Riordan Manufacturing Strategic Plan Essay Example

Riordan Manufacturing Strategic Plan Paper . Riordan Manufacturing Strategic Plan University of Phoenix Strategic Management MGT/498 Riordan Manufacturing Strategic Plan A world renowned plastics manufacturer employing nearly 550 workers worldwide, Riordan Manufacturing Co. a leader in the industry of plastic injection molding, has more than $1 billion in revenue. With operations based in California, Michigan, Georgia, and China, review of current resources within Riordan’s business structure reveal numerous areas in need of redefining to improve operational efficiency company-wide. Implementation of this proposed strategic plan will address issues areas of improvement including †¢ Ethical and social responsibility considerations †¢ Competitive advantages, strategies, improved innovation, and sustainability in domestic and international markets †¢ Strategy effectiveness measurement guidelines to be used †¢ Internal dynamics, cultural, and structural leadership †¢ Business continuity †¢ Assessment, feedback, and alternative directions as needed Since the founding of the company in 1991, Riordan manufacturing enjoys status as Fortune 1000 company and shares a number of competitive advantages with many other companies in various lines of business. Riordan shares the competitive advantages of direct selling along with customer, employee, and shareholder commitment with global Internet retailer Amazon. com and juvenile product and toy retailer Toys†R† Us. Riordan provides revenue and profitability growth as they provide products at the lowest cost along with a commitment to the communities Riordan serves. We will write a custom essay sample on Riordan Manufacturing Strategic Plan specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Riordan Manufacturing Strategic Plan specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Riordan Manufacturing Strategic Plan specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Riordan also shares the advantage of strong brand recognition in their industry just as Nike, Ford Motor Co. , Homes. com, and Federal Express have in their markets. Riordan is also known for their strength of quality in engineering on par with the Ford Motor Co. Strategic Plan Riordan was founded by Dr. Riordan, a professor in chemistry in 1991 (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2008). Over the years Riordan has expanded the business from development, to manufacturing and, to production. Riordan was able to accomplish this expansion by acquiring a manufacturing plant in Pontiac, Michigan, and an additional plant for production in Albany, Georgia. In 2000 Riordan took their operation global and opened a manufacturing plant in China. Riordan has been able to manage three locations successfully to date. However, Riordan recognizes the need to develop a strategic plan to increase profitability by establishing new accounting and marketing systems. A strategic plan must be realistic and attainable. Riordan’s strategic plan should serve as the framework for future decisions, it should inform, motivate, and involve their stakeholders. The strategic plan should include benchmarking and performance monitoring. The plan should stimulate change and become the building block to future plans within Riordan Manufacturing. Riordan’s strategic plan should address the finance and accounting department’s inability to obtain seamless data reporting within the three locations that cause delays in month end reporting (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2008). The ability to provide timely month end reporting to the board of directors is essential to recognizing potential financial threats and trends in the business. In addition the strategic plan should address the antiquated marketing system. Riordan has achieved several accolades over the years. However, most of this data is filed away and not easily accessible to the marketing department. The development of a marketing information system will give research and development the ability to use historical data for tracking units, volumes, and products sold for developing new marketing strategies (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2008). The Role of Ethical and Social Responsibility Ethical and social responsibility will have an intricate role in Riordan strategic management plan. Ethics involves knowing right from wrong and simply doing the right thing. Riordan must ensure they are reporting true and accurate financial records to all stakeholders. Today Riordan uses three separate accounting systems to compile financial data. This data is often re-entered by the headquarters office in San Jose. Manual entry of information is subject to reporting inaccuracies that may question Riordan’s ethics. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 mandated a number of reforms to enhance corporate responsibility, enhance financial disclosures and combat corporate and accounting fraud. Riordan has a social responsibility to ensure the manufacturing plants are producing quality materials. Riordan must ensure they establish an effective quality control program consisting of design reviews, engineering analysis, adequate recordkeeping of raw materials and finished goods, inspection of incoming materials, testing during the manufacturing process and finished part inspections. These records should be of sufficient detail to document the steps that were performed in manufacturing the product. Such records should include results of design reviews; supplier information, product testing and inspection; equipment calibrations; and product tracing information (AM Trust North America, 2010, p. 4). The records will assist in timely detection of safety hazards and trends within Riordan Manufacturing. Environmental Scan To better understand what Riordan’s competitive advantages are and which competitive strategies Riordan should use to improve innovation and sustainability, members of Team A must first perform an environmental scan. The simplest and most effective way of con ducting the scan is by performing a SWOT analysis on Riordan (Wheelen Hunger, 2010). Riordan possesses manyuch strength’s as the team observeds fromin the internal environmental scan. The corporation’s brand is widely recognized in the automotive parts, aircraft, and appliance manufacturing industries as well as with the Department of Defense, beverage makers, and bottlers. The company manufactures its products on two different continents, so it can reach an international market and reduce some costs by manufacturing in a more underdeveloped country, China. This adds to Riordan’s ability to offer their products at lower prices while maintaining revenue and profitability growth. The manufacturing firm also boasts high standards of quality as it