The Functions of Modern Management - Free Essay Example

The Functions of Modern Management The world of business is constantly changing but the truth is the consumer needs are being subject to the whims of technology or the latest products. Beauty of the sexes has always gravitated towards vanity and sometimes a bit of narcissism. These desires have allowed the beauty industry to grow and to flourish in some of the vast world of economics. Today, some of the top global beauty brands hold over 26% of the market share in the US however; with the constant shifting of the consumer desires that the market change direction from 2013 to 2014 some companies lost their market share. Amour is an established family- owned company with approximately 1400 personnel which will increase to 5000-7000 personnel over the period of two years before the company goes public and enter the market with a strong strategic, operational and tactical plan to be competitive by offering the consumers the complete health and beauty package for the family. The company needs to stream à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"line products and correct deficiencies to compete for the market share. In order for us to compete with brands that are household names in the US, we are going to have compared ours to theirs and to improve to become the better product quality and better value based on the price. Our key is to acquiring the market share; we have to be consistent and intentional in pursuing this particular market. Amourà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"s operational plan must be able to deliver the market share to survive in this climate of business. If we are not able to achieve the market share, we will meet the fate of the Colomer Group that loss a major part of their share in the market in 2013. The direction of our company is to design lines that can compete with the brands, who sit on the counters of major discount retailers, and to open doors to elite brands which sit on the counters of major retailers. The structure of the organization below gives each department access to the plans, questions and suggestions to make our company to succeed. Organizational Chart Amour Leadership Chart Job Description CEO: Chief Executive Officer: the position is the top ranking executive to oversee the company direction to make sure the organization is there mission statement and vision for the future profitability. COO: Chief Operations Officer: the s econd in command position requires the individual to oversee the company daily operations and being updated by each department to insure that the plans of company are moving forward. Finance: position requires the individual to maintain financial stability of the company by insuring all assets, cash and liability is done with accuracy. Human Resource Business Partner: the position is to move the company in a strategic and tactical planning to meet the future obstacles and trends within the marketplace. Human Resource: the position to do the daily administrative duties, employee training, compensation and benefits, new hires, policy and procedures. Research and Development- The head of research and development is exploring new alternatives or new improvements of products and services to offer to our consumer. District General Manager 1(West) The manager is charge of the West coast of the US to have companies placing orders through his office. District General Manag er 2(Midwest) The manager is charge of the Midwest of US to have companies placing orders through his office. District General Manager 3(East) The manager is charge of East coast of the US to have companies placing orders through his office. Marketing: The position requires the individual to determine the best method to introduce a product or a service to the consumer. Advertising: the position is to determine the type of media of introducing the product or the service to the consumer. Department Managers: the position oversees the different phases of the products or services while in the production. Manufacturing/ Production: the position requires the employees to operate machinery to make the product or service. Distribution: The position requires t the products or services are shipped to designated area and the proper number of items is given to the correct invoice. Organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mission, vision and values Amour is a young, experienced organization with a deep perspective of presenting the world with the love of self by taking care of their bodies and by producing products and services that aide in the caring for self. According M.S. (2013), the core of an organization has inner and outer core to foster success and sustainability in the corporate world. The mission and vision statement of the company is the spirit, philosophy and drive of the organization. The mission statement defines the purpose and the direction of the company. Mission statement: To educate every man, woman and child promote the beauty within by offering the latest healthy skin, face and hair care products offered in the market. To promote healthy ideals of caring for the largest organ of the human body the skin and the entire person. The vision statement articulates the short and long term goals of the company. Vision statement: To make products and services that are eco-friendly and by using derivatives from minerals and plant bas ed by-products to become the number one natural supplier of health and beauty products to major discount retailers and major retailers. The values reflect the inner core of the organization because it flows from the mission and vision statement. The values communicate to the public the decision, behavior and action of the company. Values: Our values are to do no harm to anyone and to insure that all safety regulations are followed under FDA, EPA and to continue to serve our consumers the best products. Basic Planning Process and the Three Levels of Management The overall outlook of the company is looking good and in its ability to begin to expand in other regions of the US would need to be explored. The popularity of the products is coming from the age group 18-49 and the expansion of the line would be to target all ages and all demographics. The diagram of three levels of management would be necessary to broaden the scope of the organization by the use of the first t ier of management which is the two top ranking positions in the company; Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operation Officer to plan the entrance into a new market and continue the course of profitability to support the expansion of the company into new regions. The second tier of management duties is to keep information flowing to their managers, attend meeting, budget and submit reports to top level managers. They are to hire, juggle limited resources, and anticipate the market changes/ever changing technology. Third tier of management duties are usually front-line supervisors who are buffer between employees and management. The supervisor, team leader or team facilitator is those who translate the goals and the objectives of management to insure that everything is done according company policy. Such performance outcomes include a highly engaged workforce, more productivity, optimal growth levels, customer and shareholder loyalty, community support, enhanced employee quality of work life, and lower employee withdrawal behaviors (Mayfield, Mayfield Sharbrough, 2015, p.102) Quality, Productivity, and Profitability Amour is a company that seeks grade A raw material to make our health and beauty products from the finest quality to create our lines of products and services for our valued customer. Our company has reduced mistakes, continual improvement of quality, mean lower and lower costs. The goal of Amour is to do less reworking in producing the product and to reduce the waste of the raw materials. Amours, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“business strategy is to increase profit on a specific product or service, projects should focus on reducing quality costs by reducing or eliminating errors and eliminating non-value-added activities or wasteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Smith, 2010, p.14). Quality is the focus of the company to insure that it meets the customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ satisfaction. The ability to eliminate waste means the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s bottom line is not affected. The overall production of the product has been decreased based on the cycle of time because of quality and less errors. Employees have shown they have the commitment and productivity to produce the finest quality of our leading brands by exceeding production timeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s tables. Human Resource Planning Activities and the Overall Organizational Strategy Amour is capable of expanding and could do it within the two year window before going public however; the focus is to establish the company is financially sound and has the capability to maneuver through the changes of the business world. The relationship between HR and Amour is to insure there is enough human capital to move forward in the plans to expand the company however, the overall strategy is to have the combined sources of financial and human capital to grasp the market share. According to Melbourne Andrews (1996), a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s capability is their human resource strategy that can or should change in order to continue to the match the business strategy of the company. Human Resource needs to recruit and to select indiv iduals who have the capability to fit the culture of the organization. Employee development through goal setting techniques has been introduced by several prominent companies and to target candidates that are highly motivated instead of looking for a specific skill or training. The outcome of the selection process has been favorable to have individuals who are able to be challenged to perform at optimal levels. Philosophy of Management and Structure of the Organization A key factor is creating a harmonious or motivating work environment is the leadership or the managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ability to lead, attitude and behavior. Managerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ability to inspire subordinates to do their best is the reflection of his/her work ethic or beliefs and direct ability to do his/her job. The behavior of an effective leader is to have energy and direction because the energy is part of the function of motivation which inspires the followers and direction allows them to know where they are going and ( goal oriented) point they are trying to reach satisfaction. Constraint Management(CM)philosophy proposed that the ultimate goal of a for-profit organization is to make money (and not save money or reduce cost) without violating certain necessary conditions, such as bringing competitive goods and services to the market and providing a satisfying work environment to employees. CM employs global operational measures (throughput, inventory, and operating expenses), based on throughput accounting. It also highlights a process of ongoing improvement, emphasizing constraint identification and management as the key to focusing limited resources on the weakest link to optimize the company as a whole(Adams, Gupta Raho,2007,p.35-36). Steps of Control and Types of Controls According to Plunkett (2013), the function of management is to set the performance standards, communicate the objectives to the workforce, identify the superior processes, and acquire the n ecessary devices to complete the finish products. The risk manager checks the dimensions of the product to insure the accuracy of the batch that will affect the organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s bottom line. The control process is being able to measure performance based on standards that are quantitative or qualitative designs that are able to measure people, money, products and processes by internal guidelines of the company, being able to measure performance based on recent readings by comparing measured performance to established standards, and being able to make corrections in the process of producing the product. If controls are not monitored, the production of the product may not still within the time table and the loss may be severe. Amour has invested in the latest equipment to insure there are not faulty mechanical problems during the process however; the only thing is if the operator doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t monitor the mixture then that will be the problem. Quality control will check the mixture before sending the batch to be packaged and labeled to be sent out to distribution. Once the mixture is tested to meet standards then the compound is ready to move to the next phase of