Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Operations Management - Essay Example Thus no organization can afford to be involved in non-value adding activities (Brown 2005). Non-value adding activities not only increase costs but also result in poor outputs, slow delivery and reduced flexibility to respond to the market forces. In our following discussion, we will start by understanding the various theories and latest practices in the field of Operations Management (OM). We will also try to understand the practical aspects of OM and see how these are actually implemented in the real organizational context. Since we need to analyze Aldi Stores, which is a chain of retail stores, we will look at the implications of Operations management in the field of retail management. Retail has become a very competitive field today. As retail chains were the first to enter into the globalization arena, especially international sourcing, this industry has reached a very mature level of internationalization of operations. Managing these operations to obtain the real benefits of internationalization is of critical importance for these organizations. Our aim in the pursuing sections will be to see how these concepts and theories of operations management as a whole (and in specific relation to the retail industry) can be used for obtaining operational excellence at Aldi Stores. Hence, we will first look at operations management examples that have provided competitive advantage to Aldi as well as its competitors Tesco, ASDA and J Sainsbury. This will be followed by a discussion on some OM problems being faced by these companies. A major concern of this field of management is the cost of implementation as it is highly dependent on technology. Thus, we will analyze the costs and benefits accrued from OM implementation at Aldi. After analyzing all aspects of the operations management we will look at some solutions to the problems faced by Aldi in this respect and arrive at some concrete recommendations for its

Chinas Economic Condition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chinas Economic Condition - Essay Example Factors that contribute to this are the political system in China as well as the economic system. Market efficiency is achieved when a society is able to put all of its resources to use in order to reach a full level of production. The resources that a society has to employ are labor, land, entrepreneurial ability, and capital (Campbell & Brue, 2004: 24). It has also been noted that market efficiency cannot be obtained unless there is a healthy level of competition present (Clark, 2007:989). China's, known as the People's Republic of China, is lead by the Chinese Communist Party. In a communist system, the government owns most property, resources, and businesses. They make major decisions as to what and how much will be produced. In this type of system, leaders are not elected; they are appointed by the CCP and have emerged from within the ranks of the party (Eui.com, 2008). In this type of system there is belief that all resources should be allocated equally amongst the citizens, however this is most often times is not the case. In 1978 China initiated free market reforms, which was a major change in its economic system (Eui.com, 2008).

Compare and contrast two slave narratives from two different states Research Paper

Compare and contrast two slave narratives from two different states - Research Paper Example This was cognizant to the fact that the slave’s slavery was largely examined in economic terms. Virginia is one of the States that was found in the southern part of America. Largely, the Southern States were more preoccupied with the cotton production than the Northern part. In the first half of the 1600s, Africans had already started occupying Virginia.2 This was, whether they were enslaved or not. At the same time, Europeans were also thronging Virginia because of its vast land that would help in Agricultural production. The demand of cotton in Europe increasingly became high and the needs for extra production became a necessity. The labor that was offered by the Native Americans became unsustainable. This was mostly because European diseases affected the native America and most of them died. Landlords were therefore left with no option but to turn the African as slaves. The enslaved individuals in Virginia plantations were made to drain swamps, burned stubble, raked fields and broke grounds as a preparation for the plantation. They were also forced to drain, hoe, flood, dry and weed the fields in many occasions before the crops could be ready for harvesting. Introduction of new crops made individuals land owners richer and richer. This also affected their acquisition of slave. They owned more and more slaves and further expanded their farming from rice to cotton and even to the growing of tobacco. The planters became cruel and tyrannical to the slaves and in most cases they forced their will on the slaves to do things they wanted done. In Virginia, particular in the farms of the rich planters, Slaves were toiled in groups of 20 to 25 and a supervision of one person as an overseer. At the peak of the seasons of harvest, work for slaves increased and they could even be forced to work for more than 15 hours in a day. The overseers could whip the slaves whenever they felt like they were not doing what

Textual Commentary on Black Souls in White Skins in I Write What I Literature review

