Describing a Room in an Essay Sample

Describing a Room in an Essay SampleOne of the hardest things to do when writing an essay is describing a room. Not only is it one of the most difficult things to describe, but there are other areas where descriptions can be less than helpful. This article will attempt to help by suggesting some ways in which to go about describing a room, so that your essay is as helpful and accurate as possible.One of the first things to remember when describing a room is to not make it as hard as possible. The main problem with describing a room is that some people read descriptions as a challenge. It is really not, and that can create a negative impact on your essay.If you are describing a room in your essay, try to leave a couple of ideas open for you to explore. For example, if you are writing a story about a room that you visited on vacation, give a description that is at least as detailed as a story would be. Don't go overboard, as doing so could be inaccurate.Another point to keep in mind is that you are describing a room. The task of describing a room is something that should be extremely straightforward and easy, so that it is as easy as possible for you to fill in the blanks.Also, as with everything else, there are rules of thumb that will help you describe a room. For example, you don't want to describe a room that has more than three windows. Too many windows to make a room seem crowded rooms are also less interesting than rooms with few windows.You should always try to stay away from unnecessary wordings when describing a room. For example, don't write 'the kitchen is large' as if it were an instruction manual. As the saying goes, it's easier to say 'the kitchen is spacious. 'As you can see, the job of describing a room in an essay sample can be a little tricky. But, with a little help, you should be able to get the job done with very little problem.

Mission Impossiable Essays - Miracles, Philosophy, Belief, Religion

Mission Impossiable MISSION IMPOSSIBLE In reading the ideas of David Hume, I have came to believe that he was telling us the miracles don't exist. They are sort of a ?Mission impossible.? We have no evidence that they exist. Some might say that religion gives us examples of miracles. But there are no facts to support their miracles. If there ever was, then they were lost over the many years. People might also say that miracles happen all the time, but it's just not true. Everything that happens has some scientific fact or law behind in no matter how small. So to put it all in perspective, Hume's argument against miracles centers around his fundamental position on causality. He claims that the human notion of cause and effect is ungrounded in empirical evidence, but rather given only reasonable probability through continuous reinforcement. I.e., I touch fire I feel pain. This does not eccesitate that when I touch fire I will always have to feel pain, but rather I have no good reason to think that it will not happen. Therefore his argument against miracles says that no one has good reason to believe that events outside of the witnessed laws of nature should ever occur. Miracles are for Hume irrational beliefs where causal belief is not absolute but rather probable. The problem is, what do you define as a miracle? An event that goes against the laws of nature or the fact that we even exist is a miracle... certainly it is highly probable that we shouldn't!

Quotations for an 18th Birthday

Quotations for an 18th Birthday When you turn 18, you become an adult in many ways. In the U.S., you can vote, enlist in the armed forces, marry without parental consent, and be held accountable for your own actions in a court of law. At the same time, however, youre still a teenager and, very likely, still relying on your parents for both moral and financial support. And in the U.S., unlike many countries, youre still too young to drink alcohol legally. Some famous thinkers, writers, actors, and comedians have had a lot to say about turning 18. Some think its the perfect time of life; others have a very different point of view! The famous comedian Erma Bombeck felt it was an ideal time for parent liberation: I take a very practical view of raising children. I put a sign in each of their rooms: Checkout Time is 18 years. What Happens When You Turn 18 While no one instantly becomes responsible or wealthy at age 18, you are suddenly handed the tools to make financial and personal decisions. At the same time, parents lose the right to make decisions on your behalf unless you hand