Question

• a. Portable power banks are frequently used to charge mobile devices. Knowing that the Maximum energy stored in the battery is 9.8 kJ, the average density is 1100 kg m^-3, the volume is 1.09*10^4mm^3 and the current used by the phone when in standby mode is 3.1 mA, calculate the maximum theoretical number of complete charges of the mobile phone battery when using a 3.7 V, 2000 mA h power bank.

• b. Discuss why the actual number of charges is usually lower than the theoretical value. You should be able to answer Question 7(e) in no more than 50 words.

Answer 1

Potential Leadership challenges are:

1.       Curb the loss in sales volume

2.       Invest in new technology to meet market requirement

3.       Design new products to stay competitive in market

4.       Redesign of operational activity

5.       Instill confidence and motivation in teams across the department

6.       Redesign the pricing strategy for current products

The company leadership can work on above mentioned challenges in following ways:

1.       Fall in sales volume can be controlled by focusing on big customers and sales of those products which are least impacted by the introduction of new technology like power tools, two-way radios etc.

2.       The company has inherited advantage over the new technology based products like Li-ion. The company can capitalize on those advantages and invest in technology so that it will have less change in basic structure but big improvement in performance. The company can tailor its need and use the technology accordingly.

3.       The company can also focus on designing new products by showing faith in its R&D team and giving them free hand to design the products based on future demands. Increase focus on application engineering and customer centricity.

4.       The company needs to re-engineer its operational activity so that it can save the money by improving internal process. The company has to design its processes so that it can be compatible with new technology.

5.       Different teams across the department should be motivated through different HR activities so that they can give their 100% in improving the performance of the company and supporting different changes that will take place in the company.

6.       The company need to redesign its pricing strategy for different segment as company has edge over its competitor for certain category of products only. The company should focus on its customer management and deal with them in a strategic manner.