Developing An Effective Management And Leadership Commerce Essay

Developing An Effective Management And Leadership Commerce Essay Leadership and management efforts are crucial to the development of business strategies of companies. Basically, a lot of companies turned to bankruptcy not only because of the environmental factors but because they neglected leadership and management efforts (Hormozi, Hostetler, Middleton, 2003). With this, OSIM was chosen due to the steady growth of the company from humble beginnings as a kitchen appliance trading company to its global footprint-having a wide point of sales network (OSIM Ltd., 2011). This made the company an exciting and interesting case study. Furthermore, in view of the current economic climate where businesses are failing and where competitors are aggressive, it is important to understand from the business trend whether OSIM is capable to meet to the future challenges. As the industry expects more competition and the entry of more players, it would be interesting to see how well prepared the company is both financially and strategically to reinforce its global presence and continue to be the market leader in this industry. Corporate Profile, Mission, Vision and Goals of OSIM  [1]   OSIM International Ltd was believed a global leader in healthy lifestyle products. The company was originally founded by Ron Sim in Singapore in 1980 (OSIM Ltd., 2011). During that time OSIM was under the name of R Sim Trading, an electrical and household appliance company (OSIM Ltd., 2011). Using their small start-up capital, the company engages with the promotion of household products such as knife sharpeners, knife and mobile clothes drying rods. Apparently, in 1989, the company listed with the name Health Check and Care, and later on shifted their main focus to healthy lifestyle products. The time following this created great development for the company, and it manages to produce outlets in Indonesia, Malaysia and in Hong Kong (AsiaPulse News, 2002). The companys vision was to become the global leader in healthy life style products whereas their mission was to challenge the spirit of their clients. The goal of the company was to bring the healthy lifestyle to their consumers (Business Times-Malaysia, 2003 and New Straits Times, 2003). Financial Standing  [2]   In Figure 1, the OSIM International Ltds 2009 revenues grew by 1% from 62% in 2008 to 63% in 2009. This is also created significant increase in terms of selling, general and administrative costs resulting to the decline of the net income from a gain of 21% in 2008 to a gain of 5% in 2009. From the record of OSIMs balance sheet (see Appendix), the company actually suffers from profit decline due to the effect of global recession (Offers Style: New OSIM Store Now Open, 2004). Figure 1. OSIMs Profit and Turnover Source: Osim International Ltd., 2009 As seen in Figure 1, the 2007 and 2009 performance is expressive compared in 2008. From these results, we can deviate that OSIM was not performing well in 2008 as compared to their expressive 2007 and 2009. Despite of some downturns in 2008 due to the global business crisis, the year 2010 shows interesting trend. From the gathered information, it is expected that in 2010 both the revenue and net income of OSIM will be constantly moving upward (See Appendix for complete details). OSIMs PESTLE Analysis Political Conditions political influences include government stability, taxation policy, foreign trade regulations and social welfare policies (Davies, Lam, 2001). The political situation of Hong Kong is very stable now or even in the knowing future, all of these are provided by its stable and high visibility law (CIA Worldfact 2011). This will assure OSIM and other foreign businesses that the political condition of Hong Kong will help them to have a stable operation in area. Actually, the corruption-free government with score 8.4 in transparency index, excellent political condition and highly developed and competent infrastructure of Hong Kong have caught the attention of investments from more than 7,000 multinational corporations from the United States, Japan, and Europe (Transparency International, 2010). Economics- Hong Kong is an attractive market for medical home care technology makers and the newest trends. The opening of OSIM and the growth of medical home care technologies is supporting the demand for health services in Hong Kong. OSIM does not worry that the legislation could severely set back their most effective marketing (New Straits Times, 2003). Actually, Hong Kong is a highly developed and successful free-market economy. As of 2010 Economic Indicators, the CPI or the consumer price index of Hong Kong is 128 with Annual Inflation Rate of 0.45 (CIA Worldfact, 2011). Hong Kong has also 4.3% (2010 est.) unemployment rate with the GDP of $224.1 billion (2010 est.) (CIA Worldfact, 2011). Actually, Hong Kong enjoys an outstandingly open and corruption-free background, stable prices, and a per capita GDP higher than that of most developed countries. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in consumer electronics, information technology products, pharmaceuticals, and on a growing financial services sector (CIA Worldfact, 2011). Real GDP growth averaged 2.3% in 2008, but contracted -2.7% in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis but in 2010 an expressive 6.8% was computed (CIA Worldfact, 2011). As seen, there are lot of foreign businesses found in almost all sectors of the economy of Hong Kong. Basically, more than two-thirds of manufacturing contribution and direct export sales are provided by foreign business, although there are services sectors that remain ruled by government-linked businesses (CIA Worldfact, 2011). Social cultural In terms of social aspect, OSIM is quite in advantage in Hong Kong considering that the standards of living of people in destinations served by OSIM is good and most of them have the capacity to pay for their home healthcare technology needs. However, OSIM still needs to consider the tastes and lifestyles of people especially, their willingness to buy technology-based home care products (New Straits Times, 2004) since Hong Kong consumers could prefer traditional medicine or Chinese physician rather than high tech equipment. But because of the advent of new technologies in any setting, this is a good timing for OSIM to grab the opportunity (Barton, Newell, Wilson, 2002). The nature of its workforce is also part of external environment of OSIM whereas the Hong Kong citizen are able to cope with the changes