THE IMPACT THAT BIM HAS HAD ON THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

1.     Abstract

This study aimed at determining the current situation in the utilization of BIM in the building and construction industry. The study looked to determine the impact of BIM on various stages of the construction process and the to determine the reasons for the current rate of utilization of BIM in the industry. To achieve their objectives, the researcher embarked on a qualitative study utilizing grounded theory as the study design. The researcher utilized purposeful sampling to select three participants from whom they collected data using semi-structured interviews. The researcher later utilized a computer software to aid them in coding data during data analysis and used tabulation to express the major thematic concerns of the data. The study found that the utilization of BIM has positive impacts on all phases of the construction process. The study also found that the cost of initial BIM installation and the inadequacy of expertise are the major limitations that derail widespread uptake of BIM. The findings of the study imply that BIM is good for the future of the construction industry.

THE IMPACT THAT BIM HAS HAD ON THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

2.     Introduction

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a concept that emerged in the late twentieth century. The emergence of this concept came a few years after the emergence and widespread popularization of another concept –supply chain. Even though supply chain was not strictly a concept for the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, it had numerous applications in this industry (Mahdjoubi et al. 2015 p. 28). As a result, the two concepts developed concurrently albeit at different rates. Even though it is difficult to consider one of these concepts without considering the other in modern AEC, this paper focuses mainly on the impact that the application of BIM has had on the AEC industry. The initial framers of BIM were looking to solve some issues in the construction industry. Although BIM seemed to be a breakthrough in providing a solution to these issues, its applicability still presented numerous issues. Thus, as a result of various challenges in applying the concepts of BIM and many other factors that determine the general landscape of the construction industry, BIM, which is a concept of the 1980s, only started to have a significant impact of the construction industry in recent times. This study thus looks to follow up the results presented in the National BIM report of the UK in 2017; this paper looks to confirm if indeed BIM impacts the construction industry positively. The study, therefore, aims to understand the impacts of BIM on the construction industry by analyzing its impact in shaping the culture of the industry; exploring its socio-technical impact on supply chain; explaining its impact on the construction industry; and explaining its advantages for the operational team. The study has shown that the BIM has markedly enhanced the functioning of the core construction team but is yet to impact greatly on the individuals who are outside the core construction team.

2.1.Background

The construction industry is an industry with huge potential. However, it is largely evident and acknowledgeable that the industry has failed terribly to reach its full potential. In other words, the construction industry has consistently failed and underachieved (Edum-Fotwe and McCaffer 2000 p. 121; Arditi et al. 2001 p.122; Egan 2002 p.11). Egan (2002 p.12) suggests that the overall performance of the construction industry overwhelmingly dissatisfies numerous clients of the industry. Crotty (2016 p.41) also echoes the same as they describe various shortcomings of the construction industry; of these shortcomings, the two that the author sees as most fundamental are the industry’s failure to deliver projects predictably and the inability of most firms in the industry to make an amount of profit that keeps them surviving. The failure of the industry to deliver projects to the required quality, at the required time, and within the stipulated budget herald the industry’s unpredictability. One disturbing fact is that these shortcomings of the industry have remained the same over the last 50 years; the critiques of the industry over this period have been essentially the same.

Numerous reports on the performance of the construction industry relay the current rhetoric that the construction industry is much more dormant and laggard than it should be. Harty et al. (2007 p.480) further suggest that this stagnation of the industry has led to its chronic underperformance. Even though there have been improvements in the industry in recent times, it is still evident that the industry is yet to achieve its full potential (Holti et al. 2000 p.31).

The adversarial and fragmented culture of the industry is at the center of the causation of many of the problems that the industry faces. Egan (2002) adds that the inefficiency of communication and information that forms part of this retrogressive culture of the industry plays a role in causing the industry’s failures. Higgin and Jessop (2013) also allude to the inefficiency of communication in the causation of the stagnation of the construction industry. Thus, for the industry to grow and become as productive as it should be, there is need to address and manage these long-standing problems effectively and aggressively.

BIM emerges as a potential driver in changing the culture of the construction industry. BIM can effectively foster an integrated and collaborative culture which is ideal for the construction industry (Papadonikolaki et al. 2016 p.482). The National Building Specification of August 2016 defines BIM as a process for the creation and management of information on a construction project across its lifecycle. Papadonikolaki et al. (2016 p. 483) define BIM as a set of technologies that enable various AEC actors to generate, manage, and share consistent building information. Among the key outputs of this process is a digital description of every aspect of the built asset. The model utilizes updated information whose collection is dependent on the collaboration of the many players in the construction process. Creation of a digital BIM enables those the persons who interact with the building at various levels to optimize their actions hence resulting in a greater life-value of the asset under construction.  BIM offers fluent visualization, accurate interference detection, fast coding, and coherent shop drawings among other built-in features that have effectively revolutionized the process of designing buildings (Papadonikolaki et al. 2016 p.483). The technology is also able to estimate the costs of various processes of building hence making the work of quantity surveyors and contractors easier. The embrace of ICT systems, include systems other than BIM, has been central to the rapid dev elopement of industries such as automobile and retail. Crotty (2016 p. 37) also alludes to the importance of ICT in industrialization when they refer to the high success of the Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) system.

Despite its perceived benefits, the AEC industry has been paradoxically slow in their adoption of BIM. Historically, the AEC industry has been slow in adopting various Information Communication Technology (ICT) systems. Despite the size and potential of the industry, it has lagged behind industries like finance, manufacturing, and retail in the rate of ICT uptake (Wong and Sloan 2004). Papadonikolaki et al. (2016 p. 480) tend to blame the involvement of numerous actors in BIM for the slow adoption of BIM in the construction industry. Further, the dynamic of the frequency and intensity of interaction between the various actors of the project in the course of the project impedes successful adoption of the technology.

From a critical point of view, however, BIM is not just a technology. BIM is a new way of working; the findings in the national BIM report of 2017 echo these sentiments. According to this report, many individuals in the AEC sector see BIM as future of project information. Even though BIM involves new software, it is much more than just the implementation of this new software. BIM is a different way of thinking that requires a break away from the traditional workflow (Gu 2010 p. 993). With BIM, all the parties of a building project including contractors, surveyors, and architects share and effectively work on a common information pool (Grilo and Jardim-Goncalves 2010 p.524).

The researcher, as a fan of BIM, views this new way of working as a suitable vehicle that can bring the cultural changes that the construction industry needs for it to achieve its great potential. It is in this light that the researcher will look to explore the impact of BIM and its implementation on the construction industry. The researcher will focus this exploration on the impact of BIM on the supply chain in the construction industry. Khalfan et al. (2015 p. 913) assert that BIM can greatly influence the efficiency of the supply chain in the construction industry.

2.2.Rationale

The researcher derives the rationale of this study from a study that was initially conducted by Bui et al. (2016). The study reveals that the construction has rapidly progressed since the stakeholders’ move to rethink the current state and the future of the industry. In the study, Bui et al. (2016 p. 491) also blame the adversarial and fragmented nature of the construction industry for its failure to achieve its full potential. Further, the findings of Eastman (2011 p.51) that even though BIM has been with humanity for close to forty years now, it only started to significantly impact the construction industry recently inform the aims of this study. These recent developments are evident in the national BIM report of 2017 as in the chart below:

Figure 1. Sourced from NBS National BIM Report 2017 | NBS

According to statistics in the report, the utilization and impacts of BIM have rapidly changed over the last four years. The report demonstrates a rapid rise in both the awareness and the utilization of BIM. In 2011, only 13% of AEC stakeholders were aware of BIM and were using it while in 2017, a massive 62% of AEC stakeholders were aware of BIM and were utilizing it. Because the UK government made BIM compulsory for all projects in the private sector, which cost more than £5 million, the researcher anticipates a further increase in both the awareness and the utilization of BIM (Vernikos et al. 2013 p.152).

Apart from the study by Bui et al. (2016), the researcher also found numerous literature that discuss the possible benefits of BIM. However, the researcher was wary of the possibility that the incentive by the UK government to make BIM compulsory could potentially lead to production and publication of papers revealing the benefits of BIM without having true data but rather propagating bias and propaganda. Thus, the researcher intended to examine whether or not the benefits of BIM as Bui et al. (2016) discuss them have aided in shaping the culture of the construction industry in the last eight years or not. The researcher also wanted to explore the usefulness of BIM in fostering change from the adversarial and fragmented culture of the industry in the realization of the numerous benefits of BIM discussed by various authors.

The researcher is also wary of the fact that the most of the potential benefits of BIM discussed by various authors focus on the benefits of the technology to the core team of a construction project (Vernikos et al. 2013 p.157). The researcher, thus, posited that there is a possibility that previous researcher has failed to identify the undesirable effects of BIM. The researcher thus extended their study to consider the impact that BIM potentially has on the entire supply chain. It is only in this way that the study could determine if BIM could potentially adversely affect any individuals within the AEC industry.

Despite the recent improvements in the uptake of BIM, its scale of implementation in the construction industry is still relatively small. For this reason, the researcher was interested in determining the impact of BIM on the culture of the construction industry in the last few years. Also, the researcher set out to determine the current impact of BIM on the supply chain in the construction industry and the most likely position on BIM in the future of the construction industry.

2.3.Aims, Objectives, and Research Questions

2.4.Overview of Work Done and Methodology

The researcher started the study by identifying a problematic area in the AEC industry which stakeholders needed to address. This area was the fact that the AEC industry had an adversarial and fragmented culture which tended to impede its performance and achievement. The researcher hypothesized that BIM, as a new way of working, impacted on the culture of the industry and set out to test their hypothesis. The literature review that the researcher conducted revealed a gap as the reviewed literature revealed little about the impact of BIM on the supply chain in the AEC industry.

In choosing a suitable methodology, the researcher identified their assumptions to prevent the assumptions from forming a basis for bias. The researcher adopted a qualitative research approach utilizing grounded theory as the research design and an inductive approach. They also utilized purposeful sampling to achieve a representational sample that could enable the researcher to generalize their finding to the construction industry.

The researcher chose one-to-one interviews as their suitable data collection tool. The interview questions were semi-structured. The questions were designed specifically to enable the researcher to discover pertinent issues about the implementation of BIM and its impacts on organizational culture and supply chain.

Like in any other research involving an inductive approach, the interviews were analyzed thematically. Thematic analysis of the interviews included categorization and coding of the interview responses into themes. The researcher then analyzed and discussed these themes deeply. It is from this deep analysis and discussion that the researcher was able to draw conclusions and theoretical constructs. These constructs then formed the basis for the implications of the study and its recommendations for further research.

2.5.Overview of Main Conclusions

The researcher determined that BIM has positively impacted on the culture change and productivity of the AEC industry. However, the researcher also determined that the impacts of BIM are still limited to the core actors of projects. Thus, the researcher asserted that they believe BIM can have an even greater impact on the industry than its current impact. BIM has positively impacted on the interaction between chief actors in the construction industry. However, it will be important for future studies to assess the impacts of BIM on organizational culture.

2.6.Guide to the Report

Chapter 1: Introduction

            This chapter introduces the research topic and states the aim and rationale of the research. The chapter also includes the research questions and objectives. The chapter also gives an overview of the work already done, the methodology used, and the conclusions of the study.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

            This chapter includes a detailed review of past literature that is relevant to the study topic (Naoum 2013 p. 18). The literature review first focuses on the past failures of the construction industry and the need for cultural change in the industry. The review then focuses on BIM and the potential of BIM as a vehicle for cultural change in the AEC industry.

Chapter 3: Methodology

            This chapter describes the research process. The chapter restates the rationale for the study and how this relates to the paradigms and approaches utilized in the study (Naoum 2013 p. 25). The chapter also justifies the use of inductive approaches and grounded theory as the study design. The chapter also discusses the researcher’s attempts to mitigate bias including their assumptions and how these relate to the reliability and validity of the findings. The chapter also justifies the data collection, sampling, and data analysis methods utilized in the study.

Chapter 4: Results, Analysis, and Evaluation

            This chapter is an in-depth analysis of the interview responses and the presentation of the results as supported by evidence.

Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations

            This chapter summarizes the research findings and relates them to the research questions to answer them. The chapter then uses the researcher findings to state recommendations for both the construction industry and for future research (Naoum 2013 p. 27).

3.     Literature Review

            A literature review is a detailed and comprehensive study that looks to interpret previous literature relating to a certain topic (Randolph 2009 p. 3). In a literature review, a researcher appreciates what other authors and researchers had done and written about their area of interest (Naoum 2013 p. 17). The literature review is also an evaluation and a synthesis of literary works that previous researchers completed and recorded (Ridley, 2012).

3.1.Purpose of the Literature Review

A literature review is a critical step in the completion of a dissertation. It is the literature review that justifies the researcher’s choice of the topic and the need for them to conduct the study. The literature review is not a compilation of abstracts of previous studies; rather, it is a deep analysis of the thematic concerns, the strengths, and the weaknesses of past studies in a particular area (Bruce 1994 p.223). Apart from enabling the researcher to determine information gaps that either their study or other future studies should fill, the literature review is an opportunity for the researcher to demonstrate their understanding of the subject that they chose to study (Boote and Baile 2005 p. 9).

3.2.Definition of BIM

BIM, Building Information Modelling, also referred to as Building Information Management, is defined as the use of virtual building information models for the purposes of developing design documentation, design solutions and to analyze the various existing construction processes (Construction Skills Queensland, 2014). BIM focuses on the subject of knowledge management which is essential in the modern construction industry. According to Construction Skills Queensland (2014), the use of BIM in the construction industry has enabled better asset management and sustainability of construction projects, which depicts the positive nature of BIM’s impact on the construction industry in the UK.

According to Ajibode (2016), the definition of BIM depends on the goals or what the individual wants to achieve in a construction project. This is in regard to the traditional challenges construction projects have faced in the past. As such, one of the most prolific challenges of traditional construction management has always been early engagement and collaboration amongst project participants. In view of this, Ajibode (2016) defines BIM as a technology that enables various information processes which are built on the positive development of early engagement and collaboration amongst construction project participants.

