How Effectively an Organization Meets the Wants

Competitiveness How terminationively an memorial tablet meets the wants and destinys of customers relative to others that run similar goods or serve wells Business compete using merchandise 1. Identifying consumer wants and/or needs is a basic input in an organizations decision making process, and central to rivalrousness. The idea is to compass a perfect match between those wants and needs and the organizations goods and/or redevelopments. 2. Price and type argon learn factors in consumer buying decisions. It is great to understand the trade-off decision consumers make between price and caliber. 3.Advertising and packaging be ways organizations kindle inform potential customers about features of their mathematical fruits or services, and attract buyers. Business compete using OPERATION 1. Product and service design should reflect joint efforts of many areas of the firm to achieve a match between financial resources, surgerys capabilities, supply chain capabilities ,and consumer wants and needs. finical characteristics or features of a harvest-feast or service bear be a key factor in consumer buying decisions. Other key factors embarrass innovation and the time-to-market for modernistic products and services. 2.Cost of an organizations make is a key variable that repairs pricing decisions and profits. Cost-reduction efforts are mostly ongoing in business organizations. productivity(discussed later in the chapter) is an outstanding determinant of cost. Organizations with higher productiveness roams than their competitors baffle a competitive cost advantage. A company may outsource a portion of its operation to achieve dishonor costs, higher productivity, or better quality. 3. Location weed be important in terms of cost and convenience for customers. Location near inputs kitty progeny in freeze off input costs.Location near markets fundament result in lower transportation costs and quicker delivery times. pleasant locati on is disuniteicularly important in the retail sector. 4. Quality refers to materials, workmanship, design, and service. Consumers mea accredited quality in terms of how well they think a product or service will satisfy its in inclineed purpose. Customers are generally willing to pay much for a product or service if they perceive the product or service has a higher quality than that of a competitor. 5. Quick response underside be a competitive advantage. One way is quickly bringing impertinent or alter products or services to the market.Another is being able to quickly deliver subsisting products and services to a customer after they are ordered, and still some other is quickly handling customer complaints. 6. Flexibility is the aptitude to respond to changes. Changes capability relate to alterations in design features of a product or service, or to the volume demanded by customers, or the mix of products or services offered by an organization. High flexibility can be a co mpetitive advantage in a changeable environment. 7. Inventory watchfulness can be a competitive advantage by effectively matching supplies of goods with demand. . allow for chain management reckons coordinating internal and external operations (buyers and suppliers) to achieve timely and cost-effective delivery of goods throughout the system. 9. Service might involve after-sale activities customers perceive as value-added, such as delivery, setup, warranty work, and technical support. Or it might involve extra attention while work is in progress, such as courtesy, keeping the customer informed, and attention to details. Service quality can be a key differentiator and it is one that is very much sustainable.Moreover, businesses rated highly by their customers for service quality tend to be more profitable, and grow faster, than businesses that are not rated highly. 10. Managers and workers are the people at the partiality and soul of an organization, and if they are competent an d motivated, they can provide a manifest competitive edge by their dexteritys and the ideas they create. One often overlooked skill is tell the telephone. How complaint calls or requests for information are handled can be a positive or a minus. If a person answering is rude or not helpful, that can produce a negative motion picture.Conversely, if calls are handled promptly and cheerfully, that can produce a positive image and, potentially, a competitive advantage. Key EXTERNAL factor 1. Economic conditions. These include the general health and direction of the economy, inflation and deflation, interest rates, tax laws, and tariffs. 2. semipolitical conditions. These include favorable or unfavorable attitudes toward business, political stability or instability, and wars. 3. Legal environment. This includes antitrust laws, government regulations, trade restrictions, minimum wage laws, product liability laws and recent court experience, labor laws, and patents. . Technology. This can include the rate at which product innovations are occurring, current and future process engineering science (equipment, materials handling), and design engineering. 5. Competition. This includes the number and strength of competitors, the basis of competition (price, quality, special features), and the simplicity of market entry. 6. Markets. This includes size, location, brand loyalties, ease of entry, potential for growth, long-term stability, and demographics. Key informal factors 1. Human resources. These include the skills and abilities of managers and orkers special talents (creativity, designing, problem solving) loyalty to the organization expertness dedication and experience. 2. Facilities and equipment. Capacities, location, age, and cost to maintain or replace can have a significant tinge on operations. 3. Financial resources. Cash flow, addition to additional funding, alive debt burden, and cost of capital are important considerations. 4. Customers. Loyalty, ex isting relationships, and understanding of wants and needs are important. 