exceeds ISO 9000 standards (Apollo Group, Inc. 2008). Riordan has several weaknesses. The first is their costs of goods are directly related to the rising cost of oil. Because Riordan’s products are made from polymer and derived completely from oil, profit margins are greatly affected when oil prices rise. Riordan’s finance and accounting systems in each of their manufacturing branches are not com patible with one another. This has resulted in higher labor costs, costly monthly auditing, slow reaction time to financial dilemmas, compliance to government regulation strains, and high inventory costs (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2008). The external environmental scan shows some opportunities for Riordan. Consumer demand and capital spending remain steady in the midst of a global economic downturn. Globalization is also allowing manufacturing companies to lower operating costs by producing their products in underdeveloped countries where labor costs are much lower. Finally, Brazil is becoming the leading producer of bioplastics and recently has discovered technology to compete with current oil derived plastics prices (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2008). Threats to Riordan could be devastating to the company if not approached correctly. The downturn in the economy is affecting every industry and thus the supplier of polymer parts. Oil prices are rising each year and increasing the costs of producing plastic materials and parts. Finally, more consumers are pushing for environmental practices and products from large corporations (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2008). Competitive Advantages From this SWOT analysis, Team A observes Riordan’s competitive advantages. Like Toys R US and Amazon, Riordan provides low prices to its customers and maintains revenue and profit growth. The firm has strong brand awareness and provides the highest quality in manufacturing (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2008). Competitive Strategies and Measurement Guidelines To improve innovation and sustainability in both domestic and international applications, Riordan must approve and implement a few competitive strategies. Riordan managers must reduce inventory costs by 30% and lower labor costs in its existing plants and headquarters by 10%. This strategy can be accomplished by seamlessly integrating each Finance and Accounting department of each branch manufacturing plant and the corporate headquarters. By implementing a state-of-the-art ERP manufacturing, distribution, and financial software application software, Riordan can reach the above stated strategic goals (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2008). The cost of the integrated system is $1,350,000. Riordan’s CFO will need to make two payments of $250,000 over the next year, and the remaining will be financed through the bank with 8% interest, which will be paid over 60 months. The investment will include manager training and additional licensing for expansion. The system implementation and training will take one year. The second year will be used to observe opportunities to minimize labor and inventory costs. By year three, audits should be reduced by half, labor costs by 15%. Inventory cost will also drop to 30% by year three because invoices and accounting information will be delivered in real-time, which will allow the company to ship products quickly after they have been produced (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2008). Measurement guidelines must be in place to ensure these strategies effectiveness. By the end of the second year of deployment, labor costs should be minimized by 5% with the remaining 10% reduced by the end of the third year. Inventory costs should drop by 10% by the end of the second year and the remaining 20% by the end of the third year of implementation. These percentages will be monitored quarterly by the executive management with the current budgets, income statements, and balance sheets. The next proposed competitive strategy is to expand to new markets and increase the company customer base and revenue by 25% in five years. This will be accomplished by moving to a joint venture with Braskem, the world’s leading producer of bioplastics. Based in Brazil, this venture would allow the corporation to broaden its customer base by manufacturing products for the medical device, cosmetic, food packaging, and personal-hygiene industries. The move would also protect Riordan from fluctuating oil prices by diversifying its resources with plastics made from renewable resources, which are now competitively priced with oil-derived polymers. Providing products out of renewable resources or green products would allow the company to reach more environmentally conscious customers (Morales, Pulido, Ticas, 2009). The venture would cost $15 million dollars, which would be funded by Riordan Industries and would surpass the 12% hurdle rate. The investment includes infrastructure, logistics, labor, marketing, and additional machinery and supplies (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2008). The measurement guidelines to ensure the strategy’s effectiveness are based on a percentage of yearly growth added to the company’s current revenue growth from established locations. By the end of the second year of implementation, 2% growth must be recorded, 7% at the end of year three, 15% at the end of year four, and 25% by the end of year five. These benchmarks will be monitored by the executive management against current revenues. Metrics for new clients, life of existing clients, and lost clients will be monitored monthly to ensure strategy effectiveness. Cultural and Structural Leadership Cultural and structural leadership strategies need to be implemented at Riordan Manufacturing, â€Å"Strategy implementation is a process by which strategies and policies are put into action through the development of programs, budgets, and procedures. This process involves changes within the overall culture, structure, and management system of the entire organization† (Wheelen Hunger,  2008,  p. 1). The culture and structure of the organization must be compatible with the new strategy. The strategy implementation is reviewed by the top management team and is conducted by middle and lower lever managers of the organization. Leadership in an organization is vital at all levels of the organization. Ongoing communication is nec essary at all levels of the organization as Riordan moves forward to implement the strategic changes (Wheelen Hunger,  2008). The mission of an organization is the purpose for the company’s existence. The mission tells what the company does. The vision of an organization describes what the organization would like to become. The mission and vision should capture the culture of the