Operations Management in Business WH Smith Analysis

Operations Management in Business WH Smith Analysis WH Smith Introduction WH Smith was first created by Smith Family in 1792 as a newsagent, in then became the company with the name â€Å"WH Smith† in 1828 and launched the website WHSmith.co.uk in 1999. This success fully growing company opened many stores in Rails stations, High Streets, Shopping Centers and gradually lost its profit of  £135m. The arrival of Kate Swann made WH Smith to run as the profitable company in a decade. The success of her achievement is based on how she organized and worked towards her goal. Throughout this report there are many explanations related to WH Smith’s success using operation management skills by Kate Swann. Task 1 Operation is the key part of the business which produces goods and services. It involves in planning organizing, controlling an organization operations. Organization without a planning will never be able to success in its business. According to the scenario, the success of profit is based on the Operation Management, which involves a complex set of management activities involved in planning how they wanted to improve their sales organizing leading, by cutting the costs. Kate Swann managed to achieve the target of turning WH Smith into a profitable company by taking into account of the operational management. Following the principles of operation management in an organization will help the company to reduce the cost of products and services and also in the mean time it will help to increase the customer’s satisfaction towards the product quality and the services. As the operations function is responsible in goods and services, it is important to support the input and output to be delivered on time scale. Various input such as capital, labor, and information should be measured in order to obtain desired outputs. The role of operation management is to improve productivity which will help to improve the organizations financial and also to meet customer’s competitive priorities. In the scenario it shows that Swann has targeted the teenagers and as well as young women for stationeries this make the targeted users to be satisfied as well increase the sales in WH Smith. The key elements of Operation managements are known as Business logic, System theory. Kate Swann has understood the business logic in how to increase the profit for WH Smith. She understood how to target the customers and increase the profitable margin. In her success we can see that she has cut the cost persistently which is one of the element in business logic. Applying system theory to a business helps to find out how the environment impacts business process. According to the report of â€Å"Our Quality Commitments to Our Customers† in WH Smith website it clearly says that WH Smith is responsible to fulfill the minimum standards required by the law. If WH Smith reduces the standards and quality towards their customers due the cost effective they might not be able to success in our goal. For example Funky Pigeon greeting card shop which was open online is a best known website because customers get best services. Even though it was introduced to the market 2 years ago it has been famous. The reason behind this is their quality and services that they have been giving to their customers so far. The customers get the opportunity to choose their cards with uploading their own pictures and also the cards ordered by the customers are delivered very next day to their required address. This will impress the customers and make them come back. The online strategy objective of WH Smith is to launch the Funky Pigeon which sells greeting cards, personalized gifts and cards according to the customers need. The products that are sold in this website are very quality as well as cost effective. The services given to the customers are very dependability as funky pigeon is a fastest delivery service. It has the next day delivery services for their customers. More customers may prefer to visit their website as they are not limited by options in cards. The customers got the verity of option in choosing cards. As funky pigeon allows the option of personalizing the gifts or cards the customers may be satisfied in choosing any of the products from them. System is known as the collection of parts which can function independently for the success of the common purpose. For example, System contains the Input – Process- Output in an organization. It is essential that all the collection part in a system work collaborate for a company to be successful. WH Smith should follow each parts as Input and Process and output to make their company to run in organize planning and control and to be on right track Sub-system is known as the complex collections of many Systems in order to achieve the common purpose. In other words it contains many Input many process and many output to achieve the goal of the company. WH Smith may contain many system and sub-system diagram for the organization. Following diagram shows the system function in WH Smith. Task 2 Strategic planning is an organizational management activity which helps to set priorities, strengthen operations, and to ensure that employees work towards the goals to achieve success. An effective strategic planning articulates not only where and what actions needed to make progress, but also how it will know if it successful. In order to implement success strategic planning need to follow the performance of operational management. Operational management is essential for all organizations. The strategic planning mostly deals with activities of any business organizations such as operations, sales, finance concerned with different level managers. Operational management is focused with the production / services provider level of