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Credit Cards are an image of you in the business world. As the world revolves around business, you should build a positive and a trustworthy image. So, where can you get the true gems that can give you the best deal on credit cards? At applyforbestcredit.com, you can get a large spectrum of credit cards, as they are one of the best cards online. For example, you can get a great deal on no interest credit cards, and much more. Are you currently facing bad credit? Don’t disappoint yourself, because there is a solution for you until you recover. You too can get a credit card at a very low rate and help yourself in spending. Want more? You can get balance transfer cards, instant approval cards, cash advance cards, status credit cards and much more.
If you don’t live in the UK, or if you live in the UK but don’t watch TV then you might have missed it so let me inform you. Vodephone has done one of two things:
One: Facebook and vodephone have hooked up together in order to do better advertising and bring more people to their network or. . .
Two: Vodephone has wised up to the idea that many people are now using social media networks and by allowing people to use those site on their phone networks they can tap into an ever increasing market, either way Vodephone has defiantly tapped its hammer on the social media segment market.
It seems like the only plausible movement after the revolution MSN made to not only the instant messaging service but also to emailing as well as phone enabled messaging that others would soon see the mobile phone internet space as the new hub for new developments and, what all companies seek, sales, turnover and profit. I’m not really a fan of Vodafone although I did buy my phone there and get it converted into a 02 but then again O2 always has had the best deals for texting.
Although you wouldn’t always think it, where to locate a business is a defining feature which managers have to make. It can have an impact on many different departments of a business and, therefore, on the profitability and chances of success for the whole firm. It is also important to remember that location decisions are:
Strategic, moving location is a long term decision and must be planned.
Not easily reversed as the costs of relocation are high
Taken at the highest management level they are not delegated to subordinates, this can cause problems with staff.
When are location decisions necessary?
There are a great number of situations and reason why a business might need to relocate or find a location. A few example situations are listed below:
Newly formed businesses will have to consider where to set up their first premises. This is often close to the owner’s area of residence because the owner normally knows the area well and feels most comfortable there because of the proximity to home, a good example of this is the body shop.
Expanding firms may need a new site to allow for growth or to set up a branch in a different location. McDonalds is a good example of this.
Firms faced with uncompetitive costs may have to find a cheaper location.
Businesses expanding abroad to become multinationals must select appropriate countries and locations within them.
Factors of location
When choosing a location the business must take into account the costs of moving or establishing their business in the location. Such things they have to consider are;
Labor Costs
Site and capital costs
Transport
Proximity to suppliers
Workforce disruption
Language factors
Exchange rates
Labor Cost relates to which country your in as places like India will accept lower pay for the same amount as work, although this may give the brand a bad image, unemployment is also a factor, in a high unemployment area you are likely to pick up the labor number you need as well as the ability to replace workers who leave. If the location has low unemployment the reverse will inevitably occur.
Site and capital costs are the costs that price the land will cost the amount of rent per Xyear’s or the costs of building from scratch. Capital costs come into play if the production methods the firm uses are transferable or not, if not the costs will increase in order to buy new capital equipment.
Transport is crucial for all businesses especially businesses that have perishable goods, if it takes you 5 days to get to the market place and the vegetables goes bad after 2 days is it smart to be that far away?
Proximity to suppliers is not always essential as you can always change suppliers but if the business has a trusted supplier and they run on Just-In-Time then the closer the better.
If the company has to move to a location that is not accessible to its current work force there is likely to be a great deal of upset in the workplace and the costs of making those people redundant need to be taken into account.
If a business decides to move abroad to a new country with a different currency they will need to know if in this new area if their currency better i.e. is the currency worth more then before or if its worth less (prices are more expensive in the new location).
Language doesn’t only refer to just French, Spanish, English, but to accents as well, some people are unable to under stand some accents because there not use to them and this can cause problems with communication.
