Data-collection in Qualitative Research Essay

This Chapter is about methods and techniques in data-collection during a qualitative research. We mentioned earlier that qualitative research is eclectic. That is, the choice of techniques is dependent on the needs of the research. Although this should be true for almost all social research, it is particularly so with qualitative research in that the appropriate method or techniques is often identified and adopted during the research. Qualitative research is also multi-modal. The researcher may adopt a variety of research techniques, or a combination of such, as long as they are justified by the needs. The discussion below is therefore not to identify a set of techniques unique to qualitative research, but rather, to introduce the methods and techniques most commonly used in qualitative research, and the issues related to such use. We shall introduce the methods and techniques in three broad categories: observations, interviews and study of documents. These are also the basic methods used in cultural anthropology (Bernard, 1988:62). Indeed, the discussions about qualitative research in education can be viewed as a particular case in cultural anthropology. Observations Observation usually means the researcher’s act to find out what people do (Bernard, 1988:62). It is different from other methods in that data occur not necessarily in response to the researcher’s stimulus. Observation may be obtrusive or unobtrusive. A researcher may simply sit in the corner of a school playground and observe how students behave during breaks. He may also stand by the school gate and observe how students behave at the school gate. Such cases of observation may be seen as unobtrusive. In other cases, the researchers may not apply any stimuli, but their presence per se may have some influence on the scene. The most common example in this category is classroom observation. Although the researcher may just sit quietly at the corner of a classroom, the presence of the researcher may  change the classroom climate. It is, nonetheless, still observation. Observation is a basic technique used in almost all qualitative research. Even if other methods or techniques are used, the researcher remains the most essential â€Å"sensor† or â€Å"instrument† and hence observation always counts (McCracken, 1988:18-20). For example, when interviewing is used, a qualitative researcher also takes into account the tonic or facial expressions of the informant, because they help interpret the verbal responses. Such expressions are only sensed by observation. If the interview is done in the field, then the surroundings of the interview site also provide meaningful data for the research. The surroundings can only be depicted through observation. Hence observation is indispensable in almost all occasions of qualitative research. However, the term observation may sometimes go beyond what is seen. It also pertains to what is heard, and even sometimes what is smelled. Case 4.1 provides one of such examples. Case 4.1: Classroom Observation Scheme In the IIEP project on basic education, Leung designed for the Chinese research a scheme for classroom observation. Classroom was taken as one of the environmental factors affecting students’ learning. The scheme was designed after Leung stayed in local schools for two days. The scheme did not confine itself to the performance of the teacher, although that was a part. The figure on the next page shows one of the six sections of the scheme. Different writers have different ways of classifying observations. Without running into juggling of definitions, we shall briefly introduce observations as participant observations and non-participant observations. More detailed classification of observations can be found in Bernard (1988), Goetz and LeCompte (1984) and Patton (1990). Participant Observation Participant observation is perhaps the most typical of qualitative research.  Some authors even use participant observation as a synonym for ethnographic research. Different writers may have slightly different definitions of participant observation. The following description by Fetterman is perhaps the most agreeable to most researchers. Participant observation is immersion in a culture. Ideally, the ethnographer lives and works in the community for six months to a year or more, learning the language and seeing patterns of behaviour over time. Long-term residence helps the researcher internalize the basic beliefs, fears, hopes and expectations of the people under study. (1989:45) Immersion of the participant can either be continuous or noncontinuous. The three classical cases we quoted in Chapter 1 all include participation in the continuous mode. Li’s study of classroom sociology (Cases 3.8 and 3.9) involved one year’s continuous residence. In the second and third year she went to the school three days a week. She combined continuous with noncontinuous participant observations. Fetterman used noncontinuous participation when he was doing qualitative evaluation of educational programmes. Case 4.2: Noncontinuous Visits In two ethnographic studies, of dropouts and of gifted children, Fetterman visited the programmes for only a few weeks every couple of months over a three-year period. The visits were intensive. They included classroom observation, informal interviews, occasional substitute teaching,interaction with community members, and the use of various other research techniques, including long-distance phone-calls, dinner with students’ families, and time spent hanging out in the hallways and parking lot with students cutting classes. (Fetterman, 1989:46-7) II. Environment of the classroom 1. The classroom is on the _____ floor of the school building. 2. The classroom is near ( ) residential area ( ) factories ( ) road(s) ( ) field ( ) marketplace ( ) others _______________________________________ 3. The number of windows which provide lighting and ventilation to the classroom: ( ) satisfies the required standard ( ) is below the required standard 4. The main artificial lighting facility in the classroom is: ( ) florescent tubes total no.__________________ ( ) light bulbs total no.__________________ 5. Condition of lighting during the lesson : ( ) bright ( ) dim ( ) dark 6. Ventilation in the classroom: ( ) well ventilated ( ) stuffy ( ) suffocating 7. Quality of air in the classroom: ( ) refreshing ( ) a bit smelly ( ) stingy 8. Environments for listening: ( ) very quiet ( ) occasional noise ( ) noisy 9. Classroom’s floor structure: ( ) concrete ( ) log ( ) mud ( ) carpet 10. Classroom’s floor condition: ( ) clean ( ) some litter ( ) full of rubbish 11. Classroom’s wall conditions: ( ) smooth & clean ( ) some stains ( ) dirty & damaged 12. Classroom’s area: _____________m2; area/person: _____ m2. 