On the Road Jack Kerouacs Rejection of the Middle Class...

Jack Kerouac was one of a group of young men who, immediately after the Second World War, protested against what they saw as the blandness, conformity and lack of cultural purpose of middle-class life in America. The priorities of people of their age, in the mainstream of society, were to get married, to move the suburbs, to have children and to accumulate wealth and possessions. Jack Kerouac and his friends consciously rejected this pursuit of stability and instead looked elsewhere for personal fulfillment. They were the Beats, the pioneers of a counterculture that came to be known as the Beat Generation. The Beats saw mainstream life as a prison. They wanted freedom, the freedom to pick up and go at a moments notice. This search for†¦show more content†¦I had just gotten over a serious illness that I wont bother to talk about, except that it had something to do with a miserably weary split-up and my feeling that everything was dead (Kerouac 1). Thus begins Sals life on the road and his search for a more meaningful, authentic life. He has failed to find authenticity in mainstream society but hopes to find it on societys fringes. In the novel, Sals search for authenticity begins and ends with his association with Dean Moriarty. His highly charged friendship with Dean Moriarty continues throughout the novel but finally ends with a denouement in Mexico City. In his frenetic search for authenticity, Sal encounters a continuous progression of marginalized people that include not only Deans friends and sexual partners but also hobos, migratory farm workers and black jazz musicians. Sal feels that all these people have authenticity because they all value the immediate over the traditional expectations of mainstream society. Kerouac defines the intense moment or It as the culmination of the immediate. It is well illustrated when Sal and Dean, together with a group of their Beat friends, go to a wild party at the house of Rollo Greb on Long Island, and Dean e nthuses about Rollo saying, if you go like him all the time youll finally get it. Get what? It! It! Ill tell you - now no time, we have no time now (127). Later inShow MoreRelated Importance of Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road Essay3039 Words   |  13 PagesMoriarty in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road It is Dean Moriarty, in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, who represents the eternal flame of youth that was adopted by the rebellious youth culture of the Beat Generation. He is free from responsibility, â€Å"simply a youth tremendously excited with life†¦want[ing] so much to live and to get involved with people who would otherwise pay no attention to him† (Kerouac 4). Just as the Greek of the Olympics, â€Å"with [the] torch†¦[that] ignites the pagan dream of immortality†

Tanglewood Stores Free Essays

1. Answering this question demonstrates that processes underlie all of our jobs. What might be surprising is how many students would put their job in the category of â€Å"other,† suggesting that many jobs do not fall neatly into any one functional area. We will write a custom essay sample on Tanglewood Stores or any similar topic only for you Order Now Perhaps many in the â€Å"other† category might best be called â€Å"operations† on further reflection. Customers, both internal and external, are part of each process, and the goal is to manage the processes to add the most value for them. 2. Amazon. com offers a very broad range of services and products at competitive prices. Its competitive priorities would include fast delivery time, on-time delivery, customization, variety and low-cost operations. As a business, Amazon. com is actually assembling a customized basket of goods that must be delivered in a short window of time in a dependable fashion. Low-cost operations are needed to remain competitive. To remain in business, Amazon. com needs to maintain high volumes of traffic. Operations strategy must focus on stock availability and quick, economical, and dependable delivery. 3. The hospital’s commitment to provide attention to patients arriving to the emergency unit in less than 15 minutes and never to turn away patients who need to be hospitalized implies that the facility must be designed to have extra capacity in both beds and emergency room facilities. It must plan on having extra personnel in the emergency room and also plan on having additional emergency personnel on call to take care of unprecedented heavy loads. In line with the mission statement, maximum utilization of the facilities (i. e. beds and emergency room personnel) would not be one of the performance objectives for the hospital. 4. FedEx traditionally has competed on the basis of fast, dependable delivery. Before the boom in Internet applications, many businesses relied on FedEx to get things to other businesses overnight. Now, this need is beginning to diminish as sophisticated systems are being installed to assist companies in planning operations better. And, the internet based companies are adding more demands for low cost ground deliveries to specific customer doors. FedEx, in order to remain competitive with companies such as UPS, has moved into the door-to-door delivery business, perhaps through acquisition. Nonetheless, it will require changes to this company’s competitive priorities. 5. Technology Management. To identify a market segment, we need to determine answers to questions such as: Which colleges and departments currently offer the subject? What do instructors desire in the way of textbook support? Is there a trend toward Technology Management courses? Are there other Technology Management texts? Some needs assessment can be accomplished by survey, but the response rate may be low. A high-investment strategy would be to ask or hire instructors to review and critique a list of topics, then an outline, then a draft. Explicit services include supplying information about the subject in the form of a textbook and instructor support in the form of ancillary publications. 6. It is often not a good idea for a company to try to excel in all of the competitive priorities because it is generally impossible to do so. Mediocrity is a predictable result. The choice and the minimum level of one or more of the competitive priorities are set by the order qualifiers for the particular product or service. The choice of the competitive priorities that the company should emphasize is usually governed by the company’s strategy driven by its mission statement and the core competencies that the company wants to harness to seek the best competitive advantage. 