Benchmarking and Paradigm Blindness Essays

Benchmarking and Paradigm Blindness Essays Benchmarking and Paradigm Blindness Paper Benchmarking and Paradigm Blindness Paper Essay Topic: Blindness Benchmarking Paradigm blindness Is a dangerous pitfall that any business can fall into. It effectively causes the business to become stagnant with lax management and a lack of fresh Ideas and Input by settling over business and lulling It with the thought of comfort In the routine. Paradigm blindness can be summarized Into something that is done best in a certain way, but the reasoning is for this is because it has always been done this way, not because it is the most efficient way to do it. To avoid paradigm blindness many businesses actively practice benchmarking. Benchmarking s a potent tool for company management, pushing them to explore new ways to organism the business and challenging previously set standards. The process of benchmarking was first utilized in the asses by Xerox. In an attempt to regain lost market share they actively compared themselves to rival companies in order to find some way in which to Improve their operations (Lempel and Catwalk, 1997). Benchmarking can be used both in short term and long term management, but finds particular value In strategic management where management can decide how best the business should be run. Although benchmarking may not be a constant management tool It Is a continual one with which organizations can fine tune their operations to suit market and environmental fluctuations. To date there has been no benchmarking method that has become universally adopted, the fact that different businesses require different approaches being one reason to this. However one of the first utilized was developed by Robert Camp, the core principles revolving around a twelve step methodology. 1 . Select subject ahead 2. Define the process 3. Identify potential partners 4. Identify data sources 5. Collect data and select partners 6. Determine the gap 7. Establish process differences 8. Target future performance 9. Communicate 10. Adjust goal 11. Implement 12. Review/recalibrate. (Camp, 1998). The general Idea behind the twelve step Camp method Is to focus on a specific area of the business, decide what sort of and how to collect data, analyze the results and then determine different processes that could be used to achieve the same task. As well as there being several different methodologies for benchmarking there are also several different types of benchmarking, this being the main reason that no one ethnology NAS Eden unalterably opiate I nee Deterrent types AT Demarcating are difficult to embrace through one method. The different types of benchmarking include process, financial, performance, product, strategic, and functional benchmarking. Businesses can implement several of these benchmarking types to help improve their productivity, although due to the costs of benchmarking smaller businesses may be limited to a few or one type of benchmarking. Process benchmarking involves the organization centering their examination and study of internal protocols. They will cross examine their results with observations with those room other benchmarking firms if possible, but otherwise conclusions can be drawn from purely internal results on activity in relations to cost and efficiency. The Camp methodology can fall under the category of process benchmarking; a real life application of it can be seen in fast food chains. Employees are pushed to consistently serve customers within a certain time frame and their performance is recorded. This allows the organization to cross reference their performance with environment and procedure factors, allowing the organization to trial different procedures and conclude which is the most efficient for different conditions. Financial benchmarking is more simplistic in nature in comparison to process benchmarking. Financial benchmarking involves making a financial analysis of the business and then making a comparison to the results of competitors to assess the business competitiveness in the market. This is generally achieved by using ratios such as acid tests, liquidity ratios and the like to determine the different financial capabilities of the business in comparison to competitors. In contrast to process benchmarking, which can be costly to perform due to needing specific equipment and personnel to collect otherwise irrelevant data. The data required for most if not all of financial benchmarking analysis can be found in the business financial reports and overviews. An example of financial benchmarking can be seen in the 2007 Games Workshop financial report. The company noted that they had been consistently posting lower profit margins over the last few quarters, and upon review had lost a fair portion of their market share to competitors such as Privateer Press miniatures. In reflection the following was printed in their 2007 financial report: We grew fat and lazy on the back of easy success. We forgot about customer service ND forgot that hard work is and always has been the route to success. We forgot that we are a company which pursues profit and likes paying surplus cash to its owners. (Kirby, 2007) Games Workshop acquired licenses from with New Line Cinema in to produce miniatures based upon the Lord of the Rings movies in 2001. During the period the movies ran, these were highly successful, but after they finished their sales rapidly fell. As chairman Tom Kirby states, the company fell into the trap of paradigm blindness by ignoring what was happening around them and continuing on with unchanged business operations. In response to this the normally slow moving company has picked up pace and released several expansions to their main game systems in a comparatively short amount of time, boosted advertising, and reorganized their management structure. Whether or not this has been successful remains to be seen. Performance benchmarking is used by businesses to assess their competitiveness in comparison to other businesses by comparison of their products and services. This can be done both internally and externally. An example AT external