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
National Appliance Inc Logistics Case Analysis. According to Marchet, Melacini, Perotti, & Tappia (2016), correlations exist between organizational internationalization choices and logistics operations.
Logistics Case Analysis
National Appliance Inc Logistics Case Analysis
According to Marchet, Melacini, Perotti, & Tappia (2016), correlations exist between organizational internationalization choices and logistics operations. Expressly, the authors point out that logistics serve as crucial enablers for company internationalization, which further contributes to a significant increase in logistics network complexity. Today, society is characterized by an increased demand for flexibility and speed, which require organizations to understand that their logistics strategy serves as a vital aspect of the overall operations and further contributes to achieving corporate objectives (Marchet, Melacini, Perotti, & Tappia, 2016).
In this case, National Appliance Inc has been operational for the past 35 years. During the past 15 years, they have experienced increased growth in their share of the products due to the provision of high-quality products at lower prices. This growth has been coupled with vertical integration in the company’s supply and marketing channels. Nonetheless, the company’s expansion into an international market, Paris, is characterized by various strengths and limitations, especially in logistics planning.
More precisely, the strengths associated with Mr. Reard’s international transportation plan include vast experience and considerable expertise in domestic transport management and logistics. These essential components have been acquired through the company’s successful transportation of their products domestically for the past 15 years, contributing to a significant reduction of transportation costs (Li & Sun, 2014).
Additionally, the plan formulated by Mr. Reard portrays strength based on the control and close monitoring of transportation activities via trucks, which allow him to remain in close contact with the drivers. As a result, this strategy fosters increased flexibility in services and the employment rate for many drivers. Besides, potential delays in truck transportation can be quickly addressed than other modes of transportation. Simultaneously, shipment of goods internationally from New Jersey to LeHavre, France, could significantly reduce transportation costs for the company compared to airplanes (Cook, 2016).
Conversely, Mr. Reard’s plan is characterized by several weaknesses that include a considerable distance between the United States and Paris. If the products are transported via shipping, they will take at least four weeks to reach the destination. As a result, the costs incurred during this period would significantly increase the lead times, ultimately affecting its price. Specifically, transportation of the finished products from the different plants, Memphis, Minneapolis, and Omaha, would significantly increase the costs and contribute to long lead times (Cook, 2016).
Besides, hiring an international transportation manager to take charge of Paris operations would lead to increased costs as he/she would demand a high salary. These shortcomings are coupled with the fact that Mr. Reard and his staff lack the necessary international experience and may thus be ill-equipped to prepare the plan.
An alternative plan that should be presented to Ms. Jameson entails:
Establishing a central hub between the three plants to facilitate management and assortment of the products and direct dispatched to New Jersey port to minimize the transportation costs and ensuring quality
Use rail transportation as the most reliable, timely, less costly, and risky mode in Europe for bulk products
Shift to shipment of the products from New Jersey to LeHavre, France, coupled with the relevant insurance before dispatching of the goods
Avoid hiring a transportation manager since it is not elaborately established whether doing business with the Paris distributor is on a contractual or regular basis
Engagement management in laying out the operational terms between the Paris distributor and National Appliance Inc
Visual Representation
Logistics visual representation
National Appliance Inc Logistics Case Analysis Conclusion
As a justification for the strategy applied in Mr. Reard’s case, the international transportation plan formulated above focuses on cost reduction and the maintenance of quality and timely delivery of the company products to the end-user. Essentially, the central hub established will play a pivotal role in ensuring accuracy through the assortment and management of the products before they are dispatched to the New Jersey/New York plant.
This way, the lead time will be significantly reduced, and the goods meant for transportation to Paris will be readily available, fostering timely delivery to the final consumer. Nevertheless, this strategy harbors some shortcomings based on risks and losses associated with railway transportation. Additionally, in case of potential delays, accidents, or power outages, monitoring the transportation of goods becomes a challenge and can deter other sectors of the logistics and transportation process. Contrastingly, using trucks to transport goods may be effective but take more time.
