Consulting article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Consulting article - Essay ExampleCertainly, most people do not really require hand held internet access, video camera and telephone in the same device. However, communications within a company requires compatibility. In the case of communications, providing compatible hardware is more important than upgrading. Technology win over generally would not be a vital factor in the decision to upgrade unless a specific act requiring the upgrade became available. Health diagnostic equipment is high cost and regulated on a need primer. The desire to expand a hospital by adding 50 beds to meet a wellness demand may occur years before a Certificate of Need (CON) process is completed. The anticipated technology incorporated in the certificate application may be functionally antiquated. Technology may eliminate the need for the beds. So, when management collects data to assess the decision in-house, they must anticipate future developments or their time willing be wasted lobbying for an irr elevant castrate. The environmental remediation regulations are both pliable and rigid. Brownfield sites are judged on a risk assessed basis to encourage redevelopment of contaminated sites. The building may be restricted to industrial usage only, or perhaps residential with no basements. The increased allowable limits of contamination are attained at less cost than full compliance remediation. Once the site is cleared for redevelopment, utilities are installed. However, now instead of environmental Protection Administration (EPA) regulations, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations cover workers in trenches cut from contaminated soil. OSHA may require breathing apparatus and durability clothing to work in a hydrocarbon rich environment. Worker safety and health regulations are much more rigid. The soil cuttings may be useless on the site, but removal is complicated since the increased, compromised, level of contamination is greater than landfills can re ceive. The cost of disposal increases. Management requires a broader view of Brownfield development in this scenario because future costs and inconvenience may outweigh the initial savings. Time and application change the regulations regarding levels of contamination, and therefore, the company bottom line. In these three examples, technology, regulations and consumer demand change with time and the application of technology. Prudent business manages to the balance sheet and the income statement. In the first scenario, with telecommunications devices, forecasting technological change is relatively accurate and simple. Poor decisions do not dissemble the bottom line too badly, and overcoming the poor decision is not difficult. In the latter scenarios, poor decisions complicate operations and negatively affect the bottom line. And unfortunately, forecasting change is difficult. The health care system problem resolves when management hindcasts technological change. Using the hospital bed example, management needs to play at two past trends. Population growth and bed utilization data in the service area for the past ten years will show a trend comparing supply and demand. When service area population increases, bed utilization should increase if the number of beds remains constant, unless technology reduces in-hospital stays. So, the graceful statistic is rate of bed utilization per 1000 people. If this number is decreasing faster than the population increa