Economy - Market structure & Macroeconomy Essay

Economy - Market structure & Macroeconomy - Essay Example Mombasa has endured rule of many different nations, from the Portuguese in the 12th century to the British more recently, until gaining its independence in 1963. The completion of a railway from Mombasa to Uganda in 1901 serves as the link between the port and the rest of Kenya, as well as surrounding East African countries. While Mombasa is an important shipping port for imports and exports along the East African coast, it is also a popular tourist area, with many hotels to the North and South of the 15 square km island. The population of Mombasa is roughly 900,000. Over one fourth of all workers in Kenya are employed in Mombasa working in the port itself, in manufacturing, and in tourism. Tourism, and particularly that of visiting naval ships, is an important aspect of the economy, accounting for nearly 40% of Mombassa’s revenues. Among its many exports are coffee, flowers, vegetables, textiles and livestock. Problems that the port has encountered since the early 1990s inclu de a declining economy that is said to be the result of price controls, import licensing and foreign exchange controls. Like Nairobi, the largest city in Kenya, the city of Mombassa has experienced an increase in population, though on a much smaller scale. This is a continuing problem across Eastern Africa, and solutions for â€Å"secondary cities† (Otiso, 2005, p.117) in which occupants can live and work to sustain themselves is elusive.

Process Centred Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Process Centred Management - Essay Example Reengineering changes production from a skill specific departmental process to a product centred approach that looks at the end product and the team effort required to create it. 2. The Building Blocks. The organizational structure may need to change or adjust to cross-departmental communications to support the process centred management approach. The change will require organization around outcomes rather than organization by tasks. In some cases customers may be able to complete part of the process thus eliminating a cost of or required personnel (not too popular among staff because it could cause lay-offs). This could take the form of automated ordering processes via the internet verses a call centre based ordering system. The organization must be prepared for flexibility and change and can do this by devising a strategy to support the change while supporting the workforce who will implement the change. 3. Impact on the organization. Change rarely comes easy and change to a process centred management system is no exception. Change impacts production, employees, management, and the organizational structure. Change is most often designed to cut costs and to increase profits. Employees are the ones that seem to be affected the most by change in management systems. Change from a skills or department approach to a process centred outcome approach may not come easily if it means a reduction in force (lay offs). Ownership of the change makes the change a whole lot easier. The employees will need to adjust to working toward an outcome (process) instead of a single task. This requires adopting a team approach and requires the employees to learn a whole process rather than a step in the process. Job design, job enlargement, and job enrichment all impact the worker. In short, the job gets harder and the employee needs to know and learn more. The employee transitions from worker to professional. Information sharing is a very important part of process centred management. Information can be shared by different team members instead of one department gathering information to pass on to another department for processing. Jobs and job descriptions will need to be reengineered to support the process centred approach. The decision point may need to shift in the organization from higher management down to where the decisions are implemented. Performance measurement is vital to successful process centred management because "measurement is the foundation of improvement2". Quality Assurance (QA) provides the opportunity to correct or confirm product quality and marketability. "What isn't measured doesn't happen because there is no incentive, knowledge, or ownership"(PPT06, Provided with Course). Quality assurance makes sure that the end product meets or exceeds customer satisfaction (demand). "QA in a process centred organization is measure by results, growth, and performance"3. A QA method that organizations can use is Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA)4 to ensure that organizational activities support the process centred management approach and thus support production and marketing activities. 4. Changes required in organizational structure. Of all the changes necessary when a switch to process centred management is adopted the change in organization structure will effect the organization the most. The "whose in charge" idea needs to change. Decision making power