Challenging economic times mean businesses are applying every possible strategy to remain afloat. Companies are pushing their production capacity to its maximum limits to increase sales and lower production costs. However, reducing costs should not sacrifice product quality. This is the conundrum that many manufacturers are facing as the economy starts recovering.

While increasing production volumes lowers product costs, it should be among an arsenal of tactics companies use to keep their pricing relevant and within market standards. Here are some valuable ideas:

Process analysis

There is no point in upping production to lower product costs when processes are inefficient and ineffective. This causes monetary and productivity wastage that could impact product costs. Using Six Sigma certification from 6Sigma, managers can start analyzing their production procedures looking for inefficiencies that require immediate intervention to improve production output.

Process streamlining will allow for increased output using fewer inputs. The result is increased production with decreased processing costs. Companies can make more products without requiring additional machine-hours, labor, or raw materials when every process operates as it should.

This will already facilitate a lowering of costs. Should the business choose to ramp up production using efficient operations, they can generate more sales while further lowering costs.

Human resources considerations

Labor costs eat into a company’s budget and can hamper enhanced production processes. Part of a business procedure analysis should feature an in-depth investigation into how human resources are deployed. Many employees cost the company a lot of money and do not produce the required results. They offer the company little value, acting as a drain on financial resources.

Improving human resources contributions might require streamlining the workforce, eliminating certain jobs, and offering training and development to employees to perform more productively. These cost savings alone can reduce production costs, increase productivity, and thereby lower product costs.

Space considerations

Many companies operate in spaces that are too big as their operations are not set up using principles of ergonomics. When renting a building and paying by the square foot, companies could be wasting thousands of dollars per annum.

Restructuring manufacturing processes by streamlining the production line can save time and space. Operating space savings could affect rental prices, reducing this expense, providing an opportunity to reduce production costs. The time savings allow for more production within the same hours, consuming similar amounts of energy, and utilizing identical labor input.

Automation

Many automation processes require significant expenditure but pay for themselves many times over in the long run. Companies that automate can improve their production numbers, passing the lowered costs to their consumers. Many employees view automation as a threat to their jobs, which might be the case in some circumstances.

Automation stabilizes production processes, allowing companies to increase their output and decrease operating costs. Machines are more reliable than humans and are unlikely to disrupt production like employees who call in sick, go on vacation, strike, and require additional investment, including health insurance.

Materials and suppliers

Many manufacturers buy raw materials from suppliers they have been dealing with for years without considering that other organizations might deliver better prices and services. Companies must leverage their suppliers to ensure that they get the best possible deal, including competitive pricing and discounts for settling accounts early. A continuous review of supplier relationships ensures that manufacturers keep costs down.

It might be time to consider substituting cheaper materials into the manufacturing process, provided they do not compromise product quality. Technology has enabled the development of new materials that cost less and work better. Being flexible and willing to consider changing options keeps production prices down and improves outputs.

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Upping Your Customer Service Game with Six Sigma

12 Oct 2021 In: Uncategorized

Customer service has become increasingly important as e-commerce booms and businesses compete to gain and retain customers. Unless you provide customers with the service they expect, it is easy for them to simply go elsewhere and they may even spread the word on social media about their negative experience with your company.

When resources are disorganized, systems are inefficient and customer service team members are poorly trained, it is easy for customer service problems to occur. Using the principles of Six Sigma can help you to evaluate and optimize your customer service delivery.

Define customer service

Every customer complaint should be seen as a chance to learn about which processes you can improve. Six Sigma courses offered by 6Sigma.com offer a data-driven methodology to improve customer service processes. DMAIC helps to define and measure a problem throughout solution implementation and establishing practices to control and maintain the solutions.

Before fixing a problem, it is important to clearly understand it. You need to be clear about what is happening and why it is happening. One common problem customers often complain about is not receiving a product on the promised delivery date. It is possible to use the Six Sigma methodology to address customer complaints like this and many others.

Measure customer service 

Once you understand a particular customer service issue, such as not receiving a quick response to complaints or being passed to person after person to solve an issue, you can begin to outline all the details and variables associated with the problem and gather all the evidence. In this phase, you basically confirm your current baseline operations by accumulating data.

The data may reveal various problems, such as that employee turnover is high or that employees do not receive enough training to lead to the positive customer interactions that are necessary to create customer loyalty.