organizations. There are three stages of strategic planning. They are known as Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness. To achieve the profit margin Swann has introduced the stationeries targeting the teenagers and young women. WH Smith started to sell stationer ies and sweets at the checkouts. This is a good example that Swann has used one of the strategic planning elements known as Economy. As it is essential assign that right resources has been used at the right time at the right place and right cost which a management should consider in business objectives. In other hand WH Smith has the big online strategy Funky Pigeon where they work in very cost effective. â€Å"Swann announced she was pulling out of selling music and DVDs†, she has compared the market and in order to increase the profit margins. And the comparison stores such as HMV thinks that it’s brave. As she consider the Efficiency, she has compared the performance target she kept to increase the profit of WH Smith. Even though WH Smith has its high street retail it has target the online retailers by introducing Funky Pigeon card site. Effectiveness is determined by examining the objectives and achievement of a company. WH Smith was been losing by 135m due to Swan n’s strong operational management the company has turn into profit of  £106m. Quality is very important for an organization. An example of good quality product with less cost is when a customer who consumes the product and services has nothing or less to complain about the product. In the scenario it says â€Å"WH Smith now sells roughly  £65 of goods for every  £100 of custom† the success is they have carefully reviews the objectives. WH Smith has to review the existing products carefully in order to compare the function of the product required by the customer, who demands them in lower cost. Kate Swann has carefully reviewed and decided that selling of Music and DVD’s are not profitable and not worth of reducing cost. So she completely stopped selling DVD’s and started introducing new ideas on selling new products in WH Smith. They target certain age group to boost their sales. As we can see in the scenario that it says the teenagers and the young woman have been aimed for stationeries. What Kate Swann has done leads WH Smith for its success. Following the performance objective it helps to add value to the customers in delivering quality products or services. The Quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and the cost may defer as performance objectives. Quality services as known as error-free services. There may be no any complains about the product satisfaction. This can be improved by getting customers feedbacks. For example if we take WH Smith the quality can defer as the store cleanliness, an appropriate and attractive outlet and also very friendly and helpful staff so the customer may like to visit the store often. It also includes the goods conditions. As we see WH Smith has a big online strategy Funky Pigeon card site. If they fail to deliver their customers goods on time, they may have bad viewpoint against their services and none of the customers like to continue doing shopping with them. When we look at the WH Smith store it all depends on a customer asking for a product or services and getting it to them, in a nother word satisfactory of their shopping in WH Smith. As we see in the scenario it says that Swann plans to open more shops which are stuffed with stock and screaming promotional banners. This is a role of operational management to achieve as it’s based on dependability. It increases the product or service in the market. WH Smith has sold stationary targeting the teenagers and young women and they also started to display sweets at the checkout make customers to purchase them. If they have not been flexible in introducing new lines to their sales they will not be able to achieve success in their business. Swann also cuts down the cost in order to boost her profit margins. These are the importance five performance objectives that underpin operation managements. Task 3 For a good operational planning is very important, this will lead the organizations to know what they have to do next, in order to deliver best services to the customer’s demand. Planning and controlling related to each other. It is essential to consider these methods in an organization like WH Smith as they helps for the effective outcome. Planning helps what to do and when to do in other hand controlling involves making sure that the plans are taken place. The planning and controlling involves cost estimation, work measurement, planning, routine concerns. Based on this scenario we can see that WH Smith has planned how to fulfill the needs of their customers. Kate Swann for example knew that young women and teenagers will purchase their stationeries and mean time the sweet has been display near the counter in order to promote it to their clients. If Kate Swann didn’t think of what customers normally demand, WH Smith may not be able to satisfy their customers. Linear program is a mathematical technique designed to help to plan and make decisions. This will help to maximize or minimize some quantities such as profits or cost. Liner program requires action on what to choose, where Kate Swann need to introduce displaying sweets near the checkout. One of the examples of WH Smith success in applying linear program in operational management is when Kate Swann stops selling music and DVDs to increase the profit margin. For renovating WH Smith shops there are certain tasks need to be planned. The following table is the tasks listed down for the shop renovation. D must follow A G must follow A and F H must follow A, C, D and F I must follow A, C and E J must follow A and D The above network diagram is an for an WH Smith renovation. WH