draft prodma questions

8/10/2019 Draft prodma questions

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to be successful in the marketplace. They are able to do this by impro$ing current products or by designing ne! ones

c. Design of Work Systems is an important component in Production and Operations Management. Design

of Work Systems forms the basis and explains the importance of work design. Design of Work Systems

is used to describe the two basic approaches to job design the !rst approach focuses on "#ciency

through job speciali$ation and the other focuses beha%ioral approaches to job design. Design of Work

System also entails method analysis which in turn centers on how jobs are performed. Moti%ation and

&rust also form an important dimension in Design of Work systems as this alone pro%ides an

opportunity to the Organi$ation to de%elop e'ecti%e teams who can achie%e organi$ations short and

long term objecti%es. Moti%ation and &rust obser%ations also emphasi$es working conditions that in turn

lead to work measurements which leads to reward and compensation of the indi%idual working for the

organi$ation. (n short this topic of Design of Work Systems pro%ides the perfect bridge between

Production and Operations Management with )uman *esource Managemen

d.What is technology management+ &echnology management is a set of management disciplines that allowsorgani$ations to manage its technological fundamentals to create competitive advantage.(t is %ery important for anorgani$ation to manage its technology strategically because when it is not well managed it might result into a big lossin the organi$ation. Managing technology in%ol%es planning designing optimi$ing operation and control oftechnological products.

&echnology management aims at maximi$ing the cost e'ecti%eness of in%estments in technology de%elopment which

contributes to the %alue of an organi$ation. (f an organi$ation fails to plan for its technology it might encounter issues

like data loss or misuse of that technology by its employees. ,ut if the organi$ation creates a frame work and plans for

its technology its output will increase. ,elow ( ha%e listed some of the importance-s of technology management

/rowth of the 0irm &he process of managing technology in%ol%es organi$ing coordinating and managing

acti%ities. (f technology is well managed an organi$ation will impro%e on its operations and reduce on operational

costs of the organi$ation. &he technical sta' will ha%e a challenge of analy$ing whatcustomers need and specify which

technologies are supposed to be implemented as well as spot the ones to be stopped. 1fter this process of analy$ing

what is necessary both the organi$ation and its consumers will bene!t which will lead to the growth of that

organi$ation.

"liminates duplication (f technology is well managed it will automate information 2ow in an organi$ation. (n this casethe technical team will set up a management information system 3M(S4 which pro%ides periodic predetermined and ad5hoc reporting capabilities. (n most cases the M(S reports summari$e or aggregate information to support decision5making tasks. So M(S-s are systems that ha%e information5processing responsibilities that include information throughonline analytical processing3O61P4 and con%eying information to whoe%er needs it. &o a small organi$ation this processmight be expensi%e so people in charge must calculate return on in%estment. M(S-s are commonly known as7-management alerting systems 7-- because they send alerts to management concerned to the existence or potentialexistence of problems or opportunities.1 management information system 3M(S4pro%ides reports in many di'erent

forms. (ts reports can be periodic reports summari$ed reports exception reports ad hoc reports and comparati%ereports.

3.While the need for structure is clear the best structure for a particular coalition is harder todetermine. &he best structure for any organi$ation will depend upon who its members are what thesetting is and how far the organi$ation has come in its de%elopment.

*egardless of what type of structure your organi$ation decides upon three elements will always be

there. &hey are inherent in the %ery idea of an organi$ational structure.

&hey are

Some kind of go%ernance

*ules by which the organi$ation operates
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1 distribution of work

Governance

&he !rst element of structure is go%ernance 5 some person or group has to make the decisions

within the organi$ation.

Rules by which the organization operates

1nother important part of structure is ha%ing rules by which the organi$ation operates. Many of

these rules may be explicitly stated while others may be implicit and unstated though not

necessarily any less powerful.

Distribution of work

(nherent in any organi$ational structure also is a distribution of work. &he distribution can be formal

or informal temporary or enduring but e%ery organi$ation will ha%e some type of di%ision of labor.

&here are four tasks that are key to any group

"n%isioning desired changes. &he group needs someone who looks at the world in a slightly

di'erent way and belie%es he or she can make others look at things from the same point of

%iew.

