Operation and Technology Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operation and Technology Management - Essay Example The M&S products are not according to the changing trends in fashion industry. Main reason behind this is that the supply chain of M&S is weak as compare to the industry. Though it has a well defined supply chain process but it involved too many steps. The value chain steps of M&S are almost double of their major competitor i.e. Zara. Zara has become very dominant in fashion industry due to its frequent and rapid launching of new stylish apparels (Ghemawat and Nueno, 2006). M&S have approximately 12 months lead time for each seasonal collection which is considered as very long time span as the fashion industry has become very fast in launching new apparels. M&S outsources some of key activities of their value chain to the regions where raw materials and labours are cheap. This shows that company does not manufacture the complete products all in one place and it takes long time for them to manufacture apparels. Furthermore, the quality control process of M&S is very thorough and they also spend much time on this process. The fashion industry is evolving at rapid rate and the clothes and products become obsolete within no time because of the changing needs of the customers. Therefore, the company needs to introduce stylish products frequently and rapidly in order to participate in fashion game. For that purpose, they need to make supply chain efficient. Another factor, which hinders the participation of M&S in the ‘fashion’ game is launching of season apparel only. They produce few products a year which are in Spring/summer and Winter/Autumn. Their competitors such as Zara and H&M have moved away from this technique and offer many new clothes in different styles all over the year according to the customer taste (Arrigo, 2010). The companies operating in the fashion industry are based on three main elements or factors i.e. designers, market specialists and customers. M&S have separate work place for each factor and is not able to

Levels of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Levels of Management - Essay Example This essay talks about different levels of management. According to Bernard L. Erven (1999), the five functions of management are â€Å"planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.† Though management involves additional functions, most can be categorized under one of the five. However, the level of management does determine how much involvement the manager may have in each of these functions and what the manager’s specific responsibilities are. Senior managers are more likely to be responsible for the bulk of strategic planning. Line manager are likely to be involved in planning as well, though the main responsibility is identifying how specific jobs should be completed or altered to help the organization implement its strategy. For the senior manager, problem solving involves analyzing the business environment and evaluating all possible alternatives and related outcomes. Reports from industry sources, financial officers, middle managers and others will likely be accessed to explore all possibilities. The responsibility of the line manager is to provide senior managers with information regarding the capacity and capabilities of workers, through production reports. For the sales manager reports on current sales and marketing strategies, and customer purchasing trends may be required. The most inexperienced workers may contribute more to the strategic planning process. Experienced managers may be more likely to consult with workers directly, to obtain information for developing or changing the strategy.