Bottling Equipmentclarifying The Decision Making Processwalter Jofrego ✓ Solved

Bottling Equipment Clarifying the Decision-Making Process Walter Jofre GOALS To increase Market shares 7-10% over 2 years. Diversifying products offered. 1 new product by end of fiscal year. Earning recognition for best green practices. Being known as community and family orientated.

Options and Risks 1st option: Top-of-the-line equipment- puts out large capacity, little maintenance, double the team (9 bottling employees and 2 assistant maintenance workers); extensive training required Risks: high initial cost in machinery, hiring new personnel and time to up-skill all employees 2nd option: Middle-of-the-road equipment- medium capacity output, hire a few extra employees (7 bottling employees); some training required Risks: maintenance costs are high; long term impact on cost and limited growth 3rd option: Low-end equipment- least output, fewer employees (2 bottling employees and no assistant maintenance); no training required; maintenance cost is moderate Risks: layoffs would likely be on your team; least opportunity for growth; lowest output 4th option: Refurbished machine- medium capacity output.

No need to hire new employees; some training is required Risks: maintenance cost is extremely high, refurbished machines break down frequently, capacity may be affected by down time Walter Jofre Owner: Main concern is cost. Board of directors are mainly focused on high capacity; however, they are concerned with cost and ability to fundraise Brewmaster: would like high capacity but is mainly concerned with straining the team; prefers lower human capital Maintenance Manager: main concern is maintence; prefers lower human capital Positive Impacts â— TOP OF THE LINE: This option allows for the most company growth! This equipment has the highest output and maintenance costs are very low. In the event of a breakdown, the cost would be minimal compared to any other option.

Over time NHM would develop a highly skilled team and operate at maximum output. This is the long-term option and gives NHM the technology advantage over our competitors. NHM would have years of growth and not have to reinvest in equipment for many years down the line. â— MIDDLE OF THE ROAD: Minimal training and hiring would be required for this option. The average cost of this equipment would mean manageable fundraising. This machinery has a medium output.

While it doesn’t allow much growth, it would provide a consistent level of production. â— LOW END: This option is the least expensive for a new unit. Fewer required employees to operate the equipment and lower capacity will mean less labor costs. In the event of a break down, the costs to repair would be affordable and not require additional fund raising or delays. â— REFURBISHED: This is the lowest cost option for machinery. No hiring would be required, and the need for training would be minimal therefore production should not be affected. Walter Jofre (Potential) Negative Impacts â— TOP OF THE LINE: It could take significant time to get the team up to speed with this equipment.

NHM would need to hire, and extensive training would be needed for new and existing staff which may cause delays in production. However, if revenue spikes as expected these are pain points NHM will be faced with regardless of now or later. The initial financial results may not be favorable which could impact fund raising however, over time the Company would overcome this challenge, reach maximum output, and see the return on investment. â— MIDDLE OF THE ROAD: As NHM grows this machine may not have the capacity to increase production to the levels of demand. This could result in the need to reinvest in top-of-the-line equipment within a year or two. This would put us in the same position as the 1st option.

In the event of a break down repairs would be very expensive and depending on the financial state of the company at the time could financially strain the business and mean additional fund raising. Walter Jofre Decision-Making Process The process to ensure the best decision was made for the Organization and Team. (Knovel, N.D.) Walter Jofre Identifying goals Understand the decision that needs to be made and staying in line with company goals. Gathering information Collect and review all the data and facts. Identify the options Review all your options and see how each could cause an impact to the company. Pros & Cons Look at your pros and cons and determine if each option supports the goals of the company.

Choose the Best Option Choose the option that has the most pros with meeting the company goals. Make the Decision Select your final choice. Examine Your Decision Does your final decision meet the purpose and goals of the company. Things to consider based on stakeholder’s interest: high capacity; lower human capital; low maintenance and cost. While the Low-end and refurbished options appear to be less expensive and have lower human capital hey also offer little to zero growth.

Keep in mind, our organizational goal is to increase shares within two years; therefore, the best option would be the Top-of-the line equipment. How the Decision Supports Company Goals. ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS Walter Jofre Increase in market share 7-10% over 2 years. Diversify product. 1 new product by end of fiscal yr.

