Case Study Assignment: Hazel - Major Facts and Problems

          Case Study-Hazel Name Institution Date   1] Major facts Having been relied upon of her job in a Fortune 500 company, Hazel has ventured in mowing her neighbors’ lawns (Stevenson, 2015).  In setting up a new lawn mowing business, establishing credibility and deciding on the logistics and pricing have influence business growth. Even though this started, while she was looking for a job, Hazel realized that the services could expand. Additionally, the decision to employ two part- time workers is based on the observation that more neighbors appreciate her services, and there is an opportunity for growth. There are those who now prefer her services compared to the professional lawn mowers vindicating the decision to expand services.  Despite Hazel now understanding the lawn mowing business, there is no guarantee that the business will expand within the projected time. Hazel has to determine whether to go on with the business even when there is a slow down while also looking for a job. In case Hazel is employed, she would have to contact some services to contractors or supervise the part-time workers who will need to work for more hours to render the required services. To improve the level of customer service is a top priority, as this will improve the company’s profitability when there are customer loyalty and the likelihood of attracting more customers. II] Major problem  How does Hazel increase productivity to improve profitability without increasing the price as this would likely drive some of the customers away?  III] Possible solutions •    Better innovation and technology incorporation •    Improving efficiency increasing the number of workers to serve more customers •    Focusing on training to improve the workforce •    Using research from other lawn mowing services to improve operations •    Improving maintenance Advantages and disadvantages of the possible solutions and better innovation and incorporating technology.  There are various advantages of innovation as this approach allows Hazel to expand her market reach to meet the demands of the clients. The more the neighbors are satisfied with the services provided because of innovations, the more they are likely to seek these services in future. Innovation will make the company more competitive to improve productivity and efficiency. However, innovation also increases the costs and expenses incurred by the company, and the companies offering professional lawn mowing services may be more competitive and have the ability to absorb losses in the short term. It may be necessary to pay the employees higher when then there s integration of innovative technology. Increasing the number of workers to serve more customers Increasing the number of workers will make it easier to respond to the client needs and address workload fluctuations when a need arise. Since the employees will be temporary there is increased staff flexibility, and when some are not available. The success of employing new workers depends on their commitment and ability to adapt to the work conditions. Nonetheless, having a larger workforce also requires more training resources, and there is no guarantee that there will be high morale and commitment among the existing employees. Focusing on training to improve the workforce Training improves productivity and efficiency as the employees are better placed to provide lawn mowing services the employees also focus on addressing the client`s concerns when they are trained, and they are motivated to provide service for they are sure what is expected of them. Training may only result in marginal benefits, while it may be difficult to quantify the impact of training on productivity and efficiency. There is a risk that after training some of the employees will go elsewhere or start their own business once they get better skills. Using research to improve operations and reaching out to new customers      It is necessary to find out what other services are offered by landscaping a law morning competitors.   Understanding the lawn mowing service delivery is necessary to determine the demand for services occur seasonally, and the pricing range that is competitive (Pepper, 2009).  However, getting information from the rivals is difficult, while there is a need to focus on prediction and forecasting before targeting new customers who prefer different needs.  Acquiring new equipment and improving maintenance      Efforts to improve the maintenance of equipment will increase efficiency and avoid an unnecessary slowdown in activities, but the maintenance costs will also increase. In choosing the best option among the choices the benefits and costs are considered. IV] Choice and rationale      Undertaking research before and after being in the lawn mowing business makes it easier to reach out to the new customers.  The case for this option is that Hazel would have a better understanding of the local market conditions would customize services in a way that meets the needs of customers. Simply waiting for the customers is ineffective, since there are many competitors. Marketing the services and targeting the customers is possible when Hazel can identify their needs and preferences.  Research extends to identif...