Author Archives: Olive Rodriguez

How things are made

During my research I was able to enlighten myself on the process of how several things are made but became truly fascinated by how the US Postal Stamp is made. Please click on the following link to watch a short video on the thumb size piece of paper, its value and the details involved in its production. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KETwb4MLKVI

Prior to doing this research I gave no thought as to the process of how a stamp was made. In my mind it was a simple as designing the selected image on a computer and printing just as I would print a document from my computer, except it would be a commercial printer.

The process of making a stamp is like that of printing money. It involves a complete production process that focuses on proper planning, quality control and adherence to strict security protocols to ensure the highest quality product is produced.

The US Postal System has stamps to commemorate historical events, holidays, or any other event they see fit; therefore, the process must be capable of accommodating the frequent changes. For this reason, the Flexible Manufacturing System is used during production. This system is used to accommodate the variety of stamps that are needed or the ever-changing designs that are ordered by the US Postal Service. This system allows the making of different product designs by simply reprogramming their computers and ink changes instead of major equipment changes and overhaul. This makes for a seamless transition to large-scale changes in volume, design, and capacity.

This system requires an artist to draw a design that is then loaded into a computer and colors are mixed to precision. The computerized image is then transferred to a metal plate, after which the metal plate is used to transfer the image to specially made paper designed for stamp making. During this process special marks not visible to the naked eyes are also transferred to the stamps to prevent counterfeiting. The stamps are inspected visually for any imperfections in print or security marks, and if found they are removed and set aside to be destroyed. Perfect stamps are then fed through a machine to be perforated, trimmed and package in sheets for shipment to Post Offices. Rejected stamps are not only shredded but are also loaded into incinerators to be burned.

The part of the process that surprised me the most was how much scrutiny is involved in the process of making this small piece of paper and how much value is placed on it. Stamps are inspected several times to ensure perfection in printing and security proof marks. This process ensures that the stamps are not easily counterfeited. There is also the fact that stamps are only printed in 4 private printers in the United States.

Retention

Studies have shown that financial compensation is not the number one reason why employees leave a company and Harper was no exception to this fact. She was not leaving due to her compensation package she wanted to leave because she feels overwhelmed, overworked, undervalued, uninformed, and not heard. This resulted in her becoming demotivated in her current position.

The most demotivating aspect of Harpers’ job seems to be the fact that she was not being informed of the changes happening around her. The changes were happening without her input, and this resulted in an increased workload which caused her to lose her work/life balance. Harper became accustomed to being kept informed by her former boss Jose and suddenly she is not. She felt that her new boss David does not value her enough to have open communication with her about things that are happening in the workplace. Her compensation was not her focus as the mention of it seems as if it was an afterthought.

Another noticeable fact was that Harper had been with the company for 4 years without any form of upward growth. She might have accepted this when Jose was her boss because Jose made her feel like a part of the team by using effective and frequent communication. On the other hand, David seemed accustomed to a culture of just giving employees work and leaving them to figure it out. He also has more responsibility than Jose but that is no excuse not to take a moment to communicate with Harper, listen to her concerns and find an effective solution.

To get them to re-engage I would inform Harper of her importance to the company. I would make it clear that her experience and work over the past 4 years has been valuable and appreciated and reconsidering her resignation would be appreciated. A clear and transparent investigation would be done to ensure an amicable and mutual resolution that would prevent any future misunderstanding with Harper or any other employees in the company.

 David would be asked to implement a clear and precise development plan for Harper as 4 years in the same position without advancement requires a closer look. He would also need to re-assess her workload to see if in fact it is manageable or if the work is fairly and equally distributed amongst all employees and take the necessary steps if they are not. There are times when employees are given tasks without managers realizing that at some point it has become overwhelming. At times when a manager or supervisor knows an employee is competent and efficient, they tend to make that person the “go to” person for important tasks without realizing the amount of work given has become unmanageable.

If David found the workload was equally distributed, and Harper was voicing her complaint because she felt left out of the usual department communication then he would need to advise her of this fact. He would then be asked to look for the root of the complaint which could have been the perceived sudden lack of communication. This would be solved with having an open-door policy where employees like Harper could come to speak about their concerns or give suggestions knowing that they are being heard. Feedback or follow-up would be required immediately or later as ignoring a suggestion or complaint from any employee, including Harper would not be an option.

The number one asset of any organization is its employees and not valuing your employees means you do not value the company. There are several downsides to losing Harper and rehiring and training her replacement. The financial aspect is that it costs more to hire and train a new employee than it would to retain and employee. There is also the burden of maintaining productivity that would be placed on the employees that remain while the company searches for a qualified replacement. This would result in overworked employees that becomes overwhelmed and disengaged just like Harper did.

There is also the possible loss of intellectual property resulting from her leaving. Surely Harper has access to present, past, and possibly future customers. She could poach these customers along with the company’s marketing strategies with her. This would cause a financial loss to the organization.

Overall, it is cheaper and simpler to retain an employee than it is to lose and employee and every reasonable effort should be made to retain, especially if the employee is a loyal and valuable member of staff that would rather remain and grow with the company.

Costco Wholesale Club

I am a member of Costco Wholesale Club where I shop twice monthly.  The company has been referred to as the “testimony to ethical capitalism” due to the company’s practices and the treatment of its employees and suppliers, in which they are known to heavily invest in. Employees are empowered to problem solve daily without being micromanaged by their managers.

Costco values their people and has an established code of conduct that was put in place for the human rights and safety of the people who produce, process, and harvest the products they sell.