References
Cook, T. A. (2016). Managing growth and expansion into global markets: logistics, transportation, and distribution. CRC Press.
Li, X., & Sun, X. (2014). Operations Management of Logistics and Supply Chain: Issues and Directions. Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/701938
Marchet, G., Melacini, M., Perotti, S., & Tappia, E. (2016). Shaping the international logistics strategy in the internationalisation process. International Journal of Supply Chain and Operations Resilience, 2(1), 72. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijscor.2016.075914
The case has to establish the compensation for traumatic stress as a result of death caused by negligence of a careless driver. The rules are very clear pertaining to this case. The question is whether the driver of the car is answerable to problem of traumatic stress that is being experienced by the three individuals. The other issue is whether the driver owed the victims the duty of care. The tort principles of negligence can therefore be applied in this case since the drivers conduct was that of negligence hence generated traumatic stress and that the illness was not farfetched when we apply the Wagon Mound test.
The rules therefore requires the complainants to have suffered traumatic stress that is easily recognized and if the victim is a secondary complainant, then should have suffered from shock, the traumatic stress should have been foreseen that the complainant would eventually suffer from traumatic stress as a result of the negligence and that the stress can heal if it was as a result of fear of physical injury to himself. The victim ought to prove that the suffering is as a result of traumatic stress. Very minor stresses like grief are not accepted in the court. In most cases the cases that have been listened to include reactive stresses and also stresses after a trauma. The evidence from the expert is also important in order to prove that the complainant has really been affected.
Damages are in general only recoverable where the recognized psychiatric illness was shock-induced. What is required is “a sudden assault on the nervous system or “the sudden appreciation of a horrifying event, which violently agitates the mind .The law does not in general provide recovery for psychiatric illness brought about by an accumulation of more gradual assaults upon the nervous system. A person who has had to cope with the deprivation consequent upon a bereavement,20 a spouse who has been worn down by caring for an injured husband or wife, and a parent made distraught by the wayward conduct of a brain-damaged child are not able to claim for psychiatric illness suffered as a result.
In the case of Hinz and Berry, the court of appeal entertained a case in the award of 40000 Euros as a compensation for psychiatric stresses. Lord Pearson came up with five reasons why he thought the victim was stressed up. One is sorrow and mourning the loss of the husband, worry about the well being of the children, stresses about money due to the death of the sole bread winner, adjusting to a new way of life and also shock as a result of watching the accident happen. Lord stated that only the issue of witnessing the accident take place qualifies to be compensated since the stresses could not have taken place if the victim did not witness the accident happen.
Those who come to rescue the individuals involved in an accident are also protected under the law in case of any injury as a result of drivers negligence. As with the case of Cardozo J in Wagner v International Railway Co. It is stated that when an accident occurs, automatically rescuers have to come. The law therefore protects this type of reaction which is natural. The law states that this form of reaction is very normal. The law therefore protects them so as not to discourage their actions.
In the case of Chadwick v British railway’s the principle equally applied to the traumatic stresses that came after. This application was eventually approved by Lord Wilberforce in Mcloughlin. The extent to which this law applies is illustrated in Rapley V P 6.10 European Ferries.
The victims therefore ought to receive compensation since their lives have completely changed as a result of the traumatic stress/psychiatric stress. The rescues is well protected under the law. Further, the family member is also considered as a beneficiary since they witnessed the accident taking place hence traumatic stress/psychiatric stress.
Psychiatric stress Case Study 2a
The moment one agrees to offer advice to another party, a special relationship is established since he is relied upon for special guidance. The person therefore assumes the responsibility of advice. When a court is determining special relationship, the court will look at whether the complainant relied on the experts opinion, whether the professional knew that the complainant was relying on him for the advice In the case of Hedley Byrne & Co. Ltd. –v- Heller & Partners Ltd [1964] AC465 2 it was okay for the victim to rely on the professional for advice. Under the proximity test the Supreme Court ruled that it is reasonable for the party affected to get compensation
Psychiatric stress on Case Study 2b
In the case of Berg v. General Motors Corp.,57 which was a case touching on the changes in the a pre-tort reform case, the supreme court in the US the Washington Supreme accepted the payment of damages as a result of negligence. In this case, Berg purchased a vessel which eventually did not give him the service. He sued the company thus general motors for selling him a machine which did not work and caused him a lot of economic losses. Berg sued the company for negligence. The court ruled that the manufacturer was not exposed to further law suits since he was protected by the warranty.