7. Core processes should link to a firm’s core competencies. Core processes are those processes that provide the firm the best competitive advantage. Essential to the definition a firm’s core processes is the concept of â€Å"interaction costs. † These costs include the time and money that are expended whenever people and companies exchange services, products, or ideas. If the transaction costs are higher to retain a process within the firm’s organization than to outsource the process, the process should be outsourced. 8. Wendy’s assembles hamburgers to order. When materials are held at the stage just before final assembly, they can be used to complete a wide variety of different sandwiches. Because no finished-goods stock exists, when customers say, â€Å"Hold the sauce,† there is no delay or waste of materials. Service clerks specialize. One clerk takes orders and payment. Others fill portions of the order. Orders are processed in single file. Throughput is normally restricted by transactions at the cash register. At busy times, throughput is increased by splitting the bottleneck operation. One clerk takes customer orders, another receives payment. The Wendy’s operation has some characteristics of assembly. Therefore, the impact of new menu items on the production operations must be carefully considered. 9. Grandmother’s Chicken. a. Kathryn Shoemaker’s strategic plans include the following: Product and service plans: Should the new location offer a new mix? Competitive priorities: If the product mix and service mix are different at the new location, the thrust could be on low volumes and high quality. Quality management: Should the goal be reliability or top quality? Process strategy: What processes will be needed to make chicken dinners in the addition or new facility? New technologies: Is it time to automate? Is this why there is a problem in service times? Capacity: How large should the addition or new facility be? Location: Should we locate in Uniontown or expand in Middlesburg? b. Attitudes toward nutrition could change the demand for chicken. Competitors such as Boston Market may be planning to move to Uniontown or even Middlesburg. There may be a trend toward demands for ever-faster service, which cannot be supported by the processes specified in the â€Å"unique recipe. † The economy of Uniontown might not be supportive of restaurant services. Shoemaker should also consider the availability of key resources, such as servers, whole chickens, spices, and cooking oil. Will Uniontown labor organize? c. The possible distinctive competencies at Grandmother’s Chicken Restaurant include the â€Å"unique recipe,† the homey atmosphere, and friendly, prompt service. 0. Wild West, is recognizable as US WEST, which was bought out by Qwest in a hostile takeover in June, 2000. But many other â€Å"Baby Bells† are in a similar position. a. Strategic plans include reducing overhead, reengineering operations, and investing in new technologies to meet competition. The â€Å"do-nothing† option of remaining a local monopoly telephone company is not viable because of competition from cable systems and wireless systems that are capable of business and personal communication. If the mission is too broad, Wild West should sell its financial services and commercial real-estate businesses. Those businesses do not match their distinctive competencies. b. One environmental issue is whether communication, like health care, will be viewed as a â€Å"right† and therefore should be free. A significant portion of Wild West’s business is governed by regulatory agencies. Customer service in their core business is essential to maintaining a favorable regulatory environment. Other business opportunities, such as manufacturing and providing information services, are prohibited by the same court order that formed the â€Å"Baby Bells† from ATT. c. Wild West’s distinctive competency is in connecting people (or machines) for the purpose of communication. A weakness is high overhead inherited from the era of telecommunication monopoly. 11. Although the answers may vary depending on the â€Å"niche† elements of the business, the competitive priorities would include on-time delivery, low-cost operations, and customization. The latter competitive priority comes from the capability to assemble unique â€Å"baskets† of food items for each customer. There may be a need to coordinate a given basket between two different stores. Capabilities to develop would include information systems and Web page design, efficient scheduling of delivery trucks (which must first collect the items in the basket and then deliver them to the customer’s door), and an adequate fleet of trucks with drivers. PROBLEMS 1. Boehring University a. Value of output: [pic] Value of input: labor + material + overhead [pic] Multifactor Productivity ratio: Productivity [pic] Compared to Solved problem 1, multifactor productivity has increased from 1. 25 to 1. 76. b. Value of output is the same as in part a: [pic] Labor-hours of input: pic] Productivity ratio: Labor Productivity [pic] The $192 season ticket price is not used in this calculation. It is a â€Å"red herring. † 2. Suds and Duds Laundry a. Labor productivity | |Number of |Input |Output |Output/Input | |Week |Workers |(Labor-hours) |(Shirts) |Ratio | |1 |2 |24 |68 |2. 83 shirts/hour | |2 |2 |46 |130 |2. 83 shirts/hour | |3 |3 |62 |152 |2. 45 shirts/hour | |4 |3 |51 |1 25 |2. 45 shirts/hour | |5 |2 |45 |131 |2. 91 shirts/hour | b. Output per person does not vary much whether it is Sud, Dud, or Jud working. Productivity declines when all three are present. Perhaps there isn’t enough work to keep three persons occupied, or perhaps there is not enough work space or equipment to accommodate three workers. 3. Compact disc players Value of Output: $300 Value of Input: Labor + Materials + Overhead Productivity [pic] 10% productivity improvement [pic] Given productivity[pic], and the value of output [pic] we solve for the cost of inputs: Productivity [pic] Input [pic] or $136 The cost of inputs must decrease by[pic]. a. A $14 reduction in material costs is [pic] b. A $14 reduction in labor costs is [pic] c. A $14 reduction in overhead is $14/$50 = 28. 00% . The output of a process is valued at $100 per unit. The cost of labor is $50 per hour including benefits. The accounting department provided the following information about the process for the past four weeks: | |Week 1 |Week 2 |Week 3 |Week 4 | |Units Produced |1124 |1310 |1092 |981 | |Total Value |112,400 |131,000 |109,200 |98,100 | |Labor ($) |12,735 |14,842 |10,603 |9526 | |Labor (hrs) |254. 