Bally Total Fitness Case Analysis - 2361 Words

1. Situation Bally Total Fitness is a public firm in the U.S. health club industry. Since 1962, the company had developed into a large and nationwide commercial operator of fitness centers in the Unite States. But with the increasingly fierce market competition and the internal management problems such as poor accounting standards, the stock price of the company collapsed. Some shareholders had lost faith in the company. A major shareholder of the company was urging the CEO to sell the company. So the company faced two alternatives, one alternative was to sell the company to meet the demand of shareholders; the other alternative was to strengthen its internal control system to remedy the management fault. In this way to restore the†¦show more content†¦So in order to compete with other competitors in the market, companies should provide more diverse products to meet the customer needs. Second, the customers switching costs was small. Members were likely to drop out anytime they like or renew membership. According to statistics, about 30% of members dropped out after a year and 70% members renew their yearly subscription every year. Because of this situation, the competition between the exiting competitors had become more intense. As noted before, the company should provide diverse products and addition of new programs to get back members. Consumers are powerful in this industry. Because there were many clubs for consumers to chose. So the consumers would choose the club which meets their need such as low price, convenient location, and specific services and so on. Consumers were more like the payment style of â€Å"pay-as-you-go†. They did not want to bind themselves in a long-term contract but rather pay per visits. Consumers had more flexible choice in this way. So clubs did not make a lot of money from enrollment. They must think about how to improve the quality of services and provide diverse services to meet different needs from consumers. The consumers have power in the pay style, the price, and the service contents in this industry. These factors will greatly impact the development of Bally. Most of clubs bought equipment from a small number of well-known suppliers. SoShow MoreRelatedBally Total Fitness Corporation Operates Fitness Centers1914 Words   |  8 PagesBally Total Fitness Holding Corporation operates fitness centers in the United States and Canada. The Company s fitness centers feature cardiovascular, conditioning, and strength equipment, as well as aerobic training programs. Bally Total Fitness was created in 1983 when Bally Manufacturing purchased Health and Tennis Corporation of American and Lifecycle, an exercise bike manufacturer, in 1983. Soon after, the fitness center expanded their resources through obtaining American Fitness CentersRead MoreAn Analysis of the U.S. Health Club Industry in 2004 and the Role of Bally Total Fitness3120 Words   |  13 PagesAn Analysis of the U.S. Health Club Industry in 2004 and the Role of Bally Total Fitness Executive Summary Introduction The rise of the U.S. health club industry can be traced back to the 1980s and 1990s when the majority of health clubs emerged. By 2004, this $14 billion industry claimed 41 million members. Although the health club industry operated in a perfectly competitive market, several prominent key players gained largeRead MoreGym, Health Fitness Clubs in the Us Industry Report.P Essay13388 Words   |  54 PagesWWW.IBISWORLD.COM Gym,HealthFitnessClubsintheUS June 2011 1 Working out: Business will stay strong as demand from health-conscious consumers grows IBISWorld Industry Report 71394 Gym, Health Fitness Clubs in the US June2011 2 AboutthisIndustry 2 2 2 2 Industry Definition Main Activities Similar Industries Additional Resources 16 International Trade 17 Business Locations TaylorHamilton 30 KeyStatistics 30 Industry Data 30 Annual Change 30 Key Ratios 19Read MoreAdvertising and Reebok6354 Words   |  26 PagesContents 1. Overview of The Sector 1 2. Introduction 3 3. Analysis of Reebok Taglines and Logos 6 4. Market Segmentation and Positioning 10 5. Reebok Product Mix Read MoreJetblue Case Analysis4183 Words   |  17 PagesJetBlue Case Analysis Executive Summary JetBlue airline was founded by David Neeleman who is a Brazilian born entrepreneur. His goal was to single handedly create a unique airline that was innovative for the current market. The low fare airline was designed for customers who needed to travel at affordable prices, and which would essentially create a new strand of business. Named JetBlue, Neeleman’s airline originally traveled to various cities around the United States, but has recently enteredRead MoreGoodlife Fitness Essay12449 Words   |  50 PagesSection 1: Industry Overview 1-1: GoodLife Fitness Overview Background * Established 1979. * Canada’s largest and most successful fitness company. * Over 750, 000 members across Canada. * 1 in every 45 Canadians has a Good Life Fitness membership. * Approximately 275 clubs across Canada. * Employs over 9000 associates. * Awards include: * Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies Platinum Member status. * 10 Most Admired Corporate CulturesRead MoreBusiness Plan for Incase10918 Words   |  44 PagesINTRODUCTION Business Overview Vision Mission SWOT Segmentation Targeting Logo Philosophy Organizational Chart Provision of Working Division Current Market Situation and Future Potential Opportunity MARKETING ANALYSIS Market Analysis Primary Data Secondary Data Questionnaire Result Interview Market Analysis Finding Competition Positioning (Direct and Indirect) Key to Success MARKETING MIX Pricing Price Range Pricing Strategy Novita Setiawan Novita Setiawan 46 49 Novita Setiawan 43 Kartika Sie Kartika SieRead MoreBusiness Plan for Incase10918 Words   |  44 PagesINTRODUCTION Business Overview Vision Mission SWOT