those rights over. For example: Parents can no longer make health decisions for you unless you sign a document assigning them those rights.Parents cant stop you from or force you to make legal decisions or agreements. That means you can just go off and get married, lease an apartment, or join the military on your own.You can sign waivers for doing dangerous activities such as skydiving or bungee jumping without your parents approval.You can run for many political offices.You can legally drink alcohol in many countries including Canada and France. At the same time that you gain all those freedoms, though, you also lack the experience and knowledge you might need to make the right decisions. Is it really a good idea to move out of your parents home before you have a job, for example? Many people do leave home at age 18; some handle the change well, but others have a hard time managing on their own. 18 Is the Perfect Age Some famous people see (or saw) age 18 as the perfect age. Youre old enough to do what you want to do and young enough to enjoy it! Youre also at a good age for having dreams for your future. Here are a few great quotes about the freedom and idealism connected with age 18. John Entwistle: I mean, eighteen years old is the age of consent in Europe and you can go anywhere and do anything you like. In America, it is dumb. At eighteen you should be able to do anything that you like, except get married. Selena Gomez: ...at the end of the day, Im eighteen, and Im going to fall in love. Mark Twain: Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen. Bryan Adams, from the song 18 Till I Die: Someday Ill be 18 goin on 55! / 18 til I die. 18 Is the Age of Confusion Writers and musicians look back at their 18th year and remember feeling confused and unsure about who they were and how they should move forward. Some, like Albert Einstein, saw 18 as the year when people believe theyre adults even though they arent. Alice Cooper, from the song Im 18: I got a babys brain and an old mans heart/Took eighteen years to get this far/Dont always know what Im talkin about/Feels like Im livin in the middle of doubt/Cause Im/Eighteen/I get confused every day/Eighteen/I just dont know what to say/Eighteen/I gotta get away. Albert Einstein: Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen. Jim Bishop: Nobody understands anyone 18, including those who are 18. 18 Is the Age of Dreamers When youre 18, you feel empowered, and you know your whole life is yet to be lived. Later, you may have a different opinion! Gracie May: When I turned 18, the whole world was ahead of me. When I turned 19, it felt like my whole world was behind me. F. Scott Fitzgerald: At eighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide. Liv Tyler: I cried on my 18th birthday. I thought 17 was such a nice age. Youre young enough to get away with things, but youre old enough, too. Eric Clapton, from the song Early in the Morning: When a girl  reaches  the age of 18/She begins to think shes grown​/And thats the kind of little girl/You can never find at home.

As a health care administrator, it is important to be able to apply Research Paper

As a health care administrator, it is important to be able to apply risk management strategies in your organization to prevent o - Research Paper Example Oakpointe Villa Nursing Centre, previous steps have been taken to protect them. They must provide all residents with the reasonable care that their condition requires (Smith, 2005). Oakpointe Nursing Centre was liable for the death of their resident because they failed to provide her with safe sleeping arrangements. (Bryant v. Oakpoint Villa Nursing Centre). Bed rails have been known for several years to actually increase the risk to confused or uncontrolled movement patients, because add the obvious asphyxiation risk above as well as increasing the height of fall if a resident does manage to climb over them. Between 1985 and 2009, 480 patients have been reported as dying and 138 were seriously injured due to a hospital bed accident. From a strictly administrative standpoint, that represents 518 possible lawsuits. In 2006, the FDA published â€Å"Hospital Bed System Dimensional and Assessmment Guidance to Reduce Entrapment†, encouraging manufacturers and care facilities to rec onsider the design of their beds (FDA, 2009). Despite this, they are still in place for at least 10% of patients (Span, 2010). The Safe Medical Devices Act of 1990 requires the reporting of all accidents invoving hospital equipment, including beds and bedrails. (Sleep Safe, 2010).

