Questions
Eskom is a power company conglomerate in the South Africa and operates several power plants throughout...

Eskom is a power company conglomerate in the South Africa and operates several power plants throughout the region, a few of them nuclear power plants. Needless to say, the public is concerned with emissions in the air surrounding these plants. Examine what public opinion means and critically discuss the questions the public relations specialists at Eskom must understand about public opinion before deciding on an appropriate campaign.

In: Operations Management

Explain the role ethos, logos, & pathos play in persuasive speeches

Explain the role ethos, logos, & pathos play in persuasive speeches

In: Operations Management

Please explain the process of an evaluation of on-the-job training, as well as pre-departure training. If...

Please explain the process of an evaluation of on-the-job training, as well as pre-departure training. If there are more ways of doing an evaluation, please cover in detail at least one that is applicable for both on-the-job training and pre-departure training in human resource management.

In: Operations Management

What was the influence tactic that Carl used to convince the Prairie Health Services Board of...

What was the influence tactic that Carl used to convince the Prairie Health Services Board of Directors to approve the software purchase? Plus Discuss the ethics of Carl’s professional behavior.

It had been a long week and it was only Tuesday. At 2:30 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon in Prairie City, a small town located in a rural area in the upper Midwest, all indications were that this was going to be a difficult week. Ann Smith, the new clinic administrator for Prairie Health Services, had just finished taking her third call from a frustrated patient and each of the calls was related to Prairie Health Services’ multiple billings. What the patients did not understand was that Prairie Health Services had four divisions: hospital, clinics, nursing home and nursing service. Although they were housed together, each division functioned independently and had separate billing processes.

Over the years, Prairie Health Services had grown from a small county-owned hospital to an organization that provided a broad range of services, operating a community clinic and a satellite clinic, a nursing home, and a home healthcare agency in addition to the hospital. It was that growth and the comprehensive range of services that had first attracted Ann to the position of clinic administrator.

When Ann accepted her position two months ago, the CEO and chairman of the board had charged her with reducing clinic losses. As a result, when she was not fielding calls from frustrated patients, she spent much of her time working on reducing the time from providing service to receiving payment for service,reducing bad debt and increasing cash flow. She was also beginning to realize that the multiple billing issue was just one aspect of the problems faced by Prairie Health Services and one of many reasons that monthly financial reports continued to show losses.

Ann decided to raise the issue of multiple billing the following day at the monthly administrators’ meeting.At that meeting, she learned that the other division administrators (Nick Hamm, nursing home administrator; Bonnie Little, nursing services director; and Carl Nord, CEO and hospital administrator) had also been receiving patient complaints about multiple bills. During the course of their discussion, Ann learned that Nick, Bonnie, and Carl were also extremely concerned about the continued viability of their Prairie County-owned healthcare facility, which had been bleeding financially for some time.

The division administrators and their staff knew that the information technology environment at Prairie Health Services provided basic system functionality at best, and was outdated at worst. The software packages used by each of the four divisions were entirely separate from the software used by other divisions, and any data transfer from one system to another had to be accomplished manually. Each division was required to enter all the patient demographic and insurance information. This was not only inefficient; it resulted in duplication of effort and in creased the likelihood of inaccurate information due to clerical error. It was also inconvenient for those patients who were seen on the same day by two or more divisions. They were required to repeat their demographic and insurance information two, three, or even four times in a single day. Ultimately, lack of integrated technology was one of the primary reasons that Prairie Health Services was incurring large losses.

Ann, Nick, and Bonnie wanted to integrate and update their information technology with a software package that had the capability to link all four divisions in order to increase efficiency and timeliness, and ultimately to reduce financial losses. Carl agreed to present the administrators’ concerns to the board of directors and propose a capital expenditure for a new software system. The board of directors was supportive of this capital investment because board members had also received complaints from patients regarding the multiple bills.

EGOS AND COUNTY POLITICS COLLIDE

The political nature of the organization’s governance added yet another layer of complexity for administrators. The board of directors of Prairie Health Services was comprised of the five elected Prairie County commissioners and two board-appointed community members — most of them small farmers or small businessmen whose families had lived in the county for generations. Their intentions were good, butt hey had little formal business background and were ill equipped to oversee what had become a complex,comprehensive healthcare system. Although Carl was the CEO, he was not originally from Prairie County,and members of the board often bypassed him to speak with Nick or Bonnie,who had both grown up in local communities.

