Hazel

Hazel had worked for the same Fortune 500 Company for almost 15 years. Although
thecompany had gone through some tough times, things were starting to turn around.
Customer orders were up, and uality and producti!ity had impro!ed dramatically from what
they had "eenonly a few years earlier due to a companywide uality impro!ement
program. #o it came as ar e a l s h o c k t o H a z e l a n d a " o u t $ 0 0 o f h e r c o w o r k e r s
w h e n t h e y w e r e s u d d e n l y t e r m i n a t e d following the new C%&'s decision to
downsize the
company.A f t e r r e c o ! e r i n g f r o m t h e i n i t i a l s h o c k , H a z e l t r i e d t o f i n d e m p l o y
m e n t e l s e w h e r e . (espite her efforts, after eight months of searching she was no
closer to finding a )o" than theday she started. Her funds were "eing depleted and she was
getting more discouraged. *here waso n e " r i g h t s p o t , t h o u g h + # h e w a s a " l e t o " r i n g
i n a l i t t l e m o n e y " y m o w i n g l a w n s f o r h e r neigh"ors. #he got in!ol!ed uite "y
chance when she heard one neigh"or remark that now thathis children were on their own,
no"ody was around to cut the grass. Almost )okingly, Hazela s k e d h i m h o w
much he'd "e willing to pay. #oon Hazel was mowing the lawns of
f i ! e neigh"ors. &ther neigh"ors wanted her to work on their lawns, "ut she didn't feel that she
couldspare any more time from her )o" search. H o w e ! e r , a s t h e r e ) e c t i o n l e t t e r s
" e g a n t o p i l e u p , H a z e l k n e w s h e h a d t o m a k e a decision. &n a sunny *uesday
morning, she decided, like many others in a similar situation, to gointo "usiness for
herself taking care of neigh"orhood lawns. #he was relie!ed to gi!e up thestress of
)o" hunting, and she was e-cited a"out the prospect of "eing her own "oss. ut she wasalso
fearful of "eing completely on her own. /e!ertheless, Hazel was determined to
make a goof it.At first, "usiness was a little slow, "ut once people realized Hazel was
a!aila"le, manyasked her to take care of their lawns. #ome people were simply glad to turn the
work o!er to her others switched from professional lawn care ser!ices. y the end of
her first year in "usiness,H a z e l k n e w s h e c o u l d e a r n a l i ! i n g t h i s w a y .
# h e a l s o p e r f o r m e d o t h e r s e r ! i c e s s u c h a s fertilizing lawns, weeding gardens,
and trimming shru""ery. usiness "ecame so good that Hazelhired two part time workers to
assist her and, e!en then, she "elie!ed she could e-pand further if she wanted to.

CASE Questions1.In what ways are Hazel’s customers most likely to judge the
uality o! her lawn careser"ices#
asically, Hazel2s lawn ser!ices can "e )udged through appearance. Her customers
candecide satisfaction "y simply o"ser!ing the area in which Hazel did some ser!ice
whether she succeeded in eradicating those unsightly and tall grasses lea!ing the yard to ha!e a
more pleasing scenery than "efore. 3t can also "e )udged if the instructions "eing specified werem
et "y Hazel. 3n addition, Hazel's credi"ility and insights from other customer will also
"econsidered "y the customers
$.Hazel is the o%erations manager o! her &usiness. Among her
r e s % o n s i & i l i t i e s a r e !orecasting' in"entory management' scheduling' uality assurance' and
maintenance.a.(hat kinds o! things would likely re uire !orecasts#
Hazel should "e a"le to forecast the weather in performing the ser!ices. 3t is notgood to do some
mowing when the weather is not good particularly if it2s raining or there's a storm. Furthermore,
Hazel should also determine the demand for her lawncare ser!ices such as the a!erage
num"er of re uests she gets daily. *his way,
shec a n p r o p e r l y s c h e d u l e w o r k a n d m a i n t a i n t h e n e c e s s a r y e u i p m e n t . 3 t i
s a l s o ad!antageous to Hazel if she can forecast how many weeks "efore the grasses
willgrow longer to the point in which her regular customers will need her again to
takecare for their respecti!e lawns.
&.(hat in"entory items does Hazel %ro&a&ly ha"e# )ame one in
" e n t o r y decision she has to make %eriodically.
4sually, when someone engages to lawn care "usiness, the items that will
most pro"a"ly "e needed include lawn mowers, fertilizers, seeds, grass
cutters, and other gardening tools such as rake, weeders, hedge shears, sho!el, and many others.
&f allthese in!entory items, the most important would "e the lawn mower and she
has tokeep its maintenance periodically in order for it to last longer and ensuring
that it2son the "est condition since it "rings a material impact for her "usiness.
Aside fromi t s u s a g e , t h e l a w n m o w e r i s t e c h n i c a l l y a n e u i p m e n t w i t h
m a c h i n e t h a t n e e d s maintenance.

