Case Analysis : Operations Decision

1.3. In order to estimate the peso discount rate, assume that the International Fisher Effect (IFE) holds. Groupe Ariel's Euro hurdle rate for a project of this type was 8%. Assume that inflation rates are expected to be 7% in Mexico and 3% in France.

The following case study is in regards of economic market structure. In the world of economics all businesses or companies rather, are categorized in certain market structures such as monopoly, oligopoly, or perfect competition, for instance, the market structure for restaurants. Most restaurants are considered monopolistic competition. Being that they all sell and serve food. They have to have instances that vary such as price, logos, servers, locations, décor, types of food, and hospitality.

This results from the fact that it is a mature segment with many well established companies vying for market share. The industry is highly consolidated and very fragmented. To grow their businesses, companies rely heavily on mergers and acquisitions to capture additional market share. Historically, the grocery industry has been characterized by slow growth which results in strong price competition and the development of aggressive marketing campaigns between existing firms. Perceived product quality and strong brand recognition by consumers are the basis of competition among firms in the industry. The source of General Mills’ competitive advantage lies in its ability to develop innovative products and highly reputable brands. As a result, they hold cost leadership positions across a number of grocery categories. Exhibit 1 shows the top US companies according to their sale of packaged foods globally. Market leaders include Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Nestle, Mars, Kellogg, and General Mills, however, neither company possess an overwhelming share of global sales. This is in part due to the large degree of product diversity throughout the industry and the strong brand rivalry of each competitor’s labels.

Legal factor - In a situation where for example a government creates a new law which could limit the demand for your product like the banning of smoking, this can seriously affect the growth of the company.

Using the regression results and the other computations from Assignment 1, determine the market structure in which the low-calorie frozen, microwavable food company operates.

In the past, the booming economy had allowed for year to year increase in their sales because people had larger discretionary incomes. But due to the recession, smaller independent retailers had to markdown their items in order to stay in business because designer outlet stores are getting more traffic; so will Harry Rosen follow in suit? Or in order to maintain the integrity of the quality products they offer, will they continue their higher pricing and settle for a lower market share?

1. Use the decision-making model (page 196) presented in the chapter to map the decisions being made in these situations. Identify how, where, and why different decisions might be made.

Cross-functional teams are vital in many businesses, because it increases productivity, enhances communication between departments, and leads to overall success in a company. Boldflash is a company that has fallen behind on this front, and is thus struggling to keep up with its competitors. Roger Cahill, the new vice president of the Mobile Division, is faced with the challenge of finding a way to restructure the departments in his division in order to increase productivity and improve the product development process.

“First, it neglects the fact that those who benefit may not be the same as those who pay the costs.

In 1991, Liang Senior analysed the Chinese consumer market for a year and sensed that the rapid growth of the

This case discussed the events that occurred during a change in DSS Consulting’s organizational structure. Three retired school district administrators established DSS Consulting during the late 1990’s. The company offered administrative support to small school districts located within the mid-west and mountain west region. They specialized in handling the negotiating of labor agreements as well as implementation of permanent system solutions designed to enable those organizations to run efficiently.

In these straitened economic times, frozen food is a sector that is growing as consumers recognise two main factors. Firstly it offers value for money, and secondly it helps to reduce food waste. The UK frozen food market is worth around £5.1 billion a year and accounts for 8% of the UK Grocery Industry (Kantar Worldpanel, 2010). Although in 2010 the market remained flat, it has shown 11.3% value growth between 2007-2010, with indication that the market will continue to grow this year.

The markets today are so complex and deal with so many variables it can be difficult to understand just exactly how they operate. In the following I will reveal the different kinds of market structures along with their different pricing strategies. Relating to these topics, I will focus on the importance of cost, competition and customer.

2. Compare this research design with a survey research design. What advantages, if any, did this research design have over a survey?

Mr. Alfaro Burgos, the vice president for sales of Dyners Corporation. It is a family firm that manufactures stainless steel and silver plated tableware. After some time, the inventory of the company showed a shortage. He discovered some mispacking of silver plated tableware in the warehouse of the corporation. He hired an industrial security firm to investigate the deprivation in the warehouse. It did not take long for the agent to discover the truth. Karlo Deles, the warehouse supervisor was the man behind the internal