...Macro Environment Analysis Definition Macro environment analysis is a review of all the factors that a company is unable to control. Companies conduct this analysis to stay aware of the issue in the current business environment. A common tool for conducting a macro environment analysis is the PESTEL framework, which include factors from the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal aspects in the business environment. The ultimate purpose of this analysis is to create a strategy that will leverage as many of these external factors as possible to the company’s favor. The political factors of the PESTEL analysis include the current stability of the government, social welfare policies imposed upon companies, trade tariffs or regulations that restrict international business and tax policies on corporate profits. This information is quite important to businesses, as extremely difficult political situations often result in lower profits and a more inflexible business environment. A macro environment analysis may focus heavily on the political factors in countries with difficult business environments. The group of external factors for this analysis comes from the economic factors within a country. Companies are unable to control issues like the income of buyers in the market, available credit offered by banks, unemployment, interest rates and inflation found in the economic market. These factors can also affect the company, lowering purchasing power...
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...N atural Designs manufactures a variety of bird feeders, garden accessories, and other items intended to help people get in touch with and observe nature. Founded in 1995 by Jim McMaster in LaGrange, Illinois, the company started when he was working as a fourth-grade teacher. Presentations to students on birds and wildlife had a way of capturing their enthusiasm; thus, McMaster started offering presentations to other schools in the greater Chicago area. Within a few years, McMaster was so busy doing presentations at various schools, as well as running nature camps from his home, that he quit his full-time job as an elementary school teacher to form Natural Designs. At first, Natural Designs was mostly Jim and his wife giving presentations and running camps, but gradually the company expanded to sell some of the bird feeders and other nature devices featured in his class talks. Today, the company has sales of $2 million per year, most of which comes from physical products sold to outdoor, nature, and bird stores such as Wild Birds Unlimited. In the first few years of operation, Jim McMaster and his wife, Sheila, produced bird feeders and other products in their garage. In 1997, however, the operation became too large for their garage, so they rented a 4,000-square-foot facility for production and distribution purposes. They also hired two employees to manage these two functions so that the McMasters could continue giving school talks...
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...1. What types of decisions must Jim McMaster make on a daily basis for Natural Designs to run smoothly? What kind of decisions must he make on a long-term basis? Short-term Decisions (Infrastructural) • In terms of workforce, Jim has to decide on a daily basis on how many employees will work on customized feeders depending on volume of sales orders. Since orders vary per season, he may train other employees from other departments/products for the skills needed in producing the customized bird feeders. These employees can work on the customized bird feeders product during peak season and go back to their original job function or product on low-volume seasons. • Still depending on sales volume, Jim has also to decide how many orders to be satisfied daily. This includes production and distribution of the products to customers. As orders are received and updated real-time with the help of the internet, daily production targets should likewise be updated. • Quality control should also be part of Jim’s daily decisions or of the company. To ensure that customers receive high quality products, there should be a dedicated group assigned to check product quality. This group may be part of the production team or the task may be assigned by Jim to his production manager. Long-term Decisions (Structural) • An explicitly stated structural decision in the case is Jim’s consideration of either a second facility or moving to a larger facility. • There is also a need for Jim to...
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...Especially in arid climates, the owners and managers of aquatic areas are vital pieces to the puzzle. These stakeholders must manage these vital spaces properly, considering the impact they could have on the hummingbirds that utilize the resources. Tri-national cooperation is needed to achieve conservation of hummingbirds between the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Information must the distributed to land management agencies, government biologists, land owners, the scientific community, educators, students, and the general public. Despite hummingbird popularity among the general public, efforts are lacking. Many people feed the hummingbirds via a “feeder” filled with sugary water. Hummingbird feeder maintenance information and potential for disease and risks associated with improper feeder maintenance should be provided with every hummingbird feeder sold. Additionally, lists of recommend plants for restoration, commercial landscaping or personal use that benefit hummingbirds and other pollinators should be readily available. The public needs information on using native plants to attract hummingbirds to their garden and how to identify plants to use and avoid. For example, some ornamental hybrids one may shop for no longer provide nectar resources for pollinators. It is important to consider what the plant offers to the pollinator network, rather than solely purposes related to garden aesthetics. The United States Forest Service has a mission to “sustain the health, diversity, and productivity...
