Abby:

Firstly, I’d like to welcome everyone to this very important strategy meeting. As you should know, the purpose of today’s meeting is to agree a clear direction for our continued growth. We are faced with a number of growth choices. Bianca, could you please outline the first option?

Bianca:

Certainly – the first option is to expand the product range of our pretzels – to introduce different flavor pretzels and in various size packaging. This appears to be a suitable direction when you consider the chip/crisp market. There has been a significant increase in chip/crisp flavors in recent years. This means that consumers clearly like variety.

Corey:         

I can understand your point, but my concern is the limited size of the pretzel market, whereas the chip market is huge. I mean, if you bring out, say ham and cheese flavored chips, then even with a small market share, you will probably still do all right. But you can’t do the same thing in the pretzel market – because you’ll simply end up with a small share of a small market, which would simply not be viable.

David:            

I’ll have to agree. That’s why I think that we should be looking to leverage our brand into other product categories. What about ‘Presto Nuts’ or “Presto Crackers’ or even “Presto Chips”? This strategy makes a lot of sense as our own market research shows that ‘Presto’ is becoming a strong brand.

Ellie:               

Yes sure, the brand has value, but it’s clearly associated with pretzels in the mind of the consumer. Our research also says that the brand owns the pretzel market. When consumers think pretzels, they think Presto. I would be very concerned that leveraging the brand into other product categories would dilute the value of the brand.

Fiona:

I share the same concerns as Ellie. And also remember that we initially chose the name ‘Presto’ because it sounded good with pretzels – you know ‘Presto Pretzels’. For me, ‘Presto Nuts’ or “Presto Crackers’ doesn’t have the same impact. But David did highlight some attractive markets – maybe we should consider entering those product categories, but under a different brand?

Graham:

Actually, I have been thinking about that. We already have the capabilities in the production of snack food and we also have established relationships with the key retailers. It would make sense to look at nuts or snack biscuits. And if we don’t want to use the Presto brand, we could simply name it something else.

Heath:

That might work. But it’s taken us a long time to build the Presto brand. I’m not sure whether there are enough marketing funds available to support the building of another brand.

Isabella:

Plus there is no guarantee that our existing retailers are looking for another nut, cracker, or chip brand to sell in their stores. Part of the reason we were successful in getting into retailers was that there wasn’t a lot of other pretzel manufacturers that could supply nationally in the quantities required.

Jade:

That was true in the beginning. But we’ve done a lot to grow the pretzel market in Australia. Therefore, it’s only a matter of time before we have a lot more competition in this market. That’s why I’m proposing that we introduce another pretzel brand to compete against Presto. I think that would dissuade some competitors from entering the market (if they think it’s too competitive).

Kevin:

That’s a good idea, but we also run the risk of cannibalization, where the new brand simply steals the sales from Presto. We could end up doing twice the work for the same sales result.

Luke:

And another concern is that a second brand might signal to potential competitors that this is becoming an attractive market (because new players are entering it). So there’s a chance that instead of reducing competition, this approach might actually increase it.

QUESTIONS

1. Classify the major viewpoints above, into the categories of:

• Line extensions ( i want names from above)
• Brand extensions ( i want names from above)
• Multi-brands ( i want names from above)
• New brands ( i want names from above)

Nowadays, many firms have become or more striving to become learning organizations.Discuss why firms recognize this practice is important for continuous performance-related training and development programs.

Provide detailed explanation.

Choose two business or political leaders, one who has used the Mirror and Window correctly in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis and one who has used them incorrectly and justify your answers.

South Africa is a unique country with differing cultures: following on this;

1. critically analyze the four-level levels of conceptualization of Leadership; and then

2. Decide which level of conceptualization of Leadership suits this community best and prepare a systematic exposition that supports your decision.

Operations Management
1- What is the Operations sector and what administrative jobs can be found there?
2- What are the other sectors of a company and what support do they give to Operations?
3- What does the modern consumer ask for?
4- What is a company's strategy and why is it important to take it into consideration in the
Operations management?
5- What is a company's competitiveness and how does it affect the economy of a nation?
6- What do they mean and what are the core competencies?
7- What does productivity measure and how is it interpreted?

1-

Physical restrictions on the order in which operations are performed on an assembly line are referred to as precedence requirements.

Select one:

True

False

2-

Assembly line balancing operates under one constraint.

Select one:

True

False

3-

Muther’s grid is a format for displaying manager preferences for department locations.

Select one:

True

False

4-

Shipbuilding is an example of a fixed-position layout.

Select one:

True

False

5-

Cycle time is no different than flow time.

Select one:

True

False

6-

Cellular layouts reduce transit time and set-up time but they increase in-process inventory.

Select one:

True

False

7-

A product layout requires multidirectional material and product flows.

Select one:

True

False

8-

Cellular layouts attempt to combine the flexibility of process layouts with the efficiency of product layouts.

Select one:

True

False

9-

Inefficiency is a disadvantage of a process layout.

Select one:

True

False

10-

Most service organizations use process layouts.

Select one:

True

False

Reflect upon the course and provide a brief summary of the topics/concepts that you found most interesting and relevant to your career. Does any of the material need to be addressed more thoroughly or clarified?

Please list references.

What are the options that might be considered in relation to introducing flexible work practices? What are any barriers to change and the pros and cons of possible changes?

What forms of advertising and promotion does Walmart use? What role does personal selling fulfill for Walmart?

*Please include resources*

Why is it important to prepare a financial budget?

Explain what is meant by the term "time value of money". For example, why might it be better to receive $8 today, over receiving a promise of $9 seven years from now?

How should one consider the time value of money when planning for retirement? Please share examples within your response.

Ron supervises three operations at ACME Company – filling, packing, and labeling. He was promoted from within the organization. Last week, Ron informed his operations manager Dan that he was resigning for a better-paying job and one that is closer to his residence. Ron gave Dan a month’s notice and offered to onboard the new supervisor. Each operation is staffed with a crew of lowly-skilled employees but with long tenure and decent pay. Over the course of their employment, they have formed a bond and an informal leader has surfaced from each crew. Ron is facing several operational issues. Employee motivation has been diminished. Morale is low, and absenteeism is at 10%. Overtime rate has risen to 20%. Employees perceive obvious favoritism and unfair labor practices. The productivity numbers are way below standard, and product returns have risen. Each crew seems to work as an island, and intergroup conflict is brewing. Communication is hampered by conflict, indifference, and alienation. Among the groups, Ron has identified two new college graduates as his potential successor; however, the groups especially the informal leaders have not accepted them completely. Therefore, neither can expect a warm welcome from employees who may be passed over for the promotion. Dan is thinking of recruiting outside candidates for the position. This person must be fit for the job and quickly address the issues facing the operations. You are tasked to hire and select the best candidate for the job. Apply all the organizational behavior theories and concepts you have learned over the past few weeks.

Research and present the following requirements: Job description – List all the job information, qualifications, and responsibilities suitable for this position. Recruitment plan – Design how to draw the best applicants for this job including advertising, job posting, and any incentives. Selection process – Use an effective method for narrowing down the list for and selecting the best applicant. Interview Questionnaire – Prepare a list of questions that will be asked during the interview process.

You have to site a new paper/pulp factory. Given the choice, where would you locate it - on an estuary, on a river or on land? Explain the possible problems in each case and justify your decision.