Operations Essays (Examples)

Operations Management

Space Age Furniture Company Answers

What options are open to Coral to address this problem?

The cost of operations is regarded as one of the major issue for a business. The management has to take necessary corrective action to enable the business in handling issues for example cost of inventory handling and labour cost of operations. In certain conditions the business requires management to take decisions that are relevant for increasing quality of operations. The quality improvement initiatives in terms of cost reduction from operations and eliminating waste in the process is also an initiative that is appraised throughout the business operations. The production management and scheduling along with the reduction in capital cost to hold large inventories are approaches that can increase profitability as well as the business prospects.

The options available for carol are based on the analysis of cost for holding large inventories as well…

References:

Bahl, H. (2011). A diagonostic approach to scheduling. California Journal of Operations Management, 86-90.

Bragg, S.M. (2007). Financial analysis: a controller's guide. USA: John Wiley & Sons.

Brown, S., Blackmon, K., Cousins, P., & Maylor, H. (2012). Operations management: policy, practice and performance improvement. USA: Routledge.

Farouk, S., Cherian, J., & Jacob, J. (2012). Green Accounting and Management for Sustainable Manufacturing in Developing Countries. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(20), p36.

Operations Management eport -- Community Bank of Perth

The Community Bank of Perth has experienced tremendous growth in home loan refinancing in the past two years. This is due in part to continued growth of the Western Australian mining sector, as well as increased consumer interest in more innovative and economical loan terms. With rising competition in the market, more lenders are now aggressively working to boost their market share through a renewed focus on customer service and simple and speedy loan processing (Fluss 2009, p. 12). Faced with an ever-increasing numbers of home loans, Community Bank of Perth has developed new refinancing processes aimed at improving the quality of service to customers. This process was implemented last year and divided loan approvals into five distinct stages with new departments created for each stage.

However, recent customer feedback has indicated that loan approval processing still has room for improvement. Many…

References

1. Bilich, F 2000, 'Total quality management: quality macro-function model for banks. (Cover story)', Total Quality Management, 11, 1, p. 15, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 16 September 2012.

2. Brandt, D 2012, 'Work Perfect', Industrial Engineer: IE, 44, 9, p. 66, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 16 September 2012.

3. Britt, P 2005, 'Finding the Formula For Successful Cm', Econtent, 28, 1/2, pp. 38-42, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 16 September 2012.

4. Compton, J 2004, 'CRM Is Go!', CRM Magazine, 8, 10, pp. 30-35, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 16 September 2012.

Operations and IT Management

This study will examine several works in writing and from these sources state how information lifecycle management will affect coordination and conflicts between operations managers and information technology managers.

Information Life Cycle Management

Information life cycle management is the range of procedures and strategies to manage data and information flows from creation and storage through to elimination." (Lifecycle Management, 2007) Information life cycle management is reported as being considered "a more complex subset of data life cycle management." (Lifecycle Management, 2007) Information Lifecycle Management Process Model defines the actions that are possible to take on information at a given time and the options that are available while taking those specific actions as well as paths that should be followed to make sure that the information retains its integrity or in other words "remains secure through its lifetime from creation to deletion." (Jericho Forum, 2011)

II. The…

Bibliography

IBM. Information Lifecycle Governance. Retrieved Nov 8, 2010, from http://www.informationmanagementrequest.com/campaigns/compliance_warehouse/site/cim.html?sor=red

IBM. Information Lifecycle Governance. Retrieved Nov 8, 2010, from http://www.informationmanagementrequest.com/campaigns/compliance_warehouse/site/cim.html?sor=red

Jericho Forum (2009) COA Paper: Information Lifecycle Management. OpenGroup.org. Retrieved December 4, 2011, from  http://www.opengroup.org/jericho/COA_Information_Lifecycle_Management_v1.0.pdf 

Jericho Forum (2009) COA Paper: Information Lifecycle Management. OpenGroup.org. Retrieved December 4, 2011, from

Operations/Project management - Ethics

Operations/Project management -- Ethics.

The rearing of pigs is all geared towards the end result of having it give the pork that can be traded out and money earned. The only contentious issue here is the process that is used to get to the end product.

The Premium Standard Farms of Princeton in Missouri can be said to be adhering to the utilitarianism theory of ethics and morality. This is the view that an action is right in-so-far as it aims at producing pleasure and the elimination of pain. Here an action is considered right if it produces the greatest amount of pleasure and the minimum possible or least pain of any available substitute action. Stuart Mill (1806- 1873) puts it plain that actions are right to the degree that they tend to promote the greatest good for the greatest number. John Stuart Mill is one…

References

Jane Garret, (2006). Kant's Duty Ethics. Retrieved February 9, 2012 from  http://www.wku.edu/~jan.garrett/ethics/kant.htm 

Philosophical Classics. (2010). Utilitarianism and Morality essays. Retrieved February 9, 2012 from http://www.*****/viewpaper/27298.html

Operations Management

Our supply chain has called a team of manufacturing and material experts to figure out how the impossible can be made possible. Being a telecommunication company, the team discovered it could use a customized laser to poke holes in the aluminum small enough to be nearly invisible to the human eye but big enough to let light through. Our company has since realized that it needs lots and lots of laser (Satariano & Burrows, 2011). We have identified a company that makes laser equipment for microchip manufacturing which after tweaking does the job. Each machine goes for $250,000. We have since convinced the seller to sign an exclusivity agreement. We currently buy hundreds of such machines to make holes for the green lights that now shine on our company's myriad brands like the Mac Book Airs, Trackpads, and wireless keyboards. Most of our customers have never given the…

References List

Satariano, A. & Burrows, P. (2011). Apple's Supply-Chain Secret? Hoard Lasers. Bloomberg Businessweek.

