeks the way to inimize the initial purchase costs and subsequent possession costs. Impediments We have two main impediments for our goal, strong competitor and Atlanti c computer’s traditional marketing strategy. Our strong competitor, Ontario, has already half of the market share in basic server segment. Also their product Zink has similar spec with Tronn. So we have to compete with Zink in price or innovative supply chain strategy. It is hard to appeal to consumers that we have not technological superiority but fall behind Zink in market share very much. Another main impediment is Atlantic Computer’s existing traditional marketing strategy.Atlantic Computer already won success in high performance segment, so many people in the company tend to think that it’s just right to apply existing marketing strategy to basic segment. Atlantic’s computer is interested in making intimate relationship with customers and maintaining its post-sales assistance service level in high performance segment. But situation in basic segment and high performance segment is different, we have to apply different marketing strategy each other. As mentioned above, there is specific situation where Zink and Tronn is very similar in technological aspect.Therefore, there should be some unique marketing strategy in basic segment. ?. Solution Analysis Solution To boost market share in basic segment, Atlantic Company should develop proper the pricing strategy. The company should consider four strategies: status-quo pricing, competition-based pricing, cost-based pricing and value-based pricing. ? Status-quo pricing cost of Server only and PESA for free Price of one Tronn Server = $2000 2 Tronn Servers + PESA software free = 2*2000 = $4000 Total Price of 2 Atlantic Bundles to Daytradejournal. com = $4000 Price of 1 Atlantic Bundle = $2000 ? Competition-based pricingPricing the Tronn servers based on price of competitor server (Zink by Ontario) and PESA for free. Since 2 Tronn Server with PESA software is equivalent to 4 Zink servers Price of one Zink Server = $1700 / 2 Tronn Servers + PESA software free=4*1700= $6800 Total Price of 2 Atlantic Bundles = $6800 Price of 1 Atlantic Bundle = $3400 ? Cost-based pricing (figure1, figure2) Cost incurred in PESA software development = $2000000 / Cost of Tronn Server = $1538 Price of 1 Atlantic Bundle = $ 2245 ?Value-based Pricing (figure3) Considering 4 Zink server is equivalent to 2 Tronn server and 2 PESA software. Price of 1 Atlantic Bundle = $ 4200Above diagram, we can know that fourth pricing strategy get high profit, but price is also high. If price is too high, customers are reluctant to buy Atlantic Bundle, and this harms the market share. So, the company should avoid to select Value-based pricing and Competition-based pricing. Status-quo pricing could be an effective way for increasing market share because of its cheap price, but it will not give benefit in the long-run. Cost-based pricing is the best choice for Atlantic Company, because its moderate price makes company get high market share in the beginning and moderate profit for first year.There could be an argument that status-quo pricing is more appropriate way to reach our goal of reaching the 4% of the market share in basic server field. But as mentioned above our goal is a ground stone to grow in the long run, it is better to choose the price making more profit with similar figure market share basis. Moreover to boost market share in basic segment the company should use indirect mass marketing. In high performance server market, it was efficient to use expensive direct marketing to the giant and few consumers. But it is non-matching to basic segment where the company should put its great effort to lower the price.So the company should use the indirect and comparatively cheaper way to connect with the smaller and much consumers of the basic server market. The Atlantic’s computer can use online-marketing like its competitor, Ontario, or it can use mass market advertising through mass media. It could affect to more consumers easily. Although this method the product could affe ct each consumer less, the total quantity of influence on the targeted consumers should increase assuming the number of the customers in this market, figure 1 figure 2 figure 3

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Case--Buxon Hall Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case--Buxon Hall - Essay Example Since some decisions were pending, it was decided that they will be immediately addressed once additional reserves were available for them. The success of this project lies in the fact that the issues that emerged during its course were properly handled and it was flexible to get it modified according to the requirements of the project. As Buxon Hall project was successful, there were certain best practices present in the whole project such as continuous feedback about the project progress, altering the project to tackle any discrepancies, collaboration among team members and effective problem solving skills and vision towards attainment of common objectives. With the help of the assessment about developments in the project, the team members were able to identify the discrepancies between actual and targeted goals and they were addressed adequately to ensure that the project was completed on time. For instance, it was decided that some walls will be revamped later when more money will be available and only vital areas will be focused for the present situation. When there were some problems between the university officials and Crawford foremen such as ineffective communication and lack of consensus decision making attributes, they were instantly addressed and necessary changes were made for ensuring that the project objectives were effectively accomplished by the

Friday, September 27, 2019

To what extent is an individual's vote the result of a multiplicity of Coursework

To what extent is an individual's vote the result of a multiplicity of factors - Coursework Example The political campaigns that are conducted by the different parties during the electioneering period also have their stake in influencing how an individual will cast their vote. It is clear that the voting process must have evolved from when people were voting according to class up to the place where voting is purely based on personal judgment and assessment of the party’s policies and the leader. In doing this, will trace the history of voting in Britain. It is going to cover the alignment era of 1940s to 1970s, giving a keen look at how electioneering activities were ran during that period. The essay will also examine the de-alignment era that began from the 1070s onwards, proceeding the alignment era (Denver, 2007 P. 22). The conclusion of the paper will an analysis of the factors that influence voting in the modern day, and specifically look at some recent elections that were conducted in Britain. During this period, voting in the UK was greatly influenced by such factors as social class, family, local community, gender, age, ethnicity, region and religion (Persson, 2000 P. 54). The era between 1940- 1970 can be referred to one characterized by party identification and class voting. There were mainly two major parties that dominated the party system at that time. These were the Conservative and the Labor Parties. There patterns of voting was relatively stable as there was minimum switching of political allegiance (Weibull, 1987 P. 52 ). The people were not very much inquisitive and they went by the current wave of their fellow mates in the social class. The stability could have been attributed to the image that the voters attached to the party of their choice rather than the policies which it upheld. The affiliates cared really less about the policies. Party identification was mainly obtained from social class, parental political party adherence, and the nature of local commu nity, the region that one

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Will China Be The Next Superpower Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Will China Be The Next Superpower - Essay Example China will be the next super power as it is the biggest Asian country and has emerged magnificently economically all around the globe. The pros of China becoming the next super power support their discussion through means of economy, trade, and technology and labor force. By nominal GDP, China is the second largest economy with a growth rate average of almost double figures for over three decades. It is the fastest growing economy, and it is concluded by many analysts that by the year 2020, it will be the largest economy of the world surpassing its rival country. America’s growth rate in comparison with China is very low, and it is also indulged in two wars, which makes it impossible to compete and lose its lead soon. In the trade, China is the largest exporter and second largest importer, which enhance its Balance of Trade, which is fruitful for its economy. China is also in contract with many other nations and does free trade with them, which increases its imports and exports and develops good relations with them. It has made prompt advancement in areas like infrastructure and high-tech manufacturing. In recent decades, China has also developed swiftly in science and technology with the help of its government, as it is considered socio-economic development of the country and also its national prestige. China is the most populous country, with the largest labor force, which helps the boom in their economy and is one of the reasons that will lead China in becoming the next super power. The people who are in favor to the debate that China will become the next super power give the above reasons for their support, as they are certainly the pros towards the topic. The group of cons of this topic strongly feels that China will not leave behind America and become the next super power. They believe that nations cannot become a super power