Market Segmentation in Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Market Segmentation in Sports - Essay Example By combining the aspects of merchandising and marketing into a sports range, sports merchandising is the way expert sports teams and organizations market and distribute their products to the purchaser. The vast preponderance of the marketing attempt for sports team is accomplished throughout the playing of the teams' games. Professional sports are able to create an implausible amount of experience throughout their games since their uniforms, team colors, and logos are on exhibit for the course of the game to both those in attendance, and the people inspection the game on television. Teams use dissimilar tactics and marketing maneuvers to augment attention and sales in their apparel. We will spotlight on the merchandising efforts of the Wanderer Football Club (WFC), the leader in expert sports organizations in merchandising in America. I will look at the largely merchandising effort as well as how the league markets itself through a variety of dissimilar avenues (Stephens, Tim. 2002). Sports and the mass media enjoy a symbiotic relationship. On one hand, the mass media, more than anything else, were responsible for turning organized sports from a relatively minor element of culture into a full-blown social institution in America. On the other hand, sports has been the vehicle for bringing dramatic attention to new mass media forms, which in turn have brought new sporting experiences to the public. No doubt, this marriage of sports and the mass media in USA has enabled each to flourish. Sports marketers are interested in the relationship between sports and the mass media and in how to use the media to target their messages at sports consumers. In a sense, sport marketing offers a form of narrowcasting, whereby a large group of consumers with common interests is brought together through sports events and programming. The more specific the analysis of the sports-media relationship, the more targeted is the message, and the more effective and powerful is the sports m arketing strategy in USA (Buccaneers Online). 3. Methodology Marketing Strategy What strategic issues confront the sports marketer The list is endless, and this section deals with three of the entries on the list. Licensing products has generated vast amounts of revenue for some teams as marketers take advantage of brand equity in teams and properties. In a sense, the majority marketing engages segmentation of one sort or another. This section examines one method of segmentation and in the process provides a great deal of high-quality advice about segmentation plan. When looking at the merchandising effort of professional sports teams, you must look at the top dog in this, the Wanderer Football Club (WFC) in America. Football is king in the industry in America for a lot of reasons, none larger than the vast attractiveness and viewing of the sport. In a survey by ESPN/Chilton sports, two-thirds of all Americans consider themselves to be football fans. Maybe even more shocking is

Holiday inn hotel brands in world

Holiday inn hotel brands in world Abstract Holiday inn is one of the best known family of hotel brands in the world. The experience, the quality, the service, the spirit etc, etc its all begins here. With over 2000 hotels on six continents of the world, Holiday Inn has spent the last seventy years welcoming people to a world of comfort, excellence service, quality accommodation and memorable experiences in the best locations on the planet. WHAT EXACTLY IS HOTEL INDUSTRY? Like other industries, the Hotel Industry also needs to explore the opportunities for innovation in order to achieve peripheral service and customer satisfaction. This industry is alone a multi-billion dollar and one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy of recent age. The hotel industry is diverse for people to work in different areas of interest and offer unlimited opportunities. According to the latest statistics of The Time Newspaper, there are approximately 120000 businesses within the commercial sector in Great Britain including hotels, restaurants, cafes, holiday camps, public houses, snack bars, and catering contractors. (Source: www.thetimes100.co.uk) Hotels are service industries. They provide a service to the customer rather than a product. The service consists of looking after people when they are away from home, by providing food, shelter, drink, sleeping accommodation, entertainment and leisure facilities. COMPANY OVERVIEW The Holiday Inn has more than 2,000 hotels in 56 countries worldwide. (Source: http://www.hoteldesigns.net/review/review_412_1.html) The first Holiday Inn Hotel was founded in 1952 by Wilson in USA, for inexpensive family accommodation travelers. The brand name Holiday Inn is now owned by IHG who in turn license it out to franchisees and third parties who operate hotels under management agreements. (Source: http://www.hoteldesigns.net/review/review_412_1.html) STANDARDS Holiday Inn has a history of standards, part of Wilsons original idea. Not meeting these standards may mean a lost franchise. Many of the older Holiday Inn hotels, especially the two-story ones with exterior corridors, have been removed from the Holiday Inn system as franchises expired and rebranded. Some old Holidomes have been rebranded as Best Westerns, Days Inns, and Quality Inns. Holiday Inns boasted air-conditioned rooms, restaurants, meeting rooms, pools, television, direct dial telephone service, piped music and radio, wall to wall carpeting, cocktail lounges, and the Holidex the