5. Products and services. These include existing products and services, and the potential for new products and services. . Technology. This includes existing technology, the ability to integrate new technology, and the probable impact of technology on current and future operations. 7. Suppliers. Supplier relationships, dependability of suppliers, quality, flexibility, and service are typical considerations. 8. Other. Other factors include patents, labor relations, company or product image, distri entirelyion channels, relationships with distributors, maintenance of facilities and equipment, access to resources, and access to markets. PRODUCTIVITY MEASURE Productivity measures are engageful on a number of levels.For an individual subdivision or organization, productivity measures can be utilize to track murder over time. * This allows managers to judge performance and to decide where forward motions are ne eded. * For example, if productivity has slipped in a certain area, operations staff can examine the factors used to compute productivity to determine what has changed and then devise a representation of improving productivity in subsequent periods. Productivity measures also can be used to judge the performance of an entire industry or the productivity of a country as a whole.These productivity measures are aggregate measures. In essence, productivity measurements serve as scorecards of the effective use of resources. Business leaders are concerned with productivity as it relates to fight If two firms both have the uniform(p) level of output but one requires less input because of higher productivity, that one will be able to charge a lower price and consequently attach its share of the market. Or that firm might elect to charge the same price, thereby reaping a greater profit.Government leaders are concerned with topic productivity because of the close relationship between pro ductivity and a farmings standard of living. High levels of productivity are largely amenable for the relatively high standards of living enjoyed by people in industrial nations. Furthermore, wage and price subjoins not accompanied by productivity increases tend to create inflationary pressures on a nations economy. up(p) Productivity A company or a department can take a number of key steps toward improving productivity 1. coach productivity measures for all operations. Measurement is the first step in managing and arrogant an operation. 2. Look at the system as a whole in deciding which operations are most critical. It is overall productivity that is important. Managers need to reflect on the value of potential productivity improvements before Okaying improvement efforts. The issue is effectiveness. There are several aspects of this. * One is to make sure the result will be something customers want. * For example, if a company is able to increase its output through roductivity improvements, but then is unable to sell the change magnitude output, the increase in productivity isnt effective. * Second, it is important to adopt a systems viewpoint A productivity increase in one part of an operation that doesnt increase the productivity of the system would not be effective. * For example, suppose a system consists of a sequence of two operations, where the output of the first operation is the input to the second operation, and each operation can complete its part of the process at a rate of 20 units per hour.If the productivity of the first operation is increase, but the productivity of the second operation is not, the output of the system will still be 20 units per hour. 3. Develop methods for achieving productivity improvements, such as soliciting ideas from workers (perhaps organizing teams of workers, engineers, and managers), studying how other firms have increase productivity, and reexamining the way work is done. 4. Establish reasonable goals for impr ovement. 5. Make it clear that management supports and encourages productivity improvement. Consider incentives to reward workers for contributions. . Measure improvements and publicize them. Other factors that affect productivity include the following * Standardizing processes and procedures wherever possible to reduce unevenness can have a significant benefit for both productivity and quality. * Quality differences may distort productivity measurements. One way this can happen is when comparisons are made over time, such as comparability the productivity of a factory now with one 30 age ago. Quality is now much higher than it was then, but there is no simple way to incorporate quality improvements into productivity measurements. Use of the earnings can lower costs of a wide range of transactions, thereby increasing, productivity. It is likely that this effect will continue to increase productivity in the foreseeable future. * Computer viruses can have an immense negative impact on productivity. * Searching for lost or misplaced items wastes time, hence negatively affecting productivity. * Scrap rates have an adverse effect on productivity, signaling inefficient use of resources. * New workers tend to have lower productivity than seasoned workers. Thus, growing companies may experience a productivity lag. Safety should be addressed. Accidents can take a toll on productivity. * A shortage of information technology workers and other technical workers hampers the ability of companies to update computing resources, generate and sustain growth, and take advantage of new opportunities. * Layoffs often affect productivity. The effect can be positive and negative. Initially, productivity may increase after a layoff, because the workload remains the same but fewer workers do the workalthough they have to work harder and continuing to do it.However, as time goes by, the remaining workers may experience an increased risk of burnout, and they may fear additional job cuts. The most adequate workers may decide to leave. * Labor turnover has a negative effect on productivity replacements need time to get up to speed. * jut out of the workspace can impact productivity. For example, having tools and other work items within easy arena can positively impact productivity. * Incentive plans that reward productivity increases can boost productivity.