&ransforming the community. &he group needs people who will go out and do the work that

has been en%isioned.

Planning for integration. Someone needs to take the %ision and !gure out how to

accomplish it by breaking it up into strategies and goals.

Supporting the e'orts of those working to promote change. &he group needs support from

the community to raise money for the organi$ation champion the initiati%e in the state

legislature and ensure that they continue working towards their %ision.

8OMMO9 *O6"S

"%ery group is di'erent and so each will ha%e slightly di'erent terms for the roles indi%iduals play in

their organi$ation but below are some common terms along with de!nitions and their typical

functions.

1n initial steering committee is the group of people who get things started. Often this

group will create plans for funding and organi$ational and board de%elopment. (t may also

generate by5laws and then dissol%e. (f they continue to meet after approximately the !rst six

months we might say they ha%e metamorphosed into a coordinating council.

1 coordinating council 3also referred to as a coordinating committee executi%e committee

andexecuti%e council4 modi!es broad organi$ation5wide objecti%es and strategies in

response to input from indi%iduals or committees.Often one person will take the place of the coordinating council or may ser%e as its head.

Such a person may be known as the "xecuti%e Director Project 8oordinator Program

Director or President. )e or she sometimes has a paid position and may coordinate

manage inspire super%ise and support the work of other members of the organi$ation.

&ask forces are made up of members who work together around broad objecti%es. &ask

forces integrate the ideas set forward with the community work being done.

"ncourage :uality teamwork by rewarding groups for good performance. 8reate incenti%es to work well as a team by

gi%ing praise and issuing small tokens of appreciation that bear the project or company name. 1lan Orr author of thebook ;1d%anced Project Management; suggests gi%ing the team publicity for its work. Such a gesture instills a sense ofmeaning and %alue into the nature of the job thereby boosting teamwork among group members.

&eamwork is enhanced when workers know each other and are comfortable discussing a %ariety of issues. ,uild this


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The Product Life Cycle, Demand Uncertainty, and Inventory

)he structure of independent demand and logistical reuirements vary by stage in the product life cycle #introduction, gro"th, maturity,

and decline&. uring introduction, logistics must support the business plan for product launch, "hile preparing to handle potential rapid

gro"th by uic/ly expanding distribution. At mar/et maturity, the logistical emphasis shifts to become cost driven. In the decline stage,

cash management, inventory control, and abandonment timing become critical. -ver(abundance of products in the late maturity or

decline stage "ill eventually result in obsolete products. )he obvious difficulty is predicting ho" long each stage "ill last and ho"

abruptly sales "ill fall in the decline stage.

)he life cycle strategy typically involves getting to profitability uic/ly recuperating startup costs, then sustaining high profits for as long

as possible, and finally acting decisively for products in decline to minimie losses. nderstanding this life cycle can help managers

select logistical tactics, inventory levels and supply chain designs. )he ultimate goal for companies should be to have & measures the stability of a product?s demand, comparing the variability in demand to the sie of the

average demand #*igure !&. ;igh demand variability in the introductory stage means it is difficult, if not impossible, to forecast demand.

)hus, high levels of inventory must be held to meet even minimal customer service levels. In contrast, lo"er variability during maturity

means that demand forecasts are uite accurate. ;o"ever, inventory levels may still be large because they are based on larger sales

volumes.

In addition to the vagaries associated "ith product life cycle stage, t"o other sources of uncertainty also drive the level of inventory.

*irst, demand can vary from day to day, "ee/ to "ee/, or seasonally. 'econd, there may be variability in lead time, or the time from

"hen an order is placed until delivery is made.

*orecasting demand used to be more exact because products stayed in the mature product life cycle phase for a long time. )oday many

companies find it far more difficult to forecast sales because of product proliferation. 3roduct line extensions result in more products

that cannibalie sales and shorten the life cycle. )hus, more sales are coming from products in the erratic earlier stages of life, as

opposed to sales from products in the mature stage of the life cycle.

Inventory Costs

ifferent models are used to manage inventory for products that are continually available #li/e mil/& or products available for limited

time #li/e seed&. )he conomic -rder @uantity #-@& model determines the least cost level of inventory to carry, as "ell as costs. e"s

>endor models are used for products only available for a single period.