It had not taken Ann long to see that the relationship between Carl and the division administrators was strained. The fact that board members sidestepped Carl in their efforts to understand the financial issues of their healthcare system left Carl feeling angry and in secure. He perceived this as a subversion of the chain of command and forbade Nick, Bonnie and now Ann from talking with board members unless he was present. In fact, while Nick, Bonnie and Ann were expected to attend all board meetings, they kept their opinions to themselves, allowing Carl to speak about anything related to Prairie Health Services. In spite of his insecurity, Carl was politically astute and skilled at verbal manipulation. This meant that his presentations to the board were not always entirely forthright. It also meant that Ann, Nick and Bonnie faced ethical challenges. By keeping silent, they gave tacit approval to Carl’s questionable behavior, but they were too intimidated by him to speak out.

CARL’S POWERS OF PERSUASION

The process of searching for potential software vendors was complex, and despite the fact that he was the CEO and hospital administrator, Carl declined to participate in the process. His explanation was that he did not understand information technology. Instead, he asked that Ann, Nick and Bonnie gather all the necessary preliminary data and make recommendations to him. After several months of research, the administrative team determined that five software companies had products with the capabilities to integrate the four Prairie Health Services divisions. Representatives of these software companies each came to Prairie City for two days to demonstrate their software to the administrators and support staff. Carl was absent from the demonstrations, but met privately with representatives from each of the firms. Most of these meetings were held in his office to discuss the costs and implementation process associated with purchasing particular software pack ages. However, the representatives for Southern Healthcare Software also entertained Carl at private dinner meetings at a local upscale dinner club.

Following the interviews and demonstrations, Ann, Nick and Bonnie determined that two vendors (Pine and Prairie Software, headquartered in the same state as Prairie County, and Southern Healthcare Software, headquartered in a Gulf Coast state) had appropriate integrated software packages that were also in line with what the organization could afford to pay. While neither package met all the specifications of Prairie Health Services, Pine and Prairie Software, with a price of $550,000, was more user-friendly, more closely matched Prairie Health Services’ needs, and was Windows-based. Southern Healthcare Software was judged to be more cumbersome and less flexible, seemed to be somewhat outdated as well as a step down from current software, and was not Windows-based. However, Southern Healthcare Software claimed to have the ability to integrate all four divisions, although it appeared to be best suited for hospital use. The cost of Southern Healthcare Software was $750,000.

Ann, Nick and Bonnie spent approximately two months evaluating both software proposals. They talked with administrators of other healthcare organizations that used either Pine and Prairie Software or Southern Healthcare Software and determined that their clear preference was for the adoption of the Pine and Prairie Software product and implementing a gradual integration of the divisions to ensure a successful transition from four unique software systems to one.

At the same time, representatives of Southern Health care Software returned to Prairie City several times and had further private dinner meetings with Carl. Based on these meetings, he determined that Prairie Health Services should adopt Southern Healthcare Software. He was in favor of an immediate integration of all four record-keeping systems, despite the fact that, admittedly, he did not understand information technology, the challenges that an immediate integration could present, nor the resources required to accomplish the task successfully.

Once Carl’s relationship with Southern Healthcare’s salespeople became known to his administrative staff, it was obvious that he was going to recommend purchasing Southern Healthcare’s software regardless of what his administrative staff’s recommendations were, even though the administrative staff had actual expertise. Despite the expressed preferences of the majority of administrators and staff of Prairie Health Services, Carl recommended Southern Healthcare Software to the board of directors. He also made it clear that he expected the unqualified support of the Prairie Health Services administrators.

Carl knew that he had to play his hand carefully in order to ensure that the board would adopt his software preference without question. In his presentation, he highlighted the fact that some of the software packages reviewed had cost well more than $1,000,000. He did not, however, indicate that the Pine and Prairie Software bid came out at $200,000 less than the $750,000 Southern Healthcare Software bid. Further, he neglected to state that the administrators and staff had overwhelmingly preferred the Pine and Prairie Software. On the contrary, he was adamant that the Southern Healthcare Software was the best fit for Prairie Health Services.

What are the challenges that you have encounter in implementing the decision making in the case?

What are the solutions that you have taken into consideration of reducing the challenges?

What are the 4 decision making styles leaders can take to make a decision? And in your opinion, what is Ann Smith’s leadership style?​​​​​​​

In: Operations Management

Select two UAE or other Gulf/Arab banks. You can find their financial statements at the website...