13. Space use in classroom: ( ) looks spatial ( ) fairly crowded ( ) very crowded 14. Furniture and other article arrangements in the classroom: ( ) orderly and tidy ( ) messy 1Figure 1 Classroom Observation Scheme (Designed by Leung Yat-ming) Whyte’s experience in the Italian slum (Case 2) is perhaps the nearest to ideal in participant observation. He stayed in the community for two years. He experienced the life of a member of the Italian slum. In Whyte’s case, native membership allows the researcher the highest level of participant observation. Most researchers are denied such an opportunity, often because of constraints in time and resources, as we have discussed at length in Chapter 3. Under all sorts of constraints, at best the researcher â€Å"lives as much as possible with and in the same manner as the individuals under investigation† (Goetz and LeCompte, 1984: 109). In these circumstances, the researchers may not claim that they was doing ethnography, but it is legitimate to apply ethnographic approach and techniques to the study (Fetterman, 1989:47). Participant observation in its broad sense therefore tolerates different lengths of time and different degrees of depth. There is a full range of possible modes of participant observation, what Wolcott calls â€Å"ethnographer sans[1] ethnography† (Wolcott, 1984: 177). The most frequent case in education is that a researcher may stay in a school and become a teacher in that school. The researcher identity may or may not be disguised. The researcher may then, as a participant, observe teachers’ behaviours in teaching, in meetings, in conversations, and so forth. Sometimes, the researcher is readily a member of the community (say, a school) and may still carry out research as a participant observer. However, in this case, the researcher should be aware of his/her knowledge of the community and should be cautious that such knowledge would not lead to preoccupations about the school under research. In cases where the researchers have successfully gained membership (as Whyte did in the Italian  slum), the distinction between a native member and the researcher-as-participant begins to blur. This insider-outsider dialectics will be further discussed later. Nonparticipant Observation Strictly speaking, nonparticipant observation involves merely watching what is happening and recording events on the spot. In the qualitative orientation, because of the non-intervention principle, strict nonparticipant observation should involve no interaction between the observer and the observed. Goetz and LeCompte assert that in the strict sense â€Å"nonparticipant observation exists only where interactions are viewed through hidden camera and recorder or through one-way mirror† (1984: 143). Dabbs (1982:41), for example, used hidden camera in Atlanta at a plaza in Georgia State University, and studied an informal group that frequently gathered during the morning break. There are examples of using hidden video-cameras in school toilets to study drug problem among students, or to use unnoticed audio recording device to study student interactions. The use of audio or video recording device often invites concern in ethnical considerations. Such problems are similar to those arising in using one-way mirrors in interviews or psychological experiments. Such cases are rare in policy-related research. Another case of nonparticipant observation with ethical problem is disguised observation, or covert observation. A typical example is Humphrey’s (1975) study on homosexual activities. He did not participate in such activities, but offered to act as â€Å"watch queen†, warning his informants when someone approached the toilet. Another famous example is Van Maanen’s covert study of police. He became practically a police recruit. Over more than a decade, he â€Å"slipped in and out† of the police in various research roles (Van Maanen, 1982). Covert observations are again rare in research which is related to educational decision-making. Hidden camera or recorder and covert observation occur only exceptionally.  Most author would accept the watching of audience behaviour during a basketball game (Fetterman, 1989:47) or the watching of pedestrian behaviour over a street as acceptable examples of nonparticipant observations. Interaction between the researcher and the social community under study is often unavoidable. We have again discussed this at length in Chapter 3 under the notion of researcher intervention. If we perceive the problem of intervention as a matter of degrees, then the distinction between participant observation and nonparticipant observation begins to blur. The general principle across the board is that the researchers should minimize their interactions with the informants and focus attention unobtrusively on the stream of events (Goetz and LeCompte, 1984:143). Wolcott’s study of school principal (Case 3) was perhaps the most intensive type of nonparticipant observation that one could find in the realm of education. (He also used other supplementary methods as mentioned in Case 3). He did live with the school for two years, but he did not participate as a school principal which was his subject of study. He saw his role as one of â€Å"participant-as-observer† (Wolcott, 1984:7). So was Li’s study (Case 3.8) of classroom sociology in her first year. She did stay with the school as a teacher but she never became a student which was her subject of study. The following two years of her study, however, was not nonparticipant observation because she applied experimental measures. During the UNICEF research in Liaoning, the basic method I used was interviewing and not nonparticipant observation, but I did have, at times, nonparticipant observation when debates occurred between the local planners and the provincial planners (Case 3.7), or when planners chat among themselves about their past experience in the field. The most frequently employed nonparticipant observation which is relevant to educational decision-making is perhaps observation at meetings. Typically, the researcher attends a meeting as an observer. The researcher tries to be as unobtrusive as possible and records everything that happens during the meeting. When Wolcott did his study on the school principal, he was present at all meetings unless he was told otherwise (Wolcott, 1984:4). The following was my experience of a non-participant observation in China. Case 4.3: A Validation Seminar I realized during the UNICEF research in Liaoning (Case 4) that one essential step in the planning for basic education in China was validation. When drafting of an education plan was complete, the draft plan had to undergo scrutiny in what is known as a validation seminar. In essence, all those related to the plan, including leaders at all levels, representatives of all relevant government departments, experts from all areas – are invited to discuss. Relevant documents are sent to the participants well in advance. They are then asked to comment on the plan during the validation exercise. Only â€Å"validated† plans are submitted to relevant machinery for legislation. The validation seminar for Liaoning was unfortunately held before the UNICEF research. I got an opportunity, however, a year after in 