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Assessment task 1Academic essay

Due date: 1PM AEST, Thursday of Week 6










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Hudsons Alpine Furniture (Hudsons) is a small company that designs and manufactures custom
made timber furniture. The firm was founded in 1998 by Ralph and Della Hudson in
Queanbeyan NSW. The objective of this paper is to analyze the production and operations
management techniques that are used by Hudson Alpine Furniture. The management has
recently faced a tough situation as the flow of orders by commercial users increased.
For the purpose of simplicity, the easy has made certain assumptions throughout. For example- it
has been assumed that the Hudsons Alpine Furniture has no production manager and a dedicated
production department. It has also been assumed that the commercial orders require the delivery
on time where the customized traditional orders possess no specific requirement of the order
being delivered as promised as they more stringent on value for money and the quality of the
product being offered. It has also been assumed that Hudson Alpine furniture applies Intermittent
Production system where general purpose machines are utilized as they are necessary for
frequent changes in the set up of the machine by the required specification of each order. It has
also been assumed that the senior management assumes the responsibility of providing approval
for all the peripheral and daily
design and the excellent workmanship qualities for which the firm has been appreciated.
However, they need to identify that the commercial users have a complete different set of
framework of mind in contrast to the private users of the furniture which are based on high
degree of customization. The commercial users do not worry about the quality of the wood or
timber used in the product, they are more eager on delivery on time or as requested and also they
are highly price sensitive in nature. On the other hand, the private owners are likely to utilize the
product for a longer duration of time and hence are likely to devote a longer time in choosing the
quality of their respective product and do not worry about the delivery time as long as they are
promised high quality offering. This is related to the price also as they are likely to shell out
more if they are provided with the best and state of the art technology and materials used in their
respective products. There can be numerous reasons for which they are likely to choose the


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product offering which is the best in the nature. Thus, it implies that there is a need to
differentiate between two types of different demands, which are for commercial use and for
private use (Luo 2006).
The organization currently serves both of these potentially different market segments which are
quite different in their characteristics as shown above. The orders for both are manufactured in a
single manufacturing unit in Queanbeyan (close to Canberra). The raw materials that are used are
of

The above diagram shows the various stages of production and the affairs involved, managing
everything independently is of vital importance to achieve the overall efficiency and get the
possible best results. The pre planning stage includes factors such as development of the product
and the location of the plant. It also clearly charts out right in front of the concerned department
and the senior management what peripheral things are required to be given and undertaken for
various smaller tasks that would ultimately be used for the final production process. Also, the
diagram above clearly gives the requirements which need to be considered upon the planning
stage. Thus, it becomes an important utility as far as the management of the affairs concerning
pre planning, planning and control are concerned. The same is lacking in Hudsons Alpine
Furniture firm where the owners have virtually assumed the position of handling all the
departments of the organizations. The same notion needs to evolve to better suit the needs of the
changing and increasing demands and resulting revenue orders (Rugman 2006).
The current and exiting practices are such that the owners are required to manage the
manufacturing from one point of physical location from where they are set up. This potentially
results in lack of control of operation in the manufacturing unit and results in mismanagement as
has been the case that has been occurring in the management affairs of the organization. The
daily affairs thus include managing everything from production orders, managing orders to the
end delivery. This creates an extra and added pressure of handling the peripheral activities on the
senior management of the firm. Since it has been given in the case study that the firm is facing


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troubles with the new commercial furniture line, the senior management has been facing an issue
of lack of time which is of utmost importance for strategizing as to how they can find a right
solution and resolution to the exiting solution and opportunity. Here also, the fact that delegating
the responsibility of handling day to day affairs to a dedicated department might just help Ralph
and Della Hudson to pin point the exact point as to what correct measure needs to be applied so
that the management starts their journey of expanding services so that they do not lose out on
gaining orders of customized services which accounts for 60 percent of volume and 75 percent of
revenues respectively. It would also ensure that the management is taking care and serving
appropriately the needs of the new existing opportunities with the commercial orders. There is
relative difference in the demands of these two customer needs and hence evolves the need to
produce these different requirements using different production and operational management
techniques. The market has evolved immensely for Hudsons Alpine Furniture and there is great
need to proactively react upon the existing situation rather than sitting back and provide the same
set of services for both potentially different and varying market spheres (Snowdon 2006).
The role of
be handled separately. Storing huge amounts of inventories can need to cash flow problems and
the organization might risk managing their daily operational expenses. A point would come
wherein there would start using their capital to meet their daily operating expenses. Huge orders
and an inability to meet the requirements can cause inefficiency amongst the work force which
can bring in a crisis situation for the organization. Also it has been assumed from the case study
that the commercial like to get their respective orders delivered on time. Hence a delay in the
delivery orders can be a potential risk of losing out on the order and hence losing out on the
revenue stream. The fact that the concentrating more on the commercial consumers would mean
losing out on the main revenue stream which is produced by customized orders. Hence a
decision and needs to be taken as to how the management of both customized and commercial
order needs to be undertaken. The challenge lies in the dilemma of choosing between these two
activities as neglecting either of them and potentially means a loss of business opportunity and
the scope for expansion of the


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requirement of the user that is whether its for commercial use or for private use. The operations
are managed in a haphazard manner at the moment and careful analysis for better management of
resources to serve the market is the need of the hour for the organization Hudson Alpine
Furniture. If they have two strategic business units, they can offer customized service offerings
with different prices as per the requirement of their respective clients which is contingent upon
their objective of using the furniture. This will not only help them in sorting out the current
scenario or problem, it would also result in a better scope for expansion in the future course of
time. The senior management till now has been responsible for undertaking daily peripheral
activities. Now it is the time to step on the gas and formulate a strategy where they can chart out
what they have in store for the future. The overall conclusion about his topic is that the Hudsons
Alpine Furniture is moving through a phase of growth and proactive measures are required to be
implied by them for giving birth to a new phase of the organization which would be full of scope
for expansion and better recognition for the brand in the respective market place of Australia
(West 2007).
References
Kirkman, BL, Lowe, KB & Gibson, CB, 2006, A quarter of a century of Cultures
consequences: A review of empirical research incorporating Hofstedes cultural values
framework, Journal of International Business Studies, vol. 37, issue 3, pp. 285-320.
Luo, Y 2006, Political behaviour, social responsibility, and perceived corruption: A
structuration perspective, Journal of International Business Studies, vol. 37, issue 6, pp. 747-66.
Miesel, VH, Higinbotham, HH & Yi, CW 2002, International transfer pricing: Practical
solutions for inter-company pricing, International Tax Journal, vol. 28, issue 4, pp. 1-22.
Rosenbloom, B 2007, Multi-channel strategy in business-to-business markets:Prospects and
problems, Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 36, iss. 1, pp. 49.


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Rugman, AM, Collinson, S & Hodgetts, RM 2006, International Business, 4th edn, Pearson
Education/Financial Times, New York, ch. 6.
Snowdon, B & Stonehouse, G 2006, Competitiveness in a globalised world: Michael Porter on
the microeconomic foundations of the competitiveness of nations, regions and firms, Journal of
International Business Studies, vol. 37, issue 2 pp. 163-175.
Somnath, L, Perez-Nordtvedt, L & Renn, RW 2008, Will the new competitive landscape cause
your firms decline? It depends on your mindset, Business Horizons, July, vol. 51, no. 4, pp.
311320. (accessed 2 March 2012).
West, D 2007, Directions in marketing communications research, International Journal of
Advertising, vol. 26, iss. 4, pp. 543554.

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