Foundations of Business Management: Original Creations Case Report

This report examines the product failure of Original Creations, a company specializing in lifestyle products, focusing on the recent withdrawal of their toenail clipper due to poor market performance. The analysis delves into the company's background, its reliance on external manufacturers, and challenges in communication. The report identifies the lack of proper planning, market research, and quality control as key factors contributing to the product's failure. It then proposes alternative business options, including the use of a weighted scorecard model, and discusses the expected benefits and dis-benefits of these options. The report also explores project management tools like Gantt charts and KANBAN boards to improve timescales and cost management. The conclusion highlights the need for improved quality control, market research, and strategic planning to prevent future product failures. The report includes references to relevant academic sources.

Project plan product
for returns at Original
Creation

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
Background of case study's company and other contextual information....................................3
Other business options that give in return the proper value of money........................................4
Expected benefits from this business option...............................................................................4
Expected dis-benefits from this business option.........................................................................5
Timescales...................................................................................................................................5
Costs............................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The report focuses on the live project of Original Creations that is launch of a new
product in market-”toenail clipper” with a unique idea that any individual could clip their
toenails without bending down. This captures that Mary Shelley's company fails in satisfying the
consumers with their new launch but the main focus area is, this is not their first failure, before
this they also handles failure with ten new launches. The owner is worried about about losses
incur and company is losing the right path. The main issue is seems in their management (Chou,
2019).
INTRODUCTION
The main aim of the report is to find out the better solution for failure of product that
Original creations recently launched. The case study highlights that Mary's company withdrawn
their latest venture because they observe a continuous failure in the last three months, the
expected high sales with their unique product but the situation arises opposite to their
expectations. The major reason of failure is that many of their consumers are not satisfied with
purchase of Toenail clipper and they returned it along with customers also complaint about
products quality and found it useless. The report will present other business options, along with
its benefits (Dubey, 2019).
TASK
Background of case study's company and other contextual information
An enterprise named Original Creations is run by the owner Mary Shelly. This company
serve a range of lifestyle product in the market, its goods and services included range of rain
wear for cats and dogs, wishes card kits, air fresheners that are automatic, clothes dryers, blood
pressure machine, hair accessories and outdoor decorating light. Company does not produce
these products they first make a rough plan then presents its prototype and find other
manufacturing companies that can manufacture physical product with their idea and if Original
Creation is satisfied with the finished product then they sign a contract between both the firms at
suitable rates, quality and time. Enterprise has a lot of contracts with many manufacturers that
are based in UK and outside, some of them are in China. Original Creations often faces various
problems while communicating with manufacturers because of cultural difference, language
barriers and distance as well. Mary Shelley always looking for new and innovative ideas,

recently the company launches its new product that is toenail clipper but the whole management
is very disappointed with the results in market because product is not able to get desired place in
market.
Other business options that give in return the proper value of money
Weighted score card model: This is a scoring tool that businesses uses to identify the
comparative value among one or more business options or projects. It assists management in
ranking the different project in a sequence according to their potential such as level of risk
involved, return on investment and expenditure (Gupta, Kalra and Dutta, 2019).
Businesses Option: The idea of manufacturing toenail clippers is not bad, but any
business idea need proper planning, organizing and controlling to be successful that is missing
from the side of Original Creations. Toenail clipper is very useful product and it is rare that this
fails in the market because every single person needs this product. The company lacks in their
marketing and operations they did not frame proper strategies and also not perform market
research that's the big reason of their failure. They requires improvements in their peak areas
such as logistics, transportation, operations and facilities management. Foremost the company
needs to setup proper channel for improving communication among their whole system that rolls
around seniors to superiors to other companies that accomplish their ideas, barriers in
communication can cause a huge loss that could be seen here in the product quality, customers
receives defected goods even this happens because quality checkers did not analyse the quality of
product properly. Another reason of failure can be said is market research, businesses needs to
perform proper research of market before producing the final product, they needs to target their
market, conduct survey and analyse level of competition in market. This new venture idea is
good but it needs some modifications then it would be turn into a successful and sustainable
business option (Hardey, 2019).
Expected benefits from this business option
 It improves productivity with reduction in cost: The foremost objective of any project,
planning or business idea is to increase efficiency. It helps in maintaining an optimized
methodology for improving effectiveness and efficiency. Firstly, business needs to make
templates and procedures so that, risks can be automatically mitigated. Project plan
should includes timeline and breakdown structure, that breaks a big project into small
tasks and assigned all tasks to interested and capable individual that will ensures task

