...asking another department to present the same five year plan. They have made it very clear that if major changes need to be made they aren’t afraid to do so. Iowa Elevators is a large operating company with huge financial success and annual revenue. With that in mind this company has the ability to implement several different kinds of organizational structures and departments. The best approach to starting the idea of cutting expenses and increasing revenue would be to become more centralized than in the past, but not 100% centralized at this point. This new structure would create two to three new divisions under Scott; a farm supplies purchasing department which would include a salaried manager, or a manager and two supervisors, an analyst, three buyers, an expediting clerk that cross trains as an invoice clerk or an invoice clerk. The larger farm supplies purchasing department would fully handle the purchasing of farm supplies. Taking the power away from the local managers and the product managers would give them the ability to have a deeper view of the organization. For example, the company could consolidate shipments of supplies to save transportation costs. Effective communicate between new departments, management, and subordinates is crucial to make this new venture effectively run. The smaller elevator operations purchasing department would oversee the decisions made by local managers, but would not do any...
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...Iowa Elevators Case Study Iowa Elevators Executive Summary Iowa Elevators is one of the largest grain-handling companies in the United States exceeding $2.3 billion in revenues annually. It is also the employer of more than 2,500 employees. Iowa Elevators has recently experienced declining revenues over the past year as a primary result of drought conditions. Needless to say, the drought had a huge impact on crop production, hence setting in motion a need for change. Scott McBride, director of purchasing at Iowa Elevators, has been tasked with developing a plan to regain control of purchases made throughout the company in order to increase revenues and cut back on costs. With this in mind, Scott’s task was to develop and present a five year plan for the purchasing department. This plan would identify major issues in purchasing company wide, identify areas where cost could be cut. This would include reducing headcount, overhead expenses, and capital expenditure budgets. In Scott’s plan he would identify annual targets for achieving the reductions. Working with a team of acquisition specialists, sales representatives, and administrative offices, Scott began to work on a plan for cost reductions. Cathy, Scotts’ right hand purchasing analyst, began analyzing corporate spend which averaged $728 million with 20 of the 1,500 suppliers accounting for 45% of total spend and the top five represented 35%. This led to the perception of many things, including...
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...Iowa Elevators Case 1. Where would you start? With which of the purchase categories? It is wise to look at which categories have the most expenses: which in this case is the farm supplies, MRO/Construction and transportation services. It seems that combined, they account for approximately 75% of overall annual expenses. One should analyze why they are so high. 2. How much money do you think you can save in each of the next five years? It is hard to predict the savings because of limited information but one can predict that once the targeted purchase categories are accounted for this savings can occur: Year 1: $0, Year2: $3mi, Year3:$6mi, Year4:$ 18mi and Year 5: $33million. 3. What are the inventory turns for farm supplies? What kind of improvements can be made in inventory management and how? The inventory turn for farm supplies are crop protection: 1.9, equipment and supplies: 0.60, fertilizer: 6.2 and seed: 4.2. Many improvements such as adding hybrid centralized- decentralized method to their supply management, hire specialists to only focus on managing supply and inventory rather than give managers too much power and overwhelm them and lastly increase inventory turnover especially on equipment and supplies since its very low but also targeting all farm supplies. Maybe the company can also increase supplier relationship and buy local. 4. Why hasn’t Scott McBride proposed a cost reduction plan in the past? Mr.McBride, the director of purchasing, has not proposed a...
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...Summary: A summary of the current situation at Iowa Elevators from a purchasing and inventory cost perspective is that Iowa Elevators is currently in charge of two divisions—grain-handling and marketing and farm supplies and the company has been experiencing decreasing profitability. Scott McBride was asked to re-evaluate the purchasing department and implement a five year cost-savings plan to save the business. Analysis: Current Problems To get an understanding of the presentation I would give at the executive management meeting I have to outline the current problems at Iowa Elevator. There are currently five problems I have identified with Iowa Elevators. 1.) With human resources, there are currently certain staff members have too many roles. There are certain individuals responsible for supplier selection, product mix, branding, and promotion and assisted elevator and marketing center managers in the areas of promotion, new product development, and inventory planning. There are four managers who do all of these roles when in reality this role could be held by 6 different people. 2.) Another issue is that there is a surplus of suppliers. Currently there are 1,500 suppliers because purchasing is decentralized. The top 20 suppliers account for 45% of total purchases and the top 5 suppliers account for 35% of total purchases. Why are there 1,480 other suppliers? 4.) The numbers that Cathy collected are inaccurate. In exhibit 2, the total annual purchases showed an annual...
