details provided in the file

write a 2,000-word essay (excluding citations) on any topic related to the Middle East. The

write a 2,000-word essay (excluding citations) on any topic related to the Middle East. The paper should have a title page, which states your title, name and the course number. It should also be 2,000 words long, and be submitted as a Word document. The essay should state clearly the approach to the topic at the beginning, develop a coherent argument with references to source material, and finish with a strong conclusion. All essays must make use of primary sources. citations (in MS Word, click Insert, Footnote, and hit enter). While other citation methods all good and well, Chicago Style has been the predominant form in the humanities. All evidence needs to be accompanied with a citation, using Chicago Style. Each paper must have an introduction that introduces the topic, asks a question and then lays out a framework of analysis, which explains how you plan to go about answering your question. Do not ignore these elements. In addition, the paper should be accompanied with a bibliography. I already have a topic in mind, Il share it once I assign you[supanova_question]

2 Demand Management Plan for Wild Dog Coffee Company Elizabeth Blackburn-Goslin Capella

details provided in the file 2

Demand Management Plan for Wild Dog Coffee Company

Elizabeth Blackburn-Goslin

Capella University

MBA-FPX5016

August 29, 2021

Introduction

Companies use a demand management plan as a necessary tool to forecast future demand. “Forecasting methods are mathematical strategies used to predict future events and plan resources”(Krajewski et al, 2019). The Wild Dog Coffee Company is using the demand management as a well of maintain their levels of supplies, while meeting their specific needs.

Advertising Impact on Product Demand

The Wall Street Journal hosted a panel called “Advertising is dead; Long live advertising? at the Cannes Lions advertising festival on June 22, 2016. One of the biggest topics at Cannes this week has been how to win consumers’ attention amid a swiftly changing technology landscape and backlash against a perceived overload of advertising. (Wall Street Journal, 2016).

Wild Dog Coffee Company goal is to make their advertising attractive enough to have consumers come to their Coffee Shop. How can they accomplish this?

There are many facets of marketing, social media, television ads, and printed material. What would work best for a smaller company like the Wild Dog Coffee Company? Wild Dog Coffee Company would need to learn about what the consumer wants, and how much are they willing to pay. Wild Dog Coffee Company is primarily in the business of selling coffee. Do they add an additional product to go with their coffee to entice a larger customer base? Perhaps bakery items or snacks to augment the menu of coffee. To further analyze the impact that advertising has on product demand, we would need to look further into Wild Dog Coffee Company’s advertising costs.

Demand

Based on the bean use and advertising costs associated with the bean use, during month 1 they used 987 lbs. of beans with $1,050.00 spent on advertising. In month 2 the advertising budget was increased to $1,500.00 and used 1,412 beans. The increase of both the advertising budget and the amount of beans used increased by 43%. The advertising budget for month 3 and 4 was reduced as well as the amount of beans. Management reviewed the advertising costs versus the amount of beans over the six-month period and the trend showed the more advertising money spent, the more beans were used. Based on this information Wild Dog Coffee Company going forward would benefit by keeping the advertising budget on the higher side to increase sales, but also keeping in mind the cost of maintaining a full complement of staff to handle the increase in sales.

Forecasting

There are two methods of forecasting, judgement, and quantitative methods. Judgment methods begin with the opinions of customers, while quantitative data uses several methods to arrive at forecasted date (Krajewski et al, 2019). The expresso beans used are the dependent variable, which is turn is affected by the independent variable of advertising dollars spent. To calculate the linear regression, y equaling the dependent variable, a is the intercept of the line, b is the slope and x is the independent variable. Using the past 6 months history, Wild Dog Coffee Company is projected to spend $1,350.00 for month 7. With this advertising budget they would need to purchase 1,252 pounds of beans to service 445 beverages every day.

Inventory Management Analysis

Wild Dog Coffee needs to analysis their inventory management system. The company cannot maintain a large inventory due to the size of their operation, the lack of storage space, and the lack of sufficient cash to purchase large quantities. Shrinkage is also a concern as the beans only remain viable for two weeks. Currently the demand is approaching 1,400 pounds and they only maintain one type of expresso beans. The beans are packaged in 25-pound bags, which translates to Wild Dog Coffee Company needing 56 packages every month to meet the demand. The average cost of one pound of beans is $9.00, which makes the average cost per package $225.00. The holding costs are 10% per year/unit. (Capella University, 2019). These figures are used to calculate the monthly and yearly holding costs. The monthly holding costs are $1.875 and the yearly holding costs are $22.50 per unit. The beans are delivered seven days after the placement of the order, with shipping costs of 19.95 per order, unless the order is over $250.00. If Wild Dog Coffee Company needs 56 packages every month and they order every two weeks their bi-monthly cost would be $6,300.00 thus eliminating the shipping costs.

