Business Article

Somehow I missed the week 6 assignment. Here is my business article:

Ten years ago, Boeing came to us and asked us to develop an all-electric aircraft operating system that would not utilize hydraulic power.  Many doubters, some even within this company, said that it simply could not be done and that we were wasting valuable research and development funds on this project.  Fortunately, our engineers did not listen to these naysayers and dedicated themselves to creating this ground-breaking new product.  Well, their hard work and innovation has finally paid off.  Our company has become the largest supplier for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.  More importantly, I am proud to announce that today, the 787 has completed almost two years of extensive flight tests and the Federal Aviation Administration has approved the aircraft for commercial flight.

What does this mean for you as an employee?  It means that you should be extremely proud to be part of a cutting-edge organization that is invested in the future of commercial aviation.  It also means that you should be prepared for an increased workload as this new aircraft goes into service.  I expect each employee to commit to the highest levels of customer service as we support the 787.  We will all reap the benefits as Boeing takes on new orders for the plane each week.  Congratulations on this milestone and let’s step up to keep them flying!

Video Presentation

Here is the link to my presentation: http://youtu.be/VhKl28B1bJU .  I don't know that I will be winning any Academy Awards soon but hopefully I was able to get the message across.

Video/Audio Memo

This quarter our business unit has shown some very impressive growth. Many metrics are improving but we need to focus on increasing spare part sales and decreasing component repair time.  Our total sales were $37 million up from $34 million last quarter with $14 million of that revenue coming from spares, down from $16 million last quarter.  I am planning a Root Cause Analysis event with the spares group to determine the reasons for this decrease and to develop a strategy for improvement.  Our aftermarket repair department generated $21.2 million in revenue, up from $20 million last quarter.  Unfortunately, average repair time increased from 7.3 days to 8.7 days.  Supplier delays may have accounted for some of this increase but we still need to determine ways to overcome those challenges.  One of our most important metrics, customer satisfaction, increased from an average customer rating of 5.8 out of 7 last quarter to 6.3 out of 7 this quarter.  I commend each and every one of you on your continued hard work and efforts to make this a world-class support organization.  Let’s keep setting the bar high as we move into a new quarter.

Mini-Saga

Volleyball was her favorite game.  The highlight of each day was her trip to the courts to compete fiercely.  Unfortunately, one day it all came to a screeching halt.  She leapt high above the net as usual to spike the ball.  Landing proved devastating as she felt her ankle snap.

Social Media White Paper

Good afternoon class,
Here is the link to my social media white paper:
Alan Fairey Social Media White Paper
I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Alan

Communication Tip

One item that we discussed in class that was of particular interest to me was how to have more productive and efficient meetings.  All too often, I find myself dragged into meetings that seem to go on forever with no clear results at the close of the meeting.  We seem to have a difficult time of effectively communicating during meetings.  One very helpful tip that I found was simply put:  DON’T MEET.  The author went on to explain that we often call meetings for tasks that could be addressed with a quick email, phone call, or posting on the corporate intranet.  The key determinant as to whether or not you need a venue for one-way or two-way information sharing.  If only one-way communication is required in the situation, then a meeting probably isn’t needed.  I completely agree that many businesses seem to get “meeting happy” and schedule meetings for all sorts of issues that could be easily addressed via other means.  Going forward, I will try to encourage my co-workers to limit the number of meetings that we hold so that we can all make better use of our time.  The article goes on to give some great additional tips for meetings:

http://www.effectivemeetings.com/meetingbasics/6tips.asp

Communicating the Company's Vision

As most of you are aware, the US government is in a challenging financial situation at this time.  A majority of our income comes from government contracts so this state of affairs has the potential to adversely affect our bottom line.  We need to remain focused on creating high-quality products as we have always done but I am also asking you all to place a new emphasis on expense reduction.  As you complete your daily tasks at work, treat every dollar that needs to be spent as if it were your own money.  In  a sense, it really is your money as all of our employees are invested in the company through our profit sharing and employee savings plans.  There is no need for alarm as we are still in excellent financial standing as our stock price indicates.  We just need to be proactive in ensuring that we are all doing what we can to minimize unnecessary expenses.  I am confident that our organization will remain an industry leader for decades to come and I thank you all for your continued hard work towards our common goal of being the top aerospace producer in the world.