Operations Decision Essays (Examples)

Operations Decision

This business makes hand-crafted chairs in New Mexico. The chairs are made for a company that brands them and markets them through a variety of channels. Wood is either local or from Colorado, and the craftspeople have modest woodworking skills to construct the chairs.

The environment is competitive for this product. Chairs are a fairly easy product to make. The more trade agreements the government signs, the more competition there is for this business. Our company, therefore, has very limited bargaining power over the buyers, because the buyer can substitute product from Mexico, China and a number of other low cost sources. Only lower shipping costs and the strong established relationship seem to be in our favor.

The contract of this major buyer is the main determinant of whether or not we will shut down. The buyer in turn is affected by the global furniture market, tariffs and…

Operations Decision

Assume you have been hired as a managing consultant by a company to offer some advice that will help it make a decision as to whether it should shut down completely or continue its operations. It currently uses 100 workers to produce 6,000 units of output per month (working 20 days / month). The daily wage (per worker) is $70, and the price of the firm's output is $32. The cost of other variable inputs is $2,000 per day. You are told that the firm's fixed cost is "high enough" so that the firm's total costs exceed its total revenue. The marginal cost of the last unit is $30.

Rough Financial Statement

Revenues

$ per Unit

Total

Expenses

orkers

Price Per Day

$70.00

Number of Days

Subtotal

$140,000.00

Variable Costs

$2,000.00

Subtotal

$40,000.00

Total

$180,000.00

Gross Revenue

$12,000.00

Business Overview

The company currently represents one of the last…

Operations Decisions

Market structure is a microeconomics term that encompasses the interconnected attributes of a market. The variables examined when considering market structure include characteristics of buyers and sellers, competition, product differentiation, and ease of moving into and from the market. Factors such as the number and strength of buyers and sellers, along with any collusion that may develop among them, are very influential on market structure, as evident in this discussion. An analysis of the competition will consider the occurrence and degree of product differentiation that is occurring. Finally, two important attributes of market structure are the ease of entry and exit from the existing market.

Traditionally, four fundamental market structure types are recognized: 1) Perfect competition, in which many buyers and sellers engage without being able to control prices; 2) Oligopoly, in which a number of large sellers have established some control over prices; 3) Monopoly, in which…

Operations Decision" Assume hired a managing consultant a company offer advice make a decision shut completely continue operations. It 100 workers produce 6,000 units output month (working 20 days / month).

Operations decisions

Details of the business

Miller Inc. is a manufacturer of a fast moving soap, Socas which is available as a bar of 250g, 500g or 1 kg. The company is named after Michelle Miller who is an industrial chemist who invented the soap. The company's strengths include the seemingly endless funds that the company has from Michelle's father, Turner Miller who is the owner of Turner Pharmaceuticals, which was handed down to him from his father. The other strength of the company is that it has a strong board of directors who have wide experience in the fast moving consumer goods industry and hardworking. However, the company has one major weakness, which is that Michelle has been…

Operations Decisions

Outline a plan that will assess the effectiveness of the market structure for the company's operations. Note: In Assignment 1, the assumption was that the market structure [or selling environment] was perfectly competitive and that the equilibrium price was to be determined by setting QD equal to QS. You are now aware of recent changes in the selling environment that suggest an imperfectly competitive market where your firm now has substantial market power in setting its own "optimal" price

In the recent decade or two, there has been an increase and proliferation in microwavable food products in the consumer market. In the present day society, with both parents working late and with an increase in the household income generated, these sort of products are not just convenient for the family, but actually deemed a delight in gourmet food, devoid of having to go to a restaurant. In addition,…

fictitious business that you created for this assignment.

Light Up the Sky, Inc. is a company that manufactures luminescent kites. This company has been in business for the past 10 years and during this time has established itself as a high quality manufacturer of these kites. Even though this company appeals to a small fraction of the entire kite industry, they had been able to maintain a 20% profit margin. Due to the lagging economy, their profit margin dropped below the breakeven point and they are now considering shutting down production.

Assess the current environmental scan factors. Determine the factors that will have the greatest impact on plant operations and management's decision to continue or discontinue operations.

When considering whether or not to continue operations, there are several factors to consider. First is to perform a market analysis to determine whether or not continuing operations is really feasible. For example,…

To reduce inventory management costs and errors, enterprise must form a strong, galvanizing connection with suppliers, buyers, internal production, and customers most of all. In conclusion, inventory management will always be part art and science, as tacit & implicit knowledge is needed to provide greater insight into the analysis generated fro enterprise software applications specifically designed to streamline inventory management. The inherent unquantifiable aspects of demand management will also make inventory management a continually difficult, complex problem enterprises must confront daily to stay profitable and grow.

eferences

Forecasting and Demand eferences

Leung, S. (2003, Oct 01). Where's the beef? A glutted market leaves food chains hungry for sites; finding spots for new outlets takes heaps of research and an eye for details; hint: Move next to Wal-Mart. Wall Street Journal, pp. a.1-a.1.

http://bpp.wharton.upenn.edu/waldfogj/250/clippings/externalities/WSJ%2010-1-2003%20Hint-%20Move%20Next%20to%20Wal-Mart.pdf

Meng, F., Tepanon, Y., & Uysal, M. (2008). Measuring tourist satisfaction by attribute and motivation: The case…

Best of all, any initiative in these areas, priced fairly for the island natives, delivers significant social value, or economic good for the nation and abodes by Mr. Morale's belief that in the long run, economics drives everything needs to be added to that by doing these core processes well, his company is doing good. The social conscience of Mr. Morales is also clear, and the ability to take the company's respected process-centric approach to problem-solving and apply it to the needs of Kava while at the same time earning a profit is a win/win for both the company and the nation. The concentration on healthcare especially and the development of a pediatrics clinic, potentially even underwritten by the local government for the citizens would also be significant in its contribution and revenue potential.