7 |296. 8 |212. 1 |190. 5 | |Material ($) |21,041 |24,523 |20,442 |18,364 | |Overhead ($) |8,992 |10,480 |8,736 |7,848 | |Multifactor Productivity |2. 63 |2. 63 |2. 75 |2. 75 | |Labor Productivity |4. 1 units/hr |4. 41units/hr |5. 15 units/hr |5. 15 units/hr | a. Use the multifactor productivity ratio to see whether recent process improvements had any effect and, if so, when the effect was noticeable. Value of output [pic] Value of input: labor + material + overhead $12,735 + $21,041 + $8,992 = $42,768 Productivity ratio: Labor Productivity [pic] Week 1Productivity [pic] Week 2Productivity [pic] Week 3Productivity [pic] Week 4Productivity [pic] [pic] Improved 4. 45% – noticeable in Week 3 b. Has labor productivity changed? Use the labor productivity ratio to support your answer. Labor-hours of input: Labor $50/hour Labor costs Week 1 = $12,735/$50 = 254. 7 Week 2 = $14,842/$50 = 296. 84 Week 3 = $10,603/$50 = 212. 06 Week 4 = $9,526/$50 = 190. 52 Productivity ratio: Labor Productivity [pic] Week 1 = Labor Productivity [pic] Week 2 = Labor Productivity [pic] Week 3 = Labor Productivity [pic] Week 4 = Labor Productivity [pic] [pic] Improved 16. 68% 5. Alyssa’s Custom Cakes a. [pic] [pic] Solve for x = $850/1. 25 = $680 Total costs = $680 Average cost per cake = $680/10 = $68/cake b. Labor productivity Birthday cake = $50/ 1. 5 hours = $33. 30/hour Wedding Cake = $150/ 4 hours = $37. 50/hour Specialty Cake = $100/1 hours = $100/hour c. Based on labor productivity, Alyssa should try to sell specialty cakes the most. d. Yes, Alyssa should stop selling birthday cakes. Based on answer a, she loses $68 – $50 = $18 everytime she sells a birthday cake. advanced PROBLEMS 6. Big Black Bird Company The Big Black Bird Company problem is based on a product made by Raven Industries. None of the numbers are representative of actual costs or volume. a. Multifactor Productivity Original Situation: Value of output: [pic] Value of input: [pic] Productivity ratio: Productivity [pic] Overtime Situation: Value of output: [pic] Value of input: [pic] Productivity ratio: Productivity [pic] Productivity decreases by: [pic] b. Labor Productivity Original Situation: Value of output (from part a) is: $500,000 Labor-hours of input: [pic] Labor productivity [pic] Overtime Situation: Value of output (from part a) is: $800,000 Labor-hours of input: [pic] Labor productivity =$800,000 / 7200 hours = $111. 11/hours Labor productivity decreases by: (125/111. 11) / 125 x 100% = 11. 1% c. Gross profits Original Situation:[pic] Overtime Situation:[pic] Weekly profits increased. 7. Mack’s Guitar Company a. Labor productivity = output/input Output = 100 guitars x 80% completion rate x price/guitar = 80 guitars/ month x $250/guitar = $20,000 Input Labor = 10/hours per guitar x 100 guitars = 1000 hours Labor productivity is $20,000/1000 = $20/hour Multifactor productivity ratio = output/input Output = 100 guitars x 80% completion rate x price/guitar = 80 guitars/ month x $250/guitar = $20,000 Input Labor = $10/hour x 10/hours per guitar x 100 guitars = $10, 000 Material = $40/guitar x 100 guitars = $4, 000 Overhead = $4,000 Multifactor productivity ratio = $20, 000/$18, 000 = 1. 11 b. Option 1. Increase sales price by 10% Output = 100 guitars x 80% completion rate x ($250 x 1. 1) = $22,000 Input Labor is same as in part (a) = $10,000 Material is same as in part (a). = $4,000 Overhead is same as in part (a) = $4,000 Multifactor productivity ratio = $22,000/$18,000 = 1. 22 Option 2. Improve Quality Output = 100 guitars x 90% completion rate x $250/guitar = $22,500 Input Labor is same as in part (a) = $10,000 Material is same as in part (a). = $4,000 Overhead is same as in part (a) = $4,000 Multifactor productivity ratio = $22,500/$18,000 = 1. 25 Option 3. Reduce costs by 10% Output = same as in part (a) = $20,000 Input Reduce costs by 10% yields 90% of the input costs from part (a). = $18,000 x 0. 90 = $16,200 Multifactor productivity ratio = $20,000/$16,200 = 1. 23 Darren should choose Option 2 and improve quality because it yields the greatest improvement in multifactor productivity. CASE: CHAD’S CREATIVE CONCEPTS* A. Synopsis This case describes a small furniture manufacturing company that has gained a reputation for creative designs and quality by focusing on producing custom-designed furniture. As its reputation grew it began to sell some standard furniture pieces to retail outlets. The overall growth in sales volume and the diversification into the production of standard furniture pieces have caused a number of issues to arise concerning both the internal manufacturing operations and its relationship to the other functional areas of the company. B. Purpose This case is designed to be used as either a â€Å"cold-call† case for class discussion or an assigned homework reading. Major points to be brought out in the discussion include: 1. The range of decisions that are made in designing and operating processes 2. The impact that these operating decisions have on the organization as a whole, such as on marketing and finance 3. The impact that decisions made in other functional areas of the organization have on the operating function 4. The need to go beyond the â€Å"functional silo† mentality and manage in an integrative manner C. Analysis Question 1: What types of decisions must Chad Thomas make daily for his company’s operations to run effectively? Over the long run? The students should be able to discuss a number of short-term-oriented decisions that are facing Chad Thomas. These should include: a. How to set priorities and schedule different orders. Chad is receiving orders for both custom-made, low-volume furniture pieces and higher-volume, standard pieces. Sales have increased, but the amount of equipment and the production capacity of the company have not. Different orders with different manufacturing requirements are now competing for the same productive capacity. b. What orders to accept and how long of a lead time to plan for in promising a delivery date. c. What type of work policies should be maintained for his employees? Decisions such as the number and type of employees to employ, the number of hours to work per day, and the amount of overtime to allow are all work policy decisions that impact the available capacity level. d. The allocation of resources, equipment, labor, and money to each product line. e. The level of inventory to maintain at various stages