1988, when the Shanghai educational plan was to undergo validation. The host of the meeting agreed to send me an invitation. I attended the meeting in the name of an â€Å"external expert†, although I made clear to the host that my major task was not to contribute. They agreed. During the meeting, I was able to observe the roles of the various â€Å"actors† during the meeting. I was also able to talk to individual participants during tea breaks and meals to understand their background and their general views about educational planning. I was able to do a number of things over the two-day meeting: (a) to classify the over 40 participants into technocrats, bureaucrats, policy-makers and academics; (b) to understand the different extents in which the participants contributed to the modification of the plan; (c) the disparity in capacity among participants in terms of information and expertise; (d) the inter-relations between the different categories of actors and (e) the function of the validation exercise. In the end, I concluded that val idation was a way of legitimation, which employed both technical (expert judgement) and political (participation) means to increase the acceptability of the plan before it went for legal endorsement. The political aspect came to me as a surprise. It indicated a change in the notion of rationality among Chinese planners and policy-makers. Interviewing Interviewing is widely used in qualitative research. Compared with observation, it is more economical in time, but may achieve less in understanding the culture. The economy in time, however, makes ethnographic interviewing almost the most widely used technique in policy-related research. Interviewing is trying to understand what people think through their speech. There are different types of interviews, often classified by the degrees of control over the interview. Along this line, we shall briefly introduce three types of interviewing: informal interviewing, unstructured interviewing, semi-structured interviewing, and formally structured interviewing. We shall also briefly introduce key-informant interviewing and focus groups which are specific types of ethnographic interviewing. Qualitative research of course has no monopoly over interviewing. Interviewing is also frequently used in research of other traditions. The difference between ethnographic interviewing and interviewing in other traditions lies mainly in two areas: the interviewer-interviewee relationship and the aims of interviews. Ethnographic interviewees, or informants, are teachers rather than subjects to the researcher, they are leaders rather than followers in the interview. The major aim of the interview should not be seeking responses to specific questions, but initiating the informant to unfold data. Readers may find more detailed discussions about ethnographic interviewing in Spradley (1979) who provides perhaps the most insightful account of the subject. In-depth discussions about ethnographic interviewing can also be found in Bernard (1988), Patton (1990), Fetterman (1989) and Powney and Watts (1987). Informal Interviewing Informal interviewing entails no control. It is usually conversations that the researcher recall after staying in the field. It is different from  Ã¢â‚¬Å"observation† in that it is interactive. That is, the informant speaks to the researcher. By its own nature, informal interviewing is the most â€Å"ethnographic† in the sense that it is not responding to any formal question. It is part of the self-unfolding process.

Operation Strategy

OPERATIONS STRATEGY Strategy: The Concept of Strategy The word strategy is derived from the Greek term â€Å"strategos† (plural strategoi; Greek: [ , ], literally meaning â€Å"army leader†) is used in Greek to mean â€Å"general†. However, the term is also used to describe a military governor which command, plan and conduct of a war.When strategy applied to business wars, the strategy refers to the establishment of objectives, the setting of direction, and the development and implementation of plans, with the goal (in place of military â€Å"victory†) of achieving ascendancy over one’s adversaries according to Andrews (1971), Ghemawat (2002) and Porter (1980). In order to have the desired competitive impact, a strategy has to operate over an extended time horizon and embrace a broad spectrum of activities, ranging from resource allocation processes to day-to-day operations.It must integrate decisions affecting these different sets of activities in to a coherent pattern, both over time and across groups that often compete for the same resources. An effective strategy also usually involves concentrating a company’s efforts and resources on a limited range of directions. Focusing resources on certain directions reduces available for others, nonetheless, so a coherent strategy usually required that a company make trade-offs among various â€Å"expected outcomes†.TYPE OF STRATEGY The word strategy is used in many contexts that is useful to identify and contrast three different types of management-related strategies. At the highest level, corporate strategy identifies the industries and markets in which a company will operate. Corporate strategists make decisions that implement these choices, including investment in and divestment of businesses together with allocation of resources among existing businesses.Business strategy, the second level of company strategy, is focused at the level of the individual business or b usiness unit within the company, and is concerned with where the business positions itself within a particular industry or market as well as with how and with what capabilities the business will win customers, cooperatively and in competition with other parties in its industries.In other word, the business strategy is also concerned with strategic business units (SBUs) as each SBU might have its own business strategy, which specifies (1) the scope of that business and its relation to the corporation as a whole, and (2) how it proposes to position itself within its particular industry to achieve competitive advantage in various ways according to Hayes et al (1988). To be effective, elaborated further from Porter (1980), this advantage must meet important customer needs, take into account competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, and be sustainable given the SBU’s capabilities.Empirical evidence from a study over 100 companies by Sterman (2000) found that those companies th at engaged in system level thinking about their business strategies significantly outperformed those that focused at the product level. To be more specific, Hax and Wilde 2001 differentiated three views a company might consider in developing a strategy. For IBM4710 Inter OM Chayakrit Asvathitanont, Ph. D. 1. Best Product- this view emerges from the classic competitive strategy.It focuses on competing by positioning the company’s products or services as low cost, having a unique set of features, or targeting a focused or niche segment in the market. 