Yeh-Shen and Sootface are two Cinderella stories of different versions with themes that can be applied in any culture and at any moment of history. The two stories share similarities but also have some differences regarding characters, lesson learned and the location (Smith & Kimberly, 2012).
Yeh-Shen and Sootface Comparison
The similarities depicted between the two stories are that the biological mothers of both Yeh-Shen and Sootface died and left them as orphans. Consequently, both of them were tortured in the company of the family members with whom they were left with, though Yeh-Shen was left under the care of her stepmother whereas Sootface was left in the company of her two elder sisters who were cruel to her.
In both stories, the main characters rivaled with their opponents on getting husbands and both opponents were female. Both of them ended up marrying royal men whereby Yeh-Shen married a king and Sootface married an invisible warrior (Smith & Kimberly, 2012).
Yeh-Shen and Sootface Contrast
However, the two Cinderella stories had several differences that are as follows. Yeh-Shen’s father came from China whereas Sootface’s father came from Ojibwa. Sootface’s father was a hunter whereby Yeh-she’s father was a cave chief. Yeh-Shen’s family lived in the cave, but Sootface’s family lived in a forest. Sootface’s father was alive whereby Yeh-shen’s father died shortly after her mother had died (Smith & Kimberly, 2012).
Yeh-Shen had no sister apart from her stepsister whereas Sootface had two biological sisters. Furthermore, Yeh-Shen owned a fish from which she used to get magical powers to help her while her stepmother was mistreating her but Sootface did not have any source of magical powers. Yeh-Shen is said to be beautiful than her stepsister whereas Sootface is supposed to be ugly according to the song she was singing to herself (Smith & Kimberly, 2012).
Yeh-Shen and SootfaceConclusion
The two stories just like all other versions of Cinderella stories have a lesson that it is always prudent to be kind even while living in this cruel world. This kindness somehow pays with good results.
The first case presents a scenario where the company is in talks with the government of Vindalubia regarding the contract to construct a number of solar panels. In the course of the discussions, the Minister in the Ministry of Energy requests for payment of a “motivation fee” in order to facilitate the signature that will allow for awarding of the contract with the government in Vindalubia.
The discussion below is presented to the company’s CEO as an explanation of whether or not the firm should pay the “motivation fee” requested by the minister, implications of actions, a legal view of the scenario, as well as a recommendation of the decision the firm should make.
The meaning of a “motivation fee”
The Minister, by asking for a “motivation fee”, is asking for something of value to them in exchange for the signature. In this case, the term fee implies something of monetary value i.e. legal tender, is expected to change hands. The sole purpose of the exchange being as a means to influence the Minister of Energy to carry out a given action, whether legal or otherwise.
In this regard, therefore, the “motivation fee” is understood to be a bribe to influence the Minister to act in favor of the company by rewarding the tender to construct the solar panels in Vindalubia in exchange for a given amount of money.
Possible decisions and implications
Given the prevailing scenario, as well as the firm being in need of the contract, it is evident a decision is needed. The decision involves a choice of whether or not to present the Minister with the required “motivation fee”. Both choices have implications, and they ought to be addressed prior to making the decision.
If the firm chooses to offer the Minister of Energy the requested “motivation fee”, they will outrightly have secured the contract. This, however, at the cost of breaking the law, and, therefore, exposing the firm to possible litigation arising from the illegitimate transaction.
On the other hand, the firm may choose to ignore the minister’s request to pay the “motivation fee”. This decision drastically reduces the chances of the firm being awarded the contract to almost nil. This decision, however, maintains the ethical standing of the firm, and it may also choose to file a lawsuit against the minister for illegal activities of a public official in a public office. The prevailing recommendation is not to pay the Minister of Energy the prescribed “motivation fee” since it is not only unethical but also illegal.
Legal perspective and justification for the decision
As per Section 18 code 201 of the US code, ‘Bribery of public officials and witnesses’, bribery is understood to be the act of offering, promising, or giving, directly or indirectly, anything of value to a public official. In the context of the Minister of Energy as a public official, the above described act of bribery is committed in a bid to either influence the performance of an official act or to influence the official in an act of collusion or knowingly allow the committing of fraud.
In addition, the act of bribery may be committed when the exchange is done to influence the official to knowingly act in omission or commission of an action that is in violation of the law (Legal Information Institute, n.d.).
Case Study 2
The second case represents a scenario where the Government of Vindalubia has awarded the company a contract to construct solar panels. The firm has gone through the required process and signed the contract. However, in a bid to secure the contract, the company paid a “motivation fee” to facilitate the signature to award the contract as requested by the Minister of Energy in Vindalubia.
In spite of the payment of the “motivation fee” as agreed, the Government of Vindalubia terminated the contract a few months later. Below is a discussion that expounds on the scenario, shows a number of methods of solving the arising dispute, provides a legal perspective of the issues in the scenario, and provides recommendations on the choices and implications of the same.
The arising dispute and possible methods of resolving
The prevailing dispute regarding the given scenario between the company and the Minister of Energy in Vindalubia stems from the premature termination of the awarded contract to construct solar panels by the government. The firm may decide to address this dispute in a number of ways. Key among these is the use of contract law. This is the preferred approach proposed to the Chief Executive.
Possible decisions and implications
The use of contract law as proposed to the CEO of the company would suffice as an effective method of addressing the dispute between the company and the government. If the Chief Executive upholds this decision, the firm may choose either to handle the matter amicably between the parties involved out of court or to file a lawsuit.
The lawsuit may serve to expose the illegitimate and unethical transaction between both parties involving the payment of a “motivation fee”. On the other hand, the amicable settlement may result in a much better result that favors both parties.
Legal perspective and justification for the decision
The use of an amicable settlement, which is the decision of choice among both, should start with a review of the contract. This step allows both parties to review the terms of the signed contract that proves the existence of an agreement between the parties. For the company, an area of focus during this face should be the determination of contractual clauses within the agreement that stipulate the terms of termination of the contract.
Owing to the value of the contract, it should contain a clause or clauses describing the suitable provisions of the process of the termination of a contract (Legal Information Institute, n.d.). Any disputes should be handled, therefore, as per the clauses of contract termination.