Stone Apple (2013). Business Transformation Suite. Retrieved from http://www.stone-

apple.com/business-transformation.html

Operations Management. Please PDF instructions essay.

Operations Management

Albatross Anchor's competitiveness

The competitiveness of Albatross Anchor can be assessed from a wide array of angles, including the following most relevant ones:

a) Cost

The cost is similar to that implemented by other anchor manufacturers, as this is imperative to maintain sales. Yet, the real costs encountered by Albatross Anchor are higher than those of its competitors and this is the result of operational inefficiencies.

b) Speed of manufacturing process

The manufacturing process is delayed by the lack of adequate technologies, spaces and facilities, but also by the fact that the company has to continually switch its production lines in order to manufacture both the bell anchor as well as the hook anchor.

c) Flexibility in filling orders

Due to several inefficiencies, the company is only able to manufacture and deliver small product quantities. In case the orders suffer modifications, the…

References:

Rafinejad, D., 2007, Innovation, product development and commercialization: case studies and key practices for market leadership, J. Ross Publishing

Van Leeuwen, J., 2004, Reaching the hard to reach: innovative housing for homeless youth through strategic partnerships, Child Welfare, Vol. 83, No. 5

In this regard, Lin and Lin add that, "The Chinese personal computer manufacturer wanted to increase its share in Western markets. The acquisition hoisted the manufacturer from 9th place to 3rd place in terms of PCs sold. These acquisitions illustrate China's desire to spend low-cost money to acquire existing brands and distribution access, as well as securing additional outlets for other Chinese produced goods" (2008, p. 32).

Planning and control.

Although many observers suggest that Lenovo represents a true Horatio Alger success story having begun with a very modest start-up capital of just $24,000, Huang argues that the facts involved in the company's success are much more complex and relate to the company's ability to implement management functions in ways that established planning goals and its ability to control the company's resources to achieve these goals. For instance, Huang notes that, "Its subsequent rounds of financing, including an IPO in…

References

'About Lenovo.' 2011 Lenovo. [online] available:  http://www.lenovo.com/lenovo/us  / en/our_company.html.

Anchordoguy, M. 2008 'Chandler and Business History in Japan.' Business History Review, vol.

82, no. 2, pp. 301-303.

Bhattacharya, S. 2008 'Lenovo Group Limited: Losing the Competitive Edge?' ICFAI Case

1073).

Brocklesby advocates 'Soft OR' approaches such as Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, Data Envelope Analysis, Cognitive Mapping, Soft Systems Methodology and the Theory of Constraints to allow for "conflicting objectives and multiple subjectivities" (Brocklesby 2007, p.1073). For example, the Theory of Constraints (TOC) deploys the TOC Thinking Processes to map social, material, and personal consequences of collective decisions. A TOC Current Reality Tree, searches for root causes of problems. A representation of TOC 'evaporating clouds' represent conflicting views, rather than assume that a decision leads to a linear and defined result. Future reality trees determine possible future outcomes, but side effects, prerequisites, required actions and constraints must all be considered (Davies et al. l 2005, p.306).

TOC 'trees' that acknowledge a multiplicity of influences impact decisions. They also underline the falseness of the rational actor/profitability model. Every decision has a human element. The question is: what are the organization's priorities? Constraints…

Works Cited

Brocklesby, J. 2009. Ethics beyond the model: How social dynamics can interfere with ethical practice in operational research/management science. Omega, 37(6), p.1073.

Davies, J., V.J. Mabin, S.J. Balderstone. 2005, December. The theory of constraints: a methodology apart? -- a comparison with selected OR/MS methodologies.

Omega, 33 (6), pp. 506-524

Neef, Dale. 2005. Supply chain ethics. Ethical Corporation.

For instance, it requires increase space for storage. Then, it has to purchase technologies to help manage the inventory, as well as the supply and demands. Then, it would have to purchase trucks and other transportation machineries, and would also have to allocate budgets to completing the transport operations. The operations would have to be continually developed and improved; the fleet would have to be continually maintained and renewed, and the staffs would generate additional costs as well.

eferences:

Adams, C.M., Customer loyalty is measure of value achieving customer satisfaction, Adams Six Sigma, http://www.adamssixsigma.com/Newsletters/measure_value.htm last accessed on January 25, 2012

Blaisdell, M.., SaaS & customer success, the new definition of customer support, http://seonix.org/business/customer-satisfaction-in-7-steps / last accessed on January 25, 2012

Bucki, J., Top 7 outsourcing advantages, About.com, http://operationstech.about.com/od/officestaffingandmanagem/a/OutSrcAdvantg.htm last accessed on January 25, 2012

Tbije, I.D., Outsource non-core processes for a competitive edge, Business Process Management Articles, http://business-process-mgt.bestmanagementarticles.com/a-6851-outsource-non-core-processes-for-a-competitive-edge.aspx last accessed…

References:

Adams, C.M., Customer loyalty is measure of value achieving customer satisfaction, Adams Six Sigma, http://www.adamssixsigma.com/Newsletters/measure_value.htm last accessed on January 25, 2012

Blaisdell, M.., SaaS & customer success, the new definition of customer support, http://seonix.org/business/customer-satisfaction-in-7-steps / last accessed on January 25, 2012

Bucki, J., Top 7 outsourcing advantages, About.com,  http://operationstech.about.com/od/officestaffingandmanagem/a/OutSrcAdvantg.htm  last accessed on January 25, 2012

Tbije, I.D., Outsource non-core processes for a competitive edge, Business Process Management Articles, http://business-process-mgt.bestmanagementarticles.com/a-6851-outsource-non-core-processes-for-a-competitive-edge.aspx last accessed on January 25, 2012