2. Total Customer Solution- the customer is at the center and the earliest to satisfy. It argues that very good understanding of customer and developing close relationships with those customers to support them in creating their own economic value.Company competing with this view will focus on supply chains to response to provide family of products or services that closely match customer requirement. 3. System Lock-In- this view com prehends the enterprise, the customers, the suppliers, and the most important those company whose product and services enhance the strategy-making company’s own product and service portfolio. The key to success in this view is to identify, attract and nurture those companies whose products and services are complementary, engaging them in a collective effort to please the customer.In this study, companies engaged in â€Å"system lock-in† far outperformed those employing â€Å"total customer solutions† or â€Å"best product† strategies on both Market Value Added (MVA) and Market-to-Book Value (MBV) as in Exhibit 1: Exhibit 1 Relative Performance of Three Positioning Strategies Strategy Best Product Total customer solutions System lock-in Number of companies in the study Relative Market Value Added Performance Relative Market-to-Book Value Performance 74 67 16 1. 0 1. 6 4. 0 1. 0 1. 2 2. 0 Source: Hax and Wilde, The Delta Project: Discovering New Sources of Profitability in a Network Economy, Pelgrave, 2001.Thus, to develop business strategy, the company must think about its positioning not only to its competitors but also its customers, suppliers and potential complementary product or service producers. Understanding the system-level view, the company will be able to provide better solutions from integration of value chain with attention to company produce the products or services that complement its products and services or any other solutions. However, the understanding customer is more critical to strategy development and execution.Hayes and Wheelwright (1984) and Fine and Hax (1985) had proposed five dimensions to use as the framework which are Cost, Quality, Availability, Features/ innovativeness and Environmental/ performance. Cost The cost has been defined as the cost of the product or service to the customer. Cost this includes not only purchase price of the product or service, but the cost of ownership as well. The aspects of cost to customer will be vary on the industry or category of the product such as the cost customer consumer product will be only on its selling price.While industrial product, like machine and equipment, will be more likely For IBM4710 Inter OM Chayakrit Asvathitanont, Ph. D. to extend its concern on installation, maintain and others cost related not only to the equipment alone. Quality The quality defined by Garvin (1988) and King (1987) is broken down into two aspects, the tangible and intangible. The tangible aspects of quality include the aesthetics of the product, or output of the service, how reliable it is over period of time, whether or not it is safe, and how convenience to fix and etc.While the intangible aspects include the competence, courtesy, and credibility of the people involved in the process, as well as the degree to which those people understand the customer’s needs and communicate well with the customers. They also include assessments of the environment s urrounding the purchase process or service, including considerations such as accessibility and security. In addition, to examine the quality, it may be important to differentiate assessments of the actual quality delivered from the quality perceived by the customer.Availability The availability dimension is increasingly important and demanding by customers. Availability requirements clearly vary by business. Grocery store customers expect products to be available on the shelf when they go shopping. An out-of-stock item is a lost of sale for a particular brand or product and also may be lost of sale for the store itself. Airlines buying airplanes, on the other end of the spectrum, do not expect to buy their products off the shelf, but they do expect delivery when promised.Plans are made months ahead, or in some cases years ahead, of projected delivery to put the new aircraft into service immediately upon delivery, possibly retiring and replacing another aircraft. Late deliveries can cause great disruption to an airline’s entire schedule. Availability applies to new product introductions as well. Some industries such as consumer electronics focus on fast time-to-market for new products. Others have longer product development and introduction cycles but must delivery new products when promised. Moreover, availability refers to the variety of the products a company offers.There is a wide range of ways in which companies offer customized products or services to their customers. Hence, availability describes the firm’s ability to deliver the variety of products or services its customers want when they want them. Features and Innovativeness The inherent characteristics of the product or service is Features such as the featured services from the first or business class fares on full service airlines like Japan Airline, Thai Airways or less featured services, such as passage on Southwest Airlines’, and Airasia’s â€Å"no frills† fligh t.Innovativeness is closely related to features due to the fact that advanced technologies are developed to be new featured of the product. For instance, global positioning systems (GPS), as innovative technology, is equipped with hi-end car and represent as additional feature. Environmental Performance It may apply to the product (or tangible output of a service) itself, or to the process by which that product was made or service delivered. Environmental management systems, for example, focus on processes and aim to reduce For IBM4710 Inter OM Chayakrit Asvathitanont, Ph. D. the environmental impact (e. . hazardous waste generation) of the processes used to make the products or deliver the services. ISO 14000 and the European Eco-Management & Audit Scheme (EMAS, www. quality. co. uk/emas. htm) are but two of several frameworks for companies to follow to improve environmental performance. The third level is composed of the functional strategies that support the type of competitive a dvantage to be pursued. A typical functional strategy is the sets of decisions made in each of the functional areas of an organization that determine how it will use in the overall business strategy of the company.Research and development managers make decisions about technology use, engineering resource allocation, product development process, research and development skills and organization, product prototyping and testing approaches, and involvement of customers in product development. Marketing managers make decisions about product and service positioning, advertising and promotion, and customer relationship management. Finance and Accounting managers make decisions about sources of funds, resource allocation, and currency