organization (Wheelen Hunger,  2008). The current mission of Riordan consists of four parts: focus, customer relationship, employees, and future of the company. The focus of Riordan is Six Sigma, having the leading edge of research and development (RD), and exceeding ISO 9000 standards. Their focus also includes continuing to be the industry leaders in using polymer materials and identifying industry trends. The mission of their customer relationships is to strive to be a solution provider for their customers and not be part of customer challenges. The focuses of the long-term relationships are to maintain quality control, a responsive business, innovative solutions, and reasonable pricing. The mission for their employees is to maintain an innovative and team oriented working environment. The focus of their future is to achieve and maintain reasonable profitability to ensure that the financial and human capital of Riordan is available for sustained growth (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2008). Corporate culture should be considered when implementing the business strategy for Riordan, †Corporate culture is the collection of beliefs, expectations, and values learned and shared by a corporation’s members and transmitted from one generation of employees to another† (Wheelen Hunger,  2008,  p. 149). Intensity and integration are two attributes of corporate culture. The cultural intensity consists of the degree to which members of a unit accept the values and norms associated with the organization. The cultural integration is the extent to which the units throughout the organization share a common culture. The corporate culture on an organization reflects the mission and the values of the founder. The culture also reflects the organization’s values (Wheelen Hunger, 2010). Divisional structure, functional structure, strategic business unit structure, and matrix structure are types of the organizational structures that could be considered by Riordan to implement their business strategy. Divisional and functional structures are examples of the basic organizational structures. In the divisional structure the employees tend to be functional specialist organized according to the product/market distinctions. The divisional structure is used in large corporations with many products lines in several related industries. In the functional structure the employees tend to be specialists in the business functions vital to that industry. The business functions include manufacturing, marketing, finance, and human resources. Functional structure is commonly used in medium-sized organizations with several product lines in one industry. The strategic business unit structure is groups or divisions composed of independent product/market segments. These groups are given the primary authority and responsibility for the management of their own functional areas of the organization. In the matrix structure the functional and product forms are combined at the same level of the organization. The matrix structure the employees have a functional manager and a product manager (Wheelen Hunger, 2010). Team A has determined that the best organizational structure for Riordan to implement their business strategy would be the divisional organizational structure. Riordan products include plastic bottles, fans, heart valves, medical stents, and custom plastic parts. Riordan must manage a diverse product line in different industries. The divisional organizational structure will allow Riordan to decentralize the decision-making authority. Implementing the divisional organizational structure will allow Riordan to maintain their functional specialization in each division. Evaluation and Control Once the company’s strategies have been integrated into its operation, the final stage of strategic management is utilizing applications that will properly and accurately assess the performance outcome within a corporate, a divisional, and a functional viewpoint. Employing measures that will evaluate and control the implemented strategy by Riordan will enable the firm to ensure that the company is in the direction of reaching its goals by simply comparing its actual performance outcome with the expected results consisting of its performance data and its activity reports, which will provide the compulsory feedback for management to evaluate results and to take corrective action, as necessary (Wheelen Hunger, 2010). Evaluation and Control Process The evaluation and control process will provide Riordan with a general outlook of the firm’s productivity. Primarily, it is usually initiated when a gap appears between a company’s financial objectives and the expected results of current activities (Wheelen Hunger, 2010). Evaluation and control consist of a five step process that assesses and establish guidelines that will address the efficiency and the effectiveness of Riordan’s integrated plan. The five steps are 1) Determine what to measure, 2) Establish standards of performance, 3) Measure actual performance, 4) Compare actual performance with the standard, and 5) Take corrective action. In summary, the process evaluates and establishes a level of standards on the elements of concern of any new stratagem and then comparing its actual outcome with its level of standards. Should the outcome fall below the set standards, only then remedial actions would be necessary. Figure. 1 depicts the evaluation and control process:   [pic]Figure. 1 Measuring Performance Measuring productivity following Riordan’s integrated plan is done by evaluating the firm’s performance level. Utilizing the numeric values extracted from its activity and financial reports can calculate the effectiveness or lack of the company’s performance, in an effort to expose any unwanted flaws or unexpected discrepancies. There are specific tools that Riordan can use to measure performance in order to analyze its results within the present time or to foresee possible outcomes. Return on Investment (ROI), Earnings per Share (EPS), and Return on Equity (ROE) are tools typically used to evaluate the corporation’s or division’s ability to achieve the firm’s profitability objective (Wheelen Hunger, 2010). Each tool can only calculate earnings during the present time and does not foresee likely profitability; however, ROI, EPS, and ROE are done only when all the accounted figures from the company’s financial and activity reports have been documented. In contrast, these feats would not be ideal when evaluating social responsibility or employee development (Wheelen Hunger, 2010). A more appropriate tool to better evaluate Riordan’s overall performance level is by utilizing a method known as steering control, which will research variables that will manipulate prospect profitability. Steering control is categorized into three subcategories, which