Engineering Management Project - Research Paper Example

Engineering Management project al Affiliation) Introduction Establishment of any business requires proper managementby evaluating various factors that are important for the survival of the business. The project will present the key variables to be considered in the establishment of a coffee shop. The coffee would be located in an urban setting to capture the demand of the population the coffee café business is very profitable as the margins are very significant. The competition in this sector is stiff therefore for survival differentiation, and packaging will set the products from the competitors as the switching costs are very low. A clear vision and mission statement is mandatory before establishing any business. The lack of clearly set objectives accounts to the fall of of many businesses that are currently established. Based on a review of various factors the vision of the coffee shop would be “we want to be the best coffee shop of the 21st century; a venue where people can meet and build strong relationships”. Achievement of the vision statement will require clearly stated paths to be followed which describe the mission. Therefore, the mission statement would be to continuously progression through dedication and innovation to the achievement of excellence. The second coffee is committed to delivering the best coffee experience. Based on these vision and mission statement the possibilities of success of the coffee are high. Decision making Post establishment success would be governed by the way the coffee shop management is involved in the decision making (Barker & Cole, 2012). Decision making is very essential as a wrong decision would result in a poor reflection of the coffee shop management. The success of the decision-making process would be governed by a proper decision-making process. The decision-making process would first begin by identifying the underlying problem. For instance, the coffee shop may be faced with a problem of retaining its customers. Therefore, a decision would require to be made to correct this problem. Vital to note is that decisions are not made randomly, they occur as a result of trying to address a particular problem. Once such a problem is identified the management would, therefore, be required to gather information. Information gathering may be through the use of questionnaires and interview process. In this case based on the problem identified the coffee shop management would be required to gather information and review complaints from the customers to identify the reasons resulting in the decrease in customer numbers. Once the information is gathered from the clients, I would ensure there is brainstorming of solutions that are available to solve the underlying problem. Brainstorming would occur within the top management. The various alternatives that may be suggested by the board would be reviewed to ensure that the most viable option is chosen. The viability of a particular solution would be based on the cost-benefits analysis of each alternative. In the case presented the most viable way to retain customer would be offering discounts, free samples to the new customers and unmatched customer service through ensuring a proper customer service team is maintained. Once the solution is identified the next would be implementation and finally evaluating the outcome. The evaluation would through identify the shift in customer numbers and additionally reviewing the customer’s opinions on the changes in the coffee shop. Delphi technique The Delphi technique is a method that would be recommended in the coffees shop in the gathering of information from respondents in the field of expertise. This technique is used as a group communication whereby the parties try to get convergence in their opinions regarding a real world problem and issue (Barker & Cole, 2012). The Delphi technique would be a vital tool in the coffee in situations of policy determination, needs assessment, resource allocation to ensure the business maintains the cost at the most optimal level to ensure constant profitability. This technique is the gathering of information from experts who have in-depth knowledge regarding a particular topic. The operation would certainly require seeking advice from the best to ensure the shop can match their success. The hiring of expert consultants in the coffee business would be vital. Delphi technique would also incorporate the use of questionnaires in gathering information from a broad selection of individuals in the market to ensure that a wide range of data is collected regarding a particular subject matter. However in the case of the coffee shop proper precautions would require to be undertaken before conducting this study. One of the main aspects is that the respondents may provide inaccurate data and additionally some of the respondents may fail to submit back the questionnaires. Nevertheless the Delphi technique would be of great importance to the success of the coffee shop as it would allow the use of information from different parties in the decision making. Therefore, the Delphi technique would be a vital decision making and the consensus- building tool that would be included in the daily running of the coffee shop. Abilene paradox Abilene paradox web describes the inability of organizations to manage agreements and not conflicts. The inability of an organization to manage an agreement results in the symptoms that are further categorized into six subsystems (Barker & Cole, 2012). The findings of the model would shape the organization structure of the coffee shop. The Abilene paradox highlighted some important aspects regarding teamwork. The first important aspect of the Abilene paradox is that individuals in the management agree privately regarding the issues facing the organization. These findings result from the Abilene group who handled their issues privately. The decision made within the Abilene group satisfied their desires and collective desires. Based on the Abilene paradox it was noted that individuals failed to communicate their personal desires regarding a particular problem. Therefore, the solution achieved in the organization catered only on the opinions of a few in the organization. Based on this it results