1ST Assignment Your Organisation: Products, Markets and Communications

You should complete this assignment and submit it by the end of your first 4 months. YOU MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF THIS ASSIGNMENT TO AN APPROPRIATE MEMBER OF THE COMPANY (MENTOR, DIRECT SUPERVISOR ETC.) IN ORDER THAT MATTERS OF CONFIDENTIALITY MAY BE VETTED. You should review this with your tutor during the visit, and then it must be handed in for marking by email or post to Taught Programmes Office.

Introduction and General Guidance

The matters raised here are central to your organisations ability to identify and meet needs, to earn its living (and yours!), and thus to justify its existence. The rather vapid term organisation is adopted to encompass the wide range of environments in which mechanical engineers may work. It is intended to include diverse entities: manufacturing companies, government departments, public utilities, consultancies and educational institutions. The questions raised relate most obviously to organisations that produce a physical product to be sold in a competitive market-place. However, most of the questions can readily be given meaningful interpretations with reference to other working environments. The first step in this study is the identification of the organisation to be analysed. This may not be obvious. Should it be the section, department, division, company, or company grouping in which you work? You will want to select a unit that is large enough and independent enough to interact directly with an external, competitive market-place, if one exists. Possibly the unit identified on your pay-slip is the one to target. A discussion with your Industrial Mentor and/or Supervisor/s will help, if there is doubt. Your considerations of the questions posed should be based upon fact, wherever possible. Give a low priority to your own, necessarily somewhat uninformed impressions. The opinions of workmates should also be treated cautiously, unless supported by evidence. The following sources of information will be of assistance: company annual reports, sales literature, staff newspapers, press releases, reports in the public and trade press, and published company histories. If your company has a library, it will have many relevant publications. Visits to trade associations and exhibitions will be very instructive, if they can be arranged. Certain departments within your organisation will be able to provide information of relevance: public affairs, investor relations, sales, marketing, personnel and publicity. Do not be afraid to ask. As in everything you do, quality is more important than quantity. It is suggested that you tackle between twelve and fifteen of the questions posed, selecting four or five from each section. Try to confine your answers to each question to a single page, with the whole Report totalling 8-15 pages. Your industrial Mentor, Supervisor, Departmental Manager or Personnel Officer may be able to help. Following each question, under the label Specifics are suggestions of the matters that should be considered. These suggestions are by no means exhaustive; if other relevant aspects come to mind, do include them. Use diagrams flow charts, tables, and the like, if they serve the purpose of answering the questions.

A: Your Organisation and its Products (Answer four or five of these questions)
A1 Describe the organisation in which you work Specifics: Name; structure; relationship to allied organisations; number of employees; annual sales and/or payroll expenditure; location(s) A2 What does your organisation provide or sell? Specifics: Products or services? Consumer or capital goods? Primary, secondary or tertiary products? Classify in field of similar products. A3 Who are your companys main competitors? Specifics: Both present and probable future competition. A4 What is your organisations place in its sector(s) Specifics: Major or minor? Leader or follower? Growing or declining? A5 How does your organisation generate new products? Specifics: In-house R&D? Bought-in designs? Determined by a Group of which it is a part? Applications department? A6 Why does your organisation generate new products? Specifics: Customer demand? Imposition by Group? Matching competition? A7 What is the nature of the value added by your organisation? Specifics: Assembly of bought-in components? Conversion of raw materials? Design services? Design and build? Service & repair? Training/support? A8 Who are your organisations main suppliers? Specifics: Materials? Services? Components? Tied-house arrangements? A9 By what means do supplies arrive? Specifics: Road, rail, pipeline? A10 What services does your organisation utilise and how does it obtain them? Specifics: Utilities, financial, governmental, advertising, medical? A11 What is the life cycle of a typical product? Specifics: Times for R&D, maturity of sales, recovery of investment, replacement in market, maintenance and refurbishment?

B: Your Organisation and its Markets (Answer four or five of these questions)
B1 By what physical means do products or services move to the ultimate consumer? Specifics: Road, sea, warehouse, telephone line? B2 What organisations handle your products before they reach the ultimate consumer? Specifics: Wholesalers, agents, shipping companies, airlines? B3 Who are your direct and indirect customers? Specifics: Target, actual and potential customers? Distinguish those buying from you and those using the products. Individuals, companies, governments? For individuals, identify sex, age, social class, geographical location. For companies, describe in relevant fashion. B4 How does your organisation find out what its customers want? Specifics: Surveys? Reports from sales or servicing representatives? Is there a marketing department? Consider present and future. B5 Is your organisation seeking to change its market position? Specifics: Market share? Market segment? Price? Product function? Kind of customer? B6 How are your products or services sold? Specifics: Commissioned or through tender? As units or within a package? Network of dealers? B7 How does your organisation support its products? Specifics: Installation? Servicing? Refurbishment? Manuals and instructions? Dealer network? Associated consumables? Customer Relations Department?

C. Your Organisation and its Communications Answer four or five questions

C1 How does your organisation communicate with its employees on the matters dealt with in Sections A and B? Specifics: Staff newspaper? Annual Report? Meetings? Notice boards? C2 How does your organisation communicate with its customers? Specifics: Salesmen? Catalogues, regular or on demand? Advertisements? Exhibitions? Hospitality? C3 How does your organisation communicate with its suppliers? Specifics: Invitation to tender? Pick up the phone? Regular meetings and briefings? C4 How does your organisation maintain its competitive intelligence? Specifics: Trade association? Exhibitions? Industrial espionage? Market research? C5 Does your organisation have close relations with independent organisations? Specifics: Joint ventures? Adjacent sites? Common facilities? Sub-contracts? C6 Does your organisation seek to communicate directly with the public or sectors of it? Specifics: Which? How? Why? C7 Does your organisation seek to communication with government or governmental agencies? Specifics: Which? How? Why? C8 Does your organisation have an identifiable house style? Specifics: Letter-head? Logo? Uniform? Vehicle livery? Catch-phrase? Jingle? Form of product? C9 What is the source of the house style? Specifics: How long has it been in evidence? Is it effective?