3.3.The Construction Industry

The construction industry has been faced with the issue of a culture that does not allow collaboration and effective communication amongst participants. This has been one of the existing challenges of the construction industry. However, there is a huge potential for the success of the construction industry in the adoption of BIM. The fragmented nature of the traditional construction industry was faced by conflict situation which is largely addressed by the collaborative efforts that are enhanced through the implementation of BIM (Terreno et al., 2015).

3.4.How BIM Works

BIM is an information-based approach that seeks to make use of technology to solve different challenges that often face the design process of a construction project. The use of BIM in a construction project enabled the professionals to manage all aspects of the construction throughout the building’s lifecycle (Doumbouya, Gao and Guan, 2016). The use of BIM, therefore, enabled enhanced communication and collaboration of activities of all participants during the initial phase of the project. As such, BIM facilitates the sharing of information that is crucial in enabling the analysis and evaluation of the design to minimize future flaws and risks that may occur (Azhar, Khalfan and Maqsood, 2015). The use of BIM transforms the culture of the construction industry and involved supply chain from a non-collaborative and highly adversarial to a collaborative and one of effective communication and integration amongst participants (Demirkesen and Ozorhon, 2017). This is achieved through technological means with fundamental significance placed on information sharing.

3.5.Culture Change of the Construction Industry

In the traditional outlook of the culture of the construction industry, information and communication were lacking. As such, Terreno et al. (2015) argue that the biggest flaw of the traditional linear building process was defined as lack of initial communication amongst all the involved parties in the industry. The construction industry was experiencing more conflicts and challenges in the design process. Apart from the construction industry, the related supply chain was experiencing even more significant challenges due to the lack of effective communication. Therefore, more time was being wasted before all participants cooperated meaning the costs of the construction project were increasing rapidly. House (2015) illustrates that the use of BIM technology enabled the adoption of an integrated approach. This new approach enabled better coordination at the initial phases of the project, the design process. Therefore, by increasing communication in the initial phase of the construction project, participants were able to reach higher levels of coordination, which translated into more perceived benefits of the use of BIM.

3.6.Increased Communication and Collaboration

Communication is a vital part of any project management practice in the world. Even so, project management in the construction industry is critical to the success of the project. Mesaros and Mandicak (2017) elaborate that the element of communication in the modern construction industry has been made efficient through the continuous use of BIM. BIM has enabled the use of progressive communication and information technologies which support management of the construction project and cost management in the construction industry as well as the involved supply chain. This has resulted in significant benefits through efficient communication within the given processes of construction project management (Mesaros and Mandicak 2017).

According to Allen and Shakantu (2016), the impact of the use of BIM in the construction industry in the UK is bound to provide a higher degree of standardization as well as increasing communication of information between project participants. Allenand and Shakantu (2016) argue that for long the construction industry has been faced with challenges regarding the existence of ineffective communication which limits cooperation within a given construction project. However, the mandatory use of IBM in UK’s construction industry is bound to increase the issue of communication to enable a strong foundation for interactions within the sector. Interactions that are structured deal with the communication of information and delivery of results on different construction projects.

3.7.Socio-Technical Impact of BIM

According to McGraw Hill Construction’s (2012) Smart Market, a report titled the Business Value of BIM in North America, the users of BIM in the construction sector have witnessed a lot of benefits. Often, the most common benefit is increased profits with every single construction project that is carried out. As such, BIM has been witnessed to impact the construction industry as the driver of sustainable benefits. Furthermore, other benefits including high returns on investment with the focus of companies which have a higher skills expertise, implementation and experience levels. Therefore, companies engaging in the use of BIM have reported increased maintenance of repeat business with past clients due to the use of BIM in the completion of the construction projects.

According to Joblot et al. (2017), the use of BIM has immensely benefited the construction industry. One of the benefits the author focuses on is that including the renovation of completed buildings. Once the features of an existing building are reconstructed to provide a digital model, BIM may provide opportunities for energy and time management as resources are allocated appropriately through proper planning. Therefore, companies using BIM in the construction industry are able to offer more competitive renovation services making them have a sustainable competitive advantage over others.

Other significant benefits of BIM are considered to be the reduction of time in preparing the construction project schedule. Barlish & Sullivan (2012) state that one can reduce the time used for preparing the construction project plan through the use of BIM technology. The research conducted by the two authors depicts the nature of exploitation and benefits gained through the use of BIM technology. The authors present findings of their research, which include the benefits of BIM. These benefits as listed by Barlish & Sullivan (2012) include changes to processes, business performance improvements, IT investments to supported improvements, and improved ROI (Returns on Investments) and profits.

Bryde, Broquetas and Volm (2013) present findings from collecting secondary data that proved various significant benefits of BIM in the construction industry. Some of the most significant benefits throughout the project cycle as noted in their research findings included time savings, cost reduction and management. The authors present viable information which suggests that the increased use of BIM in the modern global construction industry is bound to positively affect the nature of construction projects. However, the implementation of BIM in the construction industry still faced significant challenges which are addressable through awareness raising, cost/benefit analysis and training and education.

The implementation of BIM technology has largely been noted to impact positively on the construction industry. These benefits cannot be perceived only in the area of materialistic benefits but also process benefits. Onugwa et al. (2017) argue that the use of BIM has potential positive impacts on the enhancement of construction management. One of the notable benefits of BIM that encompasses the whole lifecycle of the project is illustrated as the development of a model that is utilized for the initial design, construction up to the occupancy of the building. These process changes witnessed through the use of BIM have created better instances of construction management by enabling effective supervision of construction projects. Furthermore, BIM has enabled solutions to challenges facing different processes within construction projects by enhanced programming and resolution of conflicting during construction.

Tomek and Matejka (2014) focused on another perspective on the benefits of BIM. While most authors focused on the process and materialistic benefits of BIM, Tomek & Matejka perceived risk management as one of the most significant benefits of the use of BIM in the construction industry. BIM is involved with the analyses and evaluation of information concerning the construction project. As such, the use of BIM facilitates the perception of the existing risks and different ways to mitigate them. The significance of BIM application is risk identification and mitigation which is the basic factor for the other perceived benefits of BIM. As such, by identifying and mitigating risks in a timely fashion, construction project managers achieve positive results which translate to better time management, increased profits and ROI and a higher degree of maintenance of return businesses of past construction projects.

3.8.Changes in the Construction Industry and the Supply Chain

The use of BIM in the construction industry has resulted in the better development of expertise. Since the age of information and technology took over the global business environment, key changes have been witnessed in various sectors of the global economy. These changes have resulted in the adaptation of information and technology in the most intricate aspects of the construction industry through the use of BIM technology. As such, both contractors, employers and professional construction teams have been faced with the issue of education and training to keep up with the skill level required to implement BIM technology. Therefore, the use of BIM has resulted in an instance of increased skill sets among different professionals in the construction industry and across the supply chain (Getuli et al., 2016).

3.9.Government Policies on Use of BIM

Another significant aspect of change that has occurred in the construction industry since the initial use of BIM technology in increased standardization and coordination of construction projects. As mentioned earlier, traditional construction projects were faced with the significant challenge of lack of communication and coordination. However, with governments such as the UK making the use of BIM technology mandatory to all key players the construction industry, the level of standardization and coordination has significantly increased (Ajibode, 2016). The use of technology that facilitates effective communication of information has enabled most projects to follow set standards and adhere to given policies and regulations set forth in the construction industry and across the supply chain.

3.10.                 Potential Implications of BIM

One of the most observed impacts of BIM on the supply chain in the construction industry has been the implementation of the legal framework and how it is used in different construction projects. The use of BIM has facilitated increased collaboration within the project, especially on the important aspect of project design. As such any legal issues such as liability of the project design are passed down the existing supply chain (Cabral and Grilo, 2018). The impact might be that the suppliers might not possess the required specification s to be carrying out the design in the first place. BIM enables the identification of any design clashes thereby reducing the overall risk to the construction project.

All the perceived benefits due to the use of BIM in the construction industry are depictive of the improvement of services provided therein. These benefits portray the better situation of the construction industry with emphasis on the advancement of project delivery and coordination of construction projects. Alwan, Jones and Holgate (2017) argue that the use of BIM has resulted in better service delivery, cost and schedule optimization, high level of customization and flexibility, fast drafting without loss of quality, conflict detection and risk mitigation, better coordination and collaboration and easy maintenance of the building life cycle. All these perceived benefits work towards creating a brighter future for the construction industry.

4.     Research Methodology

This chapter of the dissertation describes the study process. The chapter describes the methods of starting with the study design. The study then discusses the process of sampling, modes of data collection, and the process of data analysis (Naoum 2013 p. 18). This chapter also discusses the limitations of the study methods that the researcher utilized. Owing to the nature of the study, the researcher opted for qualitative study methods. The study aimed to understand the impacts of BIM on the construction industry by analyzing its impact in shaping the culture of the industry; exploring its socio-technical impact on supply chain; explaining its impact on the construction industry; and explaining its advantages for the operational team. Since the researcher is not interested in numerical data but rather in the opinions of the key stakeholders in the industry with a view of explaining certain aspects in the interaction between BIM and the building industry, a qualitative method was most suitable.

4.1. Study Design

Of the qualitative study designs, the researcher preferred grounded theory for their study.  Grounded theory is the best qualitative method in this case since the researcher is interested in explaining various phenomenon on the various impacts of BIM on the building industry; in other words, the researcher is looking to examine the effectiveness and the advantage that BIM offers to the building industry (Lewis 2015 p. 474). Even though the researcher looks to explore the culture of the building industry, the research is not anthropological hence the unsuitability of an ethnographic study. Considering the size of the construction industry and the need to incorporate the views of a large number of individuals, a narrative qualitative study was inappropriate (Lewis 2015 p. 474). Also, the scope of the study was too wide for either a phenomenological study or a case study to be appropriate.

4.2. Sampling

The researcher utilized purposive sampling as their sampling strategy. In this strategy, the sampling frame included all the stake-holders in the building and construction industry. Purposeful sampling offered the advantage of allowing the researcher to select participants from various levels in the industry considering the fact that the construction industry is wide and has many levels (Palinkas et al. 2015 p. 538). The researcher classified the industry into three levels – the lowest level consisting of workers in construction sites; top level management including contractors, engineers, and architects; and the highest level which includes government policy makers. With their experienced in the field, the researcher carefully selected only one participant at each of the three levels. However, the main limitation for this sampling strategy was the fact that it was subject to heavy impact of the researcher’s bias and prejudice (Palinkas et al. 2015 p. 538). Also, the fact that the researcher selected only 3 participants for a grounded theory; such studies often require slightly larger sample sizes (Lewis 2015 p. 474).

4.3. Data Collection

Like any other grounded theory, interviewing was a key method of getting primary data; the researcher also analyzed documents to get secondary data (Lewis 2015 p. 474). The researcher utilized semi-structured one-on-one interviews. The interviews had leading questions; however, depending on the interviewee’s responses, the interviewer had the allowance to trigger an in-depth discussion of emerging issues (Jamshed 2014 p. 87).  The main advantage of this method of data analysis is that it allowed the researcher to exploit emerging issues extensively. The researcher utilized secondary data to compare and explain trends rather than use it separately to realize trends.

4.4. Data Analysis and Presentation

Being a qualitative study, data analysis mainly concentrated on the identification of various thematic concerns in the data available. To determine these thematic concerns, coding was used (Miles at al. 2014 p. 33). Considering the small nature of the data collected, manual coding was possible. However, the researcher preferred to use, Nvivo9, a computer software to aid them in determining the key thematic concerns in their data (Zamawe 2015 p. 14). The researcher then utilized secondary sources to make sense of the thematic concerns. The researcher utilized tabulation as their main method of data presentation.

5.     Study Results, Analysis, and Evaluation

This chapter provides a breakdown of the results of the interviews the researcher conducted. The chapter then interprets these results in the context of the study. This chapter then provides an in-depth discussion of the findings in light of other previous studies and uses this discussion as a basis for evaluating the impact of BIM on the construction industry.

5.1. Study Findings

The researcher aimed to understand the impacts of BIM on the construction industry by analyzing its impact in shaping the culture of the industry; exploring its socio-technical impact on supply chain; explaining its impact on the construction industry; and explaining its advantages for the operational team. To achieve their target, the researcher utilized a semi-structured interview with three key questions. In the questions, the researcher looked to determine the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing BIM is the building and construction industry; to determine the impact that increased utilization of BIM has had on the relationship between supply chain and contractors; to understand the adaptations that construction companies have had to undergo to be more BIM-friendly; and to explore the exact ways in which BIM has eased the construction process.

Advantages of using BIM in the building and construction industry

According to the three participants of the study, these are the key advantages of BIM in the construction industry:

Table 1: A table showing the main advantages of BIM in the construction industry and the number of respondents who identified the various advantages

Disadvantages of BIM in the construction industry

Table 2: A table showing the key disadvantages of BIM and the number of participants who identified them

Other key findings

The participants of the study all seemed to agree that BIM has had massive positive impact of the building and construction industry. They also noted that increased utilization of BIM has largely enhanced the relationship between the supply chain and contractors; with BIM, there is far better communication and collaboration between the parties. By enhancing communication, reducing turn-over time, and decreasing the rate of errors, the three participants were certain that BIM has significantly eased the process of construction. The participants also identified various ways in which their companies have had to adopt in order to allow for increased utilization of BIM, especially in light with the new legislation that makes the uptake of BIM in the construction industry compulsory.

5.2. Discussion and Evaluation

BIM has greatly impacted on the building and construction industry. The utilization of BIM tends to impact greatly on all levels and stages of an AEC project. In fact, the utilization of BIM allows all the participants of a project to see and understand all steps of the project (Masood et al. 2014 p. 231). This discussion analyses the positive and negative impacts of BIM on the various stages of the construction process and the adaptations that various construction companies have had to undergo to enhance their compatibility with BIM.

