continuous improvement

Are you ready for Disney Star Wars ?!?

Posted on by f1233tngamboon

Walt Disney was first introduced on October 16, 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney as an animation studio. It later has developed to one of the major Hollywood studios, and owner of eleven theme parks and several televisions. Recently, the Company had agreed to purchase Lucas film from its founder, George Lucas, for $4.05 billion in stock and cash. Yes, we will be seeing more “Star Wars” movie soon. Disney plans to release new “Star Wars” movies every two or three years beginning in 2015 with “Star Wars Episode 7,” Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said. If you can remember, Disney already purchased Pixar Animation Studios for $7.4 billion in 2006 and Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion in 2009. As such, Disney owns all the Disney characters, all the Pixar characters, all the Marvel characters, and now all the Star Wars characters? Disney is now owns almost every famous characters.

Why is this company so successful? As we know, customers expect certain things when they walk into a business, and every company should know how to identify those expectations in order to meet them to the customer’s satisfaction. Disney obviously uses these strategies as a foundation of the business. As one of their principal: “make the dream come true.” In order to make the dream come true, they should know what people dream about when they think about Disney. First thing came up to my mind when I think about Disney is that it is a place where kids can be kids, and adults can feel like kids again. Disney Themes Park and Resorts, for instance, are designed to bring pleasure by providing the finest in entertainment for people of all ages, everywhere. Each theme park creates different atmosphere. Disney continuously creates goods and services that are valued by customers and society.  Disney did everything they can to make sure that their customers have a positive experience and leave happy. Clearly, Disney is one of the worlds’ leading producers and providers of entertainment, using it portfolio of brands to differentiate its content, services and consumer products.

All in all, the Disney management principles have over time proven themselves true to the success of the organization. I believe that Disney has a huge potential to make a Star Wars movies. They will surely make “Star Wars” live on and flourish for many generations.

 

What do you think of Disney’s acquisition of Star War? Do you think that the new movie will come out the same as it’s used to be?

Source:

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/disney-buying-lucas-films-for-4-billion/#postComment

http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/30/technology/disney-buys-lucasfilm/index.html

 

Six Sigma is SO 2007.

Posted on by f1223cmandoza

 

This is an article that focuses on Six Sigma and the fact that many companies view it as an outdated certification. While there are some very credible benefits in being Six Sigma certified, there are some major costs as well. According to the article it was a way to improve quality, but the major reason it gained so much popularity was because of its ability to cut costs and increase profitability. However, there were two standout problems with Six Sigma.

First, having such a process oriented company reduced morale. Employees were being evaluated so much on process that they were not being recognized for their hard work or outstanding customer service. Their employee results were just based on numbers. The second problem was that customer sentiment dropped. As a process focused company, the bottom line is to produce as much as possible with as little defects as possible. This may be great for a manufacturing plant, but for a company that works in customer service, it is ignoring a very important factor, the customers. Often times how a customer is treated will weigh more heavily on their decision to come back than the speed of their purchase.

Furthermore, the article goes on to state process is key, but they also need to focus on things such as innovation and creativity to keep a company moving forward. A company can be an outstanding process performer but if they are behind the times with their products or customer service, then having an excellent process doesn’t mean a lot.

In fact, Home Depot, which was a company mentioned in the article, dropped from first to worst among major retailers on the American Customer Satisfaction Index in 2005. This was a company that was Six Sigma certified and had a CEO who placed a very high value and emphasis on Six Sigma. Another example, which was meant to be an example supporting Six Sigma certification, was the desire by financial institutions to be Six Sigma certified. One of the banks mentioned was Bank of America, and we all know what has been happening with them in the recent news…

In conclusion, as we learned in our class, Six Sigma is an outstanding certification to have. It shows that a company is operating at a capacity with an extremely low rate of defect. However, in my opinion, in the case of the article, it sights that there may be more to a company’s success than excellence process. I tend to go with the belief similar to one mentioned in the article, that Process management is a good thing but it must be leavened a bit with a focus on innovation and customer relationships.

 

With the article in mind, I have a couple of questions I’d like to open up to the class.

First, would you go out of your way to be a customer of a Six Sigma company?

Second, what is more important to you, a customer connection or Six Sigma certification?