c.(hat scheduling must she do# (hat things might occur to disru%t schedulesand
cause Hazel to reschedule#
Hazel may schedule the time when to perform ser!ice and how many hours will ittake to
complete. 3t is highly important "ecause it would ensure smooth operations for her "usiness
and keep the customer well informed, thus, gi!es more pro"a"ility of t h e i r
satisfaction. *he duration of ser!ice is also an important thing to
s c h e d u l e "ecause it would determine the appropriate compensation and the num"er of clientss
he can handle in a gi!en period of time. 3n relation to forecasting, factors such
asw e a t h e r a n d c u s t o m e r d e m a n d a s w e l l a s m a l f u n c t i o n i n g o f t h e
m a c h i n e s a n d a!aila"ility of her workers affect the scheduling of Hazel2s ser!ices. oreo!er,
lawnarea, lawn condition, and the num"er of ser!ices of a re uested "y a gi!en customer can also
affect Hazel's scheduling.
d.How im%ortant is uality assurance to Hazel’s &usiness# E*%lain.
#imply stated, uality assurance is assuring uality. 6uality assurance is assuringthat tasks,
procedures and processes are e-ecuted e-actly as intended e!ery time. 7ikemost
esta"lishments, uality assurance is indeed highly important for Hazel's
lawnc a r e " u s i n e s s s i n c e i t w o u l d h e l p h e r t o c l e a r l y i d e n t i f y
w e a k n e s s e s a n d inconsistencies in her "usiness and ena"le her to design techni ues on
how to remedyor pre!ent them. As mentioned, it would ensure smooth operations and help
increasecustomer demands, thus, it would mean more profit. 6uality assurance also
reflectson her "usiness credi"ility or reputation.
e.(hat kinds o! maintenance must &e %er!ormed#
%!en if Hazel is starting a small "usiness, there are still a need fo
r s o m e maintenance specifically on ser!ice uality, in!entory management and contact withthe
customers. &n ser!ice uality, Hazel should "e a"le to maintain the uality of her work on all
of her customers which can "e )udged "ased on indicators gi!en on thef i r s t
uestion. &f course, maintenance of her in!entory items and e uipment
arecritically a need. #he should maintain and check that the condition
of her
lawnmower8s and gardening tools are in "est condition. 3n addition, the c
hecking of e-
piration dates for her fertilizers should also "e consistent. 9hen it comes t
o customer contact, Hazel should maintain good communication with her customer
inorder to "e updated and effecti!ely deal with any changes. 7ike for e-ample, if
ac u s t o m e r d e c i d e s t o c a n c e l h i s 8 h e r r e u e s t s o r r e s c h e d u l e i t f o r s o m e
other time