are input controls, output controls, and behavior controls. Input controls oversee the company’s resources such as knowledge, skills, abilities, values, and motives of the employees. This will help assess of Riordan’s internal infrastructure. Behavior controls are company protocols based on the firm’s policies, rules, operating procedures, and orders from its management. Output controls focuses on areas of the business that are done in a specific way based on the effect of the behaviors through the use of objectives and performance targets (Wheelen Hunger, 2010). Shareholder value is a present-day application that most companies employ to evaluate its performance. To help asses Riordan’s operation, this will be a valuable tool in order to estimate economic value, likely profitability, and strategic management effectiveness. Shareholder value is the present value of the anticipated future stream of cash flows from the business plus the value of the company if liquidated (Wheelen Hunger, 2010). Cash flow is the element that is measured to determine the financial strength and stability of a company. In turn, to label a company financially sound, profits are weighed against the cost of capital. If Riordan’s profits outweigh the money invested as capital, the company will appear financially strong to its shareholders. There are two methods to measure shareholder value, which are, 1) economic value added (EVA), which assesses the dissimilarity between the pre-strategy and post-strategy values of a firm, and 2) market value added (MVA), which is the difference between the market value of a business and the capital provided by shareholders and lenders (Wheelen Hunger, 2010). In combination with the shareholder value method, Riordan will also employ a balanced scorecard. A balance scorecard is a combination of financial and operational measures that will entail data outlining the results of business actions that have occurred along with detailed information documenting customer satisfaction, internal processes, and the corporation’s innovation and improvement activities. These components are the drivers of future financial performance (Wheelen Hunger, 2010). There are four elements that make up a balanced scorecard, which are 1) Financial: How do we appear to shareholders 2) Customer: How do customers view us 3) Internal business perspective: What must we excel at, and 4) Innovation and learning: Can we continue to improve and create value (Wheelen Hunger, 2010)? Business Continuity Riordan struggles in the continuity of its finance and accounting systems in three locations, San Jose, Michigan, and Georgia, with the three locations running separate accounting systems. Although each system is effective separately running the core functions of general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, order entry, procurement, sales and purchasing history, invoicing and shipping, payroll, financial reporting, three other critical functions, EDI, bar code reading, and EDSS exist only in the San Jose office, where all data is summarized. This lack of continuity causes time-consuming internal audits and re-entry of data once received in the San Jose location. As San Jose is running a licensed ERP accounting and finance system, additional licenses need to be acquired for the Michigan and Georgia locations. This license purchase will eliminate the costly deciphering of data in San Jose and increase the value of the allotted budget allowance. Cost effectiveness is attained in a year three break-even point and cost savings from that point forward. Another area of continuity concern is the Riordan Human Resources (HR) function in two areas, job requirements and payroll. Numerous positions need a review in terms of job requirements to ensure qualified employees are in place to significantly reduce reporting errors. Additionally, performance appraisals (Riordan Employee Handbook, 2011) need to be moved to an employee’s anniversary date as opposed to the Riordan fiscal year, thereby staggering budget allocation along with increasing the pay period length to every two weeks to reduce time spent on payroll by 47%. Conclusion Riordan Manufacturing needs strategic plan implementation to strengthen competitive advantages which increase market and shareholder value. Implementation will reduce inventory cost by 30% in operational plants globally resulting in an addition 10% cost reduction in finance and accounting in the San Jose location. The long term goals of the strategy must be totally supported by Riordan’s executive management team and communicated strongly to the entire organization. It must be measured and controlled and adjustments must be made in light of any unforeseen occurrences. Installation and training in new systems and procedures must be timed to occur over two quarters with quarter three as a backup plan. Failure to implement a strategic as suggested places Riordan at risk for reduced profits, cost overruns, decreased market share, customer and employee dissatisfaction as well as that of shareholders. As a leader in the plastic injection molding industry, Riordan Manufacturing cannot afford anything less than full implementation of this strategic plan. References Wheelen, T. L. , Hunger, J. D. (2010). Concepts in strategic management and business policy (12th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Apollo Group, Inc. (2008). Virtual Organizations [Multimedia]. Retrieved from Apollo Group, Inc. , MGT498 website Morales, R. , Pulido, D. , Ticas, S. (2009,  April). The Brazilian Bioplastics Revolution. [emailprotected], (), 1-5. Apollo Group, Inc. (2008). Virtual Organizations [Multimedia]. Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/business/Riordan/HR/Riordan%20Manufacturing%20Employee%20Handbook. pdf

Baker has a point when he comments on the things

Baker has a point when he comments on the things Baker has a point when he comments on the things that television teaches. Shows such as Jackass that are made with a personal recording camera, especially influence children and young adolescents. They try to imitate what they see people getting paid extraordinary amounts of money on television to do. There is a warning before every Jackass show that the public shouldn't try any of the stunts seen on the show. You hear countless stories of people getting hurt that disregard these warnings and attempt, mostly unsuccessfully; to do the same crazy things they see on television. There is the story about the kid who tried to jump over a car that was going straight at him at 40 mph. This is definitely not a safe thing to do. Luckily he survived the ordeal having (I hope) learned his lesson.People need to learn that what they see on television isn't what really happens in the world.Another game board found in the Jiroft civilizatio...

