Introduction to Management Essay Example for Free

Prologue to Management Essay Panera bread Ronald Shaich, CEO and seat man of Panera bread made an extraordinary development in income of the organization from $350.8 million to $ 977.1 million in only 3 years from year 2000 to 2003. Anyway the development has kept easing back down from that year on so a system is being planned to help Panera Bread endure. The goal is to make Panera a broadly overwhelming brand by following a corporate technique of development by the mix of organization and establishment endeavors. With a reasonable target it would support the organization and its staff to know their objective and what they are accomplishing for. The idea is to convey against the key buyer patterns; to introduce a quick easygoing feasting experience yet additionally giving assortments of new and more advantageous menus to provide food for the market portions. Upgrades are done the item as well as improving the general working frameworks, plan and genuine homes. For the company’s picture taking an interest in the nearby network foundation for corporate social duty. See more: presentation section model The arrangements are all franchisees are to adhere to similar norms for item quality, menu, site determination, and pastry shop cafã © development as the company’s. The organization accepted that the representative was a basic piece of fruitful item and a one of a kind organization so by entrusting the workers to the new mixture and bolster focus activities with gifted partners and put resources into preparing projects to guarantee the quality and its tasks. Suggested procedure Panera is to embrace Growth procedure through flat joining and utilizing diversifying as its key segment to Panera’s development technique. The explanation behind proceeding with the flat coordination is on the grounds that doesn't have the abilities to utilize full in reverse/forward mix. In this way vertical reconciliation isn't reasonable for this situation. The flat joining matches with the Panera’s idea bread kitchen bistros and it is the path for Panera to have the option to develop all the more quickly. Serious system utilized is Differentiation, utilizing the Differentiation methodology; Panera will have the option to charge more significant expenses to take care of the expanding fixed expenses. Anyway with greater items than of cheap food chains’, customized menus, upscale dã ©cor and Panera’s promise to client it is truly conceivable to charge more significant expense. Upgrades ought to be made in the Human Resource office in pay benefits framework. Salaried staffs get item markdown, rewards, motivating force projects, preparing, and representative stock possession designs anyway salaried specialist ought to be compensated too through acknowledgment grant framework or giving out vouchers to the non salaried laborers. Supervisory group The supervisory group would be lead by all the officials and presidents in the organization who has and broad involvement with overseeing and executing the Panera business. For the most part to deal with all the significant divisions like the Concept, Development, Joint Venture, Franchise, Supply Chain, Operating, Financial and the Administrative. II. Organization BACKGROUND Panera bread has been around from 1976. Ronald Shaich, CEO and administrator of Panera bread was the individual who made the organization along with the ace cook called Shaich who consolidated fixings. The couple made the wonderful development of the organization with the direction of Shaich, the income of Panera bread rose from establishment of 419 shops, the normal annualized unit volumes (AUVs) expanded from 9.1% to 12% a well yet in the back to back year the expansion delayed down from 0.2% to 0.5%. Before it turned into an exceptionally effective organization, there was Au Bon Pain which was bought by Louis Kane in 1978. The bread shop confronted a $3 million under water while battling with 13 stores however 10 was closed down. Ronald Shaich came into the image when Kane was going to announce bankrupt. Shaich who claimed a pastry kitchen: Cookie Jar combined with Au Bon Pain in 1981 these was to help the sell in the first part of the day. The two extended the business and diminished the obligation somewhere in the range of 1981 and 1984. In 1985 Au Bon Pain turned into a spot for urban society who were worn out on inexpensive food. By 1991 Kane and Shaich took the organization open and had 200 stores and $183 million in deals. The pair kept extending by purchasing over St. Louis Bread Company from Ken Rosenthal, which had 19-store pastry shop cafã © in St. Louis territory. While Au Bon Pain was concentrating on making St. Louis bread a national brand the extension of the urban outlet had operational issues and had an obligation of $65 million. Lacking of capital they sold Au Bon Pain and focused on Panera, which the name that was change to in May 16, 1999, being sans obligation the money permitted development of the bread kitchen bistro stores. III. CURRENT SITUATION III.A. CURRENT PERFORMANCE Panera has been encountering fast development under the authority of Ronald Shaich. Under his direction, Panera ‘s all out framework wide income rose from $350.8 million to $ 977.1 million in only 3 years from year 2000 to 2003 individually. This fast development is brought about by the new unit extension of 419 bread kitchen bistros from 1999 to 2003. Anyway as the year cruised by, the company’s framework wide deals normal annualized unit volumes started to decay. The development rate has eases back down for Panera. To keep developing, Panera should grow new methodologies, activities and new unit development. There are 2 classes of Common Stock proprietorship in the organization: (1). Class A Stock with 28,345,754 offers exceptional and 1 vote for each offer. (2) Class B Stock with 1,761,521 offers exceptional and 3 votes for each offer. The company’s incomes were gotten from organization possessed bread shop cafã © deals, new batter deals to franchisees, and establishment sovereignties expenses. The all out organization incomes rose 28.1% to $355.9million in 2003 contrasted with $ 277.8 million of every 2002. The expansion in income was because of the opening of 131 new bread kitchen bistros in 2003. From 2002 to 2003 the bread kitchen cafã © deals has expanded by 25.1% from $212.6 million to $265.9 million. This is because of a full year’s activity of 23 organization possessed bread kitchen bistros made in 2002, the opening of 29 organization claimed pastry shop bistros in 2003, and the 1.7% expansion in similar pastry kitchen cafã © deals for 2003. III.B. Vital POSTURE †¢ Mission proclamation 1. To broaden its establishment relationship past its present establishments. 2. To doing the best bread In America 3. Panera’s idea was structured around addressing the requirements and wants of buyers, uncommonly the requirement for proficient, efficient help and the longing for a top notch feasting experience. †¢ Objectives 1. To make Panera a broadly predominant brand. †¢ Strategy 1. The idea is to convey against the key purchaser patterns, to introduce a quick easygoing feasting experience. 2. Following a corporate methodology of development by the blend of organization and establishment endeavors. 3. Giving assortments of new and more beneficial menus to provide food for the market sections. 4. Testing models for item improvement. 5. Improving the general working frameworks, plan and land. 6. Taking an interest in the neighborhood network noble cause.