performance Demarcating can De Tuna In supermarket chains. Its not uncommon to see employees from rival chains wandering the aisles of their competitors and recording daily price changes and stocked goods, allowing them to decide whether or not to mark prices up or down in their own stores as well as an idea of what products are selling overall. An example of internal performance benchmarking can be found in fast food chains, such as McDonalds. McDonalds records employee service response times of each order placed and records them. By taking an average, the efficiency of an entire store is established and is compared to other stores within the franchise. The results of this are made known at employee meetings, and plans are made to improve the response times of those that are comparatively slow. This may include implementing further process benchmarking. One particular value of an established system like this is that employees can monitor themselves as they work through a display board playing an import part in performance quality improvement (Sinclair and Mohammed, 1995). Product benchmarking is somewhat similar to performance benchmarking except its less focused on competing goods and prices, and more on the actual goods and services homeless. It may go as far as reverse engineering, where the company pulls apart competing products and services and decides how best to emulate it themselves. As a real life example, this can often be seen in professional sporting teams. The team management will almost certainly examine and dissect the game play of leading teams, using them as a benchmark to improve the performance of their own team. However, product benchmarking can be taken too far to the point where it infringes copyrights and intellectual property laws. One such example is Smith Wesson. Using the highly successful Clock 17 series and its subsequent derivatives as a benchmark they released their own semi automatic handgun, the Sigma series. However the Sigma series bore so much resemblance to the Clock ass to the point where many parts were interchangeable, quickly earning them the moniker Shocks as well as a patent infringement lawsuit from Clock in 1994. Smith Wesson ended up paying an undisclosed sum of money out of court as well as making several modifications to the Sigma series. Strategic benchmarking is similar to product benchmarking in the fact that it involves observing how other companies compete. It isnt, however, limited to industry specific companies and usually involves observation of unrelated businesses to analyze whether or not any business practices can be adapted for use. Functional benchmarking can be considered extremely similar to process and performance benchmarking, however it differs by solely focusing on a single business function. The reason for this is that some parts of businesses such as Human Resources and Information Technology arent directly comparable in relation to efficiency, and thus isolating them for the purposes of observation improves focus pony problem areas. Examples of this can once again be found in fast food franchises, such as McDonalds. To allow management to isolate where problems are occurring separate response times for front counter staff and grill staff are kept. If a drinks machine is badly placed and causing congestion amongst employees behind the front counter, management will be become more aware of this because it wont be affecting grill staff response times, as they arent responsible for filling drinks. Benchmarking is an extremely valuable management tool for companies; it isnt intolerantly always a straightforward or easy task to unaware e I nee Key touching is performance measurement of the business no matter which part it is, or even whether it internal or external. The key to improving the business is measuring it so a benchmark can be ascertained (Bringing, 1992). The problem that arises from this is that businesses are extremely complex with hundreds of different factors and inputs. It becomes a question of exactly what to measure and how to measure it. The problem for managers is that they do not know exactly what inefficiencies they need o remove, and thus their chosen method of collecting data benchmarking may not reveal the problem. For example if the manager of a fast food chain competing with McDonalds decides to benchmark his businesses, he might choose to try and benchmark the business by comparing financial results and seeing how many sales he made in comparison to other fast food chains. Although this is a valid form of benchmarking, it doesnt reveal any specific problems if he finds himself underperforming in comparison. This is because hes allowed too many variables into the equation. The burgers could taste bad, the business could be in a bad location, another business might be selling their burgers cheaper, the grill staff might be inefficient or afore mentioned drinks machine could be placed extremely badly. Perhaps there might even be a combination of problems. Quite often benchmarking processes will identify that there is a problem(s) within the business but they wont identify what it is. Thus it may take the manager some time to trial several benchmarking methods to simply narrow down the field so he can draw conclusions from there and initiate responses. Because of the large amount of potential variables that increase even further with the size of the business, larger organizations often hire specific benchmarking firms who have a great deal of experience and knowledge stored in databases to perform benchmarking for them. The other problem associated with benchmarking is that its both costly and time consuming. Because of the amount of data that needs to be collated and analyzed, benchmarking is by no means an overnight process. It may require several employees to perform, taking them away from regular duties and forcing more employees to be hired. Or it could come to the point where using existing employees is so inefficient that a benchmarking firm is hired to carry out the process. In conclusion, while benchmarking is an extremely potent management tool it is by no means simple to use or fool proof.