implemented in OSIM. Technological Today, e-business has become an integral part of operations in any business industry, with ultimate objectives of not only achieving cost saving but also generating additional revenue (Hormozi, Hostetler, Middleton, 2003). Beyond to enhance their current product line, their further investment should be focus on improving and incorporating appropriate new technology. In Hong Kong, OSIM implemented and ambitious to become Asias leading Home Health-care products manufacturer and distributor. Legal As with any other business industry of the world, there are rules and regulations that restrict or support the facilitation of the business in the Home Health-care products market in the areas where OSIM operates (New Straits Times, 2004). Environmental There are currently no major environmental issues faced by the OSIM in Hong Kong considering that Home Health-care products are not only good for people but also to our environment (New Straits Times, 2004). OSIMs SWOT Analysis With respect to the given information in the company website, the following presentation will show the SWOT analysis of OSIM. Actually, SWOT analysis can provide a framework for identifying and analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threat (Feist, Heely, Lu, Nersesian, 1999). Adapted from: http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-swot.html TOWS Matrix From the SWOT presented the TOWS matrix for OSIMs operation in Hong Kong is made. External Opportunities (O) External Threats (T) 1. Improve and increase the market of the business 2. Growth of the companys subsidiaries. 3. Increased customer loyalty. 4. International consumer reach through the use of e-commerce or internet marketing 1. Emergence of highly competitive company. 2. Economic downturn. 3. Escalating prices of main materials and products. Internal Strengths (S) SO Focus on various promotion strategies to improve market. Offering excellent products to achieve customer loyalty and excellent customer association ST Strong reputation and resources of OSIM to draw industrial knowledge which can perk up customers confidence in considering product. Consideration of joint venture and sustainable merger and acquisition to improve and expand market portfolio in other parts of the globe. Enhancing home healthcare products and services to meet the need of the target market. 1. Good Customer relationship 2. Diversified products and services offered to different customers in the international contexts Internal Weaknesses (W) WO Managing financial resource effectively to minimise weaknesses Improving customer reach by joining various business ventures. WT Applying strategic management structure to gain shareholders and stakeholders trusts Investing in information technology infrastructure Enhancing brand loyalty though customer satisfaction. 1. Inability to manage financing sources 2. Limited access to international markets. Adopted from: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_89.htm Porters Five Forces of OSIM A Five-Force model (Ali, 1993) was conducted in the context of the global home health care industry . Despite being a market leader, OSIM is not yet resting on its laurels of success, but instead, continuously innovating and developing their company in order to maintain what it has managed to achieve up to this time. The following identifies the five forces of OSIM: Industry Competitors- In the global business industry, regulatory and technological changes are the major factors, making ingrained reasonable strategies outdated and controls the creation and progress of new products, strategies, processes, and public policies in the industry (Leuz, Pfaff, Hopwood, 2004). Basically, there are numerous home health care players in the industry, included in the list is OSIM, who strive for market leadership in all their business aspects. As such, the level of industry competition is very stiff and very aggressive. Potential Entrants- Natural barriers to entry in the global home health care industry include the need for capital investment, human resources, and technology and the importance of economies of scale. It also includes the role of contracting costs avoided by a close relationship between the vendor and its client, which in turn is related to the avoidance of opportunistic behaviour by either party. Buyers Home health-care products have a long historya history rich in product diversity, international scope, and, above all, continuous change and adaptation. These competitive changes have forced adaptations, and in general have improved the level and efficiency offer to clients, thereby increasing transactional volume. Coupled with these, the customers have become informed concerning home-health care products that OSIM-like companies offer. Suppliers- The suppliers to this industry are mainly the providers of technology and materials in home health-care firms use in the conduct of their businesses. Substitutes -There is a high level of substitutes for the healthy and lifestyle products industry, evidenced by the numerous numbers of major players in the global market. The cost to transfer to another beauty firm is also relatively low, so the substitution rate is pretty high. Grand Strategy Matrix Adapted from: http://www.slideshare.net/suresh.singh/grand-strategy-presentation-805769 In terms of grand differentiation strategy of the company, OSIM belong to the market in which the growth was slow. However, the company was the leading business in this industry that defines their strong competitive position. Differentiation Strategy In order to place OSIM as a leader in Home Healthcare Products, there should be a so-called differentiation strategy that clearly identifies why OSIM is different from other brands. The differentiation strategy of OSIM was based on their: Wide experience in home health care market as they have been in the business for almost 42 years now, their directors can consider their experience in operating venture as strength (OSIM Ltd., 2011). Reasonable price offerings of products and services- since they able to keep their overheads low, this allows them to have better control of their prices. This is considered strength because naturally, people would look for a reasonably-priced place to stay in that equally do not sacrifice service and product quality (OSIM Ltd., 2011). Already has developed a good reputation for value for money since they have been operating for great number of years, they already have built a name for themselves, attracting a number of loyal customers along the way (OSIM Ltd., 2010). Good industry skills the directors of different divisions of OSIM are natural for the business that they ventured into, both being outgoing and friendly, the most important public relation skills that clients look for (OSIM Ltd., 2011). The Boston Consulting Group Approach (BCG Matrix) There are 9 important business units for the OSIM, which are grouped according to the city or country that their operation is located: Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Canada, UAE and USA. Figure 1 BCG Matrix Adapted from: http://www.netmba.com/strategy/matrix/bcg/ Cash Cow a business element that has a great market share in a fully grown and slow growing industry. Thus, it requires a small investment and produces cash that can be used in other business (QuickMBA 2007). Malaysia is the only business unit that was included in the said category. This is because OSIM is considered as one of the most prominent and famous home health-care products distributor. Above all, one of the most important aspects to be considered is the number of competitors in the country. Star a business element that has a huge market share in a swift rising business. This business unit generates cash, however, due to the rapid growth of the market, they require investment in order maintain the lead of a specific company (QuickMBA 2007). Hong Kong and Singapore are the two business units which included in the said category. OSIM is considered as one of the first home health care products manufacturer and distributor in the world, particularly in Hong Kong and Singapore. Because of that, OSIM had been able to gain competitive advantage, in terms of image towards the Chinese, Singaporeans and foreign visitors. However, because of the growing economy of the said cities, it had resulted to the growing number of players in the industry, thus pushed OSIM Hong Kong and Singapore to focus on different strategic plan and implementation that will maintain their competitive advantage. Question Mark or Problem Child a business component that has a little market share in a lofty increasing market. A problem child requires resources in order to grow market share, however, the fact if they will be successful and become stars is not sure (QuickMBA 2007). Canada, China and Indonesia are the three business units that were included in the said category. In China, OSIM has a small share in the market because of the extensive competition, primarily from the local players in the area. The said situation is the same in Canada. On the other hand, the OSIM was included in the said category because; the hotel was one of the newly developed hotels of the group. Dog a business component that has a little market share in a grown-up industry. UAE, Taiwan and USA are three of business units that belong to the said category. The reason behind the said analysis is because of the fact that UAE, Taiwan and USA are considered as three of the most prominent cities in the world. Thus, there are different huge companies that have already started their operations in there. Although it is important to consider that a dog may not required substantial cast, it is connected to the capital that could be better be deployed elsewhere, however in the case of the OSIM UAE, Taiwan and USA, it is considered as strategic purpose of the group in order to introduce their brand in the West and some parts of Asia. OSIMs Leadership: Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM) OSIM OMRON SANYO Critical Success Factors Weight Rating Weighted Score Rating Weighted Score Rating Weighted Score Market share 0.30 3 0.90 2 0.60 2 0.60 Price Competitiveness 0.25 4 1.00 3 0.75 3 0.75 Financial position 0.20 3 0.60 3 0.60 2 0.40 Product quality 0.10 2 0.20 2 0.20 3 0.30 Consumer loyalty 0.15 3 0.45 2 0.30 3 0.45 Total 1.00 3.15 2.45 2.50 Adapted from: http://www.soopertutorials.com/business/strategic-management/1031-competitive-profile-matrix-harleyhonda-and-yamaha.html With regards to competitive profile matrix, OSIM became a leader and surpasses their top competitors OMRON and Sanyo. Actually, OSIM leads the victory in terms of market share and price competitiveness. The said key factors are OSIMs edge against their competitors considering that their primary markets are located in Singapore, Hong Kong and currently no company poses a significant threat to them as a major competitor (Osim International Ltd. 2009). The company believed that they have the have a competitive edge over their competitors in their primary markets as their extensive distribution network of outlets is dedicated to home health-care products. As part of the business development of the company, they currently exercise the full power over their point-of-sales system and utter to the distribution chain how to sell and not only what to sell (Osim International Ltd. 2009). Furthermore, OSIM also control their supply chain, from the design of the products up to the distribution an d marketing of the products. In general, the company considers Sanyo and Omron as their competitors. Overall Recommendation for Future Development For the success and future development of OSIM, it is recommended that internal condition must be considered. Basically, the most important to consider was the human factor as it is the heart thats drive the company. Having the right culture and people to create conducive environment, and be lead by strong visionary leaders and champion management that capable to manage its people and process. The external condition on the other hand, as shown in the PESTLE analysis must be also considered. With strong and stable external environment will contribute for the need to change strategic option. Furthermore, the full support from our Group and re-alignment with our other Hub is important without it its impossible to achieve the vision and mission. In terms of financial aspect all strategic option should involve financial investment that in term will bring cost benefit and growth. Especially in its market development by acquisition potential BPO that is more desirable and can bring in capit al and value to OSIM. Apparently, in order to cope with the change the organization structure also need to realign and change. Especially in its organic growth, where having the right type of people and culture is the key to success. It structure management is important to execute the strategic option. Moreover, external market trend is more into technology with faster and reliable system. With high speed connectivity the market had been more competing and broaden it market widely. As seen each