Network, Networked Publics and Web 2.0

System, Networked Publics and Web 2.0 Presentation In the previous barely any decades there have been emotional and quick changes that have been seen in the telecom and media businesses. This is because of interchange between different factors in the business. One of the significant explanations behind this sensational and fast change is the intricate system courses and PCs associated through different physical and remote links.Advertising We will compose a custom article test on Network, Networked Publics and Web 2.0 explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More It has prompted the development of what numerous researchers allude to as the arranged publics. This particular kind of crowd is portrayed by association between individuals who are miles separated. Such associations have additionally prompted the development of versatile correspondence devices. Contraptions, for example, telephones, PCs and such others are fundamental to the vast majority around the globe today. An expansion in the quantity of social d estinations, for example, Face Book, Twitter, eBuddy, 2Go and such others is apparent today. This type of (correspondence by means of online networking) is utilized by numerous individuals including political fat cats, famous people and enormous partnerships and organizations. For instance, it is noticed that most government officials stay in contact with their constituents by means of Face Book and Twitter. The equivalent applies to big names and business pioneers in contemporary world. This is particularly so if the communicator is focusing on individuals from the young constituent. Social trade is these days adding to the development of altered systems. In this paper, the creator will characterize arrange and the organized publics that encourage this pattern. The creator is likewise going to survey the effect of web 2.0 based destinations. Meanings of Scale Free Network and Related Terms Various researchers have characterized the idea ‘network’ differently. The vario us definitions rely upon the way of thinking of the researcher and their scholarly direction. For instance, Barabasi (2004) characterizes a system as â€Å"..an calculation that produces arbitrary scale free charts that have non-unimportant topology highlights and uses an appended special mechanism† (p. 45). Systems are effectively recognizable in different common and human-made frameworks that incorporate the web, interpersonal organizations and the World Wide Web (Barabasi Reka 1999). This sort of system is likewise alluded to by different researchers as unpredictable system. It is characterized into two general categories.Advertising Looking for article on correspondences media? We should check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These are sans scale and little world systems (Bruns 2008). A scale free system is described by power law degree conveyances and grouping of coefficients. Barabsi-Albert’s model produces the sans scale a nd little world systems which consolidate development and special connections. A system is supposed to be sans scale when the level of circulation of a hub is chosen consistently and at arbitrary from various connections based on the force law. At this point it is imperative to distinguish what a hub is and how it identifies with the PC and the subsequent system. As indicated by Barabasi Bonabeau (2003), a hub can be conceptualized as a gadget connected to a PC arrange or different systems that guide in correspondence. The point of such a gadget is to fill in as a connection when enacted. It is noticed that on occasion, the quantity of hubs in a system is probably going to increment. Development is a term utilized when the quantity of hubs in a system increments after some time. Then again, particular connection is a term utilized when the quantity of hubs associated and are well on the way to get new connections. Force law on its part is a term used to represent the scientific conn ection between two amounts that differ in recurrence of an occasion (Barabasi Reka 1999). As per Barabasi Reka (1999), hubs with a more powerful law degree have a more grounded capacity to get to joins that are included a given system. Special connection (which is the one regularly utilized in internet based life) is the capacity of an outside hub to get to a current center of connections or page (Habermas 2002). The likelihood of one arbitrarily picking or choosing a current connection over others and choosing a specific page would be relative to the force law level of the hub. Particular connection is regularly utilized in web index destinations, for example, Google, Yahoo and Wikipedia (Habermas 2002). The Concept of ‘Network’ According to Barabsi-Albert When talking about system with regards to Barabasi and his contentions, it ought to be noticed that this creator is making reference to scale free system. This is the type of system that is generally refered to or ut ilized by Barabasi.Advertising We will compose a custom article test on Network, Networked Publics and Web 2.0 explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More Scale free system (or what is additionally alluded to as genuine system) is directed into two generics. To this end, it is noticed that huge systems are sans scale since their level of circulation adheres to control laws. They vary with different systems which have an exponential tail because of their degree deviation. Their degree altogether goes amiss from a Poisson conveyance (Barabasi Bonabeau 2003). Such an open system displays the development include as examined before in this paper. A system begins from a nodular core from where it is arbitrarily associated or reworked without changes. This single hub is noted to increment in number all through the lifetime of the system by ensuing expansion of new hubs. This is for instance the exponential development of an internet because of expansion of new website pages or w riting distributions. Sans scale arranges likewise show special connection. As prior talked about in this paper, the likelihood two hubs which are associated are autonomous of the node’s degree. This implies a website page will almost certain incorporate hyperlinks to mainstream records with effectively high degrees on the grounds that such exceptionally associated