Mcdonalds restaurants(Just in time and Lean Production concepts) Research Paper

Mcdonalds restaurants(Just in time and Lean Production concepts) - Research Paper Example In an eFS Network, a business, which functions as a B2B marketplace, assists sales as well as acquisitions to the foodservice industry. Main Competitive Base Identifying the value of the supply chain in preserving quality is one of McDonald’s competitive again, and consequently McDonald's plans to form long-term dealings with a restricted amount of suppliers. Suppliers are generally scrutinized to ascertain that they can meet McDonald's necessary standards. Repeat orders indicate that suppliers can be sure of continued existence and development, whereas McDonald’s constantly enjoys consistent, high quality products. McDonald's highlights its firm principles supported by quality, value and hygiene. McDonald’s as well records the source of each product, which allows the business to manage each link within its supply chain (Facella & Genn, 2008). Figure 1: McDonald’s food supply chain structure (Source: McDonald’s) Figure 2: Length of McDonald’s supplier relationships in UK and US (Source: McDonald’s) McDonald’s lately went through drastic strategy alterations to serve their customers in an enhanced manner. In its earlier system, the company would prepare several sandwiches at once, and place in a warming bin until bought by a consumer. Here, management had to forecast how much foodstuff had to be set aside accurately. Accurate forecast had to be employed because if there were not an adequate amount of foodstuff placed on hold, this would generate the issues of rise of waiting times for consumers and a lot of food would create waste of expired products. McDonald’s radically transformed their approach with the intention of staying competitive with other fast food businesses. Inventory Management McDonalds follows a Just in Time (JIT) method of inventory management, which is the system of delivering produce to consumers the moment they have ordered for it, with least delay between order placement and rec eiving it. McDonalds does not start to cook or preheat its stuff until it gets a customer order. This makes the finished food item in the inventory for the smallest possible time. This facilitates suitable inventory management and decreases leftovers while providing maximum satisfaction to the consumer. Some of the obvious benefits of shifting to JIT system are; (1) Better quality of food - The burgers are prepared fresh for the consumer and therefore, offer utmost satisfaction. Increased customer satisfaction creates consumer retention as well as improved sales. (2) Improved customer service: McDonalds earlier used to make â€Å"special orders for customers while dishing out precooked burgers from the inventory to most customers. Hence such special orders were dreaded by the staff and used to freak them out† (Lai & Cheg, 2009); the staff, now following implementation of the JIT system, is more composed and provides improved service to the consumers. This improved customer se rvice is conditional on the capacity to make burgers quicker. McDonalds is capable of dealing with the demand a lot better. It does not have to waste time in determining the approximate sales hour by hour and maintaining inventory. (3) Improved costs: The holding expenses for the raw material such as â€Å"bread, beef, cheese, chicken† (Lai & Cheg, 2009) is quite high due to their spoilage costs. In the previous system, McDonalds used to keep a high inventory

Colorectal cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Colorectal cancer - Essay Example The main side effect exhibited in John in the case study is general fatigue, which may be attributed to the fluorouracil administered to him. The relationship between such side effect and fluorouracil can be accounted for by how it works in that its most effective at killing cells that are rapidly dividing (cancerous cells) (Knowles, 2007).   Unfortunately it does not know the difference between the cancerous cells and the normal cells and thus normal cells are adversely affected. Although the normal cells will grow back and be healthy in the meantime side effect in which case fatigue occur.   The "normal" cells most commonly affected by fluorouracil are the blood cells which account for a drop in hemoglobin levels as can be said of John which dropped to 100 from the normal level of 130-180/liter of blood. Interventions to Manage side effect experienced by John Cancer-related fatigue, defined by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) as a persistent, subjective sense of tiredness related to cancer or cancer treatment that interferes with usual functioning of an individual can be described in terms of perceived energy, mental capacity, and psychological status (Choo, 2008). It arises over a continuum, ranging from tiredness to exhaustion. By contrast however with the tiredness sometimes felt by a healthy individual, cancer-related fatigue is perceived as being of greater magnitude, disproportionate to activity or exertion and not completely relieved by resting, leaving the patient with an overwhelming and sustained sense of exhaustion (Australia, 2009). Fatigue is one of the most prevalent and distressing common side-effect of many of the cancer treatments available for the management of malignant disease as John is currently experiencing. Critical Assessment of Various Interventions There are various interventions that can be used to deal with the same as here below described. Non-pharmacological interventions Education Research has documented the beneficial effects of providing patients with preparatory knowledge, including sensory information, about their disease and treatment. If patients receive valid information about what to expect, they are more likely to develop accurate expectations and are less likely to experience the stress that accompanies unforeseen problems. For example, uninformed patients often interpret fatigue to mean that their cancer treatment is not working or that their disease is progressing. With appropriate educational grounding therefore, patients can prepare for side-effects and adopt management strategies (Council N. H., 2008). Exercise In the management of fatigue, exercise is the intervention with the most supporting evidence of effectiveness. The theory supporting exercise as treatment for fatigue proposes that the combined toxic effects of cancer treatment and a decreased degree of physical activity during treatment cause a reduction in the capacity for physical performance (Australian Govern ment, 2005). When patients must use greater effort and expend more energy to succeed in daily activities, fatigue levels increase. Exercise training leads to a reduction in the loss or even an increase in functional capacity, leading to reduced effort and decreased fatigue. All research work on effectiveness of exercise in managing cancer-related fatigue indicate significantly lower levels of fatigue in individuals who exercised than