 

Article Site: http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-06-10/six-sigma-so-yesterday

Knowing the Future, for the Stability of Present

Posted on by f1222sghatila

Knowing the Future, for the Stability of Present

Everything in our daily lives requires a form of forecasting for us to be able to predict what to wear, consume, and safety. Hurricane Sandy, which is forecasted to hit the East Coast, helps people with their safety and precautions we  have to take to secure their lives, family, and home. Many people are planning to evacuate because of the information given about the hurricane in advance. We depend on these types of information for our health and safety. Depending on whether the weather channel says if it will rain or snow, we all dress according to that. Due to the current weather situation, many fliers have to consider their delay and canceling of flights. This delays a lot of business process and other situations and airlines have to consider this when rescheduling flights for the process to run again. Forecasting is a major aspect of our life and the information is depended upon for the present to be as smooth as possible.

Most retailers have already forecasted for the sales of fourth quarter, holiday season. They want to produce as much as the demand is suggested for, their revenue depends upon it. Forecasting is a major  aspect of any job. It tells you how many to hire to produce a certain amount, how much of the product will be sold, and this information is critical because competitors thrive on an advantage to do better than you do. Halloween season creates a high demand for candy, which if forecasting did not occur either we would not have enough candy or surplus or either situations have negative consequences on the revenue and growth of the company.

Apple is on top of the technology world right now. Their products are sold and back ordered for months because their demand is incredible. Currently IPad mini in white are completely sold out and even though black ones are still available, their inventory does not have enough for those who demand it. They are losing on business for those that could have been sold if availability was an option. Having a demand forecasted accurately would help the business grow and keep consumers happy. Loyal customers will always stay as long as possible but those who are indecisive about a brand will potentially lose a customer if forecasting is not done accurately.

In what other ways do we use forecasting for our daily lives?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-airlines-ask-fliers-to-reschedule-due-to-big-storm-20121026,0,3996884.story

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/la-fi-tn-apple-white-ipad-mini-20121026,0,4979541.story

What kind of tablet would you like for Christmas? Maybe a Nook?

Posted on by f1224srokicki

NOOK HD Snow 8GB

As more and more people have begun to steer away from physical books to e-books, e-readers and tablets have begun to establish themselves as the next big product. Barnes & Noble entered into the Tablet industry with its first tablet, the Nook Tablet, last November in order to compete with Apple’s iPad and as well as Amazon’s Kindle Fire. With this introduction of the Nook HD, Barnes & Nobles has begun the phasing out of its previous tablets, the Nook Tablet and Nook Color. This new design, which introduces an upgrade in hardware and software, comes in two different sizes, one with a 7-inch screen and the other with a 9-inch screen. This has come on the brink of Amazon’s announcement for four new varieties of its Kindle which also offers larger screens to compete with the iPad’s 9.7 inch screen.

In order to compete with the offerings of its main competitor, Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble has also introduced a new video service in conjunction with major television and movie studios like Warner Brothers and HBO to allow its users to watch and buy movies and televisions shows on their mobile devices and TVs. Amazon currently offers more services which include a larger app store and video library as well as also providing its customers with its huge product offerings. However, due to the constant threat of Amazon’s online retail operations, retailers like Wal-Mart and Target refuse to carry the Kindle which allows for more opportunity for the Nook to be reached by possible consumers without the extra competition of the Kindle.

The tablet category has seen rapid expansion with many competitors entering the industry. According to Forrester Research, approximately one-third of U.S. adults will own some form of a tablet by 2016. That doesn’t even account for the amount of families that own multiple tablets for their children to use. So for Christmas, which kind of tablet would you like? Is it possible that the cheaper prices of the Nook and the Kindle can sway even more consumers towards it rather than going for an iPad?

Sources:

http://www.suntimes.com/technology/15389281-478/barnes-noble-launches-new-nook-hd.html

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook-hd-barnes-noble/1110060426

Ford, a New Leader in the Hybrid Vehicle Market?