archives are anything but difficult to track down by the client and therefore in the open space and notable (Barabasi 2004, p. 71). This system functions admirably when there is a normal way length of an irregular chart with a similar size and normal degree and there is a relationship that grows unexpectedly between the associated hubs. There ought to bunch of coefficients just as synchronous and constant unearthly densities. Thusly development and special connection assumes a significant job in organize improvement in view of the force law degree conveyance. One of the significant impediments of model An is that e xponential characters of dispersions typically show the nonappearance of particular connection subsequently disposing of the scale free character of the subsequent system. This is because of the reliance of logarithmic time. This means that the wastefulness of development alone to deliver a scale free structure.Advertising Searching for paper on interchanges media? How about we check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Find out More At the point when a hub is chosen haphazardly in model B and associated with or connected with another hub in the framework, there is disposal of the development procedure. Accordingly, it is noticed that during the system advancement the hubs are mostly steady and there is the detachment of development. This additionally delivers a wasteful scale free structure which exclusively relies upon particular connection. Accordingly, the connection among's development and special development is significant to deliver the fixed and stable forces of web 2.0 locales incorporate web journals, wiki facilitated administrations, video sharing destinations and informal communication locales, for example, My Space, Facebook and some more (Varnelis 2008). How Web 2.0 Creates a Networked Public Web 2.0 furnishes clients with UI and they profit by its dynamic substance, metadata, versatility and direct investment. Aggregate knowledge and opportunity to contribute are different advantages that are relat ed with the turns of events. Clients can discover any type of data by basically composing a catchphrase. The clients are associated with significant data utilizing the web. They are likewise ready to make and update substance and download programming. The creator is presently going to survey how Web 2.0 gives a space to making arranged publics mirroring the most utilized interpersonal organizations. These are locales, for example, Facebook (Willinger et al. 2009). Interpersonal organizations permit individuals to be in contact with those in their group of friends. This regularly begins with a solicitation to make an individual record. From their own record pages, clients can welcome their associates to become â€Å"friends† and can send messages and substance, for example, writings, video, pictures and sound to their system of companions. On Facebook, the modalities of trade among companions are amazingly differed. This is from reports that consequently permit clients to thin k about the Facebook exercises of their companions during private, (for example, email highlights) and open, (for example, â€Å"wall†-to-â€Å"wall† posts) content trade. Besides, one’s system can be stretched out through solicitations to â€Å"friends† as well as through turning out to be, for example, an enthusiast of an open figure, political reason or a TV arrangement. This is notwithstanding the making of and pursuing occasions and gatherings. Governmental issues The ascent of informal organizations has empowered clients to standard, keep up and fabricate social ties. This is notwithstanding captivating in conversation on open issues and restoring open cooperation in open undertakings. For example political activism and upset in Egypt in 2010 began in the web 2.0 foundation of Facebook. The sharing of this data between different people

Overcoming Physical Challenges :: Personal Narrative Essays

Defeating Physical Challenges  I'm 17-years of age and I have an inclination that I'm about twice my age. I have had an odd youth and have experienced a great deal. The explanation is because of a few ailments I have. I incline toward calling them physical difficulties instead of impairments or anything like that.  I would need to state this all began when I was 11-years of age. My legs just began giving me inconvenience. I was experiencing a great deal of difficulty doing my moving and mallet classes on the grounds that my knees continued feeling like they were jumping out. I overlooked it for some time, however in the long run it came to be excessively so I needed to go see a specialist. After my test, my primary care physician determined me to have sublexing patellas, which implies my kneecaps jump strange. This was only the start of my difficulty.  About a year later, my muscles began to decay in my legs and I lost all muscle tone. I was crushed sincerely and truly. I could not walk anymore, so I was placed in a wheelchair. With this I lost my physical versatility as well as my fantasies about being an expert artist. My mother remained steadfast and took me to see the best specialists she could discover and this drove me to the Shriners' Hospital in Montreal, Canada. Here is the place I got my first beam of expectation. When I left I was strolling with a walker and afterward only a stick. They resembled supernatural occurrence laborers. I gradually recovered my muscle tone, yet it was a long procedure and at times I just wanted to surrender. I had numerous supporters who helped me and invigorated me the and fearlessness I required.  I figured this would be a conclusion to my clinical issues, yet then one summer I quit relaxing for no justifiable explanation. My mother restored me and afterward I was taken to the specialists to discover I had procured costochronditis, which is the aggravation of the muscles close to your sternum. My breathing difficulties proceeded and they additionally chose to give a few drugs a shot me, yet none worked, so we let things go.  At that point exactly when I thought my life was skimming back to typical for the normal 13-year-old, I again experienced another clinical determination. This time I was determined to have fibromyalgia, which influences all the muscles and bones in my body and clarifies a portion of my previous difficulty.