Textual Commentary on Black Souls in White Skins in I Write What I Like by Steve Biko - Literature review Example Biko’s philosophical message corresponds with black theology as it was heavily themed with encouraging Blacks to depend on themselves rather than White liberals to successfully fight apartheid.3 In this regard, liberalism in the context of apartheid, South Africa refers to advocates for freedom from coercion, discrimination and oppression and equal access to political, social, educational, health and economic opportunities.4 Kee argues that Black Consciousness’s philosophy was founded on Black theology which proposes that God will not solve our problems.5 Biko’s Black Souls in White Skins embodies the concept of self-help as captured by the Black Consciousness Movement and black theology which is a Christian expression and rejection of oppression as experienced by Blacks.6 From Biko’s perspective, White liberalism could not capture this experience and in attempting to do so, White liberals perpetuated the notion that Whites were superior to Blacks and coul d speak for and on behalf of Blacks.7 Initially President of the South Africa Student Organization (SASO) the movement that organized the Black Consciousness Movement, Biko subsequently became SASO’s Publications’ chairman. The SASO organized programmes which involved training and studies in a number of subjects such as economics, theology, poetry, aesthetics, culture and politics. The programmes resulted in publications which included Biko’s column, I Write What I Like published under Frank Talk and appeared in SASO’s Newsletter in 1970.8 Black Souls in White Skins was Biko’s first article in his column I Write What I Like.9 Black Souls is a parody of French writer Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin White Masks. Where Fanon challenged the utility and authenticity of Blacks identifying with Whites, Biko challenged the utility and authenticity of Whites identifying with Blacks.10 As was characteristic of the Black Consciousness Movement, Biko’s Black Souls targeted the motives of the White liberals whom he called â€Å"people who say that they have black souls wrapped up in white skins.†11 Biko questioned the authenticity of their claim that they sympathized with the â€Å"black struggles† against apartheid.12 In challenging this claim, Biko immediately draws attention to fact that it is questionable whether or not White liberals can speak as an authority for Blacks and what bothers him even more is that Black people have enabled White liberals by actually believing them â€Å"for so long†.13 Biko’s Black Souls reads as a rejection of White liberal â€Å"patronage† in that Biko took exception to the idea that Whites could pass judgement on who qualified as worthy Blacks and what could be good for worthy Blacks. Biko observed that the White liberals lead a campaign that was entirely artificial in nature in that it merely forecasted a convenient type of integration that favoured White supr emacy under apartheid. According to Biko, the White liberals’ efforts were marked by artificial integration which White organizations dominated and ended up with â€Å"Whites doing all the talking and the blacks listening.†14 Biko’s Black Souls therefore adopts Black theological thinking in that he expresses the view that Blacks are also complicit in their oppression and that it is a sin to sit back and accept the situations on the premise that Blacks are innocent victims of apartheid. Black theology takes the position

Public Opinion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Public Opinion - Essay Example These associations also seek to influence public opinion as a way to achieve their ends. In democracies like the US where operations of the government are dependent on the people’s consent in an election, leaders are obligated to take public opinion into account. Indeed, major policy change shifts tend to coincide with the occurrence of major public opinion shifts (Lowi et al, 2013). Generally, therefore, both Congress and the Executive respond to the preferences of the public, for example regarding government spending, welfare reform, and foreign policy issues. Still, the government should be responsive to public opinion because it needs the backing of the public for re-election. Essentially, therefore, government actions are consistent with public opinion with a study finding that significant shifts in public opinion tend to be followed by shifts in government policy within a year consistent with popular opinion shifts (Lowi et al, 2013). Still, this does not mean that the government panders to all the preferences of the public. This is caused by inconsistency between commitment of the nominal majority and adherents of minority viewpoints, as well as inconsistency between public opinion and the character of the US system of government (Lowi et al, 2013). Overall, however, government actions do not digress from popular opinion for extended periods due to the electoral process. However, the government is also able to take leeway in its response to public opinion because the latter is not specific, while its measurement is not always accurate. To meet this challenge, public interest groups representing a select population have risen in prominence. These associations attempt to pressure government through various methods, including mobilizing public opinion (Lowi et al, 2013). This involves the use of resources at their disposal to persuade a majority of the public to