The reputation aids in moving of the organization's products in the market. It also safeguards the company's various brands against lawsuits, which may hurt its performance. The company's chief executive officer is on record asserting that the food and health quality is paramount as it reflects how the organization handles its employees as well as consumers. KOE sees to it that the company's culture and organizational structure are safeguarded as they offer a platform for smooth operations. As a matter of improvement, the company subjects its staff to practical training programs (Kemp 2002). This equips them with modern organizational practices and orients them toward meeting for the common good of the organization. The organization has a wise choice of designing its quality management assessment procedures. The design of the quality management of the company corresponds to its size, nature of its products, complexity of the market, and other relevant fields.…

References

Pfeifer, T. (2002). Quality Management Strategies, Methods, Techniques; With 3

Tables$Nelektronische Ressource. Mu-Nchen [U.A.], Hanser.

Sukhija, R. (2009). Quality Management: An Excellent Model. New Delhi, Global India

Publications.

Operations Management

Operations: Review Standard Operating Procedures

Question 1 company's operations function on the most basic and general level involves organizing work, selecting processes, arranging layouts, locating facilities, designing jobs, measuring performance, controlling quality, scheduling work, managing inventory, and planning production. For instance, operations at a bank might involve transferring funds from one bank to another or to different branches, processing funds on site, providing checks for customers, cashing checks for customers, preparing monthly statements on a regular basis, reconciling statements when needed, approving loans upon request, loaning money, keeping regular track of loan payments, and approving credit cards if part of the bank's functions. Operations at a retail store might, depending on the nature of the store -- it is service-based or good-based for instance -- involve purchasing goods, stocking goods, selling goods, keeping track of inventory, scheduling workers, laying out the store, locating the store, forecasting demand for…

History of operations management

Jerry Useem, with Julie Schlosser and Helen Kim (March 3, 2003) "One Nation under Wall Mart." Fortune.

Wal-Mart is the largest company in the world. It is well run because it has made the best deals with its suppliers through creating partnerships by which both operatives openly exchange information to streamline the flow of goods from raw materials to checkout counter. Thus its supply chain of stocking and selling goods, and its inventory process is extremely streamlined, one of the keys of operations management.

its collectivism, for example, or how it defines Power Distance, which is defined as the extent to which less powerful members of an organization accept power being distributed unequally (Hofstede, McCrae, 2004). In organizations that are highly hierarchical in structure and as a result have tight spans of control, Power Distance variations may be tolerated yet not accepted. The role of Individualism, Uncertainty Avoidance and Long-Term Orientation for example all could combine to completely re-order how an operations strategy is executed between two different cultures, with dramatically different effects. Mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and other forms of corporate relationships all have as their common component the need to have a consistent strategy for managing cross-cultural factors. One example of this is the decision Hewlett-Packard made to build factories in Singapore that would focus on innovation in addition to lower costs for developing and manufacturing their inkjet printers (Ferdows, 2006). The…

References

Susan Christopherson. 2007. Barriers to 'U.S. style' lean retailing: the case of Wal-Mart's failure in Germany. Journal of Economic Geography: Transnational Retail, Supply Networks, and the Global 7, no. 4 (July 1): 451-469. (Accessed March 12, 2009).

Kasra Ferdows. 2006. Transfer of Changing Production Know-How. Production and Operations Management 15, no. 1 (April 1): 1-9. (Accessed March 12, 2009).

Ross a Hammond, Robert Axelrod. 2006. The Evolution of Ethnocentrism. The Journal of Conflict Resolution 50, no. 6 (December 1): 926-936. (Accessed March 11, 2009).

Geert Hofstede, Robert R. McCrae. 2004. Personality and Culture Revisited: Linking Traits and Dimensions of Culture. Cross - Cultural Research 38, no. 1 (February 1): 52-88 (Accessed March 12, 2009).

"30% of Kmart's shoppers did not have bank accounts." But "Target is focused on a family of four earning $50,000 a year," in contrast "al-Mart's customers make $40,000 a year. Kmart's make $32,000. You tell me which chain is more attractive in the long run." (Mitchell, 2004)

Not only are Target's consumers more able buy big-ticket items, but also more affluent consumers are more apt to make impulse buys. Target stores have thus "recently started stocking more consumables - everyday products like soap and paper towels - and has put them near cash registers and in other high-traffic areas." (Mitchell, 2004) Target soon followed with Target Great land stores, which were bigger than regular stores and sold some groceries; in 1995, it opened its first Super Target, which includes a full supermarket. Cautiously it expanded, but surely.

Regarding the merger, one Target executive stated, "Kmart's chairman, Edward S. Lampert, hired…

Works Cited

Mitchell, Dan. (November 21, 2004) "Who's afraid of K-Mart and Sears? Not Target." The New York Times. Business News. Retrieved 21 November 2004 at  http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/business/yourmoney/21targ.html?pagewanted=2&oref=login 

Norris, Frank. (November 18, 2004) "Trying to get big enough to battle Wal-Mart." The New York Times. Business News. Retrieved 21 November 2004 at  http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/18/business/18place.html?fta=y

Operations Management

What are the advantages of using a computer-aided design technology

Computer aided design technology is particular useful in a globalized world of commerce and business activity. Through the use of computer aided design technology information can seamlessly be transferred from one entity to another with little administrative cost to the business. This is particularly helpful for businesses that rely on human capital rather than physical infrastructure to create a product. Through computer aided design, concepts can be manipulated, transferred and discusses via the internet or other channels of communication. Through this mutual exchange of information, more individuals can have input within the overall design phase. Those with a particular specialty can provide feedback to the overall design as well (Askin, 1993).

