Business & Innovations

This paper seeks to help spouses Eric and Mary of EMR Innovations to decide whether to move forward with the manufacture and marketing of the Lock-Awn product or choose another option given the present conditions of the owners and environment. 2. Analysis and Discussion To decide what to choose as course of action, owners Eric and Mary should consider the advantages to be outweighing disadvantages of each option and that the desired objective in making the decision should be capable of being realized.

Each possible option is therefore discussed below with the advantages and the disadvantages of each. 2. 1 Option One: The spouses decide to manufacture and market the Lock-Awn product Since the EMR Innovation is a just an idea for Eric and Mary, entering into the manufacture and marketing of Lock-Awn product without prior experience on manufacturing would indeed be a serious decision to make. There are advantages to proceed as follows: First, the owners would be doing what they would like to do as RVers given their love for the business.

Before trying manufacture and sale of product related to RV, the owners had their repair business in RV industry, which allowed them to expand their interest that would give them new kinds of challenges and happiness. Case facts further provide that while their youngest child had started kindergarten, Mary found herself with more time to devote beginning EMR Innovations while Eric would be capitalizing on his abilities as one who understands the products needed related to RV based on experience. Thus, Eric and Mary knew about the RV business and they can use what they had learned from their repair business.

Their feeling the challenged by all of the details necessary to develop, manufacture, and sell the new product would be a great motivator to lead them to success. Although Mary admitted about their limited knowledge and experience about operating a business, she was aware that they have “common sense, a strong work ethic, and the desire to succeed”. Second, they have the chance to earning big profits to increase their wealth because of the good expected demand for the proposed product. As per case facts, external and internal environments of the business are working in their favor.

Externally, the economic forecast for the RV industry was favorable to the spouses based on renewed domestic ground travel in the US, which caused more people to take driving vacations than ever before. They could bank from aging baby boomers that are believed to have greater buying power compared to other groups. Internally, Eric and Mary have the best product that would be suited to the need of the market as studied by Eric. The spouses have faith that the proposed product would address the present concerns for RVers.

Eric knows it because of its business of repairing products in the industry and his interactions with many RVers as the spouses are lovers of the RV themselves. Third, they have financial capability to do the proposed business. A local bank is willing to provide their cash need for $200,000 to proceed with the business, which the spouses can pay in two years. Fourth, the product manufacture appears to be the easier way to expand business based on the experience form the industry where the need more repair is preferred.

Case facts provide that more than simple majority of RV owners purchased a previously owned vehicle and that RV owners tended to keep their RVs a long time as about 25 percent owned their RVs for 10 or more years and that the average age of RVs when purchased was 11. 6 years. Providing them the related product as proposed would be consistent with customer behavior on RV. The disadvantages of this option include the risks of failure in the business due to lack of experience in the manufacture of sale of the innovative product and to the lack of formal training about business management of this type.

Case facts state that neither Eric nor Mary, who are now in their mid-30s, had attended college or taken business course. Being high schools sweethearts, they had married and started their family when they were young with Eric trained and worked as a mechanic while being supported by Mary who stayed at home while by doing bookkeeping responsibilities for their repair business. 2. 2 Option Two. Just maintain present repair business and hold the plan to manufacture for some future time.

The alternative of the company is to maintain their present occupation or repair business without making investment in new product. One advantage would be to avoid the risks in dealing with new type of business that may be caused due to lack of experience, education and training in business. Second, the spouses would be concentrating on what they have done best during the years since 1995. As stated earlier the industry would appear to support the repair business as RV owners would keep their vehicles long enough to be maintained by periodic or occasional repairs.

The disadvantages would include forfeiting a great chance to evolve new form of business that offers good challenges and that not doing what they believe to be right would amount to failure to respond to the growing needs of the industry. 2. 3 Option 3: To Sell the present business by engaging in another business. This option appears less profitable considering that there is no sign that the spouses are losing money with their present business. One advantage is to avoid the risks that go with manufacturing business due to errors in properly forecasting the demand.

Another one is having the chance of just depositing their money in the bank and earning something while not doing anything. The disadvantages include lack clear and better option to use the money from the proceeds of sale because of the absence of interest rates that would be afforded the spouses to decide clearly. Based on the present of the status of the economy, putting the money in the bank would be less encouraging because of very low interest rates. Moreover, the spouses Eric and Mary are still young of contemplating retirement hence; this option may be least preferable.

3. Conclusion. This paper finds that proceeding with the manufacture and sale of the proposed Lock-Awn product to be the best option now for the spouses because the advantages appear to outweigh the disadvantages as presented. Moreover, the case facts appear to reveal only a major problem in marketing the product. Thus it could reasonably estimated that there is demand for the company’s product based on the product analysis made by Eric and according to positive information about the RV industry which supports for the continued demand for many products related to RV.

Eric and Mary may lack experience in the manufacture and sell of the product but their prior business experience in the repair business could be a good foundation to evolve into manufacturing business. Since they have common sense and good work ethic, and love for the RV, this researcher believes that they can be successful to face the new challenges for the proposed product for EMR Innovations. This means increasing their wealth and more enjoyment from the challenges and opportunities in the RV industry.

Their having made investment about the product and their financial capability to engaged in EMR Innovations while not affecting their repair business that sustains their present lifestyle could serve a good assurance that they could not lose too much when do they choose the option to produce and sell the proposed product.

Reference:

Palan, K (2007). – Case Study on EMR Innovations, Case Research Journal