Uphere Smart Lights: Business and Engineering Integration Report

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report details the business plan for Uphere Smart Lights.

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING
PRACTICES
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3
BUSINESS OVERVIEW.....................................................................................................................4
COMPANY NAME.................................................................................................................4
COMPANY DESCRIPTION......................................................................................................4
COMPANY’S MISSION, VISION AND VALUES........................................................................4
TARGET MARKET AND COMPETITIVE EDGE..........................................................................5
ROLE IN SOCIETY............................................................................................................................ 6
LAWS AND THEIR ADHERENCE.......................................................................................................7
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE..........................................................................................................9
LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT................................................................................................11
BUSINESS ETHICS......................................................................................................................... 12
MAORI CULTURAL CONCEPTS......................................................................................................13
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 14
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................15
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INTRODUCTION
Engineering is a way of applying and addressing solutions and answers to a problem in a
practical and real world situation with a mixed approaching of logic, critical analysis and a
strong moral framework. Engineering is not limited to just solving problems, but it is the field
where one also finds a problem in a what appears to be a perfectly working instrument and
keep on increasing its performance and efficiency. This report will conduct similar attempt in
creating a coexisting business and engineering environment for a newly established company
called “Uphere Smart Lights” which makes LED bulbs integrated with smart sensors to give a
creative, economic and more comfortable lighting experience to people. In the process, a whole
business plan will be generated for this company with an analysis of its business culture and
environment, organisational structure, leadership and management and business ethics
involved. The aim will be to understand and signify how engineering environment and approach
work in business development tasks.
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BUSINESS OVERVIEW
COMPANY NAME
The company name will be “Uphere Smart Lights” and company slogan will be “A wise light
falling for intelligence”.
COMPANY DESCRIPTION
The research and development team of “Uphere Smart Lights” has created a light bulb for
smart home or similar AI governed home lighting systems in which the conventional LED bulb
with high efficiency will be integrated with smart sensors. The work of these smart sensors will
be to maintain the intensity of light in a room by measuring and accordingly adjusting to natural
light in the room. The LED lighting system will be embedded with a specific high end and cutting
edge optical sensors which are able to measure natural light efficiently and with the help of
integrated microprocessor, the system will calculate power variation needed to maintain a
user-friendly and optimum brightness in the room. This system will not only give pleasing and
comfortable lighting experience but also save electricity consumption which will be governed
by distinctly in-house developed high efficiency LED bulbs.
COMPANY’S MISSION, VISION AND VALUES
OUR MISSION: As our slogan says, our mission is to create and provide a smart and wise lighting
system for intelligent people with pragmatic choices. We aim to create an environment where
smart technology, physical comfort and environmental sustainability work hand in hand.
OUR VISION: We have the vision to provide a smart lighting system which also lights future of
smart home and invites artificial intelligence and similar advanced technology with open arms
in your home.
OUR CORE VALUES:
 We believe in keeping pace with future and from there we try to get a step ahead of it
while others are still trying to align themselves in its direction.
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 We seek to oblige with current technological trends and promise to create technology
which supports and embraces such trends along with every ethical consideration from
an environmental perspective.
TARGET MARKET AND COMPETITIVE EDGE
Our target market will be every home and office in the country and then throughout the world
which is currently using LED technology frequently and are ready for the next step in the future
of LED lighting. We will start at the UK and all its commercial offices and institutions where a
demonstration of technological advancements gives an upper hand in their business
environment and customer relation. Every place which embraces sensor based smartness in
instruments and equipment will be our prime targets.
Our competitive edge will be the agility, high performance and durability of our products. We
have a patented technology in sensors which have significantly less response time than the
most advanced sensor currently available in the market. Our product will efficiently work and
remain compatible with AI smart home by Google and other major brands and can be
controlled and operated with a mobile application. Over that, our LED bulbs are among the
highest efficient and bright series of products available in the market.
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ROLE IN SOCIETY
The recent increased demand in the LED lighting system has resulted in the establishment of a
number of companies manufacturing the LED bulb with the already available and common
technology. With the advent of application of artificial intelligence in common household
devices and a concept of the Internet of Things has led a significant advancement in
conventional operations of domestic lighting and other electrical instruments (Sezen &
Çankaya, 2013). As this advancement is catching speed, there will be need of these same
electrical devices with the capability and compatibility of connectivity and working in a
concerted system. However, the role of the company in the welfare of society is much different
and have a multitude of aspects. Some of the basic roles of the company which may be
discussed in favour of society are:
 We are ambitious in creating an eco-friendly technology and our paramount is efficiency
and performance in our product range.
 We will provide LED technology to every corner of the country where people may still be
using conventional and less efficient lighting devices in the affordable price range.
 We seek to inbuilt three elements of uniqueness dedicated, innovative and agile in our
products and with that, we are firm in our promise to deliver new and cutting edge
technology at your doorstep faster than ever.
 We accept the responsibility of environmental nurturing and will create or every
product with the same regards.
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LAWS AND THEIR ADHERENCE
Business and engineering laws are a crucial matter of concerns while planning a product based
business. The state has prescribed and well-explained law framework to behold by every
company. These laws include regulations and acts regarding the safety and security of customer
and employees while dealing with or using the product, information safety act, quality
assurance standards, product labelling laws, employee benefits and welfare-related laws, act of
company structure and partnership, taxation related acts etc. in this section the discussion will
be primarily focused on laws for expenses and benefits for employers and product labelling
acts.
EXPENSES AND BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYER: If a company provides expenses and benefits to its
employees or directors, it will need to convey the informative summary to HM Revenue and
Customs (HMRC) and accordingly pay tax and National Insurance. This law also has penalties
statements in case of not paying required taxes and over claiming tax reliefs.
