The business is a startup company whose name is MAE Farm LLC. The business will be involved in the organic grass-finished beef cattle farming in Midland, Georgia. Operations management involves the running of various processes or systems involved in the creation of goods and services. It is the key to any business's success. The successful management of any of a company’s business helps it to survive, unites the employees, and, most importantly, helps the company become profitable.
How Significant Forces Will Impact Operations of the Business
Various significant forces in operations management have affected beef farming business in one way or the other. They include technology, barriers to entry into the market, substitute products, rivalry among the competitors, and buyers and sellers' power. Technology is a significant force in the beef farming industry. One of the major productivity indicators in livestock farming is the quantity of milk or meat produced from every cow. Technology has had a great impact on the beef farming industry in the United States ( Spiegal et al., 2020) . Competitiveness is at an all-time high in the beef industry courtesy of adoption of technology not just in online marketing but also in the production and distribution segments.
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A barrier to entry in the market is also another significant force that will impact the management operations of the business. Although it is easy to venture into livestock production, various barriers to producing a meaningful supply could exist in this business because it is expensive to buy or build the production infrastructure. In beef farming, there is the risk of potential competitors entering the market by providing substitutes or imports, which could affect the business. The availability of competition from both local and external producers could threaten the existence of our business.
Another force to the operations of our business is the availability of substitute products. The risk of substitute products is a significant force that may affect the producers in the beef industry. Lately, attempts to differentiate products have increased. Various manufacturers are trying to differentiate products in various ways. An example is the utilization of credence attributes when packaged as organic beef. On the other side there is the alternative offered by substitute goods. Substitutes are major drivers of profitability in beef farming at the product level ( Sheveleva et al., 2019) . Poultry producers offer chicken as a substitute for beef as chicken generally have a relatively low cost of production that is further driven down by innovative technological applications both in production and marketing.This could be a significant force in the operations of beef business.
Response to Key Issues and Obstacles Affecting the Management of the Company
Issues and obstacles in the management of the company trigger the need for improvement. Foreseeable obstacles in the operation management of the project may include change management sustainability and effective communication. Leadership only becomes successful when the leaders can communicate effectively to both internal and external stakeholders ( Spiegal et al., 2020) . Effective communication is a two-way traffic. It entails having the ability to speak while at the same time listen carefully. A listening business organization will make a single mistake which can be used as a learning opportunity through listening and pivoting. For the shareholders, an effective operations manager is able to communicate effectively thus enhancing confidence that is key for investors.
The external shareholders are concerned with understanding the company's various goals and whether the organization is effectively managed to realize the set goals. Various managers in the organization need to recognize their employees' limitations to understand the best time for motivation and the best time to leave them alone to work ( Kovačič et al., 2018) . With effective communication as one of the core competencies foe MAE Farms LLC management and employees, the company will be a step ahead of their competitors.
Another obstacle that may confront the operations management in MAE Farm LLC is sustainability. It is difficult to influence transformation initiatives to sustain changes in the long-term. To achieve the implementation of projects aiming at the company's transformation, various factors need to be addressed first. The soft factors that should be addressed include leadership, motivation, and culture ( Lalman et al., 2019) . On the other hand, the difficult factors have three different characteristics required for the change to be successful. First, the changes should be measurable in either indirect or direct methods. Secondly, the company should be able to communicate their importance easily both outside and within the organization. Lastly, the organization should be in a position to quickly influence the elements. Various hard factors that affect the transformation initiative include the necessary time to complete it, the number of people needed for the execution, and the financial outcomes of the intended actions.
Poor teamwork is also another obstacle that would have an effect on the management of operations at MAE farms LLC. Employees may lack motivation when they spend a lot of time working individually. The managers of the company should reinstall teamwork by revisiting the goals of a project. The managers who are keen on acknowledging their workers' effort and clarifying certain unclear features of work often experience an increase in the employees' motivation levels in their organizations. The managers at MAE farms should subdivide the workers in the organization into partners to give them a chance to work together to complete a certain task. Exercises aimed at team building are significant ways of ensuring that all the employees get skills that will enable them to work closely with their colleagues.