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Recruit staff in own area of responsibility Essay

Recruit staff in own area of responsibility - Essay Example My company recognizes the significance of recruiting right people in order to ensure prompt growth and achievement of goals. The company selects and recruits those candidates who can fit well within the values of the company. The range of positions for which human resource would be recruited is sales consultants, team leaders, duty managers, sales managers and also operational coordinators. There are different goals associated with the recruitment of different profiles, all leading towards a common objective. The sales consultant would be recruited with the objective of handling the core sales activities of products and services and also for managing the daily operations of the stores, while the team leaders would be handling a team of sales consultants and monitor their performance and motivate them (Thornton, 2008). The duty managers will be positioned at the locations like airports so that the stores at the airports can be operated because people travelling to different countries are in need of foreign exchange and obviously are the major customers for the company. The position of sales manager in which I am presently working need to monitor the turnover and revenue targets of the company, control expenses, need to handle managerial operations for a number of stores in specific region. The operation coordinators assist the sales managers and take care of operational excellence and administrative skills. All these employees work in close union with one another in order to run the department of sales in a successful manner because the marketing department has several other positions, which are responsible for handling other core marketing functions (Legge, 1995). 1.2 Gaps between current and required human resources to meet objectives The business model of foreign exchange companies are not designed on the framework of information technology (IT) platforms, which enable them to transfer information and documents faster through electronic form. Since the establ ishment, my company has been dealing with documents in physical form for safety, but with the advent and enormous usage of plastic money and dematerialization of not only securities but documents, my company is also venturing heavily towards it. It has been found that expansion on this new IT enable structure has become easier and cost effective. Up till now the sales force in our company were efficient in selling but had least knowledge in handling sales through electronic medium. However, now we will recruit individuals for sales department who have an average or more than average knowledge in online sales, electronic-documentation, etc. In order to eliminate this present gap, human resource would be recruited (Storey, 2001). The motive is not to recruit staff for the entire department because recruitment cost is higher than training cost for the old employees. Few experts at every level would be recruited, so that an on job training can be conducted. Every team will be consisting of few new as well as old employees, so that a learning environment prevails and the new employees adapt themselves to the work culture faster and the old employees learn to work in the technology integrated infrastructure. This will assist in reducing the gap that is prevailing currently (Cascio, 2003). 1.3 Options for human resource requirements to meet objectiv

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

How Civil War Resolved Slavery Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How Civil War Resolved Slavery Issue - Essay Example The political power of planter prevented the nation unification under central government with capability of implementing an economic policy that was intended to stimulate industrial development. And even though slavery generated massive power and wealth for the planters, it never led to a similar substantial commercial and industrial growth as was witnessed in the free states. Hence, slavery became a fetter on the industrial capitalism development in the United States. This paper seeks to discuss how the Civil War resolved the slavery issue; and the difference between the slave perspective we have been traditionally taught and that of Celia. The destruction of slavery through Civil War vastly accelerated development of the industrial capitalism. According to Kral (1995), the Civil War was organized and led by Lincoln as a revolution element. This war was characterized by the general strikes among the slaves and their involvement as soldiers, helpers, and spies actively in the Union army. The blacks also made a decisive contribution in building up a movement of mass revolution that led the Civil War. Many of the black activists who were refugees in the South also initiated the abolitionist movement and maintained it during the 1830s and 1840s dark days. They guided it ultimately to the point where it gained popular influence significantly in the 1850s. Antislavery activists also stimulated and exacerbated powerfully the tensions between the South and North, and assisted in providing ideological standard to unite the forces that were struggling against slavery (Kral 200). After the shots of the Civil War, 150 years later, important lessons are learned. The perspectives that we have been traditionally taught on the extent to which white supremacy and racism permeated the society of America from its inception. This marked the end of slavery. Celia, a slave's more local, regional, global perspective differs from the perspective that we have been traditionally taught. Celia, a slave was in the perspective of an isolated incident that indicated common fear of slavery in the period of antebellum in the United States. The perspective of Celia on slavery is that of the struggle of young slave women through the undeserved hardships of injustice and rape. The Celia’s story illustrates the root cause of the racism problems that America is still facing in their society today (McLaurin 97). Celia perceives slavery as racial discrimination where the white males dominate the culture which looks down upon the African Americans, with females being the most oppressed. Celia looks at views of slavery times and t he values that still could pierce the daily lives of people in the United Sates as McLaurin (1991) illustrates. Slavery as we are traditionally taught developed in America less than one generation after Jamestown was founded in 1607. According to Kral (1995), slavery spanned long due to the discovery of the possibility of making, from the cultivation of tobacco, a fortune, which was a product with large market in the European countries. Tobacco plantation needed disciplined and intensive labor, and not many colonists were ready to work for other people (Willis 76). Therefore the labor challenges and shortages led to slavery. In summary, the paper has discussed how the Civil War resolved the issue of Slavery. According to Willis (1979), the origin of American Civil War can be traced from the bourgeois revolution. Slavery became a

Monday, September 23, 2019

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 84

Reflection - Essay Example 2). These points are the ones that appeal to me most from Sirico’s publication. I think the new concept highlighted in the publication is the fact that entrepreneurship is similar to other professions; therefore, it is prudent to afford entrepreneurs with the same level of respect. Judging them based on stereotypes originating from biased, archaic religious perceptions does little to encourage those in the vocation to engage in ethical business practice. Positive consequences result from applauding the innovative, intuition-filled actions of entrepreneurs, as it affirms their ability to create something in spite of dire circumstances. In my opinion, if the world regarded entrepreneurship as a vocation, there would be a limited need to use regulatory policies to coerce entrepreneurs to conform to business ethics principles. Ensuring ethical practices would become second nature, as entrepreneurs would regard these practices as their inherent duty to the public. They would endeavor to ensure their practices result in positive outcomes rather than harmful

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Quality management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Quality management - Assignment Example The team proposed the company to create two collaborative teams, which were quality control and quality assurance teams, to work for ensuring the quality of the products. â€Å"Quality control is concerned with examining the product or service — the end result† (Madison, 2014). The main aim of a quality control team is to examine and verify the products to ensure that the products meet the quality standards set by the company. On the other hand, â€Å"Quality assurance verifies that any customer offering, regardless whether it is new or evolved, is produced and offered with the best possible materials, in the most comprehensive way and with the highest standards† (Kietzman 1). The quality assurance team examines the product manufacturing process to ensure excellence in each stage of the process by identifying the defects and taking necessary steps to remove those defects. The quality management team used the fish bone diagram to sort out the issues that the company might have been facing. Given below is the step by step use of fish bone diagram which helped the team get into the causes for the problems concerning the company. The managers made the team aware about the issues related to the company. The problems identified and communicated to the team were steady growth, less customer preference, decreased customer satisfaction, decreased graph of sales, and less profits. The team summed all problems under the category of ‘poor company performance’. The quality management team went through the process of identifying the causes and came out with three main reasons which included less focus on quality by employees, less awareness in employees regarding the use of quality management system, and lack of any proper quality management system in the company. The team provided the company with a solution that was supposed to