Examples of expenses and benefits include company cars, health insurance, childcare and travel
and entertainment expenses. In the process, at the end of the year, the company will need to
submit P11D form to the concerned department (UK Government, 2019).
The company is committed to providing all the necessary benefits to its employees and
directors and for that, it'll have a legal team to deal with all such acts and forms submission.
PRODUCT LEBALLING LAWS: These laws are there to maintain exactness of public claims
regarding the functionality and durability of any product in the market. According to the law
overview, a product may not have all the details labelled on it regarding its functionality or any
related claim but if it does, it must be exact and true to its claims (UK Government, 2019). The
label on the company's product must not be misleading about:
 The price of the product, i.e., no hidden charges
 Constituents of product, as in Materials used.
 Manufacturing location and process.
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 The functionality offered and claimed
 The promotional activities and people and organisations involved in it.
The company, Uphere Smart Lights will ensure not to have any misleading details on its cover.
The major point of sale regarding the product is its uniqueness and performance which is well
tested and measured on the standard quality framework. Also, the company will try every
measure in its power to keep the price of the product as low as possible. After the successful
establishment of manufacturing and assembly facility, the company will invite the ISO quality
standard certifications team and other local quality frameworks to ensure that the product
quality and manufacturing environment is better than standard expectations.
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ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
The organisational culture of any company is comprised of its shared values and its unique work
ethics upheld and embraced by its people and functions. The basic framework of organisational
culture is created by the establishment of an efficient channel of communication among
different functions and people involved and strict adherence to the organisational code of
conduct and ethics. For the development of enhanced work culture, it will have to consider
some inherent elements of organisational culture which are prominent to its performance
(Alvesson, 2012). These elements are:
PURPOSE OR MISSION OF THE ORGANISATION: As discussed earlier, the mission of Uphere
Smart Lights will be to provide soothing and pleasant lighting experience to people who choose
smart lighting and decide to go a step ahead from conventional LED bulbs. A highly to the point
awareness of company’s mission helps its employees keeping their valuable regards in that
perspective.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: This is the key to create an active and interactive environment
within the company. An effective channel of communication helps in creating interconnectivity
among different function so that they could resolve their issues with concerted efforts
improving the overall productivity of the company (Büschgens et al., 2013). Up here Smart
Lights will conduct a number of activities such as conference, functions, cultural event
throughout the year to create connections between its own people.
COMMUNITY: There will be a number of people from the different community and ethnic
background will be working in the company so proper addressing to the working needs and a
cultural understanding will be needed in place within the company which will be achieved with
well-analysed HR policies.
GOOD LEADERSHIP: Good leadership is the primary necessity of an organisation and Uphere
Smart Lights will spend considerable time and resources in finding the best leadership for the
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company. The major task of the leadership will be to keep the employees with differences
together and aligned with organisational goal.
OWNERSHIP: This is another great element to build a nurturing working culture. The concept
behind ownership is to ensure the involvement of employees in an organisational decision
which may directly affect their lives. It’s about providing people with the opportunity to think
and decide for their own good and recognising their effort in the company's values.
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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
Leadership is a concept utilised by people with professional and personal responsibilities higher
than other people within the organisation. These responsibilities involve creating a vision for
company’s future, implement innovative and strategic plans and ideas to work step by step in
the vision’s direction and helping others in every step of the way while improving own personal
skills. There are three major aspects of leadership conduct in an organisation, these are,
leadership traits, skills and styles. Leadership traits are developed and are inherent, leadership
skills are learned and practices and leadership style is adopted and maintained.
Leadership styles are commonly considered of three types, the Authoritarian leadership style
where the leader takes all the decision regarding its people and functions, Democratic
leadership style where leaders allow its team member to give their suggestions and ensures
their involvement in leadership activities. The third style is called Laissez-Faire leadership which
is a passive style of leadership and in it, every leadership decision is completely dependent of its
team members and their views about it.
The leadership style adopted by Uphere Smart Lights will be Democratic leadership style and it
will ensure that a decision has been refined with the suggestion of every team member and an
employee using their fresh perspectives. The company will conduct regular and special
meetings in order to record such suggestions and will comply with leadership judgement based
on those suggestions.
Similarly, management style employed for organisational operations will be a mix of
administrative and democratic style. The reason behind selecting this approach is that a large
number of operations performed within the company will be highly technical and it won’t be
possible to get relevant views on such issues from everyone.
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BUSINESS ETHICS
Business or corporate ethics are identified with morals and attitude with which a business
problem is addressed. Business ethics of a company together with its employee’s behaviour
with customers, sketch the public image of it (Dion, 2017). In general business ethics are
oriented to some cause, may be related to environmental challenges or any social issue
whichever is closely related to business operations. Origin of business ethics can be found
rooted in old religious and philosophical beliefs within a community, and still, they are
considered contemporary business standards and a set of values (Jansen, 2017).
A core understanding of business ethics can be summarized as this question, after achieving its
all financial goals and other objectives, do a business cares or feel responsible for the society
around it? A positive response to this question will need a framework build with strong
principles and values which are dedicated for social and environmental welfare together with
organisational goals and objectives, also known as sustainable development (Nicholas & Steyn,
2017). Uphere Smart Lights will be a new entrant in the market and will be obliged to obey
structural and cultural norms of the market on certain standards and with time it will develop
its own organisational cultural values and ethics.
The company has its foundation based on different environmental concerns regarding power
generation and consumption. The above-mentioned vision and values can be used to create an
understanding of business ethics of Uphere Smart Lights.
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