Should Wild Dog Coffee Company use anticipation inventory? Anticipation inventory described as allowing a business to have an inventory on hand to handle unexpected peaks without losing business(Krajewski et al, 2019). External factors that affect a business such was weather, seasonal factors, easy accessibility to the shop influence a customer’s decisions.

The benefits of having an anticipation inventory is there is a constant inventory on hand allowing Wild Dog Coffee Company to maintain a consistent flow of their product. Running out of coffee beans would be like a pizza shop running out of dough, necessitating shutting the doors. No amount of advertising will remedy a situation like this.

A negative impact form anticipation inventory is the holding costs. In the case of the Wild Dog Coffee Company, their holding costs are 10% per year/unit. With the possibility of a decline in consumer consumption, this could be an undesirable method for Wild Dog Coffee Company.

Another method of inventory management is the continuous review method. This method relies on an automated system to track output and current supply levels. Maintaining this type of inventory system alerts the staff of the supply levels. It also provides data as to what product is selling the most.

The negative impact of this type of inventory system is the costs of obtaining a software that would fit the needs of their particular inventory, the training of all staff so that the system is used to its full capability.

Recommendations for Inventory Management.

As mentioned previously the Continuous Review System does have some drawbacks, but for the Wild Dog Coffee Company, it would appear to be the best solution. This system is not relying on the moods of customers, but rather on a review of what is selling, how much, and trends such as which days of the week are more profitable. Having this information would also aid in making the advertising decisions. If the software is showing that Wednesday’s between 3 and 7 are an extremely quiet period for sales, a marketing approach could be developed specifically targeting that time frame. A complete accounting software could be purchased that includes a point-of-sale system that could be used in both locations of the Wild Dog Coffee Company. The software not only would perform normal accounting functions, but would generate reports for ordering, inventory and sales reporting. These reports are invaluable to the management when helping to identify loss and review which staff members are the most productive.

Staffing Analysis

The Wild Dog Coffee Company is staffed 16 hours per day with hours from 5am to 9pm, the first and last hour of each day are used as opening and closing hours. Wild Dog Coffee Company has two full-time employees and five part time employees. The following guidelines were provided by Capella University: Shifts have been scheduled according to who wants to work which shift. This has generally worked out well, but you realize you need to tighten up the scheduling process in order to optimize a staffing model. Two employees are required to make a coffee beverage. One employee takes the orders, and a barista makes the coffee drink and hands it to the customer.

Baristas are paid $14/hour, regardless of whether they are full-time or part-time.

Full-time employees (up to 40 hours/week), other than baristas, are paid $12/hour.

Part-time employees (up to 20 hours/week), other than baristas, are paid $9/hour.

All full-time employees receive company benefits that equate to 15 percent of their hourly rate. (This is known as a benefits load.)

All full-time employees are paid at 150 percent of their regular rate for all hours worked over 40 hours per week. Full-time employees can only work a maximum of 50 hours per week. The benefits load is not applied to overtime hours.

All part-time employees are paid at 150 percent of their regular rate for all hours worked over 20 hours per week. Part-time employees can only work a maximum of 26 hours per week.

It costs $500 to hire each additional employee, and it costs $250 to terminate an employee.

Full-time employees are likely to resign if moved to part-time status.

The coffee shop is open 84 hours per week. There are two additional hours allocated each day for one employee to perform opening and closing activities. (That is, one hour is allocated for opening duties and one hour is allocated for closing duties.)

Your current level of staffing for coffee beverages is as follows:

Baristas – 1 full-time; 3 part-time.

Non-barista – 1 full-time; 2 part-time.  (Capella University, 2019)

The fixed and rotation schedule can be found in the appendix.

Fixed Schedule

The fixed schedule staffing approach calls for employees to work the same days and hours every week(Krajewski et al, 2019).

The positive effect of a fixed schedule is that all staff members know exactly what their schedule is every week and absenteeism is minimal. This scheduling process allows for employees to schedule outside commitments based on their fixed schedule. The fixed schedule also makes it easier on the person doing the scheduling.

Conversely, fixed scheduling doesn’t work for the employee that needs more flexibility. The recent pandemic is a perfect example of how a fixed schedule could be problematic. Employees with children in school, who were mandated to do remote learning, necessitated the need for a parent to be at home. With a fixed schedule, the employee needs to work out trading shifts with other employees and can create some unwanted tension in the workplace. The other downside of fixed schedule is the same people are stuck working every weekend, causing the need to again rely on other employees to cover the shift if they need to attend a function that is happening over the weekend.

Rotational Scheduling

The rotational schedule rotates employees to a different schedule weekly, allowing each employee to work every shift (Krajewski et al, 2019).

On the positive side, this method of scheduling is far more flexible and would generate a wider employee base to chose from. Potential employees who are looking for extra income but are the primary care giver need the flexibility in their schedules. It also allows every employee to learn the opening the closing procedures and interact with different customers during their shifts. The rotational schedule also allows more flexibility for employees to trade their shifts with another employee.