Cross functional teams are advantaged through the use of CAD. Designers may not have the financial acumen needed to create a product at a price point consumers…

References:

1) Askin, R.G., C.R. Stanridge, Modeling & Analysis Of Manufacturing Systems, John Wiley and Sons, New York 1993

2) D.C. Montgomery, Statistical Quality Control: A Modern Introduction, 7th edition 2012

3) R.B. Chase, F.R. Jacobs, N.J.Aquilano, Operations Management for Competitive Advantage, 11th ed McGraw-Hill 2007

Operations and Project Management
1
The World Economic Forum defines productivity as “the amount of output per worker” (Jahchan, 2016). Productivity is not, however, the same thing as efficiency—which is a mix-up of terms that some companies frequently make (Mankins, 2017). Efficiency, as Mankins points out, is about doing more with less, whereas productivity is simply about taking the inputs and getting the desired outputs. Productivity is measured by “comparing the amount of goods and services produced with the inputs used in production” and is about “doing more with the same”—i.e., taking what you have and making it work well. Productivity is not about cutting costs by cutting inputs: it is about maximizing the juice that can be squeezed from those inputs.
This distinction matters because some companies will think that if they only cut costs—i.e., inputs that do not seem to have any significant impact on production output—they can…

References
Chambers, J., Mullick, S. & Smith, D. (1971). How to choose the right forecasting technique. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/1971/07/how-to-choose-the-right-forecasting-technique
Jahchan, P. (2016). What is productivity, and how do you measure it? Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/07/what-is-productivity-and-how-do-you-measure-it/
Levitt, T. (1965). Exploit the product life cycle. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/1965/11/exploit-the-product-life-cycle
Mankins, M. (2017). Great companies obsess over productivity, not efficiency. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2017/03/great-companies-obsess-over-productivity-not-efficiency

b)

Given the added consternation to staff and the real potential for decreased customer satisfaction when a rental r official reservation policy is put in place, it is recommended that the resort simply go back to a first-come, first-served basis for the palapas, perhaps with guidelines established for leaving the palapas (e.g., guests who leave a palapa unoccupied for more than an hour forfeit their claim to the palapa, even if they leave their belongings there). This will ensure a greater availability of palapas by making day-long holdings more rare (people that pay to rent them for a full day will likely not relinquish them) and provides a clear and fair means for access to the palapas. There will still be complaints, but as the resort will not be involved in assigning palapas customer satisfaction with the resort should increase overall.

c)

Hotels can implement lean methods by only providing…

Operation Smile Programs Overview

Operation Smile Program Overview

Operation Smile Overview

Operation Smile Program Overview

Operation Smile Program Overview

Cleft palate and cleft lip are among the most common birth defects occurring today (NIDC, 2011). Together, these conditions occur in 0.17% of all births in the United States and between 2004 and 2006 represented 7,088 cases annually. The lifetime healthcare burden of these birth defects in the U.S. is close to $700 million.

Cleft lip/palate represents the failure of tissues to join during fetal development, which can lead to nursing, feeding, and speech problems (MedlinePlus, 2012). As a result, 10% of these children will die within the first year of life (Kraft, 2011). The social stigma associated with the birth defect is also substantial, contributing to the high mortality rate and lifelong social isolation. Children in poverty-stricken areas of the world are particularly vulnerable because they lack access to health…

References

Kraft, Jessica. (2011). Operation Smile Backgrounder. OperationSmile.org. Retrieved 5 Jun. 2012 from  http://www.operationsmile.org/downloadables/news-events/publications/operation-smile-backgrounder.pdf .

MedlinePlus. (2012). Cleft lip and palate repair. NLM.NIH.gov. Retrieved 5 Jun. 2012 from  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002979.htm .

NIDCR (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research). (2011). Prevalence (number of cases) of cleft lip and cleft palate. NICDR.NIH.gov. Retrieved 5 Jun. 2012 from  http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/DataStatistics/FindDataByTopic/CraniofacialBirthDefects/PrevalenceCleft+LipCleftPalate.htm .

Operations at Apple Inc.

Statistical technique to measure the quality characteristics of Apple Inc.

Six-sigma was created in the 1980s at Motorola as a strategy to measure and enhance high-volume processing procedures. Its overall objective was to measure and dispose of waste by endeavoring to accomplish nearly perfect outcomes. The term six sigma refers to a statistical technique of measuring quality with a maximum of 3.4 imperfections out of a million. Various organizations like General Electric, Ford, and Apple Inc. have used six-sigma in their operations and have been able to save billions of dollars (Hubbard, 2009).

Six-Sigma is a statistically conscious strategy-to-process change that uses many tools to guarantee success. These tools include total quality management, statistical process control, and experimental designs. It may be facilitated with other vital activities and frameworks like a new item improvement, planning of material requirements and controls of just-in-time inventory. Initially, Six-sigma was…

References

Doole, I., & Lowe, R. (2008). International marketing strategy: Analysis, development and implementation. London: Cengage Learning.

Hubbard, M.R. (2009). Statistical quality control for the food industry. Gaithersburg, Md: Chapman & Hall Food Science Book.

Kasilingam, R.G. (2010). Logistics and transportation: Design and planning. Dordrecht [u.a.: Kluwer.

Lussier, R.N. (2012). Management fundamentals: Concepts, applications, skill development. Mason, Ohio: South-Western.

The company has evolved from its initial desire to be an industry leader, to that of being a leader and a strong presence within industry and community.

