Operations and Technology Management Assignment

Operations and Technology Management - Assignment Example This makes it very difficult to accurately forecast in advance the designs so they stick to the traditional and common designs. They will not purchase materials in big orders because of the uncertainty of the forecast. Hence, this management strategy could be considered as very conservative and inefficient operation style. The effect of this goes beyond the initial production. In the event that the forecast is correct and replenishments are in order, the same cannot be produced immediately. Materials were pre-ordered a year before and may not be in manufacture anymore or such other delays may occur. So even if the design becomes in demand, M&S will not be able to cater to it immediately. Their slow response will lead customers to shop elsewhere like Zara who can "copy a successful competitor model and get it on its shelves within 7 days and all at low-to-middle range prices." What is needed is a change. But it is not a piece meal change, as can be seen in the effecexplanation. It req uires changing to root causes of poor performance which according to Merrill Lynch is, "heavy organization, limited flexibility and over centralization." 1. He downsized in the effort to save costs and bring up the value of company stocks. This led to the closure of operations in Canada & 6 stores in France and Germany. This also led to the UK management staff cut of over 1000 employees including Simon Marks great grandson. The closure of operations and stores may be a smart financial move but in the long run may cost the company far greater losses in terms of customer "goodwill' and company profile. Peter Salisbury should have explored other avenues like selling by consignment of goods or maintain a booth within a large department store, or even franchising to maintain relations with customers and thus not to lose the important "goodwill." Without "goodwill" a company is nothing. Company employee goodwill should have also been maintained to make the employees feel secure in their work and thus work harder for the company. Downsizing even the number of management staff cannot be avoided but he should have maintained Simon Marks great grandson if he was worth it. How can a mere employee be secure in his work when even the relative of its founder who works as hard as him does not enjoy even a bit of leeway. Is the company going bankrupt that it can no longer give a little respect to the memory of its founding member What company profile does this action show the industry He forgot to look closely into the history of the company that it reached the peak of its glory when its patronage grew. People chose to buy M&S products because the company gave back to its employees in terms of social/ welfare services. 2. He moved to reorganize and decentralize through the "Return to Recovery Program" by rationalizing its supplier base. 77% of turnover was sourced from the UK which allowed close proximity to the buying team for controls and communication. This stopped or limited the sourcing of clothes to Hong Kong. Savings were obtained from having to obtain the sourcing from Asia, flying the same to UK for control

Assignment 1 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignment 1 - Case Study Example 1). Using positioning strategy, retailers are making consumers aware of an expected increase in the prices of chicken products. They are also making consumers aware of the reason behind the increase in order to satisfy them. In the article, it is evident that Australian meat producers have researched the market to know the reason behind the expected increase in the chicken price. The research shows that chicken meat is one of the most favorite proteins of Australians who like to eat loads of chicken per year. Through research about prices, the meat producers have concluded that a significant increase in the international grain prices over the last three months is going to increase the chicken price in the Australian markets. Moreover, they have also researched about other products, such as, wheat the prices of which have increased by $100 a ton recently which is nearly a thirty percent increase in wheat prices. However, they say that chicken prices are not going to increase by more than five percent. Again, the producers are trying to make a good use of positioning to make consumers aware of the overall expected increase in prices. Another concept of marketing evident from the article is market equilibrium. According to Ali (2011), the difference between demand and supply has always a huge impact on overall market. The producers know that increased white meat prices will force consumers to eat red meat that will cause a decrease in the demand of white meat. The producers are trying to use this concept by saying that a decrease in the demand of white meat because of increased chicken prices will force suppliers to reduce feed prices which will consequently decrease the price of chicken in the Australian