Rotational scheduling does come with some pitfalls. The primary downside is for the person creating the schedule. The schedule is made up two weeks ahead of their work schedule which doesn’t give the employee as much time to prepare for any conflicts in the scheduling. Designing a rotating schedule to fit every employees needs could prove to be difficult to implement.

Recommendation for Staffing Schedule

In the previous analysis of rotational scheduling a con to this type of scheduling stated it might be difficult to implement. Despite that negative aspect it is recommended the Wild Dog Coffee Company use the rotational scheduling system. The employees will be able to get the whole picture of the operation, from opening to closing, interactive with different types of customers. Again, referring to the pandemic, this flexibility of scheduling would be more attractive to parents of school age children, particularly when they have having to be home-schooled. Each method of scheduling incurs the same amount of costs for the week with the same amount of overtime.

When adapting a scheduling model, ideally the business would select the one that works for its employees. In the case of Wild Dog Coffee Company, the majority of the employees prefer the rotating scheduling. If Wild Dog Coffee Company adds two employees with a cost of $1,000, this will allow the employees to work the maximum of 40 hours for full time, and 20 hours for part time and there would be no need for overtime pay.

Conclusion

Wild Dog Coffee Company used the demand management plan to analyze their past data and focus on forecasting the future needed inventory and staffing requirements. Advertising funds analysis were show that as the advertising figures increase so do the sales figures. A computerized inventory system was recommended to be implemented to maintain an accurate and timely method of determining when and how much of the expresso beans need to be ordered. The two main factors contributing to this decision was the 2-week life of the expresso beans and the limited storage capacity.

Personnel issues were reviewed regarding the use of either a fixed schedule or a rotating schedule. The rotational schedule is the recommend method allowing for more flexibilities and the removal of the need for overtime.

Wild Dog Coffee Company was advised to employ the Economic Order Quantity approach. My using this model it allows the company to decrease holding costs, order costs such has additional shipping charges and shortage costs. Allowing for the fact that Wild Dog Coffee Company cannot maintain a large inventory due to lack of space and the life span of the expresso beans this method allows them to obtain the lowest cost. The most important part of the method is it will allow Wild Dog Coffee Company to have the supplies on hand that are needed.

Wild Dog Coffee Company is now in the position to benefit from the Demand Management Plan in preparation for their future needs and additional local.

Appendix

Advertising Funds and Expresso Beans Used Bar Chart

Forecasting with Linear Regression Date

Fixed Staffing Schedule

Rotating Staffing Schedule

References

University, C. (2021) Assessment 2 Instructions: Demand Management Plan. Retrieved from https://courserooma.capella.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listConten.jsp?

Krajewski, L.J., Malhotra, J.K., & Pitman, L.P.(2019) Operations management: Processes and supply chains (12th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson

Wall Street Journal(2016) – Retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/advertising-isnt-dead-but-market-is-changing-1466610850[supanova_question]

In responding to your peers, compare their views with your own in

In responding to your peers, compare their views with your own in terms of what information is most important. Are there elements your peers have omitted? Provide reasoning to support your views.

In response to your peers, state whether you agree or disagree with their conclusion as to whether the money spent to regulate railroad safety was spent in the most efficient way to reduce death and injuries. Critique their strategy for influencing safety regulation. Be sure to justify your response.

Reply to the classmates post below There are two post listed below that you will respond to separately.

Must have more depth and thought than simply “I agree” or “You are wrong.”

Adds substantive information, asks meaningful questions to peers, and provides substantive responses.

There are two post listed below. Please respond to both Students post.

Classmate Post #1

5-1 Discussion

Ben Hearne

What was the cause of the Metrolink accident and could it have been avoided?

I believe that the Metrolink accident was due to a variety of poor decisions. First, I believe the most critical factor here is that Conductor Sanchez was not given the time necessary to grieve and recover from his hardships. If they were to have had a more intimate sit down with conductor and taken the time to gain an understanding of the severity of his emotional shortcomings, he would not have been back at work so soon and been afforded the time and tools to recover properly. I think that the cell phone usage and the resulting accident are merely a byproduct of this. Taking the time to fully understand and resolve conflicts are a very necessary component to running a business properly.

Is the high cost of train control justified by the likely safety gains for passengers?

I certainly think that it is. It is always better to take the time and resources necessary to prevent incidents such as this, than to later pay a greater toll in the form of lawsuits from injured patrons. With each life valued at $6 million and the cost of the safety protocols at roughly $10 billion, in a twenty year span simply preventing two train accidents proves to be worthwhile in terms of finances. This does not take into account the indirect consequences such as losing the integrity that customers see in the organization if injuries were to continue. In my opinion, this is money well spent.

Is the money spent to regulate railroad safety being spent in the most efficient way to reduce the risks of death and injury in society?

