Business

A Single-Union Agreement also informally known as strike free or new style agreement entails granting a single union in a company recognition in exchange of guarantees of conflict avoidance and promotion of cooperation between the employees and the management within an organisation. Most companies have different unions representing different groups of employees. Single-Union Agreements aim is to grant just one of these unions the responsibility of representing all employees in labour negotiations and labour related issues. By signing a Single-Union Agreement, a company is only left with one union to deal with in all matters relating to unions and labour relations. The agreements contained in a Single-Union policy are usually made up of measures pertaining to both employers and union. Employers must agree to support the union and also to grant necessary facilities to the unions representatives, be committed to training of employees, as well as involvement and employees single status. The union on the other hand must agree that all industrial disputes will be resolved via arbitration, agree for company council representation during the arbitration process that may include representatives that are non-union and the union must also agree to offer only consultative or advisory roles.

The history of single union agreement dates back to the 1980s. Single-Union Agreement was pioneered in the United Kingdom in the 1980s by electricians union known as EETPU. Traditionally, Single-Union Agreement was being viewed by some sectors as a means of British industrial relations reconstruction on a cooperative basis. This led to controversy in the movement of trade unions, especially because union bids for agreements from employers were being carried using what was known as competitive beauty contests. In several cases, rival unions were being derecognised by the agreement hence the hostility towards single union agreement. Following this controversy, electricians union was expelled in late 1980s from TUC. From the 1980s, the single union agreement is not very common among industries although today, some companies have started adopting it as a means of resolving labour conflicts and to increase cooperation between the employers or management and the workforce. However, not many employees and even employers today are familiar with Single-Union Agreement and its provisions but for companies like Nissan, Toshiba, Panasonic and Sony, single union agreement has been beneficial to them.
Advantages of Single-Union Agreement

To the employees
One of the major provisions and an advantage of Single union agreement to employees is that a company must be willing to recognise the union and its mandate to represent the interests of members employed within the company. The management must commit to negotiations with unions being the representatives of the employees of a company to a predetermined level with exclusion of individuals who have other arrangements of bargaining. This is a great advantage to the employees. By accepting to recognise and negotiate with the union representatives, the company commits itself to the welfare of its workforce and the employees gain an avenue to forward their grievances. In a normal union arrangement, the management may refuse to seek audience with the union members and to negotiate with them. However, single union agreement makes it mandatory for management to negotiate with union members. This way, better terms of employment can be achieved for the employees.

Through a single union agreement, the voice of employees via their representatives is strengthened. In a multi-union company, unions tend to compete for managements attention and this usually leads to conflicts of interest. Lack of unity between employees and unions weakens their negotiation capacity as each group consists of a few members. However, with single union agreement, all employees are able to unanimously agree on an issue and stand by it during the negotiation without any conflicts. Single union agreement strengthens the union hence employee representation.

Single union agreement also mandates that before any major changes are made in employment agreements, such changes must be communicated to and negotiated with the union. This is essential in limiting the power of the employer and ensures that terms and conditions of employment included or changes made are favourable to the employees. Without single union agreement, employers are at liberty to make changes to employment terms without consulting the employees or the union.

To employer
The major advantage accruing to employers from single union agreement is simplified bargaining structure. Following the institution or formation of a single union agreement policy, employees representation role is given to only one union. Traditionally, a company can have several unions representing different groups of individuals. The bargaining structure hence becomes very complicated as each union seeks to negotiate with the management. With enactment of single union agreement, only one union is mandated to represent the workforce and this simplifies the bargaining structure. This way, the management can effectively deal with and negotiate with the union pertaining to labour related issues.

The second advantage to the employer is reducing of competitive multi-unionism. As mentioned earlier, some companies have multiple unions dealing with different employees within it. Each union being a representative of its employees tries to compete with other unions in fighting for their groups employment rights and for improvement of working conditions and pay. As such, there is a lot of competition that leaves the management unwilling to cooperate with any union group. With single union agreement, such competition for attention from management by unions is eliminated and the management is able to concentrate on one union while resolving labour conflicts and while negotiating with labour unions. Single union agreement also leads to elimination of demarcations between unions which may have a negative impact on productivity and functional flexibility requirements.

Single union agreements also ensure that there is increased cooperation between the employees and the management. Most single union agreements have a strike free agreement that states that the single union cannot call a strike for its members. This ensures that production is not tampered with even during time of negotiations and or disagreements between the management and the union. Single union agreements hedges an employer from losses associated with strikes.

One condition of single union agreement is that the union takes up a consultation tasks. Under this form of agreement, a union must acknowledge the employers right to plan, manage and organise operations and also his duty to communicate and seek consultation with the employees in matters relating to their employment. By agreeing to these terms, an employer is guaranteed of minimum interference of the union in management functions and this may help in increasing cooperation between the employer and his employees. The management and union also agree to maintain good industrial relations so as to ensure growth of an organisation as well as that of the employees and the shareholders. This is essential for smooth running of an entity and an advantage to employees and employers.

Conclusion
Single union agreement has many potential advantages to both the employers and the employees. The major advantage to employees is the agreement by the management to fully recognise unions as true representatives of workers and its agreement to commit to negotiations with the union. Also, the clause that limits the powers of the management in making changes to employment prior to notifying the union is advantageous to employees. On the other hand, single union agreement helps in eliminating strikes hence ensuring production of goods is not hampered at any time. Also, it limits the unions power to interfere with management functions thus ensuring flexibility in part of management. Single union agreement has many potential benefits to employees and employers hence should be adopted.

Ethics refers to the morals that people have about a particular aspect. Ethics in business are determined by the legal systems as well as the participants in the business activity. Globalization is the aspect of integrating different economies all over the world through communication and access to other markets in the world. Business activities have increased since the era of globalization started (Buchholz  Rosenthal, 2000). Globalization has brought both advantages and disadvantages to the business sector. Ethics concerning global business activities have been established to regulate the activities which may lead to harmful effects. Globalization of business ethics has increased the performance of businesses and has enabled the expansion of the technological world (Hoffman et al. 1994).

Globalization has increased competition in the business sector (Dunning, 2003). Competition in the international market has caused the ethics in business operations to be established. Competition encourages business people to come up with the best strategy to stay in the market. Competition has resulted to bad business practices which have raised concern about the establishment of ethics. The business ethics regulate the activities of all stakeholders in the global market (Jain, 2003).

Ethical issues that became evident as a result of globalization
The international community has become concerned about the activities of industries which impose a great harm to the environment. Ethics have been established to ensure no business activities create harm to the environment. Globalization has caused companies increase production so as to cater for the increasing global market demand. This has resulted to increased production which has created harm to the environment. Governments and nongovernmental organizations have become concerned about the increasing damage to the environment. The Copenhagen meeting that was held last year was discussing how to reduce the greenhouse gases which are causing global warming. The industries in the global market are releasing toxic gases which cause depletion of the ozone layer. Restrictions have been placed to reduce these activities so as to create a safer environment (Stahl, Kuhlmann  Mendenhall, 2001).

Globalization has led to increased child labour. Industries are employing the children so as to reduce the cost of production as well as increase the production capacity. Children are easily influenced and require small pay to work for long hours. They have no power to resist the oppression from their employers. Some economic sectors have employed children to cater for the increasing demand for goods in the international market. The agricultural sector is the leading sector in child labour.

Children are also employed in factories, mines, homes and other places. Organizations have raised concern to reduce the effect of child labour. Children are entitled to education, health and protection from harmful activities. Globalization has increased the concern for the safety of children employed in factories. Ethics have been established to protect children from exploitation (Fleisher  Blenkhorn, 2005).

Consumers in the international market have become more concerned about the safety of the products they consume (Dunning, 2003). Production processes require to be monitored to ensure safety standards are adhered to so as to secure the health of the consumers. The international market has put some ethics concerning the production of products that are consumed by the people and that may create health risks. The production of agricultural products has been regulated to avoid intoxication of the consumers with harmful pesticides and other chemicals that may create health risks to the consumers. Industries have been regulated to avoid the misuse and bad application of chemicals to the products that are consumed by the international markets (Fleisher  Blenkhorn, 2005).

Human resources management ethics have been introduced due to globalization. Organizations have been given the mandate to protect their employees and ensure their rights are not neglected. The international community has established ethics concerning the conduct of businesses in regard to the employees. Governments have introduced standards which ensure the safety of employees. Organizations have been required to adhere to the needs of their employees so as to achieve international authentication (Jain, 2003).

Copyrights protection has increased after the international markets were opened. Copyrights protection gives exclusive rights to the producers of books, movies and other literature materials. No person should reproduce these materials or benefit directly from the work of other people. The protection of copyrights enables the producer to enjoy the benefits without theft from other people. The globalization of business activities has brought about the ethics in copyright protection. Business people are regulated by the ethics and international legal systems have been established to deal with matters concerning the rights (Stahl, Kuhlmann  Mendenhall, 2001).

Globalization has brought about technological advancement in the business activities. Businesses have adopted the ethics of innovation as a means of improving competition in the international market. Innovation is being encouraged by many organizations as a means of obtaining technologies which are innovative (Buchholz  Rosenthal, 2000). Companies have used the strategy of leadership within the organization to enable the employees contribute willingly to the development of new products. Many organizations have encouraged the idea of product diversity as the best solution to reduce competition. Business ethics are focusing on innovative products which will attract customers in a competitive market environment. Globalization has increased competition and this has created a demand for better products. Innovation is the only method to encourage employees to come up with better products which will compete successfully in the market (Hoffman et al. 1994).

Conclusion
Countries have established ethics to protect their industries. Regulations have been placed to protect the domestic companies as well as the citizens of the country. The safety standards ensure that the citizens do not suffer from products being marketed in the global market. Different communities have different cultures which dictate the type of products to consume and the acceptable production conditions. Different cultures in the international market have established standards which lead to the ethics which regulate the business activities all over the world.

