Analysis of Schick Company

Analysis of Schick Company Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to provide a diagnosis analysis of Schick giving the major issues that are confronting the company and the attendant implications for the company. Schick was established in the year 1990 and registered in Southampton as a private limited liability business following the outcome of the collaborative research efforts of three university professors namely; Prof. Chen Ding, Prof. Karl Otto Ludwig and Prof. Andrew Marsh resulting in the design and manufacture of energy saving refrigerators during the period noted for environmental consciousness and high energy prices among others. Given their technical and engineering background, over time, the business became one of the market leaders renowned for its design and environmentally friendly home appliances and enjoy recognition as a 21st Century Role Model in the year 2014 given its unique capability for growth and profitability while setting global standards in innovation, corporate social responsibility, and Responsible Leadership. The demise of the three professors in a tragic road accident in Munich marks the end of an era coupled with the eventual management change of Mr. John Marsh Son of Professor Andrew Marsh as the new CEO who introduced changes in the overall structure of the company including the termination of the four management professionals. Within a short period after this failed leadership and mismanagement resulted in a critical situation which brought the company close to struggling for dire survival as its bedevil by challenges confronting it. The realisation of this reality informs the need for fundamental strategic change, hence the appointment of an independent analysis of current situation. A cursory look and critical evaluation of current conditions revealed a strategic shift from the founding owners ethos creating a non-tangent between value, resources, and environment because of a major shift in the business objective and strategy from environmental protection and corporate social responsibility to a short-term profit maximization and benevolence leadership style. This has several negative implications both internal and external which range from loss of credibility and trust of staff and other stakeholders, lack of strategic investment in the business future, to cost-cutting that resulted in poor design and product safety standard. Internally, there is a high-power distance organisation culture and leadership style currently whereby the CEO displays a coercive power that tends to alienate other stakeholders and serve as a barrier to adequate crisis management and the future business of Schick. Consequently, there is the need for a general review of management ethos and strategies to regain its lost credibility and image necessary for the survival of the business. Introduction This report is intended to provide an independent diagnosis of the Schick[1] issues affecting and to provide a detailed evaluation of the present and future implications of these on this company. Registered as a private limited business with the head office in Southampton in 1990 to manufacture domestic white goods, Schick has been in successful business for over 25 years and with laurels nationally and internationally for its innovative environmental friendly energy saving products, responsible leadership, and corporate social responsibilities. However, things took a new turn in January 2015 with the demise of the founders in an auto crash and Mr. John Marsh taking over the management of the business. From this stage, Schick started experiencing changes and challenges resulting in its poor image and reputation because of the shift in strategic management ethos of the business that led to product fire and death incident. Consequently, this report took a detailed analysis of the major issues with the attendant implications for the future survival of Schick before the summary conclusion of the main findings which leads to the prospective action required in response to them. Case diagnosis and analysis of implications The examination of Schick home appliances revealed a series of issues that are hereby provided in this abbreviated SWOT Analysis[2] below and further discussed in this report Figure 1: Abbreviated SWOT Analysis Strengths: Global operating platform. Strong brand name. Economies of scale. Strong sustainability focus. (manufacturing in China) Wide range of products Weaknesses: Lack of responsible leadership. Short-term profit focus. Poor business strategy in terms of innovation, value and core competencies. Weakening bargaining power over distributors. Lack of corporate social responsibility research development facility commitment. Negative publicity poor company image Opportunities: Increasing concern and demand for environmental energy saving appliances. Growing Asian market new market in Africa. New acquisitions business alliance. Potential inventions. Governmental cooperation and potential funding. Growing concern about climate change and investment in fast-growing product categories, e.g. air conditioning Threats: Increasing competition. Lower return on investment. Economic uncertainty (BREXIT). Reduce skilled workforce due to migration Changes in laws and regulations. Cheap goods from other countries i.e. Japan Change in customer preferences and demand The crisis in Schick stems from the change of leadership culture and style. This, in turn, brought about a change of the companys management ethos and style as the business now focuses on short-term profit maximization strategy through cost reduction and undermines major consideration for other stakeholders. This manifested in a decision to eliminate staff training and development programme, reduce funding for the research and development unit of the business which stands at the heart of the business future strategic investment absence of which leads to the risk of innovation, and development that would further grow the business and increase profit (Koch, 2010). To put this in the context of profit maximization, a scholar states that To argue that all firms aim to do nothing else but maximize profits has not better basis in logic or intuition as to argue that all students aim only to maximise examination marks (Hawkins, 1970, pp. 129-140). In other words, it is not ideal to focus on profit maximization especially within a short span of time. Management style adopted by the Mr. John Marsh is akin to autocratic leadership style associated with rigid control and top-down decision making characterised by hierarchical organisation structure (Schein, 2004; Whetton, Cameron, 2016) whereby the leader makes most important business decisions without the input of his employees. (Enderle, 2009; Northouse, 2016). Efficient decision making is of great benefit especially when urgency is required. But autocratic leaders tend to reduce the morale of his staff and very quickly begun alienating both the directors and employees of the company (Lewin, et al 1939; Cook, 2008). This was compounded by the news of the Schick directors termination which caused a widespread shock, concern, and unrest. This