I believe that the money spent here is certainly the most efficient way to reduce death and injury. Following the new regulations and policies put in place by the Federal Railroad Association (FRA). This includes The Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2008 which made for increased monitoring of conductors and their ability to perform. Taking the time to save lives is in my opinion the best way to reduce death and potential injury.

If you had been a lobbyist wishing to influence safety legislation after the crash, what would your strategy have been?

If I were lobbying for safety legislation after the crash I would reach out to the manufacturers of the current manufacturer of the locomotive for way in which effectively monitor the conductor. Whether this be added cameras, ways to eliminate cell phone usage or other safety measures, I would reach out to the organization who makes the locomotive first in order to gain a solid base on ways in which to improve things effectively.

Reference

Morgan, D. (2015, July 14). Insight – Buffett may benefit as train lobby to weaken safety rule.

     Retrieved August 26, 2021, from http://web.archive.org/web/20160128081639/

     http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-train-regulations-idUSL2N0ZT0VW20150714

Steiner, J. F. (2011). Business, Government, and Society (13th ed.)

v

Classmate Post #2

5-1 Discussion: Metrolink

Aaron Mohammed

The Metrolink accident was tragically caused by the train engineer and operator Robert Sanchez largely due to gross negligence and texting while operating the vehicle (Steiner, 2012). To take it a step further, it was also caused by the negligence of his employer and the industry as a whole. When Robert was grieving the loss of a loved one and was dealing with the emotional toll from the accident with the suicidal person he struck, his employer forced him to return to work before he was ready. I do believe he was not in the emotional state to return to work but was forced to do so anyways. The situation he was in the day of his fatal accident was that of a lack of sleep and coming off a four-hour nap in the middle of the day does not seem to be enough time to have been well-rested to go back to work (Steiner, 2012). The industry was negligent about various safety measures that could have previously been in place prior to the accident that would have prevented the Metrolink accident but was instead convinced of letting profits dictate the decisions being made (Steiner, 2012). I believe all of these components play a role in what caused the Metrolink accident.

The high cost involved in the implementation and regulation for modern train control was first introduced around 1900 and for decades the excuse for not implementing the technology to trains was that it is unaffordable (Steiner, 2012). The FRA’s cost-benefit analysis indicated that the safety benefits of positive train controls were $440 million to $674 million over 20 years and a statistical life was valued at $6 million (Steiner, 2012). The expense to railroads to equip them with the new technology was between $9.6 billion and $13.3 billion over 20 years and this discrepancy in value is what was used to fight against implementing the needed safety measures for so long (Steiner, 2012). With all this being said, I still believe it was worth the cost because the safety measures would be able to save lives. To erase and minimize the value of life by lobbyists and company decision makers is literally putting profit over people and is a destructive practice in the balance of business, government, and society.

I believe there can always be a debate on how the money is spent to ensure safety through regulations. There was a lot of emphasis on the technology being incorporated inside and outside the train. Cameras were installed inside the train, staffing models were improved, brighter light bulbs were used outside of the train at crosses and mandatory restrictions were placed for how workers were used. I personally felt more could have been done to protect workers from a physical and mental health standpoint. It is easy to highlight the railroad industry’s negligence in all of this however blame should also be put on the politicians. There should be more federally supported programs protecting workers that simply was not in place. The reading discussed some of the health issues Robert Sanchez had both physically and mentally and yet he was still in a place where he was forced to these issues in the background and go to work helping make people like Warren Buffett rich. So, efficiencies in both railroad safety and worker safety and well-being should be emphasized in my opinion and could have been improved.

If I were a lobbyist looking to influence safety legislation after the crash my strategy would depend on who I was lobbying on behalf of. I would be hard pressed to advocate for profits over people after seeing such a devastating crash killing nearly 30 people and injuring over 100 people (Steiner, 2012). I would likely use the strategy of utilizing statistics that would benefit my argument along with leveraging the media if I could, to get my messaging out. If I were for the companies, I would at least be trying to advocate for safety measures that utilized the most effective and reliable technologies and that would make the most sense. 

Steiner, J., and Steiner, G. (2012). Business, Government, and Society: A managerial perspective, text, and cases (13th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.[supanova_question]

Click or tap here to enter text. 1 Critical Thinking in Action

Click or tap here to enter text. 1

Critical Thinking in Action

Introduction

The business field is broad, and there are many ways to solve problems in different firms. In this case, however, critical thinking and application of the VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) concept have been used by various companies. One good example is the Panera Bread Company, which applied the concepts of VUCA and critical thinking in solving its “mosh pit” situation. As a result, the company became more successful after finding the appropriate resolutions. The same method can be applied in the Starbucks Company, which has been facing many challenges lately (Maze, 2018). Proposing evidence-based solutions while using the concepts of VUCA could help the company regain its popularity among its customers and win back the loyalty of those who had left.

