...Riordan Current Business Practices Audit MGT/360 University of Phoenix Riordan Current Business Practices Audit Riordan Manufacturing is a global plastics manufacturer with locations in California, Georgia, Michigan, and China. The vice president of operations decided to develop a sustainability plan. Team A has been assigned the task to conduct a business audit to evaluate the Riordan’s current business practices at each location. The audit provides valuable information to identify the nonsustainable business practices and how each effects the environment. The subject in this paper is how Riordan Manufacturing will identify their nonsustainable practices, federal regulations, mandatory, and voluntary actions necessary to implement a successful sustainability plan. Nonsustainable Business Practices The business practice audits brought to light three nonsustainable practices. The three practices highlighted by the audit include wasted energy from the plants, the use of toxic cleaning solvents, and spilled ink. These three business practices can be very harmful to the environment. Burning fossil fuels for energy creates gases such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and volatile organic compounds. These gases cause air pollution. They can cause several kinds of air pollution, particular matter, smog, and ozone (New Energy Alternative, 2008). Air pollution can travel thousands of miles and can harm areas that burn fossil fuels sparingly. The next nonsustainable...
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...Background of Toyota’s Production System Kanban System was found by the Vice-President of Toyota Motor Company Taiichi Ohno in the middle of the 20th century. The idea behind Kanban System came from US supermarkets and this system is about producing only the necessary products, at the necessary time, in necessary quantity (Sugimori et al., 1977). The starting point of Kanban was the recognition of diversity of Japan’s features and the idea is developed by considering the two distinct characteristics of this culture : (1) lack of resources in Japan, (2) Japanese working culture (Sugimori et al., 1977). After World War II, Japan was affected excessively - insufficient and unproductive land for agriculture - and this lead them to import huge amount of raw materials especially food. Therefore, imbalance of import and export appeared. Since Japan is in a disadvantegeous position about these reasons, it is important to reduce the production cost and to add more value to products. In addition, unlike European and American work style, Japanese working culture includes group consciousness, sense of equality - little discrimination between blue-collars and white-collars -, desire to improve consistently, centralized their life around work and lifetime employment system. These features caused the consideration of full usage of workers capabilities in the production system. Because of these reasons, Toyota Motor Company decided to use Just-In-Time (JIT) production system and Kanban was...
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...| | | | | | 15 | 5 | 1575 | 105 | -21 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The three stages of production are identified by the shape and slope of both curves. The first stage is illustrated by an increasingly positive slope. | | | Short-run production of this stage takes place due to increasing marginal returns. When variable input is added to fixed input, the MP of the variable input increases. | The second stage...
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...advantage by predicting patterns of commerce and production based on the factor endowments of a trading region. The model essentially says that countries will export products that use their abundant and cheap factor(s) of production and import products that use the countries' scarce factor(s).[1] The product life-cycle theory is an economic theory that was developed by Raymond Vernon in response to the failure of the Heckscher-Ohlin model to explain the observed pattern of international trade. The theory suggests that early in a product's life-cycle all the parts and labor associated with that product come from the area in which it was invented. After the product becomes adopted and used in the world markets, production gradually moves away from the point of origin. In some situations, the product becomes an item that is imported by its original country of invention.[1] A commonly used example of this is the invention, growth and production of the personal computer with respect to the United States. The model applies to labor-saving and capital-using products that (at least at first) cater to high-income groups. In the new product stage, the product is produced and consumed in the US; no export trade occurs. In the maturing product stage, mass-production techniques are developed and foreign demand (in developed countries) expands; the US now exports the product to other developed countries. In the standardized product stage, production moves to developing countries, which then export...
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...form 23 July 2009 Accepted 26 July 2009 Available online 28 August 2009 Keywords: Zinc Substance flow analysis “STAF” model Life cycle Resource recycling abstract A material stock and flow (STAF) model was constructed to track the pathway of zinc in China, 2006, for the study of the industrial metabolism of a certain metal within a regional level. The primary flows of zinc include production, fabrication and manufacturing, use, and waste management. This paper traces the major flows of zinc from ore, to product, to potential secondary resource as it moves through the China’s economy over 1 year, and inventory data, and mass balance equations were used to determine the quantity of flows. The domestic ore produced was 3248.3 Gg and output of refined lead ingot was 3162.7 Gg in 2006. It was calculated that, in the production and manufacture and fabrication stage, the self-supply efficiency of zinc raw materials in 2006 is 87.58% and 94.92%, respectively. The results reveal that China has richer zinc raw resources. But only about 3.68% and 9.06% of the discarded zinc in the two stages were recycled, respectively. While zinc’s residence time can be high for many of its applications in the building and construction sector, since the majority of zinc is used as an anti-corrosion coating, there are dissipative losses occurring during the lifetime of products and...