Impact of BIM at the designing stage

The first step in the construction process is the decision on a suitable design for the building that a customer looks to construct. The design process is an intensive stage of the construction process that involves multiple key participants. The most important participants at this stage are the architect and the engineer. The consumer is also a key determiner of the goals and the outcomes of the design process. BIM has strongly impacted the design stage of building. With BIM, it is much easier for engineers and architects to graphically represent a plan in as many dimensions; this offers a key advantage the traditional pencil and paper presentation which was limited to a 2-dimesnional view of the building (Wong and Fan 2013 p. 143). In fact, using a BI platform to present a proposed design of a building gives the consumer a better understanding of the building before they can make a decision. Also, apart from graphic representation, modern-day architects and engineers can directly use BIM and other computer software to design buildings (Gerrish et al. 2017 p.192). Gerrish et al. (2017 p. 196) go ahead to explain that designing buildings using BIM platforms enhances the accuracy of the design. In other words, buildings designed via BIM platforms are likely to be much stronger and resilient than those designed in other ways. Using BIM to design a building, one automates the calculation of the building’s energy performance hence making it easier for them to identify flaws and weaknesses in their design and correct them promptly. Further, BIM platforms limit mistakes in the designing process.

One of the key ways in which BIM both prevents and resolves conflicts that could arise among various parties in the building process is by enhancing the perfectness of a study design and allowing the input of as many stakeholders in the design as possible. For instance, the piping and electrical installation teams have a chance to look at the building and determine the pathways for their pipes and cables and share this with the architecture and engineering teams to avoid later conflict (Gerrish et al. 2017 p. 200). As one of the study participants correctly noted, the utilization of BIM has significantly reduced the emergence of conflicts between the piping team and the engineering team. An automated system makes it much easier to identify and correct clashes.

Furthermore, utilization of BIM from the first step of a building project effectively enhances communication between the parties involved. BIM gives a truly global view of the entire project. BIM, thus, improves collaboration and communication among all the teams involved in the building process by putting all the key documents on a building in one place that is easily accessible (Azhar 2011 p. 246). Effectively, BIM does away with project fragmentation. In the past, project fragmentation was a major cause of time wastage in the construction process. The ability to put an entire project together and view it as one has thus reduced the amount of time that builders utilize. BIM has, therefore, effectively reduced turnover times as one of the study participants correctly identified. Another way in which utilization of BIM for design can enhance time management is the fact that BIM allows one to sequence the steps of the entire project at the start; it is, therefore, much easier for the team to transition from one stage of the construction process to the next (Bryde et al. 2013 p. 974). Further, visualization of the entire project as one enables all stakeholders to collaborate effectively from an early stage. Moreover, the BIM model means that there is one communication centre with is accessible to as many stakeholders as possible hence effectively enhancing the communication process (Bryde et al. 2013 p. 974). Additionally, by having the project information on a software that they can access from multiple electronic devices, BIM makes it much easier for the stakeholders as they can access their project from anywhere. Also key at this design and planning phase is that by ensuring perfect and proper planning and decreased wastage of time, the utilization of BIM effectively enhances the economization and conservation of energy which doubles as one of the ways in which BIM eventually lowers the cost of construction (Azhar 2011 p.247).

Impact of BIM on supply chain

The procurement process is an important aspect of the construction industry. Immediately after designing the building and completion of the planning phase, the procurement of materials required for the building process begins. The procurement of building materials perseverates throughout the entire building process as materials are needed for every stage in the process. In most modern constructions, the supply chain team are responsible for the procurement and supply of materials. As the participants of the study identified, BIM has positively impacted on the supply chain (Papadonikilaki 2016 p. 481). First as Papadonikolaki at al. (2015 p.265) had earlier proposed, BIM allows members of the supply chain to interact more closely with the project managers. Also, BIM allows members of the supply chain to communicate effectively with other members of the team since they all have a similar portal of communication. Additionally, the process of procuring building materials is arguably one of the most significantly areas in the construction process that plenty of time is lost (Papadonikolaki et al. 2015 p. 262). With the invention of BIM, it is possible for members of the supply chain to monitor the building process and know which materials and what amount of the materials are required for the next construction phase. Using this information, the supply chain can supply materials at a time when they are needed. Often in the building process, contractors only request for materials after the existing materials are finished hence leading to wastage of time as they await for more materials. However, BIM can enable a feed-forward response from the supply chain that can see the building process proceed much faster (Papanikolaki et al. 2015 p. 271).

However, there are some suppliers and partners who are incompatible with BIM systems. This aspect makes the utilization of BIM in the construction process difficult whilst awarding tenders to only those bidders who are compatible with BIM is unfair and in many cases unlawful. This issue is one of the few limitations of BIM; two participants identified it as a major limitation. It also partially explains the low rates of uptake of BIM, regardless of its perceived benefits, in the construction industry (Memon et al. 2014 p. 613).

BIM at the construction site

Despite is crucial utility in the earlier phases of the construction process, BIM has limited utilities at the construction site. Among this utilities are the facts that BIM greatly enhances productivity and lowers the cost of production in the long term. The increased productivity of the construction industry utilizing BIM are probably because of the decreased time of turn-over and the economization of energy. Further, because of a requirement of less time and greater efficiency in the supply chain, the utilization of BIM has proven to be cost-effective in the long term (Gerrish et al. 2017 p. 203).

However, as two of the participants of the study of the study observed, the utilization of BIM is majorly limited to the management level of the construction process; in fact, one of them argued that utilization of BIM on the construction site is more disastrous than it is supposed to be useful. First, most of the individuals on the construction site have little or no knowledge of BIM; some of them even find to difficult to use computers. There is also a widespread lack of experts who can translate the principles of BIM to the construction site and utilize them to enhance the effectiveness of the construction process (Memon et al. 2014 p. 613). It is the lack of experts that makes the concept of BIM too complex to be applicable on the construction site. Furthermore, as one participant rightly identified, there are a number of unresolved legal issues that tend to interfere with the free uptake of BIM is the UK at the moment hence the perceived hesitancy of companies to fully delve into BIM systems (Memon et al. 2014 p. 613). Other limitations that have derailed the active uptake of BIM at construction sites are the high cost of software and other infrastructure that one requires for the initial launch of a BIM system.

From the responses of the interviewees, it emerged that many companies are struggling with the incorporation of BIM in their operations. Many companies are having great difficulties in making BIM part of their day-to-day activities. However, a few companies are taking up training programs for their workers to make them BIM-competent. Other companies have resorted to computerization of all their operations. This is one area where which needs future improvement; companies need to determine ways of making better use of BIM without having to face much difficulties.

6.     Conclusion

In this study, the researcher aimed to understand the impacts of BIM on the construction industry by analyzing its impact in shaping the culture of the industry; exploring its socio-technical impact on supply chain; explaining its impact on the construction industry; and explaining its advantages for the operational team. To achieve their goals, the researcher collected primary data via semi-structured interviews whose lead questions looked to determine the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing BIM is the building and construction industry; to determine the impact that increased utilization of BIM has had on the relationship between supply chain and contractors; to understand the adaptations that construction companies have had to undergo to be more BIM-friendly; and to explore the exact ways in which BIM has eased the construction process. The study found that the utilization of BIM in the construction industry offered many advantages including a decrease in the cost of construction in the long-term, a decrease in the turn-over time, an increase in collaboration between the various operational teams, improved communication, better utilization of resources, and a decrease in the rates of errors and reworks. However, the utilization of BIM poses a few challenges; these challenges include an initial high cost of installation of the required software, lack of adequate expertise, certain unresolved legal issues, and incompatibility with some partners. The study also found that the utilization of BIM greatly enhanced and improved the interaction between contractors and supply chain to the good of the entire process. The study, however, determined that many companies have had difficulties in adapting to the requirements of a BIM market. In their struggle, a number of companies have looked to use more computer-based operations and to train their workers on matters BIM.

Considering the research findings and the discussion that followed, the researcher drew several conclusions. First, BIM is a good thing for the construction industry. BIM holds the future of the construction industry, not because of the UK’s legislations, but because it can massively improve the outcomes and widen the profit margins of construction companies. Despite its perceived limitations, especially in the beginning, BIM is ultimately advantageous to the industry. Also, construction companies can and should do more to make the use of BIM easier for them; currently, the low uptake of BIM is partially because of many companies’ maladaptation to this change. Based on this conclusions, the researcher recommends for a review of the industrial law regarding BIM; this step would help to identify and deal with any controversial clauses within the current law. On the same issue, it is important to have legislation that will set standards for the utilization of BIM in companies of various sizes now that BIM is becoming compulsory in the UK. The researcher also recommends that building and construction companies should play and active role in the development of BIM by preparing for the increased utilization of this model; the best way would be to ensure extensive training of their staff on matters BIM. Companies should also look to be more innovative and look for strategies of increasing the utilization of BIM on the construction site. On the part of policymakers, there is need to lobby for the incorporation of BIM in the curricula of various vocational studies that are related to the building and construction industries; these vocational studies include architecture and civil engineering.

Future stakeholders in the building and construction industry can refer to the findings of these paper as they are strong and valid. The major strength of this paper is just it is based on data which the researcher collected in the field and interpreted it in light with the findings of previous studies. However, the use of a purposeful sampling strategy and utilization of a small sample size are important limitations of this study. Future researchers in this field can enhance the validity and the usefulness of the findings by utilizing probability sampling strategies and using larger sample sizes for utmost representation. One key area in this field that requires future exploration is the utilization of BIM on the construction site. Also, future researchers might need to delve into finding more reasons why companies have been slow in taking up and BIM and the challenges that they face in adopting to the changes that BIM fosters.

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The Contraceptive Methods

It is of paramount importance to find the birth control method which best suits an individual. There is a large number of available contraceptive methods nowadays, and choosing birth control might seem difficult. There are some medicines that may stop hormonal contraception working. That is why a patient needs to pick extra contraception in order to avoid pregnancy, select another method of contraception, or use this contraceptive method in another way. The article under consideration is devoted to choosing treatment for the 26-year-old patient Claudia who has requested a reliable birth control. It is pertinent to point out that this patient suffers from seasonal allergies. It should be emphasized that the patient’s drug allergies, Sulfa, might cause a rash. These problems have also been taken into consideration in the process of establishing treatment goals. As the patient did not want to discuss sterilization, only those methods which might not influence the patient’s reproductive system has been investigated thoroughly.

1. What are your treatment goals for Claudia today?

It should be highlighted that the main goal is to achieve reversible, effective, and accessible birth control for this patient. The right selection of contraceptive modality might help avoid the risks of unintended pregnancy. In addition to this, it is required to limit the seasonal allergies. Appropriate allergy treatment is based on the medical history of Claudia and her allergy tests. These two aims are significant in order to make Claudia sure that she has a normal life.

2. What are two possible contraceptive methods for Claudia? Please give brief rationale for each.

The two contraceptive methods which might be proposed to Claudia are birth control ring and birth control shot. The birth control ring (AKA NuvaRing) is a safe, simple, and affordable birth control method that prevents pregnancy by releasing hormones into a body. It should be emphasized that the ring contains the hormones estrogen and progestin, which are similar to hormones a body makes naturally (Planned Parenthood, n.d.). The other contraceptive method is the birth control shot. The depo shot (AKA Depo-Provera) is an injection that a person gets every 3 months. Such injection has the hormone progestin, which helps patients to prevent ovulation. Moreover, it also works by making cervical mucus thicker (Planned Parenthood, n.d.). In a case if there is no egg in the tube, a woman cannot become pregnant.

3. Pick one method and list five (5) patient-centered teaching points for the method you chose today.

The method that has been selected is the birth control ring. The five (5) patient-centered teaching points are the following:

• This method is 99.7 per cent effective when a person wants to prevent pregnancy;
• This method is a suitable alternative in a case when it is difficult to take a pill every day or when a patient is not comfortable to use implants or IUDs;
• Unscheduled bleeding is less likely to happen;
• The hormones are not digested. For this reason, there are no risks of it not working if a patient has diarrhea or vomiting;
• Those who use the ring are less anemic because of iron deficiency, and those who have anemia might show an improvement (Better Health Channel, 2014).

The vaginal ring is a type of contraception which work in preventing pregnancy is similar to the oral contraceptive method (pill). It releases synthetic forms of the natural hormones estrogen and progestogen.

To sum up, the available evidence provides a premise to believe that birth control ring and birth control shot seem to be the most appropriate methods of contraceptive to a patient with the regard of her seasonal allergies. After analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of these methods, it was decided to select the birth control ring as the proposed contraceptive method.

References

Better Health Channel. (2014). Contraception – vaginal ring. The Victorian Government: Better Health Channel.

Planned Parenthood. (2018). Birth control ring. Planned Parenthood Website.

Team Three Operations Project: Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is a leading global manufacturer of automobiles with operations around the world. Ford was a leader in early automobile manufacturing processes such as the moving assembly line. This paper will describe various operations used by Ford such as inventory control and forecasting. It also includes in-depth explanations of Ford’s use of specific project management strategies as well as quality control management procedures. The research will show how Ford Motor Company operates and what strategies it uses most.

Ford Motor Company Background

History of Ford Motor Company

The international automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company was founded in the year 1903 and then reincorporated in 1919 (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, 2017). The company started with Henry Ford and eleven investors but then was taken over by the Ford family (2017). Ford went public in early 1956 selling common stock (2017). Ford was a leader in mass production for manufacturers and started its mass production processes in the early 1900s (2017). A moving assembly line for automobiles had never been used until the Ford Motor Company integrated it in manufacturing in 1913 (2017). Earnings were raised significantly to encourage workers to increase their productivity (2017). Ford Motor Company’s history is one of manufacturing and management innovation.

Figure 1. Image showing the world’s first moving assembly line for automobile manufacturing. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, 2017

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica say that “by the end of the 1920s, Ford had more than 20 overseas assembly plants in Europe, Latin America, Canada, Asia, South Africa, and Australia” making them the most widely known name in automobiles around the globe (2017). Ford acquired Lincoln in 1922 and started making Mercury in 1938 (2017). Luxury lines such as Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover were acquired in the 20^th century. Financial difficulties occurring in the 21^st century led to the selloff of these brands (2017).