Analyze customer service

Analyzing the root causes of why the problem occurs is possible once you have gathered all the data. You can identify whether customer complaints can be traced back to a specific department or even to a specific employee. Perhaps complaints are typically associated with one of your products or offers.

Maybe most customer complaints are a result of inadequate staff training and more staff training could provide a way to help to solve the problem. Inefficiencies, poor practices and wastage could all affect customer experience. You could be getting certain things right and still lose revenue for these reasons.

Improve customer service

Finally, you can look at a solution to the problem. What steps can you take to resolve the problem? What changes need to be made to ensure this, and who will implement them and communicate them? What daily customer service tasks could be improved to increase efficiency?

For instance, focusing on improving the customer complaint management system could mean increasing communications between problem-solving teams, reducing waste in the reporting system and increasing the quality of investigations. The goal would be to keep customers informed by providing speedy feedback and offering reliable information.

Control customer service

If you want to keep improving your customer service, you need to create controls to ensure this. Six Sigma can clarify the roles of each person involved in the customer complaints process and save costs by the reduction of complaints. It can change what employees do and put a major emphasis on tying process improvements to customer needs.

Seeing customer conversions increasing and more customer loyalty and retention is a sign that the improvements you made are working. This sets a standard for future customer interactions and ensures you keep delivering the best customer service.

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Divorce battles are gross, lengthy, and might leave an individual more wounded. Regardless of the trigger for divorce, the entire circle at one time finally comes to an end. The good news is – you are now free from that spouse and free to start a new life.

The bad news is – you are not sure of your next move or the best starting point into a new relationship. To avoid the mistakes of your past relationship, you must get ready mentally, and talking to a counseling therapist might help.

Get help from a therapist

Soon after a bitter divorce experience, you will likely enter into a world of mixed feelings even without your knowledge. You still have so many questions in your mind concerning the previous relationship and your next move.

It is time that you consider therapist help and Vernon Counsellor will give you timely, professional help. The purpose of a therapist is to help you refocus and redirect your thoughts in a positive direction. Without counseling, you might make decisions that will plunge you deeper into an even worse relationship.

Take time, better you wait than regret

Too soon might not be a bad choice if you are certain of what you’ve purposed in your heart. However, in most cases, too soon leads to more regrets soon. The reason is that you are still deeply wounded in every area of your life.

Your emotions are torn apart, maybe your children have been taken away, your property, money, and so on. Taking baggage this huge into a new relationship might translate to deeper trouble. Be slow and take time. There are much better people out there and they will come your way in due time.

Prepare yourself

Your experience in your previous relationship is good enough to prove that things can go wrong in any relationship. Nevertheless, there is never a guarantee that a relationship will stay smooth all your life or go through bumps at one point or another.

Self-preparation will involve things like working on your mental wellness before jumping into another relationship. It gives you time to take stock of your relationship life and check what went wrong in your earlier relationship and which areas require your adjustment. Everyone can have success in a relationship if they realign their lives and make changes whenever it’s needed.

Eliminate all memories of your past relationship 

There are a lot of things and items that can keep reminding you about your past relationship and hinder you from moving forward into a new relationship. Some of the items are those memorable photos, videos, chats, a nice outfit, and so on.

To some people, these items can never become an issue but to others, they can act as hindering blocks. Your new partner might also become offended by these times. Delete all conversations, photos, and anything else that will make you hurt anytime you look at it.

Be ready to love and to be loved again

Bitter divorce can leave you so hurt that you resolve never to love or be loved again. You might also be willing to begin a new relationship, but fear keeps holding you back. With all these setbacks, you might experience cold love in your relationship and not be able to love with your whole heart.

What failed in your other relationship is not love but the relationship. Love is always in the heart and if you are ready to give it to someone and to receive from them, it will happen.

The bottom line

Although you were terribly hurt during your divorce process, you can enter into a new relationship and find the joy and love that you had always desired. What is important for you is to get ready mentally and move on, but after going through a healing process. Talk to a therapist for help, then work on your wounded feeling until you get a new and clear direction.

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Organizing a community sports event requires good planning. You will need to put together a budget of all the costs before you even commit to setting a date. The financial picture has to be clear so you know what funds you will need.

You will need to find a suitable venue and know what is available at the venue. You will need to build in contingencies for unexpected costs, which often come up when planning a community sports event. The cost of facilities, equipment, referees and promoting a community sports event can all add up. Having a financial game plan ensures that your expenses will stay in check and the event will be a successful one.