-@ and e"s >endor models have proved useful for managing inventory for many years, analying tradeoffs among ma


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percent of product cost&, and the average cost per unit of inventory. If a firm plans to use inventory reductions to fund other capital

assets, inventory carrying cost might be D0% #!:% for an opportunity cost and :% for the service, space, and ris/ costs&. If the firm plans

to use the savings to reduce debt, the appropriate rate might be 1!% #F% for the interest rate and :% for the other costs&. egardless of

the carrying cost rate being used, as a firm holds more inventory, carrying cost increases #*igure D&.

*irms carry extra inventory to guard against uncertain events. 8no"n as safety stoc/, the purpose of this inventory is to provide

protection against stoc/outs. 'afety stoc/ is costed


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Implementing a JIT system requires management to consider issues of worker stress, cooperation

and trust among workers and management, and reward systems and labor classifications.

Human Costs of JIT Systems. Just-in-time systems can be coupled wit statistical process control

!"#$% to reduce variations in production. &owever, tis combination requires a ig degree of

regimentation and sometimes causes stress in te work force. In a JIT system, workers must meetspecified cycle times, and wit "#$ tey must follow prescribed problem-solving metods. "uc

systems migt make workers feel pused and stressed, causing productivity losses or quality

reductions. In addition, workers migt feel tat tey ave lost some autonomy because of te close

linkages in materials flows between stations wit little or no safety stocks. 'anagers can mitigate

some of tese effects by allowing slack in te system troug te (udicious use of safety stock

inventories and by empasi)ing materials flows instead of worker pace. 'anagers also can promote

te use of work teams and allow tem to determine teir task assignments or rotations witin te

team*s domain of responsibility.

Cooperation and Trust. In a JIT system workers and first-line supervisors must take on

responsibilities formerly assigned to middle managers and support staff. +ctivities suc assceduling, epediting, and improving productivity become part of te duties of lower level

personnel. $onsequently, organi)ational relationsips must be reoriented to build close cooperation

and mutual trust between te work force and management. "uc cooperation and trust may be

difficult to acieve, particularly in ligt of te typical adversarial positions taken by labor and

management in te past. or eample, te 'a)da plant in lat ock, 'icigan, was eperiencing

quality problems in +ugust /011. 2reater absenteeism tan te Japanese epected and ineperience

of te work force were cited as ma(or contributors. "ome people felt tat te real problem was a

lack of understanding of te +merican culture by Japanese managers. +s te president of +

5ocal 3666 put it, 7To te Japanese, work is te most important part of life, and tey epect

everybody to be as dedicated as tey are. 8ut to +mericans, te (ob is tere to support your life on

te outside.7

Reward Systems and Labor Classifications. In some instances te reward system must be revamped

wen a JIT system is implemented. +t 2eneral 'otors, for eample, a plan to reduce stock at one

plant ran into trouble because te production superintendent refused to cut back production of

unneeded parts9 is salary was based on is plant*s production volume.

Te realignment of reward systems isn*t te only urdle. 5abor contracts traditionally ave

reduced management*s fleibility in reassigning workers as te need arises. + typical automobile

plant in te nited "tates as several unions and do)ens of labor classifications. To gain more

fleibility, management in some cases as obtained union concessions by granting oter types of

benefits. In oter cases management as relocated plants to take advantage of nonunion or foreignlabor. In contrast, at Toyota management deals wit only one company union, and tere are only

eigt different labor classifications in a typical plant.

Process Considerations

irms using J/T systems typically ave some dominant materials flows. To take advantage of JIT

practices, firms migt ave to cange teir eisting layouts. $ertain workstations migt ave to be

moved closer togeter, and cells of macines devoted to particular families of components. Te

single most important factor in successful implementation is canging product flows and layout to a

cellular design. &owever, rearranging a plant to conform to JIT practices can be costly. or

eample, wereas many plants now receive raw materials and purcased parts by rail, to facilitatesmaller, more frequent JIT sipments, truck deliveries would be preferable. 5oading docks migt

ave to be reconstructed or epanded and certain operations relocated to accommodate te cange


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in transportation mode and quantities of arriving materials.

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