b121

the five primary activities in the value chain, according to porter's value chain model.



The five primary activities in the value chain are:



• Inbound logistics

• Operations

• Outbound logistics

• Marketing and sales

• After sales service





Discuss briefly the five primary activities in the value chain.

The first three activities are input/transformations/output model:

1) Inbound logistics: refers to the management of the flow of inputs to the organization.



2) Operations: are what the organization does to inputs in order to transform them into the goods and services (outputs) that the organization intends to sell to customers.



3) Outbound logistics: are those activities that deal with the initial storage and then the distribution of the outputs to the customers.



The other two functions which concerned as the disposal of the outputs:

4) Marketing and sales:  which comprises the activities that are intended to achieve the sales of the output.

5) After sales service:  is directed towards people who have already bought the output.





















The five forces of competition





Porter's five forces of competition helps managers to analyze the near environment. List these forces.

• Potential entrants

• Industry competitors

• Buyers

• Suppliers

• Substitute



Porter’s five forces model identifies five types of competitive pressures within a sector. These five forces are extremely useful for the managers to analyze the environment.

List and discuss the Porter’s five forces model by emphasizing on the types of competitive pressure exerted by each force on the firm.



Porter’s five force model:



Porter’s five forces of competition is a model that helps managers to analyze the near environment. Porter’s model identifies five types of competitive pressure within a sector are:



1. Established competitors.

2. New entrants to the market.

3. Substitute products

4. The bargaining power of suppliers and,

5. The bargaining power of customers.



Porter argues that rivalry among existing firms is not the only competitive force. The degree of competitiveness or rivalry within an industry depends too, on:



1. The availability of substitutes: the organization needs to consider not only those competitors offering similar products or services, but also those offering products or services that may act as substitutes or replacements

2. The strength of suppliers and buyers (customers): which can determine the final price and influence the profit margin,

3. The threat of new entrants: For new entrants, the level of barriers to entry is important. A barrier to entry is something that increases the expense or difficulty of breaking into a market.





The terms "mission" and "vision" are often used interchangeably, explain each term.

Mission is usually focused on the tangible goals of the organization, sets out what the organization wants to be.

Vision may include quite abstract elements. An organizational vision is a framework that includes the guiding philosophy, core values, beliefs and purposes from which the mission statement is developed.



Mission sets out what the organization wants to be. List the Typical format of a mission statement.

1. The organisation’s philosophy.

2. Specification of the product/market domain.

3. The organisation’s key values.

4. Critical factors for success in the marketplace.



Describe the  good mission statement?



Good mission statements are brief and to the point, it capture the essence of the organization by stating its purposes, business statement and values.





Discuss the six F test questions which help to identify how well a vision is likely to be embraces.

The six F test

1. Is it fantastic?  Does it grab attention?  Will it stretch everyone involved to the limit?

2. Is it feasible?  Can it be achieved with the resources and people available, and in the time specified?

3. Is it focused?  Could it describe the outcome of a number of other projects currently being undertaken, or just one?

4. Is it flexible?  Is there room for manoeuvre if key players, corporate goalposts or circumstances change (which they will).

5. Is it faxable?  Can it be remembered easily and communicated succinctly?

6. Is it fun?  Is it positive and playful rather than dull and restrictive?







List and explain the alternative marketing mix: 4C's

The four Cs: It is an alternative of marketing mix which concentrates on the customers’ perspective.



1. Customer needs and wants: All the elements of a product or service must be designed to ensure that what is finally offered will satisfy the customer.

2. Cost to the customer: The customer will consider many factors when deciding if a product is value for money

3. Convenience : The delivery of products and services to customers involves factors such as quality, access, availability, place of delivery must be convenient.

4. Communication: Organizations need to ensure that customers know about the benefits of their products and where to obtain them. They need to communicate with customers and let customers communicate with them.



Relationship marketing and characteristics.



What are relationship marketing and list its characteristics.

The concept focuses on creating and managing long-term customer relationships. it involves moving activities away from those designed to create a series of one-off transactions, to managing a complex network of relationships involved in the production of the whole offering to the customer.



Its characteristics:



1. Orientation towards repeat sales

2. Close, frequent customer or supplier contact

3. Focus on value to customer

4. Emphasis on long-term performance

5. High level of customer service

6. Goal of delighting the customer

7. Quality is the responsibility of the whole organization









Define with suitable examples, the various types of costs.

Fixed cost (FC): the costs that are not affected by changes in the level of an organizations activity, for example, the rent that a law firm pays for its premises will not vary with the volume of the firm’s business. The rent paid is independent of the level of the firm’s activity.



Variable cost (VC): the costs that increase or decrease as the level of activity rises or falls. For example, the telephone charges would be expected to rise as the volume of business rises and to fall as the volume of business falls.