Friday, September 20, 2019

Temperature On The Growth And Survival Of Bacteria Biology Essay

Temperature On The Growth And Survival Of Bacteria Biology Essay Abstract: The aim of this experiment was to asses the growth and survival of 5 bacteria. The method involved placing each of the bacteria in water baths of various temperatures for certain periods of time, taking them out and placing them in their optimum temperatures and monitoring their growth/survival rate over the course of the week. The results obtained showed that how well the bacteria grew after they had been placed in their optimum temperatures and left for a week. From this it was concluded what the temperature class of each bacteria was. Introduction: The objective of the experiment was to look at the growth and survival rate of 5 bacteria namely, Bacillus stearothermophilus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens. Escherichia coli, commonly referred to as E.coli is a gram negative bacterium which is rod shaped. It is usually found in the large intestine of warm blooded animals. It is also found in foods and water. It is a facultative aerobe meaning that O2 is not necessarily required for growth but is preferred for better growth thus it is able to metabolise both aerobic and anaerobically. Every microorganism has a minimal, optimal and maximal temperature. These are known as cardinal temperatures and they tell us a lot about the nature of a microorganism. A mesophile is an organism which grows at its best in medium temperature conditions. A psychrophile on the other hand is an organism which is capable of growing in extremely cold temperatures. Thermophiles are virtually the opposite of psychrophiles. Theyre organisms which are capable of growing and reproducing the hot environments. The term thermophile means that it is heat loving or heat tolerant. The temperature and pH are good indicators of the environment E.coli can be found. The fact that it has a ph of 6-7 means that it is found in mildly acidic to neutral places which explains why it is in the large intestine of mammals. The bacteria manage to survive in these various environments due to their adaptive metabolism. (Madigan, Martinko, Dunlap and Clark, 2008). Enterococcus faecalis (E.faecalis) is a gram positive and is naturally occurring in the intestine of mammals, the soil, in plants and in water. The presence of E.faecalis and E.coli in the water is usually an indication that the water has been contaminated. It is found in similar habitats to E.coli. Bacillus stearothermophilus (B.stearothermophilus) is also a rod shaped gram positive organism it is usually found in hot springs and the soil. Pseudomonas fluorescens (P.fluorescens) is a gram negative rod shaped bacterium. It is usually found in cooler environments such as water. It is an obligate aerobe which means that it cannot grow in the absence of oxygen. Bacillus subtilis (B.subtilis) is also a rod shaped gram positive bacterium which is mainly found in the soil. It too is an obligate aerobe (Brooker, Widmaier, Graham and stilling, 2007). Method: Please refer to the schedule for this. Results: Below are the tabulated results that were obtained from the experiment. Table 1 shows the effect of inoculating the bacteria at different temperatures had on their growth rate. Table 2 shows the results of exposing the bacteria to extreme heat conditions on their survival rate. Temp (Â °C) 25 37 42 55 E.coli +++ +++ +++ ++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ ++ ++ E.farcalis +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ ++ +++ +++ +++ + B.subtilis ++ +++ ++ ++ +++ +++ +++ ++ +++ +++ +++ +++ P.flourescence ++ +++ +++ ++ ++ ++ B.steaothermophilus + + + ++ + ++ +++ + The table above shows how well the bacteria grew at different temperatures. Really strong growth is represented by +++, medium by ++, slow growth by + and no growth by -. Looking at E.coli for example it is clear that it only grows well in the region of 25-42Â °C anything beyond this showed absolutely no growth occurring. Time (minutes) E.coli Temp (Â °C) 0 2 5 30 90 40 Y, N, Y Y, Y, Y Y, Y, Y Y, Y, Y Y, Y, Y 60 Y, Y, Y Y, Y, Y Y, Y, Y N, N, N N, N, N 80 N, Y, Y N, N, N N, N, N N, N, N N, N, N 100 N, N, Y N, N, N N, N, N N, N, N N, N, N B.subtilis 40 Y, Y Y, Y Y, Y Y, Y Y, Y 60 Y, Y Y, Y Y, Y Y, Y Y, Y 80 Y, Y Y, Y Y, Y Y, Y Y, Y 100 Y, Y Y, Y Y, Y Y, Y Y, NTable 2: The effect of heat on survival of bacteria. Key: Y= growth present N= no growth E.faecalis 40 Y Y Y Y Y 60 Y Y Y Y N 80 Y Y Y N N 100 Y Y Y N N B.stearothermophilus 40 Y, N Y, N Y, N N, N N,N 60 Y, N N, N N, N N, N N, N 80 N, N N, N N, N N, N N, N 100 N, N N, N N, N N, N N, N P. fluorescens 40 Y, N, Y Y, Y, Y Y, Y, Y Y, Y, Y Y, Y, Y 60 Y, Y, Y Y, Y, Y Y, Y, Y N, N, N N, N, N 80 N,Y, Y N, N, N N, N, N N, N, N N, N, N 100 N,Y,N N, N, N N, N, N N, N, N N, N, NDiscussion: With the information that is in table 1 the nature of each bacterium can be established. E.coli showed exceptionally strong growth in the range of 25 to 42Â °C. These results are perfectly in line with the characteristics of a mesophile as such it is safe to assume that E.coli is a mesophile. This also explains why it is found in the human intestine. The core temperature of the human body is 36.8Â °C Â ± 0.7 which according to the literature is the optimal temperature of E.coli. The same thing goes for E.faecalis. It too is a mesophile and one of the locations where it is found is also the gastrointestinal tract. The information in table 1 coupled with the fact that it is found in the same location as E.coli means that it too has the same optimal temperature as E.coli. B.subtilis grew throughout all the temperature ranges but grew the best in 55Â °C. It was however strange to see it grow in the areas of 25-37Â °C as it is by nature a Thermophile. The minimum temperature that is required for thermophiles to grow is approximately 42Â °C. B.stearothermophilus on the other hand showed a classic example of a thermophillic bacterium. It grew best at 55Â °C. The last bacterium in table 1 was P. Fluorescens. It grew well at 25Â °C but seemed to be decreasing quiet substantially at 37Â °C. The information on the table did not quiet fit in with the characteristics which are exerted by mesophiles. Mesophiles usually grow best at around 30-40Â °C however P.fluorescens optimal temperature was around 25Â °C which meant that it could not be a psychrophile. It did however fit the characteristics of a psychrotroph. Psychrotrophs are organism which grow at 0Â °C i.e. similar to psychrophiles but, usually have an optimum temperature of 25Â °C whereas psychr ophiles have and optimum temperature of 10-12Â °C (www1). Table 2 showed the effects of exposing the bacteria to high temperatures had on their survival. Temperature is most likely the most important factor that contributes to the growth and survival of the bacteria. From the literature it can be gathered depending on the organism, exposing it to very high temperatures will kill it. In the case of E.coli this is the case. It managed to stay alive at 40Â °C for 90minutes. This is understandable as this is below its maximal temperature. Once it had been placed into higher temperatures for a long enough duration, it died off. This was not the case for B.subtilis. It proved to be growing throughout all temperature ranges for the full 90 minutes of the experiment. The fact that it managed to survive at temperatures as high as 100Â °C implies that it may be a hyperthermophile (Madigan, Martinko, Dunlap and Clark, 2008). P. fluorescens also died off after being exposed to increased temperatures for some time. At 30 and 90 minutes, all of people who were doing the experiment reported that there were no bacteria alive at 60Â °C. At 2 minutes into the experiment at 80 and 100Â °C none of the bacteria were alive. Most of the results obtained from the experiment seemed to be in line with the information found in the literature some werent for example E.faecalis was still alive in almost all of the higher temperature ranges when clearly it shouldnt have been as it was is a mesophile and shouldnt grow after around 46Â °C. B.stearothermophilus, a thermophile was not growing in temperature ranges where it should have been. These mistakes may have been due to applied correct aseptic techniques while inoculating properly. In order to eliminate such errors the experiment could be run 2 to 3 times.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Life Changing Ideas in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird :: essays research papers