Time management could also be an obstacle to the management of business operations. Managers may have difficulty trying to balance the different tasks like overseeing their team members and maintaining communication with the heads of various departments in the organization ( Horváth & Szabó, 2019) . The MAE firm managers should avoid wastage by classifying their duties according to their priorities through creating work schedules. They should notify their teams when they will be available and when they are involved with their work. This will help to avoid wastage of time due to lack of a schedule for each activity.
The beef farm needs to understand what happening currently in the beef industry is. The ability to understand the existing trends and be in line with them and the customers' needs will help the company compete effectively with other farms. It is not easy to convince the employees to adopt the changes and become successful, and it requires good change management skills. Our parent company has done a commendable job in implementing the changes, and therefore, through the correct leadership, the beef farm will be successful in being competitive and current by adopting the changes in the methods of management employee's motivation to sustain and uphold them.
Changes to the Operations Management Philosophies and the Organizational Structure
Changes to the operations management philosophies and the organizational structure in response to the business operations complexity have reformed significantly throughout the years. Globalization accessibility to business is one of the majors that has facilitated these changes throughout the years. Globalization has enabled organizations to increases their workforce through having the ability to recruit workers from other countries and also increase their markets by having buyers of their products from different countries worldwide ( Kovačič et al., 2018) . Globalization has facilitated the business to raise their average volume of sales and reduce labor costs. This has been achieved through hiring employees from developing countries where the cost of living is not high.
The farm’s shareholders focus on assessing their investment's level of profitability and the management's decision-making in determining the dividends to be distributed to the shareholders, the capital growth, and the profits. The farm needs to increase revenue and lower the expenses to increase the available dividends for distribution to the shareholders. Globalization is a better strategy to solve the problems because some countries do not have strict regulations regarding the provision of labor, which facilitates the development of more services or products at a lower price.
Various companies like Nike have taken advantage of globalization to maximize their profits. Nike utilizes cheap labor from developing countries like Indonesia, which has enabled them to use the money saved to market for various offerings and products. The company has expanded its technological innovation boundaries to develop new products and overcome competition. Nike has also partnered with apple that has helped them develop a portable device compatible with a computer or a phone. People can use the tool while walking or running in measuring the speed and the distance covered. Initially, Nike was criticized as they were accused of labor from the developing countries where they paid fewer labor costs. This is a good example of how a business organization should learn and reflect on the available options and integrate globalization into business operations.
Analyzing the Business Operations of MAE Farms LLC
MAE Farms LLC has not yet been established. However, I believe that the company will adopt the organizational processes that are consistent with the parent company's philosophy and culture for easy differentiation from the competitors ( Papke-Shields & Boyer-Wright, 2017) . This will facilitate the differentiation of the farms with their focus on alignment and transparency:
Honesty and respect-based relationships
Use of service and authenticity to create new formations
Profits ensure the growth of business and the employees.
Quality is our priority.
The farm’s alignment will be organized in a pyramid style. The employees will be at the bottom of the pyramid; the management will be at the middle, and the top will be the staff at the senior level. The style of organization gives direction about whom the employees report to, where the model is connected with the strategy of the work used by various the farms to operate. For instance, a worker at a lower level can only take one task while the senior staff can perform different tasks at a time.
The pyramid structure applied in affiliation with a matrix structure will enable the farms to bring together the product. The functional structures highlighting the quality of the products, efficiency and will help in the development of short-term projects. The support teams, including human resources, communications, marketing, finance, IT, and compliance, will have their departments ( Horváth & Szabó, 2019) . Our farm’s clients will include restaurants, supermarkets, and schools, among others. Our farms will ensure quality meat in the market, which will be relatively expensive than other farms, which will reassure the customers of the better quality.
The various factors that could affect the profitability and productivity of MAE Farms LLC include:
The level of competition. If a company faces stiff competition from other farms, various farms will share the market. This may affect the profits of the company.
If the company is a monopoly, then the company faces little or no competition, hence increases its profits.
The economy. If the economy is stable, the demand for the products of the company will be higher.