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While the SAT Mathematics section does not test advanced concepts or require complex calculations, it challenges students to apply logic and problem-solving skills under strict time limits. SAT mathquestions may not resemble typical classroom math problems, and they call forcareful reading and attention to detail. Questions often requiremultiple steps to solve, as well as the combined applicationof concepts from multiple fields. SAT preparation has been shown to lead to score improvements in the math section, as it gives students insight into SAT question types and the testing of relatively basic mathematical concepts in non-traditional ways. Rather than one long section, SAT Mathematics is divided intothree sections. Two of these sectionsare 25minutes in length and one is 20minutes. Altogether, the Mathematics section adds up to atotal of 70 minutes. The number of scored Mathematics questions on the SAT remains consistent across tests at 54 questions. Since each SAT has an unmarked experimental section, students may encounter an additional 25-minute math section. If this is the case, then that experimental section will not be factored into theoverall Mathematics score. Of these 54 questions, 44 are multiple choice and 10 are student-produced, commonly known as "grid-in" questions. Students answer the multiple choice questions by filling in the corresponding choices on their answer sheet. Student-produced responses are written in a specially designatedsection at the bottom of the answer sheet. These grids have spaces for up to four digits, along with the option of adding a decimal point or fraction bar. Unlike for multiple choice questions, there are no point deductions for incorrect responses to grid-in questions. The above instructions for answering grid-in questions appear on the SAT answer sheet. 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Students who have familiarity with their calculator, especially from withintheirmath classrooms, tend toderive greater benefit from its use. Writing out equations and calculations in the test booklet is also highly recommended for solving problems inthe Mathematics section. Read more from the SAT Encyclopedia! Further Reading The 21 Critical Math Formulas You MUST Know How to Stop Running Out of Time on SAT Math Calculators on the SAT: Tips from Experts

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Managing change is thus defined as the planning and organizing of sequence of activities (staff meetings, informal conferences, memos, retreats, etc.), that promote administrative and staff interaction which move towards desirable changes in policies, programs, organizational culture, physical environment, procedures, or relationships. These changes in companies often lead to more cost-effective operations, efficient, better morale or improved services. In the case of In the case of Tech Mahindra we can see the changes in the current organizational policies. Tech Mahindra is a business transformation, global systems integrator and consulting firm focused on the telecommunication industry. With the merging technology of media and telecom, the changing portfolio of the telecom industry is becoming extremely competitive area. As companies rapidly strive to gain a competitive advantage, Tech Mahindra helps companies innovate and transform by leveraging its unique insights, differentiated services and flexible partnering models. This has helped customers to reduce operating costs and generate new revenue streams. Recognizing that margins from connectivity are rapidly falling and that future growth in revenues and margins will only come from new applications, content and services, operators today are busy addressing business opportunities revolving around Commerce, Content, Convergence and Customer Experience to gain a sustainable Competi tive Advantage- tech mahindra. Strengths and weaknesses of bureaucratic organisations (P2) In the case of any Bureaucratic organization the lack of its innovative power is the main disadvantage. Here most of the processes and tasks are so much fixed that there is no time so innovation process is almost eliminated in bureaucratic organizations. Employees get demoralized as a result of lesser employee participation and involving in any process transformation. Human resource is not utilized in the fullest manner by optimizing creativity which is the prime disadvantage in bureaucratic structure of the organizations. Again Advantages include the increased control and monitoring of upper level  management. It is the fact that the success of the organizations depends upon the wise decisions of top management. So if the top management is good, then results can be favourable and if the top management is not good then it can result in disaster. We can be argue on the fact that bureaucracies do fail on many forms as they embrace revolutionary ideologies, they fail even to provide t heir original service, they monopolize discursive space, they waste resources , they often act as though they are above the law, they distrust the democratic impulse, they eventually subvert the societys values in which they operate. We can still say that the main advantage of a bureaucracy is that its clear, unequivocal level of deterioration alerts intelligent observers to the clear fact that a structural weakness has emerged in society. Forms of organisational development (P3) As in the case of Tech Mahindra we see a wide change in the new technological applications in the Information technology department and the required system which helps in the advanced floe of data and communication of the company which is a most interesting fact in the company. The use of Information technology will concentrate on the knowledge and growth of the employees with respect to the systems and information technology. This fact will look after the utilization of the IT related hardware and software implementations of new innovation with respect to the IT systems and computers. These changes will follow by the detailed training of the associated employees in the use of modern technologies and IT systems which will enhance their productivity and make them familiar with the functions and their job role. Introduction of these new technologies will focus on the recruitment of new employees with experience of these modern technologies who will be a better asset for the company. As there is no wrong or right thing with regard to reaction towards the change process but there are things which must be undertaken to coordinate the employees to help them to familiarise with this process and make themselves interested in much positive ways? So managers have to understand the feelings of their staffs and allow them to express opinions and their related difficulties in the change process. hence the managers can explain about the necessity for these changes and give them the idea of what is necessary for them. Managers are in a continuous process of making changes to gain success within the organization but its not the case in every situations where some managers struggle to achieve this success of change management. This is the most common difference in the characters of the people who shuffle around from companies to companies for the sake of job satisfactions and at last gets entangled in a role which is not expected by him and get frustrated out of it and turns to be most inefficient for the position. Although there are many nodes and programs about this change management but unlikely these knowledge can only be critically analysed when put into practice with priorities toward the change undertaken successfully inside the organization. Systems developed for stakeholders in the introduction of change (P4) The process of evaluating the change process and its implementation is an important job for the managers. Mostly manager believe that communicating with the staffs and stakeholder is enough for their job. However their can be many reasons for employees not becoming aware of the fact of changes at the first go. The actual fact is this information should be repeated continuously before it is cemented in their minds. This is mostly as a result of the employees readiness to react towards these facts depends on some factors. Efficient communicators judge these facts what and when a message is delivered. The foremost step toward managing change is creating awareness for the need of these changes and also creating a desire among the stakeholders. Communication with them will be typically constructed keeping in mind to develop business reasons for these changes and the risk associated with not changing. Similarly in each of the steps the level of interaction with the stakeholders should be d esigned to share the right message at the right time. Thus communication planning begins with the analysis of the audience, key facts, and the timing of those messages. Thus the change management team have to construct a communication plan that is focussed on the need of all levels of the organizations like front-line