is further reflected the organisational culture best described as power culture (Hardy 1978 cited by Hughes, M 2010), with Mr. John Marsh at the centre of power From the above, it can be stated that the psychological contract Schick and its employees has been damaged and undermine their sense of individual autonomy particularly among Munich staff when given the news of the proposed cuts in research development laboratory as well as training and development that not only give room for social interaction but knowledge exchange that leads to safe innovative product design that contributed the make the company an household name for silk, efficient, safe and reliable product that creates a background for the business profitability. (Mone, London, 2010; Abdoli, Pourkazemi, 2012). Equally of note is the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, also known as the Brexit referendum, which took place on Thursday 23 June 2016. This is a critical moment for Schick given all the uncertainty and forms surrounding exit (Global Counsel October 2015) compound matters, as about 50% of the employees in Southampton were of Polish origin, majority of these Polish staffs are concern that they would not have a future at Schick the Brexit situation and employee engagement issues in the company particularly the termination of the four director which they reasoning that if Mr. John Marsh could sack the directors who had help build the company, he certainly could do same to them as well and as such could not be trusted to protect their interest as employees in the event of changes imposed following the formalisation of Brexit. (The Guardian July August 2016). In turn, this creates skills gap and further made worse by Mr. John Marsh management decision to do away with the operational arrangement in China that gives the business access to the Asian market. The Chinese manufacturer which had established its own market, reputation and distribution channels in Asia was equally concerned about the impact of Mr. John Marshs leadership on its profitability. By 15th July 2016, the agreement was reached limiting Schicks operations to only Southampton and focused on the UK and Northern European market, now apparently more difficult given the UK exiting the common European Union market and without a research development unit (Lorca, Garcà ­a-Diez, 2004). The situation at Schick combined with the uncertainty in the UK, the weak pound sterling could increase the companys production cost and reduce its profit margin (Lorenczik, et al. 2016). Regarding its customers, the situation could be likened to that implicit contract that is akin to the employee psychological contract mentioned earlier that was damaged by Schick by not meeting norms, and value expectations given the fact that the company was synonymous with global standards setting in product quality and corporate social responsibility has been badly affected by the attempt to stimulate sales and regain lost credibility in the marketplace, which made Mr. John Marsh used a previous design for washing machines discarded by the research development laboratory in 2015 and the attendance fire and death. This accident event effect was poorly managed (Varadarajan, et al 2006; Carroll, 2013). In addition, Schicks main distributor responsible for the distribution of the faulty washing machine which caused the fire had to terminate its contract with Schick following the negative publicity and the poor management of the situation by Schick. The company option, therefore, coul d have been to take action in recalling the affected products and make press statement to express regret over the incident and give reassurance of its total commitment to the corporate ethos; safety reliability that would demonstrate good communication, business ethics and values in consideration of corporate social responsibility that could help restore stakeholders confidence and loyalty (Daly Moloney, 2004; Le, et all 2014). The future of the business is not sure if Schicks narrow market focus is considered as the Brexit could restrict access to northern Europe. But there is growing market demand for white goods in Africa (KPMG, 2016) if connection with china could be re-established and adequate funding provided for research and development. In order to address the issue of staff trust and loyalty, as all staff felt unable to carry on working for Schick given recent events which will also lead to skills shortage and loss of competitive advantage, there is the great need for corporate culture and leadership style. Since staff only remained at Schick due to the memory of the three professors and all they had achieved, there is a need to build on this loyal sentiment through a robust employee involvement as it were to increase employee engagement and participation (Hyman, Mason, 1995). In summary, Schicks established reputation for sleek, modern, innovative energy-saving white goods achieved through a devotion to research development, corporate social responsibility, and responsible leadership, has fallen from grace in short time under the management of Mr. John Marsh bringing about the following challenges;. The sacking of the directors created a leadership gap and caused grave concern amongst employees and other key stakeholders. The sale of its research development Laboratory had not only compromised Schicks innovative capability but placed customers at risk and reduce it comparative competitive advantage as a market leader. The leadership style and short term profit focused approach to business led to the loss of confidence in Schicks leadership both within Schick and in the marketplace. Schick experienced high staff turnover at over a short period of time which created major gaps in knowledge and expertise.   The well-publicised fire caused by Schicks new washing machine has seriously ruined its image and reputation in the marketplace resulting in its main distributor terminating its contract, these created a strategic drift and a situation of lost organisation with environmental and resource value tangent (Kew Stredwick, 2008). Conclusion The good old Schick is now confronted with enormous challenges and crisis breaking point. Diagnosis exposed the major issues affecting it which need urgent attention for its future business existence consequently, the need to revisit and change the narrow business strategy of short-term profit maximisation, high-power distance structure to furnish considerations for other stakeholders interest with regard for corporate social responsibility, good business ethics and responsible leadership all of which call for immediate action plan and implementation to ensure the survival of the company. [1] All information relating to Schick in this report and not stated otherwise are drawn from: Sockalingam, S (2016) Distressing times at Schick home appliances. Unpublished coursework case study, Glasgow Caledonian University. [2]The information provided in the abbreviated SWOT Analysis (figure 1) is drawn from the Appendices. Full SWOT Analysis, PESTLE Analysis, stakeholder Analysis, Cultural Web, and Porters five forces of comparative position model respectively.

