Project Management
A Mission Statement for a Company’s Value (supply) Chain
A mission statement is crucial to the strategic formulation, planning, and future implementation of a firm’s future prospects. Mission statements from history abound in the management techniques and methods utilized by top/ senior management globally. Many reasons abound to their popularity including the fact that they answer such fundamental questions as a reason for existence of a firm/ company, purpose mission, and role in society.
With correct analysis and acknowledgment, these statements often capture an entity’s enduring and unique purpose for existence. As part of the critical starting avenues/ points, these statements provide avenues for major strategic activities and initiatives; deemed ‘de rigeur’ to the initiation of contemporary modern management ideals and practices. Additionally, they also serve as motivational aspects in controlling and directing employee/ organizational members towards the firm/ company’s set common goals/ mission.
Mainly aimed at providing the firm’s overall population with a framework for strategy implementation, mission statements ought to be the ultimate point of reference in the formulation of decisive decisions as pertaining to resource allocation. Understood for their importance, these statements entail relationships between the variants of a firm’s mission constructs i.e. commitment, satisfaction, motivational aspect/ rational content, and organizational commitment/ alignment to the organization’s mission (Abrahams, 2010).
Furtherance is the mission statement’s firm employee effects on their behavioral character traits and most fundamentally, their overall collective relationship towards the firm’s financial outlook. There is the critical aspect of a strong relationship between aspects that the firm’s organizational culture/ philosophy, the notions of overall public image and self-conception/ growth, all of which effectively affect the firm’s overall performance.
Inclusive of a firm’s information pertaining to customer data, the network of suppliers (logistics) present, company costs/ expenditures, quality of products or services and overall firm sustainability; mission statements are vital, enabling an entity adapt to the existent competitive environment. Pertaining to specific core ideals, a mission statement provides relatively steady guidance, to a firm’s future strategic decision-making processes. It should be noted that an entity’s business vision is encompassed in its mission statement.
When asking a firm to help in developing its good mission statement, the following would be among the questions pertinent based on the market orientation/ business arena of the entity. Fundamental to any business entity would be its overall vision, the existent organizational culture and goals, capital/ resources present and its logistical capability, in both its supply and demand arenas. In the Food Industry arena, a major resource earner and employer, such a mission statement would be inclusive of the above in addition to such specifics as the following.
The supply chain/ logistical capability of its avenues of consumer product delivery are vital in its customer satisfaction policies. Is it spread out or limited, are financial capabilities available, and if so to what amounts? Does the customer base maintain a consistency or is it sporadic in attendance? Are there sale volumes, which enable a growth of overall profit margin? These among a host of other questions are pertinent to the production of a well informed and thought out company mission statement (Bart, Bontis, & Taggar, 2001).
Forecasting Demand and Sales of a New Restaurant
In the case of opening up a new restaurant being in the food-industry arena, I would utilize a number of avenues to be able to forecast both aspects of customer satisfaction – overall sales and demand volumes. In the forecasting of any business entity’s future prospects, many avenues are present entailing/ requiring an organization’s creative mind input. Initial forecasting would entail an estimate of six, 4-seater tables as a start point to change with venture advancement.
Being able to hold around 24 people at a given period, it would entail a minimum of 24 meals prepared and served during the lunch hour and dinnertime. For starters, would be a one-hour lunchtime serving complimented by two, 1 hr. dinnertime servings. In the evening, I would forecast an average of 48 seating/ servings under the assumption that only one customer per service time ate meals there. In total, on an average day would be 72 meals served, give or take a minor element of error.
Since it would be a start up, I would forecast a high of 100 meals in a day vis-à-vis a low of 45-50 meals, in the initial face; with this changing once the restaurant was up and running. On the side of sales, a rough estimate of lunch prizes would be set at $10 in addition to a rough $2 for beverages. On the other hand, dinnertime is often the prime time and, therefore, more guests are usually expected. I would charge on average a meal at double the amount of lunchtime servings inclusive of beverages.
The above being the case, on a good day where the average 72 meal servings would be invoiced, the restaurant would make a rough $288 (24*2 + 24*10), while dinnertime would bring in around $1,152 (48*2 + 48*4) totaling to around $1,440 in an average month. This being a daily intake, the weekly or monthly average would be significantly higher determined by the average daily sales as not all days are high in sales volumes (such as Mondays and Sundays) also, being a start-up venture, the above would be possible after some time and experience in the arena (Berry, 2008).
Inventory Management of a Small Pizza Restaurant
A small pizza restaurant would most likely face certain issues in the competitive food industry including issues, such as capital/ resource availability (in terms of the labor force and monies for expenditure) and logistical capability issues (in terms of product and service delivery vis-à-vis a solid supply chain). In inventory management, a small restaurant may experience limited or little growth in its initial start-up phase, in terms of sale volumes while expenditure would be on the higher side.
Thus, a pizza restaurant would have the option of either utilizing a period system or fixed order quantity pertaining to dough delivery from a contracted bakery. The latter, fixed order quantity would be most suitable for larger, well-grounded entities who deal in larger volumes hence the ‘economy of scale’ in buying the dough. A smaller, start-up entity, if utilizing this form, would find itself in economic problems, as sales are usually low and random vis-à-vis a larger entity.
On the flip-side, a large entity, utilizing the former period system would find its demand outstripping its supply side for the dough as larger volumes of customers are recorded necessitating a constant supply of large quantities of dough. A small restaurant, utilizing this form, would be able to cultivate itself in the industry, as it slowly builds its consumer base and hence increases its sales volumes. Dough is hence best supplied through this system according to the specific needs of a particular season, week, month or day (Haschak, 1998).
Adopting a Chase Strategy for a Major Airline Call Center
As pertaining to a call center in a major airline, the adoption of a chase strategy in its daily business activities would be beneficial as it would enhance the airports overall customer service ranking. With frequent fliers, such an airport would be wise in often checking up, making reservations and providing beneficial services to such persons; thus, solidifying its customer base. In conclusion, a mission statement espousing the overall firm/ organization’s economic vision and mission acts as a guideline charting the desired path for the company/ firm’s economic progression.