Failure of the clauses within the contract to provide an amicable settlement of the matter, prevailing codes of contract law governing the US are useable. This step may invoke the need for an external expert regarding contract law. The law of contracts should provide sufficient guidance on the various violations committed in terminating the contract without communication between both parties (Legal Information Institute, n.d.).
In addition, the notice of termination section of the US code should provide guidance on the requirements and process needed to terminate the contract (Legal Information Institute, n.d.). If these terms are not sufficient to warrant an agreement between both parties, the company may choose to file a lawsuit against the government in spite of the prevailing choices discussed earlier.
Case Study 3
The third case presents a scenario where the Chief Executive Officer has concerns over the lack of a Ethics and compliance Program at the firm. The CEO tasks me, as the new Chief Compliance Officer at the company, to propose and develop a new ethics and compliance program for the firm.
Proposal for a new ethics and compliance program
For the most part, the ethics and compliance program is meant to provide general guidance on behavior, ethical standing, and following the prevailing rules. The introductory segment of the ethics and compliance program for the firm stipulates the need and importance of following all rules and regulations outlined in the various company statutes. In addition, the introduction section also outlines the individuals and stakeholders covered by the various codes of ethics and rules of conduct of the firm.
The ethics and compliance program outlines the offices where an aggrieved employee, distributor, supplier, or other stakeholder covered by the relevant rules is supposed to access help and have their concerns addressed. The ethics and compliance program outlines all the necessary laws that are to be adhered to strictly by all. In addition, the ethics and compliance program identifies and classifies all areas covered by the various policies. This allows for easier navigation and access to specific rules as needed.
Some areas of importance in the ethics and compliance program include the outlining of laws and regulations covering intellectual property, privacy, conflicts at the workplace, integrity and dealing fair, provision of equal opportunities, and laws that relate to safety, health, and the environment. These laws will relate to not only the firm, but must also fall within the legal framework established in Riyadh, and other laws that govern the operation of the construction industry in the country.
Proposal for corporate governance
The corporate governance section is meant to provide an overview of the managerial and staff structure of the firm and the roles of each level of authority. In addition, the corporate governance model delimits the communication structure regarding the information flow within the firm.
This corporate governance structure ties in to the proposed ethics and compliance program by availing information about the flow of communication from the various managers. In addition, the corporate governance helps by providing a representation of the various officials where a member of staff in the firm can access help about the various rules and regulations outlined in the ethics and compliance program.
Objectives of the ethics and compliance program
The ethics and compliance program serves to provide guidance to the employees of the firm concerning the various applicable laws at the workplace. The program creates a framework where the members of staff in the organization can understand the various applicable laws in a simple manner that is usually categorized and focused for their specific industry and region. In this case, for example, the US law would not suffice in the creation of the ethics and compliance program for the middle-sized construction firm in Riyadh (Peterson, 2013, pp. 1029, 1031 – 1032).
The ethics and compliance program creates a model that is useful for the successful integration of corporate culture and legal background on various issues regarding the firm. In this regard, the inclusion of a well-rounded ethics and compliance program and an intricate corporate governance structure provides a combination that provides guidance to employees on the various issues about the firm and the industry from both a legal and operational point of view (Walker, 2016; Verschoor, 2015).
Therefore, the introduction of the proposed ethics and compliance program as outlined earlier should serve to streamline operations, ensure communication flow, and provide the employees with sufficient knowledge of the existing rules and regulations that govern them in the workplace.
References
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). § 1470.27 Contract violations and termination. Retrieved from Legal Information Institute – University of Cornell School of Law: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/1470.27
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). § 635.125 Termination of contract. Retrieved from Legal Information Institute – University of Cornell Law School: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/23/635.125
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). 18 U.S. Code § 201 – Bribery of public officials and witnesses. Retrieved from Legal Information Institute – University of Cornell: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/201
In the current century, the industries of media and creative industries have experienced a threat to their capitalism whereby they have responded by ensuring expansion making the management of the media and creative industries a task. The expansion is normally achieved through the invention of new inventory according to the potential needs of customers resulting in the expansion of their market. The growth in technology has been the main contributor of the innovations happening in the industries, for example, the introduction of electricity in the early twenty centuries (Huws 2014).
The industry, however, pays attention to ensuring there is no market saturation, which in turn reduces profitability . The management of the media and creative industries is crucial in it’s success. They achieve this by researching on the new life orientations where new goods and services demand is portrayed and take the advantage by offering the brand new services and goods. In the sector of labor, the invention of domestic labor machines such as refrigerators, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners seemed to ease the laborers work duties but on the contrary, brought along some inconveniences (Staiger 1979).
The main consequence was low wages to the laborers. The low wage workers and interns represent the greatest percentage in the workforce whereby the licensed and trained workers are very few and are designated to small tasks around the premises (Chan, Pun, and Selden 2015).
The deployment is done in line with the kind of paid work they are designated to. The workers sell their labor, which is paid depending on the time spent during work and the performance. However, the payment is usually unfairly small due to the expenses incurred by the industries for the maintenance of the labor machines being used. In the sector of entertainment, the low wage workers are the ones in charge of filming, photographing, radio management and doing the recording (Geraldine 2016).
Their work is normally diverted to the capitalists responsible, and hence they become subject to whatever decision made concerning their duties and how they should be paid. This is made worse especially by the expanding market in response to the invention of new commodities, which commercializes the new ways of life. The interns are considered as the major labor providers after undergoing thorough inductions into the industrial activities, and their job is normally defined by their areas of interest with the promise of being employed if their internship period performance is remarkable (Dan and ShinJoung 2016).
Management of the Media and Creative Industries: Labor compensation
Their wages are usually lower than all other workers, but in contrary, they are usually the most productive regarding service delivery. The low wage laborers are normally recruited by merit after a short probation to test their abilities. Despite their hard work, they end up being the second lowly paid employees after the interns with their job descriptions almost similar to that of the interns. There are normally two kinds of capitalism, which are physical capitalism, and capitalism by the purchase of labor.