employees, supervisors and executives. Each stakeholder has particular necessities for information based on their role in implementation of these change. Here training in the milestone for the knowledge development related to the change process. So the Team members of the change management have to develop training requirement based on his knowledge, skills and behaviours necessary to implement these changes. These training will be the point of start for the project team towards training program development. There may be lots of approach to guide these changes out of which some are planned and explicit, while others may be unfolding, organic or implicit. Some of the pol icies work from future to the present. These involve forecasting and making plan for achieving these goals. On the other hand there are approaches from present to future like the identification of the current priorities involved and then address those priorities. Lots of people have different opinions and approach towards conducting these changes. In order to justify the changes in the organization and properly and start guiding it in the right direction in order to achieve success the change team should have a wider understanding of the systems, organizational structure and the effort related to this process. These also include the knowledge of the basic terms and the focus of the organization. This also requires the concept of the structure of the company and having knowledge about leadership and management of the organization. From the past we have learnt the use of different tools which is effective in the change management, which helps the managers to successfully understand an d communicate about the organizations. Tools from systems theory and systems thinking especially are a major benefit. Analysing and evaluating these change systems (P5) The more interacting the change agent is working with the stakeholders of the organization, the more successful will be his effort to this change process. For the betterment of the projects it is necessary for the client to be more participative as he might not have the resources towards these participations. Whether there is a internal or any external changes coming into effect the change manager for this project along with all his stakeholders will maximise the priority for this change process and react to it accordingly. It may be a problem within the company or an exciting feature of success. together they will all gather the information , identify the findings, analyse it and derive conclusions from the collected informations. Sometimes the data gathering method is very fast as in case of organizing a large planning meeting. These kind of the inventions are also dependent on the philosophy of the stakeholders and the change managers. As in the case of philosophy of appreciative inquiry the subscribers have the authority to conduct inventions, not only by finding the cause and number of problems in the company but also by organizing interviews to find the focus and necessity of the employees in the organization. Moreover people minimise the necessity of this discovery phase and go for the change management by putting on a comprehensive and ambitious focus for the required change. Many would argue for the fact that this is unethical to organize a project for change management without having the knowledge of the companys current situation. Moreover Focusing most of the change efforts on achieving a robust vision, without at least using some careful discovery, often can be harmful to the organization because the project can end up dealing with symptoms of any current issues, rather than the main causes. Again projects can finish up by putting forward a wonderful vision with the help of motivating others. So when working to facilitate any major changes in an or ganization that already had the history of many issues its always necessary to begin from conducting discoveries importance for these change process. Models for change (P6) Thus the change management is a ongoing process is ongoing process with is concerned with various conditions which impact on the change process. Change is required for the necessity of ongoing experience and learning. In every case there is always something gained that can be put into use in case of future problems. During this process the company interacts with different types of stakeholder with different levels of knowledge and understanding. Managers are aware that its not so easy with coping up with peoples who does not have correct information about these changes. The employees relationship also eventually reflects as this process takes place. The associated fear and reasons for refusal to these changes are also understood. These facts helps the managers to effectively apply the analysis on other stakeholder who may suffer from similar problems in the future. This experience also helps the managers to improve any of his social skill that will be of help in the future. Creation of various plan of action is delighting experience for the managers as they become more systematic towards their planning activities. Moreover some plans are very systematic and comprehensive .while others deal with the expectations of integrating with each other. Thus a manager has to identify the various organizational gaps within the change management process and deliver efficient learning to its employees by Diagnosing employees resistance to change management. Help in employees transition through the change process. Create a successful action plan for personal and professional advancement during change. Develop a change management plan for your employees. Now we will look into the ADKAR model for individual change management which was developed by Prosci. This model describes five required building blocks for change to be realized successfully on an individual level. The building blocks of the ADKAR Model include: Awareness of why the change is needed Desire to support and participate in the change Knowledge of how to change Ability to implement new skills and behaviours Reinforcement to sustain the change While John Kotter has set out an eight-step strategy for change management: Establish a sense of urgency. Create the guiding coalition. Develop a vision and strategy. Communicate the change vision. Empower employees for broad-based action. Generate short-term wins. 7. Consolidate gains and produce more change. 8. Anchor new approaches in the culture. But these are only a model not reality of change and the psychological impacts on a given individual.   The change management model provides a vehicle for use to engage a conversation. As humans learn habits, these habits are formed with the repetition of the same task. Habits are developed to help in coping with the wide range of the available data which are gathered on a daily basis. Any change management process has to take this into account. In order to cope with this variety of process we develop habits which may be in the form of routine like our daily schedule at the start of the day. It is also applicable in the way we communicate with people. But when this organized structure gets changed it has a huge impact in our like style. It is not the case that the chair is placed in different direction or the flooring has a problem but the main issue is the break in the pattern which is imposed on the people. It is definitely a little thing but takes ages to resolve. As human bein g we are more prone to big changes but little things matter a lot to us. When a change process is imposed on us we feel we have little authority to decide for the change to happen and often react negatively. As companies development process we all need to help towards making this process a success. We should not force any change on the people but as a manager our role should be to encourage people to facilitate this change process. Implementation process and outcomes (P7) As the common sense suggest us that the world of technology always strive towards the changes in an organization with an age of competitive market. But we are noticing that Information Technology a powerful tool at modern age which has the capacity of developing new opportunities and options in the field which the organization does business on. The very beginning response from our innovative players was that it drives changes. All these technologies has the capability of transforming from one dimensions to the other at the work atmosphere If we take all these advantage together it behaves like a powerful tool that the organization require to be successful in this global advanced business environment. We will always find that the road ahead is difficult but if we think intensely we will realize nothing is impossible as few years ago the modern medical informatics were a dream to us but now is a part of our daily life as we are so much used to it. Our challenges will always be implemen ted according to our concepts and systems and they will run smoothly as possible, without wasting our available precious opportunities and resources because we ignored the pitfall of managing change.