In late 2008, the US government offered financial bailouts to the “big three” automobile manufacturers (2017). Ford avoided economic failure along with growing sales the following year (2017). More recently, Ford has expanded into creating innovation to transform the way the world moves. “Ford Smart Mobility LLC is a subsidiary formed to design, build, grow, and invest in emerging mobility services” (Reuters, 2018). Ford is working to move forward and solve future transportation issues.

Industry classification

Ford Motor Company is placed in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) as Automobile Manufacturing with the code 336111 (Morningstar, 2018). The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), United States government industry classification, states Ford belongs to the category Truck and Bus Body Industry as well as Motor Vehicles and Passenger Car Bodies with codes of 3241 and 3711 (2018). International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) classifies Ford as a Manufacturer of Motor Vehicles with the code 2910 (2018).

Customers served

Ford provides inventory to Ford dealerships for sale to retail customers (Reuters, 2018). Other customers served include fleet customers. Dealerships sell fleets to governments, rental car companies, and commercial fleet companies (2018). The Ford brand is sold all over the world: Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Central America, South America, Africa, and the Middle East.

Products and Services

The warranties offered by Ford are meant to cover all of their vehicles except the F-650/750, Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. The Ford approach to a warranty program is designed to empower the network of dealerships to complete the work offered by the program. According to the Ford Warranty, the terms of coverage are “Basic Warranty of 3 years / 36,000 miles” (In Manufacturer Warranties, 2017). This is comparative to the competitors warranties, such as companies like GM and Honda that offer 3 years / 36,000 miles warranty for whichever comes first. Other terms and conditions listed are the powertrain warranty which is “5 years / 60,000 miles” (In Manufacturer Warranties, 2017). This compares equally to Honda but is less than GM and Dodge. GM is offering a “5 years / 100,000 miles” warranty (In Manufacturer Warranties, 2017).
New Vehicles, Cars, Trucks, Electric Vehicles
Ford has introduced new models of their cars and trucks over the years. According to Car and Driver, “Ford’s first F-150 Raptor hit like a meteorite when it made its debut for 2010—sudden, spectacular, and surprising” (Sutton, 2017.) “Lighter, meaner, and ready to prey on smaller, weaker trucks” (Sutton, 2017). A few of the notable features of this new vehicle include that “it’s also more thoroughly engineered as a special vehicle unto itself; Ford has given it a dedicated chassis and powertrain to go with the special bodywork” (Need Citation). This new F-Series has contributed to the 896,764 vehicles sold in 2017 which is a improvement over 2016 where only 820,799 units were sold according to Ford Authority (Ford Authority, 2018).
Performance Measurements

There are many performance measurements that can be used by Ford to better the company. “He who tries to measure everything measures nothing because it is impossible to focus effectively on ‘everything’” (Levinson, 2011). Ford went on to better explain this by stating the following:

You can waste time, you can waste labor, and you can waste material—and that is about all. You cannot waste money. You can misuse money, but you cannot waste it; it is still somewhere…. Time, energy, and material are worth more than money, because they cannot be purchased by money. Not one hour of yesterday, nor one hour of today can be bought back. Not one ounce of energy can be bought back. Material wasted, is wasted beyond recovery. (Levinson, 2011)

The listed metrics in the performance indicating or KPIs include waste of human time, waste of product time, waste of materials, and waste of energy. These were identified by Ford nearly 90 years ago. “Frontline workers can easily recognize the need to initiate corrective action or proactive improvement when they find themselves waiting” (Levinson, 2011).

Production Performance Measurements

The performance metrics for the Toyota production systems (TPS) include the seven wastes. These wastes are waiting, transportation, processing, waste motion, cost of poor quality, inventory, and overproduction (Levinson, 2011). “By 2017, Ford will increase its global flexible manufacturing to produce on average four different models at each plant around the world to allow for greater adaptability based on varying customer demand” (Corporate Ford, 2017). Also in 2017, virtually all Ford vehicles will be built off nine core platforms, boosting manufacturing efficiency, while giving customers the features, fuel efficiency and technology they want anywhere in the world (Corporate Ford, 2017). Ford’s President and CEO states “our plan for creating value going forward is simple and straightforward: continue our expansion from an auto company to an auto and a mobility company” (Corporate Ford, 2017).
Quality Management

Although the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) began under the original

Henry Ford himself, “Quality People, Quality Products” (Scheid, 2011) became the mantra of

Ford Motor Company when they implemented a much more effective TQM in the early 1980s through the 1990s. The need for an improved TQM came after Ford posted $3 billion in losses between 1979 and 1982 (Gabor, 2001). TQM is a customer based methodology that looks for customers to tell the companies what defines quality products. Ford had struggled with declining sales, and the TQM program was put into place to help turn around the company and regain lost sales and loyal customers. There are ten steps to TQM:

1. New strategies must be investigated aggressively.
2. Research your customers. Know their needs and wants. Determine who your             customers are and gather information through surveys.
3. The customers will tell you what quality products are. Listen to them!
4. Prevent loss, don’t correct it! With preventive measures to ensure fewer quality issues, there is way less cost and more streamlined approaches.
5. Cut the waste. Lessen the amount and causes of waste. Anything that does not apply to the immediate goals of the project at hand is considered waste.
6. Keep moving. Improvement processes will continue indefinitely. Stopping after a small financial and quality improvement defeats the process of TQM.
7. Stay structured. Staying on a structured path minimizes time and man hours loss on when or how to improve the process.
8. Streamline products. Fewer models of  products will help keep the focus on quality.
9. Balance is important. All areas need equal time as they all need to work together to produce a better quality final product.
10. All moving parts of TQM need the improvement strategies implemented.

With the implementation of TQM, Ford had turned around the company in a quick amount of time and by 1986 had become the leading American car company(Gabor, 2001). Following on the success of the implementation of the ten steps of TQM, Ford kept up its run of loyal customers and profits into the early 2000s. They had indeed come back from the dead so to speak to become the essence of the American car company by having a high customer satisfaction rating. However, one of the keys to TQM is to not rest on improvements. In the mid 2000s, Ford had another crisis of events that was leading to a steep decline of customer happiness and satisfaction that lead to another mindset change on how to achieve goals and turnaround the company.
Project Management

Having turned around the company with TQM in the 1980s through the 1990s, Ford had neglected to keep on the quality line of thought and had rested on its laurels. This was now coming back to bite them. The reputation for quality had been deeply damaged in the mid-2000s with a series of events including rollovers of its Ford Explorers with Firestone tires to a vast amount of recalls on numerous models to extended delays in getting new models out to the public. Ford, according to customer satisfaction surveys done, had once again fallen behind the other American car companies in satisfaction and loyalty. Realizing that they had a major issue on their hands, Ford went back to the foundation of their resurgence last time, embracing quality and the principles of TQM. However, as time changes and so does metrics on how to measure quality, it was quickly realized that they needed to update the TQM standards in order to accomplish their goal. Ford decided to employ a new quality strategy based on the 6-Sigma process which Ford called Consumer-Driven 6-Sigma. The projects are selected on three main criteria:

1. Must relate to customer satisfaction (Paton, n.d.).
2. Must reduce defects by at least 70 percent (Paton, n.d.).
3. Each project should average $250,000 in cost savings (Paton, n.d.).

Although difficult to define exactly, the life cycle of Ford’s Consumer Driven 6-Sigma is known as the DMAIC cycle and is broken down in the following steps:

1. Define. Ford contacts customers and finds what matters to them. The size, timeframe and potential financial gains of the project are discussed agreed on.
2. Measure. Process measures are developed to evaluate the performance of the process.
3. Analyze.  Analyze the data to find the issues and pinpoint solutions to the issues be it a singular issue or multiple problems at different areas of production.
4. Improve. Discuss all solutions to the original problem and pick the one that best fixes the issue, such as,  the cost-benefit analysis and implementation plan.
5. Control. Sustain the gains that have been made and put into place procedures to ensure continued focus and implementation of the final solution.

No 6-Sigma project at Ford is considered finished until the entire DMAIC cycle is complete, and Ford can audit the results to see the effect on customers and the bottom line (Paton, n.d.).

To ensure the quality and success of the Consumer Driven 6-Sigma, Ford had developed four different levels of personnel that are responsible for the implementation and completion of the process. They are the following:

1. Green Belts. Green Belts help Black Belts get the projects done faster.  Green Belts are divided into technical, manufacturing and transactional.
2. Black Belts. Black Belts are assigned full-time to the Six Sigma process. They are in charge of define, measure, analyze, improve and control cycles.
3. Master Black Belts. They have tier-one or tier-two rankings which are the highest level of performance appraisal in Ford. They help mentor and support Black and Green Belts in whatever means needed.
4. Project Champions. This position is usually a manager that work in conjunction with Master Black Belt to pick Six Sigma projects and provide the resources to ensure the success of the projects throughout the lifecycle.

The results of Ford’s commitment to quality with the use of the Consumer Driven 6-Sigma and implementation of the DMAIC cycle have been tremendous. According to Debbie Yeager, director of Consumer Driven 6-Sigma, Ford has documented 2 billion dollars in cost-savings from the 6-Sigma initiative since 2000.

Inventory Systems

Ford Motor company’s inventory system was revamped roughly twelve years ago by Alan Mulally. Mulally really put a focus on narrowing down the supply chain from Ford plants to the dealer’s lots. The main focus was to find out what each dealership specifically sold well and how to predict what cars were going to be sold. With the implementation of the new system it saved Ford dealers about $90 per vehicle in storage fees and reduced trading amongst dealers by 30-40%.

Ford Motor Company, SageTree Inc. and Teradata, a division of NCR Corp. , today announced that they have completed the implementation of SageTree’s Supply Chain Performance(TM) Suite (SCPS) of applications to improve the flow of service repair parts through Ford’s North American distribution network, thereby improving customer service and reducing costs. This marks an important milestone in the four-year contract among the companies to deploy a world-class inventory monitoring and alerting system. (PRNewsWire, 2005)

SageTree’s system is designed to give an overview of the supply chain. The system provides the user with tons of details, including a daily analysis, historical trends, and predictive information about the process. With all of the information it allows companies to see the trends in their products, and it allows them to see where they can reduce costs in their supply chain. This is very beneficial for Ford because with this information, it will allow them see what plants they need to temporarily shut down.

Financial Analysis

According to the financial highlight reported from Ford Motor Company, operating margins, cash flow, and net incomes decreased from the year 2015 to 2016. Operating margins decreased 1 percent from 2015 to 2016. Operating cash flow was 7.3 billion in 2015 and decreased to 6.4 billion in 2016. Overall net income decreased greatly from 7.4 billion in 2015 to 4.6 billion in 2016 (Financial Highlights [image], 2016). Despite the decreasing numbers, Ford still manages to pull off their second-best year ever. According to 2016 Annual Reports, “Overall, we maintained a strong cash and liquidity profile including automotive cash of $27.5 billion and net cash of $11.6 billion” (2016 Annual Reports, 2016).

Figure 2. Financial highlights in billions for Ford 2015 and 2016. [Image] Ford Motor Company

Ford continues to keep up with competition and keep their numbers high despite the challenges and decreasing numbers. Looking at a five-year overview of Ford Motor’s overall finances, they increased sales/revenues 9.86 percent from the year 2013 to 2017 (Ford Motor, 2018). Net incomes fell to 1.23 billion in 2014 but rose back up to 7.6 billion in 2017. While Ford is not number one in competing for the top against General Motors, their numbers are on the rise. Refer to the chart below for Ford’s overall net income year 2013 to 2017.

Figure 3. Ford’s net income in billions for 2013-2017. (Ford Motor Co, 2018).

Facilities

“The company currently builds around 6 million cars a year at 70 plants around the world, drawing on an annual volume of 35 billion parts” (Bowman, 2012). Currently Ford Motor Company has 24 plants in the United States of America. Ford invests lots of money into their operation plants. “Ford Motor Co. will invest $1.2 billion in three Michigan factories to prepare for production of the all-new Ford Ranger and Bronco, and to support the company’s expansion into mobility” (Thibodeau,2017). These investments are going to make significant improvements in the plants. Ford Motor Company continues to invest money into their plants and create new ones. Ford is aware of the trends in their vehicles; when specific models are not doing well on the dealer’s lots, Ford stops the production of those vehicles at the plants.

Ford said the Cuautitlan assembly plant that builds the Fiesta would be idled for three weeks. The Hermosillo, Mexico plant that builds the Fusion and MKZ and the Flat Rock, Michigan, factory that assembles Continentals and Mustangs will be idled for two weeks each. The Michigan Assembly plant that builds the Focus will be idled for one week and the Kansas City assembly line that builds Transit vans will be down for two weeks. Ford did not give dates for the temporary shutdowns. (White, 2017)

Forecasting

Ford Motor Company uses many different forecasting methods to help determine consumer consumption. Like many businesses, Ford relies on social media to help forecast customer trends, social impacts, and economic shocks. All of these can directly affect the future of manufacturing sales and productivity. With being able to predict sales and consumer interest from social media, Ford can help supply the dealers in adequate time for buyers.

According to an article in 2010 from EveryCarListed.com, Ford Motor Company determined the great impact of social media with forecasting models. The issue arose in 2010 with a 60-70 day supply time of the vehicle named Taurus. Ultimately the goal is a 30 day supply time for obtaining parts and inventory. Facing new obstacles, it was determined that using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and etc. would help better predict the incoming sales and purchases from Ford Motor Company. This helps the company prepare for the new demands of customers while avoiding misjudgments from automakers.

Not only does social media tell  how much to supply of a product but also the demands wanted by consumers. “In phase one, Ford lent European-spec Fiestas to 100 U.S. consumers who chronicled their experiences and posted their impressions of the vehicle using social media sites including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Ford’s group vice president of global marketing Jim Farley said, ‘We have 100 customers and they all have friends, and they told us exactly what they would buy’” (EveryCarListed, 2010). With the new methods in place, Ford can meet the needs with their new release the Ford Fiesta and accompany the customers “wants” with the use of social media forecasting and feedback.

Continuing to look for additional resources, Ford Motor Company also recalls previous sale history, purchases, and inventory control for planning methods. Advances were made to help aid the area of planning by using a global SAP program in between markets to help provide automakers with inventory supplies. This global SAP program covers “service parts planning and purchasing, a warehouse management system (WMS) and distribution to dealers” (Ludwig, 2016).