the processing. The three types of controls: feed forward, concurrent controls, and feedback controls. The control of feed forward is controls to insure the there are no defects and products are not deviating from the standard for example; the ratio of the compound per 10000 to complete the formula. Concurrent controls operate with the system to make corrections. Feedback allows the system to send information to the operator to check if controls are doing what they are supposed to do. Amour has an effective control system because the new equipment has signals to let the operator know the compound is mixed correctly and it has notification to stop mixing if the mixture is not to specifications. The automatic signal allows the operator/ the management to make correc tions before the loss of the compound which is equivalent to the money loss for the incorrect formula. Controls within the organization allows the management to monitor each batch of compound by having readings based on the original batch given to by RD. Monitoring the preparation of the compound is the key by the operator but with the extra signals of the machines and the stop mechanism once it is not mixing properly. Amour is using feed forward and concurrent information to insure the process is working according to the standard because feedback controls are slow getting information to management which could be a very expensive loss. Managers and operator need to be monitoring the correct amount of compound to produce the product. Amour has an integration of more than three methodologies of Six Sigma; Lean Toc has proven to be more effective in producing the product with fewer defects. Amour is committed to keeping cost down by insuring and eliminating unnecessary proces ses by being consistent in meeting our deadlines. The financial and marketing are the subsystems of Amour and it is the means of securing the market share by staying within projected budget. The overall condition of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s financial state is very good with fewer liabilities and more assets will allow us the means to capture the share of the market. In conclusion, the operational plan at Amour will allow us the different options to secure the market share in the US and the international market by utilizing the systems that are in place to cut back on waste and improper conditions in the workplace. Management and employees are dedicated in opening the doors for our business to expand. The increase sales in our brand have provided us the opportunity to move in an aggressive manner to gain the proposed shares. . References Laabs, J. (1998). Why HR cant win today. (cover story). Workforce (10928332), 77(5), 62. Mayfield, J., Mayfield, M., Sharbroug h, W. C. (2015). Strategic Vision and Values in Top Leadersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Communications: Motivating Language at a Higher Level. Journal Of Business Communication, 52(1), 97-121. doi:10.1177/2329488414560282 M. S., S. (2013). Harnessing the Power of Vision and Values: A Deeper Perspective. Vilakshan: The XIMB Journal Of Management, 10(2), 149-158. Plunkett, W. R., Allen, G. S., Attner, R.F (2013). Management: Meeting and exceeding customer expectations (10th ed.). Mason, OH : South-Western Cengage Learning WELBOURNE, T. M., ANDREWS, A. O. (1996). PREDICTING THE PERFORMANCE OF INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS: SHOULD HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BE IN THE EQUATION?. Academy Of Management Journal, 39(4), 891-919. doi:10.2307/256716 Wever, K. S. (1995). Human resource management and organizational strategies in German and US-owned companies. International Journal Of Human Resource Management, 6(3), 606-625.

Fleetwood Mac Concert Review - Free Essay Example

This past Wednesday, on November 21st, I attended a Fleetwood Mac concert. Fleetwood Mac is a rock band that formed in London during the 1970s and include both American and British performers. They are widely-known and just embarked on their most recent tour in October of 2018, called An Evening with Fleetwood Mac. This tour is different from the bands others in that one of the original members, Lindsey Buckingham, has departed from the group, and it is the bands farewell tour. Neil Finn and Mike Campbell are the two new additions since Buckinghams departure, both of who blend well with the rest of the band. The concert was held at a large indoor arena called the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The arena is known to be the home of the San Jose Sharks Hockey Team, and seats 15,000 people. As I walked into the arena, I noticed a large majority of the concert-goers were middle aged people, the baby-boomer generation if you will. Both adult men and women filed into the venue, with excited looks on their faces. I was pleasantly surprised by the noticeable amount of young people in the audience as well, many of who were decked out in 70s apparel of scarves and flare jeans. It is clear that Fleetwood Mac attracts fans from a time of their peak popularity, but they also continue to attract new listeners as many of their songs are timeless and well-known even among a younger demographic. The crowd was diverse, however still dominantly white. Everyone seemed to be in a great spirits during the show, singing along with the band receiving positive responses to their music. Typically concerts at large venues are crowded and impersonal, however the band was great at connecting with fans and audience participation. There was a good amount of fans who knew all the songs, but many younger people in the audience only sang along and danced to the bands main hits. At the start of the show, Fleetwood Mac entered the stage and took their places at their rightful microphones or instruments. Stevie Nicks walked straight to her microphone in the center of the stage, followed by her was Mick Fleetwood who headed to the drum set in the back left side of the stage. Meanwhile, Christine McVie took her seat at her keyboard, while her ex-husband John took his place on the stage next to Nicks with his bass. Lastly, Mike Campbell and Neil Finn join in. The band opens with of their most popular songs, The Chain. The audience immediately begins to sing along and cheer. I saw both young and old fans stand up and sway to the melody of the song. The group put a lot of care and feeling into building their set list, and took the trouble to introduce songs associated with former band