The physical capitalist has been practiced since the ancient centuries and was based mainly maximizing the use of labor depending on its availability in line with the potential production of goods and services (Nathan 2003). However, this kind of capitalism brought about massive loses because the produced good quality was difficult to predict, there was no uniformity in production services, the manufacturing process being delayed and loss of materials.
The industry is able to maintain consistency in business growth through capitalism of purchasing labor under the rates of time. This is because the workers and interns’ work faster within the restricted timing so as to avoid penalties due to delayed duties. Moreover, the restriction gives them an opportunity to have extra duties assigned to them for additional payments.
This is to ensure that there are order and accountability. Other extra duties are normally attached to ensure maximum utilization of the labor and payment is normally done according to the duration of work and performance. It is therefore ironic that these workers still experience injustice concerning the low wage acquisition. This is because the management always looks for small opportunities of making malicious profits not minding on the burden enforced on their employees.
The employment is normally centralized with different workers being directed to specific managers for reporting. Centralization enhances strictness in case of any failure of work or irregularities from the workers. In some media and creative arts, interns are not entitled to any payment until the end of the probation period. This is considered as training season, which is also mandatory (Vicki and Jocelyn 2015).
The development of technology in the media and creative industry has become poverty in disguise whereby the main people affected are the interns and low-wage workers. Technology has triggered invention of new ways of producing commodities resolution to the creation of new markets. This has resulted in the laborers shifting their duties from internal to external whereby they deal directly with the market to ensure profitability.
Their sources of income are determined by the market and increase with the increase in market and also decrease with the decrease in the market. The market expansion has been beneficial to the capitalist who tends to make a good profit out of the sales but has become a nightmare to the low wage laborers whose fate is subject to the market fluctuation (Vicki and Jocelyn 2015).
The new market has resulted in the incorporation of the consideration of other aspects of life into the media and creative industry. This is because the rate of commodity production has reached maturity and some of the aspects of life, which were initially not considered as economic, can now be commercialized. Examples of these aspects include sociality, public services, art and culture, and biology.
The capitalist has enacted more regulations concerning the fulfillment of the markets need. The lives of the customers including health and body genetic composition are also held with significance. Whereby new drugs are produced for different health management purposes and also the food sector is upgraded by the application of gene modification technology. This, therefore, demands more domestic laborers to be in charge of handling the machines under the supervision of a few highly paid employees.
The capitalists have however increased the scales along with the art and cultural labor, as well as the commodities, has been incorporated into the production relations. This has, in turn; increase the profit acquired in that field increasing the rates of the wages for the interns and low wage workers. The income for the workers in charge of filming, writing, and music composition are directly dependent on the profits made in the market on the sales made on Compact Discs, films, magazines, books, and records. The amount of profit is, in turn, dependent on the size of distribution made and this requires them to link with general distributors such as Amazon Kindle (Vicki and Jocelyn 2015).
References
Amodio LF. Informing and engaging citizens on climate change issues. Paper presented at 6th World Science Centre Congress, Cape Town, South Africa, 7–9 September 2011.
Banet-Weiser, Sarah. “What’s your flava.” Interrogating postfeminism: Gender and the politics of popular culture (2007): 201-226
Blee, K.M., 2016. Manufacturing Fear: Muslim Americans and the Politics of Terrorism.
Bobo, L. (2001). Racial attitudes and relations at the close of the twentieth century. In N. J. Smelser, W. J. Wilson, & F. Mitchell, Racial Trends and Their Consequences.Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Brooks, D., & Hebert, L. P. (2006). Gender, Race and Media Representation. In B. J. Dow, & J. T. Wood, The Sage Handbook of Gender and Communication.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Carragee, K. M., & Roefs, W. (2004). The Neglect of Power in Recent Framing Research. Journal of Communication, 54(2), 214-233.
Chan, J., Pun, N. and Selden, M., 2015. Interns or workers? China’s student labor regime. Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan focus.
Dan Schiller & ShinJoung Yeo (2016), “Low-Wage Workers & the Internet Industry,” Information Observatory http://informationobservatory.info/2016/01/04/low-wageworkers-the-internet-industry/
Dines, G. (2003). King Kong and the white woman: Hustler magazine and the demonization of masculinity. In G. Dines & J. M. Humez (Eds.), Gender, race, and class in media: A text-reader
Dines, G., & Humez, J. M. (2003). Gender, race, and class in media: A text-reader (2nded.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
What is a “single-line-of-command” organization? Why would employees used to such an organizational structure find it difficult to work with more than one boss at a time, as they would if they were reporting to both a project manager and a line manager at the same time?
Jim is a project manager for a project that requires twelve months to be completed. During the 7th, 8th, and 9th months, he needs two team members with special qualifications. The functional manager associated with these team members has promised that these people will be available two months before they are needed on the project. If Jim doesn’t assign them to his project at that time, they will be assigned elsewhere and Jim will have to make do with whoever is available later on. What should Jim do? Make any assumptions necessary to support your answer.
Imagine that you are a project engineer on a high-technology project. As your project begins to wind down, the project manager asks you to write a paper about the project so he can present it at a technical meeting. His name goes first on the paper credits. Should this be a part of your job? How do you feel about this situation?
As a project nears completion, the project manager may find that the functional people on the project are more interested in finding a new role for themselves than in giving their best effort to the current task. How does this relate to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and what should the project manager do?
Your company just hired a senior manager with two masters degrees in engineering. This engineer is quite competent, and has worked well as a loner for the past twenty years. He has just been assigned to the Research and Development phase of your project. You, as project manager, must insure that he works well as a team member with other functional employees, and not as a loner. How will you accomplish this? If this engineer persists in wanting to be a loner, should you fire him?
Last month, Alice completed an assignment as chief project engineer on Project X. It was a great assignment; Alice and all other project personnel were kept fully informed by the project manager about all project activities. Alice is now working for a new project manager who tells his staff only what they have to know in order to get their job done. What can Alice do about this situation? Can this be a good situation? Why or why not? Which management style would you prefer?
Is it possible for a project manager to improve his time management skills by understanding what motivates his team? Why or why not?