Would you read a book that could change the way people lived their lives, but was against what people thought? How would you feel if you were the one writing the book? Would you go against the grain just to get your point across? Well Harper Lee did. She wrote To Kill A Mockingbird, to get a point across and in doing so she changed the way people think about everyday life. Nelle Harper Lee studied law for a short time, and then in 1961 the book To Kill A Mockingbird was published. She grew up in the small town of Monroeville, Alabama. Although she never said all her life experiences were incorporated into the book. By doing so she based her opinion through the thoughts and words of a young girl in the novel, known as Scout. Scout also grows up in a small town in the book, called Maycomb. In these small towns during the time in which the book was written, the white people of the community were put above all others. The blacks of the time were looked down upon, and considered the lowest of them all. In Maycomb this was no exception such is the case when the town, ?would go along with them on the assumption-the evil assumption-that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted (217) Also in such small towns everybody knows everyone, and because of such tight quarters all others a re branded as outsiders, and are distant from the community, which leads people to ask, ?If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other(240) Being involved or talking with these ?outsiders? was dishonorable. By writing the book Harper Lee did just that and went against what society is saying. In the book she speaks of being the outsider, rape, prejudice, and violence, even through talk about these things is shameful, she wanted to get her point across. She wanted people to know that ?it's a sin to kill a mockingbird`Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

A Rose For Emily: Fallen From Grace :: essays research papers fc

A Rose for Emily: Fallen from Grace A comparative essay on the use of symbolism in William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily." Authors traditionally use symbolism as a way to represent the sometimes intangible qualities of the characters, places, and events in their works. In his short story "A Rose for Emily," William Faulkner uses symbolism to compare the Grierson house with Emily Grierson's physical deterioration, her shift in social standing, and her reluctancy to accept change. When compared chronologically, the Grierson house is used to symbolize Miss Emily's physical attributes. In its prime, the Grierson house is described as "white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies" (Faulkner 69). This description suggests that the house was built not only for function, but also to impress and engage the attention of the other townspeople. Similarly, the wealthy women of the era, Emily Grierson not withstanding, were dressed in a conspicuous manner. This, for the most part, is because their appearance was perceived as a direct reflection on their husbands and/or fathers. This display of extravagance was egotistically designed by men to give an impression of wealth to onlookers. Emily was regarded by her father as property. Her significance to him was strongly ornamental, just as their overly lavish home was. As the plot progresses, the reader is clearly made aware of the physical decline of both the house and Miss Emily. Just as the house is described as "smelling of dust and disuse," evidence of Emily's own aging is given when her voice in similarly said to be "harsh, and rusty, as if from disuse" (70-74). Ultimately, at the time of Emily's death, the house is seen by the townspeople as "an eyesore among eyesores," and Miss Emily is regarded as a "fallen monument" (69). Both are empty, and lifeless. Neither are even remotely representative of their former splendor. Just as their physical characteristics, Faulkner uses the Grierson house as a symbol for Miss Emily's change in social status. In its prime, the house was "big," and "squarish," and located on Jefferson's "most select street" (69). This description gives the reader the impression that the residence was not only extremely solid, but also larger than life, almost gothic in nature, and seemingly impervious to the petty problems of the common people. The members of the Grierson family, especially Emily, were also considered to be strong and powerful. The townspeople regarded them as regal. And Emily, as the last living Grierson, came to symbolize her family's, and possibly the entire south's, rich past. The townspeople's reveration of Emily soon decayed, however, once it

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Shigella flexneri :: Medical Health Biology Essays

Shigella flexneri Shigella flexneri, a facultative anaerobe belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae, is a Gram-negative rod that is the causative agent of diarrhea and dysentery in humans. Potentially life-threatening, S. flexneri's effects include bacteremia, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and toxic megacolon (4). The principle disease of diarrhea and dysentery caused by this pathogen is known as shigellosis. 10-100 organisms are sufficient to cause disease, and transmission is generally from person-to-person by way of fecal-oral (2). Shigellosis can be characterized as a disease with over 60% incidence in children ages 1-5 (6). Life cycle: S. flexneri causes infection via bacterial penetration of the mucous membrane in the human colon. Humans are the only known reservoir to this pathogen (7). Following invasion of M cells and upon contact with the epithelial cells of the colon, S. flexneri releases Ipa proteins through a type three secretion system. Once inside the host cell, Ipa proteins activate small GTPases in the Rho family as well as c-src, a protooncogene, leading to cytoskeletal rearrangements. This alteration to the cytoskeleton allows the bacteria to be macropinocytosed by the host cell. Once inside the host, the pathogen colonizes the cytoplasm. IcsA, a bacterial surface protein, activates the host protein N-WASP and, in turn, stimulates actin assembly by host Arp 2/3. Thus, S. flexneri develops actin-based motility enabling the pathogen to become efficient at cell-to-cell spread and host cell cytoplasmic colonization. Infected cells become highly proinflammatory and secrete IL-8. IL-8 attracts n eutrophils to the site of infection. The influx of neutrophils, chemokines and cytokines to the area damages the epithelial layer permeability and, in turn, advocates further S. flexneri invasion (6). Once initial invasion of S. flexneri occurs, the targeted epithelial cells require 45 minutes to 4 hours to mount an inflammatory response (8). A diagram outlining S. flexneri's type three secretion system can be viewed at: http://www.grad.ucl.ac.uk/comp/2003/jointposter/gallery/index.pht?entryID=29 Virulence: A 214-kb virulence plasmid encodes for S. flexneri's entry into human epithelial cells and intra-intercellular movement (6). Once in contact with the target cell, Ipa proteins (IpaB, IpaC and Ipa D) encode for a specific type III secretion system, thus, enabling entry of the pathogen into the target cell and characterizing S. flexneri with an invasive phenotype (1). One 30-kb block of the plasmid contains genes at the ipa/mxi-spa locus.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Business Strategy BMW