Posted on by f1234swatch

Ford C-Max Hybrid, Ford’s first hybrid-only line of vehicles that was only available in Europe, has now introduced a 2013 C-Max Hybrid model in the United States, which was released in September 2012. Ford invested a huge amount of money in research and development in hybrid technology with an aim to become “America’s most affordable hybrid utility vehicle.” The hybrid model is developed to compete with Toyota Prius, the world’s best-selling hybrid car. The hybrid model base 2013 retail pricing starts at $25,995, including destination and delivery charge. The price is $1,350 below the Toyota Prius v, a van-like vehicle.

A federal government fuel economy rates C-Max Hybrid at 47/47 mpg city/highway while Toyota Prius v and Honda Civic Hybrid were rated at 44/40 mpg and 44/44 mpg. This shows that Ford is able to deliver better fuel economy, which allows it to beat its competitors in the industry. Even though Toyota Prius is the first mover an the largest producer of hybrid vehicles and gain competitive advantage in the market, Ford challenges the “plain styling” of Prius with its “fresh” and “modern looks.” Ford believes that it has developed a better vehicle. Ford C-MAX Hybrid “Says Wheeee” Commercial

The features of C-Max hybrid are shorter at14.5 feet long, bumper to bumper than a regular Prius. Moreover, it has comfortably raised driving position, optional high-grade amenities and smart tech displays. C-Max Hybrid is designed to have more space with the extended cabin and tall rear. A driver does not plug in the C-Max Hybrid, because electric power is generated onboard, stored and then routed out of the onboard battery pack. Another development is that C-Max has a maximum horsepower of 141 while Prius and Prius v have only 98 horsepower. This is enough for a travel range of more than 500 miles.

As I read the article, I can relate it to our recent class lectures. Ford applies many concepts we learned in order to stay in a competitive market. Ford uses a low cost of the product strategy to enter the market. It uses reverse engineering by inspecting competitor’s product to improve its products. It is able to translate customer needs in a current economy when gas prices are high into the product by using quality function deployment. Lastly, it focuses on hybrid vehicles by reducing the use of fuel. This shows that Ford is concerned about sustainability and environmentally-friendly production. Because C-Max Hybrid is more fuel efficient, roomier, cheaper, and faster, I think that it is possible that Ford C-Max Hybrid will be able to beat Toyota Prius, a top-selling hybrid car.

 

Questions:

– Do you think that Ford C-Max Hybrid would be able to launch successfully in hybrid vehicle market?

– What do you think would prevent C-Max Hybrid to gain market share of  hybrid segment from Toyota Prius?

 

Sources:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/max-hybrid-ford-challenges-prius-17443886#.UHm1chzgzBD

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_C-Max

Image source:

http://www.ford.com/cars/cmax/features/

 

Amazon will start selling wine? Is it a good idea?

Posted on by f1233tngamboon

Amazon was introduced in July of 1994 as a small online bookseller. It later expanded to all household categories. Today, Amazon offers the Earth’s biggest selection of products in more than 160 countries across the world making them the leading online shopping site accessed via the World Wide Web. In addition, Amazon is planning to launch an online wine marketplace in the coming week.  Do you think it’s a good idea for Amazon to sell wine online? Instead of waiting in line or wait until the shop assistant is ready to help you with your purchases at the store, you can do your online shopping while at home, work, or in the meeting.

On Monday September 24, Amazon.com hosted a workshop and invited members of the Napa Valley Vintners association. At the work shop, there were meeting 100 different wineries. Any wine lovers can now sitting in their room and order it online. According to Wall Street Journal, Amazon said the marketplace would begin “in the coming weeks” and the online retailer will be charging 15% commission of the sale price, as well as a monthly fee of $40 in order to join the marketplace. Each winery will be required to handle their own shipping and compliance with various state and federal laws. In effect, Amazon’s Wine Marketplace will provide a portal for wineries, putting their wines in front of potential customers, while the wineries will handle sales, shipping and legal hurdles.

However, this is the third time they have tried to sell wine on the internet. In the year 2000, Amazon invested $30 million in Wineshopper.com, but closed down ten years later as the business did not perform to expectation. The second attempt was in September 2008. Amazon hoped to sell wine, but it was not successful. They have faced another financial crisis, and almost lost the company. So will this third attempt be successful?