Direct cost: sometimes it is possible to attribute a cost to a particular activity. In the law firm,  for example it will be possible to say that a member of staff worked for so many hours or days on behalf of a particular client, and so that appropriate cost can be charged directly to the client.

                                                                                                                                                                Indirect cost: The costs that cannot attributed to particular tasks. Suppose the law firm has advertised its services in local newspaper. It will be important to allocate those costs to particular tasks in the way that it was possible to allocate the staff costs. Because the costs cannot be attributed directly to a particular client, they are regarded as indirect costs.

Components of balance sheet



Discuss the three important components of the Balance Sheet.

ASSETS: Assets are something which an organization owns and which has a market value, and there are two kinds of assets: A fixed assets are part of the structure of the organization. Buildings and equipment are example of fixed assets, current assets, is one that is short term. It is one that will be used or consumed in the organizations operations within one year. The raw material, account receivable and the cash are example of current assets.



LIABILITIES: A liability is a debt that the organization owes to another person or organization, and there are two categories of liability: A long-term liability (or debt) is one that due for payment is more than one year’s time. A loan from bank (for a year) is example of a long term liability. A current liability is a debt that in due for payment within one year, and payments due to creditors is example of current liabilities.



NET WORTH: The net worth (or the net value) is the value of assets less the value of the liabilities (net worth= assets- liabilities) as recorded in the books of accounts.





Remember the rules: أحفظ وافهم القانونين



Break even = fixed cost/contribution                 or   in short form (BV = FC/C)

Contribution = selling price – variable price     or  in short form (C=SP-VP)



If a furniture manufacturer incurs a fixed cost of $5000 and variable cost of $50 (for manufacturing one unit of furniture). Find the break even, if the selling price of one unit of furniture is $70.

 Break even = Fixed Costs ÷ Contribution per unit sold

 Contribution per unit sold = Selling price – Variable cost per unit = $70 - $50 = $20

 Break even = 5000 ÷ 20 = 250 units



If a furniture manufacturer incurs a fixed cost of $1000 and variable cost of $20 (for manufacturing one unit of furniture). Find the break even, if the selling price of one unit of furniture is $40.

       Break even = Fixed Costs ÷ Contribution per unit sold

       Contribution per unit sold = Selling price – Variable cost per unit = $40-$20 = $20

       Break even = 1000 ÷ 20 = 50 units



If a furniture manufacturer incurs a fixed cost of $1200 and variable cost of $17 (for manufacturing one unit of furniture). Find the break even, if the selling price of one unit of furniture is $27.

 Break even = Fixed Costs ÷ Contribution per unit sold

 Contribution per unit sold = Selling price – Variable cost per unit = $27-$17 = $10

 Break even = 1200 ÷ 10 = 120 units



If a bed mattress manufacturer incurs a fixed cost of $1200 0and variable cost of $40 (for manufacturing one unit of bed mattress). Find the break even, if the selling price of one unit of bed mattress is $60.

 Break even = Fixed Costs ÷ Contribution per unit sold

 Contribution per unit sold = Selling price – Variable cost per unit = $60-$40 = $20

 Break even = 12000 ÷ 20 = 600 units





Characteristics of transactional leader



Discuss the characteristics of transactional leadership?

1.Contingent reward –contracts, exchange of rewards for efforts, promises rewards for good performance, recognizes accomplishments.



2.Management by exception (active) –watches and searches for deviations from rules and standards, takes corrective action.



3.Management by exception(Passive)-intervenes when standards are not met.



4.Laissez-faire –abdicates responsibility, avoids making decisions.





Outline the checklist for employee selection processes to make the selection processes fair for the applicants.

1. The selection process has an obvious relationship to the job.

2. Applicants are not asked invasive or improper questions.

3. Applicants have an opportunity to demonstrate job-related competencies.

4. The selection is carried out in a consistent manner between candidates.

5. The selectors have good interpersonal skills – they are courteous, open, good listeners and willing to provide information.

6. There are opportunities for two-way communication.

7. Applicants are given information about the organization as part of the selection process.

8. Applicants are given clear and detailed feedback on reasons for the selection decision.

9. The nature of selection process is clearly explained.

10. Selectors are honest about the organization and about reasons for selection decisions.









Quantitative and qualitative aspects of performance management.



Managing employee performance involves setting standards the terms and conditions of the contract, quality of work, quantity of work and interpersonal behavior. Explain both of Quantitative aspects & Qualitative aspects.



Quantitative aspects

Some aspects of performance lend themselves to the setting of clear objectives and quantitative targets such as :-

• Timescales

• Deadlines

• Amounts produced

• Costs

• Resource usage

Qualitative aspects:

Other aspects performance may be more subjective and require a qualitative judgment. Subjective measures are associated with a variety of problems. When assessing people subjectively, social influences and personal preferences can come into play. judgment may reflect ethnicity, gender, appearance or personal biases rather than pure performance. Assessing performance will be easier if, at the outset, performance criteria and standards have been communicated to people and they agree and understand them.