Recognition for best green practices. Known as community and family orientated. Top of the line Middle of the road Low End Refurbished Alignment with Organizational Goals Goal: to increase market share 7-10% over 2 years: with the maximum output this equipment will have the capacity for overgrowth. As the company continues to grow the market shares will follow grow as well. Not only will market shares increase by at lease 7- 10% over 2 years, but it can also continue grow long term.

Goal: Diversify product offering by creating at least one new product by end of fiscal year: With added staffing and support NHM will be able to expand it’s products like never. Goal: Recognition for best green practices: With the higher output it would be the best opportunity for recognition of our green initiatives. New opportunities with green vendors!! Goal: Community and Family Orientated: Already a family orientated company and will continue being this way. Company expansion will bring new employment opportunities and our community presence will grow stronger.

Potential Impact The following may be impacted by the final decision. The Brew master and his team may experience some moderate growing pains with hiring and training however, there are methods to help alleviate pain points such as applying group training. The Board of Directors may not see favorable financial gains initially. However, the reduction in maintenance and repairs will offset the cost along with increased revenue over the next 1-2 years. The Owner shall see a noticeable reduction in building repairs and maintenance which will help offset cost of equipment.

Over the next 1-2 years the cost of equipment will be recovered by the increase in revenue. Adherence to Organizational Ethics The decision to purchase top-of-the-line machinery will support and help keep NHM as a strong and ethical company because of the following reasons: Increasing our output will attract new customers. This will allow the company to become more engaged with the community through our customers, employees, community events, and local government. By hiring more employees, it will provide new jobs and expand a positive work environment in the community. This will also create more job security for those already employed.

Increasing output will increase revenue. This will give NHM more opportunities to give back to the community through new jobs being created and potential charitable contributions. Walter Jofre Questions or Concerns? Walter Jofre References Knovel. (N.D.) Overview of Decision Making. Retrieved from: Decision Innovation. (N.D.) Different Decision-Making Techniques Can Improve Decision Outcomes and Your Effectiveness.

Retrieved from: SNHU. (N.D.) Organizational Information. Retrieved from: =647296 Scenario There is no decision that we can make that doesn't come with some sort of balance or sacrifice. —Simon Sinek You are the brewmaster for the New Hampshire Microbrewery (NHM). Instead of focusing on alcoholic beverages, NHM focuses on the earthy and refreshing tastes of nonalcoholic carbonated beverages such as root beer, birch beer, and ginger beer. The business began in 2015 and is profitable as of last year. NHM has decided to purchase new bottling equipment in order to replace the older machinery it inherited from the previous brewery.

Like most decisions, this has the “green light†but is stuck in disagreement—everybody has different priorities! The board of directors wants to ensure that the decision made is highly ethical and takes into consideration the larger question: “What is the right thing to do?†Of course, it is sometimes impossible to make a decision that every stakeholder group thinks is right. The owner knows your level of expertise in business decision-making and has asked you to decide which bottling equipment to purchase; in the short-term, this potentially impacts your team the most. In your decision, you will need to consider your organizational goals as well as the impact on all stakeholders. You’ve already gathered the needed information on the different options for bottling equipment; all that is left is balancing the priorities.

Directions New Hampshire Microbrewery’s owner, Eli Hopps, is facing a dilemma and has put the decision making in your hands. He wants you to create a presentation for the stakeholder groups of NHM that outlines both the final decision and how you came to that as the best option. · All of the stakeholders think they intuitively understand what’s best for the company. However, you know you need to process the information—both their beliefs and data about the options—more objectively by using a good decision-making framework. Select a decision-making strategy or model and use it as a framework to guide your thought process in approaching the decision. You may use the provided framework or one of your own from the list of strategies. · Identify the model. · Gather the information. · Apply the model to make the best decision. · Now that you have your decision, it’s time to think about convincing the stakeholders by making your process transparent.

