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. Remaining Answers are available in Paid Assignments…….. Contact us for complete assignments….. NAVEEN KUMAR: 09971164259 E-MAIL: smuassignment2014@gmail.com Website: www.smustudy.com Now you can Pay Online on our Website…….(See Payment Details page of our website) ALL OF OUR ASSIGNMENTS ARE IN WORD FORMAT AND AS PER NEW GUIDELINES OF SMU………