The risks that resulted to the creation of ethics in the business activities are the increasing depletion of the environment. People have become concerned about the increasing effects of global warming. Child labour has become an issue that requires attention due to the risk of exposing the children to harmful activities. Health safety risks have increased the need for ethics to regulate the activities of the international business. The ethics have been established to control the scrupulous business people in the international market who do not care about the interests of the consumers but are concerned about the profits they gain from exploiting people.

Answer A.
The importance of a business plan in this situation is that a business is created to explain and illustrate the vision you have for your business and to persuade others to help you out in your business. The business plan helps convince that the business concept can be successful and that you possess the expertise alone or collectively that the business would be successful and profitable. It is worth the effort as the business plan   helps pave way for future expansion of the business.

Answer B.
The primary readers of the business plan would be the Resort Maps Inc. the interest and focus of this company would be so check the credibility of the plan, its ability to generate profits as they would be seeking loyalties from the amount of the sale, how would  the business act when its facing a downhill situation.
     
Answer C.
The documents that will be produced in the business plan would be the financial statements, the contract documents with the franchisee, promotional literature for the business, references, all the insurance policies, letters of intent from the suppliers, contracts, etc. These documents would prove helpful as they would protect Sue and Mark in legal proceedings, promoting their business and getting the assurance from their suppliers and customers.

Answer  D.
The information they Mark and Sue would need would be the type of resorts in  that area, they type of maps needed in that area , an approximate of how many people demand maps , the different time schedules , the locations of the racks to place the maps on. They can get this information by doing a survey themselves and looking out for interested people or hire a firm that does surveys.  The relevant information would be available from the people in that location, the resort owners etc.

Answer E.
The expenses they are going to incur in this business is the marketing expenses, paying of the loyalties , paying for the racks that will carry the maps , they have to pay the ski resort owners some commission so that people choose their maps. They can forecast expenses by going through the historical data of other people who are in the same business, hire a small marketing agency that can give them an estimate of how much they have to spend on marketing expenses.

Answer F.
The time period I would recommend for the business planning forecast would be the holiday season in winters. The ski resort in Colorado would receive maximum number of tourists during this time period and the business plan should be forecasting figures for this time period as this would be the peak time for sales and revenues   .

Answer G.
This sounds like a sure thing to me. They are starting their business operation in an area that promises a good return on their investment. They would become independent. They would have a very comfortable life in that area and wouldnt have to worry about their finances.

Answer H
The things that might be going in Marks head at this moment would be that is that would opening a business be worth it. He is a quitting high paying job that promises a steady income, he is risking his income. Apart from a risk of income, Mark lacks entrepreneurial experience and he might be unaware of the business techniques a person should follow. Thirdly, he is reluctant to take any loan and is completely relying on his saving. Thus his entire savings are at stake.

Mark must also he analyzing the reasons of Sues successful business venture. Since her business of similar to Marks, he might be thinking of learning new ideas form her. Also he has realized that a single person cannot manage the entire franchise therefore he is willing to partner with Sue.

With so many risks, Mark is still willing to start this venture because of the potential high profits which are associated with Resort Maps. Obviously he must be evaluating the costs and benefits of the business and his decision to start this business shows that the profit he will make is far more than the associated risks.

The importance of trade unions cannot be understated. It is through labor unions that the employee s concerns can be addressed by the employers. Labor unions help workers achieve collective bargaining power. Collective bargaining can be described as the coming together of workers to negotiate on their concerns through meetings and discussions.

Strong trade unions are important in that it helps reduce unrest among workers since their grievances are addressed on time. These issues are tackled through collective bargaining agreements
 ( AFSCME, 2010).

Collective bargaining agreements are normally negotiated upon by representatives of the union and the management on an equal footing basis. Therefore the agreements reached are acceptable to both parties. It is after this that the members are asked to approve the agreement before it is signed
 ( AFSCME, 2010).

Importance of trade unions
One benefit of joining a trade union is that unionized workers can bargain for salaries higher than those of non-unionized workers. Therefore workers in unions earn more wages than non-unionized employees. The benefits enjoyed by unionized employees are also better. Trade unions are in a position to negotiate for better working conditions in terms of working hours, and even bonuses
 ( AFSCME, 2010).

Trade unions also act as a communication link between the workers and the management. By being together, workers can be heard and have their concerns addressed. The union can be able to negotiate on worker s behalf and hence arrive at binding agreements
 ( AFSCME, 2010).

The union also provides advice in addition to conducting training courses, seminars for its members. This in turn helps the members advance their knowledge and consequently result in better understanding of their rights. Apart from these functions, trade unions also serve a general role of protecting and serving the interests of workers.

The ethical concepts and dilemmas which Valerie include moral, legal, utilitarian and egoistic ethics.
On the aspect of moral ethics, Valerie is facing the dilemma between complying with the moral obligation to speak up and report on the crime of Mr. Lionel Waters and to just leave a peaceful and comfortable life by being quiet about what she discovered. Having been the one who discovered the crime, Valerie has the moral obligation to speak up on the crime. Delaying the report or failure to do so will constitute a moral crime of omission.

On the aspect of legal ethics, Valerie is also facing a dilemma between complying with the legal obligation to report the crime and protecting her own interests in the company and in the United States. Mr. Waters crime constitutes both criminal and civil offense and is punishable as per most countries penal and civil codes.  The acceptance of bribery from suppliers and other parties concerning the company is a criminal offense. It is also a form of corruption. This type of offense also constitutes civil offense by breaching the confidence of the company. On Valeries part, her knowledge of the crime would make her liable for either delaying or failing to report the crime. In some countries, this delay or failure can constitute a crime of obstruction of justice or being an involuntary accessory to the crime.

Under the concept of Utilitarian ethics, there is a need for Valerie to speak up on the crime or report it to trusted and unbiased personnel. Doing so will stop the crime from further causing damages to the company, other suppliers, the customers and the employees as well. Justice will be served particularly for the suppliers who have been unfairly and unjustly ignored in the supplier selection process because they did not pay bribes to Mr. Waters. Justice will also be served to the company stakeholders and owners, who are being cheated by Mr. Waters of their hard-earned financial resources. Most of all, the employees would benefit from the justice to be served because they will have better prospects for better management, working conditions and fair working benefits. The customers will also benefit in that they will be provided more diversified line of products to choose from, under fair and just selection system, at a price which would be just and free from corrupt values.

In contrast, Valeries egoistic principles or ethics is pushing her to just keep the discovery to herself. This is in protecting her job, her residency in the United States, her masters degree program and her personal life as well. For one thing, she is not a US Green card holder. Her special working visa is under the discretion of her employer. Without the working visa, she wouldnt be able to stay in the US, as well. Reporting the crime would of course, pose threats to her employment, residence in the US and other consequences which will affect her future life. In other words, doing what is morally and legally right and ethical would cause her such inconvenience and risk in her life.

What Would I Do If I Were Valerie and Why
It is quite easy to say what I can do in Valeries particular situation as I am not in the actual situation. Definitely, I would face the same quandary as she is. I would definitely weigh in the situation, the consequences of my actions, either way. I would consider all the consequences if I would report the situation to whom, when and how. I would also consider the consequences if I delay or fail to report the situation. In reality, either choice would be inconvenient not only to me, but to all the parties concerned. If I choose to be quiet, there is no guarantee that I will keep my job, my US residency and all other personal goals attached to the job. Somehow, somewhere, the truth will soon come out. The difference is, I would not be the person who directly divulged the crime. However, what if somebody else discovers that I am also aware Then, I would definitely be in trouble.

On the other hand, choosing to report the crime would make the pieces of the puzzle fit together much, much faster. If I were in Valeries situation, I would carefully plot the situation and the options available, if I choose to report the crime. Valerie is right that she has to choose the perfect timing. I would at least find another job before reporting the crime. If I were as skilled as Valerie, it wouldnt take long for me to find another job. But, there might be repercussions with regard to finding a new employer in the height of any corporate scandal. I might not be allowed to leave the company in the height of the scandal, or the immigration itself might hold the visa processing itself, or most of all, the new employer might hesitate to take me in given the situation.

In reporting such a crime, if I were in Valerie, I would carefully choose the personnel to whom I would be reporting the crime. This person should be fair, just and not a party to the ongoing crime. As Valerie is not aware about who else is involved in the crime, then she should be careful about the situation.

Then, there is also the evidence (invoices which she found in the photocopying machine). Once she has decided to report the crime, she should never ever trust anyone else with that evidence of paper. It could be stolen and she would be left with nothing else to prove the crime with, unless the company launches its own unbiased investigation.

In the choice between being quiet or reporting about the crime, there will be inconvenient consequences both ways. Either choice might also lead to losses in terms of jobs, manpower, finances, and many other things which are attached with the employment. In the end, my decision should primarily be for my benefit, as well as for the general majority. But, just like Valerie, I would carefully consider the perfect timing and the perfect personnel to approach. At least, the pieces of the puzzle fit together, the impact would be toned down and the consequences controlled a little bit.

The Types of Stressors That are Being Experienced by Valerie (workload, job conditions, role conflict and ambiguity, career development, interpersonal relations, workplace aggression, conflict between life and work roles.)

Relatively speaking, Valeries dilemmas can occur in many companies, not only in her country but many others, as well. Bribery and corruption has become rampant in many government and privately-controlled companies. The types of stressors that Valerie is experiencing are also being experienced by other employees in other companies. In Valeries case, the primary stress factors are her job conditions, role conflict and ambiguity. The stressful job condition that Valerie is facing is attributed to the way Mr. Lionel Waters is managing the department, thereby causing a lot of burden and inconvenience to Valerie and her colleagues.

Valeries role as a Marketing Manager is also a cause of stress for Valerie. She is pressured with her role in the department to gather as much supplier as possible to present perfume scents. However, Mr. Waters personal motives are all blocking Valeries valiant efforts. This is of course, frustrating to a highly-demanding job.