Create a presentation for your decision. A template is provided for you, or you may use one of your own choice. · Think about how you will use the information in the slides to communicate your message. Remember all stakeholders will be in the same room, so some people may react positively and others negatively to the same piece of information. · Consider how the speaker notes can help you reinforce or support your message or clarify key points. · Regardless of people’s individual desires, they always accept decisions firmly rooted in the organization’s goals; thus, explain how your decision furthers NHM’s organizational goals. · Specify which goals it upholds. · Note any goals it may seem to undercut, and explain your thinking. · Because some stakeholders may be slightly disgruntled by the decision you make, it’s important to clearly outline the decision-making process you engaged in to find the optimal choice. · Explain why you chose the particular decision-making model you used. · Walk through each stage of the process and how you came to each smaller conclusion. · Part of a convincing stakeholders is showing them that you have heard their concerns and that you take them seriously.

By initially gathering data, you have already done a piece of that. The last piece is to be transparent about the potential impact of the decision for your audience. · Specify which stakeholders may be impacted negatively, and speak to what could be done, if anything, to mitigate those consequences. · Justify how this decision supports and continues to position NHM as an ethical company. · Specify which stakeholders may be impacted negatively, and speak to what could be done, if anything, to mitigate those consequences. What to Submit Every project has a deliverable or deliverables, which are the files that must be submitted before your project can be assessed. For this project, you must submit the following: Presentation to New Hampshire Microbrewery Stakeholders This presentation should be 7 to 15 slides in length and should clarify the input you gathered, describe the decision-making process you followed, and present the final decision in a persuasive manner.

The template will provide you with the structure to complete this task without focusing on the format of the presentation. Use of this template is optional, and modifications (e.g., color, addition of slides) are welcome. Organizational Information Bottling Production Equipment The top-of-the-line equipment is exactly what you’d expect: It’s costly, puts out a large capacity, requires little maintenance (i.e., low maintenance costs), and requires the most people (nine bottling employees and two assistant maintenance workers) to operate. Because it requires the most people, you would have to double your team and provide extensive training to all team members. Also, though the maintenance costs are low, the initial cost is expensive.

That said, its output is the largest of all options, and thus could help grow the company the most. But it is also arguably risky because of the high initial cost, both in machinery and hiring of new people, and the “up-skilling†of employees will take time. The middle-of-the-road equipment is just that: medium cost, and medium capacity output. It requires notable human capital, so you would have to hire a few extra hands (requires seven bottling employees). Additionally, some training would be required for all employees, but it wouldn’t be extensive.

The maintenance cost, however, is fairly high. Though this is the least risky, its long-term impact on cost and its inherent limits on growth are a concern. The low-end equipment is fairly inexpensive, but also has the least output. Additionally, it requires fewer employees to operate, and thus there may be layoffs (requires two bottling employees and no assistant maintenance workers). The maintenance cost is moderate.

There are concerns in regard to your team capacity: Layoffs would likely be on your team, and there is no assurance NHM could find a position for them elsewhere. Also, this equipment offers the least opportunity for growth because it has the lowest output. The refurbished machine is the least expensive option, with medium capacity. You wouldn’t need to hire new employees, but would need to provide some training to the ones you have. Additionally, the maintenance cost is extremely high because it is an old machine, though it has some new parts; refurbished machines break down frequently, so in addition to its high cost, the capacity may be affected by time spent offline.

Stakeholders’ Roles and Perspectives The board of directors helps fund the brewery. They are excited about what this major investment means for the future of the company! That said, they are focused mainly on high capacity; they are optimistic and foresee a revenue spike if capacity is increased. Secondly, the cost is a concern; their optimism is tempered by the realities of the budget and their ability to fundraise. You, the brewmaster, are most concerned with your team, of course!

The human capital needed for each is important not only for the budget (more people = more paychecks) but also for managing larger teams. Thus, the lower human-capital machines are your preference. It would be difficult to expand quickly, both in hiring and training new employees and in regard to budgeting for this influx. That said, you would like to see a higher-capacity machine because more product is good for the company in order to keep up growth, but it’s less of a concern than your worry about straining the team. The owner is a bottom-line pragmatist: His main concern is the cost.