Segmentation Targeting Logo Philosophy Organizational Chart Provision of Working Division Current Market Situation and Future Potential Opportunity MARKETING ANALYSIS Market Analysis Primary Data Secondary Data Questionnaire Result Interview Market Analysis Finding Com petition Positioning (Direct and Indirect) Key to Success MARKETING MIX Pricing Price Range Pricing Strategy Novita Setiawan Novita Setiawan 46 49 Novita Setiawan 43 Kartika Sie Kartika SieRead MoreAccounting 1-4 Chapter100452 Words   |  402 Pagesethics situations and issues in actual business settings. (3) At the end of the chapter, an Ethics Case simulates a business situation and asks you to put yourself in the position of a decision maker in that case. When analyzing these various ethics cases and your own ethical experiences, you should apply the three steps outlined in Illustration 1-3. Illustration 1-3 Steps in analyzing ethics cases Solving an Ethical Dilemma 1. Recognize an ethical situation and the ethical issues involved.Read MoreBrand Building Blocks96400 Words   |  386 Pagesbe utilized to present the portfolio structure. Brand groupings: A brand grouping is a logical grouping of brands that have meaningful characteristics in common. The groups provide logic to the brand portfolio and help its growth overtime e.g. in case of Johnson and Johnson Ltd., the brand grouping can be made using following characteristics. Segment (Infant Care and Intimate Feminine Care) Product (Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals) Design (Classic and Contemporary) . Brand hierarchy trees: Sometimes

Marxist Theory On Capitalism And Communism - 1468 Words

MARXIST MATERIALISM Marx was a philosopher and economist. He developed the concept of materialism to study the material things in society, i.e. the economy, that shape and affect the social life of individuals. Marx studied the work of Hegel, however rejected his predecessor’s focus on ideals because he recognized an essential connection with the problems of society and individuals and the material conditions of the society (Ritzer 2011: 21). Marx employed materialism in two facets of his theoretical work, historical materialism and dialectical materialism. Materialism is a central component of Marx’s study of Capitalism and theoretical development of Communism. Historical Materialism Historical materialism serves a dual role in†¦show more content†¦The statement encapsulates the tenets of historical materialism and is a major Marxist critique of Capitalism. Marx finds throughout history, specifically written history, the economic conditions of given time-periods created social orders that reflected the conditions. Societies have typically organized a two-party social class system, assigning an individual based upon their wealth and role in economic and social structures. Marx simplifies the relationship of the classes as that of â€Å"oppressor and oppressed† throughout history and societies, and highlights the perpetuation of inequality based on the class system (50). Industrialization and capitalism established a society of Bourgeoisie and Proletariats, the former the owners of the means of production and the latter the workers. Marx formed the labor theory of value to mirror the doctrine of political economists like Adam Smith. The labor theory of value attributes all wealth and value in Capitalism to the labor of the

A Society Of Family Life - 992 Words

‘A Society of Family Life’ (The Changing Nature of Childhood) by Deborah Chambers explores further into post-divorce families and the impact of new media, discovering the effects it has on young people and children in family homes. Chamber’s also addresses aspects such as race, ethnic identity and gender comparing individual values to cultural customs of today’s society and the diversity of family life. This paper will mainly review post-divorce outcomes involving financial and social criteria controlling divorce in different societies, the influential responses formed by children and young people and raising tensions between parents and children due to use of new media. Within the article, Chamber’s expresses the range of diversity seen in family life, especially valuing the different cultures involved. Her in-depth analysis of class, consumption and childhood explores further into the changing era of families, whether this includes divorce, media or past ideas of children should be seen not heard. To support this, Chamber’s cites cultural capital is a resource or set of values and knowledge referring to the educational and cultural assets imparted by families to their children ensuring they develop social mobility. In agreement to this, Bandura (1977) mentioned by Hunter-Jones (2014) believed children are thought to learn from their parents through the process of observation and imitation. Chamber’s includes a range of theories and research to expand and develop her viewsShow MoreRelatedThe Changing Nature of Family Life in Contemporary Society Essay3339 Words   |  14 PagesThe Changing Nature of Family Life in Contemporary Society From first attempts to transfer Horror fiction from the page to the silver screen, there have been moral panics in response to the horror genre. In 1973, The Exorcist (directed by William Friedkin, US, 1973) provoked outrage, and sections of the movie had to be removed in response to worldwide complaints and panic as to the overtly sexual and violent nature of its content, not to mention accusations of religiousRead MoreAlcohol Dependence Syndrome Threatens And Affects The Individual, Family Life And Society769 Words   |  4 PagesAlcohol dependence syndrome threatens and affects the individual, family life and society in numerous, adverse ways. It is characterized by the physical desire to consume alcohol beyond the capacity of control and is considered a chronic disease. Alcoholism