Case Hazel

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- The town is considering an ordinance that would prohibit putting grass clippings at the curb for pick up because local landfills cannot handle the volume. What options might Hazel consider if the ordinance is passed? Name two advantages and two drawbacks of each options.

In the case if the ordinance get passed, there are two options Hazel may need to think.

First, she can open an additional services of collecting and recycling grass.

- Advantages: Hazel can gain additional incomes besides her main income from the business of mowing lawns. Besides, with recycling, they can use the products of recycle process to create another stream of products used for their main business.

- Disadvantages: The cost for collecting and recycling is high, while the probability of profits is still uncertain. Moreover, this process seems to be very time-consuming, which result inefficiently.

Second, Hazel can think for using another type of grass, which is artificial grass.

- Advantages: It can be considered as a new type of service lines, so the services expand and earn additional profits. Furthermore, Hazel does not need to think about how to solve with the problem of grass clipping anymore.

- Disadvantages: With artificial grass, some customers do not need the mowing lawns service, so the main business of Hazel is affected strongly. Additionally, artificial grass can be used for a long time, so it is difficult for Hazel to set up a good relationship with customers periodically.

- Hazel decided to offer the students who worked for her a bonus of $25 for ideas on how to improve the business, and they provided several good ideas. One idea that she initially rejected now appears to hold great promise. The student who proposed the idea has left, and is currently working for a competitor. Should Hazel send that student a check for the idea? What are the possible trade-offs?

In my opinion, Hazel should not send the student a check for the idea. The reason for that is because this student and even his/ her idea now belong to the competitor. Despite the great promise the idea can bring back to her business, Hazel should not consider to use it.

Besides, about the possible trade-offs, Hazel now lose a great idea to the hand of her competitor, and it is also the loose of the student, who seems to be a good supporter for providing ideas. But there are many new ideas waiting for her to make profits for her services, and she can try to focus on new ideas rather than just thinking about the old student’s idea.

- All managers have to cope with variation.

- What are the major sources of variation that Hazel has to contend with?

From my point of view, it is true that all managers have to cope with variation, and it is the same for Hazel. There are three major sources of variation Hazel need to contend with. They are the quality of services Hazel give to customers, the affordability of her services, and finally, it is the variation of credibility.

- How might these sources of variation impact Hazel’s ability to match supply and demand?

With the impacts of these types of variation, Hazel have to deal with the process of determining the quantity of supply she needs to have in order to match with the demand from her business. In some cases, the impacts from these three sources make Hazel cannot have a good forecast for the output her services can afford compared to the real demand of the market.

- What are some ways she can cope with variation?

There are several ways Hazel can do to avoid the issue of variation. For instance, she needs to improve the quality of her services, so the quality factor can be solved. Besides, the problems from credibility and affordability can receive the effects from the increase in quality. Or she can develop new ideas to her business, so based on that, Hazel can know better about the situation between her services and the market.

- Hazel is thinking of making some of her operations sustainable. What are some ideas she might consider?

To make her business run sustainably, it is important for Hazel to increase the efficiency of her services. Hence, she can maximize her profits. Besides, it is also crucial to hold the relationship with customers. With a good relationship, Hazel will not need to spend too much time and money looking for new customers, and these customers will play a significant role in her business. Moreover, Hazel can also think about several complement services related to mowing lawns to expand her business. With this strategy, the ability of sustainable growth can be enhanced quickly.

Revisiting Hazel

- What competitive advantage does Hazel have over a professional lawn care service?

Compared to the professional lawn care service, the service provided by Hazel has several competitive advantages.

First, it is the customer relationship. Hazel started her business with helping her neighbors’ gardens, and from that, she expanded her services. So it is clear to see Hazel built up her channel of customers through her neighbors. By that way, in comparison with similar professional services, Hazel has a better customer relationship and credibility.

Second, price can be another competitive advantage for Hazel’s service. It seems that her service does not need advertising like professional services when people come to ask her to mow lawns for them. Besides, Hazel only hired part-time workers, which can save cost compared to using full-time workers like professional services.

Third, because most of her customers are neighbors, she can quickly does the service compared to similar professional services. It tends to be easier for her to locate the destination to go compared to professional services.

- Hazel would like to increase her profits, but she doesn’t believe that it would be wise to raise her prices considering the current state of the local economy. Instead, she has given some thought to increasing productivity.

- Explain how increased productivity could be an alternative to increased prices.

Increasing the price may lead to the higher price than market price. So it tends to result in a negative effect for the service of Hazel. However, based on the theory of microeconomics, increase