computerized reservation system that put many Mom and Pop outfits out of business. Millions of road weary business travelers and harried families learned to organize their trips around the ritual of Holidex reservations, knowing that the same room, food, and night-lit pool awaited them down the road. (Source: http://www.hoteldesigns.net/review/review_412_1.html) IN WHAT AREAS THE ORGANISATION HAVE STRATEGIC PLANS AND WHAT ARE THE PLANS? Introduction Businesses are often worried about instantaneous issues and lose sight of their ultimate objectives and goals. Thats why a strategic plan is a virtual necessity for organisations. This may not be a recipe for success, but without it a business is much more likely to fail. A sound plan should: Explain the business to others in order to motivate, inform involve other people. Serve as a framework for decisions. Support performance monitoring and benchmarking. Motivate change, bring innovation and become a vital part for next plan. Strategic planning activities have become a significant source of competitiveness for hotel industry. Decision-makers must be able to integrate strategic initiatives to gain competitive advantage in the face of increasingly volatile technological innovation, customer expectations, and global competition. Strategy maker professionals must learn to integrate strategic and planning as well. While others (Walker, 1992; Schuler, 1990; and Ulrich, 1987) have detailed the models for changing strategies, less work has been done to identify the specific steps of linking strategic practices. Strategic Planning of Holiday Inn Strategic planning determines the major goals of the organization. It provides the foundation for the policies, procedures and strategies for obtaining and using resources to achieve those goals. Policies are broad guides to action and strategies determine the best way to use resources. At the strategic planning stage, the company decides which customers to serve, what products or services to sell and the geographic areas in which the firm will compete. There are more than 220,000 employees in Holiday Inn Corporation worldwide. While every hotelier is branding beds, redecorating and adding amenities, Holiday Inn and Hilton are onto the next hospitality marketing frontier: solicitous employees. Holiday Inn is trying to brand the guest experience by standardizing service with a program called People Notice. As part of the plan, the chain is implementing the new service culture by conducting a three-month hands-on training program that emphasizes going the extra mile for hotel guests. For example, if a housekeeper learns that a guest is missing a wedding anniversary while on the road, that employee can send flowers to the guests room with an anniversary card signed by the staff. If a guest requires medication to be refrigerated, a staffer can follow up by delivering the medicine at the appropriate time with a bottle of water and crackers. Incentives include recognition programs allowing guests and co-workers to laud an employee. Holiday Inn is also participating with internal branding gurus from Northwestern Universitys Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement in a multi-company study seeking to identify employee behaviors that result in customer loyalty. The Forum project intends to put a value on these actions so a company can develop a budget and invest in the behaviors that matter. An external branding campaign is also in the works. â€Å"Anybody can knock off anybody elses bed, do it better, cheaper and easier when it comes to products today,† said Bruce Bolger, the Forums executive director. â€Å"The difficult thing is changing employee behavior, and that is what separates the women from the girls.† Meanwhile, Hilton Hotelslast month took its internal â€Å"Be hospitable† campaign to TV, print and outdoor, via FCB, San Francisco. One objective of the umbrella effort is to communicate to the public that assurances of Hilton quality also apply to sister brands such as Embassy Suites. The efforts random kindness theme was augmented with DVDs, brochures, seminars and other materials provided to employees. Even company orientation packets, health benefit folders and recruiting booths are stamped with the â€Å"Be hospitable† look. â€Å"A lot of hotel advertising today is about the bed but frankly, I dont think people are surprised to find a bed when they check in to their room,† said Jeffrey Diskin, svp-Hilton Brand Performance. â€Å"We want to help you with why you went on a trip, and to do that, we need to focus on what the guest needs. A critical part of that is using our own people.† Kathy Sheehan, travel analyst and svp for Roper Reports, New York, said the idea has merit. â€Å"To differentiate, you have to establish a relationship with the consumer and that means using your people.† That practice, dubbed â€Å"internal branding† or â€Å"leveraging human capital,† is figuring more prominently in marketing plans, said Bolger. Indeed, agencies like Golin/Harris, Chicago; OgilvyOne, New York and human resources consultants like Hewitt and Mercer are establishing disciplines in people performance management for their clients. Draft, Chicago, has also long incorporated internal branding as part of its integrated marketing approach. â€Å"Companies are realizing it not all push-and-tell marketing,† said Tony Weisman, Drafts CMO. â€Å"Co-creation by inviting in the customers and the employees is part of the process.