The other case on psychiatric stress involves Stuart v. Coldwell Banker Commercial Group who sued builder of Condominium units so as to compensate for the economic losses for causing economic losses. The builder was accused of negligence. The damages were therefore direct thus the cost of repairing the machine. The judges ruled that when negligence results into risky conditions, the purchaser of the product should be compensated in tort even though the buyer only lost money. The decision in Stuart case does not concur with the Tort changes of 1981. However, it goes against the previous court’s decision in Berg v General Motors Corp. thus the court allowed the victim to be paid the profits as a result of the manufacturer’s negligence.
Psychiatric Stress Case Study 2c
The case of voluntarily accepting responsibility outside a formal contract was first heard in the courts in the UK when there was claim for the compensation of an economic loss and also in the decision of the House of Lords in Hedley Byrne v Heller. In this case of psychiatric stress, a court decided that a bank can be found responsible for the information it provided without bearing in mind its usual clients.where it was decided that a Bank can be liable for a negligent information supplied without consideration to a regular client. In the more recent case of Henderson v Merrett Syndicate Ltd12, Lord Goff, in looking for the principle which underlay the decision in Hedley Byrne, referred to passages in the speeches of Lord Morris and Lord Devlin in that case including a passage in the speech of Lord Devlin where he considered the sort of relationship which gave rise to a responsibility towards those who act upon information or advice, and thus created a Duty of Care towards the person so acting. Lord Devlin had said: “From these statements, and from their application in Hedley Byrne, we can derive some understanding of the breadth of the principle underlying the case. We can see that it rests upon a relationship between the parties, which may be general or specific to the particular transaction, and which may or may not be contractual in nature. All of their Lordships spoke in terms of one party having assumed or undertaken a responsibility towards the other.”
In White v Jones13 (see infra) Lord Goff stated again that the Hedley Byrne principle was “founded upon an assumption of responsibility.” In Galoo Ltd (In liq) & Others v Bright Grahame Murray (a firm) and another14 the Court of Appeal set out to identify the difference between the facts there and those in its previous decision in Morgan Crucible Co Plc v Hill Samuel Bank Ltd15, that allowed the recovery of an economic loss. The question was when is an adviser, e.g. in this case, an auditor, in close proximity with a person suffering loss by relying on his negligently false advice or information? The answer given by the Court of Appeal in Galoo was, when the auditor ‘intends’ that the third party, a particular identified person, will rely on it16. Thus the bidder relying on the auditor’s accounts of the target company in Galoo had his claim dismissed, because, although he was personally known to the auditor, it was not ‘intended’ by the latter that he should rely on his accounts. The leading judgment of Glidewell L. J. relied on Lord Denning’s so-called ‘classic statement’ in Chandler v Crane Christmas & Co. 17. The auditor’s ‘intention’ was meant as referring to his knowledge, and willingness, of the reliance of the plaintiff, not any willingness to inflict on him financial injury through such false information. It must be noted here that a professional making a false statement in the course of doing his every day job, on the subject-matter of his expertise, will find it hard to shift a presumption of negligence in the error. The idea of a ‘voluntary assumption of responsibility’ was used to explain the importance of ‘intended reliance’, and in Galoo it was turned into a new concept of a ‘voluntary inter-personal’ relationship, said to fall short of being a contract only because of lack of consideration proceeding from the plaintiff to the defendant in return for the advice or information18. In Coulthard and others v Neville Russell (a firm)19 , the Court of Appeal, in another case concerning the civil liability
Psychiatric stress Case Study 3:
Lena, Rasmus and Martin have a case against Apollon which led to their injuries. The employer’s duty of care law focuses on the responsibility of the employer to protect the employees. The employer has to ensure the working area is safe. The enterprise and Regulatory act 2013 also comes into play. So as to succeed with this case under the common law, the three employees will have to show that the injury was foreseeable and that the common laws which provides for standard care were neglected.
