To what extent can improvements in productive flow and product quality Essay - 3

To what extent can improvements in productive flow and product quality lead to an increase in sales and profit - Essay Example A company overlooking these factors of success can never achieve its desired goals and objectives in a competitive market because these processes play the role of two of the most indispensable ingredients of success. In this paper, we will discuss the importance of improved productive flow and product quality in achieving the goal of increased sales and profits. 2. Productive Flow The process of productive flow mainly refers to the continuity of the process that starts from bringing in raw material for product development and ends when the product becomes ready for distribution in the market. Companies focus on improving this process in order to avoid delays in product manufacturing. Productive flow involves a continuous and flawless movement of items through the process of product development. The process is said to be in an efficient working state if the next stage of product development starts straight away upon completion of the current stage of development. It is one of the main responsibilities of the employees working in the production department to ensure continuity of the process of product development because a minor flaw or delay in the transition of stages can affect the on-time completion of the production process, as well as the quality of the product. One of the main points regarding productive flow is that it is capital intensive, which means that it makes more use of machines and technologies as compared to workers.  Therefore, it needs continuous and effective technical assistance to ensure flawless continuity. The advantage of capital intensiveness of the production flow is that a large number of items can roll off the assembly lines simultaneously, cutting down the cost of production to a large extent. Using this approach, companies can benefit from economies of scale, which consequently results in lowering the cost per unit of production (Riley 2012). Improvement in the productive flow can have a direct impact on the levels of sales and p rofit. In a competitive environment, timely placement of products in the market is imperative for the success of a company. When a company has its products reach completion stages in the scheduled time without any flaw, it will place the products in the market at the correct time and people will be able to buy those products, which will consequently result in improving the market share of the company. However, when there are delays in the process of production flow, the company will not be able to dispense its products in the market at the right time, which will affect the company’s levels of sales and profits. Therefore, it is very important for a firm to improve its process of production flow by eliminating the occurrence of flaws and reducing the risks to the continuity of the process to ensure higher levels of productivity and profitability. 3. Product Quality Along with productive flow, improvement in product quality is also essential for a company to increase its levels of sales and profit. Quality means excellence and in terms of product development, it refers to the development of such products that should be able to satisfy the consumers. A company can satisfy its customers only if it provides them with durable and high quality products. Quality is considered a key to the success of a

Child Labor in Africa Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Child Labor in Africa - Research Paper Example According to Andvig, child labor refers to labor carried out by believably too young children, which means that by so doing, they unduly decrease their current economic welfare or their income earning capabilities in future, either by decreasing their own individual productive capabilities in future or by contracting their future external choice sets (3). In Africa, children’s work is a generally accepted part of childhood. A household framework wherein children’s work is used to profit parents as well as the extended family network, to secure training and socialization opportunities as well as sustenance for its members is prevalent in Africa. Child labor, in the African context, is deemed as vocational education, especially where children work together with their parents in the rural setup. A long history of domestic and agricultural work by children in numerous parts of Africa exists (Bass, 20-22). Besides education, Africans view child labor in terms of instilling k nowledge and responsibility of a way of life or of a trade. Particularly in the rural areas, child labor in Africa, rather than create a negative connection, presents itself historically as a method of useful training as well as social reproduction for children. Child labor is therefore a historically key part of childhood in African rural, subsistence agricultural areas. It also embodies a crucial part of overall production in the rural setups whereby parents bear many children because they can be profitable economically. Just like in the rural areas, children’s work in African urban areas is a natural extension of the indigenous educational system. While girls work in the domestic setting, boys work in the apprenticeship system. Parents usually foster their children to strangers, extended family members as well as religious leaders in urban areas. They do this with the intention of providing training opportunities for their children as well as future opportunities for other family members to migrate to urban areas. Moreover, if a child becomes established in the urban area, his/her whole family profits because he/she may help the others and they all send remittances back home. Fostering however exposes some children to situations that are potentially exploitative, especially if there is no parental supervision (Bass, 22-23). D'Andrea explains two types of child labor in Africa, the first one being trafficking of children. This involves the transportation, recruitment, receipt or transfer of a child for the purposes of labor, slavery, sexual exploitation or forced labor. The recruitment of these children is on untrue promises of employment and education and they are transported in risky conditions. Areas where trafficking is common include Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali and Niger. The other type of child labor is bonded child labor whereby a family receives payment in advance in order to hand over a child to an empl oyer. The United Nations notes the fact that Africa, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa where children constitute almost one-half of the population, has the highest number of working children in the world as a proportion of the child population. The continent has roughly 80 million child workers and by the year 2015; this number could increase to 100 million. Citing statistics from International Labor Organization