is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2015), despite all the focus on illegal drugs of abuse such as cocaine, alcohol remains the number one drug problem in theRead MoreHow Has the Nature of Family Life Changed in Australia over the Past 50 Years and What Impact Has This Had on Australian Society ?1026 Words   |  5 PagesMarch 14 2013 How has the nature of family life changed in Australia over the past 50 years and what impact has this had on Australian society ? Society and culture The nature of family life in Australias has changed over the past 50 years mainly due to advances in technology, changes in gender roles and also because of who has power and authority in todays modern families. As a result of these changes, Australias society has been impacted in many ways. For example, there has been anRead More Is Modern Society Really Great? Essay1548 Words   |  7 PagesIs Modern Society Really Great? All our lives we have been taught that change is good, but perhaps we should begin questioning our knowledgeable teachers. All non-western countries are changing today. They too are leaving behind traditional society and making the adjustment to Modern Society. Modern society is very different from traditional society. Traditional society had a low level of urbanization; in fact, 95% of the people lived in agricultural and rural areas. These areas were basicallyRead MoreOutline Discuss the Function of Families in Contemporary Uk Society1512 Words   |  7 PagesOutline discuss the function of families in contemporary UK society The definition of the term ‘family’ has somewhat gone through radical changes over the past few decades in the UK, some 30 years ago a family was defined as being father, mother and children. Some referred to this as the â€Å"cereal box family† as this was typically the type of family to be shown on television commercials for cereal. This stereotype is more correctly known as the nuclear family, however changes over the years hasRead MoreThe Lie Society s Living980 Words   |  4 Pagesbut is this an accurate representation of our society life today? Is it men who is still the head of the house or has society changed throughout the years? Is the struggle of women being seconded with making decisions a valid point? Stephen Marche’s article â€Å"Home Economic: The Link Between Work-Life Balance and Income Equality† presents the argument that the major struggle in domestic life â€Å"isn’t men versus women or mothers versus fathers; itâ€℠¢s the family against money† (1). Marche’s ideas in the articleRead MoreAssessment of the Usefulness of Functionalism in Understanding the Family1223 Words   |  5 PagesUsefulness of Functionalism in Understanding the Family Functionalism is a structuralist theory. This means it sees the individual as less important as the social structure of society. It is a ‘top down’ theory. The family can be defined as an intimate domestic group composed of people related to each other by blood, sexual relations and legal ties. When assessing how useful functionalism is when looking at the family, other views/perspectives need to be taken intoRead MoreOutline and Evaluate the View That the Family Diversity Has a Positive Impact on Society (33 Marks).961 Words   |  4 Pagesdiversity as having a positive impact on society. For example women no longer aspire exclusively to romantic love, marriage and children. Premarital sex, serial monogamy, cohabitation, economic independence, single sex relationships and childlessness are now acceptable alternative lifestyles. Men’s roles too are no longer clear cut in postmodern society resulting in a ‘crises of masculinity’ and this has led to men redefining both their sexuality and family commitments. Therefore Beck and Beck-GernsheimRead MoreEssay on The Functionalist View of the Family565 Words   |  3 PagesThe Functionalist View of the Family It is undoubted that functionalism has contributed to the general understanding of the family, even if you don’t believe the functionalist view-point to be correct, it still plays an essential part in the topic of sociology by simply being there to conflict the Marxist view of the family. The functionalist view of society makes the assumption that every society has a range of basic needs. Functionalists would say that if Read MoreValue of a Human Life1400 Words   |  6 PagesValue of a Human Life What is an individual worth in currency? From birth an individual is worth something. Individuals tend to value life with emotion and ethics. Money is not usually placed into the equation of valuing human lives when one thinks about it. Society however, is all about money. People are life and it costs to live. There is always a need for money in life and society acknowledges that. Death is the absence of life, so what is the end value of an individual when life is over? This

Get A Band 6 In HSC English Creative Writing - 26031 Words

14 FREE BAND 6 CREATIVE WRITING ENGLISH HSC BELONGING EXAMPLES HOW TO GUIDE www.myedonline.com !#$%best (%)*%+ ,)$-%(*.-% $/)0-$%123%,(44 5.,6% 7/40/$68 9$44 %:*#/,*/ ;;6=%? !#!$% %()*%+ ,- ! ! ! ! ! #$%! (!% $)! !* +$(!,-..-/0! 7; ,)-8)=0-:3(2(=-,3-4-(?)-)031-0=,*-@2-2,,A-;)3-0-+,4B )-,-)031-2,-:,3A-4B2;)-)3?)-2,-, ,:-;)3-B011(,-1)3(,41 C-0$-(1-,:-)2)3(=-;)3-(0 -)03-,-0D0+;) ,3-,-73)02(?)-9321-E73)02(?)-F3(2(=G-02-H;)-I(?)31(2-,-F, ,=,=*6;)-(1-2;)-73)02(?)-F3(2(=-J3,=30!-7,,3$(02,3-02-#9KL#-M9J6C-:;)3)-1;)-2)0+;)1+3)02(?)-:3(2(=-01-8,2;-0-2,, -2,-;) B-,4=-B),B )-!0A)-B,1(2(?)-+;,(+)1-(-2;)(3†¦show more content†¦#%1,8(!# #0% (222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222(4)/,3)-a4)12(,1-2,-01A-,43-+;030+2)3-************************************************************************************-OQL012-a4)12(,-,-+;030+2)3*-*****************************************************************************************************-OO2#.