SIGUENOS EN:

LIBROS UNIVERISTARIOS Y SOLUCIONARIOS DE

MUCHOS DE ESTOS LIBROS GRATIS EN
DESCARGA DIRECTA

VISITANOS PARA DESARGALOS GRATIS.

 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD

Review and Discussion Questions

1. What is the difference between OM and OR/MS? Between OM and IE?

Operations Management (OM) is a synthesis of concepts and techniques that relate directly to production
systems and enhance their management. Operations Management has a distinct management role that
differentiates it from OR and IE. Operations Managers use the tools of OR in decision making and are
concerned with many of the same issues as Industrial Engineers. Operations Research/Management
Science (OR/MS) is a branch of applied mathematics, while Industrial Engineering (IE) is an engineering
discipline.

2. How would you distinguish OM from management and organizational behavior as taught at your
university?

Management and organizational behavior is concerned with the formulation of corporate strategic policy.
Operations Management is concerned with the operations strategy, which specifies how the firm will
employ its production capabilities to support its corporate strategy.

3. Take a look at the want ads in The Wall Street Journal and evaluate the opportunities for an OM major
with several years of experience.

The following are some examples of jobs available to OM graduates with several years of experience from
the Wall Street Journal, January 18, 2000.

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Chapter 1

Some additional advertisements.

4. What factors account for the resurgence of interest in OM today?

With the expanding objectives of productive systems combined with increased applications to services and
increased efficiency of Japanese producers, there is increased interest in nuts and bolts issues.

5. Using Exhibit 1.2 as a model, describe the input-transformation-output relationships found in the
following systems:

a. An airline
Inputs: passengers
Components: planes, crews, equipment, terminals
Primary functions: transportation
Output: satisfied, safe customers

b. A state penitentiary
Inputs: criminals
Components: legal system, physical plant (prison), guards and support staff
Primary functions: segregation of prisoners from society, punishment, rehabilitation
Output: reformed society members

c. A branch office of a bank

Inputs: customers
Components: tellers, bank officers, teller windows, systems
Primary functions: deposit and withdrawal handling, loan initiation, storing money and valuables
Output: satisfied customers, positive return on loan ratios

d. The home office of a major banking firm

Inputs: paperwork from customers and other institutions
Components: loan underwriters, clerks, computer systems
Primary function: record-keeping, loan processing, coordinating cash flows
Output: satisfied customers, sound investment portfolios

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 Introduction to the Field

6. Sketch the production-delivery system used by CMAX.com Solemates, Inc. in providing the custom
tennis shoes. Could this approach be applied to other consumer goods? Give examples.

Customer visits
Website

Consumer orders Promotional Footwear

for custom shoes Orders (>30 pairs)

Manufacturing Manufacturing
of shoes in China of shoes in China

UPS Delivery UPS Delivery

2~4 weeks Leadtime 6~8 weeks Leadtime

This charts the flow of the CMAX.com Solemates, Inc.’s production system. The production process
combines mass production capability with high customization. This is possible in part due to the use of
flexible manufacturing. The needs and wants of the customer are considered at every step of the process.

This approach can be applied in a large number of industries. However, the approach seems most
appropriate in recreational consumer goods and products requiring high customization. Many production
companies have high volume and low volume lines. Many low volume production facilities could learn
from the CMAX.com Solemates, Inc..

7. Suppose that Rolling Stone presented the following headlines relating to OM. What particular
historical events or individuals would they be referring to?

OVER 5 BAZILLION SOLD TO DATE--Refers to McDonald's and their unique approach to quality and
productivity that stands as a reference point for delivering high-volume standardized services.

BEANTOWN B-SCHOOL DISCOVERS YOU CAN'T HAVE IT ALL---Refers to Harvard professors

William Abernathy, Kim Clark, Robert Hays, and Steven Wheelwright and the emphasis on a
manufacturing strategy based on tradeoffs among performance measures.

INVENTORY—OH NO!—Taichi Ohno’s successful implementation of the Just-In-Time philosophy at

Toyota Motors in the early 1980s, dramatically decreased inventory levels.

BUSINESSES USE A BIG HAMMER TO FORCE CHANGE--Michael Hammer pushed companies to

become lean by seeking innovations in processes by which they run their operations. This approach
became know as business process reengineering (BPR).