Amazon is again taking a very risky move, but I feel that Amazon can do it. I think Amazon actually made a smart decision to keep expanding the products to keep abreast of the competitions, like eBay and Wal-Mart. However, they are actually now get a new rival;

Wine lovers are present at every nook and corner of the world. Also because Amazon offered a wide variety of product, low prices, and worldwide shipping, people choose online shopping rather than going to shopping mall. There are many reasons I preferred online shopping. Every Saturday I turn on my laptop as soon as I woke up on. I played game and shopped online as I have breakfast. At lunch time, I had a sushi delivered! I preferred to stay home when I have free time and I am sure that I am not the only one.

 

Question: Do you think this third attempt of Amazon will be successful?

Source http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/47366

 

 

Time to Sail Away From the Entrepreneur Ship

Posted on by f1223npatel

 

When I get older, I want to be an entrepreuer, but it doesnt seem as appealing as it used to be back in 2006. Throughout the years, being your own boss hasn’t been working out for people as much as it used to, but the question is why? A lot of businesses cannot keep themselves running long enough to see the profits. When you want to stay open and don’t have the sufficient funds to pay for the cost of your business, you tend to make cuts, and the first cut most business owners make is hours of employees or the employee in general. As you can see from the graph shown above, job opportunities have been decreasing dramatically from 2006-2011. The main thing you would have to factor into this graph is simple: the economic recession. The recession made it a lot more difficult for job security, especially in small businesses. After the recession, people didnt have the money to make investments. A lot of Americans lost a lot of capital throughout the recession and quite frankly, many are scared to make investments not knowing if they will make a profit or not. People now a days do not have the money to invest like they used to in the past and you cannot blame them for not wanting to take the risk, can ya?

One factor I think people should consider when talking about job growth or loss is the size of the firm or business. More job opportunities are given by companies who are larger. My parents, for example, own a Rosati’s Pizza and they run the store quite differently than a California Pizza Kitchen. My parents need about 5 people to run the inside of the store and 3 delivery drivers, whereas, a CPK would need about 20 people to run the inside of the whole store (if not more) and have about 5-6 delivery drivers. You see, it all depends on the size of the company and of course, how well the business is doing itself.

I personally believe that even though there is a decline in job security and growth in the small business field, it is still not a bad route to go in. I believe that if you do your research on the company or fracnhise you believe to invest in, you will have a better chance of succeeding through these horrific stats. What do you guys think about the jobs created by small businesses? Would you want to own your own business?

 

http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/05/smallbusiness/entrepreneurship-weaker/index.html?iid=SF_SB_Lead

iPad’s Little Brother

Posted on by f1223hlodhia

Apple Inc., one of the world’s largest innovators, has, once again, announced the launch of a new product: a smaller version of their best-selling iPad Tablet. Once again, early adopters and loyal customers flock to see the newest hype that the company has to offer.

After being under the scope of the public for their iPad, Apple Inc. has decided to take on the challenge of creating a product that can compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD, Google’s Nexus 7, and others. Previously, many customers had complained that the iPad itself was very large and heavy compared to its competitors., as well as being very costly. Although Apple has not commented about any specific features about the product itself, many excited and loyal Apple customers have come up with their own list of potential features and rumors of production that Apple may consider when creating the mini iPad since the company is known to put customer satisfaction at the top of their priorities.

First, a “major Apple investor” has publicly claimed that the iPad mini will be unveiled on October 17th, 2012 and that the official launch date of product will be November 2nd, 2012, which gives customers plenty of time to obtain the new creation for the upcoming holiday season.

Second, rumor has it that the iPad mini will have a 7.85 inch liquid crystal display (LCD) with a 2,048-by-1,536 pixel resolution, although the screen will not have the same retina display of the original sized iPad. This may be to simply keep the cost of the product lower and more affordable to the public.

Since the cost in the market is a major driving factor behind this new product, there has been some speculation that the cost and price was also very important to Apple. There were many concerns that the iPad was priced too high for many people, which is why Apple decided to come out with a newer, more cost effective alternative for those people who do not want to spend $399-$499 on the iPad. Instead, it is expected that the iPad mini will retail for about $249, which is slightly higher than the prices of its major competitors.