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...internet, daily production targets should be updated. Jim will also have to decide on a daily basis how many employees will work on customized feeders depending on the volume of sales orders. Because orders vary per season, he can train other employees from other departments/products for the skills needed in producing the customized bird feeders. These employees can work on the customized bird feeders product during peak season and go back to their original job function or product on low-volume seasons. Jim should also consider quality control as part of his daily decisions to ensure that customers receive high quality products. Long-term Decisions Due to Jim’s increased costs and decrease in profit he needs to review product costs and identify which costs he can do without. He may also consider opening a second facility or even moving to a larger building to take on customer demand. In terms of capacity Jim can review his current product range since 500 SKUs maybe large enough for a company with only 15 employees. He can trim down his product offerings or hire additional employees. But since Jim may currently be having problems with cost control, trimming down the company’s SKUs may be more beneficial. 2. Describe the operations strategy for Natural Designs. Has this strategy changed as a result of the custom bird feeder operation? If yes, how? The...
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...CASE 1: NATURAL DESIGNS, INC. I. The business of Natural Designs, Inc. (NDI) is focused on manufacturing a range of products of bird feeders and garden accessories as well as conducting presentations on birds and wildlife. Based on this, Jim McMaster accordingly makes decisions in order to run the operations of the business on a tactical basis. These decisions include the following: 1) manufacturing-related: sourcing of raw materials, production schedule, and distribution of products; 2) wildlife presentations: scheduling and preparation of presentations. • The order quantity placed by distributors collectively differs tactically, thus Jim and his team has to be able to source raw materials for the bird feeders and other garden accessories from their suppliers at any given time, depending on the demand for raw materials. This entails for Natural Designs, Inc. to cultivate a good partnership with its accredited suppliers so that it could easily tap its suppliers for additional orders without compromising quality and lead times. • Since NDI’s product range consists of 500 SKUs, the production schedule needs to be carefully plot so as to maximize machine hours and labour hours, taking into account machine set-up time, preventive maintenance, and scheduling of labour. Forecasting of product quantities to be manufactured is deemed necessary in order to stock the appropriate levels of inventory for each SKU. • Putting into consideration that the retailers of NDI may be dispersed...
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...they are the only birds can that hover in one place and can fly up to thirty mile per hour. Like other hummingbirds, they mainly eat nectar from flowers. Do the hummingbirds prefer some colors over others when selecting flowers for feeding? Hypothesis: If red flowers are present; then birds will ignore other colored flowers in the area. Prediction: If the birds flock to the red flowers more than other colors; then they select their food based on color. Controlled Experimental Method: This test will include three bird feeders made of the same material, same size, placed at the same height but three different colors; red, blue, and green. Hummingbird feeders are made of glass or plastic. The feeders will be hung outside in the bird’s normal feeding environment near the woods. All three feeders will be filled with the same source and amount of water and equal amounts of sugar so that only the color will differentiate them apart. The feeders will be hung out for one week and observed at the same times of day. The times chosen were morning and dusk; 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Results: Since this is a "thought experiment," you will make up results according to what you think might happen if you actually did the experiment. Results should include detailed raw data (numbers) rather than just a summary of the results. For example, if data are collected...
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...Summary This is to about one of the leading real estate companies named PIXEL properties ltd. Now a days, this company is having a big problem about their sale of apartments. They are decreasing the amount of the sale of the apartments because of the announcement of the government to stop providing electricity for domestic use. If the company can’t find an alternative to increase their sale of apartments, it will make a big lose for the company. We discussed here three solutions which will help the company to increase the sale of apartments. Which are 1.discounts, 2.putting solar systems on the apartments, 3. Solving their problems about the apartment. Company Profile Company Name: Pixel properties LTD. Description of the Company: One of the REHAB certified real estate companies in Bangladesh. They provide luxurious apartments, office spaces, Shop spaces & building constructions facilities. Mission: without concentrate and elegant shelter life is truly worthless with Innovation Unlimited and to reduce the environmental impact of construction. History: They started their journey in 2004 in Bangladesh. Starting Capital: 5 Crore tk/- Present Capital: 8.6 Crore tk/-(Approximately) Management (Key Members): They have a board of 5 directors and a chairman. The names are given below: 1. Mr. Nasimul islam chowdhury (Chairman) 2. Mr. Ziaul kabir (Managing Director) 3. Ms. Shushmita Khan (Director) 4. Mr.Nafiz imtiaz Partho (Director) 5. Mr. Samiur...