Select two UAE or other Gulf/Arab banks. You can find their financial statements at the website of the UAE central bank or at the website of Dubai Financial Market (http://www.dfm.ae/pages/default.aspx?c=1010 ) or Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (http://adx.ae/ENGLISH/SECURITIES/Pages/ListedCompanies.aspx ). Be careful to select two banks with similar size (Total assets) and either two conventional banks or two Islamic banks. Do not compare a conventional bank with an Islamic bank. The comparison should be two Islamic banks with each other or conventional banks with each other. You have to analyze their performance in the last 3 years (2016, 2017, 2018).

So, try to follow these points in the analysis: 1. Give a short description of the activity of each bank (when they were created, who are the shareholders, where do they operate, what kind of services they offer and so on)

In: Operations Management

How do you respond to the assertion that “the most important organization in the world is...

How do you respond to the assertion that “the most important organization in the world is the company: It is the basis of the prosperity of the West and the best hope for the future of the rest of world”? If not the company, what else?

The book is Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility CSR chapter#7

In: Operations Management

Explain the logic used to determine which activity to reduce on a Project Network based on...

Explain the logic used to determine which activity to reduce on a Project Network based on the cost slope and other relevant information.

In: Operations Management

What is the scope of Human Resource Planning (HRP) Exercise? Benefit of Workforce Planning and effective...

What is the scope of Human Resource Planning (HRP) Exercise?

Benefit of Workforce Planning and effective HRP?

  Evolution of HRP Human Resource Planning?

In: Operations Management

Compute the capacity (bottleneck rate) in jobs per hour (jph) of the following configurations and record...

Compute the capacity (bottleneck rate) in jobs per hour (jph) of the following configurations and record your numerical answers (in order) to the nearest tenth of jph. (Enter numbers only):

a. A station with two (2) machines operating in parallel with 5-minute process times (te) at each machine.

b. A balanced line with two (2) series single-machine stations, both with average processing times (te) of 10 minutes.

c. A line with four (4) single machine stations in series, where the average processing times are:

15, 18, 10, & 12 minutes respectively.

d. A four (4) station line with multi-machine stations A, B, C, & D, where the number of parallel machines are 2, 6 10, & 4 respectively. The average processing times (te) at each station are 10, 24, 40, & 18 minutes respectively (see table below).

Process Line with series stations & parallel machines per station Question (d)

Station

te(minutes)

te(hours)

Machine jph(1/te)

Machines/ station

Station jph

A

10

2

B

24

6

C

40

10

D

18

4

Minimum rate (rb) =

In: Operations Management

What are the most important implementation of recommending solution including resources to be accessed by the...

What are the most important implementation of recommending solution including resources to be accessed by the company and it sectors, the timing of implementation and monitoring of result?

In: Operations Management

The Nature and scope of Human Resource Planning is significantly different from that of the Traditional...

The Nature and scope of Human Resource Planning is significantly different from that of the Traditional Manpower Planning exercise.”?

3.0 Manpower Planning

     3.1 Definitions of Manpower Planning

     3.2 Purpose of Manpower Planning

     3.3 Steps of Manpower Planning

      3.4 Benefits of Manpower Planning

      3.5 Limitations of Manpower Planning

In: Operations Management

When looking at securing your bank accounts, what type of considerations should anyone take before choosing...

  • When looking at securing your bank accounts, what type of considerations should anyone take before choosing an electronic method of payment?
  • Business continuity planning is now a business best practice expectation for information security and overall operation. What are the considerations that a business must consider when developing their BCP? What are the phases of such a plan?
  • For any web based business there has to be a method of tracking success which usually is accomplished through Web-centric metrics. What Web-centric metrics would you want to consider if you had a web based business?

In: Operations Management

Chapter 8 Case analysis: Within your studies of the new product development process, look at the...

Chapter 8 Case analysis:

Within your studies of the new product development process, look at the following mini cases and answer the questions that follow:                                                                               

McLobsters Case                                                                                                                                   
Fill in the blanks with the stage name of the new product development process :

When you're a giant company like McDonald's, with locations all over the globe, you can perform test marketing in your own stores. Take the McLobster for instance. I'm sure it began during an _____ _________. They must have said, "Hey, what is missing in our Canadian/New England market?" Or maybe it is coming from a consumer or supplier. Either way, the McLobster passed the ___________ stage "which helps spot good ideas and drop poor ones as soon as possible."