The four E’s of organizational performance



Explain the 4E's of organizational performance.

1. Effectiveness: is the extent to which an organization achieves its goal. The goals have to be clear before judging the effectiveness.



2. Efficiency: describes how well an organization transforms inputs into outputs. An organization becomes more efficient as it produces more or better outputs for the same inputs or the same outputs from fewer inputs.



3. Economy: describes how cheaply the inputs can be purchased. Economy is rarely a dominant criterion. It is simply a measure on the input side and takes no account of outputs. However, economy becomes more important in public-sector organizations where managers are constrained by fixed budgets.



4. Ethical acceptability: is the extent to which the behavior of an organization and its members is acceptable in terms of normal standards of the wider society in which it operates. Organizations that behave in ways that stray too far from accepted moral standards can face a wide range of social sanctions from adverse media attention to customer boycotts and legal action.













Elements of business excellence model



What are the element of business excellence model. Or List and briefly explain the elements of European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) business excellence model.

The elements of the model:

1. Leadership: How senior people inspire and drive an organization in pursuit of long-term success through total quality management.

2. People management: How the organization realises the full potential of its employees to support its policy and strategy, and the effective operation of it processes.

3. Policy and strategy: How the organization implements its mission and vision through a clear stakeholder-focused strategy, supported by relevant policies, plans, objectives, targets and processes.

4. Resources: how the organization plans and manager its external partnership and internal resources to support its policy and strategy and effective operation of its processes.

5. Processes: how the organization designs, manages and improves increasing value for its customers and other stakeholder.

6. People satisfaction: What the organization is achieving for its employees.

7. Customer satisfaction: What the organization is achieving for its external customers.

8. Impact on society: What the organization is achieving for local, national or international society, as appropriate.

9. Business results: What the organization is achieving with regard to its planned performance.













Stages of traditional control process



The traditional control process is usually described in standards in standard management textbooks as comprising four stages. List and discuss these stages.

STAGE 1 – Set objectives and establish standards of performance

At this stage an overall aim needs to be refined into a more specific set of objectives. Some of these objectives will specify what needs to be done (output objectives) and some will specify how these objectives need to be done (process objectives). Standards of performance will then be derived from these objectives and actual performance will be measured against these standards or criteria's.

STAGE 2 – Plan tasks, identify performance measures, carry out tasks and measure performance

The planning process involves identifying the tasks that need to be done, and linking them to people and resources, and drawing up a working plan (a Gantt chart or network analysis, or critical path analysis). Control and performance are measured as the plan progresses. Performance criteria may relate to quality, quantity, timeliness or customer service.

STAGE 3 – Monitor progress and compare performance to objectives and standards:

At this stage progress needs to be monitored. Monitoring techniques include: observation; regular reports; exception reporting when necessary; questioning and discussion; routine statistics.  Actual performance is then compared with targets.

STAGE 4 – Act on results of monitoring and take corrective action

If there is a discrepancy between performance and standards, corrective action may need to be taken. At this level it is important to precise whether employees training is needed? Has the standard been set too high? Have circumstances changed? Is it the same team or person who’s failing to meet targets, or is it common to all staff involved in all tasks?

Corrective action can involve:

• Revising the objectives

• Adjusting the tasks still to be completed (the most common course of action)

• Providing additional resources/training

• Doing nothing.



According to Wyckoff define the quality and list the quality strategy steps?



Quality is a Degree of excellence intended, and the control of variability in achieving that excellence, in meeting a customer’s requirement.



Quality Strategy:



1- An understanding of how customer expectations are created before entry to the service.

2- An understanding of how expectations and perceptions of service quality can be managed during and after the provision.

3- The definition of standards, based on customer expectation and operational abilities at each part of the process.

4- The creation of procedures to meet the quality standards.

5- The communication of those standards and procedures to employees and the training of them to achieve them.

6- The monitoring and control of those standards.



A customer operation could be considered as a customer processing operation(CPO), where customers is processed through a series of stages. List these stages. بس عدد ولكن أضفت الشرح احتياطا

1/ Selection:

Is the act of choosing between competing service organizations. That will based on:

• The customer’s previous experiences.

• The experience of other people known to the customer.

• The marketing image created by the organization's advertising and promotion efforts.

• Independent media coverage.

2/ Point of entry (POE)

• Customer chooses the moment to enter or interact with the service system.

• Response time.

• Customer response time, usually in queue. Queues may be of several form; physical visible line of people or invisible queue of incoming telephone call, remote queue.

3- Delivery: This is the activity during which the services and associated product are provided and will involve many further points of personal contact.



4/ Point of departure (POD):

On completion of the service delivery, the consumer leaves the service system.



5/ Follow-up: The consumer, having received the service and left the service system, may choose to reflect upon it and react to it.

2 | ABUASKENDER