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...award winning solar power user which runs their resort fully by solar power. They have a solar power plant of their own and this plant provides them with their essential electricity. This electricity and power is cheaper to them than the fossil energies. The price of fossil energy is increasing day by day. But expense for solar energy is not increasing. So, this helps their economically also. This solar power plant is very much eco-friendly and helps them to reduce the emission of carbon at a high rate. Hidden Valley Cabins and Tours are creating the example for the people that solar energy are very eco-friendly and they can be used for large facilities also. Contents Executive summary 1 Introduction 3 Purpose of the report 4 Findings 5 Conclusion 10 Recommendations 11 References 12 Introduction Solar power energy is one of the most discussed issues now a day. The whole world is experincing a crisis for the fossil energy. The day is not so far when all the available energy will be ended. So, the quest for an alternative source of energy was going by many people. As a result of this quest the solar power energy technology has been invented and this energy source is becoming more and more popular day by day. But there are only a few examples around the world and even in Australia that any resort or any structure is completely run by the solar energy. Hidden Valley Cabins and Tours are totally depended on solar energy. By...
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...Sherrah Adderley Ms. Marjorie Downie Eng 300 October 16, 2012 Should the government invest in solar energy? The impact of high crude prices on the economy has always been negative, resulting in high energy cost. Many Bahamians continue to struggle to keep their lights on due to the constant increases in surcharge on electric bills by The Bahamas electricity Corporation (BEC) .To reduce this energy load, the government should invest in renewable energy such as solar energy. Solar power is one way we can explore renewable energy. Maybe Bahamians are reluctant to explore renewable energy because of perceived difficulty or cost. The government should invest in solar power because; it reduces cost, environmental safe and may create jobs.(smith) Solar energy reduces cost. Since solar energy is hundred percent free it means that it can reduce the energy loads such as lowering electricity bills by the use of solar panels, solar lights and other solar products. Solar panel is cost effective as it requires no maintenance. (Van) Once installed, there are no recurring costs involved and money can be saved in the long run. Solar lights are easy to install. This is because there are a few wiring issues and little need to ever dig supporting trenches. Many Bahamians argue that it is misleading to say that solar energy is free However, the price of solar energy is found in the expense of the technology and other factors involved in extracting it and transforming it into...
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...Solar energy is simply the light and heat given off by the sun. most people actually want to know how we get power from solar energy. In other words, they really just want to know how we turn the sun’s heat and light energy into a usable power source. Both methods use solar panels to collect the solar energy but one process focuses on the sun’s heat and one process focuses on the sun’s light. The first process is called solar thermal which the energy works by harnessing the sun’s heat. The second process is the photovoltaic process Photovoltaic (PV) panels capture the light emitted by the sun and convert this energy into usable electricity. They do this by exciting the electrons in the solar energy which produces direct current (DC) electricity. DC electricity isn’t usable for most home needs. The DC electricity must go through a conversion process in a mechanical device known as an inverter. There many advantages of solar energy. The first one is Saving you money . After the initial investment has been recovered, the energy from the sun is practically FREE. It will save you money on your electricity bill if you have one at all. Solar energy does not require any fuel. The second one is Environmentally friendly. Solar Energy is clean, renewable (unlike gas, oil and coal) and sustainable, helping to protect our environment. It does not pollute our air by releasing carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide or mercury into the atmosphere like many traditional forms of electrical...