hedging.The decisions make in these various functions make up the overall business strategy of the organization. Synergistic decision making among the functional support of an overall business strategy and leverage cross-functional capabilities to create and s upport business strategy direction is allowing the company to be successful. Beckman and Rosenfield (2008) have integrated these strategy into framework illustrated in Exhibit X. X. Each individual functional area may develop its own capabilities that in turn serve business strategy, or the functional areas may work in concert with another to create overarching capabilities.Business strategy is best supported, when the activities undertaken by the functional areas and/or the capabilities they develop complement one another and work together to achieve the goal of business (Fine and Hax 1985). They refer to this requirement as crossfunctional integration or fit. OPERATIONS STRATEGY An operations strategy is a set of goals, policies, and self-imposed restrictions that together describe how the organization proposes to direct and develop all the resources invested in operations so as to best fulfill (and possibly redefine) its mission (Hayes et al 1998).In the case of business organiza tion, the mission usually is expressed terms of survival, profitability, and growth, and is pursued by trying to differentiate itself from its competitors in some desirable way. A company’s operation strategy, then, has to begin by specifying how it proposes to support that chosen form of competitive differentiation. By integrating resources invested in the operations function into a cohesive, purposeful whole, such a strategy can enable operations to become a powerful source of competitive advantage. For IBM4710 Inter OM Chayakrit Asvathitanont, Ph.D. Operations Strategy Goal As described earlier, five dimensions of customer requirements which are cost, quality, availability, feature/innovativeness, and environmental performance has been mapped with operations performance measures by Fine and Hax (1985). In each case, operations can affect some, but not all, of the company’s performance along that dimension. Cost Operations directly affects the cost of the product or service and thus its purchase price (assuming that products are priced to achieve some profit) through its direct or indirect control of the supply chain.It can also affect the product’s cost of ownership through joint efforts with engineering (research and development) and/or marketing in the design of the product or service. Quality Operations also directly controls the quality of the product or service, again through its direct or indirect control of the supply chain. This is often thought of as a â€Å"conformance to specifications† task as operations strives to have all products and services delivered meet the specification set forth by the developers on behalf of the customers.Operations can also influence the design of a product or service so that it can be produced or delivered with higher quality. It does so, again, in joint efforts with research and development and marketing. Availability Operations is primarily responsible for the availability of products or services already in the market and often determines make-to-order versus make-to-stock strategies. Operations’ flexibility and process knowledge are critical in determining both the variety of features and the availability an organization can offer.The ability of operations to control the supply chain and the timeliness with which products or services can be delivered directly affects availability. The determination of how much flexibility operations can offer is a joint decision with marketing and research and development. Features/Innovativeness Generally, features are the purview of the marketing and research and development organizations, although the operations function is influential in determining the range of products, services, or features the firm will be able to provide based on its won ability to deliver them.Process knowledge and innovation are key to the organization’s ability to customize output to specific customer needs, to embed new innovations, and to allow research and development to create novel products and services. For IBM4710 Inter OM Chayakrit Asvathitanont, Ph. D. Exhibit 2: Business and Operations Strategy Performance Dimensions Dimension Cost Customer Concerns Purchase price Cost of ownership Operations Influence Costs of: Materials Production Delivery Distribution Capital Productivity Inventory turnover Design for cost Cost Objectives are measured using labor, materials, and capacity productivity; inventory turnover; unit cost.Quality of: Materials Production Delivery Distribution Design for quality Quality measures include percent defective or rejected, frequency of failure in the field, cost of quality, and mean time between failures. Availability Timeliness of delivery of product or service Ability to respond to volume fluctuations Timeliness of new product introductions Delivery performance is measured by percentage of on-time shipments, average delay, expediting response time. Flexibility is measured by product mix range, volume, and lead time for new products.Process capability Capabilities for more featured and innovative products and services Process knowledge and ability to extend it Design and development capabilities Measures of process capability assess the types of products or services that can be delivered. Environmental performance Managing environmental performance of suppliers or other partners in the supply chain Managing the environmental performance of internal production or service delivery operations Environmental performance measures include both emissions measures (water, air, and solid waste) as well as measures of product reuse and recyclability.Quality Tangible characteristics Aesthetics Reliability, durability, and safety Serviceability Intangible characteristics Competence, courtesy, understanding, and communication Access and security For purchase: Off-the-shell or make-toorder Of new products: Rapid cycle or planned evolution Variety of range of products availabl e: Degree of customization Availability Features/ innovativeness Inherent characteristics of a product or service Degree of innovation Environmental performanceDegree to which process that produces and delivers the product or service is environmentally sound Degree to which the product or service itself is environmentally sound and reusable or recyclable For IBM4710 Inter OM Chayakrit Asvathitanont, Ph. D. Source: Fine and Hax. (1985), â€Å"Manufacturing Strategy: A Methodology and an Illustration,† Interfaces 15, no. 6 (November-December) cited in Beckman, Sara L. , Rosenfield, Donald B. (2008). Operations Strategy: Competing in the 21st Century, U. S. : McGraw-Hill International Edition. Environmental Performance Finally, operations own the environmental erformance of both internal and external operations throughout the supply chain. It either works with