$)$3)044)5/#67)/5*)***************************************************************************************************)88D42-:;02-08,42-1)+,$03-+;030+2)31]-*********************************************************************************** -OO- ;1%:(A-B(19(C (%(A# %(19(222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222(45942;,3W-7 03(11)-L0!-****************************************************************************************************************-ORF;02-+0-,4-20A)-3,!-2;(1-B()+)-0$-0BB -2,-,43-,:-:,3A]-*****************************************-OY-Show MoreRelatedManaging Information Technology (7th Edition)239873 Words   |  960 PagesSteps for a VoIP Supplier CASE STUDY I-3 The VoIP Adoption at Butler University CASE STUDY I-4 Supporting Mobile Health Clinics: The Children’s Health Fund of New York City CASE STUDY I-5 Data Governance at InsuraCorp CASE STUDY I-6 H.H. Gregg’s Appliances, Inc.: Deciding on a New Information Technology Platform CASE STUDY I-7 Midsouth Chamber of Commerce (B): Cleaning Up an Information Systems Debacle CASE STUDY II-1 Vendor-Managed Inventory at NIBCO CASE STUDY

Pro Clean Free Essays

Company overview/ Statement of Problem Pro Clean LLC is an old-timer carpet cleaning business. It was owned and managed by Kevin Wilson and located in Knoxville, Tennessee. Wilson had to manage almost all functions of Pro Clean daily activities. We will write a custom essay sample on Pro Clean or any similar topic only for you Order Now In this industry, the problems Pro Clean faced are how to stay competitive and still make above average returns with one of his main competitor the King Rug. King Rug has a resolute business structure and is able to charge its customers with high prices which make King Rug much more profitable than Pro Clean. Another problem that Pro Clean has to face is the rapid expansion process. At the onset of the expansion, the business had started to churn cash as a result of the increased payroll expenses and the lease payments for the company’s vehicles. Wilson’s return on investment was dismal. Cash flow quickly became a problem and Wilson resorted to using his business and personal credit cards to finance his business. Environmental Scanning/ Stakeholder Analysis Demographics of Pro Clean are composed mostly of customers from Knoxville, TN. Being located in the Suburban district and close to Condominiums near the City Center; most of its customers come from single-income families, above $250,000 annually. Most of these homes had pets/ young children. 20% of the business made up of the regular customers. Economically, Pro Clean is doing fine with its source of Revenue made up of cleaning carpet (77%), upholstery cleaning (9%), area rug cleaning (5%), tile and grout cleaning (5%), carpet and fabric protection (3%), and drapery cleaning for (1%). The culture of the customers of Pro Clean is those of frequent use. Average Pro Clean customers had their carpets cleaned every 12 months. Technologically, Pro Clean had improved from stuffing envelopes with direct mail material, answering phone calls and giving estimates to setting up a webpage so customers can easily and instantly know about the company’s profile and service. Pro Clean is just a local business thus it is not thinking about expanding to another country, however, it sought to expand locally with much difficulty Industry Analysis Pro Clean’s NAICS code is 339994. According to the United Census Bureau, a 339994 is a â€Å"Broom, Brush and Mop Manufacturing† Pro Clean conducts a pure competition in where there are many other competitors selling similar ervice in the industry. Its main competitors are D-Clean, King Rug, Green Clean, Right Clean and Kleen Clean. The industry is a growing market. The market grew approximately 5 percent per year, which was what Wilson’s business averaged as well. Currently, Pro Clean had built up a respectable 5 percent market share in Knoxville Now for Porter’s five forces model of Pro Clean, they are very weak to withstand the threat of new entrants because a number of national janitorial cleaning and carpet cleaning chains were advertising aggressively to establish new franchises in the city. The bargaining power of supplier of Pro Clean is rather weak. For a cleaning company, Pro Clean can pretty much buy their source of cleaning products pretty much from different suppliers and switch products without hurting the company’s balance sheet. The bargaining power of buyers of Pro Clean is rather weak also, because the customer can switch to another cleaner company in town where it might have a service which Pro Clean doesn’t have. In addition, there are approximately 60 cleaners in town competing in the same industry as Pro Clean. Substitute products are a huge disadvantage for Pro Clean. Some new customers who are not used to carpet cleaners preferred to buy the cleaning products and do the cleaning by them. The commercial cleaning market was serviced by janitorial service providers that offered a one-stop service to commercial businesses which Pro Clean does not offer. The intensity among the companies is cut throat. The market is very competitive because the firms have similar service and almost equal status among buyers. The other companies are killing each other to differentiate themselves from their competitors by conducting additional source of revenue. For example, King Rug derives a substantive portion of its revenue from rug cleaning at its place of business and did well with cross selling and up-selling. Pro Clean however, did not successfully up-sell Company Analysis Pro Clean vision is to be the number one carpet and rug cleaners and â€Å"ready to take on even the best in Knoxville† Pro Clean’s mission to accomplish this vision is to â€Å"stay in touch with all its customers by sending out quarterly newsletters. † The current goal of Pro Clean is to organize their organizational structure where it had