of the production process for both the custom and standard furniture lines (i. e. , raw material, WIP, finished goods). These decisions are linked to the longer-term, total inventory-investment decision. Examples of longer-term decisions that face Chad Thomas include: . Amount of money to tie up in the total inventory investment. b. The type of equipment to invest in to support efficient production. At what point should more specialized equipment be purchased to manufacture high-volume, standard furniture pieces more efficiently? c. What should be the overall workforce level to maintain, and what should be the proper mix of skills and capabilities? d. How should the facilities be laid out to accommodate the two different product lines? This gets the students into a whole range of capacity and equipment allocation decisions including size, type, and configuration. In these decisions it is important that the students see the significance of consistency of both strategic and operating decisions across functional areas. Question 2: How did sales and marketing affect operations when they began to sell standard pieces to retail outlets? Standard furniture pieces compete on a different set of competitive priorities than custom-designed pieces. Timely delivery and low costs are much more important than product flexibility. Quality may also be defined differently. The existing facilities are set up to provide flexibility with its job-shop orientation and general-purpose equipment. By introducing a standard line that should be manufactured on a flow line with some dedicated, more specialized equipment, a conflict has developed, and scheduling problems have resulted. Question 3: How has the move to producing standard furniture pieces affected the financial structure of the company? Inventory investment and operating costs are rising because of the frequent changeovers to accommodate the two different product lines and their scheduling conflicts. Profit margins for the standard line are smaller, which puts pressure on manufacturing to increase productivity and reduce costs. There may also be an issue concerning the assignment of overhead costs to each product line. Finally, the potential need to rent warehouse space to store either WIP or finished-goods inventory cuts into the profit margin for the standard furniture line. Question 4: What might Chad Thomas have done differently to help avoid some of these problems? Chad needs to address issues relating to functional areas. Make sure the student is able to identify decisions that relate to more than one functional area. Examples include the following: Operations Function 1. Monitoring capacity and utilization of facilities 2. Formulating inventory policies—dollars, items, and unit levels 3. Setting scheduling policies and priorities 4. Maintaining product line quality Marketing and Sales 1. Accurately forecasting orders for standard pieces 2. Defining market segments and customer needs 3. Determining what delivery schedules can be promised to customers Finance 1. Deciding level and type of investment 2. Investigating the effect of capacity investment decisions on ROI Distribution/Logistics 1. Managing distribution and pipeline inventory 2. Comparing cost and advantages of various transportation modes 3. Meeting delivery lead times Three possible avenues that students may focus on are: Thomas might have a. Established a plan for a more controlled growth. Part of this plan would be the development of the appropriate infrastructure to manage a controlled growth as to what markets to enter, what product lines to develop, and how to develop the proper manufacturing capabilities. b. Maintained the company focus on custom-designed furniture only. This alternative presents a whole different set of issues and decisions pertaining to future growth, but it would have avoided the issues of mixed competitive priorities and scheduling conflicts. . Realized the different requirements for each product line and focused the manufacturing facilities into two separate sets of production facilities designed to cater to each product line’s specific needs. D. Recommendations This case is not designed to be a decision-making case per se but rather a vehicle to get students thinking about the types and the integrated nature of decisions that operations managers face. The students may, indeed, have suggestions as to what should be done to help out Chad Thomas. These recommendations will more than likely follow the alternatives already discussed. As recommendations are provided by students, make sure you push them to understand the implications of their recommendations with respect to the company as a whole and the other functional areas. E. Teaching Strategy This case can be effectively discussed in 20 to 30 minutes by following the discussion questions provided at the end. The questions are interconnected and somewhat redundant on purpose to reinforce the interrelatedness of decisions made in various functional areas of the company. The intent is to have the students understand the range of decisions that face managers in the operating function and to realize that different types of products competing in different markets place different demands on the operating function. Therefore, productive systems will take on a variety of configurations. Exhibit TN. 1 lays out a sample table to be written on the board displaying important issues in the class discussion. Each column can be used to compare and contrast the differences in the requirements imposed by custom versus standard furniture for each area. |EXHIBIT TN. 1 |Board Plan | |Important Issues |Custom Furniture |Standard Furniture | | | | | |Marketing | | | | | | | |Quality level and quality control | | | | | | | |Process equipment | | | | | | | |Process flow | | | | | | | |Production scheduling system | | | | | | | |Purchasing | | | | | | | |Type of inventory and inventory control system| | | | | | | |Type of engineering | | | | | | | |Type of labor and supervision needed | | | | | | | |Wage/reward system | | | | | | | |Layout | | | CASE: BSB, INC. : Pizza Wars Come to Campus * A. Synopsis BSB, Inc. resents the situation where launching a pizza service at a food service operation on a college campus turns out to be very successful. As the manager of the food service operation is contemplating an expansion of the service, an announcement by the university that a new food court will soon be opening in the new student union causes some concern. The new food court will contain, for the first time on campus, other