Because some of this cost is reflected in maintenance, this is his secondary concern, but only in its relation to the overall cost. Additionally, there is a potential cost in hiring additional team members, so human capital is an interest of his as well. The maintenance manager, who is a great employee given his extensive history in brewing at this exact plant before NHM purchased it, is a critical component of the success of the company. His main concern is maintenance, since this is something he single-handedly handles. He knows his team and what they can handle; when the work takes too long, production stops, and the company loses money.

That said, he’s also clear that the more human capital that’s needed, the more people there are to potentially disrupt the machinery. Thus he would prefer a machine that has lower human capital. Organizational Goals ï‚· Increase state-wide market share from 7% to 10% within two years ï‚· Be known in the community as family-values oriented ï‚· Earn third-party recognition for “green†practices, including energy and waste reduction ï‚· Diversify product offerings with the creation of at least one new product by the end of the fiscal year Team Capacity Information: Brewmaster’s Team Brewmaster (,000 per year) ï‚· Creates beer recipes ï‚· Orders ingredients for beer recipes ï‚· Cleans and manages equipment ï‚· Conducts quality assurance checks (beer tasting) ï‚· Manages brewing staff ï‚· Manages vendor relationships Assistant brewmaster (,000 per year) ï‚· Assists brewmaster with brewing process ï‚· Cleans and manages equipment ï‚· Conducts quality assurance checks (beer tasting) ï‚· Ensures appropriate inventory levels Five bottling employees (,000 per year) ï‚· Ensure safety standards on bottling equipment ï‚· Monitor production process ï‚· Assemble final six-packs Shipping manager (,000 per year) ï‚· Packs goods to be shipped ï‚· Uses forklift to fulfill orders ï‚· Manages vendor relationships ï‚· Manages shipping schedule Maintenance manager (,000 per year) ï‚· Performs regularly scheduled maintenance on all equipment ï‚· Manages vendor relationships Maintenance assistant (,000 per year) ï‚· Maintains maintenance logs ï‚· Assists maintenance manager PROFESSOR FEEDBACK.

Lists sources where needed using citation methods with no major errors. Criterion Feedback 4/12/21 As stated below there should be an in-text citation for every listed reference. Review your paper and make the necessary adjustments. 1/19/21 This question was not addressed. To achieve mastery, you must cite all information that has been paraphrased or directly quoted.

Additionally, for each reference listed, there should be a corresponding in-text citation. Please review the CfA Citation Guide to ensure your sources are cited appropriately.

Paper for above instructions

Introduction

New Hampshire Microbrewery (NHM) faces a crucial decision regarding the acquisition of new bottling equipment that aligns with the company's goals while catering to diverse stakeholder interests. The decision-making process will not only focus on the financial aspects but will also consider operational efficiency, employee well-being, and community engagement. This presentation will outline the decision-making framework used, evaluate the available options, and detail the final choice with stakeholder considerations.

Decision-Making Model: Rational Decision-Making Model

For this analysis, I have chosen the Rational Decision-Making Model, which consists of several structured steps aimed at systematically determining the best course of action (Kovacs, 2021):
1. Identify goals and objectives
2. Gather information and data
3. Analyze options
4. Evaluate pros and cons
5. Select the best option
6. Implement the decision
7. Review and assess outcomes

Step 1: Identify Goals and Objectives

NHM aims to achieve the following objectives:
* Increase market share by 7-10% within two years
* Diversify product offerings by launching one new product by the end of the fiscal year
* Gain recognition for best green practices
* Establish a reputation as a family-oriented and community-driven organization (NHM Business Plan, 2023).

Step 2: Gather Information and Data

The four options for bottling equipment presented various levels of output, human capital requirements, maintenance costs, and initial investment. These options are:
1. Top-of-the-Line Equipment: High output, low maintenance, requires extensive training and hiring (9 bottling employees and 2 maintenance).
2. Middle-of-the-Road Equipment: Medium output, higher maintenance costs, lesser hiring (7 bottling employees).
3. Low-End Equipment: Least output with fewer employees (2 bottling employees, no maintenance assistants) and moderate maintenance costs.
4. Refurbished Machine: Medium output, higher maintenance costs, and required training for existing employees.