Free Essays on Essay On Essays

With these basic advances, anyone can compose a â€Å"A† quality exposition. Everything necessary is an elegantly composed presentation, body and end. These means are much simpler than a great many people portray them. The first, and generally significant, advance to composing a â€Å"A† article is the presentation. The reason for the acquaintance is with get the reader’s consideration. The presentation should likewise tell the peruser the substance of your exposition. To get the reader’s consideration utilize a lead-in. a lead-in is a sentence or expression that catches the enthusiasm of the peruser. One approach to do this is to speak to the feelings or sentiments of the peruser. A lead-in can be as an inquiry, a stunning explanation, a feature, or a measurement; as long as it gets the consideration of the peruser. A postulation explanation ought to likewise be remembered for the presentation. The postulation ought to advise the peruser with regards to the substance of the exposition and how the article is composed. The peruser ought to have the option to peruse the proposal articulation and locate a particular theme in the paper without perusing the whole exposition. This sh ould be possible by arranging the body passages in a similar request as the things in the proposal articulation. Stage two, recorded as a hard copy a â€Å"A† article, is composing successful body sections. With the goal for them to be viable, they should bolster the proposition sentence. The most exceedingly awful activity is to go off on subjects that have nothing to do with the paper. To abstain from getting neither here nor there, make an effort not to utilize stories as models or to demonstrate a point. Each body section ought to have a point sentence. Different sentences in the section should bolster the point sentence. The section, all in all, should bolster the proposition sentence. The third and last advance to composing a â€Å"A† paper is the end. The end ought to sum up the whole paper in a couple of sentences. To do this, spread the primary concerns in the article. One method of doing this is to rephrase the postulation explanation. The end ought to likewise... Free Essays on Essay On Essays Free Essays on Essay On Essays With these basic advances, anyone can compose a â€Å"A† quality exposition. Everything necessary is an elegantly composed presentation, body and end. These means are much simpler than a great many people describe them. The first, and generally significant, advance to composing a â€Å"A† paper is the presentation. The motivation behind the acquaintance is with get the reader’s consideration. The presentation should likewise tell the peruser the substance of your exposition. To get the reader’s consideration utilize a lead-in. a lead-in is a sentence or expression that catches the enthusiasm of the peruser. One approach to do this is to speak to the feelings or sentiments of the peruser. A lead-in can be as an inquiry, a stunning proclamation, a feature, or a measurement; as long as it gets the consideration of the peruser. A theory explanation ought to likewise be remembered for the presentation. The proposal ought to illuminate the peruser with respect to the substance of the article and how the paper is sorted out. The peruser ought to have the option to peruse the theory explanation and locate a particular point in the paper without perusing the whole exposition. This should be possible by sorting out the body sections in a similar request as the things in the proposition explanation. Stage two, recorded as a hard copy a â€Å"A† paper, is composing viable body sections. With the end goal for them to be viable, they should bolster the theory sentence. The most exceedingly awful activity is to go off on subjects that have nothing to do with the exposition. To abstain from getting neither here nor there, do whatever it takes not to utilize stories as models or to demonstrate a point. Each body section ought to have a point sentence. Different sentences in the section should bolster the point sentence. The passage, all in all, should bolster the proposition sentence. The third and last advance to composing a â€Å"A† exposition is the end. The end ought to sum up the whole paper in a couple of sentences. To do this, spread the primary concerns in the article. One method of doing this is to rephrase the proposal articulation. The end ought to likewise...

Understanding and Managing Service Level Agreements

Understanding and Managing Service Level Agreements Not many people know what a Service Level Agreement actually is but as the name implies, it formally defines a service provided by a supplier along with a detailed description of various aspects like responsibilities, quality, and scope that go into providing this service. An SLA also serves as a contract between the service provider and the customer related to on-going enhancements, inventory restocking, and on-going payments.Now you may wonder why preparing and having a Service Level Agreement is even necessary in the first place, so here is why. An SLA works to protect both parties involved in the contract, the service provider and the customer where future work is concerned. Service Level Agreements are thought for service based businesses and are applicable to a variety of businesses involving custom built software systems, vehicles, appliances and products stocked on shelves. But what is even more interesting to note is that SLAs are also used by attorneys, doctors and insuranc e companies.That is not all; SLAs have become more popular nowadays as more and more telecommunication companies and internet service providers have started preparing Service Level Agreements in more nonprofessional terms. For instance, SLAs offered by internet service providers or telecommunication companies may focus on specifics like MTTR (Mean Time to Recover or Repair) or MTBF (Mean Time between Failures) and different rates of data. © Shutterstock.com | Ralf KleemannIn this article, we will help you understand what an SLA actually is and how it works. You will also learn 1) the different types of Service Level Agreements that are applicable to different types of businesses, 2) the key elements of a service level agreement, 3) SLA management 101, 4) process of SLA, and 5) some  examples.DIFFERENT TYPES OF SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTSService Level Agreements can be defined at different levels and thus build three major types of SLAs explained below:Customer Based SLA: A customer based SLA can be best defined as a contract or agreement with an individual group of customers which contains details regarding all the services they use. An example of this type of SLA is an agreement between an IT services provider and the finance department of a multinational company for services provided like procurement system, payroll system, billing, and finance system.Service Based SLA: Service based SLA is a contract between customer s using various services offered by the service provider. For instance, a car service station may offer routine car maintenance services of a certain level along with the universal charging process. A telecommunication company, on the other hand, may offer a routine service to its customers while offering a certain part of maintenance as part of the offer with universal charges.Multilevel SLA: The Multilevel SLA is divided into three parts â€" corporate level, customer level, and service level that address three different types of customers