BUS 644 Week 2 Discussion 1 & 2 plus Week 2 Assignment

Required Resources

Text

Vonderembse, M. A., & White, G. P. (2013).  Operations management  [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

· Chapter 3: Enhancing Productivity

· Chapter 4: Quality Management

Article

Ambruch, B. (2013, October 21). The forces that are transforming how products are made (Links to an external site.). Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ptc/2013/10/21/the-six-things-that-are-transforming-how-products-are-made/

Recommended Resources

Article

Stahl, R., & Pexton, C. (2003). Healthcare’s horizon. ASQ Six Sigma Forum Magazine, 2(2), 17-26. Retrieved from the ProQuest database.

Multimedia

July, E. (Producer) & Rodrigo, J. M. (Director). (2003).  Business is blooming: The international floral industry (Links to an external site.)  [Video file]. Retrieved from the Films On Demand database.

· Watch the following segments:

· Competition and Commercial Breeding

· Cross-Breeding New Species

· French Horticulture Industry

· French Florists and Regional Flowers

· Lava Trading and the Floral Business

Websites

American Society for Quality. (n.d). Malcom baldridge national quality award (MBNQA). (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/malcolm-baldrige-award/overview/overview.html

NetMBA Business Knowledge Center. (2002-2010). Operations (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.netmba.com/operations/

The National institute of Standards and Technology. (2013, February 28). Baldrige performance excellence program (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.nist.gov/baldrige/

Discussion 1

Productivity

Many times trade-offs are necessary to increase productivity. What are important trades-offs involving the inputs to productivity? Your initial post should include real life situations and be at least 200-250 words.

Discussion 2

Product Design and Quality

Read the Forbes article, “ The Forces That Are Transforming How Products Are Made (Links to an external site.).” Based on the content presented in the article, what forces and important organizational activities enable a firm to build quality into its products? Explain each of these along with their benefits. Your initial post should include examples and be at least 200-250 words. Respond to at least two of your classmate’s posts.

Week 2 - Assignment

Memorial Hospital

Read the “Memorial Hospital” case study in Chapter 4 of your text. In a three- to four-page paper, respond to the guided response below.

· Discuss ways that a hospital might measure quality. Be sure to explain your reasoning.

· Explain the potential costs and failures of quality for Memorial Hospital and discuss how each can be measured.

· Discuss ideas or techniques from TQM that Janice could use to help Memorial focus on providing quality health care.

· Analyze the methods Memorial could use to assess the quality of health care it is providing.

Your paper should be in paragraph form (avoid the use of bullet points) and supported with the concepts outlined in your text and additional scholarly sources.

Submit your three- to four-page paper (not including the title and reference pages). Your paper must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center and must cite at least three scholarly sources in addition to the textbook.

Carefully review the  Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.