Essay Sample on Developing Strategies to Address Strategic Issues

Essay Sample on Developing Strategies to Address Strategic Issues Every organization needs to adapt to changes in the business environment. In so doing a strategy has to be formulated that will aid in the transformation of the business. This requires thinking and analyzing the current business state compared with the targeted state that the management desires. The strategies instituted must be in line with the business mandate and must be able to create public value. Strategies instituted may involve continuation of specific practice or the complete cessation of the same. The organization strategy may also be targeting the organization in its entirety or specific departments or franchise. There are various considerations that can be made while making a company strategy, these include: The new capabilities and skills that will be needed in achieving the desired target. It would also be important to consider how such a strategy would affect the workforce composition. The desired results after the implementation of the strategy. The entire structure of the business enterprise would be considered taking in the reconfigurations needed to deliver the intended target and goals. Characteristics of effective business strategies It is common for individuals to assume that setting business strategy is a simple activity yet this is quite wrong in the context of the organization. It is important for top level management to understand the set procedures for a successful strategic planning. The strategy instituted must be followed by action. Employees need to understand the new strategy being employed in order for them to realize that the whole organization is needed to capture the set goals. The management must ensure that they consolidate the department action plans into a full organization plan. It is important that every unit of the organization sets its own strategy while the management team synchronizes these plans to form a complete strategy for the organization. The top management team must be fully involved in the strategic planning. There are different types of strategies employed by organizations. This include: Coordinate departmental activities- the different departments and sections of the organization are run by managers who ensure employees in that particular unit are operating under the same target. Develop distinctive advantages- developing competitive advantage is important in establishing a successful organization core competencies. This includes attaining economic resources at a cheaper price than other competitors. Marking market niches- this involves conducting a comprehensive economic analysis and identifying the unique consumer demand trends. Monitor product strategies- organizations must review business-level strategies in their daily operations. This allows the organizations to be flexible in the business environment. Vision Office Systems, Inc. The company is based in Charlotte and has over 150 years of experience in office equipments supply and dealership. The company boasts of technicians who are factory certified. The company supplies state of the art machines for the modern hi-tech office. The company lays emphases on ensuring customers are satisfied with their services. The products supplied by the company include Ricoh, Kyocera, Samsung and Canon. Strategic issues It is evident that not all issues under the strategic plan are strategic. The method used to determine whether an issue is strategic includes: Determining whether the issue is likely to hold an effect on the way the organization conducts its mission. The issue must be one that the organization may expect to have influence. The issue must generate a response of pure organizational commitment on resources. The strategic plan of Vision Office Systems Mission Statement The company has put great emphasis on satisfying customers’ needs. The company ensures that communication between the customer and business is maintained. Strategic Analysis This involves evaluating the existing business scenario and the future plan and vision. The company has always hired service technicians that are fully certified. This ensures that the services offered to their customers are of high quality. The company has also dedicated fully its operations to printer, copier and the facsimile business segment. This has ensured that the services are more specialized and hence easier to implement. The management team ensured that the response time to their customers does not exceed four hours and that customers are not directed to voicemail. Strategy for attaining the plan The company believes in supplying the best office equipments available in the market. That is why the company has dedicated to only supply brands such as Ricoh, Kyocera and Samsung. These are the best known and trusted office equipment brands. Customers normally tend to be loyal to the most reliable brands and not necessarily the cheapest. The corporation has gone further to providing a 5 year performance guarantee. This is advantageous in pulling more customers since they would want to purchase equipments which can be serviced in case of a breakdown. Strategic issues are technically significant in the planning process. The entire plan can have a positive impact to the business through increasing employee morale and the number of customers. Strategic planning enables businesses maintain a strong position in the industry. It is imperative for Vision office to uphold their plan and not deviate. The management needs to familiarize the employees on new practices they need to employee. At CustomWritings.com you can buy an essay paper online, written from scratch. 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Biography of Lewis Latimer, Noted Black Inventor