Describe the Main Features of the Fulling Industry in Pompeii.

Describe the main features of the fulling industry in Pompeii. The fulling industry was extremely important in Pompeii. We know this as there have been at least four fulleries found in Pompeii, the most famous of these fulleries is the Fullery of Stephanus. The Fullery of Stephanus is situated on the Via Dell Abbondanza. This Fullery was a dwelling with accommodation for the slaves working at the Fullery.Throughout the transformation of the dwelling into a Fullery the existence of the house was not lost, as the rooms were unchanged. I know that the fulling industry was important because of where the fulleries were situated, the Fullery of Stephanus was positioned on one of the main streets of Pompeii; this was important because it was surrounded by other small businesses and was next to a textile business, showing there was a strong chance that this industry was likely to be linked to other businesses especially in the cloth trade.From the evidence that has been found we know that cl oth was brought there to be washed and treated in a mixture of urine and soda, (and then trampled on which released the grease and then was bleached), we are told this by the elaborate red paintings on the walls. It also suggests that urine was collected in large pots in the streets which were used by passing pedestrians as it was a valuable resource.For the fulling industry you need good supplies of water and from the evidence of lead piping found, there was a good supply of water to the industry, this mainly would be because they could afford it; however there is also evidence that there were people and businesses were illegally taking water from the official supplies.As previously said the fulling industry was important to the Economic status of Pompeii, this is because the Eumachia building in the forum was built and paid for by family which were linked to the Fulling industry, many people believe they paid for this because of how vital it was to the cloth trade, and the wool in dustry. We also know that this industry was an important part to the city because it was involved in local politics, and fullers were believed to of stood for election. What evidence is there for the baking of bread in Pompeii?There is evidence for around 35 bakeries, and most of these in North side of town, close to the necessary supplies of grain. From the number of bakeries found archaeologists believe that bread was a staple to the Pompeian’s diet, and they would rather buy it than make it themselves. At the largest bakeries they had the facilities to grind their own wheat for the flour, as they had the mills, the bakery of Modesto being a prime example. They believe at Modesto the mills made of volcanic rock were turned by animal power.They added the grain at the top of mill which was then turned and filtered through to the bottom where it was collected on a stone tray. At Modesto there were also large ovens with the serving hatches nearby for the use of the public. We a lso know that the dough used for the bread was normally mixed by hand but on industrial scale wooden paddles were used. Once the dough was mixed it was shaped and marked by the baker. We know things were done on industrial scale because 85 carbonised loaves were found in one oven, this also shows there was a large demand for bread.The ovens found were fuelled by olive logs and large chimneys and flumes took away the smoke and some of the heat. There is evidence that there was a list of what was available on the wall, and all these were found in the oven carbonised from the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. There is also evidence that some of these loaves were sold on the street, we know this because there is a message scratched into the wall of the temple of Apollo that ‘bread is sold here’.What purpose did the Forum have in Pompeii? The Forum was not just a one building wonder; it had many functions. Not only was it the towns trading centre it was a place of religious statues a nd included a law court as well as places for business meetings. In the open space they think markets would have been held, this space was raised to the pavements and they think the road may have been closed to wheeled traffic whilst the markets were taking place.At the north end of the forum was the Temple of Jupiter and honorary arches dedicated to Drusus and to Tiberius to Germanicus. The south end of the forum was bordered by three municipal buildings. On the west side was situated the Basilica, the Temple of Apollo, the grain market and warehouse. On the east side stood the covered food market or Macellum, the sanctuary of Lares Publici, the Temple of Vespasian, and the Building of Eumachia and the Comitium. They believe the building of Eumachia possibly served as a wool market.The basilica was the main court of Law in Pompeii and was where legal business including trials would have taken place. The Temple of Apollo was next to the Basilica was a large imposing building surroun ded by 48 columns, this was paid by the local councillors which shows the wealth of Pompeii and its citizens. The Macellum, Eumachia and grain market show that Pompeii was a centre of trade in the religion and that the forum lay at the heart of this trade.The public weights and measures table at the northern end of the forum would have been used by public officials to check that sellers were being fair to their customers and selling the correct weights, which also shows that the people earned their money fairly. However at the times of the eruption the forum didn’t contain any of the statues of important citizens as they are presumed to be in safe keeping or in repair after the damages that Pompeii suffered in the earthquake of AD62 which contributed to Pompeii being a lost city.