Next, came the _________________, "a detailed version of the idea stated in meaningful consumer terms." This would go something like, "The McLobster: real Atlantic lobster spread over the length of a bun and smothered in creamy, white McLobster sauce...mmm, I'm lovin' it!"


Eventually, after the _____________________ stage where McDonald's described their target market, the planned value proposition, and the sales, market share, and profit goals. Finally, they would have performed a ________________ on the McLobster, reviewing sales, costs, and profit projections to see if they fit with the objectives of the company.

McDonald's wouldn't then just commercialize the product to every McDonald's that serves to their target market, they would first have to do    _______________, by introducing the product and marketing program into real market conditions. Here, they would offer the McLobster at certain locations within their target market.

The McLobster must not have been profitable enough to mass commercialize, but to my understanding it has been re-introduced over the years as a seasonal product.

Now answer the following questions:

  1. State 3 (three) of the external sources for ideas?

  1. Explain two reasons for new products to fail.
  1. Explain 2 important considerations in the commercialization stage. (2 mark)
  1. As a marketing manager for McDonalds, explain how your company will apply the concept of social responsibility                                                                                                                    

In: Operations Management

explain in detail what crisis management plan is and why it is important for every firm...

explain in detail what crisis management plan is and why it is important for every firm to have one?

500 words/ 2 references in APA format

In: Operations Management

When low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways began operations in 1999, it promised customers cheap fares combined with...



When low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways began operations in 1999, it promised customers cheap fares combined with exceptional service. JetBlue planes offer more leg room and all seats on JetBlue planes offer passengers 36-channel DIRECTV® service on seat-back screens.
For seven years, JetBlue, with a few exceptions, kept its promise to passengers and shot to the top of customer satisfaction surveys J.D. Power and Associates conducted. On Valentine’s Day, 2007, however, the airline suffered the worst crisis in its history. Due to an unexpected New York ice storm, nine JetBlue planes full of passengers were stranded on the tarmac for over 6 hours—one plane and its 130 passengers sat on the tarmac for 10 hours. The planes left the gate and then found they couldn’t take off, but the airlines, feeling that the storm would let up by midmorning, did not allow the planes to return to the gate. In the end, the wheels of the planes were frozen in the slush, unable to move. In the next few days things got even worse for JetBlue as a snowball effect (pardon the pun) from the storm caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled—JetBlue’s flight attendants and pilots were not where they were needed, and the company’s communication system staff people were not trained to tell them what to do. At some airports, police had to be called in to help calm down the irate customers. While the airline was far less than satisfactory in its response to the Valentine’s Day ice storm, its response to the crisis was a model of excellent PR. Seeking to swiftly respond to the crisis and appease angry customers, CEO David Neeleman quickly apologized to customers and explained what went wrong. He said he felt “mortified” and “humiliated.” To get his message across, he appeared on CNN’s American Morning, Today, Fox and Friends, and Squawk Box early the next day. But JetBlue did more than just apologize to consumers. The airline offered passengers who were stranded on JetBlue planes for three hours or more a full refund plus a free round-trip ticket to any JetBlue destination. In all, the airline spent $30 million on vouchers for passengers of the 1,102 cancelled flights. In addition to its immediate response to the February cancellations, JetBlue cited its dedication to “bringing humanity back to air travel” and established a Customer Bill of Rights retroactive to February 14. The Bill of Rights outlines what JetBlue will provide to its customers in cases of flight cancellations, departure delays, overbookings (customers who are denied boarding will receive $1,000), and even when the DIRECTV® is noperable. But will these changes satisfy customers? Most customers reacted with caution, saying that they would be watching the airline to see if it lived up to its promises. Other stranded passengers were less positive, and some vowed never to fly JetBlue again. Will the Bill of Rights allow JetBlue to gain the level of customer loyalty it enjoyed before the crisis? While most customers of delayed flights may be satisfied, others may not. What about customers whose delays fall 10 minutes short of receiving a full-price trip voucher? And what will happen when another crisis occurs? JetBlue must continue to develop customer service and PR programs if it is to stay in the air for the long haul.
What is the decision facing JetBlue?
What factors are important in understanding this decision situation?
What are the alternatives?
What decision(s) do you recommend?
What are some ways to implement your recommendation?

In: Operations Management