"ecause of some reasons, Hazel can then take proper measures on

these occurrences.* h e r e f o r e , i t w o u l d h e l p m a i n t a i n h e a l t h y c l i e n t r e l a t i o n s h i p
a n d c o n t r i " u t e t o a smooth flow of operations.
+.(hat are some o! the trade,o!!s that Hazel %ro&a&ly considered relati"e to-a.(orking
!or a com%any instead o! !or hersel!#
time that will bewasted when lookingfor a job and thegain when sherenders lawn services
3n deciding "etween the two options, Hazel should pro"a"ly consider a trade off on
the salary and authority. 9ith regards to salary, Hazel should "e a"le to assess her earnings
whether which alternati!e would gi!e more !alue to her. Howe!er, she mustf i r s t c o n s i d e r t h e
risks "etween losing the )o" and "ankruptcy of the
"usinessd e p e n d i n g o n t h e a p p l i c a " l e f a c t o r s s u c h a s d e m a n d a n d s t a
t u s o f i n d u s t r y . /e!ertheless, whether Hazel personally wants
to "e super!ised or "e the super!isor can "ecome a considera"le trade off. Hazel should try to
choose which option gi!esher more opportunity to achie!e personal growth, contentment, and
security.
&.E*%anding the &usiness#
*rade offs that e-ist on e-panding a "usiness lies on the weighing of "enefits as tothe costs and
additional profit. After careful analysis "ased on the present factors, if the costs of e-panding
the "usiness outweigh the additional income that might "eearned, it is "etter for Hazel
not to undergo e-pansion, howe!er, she can opt to )ustmake impro!ements.
c. aunching a (e& site#
3f the current campaign methods are enough for Hazel2s "usiness in which she canma-imize her
"usiness capa"ility and capacity, there is no need to launch a
we"site. /onetheless, launching a we"site could also pro!e "eneficial in reaching a wider range
of customers and pro!ide information a"out Hazel2s lawn care helping thecustomer
decide remotely without Hazel answering or attending the same ueriese!ery single
time.
/.0he town is considering an ordinance that would %rohi&it %utting grass cli%%ings
atthe cur& !or %icku% &ecause local land!ills cannot handle the "olume. (hat
o%tionsmight Hazel consider i! the ordinance is %assed# )ame two ad"antages
and twodraw&acks o! each o%tion.
*he o"!ious option in which Hazel can make on the gi!en situation
w o u l d " e e-tending her ser!ices co!ering the disposal of grass clippings. 3nstead of
letting thetrashes "e picked up "y the authorities she could make additional profit "y replacing
therole. 3n other words, it would make Hazel2s lawn care ser!ice to "e a complete
package.As a result, more customers will patronize her "usiness since it creates a
good image
 "eing socially responsi"le "y following the new ordinance. Howe!er, ma)or draw"acksfor this
option would "e the additional costs that will "e incurred in e-tending the ser!iceas well as the
resources that would "e wasted particularly la"or, money, and time that will "e consumed in
finding a landfill location which is pro"a"ly far. Another option would "einstead of e-tending
her ser!ices and finding a landfill, she may sell or gi!e the grassclippings to farm
houses or fields filled with grass eating animals such as cows, goats,horses,
etc. *his way, she can ha!e an additional profit and made the grasses "e
of usedwhich is helpful for the animal owners and of course, to nature. (isad!antages would
"et h e c o s t s t h a t w o u l d " e i n c u r r e d p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t r a n s p o r t a t i o n a n d s t o r a g
e a n d t h e presence of thorns and other harmful su"stances mi-
ed with the grass clippings.Accordingly, whate!er option Hazel might follow, still, the fact
remains that it lea!es her no choice "ut to follow the law to a!oid future conse uences
and )ust choose the "estdecision.
.Hazel decided to o!!er the students who worked !or her a &onus o! 2$ !or
ideas onhow to im%ro"e the &usiness' and they %ro"ided se"eral good ideas. 3ne idea
thatshe initially rejected now a%%ears to hold great %romise. 0he student
who %ro%osedthe idea has le!t' and is currently working !or a com%etitor. Should Hazel
send thatstudent a check !or the idea# (hat are the %ossi&le trade,o!!s#
4nfortunately, Hazel made the wrong decision in the first place although it was
nother intention "ecause of the unforeseen circumstances. 3f there are no risks
associatedwith checking that student2s idea, 3 guess, finding it out is worth a try. Considering
ethical principles including the consent of the competitor and the willingness of the student.Acco
rdingly, possi"le trade offs could occur in the sense that without knowing the ideamight pose as
a challenge for Hazel to do "etter for her "usiness and could e!en surpassor destroy that idea with
her own. Furthermore, if she chooses to check the student2s idea,i t w o u l d m a k e h e r i n c u r
a d d i t i o n a l c o s t s a n d m i g h t p o s e a p r o " l e m k n o w i n g t h a t h e r competitor has
already worked it out.
4.All managers ha"e to co%e with "ariation.a.(hat are the major sources o! "ariation
that Hazel has to contend with#
/ormally, a lawn care "usiness e-periences !ariations with regards to inputs in producti!ity,
uality assurance, wages, and e!en with the seasons. 3t is really difficultfor Hazel to achie!e
uniform inputs in pro!iding ser!ices since it !aries in differentcustomers depending on the area of
their lawns. 7ike many ser!ice type "usinesses, itis highly difficult to measure producti!ity and
the appropriate compensation.
&.How might these sources o! "ariation im%act Hazel’s a&ility to match
su%%lyand demand#

*he !ariations presented on the pre!ious uestion affect Hazel2s a"ility to matchsupply and
demand since as stated, inputs may "e less than or more than ade uate tomeet the desired
outcome. *here will "e times when supply is not enough to meet thecustomer2s demand,
resulting to miss opportunities or to incur unwanted costs.
c.(hat are some ways she can co%e with "ariation#
efore designing strategies, Hazel must first conduct careful study and analysis asto causes,
nature, correlation, and effect of these !ariations. #he should "e a"le toidentify the
significant !aria"les that gi!e large impact on her "usiness as a whole.4ntil then, she
can create new ideas and de!elop coping strategies in order to managethe e-isting !ariations. #he
could resort to imposing certain criteria and standards thatmaintain "alance "etween inputs
and outputs, hence, matching supply with demand.*his way she can ensure an efficient
and effecti!e operation of her start up "usiness.
5.Hazel is thinking o! making some o! her o%erations sustaina&le.
( h a t a r e s o m e ideas she might consider#
Aside from uality assurance, the other ideas that would help Hazel make some of
her operations sustaina"le include inno!ations that ma-imize profit and reduce costs, offering
awider range of ser!ices, reaching new groups of customers, impro!ing the ser!ice
uality "ased on insights from past customers, and in!esting on high uality tools and e uipm
ent.Hazel can also encourage her customers to grow "eneficial plants that add "eauty
to thesurroundings which are also healthy for the en!ironment.