Herman Millar Inc. free essay sample

The office furniture manufacturing industry market in the United States is very competitive since many companies offering similar products. Companies compete primarily on price, product and service quality, differentiation, design, speed of delivery and customer service. Firms compete within each market segment and are pressured by growing competition from overseas manufacturers particularly from China and Vietnam. Six manufacturers-Steelcase, Herman Miller, Haworth, HNI, Kimball International and Knoll-account for approximately 60% of the U. S. office furniture market. The remainder of the market is captured by a large number of small and privately owned businesses that successfully supply the local communitys retail demand. The large number of existing companies definitely shaped the landscape of the Chinese market competition. Furniture manufacturing industry concentration has increased in last couple of years because many operators have gone out of business. Following the downturn of US economy, high unemployment rates, have created an intensely competitive environment for existing players; faced with low margins and volatile input costs, many underperforming operators were forced to exit the market. We will write a custom essay sample on Herman Millar Inc. or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, as the economy will recover, demand for new office furniture is expected to increase, expanding the number of companies over the five years to 2016. In conclusion, the intensity of rivalry is moderately high. Although current concentration of the industry is a low, the trend of the industry is to become more competitive in future. This would decrease the potential future profit of department store industry. Threat of new entrants The barrier to entry in this industry are medium and are steady. In the US office furniture industry, the capital required to enter the industry is considerably higher. New operators entering the industry face various challenges, including existing and well established distribution networks among operators and suppliers. To remain price competitive, the new operators need to establish strong supply relationships with manufacturers and wholesalers in order to secure good quality and low-priced stock. Since the concentration is expected to rise, it places an indirect pressure on new entrants that need to invest more in advertising to develop brand and market awareness. Marketing and promotional activity must exceed that of the existing players to build customer awareness and overcome retailer resistance. Furthermore, the productivity difference between the small-sized companies and the large-sized companies is very large. The combination of all this evidence indicates that the entrant barrier into the US office furniture industry is relatively high. Bargaining power of Supplier The intense internal competition force for resources among the large number of manufacturers pushed the bargaining power of suppliers to the most significant influence on domestic furniture industry. This refers primarily to suppliers of most important goods i. e. raw material and electric power, which are used in intermediary consumption during furniture manufacture. Purchases of raw materials are the largest expense for the Office Furniture Manufacturing industry, accounting for about 43. 7% of industry revenue. This proportion is typical for manufacturing industries, since operators require significant raw materials to produce final outputs. Input materials used for office furniture include hardwood, such as oak, cherry and maple wood; plywood and veneers; steel; glass; plastic; and glue. During the five years to 2011, the prices of these inputs have been volatile, making it difficult for manufacturers to anticipate future spending and reduce costs. In general, rising commodity prices have negatively affected the industry, increasing purchase costs for manufacturers. Bargaining power of buyers According to the research of IBIS World, department store sales depend heavily on the financial health of the consumer sector, including per capita disposable income. During periods of economic recession and decreasing income of people, consumers cut their spending by delaying purchases or substituting brands’ products with lower level products. This is heavily influenced by the unemployment rate and general economic growth. In the periods of strong economic activity people’s disposable income increase, and vice versa. Threat of substitutes Furniture has been used for thousands of years and built mostly of wood. There is little evidence indicating that wood furniture will be totally replaced by some other material in the foreseeable future. In the industry of furniture manufacture probability of substitutes is almost impossible. Current global trends have a favorable influence on increase in demand for furniture, due to ever faster obsolescence and shorter furniture lifetime, i. . due to frequent changes in design and manufacture technology. Possible threat of trend changes exists, i. e. furniture made from other materials than wood, that is, various metals, plastics and glass. However, despite the reduction of wood in furniture manufacture in the past years, wood is expected to stay one of the most important raw materials for furniture manufacture, because of its advantages when compared with oth er materials. Question: What are the driving forces and the key success factors in the industry? Answer: Having contacts within key markets: It is preferable that manufacturers have established links with a number of customers, including wholesalers, contractors and retail outlets, rather than having one or two that account for the majority of their business. Guaranteed supply of key inputs: Established links with key suppliers enable a steady flow of key inputs and price locks, which may provide cost savings for bulk purchases. Flexible production processes: Furniture items are often custom-made. Producers must be able to adjust products to suit individual requirements. Adapting to changing customer preferences: Goods produced should reflect current trends favored by consumers in order to remain competitive. Highly trained workforce: Staff is required to assemble office furniture efficiently and provide quality workmanship. Question: How have the company’s values shaped its strategy and approach to strategy execution? Provide illustrations of how these values are reflected in company policies. Answer: Question: What is Miller’s strategy? Which of the five generic competitive strategies most closely fit the competitive approach that Miller is taking? What type of competitive advantage is Miller trying to achieve? Answer: They focus on a growth strategy, through innovative products and production processes. Reinvention and renewal. They survived the Great Depression and multiple recessions, recovered from the dot-com bust and were able to continue expanding overseas. They adapted to save the company, by introducing new designs. In 1996, Herman Miller began an aggressive drive to reinvent its operations and established a fruitful relationship with the Toyota Supplier Support Center. Unique to the office furniture industry, the relationship enabled the company to adopt and implement world-class, lean manufacturing processes based on the Toyota Production System principles. Through the Herman Miller Production System (HMPS), the company dramatically reduced manufacturing square footage and inventories, cut lead times for standard product from 8 weeks Question: What is your overall appraisal of Miller’s financial performance? Answer:

Magellan essays

Magellan essays In Sabrosa Portugal, Spring of 1480 a great man was born. His name was Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan was the son of a nobleman. His mothers name was Alda Magalhaes. He also had a sister Isabel Magalhaes and a brother Diogo Magalhaes. As a boy he served as a page to the Portuguese Queen. He joined the army as a young man and spent 7 years as a soldier in India and the East Indies. Magellan was also married to Betriz Barbosa and had a son Rodrigo Barbosa, before he attempted the following. Some time in 1519, when Magellan was about 39 years old he decided to try to sail around the world. He first asked the king of Portugal who had doubts but told him he was free to offer his services elsewhere. So Magellan asked the King and Queen of Spain who was King Charles 1st and the Queen. Impressed by his proposal they agreed to sponsor his trip. They gave Magellan five ships. The Trinidad, San Antonio, Conception, Victoria, and the Santiago along with 270 men. They left Spain on September 20, 1519 and set out across the Atlantic and then turned south along the coast of South America. As they continued south the weather grew more stormier and bitter. And tempers of crew members got worse. Magellan had to execute one captain. They had to spend the winter on the coast near the tip of South America repairing boats. They set sail again in the spring. Magellan found what he was looking for, a strait. Which is now named after him, The Magellan Strait. Before sailing through it the crew stocked up on dried fish and smoked game. Then headed through the strait and into what he named the Pacific Ocean. After four and a half months, sailors almost dead, they finally reached inlands in which they called the Philippines. Magellan converted a chief to Catholic faith. Magellan became involved in a local war. Trying to show how strong Spain was , Magellan was killed by Mactan Ruler, Lapu Lapu, on April 27, 1...

Compulsory Radar Basics Seminar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Compulsory Radar Basics Seminar - Essay Example The new radar technology known as Same Direction Radar or SDR was put into place long AFTER rule 15B was approved and implemented on the roads of Florida. There has been many complaints from traffic enforcers in Florida that have been operating under the old laws and also under the old training techniques. Both of these situations are now inappropriate with the new radar technology. Florida has now purchased new radar speed measuring equipments thereby new radar related speed measuring laws have to be put into place. In the famous State of Florida v. Aquilera in 1979 known widely as the Miami Radar Trial, the local television reporter showed a house had reached 28 mph and a tree reached 86 mph, the radar was less than accurate. This Dade County Court sustained a Motion to Suppress the results of radar units in mover than 79 speeding ticket cases. The court's opined that the reliability of radar speed measuring devices has not been proven reliable beyond reasonable doubt and it did not meet test of reasonable scientific certainty. We will discuss around 20 Florida speed violation cases during the seminar in order to help you in court appearances. We will also discuss the Florida laws on speed limits as the Florida law 3