Learning Note
Location is not normally the full basis of an essay but it is useful to note down the key points form the above article and apply it to case studies you have, although it might not be a full essay it is a useful area to know and apply to all types of questions, questioning the location of the firm in case studies is useful, especially if they do not state a real location, this way you can explore possibilities and adapt it to what you think whilst showing off your knowledge, for example, if it says the firms suffering from high labor turn over maybe its in a very low unemployment location so businesses are competing for labor with higher wages or perks.
To start off with, what is lean production? One definition of lean production is; a manufacturing performance improvement approach and philosophy that emphasizes the minimization of the amount of all the resources (including time). It involves identifying and removing non-value-adding activities in design, production, supply chain management, and dealing with the customers. Put simply it’s a way to cut costs by taking away/minimizing time consuming activities. Note that implementing lean production is difficult.
The lean manufacturing history is thought to stem from the research Ford carried out in 1986 on Toyota, the business strategies implemented reduced production times, giving lower costs per unit, but it also gave an increase to quality. The lean manufacturing success of Toyota sparked the beginning of a new production method.
A common mistake among students is to identify lean production with Just in Time (JIT), although it is a part of it, it is not the basis of the production method. When/if a business decides to become a lean producer there and 4 principles they must apply for the lean strategy to work:
Lean quality
Lean design
Lean people management
Lean component supply
Lean Design
The first of the lean techniques involves assessing and improving upon product development, or product modifications, so that the firm can quickly and efficiently adapt to the changing business environment. Computer aided design (cad software) is one of the most flexible and quickest method for firms to design new products quickly, and transfer new product ideas from the conception stage to the market, this can lead to first mover advantage. First mover advantages include such things as; A high, if not 100% market share in the product, brand loyal customers (since they can see you as the first, therefore the best) and allows the business to establish a foot-in-the-door effect, which is needed to focus customers on their specific product when the copy firms move in.
When lean companies look for speedy product development and launch, time-based management plays a crucial role. Time-based management is, essentially, minimizing the time between product design and product launch. It looks for the areas in the business where simultaneous engineering can take place (decision trees are a good example of this) which cuts costs by saving time and money.
Lean quality
Quality is an expensive area for business organisations, but there are greater costs when ignoring quality. Bad quality can lead to bad publicity, a poor brand image and a great loss of customer loyalty. On the human resource side of things, one of the best ways to increase quality is by training the employees in all aspects of the production, making them multi skilled and making them feel more empowered giving greater motivation. The importance of quality will also be reflected throughout a firm’s culture. Quality techniques include quality circles and kaizen groups: using both of these would be the best way to bring in ideas from employees, this brings greater employee motivation and productivity.
Lean people management
What is people management? People management is simply as it says, a way in which people involved in and outside the business are treated and used. Lean producers will aim to fully utilize all the skills and ideas of their workers. They will attempt to ensure that all their workers are fully trained and multi skilled in the businesses production methods. Empowerment and delegation are key to lean people management and they therefore create participation schemes to enable staff to contribute their ideas and experiences. This not only makes them feel valued, but also benefits the firm by getting ideas from experienced workers. This delegation of decision-making power makes workers feel more involved and, therefore, more committed to the business objectives of the firm. Motivation is key to productivity and therefore lower costs.
Lean Component supply
Just-in-time (JIT) is a system of stock management that involves only requesting a new supply of materials once there is a definite need. This is the moment students say ‘Good, JIT, I know all about that.’ But, in addition to understanding the benefits of JIT such as: saving money on space and insurance and removing the risk of holding stocks that may become damaged or obsolete (as with food), the opportunity costs also need to be considered. The firm will no longer be able to benefit from bulk-buying discounts (economies of scale) or be able to respond immediately to a customer order. The conditions necessary for JIT to work also have to be recognised. The firm must have reliable suppliers who are able to supply on demand with a short delivery time. Proximity is always good and accessibility is also important for a quick supply and delivery.