strategic option has very own risk but with stern control and better risk management can mitigate any potential risk and minimize the impact. For continues success of the company, OSIM must also consider change management that will be the potential barrier since OSIM is still in it comfort zone. By doing an organisational development and learning it can identify the risk and overcome the barrier of change. OSIM is passionate with customer importance and makes every effort to be an all-weather umbrella to its clients, by considering diverse strategies for varying situations. It had to branch out in order to equate revenue and expenditure, reduce risk and stay profitable, with an equal importance in its ability to anticipate change. The business of OSIM has begun a strategy of major expansion and growth with one clear objective, which is to establish themselves as one of the worlds top distributor of Home Health care products, and these strategies are based around a philosophy of organic growth and a transition towards becoming a client-oriented business. With this detail, the business must go on to find innovative software programs and relate effectively to other companies that produce these software programs to become updated with the latest improvement in the World Wide Web. The business must economically and efficiently generate a good connection with their clientele and shareholders, to incessantly operate. OSIM must constantly conceptualise and execute good projects to be able to set trends in the industry. Apart from developing business strategies, the business have to focus on building employee and customer associations, in harmony to strategic management concepts, for it is necessary to establish and focus on the needs of the clientele, as clientele are the motive for being alive in the business. In the end, businesses engaged so much in technology has its share of good and bad impacts, socially, economically and even environmentally. In addition, it has to be noted that retailing of home health care products is not one industry but many. Hence, the achievement of sustainable special intention business or its continual development for the collective benefits of the world, may therefore depend on a change in strategy and planning of the industry in order to identify common ground more easily, and to exploit further returns without sacrificing the one that lays the golden egg, in manner of speaking. All said, future research may have to focus on participatory planning involving business, governments, host communities and campaigners with a greater view to common ground. OSIMs Leadership and Management: An Evaluation In this project, I learned I lot of things when it comes to leadership, management and handling a business. I learned that to sustain the development of a certain business, they should not only frequently review the value of portfolio but also the overall business practices and movement in the global market. To become a global leader, businesses should positioned on fast-growing chances, whether geologically or through market segment by selecting and investment in businesses with long-term tail-wind profiles. In reflecting OSIMs case, there are numerous business management and leadership strategies that can be use in order to maintain business progress and development. All these efforts are conducted to ensure that the welfare of the business organization is preserved along with aims and goals toward sustainable organizational success and development. The fact remains that there are always unexpected as well as unintended risk environments that cannot be controlled by the members of the management executives and staff of business organizations. As such it is important to consider the faculty, benefits as well as advantages of implementing and utilizing strategic management, tools and techniques. At the level and global hazards present in the current business market environments, it is wise to ensure that the image and overall well-being of the business organization is constantly protected. These are possible through strategic use and application of company policies from which the company will benefit. I also learned in this project that the business process and practice in terms of business management strategies clearly indicated the importance of management in averting and entirely preventing detrimental business chaos that economies may bring to business organizations. In the case of OSIM, it is evident that strategic management are highly influential in the formulation of business strategies. It was taken into account that any business and financial endeavour that will be implemented by business organizations should be assessed and evaluated using the existing company policies that are greatly influenced by the precautionary management. Conclusion The strategies of OSIM focus more on the management and access of information rather the creation of irrelevant services and products. For this reason, OSIM has developed a unique set of guiding principles simplicity, cost-efficiency and effectiveness. Total commitment to these principles makes the products of OSIM very user-friendly to its customers. OSIM was able to attain and extensive market leadership through various acquisition deals over the years even there is a stiff competition in the market. The strategies of OSIM are focused mostly on powerful growth of its home health care products and services and getting better the companys financial feat. These innovations have also helped protected major acquisitions and partnerships. Significantly, these innovations have guided to the discharge of the potentials of the companys workforce, thus creating an excellence performance-based background. On the other hand, OSIMs strategies in the home health care and technology industry enhanced at the beginning of the new millennium and commenced on trailing and inventing products differentiation. With this, the differentiated home health care products of OSIM were able to please the customers and sustain their needs in accordance to the context of sustainable competitive advantage. This also justified that the bargaining power of their customer is high while the treat of their substitute and new entrant is low because of their extensive efforts in maintaining the quality of their products. Moreover, this allowed OSIM to review and decrease the prices of their products and as an alternative focused on the values that produced not only a moderately higher price but also a improved margin since these things could help to avoid business downfall.

