How to analyse a company performance or identifying its strategy's effectiveness

A process is not a merely words to express a certain flow of activities in business such as production, services; it actually involves all parts of our life. Cooking such baking a cake, marriage, business services; construction, education provider, transportation are having processes within its activities.And hence process is important in our life.  

Some people might also address it as flow process and lately people are using the 'value chain' which turn many people to confusion state. So the questions is what all these words means and how it is related to strategy?

A business process is a collection of linked tasks which find their end in the delivery of a service or product to a client. A business process has also been defined as a set of activities and tasks that, once completed, will accomplish an organizational goal.

Values chain is a high-level model of how businesses receive raw materials as input, add value to the raw materials through various processes, and sell finished products to customers. In value chain normally the financial part is inserted and hence efficiency is one of the important discussion in value chain analysis. 

Chart 1. A tool that could be use as a value chain analysis

Value-chain analysis looks at every step a business goes through, from raw materials to the eventual end-user. The goal is to deliver maximum value for the least possible total cost. 

Chart 2. An example Value Chain in use in manufacturing

Chart 3. Another example Value Chain in action

From above charts of value chain we could see that how value chain are being used from the base chart of Porters value Chain in chart 1 and later how it is being used in manufacturing in chart 2.

In turn around of companies from loss to profit or profit maximization for a company process, a few tools are being use such as; external analysis, competitors analysis, internal analysis such as resource evaluation analysis, . One of the most important tools in internal analysis is the value chain analysis which is being used as one of the analysis tools to evaluate efficiency and later transpired the process to profitability value.

It is important to remember that in analyzing a company's operations or proposing actions for a company to undertake in ensuring its profitability; a few tools needed. In a normal practice, the process of the action should be:
  1. Analyzing the company general operation - what are they doing?
  2. Analyzing the external environment
  3. Analyzing its internal environment
  4. Identify what strategy are they using or suppose to use.
 5. How does the organization chart related to the strategy? Is it very much linked?
  6. Analyse its value chain
 7. Is the strategic implementation effective- look at the 10 components of  strategic 
      implementation - is it being applied (Thomson 2011).
  8. What is the finding from all those analysis above and you can provide a
      comments and propose action to be taken for an improvement.

In most cases if we use all the above tools or methodology, we are able to resolve the company non performance or improving its profitability. This could be applied to any size of the company.

Assignment: 
Fashion design has been a new life style demand for generation Y. In the perspective of strategy, what could you explain in relation to external and internal environment of a company; if a fashion design house to be open in ARA DAMANSARA. What are the best strategic (business and corporate level) option. Explain in detail.

Note:
Font size: 12
Words count: 2500 - 3000
Spacing: 1.5

Presentation:
You are to select a small business entity or a SME. Analyze its operation.How is its performance? Provide the monitoring and control tools and method for continuos improvements. 

Note:
Prepare only 5-6 slides for this presentation. 

3 critical activities in Managing a Project

Picture of Fremantle Port in Perth. Task are executed here with proper planning and
 following the 4 elements, as in this article.

Project management is a chain process of activity or a flow of  activity in ensuring a task is completed and meet the project sponsor and project owner requirement. A project owner might not be a project sponsor. 

Example, the owner of the project might be the state government but financed by the Federal Government. A simpler example, a wedding, the project owner might be the two bride to be but the financier or the project sponsor who finance mitt be the parents.

In being a project manager, these two parties must be satisfied to the project. And a project might be as big as a mega project in Oil and Gas and as small as wedding planning or a birthday party or even the annual anniversary celebration.

The question is how to ensure that the project will satisfy both parties, the project owner and the project sponsor. However it might also be only one party involve where the same party is the project owner and project sponsor.

In most books, the element or the important segments are:

a. Time: Project Schedule

b. Cost: Project Budget and expenses

c. Scope : the work scope; deliverable

In my experience, there is one more thing which important that is the quality. The question is how? Simple to say but need serious attention and focus. 

To ensure all the 3 elements are achieved or 4 as I mention the additional element (quality) is a proper monitoring and control. What to use? I will answer you, use the 7 QC Tools and intact, I have been using the control chart successfully. Remember; evaluation must be done periodically or as soon as any positive or negative spikes. 