Smith was running with lose until Swann take over to make it a profit. When we look into the operational outcomes we can see clearly that the WH Smith lose of  £135m turned into profit of  £106m. Another example of operational outcome is targeting of displaying sweets at the checkout and also selling stationery aiming teenagers and young women. Quality can defined by the process through which a business seeks to make sure that the product quality is maintained or improved meantime reduces the errors. It requires both management and employees make every effort for perfection. And according to the Scenario it sets an example Kate Swann stops selling music and DVDs and also the checkout assistants attempt to force-feed the chocolates displayed at the checkout areas. Without planning and controlling an organization will be hard to monitor. It is essential to follow the concepts of Operational management in order to achieve success in an organization. Kate Swann’s success is based on how she followed the operation management skills in order to bring the profit to a company which was running in loss. As Kate Swann follows these skill it states in the scenario that she has the ability to make a unpleasant shops to have profit business. Referencing Six Sigma, [Online], Available: http://www.isixsigma.com/implementation/financial-analysis/cost-quality-not-only-failure-costs/ Operations Management, fourth edition,[ Online], Available: http://wps.pearsoned.co.uk/ema_uk_he_slack_opsman_4/17/4472/1144836.cw/ The Guardian,[online], Available: http://www.theguardian.com/business/blog/2013/jan/23/wh-smith-kate-swann-profit Introduction of Operation Management, [Online], Available: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0070951675/436573/samplech01.pdf Muhammed Akram Khan, Performance Auditing – The Three ‘E’s, [Online], Available: http://www.asosai.org/journal1988/performance_auditing.htm Operational Planning, Wikipedia, [Online], Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_planning Linear Programming, [Online], Available: http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/2234/2288589/ModB.pdf Sree Rama Rao, (2009) Operational Planning and control decisions,[Online], Available: http://www.citeman.com/5031-operational-planning-and-control-decisions.html Quality management, Wikipedia, [Online], Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_management WH Smith, About WH Smith, [Online], http://www.whsmith.co.uk/fcp/content/Help-AboutUs-AboutWHSmith/content

Essay --

Coltan Downey Ms. Littlefield AIDS Research Paper 16 December, 2013 Haitian Success HIV/AIDS has become so prevalent throughout the world that it is now rated as the second deadliest infectious killer behind tuberculosis. Over 35 million people in the world are currently living with HIV/AIDS and approximately 262 new infections occur every hour. On the small island nation of Haiti, in 2005, about 190,000 citizens lived with HIV/AIDS, which was approximately 3.8% of the entire population. Since then, there has been a dramatic decline in the percentage of the infected population. It has recently been recorded that the disease currently infects about 120,000 citizens, which is only just over 1% of the entire countries population. Since 2005, there has been more than a 47% decline in HIV/AIDS related deaths, showing that a country, suffocated by poverty, and disease, as well as overcoming the overwhelming earthquake, can do something to lower the infection rate of HIV/AIDS and raise awareness with little to no medical technology or healthcare. Haiti also has a very uns table political center, which begs the question†¦ Why can’t any other countries do the same thing? HIV/AIDS emerged in Haiti in the late 1970’s, which was just about the same time that the disease started to break out in the United States. At about this time, in the United States, the disease was discovered in Haitians who immigrated to the United States in search for a better life. When this was discovered, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) did not want to believe that the disease that infected homosexual men and drug users in the United States was the same disease that had infected Haitian immigrants. In 1982 however, the CDC named four risk factors for the disease... ... news about AIDS all the time, but we can give you some good news about AIDS in Haiti.† Yes the rates in Haiti have declined but not all of the news in Haiti surrounding HIV/AIDS is positive. The rates have decreased but only mostly in rural areas and, children in Haiti are becoming sexually active at a younger age and only about 28 females and 15 males ages 15 to 24 are educated about HIV prevention. This lack of knowledge as well as the younger population becoming sexually active may cause the rates in Haiti to spike if the situation is not controlled or, if education is not a primary concern in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Haiti. Haiti has been a â€Å"Top Prospect† when it comes to countries fighting HIV/AIDS and has shown promise but the declining rates of infection may not last long if Haiti does not keep up with educating the population on HIV/AIDS prevention.

Samla’s Personal Statement