Marketing and Business plan Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing and Business plan - Coursework Example Services will be delivered to customers from the central office and at customers’ preferred location. Staff that will be hired will be trained to meet customers courteously and only those personals will be added to the team who are qualified and licensed architects. The Angles will focus on creating convenience and value for the customers. The advertising strategies will focus on print media as a medium to create awareness and promote offers and discounts to the target market. The target market will comprise of people belonging to the income levels of  £ 25,000 per annum. As understood by the management that architectural service is a onetime expense, The Angles will provide its customers with services at premium prices keeping in view the potential of target market. The Angles will be operate by the owner, Alex Ferguson, who is a qualified architect from Leeds and have experience of running businesses. He also has an experience of working in an architectural firm. The management of The Angles will minimize the operating costs by hiring employees according to the need of time. In this section, a comprehensive analysis of competitors in the architecture industry of UK, threat of new entrants, threat from buyers, threat from suppliers and threat of substitute products are presented (Hill and Jones 2009). The Angles would consider two architectural businesses in London as its major competitors. First one is the Designs, located in Central London. This architectural business offers one of the best services to its customer base dispersed all over UK and provides both online and personal visit facility to its customer base. The second major competitor of The Angles is Art Horizon which provides architecture services and consultation. The Art Horizon is specialized in providing architectural solutions to its customers keeping in view the demands of the modern times and the customers are provided with visual projection of their

Walt Disney Theme Parks Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Walt Disney Theme Parks - Case Study Example Over the years, the company has not only grown to great heights in achieving major market share in the entertainment industry but it has also defined the American entertainment culture. The financial stability of the theme park division have served as a critical counterweight to the volatility to the media and studio entertainment divisions (Thomas, 29). The aim of this paper is to analyze how a successful 'old economy' company has adapted to changing technologies and has used the internet to further expand its business. Although the company is now a diversified one that encompasses almost all aspects of the entertainment business (film production and distribution, cable television, publishing) as well as merchandise retailing, I will focus on its main division in which it has developed a niche market, that is theme parks. This paper is divided into two parts: 1) Part I will discuss the company's business strategy in the theme parks division and will undertake a SWOT analysis for the division and 2) part II will discuss the internet business strategy for theme parks in detail, including those for customer segmentation, acquisition, integration with overall marketing strategy, technical infrastructure and handling of data acquisition, management and use as well as social and regulatory issues. When the concept of Disneyland was thoug... Over the years, it has taken the shape of carnivals and amusement parks, offering joy rides, games, inexpensive food and even vacation stay. The Disneyland was initially an extension of the already established Disney brand but now the brand has become synonymous to the theme parks. Disneylands now house restaurants and hotels and are major tourist destinations, complete with campsites, deluxe villas and even a cruise line. Disney earned revenues of $25.4bn in 2000 from its various business - film production (Walt Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood, Miramax, Merchant-Ivory), film distribution (Walt Disney Theatrical Productions Buena Vista International), video/ DVD (Buena Vista Home Entertainment), theme parks (Caifornia Disneyland, California Adventure, Walt Disney World in Florida, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Disney Vacation Club, Hong Kong Disneyland), television networks (ABC with 10 stations and 3,400 affiliates, ESPN, Walt Disney, Buena Vista, Touchstone, radio (ABC Network, with 21 stations and 21,000 affliliates), cable television (ESPN network, Disney chcannel, The History Channel, Toon Disney), magazines (Discover, Disney Adventure, FamilyFun, FamilyPC and ESPN The Magazine Media Networks), children's books and a number of licensees and 728 Disney stores selling merchandises. The Internet business of Disney includes GO Network (which wound up after the dot com bust), disney.com, espn.com, abcnews.com, family.com, abc.com, The Disney Catalog (Wasko, 2001). Yet, the business that comes to mind the most when one thinks of Walt Disney Company is its theme parks. The Disney parks have become the most visited vacation spots in the world.