Enlist support from local businesses

Community sporting events rely on the generosity of donors and supporters. Local businesses can benefit from more visibility by supporting a community sports event. It’s a win-win situation because you raise funds and the local business gets involved in the community and gains some good publicity.

Using digital score tables from Sideline Interactive can help you to raise funds from local businesses easily and effectively. Having a scorer’s table for a community match naturally attracts businesses who want to have their company logo and advertisement on display. The initial investment in such a scoreboard is nothing compared to the amount of money it can raise from local businesses. You can create different levels of sponsorships to meet their varying needs and budgets.

Use digital fundraising options

The more donation options you give to potential donors, the more likely you are to receive the funds you need. You can choose an online donation platform, set up a donation form and direct donors to it through newspapers, social media posts, etc. It is also possible to choose a text-to-give software provider that allows you to set up a unique phone number for donors to give money.

You could also have a campaign to raise funds on social media. For instance, “kick an unhealthy habit” fundraiser can work very well when raising funds for a sports event. Encourage supporters to donate the money they would normally spend on sugary snacks, coffee, soda etc. For the duration of the challenge, you could share motivational messages to inspire participants.

Partner with other organizations

For organizations that own indoor or outdoor facilities, hiring them out can be an important source of income for them. A local school may have an indoor gymnasium that would be perfect for a community event. You could even negotiate a special rate to use it for a community event.

If you partner with an organization that has a venue, you could arrange to share event profits with it in exchange for using the venue for free. Partnering with local food trucks offers a convenient way to provide food and beverages for your event and they are likely to be eager to participate if you can guarantee a good crowd.

Use a crowdfunding platform

Crowdfunding is another way to gather donations. All you need to do is to start a campaign using a crowdfunding platform. You can share the donation page for your event far and wide with community members and the more the campaign spreads, the more funds it will bring in.

Using a crowdfunding platform for an event means you can build support and offer perks. You can expand your offerings to other items like shirts or water bottles. Various mini-events can help you to attract an audience and build excitement before the main event. You can add various perks as your campaign builds popularity and followers.

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The MeToo movement brought the scourge of sexual harassment to the forefront of society’s consciousness, launching a much-needed conversation that should have taken place decades ago. However, it also raised some challenging questions that do not always have easy answers.

Despite many allegations and lawsuits that followed, the central issue remains that sexual harassment in the workplace is all too common. However, some gray areas mean that perpetrators might not even know they are guilty. Here is why sexual harassment is sometimes difficult to pinpoint:

Defining sexual harassment

Sexual harassment attorneys from USAttorney’s directory of professionals know that the concept is challenging to define. While there are obvious instances of sexual harassment, such as groping, derogatory or vulgar remarks, or sexual assault, other examples of sexual harassment are more nuanced. These subtleties create a veritable assortment of shades of gray, making sexual harassment sometimes challenging to identify.

There is no one-size-fits-all definition of what constitutes sexual harassment, as the behavior should be contextualized to a specific situation. Factors like voice tone and body language could also affect judging behavior as sexual harassment.

Comments and behavior are subjected to the recipient’s perception, and not everyone has the same understanding of what is or is not offensive. Cultural and societal norms mean that victims and perpetrators have different ideas of appropriate behavior. Taking all this into consideration determines whether the behavior is sexual harassment.

The Spectrum of Sexual Misconduct at Work (SSMW)

Developed by Professor Kathleen Kelley Reardon from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, the SSMW attempts to define sexual harassment and the degrees in which it occurs. The spectrum ranges from behavior that is generally not offensive right to egregious sexual misconduct. In between are mildly offensive, offensive, and evidently offensive sexual misconduct.

Reardon provides examples for each category across the spectrum but stresses that it is not static and should be evolving as our understanding of sexual harassment expands. She believes the spectrum should be used as a conversation starter when addressing sexual harassment in the workplace.

Non-offensive behavior

Many men engage in conversations with their female colleagues without realizing they are causing offense. They did not intend to upset anyone with what they said. This happens when they enter one of those gray areas.

For example, a male colleague might compliment a female counterpart on her hairstyle or outfit. When this happens as a benign observation, it is generally inoffensive. However, many women complain that these innocuous remarks may become offensive if they are repeated.

It is not what you say, it is how you say it

Telling a colleague their hair looks nice is an innocent comment unless it is loaded with sexual innuendo, lascivious looks, or inappropriate behavior. Therefore, suggesting that you like a colleague’s hair and think she looks sexy is taking it a bit far. This could lead to the woman receiving the comment as offensive.