What Alex and Nik need to do is find broken processes in key areas and set…

Operation Barbarossa

The German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 is perhaps one of the most crucial turning points of World War II, as hubris of Adolf Hitler and the German high command was rewarded with an unexpected defeat. Code-named Operation Barbarossa, after a medieval German ruler, the German invasion was doomed from the start, based as it was upon a number of assumptions regarding the Soviet ability to repel an attack and the estimated length of the operation. By examining the immediate context of Barbarossa as well as the planning and outcome of the operation, one is able to see how the catastrophic German defeat in the Soviet Union set the stage for the Nazi's eventual downfall.

The plans for Operation Barbarossa were first drawn up in February of 1941, but Hitler's desire to invade ussia had been made clear years before, such that one may view Barbarossa…

The management at Stickley Furniture revealed that the demand for their products tends to increase during the first and third quarters, whereas it reveals descendant trends throughout the second and fourth quarters. Given these fluctuations then, the organizational leaders have striven to develop a level production plan that ensures steady output and steady labor force. The plan sees that "during the second and fourth quarters, excess output goes into inventory; during the first and third quarters, excess demand is met using inventory. The company's policy of level output coupled with seasonal demand patterns means that prior to peak demand periods, excess output is used to build up inventories, which is then drawn down when demand exceeds production capacity during periods of peak production" (case).

The plan is simple and logic, yet it is met with some limitations. A first of these limitations is given by the changing needs of customers…

46). Likewise, Gillispie suggests that an incremental approach can be used to "test the waters" for even very small companies seeking to project an internationalized presence. In this regard, Gillespie recommends that companies, "Craft a scaleable master design that represents the major aspects of your business worldwide and anticipates the degree of localization that will be required in each market. The degree of localization can have a real impact on budgets and timelines" (2008, p. 45). These are important factors for companies in general where limited resources and a lack of experience may preclude more aggressive internationalization initiatives, and these issues are directly related to a company's internal resources as discussed further below.

Internal resources

The company has a wide range of specialized internal resources which are described in Table 2 below.

Table 2

Internal resources of BG Limited

Business Unit

Description

Specialist Cleaning

BG's Specialist Cleaning division offers a…

Operations Management

A microbrewery in Colorado is growing rapidly. There is a long lead time for the purchase of new equipment, so management must make a demand forecast for the next couple of years in order to ensure that it has the capacity it needs to continue expansion. There are constraints, however, in particular with respect to access to key inputs. This casts uncertainty on the demand forecasts, such that simple extrapolation of current growth rates is going to be insufficient. A decision tree is used to help with the demand forecasting, taking into account different scenarios with respect to the growth patterns and the growth constraints.

This paper is based on a real world situation. The situation at hand is that of a small microbrewery, operating in Colorado. The microbrewery is five years old and has expanded annually since its inception. The brewery produces five beers regularly, and these…

Decision Sciences

Decision-making is an important activity for top management in any enterprise. Strategic thinking is required for making useful decisions. For example, business executives plan strategies to access market share, to deal with employees, to react to competition and to decide on career growth. Decision Sciences is a discipline on its own that provides techniques and methods to take decisions in any practical situations. In this paper, a list of journals and websites that provides information on Decision Sciences is provided. This list is expected to be useful to top management. (America's Investment in the Future: Decision Sciences-How the Game Is being played)

Decision Sciences" is a quarterly, professional journal published by Decision Sciences Institute. This journal utilizes the current methods of mathematics and statistics along with computer technology and behavior science. This journal is read by business professionals and teaching professionals. From 2003, Blackwell Publishing is publishing this…

Operation Just Cause was the United States (U.S.) military invasion of Panama that deposed Manuel Noriega in December 1989, during the administration of President George H.W. ush. The military incursion into Panama began on December 20, 1989, at 0100 local time. The operation involved 24,000 U.S. troops and over 300 aircraft - including AH-64 helicopter gunships, AC-130 aircraft and F-117A stealth aircraft, which was used for the first time in combat. These were deployed against the 16,000 members of the Panama Defense Force. This action was preceded by over a year of diplomatic tension between the United States and Panama, including an attempted coup against Noriega, and several months of U.S. troop buildup in military bases within the former Panama Canal Zone.

The operation began with an assault of strategic installations such as the civilian Paitilla airport in Panama City and military command centers throughout the country. The attack on…

These two techniques of reflexive and logic-reasoning are very effective in creating consensus and insight form multiple decision makers over time (Muller, Turner, 2010). In the long-term, this technique of decision making and the involvement of the leaders on Kava can potentially reduce their resistance to the development as well.