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...Summary: A summary of the current situation at Iowa Elevators from a purchasing and inventory cost perspective is that Iowa Elevators is currently in charge of two divisions—grain-handling and marketing and farm supplies and the company has been experiencing decreasing profitability. Scott McBride was asked to re-evaluate the purchasing department and implement a five year cost-savings plan to save the business. Analysis: Current Problems To get an understanding of the presentation I would give at the executive management meeting I have to outline the current problems at Iowa Elevator. There are currently five problems I have identified with Iowa Elevators. 1.) With human resources, there are currently certain staff members have too many roles. There are certain individuals responsible for supplier selection, product mix, branding, and promotion and assisted elevator and marketing center managers in the areas of promotion, new product development, and inventory planning. There are four managers who do all of these roles when in reality this role could be held by 6 different people. 2.) Another issue is that there is a surplus of suppliers. Currently there are 1,500 suppliers because purchasing is decentralized. The top 20 suppliers account for 45% of total purchases and the top 5 suppliers account for 35% of total purchases. Why are there 1,480 other suppliers? 4.) The numbers that Cathy collected are inaccurate. In exhibit 2, the total annual purchases showed an annual...
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...Iowa Elevators Case 1. What would be your analysis of the current situation from purchasing & inventory perspectives? As far as analyzing the current situation of the corporate spend, it would probably be best to start by looking at the categories that have the most expenses. In this case, the top three spend categories include farm supplies, transportation services, and MRO & construction. These three categories account for almost $600,000 of the $728,000 of the total annual spending (or about 80%). As far as purchasing is concerned, the company should probably look more into what is causing these numbers to be as high as they are and if there is any way to cut down on costs in some of these categories that account to most of the annual spend. As far as inventory is concerned, it was estimated that the average annual inventories in the farm supplies division (which has the largest amount being spent) was nearly $120 million with annual purchases of $310 million. These amounts have been broken down into four further categories and the inventory turn for farm supplies division is as follows: crop protection products: 1.9; equipment and supplies: 0.6; fertilizer: 6.2; and seed: 4.2. 2 & 3. What would you present to the executive team? (5-year plan—in terms of savings & numbers) What would be your annual cost savings estimates? As the specific numbers and information in this case is pretty limited, it is hard to be able to predict the savings for...
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...Governor of Iowa, and has captivated the attention of many citizens of whom he serves. Governor Culver is part of the Democratic party. He is also the first Democrat to be elected governor since 1937. Chet Culver has been Governor in since 2006. With his political experience, besides being Governor of Iowa, he also was elected Secretary of State and was in office from 1998-2006. “Governor Culver began his career as an environmental and consumer advocate in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. After receiving his Master of Arts in Teaching at Drake University in 1994, he taught government and history at Roosevelt High School and Hoover High School in Des Moines, where he also coached both football and basketball.” ( http://www.governor.iowa.gov/index.php/governor/.) Chet Culver has done many good things for many people he serves dealing with different issues. He was a former teacher that used his teaching knowledge to give strength to Iowa’s educational system. One way he did this was by raising the teachers national pay average. Another thing Chet did was give millions to furnish school improvements. He also made preschool available to thousands of children; which had been unavailable to many of them before. Another issue Governor Culver dealt with was stem cell research. He was to sign a legislation to ease limits on such research taking place in Iowa. Although there are limitations, to establish the research center at the University of Iowa it would propose...