3. The Article in the Operations Management Context

Marc Benioff's and his company's evolution and success relate to operations management by referring not only to the core process of a business -- that of delivering a product or service that transforms into money -- but more so as they both focus on the end result, within given conditions and limitations. Additionally, they both place increased emphasis on other elements, such as customer satisfaction, employee morale and on the job satisfaction, or the respect for the communities in which the firms operate.

eferences:

McNamara, C., 2009, Operations Management, Management Help, http://managementhelp.org/ops_mgnt/ops_mgnt.htm last accessed on December 8, 2009

2009, Mystic Marc's Guide to Success, The Economist, http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14953117 last accessed on December 8, 2009

References:

McNamara, C., 2009, Operations Management, Management Help,  http://managementhelp.org/ops_mgnt/ops_mgnt.htm  last accessed on December 8, 2009

2009, Mystic Marc's Guide to Success, The Economist,  http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14953117  last accessed on December 8, 2009

(7) Polices that are appropriate in the area of retention and according to the policy and standards of the organization;

(8) Documentation practices that are appropriate as per the security policy, procedures, security, contingency and disaster recovery plans; and (9) Hardware, software and resource protection. (Whitman and Mattord, 2008)

III. THREE TYPES OF SECURITY MONITORING TECHNIQUES

In addition to the specified controls security operations that are sound are inclusive of auditing and monitoring which is appropriate. There are three techniques which are used in monitoring security and these include the techniques referred to as:

(1) intrusion detection;

(2) penetration testing; and (3) violation analysis. (Whitman and Mattord, 2008)

Auditing is another important component of information security operations security and it is advised that reviews of audit trails should be performed on a regular basis in order to alert the organization to practices that are inappropriate.

SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

Each of…

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dougherty, Michelle. "The 10 Security Domains" (AHIMA Practice Brief) Journal of AHIMA 75, no.2 (February 2004): 56A-D.

International Information Systems Security Certifications Consortium, (ISC)2.

Code of Ethics. Available online at www.isc2.org / in: Dougherty, Michelle. "The 10 Security Domains" (AHIMA Practice Brief) Journal of AHIMA 75, no.2 (February 2004): 56A-D.

The 10 Domains of Security. 10-D Security. Online available at:  http://www.10dsecurity.com/about/10domains.htm

The 3M model is also one that thrives on internal competition between ideas for further funding, the progression to the next stage of the innovation process, and the development of prototypes and finished products. What unifies all of these elements together is the strong focus on innovation that is predicated on team-based assignment and requirements (Allio, 1993). There is also a strong focus on minimizing variation in new products once defined and in production using Six Sigma, a technique for minimize product variations over time (Hindo, 2007).

eferences

Constraints eferences

Bernardi, d. S. (2010). Theory of constraints contributions to outbound logistics. Management esearch eview, 33(7), 683-700. Link:

http://ebiz.uoregon.edu/poms2008/FullPapers/008-0518.pdf

Goodrich, D.F. (2008). The relationship of the theory of constraints implementation to change management integration in professional service organizations. Nova Southeastern University). Link: http://gradworks.umi.com/33/12/3312014.html

Gupta, M.C., & Boyd, L.H. (2008). Theory of constraints: A theory for operations management. International Journal of Operations…

References

Allio, M.K. (1993). 3Ms sophisticated formula for teamwork. Strategy & Leadership, 21(6), Link:  http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31538/1/0000461.pdf 

Hindo, B. (2007, Sep 17). 3M: Struggle between efficiency and creativity. Business Week (Online),, 1.

Link:  http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_24/b4038406.htm 

Shapiro, A.R. (2006). Measuring innovation: Beyond revenue from new products. Research Technology Management, 49(6), 42-51. Link:  http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/3997709-1.html

One of these strategies relies on
integrating services into manufacturers' products. In order to be
successful at implementing such a strategy, certain factors must be taken
into consideration.
The most important factors that must be taken into consideration by
manufacturers in the service integration process are probably availability
and customization. Basically, availability is represented by time and
location. For example, through service integration, the delivery activity
has been modified. Many companies provide a 24/7 service for their
customers in order to gain competitive advantage. Other modifications
regarding availability include the combination of automated Internet
services and telephone access for certain domains of activity where this
possible and useful.
Customization refers to flexibility and directing it externally
towards the customer, and not directing it internally on the production
process. Basically, customization focuses on modifying the standard product
so that the new, modified product suits better with individual requirements
that customers have.…

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…

Works Cited:

Hanson, G. (2002). The role of maquiladoras in Mexico's export boom. Rice University. Retrieved November 11, 2012 from  http://migration.ucdavis.edu/rs/more.php?id=8_0_2_0 

Engardio, P. (2006). The future of outsourcing. Business Week. Retrieved November 11, 2012 from  http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2006-01-29/the-future-of-outsourcing

Operations Management

Transformation in the technologies behind information will effect in vital transformation in the competition of enterprises. International Business Machines -- IBM encounter a transforming market wherein reputable products lose their competitive edge and also become defunct and are replaced by new products based on latest technologies. IBM Corporation is undoubtedly, the single most major seller in the marketplace in the current era. IBM holds a leadership position in its industry to an extent that is unprecedented in majority of other industries. Users will be encountered with intricate preferences as the restrictions of usual idea regarding information systems in dealing with modern technology becomes palpable. An inescapable aspect of inevitability is present in handling latest technology.

In case of better or worse, modernization cannot be overlooked. Coping up with new technology might be problematic in case of somebody compared to others and might be impossible for everybody. IBM can…

References

Autonomic Computing: Creating Self-Managing Computing Systems. Retrieved from  http://www-03.ibm.com/autonomic  / Accessed on 9 May, 2005

Deutschman, Alan. Building a Better Skunk Works. Issue: 92; March 2005; p. 68. Retrieved from  http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/92/ibm.html  Accessed on 9 May, 2005

IBM Middle East celebrates regional success of ThinkPad notebooks with Centrino Wireless Technology. Retrieved from  http://www.ameinfo.com/26562.html  Accessed on 9 May, 2005

IBM names 5 Fellows -- company's highest technical honor. Retrieved from  http://www.ibm.com/news/us/2002/06/05.html  Accessed on 10 May, 2005

Operations Management

hy are international issues now important in operations management? Give an example.