suppliers to achieve adequate environmental performance in their facilities or works to achieve it in internal Operation s or both. Operations may also influence research and development to design products that are more environmentally sound (e. g. , easier to disassemble and recycle). Operations Goals in Practice Researchers have identified many alternative categorizations of these operations performance dimensions over the years (Dangayach and Deshmukh 2001).Some identify many categories such as the following 11: low cost, design flexibility, volume flexibility, quality conformance, product performance, speed of delivery, dependability of deliveries, after sales service, advertising, broad distributions, and broad product line (Miller and Roth 1994). Others summarize the characteristics in fewer categories defined as follows (Spring and Biadeb 1997): Cost: produce and distribute product (or service) at low cost. Quality: manufacture or deliver product or service with high quality or performance standards.Delivery dependability: meet delivery schedules. Flexibility: react to changes in product, chang es in product mix, modifications to design, fluctuations in materials, and changes in sequence. Yet others link clusters of operations performance characteristics into stylized business strategies such as those of caretaker, marketer, and innovator (miller and Roth 1994). Some researchers have examined similarities and differences in emphasis on these performance categories by industry, by geography, and over time.One study, for example, found that computer and electronics companies rate high product quality as their most important competitive factor, but computer companies rate innovative features and designs more highly than do electronics companies, while electronics companies place more emphasis on short lead times than do computer companies (Lau 2002). Others have found important differences among various countries or geographies in the emphasis they place on these characteristics. After achieving a high level of quality, for example, Japanese manufacturers turned their focus t o time-based competition and innovative products, while the U.S. and Europe continued to rank quality as a critical objective (Kenney and Florida 1993). The Manufacturing Futures Survey, which collected longitudinal data over many years, found that lasting improvements in manufacturing can only be achieved by first building quality, followed by delivery reliability, then flexibility and responsiveness, and then technological leadership. At each For IBM4710 Inter OM Chayakrit Asvathitanont, Ph. D. step of the progression, cost efficiency is pursued for the given capability set, culminating with an overall focus on cost leadership (Roth et al. 989, Miller et al. 1989). Operations Decision Categories Creating an operations strategy essentially entails making a set of decisions about the structure and infrastructure of operations (Skinner 1969, Hayes and Wheelwright 1984). Structural decisions deal with the vertical integration of the operations, its facilities, capacity, and process te chnology, whereas infrastructure decisions focus on organizational and human resource policies, sourcing and supply chain management practices, quality management systems, planning and control systems, and information technology.Infrastructure is developed over time through persistent day-to-day practice, top management commitment, and cross-functional efforts to create capabilities that support and leverage the firm’s structure. Infrastructure decisions usually deal with less tangible outcomes than do structural decisions, but it is the effective integration and synthesis of structural and infrastructural decisions that create long-term operations excellence (Dangayach and Deshmukh 2001).In making decisions in each of these categories, operations managers strive to ensure that the decisions are mutually supportive and consistent with one another. Further, they aim to have the collection of decisions support or facilitate the overall business strategy. The decision categories are briefly discussed hereunder. Structural Decisions Vertical Integration. Vertical integration decisions answer questions about how much of the Value chain a firm should own. Should they own more or less of the value chain reaching back to their suppliers?Should they own more or less of the value chain reaching forward to their customers? Issues considered include cost of the business to be acquired or entered; degree of supplier reliability; the proprietary or nonproprietary nature of the product or process to be brought in house; transaction costs of contracting through market versus non-market mechanisms; and impact on risk, product quality, cost structure, and degree of focus. Process Technology. Process technology decisions relate to the firm’s investment in the technology it uses to transform materials and/or nformation into products and/or services. Evaluation of this investment requires a firm to address several questions: Should its process be more labor intensive or more automated? Should it purchase technology or develop it in house, or use some combination there of? Should it be a follower or a leader in process technology investment? How does its process technology investment fit with its product technology development strategy? Capacity Capacity decisions establish how much capacity the firm will carry in order to manage both short-term fluctuations in demand and longer-term growth opportunities.Capacity For IBM4710 Inter OM Chayakrit Asvathitanont, Ph. D. may be added gradually or in large chunks. How should the firm deal with cyclical demand? Different types of capacity may be added at different times. How should the firm use capacity to influence its competitors’ decisions or actions? Facilities Facilities decisions are often closely related to capacity decisions, as firms may add or close facilities in response to a need for more or less capacity, but are often longer-term.In thinking through its facilities decisions, a firm will answer questions about how many facilities it should have, where they should be located, and what they should do. Facilities issues become even more crucial in a global environment as firms decide whether to locate facilities near the local market to increase share in that market, to access local technologies, to reduce costs, or to leverage local talent. Infrastructural Decisions Sourcing. Sourcing decisions follow closely from vertical integration decisions.Once a firm has decided not to own certain parts of its value chain, it must determine what types of relationships it should have with the entities outside the boundaries of the firm. Should the suppliers be managed with the five forces competitive-strategy framework suggested by Porter in this chapter, or with the more cooperative approach modeled by the Japanese keiretsu? Business processes, such as product and service Business Processes and Policies. generation, order fulfillment, and service and support, cut across