Valeries Manager and His Ethics in Handling the Business and His Employees
Mr. Lionel Waters, the manager of the entire department where Valerie is working for does not in any way, exemplify a leader with good ethics and values. He does not deserve to be in such a position because he chooses to uphold his own personal ambitions over the companys goals, welfare and over-all financial standing. Mr. Waters, without any sense of discretion, totally ignored the rights of his other employees, except his two personal recruits. His blatant and ostentatious way of taking advantage of the companys resources and weakness is so indiscrete that most of his employees are aware of this indiscretion. What manager or leader would have such shameless indiscretion Doesnt he ever think that he doesnt have his employees respect with such conduct

The Aspects of the Corporate Culture that Contributed to the Dilemma
The dilemma seems to point to several aspects of corporate culture, one is the recruitment system, second is the check-and-balance system, third is the performance management system, and the last one, is the benefits management system.

From the beginning, the recruitment system is based only by appointment. There is no mention in the case about any other qualifying process to choose the personnel who has both the competence and the more important thing, the character required so much for the job. Apparently, there is no existing check and balance system in the company. If there is, why is there no one questioning the length of allowable leave of Mr. Lionel Waters and his cohorts Why is there no examination on the financial books and the supplier activities related to the entire department Why are there no review and monitoring of the expenses on travelling and extravagant activities conducted by Mr. Waters
The third aspect of corporate culture is the performance management system. Isnt anybody monitoring the actual outputs or performance of each individual in the company, from top to bottom
The last aspect is the benefits management system. Somebody needs to really knock on the door of this department and check why there is such a significant discrepancy in the allowable travelling and vacation period between Mr. Waters and his cohorts, and those of the other staff.

The above-mentioned aspects of the corporate culture are apparently contributing, if not, paving the way for the crime to be committed, thereby, causing such a dilemma to Valerie.

Strategic Planning is the core of any business. It is the overall planning of facilitating the good management of a process by providing a big picture of where the business is heading towards. (Janet S.,n.d.) Planning is important in any organization as it enables to define objectives and assess both internal and external situations to formulate strategy, implementation and progress of the strategy. ( HYPERLINK httpwww.quickmba.com www.quickmba.com) The administrator in her presentation made a proposal to recruit more human resource so that two new plants could be established and administered. The statements of senior physician that the expenditure to establish two new care satellites is a foolish one and the present situation did not require any such investments because the organization was already making good profits.

The views expressed by senior physician would be considered as barrier to the process of strategic planning because there should be a desire to innovate something new and to do different things or do the same things differently so that the organizations stand apart from its rivals. Jeff Hiatt (1999) states that lack of desire and motivation are the barriers in the strategic planning process. Strategic planning is an essential for any business organization as it lays the roadmap for the next five to ten years. Strategic planning should not be impeded by previous positive growth rate of the organization. The management of the organization must always strive hard to formulate strategies on a long term basis rather than short term strategy.

Off-shoring refers to the process of relocating a business processes from one country to foreign country with total ownership and management still in the hands of the company itself. The kinds of processes usually off-shored by companies include manufacturing or production processes, supporting processes, services and innovation. I work for a manufacturing company. As a strategic plan that is intended to increase the companys competitive edge in the market, the company would wish to offshore its production.

Offshoring of production to another country has a myriad of strategic advantages. It supports operations which is one of the primary activities on the value chain. Operations refer to the activities that are concerned with the production of goods and services. In value chain, all activities carried out by the company should contribute to customerbuyer value. The final value created by a firm is gauged by the amount its buyers are eager to pay for the product. A firm will be profitable if the created value surpass the combined cost of performing the service or producing the required product. One way a firm can gain a higher competitive edge over its rivals is to offer comparable buyer value by performing its activities in a more efficient manner than its competitors (that is at a lower cost. Offshoring and outsourcing production which is one of the main activities of a manufacturing companies is one way of reducing cost of production enabling a company to offer its products at a lower than its competitors without having to compromise on the quality as the same  standards are maintained during production in the low cost country (Maez, 2000).

It is worth to note that one of the main reason as to why the company wants to offshore its production process is to reduce on the cost of production particularly in regard with the cost of labor. It is important to understand that the main goal of business organizations is to attain maximum profits. The cost of labor in the United States is very high, in fact one of the highest globally. The minimum wage set by labor laws is quite high as compared to other countries particularly in Asia where the company is seeking to offshore. Cost saving is in fact the fundamental reason as to why companies outsource or offshore their processes (Maez, 2000). Companies usually offshore to countries where labor rates as well as employee benefits are lower when compared to those in the mother country. In the case of offshore outsourcing where the company contracts another company in a different country, the company does not incur costs of paying wage taxes of employees as it would if it was the one hiring. It also does not have to pay for employee leaves and suffer manufacturing problems of reduced labor while the employees are on their deserved rest. This is because in outsourcing, the outsourced company is the one responsible for its employees. Cost savings are  also attained through taxes in whereby in most of the countries that are used for offshoring and outsourcing such as India and China, the taxes charged for running a business are much less than those charged in the US. Regulations rules in India and China are also not as strict as those of the US which increase the cost of production. Work rules are also less strict in the country the firm plans to offshore its production to. This will enable it to maximize on the productivity.

Outsourcingoffshoring also has manufacturing benefits. It enables one to choose a specialist for the process that needs to be done which increases the quality of the products (Ginsburg,  Noorlander, 2008). Contracting specialists makes it possible for work to be done at a faster rate reducing the turnaround time which is critical in production. Outsourcing allows a company to manufacture goods of high precision if it did not have in house capacity of doing so (Ginsburg,  Noorlander, 2008). It is also valuable when large volumes of precise apparatus are required for production. Outsourcing is also advantageous in cases where the required components are not critical and producing them in house is not viable. This allows differentiation which is one way of increasing a firms competitive advantage and increasing buyer value (Dunn, Kohlbeck,  Magilke, 2009). Offshoring makes it possible for a company to concentrate on the core product and its quality.

Offshoring also enables a company to access advanced and superior technology that might not be available in its mother country (Ginsburg,  Noorlander, 2008). It is well known that deployment of technology is one way of reducing the cost of production as well as encouraging innovation which is very critical in gaining a competitive edge within the market. This company seeks to offshore its production to one of the countries which are known for their technological prowess. Plant equipment is also cheaper in the countries that are used as offshoring destinations such as India or china (Costello,  Kren, 2005). By offshoring production to one of these countries, the company will have saved on cost of plant equipment.

Offshoring allows a business to get new international business partners and networks which is very crucial for any business organization particularly one that seeks to be a multinational in future (Angeloni, 2002). Usually outsourcers want to be regarded as partners. As business partners, outsourcers will desire to keep the company running at its maximum potential. Through the partnership and the desire to see the company doing well, outsourcers are willing to introduce the company to other outsourcers who will assist it to achieve its goals.

Offshoring is also one way for a company to establish itself in a new market (Dunn, Kohlbeck,  Magilke, 2009). By offshoring production to another country, the company will be able to introduce the products in that country as well which will go along way in helping increase sales hence the profit margins of the company.

Based on the discussed advantages of offshoringoutsourcing it can be argued that apart from improving operations which is one of the primary activities of value chain, offshoring also reduces rivalry between the existing competitors. This is because offshoring allows the company to differentiate and also produce the goods more efficiently than the competitors at a low cost (Dunn, Kohlbeck,  Magilke, 2009). The buyers will be given a range of goods to select from and at a lower price. In the event the competitors are not in apposition to do this then competition is reduced. Offshoring also reduces the threats of new entrants into the industry. This is because offshoring allows the company to have access to cheaper raw materials, plant equipment and other important resources such as superior technology and qualified staff who are experts (Angeloni, 2002). These resources are scarce and very expensive in the United States. This discourages new entrants as it means that the cost of production in the US is very high and they may not be able to offer low prices for their products as the company intents to once it starts offshoring. Outsourcing involves the production of quality products cheaply. The company will be able to offer its products at lower process hence establish customer loyalty which hinders new entrants.

Country Analysis
The company might outsource it production either to India or China.

India
Population
India is has a population of over 1.2 billion people which makes it the worlds most populous country after china. A majority of the population are young people below the age of 60.  The population is quite healthy and is increasing mainly due to advances in medicine (Tirthankar, 2000). The country has a high number of health care facilities as well as trained practitioners which are well distributed even in rural areas. Traditional medical practitioners also practice throughout the nation and are quite effective. Indias population is therefore generally healthy. The standard of living in the country is still low but steadily improving (Tirthankar, 2000).

Indias population is also quite educated. The country has 380 universities and more than 11, 200 institutions for higher learning that produce over 2.1 million graduates annually. This implies that India has a large pool of talented, skilled and motivated professionals giving companies plenty of options to choose from when recruiting workforce for their offshored businesses.

Politics
India has a democratic form of government and is argued to be the most populous democracy worldwide. The country has experienced political stability over the last many decades because of democracy. Indias political goals focus on liberalizing the nation and increasing its development (Tirthankar, 2000).  India has realized the need for economic growth and the government seeks to provide quality services it the population so as to improve peoples quality of life. The government has made efforts to develop various infrastructures such as transport, communication, education, health as well as energy. It has been easy to get rid of bureaucracy but the country is making efforts so as to liberalize its economy.

Economics
Indias economy is among the worlds fastest growing economies with an approximated GDP growth rate of 5.8  p.a that has been experienced for the last of two decades. Service, agriculture, and industrial sectors are well developed in the country and account for 62, 17  and 20  respectively of the GDP (Tirthankar, 2000).

India however has a lower per capita income of about 1032.  India is making efforts to reduce trade restrictions. Following a recommendation made the World Trade Organization, India removed restrictions on more than 700 import products and announced other measures that were intended to ease restrictions on trade in various sectors of the countrys economy so as to liberalize trade. The inflation rate of India has not been high over the last couple of years between 4 and 5.5  (Tirthankar, 2000). The countrys deficit is usually not high due to increased exports that surpass imports (Sankaran, 1994). India also has membership in several economic groups with other countries in the region. They include Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Singapore, India-Nepal Trade Treaty, India-Sri-Lanka Free Trade Agreement and Trade Agreements with China, Bhutan, South Korea, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh and Maldives. This increases the countrys access to market for its products.

Legal
Indias laws on trade are quite effective and have been tailored to favor foreign investment. There also are provisions for nationalizations among several other important processes. The country also participates in patents, trademarks and other intellectual properties. India is in fact argued to be the best country to outsource patent processes. The country has a trademark registry as well as attorneys. It has various laws that have enacted to deal with patents, trade marks and intellectual properties.