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...abbey called “Blue Cloud Abbey,” where many men know as monks seek solitude from the world's distractions and focus on the lord. They invite visitors and pilgrims to come and seek God more. One of the main reasons why we wanted to go there was because a relative of mine called Fr. Denis the abbot or man in charge of the abbey who is a very kind man and would like to see us. I had seen him before and met him a long time ago when he came to visit our family which he is apart of, but that whole situation is another story. So the day had finally come and we were ready to go. My parents told us that we were going to take the truck instead of a plane because plane tickets were expensive and we would have more fun going through Nebraska and up into Iowa which have plains and different land compared to Colorado and will lead us up into South Dakota. My mom told me that it would be a longer drive, but we will enjoy it. The first day we drove out of the state and into Nebraska. Almost immediately after we had crossed the state borders I felt the humidity. Something that I was not expecting and something that was totally different to what I was use to. I decided to get it off my mind I would take a nap. One really bad mistake though. When I woke up I found myself drenched in sweat from sleeping really hard. Flies were all over the place and the car was hotter than hades. The humidity just made it worse and I was a little mad and was almost ready to go home but we took a pit stop at some park...
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...Wartburg Castle By: Gavin Stroh History: Built in 1067, the Wartburg Castle presents over 900 years of German history. A museum on the castle grounds displays art treasures collected over centuries, including tapestries, medieval musical instruments, and precious silverware.The Wartburg Castle sits on a steep hill, overlooking the city of Eisenach. It is one of the oldest and best-preserved Romanesque castles in Germany. The only access to the Wartburg is a draw bridge. This castle became the refuge for Martin Luther. In the castle he translated a bible into German in 11 weeks.The thick walls of the fortress could tell many tales from the numerous times the Wartburg has been the arena for historical events. One legend says the castle was...
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...MonoSpace® (No machine room) I suggest we split the marketing strategy of MonoSpace® into two parts: renovation market and new equipment market. For renovation market, property developer, who primly concerned with the overall cost, will be the focus customers. We will emphasis the long-term cost saving for replacing an old elevator to a MonoSpace®, such as better energy saving benefit and lower maintain cost. For new equipment market, we will focus on architects, because most small contractors rely on architects to select elevators. Thus, property developers, general constructors, and architects will be our target customers. Second, mid-size player and “cowboys” count for a 35.5% German elevator market share. They are our main competitors in Germany market. Since the end of construction boom brought price competitions, which effectively squeezed the space for mid-size or small players, we should price the MonoSpace® at a low price in order to gain market share from those mid-size or small players. My suggested pricing police for MonoSpace® are to set the price of MonoSpace® as low as a hydraulic system, which accounted for approximately 60% of the German low-rise elevator market. Although, it is foreseeable that the inevitable erosion of current product line by the launch of MonoSpace®, the overall market share of KONE will increase. Third, learning from Netherlands experience, we should market...
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...SECURITY SITE SURVEY DEVRY CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS – The Devry Center Jim Jones February 15, 2013 Eval of Security Systems Professor Semore Butts Overview This site survey was conducted by Jim Jones on February 15, 2013. This document is intended to detail the security survey and analysis for Devry Corporate headquarters. The report will detail the strengths and weaknesses of each of the operational areas. While it will detail an overview of staff and visitor procedures it will not be a personal evaluation of the staff’s readiness or ability to carry out those activities and responsibilities. The objective of the recommendations in this audit are to ensure that Devry Corporate headquarters complies with state, local, and federal regulations for the safety of its employees, the public, and visitors. It will also assist with recommendations that ensure Devry Corporation is free from any legal liabilities as a result of action or non action as it relates to security and safety (Garcia, 2008). Summary The Devry Corporate Headquarters is the central location for Devry Inc., which owns and operates fourteen educational institutions, their supporting both domestic and international operations. These Institutions are comprised of large scale educational facilities requiring sophisticated infrastructures. Each of the supported institutions must adhere to the Higher Education Act standards of security and safety. Those standards would not be applicable in the corporate...
