Question

Mansa had worked for the same Sky Level Company for most 15 years. Although the company had gone through some tough times, things were starting to turn around. Customer orders were up, and quality and productivity had improved dramatically from what they had been only a few years earlier due companywide quality improvement program. So, it comes as a real shock to Mansa and about 400 of her co-workers when they were suddenly terminated following the new CEO’s decision to downsize the company.

After recovering from the initial shock, Mansa tried to find employment elsewhere. Despite her efforts, after eight months of searching she was no closer to finding a job than the day she started. Her funds were being depleted and she was getting more discouraged. There was one bright spot, though: She was able to bring in a little money by mowing lawns for her neighbors. She got involved quite by chance when she heard one neighbor remark that now that his children were on their own, nobody was around to cut the grass. Almost jokingly, Mansa asked him how much he’d be willing to pay. Soon Mansa was mowing the lawns of five neighbors. Other neighbors wanted her to work on their lawns, but she didn’t feel that she could spare any more time from her job search.

However, as the rejection letters began to pile up, Mansa knew she had to make an important decision in her life. On a rainy Tuesday morning, she decided to go into business for herself taking care of neighborhood lawns. She was relieved to give up the stress of job hunting, and she was excited about the prospects of being her own boss. But she was also fearful of being completely on her own. Nevertheless, Mansa was determined to make a go of it. At first, business was a little slow, but once people realized Mansa was available, many asked her to take care of their lawns. Some people were simply glad to turn - the work over to her; others switched from professional lawn care services. By the end of her first year in business, Mansa knew she could earn a living this way. She also performed other services such as fertilizing lawns, weeding gardens, and trimming shrubbery. Business became so good that Mansa hired two part-time workers to assist her and, even then, she believed she could expand further if she wanted to.

Questions

1. Explain three (3) ways Mansa’s customers are most likely to judge the quality of her lawn care services?                                                                          
2. Mansa is the operations manager of her business. Among her responsibilities are forecasting, inventory management, scheduling, quality assurance, and maintenance.
   1. What kind of things would likely require forecast?              
   2. What inventory items does Mansa probably have? Name one inventory decision she has to make periodically.                                                  
   3. What scheduling must she do? What things might occur to disrupt schedules and cause Mansa to reschedule?                                                            
   4. Name and explain two (2) of the approaches Mansa used in her business.
3. Describe three (3) functions that can affect Mansa’s competitiveness.

Please add detailed explanations to the points***

Answer 1

Customers can use these Ways to judge the Quality of Mansa Business of Lawn Care Services

1. Loyalty - Customers want Mansa to be loyal to them in regard to every aspect. Mansa should work on making a system that can help the business to run smoothly.

2. Quality of Operations - A customer can make an image of the Mansa business of lawn care services after experiencing the activities for the first time. If he/she finds it great than only Mansa would be contacted again for the lawn care operations or otherwise customer will search for someone else.

3. Nature Towards Customers - Customers always go again to the business where there get respect for being a customer. Mansa should train the staff in greeting the customers with warmth and be polite with them in every circumstance. Customer service would be a vital aspect in the future growth of the business.

B.

Things that Likely Require Forecast

- COST OF LABOUR AND EQUIPMENT - To find the exact revenue that can be earned from the business, Mansa needs to forecast the basic costs associated with the business.

- EQUIPMENT - Determining the equipment needs to be present to tackle different situations and premises. For example, a garden needs a different way of doing activities that a wedding lawn.

- The requirement of Human Resources - Determining how much workforce will be needed to expand the business. This is crucial because the workforce directly relates with expenses or workforce will be a direct expense for Mansa, so proper forecasting needs to be done.

- Competitive Advantage - How to gain competitive advantage should always be a question in the mind of Mansa. She should be innovative and should bring unique and different ways of doing business.

Equipment Needed for Lawn Care Services Business

- Vehicle

- Utility Trailer

- Warehouse

- Safety Essentials

- Uniforms

- Spreaders and Sprayers

- Commercial Mowers

- Trimmers and Blowers

- Digging and Cutting Equipment

- Hammers and Drivers

- Fertilizers

Inventory Decision to be taken by Mansa

- The decision of Proper Warehousing of Inventory

The warehousing of the equipment should be safe and should be easily accessible. The warehouse location should be close to the target audience zone. The customers should not experience any delay due to the warehousing problems. The warehouse should remain unaffected by different weather conditions and should be spacious.

Scheduling

The scheduling should be done in such a way by which the time of traveling gets minimized and that minimized time can be used at clients place doing operations. The company can only earn huge revenues when spending most of the time at clients' locations doing paid activities. Mansa should focus on scheduling the work according to the location of the client, the location should be prioritized in accordance with the easily reachable addresses by the workforce.

Things that can Disrupt Schedule and Cause Mansa to Reschedule

- Rain

Rain is the most common thing that can spoil the business day in the lawn care services business and force the owner or manager to contact the client regarding the rescheduling of the operations.

- Client Urgencies

Sometimes client calls for rescheduling to address some unexpected urgencies.

- Equipment Failure

The equipment perfectly working yesterday may face a failure today. So this can be another reason for rescheduling the operations.

- Staff Unavailability

Workforce can also have urgencies and the operations cannot be completed single-handedly.

Approaches used by Mansa in her Business

- Market Expansion - It is also known as a growth strategy. Mansa started the business during struggling times nut after getting success, she decided to expand the business by hiring more staff.

Market Expansion used by the business at the time of entering a new market to create awareness about its products and brand. The objective of market expansion is to increase sales quickly.

- Product Expansion - Mansa started her business by offering only lawn services but after getting the success she expanded the range i.e wedding lawns, fertilization, and trimming.

Product expansion can be defined as the introduction of new products in the market by an existing brand. Product expansion is generally done by a business after the market expansion part.

Functions that can affect Mansa Competitiveness

1. INNOVATION

Bringing innovation and uniqueness to the business activities will enhance the sales and help Mansa in getting a competitive advantage. Innovation can also help Mansa in reducing operational costs and time. Innovation in system, products, marketing techniques, etc can be applied to increase competitiveness in the market.

2. Customer Feedback System

A customer feedback can help Mansa in making necessary changes to satisfy each of the customers. Every customer should get an e-mail or phone call to know about the experience of the service provided by the company. It will also make a positive brand image in the mind of the customer.

3. Equipment Check

This function is associated mainly the electronic equipment. All the electric equipment needs to be checked before going at the clients place to avoid uncertainties.