â€Å"The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart – this you will build your life by, and this you will become. † These very powerful words, written by James Allen, are a perfect description of how I have accomplished many of my goals. My main objective is to obtain a full time position with a public accounting firm to render professional services in the field of auditing. Some years ago, a former student of University of California, Irvin brought my attention to the field of auditing. I took the initiative to find out more about this career. After extensive research on the nature of the work, training and advancements, I felt this is something I could really enjoy doing for the rest of my life. I began exploring the different fields that are related to auditing programs offered and making campus visits. After several visits and consults I was attracted to the CSUF because the school allows new students to involve themselves in independent research, requiring initiative, self-motivation and a wide range of skills within the first few months and also allow students to go out for industrial practical exposure at one point or the other on a yearly basis throughout the duration of the degree. Since many of us, at one point or the other in our life, we need a professional care and assessment as regards our finance management be it an organization or the money we save or trade with or in any other capacity . So, I see this as an opportunity and it brings me great pleasure thinking about the effect I could have on the populace at large. Therefore, I have always been aware of equipping myself with solid foundations in IT and supporting knowledge in Business aspect in order to fulfill the challenging requirements of future working environment. Besides professional regular education, I have attended several trainings and extra courses instantly when I had chances and time. These include Software development, Networking, and Business development (Please refer to my resume). Academic Background and skills I attended Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa with Honors List and I major in Accounting where I got a befitting Orange Coast scholarship. I also attended Government Commercial college,Karachi,Pakistan where I had Bachelor of Commerce and I major in Accounting too. (Jan 2003-Dec 2004). Working experience My working experience dated back to early January 2004 when I was offered the post of an accountant at the Zaitoon M. A. Shakoor Brokerage Firm Karachi Stock Exchange, Karachi, and Pakistan. I was exposed to the various dynamics of stock market. My passion for this profession wax stronger after the opportunity I had in Providing professional customer service to existing customers by advising them on stock transactions, stock market trends, and providing them with up-to-date account information. I assisted with business development by providing information on the trading process to potential customers. I also learned the ability to survive under stress as I had lot of customers to attend to. I was able to exceed managements’ expectations by handling hundreds of customer accounts and supervising the office workers in the absence of a manager. I also worked as a Cashier at the Ralphs Grocery Store, Costa Mesa between Sep. 2005 – Aug. 2007 where I attended to an average of 5o customers personally on a daily basis and joined Dr Patrick the company’s marketing consultant in registering sales and issuing cash receipts. Some of the opportunities I had was as a result of my working experiences in the following areas; I was able to closely observe experts and fellow technicians to further my knowledge about accounting auditing and business management, and with this close observation, I was able to gather experiences which was to help me later in life when I finally explore and delve into some profession where these skills will be required. Besides professional regular education, I have attended several trainings and extra courses instantly when I had chances and time. These include Software development, Networking, and Business development (Please refer to my resume). I also have participated enormously so far in my undergraduate training and I have involved myself in various activities of UCI’s Accounting Association. Currently I am enhancing my knowledge by working at the Trait and associates, Inc as an accounting clerk from June 2008 till date. In the course, I also have had the opportunities of working directly under controller and CFO to organize and maintain all customer accounts and my IT knowledge has also been of immense value. My experience at Traits and associates has helped me acquire the character and those traits necessary to be a successful Auditor: commitment, confidence, compassion and strength. I believe that CSUF considers an outstanding student as one who possesses these qualities. Voluntary services Activism at any level is necessary for an individual to establish their own goals and evaluate their own career paths. Many of my interpersonal and leadership skills developed after becoming an active member of UCI’s accounting Association Future plans and goals After my Graduation from the CSUF, I would like to pursue a Master degree in the same school. I think my exposure to different accounting budgeting and auditing settings and utilization of excel to create and manage budgets for ten different departments within the company I at present work with, forces and informs this decision of mine. Not only do I want to pursue a professional carrier in Auditing, I want the opportunity to affect pre-accounting students the way the Siringos and Dr. Lee affected me. I believe I possess a talent for teaching others in manner that helps them grasp difficult concepts easily. As a part of my Auditing and accounting career, I will aim (approx. 5 years down the road) to educate Pre-auditing students as a professor at CSUF. Since many of us are confused and need someone at one point or the other to advise us on the best way and place to invest our money, I want to be part of those that will direct, lead and show others the way to financial exploit. Now is the time in which I want to pursue my true goal of becoming a professional auditor. I believe that I am mentally prepared and persistent enough to excel at any endeavor, and I have developed the compassion and commitment to the auditing profession that will drive me for years to come.

