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.

The State of My Company

• The primary market forces driving or threatening my company are government spending cuts and strong competition.  I work for an aerospace supplier who manufactures a lot of parts for the military and space programs.  With the recent uncertainty regarding the government’s budget, we are in limbo as to whether or not our contracts will be renewed.  We also face stiff competition from several competitors who try to undercut our bids.
• Our company’s mission is to create safe, quality products for the aerospace and industrial markets.
• The company communicates its mission to the workforce through a variety of methods.   They produce a lot of interactive computer based training courses with simulations and role playing exercises built in.  They also do the traditional mass emails and communicate through the company’s intranet page which every employee sees when they log into their computer.  Finally, management is good about verbally conveying the company’s message and clarifying any questions that employees have.
• In my opinion, the workforce is very enthusiastically engaged and committed to the company’s mission.  We have a great benefits and compensation structure and the company really does a good job of taking care of employees.  This shows as the workforce, as a whole, seems committed to helping the company excel.