With different global markets, comes different approaches of the SAP system to help better aid customers. While in the European market, they use the program to run retail inventory management, controlling the amount of inventory placed on a dealer’s shelf. This system has been implemented in other countries besides the European markets: China and Asia. While in the United States, there is a different approach to inventory planning. There is a plan to hold 95 percent off-the-shelf parts for customer walk-ins. o determine which dealer should implement this plan, Ford does an overview of those who live in the area and what the primary vehicle is to better plan for the demands for inventory.

Having resources to change the forecasting and planning methods are always great, but in today’s market, it is ever changing. With the new technology, safety regulations, customer trends, and economic shocks, Ford Motor Company still has many obstacles to face with each new process in place to help better forecast. Social media has many strengths but also weaknesses as well when it comes to forecasting. Adding new processes or techniques to help better aid the planning of inventory come with a small price to pay: trial and error. Although it is not ideal to have an error with predicting sales, inventory supplies or customer trends, it is important to keep improvising solutions to help better planning for the changing market.

“The analytics organization has recently started to work with FCSD to improve on its more traditional forecasting methods. ‘To be frank, we are just getting going, but we think the project has great potential,’ Paul Ballew global chief data and analytics officer for Ford Motor Company” (Ludwig, 2016).  Ballew is referencing an approach utilizing the Ford Customer Service Department to help better plan and service Ford customers. In this example it shows the new perspective, Ford is receiving by using this method but also needs more provisions to help better assist the company. Planning, forecasting, and scheduling all come with great achievements but must be as diverse as the market it supplies.

Technology

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) used by Ford Motor Company in the manufacturing setting is Aptean’s Activplant. This program “collects and analyzes data from the plant floor, providing insight and intelligence to help drive efficiency improvements” (Aptean, 2014). Having this process and program provides insight to manufacturing performance. “The solution makes every production “event” available for immediate response from operators and supervisors, providing a first-hand understanding of the reasons for production peaks and valleys so companies can confidently plan for expected results” (Aptean, 2014). By having integrated systems such as Aptean, it helps Ford Motor Company create better quality goods and services without paying a high price.

Another big contributor to Ford Motor Company is Oracle programing systems. Just recently Ford and Oracle proposed an agreement of the Oracle HCM Cloud. The cloud is designed for team experience focusing mainly on Human Resource files and applications which include payroll, records, reviews, etc. By being able to have this flexibility it better suits the company on a global and financial level. “The cloud offers a single platform to access employee records and information while also helping HR professionals cut costs and save time so they can focus on more strategic decision-making and less on paperwork” (Kimberling, 2017).

Not only does Oracle help with Human Resources, but it has also provided an advantage on the manufacturing floor in previous years. “Oracle has been the major player when it comes to ERP systems and as studied it the report given for assignment in the mid-1999 oracle helped Ford open a joint venture Autoexchange which allowed Ford Motors to do B2B that is online” (Patel, n.d.). Unfortunately, Oracles use on the production floor “Everest” was discontinued in 2004 due to poor performance. Being a strong key component to Ford’s purchasing Oracle determine to stay loyal with working with Ford’s IT for better fit programming software.

Supply chain management for Ford Motor Company in recent years have been taking a new approach to the supply chain industry by implementing the green or environmentally friendly process. Items that are expected to be decreased are the reduction of carbon emissions, conserve water and energy, and cutting down on waste too show the significance and determination, Partnership for a Cleaner Environment (PACE) was initiated to Ford’s strategic suppliers. Ultimately giving the best practices and tools to perform a green performance. “PACE began as a pilot in 2014 with just a handful of key suppliers and has now grown to include more than 40 suppliers, which represent 1,100 manufacturing sites in 40 countries across the globe” (Lacefield, 2017). With this new process in place, Ford has seen dramatic changes through the supply chain management system providing projections such as reduce carbon emissions by 500,000 metric tons and an estimated 550 million gallons of water saved.

Focusing on the supply chain management itself, Ford helps suppliers with ensuring an open communication relationship; helping solve supplier problems and working together towards solutions. Program used to help the supply chain management process is Aligned Business Framework (ABF) used for purchasing. This ultimately helps by including phased-in upfront payment of engineering and development costs, extended sourcing and data transparency to Ford and suppliers. Providing suppliers with a “macro” management system from Ford rather than a “micro.” By doing so, suppliers must “ensure proper working conditions and environmental management systems throughout their value chain” (United Nations Global Compact, 2018). Which add to Ford’s overall goal of creating a better working environment for everyone involved in their production and contributing to environmentally friendly efforts.

Currently supply chain management statics can be found on Ford’s company website giving visual displays of “Working Conditions Training and Assessments, Total Supplier Sites Trained/Retrained in Sustainability Management, and Total Purchases From Tier 2 Suppliers” (Company, 2016/17). All providing detail descriptions of countries overall contribution, and previous years analysis.

Materials requirements planning for Ford is collaborated by Material Planning & Logistics Teams to provide flow of materials and vehicles to global customers at affordable costs. These teams use MRP II to help meet inventory demands across the global, this is a similar system to MRP I but is more sophisticated and can handle high volumes of inventory data. The MRP II can “quickly modify schedules, track production, and fix quality slippage” (Oz, 2009). Using this system helps improve quality and production on the assembly line.

Ford has been known to implement the use JIT inventory to increase inventory turnover. The JIT system is known as just-in-time inventory, adopted by many in the automotive industry. A process that requires management or purchasers, to plan and schedule inventory based off production. Although just introduced to Ford, this system still has various stages to be completed before full JIT systems is in takeover of Ford’s inventory.

Ford uses Project Execution, which combines bar-coding and wireless technology to ensure quality. Helping with control and management of the inventory assembly for a vehicle, Ford tags each car with a barcode. The barcode then checks the vehicle through each “gate” which could also be considered a check mark in the production process. This process is to ensure that no checkpoint is skipped and that each quality and productivity test was completed. By completing these steps and having a tracking system, it is easier for quality to determine problems and implement solutions in a timely manner.

Most technology through Ford that directly affect productivity and quality reside in systems. With new economic changes such as taking the innovative to face an environmentally friendly company and invest in the working conditions of suppliers, Ford Motor Company takes on many responsibilities. With each program and system comes new opportunity for growth and improvement, making Ford a technology diverse automotive company.

Conclusion

Ford has motors project management strategies and quality control management procedures are the key to its success. Ford Motor Company, implemented Total Quality Management (TQM) concept (a ten-step process) with the end result of higher customer satisfaction rating, but with time changing they must adapt new strategies. From the start (1903) to now, Ford has run into quality issues, but have found new strategies and procedures to overcome obstacles with the quality and operations of Ford Motor. As mentioned, in 1980s through 1990s, Ford ran into issues with the quality line which caused them to have a bad reputation and found a way to prove themselves high quality once again. Ford adopted a new strategy called the “Six Sigma” and the implementation of the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) cycle with different levels which has proven to be successful for Ford Motor with improving their reputation of the quality and reportedly saved them 2 billion dollars in cost-savings. These factors contribute to its success which covers Ford Motors sales performance, analysis and its key operational strategies in which focuses on the products strategies and the structure of the corporation. It’s safe to say, the six-sigma played a large role in saving Ford’s major problems such as inadequate productivity, poor customer service, bad use of resources and not being eco-friendly and were able to complete almost 10,000 improvement projects.

References

Aptean. (2014, June 10 ). Ford Motor Company Expands Use of Aptean to Selected Manufacturing Plants in South America, Europe and Asia.

Bessette, C. (n.d.). Fords $100 million data machine.

Bowman, Robert. J. (2012, August 18). How Ford’s Supply Chain Put the Company Back in the Driver’s Seat.

Burke, K. (2014, August 18). Ford data crunchers help dealers fine-tune inventory.

Company, F. M. (2016/17). Supply Chain Management.

EveryCarListed. (2010, January 4). Ford Implements New Forecasting Methods to Accurately Meet Demand across its Inventory Mix.

Ford motor company rolls out SageTree inventory monitoring and alerting system for north american parts supply and logistics operations. (2002, Mar 25). PR Newswire

Ford Motor Co. (2018). In MarketWatch.

Gabor, A. (2001, June 13) Management: Ford Embraces Six Sigma.

Kimberling, E. (2017, February 13). Ford Motor Company Chooses Oracle HCM Cloud Suite.

Lacefield, S. (2017). How Ford is collaborating with suppliers to green its supply chain.

Levinson, W. A. (n.d.). In Henry Ford’s Lean Performance Indicators.

Ludwig, C. (2016, March 29). Ford Part 3: Supply Chain Upgrades.

NCR (2002)

Oz, E. (2009). Management Information Systems. In E. Oz, Management Information Systems, Sixth Edition (pp. 86-87). Boston: Cengage Learning, Inc.

Patel, D. S. (n.d.). Ford E-Business Strategy. In D. S. Patel, Ford E-Business Strategy (p. 7).

Paton, S. (n.d) Consumer Driven Six-Sigma saves Ford 300 Million.

Reuters. (2018). Ford Motor Co (F).

Scheid, J. (2011, May 25). TQM and Ford Motor Company.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (2017, December 19). Ford Motor Company
American corporation.

2018-Ford-Car-Lt-Truck-Warranty-version-3_frdwa_EN-US_08_20 (n.d.). In 2018 Model Year Ford Warranty Guide.

2016 Annual Report (2016). In Ford Motor Company. Financial Highlights [image].

Sutton, M. (n.d.). In 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor In-Depth: Twin Turbos, 10-Speed Gearbox.

Thibodeau, I. (2017, March 28). Ford ups investment in Michigan plants by $350M.

United Nations Global Compact. (2018). Ford Motor Company: The Aligned Business Framework. Retrieved from United Nations Global Compact Sustainable Supply Chains: Resources & Practices

White, J. (2017, September 19). Ford to cut production at five North American vehicle plants. Retrieved February 11, 2018, from

Strategy and Positioning: Tesla Motors

Summary

This strategy and positioning research will identify various marketing concepts involving Tesla Motors and its products.  It will provide a description on how marketing efforts changes at various phases within the product’s life cycle, how packaging will add value to the product, and how the company will determine pricing strategies.  Finally, this paper will identify various channels of distribution to sell its products and how each partner can add value to the brand.

Product Life Cycle

            A product life cycle is a concept with various stages that a product goes through during its lifetime.  Kerin, Hartley, & Rudelius (2015) informs, “The concept of the product life cycle describes the stages a new product goes through the marketplace: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline (p. 273).  Furthermore, each stage has different characteristics in response to the different needs the product requires as it moves along each cycle.  As a result, the marketing tactics used in each stage change as well.  According to Lorette (2015), “Understanding the product life cycle can help business owners and marketing managers plan a marketing mix to address each stage fully” (para. 1).

Introduction stage.  This stage refers to when Tesla Motors introduces its product to its intended market.  Typically, the sales grow slowly and the profit is minimal due to the high production costs, investments, and all the initial outlays associated with developing the product.  In this phase, the marketing strategy is to create consumer awareness and stimulate the initial purchase of a product (Kerin et al., 2015).  As a result, companies typically allocate large budgets towards various advertising and marketing techniques to gain consumer awareness.  Another concept that Tesla can take advantage of is the lack of competition at this stage.  Since there is a lack of competitors with the same product, Tesla can establish a primary demand for the product class, rather than specific models.

            Growth stage.  A company has entered the growth stage once the customers become aware of the product and sales increase.  In fact, this is partly due to new consumers trying the product, in addition to repeat purchasers.  At this phase, more competitors are established and aggressive pricing strategies are involved, therefore, profit is at its peak for companies.  For Tesla, the growth stage is vital for product differentiation and building a brand preference for its target market.  Since there are many competitors, Tesla must set itself apart by diversifying its products and services since consumers compare product benefits among the available selection.  As a response, the marketing strategy should be geared towards stimulating a selective demand for the purpose of gaining market share due to the increase in various competitive products and benefits.      

            Maturity stage.  When a company gains over its competitors, the product transitions to the maturity stage.  However, this phase is characterized by a slowing of total industry sales and revenue, profit decline, and the cost of gaining new customers increase (Kerin et al., 2015).  In fact, most products out there are currently in the maturity stage; for example, televisions, cell phones, and soda brands.  Once Tesla enters this stage, it must focus on a marketing mix that maintains its market share through either gaining new customers or further differentiating its products.  Furthermore, it must aspire to build customer brand loyalty.  This can be achieved by packaging products with incentives or creating promotions for new buyers who switch from other competitors.

            Decline stage.  Once sales drop and the product market becomes oversaturated, the product is in the decline stage of the life cycle.  However, if Tesla successfully achieved brand loyalty from its customers, then it can retain its customers despite of being in the decline stage.  Although it may not gain new customers.  Lorette (2015) asserts, “For the marketing mix that remains during the decline stage, the focus is generally on reinforcing the brand image of the product to stay in a positive light in the eyes of the product’s loyal customers” (para. 6).  Additionally, another strategy that Tesla must employ is a solution for sustainability.  As a matter of fact, products enter the decline stage mainly due to environmental factors and not failing marketing strategies.  For example, Walkman’s and CD players declined due to advanced technology such as MP3 players.  Consequently, Tesla must find solutions to respond to environmental changes.