fun ctional boundaries in an organization and are critical in serving the customer.Business process decisions include determining and defining critical processes, setting performance goals for each, and then choosing an appropriate organizational design to met those goals. Some of the organizational design questions include: How should the operations organization be structured? What are the roles of the line and staff organizations? What skills are required in operations? How should those skills be developed and retained? How should Those skills be developed and retained? How should operations personnel be rewarded? Supply Chain Coordination.While business process management focuses inside the organization, operations management today often requires management of multiple sources, markets, and flows outside the firm as well. Thus, operations managers face strategic decisions about the structure of the supply chains. Should they co-locate their own operations with those of their supplier s? How many layers should they have in their distribution networks? What modes of transportation are appropriate for which links in the supply chain? How should flows of goods among the various entities in the supply chain be monitored?Information Technology. Information technology and process technology decision are closely related, but process technology decisions relate to the physical equipment with which products and services are made and delivered, while information technology refers to the system that moves information around the operations function, between operations and the other functional areas in the firm, and among the players in the broader supply For IBM4710 Inter OM Chayakrit Asvathitanont, Ph. D. chain. There are a number of decisions operations managers make about their information technology.How automated should information processing be? Should information systems be purchased or developed internally? Should the firm be a follower or a leader in the development and/or use of state-of-the-art-technology? How does the information technology investment fit with other investments the firm is making? Operations Capabilities Development. There is some evidence that traditional operations improvement programs such as lean manufacturing, just-in-time, total quality management, focused factories, and the like are misused by managers.Often hastily adopted as an industry best practice or in emulation of a competitor, these programs can yield poor results, wasted effort, and missed opportunities for an organization. When thoughtfully and fully implemented, however, they can be enormously successful. In developing operations strategy, managers must examine such programs and consider the capabilities required to develop and implement them. REFERENCES Andrews, K. (1971). The Concept of Corporate Strategy, Dow Jones-Irwin: Homewood, IL. Beckman, S. L. , D. B. Rosenfield. (2008). Operations Strategy: Competing in the 21st Century, U.S. : McGraw-Hill Intern ational Edition. Dangayach, G. S. and S. G. Deshmukh. (2001) â€Å"Manufacturing Strategy: Literature Review and Some Issues. † International Journal of Operations & Production Management 21, no. 7 (July), pp. 949-964. Fine and Hax. (1985), â€Å"Manufacturing Strategy: A Methodology and an Illustration,† Interfaces 15, no. 6 (November-December) pp. 28-46. Garvin, D. A. (1988). Managing Quality: The Strategic and Competitive Edge. New York: The Free Press. Ghemawat, P. (2002). â€Å"Competition and Business Strategy in Historical Perspective. Business History Review 76 (spring): 37-74. Ghemawat, P. (1991). Commitment: The Dynamic of Strategy. New York: Free Press. Grant, R. M. (1998). Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Concepts, Techniques, Applications. 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Inc. Hax, A. C. and D. L. Wilde II. (2001). The Delta Project: Discovering New Sources of Profitability in a Network Economy, Pelgrave. Hayes, R. H. and G. P. Pisano. (1996). â€Å"M anufacturing Strategy: At the Intersection of Two Paradigm Shifts. † Production and Operations Management 5, no. 1 (Spring), pp. 25-41.Hayes, R. H. and S. C. Wheelright (1984). Restoring Our Competitive Edge: Competing through Manufacturing. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Hayes, R. H. and S. C. Wheelright and K. Clark. (1988). Dynamic Manufacturing: Creating the learning organization, New York: Free Press. Hayes, R. H. , and D. M. Upton. (1998). â€Å"Operations-Based Strategy. † California Management Review 40, no. 4 (Summer), pp. 8-25. Kenney, M. and R. Florida (1993). Beyond Mass Production: The Japanese System and its Transfer to the United States. New York: Oxford University Press. Kim, W. C. nd R. Mauborgne (2005). â€Å"Blue Ocean Strategy: From Theory to Practice. † California Management Review 47, no. 3 (Spring), pp. 105-121. King, C. A. (1987). â€Å"A Framework for a Service Quality Assurance System. † Quality Progress 20, no. 9 (September), pp. 27-32. Lau, R. S. M. (2002). â€Å"Competitive Factors and Their Relative Importance in the U. S. Electronics and Computer Industries. † International Journal of Operations & Production Management 22, no. 1, (January), pp. 125-135. For IBM4710 Inter OM Chayakrit Asvathitanont, Ph. D. Miller, J. G. , and A. V. Roth. 1994) â€Å"A Taxonomy of Manufacturing Strategy. † Management Science 40, no. 3, pp. 285-304. Mintzberg, H. (1987). â€Å"Five P’s for Strategy. † California Management Review 30, no. 1, pp. 11-24. Mintzberg, H. (1994). â€Å"The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning. † Harvard Business Review (JanuaryFebruary), pp. 107-114. Mintzberg, H. , and A. McHugh. (1985). â€Å"Strategy Formation in an Adhocracy. † Administrative Science Quarterly 30, pp. 160-197. Mintzberg, H. , B. Ahlstrand, and J. Lampel. (1998). Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour through the Wilds of Strategic Management.New York: The Free Press. Ohmae, K. (1982). The Mind of Strategist: The Art of Japanese Business. New York:McGraw-Hill Book Company. Porter, M. E. (1996). â€Å"What is Strategy? † Harvard Business Review 74, no. 6 (November-December), pp. 61-78. Prahalad, C. K. , and G. Hamel. (1990). â€Å"The Core Competence of the Corporation,† Harvard Business Review 68, no. 3 (May-June), pp. 79-93. Prahalad, C. K. , and G. Hamel. (1994). Competing for the Future. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Roth, A. , A. De Meyer, and A. Amano (1989). Global Manufacturing Strategies: An International Comparison,† In Managing International Manufacturing, ed. K. Ferdows. Amsterdam North Holland: Elsevier Science Publishers B. V. , 1989. Skinner, W. (1974). â€Å"The Focused Factory. † Harvard Business Review 52, no. 3 (May-June), pp. 113-121. Sterman, J. D. (2000). Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World. New York: Irwin McGraw-Hill. Tzu, S. (2003). The Art of War. Philadelphia, PA: Running Pr ess Book. Von Clausewitz, C. (1993). On War. London: Everyman’s Library. For IBM4710 Inter OM Chayakrit Asvathitanont, Ph. D.