food service com panies, including a new Pizza Hut kiosk. This causes the manager of BSB, Inc. to reevaluate the competitive environment and her own competitive priorities. B. Purpose BSB, Inc. provides the students an opportunity to discuss a number of strategically focused issues to include the following: 1. Mission statements: Mission statements describe the fundamental purpose for which the organization exists. The university decided that a focus on food service operations was not part of its primary mission, so it contracted the service out to BSB, Inc. Students should be able to describe a mission statement for BSB, Inc. This statement will help in discussing the second major focus of this case. 2. Comparison of competitive priorities: When the pizza service was launched a year ago, the competitive priorities were to expand the product line to offer pizza that could be delivered quickly at a reasonable price. Costs were kept low, and turnaround time was short due to the limited combination of toppings available. With the addition of the food court and Pizza Hut on campus, competitive priorities may change. Delivery may still be a differentiating competitive priority, but product flexibility (variety) and volume flexibility (large order sizes) may become more important. BSB, Inc. ay not be able to compete on low cost when compared to Pizza Hut’s operations. 3. The impact changing competitive priorities has on operating decisions: Students need to discuss the potential impact that different competitive priorities have on process design and operating systems. If product flexibility and volume flexibility become more important, then there are implications for: a. Equipment n eeds—conventional oven versus continuous chain drive b. Capacity requirements—order size and delivery cycle c. Inventory issues—inventory needed to support product flexibility 4. Product life cycles: Demand for pizza on campus has leveled off. Why? Has it reached its mature, steady state? What will be the impact of new competition? What can be done to reposition pizza into a growth stage? These are questions that should be asked of students to get them to think about pizza’s product life cycle. C. Analysis A good analysis of the situation can be performed by going through the five questions at the end of the case. The following is what you can expect from a first-year MBA student given the case as a take-home assignment to read and to respond to the questions at the end. Question 1: Does BSB, Inc. enjoy any competitive advantages or distinctive competencies? BSB’s competitive advantage is close proximity to the customers. Though 43 percent of meals are eaten off campus, 57 percent of meals are still eaten at BSB’s facilities. For pizza delivery the close proximity is critical, as it allows for quicker delivery. In addition, delivery can be done at a lower cost because bikes can be used. BSB’s distinctive competencies are the location of facilities and market know-how. Being on campus, BSB can provide delivery service quicker and at a lower cost. In addition, by being on campus, BSB is closer to the customer base, which allows Kershaw, the manager, to be more knowledgeable of her customer’s needs. She employs environmental scanning, such as the customer surveys, to keep abreast of her market. Question 2: Initially, how did Renee Kershaw choose to compete with her pizza operations? What were her competitive priorities? Initially, Kershaw chose to compete on delivery service and price. She used quick delivery as a key selling point. In addition, without a reasonable price, she could not compete with the off-campus pizza companies. In effect, her order qualifier was price, and her order winner was service. Her initial competitive priorities for pizza were delivery speed and price. Her on-campus location and limited standard toppings make these priorities possible. Unfortunately, this policy limits the variety of pizzas available. The increased requests for additional topping combinations and the leveling of sales suggest this policy may be hurting BSB. Question 3: What impact will the new food court have on Kershaw’s pizza operations? What competitive priorities might she choose to focus on now? The new food court introduces new competition that has the same on-campus advantage as BSB. In addition, these companies can also provide products at reasonable prices, but unlike BSB, they have brand names. Her direct competitor, Pizza Hut, can probably provide a similar price. Most likely Pizza Hut will also have limited varieties; however, BSB still maintains its delivery advantage. The most likely new competitive priorities for BSB will be expanded product variety and longer service hours. The increased requests for alternate toppings show a customer interest in variety, and the expanded hours will enable BSB to offer service when the Pizza Hut is closed or when students are in their dorm rooms. Question 4: If Kershaw were to change the competitive priorities for the pizza operation, what are the gaps between the priorities and capabilities of her process? How might this impact her operating processes and capacity decisions? An increase in product variety will affect both service and cost. Kershaw probably cannot have as many premade pizzas ready to throw into the oven. She will also need to stock additional toppings. If she wants to maintain service, she will need to hire additional workers. She will inevitably have some trade-off between service and price if she adds product variety. Kershaw will also need to add capacity. At present, she is near capacity with her pizza ovens. She may even have to consider a new location, as there seems to be limited space at the grill location. Clearly she will need to determine the viability of pizza service before she takes this step. Question 5: Can you outline a service strategy for Kershaw’s operation on campus? If she chooses to stay in the pizza business, delivery will remain important. Food, most likely pizza, delivered from off campus, is a significant competitor. These competitive companies likely offer many pizza combinations. Therefore, BSB will need to increase variety to remain competitive. The key to this strategy is to maintain quality and to innovate on product offerings. Kershaw must use her proximity to the customer to maintain her competitive advantage in determining their pizza delivery needs. The other strategy would be total price competition. This would require her to keep the limited menu and to push to keep costs at a bare minimum. Unfortunately this means maintaining the same basic strategy she has now. However, this strategy will most likely lead to an inevitable decline in market share. This strategy seems best if she decides to exit the market, but it gives her the opportunity to milk the market before exiting. In reviewing the student responses the instructor should note the following: 1. On question three, the student overlooks the continued importance of convenient, quick delivery. The other food services do not provide this service. 