Sample of control chart

The negative spikes is when it runs lower than the LLV (lower limit value) and positive spike is when the achievement is so good; beyond the target or even beyond the ULV (upper limit value). If you reed more or google the knowledge on using control chart, you will get what I meant by ULV and LLV. 

Project Management ; Initial stage level

At the start of any project, there will be a variety of ideas and opinions about the purpose and scope of the project, what the final product of the project will be, and how the project will be carried out. The Project Initiation Stage is concerned with taking these ideas and intentions and developing them into a formal, planned, resourced and funded project. 
In order to define a project in this way, it is first necessary to clearly and explicitly define what the project is intended to achieve and what its scope of interest will be.

By defining this first, a benchmark is created for assessing the quality of what is actually produced at the end of the project. 
It is also necessary to develop a process by which the project objectives can be achieved. This process will typically involve carrying out a number of tasks and producing a number of products during the course of the project. The tasks produce the products. For clarity of purpose and for control reasons it is useful to arrange these tasks in a top down structure, which progressively specify the required work in more detail.

This is called a work breakdown structure. LBMS provides a series of standard work breakdown structures for strategic planning and applications development. However, it is important to look for opportunities to customize this for the particular circumstances of the project and its objectives. The work breakdown structure will provide a benchmark by which the quality of the project process can be assessed.

The Project Initiation Stage must also define what resources and associated time commitment are required to carry out the project. The work breakdown structure provides a basis from which this estimation can be carried out. The resource and time commitment can be used to calculate an end date for the project and an estimate of its cost. This information is key input into the establishment of a business case for the intended project.

The overall project schedule is not at a sufficient level of detail to enable the allocation of actual resources to tasks, or to control progress. It is necessary to produce a more detailed plan for these purposes. This detailed plan is only produced for the next stage of the project, usually covering an elapsed time of two to four months.

The way the project is managed and executed is the key to its success. The involvement of the right people for data capture and decision making is also crucial. It is necessary to identify and recruit these people at the start of the project and to define the project organization structure. It is also necessary to establish the procedures that will be used by the people in the Project Organization Structure to carry out and control the project work.

Finally, in order to establish a resourced and funded project, it is necessary to establish a clear and convincing business case for the project. This business case should be reviewed, and hopefully accepted by management. The business case will identify the projected benefits of meeting the objectives of the project, and balance these against the costs and risks associated with realizing these benefits. The business case can also be used as a benchmark to compare against actual results, costs and benefits in order to assess the ultimate success of the project.

The Project Initiation stage is described here as a sequence of steps. In reality, once the objective and scope have been defined, many of these steps occur in parallel, and the step products are developed iteratively, since there are many dependencies between the steps. It is necessary to plan the Project Initiation stage, albeit in an informal manner. Therefore it is important to create a Project Initiation Kick Off Plan scheduling the activities and resources.

Assignment:

Article Links for download:

Artikel untuk muat turun:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bw2w4u1p9ymi9te/AADRjinHBxT1CMBKtF_gCqa7a?dl=0

Note:

1. Assignments are all to be submitted in Bahasa Malaysia

2. Font: New Times Roman

3.Words: 800 - 1000 words

4. Spacing : 1.5

6. Submission date: week 6

Ethics, our action and societal culture; the relationship

Any action that we do everyday has its own value. It might be negative or positive value but there is a value. This value contributes and transform into impact.

In a bigger perspective the impact will be translated as our style, our family culture and adding all the family cultures in a particular society or community it will in return turn to be a society culture.

“A continuous practice may develop an attitude,” (Olson & Zanna, 1993). It is important to remember that, an attitude will later turn to behaviors.

 “When a values being developed and becoming norms to a group of society, it will then become a culture,” (Solomon, 1984)

For that reason, we as a person need to understand that, what aver we does must be ethical, moral and the basis of these ethical values, morality must be based on real understanding of ethics and morality. The best based is on religion and to Muslim, it is Quran and Hadith. The religion in this world is teaching us these values ensuring the mankind would have a good life where the morality is good and hence develops a society of good values.