Famine in Africa

Help All You Want Imagine a small African family in Zimbabwe, a small child’s mother and father work the fields but due to further hunger are too weak to even stand up, let alone go out into the fields and work. This has started an entire chain reaction in the community. Since the child’s mother and father cannot go out into the field and harvest food, another family goes hungry, and then another and another, continuing on a path spiraling downwards.Now imagine this same family, but a stable government has been established in Zimbabwe, the child’s mother and father are both well fed because the food distribution organizations are well funded, your parents go out into the fields and harvest the crops, creating another chain reaction but with a positive spiral. This is an example of how food distribution plays a major role on famine and also how stable governments affect the food distribution in Africa.Most studies on the famine epidemic throughout Africa state tha t HIV/AIDS plays a major role in famine; this can be attributed to lack of health care in the continent which can be established if governments were established. Stable governments may also play a role in fighting rebel or terrorist like groups that steal food from the people and commit mass genocide. Stable governments also may regulate food distribution to families in need and also regulate the amount of food that is distributed, making the portions fair, depending on the size of the family.Some people believe that by just simply throwing money into the economy of Africa or by simply supplying food to the people of Africa will turn it all around. Although this may help, it will not completely fix the problem. This is due to the fact that the money will run out and the food will be used up in a matter of time. The familiar culprits of drought and mismanagement of national strategies are implicated; however, this crisis is distinct from conventional drought induced food shortages wi th respect to those vulnerable to starvation, and the course of impoverishment and recovery.It is proposed that these new aspects to the food crisis can be attributed largely to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region. This information is provided to us in the article, â€Å"New Variant Famine: AIDS and Food Crisis in Southern Africa† by Alex De Waal and Alan Whiteside. â€Å"Millions Facing Drought and Famine throughout Africa† by Barry Mason, reports that aid agencies show that many areas in Africa are currently facing drought and threat of famine (Mason 1).In East Africa, some 11 million people are suffering a drought that is the worst in a decade and will mean that food aid is urgently needed over the next six months. The countries affected stretch from the Horn of Africa throughout Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique (Mason 1). This article is an example of those people in the world that believe that this is the main point fixing the famine pandemic. â€Å"Famine Mortality : A Case Study of Darfur, Sudan,† by Alex De Waal presents the results and analysis of a survey of mortality undertaken in the villages of the Darfur Region of Sudan in 1986.It illustrates a number of important aspects of famine mortality, and provides the only basis on which to estimate famine mortality for this region (De Waal 1). In 1983, the harvest failed in Northern Darfur, and in 1984, it failed in both northern and southern Darfur. Lack of pasture also led to the deaths of about half the livestock in the region (De Waal 1). Healthcare in Africa plays a major role in the famine epidemic sweeping through parts of the continent. Lack of a stable government can be blamed on lack of healthcare.Healthcare plays such a major role in the famine epidemic, due to the fact that research has proven that HIV/AIDS weakens and kills the farmers that would plant, take care of, and harvest the crops that would provide food to the communities. According to some reports, the African fami ne is a clear example of the impact of HIV/AIDS. The loss of life and health care costs are traditionally associated with the disease. More than 14 million people are now at risk of starvation in many countries throughout the continent.All of these predominantly agricultural societies are battling serious AIDS epidemics, with more than 5 million adults currently living with HIV/AIDS in these countries. Out of a total adult population of some 26 million, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is a huge contributor. Malaria and other diseases that can be vaccinated against are also not taken care of and play a major role in famine, this is because of the absence of hospitals or doctors. No other infectious disease, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, inflicts a more devastating economic toll, keeping whole populations trapped in poverty.This healthcare problem could be taken care of if there were a government present, but since there is no government, or the government is not very stable, the pandemic s continue and the people of Africa continue to get sick and die, unable to product food, the famine epidemic just gets worse. In other areas, not just that of the healthcare issue, is a contributing factor in the famine epidemic. News reports on the continent of Africa also state that there are many rebel groups in certain areas that are killing the people in some regions and also taking what little food the people have.Spreading fear throughout the people causes them to work less, or in some cases not at all. The mass genocide of the workers is also contributing to the lack of food in the most hard hit areas. With a more stable government, these groups could be weakened if not destroyed altogether, reassuring the work force and also creating a rise in the size of the workforce. This is the reason a more stable government plays a more pivotal role in famine. In â€Å"Blame Policy, Not Nature,† by Ann Gibbons, only one region of the world still suffers from widespread famine. This region is Africa. Why is that?. After all, many poor countries including India and China, have staved off famine in recent decades, even though starvation was common there earlier in the century (Gibbons 1). The conventional wisdom holds that the answer is a combination of droughts, deforestation, and war. The drought part of this theory is what I am sure first