Master of Business Administration MBA Semester 2 MB0044

Winter 2014
Exam Apr/May 2015
Master of Business Administration
MBA Semester 2
MB0044– Production & Operations Management
Assignments
CREDIT & MARKS-4 Credits, 60 marks
Q1. Write short notes on:
•
Outsourcing strategies for capital productivity
•
Implementation of operations
•
Basic competitive priorities
•
Market survey method of forecasting
Answer.
•
Outsourcing strategies for capital productivity:
Capital Productivity is Capital deployed in plant, machinery, buildings, and the distribution
systems as well as working capital are the components of the cost of manufacturing.
Outsourcing strategies when capacity requirements are determined, it is easy to figure out
whether some goods or services can be outsourced. Outsourcing can reduce the capital and
manpower requirements. Also, the available capacities can be used to augment the core
competencies thus reducing the cost of the product or service to the customer. Further,
outsourcing also helps in improved product design and even enables better networking and
collaborations. However, lack of expertise, quality considerations, nature of demand, and cost
factors may restrict outsourcing.
Lack of expertise – The outsourced firm may not have the requisite expertise to do the job
required.
Quality considerations – Loss of control over operations may result in lower quality.
Nature of demand – This affects the business, especially if no production facilities are built in
the organization.
Cost – It may not be worthwhile when the fixed costs that go along with making the product
does not get reduced considerably.
•
Implementation of operations:
Implementation of operations Implementation is the process of executing the planned
operations. When planning and controlling functions are put together, we call it as
Implementation of Operations.
Fig: Implementation of operations
Estimating – Estimating gives the quantities to be made at each workstation depending on the
sales forecast, provision for buffer stock, quantities bought out, services outsourced, likely
shortfalls, and others. It is made on the basis of capacity.
Routing – Routing determines the sequence of operations and the machines that do them, so
that work flow, as determined by the processes, is smooth resulting in minimum inventory.
Scheduling – Scheduling is mainly concerned with allocating time slots for different jobs
Dispatching – Dispatching is concerned with moving of the materials with tools, jigs, and
fixtures to specific machines along with the drawings and ensuring inspections at specific
nodes, so that the materials move in the supply chain.
Expediting – Expediting ensures that all the above are being done properly. Reports are
generated and any bottleneck that gets created is removed.
•
Basic competitive priorities
The basic competitive priorities are:
1. Cost
2.
Quality
3. Time
4. Flexibility
 Cost: Cost is one of the primary considerations while marketing a product or a service
 Quality: Quality is defined by the customer. The operations manager looks into two
important aspects namely high performance design and consistent quality.
 Time: Faster delivery time, on-time delivery, and speedy development cycle are the
time factors that operations strategy looks into.
 Flexibility: Flexibility is the ability to provide a wide variety of products, and it measures
how fast the manufacturer can convert its process line used for one product to produce
another product after making the required changes.
•
Market survey method of forecasting:
Market surveys Conducting surveys among the prospective buyers or users are a very old
method of forecasting. Here, a questionnaire is prepared and circulated among the people and
their responses are obtained. The responses are collated and analyzed to reveal possible clues
towards acceptance or otherwise about a new product or service. Based on the overall
decision, the forecasting is done. This method is typically done for new products or at new
places where a product is to be launched. In this method, the number of respondents and how
responses are gathered like through oral interviews, personal talks, internet based, postal
ballots, etc, have to be established before survey. The common limitations are the sample size
and the way of drawing the sample like random, convenient, or judgmental. Sample bias is not
completely ruled out.
Q2. “Gujarat’s emergence as an auto hub is a positive for the economy Saturday, 17
September 2011 - 8:00am IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
Several domestic and foreign auto manufacturers have either announced plans to establish
manufacturing plants in Gujarat or are considering it as a possible location. Those
establishing the plants include the US-based Ford Motor and PSA Peugeot Citroen from
France, joining India’s Tata Motors, General Motors of US, Bombardier of Canada and
Asia Motor Works (AMW), a heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer. Auto ancillary
hubs, which are critical for a thriving auto hub, are located in Rajkot, Ahmedabad and
Vadodara, and more to come in Kutch and Sanand districts. A precision engineering park
is planned to come up in Dahej.
Ans.
See paid assignment for complete answer of this Case study…………………………..
Q3. Write short notes on:
•
5Ss system of waste elimination
•
Scheduling in services
•
Vendor managed inventory
•
Subcontracting capacity (production) option
Answer.
•
5 Ss system of waste elimination
5S is the name of a workplace organization method that uses a list of five Japanese words: seiri,
seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke. Transliterated or translated into English, they all start with
the letter "S. Concept of “5S” Historically, production managers have used “housekeeping” for a
neat, orderly, and efficient workplace and as a means of reducing waste. Operations managers
have improvised “housekeeping” to include a checklist commonly known as the 5Ss. The
Japanese developed the initial 5Ss where each S stands for a Japanese word. The 5Ss are as
follows:
Sort/segregate – Keep what is needed and remove everything else from the work area; when
in doubt, throw it out.
Simplify/straighten – Arrange and use analysis tools to improve the work flow and reduce
wasted motion. Consider long-run and short-run ergonomic issues
Shine/sweep – Clean daily; eliminate all forms of dirt, contamination, and clutter from the work
area.
Standardize – Remove variations from the process by developing standard operating
procedures and checklists; develop good standards.
Sustain/self-discipline –
Review periodically to recognize the efforts and motivate the
workforce to sustain progress. Use visuals wherever possible for easy communication and
implementation.
b) Scheduling in Services:
Service operations cannot create inventories to provide buffer for demand uncertainties
Demand in service operations cannot be predicted accurately Demand for service are initiated
mostly as unplanned event and hence, there may be certain distortions in scheduling Providing
the required manpower and skills for the sudden demand in scheduling a service activity is
challenging and sometimes becomes crucial Scheduling customer demand Normally the service
centre capacity is fixed, but the demand will be varying. Forecasting the demand in advance for
service activities is difficult and scheduling such variable demand poses certain problems. In
order to provide timely service and utilize the capacity to the maximum extent, the scheduler
has to adopt certain systems/methodologies. There are three methods normally used by the
scheduler in services.
They are:
•
Backlogs
•
Reservations
•
Appointments
c) Vendor managed inventory:
The very purpose of JIT is to reduce inventory at all places in the supply chain. Inventory is
considered a waste because inventory is created by using materials, machines, and efforts of
persons. All of these are resources which have already been used up and that portion of it
which is not consumed and sent up the value chain causes a drag in the system. However,
inventories are inevitable because uncertainties exist at every stage, making it necessary to
provide a buffer so that demands do not go unfilled. The challenge is to keep it to the
minimum. To make this happen, the calculations involving the following are necessary:
•
Forecasts of the market demand
•
Capacities of the equipments
•
Worker absenteeism
•
Supplier’s lead times
•
Quality of the produced components
d) Subcontracting capacity (production) option:
Subtracting enables planners to acquire temporary capacity with great flexibility. Factors to
consider include availability capacity, relative expertise, quality considerations, cost, and the
amount and stability of demand. As an alternative to subcontracting, an organization might
consider outsourcing: contracting with another organization to supply some portion of the goods
or services on a regular basis.
Q4. Describe the post implementation review of a project. Explain the tools that may be
considered for post implementation review.
Q5. Explain the steps to set data in logical order so that the business process may be
defined.
Q 6. Describe the dimensions of quality.
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