According to Kant view, “An action is moral, if its intention is good and the action is good.”  For an action, it focuses on good names, good start, and good intention and does not only look at the result of an action. In Quran says;

{2:42} And do not mix up the truth with the falsehood, nor hide the truth while you know (it).

A society (Masai, in Africa) which has develop a practice of drinking the cow’s blood in their daily life will later becomes a norms and later translated to be a culture despite other world might say that is not hygienic. That goes to any deeds or action against a religion or immoral and with continuously doing it, it will turn to be a norm and later becomes a culture of the society. As it reaches here, the whole society will be living in darkness. 

A free sex, a gambling and talking using awful words will one day be a norm if we continuously doing it despite at the early stage it might be an argument due to immorality act. Can we imagine it? Can we accept it or we are practicing toward such a culture? Let’s evaluate and think over on these issue and many more issues which is against morality. It might be legal but immoral. Do you know one?

Assignment Question:

You are required to summarize the journal article into only 800 - 1000 words. You can choose to use English or Bahasa Malaysia for your work.

Kindly download from this journal at the link:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/v2u2wx76xiwesoz/AADb4Z7OCUAzz4AyY8iTJFjra?dl=0

Note:
Font: Arial , Size: 12
Spacing : 1.5

Presentation Question:
Select a real life experience case that might be a debate of morality and legality in an organization or in the society. Prepare slides for presentation and each group member must present one slide each. Time for each presenter is only 5 minutes. Group members should not exceed 5 members for each group. Kindly bring the hard copies of the presentation for submission with all your members names and matrix number.

Do you really understand business strategic management?

Addressing the issue above would be an abstract matter to those who might have not come to any school of studies in strategic management or crafting and executing strategy. Despite of these situations, everybody must have undergoes the process of strategic thinking and executing strategy thinking in their daily life.

In most people it is only a thinking process and does not requires any proper planning, studying and it is only a mind process matter. Unlike to those who went to business schools in any universities would be able to restructure, organize and place all the knowledge of strategic planning and strategic executions into a right flow or sequence. This capabilities of putting all this thinking and planning process with the addition of activities such as analysis shall contribute to an effective strategic planning and strategic execution. According to Thomson, “Business strategy comes in a flow of strategic process of which starts with setting goals, setting vision, selecting the best strategy, execution with monitoring, control and corrective action. It is not strategy alone but it is affiliated with finance, marketing, human resources and administrative part (Thomson, 2013).

To make it more effective the monitoring, control and evaluating the performance will definitely induce a high yield of effects. For that reason only those who read, learned, understand and exercise the strategic processes will only benefit from it.

Assignment Question:

What do you understand about business strategy flow process mentioned by Thomson? Explain each of the flow process and relate to you current organization. Do your organization practiced this flow process and if not provide a proposal.

Words count: 2500 – 3000 word
Language: English or Bahasa Malaysia
Spacing: 1.5
Font 12; Times new roman
Submission: week 5

Corporate Restructuring, a wrong concept by companies?

In many cases of re-arrangement of resources which involve human repositioning in companies or the arrangement of new organizational chart has been literally addresses as company restructuring. The key management usually at early of the year shall look at the position of the employees and rearrange their positions. Especially after a critical loss in the previous financial statements or a new CEO being appointed or even the changes of board directors especially involving the Chairman.

The terminology of restructuring above has actually being interpreted wrongly. Restructuring can actually take two form; renovative restructuring and redistributive restructuring.

Renovative restructuring mainly contributes to equitable economic growth of the firm, while redistributive restructuring benefits certain groups of people that is those who remains in the company and not being expel during the redistributive exercise.

Redistributive restructuring involves six forms mainly;
1. Divesture
2. Buy Outs
3. Outsourcing
4. Relocation
5. Downsizing
6. Bankruptcy

Despite the objectives of restructuring is to strengthen the company and working out to the best position in making the company back to acquire good cash for a new move, the norm of the practice always started with redistributive and followed by renovative. For such reason, restructuring has being debated and its found to be inclined towards a negative impact and non economic equitability.

Case Study ( assignment question):

You are required to select a small entity company, sole proprietor or even unregistered business. Analyse its current strategy. If the entity is not exercising any strategy, propose the right strategy for them.