International Marketing Strategy: Philips Case

1: What are the key success factors (KSF’s) in the male shaving market? How are they different from the female shaving market? 2: How can Philips increase the worldwide share of †dry shaving†? 3: How will you characterize and explain the cross-national advertising †rowing boat† campaign? 4: Who are the target groups for the:a) †rowing boat† advertising campaign b) †gift† advertising campaign c) WilliansF1 advertising campaign5: What is the difference in the cooperative relationship that Philips has with Nivea (Cool Skin) and that with WilliansF1? 6: Discuss the internet as a part of a multiple distribution channel strategy for Philip shaversIntroduction:– Philips is a dutch diversified technology company headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The brand was founded in 1891 by Gerard Philips. Now, it is one of the largest electronics companies in the world (People: 122.000 – Countries: 60)– Currently, the bra nd â€Å"Philips† is organized in three divisions: – Philips consumer lifestyle – Philips healthcare – Philips lightingKey Datas:– Chairman: Jeroen Van der Veer – Revenue: About 25 billions of Euros. – Collaboration: Nivea in 1998 (The Cool Skin) – Sponsor: PSV Eindhoven football team – Motto: Sense and SimplicityMajor Inventions of Philips:– Audio Tape (1963) – Compact Disc with Sony (CD – 1982) – Senseo (Coffee machine – 2001) – Blu-Ray Disc with Sony (2006)1) What are the key success factors (KSF’s) in the male shaving market? How are they different from the female shaving market?Philips, the market leader in dry shaver owes its success to a mix of different elements . First of all, the research and development department offers innovations enabling the brand to market different new products all in line with consumer needs . Therefore , the consumer feels the difference and more prone to change. They speak of a rassage â€Å"more comfortable , without irritation , no nicks , no cuts† Thanks to advanced technology Philips managed to reduce boundaries between wet and dry shaving and thus seduce advantage of consumers. In addition, Philips emphasizes the saving of time and cost savings that can bring dry shaver.Secondaly, thanks to its partnerships with brands such as Nivea and WilliamsF1, Philips managed to make known its products but also to associate with brands whose image brands allows it to attract many consumers, but also to benefit from a high visibility at sporting events such as F1 races. Also, thanks to its partnership with Nivea, Philips seems to involve a brand for comfort and hydration during shaving. So we can say that thanks to two points, consumers show a high satisfaction it gives to Philips a significant advantage over its competitors. On the women's market, it is completely different because women are more receptive to the design and sensitivity of shavers. The women's market requires more advertising and promotions. Indeed, this is explained by the fact that the shaver women remains a touchy subject compare to the man market.2) How can Philips increase the worldwide share of †dry shaving†?The brand â€Å"Philips† must increase the worldwide share of â€Å"dry shaving† thanks to four points:– The first one, Philips must concentrate the efforts on the Asia Market – Some of countries, in Asia, have a very fast growth like China and India China: Increase of 67.5 % since 2009 (Male toiletries) India: Increase of 63.6 % since 2009 (Male toiletries) – Philips, have to spend more in Asia market (The brand spend five times more in USA than in China. – The market position in Asia is a weakness currently.– The second point is to continue to innovate. Indeed, we can see that Philips has a real strong competitors like Braun, Panasonic, Remington. Itâ₠¬â„¢s very important for a brand to innovate a lot. The customers must see clearly a difference between the old and the new shaver. People always want â€Å"A new product†. We can see in the history of Philips, that the shavers improved a lot.– Some datas: – 1939: First Philipshaver was introduced – 1966: Philipshaver 3 – Another generations – 1998: Collaboration with â€Å"Nivea†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Philips has two options for a product innovations: 1) Development of a new product (With Marketing Analysis) 2) Improvement of existing products (Technical abilities)– The third point for Philips is to target the young people: – To be their first experience – To make them loyal to the brand – Philips can launch a targeting advertising campaign (Distribution in front of the schools)– The last point is to take shares from the wet shaving: – Wet shaving world shares: 60% – Dry shaving world shares: 40%Foc us that dry shaving avoid irritation, nicks and cuts in advertising campaign.3: How will you characterize and explain the cross-national advertising †rowing boat† campaign?We can see in advertising â€Å"Rowing Boat† campaign some important informations: – First of all, this campaign was launched for many countries (USA – United Kingdom – Germany and Spain) – We can see that the advertising is targeting: Men – Athletic men – We can see the competition and some symbolizes related with the brand â€Å"Philips†: – Three rotating blades– The water symbolizes the skin – Very exclusive sport – Top of the market (Philips)4: Who are the target groups for the:a: †Rowing boat† advertising campaignThis advertising campaign is basically for young men, we can see four rowers in the boat. We know that young men use mainly wet shaving, on this ad Philips tries to show them that dry shaving i s for us too. Then, We can say that it is for people with middle or high incomes, indeed rowing sport is basically for people who have a comfortable situation. To continue, This advertising aims to affect sportsmen, active people who take care of their body.b: †Gift† advertising campaignThis advertising aims to affect women and especially wives. There are three rings linked with the three rotary heads. In fact, this ad tries to make women realize that the equivalency of a wedding rings for a men is a dry shaver (Philips). It implies a new kind of present for men and a new way to think. It is usually launched during Chrismas or Birthdays.c: WilliansF1 advertising campaignFinally, this advertising want to reach people who love sport, cars but not common cars, very performing and fast cars. It implies that Philips shavers have the same characteristics than F1 racing cars. There is also the use of an opinion leader in the person of the F1 Driver. This advertising will have a massive tv effect.5: What is the difference in the cooperative relationship that Philips has with Nivea (Cool Skin) and that with WilliansF1?The relationship between Philips and Nivea brought a new product in a new market segment. It was the opportunity for Philips to widen its product range and for Nivea to differenciate its products. Basically, the relationship’s goal was to make a common product, to unite Philips and Nivea’s know-how in one product to make an innovative product (strategic partner). In comparison, The relationship with WiliansF1 was different, it was sponsorship. Philips wanted to unite its image to the F1’s image which means that Philips wanted to take profit of the popularity of F1 (brand endorsement), increase its awareness, strengthen its image and to show to people that the F1 characteristics (Fast & performing cars, precision, excellence) are the reflection of Philips products.6: Discuss the internet as a part of a multiple distribution channel strategy for Philip shaversAdvantages:– Adjusted advertisement – Direct feedbacks from customers – Availability of products all over the world – Possibility to have a direct relation with customers – Viral marketing, people will share on their walls, will like or comment Philips publication & ads – Multi channel strategyDisavantages:– People can make negatives posts on their websites & social network pages – Philips has to be always in the trend, its pages cannot be old fashioned and Philips has to make posts regularlyConclusionAs a conclusion we can say through continuous innovation Philips managed to impose on the market shavers . Indeed, the technologies proposed by Philips is fully in line with the needs of consumers † faster and more sensitive shaving†. Moreover, the choice of partners and advertising remains important because these through these that Philipse vehicle values and attracts a growing numb er of consumers. The adaptation of the communication strategy by country reveals that Philips puts particular emphasis on the needs of local consumers. Finally, Philips should focus on the Asian continent because some developing countries such as China and India has a fast growing enabling Philips to increase its turnover and increase its superiority over more its competitors.

Write a paper about Michael Pollan's Food Rules Essay

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