Please read the case study , then answer the 4 Questions below

Sharp Market Change in Commodity Prices Take Companies to the Edge: From the Oil Capital of Europe to a Small Mining Town in Australia

A significant and sustained drop in commodity prices in 2015–16 (including a significant fall in the price of crude oil and metal commodities, such as iron ore and steel) had major implications for companies operating in this market (for example, oil and gas, mining and steel production). The extent and prolonged nature of this decline were unexpected, and the consequences for companies has been felt worldwide including the wider commercial ramifications for supply chains, supporting services, towns, cities, regions and national economies. In this short case example, we briefly examine the outfall of this shift for the commercial viability of companies operating in the North Sea as part of the global upstream oil and gas industry, as well as the social and economic problems facing a small rural steel town in South Australia.

Aberdeen, a city, tagged as the oil capital of Europe, has been hit by company contractions, job losses and an overall decline in business activity, which has also had an adverse effect on the wider regional economy of Aberdeenshire and Scotland. The hospitality and service industries, real estate, retail and a wide range of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have experienced the wider business ramifications of this sharp downward shift in the price of oil. An article in The Guardian headlined ‘Aberdeen feels the sharp chill of tumbling oil prices’ (McKenna, 2015), recounts the massive 75 per cent fall in oil prices during the first quarter of 2015, noting that:

Tax receipts from oil accruing to Scotland between January and March (2015) were £168m, down from the £742m gathered in the final quarter of 2014. And nowhere is the economic wind-chill factor being more sharply felt than in Aberdeen. Amid tens of thousands of job layoffs … the previously unthinkable has happened. Once it was almost impossible to secure a room in a decent hotel for less than £100 a night and the airport, the business gateway to the city thrummed with commerce and workers. Now both these barometers of Aberdeen’s once bountiful economy have seen pronounced drop-offs. (Ibid.).

The importance of this decline in oil prices for Scotland and tax revenue has stimulated a broader debate among key stakeholders and politicians both within Scotland and the UK. Over 18 months the price of a barrel of oil has declined from US$115 to around US$25 in January 2016 (Bawden, 2016). New technologies and techniques have enabled an increase in US fracking which combined with a fall in demand from major economies, such as China and the rising supply of oil from countries like Russia, Venezuela, Qatar and Saudi Arabia had all contributed to this extraordinary decline. Although fluctuations in prices are to be expected and whilst there was a significant crisis in oil back in 1999, the extent of the fall and the potential long-term implications of this shift came as a shock to major operators in the North Sea and the regional economy of Aberdeenshire. But was there anything that could have been done to prevent the severity of this downturn and the wider implications for business within the region?

We now briefly turn our attention from the oil capital of Europe to a small town in Australia. Both have been badly hit by a sharp decline in commodity prices and whilst the comparison is something of a David (small town) and Goliath (oil capital) the issues and concerns are remarkably similar. Whyalla’s Arrium steelworks are facing difficult times in a declining market that is described as an ‘economy transitioning away from the resources boom’ (Griffiths, 2016: 25). Arrium has cut 300 jobs and cut operating expenses by AUS$100 million. It needs to reduce its operating costs by a further AUS$60 million in order to keep its OneSteel Whyalla operations going. The steelworks employs 1150 OneSteel workers, and 450 contractors and the State government has waived royalties on the iron-ore use at the steelworks and is looking at other support options including underwriting some company costs and investment in upgrades (Cook, 2016: 35). The decline in jobs and the contraction of Whyalla’s steelworks have impacted on local town business, such as the café, fashion store, real estate agents and butcher as well as local companies. Martelco Hire, who provided plant and equipment to the mining and construction industries, has as a result of this decline gone into liquidation (February 2016) with a debt exceeding AUS$1 million. As a journalist commented: ‘As Whyalla’s lifeblood, the Arrium steelworks faces a possible shutdown, the small-business owners of the shopping strip of Paterson St are confronted with a domino effect that could also close their doors’ (Cook, 2016: 34). In response, the South Australian government have mandated that Australian grade steel is procured for public projects, whilst other governments, such as those of Western Australia and Queensland, continue to use cheap Chinese imports. As Griffiths explains: ‘Whilst South Australia’s policy does not preclude overseas producers from tendering for projects, the Australian grade consideration will ultimately see demand for local steel increase’ (2016: 25). At the time of writing, the Advertiser reported that: ‘Arrium needs to find another $60 million in savings to ensure its Whyalla steel and mining operations continue and to save 3,000 jobs due to the downturn in iron ore and steel prices’ (Templeton, 2016: 9).