Biography of Lewis Latimer, Noted Black Inventor Lewis Latimer (September 4, 1848–December 11, 1928) is considered one of the most important African-American inventors, for the number of inventions he produced and patents he secured, but also for the importance of his best-known discovery: a longer-lasting filament for the electric light. He also helped Alexander Graham Bell obtain the patent for the first telephone. Latimer was in great demand for his expertise later in his career as electric light spread across the country. Fast Facts: Lewis Latimer Known For: Improved the electric lightAlso Known As: Louis LatimerBorn: September 4, 1848 in Chelsea, MassachusettsParents: Rebecca and George LatimerDied: December 11, 1928 in Flushing, Queens, New YorkPublished Works: Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison SystemSpouse: Mary WilsonChildren: Emma Jeanette, Louise RebeccaNotable Quote: We create our future, by well improving present opportunities: however few and small they are. Early Life Lewis Latimer was born on September 4, 1848, in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He was the youngest of four children born to George Latimer, a paperhanger, and Rebecca Smith Latimer, both escaped slaves. His parents had fled from Virginia in 1842, hiding beneath the deck of a northbound ship, but his father was recognized in Boston, Massachusetts by a former employee of their owner. George Latimer was arrested as a fugitive and brought to trial, where he was defended by noted abolitionists Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Eventually, a group of abolitionists paid $400 for his freedom. George Latimer disappeared shortly after the Dred Scott decision of 1857, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Scott, a slave, couldnt sue for his freedom. Possibly fearing a return to slavery, Latimer went underground. It was a great hardship for the rest of the Latimer family. Early Career Lewis Latimer worked to help support his mother and siblings. Then, In 1864, at age 15, Latimer lied about his age in order to enlist in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. Latimer was assigned to the gunboat USS Massasoit and received an honorable discharge on July 3, 1865. He returned to Boston, Massachusetts and took a position as an office boy with the patent law firm Crosby Gould. He taught himself mechanical drawing and drafting by observing draftsmen at the firm. Recognizing Latimers talent and promise, the partners promoted him to draftsman and, eventually, head draftsmen. During this time he married  Mary Wilson in November 1873. The couple had two daughters, Emma Jeanette and Louise Rebecca. The Telephone In 1874 while at the firm, Latimer co-invented an improvement to the bathroom compartment of trains. Two years later, he was sought out as a draftsman by an instructor of children who were hard of hearing; the man wanted drawings for a patent application on a device he had created. The instructor was Alexander Graham Bell, and the device was the telephone. Working late into the evenings, Latimer labored to complete the patent application. It was submitted on Feb. 14, 1876, just hours before another application was made for a similar device. With Latimers help, Bell won the patent rights to the telephone. Edisons Competitor In 1880, after relocating to Bridgeport, Connecticut, Latimer was hired as assistant manager and draftsman for the U.S. Electric Lighting Co., which was owned by Hiram Maxim. Maxim was the chief competitor of Thomas Edison, who had invented the electric light. Edison’s light consisted of a nearly airless glass bulb surrounding a carbon wire filament, typically made from bamboo, paper, or thread. When electricity ran through the filament, it became so hot that it literally glowed. Maxim hoped to improve on Edison’s light bulb by focusing on its main weakness: its brief life span, typically only a few days. Latimer set out to make a longer-lasting light bulb. He developed a way to encase the filament in a cardboard envelope that prevented the carbon from breaking up, giving the bulbs a much longer life while making them less expensive and more efficient. Latimer’s expertise had become well known, and he was sought after to continue to improve on incandescent lighting as well as arc lighting. As more major cities began wiring their roadways for electric lighting, Latimer was selected to lead several planning teams. He helped install the first electric plants in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York, New York; and Montreal, Quebec. He also oversaw the installation of lighting in railroad stations, government buildings, and major thoroughfares in Canada, New England, and London. Edison Latimer started working for Edison in 1884 and became involved in Edisons infringement lawsuits. He worked in the legal department of the Edison Electric Light Co. as the chief draftsman and patent specialist. He drafted sketches and documents related to Edison patents, looked over plants in search of patent infringements, carried out patent searches, and testified in court on Edison’s behalf. He never worked in any of Edisons labs, but he was the only black member of a group known as the Edison Pioneers, men who had worked closely with the inventor in his early years. Latimer also co-authored a book on electricity published in 1890 called Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison System. Later Innovations In subsequent years, Latimer continued to display his innovative abilities. In 1894 he created a safety elevator, a vast improvement on existing elevators. Then he obtained a patent for â€Å"Locking Racks for Hats, Coats, and Umbrellas† that was used in restaurants, resorts, and office buildings. He also developed a method for making rooms more hygienic and climate-controlled, named an â€Å"Apparatus for Cooling and Disinfecting.† Latimer died on December 11, 1928, in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York. His wife Mary had died four years earlier. Legacy Lewis Latimer rose from humble beginnings with little education to play a major role in the development of two products that had massive impacts on the lives of Americans: the light bulb and the telephone. The fact that he was a black American born in the 19th century made his many successes even more impressive. Sources Lewis Latimer. Greatblackheroes.com.Lewis Howard Latimer Biography. Biography.com.Lewis Latimer. Famousinventors.org.