Business VCE essays

Business VCE essays Describe how the business communicates internally and externally. A business communicates internally with staff members. Most employees have a desktop computer, which allows them to send and receive letters, reports, trading documents and other messages quickly and accurately. All documents can be stored on disks, which saves on filing and storage space. Email is used widely for internal and external communication because is it quick and reliable. Fax machines are very popular for sending written documents, diagrams and pictures. As the fax machine is linked to the telephone line, it is a cheap, accurate and quick way of communicating. If head office wanted to speak to a member of staff lower down the line, they would have to e-mail, write a letter, or send a memo. Whereas if a member of staff wanted to get a message to head office they would have to speak to their manager, who would speak to their manager and it would work further up the line until the message got to head office. A business communicates externally with customers, suppliers, the public and shareholders. To communicate with customers, Adams would write a letter, telephone, or perhaps e-mail. If a customer made a complaint by letter then the staff would write a letter back. To communicate with suppliers, Adams uses telephone to order what products they want, or maybe they could use e-mail because it is cheap and reliable. To communicate with the public, Adams would use visual aids such as posters and billboards to advertise the company and draw in customers. They could also advertise using radio or television. How does communication help the company meet its business objectives? Being friendly and helpful to the customers and public will make customers want to go there and buy the goods Adams provide. Adams has to build a relationship with its customers, so they are familiar and welcoming. Good communication between the staff at Adams an ...

Conflict within Nursing Work Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Conflict within Nursing Work Environment - Essay Example Nurses are assuming a significant position in this system and its complex transitions. Therefore, as expected, nurses regularly experience conflicts during the course of their work, whether it is during their day-to-day practice or due to larger organizational conflicts. Interpersonal conflicts occur between individuals in the work environment. If two stakeholders are on an equivalent power level, interpersonal disagreements may simply cause irritation and annoyance. However, if one of the stakeholders has some actual or perceived authority over the other, this situation can potentially lead to what is called as conflict (Caplan G., 1964). This work is a critical reflection of a conflict event in work place that I had experienced. Before going into analysis of that particular event, the process of a conflict and its results needed to be known, since the idea of this reflective article is to explore how a conflict can be managed in practice and why. The incidence that I am going to state involves workplace interpersonal conflict, and this took place in our ward. A female senior nurse found an elderly female patient very upset, complaining about a male physician who had treated the patient in a rude manner. The patient asked for more medicine for her pain, but did not get it, and was told to accept the pain and stop nagging. The patient started to cry, but the physician let the room ignoring that she was hurt with his comments and her pain was real. The nurse confronted the physician about his conduct, and the physician began by trivializing the incident and continued by indicating his disagreement with the underlying o rganizational policy, and ended with a personal attack on the behaviour of the nurse to a physician. The stake holders in this scenario are the nurse, the physician, and the patient. It is obvious from the above scenario that there has been incompatible preference ordering between the nurse, the physician, and the patient. This is a situation where the patient has perceived that the physician has frustrated her concern. This is a destructive conflict, since this issue has been amplified, broadly defined with the addition of tangential items, and emotionally charged. When it comes to the nurse and she tries to manage the conflict, it becomes constructive when she confronts the physician to solve the issue between the patient and the physician. Here the same issue is focused and kept at a manageable size. Only peripheral issues that relate to the main point are discussed, and the process of choice is action, rather than a reaction. In contrast to destructive conflict, here when the nurse plans to resolve it, there is no competition and demonstration of power that is constructive. Her discussion with the physician about this issue is characterized by solutions that respond to the needs of all stakeholders in this conflict in an attempt to finding an acceptable solution that may be a compromise or a new one