inaccurately expand too fast and thus hurting company’s current cash flow. To achieve this goal, Wilson had to lay off one of his cleaning technicians. He temporarily transformed the cleaning technician position to that of sales and office administration. Wilson had to spend his personal time trying to develop the business as well as dealing with administrative and clerical tasks. SWOT ANALYSIS Strength: 1. Pro Clean has 5% overall market share of Knoxville carpet cleaning market 2. Its market shares grows at 5% annually 3. Their business venue is located in the city northeast residential district (most of its customers are residential people) 4. It has loyal customers which generates 60% of its income Weakness: 1. It has a poor organizational structures 2. Lower price charged to its customers making it to have difficulty covering overhead costs 3. It expanded too quickly, making a small return on investment. Opportunities: 1. Pro Clean might be able to target not only residential areas but also commercial as its main competitors do not target commercial areas 2. Pro Clean continue charging a lower price than its main competitor in the rug cleaning business Threats: . Pro Clean competes in a highly competitive market 2. Other companies might crush Pro Clean by offering a cheaper service fee 3. Any frequent-customers who suddenly become unsatisfied might turn its revenue down. Pro Clean’s philosophy is that â€Å"each and every client is the most important facet of our company†. Pro Clean’s core competency is its ability to make on-site estimate visits, while other competitors gave approximate estimates ov er the phone and followed up with a detailed price once they were on site to clean. Porter’s value chain of Pro Clean is important to the health of the company. Their network (existing customers, technology and follow ups) are the most crucial in the relation of its income statement. They must keep on doing whatever they do best not to lose any existing customers otherwise the company’s operating income will suffer. STRATEGIC ANALYSIS The corporate strategy of Pro Clean is at a low level because it does not conduct any other form of business other than cleaning services. It has a cost-leadership business strategy as compared to its main competitors; it charged the least fee for cleaning services. Pro Clean ability to keep its existing customers is certainly a positive effect on the company’s image and it also can give a positive â€Å"free advertisement† to these customers’ relatives. The culture of Pro Clean is that the human resource works as a close knit team. While Wilson is out, his employees will routinely visit real estate agents and other referral sources for half of the day while others spent the remainder of the day in the office. ALTERNATIVE/SOLUTION The two main problems mention above is the significantly low pricing which makes it unable to cover its overhead costs while its main competitor can; and the other problem is the wrong decision of the expansion which was rather too soon for the company to handle. The main opportunity which Pro Clean might be able to consider is that it should aim for not only residential area carpet cleaning but also commercial area as it will hugely increase the number in their sales. Also, I believe that the expansion has already happened but it produces a little, if any, a positive return on investment. The way I would take advantage of this is to either sell the extra capacity/ plant or to maximize its ability to produce different product/services which might be able to generate more revenue for Pro Clean. For example, not only they do the cleaning business, but they also manufacture their own brand of Pro Clean cleaning products. I believe that Pro Clean can survive if these problems were to be exploited. With additional capital and better company strategies implications, Pro Clean will be able to dominate the cleaning industry locally. End Note Page How to cite Pro Clean, Essay examples

Internal Factors Affect the 4 Functions of Management free essay sample

External/Internal Factors of an Organization Team B has decided to do our paper on the United States Postal Service. The reason for this is that this service utilizes each of the functions such as globalization, the newest technology, the best innovations, and diversity and ethics combined all in one great service we each use on a daily basis in one way or another.During the reading of this paper, one will find that the following has been researched and discussed: the explanation of the four functions of management, also how the following factors affect the four functions of management: Globalization, Technology, Innovation, Diversity, and Ethics. As we look at these factors, we will learn how the Postal Service gets the mail from point A to point B and keep happy employees for years. When the United States Postal Service does the planning for the next fiscal year, the United States Postal Service must make sure that all of the employees know and understands how the company works and is run. In this, the USPS has a schooling that the employees must go through in order to teach all the employees be the employee a mail carrier, electrician, maintenance individual, and even management what is expected of the individual and enlighten the individual as to how to do his or her job better. In the organizing of the company, the upper management needs to keep up on all the changes from the United States to the Unites Kingdom and all over the globe. Another thing with the organization this company has to make sure that the company is on top of the changes that need to be made in order to keep updated and up to date.In the leading portion of the United States Postal Service, this is important because if the upper management does not know how to lead the employees then the management will need to go back to the books and