Situation

Starbucks is the world’s largest coffee chain and has its branches in over 70 countries globally. However, the company has been facing various issues, but the root of all the problems has been the escalating prices of its products (Forbes, 2016). The company seems to be focusing on growth and profit-making rather than its customers’ needs. The company has traded its customers’ loyalty for more profits and growth. Even before the Covid 19 pandemic hit, the company had increased its prices, and many customers left for other brands. During the pandemic, there were financial crises all over the world, and all businesses were affected. Despite every company finding ways to avoid significant losses, Starbucks decided to even increase its prices to meet the high wages and the rising cost of raw materials, which is coffee.

The company has also increased its branches all over the world, to raise more profits. While taking various measures to increase profits, the company would have first considered the customers because the company has very many competitors, such as Mcdonalds’ (Maze, 2018). Due to these measures, the company has lost many customers to the competitors, and it has reduced its trust among loyal customers. In June 2020, the company decided to close 400 stores in the US and Canada. Obviously, for the company to maintain its profits, it will have to increase prices and the cost of maintenance. This will even drive away more customers.

Critical Thinking

Despite the company facing the threat of losing its customers, it is quite hard to lose customers at once. The company, as mentioned before, is a multinational coffee brand. Over the years, it has built its brand, and the main thing that attracts customers to Starbucks is its premium and inviting atmosphere (Nellako, 2020). Many people still hold casual meetings at the place. But with the rising of any other coffee companies, how long will the customers stick around before moving to other companies. This remains uncertain, but it is meant to happen if competitors lure the customers with other factors, such as building more premium centers. The company seems to be aware of the advantage it has, and therefore, it is opening up more centers and introducing better features such as roasteries. These attract wealthy customers, but customers who feel the prices are too high will move to other coffee companies.

Since the company raises its process due to the high cost of labor and raw materials, there are some measures the company can implement to reduce the high cost of production. Online buying has become a more familiar and efficient way of purchasing products. Customers can order whatever they want using online services. If the company invests more in improving its delivery services and expanding its delivery areas, it will curb the issue of investing in building more structures. The company would not have to close the stores if it grew at a more controlled pace, and in turn, it won’t have to increase prices to keep up with its profits. The company could also find other ways to reduce production costs, rather than to impose the burden on the customers, such as reducing some employees and looking for cheaper raw materials.

Application of VUCA

In Starbucks’ situation, elements of VUCA are applicable, and they affect both the case and resolutions. Using the principles of volatility, rapid and frequent changes are inevitable in Starbucks. Despite the company raising its prices, especially during the pandemic, most companies did the same, and the company wants to gain profits. Recommending the company to look for cheaper labor and raw materials would have been better than increasing its prices. The uncertainty principle applies where the company still has many customers due to its premium environment, but how long will it take before competitors come up with better premium features?

Using the complexity principle, higher production costs have led to an increase in prices, which has led to the loss of some customers. The company should prioritize the customers’ needs first because if it fails to address their needs, they will move to other companies. Lastly, ambiguity is there since the company is not clear on its agendas to increase profits. The company could reduce prices in the outlets it has to attract more customers. On the other hand, the company can still build more outlets to easily access the products and attract more customers.

Conclusion

Using critical thinking and applying VUCA principles has worked for the Panera Bread Company and the company is thriving. Applying the same to Starbucks would help identify the problems and resolutions the company would implement because the method involves critically analyzing both the company and customers’ needs (Szymanski, 2020). Finding measures to meet both needs would benefit both the company and customers. It might be an opportunity for the company to win back its popularity and customer loyalty.

References

Forbes. (2016, December 5). Starbucks’ Challenges And How It Can Overcome Them. https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/12/05/starbucks-challenges-and-how-it-can-overcome-them/?sh=6cb27c714be9

Maze, J. (2018, June 20). Starbucks suddenly struggling. Restaurant Business. https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/why-starbucks-suddenly-struggling#

Nellako. (2020, October 2). The primary issue with Starbucks’ brand growth. Modern Buyer Behaviour. https://modernbuyerbehaviour.wordpress.com/2020/10/02/the-major-issue-with-starbucks-brand-growth/

Szymanski, J. G. (2020, May 28). Critical thinking in action. Medium. https://medium.com/@janetgregorekszymanski/critical-thinking-in-action-221e542c861c[supanova_question]

10 Generic Strategies for Competitive Advantage Rodrick Fields Capella University Business Strategy

10

Generic Strategies for Competitive Advantage

Rodrick Fields

Capella University

Business Strategy

John Horne

August 14, 2021

Generic Strategies for Competitive Advantage

Generic strategies are the three methods used by a firm or an organization to take part in a competitive way within an industry. The concept of the generic strategy is defined first in the book competitive advantage by Michael Porter. Two types of competitive advantage consist of various activities that a firm or an organization tries to achieve. They lead the generic strategies for achieving the best performance in an industry. The two types are cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. There are types of strategies used in marketing, namely: competitive strategy, corporate strategy, operating strategy, business strategy, and functional strategy. This essay aims to state and elaborate the SWOT analysis of a company and the strategic business plans.