ROMANITC LOVE TOPIC IN BOTH RENAISSANCE LIERATURE AND MUSIC Essay

ROMANITC LOVE TOPIC IN BOTH RENAISSANCE LIERATURE AND MUSIC - Essay Example This has transcended to madrigal singers who originally only sang secular music but eventually took romantic love as part of their music repertoire. Thus madrigal singers took a turn with renaissance sonnets as they began singing love songs from the traditional sing of praise. The most plausible reason that be deduced is to this is that renaissance sonnets fit the well-crafted composition of madrigals not to mention that the loftiness of the theme of love nears the loftiness of Praise. Unlike a typical singer which we know today, madrigals are typically composed of several persons composed of four vocal parts – the soprano, alto, tenor and the pass. Soprano and alto are typically sung by women due to its high pitch while the tenor and bass are usually sung by men. A madrigal singer attempts to express strong emotion contained in a well composed line of which a celebrated sonnet makes a perfect fit. Madrigals can also be said as the highest form of music that typically appeals only to the cultivated and the learned due to the sophistication of its medium. It follows then that the words enunciated by a madrigal music must also be equal to its form and what better lines can be sung by a madrigal than the measured meter of a sonnet. Madrigals were traditionally sang for secular purposes but eventually evolved to also sing celebrated love sonnets of renaissance literature due to the loftiness of its words and purpose that equal to a praise. Its highly structured singing made love sonnets a perfect for the medium of a madrigal thus appealing to the sophisticated audience. Today however, madrigal has evolved further. It still sing love songs but no longer confine itself to the sonnets of renaissance literature albeit the sonnets of the renaissance literature set the bar of the lyrics that can be sang by

Marital harmony Essay Example for Free

Marital harmony Essay The Taming of the Shrew is a play written by Shakespeare in Elizabethan times to examine many complex ideas, including those of social roles and marital harmony. These two in particular relate to the character of Kate, and the way her circumstances change and the way she reacts creates the main interest of the play. At the beginning of the play, we meet Katherina, also known as Kate, as a fiery, wilful, aggressive and apathetic young woman of the Italian town of Padua. We learn she is known for these undesirable traits, and laughed at by the men and women of Padua alike, and a common target of hurtful ridicule. All the strain of this is merely worsened by the apparent perfection of her sister, Bianca. As much as Katherina is rebellious, shrewish and undesired, Bianca is her opposite and has many suitors. Bianca fits the Renaissance female ideal in her unassuming, graceful, intelligent and mild nature. The light in her father, Baptistas eye, and the hearts desire of so many, Bianca is a source of much jealousy and insecurity for Kate. Katherina is clearly intelligent and independent, and so refuses to play her social role as the maiden daughter. Instead, she would always insult and degrade all men she came across, and fiercely deter all suitors, much to the anguish of her father, determined to have her wed. Kate detests societys expectations of her, like how she should obey her father and show grace and courtesy to all her suitors. However she must also see that she must eventually conform to a role, and given the inflexibility of her current one, the best hope is to get married. The unhappiness and conflict of desires would only exasperate her poor temper, and this can only alienate her further. Petruchio, an eccentric, boastful, astute and quick-witted gentleman from Verona on the quest to wive and thrive in Verona, has set his mind on marriage to Katherina, with only her enormous dowry in mind. He meets with her, and engages in a barrage of insults. Here he proves himself to be Kates intellectual equal, as he quashes every insult laid unto him. She is her usual shrewish self to him, but he resists and tells her he will marry her with or without her consent. Baptista then tells her that Petruchio has claimed he will marry her the next Sunday, and Kate makes no objection, so the wedding goes ahead.

