Developing Good Business Sense

Developing Good Business Sense
Cynthia L. Mills

06/16/2013

Michael Moore

Developing Good Business Sense

        The three companies that I am going to analyze are; a nursing home, a fast food restaurant and a retail chain store.  

        Let’s start with the nursing home and their type of operating system.  Their input would be the patients and the labor that it takes every day to take care of these patients.  The operating system that would compare with this business in my eyes would be the small-batch production.  They do not make products but they do care for patients, which are just about the same every day, in the same way every day.  There are special routines that have to be followed in order for the production to be productive.  Dispensing medicines, personal care, feeding, special nursing care, and many other duties must be accomplished every day in a routine manner with a certain amount of time scheduled for all patients.  The output stage is the end result of releasing the recovering patients, or sending them to another rehab center for more treatment.  Unfortunately some do not survive their stay and we all know what the end result of that is.  Some of the costs involved in running a place like this, is liability insurance, medicine, linens, furniture, equipment for rehab, food, utilities, maintenance of the building inside and outside and of course labor to operate the place.  If these items are not in place and not in supply and management has not control over what is going on this place could not function.  With all these costs it certainly puts a hindrance on the price of the monthly stay, and the costs are rising every day. A place like this has to have so many necessities in line and I would imagine quite a few managers in numerous departments, because of the liabilities and a chance for law suits.  This nursing home is an A+ establishment, it is clean, the medical personal are all so helpful when needed, and the atmosphere was exceptional.  It has been the best place my nephew has ever been in, and with him having multiple sclerosis for 30 years we have experience quite a number of them.  They have definitely earned a competitive advantage over all the rest.

Developing Good Business Sense

The next place is a local fast food restaurant.  The input would be the goods that they purchase to prepare and sell to the customers.  They also have the labor with preparing the foods and training in customer service.  I would have to classify this operation as a flexible production, because there are times when a small quantity of food preparation, in the off hours, and then there is mass production at meal times when customer base is at the most highest volume.  The output is the food, meals, and service offered to each customer that visits this establishment.  Each employee is specified a job each day and with each shift, it may be the same or it may different, and this is why they must be cross trained on multiple jobs.  This cost time and money, but in order for the lines to run smooth and for each employee to help the other it is needed.  The cost of the food is about the same as any other fast food, for example, McDonald’s or Burger King.  I think the food is better, it seems like the quality if better, and the atmosphere is more of a family one.