for the same services being offered by the company, within the same SLA.In the corporate level SLA, all service level management issues are addressed in detail appropriate to all customers using the service. These issues remain the same over time and are hardly subject to change which is why it does not need to be updated religiously from time to time.A customer level SLA, on the other hand, focuses on all the SLM (service level management) issue s from a particular group of customers regardless of the type of services being used.The service level SLA covers various SLM issues related to the specific services being offered by the organization while keeping in mind a specific group of customers.KEY ELEMENTS OF A SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTJust like any other document, a Service Level Agreement is also created in line with some important key elements that are discussed in detail below.1) Description of Services in DetailThe first key element of the SLA is a detailed description of each and every service provided by the organization along with the amount of time the service is available for use. Service availability can easily be measured by the time slot. For instance, a website that makes millions of dollars an hour would require a 99.99% percent uptime during e-commerce hours.Defining the right metrics is just as important because it helps the organization attain a reasonable performance level. You can set a proper baseline as f ar as the metrics are concerned from time to time by revisiting and readjusting the settings at a future date.In short, the main objective of giving a detailed description in the SLA is to identify the scope of all the services in terms of the processes, functions, activities, and projects.2) Service StandardsService standards refer to the technical quality in outsourced development. Measurement of technical quality is usually done by using commercial analysis tools which give a clear cut result related to coding defects and program size.Performance identification of results and outputs expected by the customers from the arrangements also come under service standards and form an important part of the SLA.3) DurationIt is important that you clearly mention when the agreement begins and ends. The start date of your agreement will enable you to track the IT performance starting from that date and onwards.You must also take notice on when the agreement ends since you will have to negoti ate equipment leases and maintenance contracts on behalf of your customers when you enter in a long-term agreement with other service providers. For instance, if you offer a lease for all the equipment provided to a customer valid for 18 months, you may be able to keep your costs low. But this has a downside too; the customer will no longer be obliged to make payments if the lease ends within 12 months and you will have to resort to another option to fund the equipment lease.4) Roles and ResponsibilitiesManaging the expectations of your customers in IT-based service businesses is not easy, and this may turn into a major problem if the roles and responsibilities of both parties are not clearified in the agreement. It is important for you to understand that both, the customers, and the organizations have duties and responsibilities to each other that must be defined properly.Most responsibilities that you will chart out for your customers will vary according to the type of Corporate I T strategy your organization uses. For example, if you want to keep the costs running low, you may stress the importance of self-service or direct access instead of providing high-tech support 24/7.Under the roles and responsibilities section, it is also critical that you chart down all the basic requirements that the customers must fulfill; particular PC software purchases and installations. You must also specify that customers must report issues to the organization as soon as they encounter the problem and not days later. This will keep your performance running high, and the customers satisfied with the level of service they receive.5) The Customer RepresentativeA customer representative is the person who represents all of your customers when it comes to discussing and negotiating the delivery of IT services. Also, the customer representative is responsible for communicating all the information drafted in the service-level agreement to the customer they represent.When selecting a customer representative, remember that it is important to pick the right individual who belongs to the mid-level of the organization such as a director in place of a senior officer or vice president because he will have more sound knowledge regarding the business unit’s strategy as compared to anyone else and will be able to understand the concerns his employees may have regarding the IT services provided.6) Service Level ManagersThe Service Level Manager is the one who shoulders the responsibility of managing the IT service level. He or she will have to report to the IT department of the organization as well as the IT customer. The Service Level Manager is also responsible for maintaining, negotiating and reporting against the SLA with the customers.He or she may also have to meet up with the customers from time to time to discuss the performance or any other service concerns if they arise at any point in time.7) Evaluation CriteriaIn order to determine how well the IT department is doing as far as the performance is concerned, it is important to have some evaluation criteria. Think twice when you select evaluation metrics with your customer representative because you will have to deliver the exact level of service as mentioned in the SLA. Make sure you have all the right tools needed to track what your customer wants before agreeing on the measurement.One of the mutual benefits of having an SLA is that you and your customer both, will have a fair say when it comes to determining the kind of service they are receiving. Also, having the right objective measurements will eliminate all guesswork and save time and energy too. It is also important for you to understand that your customers may not be satisfied with the level of service provided to them even if you meet all the objectives defined in the SLA.In order to keep your staff from feeling de-motivated in such a situation, it is important to select the right metrics that are meaningful to the IT service le vel from your customer’s point of view instead of the organization. You may also have to add specific measurement metrics in line with the unique environment and scope of the business. Take a look at some of the important measures for evaluating the performance of customer service.Abandonment rate refers to the percentage of calls dropped or abandoned while waiting to be answered.The average time it usually takes for a customer’s call to be answered by the service desk is called ASA (Average Speed to Answer). The measurement time is usually measured in seconds.Time Service Factor also known as TSF is the percentage calculation of calls answered within any given timeframe.A percentage of incoming calls that are resolved without a need for any follow-up calls is called First Call Resolution (FCR).The calculation of the time taken to complete a specific task is called Turnaround Time (TAT).Similar metrics are used to measure hosting performance:A common metric often used for measur ing the overall performance of data services like virtual private servers, dedicated servers and shared hosting is