2. Students tend to hedge on question five. They should be pressured into putting together a service strategy as opposed to describing alternative choices only. There are a number of positions Kershaw may take. What is important, however, is to look for consistency in the strategies that students provide. D. Teaching Strategy This case is best assigned as a take-home assignment. Have the students focus on responding to the questions at the end of the case. Tell them to pay particular attention to the last question. The first four questions all lead up to the last one where students should describe a service strategy for pizza operations of BSB, Inc. Tell students you want them to settle on a specific strategy they can support. In class, start with the first question and cycle through to the final question, which describes their service strategies. It is helpful to try to get two or three different strategies on the board to compare and contrast approaches. It is important that students see that there are a number of good alternative strategies and not just one best one. A thorough discussion of this case will take 45 minutes to an hour, especially if alternative strategies are discussed. *This case was prepared by Dr. Brooke Saladin, Wake Forest University, as a basis for classroom discussion. *This case was prepared by Dr. Brooke Saladin, Wake Forest University, as a basis for classroom discussion. How to cite Tanglewood Stores, Papers

Human Resource Management Essential Perspectives

Question: Discuss about the Human Resource Management for Essential Perspectives. Answer: Introduction The roles of HR professionals are described in the classic form by David Ulrich. These five roles play a vital character to act as the representatives of the company. The roles of HR professionals comprises of the strategic partner, change agent, administrative expert, employee champion and employee advocate. In the coming sections of the paper, these five roles and the way these add value to the strategic and operational work of the organization are to be worked out. In addition to this, an equally important part of the description is to underpin the need for HR managers so as to have a hold at the executive table. It would lead to help and boost the human capital of the organization as well. On the basis of this, the broadness of the HR role in the professional setting could be made understand heading to the development of the positive relation amongst the employers and workforce. The five of these roles are said to be equally important to form the linkage with the organizational members be it employees, the board of the management, and the directors of the company. Five of these roles to explain in a detailed manner to gain understanding with it and the way it contributes more towards strategic and operational work of the organization. (Sparrow, Hird, Hesketh Cooper 2016, pp 1). From Operational to Strategic Focus: Five Roles for HR Professionals The five of these roles are designed with the intention to make an organization more effective and to become more of amicable with the workers. This would automatically serve the best interests of the company and allow it to grow and develop in an incessant manner. Davids view towards human resources model is to concentrate on the roles rather focus on the functions. At first, the ultimate aim is to form concentration with this role just to have a better start and to make an organization the best place to work. Human resources are the supporting pillars of an organization and their presence is very much inevitable just to carry on with strategic and operational activities. Strategic Partner: The Human Resources act as a Business Partner for an organization. As a Business Partner is assigned with a task to have communication with the clients of the company such as creditors, investors, stakeholders, customers, and suppliers. All these come under contact of the Human Resource Professional. As a strategic partner, the role is to figure out the weak areas and to rectify it. To locate the need of the human resources and to recruit and place them at requisite positions. As a business partner, used to share goals with his team members. On an overall basis, the environment is made highly productive just to raise harmony in between the workers. Along with this, the diversity management is also carried out (Becker, Ulrich Huselid 2013, pp 1). In all, strategic partners act as a contact point in between the customers and the employees. Due to this, the qualities within the team members get communicated to the concerning people and feedbacks drawn result in managing the talent at the workplace as well. Strategic partner plays different roles at the same time and also work well with the changing needs and requirements. It moves forth with the cross-functional project that aims at supporting the innovation aspects, and to develop the talent levels in a simultaneous manner (Hunter 2006, pp 4). Change Agent: The term is very much clear and explains the roles and accountabilities to be performed on the part of the Human Resources Professional. The change is very much necessary on the part of the company. It supports and allows an organization grow and excel at an incessant basis. At some or the other times, there is a great need for a company to move forth with certain decisions. These can be related to evolution, expansion, and or to amend the goals or objectives. This is the time when there is a great need to communicate about these changes and also to make it take place in an internal manner. The vital part is to play the role with due effect and to plan for the things needed to make the change take place in a successful way (Gilley Gilley 2009, pp 9). For doing the same, the employees are to offer with the training sessions just to accommodate as per the new situations and become well-versed with the set of new skills. At the same time, the change to bring in the business goals, job descriptions, and to justify about these altered roles. The ultimate