Generic business strategies for the company inclusive of cost, differentiation and focus

Every business must develop a strategy that leads it into achieving a competitive advantage within the marketplace. On choosing these, the company products’ strengths and weaknesses and the company’s position in customers’ minds have to be considered(Lorenzo,2018). The best strategy is the one that influences the strengths of the company to the highest profits and a huge investment return. Companies may try a competitive advantage in so many ways. A company might offer their consumers something valuable of their money, maybe by offering a low price in the market and having the most beneficial products to the consumers in justification of the high prices. Cost leadership strategy is one of the generic business strategies that work to produce its products with the lowest cost. This applies mostly to closely similar products and is mostly purchased and accepted by many consumers. For a company to be a cost leader, it has to ensure that it has the lowest production and distribution cost. It also should have the lowest price in the market, and by doing so, it is easier to attract most buyers, become the market leader and drive the competitors out. A successful cost leadership strategy needs an improvement in all ways of the operations of the company. For the company to be the lowest-cost producer, the following has to be followed:

Improving productivity

Having the bargaining power

Improvement of technology

Catching up with the distribution methods and changes

Improving the production methods

A differentiation strategy needs the company to produce unique products so that the consumers could believe in the product’s value and be willing o pay more for them. If the consumers approve that the products are worth the market, the company could be at peace to charge the first-rate prices. The prices will be enough equalizer, and the company would be able to make reasonable profits. Companies that use the differentiation generic market strategy and succeed need to have the most skilled and creative product development staff. The staff should have the ability to do a market survey and get to know the expectations of potential buyers, know the features that would attract the consumers for them to be implemented. After implementing and having a unique product, the company should get the best sales team with skills to talk and convince customers that they are receiving a product worth their money and market the company as the one that produces the high-quality products. A differentiation strategy has several risks: the competitors will not remain silent while losing their market, and they will come up with their differentiation product and campaign. Secondly, while doing the differentiation strategy, it might change consumers’ taste as competitors improve and come up with unique products, thus capturing the eyes of the buyers.

Cost focus strategy requires the company to understand the features of the market and the basic unique needs that the specific consumers have, which applies to a chosen market segment. The companies using the cost focus strategy take the risk of leaving out the largest market target(Lorenzo,2018). When the company concentrates on that particular target group, it might gain some or more loyal customers. The features that are attractive to this position market may not be of interest to the entire market. Like the focus strategy, the differentiation focus approach also aims at a particular small group in the market. The company finds and gets unique feature for its product that gets the attention and attraction to a specific group of customers. However, the company’s profit is dependent on the spending of the small group of consumers. If the taste of the target consumers changes, the company will have difficulties changing its direction to target the wider market. A successful differentiation focus strategy relies on creating a very strong brand in which the consumers are loyal to get ready for the awaiting competition.

Company’s business model

The company uses the differentiation strategy to produce its unique products to stand and run smoothly in the competitive market. For example, the company makes candy unique by improving its taste and using healthier ingredients to make it stand out since there are s many competitors on the same product (Saputra,2020). The business model refers to the plan that the company has in making a profit. It points out the products that the company or business intends to sell, its pinpointed target market, and any expenses incurred. The core product is as well defined as the benefits that that product brings to the customer. The company’s core product, in this case, is candy. The organization makes money in various ways to maintain and pay their dues: through the sale of their goods and services, by receiving grants from the locals, from the state and federal agencies, sector for-profit companies, and getting some private donations. A value proposition is a statement that answers why a person should do business with your brand(Lorenzo,2018). The value proposition for this company is that they produce the most unique and legit products, which are good and accepted by most consumers in the competitive market. A customer value proposition is the total benefits that the vendor promises the customer to receive in return for a payment. Profit preposition is the revenue generated by the company minus the cost of production and delivering it. 

Corporate strategy of the company inclusive of product, geographical and vertical scope in which it operates.

Some of the products and services offered by a virgin group of companies, which are leisure, travel, holidays, media, and many more. For that group of companies to be in a position to attain such a huge success in the commercial world, they must have achieved an effective marketing mix through the four key elements of marketing: product, promotion, price, and placement. This has made the firm able to improve and expand the initial products in the field as per the operation. By implementing the well-researched and decided strategies, the group of companies is in a position to gain customers’ trust mostly by its name and the quality of services offered to the customers. The firm is therefore situated in different parts of the world and has various branches in different areas. The distribution channel of the group is so expansive due to its pure size because it has to extend operations to meet customers’ expectations and create awareness of its products and their value. The firm still owns several related ventures globally, and that has been its main source of strength through mergers and acquisitions compared to other businesses

Corporate structure of the company

Corporate structure in a company refers to how the organization is divided into different departments and units of business. The corporate structure of different companies may differ depending on the goals of each specific company since each company has its set goals to achieve. The key management system controls the different locations in which the assets in an organization can be accessed, who can access them, and when to. There are two types of key management which are private key and public key(Daulay, 2020). The company uses the diversification method to manage the risks by minimizing the harm that may arise during economic downturns. Diversification occurs when a business expands into the market or comes up with a new product to the market. The important and basic idea why the company uses this method is to get exposure into the market without a negative reaction to the economic downtowns; thus, the company uses diversification as a growth strategy. Global Alliance is part of the corporate strategy since its purpose is to share ownership of the newly formed ventures and maximize the competitive advantages in the joined territories. 