Bayberries Motormen Worker GAG (English: Bavarian Motor Works) with headquarter in Munich is one of them. Founded 1916 as a producer of aircraft engines BMW is one of the ten largest car manufacturers in the world today. The company operates in three business segments: automobiles, motorcycles and financial services. However the core business Is still the production is one of the leading car manufacturers with the aim to achieve profitable growth and become the number one in next few years. The global acting company had a business volume of 53,7 billion Euro in the year 2009.Currently 96. 000 employers work at 17 different production places all over the world for BMW. In last year the BMW Group sold 1. 3 million cars of its three non-overlapping premium car brands Mini, Rolls-Royce and BMW. The brand recognition and high investments in research and development seems to be the trumps of BMW (BMW, n. D. : BMW Education Programmer n. D. ). This report will give a more detailed view at t he current situation of the BMW Group with an analysis of the company's strategies but also with a look at the issues and a final evaluation of the authors of this report. . Strategic Analysis Integral to the understanding of the organization BMW Group is a detailed strategic analysis of the company. Appendixes 1 and 2 both contain various tools for analysis, namely a SOOT and a PESTLE analysis. One can draw upon these when analyzing all the forces and factors affecting a company as an aggregate. It is also important to place the findings of these analyses in a context. In this case, a strategic analysis of BMW Group should not only consider the information contained in both these analyses, but also the context in which the firm operates.As mentioned, in Appendix 1, a SOOT analysis considers the current position of a company. In the case of BMW Group, the position is currently enjoys is a very strong one. When critically analysis the mentioned weaknesses and threats it becomes appar ent that each of these are common to most companies and car manufacturers in the market segments chosen by BMW Group and its subsidiaries. In a sense this leads to a canceling out effect, which will be discusses below.For example, in terms of threats to automotive manufacturers, existing and fierce competition applies to the vast majority, as does being affected by the volatility of fuel prices. To a large extent the price of raw materials also poses a threat to all manufacturers, however this varies by small degrees when one considers that in a anthropometry environment many cars do not share similar materials. This is due to manufacturers seeking competitive advantage through vehicle parts and structures being made of differing alloys, in attempts for qualities such as greater strength and lighter weight.In spite of this, steel remains a predominant material in the automobiles of BMW Group. Having similar â€Å"threats† appropriate to most manufacturers means they are all c ompeting amidst similar circumstances, so no firm is solely disadvantaged as a result. It is a similar case when one considers the weaknesses of BMW Group. Despite minor differences, most manufacturers in the market segments operated in by BMW Group share most weaknesses. All premium carmakers are faced with stiff competition, as it is the nature of the industry. All suffer from a perception of high prices.Again, there may be slight variations within this surmise such as slight variations in perceived value but as an aggregate, the premium car sector is partly characterized by high prices. Associated with keeping design and construction of the automobiles of BMW Group within Germany, and various other Western countries. This is due to higher labor sots, and greater levels of taxation. Keeping the majority of production and all of the design and engineering in Germany has both advantages and disadvantages. It has been listed in the SOOT analysis as a weakness, purely due to the impac t on the bottom line of the firm.It is a similar story for the other major German competitors BMW Group. Certain American (Lexus) or Swedish (Volvo) rivals face a similar problem in terms of higher cost. -Chinese competitors do not. Being engineered and assembled in Germany has to also be mentioned as a strength. This is as a result of German engineering having an international petition for being of some of the highest quality engineering in the world. This creates a perception of quality, which is common to most manufacturers in the premium car segment, but more so to the vehicles created by BMW Group.There is perception that BMW, along with Mercedes Benz are of a higher standard of quality than their third major German rival, Audio. As well as a SOOT analysis, a PESTLE analysis is important for furthering knowledge of the environment in which BMW Group operates. As Appendix 2 outlines, a PESTLE considers the external forces which impact upon the strategic implementation and runnin g of a firm. Political forces are present, however they have an effect on the industry as an aggregate. Within Germany, the country in which a lot of the cars of BMW Group are manufactured, laws dictate maximum emissions vehicles are allowed to produce.They also affect BMW Group in that they dictate minimum wages and minimum level of corporate responsibility. For most other countries, taxation laws and customs laws determine prices at which BMW Group products are sold at. Different countries have different levels of tax and import duties, however generally most countries will charge some form of import duty on valuable goods, which in turn increases the price at which local retailers sell the vehicles. In some cases there are certain charges on top of this – of example in Australia there is a Luxury Car Tax imposed on vehicles worth more that ****.But as aforementioned, this type of political influence affects all manufacturer in the premium car market segment. Ecologically t here are a lot of influences shaping the direction of BMW Group automobiles. The main one being the increased societal awareness of the popular concept that is Global Warming. As a result of this many nations and manufacturers re imposing, whether voluntarily or as a legal requirement, goals of reducing emissions. This is done through setting targets and can be quite costly – in most cases being where the majority of research and development funds are spent.In the case of BMW Group, this is certainly so. The quest for more efficient engines is ongoing, and can also be attributed to the other major ecological factor – the growing scarcity of natural resources. The natural resource whose scarcity affects motorists globally is crude oil. There are socio-cultural factors at work, also. BMW uses positioning to reach certain target markets. As such, a lot of their vehicles are financially out of reach for demographics. Due to this, things such as median incomes and average p roperty prices dictate where BMW outlets will be placed geographically.Also in the case of BMW Group, an image of exclusivity primarily exists, though more recently there has been an effort to make their products within reach of more people. This is being conducted by making smaller, more affordable cars whilst retaining an image of prestige. In an industry such as the car industry, technology is the most influential force toward a company such as BMW Group. Technology is where a lot of manufacturers obtain their competitive advantage, and for BMW Group this is certainly the case.They invest vast sums of money into research and development in a bid to create more efficient engines with which they can compete with other manufacturers and obtain a competitive advantage. This also applies on fronts such as safety of cars, durability of cars, and power of cars. With current market trends drifting towards efficiency being a high priority for most customers, this is something that plays a n integral role in the strategic goals, plans, and implementation of plans of BMW Group. Economically, there are many forces that exert influence over BMW Group.Varying exchange rates are a primary factor, and have a direct impact upon sales within a given country, as they play a large role in determining whether or not a customer will buy a substitute good. BMW Group have a strategy in place to manage this known as â€Å"hedging†. High prices for raw materials such as steel and various alloy metals also play a part in determining corporate strategies, as does the volatility in the price of petrol in various countries in which BMW Group sells their goods. The legal factors are very similar to the aforementioned political factors, as they mostly include legislations to do with emissions and safety.There are other laws which vary by degrees between countries in which BMW Group goods are produced. This mainly involves certain labor laws, such as minimum wage laws and occupationa l health and safety laws. BMW Group consider these forces and the elements of a SOOT when developing corporate strategies and implementing them. The firm devises ways in which they can manage this uncertainty, and minimize the amount of turbulence they encounter spite being part of such a competitive and volatile industry. These will be covered in a later section of this report. 