Reference no: EM132724938
PART I: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Instruction: Attempt all of the following questions in view of the theories discussed in this course
1. Briefly discuss the key decision areas in operations management and its contribution to build competitive advantage.
2. Discuss how the key Strategic OM Decisions help companies achieve Differentiation, low cost and response strategies? Illustrate by giving examples.
3. Discuss the meaning of product design, the opportunities for new product development, meaning of time-based competition and its strategic importance?
4. Discuss the meaning and major types of process strategies? Illustrate your discussion by giving examples of organizations applying the strategy.
5. Discuss the meaning of capacity design, capacity considerations and its strategic importance for a firm?
6. Mass customization and rapid product development were identified as current trends in modern manufacturing operations. What is the relationship, if any, between these trends can you cite any examples?
7. What do operations managers do and why it is so important?
8. Explain how the house of quality translates customer desires into product/service attributes?
9. Explain what is meant by robust, modular and computer aided design (CAD)?
10. Explain how improving quality can lead to reduced costs?
11. Discuss the seven concepts that are necessary for an effective TQM program. How are these related to Deming's 14 points?
12. Assume you are a manager of Azaria general service and you want to make sure your customers are satisfied in your company service and excel your competitors. What major issues do you think determine the service quality?
13. Discuss the seven layout strategies and what good layouts do consider?
14. Location strategy is one of the important key decisions in operations management. What are the major factors that firms consider when choosing a country in which to locate? What is factor rating method and how it supports location decision?
15. Discuss the objective of layout strategy. What are layout design considerations? Discuss the conditions under which a product-oriented and process-oriented layout are more appropriate by giving practical examples? What good layouts do consider?
16. Aggregate planning is determining the quantity and timing of production for the immediate future. The objective is to minimize cost over the planning period. Discuss the different options in which cost could be minimized. Discuss the importance of aggregate planning strategies by giving examples?
17. Discuss the advantage and disadvantages of varying the size of the workforce to meet demand requirements each period?
18. How does aggregate planning in service differ from aggregate planning in manufacturing?
19. Define level and chase strategy and explain which strategy is best from employee's perspective and why?
20. Discuss the overall objective of scheduling, discuss scheduling criteria and its overall strategic implication for a firm?
21. Discuss how quality improves profitability and list determinates of service quality?
Part II: Read the case thoroughly and answer the questions follows
1. TEAM Housewife Appliances Corporation is an Ethiopian manufacturer of kitchen appliances. Based in Addis Ababa with an employee base of around 10,000, the Corporation markets its range of high-quality kitchen products, comprise numerous electrical items such as microwave ovens, fuel-efficient cookers and stoves, vegetable cutters, juice mixers etc. only in Addis Ababa. Mr. Mulugeta the operation manager of the corporation is planning to invest more on activities that improves quality. But his colleagues from the other functions are recommending him not too. In a chance encounter at a dinner reception in Addis Ababa sometime in November 2020, you meet and strike up a long conversation with the Corporation's Operations Manager, who visited Addis Ababa. You inform him that in the course of your recent Semester MBA Extension/weekend program at CPU Business and Information Technology College, you have studied the operations management course and you know the concepts, theories and best practices and how they can be applied in real world organizations. Further, you told him as you have gained some basic practical experience through the group cases as part of the course requirement. Now you are eagerly looking for- ward for the opportunity to apply your knowledge in real organizations and would be willing to assist TEAM Housewife Appliances Corporation in finding out whether it invest in quality or not. Impressed by your enthusiasm, and by your description of the course you attended, he hires as a consultant on the spot. He asked you to advise him on the matter by justifying how improving quality can lead to reduced cost? Therefore, what would be your advice?
PART III: WORK OUT QUESTIONS
Instruction: Address the following questions showing the necessary steps.
1. Michael Carrig, Inc. is a disk manufacturer in need of an aggregate plan for July through December. The company has gathered the following data:
COSTS
COSTS
|
HOLDING COST
|
$8/disk/month
|
|
SUBCONTRACTING
|
$80/disk
|
|
REGULAR TIME LABOR
|
$ 12/hour
|
|
OVERTIME LABOR
|
$18/hour
|
|
HIRING COST
|
$40/worker
|
|
LAYOFF COST
|
$80/worker
|
Demand
|
July
|
400
|
|
August
|
500
|
|
September
|
550
|
|
October
|
700
|
|
November
|
800
|
|
December
|
700
|
Other data
|
Current workforce (June)
|
8 people
|
|
Labor-hour/disk
|
4 hours
|
|
Workdays/Month
|
20 days
|
|
Beginning Inventory
|
150 Disks
|
|
Ending Inventory
|
0 Disks
|
Note that there is no holding cost for June.