Level of demand. Those goods with higher quality could attract more demand than those with poor quality.
The relative cost. A rise in production cost, like the raw materials and cost of labor, may decrease a company's profit.
Advertising. An increase in the advertising campaigns can increase the popularity of such a product, hence increasing the demand. Failure to advertise can lower the demand for a product.
Substitutes. If a certain product has many cheaper substitutes, this could lower the demand for such a product.
Key Trends in Production, Quality, Resource, and Management of Information in Beef Farming
There are various trends in livestock production. They include:
Increase in demand for livestock production .
Across the globe, human population is increasing. It is estimated to reach 9.15 billion in the year 2050. Studies have shown an increase in the consumption of livestock products because of various reasons. An example is the growth in urbanization that encourages livestock products consumptions as most urban centers have the infrastructure needed to store perishable goods. Also, the growth of income is another factor that has led to the rise in the demand for livestock products due to increased income.
Breeding and genetics.
Increasing research initiatives have led to the discovery of better animal genes and breeds, facilitated by science and technology. This is evident with the increased rate of change in genetics in recent years, mostly in the developed countries ( Friedland, et al., 2018) . This has been made possible by the increased substitution of breeds, which has resulted in the dominance of various highly specialized varieties. Crossbreeding has led to an increase in productivity.
Animal welfare issues.
Producing meat in large quantities means that the animals have to be kept indoors with little or no freedom and later slaughtered, which has raised ethical issues. For most individuals questioning consumption of meat from living animals, the main factors revolve around health, the morality of such acts and perhaps most importantly the welfare of affected animals. This has led to the rise of consumption of alternative meat products and a decrease in the consumption of natural meat, which could impact the meat industry. People have turned to artificial sources of the meet.
Impact of meat consumption on the health of people
Studies have proved that an increase in the consumption of red meat and the highly processed meat forms, could impact the health of an individual. A direct relationship has been drawn between red meat and diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and an increase in mortality rates ( Sheveleva et al., 2019) . This has led to an increase in the preference for white meat compared to red meat, which has affected the red meat industries.
Competition from other sources of proteins.
Meat consumption has undergone a lot of competition from other sources of proteins like eggs, plant proteins and artificial meat. This has mostly been caused by the high cost of meat and the ethical issues surrounding meat production.
Impacts of the Key Trends to MAE Farm LLC
Several trends in the beef industry have affected the industry tremendously. The managers at MAE farm need to embrace the trends to avoid lagging behind. The rise in poultry and pork consumption has led to the growth in their in their production, resulting in the evident expansion in their supply as compared to beef ( Barnes, 2018) . An increase in the supply of pork and poultry has led to a reduction in prices and an increase in the demand, and a fall in demand for beef. This means that the beef producers have to formulate ways that will result in the lowering of the cost of marketing and production.
In conclusion, beef production has been impacted by numerous factors. Key among them are technological trends, preference for low cost substitutes and lately ethical issues. This has led to a rise in alternative methods of beef production or alternatives to beef in entirety causing decreased beef consumption .For MAE Farms LLC, the operations management department will have to put into consideration all these factors together with its potential competitors to ensure meat produced on the farm has a steady market.
References
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Horváth, D., & Szabó, R. Z. (2019). Driving forces and barriers of Industry 4.0: Do multinational and small and medium-sized companies have equal opportunities? Technological Forecasting and Social Change , 146 , 119-132.
Papke-Shields, K. E., & Boyer-Wright, K. M. (2017). Strategic planning characteristics applied to project management. International Journal of Project Management , 35 (2), 169-179.
Kovačič, A., et al. (2018). BPM adoption and business transformation at Snaga, a public company: Critical success factors for five stages of BPM. In Business Process Management Cases (pp. 77-89). Springer, Cham.
Lalman, D. L., et al. (2019). Weaning weight trends in the US beef cattle industry. Applied Animal Science , 35 (1), 57-65.
Sheveleva, O. M., et al., (2019, October). Main trends and prospects for the development of beef cattle breeding in the Urals federal district. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 341, No. 1, p. 012023). IOP Publishing.
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