task carried upon at the part of the change agent is to allow an organization acclimatize for its next stage of development or fruition. As a change agent, an immense level of support provided to the workers is also highly admirable. It leads to bring forth best possible initiatives and to make it easy for the employees to move with these changes (Ulrich, Younger, Brockbank Ulrich 2012, pp 61). Administrative Expert: Administrative Expert is the most transactional role. In absence of this, it becomes very much difficult to draw in trust and to play the strategic roles. For this role, the need is to be well-versed with the changes in legislation, ruling, occupational health and safety standards, and other types of labor or trade law. Deep knowledge of the law is very much essential just to deal with the difficult attitude of the workers, bargaining with the unions, and to have accurate details of the employees. Along with this, it is equally important to possess check on the way an organization complies well with respect to these laws. Employees information and particulars are to be perfect and made up to date (Wilczek 2008, pp 4). The most effective use of the Human Resources Information System is also an important step to safeguard and secure the employees details and records. This role is the most noteworthy one as it helps an organization to have the most advanced mode to work on, and also to work on paperless policies. Additionally, to have such a system that could help in securing them for the organizations betterment. This acts as the most requisite aspect to make an organization work in a smooth and effortless manner. Employee Champion: Employe Champion is the task that looks from the side of the workers betterment. It is an important area to look on and to take a stand for the workers goodness. This takes place to give importance to the workers and make them appear to talk about their issues. Human resources professional has to listen to them regarding their problems. It seems to be the best possible area in order to form the better relationship with them. Most importantly, the workers would feel part and parcel of the organization. Regular communication sessions are to organize and to develop know-how with their areas of problem. It can take place with regards to surveys, suggestion programs (Ulrich 2013, pp 123). Not only this, the workers are to ensure about the fair hearing from the part of the concerned official. It is the most necessary part to make workers feel happy and please enough. In a similar way, the control can also be made formed on the ongoing circumstances and could help in having the most strong and skilled workforce. It seems to be very much necessary to maintain the growth and productivity levels at its best (Gordon 2009, pp 3). Employee Advocate: As the term represents itself, the HR Professional to act as a supporter for his team of workers. In this, the requirement is to safeguard their interests and to ascertain balance of the strategic initiatives. For this, it is mandatory to maintain regular touch with the workers just to help them put their points and to figure out any imbalance with the culture of the company. In an organization, the employees should have the reasonable opportunity to apply for the respective job positions. It is equally important to have an effective compliance and grievance procedure that does not make employees receive any kind of unfair and unjust experience from the part of the company. Talent and career management are to be taken care of just to helping workers grow at its largest. On the whole, it would strengthen the roots of the business and be of great assistance in enjoying the long-term presence at the market level (Robinson 2009, pp 3). The above stated are said to be very much important from the standpoint of maintaining better and favorable working conditions. In turn, the employees would provide the best possible input just to have better output. This seems to be an ideal position for an organization and it looks forward to the same as well. It means a lot for an organization to have an enhanced and improved organizational culture that leads to an immense level of growth and progress. With this, it could be made out effectively stated that the results drawn could be of great significance and add value to the organizational effectiveness. The Strategic and operational focus could go on successfully leading to the most desirable outcomes. These five roles have their relative significance and contribute value to the strategic and operational work of the organization. Actually, these characters are specific in nature and make sure that the assigned tasks go on smoothly and effortlessly. By having clarity in roles, the human resources would definitely be able to reveal skill and expertise at their part. In all, it results in having better strategic and operational activities. The human resources would be capable enough to take in active part with the formation of the strategies that could result in a better tomorrow and a bright future (Storey 2009, pp 125). The next possible step would be an operational focus. It comes out to be the most important step as it involves the implementation of the developed strategies. This seems to be very much important from the perspective to support an organization grow and excel at an incessant manner (Marciano Wingrove 2014, pp 2). The Power of Strategic Partnering After discussing the roles of HR Professionals, next possible move is towards the power of strategic partnering. In the respective section, the aim is to concentrate as to how HR professionals can take up a seat at the Executive table and become strategic partners in the senior management team, leading the effort to enhance the human capital of the organization. The HR Professionals placed in the higher position need to be responsible and active just to participate as the strategic partners of the company. Strategies formation are the most chief part for an organizational success in the long-run. When the HR Professionals duly understand its significance and join hands as strategic partners, it would lead to exemplary resultants. The Strategic partnership is said to be very much important just to come forth with the most well-developed strategies leading to successful outcomes. Human resource professional placed at this position should take an initiative to bring forth likely changes to the way human capital enhancement could shape up. It is highly mandatory to look upon human capital as it is the most precious