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...ESL students. The science class was very enlightening and attention-grabbing to say the least because Mrs. Molosky had to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of the different levels. Every 2-3 weeks the teacher replaces one subject with the other depending on the depth of the information within the chapter and the rate at which the students grasp the material. At this time Mrs. Molosky was teaching a unit in Science called “The Solar System and Beyond”. During my observing of this unit of instruction, I was able to compile the information needed to respond to the questions within the module. The following is the information: Were other content areas such as reading, writing, math and technology integrated into the science lesson by the teacher? Yes, the teacher did integrate the content area of Reading by using compare and contrast, sequence, categorizing and classifying information, and drawing conclusions. The subject area of Math was applied through teaching how to calculate the distance in astronomical units in the Solar System. Astronomical units are the standard unit for distance...
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...Rosario Carrillo HUM / 114 October 17, 2012 In Need of Alternative Sources of Energy There are many people that are debating how to best meet energy needs in the United States. The argument is that the country must decrease its dependence on oil and invest in alternative sources of energy. The United States uses oil daily witch tends to be very expensive. People believe that to best meet energy needs would be to find alternative sources, such as wind, and solar power. The truth is that alternative energy needs to become a major investment for everyone. The conservation of energy can result in the increased of financial capital, environmental quality, and comfort. The oil supply is decreasing daily and evenly that source will be extinct so why not start with alternative sources. Some argue that alternative sources are too expensive, but fail to realize that if he or she was to invest in an alternative source such as solar panels that they will acquire adequate lighting and a more healthful life. ”Solar incentives for homeowners reduce the energy cost by 30 to 50 percent” (Chiras, 2012, 5p. ). This is one of the reasons why it is important to invest in alternative sources of energy because the amounts of saving are so high. The price of electricity will increase witch will cause people to spend thousands of dollars on electricity because of the rising cost of oil. By encouraging more people to use alternative sources would help the United States to gradually clean...
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...ADVANTEGES OF SOLAR ENERGY Solar energy is a renewable resource that is environmentally friendly. Unlike fossil fuels, solar energy is available just about everywhere on earth. And this source of energy is free, immune to rising energy prices. Solar energy can be used in many ways - to provide heat, lighting, mechanical power and electricity. Think about the money you’ll save once you are off the energy grid. SOLAR COLECTERS Active solar systems use solar collectors and additional electricity to power pumps or fans to distribute the sun's energy. The heart of a solar collector is a black absorber which converts the sun's energy into heat. The heat is then transferred to another location for immediate heating or for storage for use later. The heat is transferred by circulating water, antifreeze or sometimes air. Applications for active solar energy include heating swimming pools, domestic hot water use, ventilation and industrial process air and water for commercial facilities such as laundries, car washes and fitness centers. SOLAR ENERGY [pic] BY: CARSON COLE DOMESTIC HOT WATER Another common way to use the sun's heat is with the use of a solar domestic hot water system. Depending on how the system is used, a typical system will provide 50 to 75 per cent of a family's hot water needs. With water heating accounting for about 20 per cent of home energy use, a solar DHW system is an attractive method of reducing a home's fossil...
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...Stardust is the NASA spacecraft that took samples of the Wild 2 comet. This craft returned samples that showed sampled of glycine, an amino acid used to make proteins. The mission took place in January of 2004 and the data was sent back to Earth in January 2006. These results were the first to prove that there are life ingredients in space. This proof restarts the issue of whether our species was created by a meteor or comet that came to Earth and left these similar samples. It’s perfectly logical to think believe if this one comet had these particles that many more could too. That they could be remnants of other planets or celestial bodies even. Dr. Carl Pilcher, Director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute which co-funded the research said, “The discovery of glycine in a comet supports the idea that the fundamental building blocks of life are prevalent in space, and strengthens the argument that life in the universe may be common rather than rare.” This is simply a hint of possibilities for what could be out there. Through this two-year journey much was accomplished. These accomplishments give scientists and astronomers even more of a reason to look into space in search for many things from life to more life ingredients. If our science today can accomplish something like this then the limitations are endless for future scientists and what they can find. Professor Donald E. Brownlee said it best when he said, “The discovery of amino acids in the returned comet sample...
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