Question

With the spread of the Coronavirus, much of the business community’s traditional way of looking business has changed.  The business community is looking more flexible business operations with minimum human interaction with least amount of stocks goods and services.  Perhaps e-business, efficient customer care and response, electronic billing and payment systems and the Japanese concept of just-in-time delivery are considered to be the components of a viable business operation.  

In your BUS 209 class, you learnt Solving Problems, Some Special Equations and Rates of Change, Summarizing Data, Measuring Uncertainty and Probability Distributions.  Examine the different components of viable business operation by applying quantitative methods to collect and describe data using sampling methods. To assess the components risk and uncertainty, you may use probability distributions, expected value, variance and standard deviation.  

Write a three pages report on the title of “Quantitative Approach to a Viable Business Operation in the Post-Coronavirus Era”.  (minimum 3 pages).

Hint: The following functions are considered to be the most important business functions

1. Production Function;
2. Marketing Function;
3. Finance Function;
4. Human Resource Function;
5. Management Information Function;
6. Innovation (Research & Development).

Answer 1

Solution:

Given that,

Small business owners are currently confronted with unseen challenges. Not only has the coronavirus epidemic changed the way companies run but it has also influenced their future plans and workflows.

You may be grappling with a plethora of knowledge out there to find appropriate & reliable data for your company. We have thus compiled a round-up of suggestions and posts that are of the greatest benefit to small businesses.

Accounting-Finance:
A comprehensive essay on the subject was created by "Entrepreneur" This explains what improvements will apply to the administration of staff & budgets and offers practical advice for how to cope with the economic crisis.
With the new economic climate, paying fees, operating office taxes, and wages may be daunting. The key recommendations from "Entrepreneur" are:

Plan your finances 3-9 months in advance. With the global drop in sales, wisely managing the resources you currently have is of prime importance. Re-optimize your financial savings and re-estimate per spend.
Allow layoffs and furloughs where necessary. Nevertheless, avoid losing your valuable staff. Remember, a qualified team is an important asset to the business.
Think about discovering new income sources & alternatives.
Alternatively, you might like:

Add or launch a new service offering. Some businesses are already profiting from adding a consultancy to the main service. Think about what might be applicable to your current proposal and valuable for your customers.
Here's a fascinating case: Robot subtly develops a wearable device to discourage people from rubbing their hands. Although initially designed to prevent nail-biting by users, the application proved highly useful in the coronavirus era. Musicians move on to Twitch. Think about how you can exploit and adjust the current market situation in your company.
It 's important to be truthful with your audience, though, and to offer real meaning. The following article lists several examples of how businesses try to market the virus by misinforming their consumers and releasing odd deals. The most insane ways businesses want to take advantage of the corona outbreak.
Create a total budget plan with fixed vs. variable expenses. This way, you can see plainly what is to be paid and why, and what costs you can actually prevent. The goal is to set appropriate goals and reduce excessive costs.
If Covid-19 has impacted the economy badly, consider applying for a financial assistance plan or a loan.
HR: Organizing remote work

Discover some great ways to collaborate remotely. Stop sacrificing flexibility by arranging remote jobs and remain agile. You must hold daily Skype calls, Slack talks, and Hangouts meetings on the same page and monitor all workflows. Also, daily team contact will keep the workers inspired and positive thinking. Don't miss the move, then. TechRepublic reports that companies do their best overall to stop wasting their employees. They promote automated worker-to-work experiences. In fact, 32 percent of organizations are using new virtual meeting devices. Minimizing security threats is important, and providing the right technology and resources to enable remote work. This ensures safe access to the internal data & networks through VPN and daily team check-ins. Often, ensure that the device is able to manage heavy workloads from remote access points.

Adjusting the strategy & goals:

Many also struggle to understand the importance of this strategy. Staying realistic about your sales is commonplace for finding new ways to achieve your goals. Your solution could be to find a new partnership or to reach a new market. Forbes author gives an accurate piece of advice on how to change your short- and long-term strategies according to the impact of Covid-19. It is strongly recommended to detail the challenges and construct realistic models, rather than a 'sit-and-wait' strategy. Show detailed information on how organizations of all sizes set their goals for both the short and the long term. Some activities require modifications, adjusting the metrics, and widening the ranges.

Change the marketing focus:

It is important that we stay accessible to your customers. Focusing on conversion-optimization methods and rethinking other marketing strategies, the analyst also advise. It's time to concentrate on the internet and lead generation strategies as all-conference activities are canceled.

Any improvements will continue even after the Covid-19 epidemic, according to ZDNet & TechRepublic. Some believe coronavirus is just speeding the gradual improvements that will happen anyway. When conventions are canceled and corporate activities moved online face-to-face, businessmen are beginning to revalue the ROI of these procedures. Also after the coronavirus dies, they may stick to them as they consider new methods to promote their services.

Production function:

Relying too much on the JIT system will affect the company for sure. Take Toyota for example. They don't use to manage inventory and relied too much on JIT. This resulted in the loss of production capabilities In this COVID 19 scenario, the company needs to focus on managing inventories properly and also use such a system that is resilient to supply chain disruptions.

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