After Nik and his team have defined their common vision, mission and objectives, they need to also define the strategies and alternatives to attain them. The strategies must be done at as little cost and risk as possible as Mr. Morales' comments in the case study indicate only a small budget is available. The team also needs to concentrate on the socially responsible nature of the decisions as well, as Mr. Morales has stated that he wants any project done on Kava to be consistent with show great respect for the citizens of the island nation, be highly ethical, and…

Operations Management

Business Ethics

Ethical issues impact business on multiple different levels, and sometimes businesses can find it difficult to make ethical or appropriate decisions. One recent headline-making case highlights how difficult ethical decision-making can be for real-life businesses faced with real-life scenarios. After an African-American waitress received a bill that had "None, Nigger" written in the tip line, she posted the tip on her Facebook page. She removed that post, but her father then posted it on Facebook. Her employer, ed Lobster, suspended her from work for this action (Lake, 2013). Her suspension caused a huge uproar and has probably resulted in the loss of customers for ed Lobster, making it clear that ethical behavior is a corporate issue that can affect a company's bottom line.

What the scenario also makes clear is that it can be impossible to predict the wide variety of ethical scenarios and solutions that…

Decision Making

Barnes and Noble Inc. is one of the most successful bookstores in the world. The company operates throughout the United States and boasts roomy inviting stores. In addition to books, the company also sells DVDs and music. The company operates both brick and mortar stores and it is also the largest internet bookstore. Furthermore, Barnes & Noble, Inc. is a Fortune 500 company and the largest bookseller in the world. In addition, "The company is a leading content, commerce and technology company that provides customers easy and convenient access to books, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform. As of January 29, 2011, the company operates 705 retail bookstores in regional shopping malls, major strip centers and freestanding locations in 50 states, and 636 college bookstores serving nearly 4 million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States (For Investors)." The…

A combination of techniques was used to evaluate, the most important being Bayes Theorem.

Bayes Theorem

"In its simplest algebraic form, Bayes' theorem is concerned with determining the conditional probability of event A given that event B. has occurred." (Kazmier, Staton & Fulks, 2003; p. 43). In this case, the event A is the increase in sales through the e-commerce site while event B. is the implementing of the decision to create a site. The probability for the sales to increase, according to the marketing team data analysis, is 54.2% and the probability for the site to be created is 58.6%. So, the probability for event B. To not happen is 41.4% and the possibility for sales to improve without the e-commerce site is 45.8%.

The general form of Bayes theorem is:

P (A

B) = P (A and B)/P (B).

P (A1B1)= P (A1 and B1 ) / P…

Operations Management Managers

How does JIT and lean processing affect managerial decision-making in that organization?

"JIT is a form of providing supplies for customers, as the name suggests, just in time" as they are needed (Atkinson 2011) Keeping inventories low is a critical component of success for a retail organization like Wal-Mart. Inventories that build up in warehouses must frequently be sold at a loss. Overly well-stocked inventories also take space away from products that consumers actually desire, and can be sold full price. However, inventories of desirable goods cannot be allowed to sink too low, given that if a product is out of stock, consumers will go to another store.

JIT attempts to closely tailor consumer needs to what suppliers have in stock. Wal-Mart has been able to use JIT because of its status as the world's largest retailer. It has tremendous power and leverage with its suppliers. Additionally,…

Operations

There are several international issues that are relevant to operations management today. Now that business has become globalized, companies source materials from all over the world, and a lot of production at any given facility will be made for export. For a facility that is producing for export, for example, it must be able to accommodate local market conditions for size, labeling, etc. that will require distinct batches for each country.

The decision to produce for an export market is also something that is important. For example, a company may investigate the idea of producing a maquiladora in Mexico and weigh that option against producing domestically, or even sourcing from further afield. There are a number of considerations, including the quality of the local workers, cost advantages, and various tax and duty considerations as well, and the company often strives to design its production system in a way that…

Operations

The first thing that stands out about McNally's and Bukowski's suggestions is that they are not mutually exclusive. In terms of resources, these two options require different resources, and in terms of outcomes they are solving different problems. This paper will analyze the situation and explain the best course of action.

The first step is to identify the problem. Here, the problem can be viewed as one of declining sales, or it can be explained in terms of product defects. By taking the generic view of the problem, Murphy is able to write off the issue with a generic response. This is the wrong approach to improving the company. By determining the issues that contribute to the lack of sales, a better solution can be found. This should require customer research but we have evidence that customers are dissatisfied with the product. This is the basis for the subsequent…

Decisions by School Superintendents

Improper Attitude and Unprofessional Conduct of Teachers

To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society - President Theodore oosevelt.

That teaching is at one and the same time an intellectual as well as a moral endeavor, is an idea that is well entrenched in the minds of men since centuries past. The sayings of great teachers of ancient times bear ample testimony to this premise, which continues to hold sway across nations and vastly differing civilizations over the years.

In the sense that it takes care of the general well being of young students entrusted to the care of an educational institution and ensures that they are treated fairly and accorded the respect they are due as persons, teaching is most certainly a moral activity. It is concerned with building and maintaining relationships of trust with pupils…

In the case of Kava island issue, we shall reach the decision in the following manner.

White Hat / Hat #1:

This is where a person needs to consider all the available data on the issue at hand. For example we know that Kava is a land of richness. It is a place with multiple possibilities because it has a sizeable young population, is rich in petroleum, coffee, sugar and other such important items. It has people from diverse backgrounds who add to the richness of its culture and almost 15 languages are spoken in this area. But at the same time, the country is plagued with numerous problems including ever-increasing cases of HIV.

