Engineering Products Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Engineering Products - Case Study Example The largest of the three business areas is automotive components, employing 60% of the group's workforce. The division is a first-tier supplier, dealing with several of the multinational final producers of cars, and is less concentrated in the UK than the company as a whole; Table 11.2 shows that only a small proportion of the division's sales are made in Britain, while an even smaller proportion of the workforce is employed there. Continental Europe is the base for a much larger proportions of sales and employment, with most of this being in Germany, France and Spain. The case study concentrates on this division of the multinational. In recent years the pressure from the automotive division's customers has become a central force in shaping how it manages its international operations in general and its international workforce in particular. The customers themselves have sought to standardise their methods of production and working practices through a process of sharing 'best practice' across sites. This has meant that, while the cars sold vary in minor respects between countries, they are produced in increasingly similar ways. One consequence has been that the components they purchase need to be of exactly the same specification in different countries. Since many of the first-tier suppliers in the motor industry are themselves multinational and in many cases supply the same companies in different countries, the effect has been to persuade the components manufacturers to standardise their own operations internationally. The Standardisation of Production across Borders The impetus for international integration in Engineering Products, therefore, came from the demands of its customers. Management at the HQ of the division have been faced with the task of integrating what had previously been disparate plants, serving customers in their own country and operating in a largely decentralised way. A key part of forging greater integration was to create management structures at the international level in order to bring together managers from different parts of the group, facilitating the exchange of information between them. In Engineering Products there are several such structures which serve this function. The division operates 'manufacturing councils' which periodically bring together senior manufacturing directors from the plants to examine the processes which are adopted in each of the plants. A different structure fulfilling a similar function is the 'International College of Engineering', located in Germany, at which engineers develop and learn about new manufacturing methods. A further way in which the HQ has sought to drive integration at the international level is through the creation of an international cadre of managers who are expected to spend time on assignments in countries other than their own. One element of this has been the creation of internal consultants; these are managers who have been responsible for pioneering a new practice and who are subsequently given

Aspects of contracts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Aspects of contracts - Assignment Example 34). Offer is very important in contracts because it shows the willingness of parties to enter into an agreement. When a business entity offers its promise under certain conditions, the other party must accept the conditions and in turn give an offer in order to form a contract. Offers are very crucial because they create an avenue for contracting parties to enter into a legal relationship leading to acceptance (Emerson 2009, p. 34). Acceptance is another important element of a contract that makes parties agrees to the terms of the offer. When a business gives an offer to the suppliers through an advertisement, it shows that, the business accepts the contract (Emerson 2009, p. 35). If the suppliers do not accept the offer despite the favourable conditions associated with it, the contract is deemed invalid. Legal laws guiding acceptance of the granted offer requires that there should be proper communication so as to satisfy the both parties. In contracts, each party will feel considered if it gets something in return after giving its promise. Consideration is an important element of contracts because the contracting parties receive promises, which makes them feel represented in any agreement. Consideration for a promise makes legally binding contracts rather than gratuitous contracts that cannot be protected by the courts (Emerson 2009, p. 36). Contracting parties ought to be adults in order to form valid contracts. In addition, the parties should compose of people with full mental capabilities such that they are not mad (Emerson 2009, p. 36). Agreements between companies are considered certain when they are apparent to the basic terms of a contract. If the contracting parties are unaware of the legal requirements of contracts, they are likely to form invalid contracts, which are not easily enforceable (Emerson 2009, p. 37). Sales