re-learn how to be the management and lead the company or be demoted to a lower position in the company. In the controlling part of the company this is where the co mpany needs to make, sure that the upper management has time to check on the control of the price of equipment and products at all points in the company.Therefore, the company will have control of the service and products that all of the employees give to the customers that are in need of the service or product. The United States Postal Service can also control how the prices go up and when the prices go up on the products that the company produces and sells to the consumer. The company controls the employees on where he or she can go and what kind of mail is carried and even when the particular pieces of mail are carried.Ranked 92 out of the 500 largest corporations worldwide, the United States Postal Service reaches billions of customers daily with national and international mail (CNN Money, 2010). The massive amount of business USPS operates necessitates successful implementation of the four functions of management. Two such factors (i. e. planning and organizing) of maintaining business is reaching out worldwide to deliver packages. According to the USPS web site, packages scheduled for international delivery contract with FedEx on a global scale reaching 190 countries (USPS, 2011).The service named Global Express Guaranteed or GXG offers customers options like date certain delivery and track and confirmation information. Contracting with FedEx is a prime example of globalization. An organization such as USPS which is not worldwide fills their customers’ needs by joining forces with an organization that can facilitate delivery all over the globe. Strong leaders must be in place for a connection like this to come to fruition. USPS exhibits tight controls over the entire process by handing off their customers’ needs to another organization. The United States Postal Service is dated back to 1775† (USPS) and it has experienced many changes throughout the years. One of the biggest factors that the Postal Service has had to face is with new technologies. A couple of new technologies that has affected the postal service in recent years are the internet, and cellular phones. The internet lets people communicate instantly whereas writing a letter and dropping it in the mail will take days. It is the same with having a cell phone now people can text and sends an instant response which in turn, less people are using the postal service to communicate with friends and family.This is also where the external factor has affected the United States Postal Service which has led the post office to make changes internally. Even with new technologies the postal service is still needed there are still many people out there who are sending packages to their families such as gifts, care packages or just ordering large items through the mail, so the postal service has had to make internal changes such as â€Å"Dedicated rate-shipping tools which are put in pla ce to save money and beat out competitors such as UPS and Fed-Ex. † (J. Crouse, 2009) Jeff Crouse Vice President of Marketing states: â€Å"If the cost-savings, convenience, reliability and unparalleled reach are driving you (like many others) to switch to the Postal Service, don’t be surprised to find that the technology available will make the transition easier than you might have imagined, as the Postal Service aggressively takes market share in the parcel market, state of the art, easy to use technology is one of the best weapons in its arsenal. † â€Å"The Postal Service has grown and changed with America boldly embracing new technologies to better serve a growing population. (USPS) As described by Bateman and Snell (2009) innovation is the introduction of new service and goods. This is a constant factor of the USPS as they have a retail area of sales to bring in revenue. Planning is the first step to incorporate innovation into the USPS retail environment. Executives must decide what type of materials they want to sell, who they wan t to contract or team up with and determine sales prices. The organizing process of retail sales in USPS stores involves collaboration between executives, managers, and postal workers that sell the items. The process must be fluid so stock are available and new areas of innovation can be incorporated. The customer demands must be met and USPS needs to adapt to changes and the introduction of new competitors. (Enter George’s submission here for Diversity and Ethics) Delegation is the assignment of authority and responsibility from an manager to his/her subordinate. It give the subordinate Delegation is an important tool managers should be able to use for the internal and external factors of Globalization, Technology, Innovation, Diversity and Ethics.The reason delegation is so important is because it creates a peaceful and good working environment. If an organization has a good working environment then the employees have respectable work ethic and are productive employees. In turn if the company has employees with those qualities then the company is more successful. If a manger fails at delegation employees seem to have more stress, low morale and the organization then is not as successful. When a manager delegates he or she can then measure the time and cost of performing certain duties however, the Postal Service also uses an operation called Work Sampling.The Post Office Department has to determine the cost of handling and delivering the mail in each postal class. They then compare it with the parallel postage or additional revenue earned by class. This information then goes in front of congress to endorse postal rate changes. When the work which the employees are performing is observed they are more productive and in turn the United States Postal Service is more successful.