must be done with expertise along with defining tasks it also determines dependency,
resources available for completion of task and its due date.
 It focuses on improving collaborations: If every related aspect of project and
individuals within workplace knows clearly what exactly they have to do at a particular
point of time then managing the workforce become easy. Management can use project
management tools for keeping employees on track with their tasks and easy assigning of
task that will ensures no wastage of time. Defining the roles and responsibilities plays
crucial role in improving efficiency, superior needs to assess work done by their
subordinates on regular basis for eliminating errors and if any mistake found then team
member has time to improve it (Keseru, Coosemans and Macharis, 2019).
Expected dis-benefits from this business option
 It increases complexity: It is a very complex procedure due to multiple phases involve
in it, also few seniors also complicates the whole process be their way that create
confusion among whole team which leads to delay in delivery of that particular project.
Delay in delivery can also create situation that are rigid while planning that creates whole
environment within workplace stressful. Generally, projects or business options that have
a large scope would be more tough by their nature to accomplish, especially when the
team members are not solely dedicated towards functioning on the business option.
Individuals that work cross-functional might fall while performing daily tasks.
 Lack of creativity: It happens many a times, that in hurry of accomplishing the project
on time team members does not uses innovative ideas they just work on previous
methodologies. Team leader can only focuses on one thing either to deliver the project on
due dates or excessively look after management procedures, for that also they need to put
work pressure with strict parameters on other team members. It could discourage
innovation and hamper creativity thinking that could not be beneficial for project. It is
essential for manager to understand need of creativity along with following deadlines
strictly (Klucking, Toiv and Saul, 2022).
Timescales
 Gantt chart planner: A tool for project management that assists the management in
planning schedules of project according to their sizes, even though, these plans are
specifically useful in simplification of projects that are complex. Timescales in managing

the project can be transformed into horizontal bar chart that represents the due dates and
beginning date as well. Schedules and deadlines of different projects involves analysis of
completion of each phases in project management cycle that at how much the task is done
and what proportion is remaining. Gantt charts provides solution to managers to reduce
workload of team members.
 KANBAN task management: It is a board with visual ways for different tasks or
workflows, that utilizes the whole analog and digital boards with cards or columns. The
KANBAN board reflects small tasks and organized columns with those assignments
which are in progress or at development phases currently. It keeps record of only work
that has to be done or in progress with minimizing the tasks through management of
efficiency and effectiveness in tasks. It is a very simple board with ability to portray
practical method of project. Every column is a phase in project as this board provides
team members and managers an overview of project at glance (Wanner, Seier and
Proebstl-Haider, 2020).
Costs
 Project costs: The total amount of funds require to accomplish a particular project which
consists of direct and indirect cost. Cost which incurred during functioning of project are
the expenses that estimated to be occur and other monetary obligations that happens in
the completion of project that are listed within in baseline of project. For tracking project
cost management uses project cost accounting that keeps on maintaining reports on
expenses occur for equipments, labour cost, services and raw materials. It also included
cost incurred in construction that are different from general accounting. Project cost
accounting tracks all project expenses such as billing.
 Maintenance cost: It can be defined as recurring or one time cost that is occurred in
maintenance of company's facilities, equipments, vehicles and property. Some businesses
incur this cost for preventative and general maintenance which help management in
keeping their assets in better working condition. Organisations generally allocates a set of
funds as their maintenance funds. It is broadly classified into three categories that are
fixed costs, variable costs and semi variable costs. These costs helps businesses in
assessing their financial performance over the accounting period and also keeps track of
working order of company's fixed assets.

CONCLUSION
The purpose of the report is to provide solution of current problem of Original Creations
in their latest venture, hence conclusion can be drawn, that there is no default in the new product
idea but both the companies lack in terms of maintaining quality within final product. Firm that
manufactures toenail clipper needs to ensure better quality in all goods and ensures that all the
pieces of toenail clipper must reach customer in right manner. Original Creations needs to
perform market research before launching product in market.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Chou, Y.K., 2019. Actionable gamification: Beyond points, badges, and leaderboards. Packt
Publishing Ltd.
Dubey, J.K., 2019. Strategic marketing plan of library and information services and products for
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Technology, 8(2), pp.54-68.
Gupta, Y., Kalra, S. and Dutta, D., 2019. Factors determining the success of therapeutic lifestyle
interventions in diabetes–Role of partner and family support. European
endocrinology, 15(1), p.18.
Hardey, M., 2019. On the body of the consumer: performance‐seeking with wearables and health
and fitness apps. Sociology of Health & Illness, 41(6), pp.991-1004.
Keseru, I., Coosemans, T. and Macharis, C., 2019. Building scenarios for the future of transport
in Europe: The Mobility4EU approach. In Towards user-centric transport in Europe (pp.
15-30). Springer, Cham.
Klucking, S., Toiv, N. and Saul, J., 2022. From policy to practice: uptake of pre-exposure
prophylaxis among adolescent girls and young women in United States President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief-supported countries, 2017–2020. AIDS, 36(1),
pp.S15-S26.
Wanner, A., Seier, G. and Proebstl-Haider, U., 2020. Policies related to sustainable tourism–An
assessment and comparison of European policies, frameworks and plans. Journal of
Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 29, p.100275.