Love Conquers All in Eudora Weltys A Worn Path Essay -- Worn Path ess

Love Conquers All in A Worn Path      Ã‚  Ã‚   Love is a strong force. Love can make a person do strange and sometimes heroic things. Eudora Welty introduces us to Phoenix Jackson in "A Worn Path," a story about the love that a woman feels for her grandson. Through the actions of Phoenix Jackson, the reader learns that love can conquer anything. This theme is demonstrated through Phoenix's determination, her ability to overcome obstacles, and her reaction to the employees at the clinic.    Phoenix Jackson is an old woman. The politically correct term "elderly" does not accurately describe just how old she is. She does not see well anymore, she walks with a cane to assist her unsteady gait, and she occasionally imagines objects that are not truly there. Despite her age and the frailtie... ...strong. She makes this treacherous trip all the way into town to get his medicine so that he may live another six months, and she still has to make the journey in reverse to get it back home to him.    Work Cited Welty, Eudora.   "A Worn Path"   Literature and the Writing Process.   Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk.   5th ed.   Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 1999.   363-368.

Supply Network Design

Supply Network Design The Supply Network Perspective: A supply network perspective means setting an operation in the context of all the operations with which it interacts, some of which are its suppliers and its customers. Materials, parts, other information, ideas and sometimes people all flow through the network of customer-supplier relationships formed by all these operations. On its supply side an operation has its suppliers of parts, or information, or services. These suppliers themselves : have their own suppliers who in turn could also have suppliers, and so on.On the demand side the operation has customers. These customers might not be the final consumers of the operation's products or services; they might have their own set of customers. †¢On the supply side is a group of operations that directly supply the operation; these are often called first-tier suppliers. They are supplied by second-tier suppliers. However, some second-tier suppliers may also supply an operation directly, thus missing out a link in the network. Similarly, on the demand side of the network, ‘first-tier' customers are the main customer group for the operation.These in turn supply ‘second-tier' customers, although again the operation may at times supply second-tier customers directly. The suppliers and customers who have direct contact with an operation are called its immediate supply network, whereas all the operations which form the network of suppliers' suppliers and customers‘ customers, etc. , are called the total supply network. Homeware manufacturer supplies some of its basic products to wholesalers which supply retail outlets. However, it also supplies some retailers directly with ‘made-to-order' products.Along with the flow of goods in the network from suppliers to customers, each link in the network will feed back orders and information to its suppliers. When stocks run low, the retailers will place orders with the wholesaler or directly with the manufacturer. The wholesaler will likewise place orders with the manufacturer, which will in turn place orders with its suppliers, which will replenish their own stocks from their suppliers. It is a two-way process with goods flowing one way and information flowing the other. It is not only manufacturers that are part of a supply network.The second (service) operation, an operation which manages an enclosed shopping mall, also has suppliers and customers that themselves have their own suppliers and customers. Figure 6. 2 shows the supply network for an operation which manages an enclosed shopping mall. Why consider the whole supply network? †¢There are three important reasons for taking a supply network perspective: †¢It helps an understanding of competitiveness. Immediate customers and immediate suppliers, quite understandably, are the main concern to competitively minded companies.Yet sometimes they need to look beyond these immediate contacts to understand why custo mers and suppliers act as they do. Any operation has only two options if it wants to understand its ultimate customers' needs at the end of the network. It can rely on all the intermediate customers and customers' customers, etc. , which form the links in the network between the company and its end-customers. Alternatively, it can look beyond its immediate customer and suppliers. Relying on one's immediate network is seen as putting too much faith in someone else's judgment of things which are central to an organization's own competitive health. It helps identify significant links in the network. The key to understanding supply networks lies in identifying the parts of the network which contribute to those performance objectives valued by end-customers. Any analysis of networks must start, therefore, by understanding the downstream end of the network. After this, the upstream parts of the network which contribute most to end-customer service will need to be identified. But they will not be equally significant. For example, the important end-customers for domestic plumbing parts and appliances are the installers and service companies that deal directly with domestic consumers.They are supplied by ‘stock holders' which must have all parts in stock and deliver them fast. Suppliers of parts to the stock holders can best contribute to their end-customers' competitiveness partly by offering a short delivery lead time but mainly through dependable delivery. The key players in this example are the stock holders. The best way of winning end-customer business in this case is to give the stock holder prompt delivery which helps keep costs down while providing high availability of parts. †¢It helps focus on long-term issues. There are times when circumstances render parts of a supply network weaker than its adjacent links.A major machine breakdown, for example, or a labour dispute might disrupt a whole network. Should its immediate customers and suppliers explo it the weakness