Project Manager Roles in an Organization Sample Answer
Question one
A single-line-of-command organization is whereby individual report addresses their concerns by addressing them to a senior manager of a particular section or department. The manager in such organization does as directed by the supervisor. Employees used to such structures find it difficult to work with more bosses at a time because; decisions are delayed, as it requires more time and negotiations.
Question two
In this situation, Jim should negotiate with the functional team manager to make the two-team members available at the right time and if the negotiation fails, then he will have to work with the available members later. This is because, hurrying the project to solicit the service of the team members will be a risk to the project as it may not be handled well. Therefore, I would rather he use other members who will also be having skills in the areas to handle the tasks in the 7th or 8th or 9th month.
Question three
I do believe that the name of the project manager should not be the first on the paper credit and as well; the project engineer should not be the one to write the paper but rather should help him with a draft. It is the responsibility of the project manager to write a final paper that should be presented to the technical committee.
Question four
This relates to Maslow’s hierarchy of need because, they are worried about their physiological needs such as food and clothing. They must therefore look for another alternative that will enable them achieve this. They are also insecure as the job is ending. The project manager should therefore, assures them that they are secure and that there will be another project to do. They should also be well paid o be able to cater for their needs even if they are not going to have another immediate project.
Question five
To ensure that the engineer works well with other members, as a project manager, I will make him through negotiation to understand the policy of an organization at his time of employment. He will also be told the importance of working as teamwork. In case the engineer persists in working as a loner, I will not fire him immediately but will try to talk to him and as well assess his performance. If he performs well without affecting the functions and operations of the team and the organization, he will not be fired, but given more time to learn to work with others.
Question six
In this situation, Alice should just comply with this situation. To me, it is not a bad situation because, the most important thing is to handle the project and finish it as required. Other things concerning the project do not hold water. I would therefore, prefer this style of management because, it is straight to the point and will ensure that projects are finished in the right time.
Question seven
It is possible for a project manager to improve his time management skills. Time is a valuable resources and it requires proper planning. A good manager must have these skills to be able to handle his or her responsibilities well (Pothukuchi, 2008). A project manager that has time management skills will have time for his employees or team members and this will allow him o understand their needs and therefore be in a position to devise various strategies to motivate them. Therefore, it is good skill and managers ought to have it.
Haier Management: Lower prices. Haier should improve on expanding its market share in the industry of home appliances in the US. To achieve this, Haier should reduce the prices of its products.
Haier Management Control on a Tactical Level
Areas to improve in Haier management system, how it can be done and its benefit to the organization.
Haier Management: Lower prices
Haier management should improve on expanding its market share in the industry of home appliances in the US. To achieve this, Haier should reduce the prices of its products. Though most US customers expect products from China to be cheaper, Haier maintains its US price level as it has done in China. Haier maintained its price level in the US because it was riding on the notion of high-quality products. Nevertheless, Haier’s ambiguity of its pricing and quality was a problem (Lau & Han, 2012).
Haier can reduce its prices by mitigating its costs by focusing only on profitable products and trim down redundant niche product lines. The company diversification has led to the high cost, and focusing on manufacturing one product line can lower manufacturing costs. The organization can benefit from this move by attracting sophisticated customers who will boost the company’s revenue.
Haeir Management: Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) of renowned brands
Since Haier is stuck in the middle, it can redeem itself through M&A of renowned brands. Currently, Haier has failed in its acquisition initiatives. For instance, Haier withdrew from its acquisition of Maytag, which Whirpool acquired to become one of the renowned appliances makers. Haier also tried to acquire General Electric (GE) but failed (Lau & Han, 2012). General Electric is currently a very successful company and is among the top 20 most profitable US companies. If Haier succeeds in acquiring GE, Haier will save effort and time in increasing its market share in the US and reduce its operation process. M&A will have various benefits to Haier.
For instance, Haier will take over an existing customer base and income cash flow. It will be possible to make sales projections with the already available sales records. Haier will acquire knowledgeable and skillful managers, brand image, and operational know-how. Haier will also offset the massive brand images associated with Chinese firms in the US market. In general, Haier will have increased profits due to the expanded market share.
Shifting from CSR to CSV
Companies have increasingly focused on producing green products due to the elevated issue of global warming and climate change. Green products refer to energy-efficient production and eco-friendly materials that do not have pollutant elements. Haier focuses on public charities in its CSR as is the mission of the Haeir management and undertakes Green Sail, sports, and education (Lau & Han, 2012). However, Haier management should be involved in protecting and sustaining the Earth in what is referred to as creating shared value (CSV) through eco-innovation.
The firm should concentrate on sustainable environmental products and investing in research and development to develop more eco-friendly technologies. The technology will save energy and differentiate products to suit local consumers. Hence, Haier will attract sophisticated consumers in the US and form a global eco-friendly brand image. In the Haier management system, if you want to build confidence in others, you yourself must be confident. Why did I have faith that the factory would prosper? The straightforward answer is that I knew it was just about to install a new production line that would improve quality and efficiency.
Differentiation to consider price-sensitive customers
Haier should introduce a new product in the US market with distinct features to a wide range of consumers sensitive to prices (Lau & Han, 2012). These products will match well with Middle-aged consumers. The company should also consider the old customers who prefer well-known brands and care about the services and warrants of the company’s products but are also price-sensitive, and hence they may try new products. This strategy will be beneficial to Haier because it will increase its brand loyalty.
References
Lau, A., & Han, J. (2012). Haier: Management Control on a Tactical LeveL. Asia Case Research Centre
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Business Administration Capstone
Coca-Cola is one of the leading beverage companies across the world. The company operates in over 200 nations and manufactures approximately 3, 900 beverage products which include Sprite, Coke, Fanta, Minute Maid, Diet Coke, Maaza, and Limca among others (The Coca-Cola Company). This paper seeks to explain the internal and external forces that influence Coca-Cola’s operations.
The paper largely examines the social cultural and political/legal segments as they are the most influential part of the general environment. This paper also explores the forces of competition that influence the company, its strengths, opportunities, threats, and weaknesses. Although Coca-Cola faces stiff competition from companies such as Pepsi, its effective market strategy, brand identity, and resources will ensure that the company remains competitive.