When making personal remarks at work, how you say it can determine whether it constitutes sexual harassment. Choose your words carefully and stick to neutral terms like ‘nice’. It has no sexual undertones or overtones.

Not talking about it

Many men are not receptive to hearing that a female colleague has taken offense to something they said or did. The sexual harassment debate has men feeling they are in an ‘us against them’ situation. They go on the defensive when someone questions what they said.

In an environment where people can freely discuss their feelings and perceptions, they learn about sexual harassment and how to avoid it. Such conversations are essential to make everyone, male or female, play their role in preventing sexual harassment.

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Many seniors are considering entering the property market by buying a second home overseas. It provides them with a unique investment opportunity that could secure their retirement income and plans.

While in years gone by, owning a second home was regarded as something reserved for the wealthy, this is no longer the case. However, regular people without millions in their bank accounts can buy property abroad. Here is information for seniors wanting to join the international property market:

Portfolio diversification

There is significant interest in Costa Rica properties for sale from seniors. According to Blue Water Properties of Costa Rica, many seniors are investing in second properties in Latin American countries. Property prices are reasonable, and the temperate climate and picturesque setting make Costa Rica an attractive prospect for buying a second home.

International property purchases are an ideal mechanism for investment portfolio diversification. Most people understand diversification to mean investing in stocks, bonds, real estate, and commodities.

However, keeping all your money invested in one country could backfire should that nation’s economy fail. Having some offshore investments could be a saving grace. Nevertheless, it is not a risk-free proposition, as that country’s economy could also face challenges in the future.

A future destination

Seniors could want to spend time in their second home overseas or retire there eventually. In the interim, they can hire a property management company to oversee letting the property. However, if tenants move in, its owners cannot use their property as a vacation home.

In this case, property owners should consider renting their second homes to tourists on a short-term basis. This allows them to ensure their house is unoccupied when they want to visit it. Having a local property agent to manage repairs, maintenance, and rental collection ensures the process runs smoothly. Any income earned could be used to pay off a mortgage loan and ensure that their home is paid for when owners retire there permanently.

Overseas residency

Many seniors contemplate moving to their second home when they retire while remaining citizens of their current country. However, some consider going a step further by applying for citizenship in their second home’s location. Tax considerations play a primary role in this decision. Some countries have tax laws that benefit pensioners and also offer discounted healthcare and public transport.

It is not always necessary to give up the citizenship of your birth country. Instead, you could apply for residency, which entitles you to the same perks. Residency gives you automatic access to a country, even when borders are shut to tourists.

A sound investment

As a rule, property investment is regarded as one of the safest ways to put your money to work for you. Property values might fluctuate according to economic factors, but history has proven that they always recover. Therefore, buying real estate is an almost sure-fire way of turning an investment profit.

Hard assets, like houses, are sensible investments that will prove helpful for seniors during their golden years. They could opt to sell their original or second home should they require capital or rent one out to secure an additional income.

Reasonable property prices

Most Americans searching for a second home to enjoy during their retirement find that doing so within the country’s borders can be too expensive. Instead, they choose to look at other nations, where property prices are lower, and the strong dollar currency makes financing such purchases relatively easy.

They can afford a far bigger or fancier house in another country and take advantage of this opportunity by investing in one. The affordability factor drives them to look for second homes overseas.

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COVID threw the 2020/21 NBA season out of whack and caused the regular season only to begin in December of 2020. That meant that the NBA final was only played on July 21st.

The Milwaukee Bucks pipped the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2 to seal the deal. However, their reign could be historically short, seeing that the 2021/22 season is set to kick off in October. Will they be able to retain the title at the end of the coming season? Here’s what the analysts say.

Brooklyn Nets

Sometimes, luck is just not on your side. That has surely been the case for the Nets over the last two seasons. On paper, their team seems unbeatable, but whenever they get in any position of domination, the wheels come off. This year again, they are strong favorites to win the title, but injury could be their downfall yet again.

Regardless of the past, if you want the best online betting sports platform to make some bets on the Nets, then you need to visit BetUS. They are reliable, their platform is easy to navigate and you have plenty of options on how you want to bet.

LA Lakers

The Lakers are historically one of the most successful teams of the NBA and although they might not be the absolute favorites to win the next title. They have some experienced players who can make their dreams come true.

The golden boy, LeBron James, is set to make a comeback after he was hampered with injury in two of the last three seasons. His NBA days are coming to an end and if this is to be his last season, he would want to make sure that he ends it on a high.