Conclusion
To summarize, the key aspects of lean production students should know that: Lean production is expensive, there are high start up costs and it cannot be applied to every business, most economies of scale advantages are lost and it can take a long time for the workforce to adapt to a such a change and some employees may reject the changes.
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Postal regulators have called for Royal Mail to be partially privatised in order for them to increase the effectiveness and quality of the business. It has been noted before, by Postcomm, that the financial issue of Royal Mail will only worsen over time unless bold action was taken.
Nigel Stapleton, (Postcomm’s chairman) has said that without private sector investment or some sort of government subsidy the business is looking to fail.
The only time Royal mail was truly secure in its placement was back in 1650, back when it held the a monopoly for 350 years which ended in 2006 when other operators were allowed to collect and deliver any mail they choose.
Although Royal mails dominance was not a short lived one it seems mostlikly that the business will fall to failure if private sector investment does not come into play. In the year to the end of March Royal Mail lost £279m. The core root of this loss is because Royal Mail has lost a lot of business in the lucrative bulk mail collection and sorting market, but still must uphold less profitable universal delivers.
This proposal does not come without scrutiny, the Communication Workers Union, (the main postal workers’ union), said Postcomm’s proposal overstepped its remit.
Although Royal Mail is falling into financial difficulties it still does hold 90% of the marker, the main issue it seems, besides the fact they constantly lose mail, is that they need to become a more effective and objective business. Royal Mail has had too light a ride with its 350 year dominance and has become lazy or, as economists call it, productively inefficient.
There is and has always been highly debated over, the idea of; a monopoly best because or A or is a competitive market best because of B. It is easy to notice that, not only from 350 years leading to failure but also form the lack of efficient allocation Royal Mail uses that it would be best for the business to have an open market forcing it to become a highly productive and efficient in the market.
“Royal Mail needs access to private capital and a stronger set of incentives to enable it to restructure and become more profitable,” Postcomm said.
The independent review of the postal sector will submit its final report this summer and will give deeper insight in where Royal Mail may be heading.
You pay 1-20 pounds for an album for your favourite singer, band, rapper or DJ or maybe you illegally download them, in which case stop and support your filthy rich singer.
An elastic market is where if price goes up there is a huge drop in domain compared to the profit gained, a price inelastic market is when the reverse happens, increasing price will lead to a smaller then proportionate drop in sales increasing profit.
When trying to identify how elastic music is there are a few variables to include: Do you like them and have you got enough money to pay if both of these are yes then would you pay? If I gave you $100 and your favourite singer just released their new album which cost $100 would you buy it? I wouldn’t which means it’s a price elastic market, contrasting ideas anyone?
The UK’s unemployment has risen by a staggering 14,000 in the last 3 months; this is a rise to 1.61 million unemployed people in the UK. This is only another clue pointing towards the UK falling into a recession.
The number of people claiming jobseekers allowance has climbed by a staggering 7,200 to 806,300 last month. These figures only further reinforce the fact that the UK is falling into a recession and a recession at this time may be the biggest slump the UK has seen.
With increases in the house prices by nearly 70% in the recent years the economic slowdown comes as a shock and has already shocked the UK stock market down and house prices are beginning to fall.
Many economists are speculating the recession to come within the next three months and if this trend continues it seems like a likely estimation.
If I was the competition commission the fact that prices have rose well above the amount of the gas actualy costs to import would have sent me running into the company to find out why. The fact of the matter is that since 2003 the price for electricity has rose by around 70%!
British Gas has attempted to defend its stupendous rise in profit by saying “the money generated will go into research and development to remove reliance on offshore gas and electricity”.
The rise in British Gas profits hasn’t gone unnoticed and it seems that many officials as well as the public are calling for the competition commission to step in and find out what the real cause of this increase in price is. British Gas had been under the scrutiny of the public eye of late and this is reflected in the amount of customers leaving British Gas day by day. British Gas think that a giant boom in their profits by 40% is just simply is not enough. Hopefully British Gas will be put under investigation and the UK will see some price decreases.