Child labor, slave labor, health and safety conditions and illegal prison labor are only a few specifications mentioned in their established code of conduct. One thing to highlight is that all prison labor must be paid at the States legal minimum wage versus the prison’s established minimum wages. One might ask why are they using prison labor in the first place? This is done to assist the incarcerated individual in their rehabilitation and repayment of their restitution.

Suppliers are encouraged to always work towards goals that goes above and beyond those put in place by the company.

Community service and volunteerism is very important to the organization and for this reason they have the Costco Employee Volunteer Reading Program which assists children in the warehouse’s local community with mastering reading. The program began in 1998 and now has over 2600 volunteers within 456 programs in the USA, Canada, and Australia. The local participation rate has now reached over 70 percent.

Their philanthropy and charitable programs focus mainly on local business communities and supports children, education, health, and human services. For local organizations and local causes the local warehouses are task with reviewing applications and typically awards for no more than ten percent of a program’s overall budget. Grant applications are considered for larger, broad-based organizations and causes. Of course, there are other qualifiers including being a registered non-profit organization.

Our planet is our home and Costco is very attuned of the fact that we are all individually and collectively responsible for her wellbeing, and how we treat her will determine how she treats us. The company has taken it up on themselves to research how they can effectively reduce their carbon footprint. They have found that 77 percent of electricity purchased goes directly towards refrigeration and HVAC in their warehouses and have begun work to implement new technology in refrigeration and HVAC that will reduce electrical usage and CO2 emissions. The company is committed over the next four years (2021-2024) to continue working on the progress they have already made and develop a formal Climate Action Plan aimed specifically at significantly reducing waste and creating a “holistic environment.”

For a company as global as Costco, sustainability is very important, and they have taken steps to ensure nothing is overlooked. They have categorized their sustainability program smaller categories. They are focused equally of the welfare and protection of their people both internal and external, just as much as they are focused on their goods and services. Their goal is to ensure their members are getting high quality products at the lowest possible price, show respect to all the people and animals who produce these products and shows respect to the way the products are handled and transported from the farm to the warehouse. No aspect of the process is left unaddressed both domestically and internationally.

As great as Costco is, there is still room for improvement. Costco does not offer a wide range of products, so the customer does not have a wide variety to choose from. There is also the fact that their target customer is not very wide as buying in bulk is not financially possible for many people. Shopping at Costco would be more beneficial if there was a variety on how items were packaged so that it would be more appealing to a wider range of people. There is also the fact that they do not have Warehouses in many communities and their delivery program is very minimal compared to their two major competitors Walmart, and Amazon. I believe that in order to remain competitive they will need to improve in the area or e-commerce and undertake a major expansion to make themselves more accessible to a wider section of the community.

Overall, I think that Costco’s positives far outweigh their negatives, and they will remain my choice of shopping for a very long time.

Sources: Google.com, Costco.com

The Founder

  1. What makes Ray Kroc and the brothers different from each other?
  2. Do you think the McDonald’s brothers did the right thing by selling out to Ray Kroc? Did Ray Kroc give the brothers a good deal?
  3. How did the local store franchisees make money?
  4. How did Kroc make money? How was that different than the franchisees, running the local stores?
  5. Does this film change your view of McDonald’s?
  1. Ray Kroc and the McDonald brothers were the polar opposites of eachother. Ray was hungry for success and wealth at any cost, whereas the McDonald brotheres were contented with ensuring that any succes they had was achieved without sacrificing the quality of what they have invented. They were not interested in quantity but was fixated on the quality of everthing that had anything to do with their restaurant. Depending on who you speak with, Ray was seen as an aggressive predator or a savvy businessman. The McDonald brothers would be viewed as passive businessmen or two silly brothers who were not ready for the world of business and quite contented with remaining in their little world
  2. The brothers did the right thing by doing business with Ray Kroc, but made a huge mistake by not hiring professionals with foresight and knowledge to guide them in the process. Their lawyer sat at the table and allowed them to make a “shake hand” deal on the most lucrative part of the contract, instead of negotiating or walking away. Kroc did not have any knowlwdge or expertise in anything remotely related to what he was undertaking but he had a team that did. Although hiring a financial expert and a lawyer seems to have happened out of sheer luck the fact is that they offered him the guidance and expertise needed to succeed and he followed along, resulting in him being able to expand and profit the way he did. In contrast the McDonald brothers sought to do the deal with an incompetent lawyer resulting in a very bad deal that even took the rights to their name.
  3. The local francisees made money from selling goods, namely food and drinks.
  4. Kroc made his money by selling franchises but the bulk of his profit came from expanding his business to include Real Estate. He bought land in areas he identified for a franchise then leased the land to the franchisee’s therby ensuring an steady stream of income regardless of how well the franchisee’s business’ were doing.
  5. The film did not necessarily change my view of the Mc Donald’s Restaurant, however I cannot help but think about the circumstances under which the McDonald brother’s lost their business and ultimately even the use of their name. While I think Ray was a swindler I think the brother’s should have taken the necessary steps to ensure they had the best deal from this business venture.

Olive Ivey

I am a mother of one adult child that also attended BMCC. I migrated from Jamaica to the USA over 25 years ago.
I am a Business Management in order to further advance my career in Hospitality Management where I have worked for the past 24 years.
Travelling is one of my passions and live for my yearly vacations.
My family and friends are very important to me and I am happiest when I have them around.
I am very loyal and tends to find humor or lessons in every given situation. Last but not least, I laugh at myself very often! Here’s my BMCC email: olive.ivey001@stu.bmcc.edu