comes to mind with all of us, it’s Africa. The deforestation part of this theory is caused by the ever growing population and need for more land to create cities.Last on the list of three in this theory is war (Gibbons 1). War is part of the popular opinion that there is a need for a stable government in Africa; the wars in Africa are not between countries but between rebels fighting for control of some areas. These rebel groups exist because either the government in the area is too weak, or there is no government in place in that area (Gibbons 1). Many governments that have tried to rise up from the ground on the ir own have just been destroyed and overrun by the rebel groups.Without outside help from surrounding countries in Africa, which is not likely considering they have their own problem to deal with, or help from other countries across the world, for example the United States, these small governments trying to get on their feet will just continue to be overrun and destroyed, further devastating the local communities and worsening the famine epidemic. Just another reason stable government is badly needed throughout Africa. On top of the healthcare and rebel groups, perhaps the highest contributing factor in the famine epidemic going on in Africa is food distribution.Since food distribution is the highest contributing factor in the famine epidemic, the government has a huge role in this area. A stable government would be, and is absolutely crucial to the controlled distribution of food to the people. Not only could a stable government control the amount of food distributed, but it could also make wise decisions on the amount of food given to each family, depending on size and need of food by those people. Food distribution impacts the African societies immediately, but without the proper funding necessary to keep the distribution programs running, it is just a lost cause.By establishing stable governments, the distribution programs would have better funding and be able to continue the surges of food into the communities. There are many theories and opinions floating around out there on how famine in Africa can be reduced. Many studies show that a very vital factor in reducing the famine in Africa start with a stable government, one that can establish a working healthcare system that will lessen the effect HIV/AIDS has in the communities.Governments that can halt the rebel groups and make the people feel safe to go into the fields. Finally, a government that can set up well funded food distribution with equal distribution of food, just to give the communities of Afr ica that jump start they need to get back on the right path. These are but a few of the reasons that famine in Africa can be reduced, starting with the establishment of more stable governments throughout the continent.According to the article, â€Å"Famine in Africa: Causes, Responses and Prevention† by David Colman, most famines in the last 25 years have been in Africa. Most people in the world, therefore, confine attention solely to it, with a particular emphasis on Ethiopia and Sudan. The article by Colman sets out to increase understanding of famine, provide extensive empirical evidence on all aspects of causes of famine, household responses to it, market behavior in times of famine, and policy initiatives, and to assess famine prevention policies and their performance in the real world.In the article â€Å"Famine in Africa: Causes, Responses, and Prevention† by Joachim Von Braun, Tesfaye Teklu, and Patrick Webb, it is explained that famine in Africa makes an impor tant contribution to a better understanding of the causes of hunger in developing societies, while also providing the most thorough assessment to date through a synthesis of empirical research of policies implemented to prevent and mitigate famine in poor countries (Von Braun 1). On the basis of findings from six African countries in particular, the authors argue against single-cause explanations f famine, this including the opinion of some that an unstable government is the cause of the famine (Von Braun 1). There are many different opinions and theories in which people believe that famine in Africa can be reduced, many of which include, in some way or another, the fact that government is needed I those areas. Most of those theories or studies on the famine epidemic throughout Africa also state that HIV/AIDS plays a major role in famine. These theories all agree with each other while at the same time disagree with each other, so you could say they agree to disagree.However, they ar e all theories on how to help the people of Africa and stop the famine pandemic from spreading. The main opinion of most people throughout the world on the subject of reducing the famine pandemic in Africa is that stable government is needed. Stable government would provide better food distribution to the people, better healthcare, and would provide safety to the people by protecting them from the rebels of the areas and also the surrounding areas.These ways all combined from the theory that stable government is needed, as believed by many people, which is how famine in Africa can be reduced. Works Cited Colman, David. â€Å"Famine in Africa: Causes, Responses and Prevention. † Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, 1 Feb 2000, Web. 7 Oct. 2012. De Waal, Alex, and Alan Whiteside. â€Å"New Variant Famine: AIDS and Food Crisis in Southern Africa. † Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, 11 Oct 2003, Web. 8 Oct. 2012. De Waal, Alex. â€Å"Famine Mortality: A Case Study of Darfur, Sud an. † Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, Mar. 1989. Web. 10 Oct. 012. Dibie Roberty. â€Å"Famine Crimes: Politics and the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa. † Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, 12 Nov. 1998. Web. 7 Oct. 2012. Gibbons, Ann. â€Å"Famine: Blame Policy, Not Nature. † Academic Search Elite. EBSCO, 8 Nov. 1991. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. Mason, Barry. â€Å"Millions Facing Drought and Famine throughout Africa. † World Socialist Web Site. 23 Feb. 2006. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. Von Braun, Joachim, Tesfaye Teklu, and Patrick Webb. â€Å"Famine in Africa: Causes, Responses, and Prevention. † Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, 1 Dec. 1999. Web. 8 Oct. 2012.