The employers liability and public liability claims covers all cases below 25,000 euros. The law applies to cases involving accidents that occurred before or on July 2013. Section 69 of the enterprise and regulatory changes 2013. According to this act, all accidents which happen from 1 October 2013, the civil liability is not about breach of guidelines at the workplace even the criminal proceedings can be launched.
Psychiatric stress Case Study 4 a
The judge will calculate the lump sum award for the damage based on the type of damage and also based on the opinion of the expert on the side of the victim. The age of the victim, extent of the damage and also the ability of the claimant to recover quickly in case of an injury. The damage can be compensatory where a person is compensated for breach of agreement, special damages where a victim is paid the money lost, quantum damages where the victim is compensated after proving that the defendant actions caused him to lose money and also the general damages where someone is compensated money for an injury that does not involve money.
The proximate cause involves a case where compensation as a result of damages to the victim is governed by the principles of law. The damages have to be as a result of the accused bad behavior. This principles applies to the recovery of all damages thus contract or tort.
Psychiatric stress Case Study 4b
The common law requires the victim to be paid all the damages at once. This implies that analysis of the losses ought to be done before and during the prosecution of the case. However, this can be challenging since the victim has no room for appeal if the condition of damage worsens. The award can also be too low or too high since so many factors are considered during the determination process. Furthermore, there is the issue of delay since the compensation can only take place after the whole process of prognosis is finalized. The victim should therefore present the case in a timely manner lest he faces challenges of lateness in court. This has to be done once for both the past and future damages. The victim cannot in any case split the case to present it on separate occasions. The best scenario could therefore be for the victim to be paid periodically.
Psychiatric stress Case Study 4c
In order to realize a reasonable award of damages as a result of negligence, the court ought to consider several factors. The most obvious thing is that Tort law is not the same as criminal law. Torts can be caused by negligence or criminal behavior and also cases revolving around tort have very low threshold of prove. The complainant will always get compensation even if the accused person was acquitted in an earlier criminal case. For instance, O.J Simpson was released in a case where he was accused of murder but found to be guilty of tort due to causing death wrongfully.
Punitive damages as a result of psychiatric stress are never given in order to compensate the victim but rather to send a warning to the accused and any other person from repeating the same mistake. Punitive compensation is therefore given to people who were reckless in their actions. In the case of Liebeck v McDonald’s restaurant (1994) an old woman was burnt with tea which led to very serious burns. Lie back tried to plead with McDonald to pay fo the hospital bills but Mc refused. Through scrutiny, it was discovered that McDonald’s coffee caused very severe damages to other clients. The court asked the hotel to pay for the damages. The court gave Lie Back $2.7 as a punitive damage compensation.
The duty of care on psychiatric stress revolves around the case of Mrs Donoghue who was bought ice cream and ginger beer. The ginger however, had some dead snail which had started decomposing. The case was successful and led to the development of the modern law on negligence.
The court also need to look at the damage. The case of Hughes v Lord Advocate [1963] AC 837. The boys went to play in the manhole that had been left after works of excavation. The hole had been closed and covered with some paraffin with a lamp. The boys went with the lamp inside the hole and led to a very serious explosion. The court decided that since the burns were seeable, and the explosion was not foreseeable, the boys ought to be compensated.
Vicarious Liability as pertain psychiatric stress in the case of Mohamud v WM Morrison Supermarkets Plc [2016] UKSC 11. A supermarket employee who worked at the fuel station attacked a customer due to provocation. The customer had insulted the employee using racist terms. The Supreme Court ruled that the supermarket was responsible for the employee’s violent behavior to the client and ruled out the defense argument on psychiatric stress.
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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.