These two short examples illustrate not only the wider ripple effects of sudden shifts in the price commodities on local and regional economies but also the role of government and other stakeholders in seeking to prevent a major economic downturn. Although change is ongoing and unforeseen shifts and fluctuations in markets are not uncommon when major upheavals occur, such as the ones reported here or the more extensive Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007–08, many people are taken unawares. It is often only in retrospect that these rapid, unexpected shifts are explained and made sense of. As we shall see, it is in the nature of change that the future is ultimately unknowable, even though we develop techniques and models to try to control for a future that is not yet known. In reflecting on these two short case vignettes and drawing on your own knowledge of what has occurred since the writing of this examples, consider the questions below not only with respect to these specific scenarios but in relation to your own experiences of how unexpected changes in the economy and society have impacted upon you.

Questions

1. Was there anything that could have (or should have) been done to lessen the impact of this sharp fall in commodity prices?
2. As an advisor to government, what responses and actions would you recommend be taken as a consequence of these unforeseen events?
3. Compare and contrast Aberdeen with Whyalla and list the similarities and differences. Once you have completed this, try to think of a strategy for change for re-invigorating the local and regional economies in Scotland and Australia.
4. Identify and explain any lessons that can be learned from our two case examples.

Assume that you are the chief Executive officer (CEO) of X organization and you wanted to involve consumers with the control of ethical behavior of business leaders? Explain how could you develop and implement a plan to acheive that?    

1. A firm is designing an assembly line to manufacturing its new product. The following tasks must be performed in the sequence and time specified in the following table, for a successful production of the new product. The production line will operate for 480 minutes (8 hours) per day and the forecasted demand is 600 units per day.

1. Draw a precedence diagram for this set of tasks.   

2. Calculate the cycle time for this production line.

3. Calculate the theoretical minimum number of workstations required.

4. Balance the line by completing the following table. When assigning tasks to workstations, use “with most followers” as your primary rule and
   “with longest task time” as your secondary rule to break any ties.   

Note: the table above does not indicate in any way the number of workstations the right answer should have. It is just to provide you with the overall format of the table necessary to solve the problem.

5. Calculate the efficiency of your line balance.   

How does the concept of ‘Leader as Coach’ reflect certain of the concepts in Leadership in a Team Environment ?

How has the User Generated Content (UGC) altered the way that products are promoted in digital world? Provide an example, explain your realizations and rationale.

(PLEASE WHEN SOLVING DO IT ON A COMPUTER AND NOT IN A SHEET OF PAPER BECAUSE IT IS HARD TO UNDERSTAND)

2. Consider the following linear:

Min 2A + 2B

s.t.     

1A + 3B ≤ 12

3A + 1B ≥ 13

1A - 1B = 3

A, B ≥ 0

a. Show the feasible region.

b. What are the extreme points of the feasible region?

c. Find the optimal solution using the graphical solution procedure.

Question 3

1. Wilton Technologies wishes to use MRP methodology to developing a material requirements plan for the next nine weeks. Williston Technologies has gathered the following information to work with:

   Bill of Materials:

   Current Inventory Records:                           

   Inventory

                           Leadtime                                 Currently

   Part                  (in weeks)       Lotsize            On-hand

   A                     1                      Lot-for-Lot     50       

   B                     1                      75                    85                   

   C                     2                      30                    100                 

   D                     2                      50                    415     

   Master Production Schedule:

                                                               -Weeks-

               Part                  1          2          3          4          5          6          7          8          9         

   A                     0          50        100      100      250      0          200      0        50         

   Please use MRP methodology to develop a materials requirement plan for Williston Technologies.