Technology
India has one of the best technology infrastructures in Asia. The service industry contributes the largest share to the countrys GDP and is based on technology. The government has focused on science and technology as well as research since 1947 and has established institutions, agencies, as well as departments which are concerned with the science and technology infrastructure (Sankaran, 1994). India also provides technological education for the workforce and has some of the best providers of technology solutions in the world.

China
Population
China is the most populous country worldwide with a population of about 103 billion people (Sang 2006). The one child policy that was introduced in 1979 has slowed down the countrys population. The number of younger people is not as large as that of India because of the one child policy and the lower fertility rate. The population is well educated though not in English and is healthy because of the investment the government has made in health care. Like India, traditional medicine is also practiced ion throughout China.

Chinas population is quite educated as primary and secondary education is compulsory. The government has expanded higher education and is focused on increasing the number of undergraduates as well as people holding doctoral degrees (Thurston, 1994). The country has over 100 universities and a literacy rate of 90 for males and 85 for females (Agelasto,  Adamson, 1998). Just like India, China has a considerable large pool of skilled and motivated professionals that an offshoring company can chose from for employees.

Politics
China has a communist government that is also very authoritative. The government is restrictive in areas such as freedom of press, religion and assembly, the Internet and reproductive rights (Sang 2006). It is not as liberal and democratic as India. In spite of this, the country is stable and a majority of the population is satisfied with the way things are in their government as well as economy.

The government is characterized by a lot of bureaucracy but is committed to the growth of the countrys economy. China has been at the forefront in calling for free trade areas in the region. It has also tried to liberalize its economy and open it up for foreign trade and investment.

Economics
Chinas economy is rated third worldwide in terms of size afte5r the US and Japan. In 2009, the countrys GDP was  8.8 trillion based on purchasing power. It is one of fastest growing economies with a GDP growth rate of over 10 p.a. according to IMF, Chinas per capita income was  3, 180 in 2008. The countrys inflation rate has been quite low, at about 1.9 percent due to the increased trade activities in the country and the balance between exports and imports (Sang 2006).

Chinas economy is a market oriented economy that is characterized by private ownership of property. The manufacturing sector contributes most to the countrys GDP. China has established itself in the global market as a low cost manufacturer (Terrill, 2003). The energy sector is also well developed. The nations electrical distribution network was built in the late twentieth century implying that it is modern hence effective.

China is trade oriented, its deficit is not high as the country has tried to maintain them it within 3 percent. China does also have many trade restrictions (Sang 2006). Most of the laws restricting imports have been lifted and the country is in fact the second largest importer after the US worldwide.

Legal
The legal system in China is effective and just like Indias tailored to attract foreign investment. There are provisions for nationalization and work permits particularly for expatriates. Chinas law is also keen on patents and protection of intellectual rights. The country has laws such as The Patent Law which addresses design, invention and utility model patents, The Trade Mark Law which deals with registered trademarks, collective marks, service marks and certification marks, and The Copyright Law. Any company seeking to offshore its production I the country does not have to worry about the abuse of its intellectual properties ad trade marks.

Technology
China is doing well technology. The state is keen on availing technology and is argued have the second largest budget for research and development worldwide. The government emphasizes on creating public awareness on the importance of innovation and has even reformed financial as well as tax systems to enable cutting edge industries to grow. The country has more than 920 00 researchers, second to the USs 1.3m (Terrill, 2003). The country is also developing its energy (including renewable like wind, hydro and nuclear reactors), semiconductor and software industries.

Chinas communication and technology infrastructure are more developed than those of the US. China for example has largest number of cell phone users as well as the most broadband and internet users worldwide. According to research, china is very serious about technology education. Reports show that it produces over 700 000 engineers with the universities producing over 200, 000 computer science graduates every year (Terrill, 2003).

Final Decision
Production was chosen as the process to offshore. This is because the cost of production is very high in the United States. Cost of labor is high as the minimum wage set by the labor is higher in other countries. Taxes are also higher in the United States. The company also seeks to enter new markets and outsourcing is one of the best ways to do this. Offshoring production will also enable the company to benefit from superior technology that is in the country it is outsourcing to at a lower cost.

Offshoring production process supports operations which is one of the primary activities on the value chain. It will enable the company to produce its products more efficiently at a lower cost without compromising on the quality hence offer comparable buyer value which increases competitive advantage. High quality products that are offered at a lower price and differentiation could earn the company customer loyalty reducing rivalry in the industry. Offshoring also reduces threats of new entrants as they may not be able to as low prices as the ones the company will be offering once it starts offshoring.

Information on population, economy, political stability, availability of technology and the legal system is relevant for my country of choice. Information on population is important because production requires skilled labor that should be provided by healthy young people.  The company does not want to spend so much on medical cover. Younger people will also serve the company for a longer time before they retire. A large population will also offer an extra market for the manufactured goods. The level of education determines how skilled and professional the workforce will be. A countrys political stability and goals is important as it determines how safe it is to invest in that particular country. Information on the economy is important as it will reveal the how the degree of the countrys development in service, manufacturingindustry and agriculture which is important for the production process. It also reveals how developed the government sector is in terms of infrastructure (transport and communication, education and health) which are critical to production (the process and the workforce). Information on technology and its infrastructure is important as production depends on technology n that the more advanced it is the better. Production also requires a workforce with technological education. Legal information is critical as the company would like to operate where patent and intellectual issues are considered serious and dealt with. The company would not want to have to have its trademark abused by substitutes and duplicates. It is also important to know the regulations concerning taxation and labor laws.

I would choose to offshore to India because of several reasons. Indias workforce is more frequent in English than the Chinese who have very low skills in English speaking. Communication is important and I would not want to risk any errors just because the employees do not understand what I am saying to them. I also would not like to have someone translating the instructions as errors can be made. Though China has a more developed technological and communication infrastructure, India has the best technology as well as better IT engineers. India also has a labor force that is more skilled and computer literate. Technology is crucial to production and when I have options, I would choose the superior option as it means more efficiency. This is why India is my choice.

DateSweet Crude Brent Crude 17-May-9018.8917.0518-May-9018.7817.0821-May-9018.2616.6522-May-9017.5116.4823-May-9016.2515.724-May-9016.0215.825-May-9016.1215.9529-May-901815.4830-May-9017.8815.9831-May-9017.4715.31-Jun-9017.5115.434-Jun-9017.0915.355-Jun-9016.4114.786-Jun-9016.9114.87-Jun-9016.6515.038-Jun-9016.7814.6811-Jun-9016.8214.7312-Jun-9017.3914.95Create descriptive statistics including mean, mode, median, range, high, low, variance and standard deviation for the two different oil prices above.  Comment on the similarities and differences.  (Chapter 3)

Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics for the two different oil prices.
Table 1 Descriptive Statistics
Sweet Crude Brent Crude Mean17.2615.62Standard Error0.200.18Median17.2415.46Mode17.51NAStandard Deviation0.860.78Sample Variance0.740.61Kurtosis-0.62-0.65Skewness0.400.63Range2.872.40Minimum16.0214.68Maximum18.8917.08Sum310.74281.22Count1818The average price for Sweet crude oil (M  17.26, SD  0.86) is higher and more variable as compared to Brent crude oil (M  15.62, SD  0.78). The median price for Sweet crude oil is 17.24, which is higher than the median price of 15.46 for Brent crude oil. The range of Sweet crude oil price is 2.87 with minimum and maximum price being 16.02 and 18.89, respectively. The range of Brent crude oil price is 2.40 with minimum and maximum price being 14.68 and 17.08, respectively.
What is the kurtosis (research kurtosis on your own) and skew of the two oil prices shown above What does this mean Explain. (Chapter 3)

Skewnessis a measure of symmetry, or more precisely, the lack of symmetry. If the left tail is longer than the right tail than there is negative skewness (left skew), and if the right tail is longer than the left than there is positive skewness (right skew).

Kurtosis refers to the relative length of the tails and the degree of concentration in the center. A normal bell-shaped population is called mesokurtic and serves as a benchmark. A population that is flatter than a normal is called platykurtic while one that is more sharply peaked than a normal is leptokurtic.

The kurtosis and skew of the Sweet crude oil price is -0.62 and 0.40, respectively. This suggest that distribution of the Sweet crude oil price is positively skewed and platykurtic (flatter tails than normal).

The kurtosis and skew of the Brent crude oil price is -0.65 and 0.63, respectively. This suggest that distribution of the Sweet crude oil price is negatively skewed and platykurtic (flatter tails than normal).

Create a histogram for each of the two oil prices shown. (Chapter 2)

The Employee Free Choice Act provides that the workers are at full liberty to join any union and this in broader terms implies that the economy of the state can commit to serve every citizen. Perhaps some of the benefits of the Employee Free Choice Act include the improvement of the standards of living of the Americas working class families. In the US, workers who have joined union are likely to earn higher wages and have a propensity of being covered by the health insurance provided by their employers (Jerald, 2003).

The Act can help fix a broken system which gives corporations a lot of power. The Act provides the workers with freedom to be members of unions. It is important to note that some companies in the US are against workers who form unions. These companies end up firing the workers after intimidating and harassing them. The Act shall greatly reduce these incidences.

The third benefit of the Act will be the restoration of fairness and the promising of the dream of America. The America dream is to see a robust middle class, the shared prosperity and a steady economic growth. The arrangement that the offensive employers should only receive punitive damages from the court leaving bare the National Labor Relations Board does not have any fair ground. There should be some power accorded to the board to prevent employers from committing unfair labor practices and the board should commit the employers to some agreements which will protect the workers rights. The over reliance on the judicial system on every aspect has led to the mistreatments of the workers who may not have any powers to mention their pleas.  The solution therefore lies in the augmentation of the National Labor Relations Board and the enforcement of the Employee Free Choice Act (Jerald, 2003).

