The goal of a business is to make a profit. This is accomplished by providing a product or service to their customers and having those customers continue to patronize the organization. Managers are tasked with identifying value-added and non-value-added activities through activity-based management. Value-added activities increase the attractiveness or value of the product or service in the eyes of the consumer, whereas non-value-added activities do not (Williams et al., 2021). Managers attempt to create the right mix of value-added and non-value-added activities to produce a product or services that customers would want. Value chain analysis is used by business analysts, project managers, and administrators to evaluate which exercises provide the most incredible opportunities to maximize profitability and achieve a competitive advantage.

Comcast is a publicly-traded company in the cable industry. The non-value-added activity in the case of Comcast is quality and customer service. The company transitioned to digital cable from analog in late 2009. This transition was built to provide better quality with fewer interruptions. It has been my experience to receive more service interruptions with the digital service, even in good weather. Comcast should continue to invest in technology to provide better services with fewer service interruptions. Also, the company could invest in retraining and staffing at their retail locations. There have been several occasions where I have made changes to my services after consulting with an employee, only to realize I was not given accurate information concerning the services or price.

Target expanded into Canada in 2013, and due to inventory issues, the company withdrew within two years. The company could not keep the shelves in stock and did not have accurate inventory information. "the company never had time to develop a working supply chain in Canada, which left its stores short on merchandise and full of empty shelves" (Weissman, 2016). Customers are unwilling to continue shopping at a place of business if items are never in stock or they have to wait for long periods to receive their orders. Since pulling out of Canada, Target has invested in technology to update its inventory process, reducing excess inventory and minimizing the time it takes to restock (Cosgrove, 2019).

How can one eliminate the non-value added activity identified above?