† WHAT DOES THE ORGANISATION DO TO IMPLEMENT THESE PLANS Implementation means more than simply exercising the plan. It means acting on recommendations made during the vulnerability analysis, integrating the plan into company operations, training employees and evaluating the plan. Where Do They Stand Right Now? Review Internal Plans and Policies Documents to look for include: Evacuation plan Fire protection plan Safety and health program Environmental policies Security procedures Insurance programs Finance and purchasing procedures Plant closing policy Employee manuals Hazardous materials plan Process safety assessment Risk management plan Capital improvement program Mutual aid agreements Identify Critical Products, Services and Operations Youll need this information to assess the impact of potential emergencies and to determine the need for backup systems. Areas to review include: Identify Internal Resources and Capabilities Resources and capabilities that could be needed in an emergency include: Personnel fire brigade, hazardous materials response team, emergency medical services, security, emergency management group, evacuation team, public information officer Equipment fire protection and suppression equipment, communications equipment, first aid supplies, emergency supplies, warning systems, emergency power equipment, decontamination equipment Facilities emergency operating center, media briefing area, shelter areas, first-aid stations, sanitation facilities Organizational capabilities training, evacuation plan, employee support system Identify External Resources There are many external resources that could be needed in an emergency. In some cases, formal agreements may be necessary to define the facilitys relationship with the following: Local emergency management office Fire Department Hazardous materials response organization Emergency medical services Hospitals Local and State police Community service organizations Utilities Contractors Suppliers of emergency equipment Insurance carriers WHAT FACTORS DO THEY APPEAR TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN DEVELOPING STRATEGY Physical What types of emergencies could result from the design or construction of the facility? Does the physical facility enhance safety? Consider: The physical construction of the facility Hazardous processes or byproducts Facilities for storing combustibles Layout of equipment Lighting Evacuation routes and exits Proximity of shelter areas Human Error What emergencies can be caused by employee error? Are employees trained to work safely? Do they know what to do in an emergency? Human error is the single largest cause of workplace emergencies and can result from: Poor training Poor maintenance Carelessness Misconduct Substance abuse Fatigue Regulatory What emergencies or hazards are you regulated to deal with? Analyze each potential emergency from beginning to end. Consider what could happen as a result of: Prohibited access to the facility Loss of electric power Communication lines down Ruptured gas mains Water damage Smoke damage Structural damage Air or water contamination Explosion Building collapse Trapped persons Chemical release Good salary: The employees expect a good salary from the hotel in return of the work they do. Good salary is the most important need of the internal customer and if this need is fulfilled they are satisfied. Good treatment from the management: Money is not the only need of the internal customer; they also need good treatment from the management. Trust from the management: The management should have faith in their employees; this will increase the confidence level of the employees and will have a positive effect on their work. Promotional opportunities: Most of the employees are ambitious, especially young employees. So they look for promotional opportunities. Promotional opportunities are also one of the essential needs of the internal customer. Various perks: Perks or fringe benefits in other words have an immense effect on the attitude of the staff. By providing special perks to the staff the hotel in a way provokes them to work with their heart, which proves beneficial for the hotel. Job security: Employees need a kind of job security for their future. If the job of the employees is secured then they can work tension free. Good working atmosphere: The working atmosphere of the organisation should be cool. There should be no pressure from anywhere so that the employees feel free to work. EXTERNALCUSTOMERS External customers are those who are the guests of the hotel. The pay the hotel for the services that are provided to them by the hotel. External customers should be provided with good and efficient service so that they become repeat customers of the hotel. NEEDS OF THE EXTERNAL CUSTOMERS Warm welcome from the hotel: First and foremost what external customer need is a warm welcome from the hotel. They should be greeted properly when they arrive in the hotel. Efficient service: Service is the most influential factor for the customers of the hotel. If the service provided by the hotel is efficient and effective it affects the reputation of the hotel in a positive way. The external customers can also recommend the hotel to other people. Friendly environment: The environment of the hotel should be friendly so that the customers feel like home. Some extra benefits if they are repeat customers: If the customers are repeat customers then they should be given some benefits like discounts or special rates, so they feel happy and remain the customers of the hotel for long time. Good facilities: The hotel should provide all the essential and also luxurious facilities for which they are paid for. Reasonable and affordable rates: The customers always expect affordable rates for their stay or meal