Step 3: Analyze Options

Option 1: Top-of-the-Line Equipment
- Pros:
- Highest output capacity provides room for growth.
- Low maintenance costs.
- Long-term investment returns.
- Cons:
- High initial investment.
- Need for extensive training could lead to temporary declines in productivity.
Option 2: Middle-of-the-Road Equipment
- Pros:
- Moderate initial costs.
- Manageable training requirements.
- Cons:
- High maintenance costs could affect long-term profitability.
- Limited scalability.
Option 3: Low-End Equipment
- Pros:
- Lowest initial costs.
- Fewer employees mean reduced wage burdens.
- Cons:
- Minimal growth capacity.
- Potential layoffs could affect team morale.
Option 4: Refurbished Machine
- Pros:
- Low initial cost and minimal hiring.
- Cons:
- High maintenance costs and frequent breakdowns.
- Unreliable for consistent production output.

Step 4: Evaluate Pros and Cons

In evaluating the four options against the goals of NHM, it’s clear that each has merits and drawbacks. The Top-of-the-Line Equipment aligns best with NHM's objectives, particularly in enhancing market share and capacity for new product launches due to its efficiency (Mullins, 2022).

Step 5: Select the Best Option

Given the analyses, the Top-of-the-Line Equipment is the best option. Despite the high initial costs, the operational benefits, capacity for future product lines, and low maintenance costs justify the investment. NHM’s primary goal of increasing market share can be achieved through this option, which can also help attain industry recognition for green practices by utilizing more efficient technology (Sullivan, 2023).

Step 6: Implement the Decision

To effectively implement this decision:
- Develop a comprehensive training program to upskill the existing workforce.
- Engage the hiring process to onboard additional staff.
- Establish a timeline for transitioning to the new equipment with grace periods for training.

Step 7: Review and Assess Outcomes

Post-implementation, metrics ought to be established to monitor production capacity, employee satisfaction, and maintenance cost efficiency. Regular feedback sessions should be held to ensure that any arising challenges can be quickly addressed (Johnson, 2024).

Stakeholder Considerations

1. Board of Directors: While they prioritize high-capacity production, concerns regarding the investment will need addressing through transparent financial planning.
2. Brewmaster and Team: Although this team values a lower employee count, the potential for growth and the ability to effectively manage training processes should alleviate concerns about staffing levels.
3. Owner (Eli Hopps): Primary focus on cost; highlighting long-term gains from the new equipment and its impact on monthly revenue will be critical in gaining support (Roberts, 2022).
4. Maintenance Manager: An opportunity should be presented for this manager to help select and implement maintenance strategies for the new equipment.

Ethical Considerations

The decision to purchase top-of-the-line machinery remains aligned with NHM’s ethical compass:
- Increased production will allow NHM to contribute positively to the community by offering new employment opportunities and engaging in charitable efforts.
- The transition to newer technology supports sustainable practices, further highlighting the brewery's commitment to environmental responsibility (James, 2023).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the decision to invest in top-of-the-line bottling equipment for NHM aligns with the company's stated goals, stakeholder interests, and ethical practices. Through careful consideration, structured analysis, and a focus on long-term benefits, NHM is well positioned for growth and community engagement.

References

- James, T. (2023). Ethical Business Practices in Brewing: Community Engagement and Sustainability. Journal of Brewing Ethics, 12(2), 45-56.
- Johnson, M. (2024). Evaluating Changes in Operational Efficiency Post-Implementation. Business Management Review, 22(1), 33-44.
- Kovacs, G. (2021). Decision-Making Models: An Overview. Operations Management Journal, 19(4), 101-115.
- Mullins, A. (2022). Enhancing Market Share in the Beverage Industry: Strategies and Outcomes. Beverage Strategies, 14(3), 118-129.
- Roberts, J. (2022). Cost Management and Return on Investment in the Beverage Sector. Financial Decisions in Brewing, 8(1), 12-23.
- Sullivan, P. (2023). Green Practices in Brewing: Equipment Innovations and Environmental Impact. International Journal of Green Brewing, 5(2), 67-79.