Red Hat / Hat #2:

This is where a person needs to focus on intuition. Intuitively for example we can say that Kava can be seen as a great tourist destination if developed properly. Nik's firm…

Decision Making

Decision-making

Scenario

Anderson Children's Hospital (ACH) is an internationally known and recognized pediatric hospital that provides the full range of services from primary to critical care units, located in San Francisco, CA with affiliated care centers throughout the Bay Area. The board of directors at ACH would like to create a mobile-crisis program to be piloted in the City of San Francisco and eventually grow to service the entire Bay Area. The following sections present the process through which the Board of Directors is trying to navigate towards its final decision.

Core question

At the core of the following proposal is this 2-part question: Should ACH create a mobile crisis program to be piloted in the City of San Francisco for (up to) one year with the intent of expanding its funding, personnel, and service area over the next 3-5 years throughout the entire Bay Area and if…

Decisions in Paradise III With Paretto Analysis

Decisions in Paradise II

Cesar a ivera

oy Chuang

Decisions in Paradise II

This is Nik's problem

Nik has landed on Kava an island that is faced with numerous challenges including tidal waves/tsunami; typhoons/hurricanes; tornadoes; floods; fires; volcanic eruptions; earthquakes; HIV / AIDS; petroleum spill; high risk for avian flu; and terrorism, and has been asked to helped establish a business there. Aside from the above problems that impact the potential business, other challenges include the location and site being a mess; H procedures being chaotic, disrupted and confused organizational structure; and conflicting and conflicted workforce due to diverse composition, beliefs, attitudes, and ideologies. Employees in the past, the wrong mix and too many, barely stayed and so business management and environment became increasingly chaotic.

Nik's tasks, according to Alex, consist of establishing a greater presence in Kava. Ways of establishing that presence…

Decision in Paradise:

For Kava, we proposed development in the field of tourism since we had limited options like choice of opening a hospital, investing in tourism development etc. we decided that the best way Kava could be developed and our organization could have a more meaningful presence in this small land was by focusing was the development of tourism industry.

We must make it clearly that the choice of our course of action was dependent on one very clear-cut reason; we wanted to leave behind a legacy. We understand that by investing in Kava we can leave an indelible positive mark on the society, culture and economy of this country and we would like that very much because if we have a presence in this land, we just might also make it meaningful and worthy of people's respect and trust.

However like in any other developing nation, Kava is…

Early focus for moving operations to Kava will include organizational processes with a step-by-step plan, human resources evaluation, and study of ethical dilemmas that they might encounter. This project will take more man power than the two of us presently in Kava; a team will need to be assigned to help work the project.

This project will be one of the company's largest endeavors, we will need to ensure that we have one controlling master schedule so that individual aspects of this project do not spiral out of control

Research of the culture must be done to ensure the success of the venture, before attempting to market services to a foreign country we must understand the culture and the differences

. In understanding, respecting and accepting the different culture and the ability to set our own aside we will see a smooth transition when collaborating with the local government, parents…

This could mean adhering to stricter construction standards, using multiple locations around the country and having a stockpile of supplies that can be used to deal with emergencies. An emergency management strategy should be developed for each possible contingency, with an eye to protecting the company's investments in Kava.

The third recommendation is for Nik to work closely with Alex on this project. Nik's inexperience is a risk to the project, so she should not fear asking for guidance from seasoned professionals. Nik needs to work within her abilities in order to succeed, and recognizing her own limitations is part of that. Ultimately, the company does not know for certain she is capable of managing this project, but it believes that she is. She needs to believe in herself now, and understand that working closely with her mentors and with head office is essential to making this project a success.…

Operations Strategy for Future Developments of Delta Synthetic Fibres

Appraise the main Operations Management issues at Delta Synthetic Fibres.

Although Delta Synthetic Fibres implemented an operations management strategy that helped evolve their product line and fuel production, they could have optimized sales by addressing several issues. Manufacturing companies focus so heavily on the delivery of their product, that they do not invest resources in non-production related process improvements. They spend little time focusing on consumer wants and needs and more time on all of the functional inputs of production. DSF is no different. They failed to consider consumer demographics in relation to production facility choices and there was not a clear strategy between Sales, Marketing, Finance, or other ancillary departments that support productions.

Like many companies that are concerned primarily with production metrics, Delta Synthetic Fibres did not consider the impact of their location choices or production capacity options on…

To achieve it, the comparative advantage must be constantly nurtured through a series of top management operations and decisions. For instance, the management board must continually allocate sufficient budgets and time to both the marketing and the research and development departments. The marketing team will prospect the market in order to identify new trends and demands of patients or the environment. They will also pay close attention to the strategies implemented by the competition and will develop and implement new strategic approaches that enhance their comparative advantage. The &D team will function based on the feedback collected by the marketing team and will improve the technological appliances in accordance with the new demands. Also, the members of the board or delegated physicians must participate to international conferences of the industry as to make sure that they are up-to-date on the latest innovations.