Career success begins with communication skills
When people talk of communication skills, they refer to reading, listening, speaking fluently and good writing skills. Survey of workers has always shown that communication skills are vital in places of work, for example it improves performance, help in career development, and organizational success. Most employers use communication skills as a minimum requirement in selecting appropriate employees to fill the vacant position while various job advertisements ask for excellent communication skills as the first requirement.

Planning business messages
It is very important to plan your business messages so that you can be sure of passing a correct message to another party. Planning helps your message not only to be effective but also meaningful. Apart from this, a writer will be sure that the message will serve the intended purpose i.e. to solve problems and to convey information. Planning is important because the writer will put in a persuasive form and make the audience to believe what the message is talking about. In addition, planning will be economical because the message is presented in a clear and concise form, too many words can never be rewarded. Lastly, the writer will concentrate in analyzing problems from audiences perspective (Guffrey, 2009).

Composing business messages
To compose an effective business message, businesspersons need to collect the needed information. This is very important because information collected will shape the message in a positive way. The accuracy of the information to be collected can be tested by finding out whether it answers the following questions
What the listener needs to understand on the massage
What does the listener need to do
How and when does the listener need to act
What will the results be like if the listener fails to act

Incase communication problems need further information then you will have to conduct a research. The method of research can either be formal or informal. The other important factor to consider when composing a message is that they should be short because long sentence are boring, it should also be grammatically correct to avoid ambiguity in their meaning.

Revising business messages
Revising business massages is very important because a businessperson ensures that messages sent are free from errors. Business messages are always professional and therefore they need to be free from any mistake. Secondly, revising business messages ensures that the message conveys the intended purpose. Clarity is very important for any business message and this can be achieved by revising the message and making any necessary correction in it (Guffrey, 2009).

Electronic messages and memos
Organizational electronic messages and memos have four different parts these include informative subject lines which give an overview of the message. Secondly it is an introduction that briefs on the main idea, body which gives the whole reason for that memo and finally a conclusion that summarizes the message.

The advantages of using these are that they are faster and reliable. It is possible for the message to be stored for a longer time especially in electronic messages such as the E-mail. When a memo is put on a notice board, many people will access that information because the memo will remain there for a long period of time.

Positive messages
Organization should train its employees so that when they handle customers they feed them with positive messages about the products they offer. For example, if you are selling a TV set, you need to give positive information about that TV so that the customer would buy.

Companies need to maintain positive messages they use when recruiting employees. Many of these companies do not maintain the positive messages they use when making advertisement. They change immediately after recruiting their employees thus making them to mistrust the company. Such behaviours in an organization may lower the morale of the employees (Guffrey, 2009).

Negative messages
Negative messages are very important in an organization as long as that they are used correctly. It is possible for the negative messages to produce positive results in an organization. Human resource managers can use negative massages when expressing negative results which an organization has received. These negative messages can be beneficial because employees in the company will be paying close attention to the earlier sources of problems so that it can never occur again.

Persuasive messages
Most businesses to day depend on the persuasive messages so that they can survive the market competition. Persuasive messages need to be planned by stating clearly the objective of the message and directing this message to the targeted clients. You need to know the people you target to persuade. You also need to know their age, gender, nationality or any other relevant factor which can facilitate you to form effective persuasive message.

Is the business model Facebook is using viable Which type would you categorize it as being Explain.
In my opinion and by the several readings that I did the business model of the Facebook is feasible Facebook makes money by the advertisements  which are posted on the right side of the its main page.

Facebook is able to make a lot of money because of its advertisement, and it is able to do so because it has attracted advertisers because of a large number of people visiting the site, it is reported that Facebook receives at least 87.7 million unique viewers per month, It is a huge number and has caused the company to make 300 million USD in the year 2008. (Sharon, 2010)

It can be categorized as a social service which makes its major chunk of revenue based on advertisements which is very much similar to a television or a media company.
How do the privacy policies of Facebook interplay with its growth

Although Facebook has been ranked as the largest social networking site, privacy has been a big issue with the Facebook. In the past Facebook has changed its privacy policy several times and has been sharply reacted to by its users.  (VanderVeer , 2008)

It has been blocked in several countries including Syria, China, Vietnam, and Iran, mainly because of its privacy policy.  It is also reported that it is blocked in several large organizations. The Facebook is so popular because it makes everybody life open to other and people have the desire to see what is happening in others life by seeing their photos, status messages and their messages with their other friends if Facebook attempts to restrict this, it will lose it charm and hence it growth will be severely affected. (Shih, 2009)

What anecdotal experiences can you share about Facebook that aligns with the issues brought up in this case study If you havent any, find friends who use Facebook and have them offer their thoughts on it.

I will outline here two of the events, both of which occurred with my friends.
A friend of mine had a very tragic experience, someone faked with the name of his sister who lived in another country on Facebook and asked him to send her a couple hundred dollars, unknowingly that it was not his sister he send the money and later discovered that it was not her but a fake person
He tried his best to trace back the identity of the person but he was not able to do so. This could be argued that this is possible over email or any other instant messaging but the kind of posts the fake person had and the pictures of him with her and his family made him think that its his real sister.
Another of my girl friends found that someone was using the pictures she shared on her Facebook profile being faked and used by someone else. She was very agitated by knowing this but she was unable to do anything.

Where does the social aspect of an e-commerce enterprise fit in the priority of an e-commerce business model. How well and effectively does Facebook social aspect fit in their e-commerce business model

The social aspect of the Facebook fit quite intelligently and surprisingly in the e-commerce business model. There have been no or very few such examples in the past where social networking sites of sites focusing on the social aspects has made such great profits.  (Holzner ,2008)

The e-commerce business model of the Facebook has its strength because the advertisement algorithm that works on the Facebook site only displays the advertisement which matches the keywords and interests of the people .i.e. it is a targeted marketing scheme. (Evans , Bratton , 2008)

What would you do to improve Facebook as an e-commerce enterprise

Facebook business model can be improved by introducing paid services which should not affect the current users who are now addicted to the way it is today but by introducing new paid services.

An example could be an application with which data relevant for a search could be pulled on a cell phone such as nearby restaurants which were liked my several common friends or friends of friends. Another paid service could be a paid game such as Need for Speed which has been very popular.
Paid services would enhance the business of the Facebook as it will make the user pay for more attractive services. This is similar to what hotmail or yahoo did in their earlier years, the paid hotmail and yahoo services removed the advertisements and increased the storage space thus attracting the business people.

Additional features such as pictures enhances could be introduced as a paid service with which  users enhance their pictures as Facebook users share many pictures and it will be a very attractive feature.
Introduction of a paid match making service could also improve Facebook as an ecommerce enterprise.

The British Airways is the lead airline carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in waterside next to the international business hub, London Heathrow Airport. On the basis of fleet size, international destinations and flights, the British Airways is the largest airliner in the kingdom. The airliner is currently understood to be focused majorly on using the Heathrow Airport as its base. Basically, the British Airways airliner is charged with the responsibility of providing flight services to passengers. The airliner also offers cargo and mail services to clients. In a nutshell, the airliner is a carrier service provider. These services happen to be offered all over the world.

On the basis of the above realization in regards to service provision, the British Airliner is credited for advancing trade, interaction and movement across various countries borders. Trade is one aspect that hugely depends on the free flow of both goods and human beings. Through the British carrier this has been a possibility. The other elements of interaction and movement have equally been boosted by the carrier. It can also be indicated that, the provision of employment is a service to the population. The aircraft cannot operate without the services of human capital. By recruiting people into their ranks, the company in a sense offers a service to the community.

The British Airways through its British Airways World Cargo lies in twelfth position in reference to cargo handling all over the world. The airliner also opened a cargo centre at the Heathrow Airport in 1990s to carry forward this service offer.

Inputs
Inputs are those substances or objects that are put into a process or entity with a view to generating some output. This is achieved through a process of transformation. As any other airliner, the British Airways inputs include pilots, planes, ground crew, passengers and freight data.

The airliner flies planes. These planes must be obtained through a purchasing act. People responsible for flying them are pilots who must also be recruited by the company. The ground crew is necessary as a team to guide events at the airport. Passengers form the bulk of the input as they travel across places. The collection of freight data is also a vital component that helps the company activities. It thus emerges that all those activities or objects that enter the organization are useful towards the running of the airliner and are the basic inputs.

Transformation
The transformation process is the way through which inputs are processed into outputs. The British Airways airliner does that through the selling of tickets, the flying of people, the transfer of materials from one place to another, the processing of information, and the scheduling of activities.
The airliner gets inputs and processes them. This is simply done through service provision. Through the sale of tickets, the company is simply transforming the tickets into money. This is done through the exchange of a ticket for money. Thereafter, the passengers that trade their money for a ticket get to travel. Other instances of transformation include collecting data, collating it and coming up with solutions concerning different issues.

Outputs
The main aim of introducing substances and objects into an entity or process is to give out a certain product. The products from inputs through a transformational process are known as outputs. The airliners output includes tickets sold, people, transported material, issued travel information etc. At this point, it is clear that outputs are a product of inputs. This is however possible only after undergoing an alteration through the transformation process. The transformation process serves as a bridge between the inputs and the outputs.

Planning and control
Planning and control form an important tenet in running of businesses. An airliner of high ranking as the British Airways must have been very sensitive and focused on this aspect if their success is a basis to go by. Planning and control, simply put, are ways of management in operations of an entity (Gregory and Martyn, 1996). This is an activity that is handled on a day to day basis due to its importance in an organization. It is on the basis of this realization that a critical view into the British Airways company is examined.

Planning refers to the theoretical end to an activity. On the other hand, control refers to the applied end to an activity. In a sense, planning is related to how an organization or business entity intends to achieve certain goals.  This is done by making a decision on what to do and at what time to do it. Control follows up after a realization is made that something could not be going according to plan. Even if things are moving as anticipated, control could be useful in ensuring that indeed the set guidelines are put into use. So planning and control are tied at a certain point.

Constraints to planning and control
In any organization, the supply of resources is finite. At times there may also be physical constraints. A number of constraints include capacity, cost, time, and quality among others. It thus follows that an organization ought to be efficient in the management of its activities. The focus of this paper is on planning and control. Through the use of planning and control, the British Airways has been able to hit high performance levels in relation to service delivery. Due to the limited nature of resources, there is little room for poor planning and control of activities. In respect to this, the operations planning and control team of the British Airways has been effective and up to the task.