to enhance their own competitive position, or should they tolerate the problems, and hope the customer or supplier will eventually recover? A long-term supply-network view would be to weigh the relative advantages to be gained from assisting or replacing the weak link. Design decisions in supply networks †¢The supply-network view is useful because it prompts three particularly important design decisions.These are the most strategic of all the design decisions treated in this part of the book. It is necessary to understand them at this point, however, because, as well as having a particularly significant impact on the strategy of the organization, they set the context in which all other process design decisions are made. The three decisions are: †¢1- How should the network be configured? This means, first, how can an operation influence the shape which the network might take? Second, how much of the network should the operation own? This may be called the ou tsourcing, vertical integration or do-or-buy decision. 2- Where should each part of the network be located? If the home ware company builds a new factory, should it be close to its suppliers or close to its customers, or somewhere in between? This decision is called the operations location decision. †¢3-What physical capacity should each part of the network have? How large should the home war factory be? Should it expand in large-capacity steps or small ones? These types of decisions are called long-term capacity management decisions. †¢Note that all three of these decisions rely on assumptions regarding the level of future demand. The supplement to this chapter explores forecasting in more detailDeciding whether to outsource †¢Although the effect of outsourcing on the operation's performance objective is important, there are other factors that companies take into account when deciding if outsourcing an activity is a sensible option. For example, if an activity has lo ng-term strategic importance to a company, it is unlikely to outsource it. For example, a retailer might choose to keep the design and development of its web site in-house even though specialists could perform the activity at less cost because it plans to move into web-based retailing at some point in the future.Nor would a company usually outsource an activity where it had specialized skills or knowledge. For example, a company making laser printers may have built up specialized knowledge in the production of sophisticated laser drives. †¢This capability may allow it to introduce product or process innovations in the future. It would be foolish to ‘give away' such capability. After these two more strategic factors have been considered the company's operations performance can be taken into account.Obviously if its operations performance is already too superior to any potential supplier, it would be unlikely to outsource the activity. But also even if its performance was c urrently below that of potential suppliers, it may not outsource the activity if it feels that it could significantly improve its performance. Figure 6. 3 illustrates this decision logic. Outsourcing and offshoring †¢Two supply network strategies that are often confused are those of outsourcing and off-shoring Outsourcing means deciding to buy-in products or services rather than perform the activities in-house.Off-shoring means obtaining products and services from operations that are based outside one's own country. Of course, one may both outsource and offshore as illustrated in Figure 6. 4. Offshoring is very closely related to outsourcing and the motives for each may be similar. Offshoring to a lower-cost region of the world is usually done to reduce an operation’s overall costs as is outsourcing to a supplier that has greater expertise or scale or both. Critical commentary †¢In many Instances there has been fierce opposition to companies outsourcing some off the ir processes.Trade unions often point out that the only reason that outsourcing companies can do the job at lower cost is that they either reduce salaries or reduce working conditions, or both. Furthermore, they say, flexibility is only achieved by reducing job security. Employees who were once part of a large and secure corporation could find themselves as far less secure employees of a less benevolent employer with a philosophy of permanent cost-cutting. Even some proponents of outsourcing are quick to point out the problems.There can be significant obstacles, including understandable resistance from staff who find themselves ‘outsourced'. Some companies have also been guilty of ‘outsourcing a Problem' . In other words, having failed to manage a process well themselves, they ship it out rather than face up to why the process was problematic in the first place. There is also evidence that, although long-term costs can be brought down when a process is outsourced, there may be an initial period when costs rise as both sides learn how to manage the new arrangement. The Location of capacity It was reputedly Lord Sieff, one-time boss of Marks and Spencer, the UK-based retail organization, who said, ‘There are three important things in retailing – location, location and location', and any retailing operation knows exactly what he meant. Get the location wrong and it can have a significant impact on profits, or service. For example, misallocating a fire service station can slow down the average journey time of the fire crews in getting to the fires; †¢locating a factory where there is difficulty attracting labour with appropriate skills will affect the effectiveness of the factory's operations.Location decisions will usually have an effect on an operation's costs as well as its ability to serve its customers (and therefore its revenues). Also, location decisions, once taken, are difficult to undo. The costs of moving an operation can b e hugely expensive and the risks of inconveniencing customers very high. No operation wants to move very often. †¢Reasons for location decisions Not all operations can logically justify their location. Some are where they are for historical reasons. Yet even the operations that are ‘there because they're there' are implicitly making a decision not to move.Presumably their assumption