to the misconception of the organization’s objectives. The lack of consultation results to the organization making inaccurate decisions due to the lack of communication that ultimately results in the counterproductive effects of the organization’s purpose and intent. Due to the lack of communication and counterproductive mechanisms it results to the formation of differing sub-groups. The creation of sub groups within the organization can be detrimental to the performance of the organization. Therefore based on the Abilene paradox, I would structure the coffee shop management to ensure that both the subordinates and the management are involved in decision making. Continuous review of the employees would ensure the plights of the disgruntled employees are highlighted and corrected. The communication channels wouldn’t be structured in the coffee shop to break the barrier between the manager and the subordinates. The subordinates can be a vital source of information for the organization as they spent the majority of the time on the ground relating to customers. Therefore, the unity of the coffee shop personnel would result to productive measures being achieved. Finally, modern organization has failed to cope with agreements rather focus on conflict resolution. Identification of a disagreement within my institution would be better than try to fix conflicts that arise due to disagreement. Forecasting methods Forecasting would be a vital tool in my coffee shop in ensuring the future costs are identified in time. The main forecasting tool in my case would be budgeting. Budgeting would be used to ensure that the actual costs incurred are in line with the budgeted figures. Budgets can be employed as a yardstick for measuring the performance of the organization (Barker & Cole, 2012). The budget within my institution would be flexible as there are always fluctuations in the coffee prices and other costs that would be incurred in the course of the business. Apart from budgeting there are other methods that would be used in forecasting. One of the most preferred methods that I would incorporate in my organization would be the qualitative method. This method would be through the use of customer surveys regarding the number of cups of coffee consumed in a day. Based on the findings a forecast of future is possible hence ensuring that I maximize on the profits. Time series analysis is another tool of forecasting which assumes that what occurred in the past will certainly be replicated in the future. The time series ensures analysis in detail of various variables to determine a trend. The trend can be used in ensuring that the costs are limited to the minimum, and the profits are attained to the maximum. Human resource and risk management The most important aspect in managing an organization would be the management of the human resource. Proper policies need to be formulated to ensure include the proper selection, recruitment, training, remuneration and the appraisal of staff. Proper human resource begins from the selection phase. In the case of my coffee shop, I would ensure that proper interviews are conducted based on the talents and academic qualification. Proper selection ensures the organization acquires the most competent staff in the organization. Once the individuals are selected and interviewed, I would ensure that the new employees are inducted into the organization and proper training takes place to ensure they adapt to the organization system. Motivation is key in the running of a business. Motivation based on this particular case would be through the use of rewards and periodic review of the employee salaries. Constant appraisal and promotion of the employees would ensure job satisfaction. Job security is claimed to be one of the best factors that assure employee motivation, and that would be through ensuring that all employees are given long term contracts. Risk management would be one of the ways of ensuring that the going concern of an organization is guaranteed. Risk management would be through the establishment of a risk management committee (Barker & Cole, 2012). The risk committee would be made of the employees and managers whose work would be oversight the risks against the organization. Risks, in this case, would be the threat of running out business, making losses, customer loss just to mention a few. The risk committee gets to analyze the risks that are inherent to the survival of the organization. Risks are identified through the analysis of both internal and external forces. Finally, risk analysis may occur through the auditing of the business records to ascertain the deviations from the set standards. SWOT analysis A SWOT analysis is one the best techniques that would be used in determining the relative position of an organization about its competitors. A SWOT analysis ensures the analysis of the organizations strengths in comparison to the weakness that an organization has compared to its competitors. Additionally the SWOT analysis includes future opportunities and threats against an organization’s survival. SWOT analysis will be conducted and presented in a matrix format as presented in the table below Strengths Unmatched customer service Quality interior design and distinctive ambiance within our coffees shops Low prices compared the market average Wide variety of coffee varieties offered within the coffee shop. Convenient location to the customer by being located in an urban setting. Weaknesses Provision of premium brands from abroad that would be highly priced Small location as this is a start up The lack of previous experience in the coffee café industry would present management problems. Opportunities opening larger stores in other states to boost profitability Capturing the different demographics taste and preferences within the café Diverging into other business venture such as bakery which both are complementary Venturing into Ecommerce Threats Competition from established brands Changing prices of the raw materials and the wage rate Loosing competent customers to rival competitors Strict regulations and rules imposed on the businesses. References Barker, S., & Cole, R. (2012). Brilliant project management: what the best project managers know, do and say. New York: Cengage Learning. Read More