Product Packaging, Services, and Promotion Incentives

Tesla motors promotes its product by offering excellent services, such as delivering the car closer to a buyer and unmatched incentives.  Additionally, Tesla offers annual inspection service plans beyond the original warranty.  For example, the annual inspection fee for the Model S is only $600 every year.  In addition, it offers software updates over –the-air that add new features and functionalities.  Moreover, there are some incentives offered to support and promote electric cars.  For instance, there is a $7,500 federal income tax credit for owning a Tesla Model S in serval states as rebate, which customers can claim after purchasing the car. Besides, some states such as California offer free carpool lane access and municipal parking.   Chandra, Priyono & Hakim (2015) states, “The sales promotion comprising short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service.  They argue that sales promotions include a wide variety of promotions ranging from implementing and is designed to stimulate the market response in order to become stronger” (para. 3).  Another convenient packaging strategy is that Tesla cars can be delivered to a dealership close to customers that lack available Tesla dealerships close by.  Additionally, it can be delivered by truck to the customer once the payment is completed.  Furthermore, Tesla has excellent 24/7 technical support as well as offering roadside assistance. Customers can call at any time, any day, or send an email. It is always ready to assess the issue, and troubleshoot it.  If the issue was not solved through the phone, Tesla can help in transporting the vehicle by a trained network of tow providers.  For Tesla Motors, ensuring that clients receive their vehicles in pristine condition is vital to the overall customer experience, there is only one chance to make a first impression.  After a client designs his or her automobile an estimated date of delivery will be sent out, which may change pending on options chosen and availability of parts.  Once the car is ready, a delivery date will be set.  According to Tesla Motors (2016), “If you live more than 160 miles from the closest service center, your Model S can be shipped directly to your home or business.”  Using a car transportation company such as Reliable Carriers Inc., which is one of the best in the car transportation industry, guaranteeing on time delivery.

Pricing Strategy

Pricing for Tesla products will depend on a number of factors which include: demographic of the target audience as well as costs and overhead to supply the product. Also, creating a sense of value that outweighs the price of the product will also determine the penetration rate with the target market. Kerin et al., (2015) explains, “The price must be “right”—in the sense that customers must be willing to pay it; it must generate enough sales dollars to pay for the cost of developing, producing, and marketing the product; and it must earn a profit for the company” (p.324).  Having price transparency is also a major factor when targeting a market to sell to. When Tesla wants a vehicle to be promoted for a specific price, the customer will want to not only see what it is going to cost him or her in the long run over a specific term, but the value he or she gets from owning an electric sports car. Price, along with many other factors, plays a unique role within the market because it is where everyone makes their decisions on the needs and wants of the business. It is where business decisions are calculated and executed on.  Kerin et al., (2015) says, “It is the place where all other business decisions come together” (p. 324). From a marketing point of view, price needs to be viewed by the target market as less than the perceived benefits in order to instill a good value for the consumer. Given the current market for Tesla, it has to set a price the not only creates enough value to target a specific market penetration goal, creates value for the consumer when he or she purchases it, but also generates enough revenue to meet sales goals, market share goals, and revenue goals the is laid out in Tesla’s pricing objectives.

Distribution Channels

Tesla will use the selective channel of distribution. Why? Because what Tesla really sells is an experience. Today there are many cars to choose from, and most people have gasoline powered vehicles. But what the Tesla consumer gets when they buy a car is quality and prestige of being a Tesla driver. No other electric car can do what Tesla does. According to Tesla Motors the “Tesla 85D can drive up to 270 miles before needing to be charged” (2016).

Using the selective distribution channel via a mixed marketing channel allows tesla to maintain its exclusivity and prestige above the other car makers. The purchaser of the vehicle is considered the consumer and they are what keeps Tesla moving forward. Without them Tesla wouldn’t exist. Tesla is considered the producer and they will use a direct internet based marketing channel to get their car out in the market. This adds to Tesla’s value because it isn’t just a car you can test drive on a Saturday afternoon and take home that night since there are no tesla auto dealers – customers have to go to a Tesla showroom and customize a vehicle for themselves.

References

Chandra, T., Priyono, C. & Hakim, L. (2015). The influence of location, products, promotions, services with respect to consumer behavior.  Review of European Studies. Retrieved from ProQuest database. University of Phoenix online library.

Kerin, R., Hartley, S., & Rudelius, W. (2015). Marketing (12^th Ed.). McGraw-Hill Irwin. Retrieved from University of Phoenix eBook Collection.

Lorette, K. (2015). How would the marketing mix change at different stages of the product life cycle? Small Business. The Chron. Demand Media.  Retrieved from www.chron.com

Tesla Motors. (2016). How Ordering Works. Retrieved from www.teslamotors.com

Tesla Motors. (2016). Tesla Design Studio.

Teaching Technology Philosophy

As a nurse educator for students who are working toward a Bachelor Science in Nursing (BSN) degree with an emphasis on mental health, my goal is to help students build the  knowledge and skills they need for success in the program and throughout their careers. Not only is it my responsibility to introduce students to the fundamental principles of nursing practice, but I also strive to help them develop the problem-solving, communication, and critical thinking skills that mental health nurses need in today’s complex healthcare environment. I believe I can utilize technology in my teaching practice to support the achievement of these goals.

Today’s technology provides a wide range of platforms for communication, so I intend use it to facilitate thoughtful discussions among my students. Through direct engagement with each other, students can improve their conceptual understandings and grapple with complex issues in mental health nursing. Although traditional in-class discussions support this kind of student engagement, technology-based tools like online discussion boards make it possible to overcome some of the barriers associated with in-class discussions. For instance, in content-heavy courses, I often face significant time constraints. Online discussion makes it possible to promote conversation without cutting into essential lecture time (Hudson, 2014). It also meets the needs of students with diverse learning styles, such as those who avoid public speaking.

I also intend to use technology to train aspiring nurses to gather and evaluate relevant nursing information that can support evidence-based practice. Because the field of mental health nursing is highly dynamic, nurses need to have the skills to search the scholarly literature for the latest research (Majid et al., 2011). They also need to be able to evaluate the quality of sources. By integrating the use of online nursing literature databases into my curriculum, I can prepare aspiring nurses to stay abreast with the latest research throughout their careers.

References

Hudson, K.A. (2014). Teaching nursing concepts through an online discussion board. Journal of Nursing Education, 53(9), 531-6.

Majid, S., Foo, S., Luyt, B., Zhang, X., Theng, Y.L., Chang, Y.K., & Mokhtar, I.A. (2011). Adopting evidence-based practice in clinical decision making: Nurses’ perceptions, knowledge, and barriers. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 99(3), 229-36.

Suicide in the Marine Corps

Business Research Methods & Tools

Part 1: Introduction

Background Information

To augment the naval forces in the Revolutionary War, there was the establishment of the Marine Corps on November 10, 1775. Soon after the end of the war and many successful campaigns the Marine Corps was disseminated due to the stunted economical times America faced at the time. However, because there was a need for an infantry force Congress reenacted the United States Marine Corps in 1798 attaching them to the Department of the Navy. The Marines Corps heritage is deeply rooted with tradition, honor and valor. Many people believe this is due to the percentage of Americans that have served in the Corps which is only .08 percent (Chalabi, 2015).  With the honor of upholding the longstanding traditions comes great responsibility to the country as well as those that served before them. While the Marines are known as the smallest department out of all the services they have the highest suicide rate.

When looked at by human resources department in the Marine Corps there is a matter of great concern that the high suicide rate of veterans and active military personnel, which began around the time of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This was a surprise, since the increase followed the launch of new suicide prevention programs by Veterans’ Affairs, and the expectation had been that the suicide rate would decrease (McCarl, 2013). The result is not easy to understand, but a constructive approach is conducting regression analysis in order to better understand the profile of veterans and active members of the military forces who commit suicide. Detailed capture of data can provide for analysis which can contribute to better screening techniques as well as more accurate evaluation of suicide prevention programs that can contribute to continuous improvement of patient outcomes.

Management Dilemma

            The HR department as well as the supervisors and leaders in the Marine Corps are responsible for the health and well-being of every member under their care. The motivation for the protection of human subjects across the services include business research (Landrum, 2013). However, with the wake of an unforeseen evil lurking in the minds of many, the problem becomes how to help those that are not readily identifiable. While there are many services available to those military members and their families there is still a stigma that is attached to those who seek assistance from family care providers or other services offered. In the military culture many thrive on the brotherhood and esprit de corps. Whenever this is taken away or no longer part of their norm they do not know how to function in society (Deutsch, Lande, & Lande, 2017).

Research Question and Hypothesis

The research question is: Do the services provided be the Marine Corps help members in their time of mental instability?

The hypothesis is: In today’s military the professional services provided for every Marine Corps member will help to reduce the number of suicides.

Part 2: Literature Review

Background Research

While suicide is nothing new to the uniform services the matter of tracking the data and making those aware of what is happening is something that Congress and the military leadership are now taking notice of and trying to prevent such empirical loss. For years mothers and fathers have been screaming for help due to the rate to which their children were committing suicide and asking the question to all that would listen, what is the military doing about it? This is done through modification in the thought process as well as the training that is provided to all service members (VanSickle, Werbel, Perera, Pak, DeYoung, & Ghahramanlou-Holloway, 2016). Before, suicide in the Marine Corps had a stigmatism attached to it. Only weak-minded individuals would succumb to the fatality rate. Such an utterance would represent a level of unparalleled ignorance and insensitivity that is no longer accepted. It was not until the research was done showing that suicide had no boundaries of race, nationality, or even rank.

The Marine Corps plays a special role in society, and the injuries and problems that can develop at work are far beyond the typical ones found in the corporate world (McCarl, 2013). The question was answered through an analysis of the history, case studies and analysis of barriers. In terms of human resources, this is a phenomenon which is rare. The help to raise the awareness and the background to the situation, providing a review of the significance of the problem and what is already known. Human resources professionals are part of a broader team that includes the health care support system for military personnel.

Ethical Concerns

For six years the Marine Corps tracked the loss of service members from their casualty records which determined the manner of death. These records had factors such as race, sex, age, and rank. From there, the population of the Corps were given to the data collectors to assess the percentages of suicides versus other manners of death (Laurel, Anthony, & Coben, 1999). Along with this data the entire United States Marine Corps was ordered to take a survey detailing their mental stability at any given time. While the surveys were deemed to be anonymous, the survey posed questions about rank, race, location of service, sex and so forth. The concern that many Marines had was who was collecting this information and what repercussions would be had when given an honest assessment? Where was this information going and could the surveys pinpoint the individual so that their anonymity is no longer kept? In that, the protection of this data was close-hold to those individuals with a certain credentials which were not outside sources rather Department of Defense employees. None of the information was to be sold or utilized in an improper fashion. The data was kept under lock and key and only certain factors such as sex, age, rank and race were disclosed to the Marine Corps leadership and Congress.

References

Chalabi, M. (2015, May 25). What Percentage Of Americans Have Served In The Military?

Deutsch, A., Lande, G., & Lande, R. G. (2017). The Reasons for Living Scale-Military Version:          Assessing Protective Factors Against Suicide in a Military Sample. Military         Medicine, 182(7), e1681-e1686. doi:10.7205/MILMED-D-16-00382

Landrum, R. E. (2014).

Laurel, L. H., Anthony, G. W., & Coben, P. A. (1999). Suicide in the U.S. marine corps, 1990 to 1996. Military Medicine, 164(8), 551-5.

McCarl, L.I. (2013). To Have No Yesterday”: The Rise Of Suicide Rates In The Military And   Among Veterans. Creighton Law Review, 46(3), 393-432.

VanSickle, M., Werbel, A., Perera, K., Pak, K., DeYoung, K., & Ghahramanlou-Holloway, M. (2016). Principal Component Analysis of the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire in a U.S. Military Sample of Marine Corps Non-Commissioned Officers. Military Medicine, 181(7), 672-679. doi:10.7205/MILMED-D-15-00062

Culture and Social Change in “The Joys of Motherhood” by Buchi Emecheta

“The Joys of Motherhood” by Buchi Emecheta presents the audience with the cultural and social history of the third world women and their struggles through Nnu Ego, a hardworking and optimistic woman. Emecheta manages to blend the intricacies of colonization together with the patriarchal society and how they affected the role and place of women.  Nnu Ego was determined to save her children from the erosion of village life, and the breakdown of conventional norms and traditions, the infiltration of urban life, and the devastations of the Second World War under colonial rule. This paper will evaluate this story in the context of culture and social change that characterized Emecheta’s “The Joys of Motherhood.”

Traditionally, Igbo women were tasked with giving birth and accomplishing home chores. The aspect of submissiveness clearly indicates that the African woman was ready to obey the conventions of her society. Nnu Ego admits that being pregnant was the greatest joy of her life (Emecheta 50). Unlike the rural life where communal living was approved, the urban setting presents a broken life that does not support the sense of togetherness. As colonialism takes over, high levels of poverty set in. Nnu Ego’s participation in social events was hampered by poverty, until she cannot even attend mass on Sunday.

Emecheta presents women as remaining submissive to their husbands, but a new cultural change is evidenced. Although women were supposed to submit to men, some of Nnu Ego’s actions clearly portray the breakdown of conventional norms and traditions. The fact that she viewed her second husband as lazy makes her superior than him. She categorically tells him that his brothers could have thrown him out had he dared to come to his father’s compound (49). Traditionally, Nnaife is viewed as the head of the house, the husband, and the father to Nnu’s children, but due to the capitalistic and colonial atmosphere surrounding Nigeria, he is forced to compromise. Due to cultural and social changes, he is merely viewed as the head of the house but the family is held and supported through Nnu Ego’s efforts.

Although Nnu Ego lives in the urban setting, she fails to embrace the change that comes with the colonial rule. She constantly reminds her twin daughters that they should not misbehave because a girl’s misdemeanor might taint the reputation of the whole family. As a mother, she was supposed to make sure that her girls remain upright until marriage. The change from rural life to urban settings does little to ameliorate girl child’s plight for education. While advising her daughters, Nne tells them, “But you are girls! They are boys. You will have to sell to put them in good position in life” (176). In the traditional Ibo setting, girls were never considered for education but they were supposed to help their mothers in household and petty business activities.

As much as Nnu Ego tries her level best to curb her children against the infiltrations of the urban life, her son Oshia becomes the symbol of the new order. Although he does not break away from the traditional glue, he does wish to enroll for studies. Oshia and his brother are forced to attend to the family’s business in the marketplace instead of going to school. However, his intelligence and ambition supersedes his traditional obligatory roles. He becomes a true representation of the generation that is shifting away from the traditional fabric. By choosing to make his own decisions individually rather than collectively, Oshia is viewed as a disappointment and failure. Although he even works hard to earn a scholarship to the U.S., his achievement does not take away the disappointment felt of failing to stay in Lags and support his relations.