members. The overall feel of the concert was very natural, almost like a family feel. The band members, although not all original members and relationships between certain members remain, Fleetwood Macs presence was electric. They knew what they were doing, there was amazing chemistry between all band members, and the set-up of the stage was very practical. All of the group can be seen spread out across the stage with backdrop that had fun and calming images, almost psychedelic imagery of nature and flowers. Steve Nicks rocked an all-black long coat, with two different gloves on each hand and tied it all together with a scarf tied around her microphone. John McVie wore a fun bright colored vest and a white hat that matched his hair. Fleetwood is seen behind his gold and white drum set with a hat as well, rocking a western themed outfit including a black best and a red bandana. Mike Campbell made his mark with a fun top hat and neon colored coat, to stand out among the majority of band members in black. All band members seemed to be in good spirits and connected on a spiritual level throughout the performance, which made for an inspiring show. The band is known to perform mainly pop rock and folk rock songs and in their earlier days resembled that of a blues band. The music group and its diverse members incorporate many different styles and influences into their music, making their concert lack repetition due to the variety and diversity of genres and albums they performed from. Fleetwood Mac included many songs from their most popular album, Rumours, in their set list; but the group also incorporated other songs from all throughout the bands time creating music. During the concert one could detect the varying musical influences on the band from RB Muddy Waters style, folk and banjo, and finger picking, to call and response between the band and the singers, and the British blues-boom in their early days. The British blues-boom is an authentic vintage feel of a performance that has 12 bar blues progression and shouting vocals. You hear the band transition into a softer more folk feel throughout the evolution of their albums . In An Evening with Fleetwood Mac the audience heard all different genres and musical styles. During the performance of World Turning, Mick Fleetwood had a long drum and percussion solo. He started out with a backbeat type drum rhythm while getting the audience excited with inserting words of excitement. He engaged with the audience doing call and response with drums and vocals, while just playing the hi-hat to build up. Fleetwood then breaks out in a full drum solo while engaging with the crowd to cheer him on. The backup percussionist then joined in and the two played somewhat randomly. There was no consistent rhythm, but it was fun and uplifting beat. In the song Oh Well, one of the bands first songs originally composed by Peter Green, Campbell took over the role for an instrumental solo. Mike Campbell remained true to Greens original blue style during the performance and played the classic riffs of the original sounds. Finn provided a lot of the main acoustic strumming for songs where Nicks was lead singer. Most of the bands song consist of instrumentation including drums, bass, guitar, and piano, along with harmonies from the backup singers, percussionist, keyboarder, and guitarist. Although older, the folk rock group still can perform like they used to. Mick Fleetwood was jamming out on the drums like he was twenty-five again, and McVie brought lots of character to the stage. Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie were in the spotlight Wednesday night, especially since the departure of Buckingham from the group. Band members took turns in the spotlight with instrumental solos as well. I heard beautiful harmonies between Nicks and Finn, and was pleasantly surprised how Neil Finn naturally fit into the groups vibe. The chemistry between the singers and band members was great, almost so much so that you would never be able to tell they had been working together for just a couple of months. Harmonies between Finn, Mac and Nicks were powerful and beautiful, sounding like it was meant to be. The band provided a mix of their best hits, both sentimental and loud. The music slowed down and the lights came down, as Nicks started her performance of Free Fallin. During the performance, images of the old band members and Tom Petty flashed on the screen in the background, giving a feel of nostalgia and wholesomeness. One of my favorite songs of the night was Stevies feminist rendition of Black Magic Woman, as she announced to the crowd that she rewrote is from the point of view of a woman. I admire Fleetwood Mac and I have been a fan ever since I learned that both Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham attended the same high school I did. At the time I knew of the band, but had never heard of their music. Out of curiosity I began following the band and found that I really enjoyed their natural folky music. I was very excited at the news they were touring again and my parents took the opportunity to quickly grab tickets. I loved that I saw other people my age in attendance, fully in spirit. The crowd was active and engaged throughout the entirety of the performance, while Fleetwood Mac remained exciting. It made me even more delighted and involved in the concert, singing along to the tunes with my parents. I think their new tour and more specifically their performance on Wednesday night was magical and wildly successful. I band like Fleetwood Mac can rarely disappoint. Although skeptical at first of the new additions of Finn and Campbell, they proved themselves exceedingly . They blended in perfectly, and the rest of the audience seemed impressed and happy that the bands sound and spirit was still remained. Its safe to say there was a generous consensus of satisfaction. The crowd cheered for an encore and were consistently standing, dancing, and singing along throughout the two hour performance. As the concert began and the band members entered the stage, I looked around and saw many fans starry eyed staring at the stage, giddy and smiling to their neighbors about the beauty that was to come. Afterwards as we were exiting, the same excited look in most audience members eyes remained. People were talking about their favorite song, Fleetwoods impressive drumming regardless of his age, Stevies soulful voice, and the amazing instrumentation and voices heard during the night.