Bridgeton Case Essay

Winston Churchill once stated “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results”. The current business environment is rapidly evolving due to the pressures of changing technology as well as the increasing demands firms are under to expand regionally and globally. Successful organizations in this often chaotic and changing environment must continually scan their internal and external conditions in order to respond proactively to market conditions and new trends. Firm leadership needs to not only have a vision for the organization’s future but also the ability to critically analyze the internal processes and structure of the firm in comparison to the outcomes or results of the firm’s current orientation. Strategy and vision are meaningless if the way they are being executed does not provide the organization a sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore it is critical that firm leadership examine how their organization is implementing their strategy to determine its effectiveness and results.

3. Briefly describe how the current production cost assignment system works. What are the consumption ratios (activity percentages) for assigning manufacturing overhead to each product at present?

To better understand a firm and its placement of its strategies, we must conduct an analysis of factors that might affect its selection of strategies.

The cost of implementation of the options: It deals with the technicians and the reduction in time of implementation. This leads to better customer service and increases efficiency of the technicians. Also considering a customer base reduction of 5% (Exhibit 2), $1 million dollars will be a prudent investment.

1. The outsourcing of Muffler/Exhaust and Oil Pans, increased the OVH rate from 434% to 577% even though the total overhead amount fell. This new rate when applied to Manifolds made it cost inefficient despite some remarkable improvements in its production. This was because the fixed costs associated with the production of Muffler/Exhaust and Oil Pans were transferred to the remaining product lines.

Target with the other Co. has been trying to question if their own business strategy that whether it aids them in having a good competitive advantage in the whole industry. There are still a huge number of different strategies available in the industry which can help in gaining the competitive advantage over other rivals. In case of this co. there are a lot of strengths which can be easily seen and the most

In order to make a GPSN, the department must buy materials locally in month-to-month contracts. There are 100 employees that comprise the direct labor required to build each GPSN. Factory space is required to house the manufacturing, and the basic rate of $2.50 per sq. ft. is applied across all BMCs departments to cover factory costs. 16,000 sq. ft. leads to a $40,000 charge each month. Supervisors do not fall into direct labor, because they are not actively involved in the creation of a GPSN. Their costs account for $56,000 a month and must be added to the cost of each GPSN. Finally, general overhead is spread across every operating unit within BMC. The overhead cost dedicated to this department is $640,000 per month. This brings the cost of each GPSN built in house to $425. FEE is offering to build each GPSN for $400 at a rate of 8,000 per month for 2 years. This is not the final cost for BMC, because there are some additional costs that come into play with the decision to purchase GPSNs. The decision to buy GPSNs will trigger a layoff of the 100 direct labor employees in the department. When this occurs, BMC will be required to pay $66,000 to the employee union for four years. Since the contract is for 2 years, this should be paid in full at the conclusion of the contract. This means that $132,000 must be added to the annual cost of GPSNs provided by FEE. This

The Competitive Analysis section of this marketing strategy plan is devoted to investigating the competition—both current and potential competitors who might enter the market.

A critically important issue for all organizations, competitive analysis is more than a strategy and planning exercise. It should be imbued within an

* Incremental cost savings of $883K; $2.1M for the 3 years ahead combined (Appendix 5)

Magnification of a businesses strengths and weaknesses can reveal the necessary plan of action to improve growth and market position. This can be achieved via a

In order for a company to gain a superior position in the market, the company needs to analyse their competitors’ products, prices and strategies and offer better benefits or products to the consumers.

This tool was created by Harvard Business School professor, Michael Porter, to analyze the attractiveness and likely-profitability of an industry. Since publication, it has become one of the most important business strategy tools. The classic article which introduces it is "How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy" in Harvard Business Review 57, March – April 1979, pages 86-93.

The study of strategic management, through the use of various frameworks, gives organizations the possibility to identify their position in the industry in respect to its competitors. Moreover this allows them to set realistic goals to pursue

Strategic decisions made towards introducing new versions of a product that is already in the market, rationalizing the existing product or if a new variety of products are availed to the market. The overall objective of the firm ought to be the decisive factor when making strategic product development.