Uptime.Mean Time to Recover (MTTR) is used for calculating the average time it takes to recover after a service outage.Defect rate is the measure of errors in major deliverables. Missed deadlines, incomplete backup, and restoration, coded errors and rework are all measured by calculating the defect rate.In outsourced application development, technical quality refers to the measurement of technical quality in terms of coding defects and program size.Application and network security breaches can cost you big-time in these hyper-regulated times. You can measure controllable security metrics like patching and antivirus updates to prevent the chances of a mishap.SLA MANAGEMENT 101 SERVICE LEVEL DEFINITIONAn organization cannot have clear goals without having a service level definition and management. Here are the 6 important steps involved in building and supporting a servi ce level model.Step 1. Analyze Technical Goals and ConstraintsThe ideal method to come up with realistic and sustainable technical goals is to think of the various requirements and technical goals that could improve the level of service over time. Technical goals usually include throughput, delay, jitter, availability levels, scalability, response time, new application introductions, security, new feature introductions, and cost.Once all the technical goals are penned down, it is time to look at the constraints and risks involved in achieving the technical goal. Risks and constraints can be categorized mainly in three categories â€" life cycle practices, current traffic load or application behavior, and network technology, configuration, and resiliency.Step 2. Determine the Availability BudgetThe expected theoretical availability of the network between two defined points is called an availability budget. You can determine the overall availability budget by multiplying the availabili ty for these areas:Hardware availabilitySoftware availabilityEnvironmental and Power AvailabilityLink or Carrier FailureNetwork DesignUser Error and ProcessStep 3. Create Application ProfilesCreating an application profile makes it easier for the networking organization to understand and define service level requirements and the network services provided by the organization overall. It also serves as a documented baseline for the network service support and aligns network service goals with the business requirements.Step 4. Define Availability and Performance StandardsThe service expectations for an organization are set by keeping in line with availability and performance standards. These can be determined for different areas of a specific application or network. Now there are several ways you can measure the performance of the service in terms of throughput, overall scalability, and jitter, round-trip delay, and bandwidth commitments.The organization must further define each of the service standards so that IT groups and customers can have a clear understanding of the level of service being provided to them.Step 5. Define Network ServiceThe last step towards basic service level management is defining network service. Network service defines all the proactive and reactive network processes and network management capabilities that can be implemented to achieve service level goals. The network service definition is included in the last document of the agreement called an operations support plan.The operations support plan must include these three key aspects:Full description of the reactive and proactive processes used to achieve service level goalsManagement of the service processMeasurement of service level goals and service processesStep 6. Collect Metrics and Monitoring the Service Level DefinitionA service level definition on its own is completely useless if the organization fails to collect the metrics and monitor the performance of service being provided to the customers. When preparing a service level agreement, ensure that a proper definition is given as to how the service level will be measured and reported.PROCESS FOR SLAsStep 1. Meet Prerequisites for SLAsExperts believe that there are a few prerequisites that the organization must meet in order to come up with a spot on the service level agreement. Here are a few prerequisites you may want to consider.The organization must have a service oriented cultureAll IT activities must be driven by customer/business initiativesThe organization must fully commit to the SLA process and contractStep 2. Determine the Parties Involved In the SLAYou must choose wisely when it comes to choosing that parties must be involved in the SLA so that it serves as a platform for coming up with new service level goals. Some of the possible goals are:Create and meet reactive support business objectivesProvide the top level availability by clearly defining proactive SLAsPromote or sell a serviceStep 3. De termine Service ElementsTypical service level agreements usually have many different components including support level, how it will be measured along with overall budget concerns and escalation path for SLA reconciliation. Having proactive service definitions and reactive goals are a must for high availability environments. Some of them are listed below.Onsite support business hours and procedures for off-support timingsPriority definitions like the type of problem, maximum time for solving the problem and escalation processesProducts and services that are to be supported and ranked in order of business criticalitySupport level issues pertaining to geographic and business unitsGoals for improving help desk serviceNetwork error detection and service responseFunding the implemented SLAProcedures for conflict resolutionMeasurement of network availability and reportingStep 4. Define the SLA Required For Each GroupPrimary support service level agreements must include functional group re presentation, critical business units, server operations, networking operations and application support groups. Such groups are usually on business needs as well as the roles they play in the support process.Step 5. Negotiate the SLAThe last step of creating an SLA is final negotiation and sign off. SLA negotiation is further split up into the following steps.Review of the draftNegotiation of the contentsEdit and revise the documentObtain the final approvalStep 6. Measure and Monitor SLA ConformanceTo ensure long-term consistency and results, measuring SLA conformance and reporting results becomes an important aspect that one must pay due attention to. It is recommended that all major components of the SLA must be measurable, and a measurement method should be put in place prior to implementing the SLA. Problems can then be solved by holding meetings with the customers quarterly or as and when problems arise.EXAMPLES OF SLABackbone internet providers usually create and state their s ervice level agreement on their official website.A WSLA or Web Service Level Agreement is usually put in place so as to monitor web services. Authors also get a chance to specify their performance metrics associated with a web service application.Cloud computing services also provide a service based agreement instead of a customer based agreement. It contains important details such as measuring, monitoring and reporting related to the cloud’s performance.You may not have known much about service level agreements before but now that you have read this article, we hope you are able to understand what an SLA actually is, how it works and best SLA practices that are followed by top IT companies in the world.