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Business Administration Capstone
General Environment
Companies are influenced by different external environments segments that exist within a particular industry. These external segments include technological, sociocultural, economic, demographic, global, and political/legal factors which lie outside an organization’s control. Coca-Cola Company is mostly affected by the social cultural and political/legal segment as they rant the highest in influencing the firm’s daily operations (Frue, 2016). The two segments influence Coca-Cola’s decisions of production as well as profitability.
Sociocultural segment
Recently, most people especially in the developed world have changed their attitude towards carbonated and flavored drinks as they prefer more health drinks such as coffee and fruit juices. These attitudes and lifestyle changes have resulted to a significant decline in the preference of Coca Cola products leading to reduced revenues (Pratap, 2016). The media has also played in a crucial role in changing the perception of people regarding flavored drinks as they are said to be loaded with calories.
This change in attitude has forced the company to introduce new low calorie products such as Diet Coke put they only appeal to a few customers who have chronic conditions such as diabetes (Pratap, 2016). Coca Cola is currently exploring developing countries that still find flavored and carbonated drinks appealing.
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Business Administration Capstone
Political/legal Segment
Some of the political and legal factors that affect Coca-Cola include regulation and government laws that regulate foods and beverage production. For instance, across the United States, Coca-Cola is expected to follow the guidelines implemented by the Foods and Drugs regulatory body (Pratap, 2016). What’s more, the laws and government regulations vary by country.
As such, the company has been under pressure to expose some of its key ingredients as some regulatory bodies Coca Cola does not apply the regulations on some of its drinks. Additionally, the company has been facing legal challenges as it was recently accused of contamination water and poor water management (Pratap, 2016). The fines accrued to these lawsuits have cost the company huge amounts of money.
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Five Forces of Competition
The food and beverage industry has been seeing a significant growth and has become very competitive. The Porter’s five forces of competition include rivalry among existing companies, threat of new entrants, supplier’s bargaining power, threat of substitution, relative power of stakeholders (Hitt et al, 2013).
These forces influence profitability and therefore gaining a good understanding of the forces can helping in guiding the business strategy and increasing Coca-Cola’s competitive advantage (Nyakangi, 2020). Two of the most significant forces of competition that are most likely to affect Coca-Cola include threat of substitutes and competitive rivalry between the existing companies.
Business Administration Capstone
Threat of Substitution
Coca-Cola faces a threat of substitution from other healthy beverages. Some of the include coffee, fruit juices, teas, chocolates, mineral water, and milk. Currently, companies that deal in these beverages such as Nestle, PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Kraft Heinz Company, Danone, Asahi Group, and Starbucks among others endlessly put pressure on the company. Although Coca-Cola and Pepsi dominate over 40% of the beverage industry, the current health awareness movements across the world are likely to result to serious threats (Nyakangi, 2020).
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Coca-Cola has been able to address this force by introducing some healthy beverages. Two of them include Coca-Cola Zero and Diet Coke which earned the company more than 40% of its total revenue in the past few years (Jurevicius, 2020). Other drinks that have been seen to be healthy include Minute Maid, Georgia Coffee, Minute Maid Pulpy, Smartwater, and Fuze Tea among a few others which earn the company about US$1 billion. These beverages are able to compete effectively as healthy drinks in the developed countries.
Business Administration Capstone
Rivalry Amongst Existing Competitors
Secondly, Coca-Cola faces high competition from Pepsi which is it main rival in the beverage industry (Pratap, 2017). Pepsi and Coca-Cola have similar market strategies, products, and are almost equal in terms of size. As such, the price competition is very intense given that the product differentiation is low (Pretap, 2017). Another aggressive competitor is Marquee. Its products use the same ingredients as Coca Cola and the taste is almost similar which brings about competition from the company.
To squash the competition, Coca Cola has entered contracts with Pepsi to control the bottling technologies as well as set product prices (Pretap, 2017). This ensured that the two companies remain at the top as they control most of the bottling companies. The contracts also ensure that both companies earn good profits from their products.
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Future Improvements
The company needs to venture into more healthy beverages and food segment. Currently, most nations are fighting against chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. As such, people are encouraged to consume healthy foods and beverages. Coca-Cola needs to explore this segment so as to ensure productivity and profitability. Although Coca-Cola dominates the soft beverage industry it has to contain further competition from other beverage companies. Given that one of the causes of this competition is the health awareness across the world, Coca-Cola needs to explore the possibility of investing more healthy beverages.
The company can achieve this by forming a joint venture with other established companies that deal in fruit juices and hot beverages (Nyakangi, 2020). The parent companies can establish a new child companies that produces high quality fruit juices or hot beverages across the world. The company can use its market influence and its bottling contracts to promote the new beverages. By so doing, the company will ensure it gains profit a huge number of consumers who are health cautious. The company should also consider producing healthy snacks so as to encourage customers to remain loyal to the company.
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Business Administration Capstone
Secondly, to overcome the rivalry between Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the company needs to increase its advertising initiatives in countries such as Latin America, Australia, Cuba, and North Korea. Coca Cola can also support major events and non-profit organizations across Africa, Brazil, Syria, Iran, India, and Afghanistan to increase its market (Baah, & Bohaker, 2015).
These initiatives will increase the advertising power of Coca-Cola as well as improve brand loyalty which will gain the company a competitive advantage over Pepsi. The company also needs to improve its adverts on some of its drinks that are not quite well known. These beverages include minute maid, glaeau vitaminwater, glaceau smart water, gold peak tea, del valle, and powerade among others.
Greatest External Threat
Coca-Cola applies SWOT analysis in monitoring its opportunities and threats. Recently, Coca-Cola has earned a bad reputation and has been termed as an “evil” company with the accusations of dehydrating communities due to overuse of water sources, use of pesticides in water, affecting local agriculture, and mistreating its employees in countries such as Russia, Guatemala, Colombia, and Turkey (Ling, 2017).
These sentiments are a huge threat to the company given that consumers today are only loyal to companies that show social corporate responsibility. This threat is even serious given that companies such as Pepsi have well established water sources that are environmentally friendly. Coca Cola needs to find new sources of water such as digging their boreholes and having several purification plants across nations.