(Bahasa Malaysia)
Anda dikehendaki memilih sebuah entiti kecil perniagaan, milik persendirian atau juga perniagaan yang belum didaftarkan. Buat analisa apakah strategi yang diguna pakai. Jika tiada cuba cadangkan, apakah strategy yang betul untuk mereka.

Note: You must insert the:

1. Documents of company registration (or)

2. Picture of you with the owner (or)

3. The entity (company's) Financial Statements (or)

4. Any documents or pictures that could be a proof of your work.

Font: Arial or Century Gothic or Calibry

Size: 12

Spacing between lines: 1.5
Word counts: 2,500 - 3,000 words.

Submission date: Week 5

Please be reminded that any CUT AND PASTE WORK from Internet or PLAGIARISM shall BE REJECTED.

For additional understanding to do the assignment above, you could also read the article in this blog: Analysing Company's strategy - Sunday, December 16, 2012.

Emotional Labor, why its important?

  Emotional labor is described as “the effort, planning, and control needed to express organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions”. Hochschild points out those service providers often undertake acting strategies, surface or deep acting, to manage their emotions and to display their emotional labor (Hochschild 1979). For that reason those business entities which provides services and interacts with customers must understand their employee’s emotional labor status. This will assist them in ensuring their first line employees will always in a good mood and emotions while facing the customers. How? Training, knowledge exposure to Emotional Intelligence would be a great mark for the emotions stability.

Surface acting requires individuals to hide and repress their true feelings to conform to organizationally required emotion display rules. Deep acting refers to cases where employees fully identify with organizationally desired emotions and are willing to adjust their inner feelings to comply with them. Surface acting is the main cause of emotional labor. This is what Robbins addressed as the difference between felt emotions and displayed emotions (Robbins 2005).

It is suggested that dissonant emotions emerge and result in increased emotional labor when employees have to maintain appropriate behavior when facing impolite or unfriendly customers, and when they are involved in unfair interactions (Hennig-Thurau et al 2006), demonstrate that service employees who appear to be smiling, happy, and friendly are not genuinely feeling these emotions when interacting with angry or unhappy customers. Such surface acting increases the level of employees’ emotional labor.

Affective event theory (AET) suggests that events in the workplace have a significant impact on employees’ emotional reactions; and in turn, on their work attitudes and behavior. Applying this theory, Rupp and Spencer found that people who were unfairly treated experienced strong levels of anger relative to those were fairly treated (Rupp and Spencer 2006). Recently, employees’ mood states have been found to be associated with some important organizational outcomes, such as service performance. Research reveals that positive mood states enhance employee work performance, whereas negative mood states diminish work performance (Hochschild 1979).


Assignment Question for OB:

In change management, resistance to change would be one of the main challenge. Explain how could an organization overcome this challenges and explain the process of change according to Kotters and Lewin.

( Dalam mengurus perubahan dalam organisasi, antara cabaran yang utama ialah penolakan kepada perubahan dan terangkan bagaimana untuk mengatasinya. Terangkan proses perubahan mengikut Kotters dan juga Lewin).

Note:
a. Font: Arial
b. Size: 12
c. Word counts: 2,000 - 2,500 words
d. Cross referencing is a required - at least 5 journals.
e. Cut and paste from Internet or plagiarism work shall not be attended.


Case study for presentation - choose either one of the questions below:

 

Leaderships styles is a critical components in managing an organizations. Select one of the style  which is relevant to your organization and propose for leaderships improvements.

(Ciri-ciri kepimpinan adalah komponen kritikal dalam mengurus organisasi. Pilih salah satu ciri      kepimpinan yang mungkin digunapakai di dalam organisasi anda dan beri cadangan untuk  menambah baik kepimpinan tersebut)

   
OR

 
Emotions is an important knowledge in organizational behaviour. How could you capitalize on  emotions for organizational improvements? Explain.

(Emosi adalah ilmu pengetahuan yang penting di dalam tingkah laku organizasi. Bagaimana anda boleh menggunakan emosi untuk pembangunan organisasi? Terangkan.