A woman’s role as a mother does not change even when the setting change from rural to urban. When Nnu Ego becomes pregnant after losing their first child, he expects his husband to be happy but instead, he only accentuates his manly status by stating that there was no need to be happy for fulfilling his role-making a woman pregnant (50). There seems to be no much change in terms of the gender of the child born. A boy child was always received with much joy than a girl child. When Nnu Ego gives birth to twin girls, Nnaife blasts her, asking her why she could not have done any better (127).

Nnu Ego is also forced to face the devastations of the Second World War under colonial rule. In Lagos, her path, on several occasions crosses with the white man. First of all, Nnu is evacuated from her compound by British soldiers. Afterwards, her husband is forced to join the army to go and fight in the Second World War in Burma. Nnu Ego shifts his family to Ibuza where she struggles to keep her family going. The gap left by men during the Second World War elevates women to the heads of houses position. Due to colonialism, the Nigerians are compelled to adopt foreign ways, which threaten their traditional fabric. Christianity, European education, and capitalism play a big role in eroding the conventions and traditions of the Ibo people.

The effects of colonialism undermine Nnu Ego’s happiness as a mother because it threatens the interdependence and cohesiveness of her family. Although her children later on adopt change, Nnu Ego fails to embrace and recognize the new ways. As a result, the forces that tied the family together are broken. Throughout the whole book, Emecheta depicts the family as a united entity whereby individuals must contribute to the wellbeing of the whole unit.  Nnu Ego fails to save her children from the breakdown of conventional norms and traditions and the infiltration of urban life, as each of them pursues his/her on interests. While her daughter disobeys societal taboos by choosing her own partner, her sons decide to pursue education rather than tend to the family business. As a result of failure to accept change, Nnu Ego suffers emotional and psychological distress thereby making her die alone by the roadside.

In conclusion, Emecheta manages to blend the intricacies of colonization together with the patriarchal society and how they affected the role and place of women.  Through the main character, Nnu Ego, Emecheta has succeeded in penning down how she was determined to save her children from the erosion of village life, and the breakdown of conventional norms and traditions, the infiltration of urban life, and the devastations of the Second World War under colonial rule. However, she fails to do so as her children adopts change and choose their own paths.

Work Cited

Emecheta, Buchi. The Joys of Motherhood. NY: Norton & Company, 2011, print.

Literature Review: Tourism Destination

Abstract

Tourism is the mainstay of most national economies across the world.  On one hand, the most exotic locations are the priciest and on the other hand, regions which cater for a diverse tourist base attract the most customers. People wishing to visit a foreign place often consider a number of factors. Some of these issues include the security of the destination, infrastructural accessibility to that destination, and the people of around the place. Studies indicate that a number of factors support tourism which include small and medium enterprises (SMEs), innovation, good transport network, working relationship among stakeholders, and architectural planning. The aim of this paper is to present the findings of various scholars on the above factors, which are highly dependent on the need to enhance tourism in any given economy. The paper will focus on different case studies where these factors have been applied successfully to bring about growth and development in the sector. Without these factors, tourism cannot contribute to the growth of an economy.   

Literature Review: Tourism Destination

Introduction

The use of competitiveness concept in tourism is adopted from other closely related disciplines, marketing and management. Crouch and Ritchie (2003) concluded that many paradigms for the basis of a number of tourism books, but management forms fundamental unit that all other dimensions of tourism are based. In order to understand the forces that shape competitiveness, continuous process of knowledge development is required. Strategies and models that enhance competitiveness in the tourism sector are still open give the fact that they are not definite. According to Hajer and Wagenaar (2003, pages 40-47), tourism destination competitiveness is explained as a broad idea that incorporates price differentials together with exchange rate activities, production levels of several modules of tourist industry, and qualitative aspects that affect the attractiveness of destinations. Whereas, comparative advantage is related to the climate, scenery, flora, fauna and many more whereas competitive advantage pertains to issues such substructure (events, attraction sites, transport networks), excellent management, expertise of workers, government policy and many more. In this paper, the focus would be on the five strategies for building competitive advantage; these include the role of small-scale entrepreneurs in creating unique tourist experiences, infrastructure, innovation, collaboration and partnership development for sustainable tourism, and spatial planning.

The Role of Small-Scale Entrepreneurs in Creating Unique Tourist Experiences

Small-scale and medium-size entrepreneurs are responsible for the growth of tourism sectors in a number of countries. A recent World Bank report indicates that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for close to half of the formal jobs globally, more so in the tourism sector (World Bank Report, 2010). They are known for providing effective solutions to some of the development issues considered critical in the sector, such as clean energies, water, health services, and education to stakeholders. In the 2016, Global Entrepreneurship Summit organized by World Bank, the role of SMEs in the development of tourism sector globally was supported (World Bank Report, 2017).  The World Bank Group aims at ending extreme poverty and strengthening shared prosperity and this will be achieved through investing in SMEs including those operating in the tourism industry. It is noted that startups and SMEs play a critical role in creating jobs and initiating economic growth in any given economy. However, in the low-income states, most established companies rarely invest in the tourism industry because of the political uncertainties and instabilities (Onah, 2004). However, SMEs have been quick to take up the risks in the service and tourism industries. While on the official visit to Kenya, the former US president Obama observed that small-scale entrepreneurship crates jobs and new businesses, as well as developing new ways of delivering basic services. The president expressed that these companies introduce new ways of seeing the world hence they are seen as the spark of prosperity (World Bank, 2017).

SMEs have been able to drive the tourism industry because they are often willing to take the risks, generate jobs; they share a flexible and have closer relationships with the customers. The possible factor hindering their growth is lack of finance for innovation and technology. SMEs are known for enhancing competition, something that gives them an external benefit on economy-wide efficiency. According to Jones and Haven-Tang (2005), the tourism industry, being the largest in the world, depends heavily on SMEs, concluding that they are the main contributors of the growth of tourism in East Asian countries give the fact that they are the main sources of employment, apart from creating export opportunities.

In countries such as India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, over 90% of companies operating in the tourism industry are SMEs. In Australia, the situation is the same because the companies in the sector are mainly SMEs with the capacity to employ only twenty staff (Ghosh, Siddique, & Gabbay, 2003)). Ghosh, Siddique and Gabbay, (2003) underscore the fact that SMEs, together with the government, are the major players in the tourism industry, especially in the development of a tourism destination’s image and improvement of service quality. Through SMEs, sustainable livelihood is made possible in the tourism industry. Those operating in the tourism industry have played a critical role in alleviating poverty levels among the locals hence enabling a better linkage with the local economy.  Since these SMEs are always focused on achieving their desired goal of profit making, they have been able to introduce new managerial, marketing, technological, human resource, investment, and competitive strategies in the tourism sector. SMEs place more emphasis on management in solving some of the problems associated with training of staff, capital cost, and leadership (Ghosh, Siddique and Gabbay, 2003)).

Role of Infrastructure

Each economy across the globe is interested in attracting tourists because of the benefits associated with their visit. The cities and governments are struggling to create parks, gardens and museums to capture the attention of tourists. However, they are unable to enjoy the ambience of their destinations without proper roads, water systems, quality public toilets, signage and many other things. A country or a city could be having a wonderful destination site, but tourists would be reluctant to visit because of poor connectivity and lack of basic amenities, such as hospitals. For some cities, they do not have proper waste management strategies, which prevent flourishing of tourism. Access to basic facilities plays an important role among tourists in making a decision about a destination. As Ghosh, Siddique and Gabbay, (2003) put it,  success or failure of any tourism programs is greatly linked to infrastructural development. They went on to argue that the people living in a tourist destination have a role to play in ensuring their attraction sites are easily accessible. Additionally, they advise that, since some sites are seasonal, the governments together with other industry players must invest heavily on transport, healthcare, and public utility facilities to make the event successful.

Tourism development across the globe depends heavily on the development of appropriate infrastructure because it offers important services to tourists apart from enhancing investment in the sector. The role of developing infrastructural units, such as accommodations, restaurants, and tours are a necessity of the private sector, but construction of roads falls in the hands of the government. Without high-class airports, railway lines, and ports, the private sector would be unwilling to venture into tourism because they would not receive any visitor. The government must play its critical role of providing an enabling environment to facilitate individual fulfillment. To this extent, Ghosh, Siddique and Gabbay, (2003) observe that the governments need to provide basic services, such as electricity, water, sewer lines, and telecommunications since they make tourism investment economically viable. In Kenya, for instance, the government made infrastructural development a priority towards achieving vision 2030, which is the country’s economic blueprint. The idea was intended to transform the country into a mid-income state, with the major beneficiary being tourism (World Bank, 2010).

Investing in tourism is a challenge if visitors cannot get to their destinations in time and enjoy their stay without facing any problem. With modern developments in transport, a person can get to the North Pole within two days, but it would be disheartening for a tourist to spend an entire week trying to access a destination that is only a hundred kilometers away. Therefore, it is highly suggested that governments and other concerned stakeholders should work hand in hand to improve transport systems and telecommunication networks. Road construction should take into consideration other important issues, such as putting up effective road signage, setting aside places for roadside rest, providing maps to visitors, and helping industry players in marketing the destinations. In a number of countries, such as Brazil, South Africa, South Korea and Kenya, governments fail to maintain the roads after the major events are over. A World Bank report of 2010 indicates that such public goods should be well maintained by repairing the potholes to prolong their usage. Governments that invest heavily on infrastructure are likely to receive higher number of tourists in their destinations.

Role of Innovation

As already noted in the previous sections, most of the companies operating in the tourism sector are SMEs. They do not enjoy the economies of scale implying that they are always at risk of winding up their businesses because of cutthroat competition amongst themselves and from large organizations that have the advantage of advance technologies. Therefore, these companies must rely on innovation and creativity to be able to cope with competition and challenges that the sector presents. In the modern business environment, a company that fails to innovate is unlikely to survive. In the tourism economy, creativity and innovation are an integral and important part because of the constant changes taking place in this sector (OECD, 2006). Tourism sector is believed to have an inventive world-making role due to its ability to empower the disadvantaged in the sector. Creativity and innovation pertains to the daily activities and actions performed by individuals and professionals as they carry out their duties. Employers and industry players should work together to establish an educational system that supports innovation and creativity rather than depending on the one that teaches students theoretical models only. Through this, employees interested in working in the sector would be able to adjust to the ever-changing environment and be able to apply the new strategies in solving problems.

Innovation is simply defined as a process through which a new idea or practice is made valuable. They are the new ways applied to achieve certain objectives (Hall, 2011). Innovations are made mainly to address a need and convene a human want. The aim of any creativity is to increase the quality of the serve being offered as well as improvement of delivery. In the tourism industry, at least four types of innovations have been identified, which include co-terminality of a service production and making use of the information, intensifying information and application of technology, enhancement of quality and diversification of human resources, and finally working on the organizational factors (OECD, 2006.). The same report indicates that innovation in tourism is made possible only if sector players work together to improve their welfare. Innovation in tourism is being hampered by factors that include the process undertaken in innovating, the driving forces, barriers failure to apply it in economic performance, and diffusion. Furthermore, scholars agree that there is a higher intensity of innovation in tourism because knowledge is constantly renewed (OECD, 2006). The development of the internet has presented some opportunities, as well as challenges to the sector given the fact that it has revolutionized market conditions for a number of organizations operating in the sector (OECD, 2006). The internet offer newer tools for businesses, apart from being used to enhance knowledge and skills in the sector.

The levels of creativity among employees are highly dependent on a number of factors that include availability of skilled labor in the market and creativity of the talented employees. For employees to be able to engage in creativity, motivation systems must be activated. Based on this, employers should be at the frontline to provide a favorable environment that allows their human resources to participate in innovation (OECD, 2006). Without continuous development of employees, innovation cannot be realized as required. Therefore, it has to start with educational institutions mainly schools and colleges before employers can pick it at an advanced stage.  Employers cannot expect to recruit highly creative workers if the education system does not support the entire process. This implies that stakeholders should spend considerable time trying to look at the tourism curriculum in colleges to ensure it supports creativity and innovation.

Collaboration and partnership development for sustainable tourism

Tourism has suffered a lot because various stakeholders fail to converge to deliberate on the way forward. A recent summit held in Kenya on Global development outlined the importance of collaboration among stakeholders operating in small and medium size enterprises, but nothing has been done so far to actualize this strategy (World Bank, 2017). Even before the Kenyan summit, there have been calls from different quarters urging stakeholders to work together to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness in the sector (World Bank, 2017). While a number of organizations venture into the sector, they fail to sustain their operations because of poor strategy among other factors. As most of these destinations gravitate towards sustainability, they are unable to do so because of poor collaboration, which does not support their agenda (Halme, 2001). Multi-stakeholder partnerships are seen as a solution to many problems facing the sector, especially in terms of marketing and development. Gray’s theory of collaboration has been cited variously, as well as Selin and Chavez’s partnership model to try to convince stakeholders to work join hands in realizing the main agenda (Gray, 1989)).

Stakeholders need to be involved at every stage of decision-making and development in the industry in order to achieve sustainability. Right from the policy making to the implementation stage, every concerned partner has to take part. Several scholars confirm that the industry is going to achieve sustainability, but only if collaborative action is taken (Halme, 2001). In the current industry, only stakeholders with massive influence in terms of resources are involved in the process of decision-making, but this must change if the sector is to realize its ambitions, as Bramwell and Lane (2000), advice. They further support the idea that top-down approach needs to be taken where decisions made at the summit must be communicated to every one working in the sector. In the United Kingdom, for instance, stakeholders must always be involved in every step undertaken in the industry irrespective of their influence (Bramwell, & Lane, 2000). They observe that this has seen the sector develop to an extent of sustaining its operations, especially in Wales where tourism is thriving. According to these scholars, (Bramwel and Lane) stakeholders play a critical role as far as partnerships are concerned because they engage in network connections through establishment of a number of coordination structures. To them, the national coordination boards should play a strategic role of formulating the policy whereas the local levels ought to take an active role in the implementation of these policies. The suggest that collaboration should come in the form of organizational management, planning, and development since this is likely to yield significant results apart from realizing sustainable development goals in the sector. Finally, they appraise the United Kingdom for appreciating the role that the private sector plays in the sector and the government made it mandatory for the regulator to consult it before making any decision.