in the hotel. This can result in making them repeat customers for the hotel. WHAT COULD BE THE POSSIBLE PROCESS Companies obviously need to improve strategy implementation activities, but the pace of these activities and the implementation itself have many problems. Primary objectives are somehow forgotten as the strategy moves into implementation, and the initial momentum is lost before the company realizes the expected benefits. The cause isnt easy to explain, but it can be attributed to a variety of problems. WAYS OF ATTRACTING CUSTOMERS: Advertising: It is a paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identifiable sponsor. Advertising is a purposive communication to external customers. Pricing: Reasonable pricing of the product and services can attract external customers to a certain extent. Channels of distribution: Like transport, stock holding and storage, local knowledge, promotion, display can attract external customers. Sales Promotions: These are marketing activities that stimulate consumer purchasing, and dealer effectiveness, such as displays, shows and exhibitions, demonstrations and various non-recurrent selling efforts not in the ordinary routine. Branding: A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design intended to identify the product of a seller and to differentiate it from those of competitors. Brand names like Hilton, Marriott can often attract external customers to a wide extent. Personal selling: The sales force is an important part of the communication mix. Personal selling is concerned with an individual selling his own ideas of the typical personal sales. Customer loyalty schemes: Customer loyalty schemes can also attract external customers. Customer loyalty schemes like offering a discount cards, offering extra facilities during parties etc are effective attracting the external customers to the hotel. Public relations: Public relations are important to attract external customers. Public relations are all about getting publicity for the product through skilful manipulation of the media. Direct marketing: It is the planned recording, analysis and tracking of customer behaviour to develop relational marketing strategies. CAN THE ORGANISATION PLAN BE IMPROVED OR DEVELOPED Simply put, strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how its going to get there and how itll know if it got there or not. The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization, while the focus of a business plan is usually on a particular product, service or program. There are a variety of perspectives, models and approaches used in strategic planning. The way that a strategic plan is developed depends on the nature of the organizations leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organizations environment, size of the organization, expertise of planners, etc. For example, there are a variety of strategic planning models, including goals-based, issues-based, organic, scenario (some would assert that scenario planning is more a technique than model), etc. Goals-based planning is probably the most common and starts with focus on the organizations mission (and vision and/or values), goals to work toward the mission, strategies to achieve the goals, and action planning (who will do what and by when). Issues-based strategic planning often starts by examining issues facing the organization, strategies to address those issues, and action plans. Organic strategic planning might start by articulating the organizations vision and values and t hen action plans to achieve the vision while adhering to those values. Some planners prefer a particular approach to planning, eg, appreciative inquiry. Some plans are scoped to one year, many to three years, and some to five to ten years into the future. Some plans include only top-level information and no action plans. Some plans are five to eight pages long, while others can be considerably longer. Quite often, an organizations strategic planners already know much of what will go into a strategic plan (this is true for business planning, too). However, development of the strategic plan greatly helps to clarify the organizations plans and ensure that key leaders are all â€Å"on the same script†. Far more important than the strategic plan document, is the strategic planning process itself. REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY Airey, D. and Johnson, S. (1999), â€Å"The content of tourism degree courses in the UK†, Tourism Management, Vol. 20, pp. 229-35. Higher Education Funding Council for England (2001), Getting Ahead: Graduate Careers in Hospitality Management (HEFCE 01/30 May Report), Council for Hospitality Management Education/HEFCE, Bristol. Impact Skills Network (2002), â€Å"An assessment of skills needs in tourism and cultural industries: Skills dialogues†, July, available at www.impactskillbase.org.uk Jameson, S.M. and Holden, R. (2000), â€Å"‘Graduateness who cares? Graduate identity in small hospitality firms†, Education and Training, Vol. 42 No. 4/5, pp. 264-71. http://www.businessballs.com/freenewbusinessplanstemplates.htm http://www.businessballs.com/freebusinessplansandmarketingtemplates.htm http://marketing.about.com/od/marketingplanandstrategy/Plan_Your_Marketing_Strategy.htm http://www.cambridgestrategy.com/content/business_strategy_audit.php http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/c/2/content/dec/pc/0/en/cs.html?cm_re=pcr-_-hmpg-_-n4a=b http://www.largo.com/egov/docs/1253124205_499786.pdf http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/strategic-planning/ http://www.mybusinesstravel.com/strategies/hotel.php#strategys http://managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/str_plan.htm http://www.hoteldesigns.net/review/review_412_1.html http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/branding-brand-development/4673624-1.html www.thetimes100.co.uk

Operational Research Essay

Stock control or Inventory control has been in use for a long time. While small organizations may use manual methods to track their stock, complex global organizations make use of sophisticated systems like ERP’s to handle inventory control. There are various stock control methods in use. The methods used by a business organization depend upon not only the size and complexity but the type of industry it is in. A DIY superstore may use a method like the Order Point where the demand is driven by the customer’s buying patterns with little or no control by the manufacturer. As against this, a stock control method like MRP is used in companies like the Executive Upholstery Company where demand is dependent upon sales forecast and the sales orders. In the following paragraphs the stock control methods used by Executive Upholstery Company and DIY superstore are examined and also compared with each other to provide insights into the two methods discussed. Order Point Method – DIY superstore Supermarkets, warehouses and even some manufacturing companies tend to use Order Timing Decisions or Order Point methods for inventory control where the demand is not certain. The demand pattern in a DIY superstore is seasonal and is dictated by the consumers. The demand is independent of the manufacturing processes and many variations in demand need to be considered while controlling the inventory. Traditionally stock control was done using guess work to identify the stock levels and re order points. Factors like Safety Stock, EOQ, an Lead Times were not considered. Because of the huge numbers of items involved, and also the need to cope up with variable and uncertain demand patterns, manual methods gave way to some techniques like ABC/ VED analysis; Forecast Order Point. In ABC analysis, for instance, the inventory is categorized by the importance of the contribution to the final product cost. Some classification can be the ‘most important’, ‘important’ and ‘less important’. In the Forecast Order Point method of stock control, the future demand is calculated using the historical demand patterns. Time series methods like simple average, weighted average and exponential smoothing methods can also be used to forecast demand more accurately. In the DIY superstore example, the simple average method was used to forecast demand and lead time. Based on the 5 weeks of Master Production schedule, re order point for various items for the week6 were determined. Table 2 below shows the reorder point for the various items based on the 5 weeks of maser Production Schedule. The inherent problem with this technique is that it assumes that the forecast is near accurate and there is safety stock. In a weighted average method of forecasting technique, weighting to the most recent demand is given more and less to the earlier weeks. Techniques like Exponential smoothing are used to forecast the demand more accurately when there are trends in data and data is available for a longer period of time. Considerations like Safety stock and Service Level need to accounted for while using any forecasting technique. MRP in Executive Upholstery Company MRP is used when the demand is more certain and is based on sales forecasts, sales orders. It uses a time phased production schedule dictated by the capacity available. MRP uses, apart from this top level demand, inputs like Bill of Material, Stock on hand, Purchase orders already placed. Bill of materials lists all the parts and components required to make finished products and subassemblies. A structure diagram for BOM can be made using various levels with the finished product being at level 1. Manufacturing organizations do use stock files and work order files. Stock files list current stock of all parts: finished, raw material and sub assemblies. Work order files list replenishment orders which have been already placed. The main consideration of MRP is to produce a set of ‘time phased requirements’ (orders) for each component in the system at specified intervals of time – days or weeks. The first step in MRP is to identify the Gross Requirements for each component or assembly – how many in each time period. The Gross Requirements for each part in the example at table 1 is arrived at by identifying the demand quantity of each of the three types of chairs (Captain, Recliner and Director) from the Master Production Schedule and multiplying this quantity by the quantity in each part in its bill including the parts of sub assemblies and then adding them up all to arrive at the total demand for each part. While calculating the Gross Requirements, the lowest level components are used. Also, the beginning inventory(stock on hand) as well as the purchase orders pending were taken into consideration while calculating the net Requirement for each part. Another concept used in the example in Table1 is the Planned Order Releases which are scheduled orders by taking into consideration lead time, lot sizes. Summary MRP solves more complex issues like which part to order and when for a production process which are not easily amenable in a stock control method like Order Point. Order Point calculations do not take into consideration lot sizes, safety stock, and the more methodical approach of calculating Gross Requirements and net Requirements of each part involved in a finished product.