Learning New Things

Learning New Things As a full-time college student majoring in Nursing I hope to become a RN one day. I work part-time as a CNA in a Nursing Home now. Being a CNA is very hard work. I don’t want to do that forever I want to become something better. My former co-workers always tell me I’m too young to do that kind of work and to keep going to school to better myself. Being a nurse can sometime be hard work too. Nurses have to make sure the patients are doing good and eating right. Some of the patients can get a little rude and they will fight you. When I seen that happen I was shocked and scared.The first thing the nurse did was ask me to help hold the patient down while she give him his medicine. While holding him down she was talking to him trying to calm him down. She was telling him things like I’m not trying to hurt you I’m only trying to help. He was still fighting and cursing. I couldn’t believe that happened. As I watched, I was scared. I nev er been in a situation like that before. However, it is good experience because nurses have to go through that everyday. I was thinking about what would I do if I was the nurse that day. It made me think about if I really wanted to a nurse anymore.I do, but I want to work in a hospital I think that would be better than a nursing home. I realized that patients have their bad and good days. Sometimes they don’t feel like being bothered or touched. Some days they don’t mind if you help them but most of the time they try to be independent. On the patient bad days you just have to have patients and stay calm. Being a nurse comes with many responsibilities. It’s an easy job but it can be difficult. I always loved helping others and caring for people that’s what made me want to become a nurse. I think I have the patients to do the job. I am learning a lot while I’m working as a CNA.

Essay on The Negative Effects of Too Much Social Media

Over the past few years social media has grown to be a phenomenon in our culture. â€Å"Facebook operates the world’s No. 1 Internet social media network with 1.2 billion users,† and this is just one venue for social media (Oreskovic, 2014). As more people from all age demographics begin to log in to this growing phenomenon, it’s important to step back and take a look at the side of social media that is not so enjoyable. We’ve all heard the quote. â€Å"You can’t have too much of a good thing†, but how true is this? That is exactly what we will be looking into, is too much social media a good thing or are you being negatively affected? Studies have proven that social media in excess can cause negative effects on an individual’s time management,†¦show more content†¦Many have blocked the sites from company computers and banned cell phone usage while working, and for good reason. In 2012 Salary.com conducted a survey of 3,200 pe ople where 64% said they daily visit websites unrelated to work (White, 2012). Not only are employees wasting time but employers are wasting time and money working to keep their employees on task and off social media sites. With the continual distraction of social media, work quality and work performance suffer. The next victim of social media’s negative effects is communication and the English language as a whole. Proper grammar skills have been replaced with shortened â€Å"text speak† that is being widely accepted by the general public. â€Å"While social media lingo may send English teachers into a tailspin, experts have pondered whether proper English grammar may be on a road to extinction in the brave new world of emoticons, texts, tweets, and short Facebook posts† (Alix, 2012). Poor grammar skills like incorrect spelling or punctuation can leave readers with the perception that the writer is lazy or not as well educated. 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