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Greatest Opportunity
Coca-Cola has numerous opportunities that it can explore. The most promising is that the company can explore markets in developing nations given that developed countries are buying more healthy drinks recently (Baah, & Bohaker, 2015). Developing nations still explore soft and carbonated drinks and therefore increasing their market in countries such India that have very hot summers will increase profits.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Some of the greatest strengths that Coca-Cola Company can capitalize on include a vast global presence, its brand equity, best market strategies, and its huge market share. Coca-Cola brands and branches can be found across 200 countries across the globe and its only competition in these countries is Pepsi (The Coca-Cola Company, 2014). Regardless of this competition, Coca-Cola has an upper hand due to its fantastic drinks which include Diet Coke, Sprite, Maaza, Fanta, and Limca.
The company is well known across nations for its unique brand identity. The company can use these strengths to win the loyalty of many more customers across nations. Some of the weaknesses that the company has include stiff competition from Pepsi, low product diversification, lack of health beverages, and poor water management. To overcome the weaknesses, Coca-Cola can invest in the healthy food and beverage segments which will enable it to compete effectively with Pepsi.
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Strategies
The company should pursue new markets in developing countries. In developed nations, the company needs to produce more health drinks that do not increase obesity and people are more sensitive (Business Strategy Hub, 2019). This will enable the company to maintain profits while at the same time marketing its new health beverages in the developed nations.
Resources, Capabilities, and Core competencies.
In terms of core competencies, Coca-Cola is a very competent company that has effective and strategic marketing plans. Coca-Cola is reputed for associating with sports and physical activities. Since the company was founded in 1928, it has been a major supporter for Olympic Games (The Coca-Cola Company, 2019).
The company sponsors international sports such as FIFA world cup, netball, and rugby. This is influential because the sponsorship programs ensure that the company is well marketed and continues to dominate the world in beverage consumption and production as masses use these sports as a source of entertainment.
The company’s capability lies in the fact that the quality and quantity of its products are guaranteed and so are sales. In 2019, the company’s operating revenues were about US$37.27 billion (Bedford, 2020). The company is sure that most of their products will be sold regardless of its challenges. Nonetheless, given that it’s operating revenues were US$ 48.02 and US$46.85 in 2012 and 2013 respectively, there is need to improve the supply chain and strategize its market plans better to reduce this decrease in revenue (Bedford, 2020).
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Lastly, the company’s resources include technological resources, raw materials, and monetary resources. The company partners with bottling companies to come up with unique bottles and bottling procedures. The company in conjunction with Pepsi controls almost all bottling companies enabling the two companies to own the technology.
Business Administration Capstone
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References
Baah, S., & Bohaker, L. 2015. The Coca-Cola Company. Culture, 16, 17.
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Obesity in Woodbury Iowa
Obesity in Woodbury Iowa is a significant public health concern. The prevalence of obesity in in Woodbury County Iowa is 38.3 % among the females. In Iowa State, the prevalence of obesity among the females is 35.9% while the prevalence of obesity among the females at the federal level is 36.1%.
Therefore, the prevalence of obesity among the females in Woodbury County exceeds the Iowa state and the national statistics. 37.5 % of the men in Woodbury County, Iowa, are obese. At the state and the national levels, 36.3% and 33.8% of men are obese respectively (Centre for Disease Pprevention and Control, 2015). Similarly, the prevalence of obesity among the men in Woodbury County, Iowa, supersedes both the state and the national prevalence rates.
Obesity in Woodbury Iowa
Contributing Factors
Obesity is affected by both the race and age. In Iowa, the prevalence of obesity is highest among the Hispanics and Non-Hispanic blacks and lowest among the Non-Hispanic whites. Obesity increases with age and is mostly affects adults aged 60 years and above and is lowest among the adults aged 20 to 39 years of age. The level of education impacts on obesity as well (Office Of Disease Prevention and Promotion , 2018 ).
Obesity reduces with the increase in the level of education. Education increases the level of awareness on the factors associated with obesity as the preventive measures. Obese patients who have a diploma or a degree have shown increased life expectancy. The positive impact of education on obesity is uniform across all age groups.
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The level of income impacts obesity as well. Higher levels of income are associated with reduction in the prevalence, the severity and the effects of obesity. Higher levels income impact on the access to healthcare services. Families that can afford insurance policies or out of pocket payments access healthcare services for managing obesity. Therefore, the prevalence of obesity among such individuals is reduced, as compared to individuals in lower socio-economic class.
Individuals with low income cannot afford the foods that are nutrient intensive. Generally, the foods that are sugar and fat intensive are cheap in the United States markets. Sugar and fats are predisposing factors to obesity. Culture affects obesity. Culture dictates the type of foods that the members of the particular culture dependent on as food. Culture also affects health seeking behavior (ODPP, 2018).
Culture impacts on the perception of the specific cultural group on the engagement in physical activities that significantly affect obesity. Healthcare policies determine the impact of obesity to any community. Healthcare policies determine the access by the respective members of the community to healthcare services regarding the management of obesity.
Healthcare politicizes on financing healthcare determine the access to care for obese to the individuals who cannot afford the care. Healthcare policies also affect the availability of resources and facilities for managing obesity. The county’s and the national policies in managing healthcare community services such facilities for physical exercises and educational resources and personnel are key to implement obesity management strategies (Galloway-Gilliam, 2013).
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Obesity in Woodbury Iowa
Interventions
One of the programs that have been undertaken in my state to prevent obesity is early childhood care. Statistics indicate that on average, children spend most of their time per week under non-parental care.
The State of Iowa in partnerships with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have drawn up programs on adequate diet, performance of physical activities and reduction in care time. The state government supports the programs in schools and children care centers through funding, provisions of evidence based recommendation for early child care to prevent obesity (Benson at al., 2013).
The programs support the breastfeeding mothers and the availability of nutrient rich diet to the children that prevents obesity. The hospitals within my community have initiated hospital strategies aimed at reducing obesity. The initiative targets the hospital employees and the patient under the care. The initiatives encourage healthy food and beverage choices, physical activities within the hospitals environment and support for lactating mothers.