Understanding and Managing Service Level Agreements

Understanding and Managing Service Level Agreements Not many people know what a Service Level Agreement actually is but as the name implies, it formally defines a service provided by a supplier along with a detailed description of various aspects like responsibilities, quality, and scope that go into providing this service. An SLA also serves as a contract between the service provider and the customer related to on-going enhancements, inventory restocking, and on-going payments.Now you may wonder why preparing and having a Service Level Agreement is even necessary in the first place, so here is why. An SLA works to protect both parties involved in the contract, the service provider and the customer where future work is concerned. Service Level Agreements are thought for service based businesses and are applicable to a variety of businesses involving custom built software systems, vehicles, appliances and products stocked on shelves. But what is even more interesting to note is that SLAs are also used by attorneys, doctors and insuranc e companies.That is not all; SLAs have become more popular nowadays as more and more telecommunication companies and internet service providers have started preparing Service Level Agreements in more nonprofessional terms. For instance, SLAs offered by internet service providers or telecommunication companies may focus on specifics like MTTR (Mean Time to Recover or Repair) or MTBF (Mean Time between Failures) and different rates of data. © Shutterstock.com | Ralf KleemannIn this article, we will help you understand what an SLA actually is and how it works. You will also learn 1) the different types of Service Level Agreements that are applicable to different types of businesses, 2) the key elements of a service level agreement, 3) SLA management 101, 4) process of SLA, and 5) some  examples.DIFFERENT TYPES OF SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTSService Level Agreements can be defined at different levels and thus build three major types of SLAs explained below:Customer Based SLA: A customer based SLA can be best defined as a contract or agreement with an individual group of customers which contains details regarding all the services they use. An example of this type of SLA is an agreement between an IT services provider and the finance department of a multinational company for services provided like procurement system, payroll system, billing, and finance system.Service Based SLA: Service based SLA is a contract between customer s using various services offered by the service provider. For instance, a car service station may offer routine car maintenance services of a certain level along with the universal charging process. A telecommunication company, on the other hand, may offer a routine service to its customers while offering a certain part of maintenance as part of the offer with universal charges.Multilevel SLA: The Multilevel SLA is divided into three parts â€" corporate level, customer level, and service level that address three different types of customers for the same services being offered by the company, within the same SLA.In the corporate level SLA, all service level management issues are addressed in detail appropriate to all customers using the service. These issues remain the same over time and are hardly subject to change which is why it does not need to be updated religiously from time to time.A customer level SLA, on the other hand, focuses on all the SLM (service level management) issue s from a particular group of customers regardless of the type of services being used.The service level SLA covers various SLM issues related to the specific services being offered by the organization while keeping in mind a specific group of customers.KEY ELEMENTS OF A SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTJust like any other document, a Service Level Agreement is also created in line with some important key elements that are discussed in detail below.1) Description of Services in DetailThe first key element of the SLA is a detailed description of each and every service provided by the organization along with the amount of time the service is available for use. Service availability can easily be measured by the time slot. For instance, a website that makes millions of dollars an hour would require a 99.99% percent uptime during e-commerce hours.Defining the right metrics is just as important because it helps the organization attain a reasonable performance level. You can set a proper baseline as f ar as the metrics are concerned from time to time by revisiting and readjusting the settings at a future date.In short, the main objective of giving a detailed description in the SLA is to identify the scope of all the services in terms of the processes, functions, activities, and projects.2) Service StandardsService standards refer to the technical quality in outsourced development. Measurement of technical quality is usually done by using commercial analysis tools which give a clear cut result related to coding defects and program size.Performance identification of results and outputs expected by the customers from the arrangements also come under service standards and form an important part of the SLA.3) DurationIt is important that you clearly mention when the agreement begins and ends. The start date of your agreement will enable you to track the IT performance starting from that date and onwards.You must also take notice on when the agreement ends since you will have to negoti ate equipment leases and maintenance contracts on behalf of your customers when you enter in a long-term agreement with other service providers. For instance, if you offer a lease for all the equipment provided to a customer valid for 18 months, you may be able to keep your costs low. But this has a downside too; the customer will no longer be obliged to make payments if the lease ends within 12 months and you will have to resort to another option to fund the equipment lease.4) Roles and ResponsibilitiesManaging the expectations of your customers in IT-based service businesses is not easy, and this may turn into a major problem if the roles and responsibilities of both parties are not clearified in the agreement. It is important for you to understand that both, the customers, and the organizations have duties and responsibilities to each other that must be defined properly.Most responsibilities that you will chart out for your customers will vary according to the type of Corporate I T strategy your organization uses. For example, if you want to keep the costs running low, you may stress the importance of self-service or direct access instead of providing high-tech support 24/7.Under the roles and responsibilities section, it is also critical that you chart down all the basic requirements that the customers must fulfill; particular PC software purchases and installations. You must also specify that customers must report issues to the organization as soon as they encounter the problem and not days later. This will keep your performance running high, and the customers satisfied with the level of service they receive.5) The Customer RepresentativeA customer representative is the person who represents all of your customers when it comes to discussing and negotiating the delivery of IT services. Also, the customer representative is responsible for communicating all the information drafted in the service-level agreement to the customer they represent.When selecting a customer representative, remember that it is important to pick the right individual who belongs to the mid-level of the organization such as a director in place of a senior officer or vice president because he will have more sound knowledge regarding the business unit’s strategy as compared to anyone else and will be able to understand the concerns his employees may have regarding the IT services provided.6) Service Level ManagersThe Service Level Manager is the one who shoulders the responsibility of managing the IT service level. He or she will have to report to the IT department of the organization as well as the IT customer. The Service Level Manager is also responsible for maintaining, negotiating and reporting against the SLA with the customers.He or she may also have to meet up with the customers from time to time to discuss the performance or any other service concerns if they arise at any point in time.7) Evaluation CriteriaIn order to determine how well the IT department is doing as far as the performance is concerned, it is important to have some evaluation criteria. Think twice when you select evaluation metrics with your customer representative because you will have to deliver the exact level of service as mentioned in the SLA. Make sure you have all the right tools needed to track what your customer wants before agreeing on the measurement.One of the mutual benefits of having an SLA is that you and your customer both, will have a fair say when it comes to determining the kind of service they are