asset for an organization. There have to be relevant changes that could put in having such a culture that supports workforce to raise their performance levels. Along with this, the organizational culture should be motivating enough to obtain far better performances on the part of the organizational members. In this way, the human capital and its enrichment would move on to the positive side. It seems to be very much important looking on the areas that demand more improvement and amelioration. Motivation and leadership have to move together in the most hopeful manner. Job descriptions, training and development sessions, and employees surveys are to go on a regular basis. On doing the same, it is very much sure that the results obtained would be far better and remarkable enough. In a similar way, the need is just to make sure that the initiatives are to be taken up at the part of the HR professionals (Savitz 2013, pp 16). There should not be any scope left that could work for the betterment of the human capital. The power of strategic partnering could be made out effectively stated in a way that the results drawn in would be money-spinning at the part of the organization. The accomplishment of the goals and objectives can also be executed in the most likely manner leading to more of advancement and progression in the near future. There rests great necessity going for making sure that the best and sought-after returns are received. The human capital enhancement is the most necessary and indispensable part of an organization. In doing the same, the strategic partnering needs to be very much powerful and well-built. By means of strategic partnership, the initiatives could be fastened on and it helps in considering a step ahead for a better tomorrow (Wilkins Carolin 2012, pp 3). Human capital safety and security at the workplace is the crucial requirement just to deal with the ongoing situations and to draw in the most promising returns. The power of strategic partnership need not deny at any possible cost. This would demand to work for fostering and strengthening of the human capital at respective designations. Along with this, the decisions taken for the same would help in meeting the so-called expectations. As a result, the human workforces would be able to have the better association with the companys members and would play their role willfully and honestly (Boroughs Rickard 2009, pp 67). Most importantly, it would offer happiness and delight to the workers and make them motivated enough to do the job in the most requisite manner. This shows the power of strategic partnership and as to how it underpins human capital position in the most hopeful manner (Ulrich Brockbank 2005, pp 9). There rests great necessity to allow the HR Professionals take a seat on the respective executive positions and to take such decisions going to favor the workers and their presence. Consequently, they would show their caliber and potential in meeting the strategic and operational goals and to allow the firm have far better growth and success at the industry level (Schawbel 2012). The strategic partnership holds great power and influence on the human resources of the organization. It would definitely influence them in the most positive manner. Most importantly, it would motivate them to play their role with due diligence. Employee turnover and absenteeism would surely go low turning to the most brighter side for the company. The Employee would have positive relations with their bosses and it is the most positive signal. Employees would also feel that the company is fulfilling all the promises made at the time of recruitment and it maintains their trust and faith also. Recommendations After going through the whole explanation, it is important to direct recommendations to take care of future practices at an organizational level (Williams 2007, pp 22). The final focus is toward enhancing the strategic role of HR professionals and gaining a seat in senior decision-making forums. This could be done by giving this much importance to the HR professionals and to widen up their roles. Strategic roles are to be made enlarged to have a say at the executive and management level (Martin 2008, pp 8). There has to be scope for the HR professionals in order to gain a seat with regards to the senior decision-making forums. On doing the same, it could be made out effectively stated that the best possible presence to be offered to the concerning people just to realize far better growth and evolution. Senior decision-making forums need to have place reserve for the HR professionals so that they could also take in active part in arriving at the most productive decisions (Kster 2007, pp 6). It mainly looks forward to giving an opportunity to the HR professionals have the platform to talk about the betterment of the workers and to make the organization recognize about core role of the human resources (Sims 2007, pp 70). The Strategic role needs to raise just for the sake of allowing the firms grow and progress at a long perspective. It becomes very much requisite going for managing tasks and activities to receive the best possible outcomes (Armstrong 2010, pp 37). By enhancing the strategic role of HR professionals and gaining a seat in senior decision-making forums, the support to the human capital is rendered. It turns out to be the most positive aspect of acting well on the crafted strategies and to move forth with the operations (Mathis Jackson 2011, pp 2). Moreover, it would lead to receiving of the far-sighted results and to carry upon duties with due efficacy (Amos, Ristow, Pearse Ristow 2009, pp 8). Conclusion At the end, it could be stated that the role of HR professionals can be very much successful with respect to consideration of an effective HR Model. It is the most anticipated position and would add on great growth and worth to the company. Its reputation and standing would raise in front of the concerning people. Human resources would serve well to the companys best interests and would form the better relationship with each other. All these key ingredients are very much necessary for a bright future and for the fulfillment of the mission and vision statement. This is the reason that the roles to be taken care of and the strategic partnership to move on successfully by considering human capital betterment as a priority. References Amos, LT Ristow, A Pearse, JN Ristow, L 2009, Human Resource Management, 3rd ed., Juta and Company Ltd., Cape Town, pp 8. 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