FAST HENRY BECOMES MARVEL OF MOTOWN--This refers to Henry Ford as the first to develop a
highly integrated, efficient production system.

EXECS FOLLOW GURU’S RECIPE FOR BIG Q STEW—Refers to quality gurus such as W. E. Deming,
Joseph Juran, Armand Feigenbaum and Philip Crosby.

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Chapter 1

10 BILLION FAX MACHINES DUMPED IN THE OCEAN--Refers to the obsolescence of the fax
machine with the widespread adoption of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the Internet in general for
business communications.

"THE CHAIN GANG" MOVES TO TOP OF THE CHARTS--Supply chain management has emerged an
important aspect of business.

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 CHAPTER 2
OPERATIONS STRATEGY AND COMPETITIVENESS

Review and Discussion Questions

1. Can a factory be fast, dependable, flexible, produce high-quality products, and still provide
poor service from a customer’s perspective?

Yes, if a customer’s needs are not considered and does not influence strategy development, an
organization could be delivering the wrong service or product. Even though the product or
service is delivered fast, dependable, and flexible in design and features and is of high technical
quality, overall service could be rated “poor” by a customer who demands a different mix of
features and attributes. It is often best not to be fastest to the market, but to be the best firm in the
market as judged by the ultimate customer.

2. Why should a service organization worry about being world class if it does not compete
outside its own national border? What impact does the Internet have on this?

As the environment changes, firms can find themselves faced with competition from outside their
industry or from outside their home country. Even if they do not, the principles of a world class
firm can be applied to any and all manufacturing and service concerns. Benchmarking or rating
your firm’s performance to the best in your industry or class can provide future strategic
directions for improvements.

The Internet is global by its very nature. Retail stores must now compete with Internet stores.
Local auction houses will be in competition with Internet auction sites such as eBay. Virtually all
organizations will be impacted in some form by the Internet. It is important that this impact be
considered.

3. What are the major priorities associated with operations strategy? How has their relationship
to each other changed over the years?

The four major imperatives are cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility. In the sixties, these four
imperatives were viewed from a tradeoff’s perspective. For example, this meant that improving
quality would result in higher cost. However, more recent thought posits that these four
imperatives can improve simultaneously, and in many industries may be necessary for success.
The problem then becomes one of prioritizing and managing towards orderly improvement.

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Chapter 2

4. For each of the different priorities in question 3, describe the unique characteristics of the
market niche with which it is most compatible.

Cost is most compatible with products that are commodities (i.e., highly standardized products
with many alternative suppliers). Quality provides companies a means of (1) differentiating a
product and winning orders or (2) competing in a market and qualifying for orders. Quality is
now pervasive among all market niches in that customers now expect high quality. Speed and
reliability of delivery are essential in those markets where there is a large degree of
customization. In addition, reliable delivery may be a competitive advantage in some regions of
the world where delivery is difficult due to geographical or political reasons. Flexibility is
important where customers demand low volume but wide varieties of products.

5. A few years ago the dollar showed relative weakness with respect to foreign currencies, such
as the yen, mark, and pound. This stimulated exports. Why would long-term reliance on a
lower valued dollar be at best a short-term solution to the competitiveness problem?

This approach is dependent on economic policies of other nations. This is a fragile dependency.
A long-term approach is to increase manufacturing and service industry productivity in order to
regain competitive advantage. At a national level, solutions appear to lie in reversing attitudes
and strategies identified in the MIT Commission Report. At a firm level, competitive weapons
are consistent quality, high performance, dependable delivery, competitive pricing, and design
flexibility.

6. In your opinion, do business schools have competitive priorities?

Their competitive priorities include:

Quality of professors and curriculum—consistent quality and high performance

Leader in development of new curriculum topics—design changes

Academic level of student attracted—consistent quality

Quantity and quality of research published—consistent quality

Quality of library resources—quality

What companies recruit at the school—after sales service

Success rate of graduates—consistent quality

Availability of financial aid—low price and after sales service

Cost of tuition—low price

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 Operations Strategy and Competitiveness

7. Why does the “proper” operations strategy keep changing for companies that are world-class
competitors?

The top three priorities have generally remained the same over time: make it good, make it fast,
and deliver it on time. Others have changed. Part of this may be explained by realizing that world
class organizations have achieved excellence in these three areas and are, therefore, focusing
attention on some of the more minor areas to gain competitive advantage. The changes in the
minor priorities may result from recognizing opportunities or from changes in customer desires or
expectations.