3.Strategic directions Especially in the high competitive market of the automobile industry a clear vision and mission statement is important to hold the internal and external stakeholder support on a high level (Hill, Jones, Galvan & Haddam 2007). As one of the worlds leading car manufacturer BUM'S vision statement is nothing less than â€Å"To be the leading supplier of premium products and premium services for individual mobility. † (BMW AAA, p. 180) To do that BMW sets its main focus traditionally on sights quality standards and best possible service for its customers.BMW mission statement is embo ssed by sustainability and responsibility. In the centre stand the three â€Å"Or's†: resources efficiency, risk minimization and reputation. With resource addition the company tries to save energy by optimizing their current engines and providing new drive systems like hydrogen engines. The aim of the company is â€Å"to use resources sparingly and efficiently' (BMW 2005, p. L). To lead the company in successful future for BMW it is important to recognize risk in an early stadium and try to avoid them (BMW 2005).Reputation is especially for BMW as a company with a very high brand value important. So BMW wants to â€Å"enhance the Company's reputation by acting responsibly towards employees and society'(BMW 2005, p. L). Every individual of the BMW group is supposed to maintain the sustainability of that three parts and everyone in the company should implement these objectives in the every days work life. Simultaneous BMW sees its staff as an important part on the way to rea ch its mission and provide its employees with best conditions and supports the professional and personal development (BMW 2005). Key strategies BMW has several strategies to survive in the strong competitive automobile market. One is the strategy of differentiation (Hill, Jones, Galvan & Haddam 2007). Cars of BMW stand for quality and exclusivity. Customers are willing to pay more money for a BMW than for an equal car of another brand. BMW is able to create the awareness of differences in its consumers mind and satisfies its customers wants and needs at a very high level. The cars of BMW have an attractive and sportive design. In connection with the high price BMW underlines its status as a premium brand.Furthermore BMW attracts through its sportive aspect and focus on innovation especially younger people. Expensive marketing campaigns force that in an impressive way. The result is an extremely high brand recognition and binding of a large number of loyal customers all over the worl d. That unique position of BMW makes it difficult for competitors to take advantage of the market in the short and medium term. BMW follows a diversification strategy, too. It has three non- overlapping car brands and a motorcycle brand.They are able to use their high knowledge and engineering experiences for all three different car brands and rover there are several synergies between the car and the motorcycle production. Especially in the expensive development of engines both segments profit similarly and the total risk for the company is lowered down because the company is less vulnerable for unexpected economic or competitive changes (Hill, Jones, Galvan & Haddam 2007). As a third the mastication of profit is one of the major strategies of the company for the next years.BMW has to fight against decreasing sale numbers caused by the economic crisis. Therefore the firm has to find new ways to generate more earning to satisfy its shareholders. A logical consequence is to reduce cos ts and increase efficiency. BMW tries to do that by different methods and techniques (Hill, Jones, Galvan & Haddam 2007). 5. Strategic implementation In the centre of Bum's strategic implementation stand the realization of strategic plan called â€Å"Number ONE†. BMW propose two sets of goals and strategies – one to lead BMW into 2012, one to lead BMW into 2020 (BMW 2007).At present, for the short worldwide. This is inclusive of all of their car brands, Mini and Rolls Royce. To do this they are increasing the variety in their model line-up. Also, for this short term, they re among the industry-leaders in adapting to new and different target markets, by producing cheaper, better quality cars which are accessible to a greater array of potential buyers. The other major short-term strategy to achieve this is to greater â€Å"recession-proof† their interests by engaging in hedging in the $ASS (BMW 2007: Horntail 2009).The goals and strategies which BMW hopes to achie ve by 2020 are much more ambitious, but no less achievable. They have adopted a â€Å"less input, more output† ethos, and as such are aiming to cut cost-centers and save the targeted figure of 6 billion Euros. As part of this plan, that 6 billion Euros is earmarked to then be invested into research and development in order to gain a competitive advantage through greater efficiency of their products. Instruments like flexible work and shifts models make it possible to adjust the product capacity of each plant contemporary.The number of employees will be reduced naturally – without dismissals (BMW 2007: Horntail 2009: Hill, Jones, Galvan & Haddam 2007, p. 102). Because of the strong position of the Euro against the US Dollar in the last years BMW will increase the utilization of the placement in United States. Also the company want to profit of the well qualified but cheaper labor of China through extensions of productions placements in China. The movement to China means also shorter ways to the new growing market and using of cheaper local suppliers, which moreover reduces the costs further (BMW 2009).High investments in marketing are an important element in the strategic implementation of the BMW Group as well (BMW 2009). The high marketing budget attends to save its main competitive advantage: the high brand recognition. The concept of the â€Å"ultimate driving machine† creates an emotional connection to customers world wide. Thereby BMW goes within its marketing strategy not the easiest way and make the same advertisements and marketing campaigns all over the world. The BMW Group analyses the specific customer groups of each region and try to listen and respond to the customers.Whereas people in America still want big engines in their cars, the environmental aspects in Europe getting more important. So BMW not only offers the same cars with different engines, also its marketing strategies for America, Europe and Asia are different. BMW controlled its distribution network more than most of its competitors. The results are again benefits for brand management. The company has the reputation to be near its customers. The brand BMW stand not only for quality, also service is linked with BMW. So the after sales service is another important part of the strategic implementation.The people should see that the company cares about them also after the buying which is in important fact in binding the customers as well (BMW 2009). Finally BMW will fulfill the new carbon dioxide regularities of the different governments. That means also a reaction of a changing of the customer wishes and a conformance to the companies mission BMW2009). 6. Key strategic implementation issues 0 Raising competition Environmental issues Global recession Changes in demand The external environment is a major contributor to this in the form of cut-throat competition, which is rife throughout the automotive industry.BMW don't have brand cannibalism to w orry about, but the existence of suitable alternative goods which may also appeal to potential buyers' (Hill, Jones, Galvan & Haddam 2007). Another key issue is those faced by the research and development department. Competitors wish to achieve the same outcome, for the same reasons, therefore BMW eave to remain competitive on a number of fronts (Hill, Jones, Galvan & Haddam 2007). This is also in keeping with having to work within the confines of various regulations.As they are the manufacturer of automobiles they must adhere to environmental and safety regulations in all the countries in which their goods are sold, and, due to globalization, this counts for the vast majority of nation states (Hill, 7. Evaluation of strategy The strategy of differentiation is important for a brand like BMW which do not serve the whole market. There are a few competitors in the premium segment of the automobile market and BMW has to do a high effort to keep its position and reputation in the long ru n. But BMW has to be careful.The company invests a lot of money in research and development. That could keep the danger that competitors imitate Bum's new products and inventions faster than the company can take real advantages of its investments. The high brand recognition is surely safe for the short and middle distance but in the long run BMW has to maintain its competitive advantage. Because of its relative small size in comparison with its main competitors tragic alliances will probably become a key position in BMW future strategic direction to achieve economies of scale and finally high profit margins.This is also a good possibility to reduce the costs of research and development and to realize especially cost intensive big innovations like the development of new engines for example the electric or hydrogen technologies. 8. Conclusions BMW seems to be good prepared for the future. The strong brand image gives the company a unique position in the marketplace, which is quite ess ential in such a high competitive business environment like the automobile industry. The key strategy Differentiation† works and the strategy plan for the next years â€Å"Number ONE† shows a sustainable and moreover feasible concept which should be successful.

