Management Assignment
BUS703, Task 1: Problem
Definition
Task
Description:
• Read through the scenarios below. which
each contain the problem background to a management issue and research
question.
• On the Task 1 Answer Sheet, choose four
out of the five scenarios and identify the critical management decision,
research question, objectives and related keywords.
1. Tyre Retailer
A
well-known Australian tyre retailer, with a 25 per cent market share in the
Australian market found their market share declining steadily year by year.
Despite selling trusted, well-known brands like Dunlop and Good Year they are
steadily losing their customers. When a new CEO joined the company, she decided
to do a walk through and visit to 20 of their key retail stores, visiting both
stores located in regional areas and in cities. She made a few key
observations, firstly the stores had very high counters, where store managers
hid behind and only some customers, like tall men, could comfortably stand
there and talk to the staff in the stores, yet half of their cash customers
were women. The stores required customers to stand and the magazines on the
counter were trucking and car magazines. Most women who entered the stores were
quite uncomfortable and often tried to leave as soon as they could. The new CEO
got the impression from her store visits that the retail environment was
unwelcoming for their customers, however as there were more than 700 stores,
she decided more research was needed.
In your own
words, please advise this company on:
1.1
The management decision to address the issue outlined
1.2
The research question to be investigated
1.3
The research objectives
1.4
Keywords to search the literature
2. Singapore Management
Consulting Company
Mr.
Yusof Hoe has recently joined an established Singaporean management consulting
company and realised that this company needed to implement a number of
innovation initiatives to keep up with their competitors and the fast-changing
trends in management consulting. He knows that developing a supportive,
innovation climate is critical to the productivity, profitability and
reputation of their company. Before developing and implementing an
organisational development initiative to stimulate new ideas and develop
client-focused innovation, he needs to determine staff’s perception to the
current innovation climate and decides that the most cost-effective,
evidence-based way to do this would be to conduct in-house research.
In your own
words, please advise this company on:
2.1
The management decision to address the issue outlined
2.2
The research question to be investigated
2.3
The research objectives
2.4
Keywords to search the literature
3. Fast Moving Consumer
Goods – Supply Chain
A
German chemical and consumer goods company, organized around three business
units: adhesive technologies, beauty care, and laundry and home care, is very
aware that supply chain management is critical to their business performance.
The CSCO of the Laundry and Home Care division regularly tells his staff: ‘Supply
chain impacts the business in two ways. First of all, we need to ensure
agility.
As
an FMCG player demand can change by a factor of two or three over a few days.
Secondly, as a branded goods manufacturer, up to 40% of sales are generated
from products launched over the last three years. Our ability to launch new
products fast and reliably is key to our business strategy.’
While
a number of supply chain initiatives have supported the company’s business
transformation, it is critical that they maintain supply chain agility, as
competition is intense and markets are volatile, while cost pressures remain
constant. To ensure that the Laundry and Home Care division maintain and
improve their performance, you have been asked to help with an assessment of
the current situation, before additional initiatives are implemented to ensure
the supply chain performs well.
In your own
words, please advise this company on:
3.1
The management decision to address the issue outlined
3.2
The research question to be investigated
3.3
The research objectives
3.4
Keywords to search the literature
4.
Health Festival
As
an experienced event organiser, your local tourism organisation, have asked you
to help them develop a plan and strategy to host a local health festival,
attracting local, regional and international tourists to your region. The
tourism organisation views your region as a great place to hold such a
festival, since the natural beauty of the area, large number of outdoor
activities and world class health practitioners in the area, represent part of
the regions’ strengths. However, as you speak to them and participate in
meetings, you realise that they may not be aware of traveller motivation for
choosing particular destinations and choosing to attend festivals. From your
previous experience you know that this is critical for developing effective
tourism marketing strategies and these need to be aligned to visitors’ specific
needs and wants. As there are multiple factors involved in festival visitor
motivation such as themes of festivals and socio-demographic characteristics,
research is needed focused on visitor motivation and situation-specific
factors.
In your own words,
please advise your local tourism organisation on:
4.1
The management decision to address the issue outlined
4.2
The research question to be investigated
4.3
The research objectives
4.4
Keywords to search the literature
5. Human Resources
An
aged care facility has called in your help. They are finding that many of their
employees who work with elderly patients and residents like nurses and age care
workers are frequently off sick. The medical certificates they are receiving
often state burnout, fatigue, or work-related stress as a reason for these
absences. The CEO of the aged-care facility has recently attended a conference
on employee well-being in the health service sector and found the keynote
speaker’s speech very insightful. By attending the conference, she now realises
that the working conditions within the aged-care facility is emotionally and
physically draining and have limited programs in place to address the issue. In
addition, there is pressure on employees to view residents, more like
customers, than patients, staff are often expected to learn new IT (information
technology) systems or have to learn how to handle new technical equipment. She
realises that all these pressures have an impact on the burnout staff are
experiencing. She wants to find out more about this in her own organisation,
the health sector and how to address this and have called you in to do a
three-month research project but is somewhat lost of where to start.
In your own
words, please advise the CEO of the health-care facility on:
5.1
The management decision to address the issue outlined
5.2
The research question to be investigated
5.3
The research objectives
5.4
Keywords to search the literature
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