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...Current Business Practices Audit Kimberly Johnson, Richard Siemienczuk, Karen Graham, and Chad Smestad MGT/360 December 3, 2012 Vicki Bauer Current Business Practices Audit The learning team conducted an audit of Riordan Manufacturing’s current business practices at its processing plants located in California, Georgia, Michigan, and China. The business sustainability worksheets used to complete the evaluation aided the team in locating common areas of non-sustainable practices relating to land, water, and air pollution. The three non-sustainable practices evaluated further are solid waste, and hazardous waste causing land pollution, hazardous waste causing water pollution, and gaseous waste causing air pollution. These areas are the most harmful to the immediate population, which includes the plant workers and the communities. Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste Causing Land Pollution One of the non-sustainable practices is adding to land pollution. Currently, off-spec materials are sent to the landfill (Apollo, 2012). In addition to this, scrap plastic managed as waste goes to the landfill (Apollo). The biggest problem is that plastic is not biodegradable. When plastic and off-spec products are sent to the landfill, breakdown occurs but at minimal rates and these take longer to biodegrade over time. To remain compliant with government regulations, Riordan Manufacturing is required to identify hazardous waste generated each month if it exceeds 2,200 pounds (Apollo...
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...The Theory of Production Production: the creation of any good or service that has economic value to either consumers or other producers. Production analysis focuses on the efficient use of inputs to create outputs. The process involves all of the activities associated with providing goods and services. Examples: a. physical processing or manufacturing of material goods b. production of transportation services c. production of legal advice d. production of education e. production of invention (R & D) f. production of bank loans Production refers to the transformation of inputs or resources into output of goods and services. Inputs are the resources used in the production of goods and services and are generally classified into three broad categories—labour, capital and land or natural resources. They may be fixed or variable. Fixed Inputs are those that cannot be readily changed during the time period under consideration except, perhaps at a very great expenses. (e.g., a firm’s plant). Variable Inputs are those that can be varied easily and on very short notice (e.g., most raw materials and unskilled labour). The time period during which at least one input is fixed is called the Short-Run, while the time period when all inputs are variable is called the Long-Run. The length of the long-run depends on the type of industry, e.g., the long-run for a dry cleaning business may be a few weeks or months. Generally, a firm operates in the short-run and plans increases...
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...Job Method With Job production, the complete task is handled by a single worker or group of workers. Jobs can be small-scale/low technology as well as complex/high technology. Low technology jobs: here the organisation of production is extremely simply, with the required skills and equipment easily obtainable. This method enables customer's specific requirements to be included, often as the job progresses. Examples include: hairdressers; tailoring High technology jobs: high technology jobs involve much greater complexity - and therefore present greater management challenge. The important ingredient in high-technology job production isproject management, or project control. The essential features of good project control for a job are: - Clear definitions of objectives - how should the job progress (milestones, dates, stages) - Decision-making process - how are decisions taking about the needs of each process in the job, labour and other resources Examples of high technology / complex jobs: film production; large construction projects (e.g. the Millennium Dome) Batch Method As businesses grow and production volumes increase, it is not unusual to see the production process organised so that "Batch methods" can be used. Batch methods require that the work for any task is divided into parts or operations. Each operation is completed through the whole batch before the next operation is performed. By using the batch method, it is possible to achieve specialisation of labour...
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...the product from the marketplace. It is characterized by specific stages, including research, development, introduction, maturity, decline, and finally obsolescence as the product is removed from the market (discontinued). Each stage is often linked with changes in the flows of raw materials, parts and distribution to markets as production (input costs) is adjusted to face increasing competition. The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is used to map the lifespan of a product. There are generally four stages in the life of a product. These four stages are the Introduction stage, the Growth stage, the Maturity stage and the Decline stage. The following graph illustrates the four stages of the PLC: There is no set time period for the PLC and the length of each stage may vary. One product's entire life cycle could be over in a few months. Another product could last for years. Also, the Introduction stage may last much longer than the Growth stage and vice versa. The Four Stages of the Product Life Cycle 1. Introduction: This stage mainly concerns the development of a new product, from the time is was initially conceptualized to the point it is introduced on the market. Introduction is a period of slow sales growth as the product is introduced in the market. Profits are non existent in this stage because of heavy expenspes of product introduction. The The great majority of ideas do not reach the promotion stage. The corporation having an innovative idea first will often have...
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...PRODUCT DESIGN Product Decision / Analysis / product Development Product Design 1) Product is anything that is capable of satisfying a felt need. A new product is the one which is truly innovative and is significantly different from other products. 2) Product Design specifies which materials are to be used, determines dimensions and tolerances define appearances of the product and sets standards of the performance. 3) Service Design specifies what physical items, sensual benefits and psychological benefits the customer is to receive from the service. Design has a tremendous impact on the quality of product or service. An Effective Design Process 1) Matches the product or service characteristics with customers requirement 2) Ensures customers requirements are met in simplest and least costly manner 3) Reduces the time required to design a new product or services 4) Minimize the revisions necessary to make a design workable. Product Design and Development 1) New Product Design 2) Improvement in the design of existing product due to life cycle of a product Product Decision: 1) the selection, definition and design of the products. The existing of the organization depends upon how well it provides goods and services to society. Since every product has life cycle the old product live for some time and die and hence new product are required for society this is due to changing societies, habits, tastes, liking etc. Thus operation...