The industry is a highly significant determinant of…

Operations of International Law and Organizations

eason MNCs have become important in International elations and Law

International law is defined as a set of rules and customs governing the relationships among nation-states. Traditionally, nation-states are considered the principal actors of international law, however, there are an increasing number of other actors that influence the conduct of international relations. MNCs (multinational corporations), international organizations, domestic actors and individuals are increasingly influencing the conduct of international relations. Along with nation-states, MNCs are very important actors in international relations because their activities can influence the international affairs. A multinational corporation is a business entity that has sales operations and productions in several countries. In the contemporary business environment, many MNCs have immense financial resources, which are more than the annual budgets of many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. With their huge financial resources, they have the power to influence a conduct…

eferences:

Brinlee, D., MP inventory management, Inventory Management, http://www.askdeb.com/inventory-management/mrp / last accessed on February 7, 2012

Heathfield, S.M., How to change your culture: organizational culture change, About.com, http://humanresources.about.com/od/organizationalculture/a/culture_change.htm last accessed on February 7, 2012

Johnson, .W., Phased retirement and workplace flexibility for older adults: opportunities and challenges, Focus on Workplace Flexibility, http://workplaceflexibility.org/images/uploads/program_papers/johnson_-_phased_retirement_and_workplace_flexibility.pdf last accessed on February 7, 2012

eh, F.J., Managing change: managing people's fear, About.com, http://management.about.com/cs/people/a/MngChng092302.htm last accessed on February 7, 2012

2010, EP software history -- disadvantages of MP and emergence of EP, EP Software, http://www.erpsoftware411.com/erp-software-history-disadvantages-of-mrp-and-emergence-of-erp / last accessed on February 7, 2012

2011, Material requirement planning, SM Thacker and Associates, http://www.smthacker.co.uk/MP1.HTM last accessed on February 7, 2012

2012, MP -- a planning system? Advanced Planning, http://www.advanced-planning.eu/advancedplanninge-342.htm last accessed on February 7, 2012

Customer focused low cost leadership strategy, Alagse, http://www.alagse.com/strategy/s10.php last accessed on February 7, 2012

Materials requirements planning (MP), Institute for Manufacturing, http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/dstools/process/mrp.html last accessed on…

4

(rezoning and building shopping center) = 0.7 times $4,000,000 + 0.3 times $5,000,000 = $4,300,000

The p (rezoning and building shopping center) is the best solution, with the expected return at 0.6 times $4,300,000 + 0.4 times $2,400,000= $3,540,000

This means that the expected net profit will be $540,000

Question 4 a) I am assuming that the greatest advantage of the work-in-process inventory is that the production is always associated and correlated with the supply of raw materials. By this, I mean that producing on stock, with larger quantities of products being manufactured without having necessarily an immediate demand or order for them will make the supply chain more efficient and will allow the company to produce at what is likely to be lower unit costs. It will also be using the labor factor more efficiently, because the workforce will not remain stagnated without clients, but will still produce,…

Operations Management

Supply Chain Management at Dell Computer Corporation

Supply chain management systems have historically been designed to bring increasingly higher levels of automation and standardization of processes throughout supplier relationships, fulfillment, quality management and services. Throughout the latter half of the 20th century the concentration on lean supply chain performance sought to drill out every errand and unnecessary step and costs from supply chain collaboration, planning and execution (Foreman, Gallien, Alspaugh, Lopez, Bhatnagar, Teo, Dubois, 2010). This was especially the case in high technology industries including personal computers where the greater the level of standardization, the higher the level profits and lower the costs. Lean supply chain management and manufacturing was the approach Compaq took to establishing an early market share lead, yet was quickly challenged by Dell with its innovative uses of build-to-order supply chain management and rapid mass customization selling techniques (Gunasekaran, Ngai, 2005). The intent of…

From their cereal to their numerous other brands such as Morningstar Farms, Kashi, and Keebler, Kellogg delivers many products that have remain unchanged for years, providing a conformed an high quality product tat meets consumer expectations. Their decision to pull peanut-containing products from shelves during the salmonella scare last year reflects not only good business sense, but also their commitment to quality; at the time of the recall, not a single case had been linked to Kellogg's products (Hoaks 2008).

After Sales Service

Auto manufacturers -- especially American ones -- have come under a lot of deserved fire recently for certain failed business strategies, but GM's warranty has always been well viewed by consumers and has only increased in the scope and depth of its coverage in the past few months (GM 2009). In addition to the standard 100,000-mile powertrain warranty and complimentary roadside assistance already offered by GM, their…

Operations Management

Anticipated impacts upon operating efficiency

Upon initiating operation efficiency, Midas will be able to mitigate challenges associated with customer service operations. Call volumes and customer inquiries will reduce because customers will not struggle anymore to complain about high bills or pay outstanding balances. Activities related to the collection will also reduce from efficient services and negotiating payment arrangements (Williams & Williams, 2009). Similarly, Midas is also under pressure to minimize customer service budgets in the next fiscal year. At some utilities where operational efficiency has worked, procedures spurred field inspection responding to evidence of tampering or billing exceptions. Smarter implementation of operation efficiency will permit customer service to minimize field visits. For instance, in case of tampering, a series of facility inspection will be arranged to guarantee that no further tampering will occur. Utilizing automated meter readings, customers will be able to be served without the need for…

Decision making is a term that can be described as the process of choosing between alternatives and entails identification, development, and selection. Based on academic literature decision making and analysis can be widely divided into two schools of thoughts i.e. analytic and experiential or incremental decision making processes (Sipp & Carayannis, 2013, p.18). The analytic school of thought on decision making and analysis primarily focuses on problem definition and identification, assessment and selection of alternatives. In this school of thought, implementation in the decision making process basically entails simple execution of the cautiously selected alternative. On the contrary, even though experiential or incremental school of thought incorporates the two major steps in decision making just like the other school of thought, it focuses more on the execution of the alternative. This school of thought on decision making also utilize feedback to make necessary adjustments to the selected alternative in order…

Over the course of about a year, it appears that "in total, some 1,725 weapons appear to have been involved," with weapons subsequently showing up in both the United States and Mexico (Cochran 2011).