The reference to cost constraints is made as products and services have to be produced within a certain identified cost. Capacity constraints arise due to products and services being produced within a designed capacity limit that define operations. Timing constraints may also come up asproducts and services ought to be produced give a time frame so that the customer gets the intended value. Finally, quality constraints emerge as products and services match the premeditated tolerance restrictions of the service or product (Corke, 1986).

Operations control at the British Airways
As indicated earlier in this paper, the British Airways is among the largest and premier airliners in the world. On average, after every 90 seconds, a British Airways airliner takes off at a point somewhere in the world. As a result, the airliner has a task of planning their activities in relation to takeoff. That is to say that the airliner must schedule their flights. Failure to do so would spell harm to the airliner and its many users (Campbell and Duncan, 1986). In this regard, credit goes to the airliner as it has managed to consistently schedule this high number of flights all over the world.

The ability to handle these large scale operations is a pointer to the effective nature of planning and operations department of the British Airways. It takes great planning and control minds to achieve what the company has done over the years. In respect to this success story, it is discernable that the operations planning and control at the airliner has been unquestionable.

As shown earlier, the British airliner is headquartered at Heathrow in London. This is the busiest hub in the world. At this place, there is need to establish an important office in charge of operations. This office is to direct activities due to the complexities that accompany busy environments and large scale operations. This department is quite crucial. The British Airliner has its department at this location which is charged with handling of flights. This is supposed to be done seven days take off.  On the other hand, initial flights are to be provided as earlier as in two years time. To add to this, the routes which the airliners ply their trade is supposed to be negotiated in six monthly periods world conference. To compound the whole scenario, the short flights that use the facility, airport, are only required to give a three days notice prior to take off or landing. In case a new route arises that is supposed to be used, it is the operations department that finds a way to accommodate this.

As such, the operations control department is in a serious tussle with these requirements for successful running of operations. As a pointer to this, the department can only make minor changes in a bid to cope with emergence situations that may arise during the take off period. Therefore, the department takes the responsibility of coordinating the major resources necessary to offer flights. These include scheduling, the crew and aircraft, they also manage the knock on effects that may be caused by delays, disruptions or shortages of inputs. The operations department is charged with the responsibility relating to all flights until they land. At this point is when other departments like, station control and engineering take over.

Table showing operations control

The regularity and the following punctuality by the flights serve as a basis of reviewing the performance of the operations control team. In this sense, regularity is viewed in relation to the proportion of flights that end up taking off as compared to the scheduled number. This is a crucial point as passengers would be upset if their flights are cancelled at an alarming rate. The current performance that stands at 99 percent indicates the efficacy of the operations control department. On the other hand, punctuality is a measure of timing in relation to take off. The British Airways is said to have set an internal regulation. This standard requires that a flight should take off as indicated by the schedule sheet. If the flight does not take off at the time scheduled then that constitutes lateness. On the basis of the airliner, a flight can be late, dead on time or early (Campbell and Duncan, 1986).

There are other components of operations control. They are the Operations Control Intelligence Centre and the Operations Control Centre and Emergency Procedures Information Centre. These are basically back-up centers. They are in charge of the unmanned areas. They were set up to deal with specific types of incidents at the airport. The members that serve in these centers are nominated. Before they can attain eligibility to be nominated, they must undergo training to conform to requirements. Following training, they are also taken through several exercises to ensure they are up to date on their task requirements.

The EPIC is supposed to be called into action if an airliner is involved in an accident at the place.  The OCIC is only used when a serious accident of global magnitude is encountered. This may include war that would affect the entire airliner business. The most notable thing is that the membership of these two units is made up of experts with unquestionable training (Campbell and Smith, 1986).

This act of introducing crisis centers is of great help to the operations planning and control. It ensures that the other departments of the organizations are not sucked into crises. This promotes the normal operation of business as the crisis centers deal with any events that arise. Such a provision underlines the importance that the operations planning and control department attaches to the running of the company. This is a very positive indicator of high level preparedness towards addressing of paramount issues that relate to operations planning and control.

Planning and control activities
The planning and control activities include scheduling, loading, monitoring and control. Scheduling is the setting of timelines of doing activities, loading relates to cargo handling, monitoring is all about following how things are moving. Control is related to reining on how things happen in regards to running of operations in a business environment or any other entity.

On paper these tasks may appear to be simple. Contrary to that, it is a demanding task that needs to be carefully planed, handled and controlled if an organization of the high stature the British Airways enjoy is to be maintained. To maintain this, the operations planning and control takes credit for a work well executed.

Conclusion
The British Airways has achieved an unprecedented level of success. As this paper presents the case, the airliner has been in the business for quite a long time. All this time, the activities under the planning and control of the company have arisen over the time as the increasing world population has accompanied an increase in flight service provision. That not withstanding, the British Airways has been able to ably render its services to its entire clientele. On this basis, the position tat the operations planning and control of the airliner has been magnificent is held.

To argument the position, the demand for its services has been on the rise. A rise in demand for services may be subject to spurious events. That notwithstanding, the rise in demand may be in fact due to the nature of service provision by the airliner. In this regard, the paper finds out the operations planning and control at the British Airways has been exceptional. However, with further probing, areas that call for improvement do exist

The What  Basic Concept
Mobile phones are one of the greatest technologies of the new world. Communication has never been easier with mobile phones. Not to mention, mobile phones now have built in cameras and music players. Mobile phones now also double as a mobile personal computer wherein you can browse the internet and even edit documents.

With the advent of mobile phone also comes the increasing incidence of mobile phone theft. Because of this, many lives are also put in danger which is why we have thought of an idea that will make a mobile phone something that can be used against an assailant or a mugger. We will combine two existing technologiesthe mobile phone and the stun gun (otherwise known as a taser). Sure enough, there are restrictions about owning a stun gun and the same restrictions could apply to a stun phone. Most likely, users of a stun phone will need to obtain a permit to carry one since it can be used maliciously.

The casing of the phone must be made of a light metal in order for it to conduct the electricity which will paralyze the assailant for some time and at the same time be lightweight for convenience of use. The user will have the option of stunning the assailant himself in close range just like how you would use an ordinary stun gun. The user should also be able to stun the assailant by pressing a button in a remote device. Pushing the button will activate an electrical charge and therefore stun the one holding the mobile phone which should be the mugger. If in case it fails, and the mugger does not get shocked the user can press another button to destroy the phone completely including the memory chips so that personal data could not be retrieved. There are recorded incidents of identity theft because of stolen mobile phones. Privacy could also become an issue when private photos and files are accessed from a stolen mobile phone.

It is expected that a prototype would be bulkier than currently existing mobile phones but research and development can work to improve the stun phone.

The Why  The Rationale
Safety and security have always been a prime issue in society especially in communities where crime rate is high. According to Continental Research, it is estimated that 1.3 million phones are stolen every year in the United Kingdom alone. Statistical data indicate that around 50 mobile phones are stolen everyday in the UK from children 16 and below.

While mobile phone insurance is a good thing in itself since it allows the users to quickly replace a lost phone, it will not scare off potential phone snatchers. Also, important files will not be protected so privacy is still a major issue. Identity theft can also arise from a stolen mobile device.

While mobile phone insurance is an option, this will not deter mobile phone snatchers. This may actually even empower them since they know that a user will no longer mind losing a phone since it will be immediately replaced by the insurance company. However, the stun phone is better some aspects. It can help catch crooks since it can be used for self-defense which is capable of stunning an assailant for a few minutes. It will not only work on mobile phone snatchers but on other people with criminal intent as well.

Additionally, the stun phone can protect your privacy better since its purpose is to prevent someone else from taking your mobile phone. This can be done by the remote shock which can also be used to destroy the memory chip to prevent the retrieval of sensitivepersonal information.

The How  Marketability
In order to determine the marketability of a problem, market research should be done but in this case, we do not need to do a market research yet. We are aware know that security is an ever greater concern in todays society. People are now more aware of crime and people are looking for means to protect themselves from evil intent.

The stun phone will be a first in its kind. It will combine the mobile phone with a self-defense tool which will have actually have mobile phone snatchers think twice about what they are going to do. Even if they manage to avoid being stunned on close-contact, they can be stunned remotely as soon as they hold the mobile. Even if they do somehow get away with the phone, the user can trigger a self-destruct mechanism which will also destroy the memory chips so that personal data could not be retrieved and used with malicious intent. A broken stolen phone is good for nothing.

Currently existing technology to help mobile phone users cope with mobile phone snatching are mobile phone insurance and a GPS powered mobile tracker. While these tools are useful in their own means, this does not deter the occurrence of the crime. Incidents of mobile phone snatching are expected to decline as soon as the stun phone is released in the market.

The automotive industry has had many drastic changes over the years. There are many underlying causes for these changes however, for the current market, critical market adjustments have caused many auto dealers to change business-as-usual tactics into profitable solutions to ensure the future of their companies. Ford Motor Company is an American icon given its renowned history. However, given the current circumstances, many changes have to be made to secure a future for Ford while still keeping alive the legacy left by Henry Ford, the companys founder.

After much hard work and determination The Model T was unleashed into the world in October 1908. This car changed the way Americans traveled given its speed of 45 mph (Ford Motor Company, 2010).  In addition to the speed, The Model T could run 25 miles on a gallon of gasoline while also carrying a 20-horsepower, side-valve four-cylinder engine and two-speed planetary transmission on a 100-inch wheelbase (Ford Motor Company, 2010). The introduction of this vehicle was groundbreaking. Yet, there were many other revolutionary changes that Ford Motor Company introduced to the world, as well, which increased its profitability.  As with many forms of production in the United States, in October 1913, mass production of the Model T began at Fords Highland Park, Michigan, Assembly Plant (Ford Motor Company, 2010). The introduction of the moving assembly line quickly improved chassis assembly speed from 12 hours and eight minutes to one hour and 33 minutes which allowed Ford to produce 308,162 cars in 1914, more than all other automakers combined (Ford Motor Company, 2010). Ford was a leader in another area as well, in January 1914, Ford begins offering 5 per day for eight-hour work days a stark difference from the previous pay rate was 2.34 per day for nine hours (Ford Motor Company, 2010). Fords value always lied in the mission One Ford One Team, One Plan, One Goal (Ford Motor Company, 2010).