8. What is meant by the expressions order winners and order qualifiers? What was the order
winner(s) for your last purchase of a product or service?

Order winners are dimensions that differentiate the product or service or services of one firm
from another. Order qualifiers are dimensions that are used to screen a product or service as a
candidate for purchase. Obviously, answers will vary for the order winners from your last
purchase.

9. What do we mean when we say productivity is a “relative” measure?

For productivity to be meaningful, it must be compared with something else. The comparisons
can be either intracompany or intercompany as in the case of benchmarking. Intercompany
comparisons of single factor productivity measures can be somewhat tenuous due to differences
in accounting practices (especially when comparing with foreign competitors). Total factor
productivity measures are somewhat more robust for comparison purposes.

10. What are the typical performance measures for quality, speed of delivery, and flexibility?

The typical performance measure for quality is percent defective or yield rate. Other quality
indicators include environmental measures of toxic waste produced, scrap, rework, and waste.
Scrap is categorized as engineered or nonengineered scrap.

Speed of delivery is measured by length and variability in product lead time.

Flexibility is measured by the number of products sold, and the time required to get a new
product to market.

11. What should be the criteria for management to adopt a particular performance measure?

The choice of performance measure(s) must be rooted in a deep understanding of the firm’s
distinctive competencies, the market, the competition, and the firm’s desired future competitive
position. The choice of performance measures should be consistent with the desired future
position of the firm. In addition, total factor productivity measures potentially provide a more
compete picture of the firm’s competitiveness.

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Chapter 2

Problems
Problem Type of Problem Difficulty New Modified Check
Total Multifactor Partial Problem Problem Figure in
Productivity Productivity Productivity Appendix
Measure Measure Measure A
1 Yes Moderate Yes
2 Yes Yes Moderate
3 Yes Yes Moderate
4 Yes Easy
5 Yes Easy
6 Yes Easy
7 Yes Easy

1. Labor Productivity – units/hour

Model Output Input Productivity

in Units in Labor Hours (Output/Input)
Deluxe Car 4,000 20,000 0.20

Limited Car 6,000 30,000 0.20

Labor Productivity – dollars

Model Output Input Productivity

in Dollars in Dollars (Output/Input)
Deluxe Car 4,000($8,000)= 20,000($12.00)= 133.33
$32,000,000 $240,000

Limited Car 6,000($9,500)= 30,000($14.00)= 135.71

$57,000,000 $420,000

The labor productivity measure is a conventional measure of productivity. However, as a partial measure,
it may not provide all of the necessary information that is needed. For example, increases in productivity
could result from decreases in quality, and/or increases in material cost.

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 Operations Strategy and Competitiveness

2. Labor Productivity

Country Output Input Productivity

in Units in Hours (Output/Input)
U.S. 100,000 20,000 5.00

LDC 20,000 15,000 1.33

Capital Equipment Productivity

Country Output Input Productivity

in Units in Hours (Output/Input)
U.S. 100,000 60,000 1.67

LDC 20,000 5,000 4.00

Yes. You would expect the capital equipment productivity measure to be higher in the U.S. than in a LDC.

b. Multifactor – Labor and Capital Equipment

Country Output Input Productivity

in Units in Hours (Output/Input)
U.S. 100,000 20,000 + 60,000= 1.25
80,000

LDC 20,000 15,000 + 5,000= 1.00

20,000

Yes, labor and equipment can be substituted for each other. Therefore, this multifactor measure is a better
indicator of productivity in this instance.

c. Raw Material Productivity

Country Output Input Productivity

in Units in Dollars (Output/Input)
U.S. 100,000 $20,000 5.00

LDC 20,000 FC $20,000/10= 10.00

$2,000

The raw material productivity measures might be greater in the LDC due to a reduced cost paid for raw
materials, which is typical of LDC’s.

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