Intelligent Taxi Dispatch System Reservations †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Intelligent Taxi Dispatch System Reservations. Answer: Introduction Bid Taxi is a project that improves the existing ride sharing services. The Bid Taxi is working in the pre fixed rates that are based on distance and time, Bid Taxi generally uses the bidding services for the rides. The bidding will depend on certain information that is provided by the customers, which includes the beginning and the ending of the services, time of the pickup and the number of passengers who will be sharing the taxi services. Here comes the use of a set of tools that estimates and calculated the rate and price of the journey, such as distance, route and toll costs that is applicable for the journey. The bid taxi service is expected to enhance the process of ride sharing services. The payment will be made only at the end of the journey and the entire journey will be tracked with the global positioning system. The goal of providing an enhanced customer experience can be achieved is certain criteria are fulfilled. One of which is keeping the customers satisfied by provid ing a prompt and enjoyable service. The report gives an overview of the of the business operation of the ministry of public transportation and recommends certain modifications in the process that can enhance the business operation. The Bid taxi service aims at providing a hassle free service to the passengers by providing an option of booking taxi services any time and from anywhere. Successful implementation of the Bid taxi project has the capability of replacing the existing taxi services. One of the major advantages of the Bid Taxi project is that it will provide a very cost effective solution to the customers as the prices of availing a taxi service in Bid Taxi will not be based on a refixed rate but will be base on bidding by the different drivers. The customers can therefore choose the driver with the lowest bid for the ride. The Ministry of Public Transportation is expected to earn a large profit by availing a service fee for each ride booked with the help of bid taxi. Bid taxi can be described as a next generation on demand booking service that uniquely offers the customers and the drivers to connect and enables a competitive yet control services (Wang, Cheu Lee, 2014). Ministry of Public Transportatio n therefore has a good business opportunity with the Bid taxi services. This can be said as the organization has ensured proper measures and developed a well substantiated business process in order to offer a good riding experience to the customers (Lee Wu, 2013). The overview of the business processes set by the Ministry of Public Transportation for the Bid taxi application are discussed in the following paragraphs Only certified and the licensed driver are allowed to engage with Bid Taxi. Furthermore, before its engagement the vehicle would also be thoroughly checked to identify its road worthiness and insurance details. This creates a sense of security to the passengers as they know that only certified drivers will be allocated for the ride. Increase in the customers satisfaction is one of the major needs for spreading or enhancing the business operation. The Ministry of Public Transportation has ensured that the customers have no complain about the services provided to the customer (Wang Chen, 2012). A satisfied customer is expected to engage with the services in future as well. Therefore, it can be considered as a major business technique employed by Ministry of Public transportation in providing the bid taxi services. A rating system is also included in the bid taxi services where both the customer and the driver can rate each other on basis of the experience of the ride. This is another intelligent business process that is undertaken by the Ministry of Public Transportation as the rating system will encourage the drivers in providing a god service to the client (Debnath et al., 2014). On the other hand, the customer can also rate the driver or the ride according to the riding experience. The rating of the customer will help the organization in improving its services modifying any process that needs further improvement (Lucas Lau, 2012). If a customer is not happy with a service, he/ she will not provide a good rating. This indicates that there must be some deficiency from the drivers part in providing a good riding experience to the customer. These matters can therefore be put under scrutiny in order to understand the loopholes associated with the system, which will further improve the business process of the organization (Haque, Chin Debnath, 2013). Bid service has enabled feature of both web application and the Smartphone application. Use of smartphone application is very user friendly as Smartphone are used by majority of the people. Furthermore, the people who do not have an access to the Smartphone can use the web services for booking the Bid Taxi for a ride. Not only the booking process but also the payment process is user friendly as well. Customers can pay with the help of their debit and credit cards or can use the Osko payment option for making the payment at the end of the journey. The Osko payment option is used by many people and is one of the major user friendly payment options. Furthermore, the passengers who will not be able to access any of the methods can make use of the gift cards purchased from the supermarkets for making the payment. Therefore Ministry of Public Transportation has ensured that the process of payment is safe and secure, which in turn enhances the customers trust (Inquiry, 2012). Increase in th e customer trust is expected to increase the customers engagement with the application as well. This is a major business operation that is implemented by the Ministry of Public Transportation. A service loyalty program is also included in the Bid taxi service and its operation. In this scheme a customer is given a status point for the rides paid. The customer can use these status points for availing discounts in the next ride, or can be donated to the charity. This can engage more customers in availing the Bid Taxi services. Not only the customers but the driver providers are also gifted or rewarded with the fuel discount gift cards by the company. These rewards include the fuel discount gift cards of the company (Bai, Atkin Kendall, 2014). This is another intelligent business operation of the company as it will engage more driver provider with the bid taxi service. Recommendations in support of the business The above section gives an overview of the business process of Ministry of Public Transportation. These business processes can be further improved by ensuring certain modification in the existing business process. The recommendations for improving the business process and the first three major goals of the services are as follows (Maciejewski, 2014)- The Bid taxi needs to ensure that all the drivers are certified and the vehicles are properly checked before engaging with the Bid Taxi. This can be achieved by verifying the documents of the drives before engaging