Despite its innovative nature, the Model Ts price soon dropped as other companies introduced competition and Ford made few changes to its design. Once introduced at 825 (for the Runabout), the Model Ts price dipped as low as 260 in October 1924 (Ford Motor Company, 2010). Ford had to make changes. Although some slight changes were made to the Model T, they proved not to be sufficient enough to be competitive, and in May 1927, the assembly line stopped (Ford Motor Company, 2010). Ford had to regroup and soon unveiled the Model A.

There are many reasons for the current decline in Fords market share which slid from 18.3 percent in 2004 to 17.4 percent in 2005 -- the smallest it has been since 1920 (Godoy, 2006). According to Chief Operating Officer, Jim Padilla, one of the major downfalls in the past was that Ford failed to recognize that the industry was experiencing not the normal ups and downs of the market but a fundamental shift in the very nature of the market (Godoy, 2006). With this assessment in tow, Ford set out to create a restructuring plan that would work instead of just downsizing as they have in the past. Also, Ford needs to recognize there is no longer a Big Three but a Big Six -- and Honda, Nissan and Toyota are battling it out for every tenth of a percent of market share Godoy, 2006). There are fundamental changes in the market now and stressing slogans like American innovation and the fact that Fords been around for 100 years wont cut it anymore (Godoy, 2006). Another concern that has plagued many American automotive companies is recognizing that Ford has to change every aspect of the company -- starting with the number of senior-level officers it has to the number of plants it operates (Godoy, 2006). The number of executives costs the company much money and  the products provided by the company, similarly to what happened with the Model T, have lacked innovation and excitement according to Mark Fields, currently in charge of Ford North America (Godoy, 2006). All of these circumstances have led to a major overhaul in the company.

Just as changes were made in the past due to market changes. Ford embarks on new initiatives to fight back against dismal economic realities over the past decade. In January 2006, Bill Ford, chairman and CEO, announced plans to eliminate 25,000-30,000 jobs in the United States (Speer, 2006). This is phase one of many steps being taken to try to get the company back in the global market. Ford introduced its new vision -- which the company has dubbed the Way Forward -- to turn around its operations (Godoy, 2006). With that, the company has created unprecedented new features and technologies in the European market to continue its bid in the global market as a part of their global market development strategy (Ford Motor Company, 2009).  This strategy is designed to keep Ford as a leader with developing technologies at an affordable rate to consumers. There plan is to aggressively restructure to operate profitably at the current demand and model mix, to accelerate the demand of new products our customers want and value, to finance our plan and improve our balance sheet, and to work together effectively as one team (Ford, 2010).

Just as in the past, Ford will keep forging ahead as they have identified key problems and created solutions to keep them profitable. Thus far, these initiatives have paid off since Ford has reported higher sales for every brand and in every product category which propelled Ford to a 24 percent sales increase in January versus a year ago (Ford, 2010).

Why was the event poorly attended
Because we didnt release the training calendar in time

Why was the calendar delayed
Because the training manager resigned

Why did he resign
Because he couldnt meet organizational performance expectation

Why couldnt he meet the expectations
I had him talk bitter about being unable to delegate.
After discussions I established that there existed a restrictive organizational structure that discouraged participatory work relations, team building and delegation of authority.
Defining my learning organization

Step one and two
Job security  This organization has made job security a key proponent in their business philosophy. This approach is very effective because no employee is redundant and all are wholly motivated as they feel they are doing something that matters.

Minimum hierarchy and bureaucracy  it has cut down its hierarchies and minimized bureaucracy and this brings to force certain levels of accountability. Workers are very responsible and cross  skilled.
Consistently applied corporate culture  The organization has kept to its philosophy of a people oriented (both employees and customers) and this is a plus because of the level of consistency and stability in its opportunities. The work environment is employee friendly.

Industrial democracy (participation)  there is an arrangement where workers make decisions, share responsibility and authority in the workplace. There are self managed groups who formulate their own organization responsibilities and salary which are tied to monthly budget and production performance earlier set.

Profit sharing  The organization distributes one quarter of profits to employees. This is a form of motivation and morale building. The employees feel as though they own the organization.
Freedom of information  all the stakeholders have complete and free access to financial information and this helps to build customer loyalty because of the level of transparency.

Steps 3, 4  5 What it would bring me
There are various prospects of this organization that I believe if we adopted I would enjoy. These include

Success our company will enjoy a high level of success and this can only be attributed to our approaches to organization and people.

Stability as a result of these features we will be able to weather several stormy periods and still out perform our competition.

Higher productivity from our approach to organization and people i.e. relaxed and employee friendly corporate culture, pushing employees to the limit, focused route planning, we will be ranked as the highly productive firm around.

Systems sleuth
Clifford company in our discussion, we suggested that Clifford should take the bait thereby reducing their costs and thus shifting the burden to low cost pricing. Otherwise, they could hang there as a bait to wait for the outcome without participating in the transactions.

Burson  Benson.
Since this companys problem symptom is a highly rate of defective products we suggested in our discussion that it adopts the following strategies devote few people to fixing power tools while much resources put into increasing first  run capacity, shut down product development efforts and focus on improving the manufacturing capabilities. These will ensure that it would retain a steady backlog in the mean time.

Left hand column
Step one I believe my team is not paying attention to the most crucial problem as an assistant in the training division, I feel by ignoring to evaluate every event immediately after is detrimental to us, but they dont grasp that and weve always clashed.

Step two, three and four having performed the three steps, I have developed a way of describing my left hand to others in non-judgmental and or finger pointing.

Breaking the gridlock
Step one in a professional training institution we face lower no of participants, poor evaluations, and constants client complaints  poor leadership

Step two quick fixes delegating leadership roles, vibrant advocacies for our events, value consideration (proposition).

Step three undesirable impacts increased costs, morale derail on demoted employees.

Step four fundamental solution quality and free cross team communication, cutting on hierarchical levels and making every employee comfortable.

Step five, six and seven focusing more on meeting individual vs organizational objectives, this may lead to myopia which may worsen the gridlock but high leverage approach for example creating a positive organizational philosophy and constantly applying it will eventually shift the button.

1.0. Executive Summary
Does your whole body hurt often or do you at times feel sore from a whole days work Are you frequently stressed What you certainly need is Tom Merchants Massage  Body Spa. Tom Merchants Massage  Body Spa will now be a home based body spa and massage center under the ownership of Tom Merchants. Tom has been a reputed and professional therapist in the state of Texas since 1991.

He has run several various message businesses in Texas which have not been just consistently profitable, but most importantly meeting customer specifications. He founded the Irving Massage Therapy and later the Irving Wellness Center. Due to the harsh chemical fumes and smells usually found in the spas servicing nail and hair clients and the noises in town, Tom now chooses to professionally attend his clients from a quiet, conducive and relaxing home environment which ensures that he serves the clients with maximum attention and care. Tom merchants will specialize in Swedish massage, deep tissue, prenatal and pregnancy massage, sports and a wide range of spa body treatments such as sea salt glows, body polishing, sugar glow, peppermint-lavender, paraffin body fandango wrap and herbal body wrap. Having been an instructor in massage therapy and studied in both Kansas City Massage Apprenticing Collective (1989) and the Institute Of Natural Healing Sciences (1991), Tom remains the best professional and extremely skilled therapist and massage professional in Texas (Spafw, 2009). Toms chief goal is to provide executive tailor made services that relax the body, soul and the mind. To facilitate this, Tom Merchants Massage and Body Spa brings in specialized and unique combination of products and equipments that guarantee that the customer is refreshed and relaxed in unique and modern way that no other therapist has done (Spafw, 2009)

The objective of Tom Merchants Massage  Body Spa is to cater for every client individually by acknowledging that everybody has their unique sensitivities thus addressing these unique needs to satisfy the client optimally. The massage is custom modified and dependent on the customer and the body tolerances and specifications. This business plan brings out the new image of Tom Merchants Massage and Body Spa which clearly states the intention, cost effectiveness and profitability of a home based office over the former location.

2.0 Description of venture
Touch is a crucial part of human contact. It makes people feel appreciated and loved by those around them (Massageden, 2008). This is the basic principal underlying the Tom Merchants clinic. The products and services of the company have been designed in a unique way to offer massage and body spa services with a new, different touch in the industry that will not only be fulfilling to the customer but also lasting for long. For Tom Merchants, the most important thing is to relax and refresh the client with their professional massage services and also cater for their pockets by charging fair and affordable prices for their services (Massage Den, 2010).

Tom Merchants clinic holds that the customer is the king. Our mission is to establish a lucrative business by offering therapeutic massage professionally in a caring, conducive and relaxed home environment (Spadfw, n. d. ). The objective here is to always attend the customer and ensure that their massage is done just as they wanted it done. By listening to the customer first, the company has the goal of being the most effective therapeutic clinic not only in Texas but also in the United States of America in less than a decades time. Their massages have been designed to bring about improved breathing, relieve stress, encourage relaxation, improve the circulation of blood, lower blood pressure, relax muscles, help in managing pain, improve posture, strengthen the immune system, improve flexibility, relieve tension headaches and decrease depression. This is a composite function that many companies have not been able to bring together and do effectively (Massage Den, 2010).

One of the major uniqueness of the Tom Merchants clinic is its facility for online booking of business appointments. From the clinics website, clients are given an advantage over the other dealers in massage by creating a simplified, quick and reliable means of getting an appointment with the professionals (Spafw, 2009). Further, unlike other competitors whereby the payments have to be made through the dealers accounts or other means convenient to the service provider, Tom Merchants allows its clients to use a variety of methods to make payments for the services provided to them.