The changing ways in which efficient manufacturing processes can take place in a global marketplace are critically affected by international and regional concerns. hen deciding to embark upon a new venture in a foreign country, the relative geography and political stability of the nation must be taken into consideration. Foreign expansion holds the potential for great profitability. For example, in India, the existence of a technically skilled yet less expensive marketplace is one key way in which a company can become more profitable, by making use of such a natural, national labor resource. Outsourcing of labor has become a fundamental trend in research and developing. Even aspects of research and development traditionally considered a manufacturer's core competences are now outsourced. (Terestko, 2005)

However, before a company can fully consider outsourcing, local labor issues, national government policy,…

Works Cited

Harland, Christine, Knight, Louise, Lamming, Richard, & Walker, Helen. (Sept 2005) "Outsourcing: assessing the risks and benefits for organisations, sectors and nations." International Journal of Operations & Production Management. Vol. 25. No. 9, pp. 831-850

Terestko, John. (2005) "Pipeline=Lifeline." Industry Week. Retrived 7 Oct 2005 at  http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=10178

Operations Management

What is the relationship between productivity, capital expenditures, and new machinery at Michelin? Would you think that this would be the case for most manufacturing operations? If so, why or why not?

Productivity expenditures

Productivity expenditures are necessary in any performing body in the market. The expenditure conditions in Michelin Company are crucial to the general productivity and growth of the company in the global market. There is more protection a reduction to the influences of positive and competitive changes in the market when production expenditures are relayed and managed well within an institution. Productivity requires the company to incur a number of costs. These costs arise from the purchase of new materials and production facilities. Moreover, it accommodates all the materials and matter related to humanitarian activities of productivity in the market. In order to foster equitable management of productivity in the market, the company assumes the…

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…

References:

Morgan, J. (2013) Alaskan Brewing discontinues pale ale due to hop shortage. Craft Brewing Busines. Retrieved July 24, 2013 from  http://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/ingredients-supplies/alaskan-brewing-discontinues-pale-ale-due-to-hop-shortage/ 

Welch, D. (2007). Hops shortage likely to boost price of beer. NPR. Retrieved July 24, 2013 from  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16245024 

Brewers Association. (2013). Craft brewing facts. Brewers Association. Retrieved July 24, 2013 from  http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/business-tools/craft-brewing-statistics/facts

Operations Management & Supply Chain Management

The case study is touches on the development and production of a board game known as X-Opoly, a game similar to the famous monopoly. X-Opoly was the idea of two students in their first year at college who envisioned creation of a knockoff real estate game similar to monopoly. However their business underwent rapid growth and currently they expect to sell about 50,000 units. Over the period of the next five years they project increase in sales by 25% each year. The order for the games come in two distinct manners, with the first being ordering for an already existing game and the second being a new game. For a new game to be ordered for, the client and an employee in the art department normally sit down and come up with a design according to the specifications of the client. The time taken…

References

Bisk Education, (2013). What is the Importance of Supply Chain Management? Retrieved October 30, 2013 from http://www.usanfranonline.com/importance-of-supply-chain-management/

Zigiaris S., (2010). Supply Chain Management. Retrieved October 30, 2013 from http://www.adi.pt/docs/innoregio_supp_management.pdf

Pamplin College of Business, (2012). Operations and Supply Chain Management. Retrieved October 30, 2013 from  http://www.bit.vt.edu/academics/osm_index.html 

Slack N., Chambers S. & Johnston R., (2010).Operations management. Retrieved October 30, 2013 from  http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/media/onlinepreview/slack_9780273731603/assets/pdf/9780273731603_fm.pdf

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,…

References

Atkinson, Charles. (2011). McDonald's: A guide to JIT. Inventory Management Review.

Retrieved July 31, 2011 at http://www.inventorymanagementreview.org/justintime/

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…

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…

References

Etherington, D. (2013, September 17). How to decide between the new Apple iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. Retrieved September 18, 2013 from Tech Crunch website:  http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/17/iPhone-5s-vs.-iPhone-5c/ 

John Wiley & Sons. (2013). Student companion site: Vonderembse, White: Operations

management: Concepts, methods, and strategies. Retrieved September 18, 2013 from Wiley website:  http://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books?action=resource&bcsId=1528&itemId=0471393274&resourceId=1634&chapterId=4750 

Lake, K. (2013, September 13). Waitress gets "none nigger "as tip at Red Lobster, then suspended for posting on Facebook. Retrieved September 18, 2013 from The Free Patriot website: http://freepatriot.org/2013/09/13/waitress-gets-none-nigger-tip-red-lobster-suspended-posting-facebook/

Statistical process control (SPC) procedures can help monitor process behavior. A control chart also helps you record data and lets you see when an unusual event, e.g., a very high or low observation compared with "typical" process performance, occurs.

Agreeing to have a Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM) approach places the responsibility for routine maintenance on the workers who operate the machinery, rather then employing separate maintenance personnel for that function. TPM gives employees a sense of responsibility and awareness of the equipment they use and cuts down on abuse and misuse of the equipment.