Milwaukee Bucks

The current title-holders are also in the running to snatch the title for a second consecutive season, but they have their work cut out for them. They have been hit with a slew of injuries of late and might need to make some changes.

PJ Tucker and Jeff Teague are the only free agents in rotation which should not have a massive impact on their strategies going into the season. Donte DiVincenzo is also set to make a return to the side after an injury. His return might bolster their ranks, but they are going to have to dig deep if they want to hold on to the title.

Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns were unlucky in the previous season and they will feel as though they have a point to prove. They will be playing for pride and look to right the wrongs of the previous season. After a dream start to the finals where they lead 2-0, the wheels came off and their offensive weaknesses were exposed.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and when you couple it with a drive to win the next title, the Suns are looking dangerous. The only thing that stands in their way is themselves and a weak wing offense.

LA Clippers

The Clippers are the underdogs of the favorites to win the next NBA title. Not many people have faith that they will be able to pull it off, especially with the likes of Kawhi Leonard returning after some serious surgery.

The Clippers are likely looking to rest Kawli until he is 100% fit and injury-free, but if his San Antonio days are anything to go by, he might still be out for a while. The other conundrum that they have to think about is where they are going to get a third scorer if Reggie Jackson decides to leave.

 

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Recent studies show that middle and high school students in the U.S. regularly face sexual harassment. Verbal sexual harassment in the form of sexual comments, gestures or jokes is common.

Many teenagers report peers brushing up against them in a sexual manner or grabbing and pinching them. The bottom line is that they need to learn more about what counts as sexual harassment and how to deal with it from their parents and educational institutions.

Define sexual harassment

The first step when teaching teenagers about sexual harassment is to define it. Many teenagers seem a little desensitized to it and may not even realize they’re a perpetrator or a victim.

Educating them often starts with having open discussions about various forms of sexual harassment. There could be a discussion about the fact that sexual harassment isn’t only verbal or physical and can even include gestures intended to hurt or intimidate. Another discussion could be about the use of technology for sexual harassment, including requesting “nudes” from someone or sharing inappropriate videos.

Teenagers need to understand that any interaction online or in-person that makes them feel unsafe should be reported to a trusted adult who can take it further. A consultation with one of the experienced sexual harassment lawyers from USAttorneys.com will provide advice on the right steps to take.

Discuss gray areas

Many teenagers don’t like to admit that they don’t really know much about what counts as sexual harassment. Romantic relationships can be difficult for them, and as they start to explore them, they may find it difficult to distinguish between what’s acceptable behavior from a partner and what isn’t.

Discussions about the difference between liking someone and loving them and what happens if someone doesn’t reciprocate their feelings could be enlightening for them. When is flirting welcome, and when does it turn into something more? Discussions should include when it’s important for them to be assertive and establish strong personal boundaries.

Encourage them to speak up

When sexual comments are dismissed as being locker room talk or jokes, teenagers may internalize that they are not that big a deal. They become desensitized to the harmful psychological damage sexual comments can cause.

Sexual harassment should not be something teenagers just learn to tolerate. If they tell their classmates to stop when their behavior is offensive and inappropriate instead of just standing by, it offers some hope of educational institutions being safe places in which to learn.

Encouraging them to speak up may involve making a concerted effort to create the right environment for them to do so. This means clearly defining and explaining behavior expectations and consistently imposing consequences for not meeting them. Staff may also need some training in how to deal with sexual harassment, so students don’t feel that they’re turning a deaf ear or ignoring a situation.

Have no judgment conversations

Teenagers are notoriously averse to being judged and given lectures. Education about sexual harassment will involve making it clear that the door is always open for non-judgmental conversations.

Only then will they be willing to discuss their personal experiences or what they have heard from the media or their friends. They should never feel they’re in danger of punishment when they share information.

Get the parents involved

Parental involvement is important as educating them about sexual harassment, and its harmful effects will also help them to identify it and respond appropriately. The parents of perpetrators and victims must be informed so they can address their teenagers’ emotional and development needs. Family involvement and counseling may be necessary to modify inappropriate behavior or deal with emotional damage.

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Interested in learning more about the Creativity Initiative?  We are now on facebook. Come join us for a more informal discussion and sharing of articles and online content related to the Creativity Initiative.

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creativity & collaboration: best practices :  examples of programs and projects that are developing active research collaborations across disciplines:

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