them with the services offered by the bid taxi (Chen, 2014). This will also ensure that only the experienced drivers are engaged with the bid taxi application. Choosing the experienced drivers will improve the services offered to the customers as well. Along with the implementation of the star rating system a feed back and customer care system can be also implemented in the bid taxi services in order to enhance the business process as well. The use of feedback and the customer care system will enhance the customer experience and increase the customers engagement with the services (Maciejewski, 2014). The presence of the feedback system will help the customer to voice out their complaints and the customer support system will enable the customers in solving their queries. The third recommendation for improving the customers service and business operation can be the presence of booking a Bid taxi service by phone call. The proposed system will incorporate the use of Smartphone and website to book a ride (Pueboobpaphan, Indra-Payoong Pueboobpaphan, 2018). A phone call initiated ride booking can be a great ad on for the existing system and therefore it is recommended for the business operation. These are the major three recommendations that can be considered for improving the business operation of Ministry of Public Transport. This will enhance the customers satisfaction with the services as well. Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that the Bid taxi is a project that can be implemented in order to enhance the process of booking and availing a shared taxi service. The report gives an overview of the business operation of Ministry of Public Transportation in association with the bid taxi services. The business operations are aligned with the business goals of the project and the report gives an overview and the detailed justification of the major business processes associated with Bid taxi. The report concludes with the recommendation for improving the business operation of Bid Taxi. The bid taxi is a project that is being proposed for enhancing the ride sharing services. The Bid taxi services is expected to eliminate certain major problems associated with the existing manual taxi booking service. Bid Taxi will provide a user friendly and very quick option of booking a taxi. Since the services can be booked with the help of a smartphone application, it will definitely encourage a large group of people in choosing this service. The business operation of bid taxi aligned with the business goals (Seesan, Rungkasiri Cooharojananone, 2012). However, the business operation of bid taxi can be improved by bringing certain modification in the different business process. Therefore, certain changes in the business process are recommended, which if implemented to the project can being a major change. The recommendations for improving the business operation offerings of the Bid Taxi are as follows- The customers are given a service loyalty status point for availing the service. One recommendation for improving this process is including a option where a customer can refer a ride to another customer, which in turn give reward to both the customers (Weng et al., 2017). This is beneficial for both the customer and the company as the customer will happily refer his/ her friends to use the Bid taxi application as they will get rewarded in form of status point. On the other hand the company will be benefited by gaining more customers. Therefore, it is one of the suggested modifications for enhancing the bid taxi services. The drivers are also rewarded for completing a specific and pre defined amount of task with Bid taxi. The services offered by the drivers can further be improved by incorporating a training program for the drivers who wish to associate with the Bid Taxi services. The training service will enhance the skills of the drivers and will provide them with the option of enhancing their driving skills. The training program will furthermore help in providing the drivers with the option of enhancing their knowledge as well. The training provided to the drives will be of a pre defined time. It can be kept as an option whether a driver wants to attend the training program or not (Agussurja Lau, 2012). The drivers who are opting for the training will receive a certificate from the Ministry of public transportation that will further help them in receiving many other job opportunities in future. These are the two major recommendations that can be considered by the Ministry of Public transportation in improving the business operation of the organization. These recommendations or the suggestion are made on basis of the different goals of the bid taxi and the services provided by the company. These recommendations is implemented properly will benefit both the company and the customers. References Agussurja, L., Lau, H. C. (2012). Toward large-scale agent guidance in an urban taxi service.arXiv preprint arXiv:1210.4849. Bai, R., Li, J., Atkin, J. A., Kendall, G. (2014). A novel approach to independent taxi scheduling problem based on stable matching.Journal of the Operational Research Society,65(10), 1501-1510. Chen, W. (2014). Technical improvements on mobile app based taxi dispatching system. InInternational Conference on Computer Science and Service System(pp. 281-284). Debnath, A. K., Chin, H. C., Haque, M. M., Yuen, B. (2014). A methodological framework for benchmarking smart transport cities.Cities,37, 47-56. Haque, M. M., Chin, H. C., Debnath, A. K. (2013). Sustainable, safe, smartthree key elements of Singapores evolving transport policies.Transport Policy,27, 20-31. Inquiry, T. I. (2012). Customers first: service, safety, choice.Draft Report. Lee, D. H., Wu, X. (2013). Dispatching strategies for the taxi-customer searching problem in the booking taxi service. InProceedings of the Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting. LUCAS, A., LAU, H. C. (2012). Toward large-scale agent guidance in an urban taxi service. Maciejewski, M. (2014). Benchmarking minimum passenger waiting time in online taxi dispatching with exact offline optimization methods.Archives of Transport,30. Maciejewski, M. (2014). Online taxi dispatching via exact offline optimization.Logistyka,3, 2133-2142. Pueboobpaphan, S., Indra-Payoong, N., Pueboobpaphan, R. (2018). Information Effect in Taxi Service Double Auction with Opportunity Cost: An Experimental Analysis.Engineering Journal (Eng. J.),22(1), 77-91. Seesan, R., Rungkasiri, T., Cooharojananone, N. (2012). Taxi Friend: Innovation Application For Taxi Passenger. Wang, C., Ng, W. K., Chen, H. (2012, July). From data to knowledge to action: A taxi business intelligence system. InInformation Fusion (FUSION), 2012 15th International Conference on(pp. 1623-1628). IEEE. Wang, H., Cheu, R. L., Lee, D. H. (2014). Intelligent taxi dispatch system for advance reservations.Journal of Public Transportation,17(3), 8. Weng, G. S., Zailani, S., Iranmanesh, M., Hyun, S. S. (2017). Mobile taxi booking application services continuance usage intention by users.Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment,57, 207-216.