Using a conveyor system will be useful in applications involving the transportation of heavy or bulky materials by allowing quick and efficient transportation for a wide variety of materials. Conveyors are able to safely transport materials from one level to another, which when done by human labor would be strenuous and expensive. They can be installed…

Also, Hamilton, ebster and Sac counties have access to such umbrella services as Parent Time Out, Happy Bear, Crisis Child Care, and Special Care for Special Kids, Family Enrichment Program, and FaDSS (Family Development and Self-Sufficiency Program).

This widespread structure of organizational operations allows different services to be accessible that uniquely fit the needs of individuals in various situations. Parents with special needs children, families in need of enrichment to facilitate their children's educations, parents in need of placing their children in child care, or parents who need time out from the burdens of child care (frequently parents with many children or younger or single parents) can select organizations that operate under the larger web of the Carroll County Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse. Also it enables the directors to have close contact with a wide range of knowledgeable individuals heading a variety of federal and state organizations.…

Works Cited

Carroll County Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse (website last updated 24 Mar 2004) Official website last accessed 15 Jan 2005 at www.carrollfrc.org

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…

References

Andrews, Edmund. 'World Bank Expects Global Economy to Shrink.' The

New

York Times, [Online] Available at:

 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/business/worldbusiness/09iht -

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…

References

Foreman, J., Gallien, J., Alspaugh, J., Lopez, F., Bhatnagar, R., Teo, C.C., & Dubois, C. (2010). Implementing supply-routing optimization in a make-to-order manufacturing network. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 12(4), 547-568.

Gunasekaran, A., & Ngai, E.W.T. (2005). Build-to-order supply chain management: A literature review and framework for development. Journal of Operations Management, 23(5), 423-451.

Gunasekaran, A., & Ngai, E.W.T. (2009). Modeling and analysis of build-to-order supply chains. European Journal of Operational Research, 195(2), 319.

Kapuscinski, R., Zhang, R.Q., Carbonneau, P., Moore, R., & Reeves, B. (2004). Inventory decisions in dells supply chain. Interfaces, 34(3), 191-205.

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…

References

Alagse. (2009). "Customer focused low cost leadership strategy." Accessed 20 September 2009. http://www.alagse.com/strategy/s10.php

Fair, M. (2002). "The history of Amazon. Accessed 20 September 2009. http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/historyamazonc_ttas.htm

Gaudet, B. (2009). "Johnson & Johnson: Strong Pipeline, Compelling Valuation." Accessed 20 September 2009.  http://seekingalpha.com/article/139532-johnson-johnson-strong-pipeline-compelling-valuation 

General Motors Warranty. (2009). Accessed 20 September 2009.  http://www.gm.com/experience/warrantyandquality/

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…

References:

Brinlee, D., MRP 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, R.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

Reh, 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

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…

References

Charnes, A. (2010). Data envelopment analysis: Theory, methodology, and application. Boston: Kluwer.

Palk, D.M. (2007). Differences in airport operational efficiencies and environmental impact: An examination of United States large and medium hub commercial airports. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Williams, S., & Williams, N. (2009). The profit impact of business intelligence. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Morgan Kaufmann.

Operations at Beam Suntory Company

Beam Suntory is an American manufacturing company that deals in the manufacturing of spirits. It is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. The company produces various brands of whisky including Tequila, Scotch whisky, and Irish Whisky among other spirits. Over time, this company has been known for its quality brands and safety standards in its manufacturing endeavor. The company has consequently been the major player in the alcohol industry.

The expenses of the company

There are three main categories of expenses at the company classified as operations expenses, manufacturing expenses, and marketing expenses. The operations expenses are incurred in the course of ensuring the business runs smoothly. This includes the salaries of workers, payment for electricity and water bills and other expenses for an activity that is not directly linked to the content being manufactured, but acting as a support service. Other examples of expenses that fall…

Review of the financial status of the company.

From the balance sheet of the company, it can be seen that the financial health status of the company stable. This is a per the balance sheet for the year ended 2014. It shows a high level of liquidity from the fact that the current assets are sufficient. The balance sheet also shows that most of the liabilities are in the form of long-term loans. This makes the future of the company safe since it will not be hard settling these debts. The other aspect identified from the balance sheet is the fact that the assets are substantial and can offset all the liabilities as is characteristic of a stable company.

Conversely, the income statement speaks a good testimony of the company's good financial status. The document identifies the gross profit sufficient to meet all the expenses. There is a positive net profit of the company as shown by the document. This represents a good financial status characterized by stability. Other aspects of the company's financial status shown by the income statement include tax compliance and respect for creditor's rights in the company. The statement shows deductions meant for all tax levies expected from the company and the payments to creditors done before profit is shared.

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…

References/KurawarwalaMatsuo1996.pdf

Mathaba, S., Dlodlo, N., Smith, a., & Adigun, M. (2011). The use of RFID and web 2.0 technologies to improve inventory management in south african enterprises. Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation, 14(2), 228-241. Link:

 http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/bitstream/10204/5518/1/Mathaba1_2011.pdf 

Wang, H., & Yan, H. (2009). Inventory management for customers with alternative lead times. Production and Operations Management, 18(6), 705-720.

Link:  http://cfins.au.tsinghua.edu.cn/personalhg/wanghaifeng/FlexibleLeadTimeContract.pdf

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…

Reference

Henderson, C.W. (2009). Understanding International Law. London. John Wiley & Sons.

al-Mart uses this technique extensively, since not only does it help to guarantee that its suppliers will be able to meet al-Mart's demand, but al-Mart wants to help its suppliers manage their supply chains better. If a supply managers its own supply chain more efficiently, it can supply the good to al-Mart at a lower price.