What will each of the following strategies cost
a) Vary the workforce so that production meets demand. The company has 8 workers on board in June.
b) Vary overtime only and use a constant workforce of 8.
2. The following set of seven jobs is to be processed through two work centers at Quality printing company. The sequences is first printing then binding. Processing time at each of the work centers is shown in the following table:
|
TASK
|
WORK CENTER 1
|
WORK CENTER 2
|
|
A
|
15
|
3
|
|
B
|
7
|
9
|
|
C
|
4
|
10
|
|
D
|
7
|
6
|
|
E
|
10
|
9
|
|
F
|
4
|
5
|
|
G
|
7
|
8
|
Required:
a) What is the optimal sequences for these jobs to be scheduled?
b) Chart these jobs through the two work centers?
c) What is the total length of time of this optimal solution?
3. The following jobs are waiting to be processed at Rick Carlson's machine center. Carlson's machine center has a relatively long backlog and sets fresh schedule every 2 weeks, which do not disturb earlier schedules. Below are the jobs received during the previous 2 weeks. They are ready to be scheduled today, which is day 241 (day 241 is a work day).
|
JOB
|
DATE JOB RECEIVED
|
PRODUCTION DAYS NEEDED
|
DATE JOB DUE
|
|
J-1
|
228
|
15
|
300
|
|
J-2
|
225
|
25
|
270
|
|
J-3
|
230
|
35
|
320
|
|
J-4
|
235
|
40
|
360
|
|
J-5
|
231
|
30
|
310
|
Required:
a) Compute the table below (show your supporting calculations)
b) Which dispatching rule has the best score for flow time?
c) Which dispatching rule has the best score for utilization metrics?
d) Which dispatching rule has the best score for lateness?
e) Which dispatching rule would you select? Support your decision.
|
RULE
|
JOB
SEQUENCE
|
FLOW
TIME
|
UTILIZATION
METRIC
|
AVERAGE NO OF
JOBS
|
AVERAGE
LATENESS
|
|
EDD
|
|
|
SPT
|
|
|
LPT
|
|
|
FCFS
|
|
4. Azariya's barber shop in Addis Ababa is open 7 days a week but has fluctuating demand. Azariya is interested in treating his barbers as well as he can with steady work and preferably 5 days of work with two consecutive days off. His analysis of his staffing needs resulted in the following plan. Schedule Azariya's staff with the minimum number of barbers.
|
Day
|
|
Barbers
needed
|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
Sunday
|
|
6
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
6
|
4
|
3
|
5. Addis Hiwot medical testing company wishes to assign a set of jobs to a set of machines. The following table provides the production data of each machines when performing the specific jobs.
Machine
|
Job
|
A
|
B
|
C
|
D
|
|
1
|
7
|
9
|
8
|
10
|
|
2
|
10
|
9
|
7
|
6
|
|
3
|
11
|
5
|
9
|
6
|
|
4
|
9
|
11
|
5
|
8
|
Required:
a) Determine the assignment of jobs to machines that will maximize total production
b) What is the total production of your assignment?
6. The KIA Motors assembled cars on a conveyor belt. Five hundred cars are required per day. Production time per day is 7 hours, and the assembly steps and times for the KIA Motors are given below.
|
Task
|
Task time (in seconds)
|
Task that must precede
|
|
A
|
45
|
-
|
|
B
|
11
|
A
|
|
C
|
9
|
B
|
|
D
|
50
|
-
|
|
E
|
15
|
D
|
|
F
|
12
|
C
|
|
G
|
12
|
C
|
|
H
|
12
|
E
|
|
I
|
12
|
E
|
|
J
|
8
|
F, G, H, I
|
|
K
|
9
|
J
|
Required:
a) Draw the precedence diagram
b) Determine the workstation cycle time
c) Determine the theoretical minimum number of workstations required
d) What would be the line's efficiency?
Attachment:- Operations Management Individual Assignment.rar