   Which of the following is/are true about the Planned Order Releases you have calculated?

                 I. Exactly 100 of Part A should be ordered in Week 2.

                 II. Exactly 225 of Part B should be ordered in Week 5.

                 III. The Planned Order Releases for Part B and Part C are identical to each other.

   	a.	I and II
   	b.	II only
   	c.	I, II and III
   	d.	I only
   	e.	I and III

How could McGregor’s Theory X potentially inhibit valuing generational diversity from the perspective of Leadership in a Team Environment ? Conversely, Theory Y?

1. Try to develop a model for individuals (patients) medicine buying behaviour. (Use a flow chart or step by step process) (Use bullet format max. one single page)

With its innovative strategy of transforming logistics delivery to third party from traditional carriers such as USPS, UPS and FedEx, can Amazon succeed in reducing its logistic costs and fulfilling its promise to efficiently deliver the brown box to its customer in 2 days? PLEASE SUPPORT ANSWERS WITH PROPER DATA DESCRIPTIONS.

Please select an organization of your choice from the one of the following industries:

A. Automotive B. High Tech C. Hospitality and Tourism

to develop a Benchmarking report where you need to identify:

1. The rationale for and the objectives of the benchmarking. Why is this benchmarking exercise important for the business? What type of benchmarking is appropriate (competitive, internal, functional, generic). Please remember:

1. Internal benchmarking is a comparison of a business process to a similar process inside the organization.
2. Competitive benchmarking is a direct competitor-to-competitor comparison of a product, service, process, or method.
3. Functional benchmarking is a comparison to similar or identical practices within the same or similar functions outside the immediate industry.
4. Generic benchmarking broadly conceptualizes unrelated business processes or functions that can be practiced in the same or similar ways regardless of the industry.

2. The elements that you want to compare (for example: business units, departments, activties, employee performance etc.). You can benchmark product performance (sales, revenues, customer satisfaction, manufacturing cyscle time) , employee perfomance ( Productivity levels, untis produced per week, internal promotions rate, retention level, absenteeism level), customer service (digital customer service, customer satisfaction score, customer problem solving score).

3. The performance indicators (metrics) , the targets and all related information.

In the conclusion of the report please discuss potential areas for improvement that might be identified through this particular benchmarking exercise.

Word Count: 1,200 words

Fully Discuss/explain the following:

A. Strategic, Organizational, and Financial Controls

B. Balanced Scorecard from the perspective of influencing performance

C. The relationships between strategy and structure

D. the importance of the items in A, B, and C to an organization and its leaders

For this activity, you will explore your understanding of effective listening skills in an organizational setting. You may be able to use the ideas you develop here in your final project.

Objective: This question is designed to help you gain insight on your final project’s communication problem. You may be able to use material from this activity in your final project.

Background: Please begin this exercise by reading the following information carefully.

Research on adults’ listening styles by Sargent and Weaver (2003) and others suggests that women use their listening skills to learn about people and to make connections with others, while men listen more for information and to solve intellectual challenges. The findings do not mean women do not engage in content-oriented listening and that men do not engage in people-oriented listening. Both sexes clearly engage in both types of listening. However, Sargent and Weaver and other researchers say findings like these indicate that women and men generally do, indeed, have different approaches to listening.

Activity:

How might you apply this information about sex differences in listening styles to your communication in the workplace*?

It is your responsibility, as the new head of the automotive section of Nichols Department Store, to ensure that reorder quantities for the various items have been correctly established. You decide to test one item and choose Michelin tires, XW size 185 × 14 BSW. A perpetual inventory system has been used, so you examine this as well as other records and come up with the following data:

Because customers generally do not wait for tires but go elsewhere, you decide on a service probability of 98 percent. Assume the demand occurs 365 days per year.

a. Determine the order quantity. (Round your answer to the nearest whole number.)

b. Determine the reorder point. (Use Excel's NORM.S.INV() function to find the z value. Round z value to 2 decimal places and final answer to the nearest whole number.)