These include the MasterCard, Visa, Discover, American Express, Cash, Debits and Checks (Local Botw, 2008). Therefore the customer is given an opportunity to choose the most convenient means of making payments, at any time of the day.  The clinic also gives its busy clients the opportunity to get massage services right at their doorsteps Once the client has booked an appointment with Tom Merchants clinic and wishes to have their massage done at home, the professionals are all available to them after the usual working hours. Tom merchants attend home clients on week-days at nights and during the weekends depending on the clients availability (Johnson, 2008).

3.0 Industry analysis
The planned shift by the company to a home based operation will facilitate easier access by clients around Grand Prairie since they will not have to travel to downtown for their appointments. The Grand Prairie has been identified as a conducive and profitable target market since the residents there represent a large percentage of the clients who regularly make visits to massage therapists. In addition, since the residents of South Grand Prairie, Mansfield and Arlington in Texas often require short multiple sessions running for weeks or even months, a home based location could make Tom Merchants clinic more convenient for both day and night appointments. In addition, it is more lucrative because the clients who are not available during the week days can comfortably book appointments for weekends at their homes since the clinic will be running twenty four hours, seven days a week. The relocation to the home location is being done to allow for more customers since the home service slots have for a long time been more than the slots at the service station. The business exists to solely serve the customers at their pleasure and this is one factor that contributes to good relaxation during massage.

A massage psychotherapy business, like other businesses, is faced with stiff competition (Poston, 2009). There has been a recent wave of new entrants into the business over the last five years. This leaves us with only one option- we must be the best in the market to keep our customers coming back and bringing along their friends and relatives or colleagues at work. There are a good number of similar businesses, although they are relatively fewer in the whole of Texas compared to other states. Most of the body workers and therapists are concentrated downtown leaving an extremely lucrative market in interiors of Grand Prairie and its environs. By providing delivery of services to the clients homes, Tom Merchants is aiming at capturing this market segment which appears almost unexplored.

It is expected that in less than a decade the clinic will be able to extend its home services to other states and also provide exceptional services that will enable the clients enjoy the benefits associated with home services. Once the clients have fully appreciated the creativity behind the Tom Merchants services, this will not only draw more customers but also allow for the advancement of quality to customers.

4.0 Marketing Plan
Our first and chief plan in marketing our business is to market the proficiency and the prowess that we have over and above our competitors. Touch is one of the best tools for marketing and public relations (Fanuzzi, 2003). Our special touch is our strongest marketing tool. We are not selling any tangible product which we can rebrand or repackage because for our prospective clients to accept our services, it is our special and professional touch they are bound to accept. Our marketing plan most importantly is geared towards ensuring that we are different by being professional and creative, establishing rapport with our prospective clients and maintaining confidentiality about the information that our clients share with us, for example, the detail of their accounts, email addresses and residential areas which will be necessary for processing payments and visiting our clients for the home booked services. Our company has a strong policy that binds us to keep secure the clients information with us, whether online or offline.

Since our prospective clients are mostly in the group that prefers operating from around the comfort of their homes, we intend to maintain a record of our appointments and remind them through emails and phone calls about their upcoming appointments with us at least twenty four hours before the booked time. The Tom Merchants believe that there are three major items that determine the success of a company the location, the competitive strategy and the marketing mix (the four Ps of marketing which represent product, price, place and promotion) (Brown, 2006). The planned relocation therefore represents a principal marketing plan. By availing themselves to the local residents and creating awareness about the relocation, the business will simply appear as a new entrant in the market with experience and market information because the company has already exhausted the current market segment and moving to a new market segment is the best plan ahead.

Our competitiveness is the other aspect that makes us a company worth first selection. It is our capacity to offer an intuitive massage that senses the clients musculature, presence and posture that gives our company a hedge over competition. The years of experience we have had in the massage industry combine a profound knowledge in anatomy and kinesiology. This is what we brand with a keen sense of understanding and the knowledge gift of reading the clients needs that ensures that we are always on the lead. Over countless times, our company has received both written and oral recommendations from new clients such as a higher sense of healing or magic hands To run the business, we use specialized methods to conserve energy and pace appointments to ensure that we remain active and effective in our services all day long. This helps in striking a balance between professional and personal lives.

Although the move to a home office from the downtown site may appear a little unprofessional to some of our customers, it certainly will bring access to a new unexplored market while at the same time maintaining old clients by taking our services right at their doorstep. Vital to the achievement of the goals of relocation will automatically be maintaining referral with our former health care providers as well as establishing new contacts with others, for example chiropractors.

5.0 Production and operation plan
What we produce as the end product in our industry is a relaxed, refreshed and satisfied client. The means of achieving the end is simple but requires commitment and consistency in work. Tom Merchants will now be operating from home and apart from the adjustments of a new environment that has to come with it we remain effective and productive in offering excellent results just like in the past. On the new site, the companys main area of production will be providing massage and body spa services with a slight change in the operation. Main operations will be run from the home office but with an emphasis of the home appointments. To this end, the company has ordered portable massage kits and mobile equipments that are going to be extremely crucial in reaching out to the prospective clients. The company will maintain the existing relationship with its health care and massage product suppliers but will also need to blend in a new taste on the supply chain by incorporating the home customer made kits and equipments to be used for the new service. The major goal among others for the relocation is to gain a competitive advantage over the other companies by simply being available at the demand of the customer, with the right solution to their massage issues. Providing custom tailored services and appointments will go a long way in winning the confidence of the clients. More to this is that the production strategy of the company will be based on market research of the market segment and a careful consideration of the suppliers to ensure that the products purchased by the company are the best for massage.

6.0 Organizational plan
Tom Merchants Massage and Body Spa is a sole proprietor business that is owned by Tom Merchant who has been a licensed therapist in Texas State since 1991. He has run several various massage businesses in Texas which have been not just consistently profitable, but most importantly meeting customer specifications. He founded the Irving Massage Therapy and later the Irving Wellness Center.  Having been an instructor in massage therapy and studied in both Kansas City Massage Apprenticing Collective (1989) and the Institute Of Natural Healing Sciences (1991), Tom remains the best professional and extremely skilled therapist and massage professional in Texas. Tom Merchants specializes in Swedish massage, deep tissue, prenatal and pregnancy massage, sports and a wide range of spa body treatments such as sea salt glows, body polishing, sugar glow, peppermint-lavender, paraffin body fandango wrap and herbal body wrap. The planned relocation will be based at Tom Merchants home office which is well equipped with all the professional facilities and equipments just as the customer would want it placed.  Tom merchants will work along with his skilled staff in South Grand Prairie, Mansfield and Arlington in Texas. Their services will be offered throughout the week running during both day and night.  We have carefully considered the viability of our working hours through a thorough market research which observed that most of the body workers in Grand Prairie, Mansfield and Arlington do not provide weekday night services and we are anticipating a strong slot from operating on week day nights. The staff has a drafted schedule that spells out the working hours of every team since this kind of business will call for working in shifts amongst the staff to prevent excess fatigue which might affect the quality of services offered. There will be a staff team during the day at the home office and also in the field. During the night, there will be another different team in the same areas until midnight when the last team is expected to report and work through till morning. This strategy will automatically rule out any threats from the competitors and enable our business to thrive and increase productivity.

7.0 Assessment of risks
 Generally, massage therapy is a very risky free business, but safe on the clients and legalized by the government. The greatest risk facing the venture however are claims coming from customers which are most of the times undue or malicious. Such claims usually involve complaints of undesirable results after body massage. To handle this claim, our company simply uses disclaimers against any third party accusations since it ensures that the customers are in the right condition both medically and physically before proceeding to carry out a massage.

To many people, even the competitors, the move by Tom Merchants to a home office has drawn a lot of controversies, with some arguing that it is due to lack of sufficient facilities for our services. This has caused a great risk to the business since it could lead to loss of loyal customers. However, our clinic considers critics and propaganda a good foundation for proving ourselves professional and competitive in Texas.

Market saturation also serves the other risk facing this new venture. The therapeutic industry has been saturating slowly but steadily and competition has increased to new levels. There is a risk that before our company even establishes a proper footing in the home office, new other ventures will also be opening and filling the market. In a saturated market, winning the loyalty of a customer calls for extensive promotion, lower pricing, strategic positioning and extremely differentiated products. At times the cost of performing these promotional services may not be worthwhile.

The single question that has to be asked about a prospective therapist is Which health conditions would you consider preclusive of massage therapy and why (Bourke, 2010). The right answer to this question is There are certain conditions which must rule out massage therapy (Bourke, 2010). This is what this part addresses in relation to Tom Merchants Company which is purely therapeutic in massage. Massage therapy is among the safest types of therapy one can have. Still, there are a number of issues that clients need to be aware of which contain some risk factors (Scribd, 2009).

Sometimes, some forms of massage could result in some life threatening consequences to cancerous clients while at the same time others could bring about exceptional benefits to the same client (Bourke, 2010).  In response to this complexity, our company has taken a step in advising our clients to ensure their health conditions before choosing the type of massage they should undertake if they have had health complications earlier. Tom Merchant and his professional staff have also taken the step of consulting with professional medical providers who are familiar with the specifications of such cases before proceeding with a massage or any related therapy. The case of cancerous clients does not rule out massage therapy completely since it can be carefully handled, but there are other risks that are more likely than not in the process of carrying out a massage (Bourke, 2010).

A client having any open wounds or burns on the skin should consider rescheduling their appointments until the wounds and the burns are completely healed. In addition, a recent heart attack is the other risk area that could cause undesirable results because it is likely to exert so much pressure on the heart. Generally, ill health condition, especially involving the circulatory system is not desirable for massage, for example, deep thrombosis of the vein, blood clots or unhealed fractures (Bourke, 2010).

8.0 Conclusion
The move to a home office by the Tom Merchants massage and body therapy could be the best decision that the company has ever made. Although Tom Merchants admits that he might be faced with a few difficulties at the beginning, he believes that it will only take a short while to make the clients develop confidence and preference to his business. Tom also believes that moving to a home location will also give him more time with his family since he will be working from home. After all, Tom Merchants business still maintains its former clientele and business reputation which is only likely to improve but not deteriorate as a result of moving to a new home office.