The hospitals also partner with the community to increase healthy living behaviors for the community members. The hospitals provide education on obesity prevention and management using the locally available resources.
Obesity in Woodbury Iowa
Scope and Role of Nursing and Public Health Nursingon Obesity in Woodbury Iowa
Nurses have a role in encouraging patients to maintain healthy diet. Nurses possess the knowledge on the foods that contribute towards obesity and that prevent the occurrence of obesity. Nurses spend a significant amount of time with admitted patients. Additionally, nurses interact with patient at the community level in offering primary healthcare services. Nurses educate patients on physical activities as part of the measures to prevent obesity as a public health issue.
Physical exercises reduce the amount of fats that accumulate in the body. Nurses educate on the type, the duration and the intensity of the physical exercises that are appropriate for each of the patients presenting with or at risk of obesity. Nurses conduct assessments of patients who present with obesity. Nurses provide care to a patient in clinical setting. Assessment is the initial step of the nursing process (Schofield et al., 2011).
Assessment, as part of the nursing process, involves collection of data about the patient thorough history taking, physical examination, and clinical tests. Nurses take history of patients on their diet, performance of physical activities, and the impact of obesity on every individual patient during the clinical visits. The nurse also conduct laboratory tests including lipid profile tests in order to assess the risks of development of cardiovascular disease as a complication of obesity. Part of the nurses’ assessment focuses on vital signs such as blood pressure measurements.
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Expansion of the Scope of Obesity in Woodbury Iowa
One of the ways to increase the scope of community health nursing interventions in addressing obesity is through partnerships. Community partnerships involve creation of community based networks. The collaboration with the population level partners allows the nurses and public health professionals to gauge the factors that contribute to obesity the community level.
The aim of the partnerships should be to do community specific assessments on the prevalence, causes, and impacts of obesity on the local community (Betancourt, Green, Carrillo, & Firempong, 2016). Further, the aims of the local community partnerships should be to recommend, initiate and implement strategies that are suitable for the local community , based on the population specific needs identified during the assessment.
Policy development is another way of increasing the scope of the nurses’ and public health professionals’ roles in combating obesity. Nurses and public health professionals are key stakeholders in managing obesity, as a public health issue. The professional input is critical in developing policies that are specific to the local community population.
The professionals collaborate with the department of health, which is responsible for drafting policies for public healthcare such as obesity ((Betancourt et al., 2016). The public health issues should be alignments with the national statistics on obesity, ways of preventing obesity and the federal government’s regulation in combating public health problems.
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References
Benson, G. A., Sidebottom, A., VanWormer, J. J., Boucher, J. L., Stephens, C., & Krikava, J. (2013). HeartBeat connections: A rural community of solution for cardiovascular health. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 26(3), 299–310.
Betancourt, J. R., Green, A. R., Carrillo, J. E., & Owusu Ananeh-Firempong, I. I. (2016). Defining cultural competence: a practical framework for addressing racial/ethnic disparities in health and health care. Public health reports.
Schofield, R., Ganann, R., Brooks, S., McGugan, J., Bona, K. D., Betker, C., Dilworth, K., … Watson, C. (2011). Community health nursing vision for 2020: Shaping the future. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 33(8),1047–1068.
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Continental Airlines Case Study
Question One
The manager is expected to carry out the following steps to turn an organization around:
Establish all the facts.
In this Continental Airlines Case Study,the manager must establish the short term viability of the business. He has to carry out rapid internal exercises focused on existing contracts, commitments and also cash flow analysis. The contracts that may not be viable must be terminated. The manager can then assess the one year and two year viability of the business. This may require additional liquidity in form of debt or equity to finance the activities of the company.
Know what went wrong
The major cause of the problem should be known. If the company performed poorly due to sudden market changes or due to minor internal issues that took long to rectify, it should be known. The management must then come up with a remedy.
Budget
The manager must prepare budget which must be stuck to. This will control costs and spending in the organization. The company will be able to maintain its solvency.
Changing the team
The manager should reconstitute the senior management team. Those brought on board must have positive attitude towards changing the performance of the company.
Continental Airlines Case Study
Question Two
The change in the morale of the employees is due to the recognition and appreciation of their performance. The implementation of several award schemes has created internal competition among the staff in delivering services to customers. The adoption of new appraisal practices by the management has also motivated the employees.
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Question Three
In order for Continental Airlines to continue with its good performance the management should do the following:
They should form teams with specific goals to achieve. Each team should have its policies, procedures and standards that are in line with the overall company strategies. The head of each team should monitor and communicate performance to the top management of the company.
Each of the teams must have an annual business plan covering revenue and costs forecasts, product development and set performance targets. All these must fit into company business plan.
Each team must hold a monthly review to assess their performance against the plan. They will be able to determine how the planned targets will be achieved and also identify any difficulties in the process. They will be able to share knowledge and also develop tactics to achieve set targets. They will also be able to reallocate resources to more competitive market ventures and redesign any strategies that are in non conformity with the plan.
The top management should attend these meetings so that they have detailed knowledge of the plans. It will be easy to measure and maintain growth in the long run for the company.
Question Four
The use of different employee techniques like job enrichment will improve the performance of Continental Airlines since the staff morale will be very high. The members of staff will own the management decisions made (Gregory, 2010). They will be enthusiastic to go out of their way and, ensure set targets are met. The recognition creates a sense of commitment among the staff to deliver fully.
They will feel their efforts are being recognized and, appreciated. The targets which are set are attainable and within their reach. This creates internal competition amongst the staff to deliver on these targets. This working environment will ensure the company will continuously improve on their performance.
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National Appliance Inc CASE STUDY
National Appliance Inc case study Bob Reard, Director of corporate transportation for National Appliance, Inc., has just hung up the phone after a lengthy discussion with Susan Jameson, vice president of logistics.
National Appliance Inc has just acquired an appliance distributor located in Paris, and the logistics department has two months to develop an operating process to support this European distributor with National Appliance Inc products. The shipments to Paris will begin in approximately five months, and Mr. Reard is to prepare a transportation operating plan for these shipments.