is that the cost and disruption involved in changing location would outweigh any potential benefits of a new location. Two stimuli often cause organizations to change locations: changes in demand for their goods and services, and changes in supply of their inputs. Changes in demand A change in location may be prompted by customer demand shifting. For example, as garment manufacture moved to Asia, suppliers of zips, threads, etc. started to follow them. Changes in the volume of demand can also prompt relocation.To meet higher demand, an operation could expand its existing site, or choose a larg er site in another location, or keep its existing location and find a second location for an additional operation; the last two options will involve a location decision. High-visibility operations may not have the choice of expanding on the same site to meet rising demand. A dry cleaning service may attract only marginally more business by expanding an existing site because it offers a local, and therefore convenient, service. Finding a new location for an additional operation is probably its only option for expansion.Changes in supply. The other stimulus for relocation is changes in the cost, or availability, of the supply of inputs to the operation. For example, a mining or oil company will need to relocate as the minerals it is extracting become depleted. A manufacturing company might choose to relocate its operations to a part of the world where labour costs are low, because the equivalent resources (people) in its original location have become relatively expensive. Sometimes a business might choose to relocate to release funds if the value of the land it occupies is worth more than an alternative, equally good, location.The objectives of the location decision †¢The aim of the location decision is to achieve an appropriate balance between three related objectives: †¢The Spatially variable costs the operation (spatially variable means that something changes with geographical location); †¢the service the operation is able to provide to its customers; †¢the revenue potential of the operation. †¢In for-profit organizations the last two objectives are related. The assumption is that the better the service the operation can provide to its customers, the better will be its potential to attract custom and therefore generate revenue.In not-for-profit organizations, revenue potential might not be a relevant objective and so cost and customer service are often taken as the twin objectives of location. In making decisions about where to locate an operation, operations managers are concerned with minimizing spatially variable costs and maximizing revenue and customer service. Location affects both of these but not equally for all types of operation. For example, with most products, customers may not care very much where they were made. Location is unlikely to affect the operation's revenues significantly.However the costs of the operation will probably be very greatly affected by location. Services, on the other hand, often have both costs and revenues affected by location. The location decision for any operation is determined by the relative strength of supply-side and demand-side factors (see Fig. 6. 5). Location techniques Although operations managers must exercise considerable judgement in the choice of alterative locations, there are some systematic and quantitative techniques which can help the decision process.We describe two here – the weighted-score method and the centre-of-gravity method. †¢Weighted- score method The procedure involves, first of dl, identifying the criteria which will be used to evaluate the various locations. Second, it involves establishing the relative importance of each criterion and giving weighting factors to them. Third, it means raring each location according to each criterion. The scale of the score is arbitrary. In our example we shall use 0 to 100, where 0 represents the worst possible score and 100 the best. Worked example An Irish company which prints and makes specialist packaging materials for the pharmaceutical industry has decided to build a new factory somewhere in the Benelux countries so as to provide a speedy service for its customers in continental Europe. In order to choose a site it has decided to evaluate all options against a number of criteria, as follows: †¢the cost of the site; †¢the rate of local property taxation; †¢the availability of suitable skills in the local labour force; †¢the site's access to the motorwa y network; †¢the site's access to the airport; the potential of the site for future expansion. After consultation with its property agents the company identifies three sites which seem to be broadly acceptable. These are known as sites A, B and C. The company also investigates each site and draws up the weighted-score table shown in Table 6. 2. It is important to remember that the scores shown in Table 6. 2 are those which the manager has given as an indication of how each site meets the company's needs specifically. Nothing is necessarily being implied regarding any intrinsic worth of the locations. Likewise, the weightings are an indication of how important the company finds each criterion in the circumstances it finds itself. The ‘value' of a site for each criterion is then calculated by multiplying. its score by the weightings for each criterion. †¢ †¢For location A, its score for the ‘cost-of-site' criterion is 80 and the weighting of this criterion i s 4, so its value is †¢80 X 4 = 320. All these values are then summed for each site to obtain its total weighted score. †¢ †¢Table 6. 2 indicates that location C has the highest total weighted score and therefore would be the preferred choice.It is interesting to note, however, that location C has the lowest score on what is, by the company's own choice, the most important criterion – cost of the site. The high total weighted score which location C achieves in other criteria, however, outweighs this deficiency. If, on examination of this table, a company cannot accept what appears to be an inconsistency, then either the weights which have been given to each criterion, or the scores that have been allocated, do not truly 1 reflect the company's preference. ?