Business & Human resource

In today’s competitive world, where there is increased competition in the industry. Human resource management and recruitment has proven to be the most effective tool that provides with a competitive advantage, which cannot be matched or countered by any other competitor. Human resource of any company is the key to success and its sustainable development in the coming years. Therefore it is essential for all the corporations to take into account the immense power of their human resource and to make genuine efforts in order to retain them. For that the main area to be targeted is motivation.In that case it is necessary to evaluate the psyche of all the employees. Motivation is the driving force that makes a person achieves the desired goals in an affective manner. In the past years a lot of research work has been done on the topic of motivation. Because only if a person is willing to perform any task, he will be motivated to do it. As depicted by the saying that one can take hi s horse to the water but cannot force him to drink it unless he wants to. Such is the phenomenon of motivation. Motivation has a very prominent role in the field of business. As all humans are complex beings. All of them have different requirements.It is extremely important for the firm to set up such an environment that promotes the talent of the employees and utilize their potential in an efficient manner. In order to keep the employees intact and promote an organizational culture which is healthy. It is required that the leadership carefully works on job design. Job design is the process in which different elements are join together to form a job in which individual as well as organizational requirements are kept in mind . While designing a job description it is very important that they company is aware of and concentrates on the fact that what they want to achieve.If the employees are aware of their job description and are provided with the right resources and culture, the compa ny is able to achieve its goals. And also maintains the standards at the same time. In such a situation employees are motivated to put in their best and to take their work to further level of excellence. Motivation is one factor that is extremely difficult to attain. But on the other hand those firms that have been successful in motivating their employees have also earned value addition form their talented and skillful employees.Most of these researches of motivation in management have been derived from the discipline of psychology. Since psychology is the study of human mind and behavior. These theories have proved to be very effective in use in all the fields of management. A few of these theories related to motivation are described bellow. Abraham Maslow was a famous psychologist and was also known as the father of modern management. He in his article â€Å"A Theory of Human Motivation† formulated a framework of human motivation and drives on the basis of their needs†¦ The table below depicts the hierarchy of these human needs in order.1) Psychological needs: they are recognized as the primary needs of every individual that are essential to be fulfilled. They are required for survival. They comprise of necessities like food, shelter, sleep, water etc. 2) Safety Needs: as soon as the psychological needs are met, ones attention is diverted towards fulfilling the security needs. Every person has some insecurities may it be physical or emotional. According to Maslow until and unless these needs are addressed and resolved a person would feel threatened and would not climb up any further on the pyramid.3) Social Needs: this is the first level of higher level of needs. It involves the interaction and relationship with a society, family or social group. 4) Esteem Needs: esteem needs include self-respect, self worth, recognition and achievement. 5) Self-Actualization needs: realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences Maslow’s ideas regarding the hierarchy of needs provides information about workplace environment that encourages and enables employees to attain their potential that is self actualization.Managers can use these to encourage personal growth and development. Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Y were a basis of development of positive management styles and techniques. And prove to be helpful in development of organizational development and culture within the organization. It clearly defines two different methods of management control. One is the classic and conventional authoritative management style and the other is the modern a participative style. Companies’ can chose either of them but theory Y or the participative style has been more effective in motivating the workforceBecause these theories help us understand the psyche of human mind which in turn can be helpful in developing the job description. And if the job design would be good enough than this would motivate employees to work harder and bring in innovation. In this world where nothing is stagnant and environment changes, such steps are all effective in helping a company cope with these changes and to conquer new market with fresh ideas. All these theories are a guiding force to manage employees and their talent. Motivation is essential at all levels.It is a complex combination of several factors. Motivation leads to efficiency, profits and loyalty. It can make the impossible possible. Employees need to feel respected and valued in the company. This gives them a sense of belonging. Adopting sensible job designs for the workforce can only bring about this change. It is the responsibility of the leadership to make such job descriptions that help utilize the potentials. Theory Y shows that management styles empower and have a significant impact on workforce motivation.Works Cited Abraham Maslow. (n. d. ). Maslow Hierarchy of Needs. November 14, 2008. Retrieved from: < http:// www. abraham-maslow. com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs. asp> Businessballs. com. (n. d. ). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. November 14, 2008. Retrieved from: < http://www. businessballs. com/maslow. htm> Job Access. (n. d. ). Job description and design. November 14, 2008. Retrieved from:

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Evaluate The Impact Of A Selected Business’s Ethical Behaviour On Stakeholders And The Business