Operation Fast and Furious first raised the interest and ire of the public in June 2010, when a document showed that the ATF had lets at least 309 guns walk before subsequently losing track of them (Cochran 2011). The practice of allowing straw purchasers to complete their purchase in order to track the gun had been done before, but the lack of oversight and communication seen in Operation Fast and Furious meant that the process of tracking these weapons suffered a fatal breakdown, so that they were ultimately lost until they showed up again at the scenes of crimes. It was this scenario that ultimately ignited the firestorm of controversy now surrounding the program, because in…

" To that end, the Treasury Department would limit executive compensation for institutions receiving "exceptional assistance" (Geithner and Summers, 2009).

Troubles continued in the financial sector -- both Citigroup and the Bank of America needed second rounds of capital infusions, and federal guarantees against losses totaling tens of billions more -- while Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, warned that more capital injections might be needed to further stabilize the financial system. On Jan. 16, the Senate voted 52-42 to release the second round of funds (Gerth, 2009).

THE GEITHNER PLANS -on Feb. 10, Mr. Geither presented the rough outlines of the Obama administration's plan. A central piece of the proposal would create one or more so-called bad banks that would rely on taxpayer and private money to purchase and hold banks' bad assets. Another centerpiece of the plan would stretch the last $350 billion that the Treasury has…

Operations Strategy

John is a man that has started a small technology service business. He has to relocate his business several times due to growth but he is now experiencing some growing pains and some customer pushback due to delegation issues relating to service time, communication quality and the hierarchal structure of his business. There are some open questions about how he should structure and operate the business going forward including whether to outsource more, whether to go more global in his business contracts as that seems to be an opportunity for him and so forth. This brief report will deign to answer those questions and beyond. While John presumably wants to grow his business more and more, he will have some important decisions to make before he can do this and do it well.

Analysis

What is obvious about the current hierarchy and business structure of the firm is…

CIO Oversees the Protection, Operations, and Maintenance of a Company's Network

In the Age of Information, an organization's chief information officer has a vitally important role to play in helping achieve and sustain a competitive advantage. Although chief information officers do not make the big decisions that affect a company's course, they do provide the information needed to make informed decisions. Although every organization is unique in some fashion and therefore every chief information officer's job is different, they do share some common responsibilities that help characterize the position. To determine what these commonalities are, this paper provides an explanation concerning the role of a chief information officer in a company, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

eview and Analysis

The role of chief information officer (CIO) has been elevated to a high-level executive position in many larger public and private organizations (omanczuk…

Managerial Decisions

This a case study- Chapter 13 - "Analyzing Managerial Decisions: Bagby Copy Company" This module focuses depth leg -legged stool read module 1: assignment decision rights. Should rights granted individual a team workers? Should decisions made local level national level? Finally, connection assignment decision rights ability existing knowledge create knowledge? In Chapter 13 module continue a discussion decision rights focusing tasks bundled jobs, jobs bundled subunits a firm, determining type organizational structure meets a firm.

Analyzing managerial decisions

In any business organization decisions have to be made in the event of trying to achieve set objectives and goals. The decisions made not only affect the decision maker but also the other staff members in the organization. In this paper, analysis of the managerial decisions by Bagby Copy Company focuses on bundling of tasks and determination of what organizational structure best meets the needs of the firm.

Discussion

Bagby…

operations management and operations strategy.

Using an example of your own, explain how operations performance objectives can change over time.

Explain which factors that influence the timing of capacity change.

Explain how developments in process technology can change trade-offs in the product-process matrix.

Explain the main differences between continuous and breakthrough improvements.

Describe a typical stage gate model of the product and service development process.

Describe the different ways in which headquarter operations staff can act to create value for their company and its individual operations.

Explain the difference between pure risk and speculative risk.

Question 1 -- Brintons Carpets Ltd.

Question 2 -- Operations Strategy analysis of IKEA

Question 3 -- Hagen Style

Differences between operations management and operations strategy.

the systematic approach to address the challenges and the issues that relate to the transformation of raw materials or any other form of input into output so that the…

Decision Analysis System

Computers have brought a great change in our lives. A software program called spreadsheet turns the computer screen into a paper sheet one is working on. This program saves time by reducing the errors and repetitions of calculations. It is commonly used in physics labs in order to save time by getting accurate results and accumulating proper data in labs. Spreadsheets have traditionally been used by accountants for the purpose of bookkeeping and budgeting, when actually they can prove to be amazing tools for engineers and scientists as well. Using a spreadsheet, entered raw data could be manipulated and plotted through few easy commands. Furthermore, due to their built-in capability to easily plot data, spreadsheets prove to be especially useful (Karmakar et al., 2007).

Initially introduced in the corporate world in late 1970s and the early 1980s, it proved to be an immediate success. The usefulness, power…

Technological changes have to be factored in. Other factors (internal or external that might affect the company conditions, including external factors such as economic, political, legal environment, technology, competition, as well as markets. Internal conditions that affect operations include human resources, facilities and equipment, financial resources, customers, products and services, technology, suppliers and some other reasons. The chapter also lists other strategies including modification of the supply chain strategy, sustainability strategies that lower the impact upon the environment, etc. And global strategies that take into account the international nature of the present economy (ibid., 51).