It should be understood that sustainability is not an easy thing because it entails taking difficult management decisions. However, the problem arises when it comes to who makes them and how are they formulated. Those with the power to decide should employ a certain criteria and adopt particular principles that help in resolving the problem. Once an entity sees every one as a stakeholder, sharing of responsibilities is made easier. This would further make it easier to make decisions at any level (Huxham, 2000). Sustainability calls on the concerned authorities to adjust or adopt a new approach altogether. Therefore, realization of sustainability would require collaboration among various stakeholders.

Role of Spatial Planning in sustainable tourism

Planning for cities and municipalities is an important concept that helps in the sustainability of tourism. This word means making decisions at the national level, which are strategic, to application of unique designs at the local levels. Spatial planning, on the other hand, is a special form of planning that pertains to physical planning in a number of sectors, which influence tourism activities (Morpeth, & Hongliang, 2015)). With the drafting of the word sustainability, planning significance has increased (Morpeth, & Hongliang, 2015)). The 1970s saw the coining of the word sustainability because the current generation was expected to consider the interests and the desires of the future generations while they use the available resources (Hardy, & Beeton, 2001). At the time, Hardy and Beeton confirm that no one was interested with the future because organizations wanted to accumulate profits and outsmart their competitors in the market. In Turkey, spatial planning is initiated specifically to facilitate sustainable development. The government passed a legislation that makes it mandatory for the sector players to plan effectively for the future events, including the usage of public resources. Studies seeking to understand some of the ways through which spatial planning could be integrated into sustainable development is ongoing (Morpeth, & Hongliang, 2015)).

Conclusion

From the literature, it is noted that tourism relies on several factors to flourish. SMEs play a critical role in providing employment opportunities and supplying important services to tourism in their respective countries. On the other hand, tourism cannot thrive without proper roads, airports, railways, and other basic facilities. About innovation, companies in the sector are unlikely to survive without it implying employees need to be creative to drive the agenda of their companies forward. This calls on them to collaborate in developing spatial plans.

References

Bramwell, B., & Lane, B. (2000). Tourism, collaboration, and partnerships: Politics, practice, and sustainability. Clevedon: Channel View Publications.

Crouch, J. & Ritchie, B. (2003). The competitive destination-a sustainable tourism perspective. Cambridge: Cabi Publishing.

Ghosh, R. N., Siddique, M. A. B., & Gabbay, R. (2003). Tourism and Economic Development: Case Studies from the Indian Ocean Region. Florence: Taylor and Francis.

Gray, B. (1989). Collaborating: Finding common ground for multiparty problems. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Hajer, M.A. & Wagenaar, H (2003). Deliberative Policy Analysis: Understanding Governance in the Network Society. New York: Cambridge University Press

Hall, C. M. (2011). Publish and perish? Bibliometric analysis, journal ranking and the assessment of research quality in tourism. Tourism Management, 32, 16-27

Halme, N. (2001). Learning For Sustainable Development in Tourism Networks. Business Strategy and the Environment, 10(2), 100—114.

Hardy, A.L. & Beeton, R.J.S. (2001). Sustainable Tourism or Maintainable Tourism: Managing Resources for More Than Average Outcomes. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 9(3) 168—192.

Huxham, C. (2000). The Challenge of Collaborative Governance, Public Management, 2(3), 337-357.

Jones, E. E., & Haven-Tang, C. (2005). Tourism SMEs, service quality, and destination competitiveness. Wallingford, UK: CABI Pub.

Morpeth, N. D., & Hongliang, Y. (2015). Planning for tourism: Towards a sustainable future.

Onah, F.E (2004). The Impact of Economic Globalization on Nigeria’s Industrial Sector. Nigerian Journal of Social Sciences 4:1.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2006). Innovation and Growth in Tourism. Paris: OECD Publishing.

World Bank Report (2017). World Bank Supports tourism in the eastern Caribbean. Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank. (2010). Kenya’s Tourism: Polishing the Jewel. Washington, DC: World Bank. 

Social Marketing

The issue of obesity has been one that has affected a huge majority of America’s population. America’s population is known as one of the highly obese population in the world. As usual, some of the lifestyles adopted by the America population highly contribute to their health status. For long, obesity has been an epidemic and has also been a high health risk factors for other diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes among others (Walker et al., 2016). Various states in America face different levels of obesity in their population. In response, there have been many social marketing campaigns designed to deal with this issue (Scarapicchia et al., 2015). This paper purposes to consider two campaigns, one conducted in Michigan and the other was a nationwide social marketing campaign concerning the issue of obesity in the American population.

According to CDC, Michigan is listed as one of the states that have the highest number of obese people in the whole of America. In specific estimates, Michigan ranks at number five as the heaviest state in the United States. In view of this, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services saw it necessary to respond appropriately to the growing epidemic which was costing people significant health bills due to their unhealthy condition of obesity (Brogan & Partners, 2018). The result of Michigan is one of the heaviest states is that is costs the state billions of dollars in medical care annually. Therefore, a social marketing campaign was designed to help make people more aware of the effects of obesity and the different ways one can prevent becoming obese.

The health campaign was dubbed MI Healthier tomorrow. The social marketing campaign was focused on engaging with various brands which were well known by the target population. The brand integration was implemented through various channels. In addition to that, the social marketing campaign was promoted through various media channels such as radio, television as well as Internet-based media such as a microsite that was designed for interaction with the target population (Brogan & Partners, 2018). There were many things which were included in the social marketing campaign which are perceived to have cost a good amount of money. These things include shopping guides, coupons, helpful kits and fee gifts. All these items were bought and given to the population in Michigan which pledged to follow certain lifestyle rules to enable them to lead better and healthier lives.

The social marketing campaign also involved the use of social media platforms such as Facebook. This enabled the population in Michigan to log on to Facebook and interact with the campaign online through their mobile and computing devices. There was a specific Facebook page that was set up for the purposes of the social marketing campaign in Michigan. The purpose of the social media page was to provide the population with a platform where they can easily access information of how to go about changing their lifestyles for a better tomorrow (Brogan & Partners, 2018). This also enabled them access contact information to speak to various individuals who were involved in the campaign to ask any pressing questions concerning the health promotion campaign.

The social marketing campaign was further promoted by various commercial brands including McDonald’s, Compuware, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, Quicken Loans, William Beaumont Hospital and Huntington Bank (Brogan & Partners, 2018). All these commercial brands supported the campaign in one way or another either through financial support or brand integration which increased the promotion of the campaign to the Michigan population to a whole new level.

The second social marketing campaign was the Adult Obesity Prevention Campaign. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was concerned with the abundance of materials, messages, and initiatives that address the issue of obesity in that they would often leave the consumers of such information overwhelmed and fail to tackle the issue of obesity in the proper manner (Ogilvy Washington, 2018). As such, there was a need for a whole new approach which would portray the effects of obesity practically and get people moving towards adopting healthier lifestyles. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hired Ogilvy Washington Studio to design a campaign that would properly address the issue of obesity by making people more aware of the risks of obesity and the benefits of preventing it (Ogilvy Washington, 2018). As such, the designed social marketing campaign was simple and straight to the point. The campaign, known as Adult Obesity prevention campaign, had a slogan that stated; “Obesity happens one pound at a time” (Ogilvy Washington, 2018). The basic purpose of this new approach was to cover new territory that had never before been envisioned in social marketing campaigns that focused on public health.

The approach used was practical in nature and was targeted at specific people that would often be located around parks. The campaign personnel would ask people to wear sacks filled with sand and walk in them to feel the effect of the additional pounds on their body. As such, most people, felt the effects of extra weight such as the pain in their joints and how tired they felt just after a few minutes of walking in the sandbags (Ogilvy Washington, 2018). This became a powerful wake-up call to most people. The campaign was majorly promoted through appearances of significant campaign personnel on radio and television interviews talking about the risks of weight gain (Ogilvy Washington, 2018). The approach of the campaign was majorly aimed at depicting the personal risk of being overweight.

Comparing the two campaign will regard the 4 Ps of marketing which includes, Price, Place, Promotion and Product (Truong, 2014). The product is considered in this case to be the materials used in creating different materials used in facilitating the social marketing campaigns. The campaign conducted in Michigan was more focused on passing on of information through posters, banners, billboards, Facebook posts among other things. The difference with the nationwide campaign was that the latter did not use many materials in facilitating awareness as it was done practically and demonstrated for the people to see in leisure parks. Location was different is size as MI healthier tomorrow was focused on the population in the state of Michigan while the Adult Obesity Prevention campaign was focused on the whole of the United States. In both cases, promotion included various media channels.

However, MI Healthier Tomorrow campaign focused more on promotion through brand integration with commercial brands such as McDonald and Huntington Bank. The latter did not focus on such brand integration for the purposes of the campaign. Price is well differentiated in both cases as one was based on statewide awareness while the other on countrywide. However, the MI Healthier Tomorrow gave away some of the aiding material such as help kits, coupons, shopping guides among other information providing materials. Nonetheless, the Adult Obesity Prevention campaign still spent a staggering amount of money with the value of the Ad coming close to $12.6 million spent in the whole country (Ogilvy Washington, 2018). Some of the outcomes include the high number of ad placements with the number standing at 75,000 and over 437.9 million impressions all over America (Ogilvy Washington, 2018). There are no specific estimates of how much the Michigan campaign cost but some of the outcomes include 32,000 individuals taking the pledge to led better lifestyles and have gained access to help kits provided during the campaign. Furthermore, due to the camping, Michigan has drooped for the fifth to the eleventh heaviest state in the United States (Brogan & Partners, 2018).

The comparison of the two social marketing campaigns stands to prove that the nationwide campaign had more coverage and was more effective due to two main reasons. First, the amount of money used, ad placements and location coverage was highly extensive. Secondly, the campaign made use of new approach targeting personal risk of being overweight which would give individuals a wakeup call and start leading better healthier lifestyles to Prevent Obesity.

In summary, the different aspects of social marketing when perceived in the two campaigns evaluated for this paper portray the significance of the 4 Ps of marketing. Every single component of the social marketing structure is well defined on its own to ensure a comprehensive outlook on the given health issue from the perspective of public health. As such, both social marketing campaigns proved to include different but nonetheless significant perspectives which worked well according to the scope of their social marketing campaign.

References

Brogan & Partners. (2018) How we gave Michigan the skinny on getting healthier. Brogan & Partners Convergence Marketing.

Ogilvy Washington. (2018) Adult Obesity Prevention Campaign. Creativestudiodc.ogilvy.com.

Scarapicchia, T. M., Sabiston, C. M., Brownrigg, M., Blackburn-Evans, A., Cressy, J., Robb, J., & Faulkner, G. E. (2015). MoveU? Assessing a social marketing campaign to promote physical activity. Journal of American College Health, 63(5), 299-306.

Truong, V. D. (2014). Social marketing: A systematic review of research 1998–2012. Social Marketing Quarterly, 20(1), 15-34.

Walker, B., Wolford, B., Sasser, D., Verbois, C., & Bell, L. (2016). Launching a comprehensive SNAP-Ed social marketing campaign utilizing the cooperative extension model. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 48(7), S84.

Should texting while driving be illegalized?

Mobile phones are ubiquitous technology with a fascinating history. There are now as many mobile phones in the world as there are people[1]. Modern cellphones are diminutive, light, compact and simple to use and have become an important part of life for a large number of people.

Mobile phones play an important role in bridging the gap between people through its general communication benefits globally and especially in the transport industry. Access to mobile phones provide safety benefits by allowing people to notify breakdown or emergency services when inevitable[2]. Mobile phones have revolutionized communication and access to various important services in the transport industry such as the recent launch of uber services. This has made it easier for travelers to access transport services simply by ordering for services via mobile phones.

Despite the general communication benefits of mobile phones, some driving habits such as texting while behind the wheel has become a disastrous behavior due to its physical and cognitive distraction. According to Carnegie Mellon, bad driving habits such as usage of cell phones minimizes the amount of brain activity when driving to 63 percent. Holding a mobile phone with one hand when texting and steering with the other hand leads to diversion of attention from the road and minimizes maneuverability exposing the driver and passengers to a possible threat of collision due to mental distraction.

Drivers who use mobile phones while behind the wheel are more likely to cause fatal accidents by roving out of their lane, more likely to hit a pedestrian and more likely to overturn their vehicle. This report also stated that using a cell phone while behind the wheel raises the chance of a fatal accident three times more than being drunk[3]. This is because when a driver is texting, he or she must allocate part of their attention to texting and maintaining the cell phone conversation and the other part to operating the vehicle and responding to constant changing road and traffic conditions. Therefore, the demand of cellphone texting must compete with the demands of driving safely.

In conclusion, due to the dangers accompanied by concurrent texting and driving, police should have sufficient power to deal with drivers using cell phones while driving by arresting and prosecuting them[4]. This will greatly reduce the number of deaths and injuries resulting from fatal accidents caused by physical and cognitive distractions of texting while driving.

Reference

1. Jon Agar. (Feb 7, 2013). Constant Touch, publisher: Icon books, USA.
2. David Jamieson MP, Minister for Road Safety. (9^th January 2001) Parliamentary answer, Hansard, 9^th January 2001, UK.
3. Cher et al. (31^st may 1999). Cellular Telephone use and fatal traffic collision: a commentary, accident analysis and prevention, UK.
4. Davis Jamieson MP, Minister for Road Safety. (23^rd October 2001) Parliamentary answer, Hansard, UK.

[1] Jon agar. (Feb 7, 2013) constant touch, publisher: icon books, 2013. Pg. 7

[2] Parliamentary Answer, David Jamieson MP, Minister for road safety, Hasard, 9 January 2001, UK.

[3] Cher et al. (31 may 1999) cellular telephone Use and fatal traffic collision: a commentary, Accident Analysis and Prevention, 1999. Pg.31

[4] D Jamieson MP, Minister for Road Safety, Parliamentary answer, Hansard, column 195W, 23^rd October 2001, UK.