Along with the rumors of its features and displays, there have been some claims that people have obtained leaked photos of the final product. Some of the physical attributes that can be seen in the final product are:

  • Wi-Fi adaption
  • nano SIM tray for cellular connectivity (thought to be for a pricier model)
  • An 8-pin “Lightning” connector found
  • A microphone jack in the same upperleft corner as current iPads
  • Aluminum backing
  • volume buttons on the right side of the tablet with a switch
  • rear-facing camera
  • two speaker grilles at the bottom

The last major rumor about the iPad mini is the location of production. Although nothing has been confirmed by Apple, production has been thought to be in China and Brazil.

 

Potential leaked photo of the new iPad mini

More information about can be found at http://shopping.yahoo.com/blogs/digital-crave/ipad-mini-almost-know-162420535.html

Quality of Care or Save money? Maybe Both

Posted on by f1223nlopez
Inventory system being used

One of the most depressing parts of this article was the fact that some hospitals believe they have to choose between quality of care and saving money. Why can’t you have both? This is what Seattle Children’s Hospital is helping to solve.

Before implementing the continuous performance improvement plan, nurses at the Children’s Hospital actually resorted to stealing and hiding tools and supplies needed for everyday use. When reading this, the first thing that came to mind was a hotel. It reminded me of taking supplies off of the housekeeping carts and storing them in the hotel room. So is this a proper way of keeping track of inventory? Of course not, so they implemented a plan similar to retail or manufacturing companies, where each nurse would have a fully stocked cart with two bins for tools and supplies needed for everyday use. When they used one bin, the next would be readily available. The empty bins would then go to a central supply office where the bins are scanned for restock or reorder. If this sounds oddly familiar, it should. The company most known for this inventory plan is Toyota.

I saw this plan up close and it really works well. I plan on working in the Healthcare field after graduation, so I shadowed a healthcare administrator at one of the Park Nicollet hospitals in Minneapolis (not at the Minneapolis campus with Nellie Munn). This inventory system is actually one of the topics you can still talk about with nurses and see how they needed time to get used to it, but highly prefer it over the other “steal/hide” system.

Do you think that Hospitals should start implementing methodologies of operations management?

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/business/11seattle.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www&_r=0 

 

iApologize

Posted on by f1212ekuduzovic

Images like the one are the latest buzz at Apple this week. Customers complained that the new map software on the latest iOS 6 was not performing up to standards. Satellite images (like the one pictured here) were looking strange and locations were showing up inaccurately.

CEO, Tim Cook, immediately issued an apology in regards to this issue, something very unusual of Apple to do. Google, who holds the Android smartphone market, saw this as an immediate opportunity to intervene. Google explained to Apple customers that they could use Google Maps through their web browser.

The intervention from Google comes after a long love-hate relationship between Google and Apple. Originally, Google Maps was installed on the first iPhone. Apple dropped the competitor recently in order to pursue their own breakthrough invention of maps software.

However, as it turns out, this investment fell a little short. It seems that while Apple was hoping for a breakthrough improvement in their maps software, they did not get what they bargained for. Apple worked with experts in map navigation to help with the Apple version of maps. One of Google’s chairmen stated that Apple would have been better of retaining the original Google Maps.

This issue reminds me a little of the class activity of the story of William Sowden Sims. In the story, Sims, a young naval artillery officer, tries to write letters to his superior officers, telling them that he knows how to improve firing accuracy in the United States Navy. However, all of the letters are rejected again and again because the navigators, the most important in the Navy, believed that they knew everything about firing accuracy. It seems that Apple could learn some things from the story of Sims. Apple decided to step away from Google Maps because they believed that they knew how to do things the best way. Ultimately, this carried them away from something very simple such as testing the product out enough before users got it.

In the meantime, Apple stated that customers could use alternative map sources  (Google was even mentioned, but only at the very end of the list). Regardless of this mishap, Apple CEO encouraged customers to continue to use Apple’s maps, stating: “the more our customers use our Maps the better it will get.”

This current issue brings back memories of the original launch of the first iPhone, when customers complained about the price being too high. Shortly after complaints, Apple adjusted prices of the iPhone to satisfy customer’s expectations of price. It seems that Apple will try and use this tactic once more here to solve the problem, this time the focus will only be on improving the maps software.

Do you think it was okay for Apple to launch maps software to the public when they did not fully test it out before? Do you think Apple’s apology was an effective method of coping with the criticism and problem?

Source: Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444712904578024170366547916.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories