Essay on Chad's Creative Concepts Case Study

1) What are the challenges that Ivan Guillen faces in his role as marketing manager of the RBG business?

Linerboard producers and Wall Street analysts expect the years following 1983 to have very good effects on the sales of linerboard due to strong demand, limited supply and negligible new capcity. The projected sales increase in linerboard is 7% as industrial production and real GNP increase with forecasted economic expansion; however the current linerboard industry will only increase by 1-2% leading to a projected price hike of 16% created by the difference between supply and demand. Linerboard makers are expected to operate at historically high levels of production as operating rates were forecasted to increase from 84% in 1982 to 99% in 1986.

Despite being well-established, over the last three years, sales at Atherley Furniture Company have remained the same while profits have declined by almost 24%. Their chair division produces three different types of chairs, the Atherley, the Caledonia and the Parkdale. Each model has its own production plan and production costs. The increasing production costs, alongside the intense competition the company faces, have become a great cause of concern for John Atherley.

The current production process that Thicketwood Ltd is utilizing can no longer keep with the demand of custom kitchen cabinets. Management must implement a new step to the production line to increase efficiency; however, they must also maintain quality as the customers that are purchasing these cabinets expect top quality for the amount of money they are paying.

The household wood furniture industry is healthy and growing. Total industry sales in 2007 were estimated to be $31 billion at manufactures prices. Three categories of furniture divide the industry. First upholstered furniture which makes up 50% of sales, Secondly wood furniture at 40% of the industry market share which has grown 2.5% in 2007 and is projected another 4% in 2008, this second category includes dining room and bedroom furniture. Third and last is the other category at 10% this includes ready to assemble and casual furniture. Haverwood has established themselves as a medium to high priced furniture company through 1,000 carefully selected high

Lastly, the company suggest to expand their current inventory through increasing production and capacity. With the increase in production rate the company can gain more consumers as a whole through supply and demand. Doing this would give the company an opportunity for more exposure and perhaps better brand recognition.

1. Identify the key factors responsible for the success of Gordon Biersch to date. What concerns, if any, do you have as the company looks ahead?

* Identify many of the variables that shape business decisions and management practices in organizations.

CR goes up: increase the size of the company → more internal control concern over new line of product’s inventories.

Before the customization process, Natural Design has a low cost operations when Jim is doing all his production control inside his garage and eventually moved up to a bigger facility. The time of delivery of the products is on time. The flexibility can produced around ten completed products. After customization process, the orders cost are more expensive than expected because

5) Threat of substitutes is low, in comparison with technology that constantly evolves, furniture cannot be easily substituted. But its insignificant impact is fully neutralized by high competition problem.

What recommendations would you make to Jim Sinegal regarding the actions that Costco management needs to take to sustain the company’s growth and improve its financial performance?

Change, creativity and innovation are essential elements for survival and growth of an organization. Creativity is vital for the birth of fresh and beneficial ideas. Creative thinking allows groups and individuals to solve problems or stimulate to think differently in order to bring forth fruitful ideas. The above mentioned creative thinking enabled our team of six different personalities to come together and implement a plan to solve a complex problem in a hospital. Our assigned task was to recommend a plan in order to alleviate hospital readmission among elderly population within thirty days of discharge. In this paper the author is narrating the team dynamics, functionalities and personal competencies in the process of recommending a change in the system. As a member in the innovation leadership team the author is also reflecting on the assessment, capacity for innovation in the organization which is the hospital where the team is assigned.

The Canadian furniture market has brought success to IKEA Canada due to the high quality and low priced “quick-assembly” furniture designed by IKEA’s European engineers. However, this success brought many imitators. Sears Canada has recently published a new catalogue that includes a new line of furniture called “Elements”. The new line of furniture very much resembles IKEA’s knock-down, self-assembled line. IKEA is facing an imitation threat and should tactically respond to minimize its effects.

1. Analyze the changes that Al Dunlap had initiated at Sunbeam after being hired from a strategic perspective. Did the changes started by Dunlap allow him opportunities to manage earnings?