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Please kindly rate my AWA on "The falling revenues..."
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25 May 2014, 06:51
The following appeared in a report presented for discussion at a meeting of the directors of a company that manufactures parts for heavy machinery:
“The falling revenues that the company is experiencing coincide with delays in manufacturing. These delays, in turn, are due in large part to poor planning in purchasing metals. Consider further that the manager of the department that
handles purchasing of raw materials has an excellent background in general business, psychology, and sociology, but knows little about the properties of metals. The company should, therefore, move the purchasing manager to the
sales department and bring in a scientist from the research division to be manager of the purchasing department.”
Discuss how well reasoned . . . etc.
The argument claims that the falling revenue of the company coincides with the delays in manufacturing. The delays have been attributed to the poor planning done by the manager who has little knowledge about the properties of metals. The author suggests to bring in a scientist from the research division to be the manager of the purchasing department. Although, the argument seems to be convincing, there are certain loose ends to it.
Firstly, the falling revenues that the company is experiencing coincide with the delays in manufacturing. This could be one of the reasons why the company’s revenues are falling. There could be a lot of other factors due to which this could be happening. The quality of the products could have degraded or the market share of the company could have reduced. A lot of other companies could have entered into the manufacturing sector which might be better catering to the needs of the customers. Statistics showcasing the contribution of the various factors responsible for the falling revenues could be provided to get a clear picture.
Secondly, the delays in manufacturing have been in large part attributed to the poor planning in purchasing metals. Planning of purchasing metals is just one of the steps in manufacturing. After planning, there are many steps which ultimately give a manufactured product. The execution of the things planned might not have been proper or there could have been a delay from the supplier’s side in purchasing the metals. A proper research could be done by the company on what could be the actual reasons for the delays in manufacturing.
Moreover, the entire blame in the poor planning in purchasing raw materials has been put on the purchasing manager. What if the employees in his team were not well qualified to do their work properly? Although, it does makes sense for a scientist who has knowledge about the properties of the metals to be the purchasing manager, but nothing has been mentioned that current purchasing manager was not able to do his work properly. Even if he did not have the required knowledge, the company could have given him the required training to carry his work efficiently. The author’s conclusion to move the purchasing manager to the sales department and bring in a scientist from the research division to the purchasing department is flawed. It might be possible that the scientist might not be a good leader and might not be able procure the materials properly. It might also be possible that the scientist only knows about metals but nothing about the manufacturing process.
In summary, author is able to provide a somewhat convincing case about the falling revenues being witnessed by the company. In order to get a lucid picture, a deeper understanding of the contributing factors is required. It could be strengthened further if the author could provide the relevant facts and figures.