receiving. Also, having the right objective measurements will eliminate all guesswork and save time and energy too. It is also important for you to understand that your customers may not be satisfied with the level of service provided to them even if you meet all the objectives defined in the SLA.In order to keep your staff from feeling de-motivated in such a situation, it is important to select the right metrics that are meaningful to the IT service le vel from your customer’s point of view instead of the organization. You may also have to add specific measurement metrics in line with the unique environment and scope of the business. Take a look at some of the important measures for evaluating the performance of customer service.Abandonment rate refers to the percentage of calls dropped or abandoned while waiting to be answered.The average time it usually takes for a customer’s call to be answered by the service desk is called ASA (Average Speed to Answer). The measurement time is usually measured in seconds.Time Service Factor also known as TSF is the percentage calculation of calls answered within any given timeframe.A percentage of incoming calls that are resolved without a need for any follow-up calls is called First Call Resolution (FCR).The calculation of the time taken to complete a specific task is called Turnaround Time (TAT).Similar metrics are used to measure hosting performance:A common metric often used for measur ing the overall performance of data services like virtual private servers, dedicated servers and shared hosting is Uptime.Mean Time to Recover (MTTR) is used for calculating the average time it takes to recover after a service outage.Defect rate is the measure of errors in major deliverables. Missed deadlines, incomplete backup, and restoration, coded errors and rework are all measured by calculating the defect rate.In outsourced application development, technical quality refers to the measurement of technical quality in terms of coding defects and program size.Application and network security breaches can cost you big-time in these hyper-regulated times. You can measure controllable security metrics like patching and antivirus updates to prevent the chances of a mishap.SLA MANAGEMENT 101 SERVICE LEVEL DEFINITIONAn organization cannot have clear goals without having a service level definition and management. Here are the 6 important steps involved in building and supporting a servi ce level model.Step 1. Analyze Technical Goals and ConstraintsThe ideal method to come up with realistic and sustainable technical goals is to think of the various requirements and technical goals that could improve the level of service over time. Technical goals usually include throughput, delay, jitter, availability levels, scalability, response time, new application introductions, security, new feature introductions, and cost.Once all the technical goals are penned down, it is time to look at the constraints and risks involved in achieving the technical goal. Risks and constraints can be categorized mainly in three categories â€" life cycle practices, current traffic load or application behavior, and network technology, configuration, and resiliency.Step 2. Determine the Availability BudgetThe expected theoretical availability of the network between two defined points is called an availability budget. You can determine the overall availability budget by multiplying the availabili ty for these areas:Hardware availabilitySoftware availabilityEnvironmental and Power AvailabilityLink or Carrier FailureNetwork DesignUser Error and ProcessStep 3. Create Application ProfilesCreating an application profile makes it easier for the networking organization to understand and define service level requirements and the network services provided by the organization overall. It also serves as a documented baseline for the network service support and aligns network service goals with the business requirements.Step 4. Define Availability and Performance StandardsThe service expectations for an organization are set by keeping in line with availability and performance standards. These can be determined for different areas of a specific application or network. Now there are several ways you can measure the performance of the service in terms of throughput, overall scalability, and jitter, round-trip delay, and bandwidth commitments.The organization must further define each of the service standards so that IT groups and customers can have a clear understanding of the level of service being provided to them.Step 5. Define Network ServiceThe last step towards basic service level management is defining network service. Network service defines all the proactive and reactive network processes and network management capabilities that can be implemented to achieve service level goals. The network service definition is included in the last document of the agreement called an operations support plan.The operations support plan must include these three key aspects:Full description of the reactive and proactive processes used to achieve service level goalsManagement of the service processMeasurement of service level goals and service processesStep 6. Collect Metrics and Monitoring the Service Level DefinitionA service level definition on its own is completely useless if the organization fails to collect the metrics and monitor the performance of service being provided to the customers. When preparing a service level agreement, ensure that a proper definition is given as to how the service level will be measured and reported.PROCESS FOR SLAsStep 1. Meet Prerequisites for SLAsExperts believe that there are a few prerequisites that the organization must meet in order to come up with a spot on the service level agreement. Here are a few prerequisites you may want to consider.The organization must have a service oriented cultureAll IT activities must be driven by customer/business initiativesThe organization must fully commit to the SLA process and contractStep 2. Determine the Parties Involved In the SLAYou must choose wisely when it comes to choosing that parties must be involved in the SLA so that it serves as a platform for coming up with new service level goals. Some of the possible goals are:Create and meet reactive support business objectivesProvide the top level availability by clearly defining proactive SLAsPromote or sell a serviceStep 3. De termine Service ElementsTypical service level agreements usually have many different components including support level, how it will be measured along with overall budget concerns and escalation path for SLA reconciliation. Having proactive service definitions and reactive goals are a must for high availability environments. Some of them are listed below.Onsite support business hours and procedures for off-support timingsPriority definitions like the type of problem, maximum time for solving the problem and escalation processesProducts and services that are to be supported and ranked in order of business criticalitySupport level issues pertaining to geographic and business unitsGoals for improving help desk serviceNetwork error detection and service responseFunding the implemented SLAProcedures for conflict resolutionMeasurement of network availability and reportingStep 4. Define the SLA Required For Each GroupPrimary support service level agreements must include functional group re presentation, critical business units, server operations, networking operations and application support groups. Such groups are usually on business needs as well as the roles they play in the support process.Step 5. Negotiate the SLAThe last step of creating an SLA is final negotiation and sign off. SLA negotiation is further split up into the following steps.Review of the draftNegotiation of the contentsEdit and revise the documentObtain the final approvalStep 6. Measure and Monitor SLA ConformanceTo ensure long-term consistency and results, measuring SLA conformance and reporting results becomes an important aspect that one must pay due attention to. It is recommended that all major components of the SLA must be measurable, and a measurement method should be put in place prior to implementing the SLA. Problems can then be solved by holding meetings with the customers quarterly or as and when problems arise.EXAMPLES OF SLABackbone internet providers usually create and state their s ervice level agreement on their official website.A WSLA or Web Service Level Agreement is usually put in place so as to monitor web services. Authors also get a chance to specify their performance metrics associated with a web service application.Cloud computing services also provide a service based agreement instead of a customer based agreement. It contains important details such as measuring, monitoring and reporting related to the cloud’s performance.You may not have known much about service level agreements before but now that you have read this article, we hope you are able to understand what an SLA actually is, how it works and best SLA practices that are followed by top IT companies in the world.