Fight Club: A Battle Between Humanity and Capitalism Essay -- Palahniu

Within the past few millennia, people have socially evolved away from the aggressive, deep-rooted nature they have been biologically programmed over the past million years to feel (Palahniuk 4). While most have embraced this approach, whether it be through religion or other means, many people, mostly men, feel this suppression is unhealthy and unnatural. Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club, a transgressional piece of fiction, was set in a world of parental abandonment, womanly men, and corrupt political and corporate practices, a dark, nameless city in modern day America (Palahniuk 28). This setting allows for the author to provide a stark comparison over what we have become as a nation compared to what we should be, a nation of self-respecting people with a lack of value on materialistic things, and a push towards Buddhist principles (Reed). Fight Club is about how feminism, commercialism, religion, and politics in modern day America have caused a decline in the masculinity of American, mi ddle-class men and how that has destroyed society as heavily demonstrated by the support group he attends, the fight club he helps start, the terrorist group that sprouts from this, and the Narrator's second personality (Tuss). The story's second chapter starts the flashback that comprises all but the first and last two chapters of the book. In this scene, the Narrator has been suffering from chronic insomnia and is attending a self help group meant for men suffering from testicular cancer, a treatment sarcastically "prescribed" by his doctor in an effort to make him, the Narrator, feel less narcissistic since the physician himself was unwilling to give him the medicine to treat his insomnia. All of the men in this group have become feminine due to ... ... Literary Reference Center. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. New York: W.W. Norton &, 1996. Print. Price, Bryan R. "A Psychological Analysis of Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club." Yahoo Contributor Network. Yahoo, 3 May 2007. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Price, Bryan R. "A Psychological Analysis of Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club." Yahoo Contributor Network. Yahoo, 3 May 2007. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Reed, Charley. "Journal of Religion & Film: Fight Club: An Exploration of Buddhism By Charley Reed." Journal of Religion & Film: Fight Club: An Exploration of Buddhism By Charley Reed. University of Nebraska at Omaha, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. Tuss, Alec, SM. "Masculine Identity and Success: A Critical Analysis of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley and Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club." Journal of Men's Studies. University of Dayton, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

Coffee Bean Essay

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was founded by Mona and Herbert Hyman and it is established in Los Angeles, California in the year 1963. The first Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf were established here in Malaysia in 1997. The company offers a wide variety of its own signature beverages that ranges from coffee to non-coffee drinks and launched their very own signature drink; â€Å"The Original Ice Blended† in 1989 and has been the main highlight of its company ever since. We will take a look into the possibility of bringing in a new product that could be a mainstay for the Ice Blended range that is already available here in Malaysia. Currently, the range of its Ice Blended drinks is limited to several coffee and non-coffee drinks. Although from time to time Coffee Bean has been introducing promotional and seasonal Ice Blended drinks, none of these drinks will be served in the main menu after that the promotion is over. With this. Although a majority of Malaysians like to drink coffee oriented drinks, With the introduction of the Honeydew Ice Blended to the market, it will help boost the challenge of bringing in new flavors for the market. Situation Analysis The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is entering its fifteenth year of operation in Malaysia with many of its products ranging from its well known â€Å"The Original Ice Blended† beverages which carries coffee and non-coffee drinks have been well received by the public. However. 2.2 SWOT Analysis The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses for the proposed product and describes the opportunities and threats that it will face. 2.2.1 Strength The Honeydew Ice Blended drink is offered during the summer seasons and it is well known as the refreshing summer drink in United States. With summer all year long in the South East Asia region, this product has also been proven as a main-stay in the Philippines and Singapore’s The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. This product carries a cool, chilling and refreshing sweet taste which suits the pallets of the South East Asian region. 2.2.2 Weaknesses This product may not be suitable for coffee drinkers as the drink does not offer any coffee taste and it’s a fruit oriented drink. It’s also not suitable for those who are watching their calories and diet as the drink carries a high calorie range due to the sweetness and the cream that the drink offers. As this product targets the youth which comprises of teens and working adults in their twenties, some may be price sensitive to this beverage offer as it may be expensive compared to the local. 2.2.3 Opportunities Younger generations, whom fell under the legal drinking age, are known as one of the fastest-growing segments of the beverages market. These generations prefer fresh and upcoming products rather than stagnant products that they have consumed daily. With a brand new product being introduced, it will trigger the targeted younger generation with the enthusiasm to go. The lifestyle factors converger. 2.2.4 Threats Global coffee and tea market have been increasingly growing and it has since been an extremely competitive sector. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf goes up against its closest rivals such as Starbucks, Dome, Cha Time and Old Town Cafà © here in Malaysia. Competition The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has been a powerhouse brand in providing its ice blended beverages. However, there are companies that do make similar ice blended beverages such as Starbucks and Cha Time. The Coffee Bean & Tea Lead has the upper hand because of the creation of the â€Å"The Original Ice Blended† line which gives the company the extra edge. Although the mentioned competitors have been making ice blended beverages, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has its own signature way of making these beverages special and cannot be matched with its competitors.