National Appliance Inc is a medium-size U.S. manufacturer of refrigerators and electric ranges. During the past fifteen years, National Appliance Inc has increased its share of the refrigerator and electric range market from less than 2 percent to 20 percent.
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Part of the reason for this tremendous growth is that National Appliance Inc offers high-quality products at low prices. In addition, National Appliance Inc has vertically integrated both its supply and marketing channels. National believes that quality products result from actually owning and managing key component vendors and that quality marketing and sales efforts result from directly managing distributors and retail appliance outlets.
It surprised Mr. Reard to learn that National Appliance Inc had purchased control of a European alliance distributor. There had been many rumors about expansion into the European market, but Mr. Reard had felt that National Appliance Inc would merely develop a contractual relationship with a distributor in Europe, not purchase a distributor.
Purchasing the Paris distributor is the first major international business venture for National Appliance Inc in its thirty-five-year history. During the late 1990’s the company had unsuccessfully attempted to market refrigerators in both Canada and Mexico. Mr. Reard had personally managed the truck shipments to both countries.
Consequently Mr. Reard and his staff have very limited international experience. They do, however, possess considerable expertise in domestic transportation, having successfully controlled both transportation costs and services during the company’s rapid growth in the past fifteen years.
Given the emphasis on quality products and service, top management has mandated consistent, low lead times. National Appliance Inc delivers domestic distributor orders in less than five days from the order date; the company allows no exceptions to this service policy.
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Truck transportation, including a private fleet, is the primary mode the company uses for both inbound and outbound shipments. Spare parts are normally shipped by ground express, but the company uses air express when the distributor or dealer needs a special part immediately. Ms. Jameson has established a logistics quality control program that measures carrier performance and has used Mr. Reard’s managerial skills to assure acceptable performance from National Appliance Inc carriers.
Having had little experience in international transportation, Mr. Reard feels a bit out of his element in developing an international transporation plan. Ms. Jameson has assured him that transportation is transportation and that the only difference between international and domestic transportation is distance.
Distance is going to be a major factor, since National Appliance Inc has plants located in Memphis, Minneapolis, and Omaha. This long distance from the European market will contribute to two basic problems; high transport costs and long lead times. Moving the products from the plants to the Atlantic or Gulf ports will require some form of ground transporation. Ocean carrier shipment will be long, and Mr. Reard will have to arrange to move the product from the French entry port to Paris. Mr. Reard is sure that he can hire an international transportation manager, but he will have to pay a high salary.
With the logistics planning meeting set for the next morning at 8:00 a.m., Mr. Reard prepares the following transporation plan for Ms. Jameson:
Finished product from all three plants will be shipped by truck to NY/New Jersey ports.
Water transportation will be used from New York/NJ to LeHavre, France.
Trucks will transport the products from LeHavre to the Paris distributor.
From Paris, the distributor will arrange transportation to the ultimate customer.
An international transportation manager will be hired.
Mr. Reard estimates that the total transit time required for this move will be approximately four weeks.
National Appliance Inc, Case study Questions:
For this case, you must do the following:
a) Type up the answer to the question below, using supporting materials from text, class, news, research citations, etc.
Develop an alternative international plan to present to Ms. Jameson, and provide justification sufficient to support its adoption. (include the strengths and weaknesses of your plan)
b) You must include one visual diagram, and include one justification for your strategy (strength or weakness). (For example, if driver issues might be a problem with your solution, you can tell why this isn’t a problem, based on the corporate strategy)
c) Include an overall conclusion of the case analysis.
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MODEL ANSWER
National Appliances Inc Case study
The current international plan made by Mr. Reard has some strengths and weaknesses but needs much improvement. Mr. Reard plans on transporting all finished products from three different locations to one main port through trucks. He also plans on using water transportation to deliver the products to the France harbor where they will be then transported to Paris through trucks. Due to his lack of experience in international transportation, Mr. Reard plans on hiring an international transport manager which will be quite hefty.
The main problems are a long lead time and high transportation cost from the USA to France. An alternative plan can be formulated in order to eliminate the weaknesses in Mr. Reards’ plan as well as eliminating the problems that are predicted. A new and better plan will be formulated in order to minimize on the scale of the current problems.
There will be a need for a central hub, where all products from Memphis, Minneapolis, and Omaha will be stored awaiting shipping and distribution. This will inevitably reduce transportation cost from all three locations to the harbor. A central hub will offer a service window defined by delivery frequency and response time to order (Rodrigue 2006).
According to (Carnarius 2018), longer journeys through rail can be cost effective as compared to road. This is because it is having reliable transit times and schedules and also fast and cost-effective. Moreover, one train can carry goods equivalent to 400 trucks hence more products can be transported to the port at once (Carnarius 2018).
Considering the amount of products to be transported, other modes of transport, like air, are considered economically unviable. Transporting cargo through the ocean is cost effective but at the same time disadvantageous due to long lead times (Carnarius 2018). Even though the four weeks of the time the water transportation is longer than the usual domestic time, it will reduce the cost for the company significantly.
Mr. Reard and his staff have helped in increasing the sales of National appliances from two percent to twenty percent in the last fifteen years. They possess considerable expertise in domestic transportation, having successfully controlled both transportation costs and services during the company’s rapid growth in the past fifteen years. Considering his experience, Mr. reard is capable of overseeing the whole project and will assure an acceptable performance from National appliances. Moreover, hiring a long-term employee will be expensive for the company. An alternative would be to consult an expert initially for setting up international operations. They will help the company overcome challenges and also increase revenue (Business News Daily 2021).
Using the new formulated plan will not only be cost effective but also reduce the long lead time. The company will have a smooth entrance into the global market and will inevitably see a high profit. A visualization of the new plan is presented in figure 1. The plan that would otherwise be presented to Ms. Jameson will be as follows:
A central hub will be created between the three locations where all products will be transported from for New York/ new jersey in order to reduce transportation cost.
In order to minimize on transportation cost, the products will be taken to the New York/new jersey ports through rail transportation.
From the USA ports, the products will be transported through water to the LeHarve harbor in France.
An international transport manager will not be hired, instead Mr. Reard will be overseeing the whole project.