In this report I will be looking at how my businesses activities and ethical behaviour affect different stakeholders with in my business. My organisation (RBS). Royal Bank of Scotland is one of the world’s top ten financial groups. The group employs 140,000 people across 30 countries and operates out of more than 2000 sites worldwide. Its subsidiaries include NatWest, Lombard, First Active and insurance groups such as Direct Line and Churchill. RBS’s aims and objectives are focusing on customers since the credit crunch in 2008 and they lost a large amount of customers since then.So their aims and objectives are to work harder to make cooperate banking better, to Provide service and support to make other businesses grow and provide them succeed in the most competitive markets and finally Improving customer service and gaining customer loyalty. As a financial institution it is necessary that RBS think and plan carefully before they make any decision or take any action in the business. They are dealing with financial products and service so they really need to focus on being ethical and behaving in a way that crime is not involved.Regulatory bodies work very hard to prevent any unethical behaviour that will not be tolerating by the authorities in charge for banking behaviour. Regardless regulatory bodies monitoring banking activities and putting laws and procedures in place for banks to abide by; unethical behaviour still takes place in banks often by individuals or groups or the bank as a whole. Looking at RBS’s history I have discovered RBS has had ups and downs during the previous few years. Unethical behaviour has taken place in RBS and their behaviour has had a huge impact on various shareholders in different ways.RBS just like many other banks has had history of mis-selling Payment Protection Insurance to customers. RBS and other banks who mis-sold PPI have had to pay back customers. PPI was a Payment Protection Insurance that is insuran ce on loans and other borrowings; people used this insurance so if the debtors die or lose their jobs then the insurance will pay off the loan. Customers bought this insurance knowingly or unknowingly but were not told clear information about what the real circumstances will be if the person is unable to pay the loan.This insurance only paid out minimum repayments for only a minimum time for about twelve months. Customers were tricked and they paid the PPI which was no use to them when they were unable to pay off their loan. RBS has already lost a lot of money paying back compensation. Since people are allowed to clam back their money on PPI and interests they were charged RBS has made an estimated loss of between  £580million and  £1. 3billion. At the moment they have kept an amount of  £500 million aside for future PPI compensation they may still have to repay.After the PPI loss they have really focused on how to prevent misspelling products so they will not have to face pay ing out compensations again. As the result of RBS misspelling PPI stakeholders were affected in in many ways. RBS’s shareholders are missing out on the high amounts of dividends they should have received. As RBS has to pay out the PPI fines they owe to customer from their profits. This means that because RBS’s profits have decreased then this will affect the amount of dividends shareholders receive as the dividend will also decrease.This is not a good image of RBS in front of their shareholders as they have disadvantaged their shareholders by decreasing their dividends. Customers have been victims of PPI as they have been paying extra charges on their loans and on other amounts borrowed from RBS . some customers struggle to even repay their minimum repayments; so PPI had made it harder for them to pay off their loans. Mis-selling gave people the wrong impression that they were insured if they lost their jobs or their source of income.People  lose trust in banking pro ducts as they expect to be assured in difficult times but when they find out they are not insured and will still have to repay loans they get mentally stressed and they feel like they can’t rely on banking products provided by RBS. The Financial service authority and other regulatory bodies also have also suffered financially as they had to pay employees at FSA to investigate the PPI scam. This is time consuming for them as they need to make sure that everyone who paid PPI is compensated.They have to spend time to investigate and fine banks so next time they will not do anything unethical again. After this incident FSA are being stricter on the way that banks operate and have amended laws regarding selling products to customers and banking what the bank is allowed to do and what they are restricted to do. The FSA is looking into how banks interact with customers and are paying more attention to all products that banks are selling. Most customers have been compensated by RBS; however I believe RBS’s trust bond with their customers has already been damaged.This influences customer’s behaviour before they buy and insurance products or additional insurance products as they will think twice before thinking of buying these products as RBS additional products may be seen as just another scam or unnecessary products. RBS needs to build up their trust with stakeholders again by providing them with information based on facts and only sell them with products that are relevant to individual customers depending on their needs.On 3rd August 2010 the FSA announced fines of  £5.6 million for RBS group for the failure in its systems and control with respect to the UK financial sanctions regime. UK banks and businesses are not allowed to provide financial services to people on the HM Treasury Sanctions list. The money Laundry Regulation 2007 states that RBS should have policies in place to prevent funding and services to people on the sanctions list, RBS is said to have not considered it important to investigate where the money was coming from into customers’ accounts. They did not look into customers to see the source of money they received or cashes out of their accounts.FSA believe that RBS funding’s could have facilitated transactions involving sanctions target and terrorist financing. After RBS admitted that they had made the mistake by not paying attention to these issues they were fined  £5. 6 million. This outcome influenced different stakeholders in different ways. When the word â€Å"terrorist† is used with an organisations name then people want to stay out of the story; this is why after RBS was fined for failing to screening procedures stakeholders did not want anything to do with RBS.I believe the main stakeholders that will influence RBS was their customers as they will stop opening accounts with RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank and Coutts and Co. this was because they thought that the money they dep osited in their accounts was being financed for criminal activities and financing terrorism activities. Customers stop using RBS and NatWest banking and moved their money into other banks. The number of people opening accounts with them decreased as they were named as terrorist financers by some people. RBS’s reputation will go down as people will think they are involved in criminal activities.RBS needs to make people have trust in them again and they need to take an action to prevent this from happening again. People stopped buying RBS market shares in the stock exchange and this left them with shareholders wanting to sell their shares as soon as possible. Shareholders suffered as share prices decreased and RBS’s reputation was bad which meant they lost value in the stock exchange. RBS profits decreased as they had to pay the fine from the profits; this means they will pay out less dividends to their shareholders.RBS have not been ethical all the time however they hav e worked to improve and build strong relationships with their stakeholders. RBS have done this by showing the community that they care about them and they have invested some profit towards the community. Corporate Social responsibility has been RBS’s strong activity which will make people they are ethical and care about the society. RBS has proved this by taking part in a number of activities and supporting projects to help the future working generation and support  projects that are operating to make the earth a better place to live. RBS has been working with The Princes Trust for more the 11 years they have financially supported the enterprise programme.The Enterprise Programme supports and guides people aged from 16 to 30 to overcome their personal barriers to success and achieve their goals. RBS has been helping young people develop their ideas and become entrepreneurs. RBS are doing this to show people that they care about the younger generation that they spend their p rofits on projects that help provide young people a promising future.They want to show society that they are helping build businesses and are helping the society as a whole by helping young people. They will be successful in winning customers trust and in bringing their reputation back up if they continue supporting the society. RBS have used 61% of their gas from natural gases in 2011. They are now lending massive amounts of money to organisations that are working on renewable energy. They spent  £50 million helping small businesses to start up their projects on renewing energy.They then lent out  £366 million pounds in 2011 to help renewable projects in 2011. RBS has also made other small changes to the way they carry out activities that have helped the environment a lot. They have showed that they operate ethically and that they operate ethically by doing simple things on a daily basis such as they have reduced the usage of paper by using electronic systems instead. RBS do no t send customers statements by paper anymore because they have started providing electronic statements.I believe by showing that they support the environment and practice ethically they have showed campaigns like Greenpeace that they are willing to help the environment and prevent global warming. In every success story at green peace projects; RBS will be mention for making it possible to prevent global warming as they have invested in these projects. I believe that RBS performing ethically and making the right decisions has a major impact on the Government. I say this because RBS was bailed out by the government in October 2008 after going bankrupt.The government bailed them out because they couldn’t afford an established bank to go down as this would affect so many things and create so much loss to the nation as a whole. RBS was bailed out because they are one of the main companies that operate in the UK and they will lose so much money. The government invested to bail out the bank so that they will have their say on the way the banks run and control over bonuses paid to management. Bonuses and dividends were cancelled by the government and RBS had to forcefully sell their shares to the government as no other investors were willing to invest.The government buying 605 of their shares meant that they were owners of RBS. This gave the government a better insight of how the bank operates and they are now able to order RBS of how they want it to operate. I think the bank has only invested in the banks so that they can make more money from RBS’s profits in the future. This will also allow them to have a better grip of the banks finances so they make profit and the shareholders majorly the government can get high dividends in return on the profit in the upcoming years.If the government let RBS get bankrupt then the government would suffer severely. RBS going bankrupt means the nation losing one of their well established banks that means staff will be made redundant. When they are made redundant these unemployed people will turn to the government for financial support in the form of various state benefits. In my opinion the government invested money to save the bank so that they can get a return on what they invest rather than just paying out benefits.Since the government has bailed RBS out of financial crises, I think there has been an improvement in the way they operate as the government is kept a close eye on RBS’s activities to ensure make a profit and are able to pay off tax payers. RBS has paid off  £163bn in emergency loan they received from US and British taxpayers during the financial crises. Of their loan to the government with high return as the interest charged on the loan. I hope after clearing off their loan they still behave ethically so that they can avoid paying out more compensation to people they have affected with their unethical activities.