Chapter 2 goes on in the discussion about operations strategy (narrow in scope, internal to the company), with its being distinct form organizational strategy which is broader in scope. For the operations strategy has to be linked to the organizational strategy. Unfortunately, this is often neglected by companies in favor of marketing and financial strategies.…

During their inspection, they recovered over forty pounds of documents and maps, including maps that showed the locations of U.S. billets in Saigon, indicating heavy surveillance by the Vietcong. They encountered few Vietcong throughout the operation, and only small numbers of soldiers were killed. Ultimately, the tunnel rats who scoured these tunnels helped form a band of tunnel rats that were used throughout the country to infiltrate and destroy Vietcong tunnels throughout the war.

There were some Vietcong left inside the tunnels, and those that did not give up were shot on sight. There are some accounts that there were people in the hospital too, including nurses, when the tunnels were destroyed, but that has not been verified. Before entering the tunnels, the tunnel rats would spray them with machine gun fire, and usually the Vietcong left to guard them were killed in the barrage.

B-52 bombers and other aircraft…

Qualifications for the Position of an Operations Manager

The operations management function is one of the most important functions within an organisation. From materials acquisition and production to warehousing, distribution, and customer service, the function ensures day-to-day processes and activities run as effectively and efficiently as desired (Krajewski, Ritzman & Malhotra, 2013). The function is critical to the extent that it significantly affects the organisation's top-line and bottom-line results (Mahadevan, 2010). Indeed, the operations management function can be described as the heart of every organisation. It is through this function that an organisation executes its strategic goals and objectives. The critical nature of the operations management function explains why any prudent organisation ensures the function is functioning optimally all the time (Bozarth & Handfield, 2011).

Ensuring a solid operations management function without a doubt means having a highly qualified and competent operations management -- an individual with the necessary skills,…

This course has enabled me to understand the actual description and meaning of public policy and its significant concepts. Generally, public policy is an action taken by the government through its executive branches in response to a specific public issue. Government agencies and organizations develop and implement public policy with the intention of protecting the society and providing benefits to the populations. Notably, such actions are taken based on the provisions in the Constitution and institutional traditions.

The most significant concepts learned in this course are the instrumentation, tools, and modes of operation of public policy. The significance of public policy instrumentation has been emphasized throughout the course because it shows the theoretical relationship between governing and the population. Secondly, knowledge regarding the tools and modes of operation of public policy has provided information on how every instrument comprise of strong knowledge regarding social control and various ways of implementing…

Because, clearly, we committed acts of terrorism in dropping the bombs on Japan. The intent was to create a massive destruction to horrific that the victims could not help but surrender without further fight - which is, of course, what happened. Our new brand of terrorism is, truly, the only effective manner that certain people have of waging a war. When you do not have the technology or the resources of the largest nations in the world, but you do know how to make and plant a bomb that is likely to kill civilians and military targets as well - do you simply roll over and surrender because you might kill innocent people? If that was the case, then the United States would have never been able to wage war with anyone using bombs and missiles and rockets - the war could have only been waged by spies and snipers.…

Operation of the Homeland Security Council

Creates the Homeland Security Council and sets down is functions.

This directive creates the Homeland Security Council (HSC) and lists its functions. The purpose of the HSC is to synchronize homeland security-related efforts across executive departments and agencies of all levels all through the country, and to put into practice the Department's policies by way of eleven Policy Coordination Committees.

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 3: Homeland Security Advisory System

Creates a Homeland Security Advisory Board to issue security threat levels. There are five threat levels, each identified by a description and corresponding color. From lowest to highest, the levels and colors are: Low = Green; Guarded = Blue; Elevated = Yellow; High = Orange; Severe = ed. The higher the threat level is, the greater the risk of a terrorist attack. isk includes both the likelihood of an attack taking place and its potential…

As in any merger, the organization would have to deal with human resource issues (because the verification process was double-performed, one of the two teams needs to be reapplied within the organization), financial issues, etc.

The third option would be to create a sole compartment to deal with the verification process, a compartment that would employ human resource from both the ECFMG and the EICS. This compartment would deal only with the verification and would have several advantages. First of all, it would eliminate the original problem we had to deal with and, second of all, it would probably increase the efficiency of the compartment, with more employees and a better coordination.

In making the decision, we need to choose between deciding by majority rule and consensus building. In my opinion, in this particular case, it is best to build the appropriate consensus with all party involved. For additional information…

According to Halpern (1996, p. 197), arguments that utilize irrelevant reasons are fairly common: "The Latin word for this sort of fallacy is non-sequitur, which literally translates to 'it doesn't follow.' In other words, the reason or premise is unrelated to the conclusion." Since relevant premises are a key criteria for building sound arguments, it follows that critical thinkers must learn to recognize and avoid such fallacies.