3. al-Mart's forecasting techniques have impacted its master schedules and production plans. The company is linked with its suppliers, such that al-Mart essentially dictates their production schedule on the basis of al-Mart's forecasted demand. al-Mart's demands for cost reductions impact capacity planning and workforce management at its suppliers. The more information that al-Mart gathers, the better it performs at inventory management.

al-Mart prepares its budgets with thorough use of forecasting techniques. It uses time series data to analyze long-term sales expectations. This is linked throughout its supply chain, such that suppliers are guided by…

Works Cited:

Wal-Mart 2009 Annual Report

Chase, Jacobs & Aquilano. Operations Management for Competitive Advantage. Chapter 13

In such a case, there is a substantial risk of inventory becoming obsolete, while production costs are also increased.

The four costs involved include basic production, changes in production rate, inventory holding, and backlog costs. Specifically, the first includes material costs, labor costs, and compensation. The second involves hiring, training, and costs involved in laying off workers. Inventory holding costs involves storage, insurance, taxes and obsolescence, while backlogs costs are those incurred by expediting, loss of customer goodwill, and cancelled orders because of product unavailability. Backlog costs are difficult to quantify, because they involve a larger factor than only financial costs. The loss of customer goodwill for example has an effect on both current and future revenue.

3) a tracking signal is a useful device in forecasting market trends. It indicates the deviations above or below the actual market occurrence as compared to the forecast for these markets. This is…

Another key difference is that the histogram measures an entire set of data, but does not reflect judgment on what components of that data are errors. In a typical histogram, only the outlying bars would represent errors. For a Pareto chart, the usage reflects that only errors are identified. In other words, you are starting with a subset rather than the whole set. The objective isn't to find out how frequently errors occur on the whole, but to identify the frequency of specific types of errors.

Because of the differences in their structure, histograms and Pareto charts are used to find different types of errors. Histograms measure the degree to which something is erroneous, whereas Pareto charts only measure the instances of error, not the magnitude.

5. Cost accounting has a strong relationship with lean production. One of the key tenets of lean production is the elimination of waste. The…

Operations Management

eflect and describe which key concepts and topics in this course have made you a stronger candidate to enter the business world.

This was one of the most valuable courses I have ever taken in my academic career as it blended the practical, pragmatic aspects of supply chain management with the powerful frameworks and concepts of Six Sigma, Statistical Process Control, demand management, supply chain management and operations management. The key concepts and topics that made me a stronger candidate entering the business world include understanding the buyer-supplier relationship, how to measure it both from an efficiency and quality standpoint, and how to plan for contingences (Srinivasan, Mukherjee, Gaur, 2011). In addition the many insights gained of how to use the SCO Model for optimizing supply chain performance, in addition to its use for mitigating risk across diverse supplier relationships (Li, Su, Chen, 2011) will be invaluable for…

References

W.H. Ip, S.L. Chan, & C.Y. Lam. (2011). Modeling supply chain performance and stability. Industrial Management + Data Systems, 111(8), 1332-1354.

Li, L., Su, Q., & Chen, X.. (2011). Ensuring supply chain quality performance through applying the SCOR model. International Journal of Production Research, 49(1), 33.

Srinivasan, M., Mukherjee, D., & Gaur, A.. (2011). Buyer-supplier partnership quality and supply chain performance: Moderating role of risks, and environmental uncertainty. European Management Journal, 29(4), 260.

Verdouw, C., Beulens, A., Trienekens, J., & van der Vorst, J.. (2011). A framework for modelling business processes in demand-driven supply chains. Production Planning & Control, 22(4), 365.

Operations Management Case No.5

E-Commerce at Amazon.Com

What are the advantages and disadvantages of selling books and goods over the Internet?

The rise of the internet has created a boom in the market place; not only for the marketers but also for the consumers. According to recent statistics, consumers in 2007 spent on average £4 billion per month online. Today, you can find almost anything on the internet. However, selling your products online holds its own share of advantages as well as disadvantages. Selling products over the internet saves costs that would have been incurred in the setup and operation of a distribution outlet or a physical store. Additionally, it also eliminates other expenditures such as rent, human resource etc. Another key advantage of online sales is that it does not restrict your sales to a local market. Having a web presence not only widens your potential consumer market but…

References

Damian Ryan and Calvin Jones, (2009) Understanding Digital Marketing United States: Kogan Page

Retrieved on April 23rd 2011 from www.amazon.com

David, Fred. (2004) Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases 10th Edition, Prentice Hall

That the service is performed is more important than the speed with which it is performed.

Another factor is that the waiting experience is structured in such a manner as to facilitate long waits. The customer's initial contact is almost immediate, so they are "in the system" and thus more likely to be patient while awaiting the subsequent contact. They are typically comfortable and relatively occupied while waiting as well. The wait is usually in done in a group, which lends itself to lower perceived wait times. Plus, the customer has made an appointment and is thus unlikely to have any immediate plans for their time.

Lastly, the customer's expectation is that they will exit the system feeling better than when they entered. While the customer wishes to feel better as soon as possible, they are willing to wait; plus they expect thorough treatment themselves and thus few would begrudge…

How does MRP II differ from MRP?

Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is the precursor to Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRPII) and both form the foundation for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) enterprise-wide systems. MRP's center of focus as a manufacturing system is on minimizing inventory levels and carrying costs. In addition, MPR systems are used for monitoring and improving manufacturing processes from sourcing and procurement through manufacturing planning and fulfillment. MRP systems often rely on the Bill of Materials (BOM) for order routing through production. This reliance on the BOM results in a limited amount of accurate data as to how production is actually performing relative to the other departments in a company. MRP II systems were designed to overcome the lack of visibility into longer-term production, pricing, sourcing and procurement, sales and marketing plans that had made manufacturing scheduling imprecise with MRP alone. MRP II acts as an enterprise-wide integration strategy,…