Strategy formulation distinguishes corporate and business strategy. The general distinction is that corporate strategy is concerned with the business to be completed while business strategy addresses how the business should be completed(Saputra,2020). To be precise, business strategy is how a firm organizes and plans how to achieve its objectives in a business. The corporate strategies include downsizing, stability, and expansion, whereas business-level strategies include differentiation, focus, and cost leadership. SWOT analysis is used to identify the key external and internal environmental factors that are considered important in achieving the goals of an organization. A good SWOT analysis helps the company take advantage of the strengths and opportunities and minimize the threats and weaknesses. The internal environment is the inner forces and conditions present within the company and can affect the company’s functionality.For a company to have a good and unique opportunity has to be willing and able to communicate and interact with customers, get their reviews and settle if there are complaints, partner with bigger companies to benchmark on the tactics they use to be able to maintain standard in the competitive market, be willing to do research and read more for opportunities, learn customer needs and lastly know the trends and the most consumed kinds of stuff where very minimal companies produce. The external environment is the outside forces that can affect a company’s performance, profitability, and performance. There are six external environment forces: legal environment, social environment, global environment, technological environment, economic environment, and competitive environment. On the other hand, several internal environmental factors are plans and policies, human resources, labor management, inter-personal relationship with the employees, physical assets, value proposition, financial and marketing resources inclusive of many more factors.

Key management system of the company

A management structure describes the organization of the management hierarchy. There is a hierarchy in management in almost all organizations. The hierarchy in every organization determines the lines of authority, communications, duties, and rights of the organization. A decentralized structure is followed in every organization that runs from the senior authority to the juniors(Lorenzo,2018). There are six organizational structure elements: designation of jobs, distribution of authority, activities coordination, position differentiation, department division, and establishment of reporting relationships(Daulay, 2020). A functional organizational structure has taken the initiative to divide the firms’ major functions into subgroups. For example, the finance department, production department, marketing department information department and many more. This company has a functional organizational structure and has taken the initiative to divide the different groups in the organization. Some of these subgroups are the information technology department, production department, marketing department, finance department, and human resource department.

There are some key strategies that the company needs, and which most of them revolve just around customers. They are partnering maybe with other companies for benchmarking, operational improvement, development of a new product or service, management of technology and information, and naturing people’s talents for the sake of the company’s benefits(Daulay, 2020). There are four ways in which the company can identify opportunities in the competitive market. These are: looking at the competitors and get to know what new they have or the strategies they use, listening to customers, and getting the reviews of the customer to know if there is any improvement that is needed for the products, listening to potential clients to get leads and looking at the industry trends and insights for more leads. For the company to improve opportunity seeking, the following aspects should be followed:

Look for an opportunity.

Have time and passion for reading and researching about it.

Be passionate and go for the identified opportunity, and lastly.

Make contacts. 

In conclusion, a generic strategy method should be followed in an organization to boost the company’s performance. The several strategies used by an organization, like the cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy, and focus strategy, are key to any organization or a company. For this company, I would say that differentiation strategy is the most suitable since it enables the company to produce and put on unique market products, thus uniquely enabling its growth. Following the orders and the hierarchy of the company enables a smooth run. Thus, the development of the company arises. For a company to have a good and unique opportunity has to be willing and able to communicate and interact with customers, get their reviews and settle if there are complaints, partner with bigger companies to benchmark on the tactics they use to be able to maintain standard in the competitive market, be willing to do research and read more for opportunities, learn customer needs and lastly know the trends and the most consumed kinds of stuff where very minimal companies produce. For a company to be in a position to attain such a huge success in the commercial world, they must have achieved an effective marketing mix through the four key elements of marketing: product, promotion, price, and placement. The company should use the diversification method to manage the risks by minimizing the harm that may arise during economic downturns. Diversification occurs when a business expands into the market or comes up with a new product to the market. The important and basic idea why the company uses this method is to get exposure into the market without a negative reaction to the economic downtowns; thus, the company uses diversification as a growth strategy.

References

Lorenzo, J. R. F., Rubio, M. T. M., &Garcés, S. A. (2018). The competitive advantage in business, capabilities and strategy. What general performance factors are found in the Spanish wine industry? Wine Economics and Policy, 7(2), 94-108.