Foreign Policies Big And Small Affect Our Lives - 1413 Words

Foreign policies big and small affect our lives in many seemingly unconnected ways. War and military interventions may grab headlines, but our actions in the international political system are much more wide reaching. Almost everyday there are trade agreements between countries and international political candidates being elected that affect our lives as US citizens as much or even more than the military actions we always see on CNN and the New York Times. Foreign policy is much more extensive than just wars and genocides, but those are the first things that jump to minds when we bring up the topic. The limited attention paid to foreign policy creates potentially damaging issues. These decisions can drastically alter our daily lives in hidden ways. Yet, we pay little attention to them outside of those that grab headlines and sell newspapers. Kaufman outlines his definition of foreign policy at the beginning of the first chapter as, â€Å"†¦those decisions made within a country that are affected by and in turn affect entities outside the country† (9). This definition, while broad, does a good job in covering the idea of foreign policy in a large stroke. In the next pages he goes on to expand that definition to include actions not only with other countries, but also with international actors that don’t speak directly for or associate with a nation state. This list includes, but isn’t limited to, international organizations including the UN, state-less actors like Palestine, andShow MoreRelatedGlobalization And Its Effects On Society1011 Words   |  5 PagesFor thousands of years people and businesses around the world have interacted and integrated with each other. This is called globalization. Globalization has reformed almost every industry and affects billions of lives whether you realize it or not. Around the world, people view international trade as a good thing but this is hindered by concerns about its side effects. To find the b alance between pros and cons associated with globalization, citizens everywhere need to know how globalization worksRead MoreShould Legalization Of Recreational Drugs Be A Great Nation?977 Words   |  4 Pagesexternal battles? Likewise, the US is claiming its superiority, as a big brother, across the world by fighting its external wars. However, what needs to be fixed first, is the long lasting internal war within. External wars need lots of money, manpower, weapons, etc., just to achieve a lifelong of enmity at the cost of civilization. Innocent people are always the major sufferers in any war. Now is the time, that we start fighting our internal war, then raging externally. Increase in jobs, hike inRead MoreThe Un : Founding Principles1222 Words   |  5 Pagesto not let these cries go unheard. Who are we, if not the peacekeepers of the world? What are we, if not a body of nations, working to better one another? The issue doesn’t affect hardly anyone in the US physi cally, but it affects our country as a whole. The rights of humans, within and outside our borders, has become a foreign term for the United States, as well as the UN. To some people, those cries haven’t fallen on deaf ears. President Barack Obama addressed the issue of war and destruction onRead MoreWorld War 2 : The Good War1097 Words   |  5 PagesWorld War 2 was known as the good war. The fight for democracy was a big deal to president Franklin and it was a very well fought war. America throughout the war learns to overcome things and start to become more accepting. The war helps unite both blacks and whites to a fight for the same goal. We get our revenge of the bombing at Pearl Harbor, we work with a very brutal dictator, and we tried to stay neutral for as long as we could. For example in doc 1 the president is advised to stay out of theRead MoreLet s Talk Dick, By Richard M. Nixon Essay1610 Words   |  7 Pages Let’s talk Dick. â€Å"Tricky Dick†, â€Å"Slick Rick†, Richard M. Nixon our 37th President. Born on January 9th, 1913, in California. He was a graduate of Duke University Law School. After serving in the Navy during WWII, Nixon was elected to congress. Soon after he won a seat on the Senate in 1950 and went on to become Vice President in the Eisenhower Administration. During his Vice presidency, he focused on foreign policy and later on a trip to Moscow, Nixon had an impromptu Debate with General SecretaryRead MoreThe Election Of The Electoral College Essay1728 Words   |  7 Pageswere simple and helpful for every citizen. Her main objective was â€Å"Stronger Together,† which means together we can fix the crises that affect us in the country, and unify the nation with other countries around the world. Steve Guest (2016) noted Hillary’s speech: â€Å"Look, we are stronger together, we are stronger together in facing our internal challenges and our external ones. We are stronger together if we work to improve the economy †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Hillary Clinton means, if we all come together and work toRead MoreThe Impact Of Censorship On The Global Economy Essay1633 Words   |  7 Pagesmore involved (Polling Report, 2016). As a result, the USA and the EU try to compensate through their influence over the global economy. â€Å"Since 2005, U.S. policymakers have increasingly turned to sophisticated types of economic sanctions as a foreign policy tool of first resort. From the development of banking sanctions limiting Iran’s ability to secure financing from Western capital markets to new sanctions targeting Russia’s financial system and the development of its oil resources, U.S. policymakersRead MoreFood Inc: Eating Organically Essay1296 Words   |  6 PagesI will be writing in my book report on Food Inc about how the food industry is not really telling us what is in our food and how we don’t know much about the food we buy and eat. I was in shock because I try to avoid eating junk food or fast food, and after reading the book I realize I could still be eating junk food, if I don’t learn more about what I am buying. I will be writing about how the food industry can get away with murder and not have to pay for it. Also on how the government is not regulatingRead MoreThe D enotation Of Multination Corporation ( Mnc )1582 Words   |  7 Pagesinvestment (FDI), political policymaking, and international trade only continue to increase. Certainly, not all MNC’s carry this much power. There are two types, those who participate only in import/export, and those who make large investment in a foreign country. MNC’s are said to be non-governmental actors, yet they are not non-governmental organizations. Let us examine Cola-Cola as a MNC, for an example, and reveal its effects on the international political economy. Coca-Cola has nearly 900 plantsRead MorePrejudice and Discrimination1551 Words   |  7 Pagesdiscrimination against foreign workers working in Singapore. I will be elaborating on how class discrimination has adverse impacts on society on economic level and social levels. I define foreign workers as a group of minority that come from different countries to work in Singapore. According to the 2009 Singapore Yearbook of Manpower Statistics, 37.6% of Singapore’s population are made up of foreign workers (1.1 million %). This proves that foreign workers are an important component of our labour force