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...horizontal communication in an MNC? * * They analyzed a Finland based MNC (Kone Elevators?) where the corporates official language is English. * * The Reasons were they wanted to gain in-depth understanding of different ways communication goes between subsidiary staff (lower staff) in different countries. * * * Interviews: * * The interviews were with Kone staff, and there was an analysis of the company’s language and communication training program. * * The interviews were made with levels 1. Top management 2. Middle management 3. Operating management * * The Interviewees were from different countries (Europe, Mexico, and the far east.) and the interviews were spoken in different languages depending on the nationality who they were asking questions to. * * The Kone key informants (person who gives information to others) where interviewed on the telephone and email: 1. The specific role that language is perceived to play in horizontal communication. 2. Language training in Kole * * Those informants intervewees represented: 1. Human resources 2. Language training 3. Management development 4. Technical training 5. Customer Service * * * The company: * * Who is Kone Elevators? * It is one of the leading business in the world for elevators and escalators. * In 2000 the companies net sales totaled to 2.6 Billion EUR which is...
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...not much evaporation occurred that year. Without enough evaporation, the soil remained saturated, and when the extremely above average rainfall came in the summer of 1993 came, the water had nowhere to go but to the rivers and streams. These rivers and streams quickly filled up and by July were cresting at record highs all around the Midwest. Near St. Louis the Mississippi river crested at 19 feet higher than the flood stage and over 6 feet higher than the previous record. With flood waters of that magnitude, levees were easily broken and overtopped. The great flood caused around 15 billion dollars in damage and tens of thousands of people to be displaced, some temporarily and some permanent around the Midwest. Places such as Des Moines, Iowa were hit especially hard, as Water Works plant, the distributor of water in Des Moines, was flooded and taken out of commission. People of Des Moines went nearly 2 weeks without running water at all and nearly 3 weeks without drinking water. Throughout all of this, state and federal assistance were swarming the Midwest with food, water, and shelter to help those who were severely affected by the flooding. By the end of it all, there were short and long term affects left over. Farm land was hurt severely by the flood water and some took several years to fully recover, and some wild life that had to flee the area never fully...
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...My State Demands Dena Martin Rasmussen College Author Note This paper is being submitted on July 13, 2014, for Dena Martin’s B234 Business Law course. My State Demands The type of business that I chose is a service business of opening a local bar. I began my research by looking at what I need to do locally first. In Winnebago County you need to call to make an appointment with the local office of the County Clerk. When you have your appointment they want you to have a copy of your lease, a copy of your insurance policy, drawing of your site, complete list of all employees, fingerprints of all owners, know what type of ownership and the fee for the license. You fill out the application and pay your fee which for this type of license it is $1400.00 then your application goes before the hearing board to be heard, which they recommend that you have an attorney with you for this hearing. Depending on what is already on the docket it may take up till a month before you get to go for your hearing and from there it is usually a couple of weeks before you hear from them. In the state of Illinois there are a lot of steps that you have to take. First step is to go the state of Illinois government site and read what all you need to do first. The first step is to make sure you have everything taken care of with the county the business will be in. Second step is to print out the application for your business and fill it out and return it with the filing fee of $500...
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...bookshelves to limit distractions 2nd Floor Potential Improvements: * Newer carpet * New furniture—most of the chairs are old and stained * Ceiling tiles are missing * Books and chairs need to be better organized * Get rid of some desks—there are a numerous number of unused desks and chairs that take up space * Get rid of old books and replace with more modern materials—many books are dusty/torn * Better cleaning—a lot of dust and dirt * Clear out furniture and empty bookshelves to free up space * Paintings and posters on the walls are old and outdated * Important documents on walls should be laminated or framed * More trash cans * Replace broken lights * Repaint elevators. 3rd Floor Potential Improvements: * Elevator safety inspection sign is outdated * Lots of unused space * Pictures laying around that are not hung up * More desks from second floor should be brought up * Rooms should be created to allow for students to work in groups without disturbing others * More cleaning * More artwork on walls * Bulletin boards on walls are empty * Less group tables—most students on this floor work independently at desks * Windows need to be cleaned * Outdated technology—broken printers laying around * Used as storage—there are a lot of things lying around that are not used by students. A separate storage space should be created * Kids area should be made...
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