Daulay, R., &Saputra, R. (2020). Analysis Of Customer Relationship Management and Marketing Strategies Against Competitive Advantage on The Company’s Distributor in Medan City. 2019.[supanova_question]

MBA – REE 6305 Final Real Estate Investment – Summer 2021 Instructions:

MBA – REE 6305 Final

Real Estate Investment – Summer 2021

Instructions: Read these instructions and each question carefully. Failure to follow these instructions will result in deductions from your grade. This is a take home exam, and it is open note and open book. You may use internet resources. You can use anything to help you take the exam except for the assistance of another individual or individuals. Additional instructions follow:

On or before 11:59pm ET on July 31, 2021, each student will electronically submit his or her Final Exam in an MS Word document via the link within the Canvas course shell. This link will be directly located on the course homepage and named “Final Exam”. Follow submission instruction from there closely to turn in your exam. When asked for a “Paper Title”, each student will use their name followed by REE 6305 Final Exam as their “Paper Title”. For example, “Ken Johnson REE 6305 Final Exam”. The first page (title page) of the exam should contain the student’s name and REE 6305 Final Exam, as well.

Assume you are working with KHJ Consulting Inc., and the reader of your work product is a client of the firm. The reader is sound mathematically and has good comprehension and reasoning skills. You are to deliver a professional report, in terms of both quantitative and qualitative rigor, to the client summarizing the questions below.

If there is a conflict between these instructions and any prior information provided, including your syllabus, these instructions take precedence.

If you believe a question is unanswerable, explain why and make any necessary assumption(s) and then answer the question. Make these assumptions at the beginning of your answer in Italic print (or otherwise highlighted) in order to stand out from the remainder of your answer.

If you believe a question has incorrect information, you are to make explicit reference to the incorrect information, provide corrected information, and answer the question. Make these corrections at the beginning of your answer in Italic print (or otherwise highlighted) in order to stand out from the remainder of your answer.

If you leave a question unanswered, partial credit cannot be granted. Therefore, make an attempt to answer all questions. Show your work for the maximum award of partial credit. In general, show your work. It helps the grader decipher your thought process.

There is a “blackout” during the exam period. Therefore, there is to be no contacting the instructor or GAs (Graduate Assistants) during the examination period with questions about the exam or subject matter.

As you have significant time to complete the exam, your work product is to be organized and presented at a professional level, i.e. do not submit “sloppy” work. See sample exams in Old Exams & Answers under Course Content in the course’s Canvas shell.

Include a Title page, Table of Contents, and the Grading Rubric (found below) in that order as the first three pages of your exam.

If needed, attach a Reference section to the end of your exam. You may follow any citation and referencing style that you desire; however, you must be consistent with its use. There is no need to reference the textbook for the course and/or the instructor’s notes and lectures.

Where applicable use the same notation as in class.

While you may employ Excel to calculate answers, do not submit Excel Spreadsheets.

You are being asked throughout the exam to replicate topics/materials. You MAY NOT use examples from class, the course textbook, other textbooks, the internet, or any other outside sources. This includes your own existing work product. Your old exams are considered your own existing work product). You must always create your own work product. You may never represent the work product of others as your work product. You must only produce current/original work product. Work product is defined as the answers that you provide to the client. Violation of any underlined instructions will result in a maximum score of 50% on the exam.

Exams are to be submitted in a Microsoft Word document or be readable in Microsoft Word. The readability of the electronic file/document that contains your exam is your responsibility.

Once an exam/work product has been submitted, you may not resubmit. Therefore, proof your work carefully before submitting.

You may not place jpeg files in your work product, i.e. no pictures/images. They are not readable by Turnitin.

Produce a professional work product (answers to the questions below) for the client.

Have fun and good luck.

Grading Rubric

REE 6305 Final Exam

Summer 2021

Requirements

Deductions

Quantitative Understanding

Qualitative Understanding

Communication/Teaching

Instructions

Total Score

Instructor Comments (if any):

Time Value of Money Template

INPUTS

N

I/YR

PV

PMT

FV

OUTPUTS

P/Y =

Exam Questions

Weight 2/3rds on Q1 and 1/3rd on Q2

Our client is asking us to offer as a proof of concept our ability to evaluate housing markets around the country. Therefore, choose a metro or county area in the U.S. and make an evaluation/analysis of your chosen area’s current housing market. You may not choose any part of South Florida – Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach counties. See the lecture on Current Housing Market Evaluation for Palm Beach County as a sample of the type work expected. Make sure to clearly explain to the client what we are doing in a professional manner.

Our client wants us to explain how to choose between loan alternatives. Specifically, they are curious as to which of the following three loan alternatives are best in terms of effective rate (ER):

Loan A: $1,000,000 @ 3.125% for 30 years with a 1% finance fee

Loan B: $1,000,000 @ 3.125% for 15 years with a 1% finance fee

Loan C: $1,000,000 @ 3.000% for 30 years with a 2% finance fee

All loans are compounded monthly. Make sure to clearly explain to the client what we are doing in a professional manner.[supanova_question]