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...The production Othello was a different experience for me. In high school, I had read the play and participated in the school's production. All of the productions I have seen had many actors who wore costumes and were only present on stage when they had a part. I had never seen a production where there were only five actors and they wore the same costumes throughout the entire play. Also, it was unique how the when the actors did not have a part in the scene, they did not exit the stage; they took a seat on the back of the stage. It slightly annoyed me how the actors who were seated in the back were distracting to the production. One actor was blowing his nose in the background and the others would laugh along. From the moment I walked into the theater, I was surprised at the size of the stage. Since the theater is located at a large university, I was expecting the stage to be very large and to have much more seating than it did. I feel like we chose a decent place to sit. It was not too close to the front to where we would have gotten showered in saliva, but not far away enough to where we wouldn't be able to hear anything. I think that because of the productions I have seen and am used, the play did not interest me as much as I thought it would. Although I have read and viewed the production before, it was hard for me to pay attention and follow along in the first half. There was very little action and the wording was a little confusing. Despite my ability to understand...
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...1.Complete the table (Table 1) below Table showing the Average and Marginal product of labor for a hypothetical firm |Amount of labour( |Amount of |Output of parts(Q, |Average product |Marginal product(∆Q/∆L) | |units) |capital(No. of |hundreds of parts) |(Q/L) | | | |machines) | | | | | 0 |5 |0 |- |- | | 1 |5 |49 |49 |49 | | 2 |5 |132 |66 |83 | | 3 |5 |243 |81 |111 | | 4 |5 |376 |94 |133 | | 5 |5 |525 |105 |149 | | 6 |5 |684 |114 |159 | | 6.666 |5 |792.59 |120.09 |163.04 | | 7 |5 |847 |121 |163 | | 8 ...
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...Production process and factors of production. The ultimate target of the production process is to make goods and/or services that will meet the demands and needs of prospective customers. Meeting the demands of customers efficiently, quickly, with best quality, allowing competitive pricing, is the best way to ensure success. The production process is the method that businesses make products and services. A productive process is quite a fluid process. it will be analysed and tweaked as needed continually to make improvements in cost, speed and qualitiy. The main resources and stagesthat are involved to make up the production process are shown here below. How well-organised a business is at performing this transformation process will ultimately determine its success level. This level is what's known as the productive efficiency of a firm and it needs to be as efficient as possible. Efficiency in transforming its input resources into saleable output products lowers production (transforming) costs. This means using the minimum amount of input resources as possible to achieve a set amount of product outputs. While utilising the minimum amount of transforming costs like labour, electricity, waste output Doing this will minimise the production cost per unit and give the firm the ability to sell at a lower competitve price. Thus gaining an advantage over other competitve firms suppying the same product or service. Ultimately, the objective of the production process...
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...illustration of a product's lifespan, which goes through various stages, the first of which is, the introduction stage followed by the growth stage, the maturity stage then concludes with a declining stage. Each stage has its own unique attributes. According to the website businesscasestudy.com PLC serves as a tool for managing cash flow. The following outline illustrates the characteristics and the marketing objectives of each stage. Introduction stage: Innovated products are brought forth into the marketplace. Products are promoted in the marketplace for public awareness The objective is for the product to gain recognition in the marketplace. Prices of merchandise are low due to intense competition in the marketplace. Losses of revenues may very well occur. Growth Stage: Their is a rapid increase in sales and productions. Large amount of money is spent on advertisements Numbers of competitors increase in the marketplace while, other notice how expeditious products are selling. Maturity Stage: When a product reaches its peak in sales and gain stability Reduction of items Differentiation of a product from others. Declining Stage: Sales are gradually declining Loss of profits Competitors are gradually dropping off According to the above outline on PLC, they are various strategies that need to be applied if one desires to advance from each stage to the next. The introduction stages consist of...
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...understand the differences between them for a successful marketing manager. Selling has a product focus and mostly producer driven. It is the action part of marketing only and has short – term goal of achieving market share. The emphasis is on price variation for closing the sale where the objective can be stated, as “I must somehow sell the product”. This short – term focus does not consider a prudential planning for building up the brand in the market place and winning competi¬tive advantage through a high loyal set of cus¬tomers. The end means of any sales activity is maximizing profits through sales maximization. When the focus is on selling, the businessman thinks that after production has been completed the task of the sales force starts. It is also the task of the sales department to sell whatever the production department has manufactured. Ag¬gressive sales methods are justified to meet this goal and customer‟s actual needs and satisfaction are taken for granted. Selling converts the product in to cash for the company in the short run. Marketing as a concept and approach is much wider than selling and is also dynamic as the fo¬cus is on the customer rather than the product. While selling revolves around the needs and in¬terest of the manufacturer or marketer, market¬ing revolves around that of consumer. It is the whole process of meeting and satisfying the needs of the consumer. Marketing consists of all those activities that are associated with product planning,pricing, promoting...
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