describe a range of course of dementia syndrome - 1348 Words

DESCRIBE A RANGE OF COURSE OF DEMENTIA SYNDROME. The number of different types of dementia is; Benson’s syndrome (also called Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA)) Alzheimer’s disease Primary Progressive Aphasia (A type of Fronto-temporal dementia) Lewy body Disease (Also known as Dementia with Lewy bodies) Picks disease (A type of Fronto-temporal dementia) Binswangers Disease. ( A type of vascular dementia) Niemann-Pick disease type C Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease HIV Brain related impairment ( also Known as Aids Dementia Complex ) DESCRIBE THE TYPES OF MEMORY IMPAIRMENT COMMONLY EXPERIENCED BY INDIVIDUALS WITH DEMENTIA. The types of memory loss are; Alzheimer’s disease that affects the brain, caused by 2†¦show more content†¦EXPLAIN THE IMPORTANCE OF RECORDING POSSIBLE SYMPTONS OF DEMENTIA IN AN INDIVIDUAL IN LINE WITH AGREED WAYS OF WORKING; It is important that you make sure you report, any changes that you see immediately to your manager or senior so if need be they can be recessed and that any new changes have also been added to the individuals care plan. If need be if appropriate mentioned to the family. EXPAIN THE PROCRESS OF REPORTING POSSIBLE SIGNS OF DEMENTIA WITHIN AGREED WAYS OF WORKING; Once you have noticed changes in the individuals you can make notes that you are able to take to your manager or assistant manager or senior and explain to them the changes you have observed in the individuals so that additions can be made and passed on to other workers . Sitting and communicating with the individuals and explain the changes. DESCRIBE THE POSSIBLE IMPACT OF RECEIVING A DIAGNOSIS OF DEMENTIA ON: THE INIDIVIDUALS; In receiving a diagnosis of dementia has a critical impact upon the well-being of the individuals causing feelings of turmoil, helplessness, diminished self-esteem and undermining of self are commonly seen. THEIR FAMILY AND FRIENDS; Individuals with dementia and family and close friends may need some kind of help to adjust to their altered circumstance, which will go beyond the course of medication, the effectiveness of aShow MoreRelatedTypes of Dementia1550 Words   |  7 PagesDEMENTIA’S Dementia is a vague term used to describe a person that has loss of memory and change in behavior and activities. It goes beyond the forgetfulness and absent minded. It is commonly used In reference to the elderly, when cognitive abilities start to slip from one’s own control. Dementia cannot be diagnosed due to memory loss alone. It must be accompanied by two or more interruptions of brain function. Individuals who suffer from a disease that causes dementia undergo a number of changesRead MoreThe Utilisation Of Communication Skills1945 Words   |  8 PagesDementia is a progressive, degenerative and largely irreversible clinical syndrome characterised by a widespread cognitive decline and decreased capacity for independent living (NICE, 2014; Prince et al., 2013). A major component of the syndrome as it progresses is a loss of communication skills, which can lead to patients encountering difficulties being understood and in understanding what exactly is being said to them ( Watson et al., 2012; Downs and Collins, 2015). As highlighted by the most recentRead MoreDem 2012240 Words   |  9 Pages4222-237 Dementia Awareness (DEM 201) Outcome 1 understand what dementia is Explain what is meant by the term â€Å"dementia† (201.1.1) Dementia describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language. These changes are often small to start with, but for someone with dementia they have become severe enough to affect daily life. Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, LewyRead MoreUnderstand the Process and Experience of Dementia Essay3626 Words   |  15 PagesUnit 13: Understand the Process and Experience of Dementia Unit code: DEM 301 Unit reference number: J/601/3538 QCF level: 3 Credit value: 3 Guided learning hours: 22 Unit summary This unit provides the knowledge of the neurology of dementia to support the understanding of how individuals may experience dementia. Learners taking the Dementia pathway in the Edexcel Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for England must take this unit. Assessment requirements This unit mustRead MoreLevel 3 Health and Social Care Unit 365dementia3984 Words   |  16 PagesUnit 365 Understanding the Process and Experience of Dementia. A1 Describe the causes of all the different types of Dementia Alzheimer’s disease: The brain is a very complex organ and it is divided up into different areas that control bodily functions. The brain contains at least 100 billion cells. In dementia some of these cells stop working. The part of the brain this occurs in will affect how that person thinks, remembers and communicates. Alzheimers disease, firstRead MoreA Clinical Case Study On Mild Cognitive Impairment Essay1409 Words   |  6 Pagesbecomes slower and we cannot remember certain things. However, memory loss, confusion and other major changes in the way our brains work may be signs of cognitive changes. This essay showcases a clinical case study on Mild Cognitive Impairment. It describes the process of cognitive development according to theorist Jean Piaget. It overviews the three basic cognitive function of the brain. It explains several cognitive impairments related to the elderly. Last, it details cognitive assessment usedRead MoreDem 3012112 Words   |  9 Pagesexperience of dementia DEM 301 Outcome 1 Describe a range of causes of dementia syndrome. Alzheimers disease This is the most common cause of dementia. During the course of the disease, the chemistry and structure of the brain changes, leading to the death of brain cells. Vascular dementia If the oxygen supply to the brain fails, brain cells may die. The symptoms of vascular dementia can occur either suddenly, following a stroke, or over time, through a series of small strokes. Describe the types ofRead MoreSymptoms A Person Who Is Infected By The Hiv Virus873 Words   |  4 Pagesstages which are primary infection, followed by a clinically asymptomatic stage, then a symptomatic stage, and lastly progression to AIDS. The US uses mostly the CDC system and for this reason this is how I will break the phases down in order to describe each. Acute infection is the initial stage at which point viral load is highest due to large amounts of viral particles being produced. Some people but not all develop what can be described as influenza-like symptoms a couple of weeks after initialRead MoreUnit 313. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Dementia Care and Practice.3305 Words   |  14 Pages | | | | | | | |Unit 313. Equality, diversity and inclusion in dementia care and practice. | | | | | | | |Q1(1.1) Explain whyRead MoreUnderstanding Specific Needs- Health and Social Care Related Essay5310 Words   |  22 Pagesand differ between cultures. I will then analyse how legislation, society, culture and social policy interact to influence attitudes toward and service development for individuals with specific needs. The World Health Organisation (WHO, 1946) describes health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. Concepts related to health and social care that have been adapted to define health and disease in individuals include disability