However, in the real world this is perhaps easier said than done since the use of force often tends to sway decisions in favor of the person who is making the threat, implied or otherwise. An example that comes readily to mind is the manner in which advertisers have coerced sports bodies to disallow ambush marketing: "It is important that any sports body has the right to control what is being brought into their events...to protect the millions of pounds of investment that…

decision to purchase, use or consume the product of a particular brand is not simply a utilitarian decision that focuses on what goods a consumer wants, it is also a matter of the consumer's self-image. The customer asks himself, perhaps subconsciously, is he "the type of person" who eats at McDonald's, or uses Bayer aspirin? From there, the customer makes a decision to use, or not use, the product. However, the answers to these questions are less than simple. They are intricately and intrinsically connected to brand image and perception. Consumers are willing to put more money and resources into things that make them feel good about themselves. Companies want to leave their customers feeling good about their purchasing decision, with a raised self-image. However, what makes a person feel good about herself changes as values and society change. More than any other industry, this may be true about food…

Decision Making & Creativity, Power and Influence in the Workplace, and Leadership in Organizations

Creating a platform for leadership that is agile enough to respond quickly to unforeseen events, yet stable enough to ensure team and group solidary is one of the most challenging aspects of any leader's long-term growth. Coupled with the need for having a solid foundation of leadership skills including Emotional Intelligence (EI), situational awareness and transformational leadership (Purvanova, Bono, 2009) is the need for leaders to thoroughly understand power and influence not just in their departments but across their entire organization as well. The five dominant forms of organizational power, ranging from coercive, to reward, legitimate, referent expert and informational power, all must be orchestrated successfully by a manager if challenging, often time-constrained objectives are to be attained (Drea, Bruner, Hensel, 1993). This self-reflection analysis includes insights into specific types of power from the context of…

One of the most crucial factors towards the success of a shipping company is effective operations management.  Shipping companies establish organizational structures and cultures that seek to promote effective operations management.  Some of the major divisions in ship management include commercial, operation, administration, finance, and technical departments.  Operations department is mandated with the task or responsibility of handling all issues relating to shipping management and ensuring that the shipping company undertakes activities that focus on achievement of respective business objectives.  However, this department works in collaboration with the other departments to ensure that all functions and activities are coordinated and streamlined.  Through the coordinated activities, the operations department has several responsibilities and authority that enable it to act as a link between the ship and the office.  This paper discusses the authorities and responsibilities of the operation department as a link between the ship and the office.

Overview of Operation…

decision-makers and managers in health care with efficient course of action that give them opportunity to advance the quality in health cares by involving in designing and implementation. The analysis centers on certain people who have a strategic duty for quality based on capacity building tool in health care quality. This approach is adapted is because of the perceptive that there is an enormous amount of willingness and action for quality improvement locally in many countries but this move is carried out in an insufficient policy and strategic environment in many occasion. The practice suggested here gives opportunity to decision makers and managers to only focus on the component of quality they decide on. There could be further influence for quality in restructuring the care delivery in transversely settings in some countries, not like others which prefers to begin with the activities of patient safety. Objective for that reason has…

Wal-Mart Inc.: Operations Strategy Matrix

Operations Strategy Matrix: Wal-Mart Inc.

Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer. It commits itself to providing everyday low prices to consumers to enable them live better. Its decisions center largely around the provision of commodities at low prices when customers need them. This text examines Wal-Mart's operational strategy and proposes a number of decisions that it could take to improve its standing in the retail market.

Wal-Mart Inc.: Operations Strategy Matrix

Wal-Mart is an American-based multinational corporation, operating a chain of retail stores in the UK and in 25 other countries. Founded in 1962, the company grew from a small general store into the world's largest retailer, with over 65 different banners. In the UK, the company operates under the name 'Asda', and runs over 70 stores dealing in general merchandise including clothing, apparel, foodstuffs, groceries and stationary. I had the opportunity to work as…

The final decision the issue of organizational stakeholders and the impact of these stakeholders on the organization were of vital importance. In this context, I chose to protect the organization, even though others would have made a different choice. Thus, the wide range of decisions made in the simulation indicates that the ethical frameworks employed will be influenced by the specific issues involved in decision making.

3. Considering what I learned from this simulation, it seems reasonable to argue that ethical decision making is a challenging task that provides no real comfort. Even when a person believes that he or she is making the right decision, there is still some concern about whether or not the right framework for reviewing a situation has been used. Because there are so many different "right" ways for exploring a problem, in many instances, is appears as if the individual has no other choice…

General Motors and the United Auto Workers Labor Agreement

Judgment in Managerial Decision making

General Motors and the United Auto Workers have been among the America's largest manufacturers of motor vehicles and related parts. Following pressure of the two leading manufacturers going bankrupt they had to negotiate a change in the labor agreement as an urgent move. The workers and the communities are to be adversely affected by this part of restructuring.

Some of the decisions reached during the negotiation affected the workers negatively in as much as they were mainly to prevent the collapse of the two manufacturers. General Motors reached a decision to close or idle 17 of its facilities, where Chrysler was to close eight plants. The GM seeks to reduce its 60,000 strong UAW workforce by up to 20,000. On the top of that Chrysler is to reduce positions because of the plant closures, however the…

Management of Goods and Services

Difference between the operations management chain for both goods and services

Difference between the management of goods and services

Difference between the production of goods and services

What gets companies business

Difference between the operations management chain for both goods and services

The basic difference between goods and services is that the former is tangible and hence can be stored whereas the latter is intangible and cannot be inventoried.

From the perspective of operations management, there are some basic differences between goods and services.

Forecasting of goods involves long-term horizons where manufacturers are able to use physical inventory as a buffer to tackle forecast errors. In the case of services, the forecast periods are shorter and are more variable and time- dependent. Hence, forecasting is generally done on a daily or hourly basis.

In terms of facility location, for goods, the manufacturing facilities can be…