Operations Management Practical Problem
Alex_Blackstone
OMPP3FormFormat.docxOMPP3
OM (Operations Management) Practical Project Problems- are applications of OM principles and theories, often using specific OM tools applied to real world OM activities.
Fishbone Diagrams
Pick one of the areas from your work to date on the organization and focus on a problem or opportunity that has surfaced. Develop a “Fishbone Diagram” chart for that problem or opportunity. In the college area we could focus on dropouts and retention; completion delays or problems; administrative bottlenecks for example. The basic idea of the Fishbone is to identify an opportunity and then develop a viable future operational strategy.
A fishbone diagram (also known as a cause-and-effect diagram, Ishikawa diagram or herringbone diagram) is a visualization technique for categorizing the potential causes of a specific problem. The main purpose is to find the root cause.
Fishbone Diagram Main Steps:
Step1: Identify and agree on a problem statement. After that, write the problem statement in a box on the left side of a whiteboard or sheet of paper. Now, draw a horizontal line across the paper starting from the box. Our example (above) shows the problem as “low enrollment”
Step2: Consider the major categories of factors involved in the problem. If this is difficult, you can use a standard categorization model:
· Materials
· People
· Equipment
· Measurement-Our example: [1] applications [2] acceptance [3] enrollment [4] compare to prior years
· External factors and etc.-Our example: Covid; the economy.
Step 3 : Identify the possible causes. For each of the categories of factors, you found in step 2, think of possible causes. Draw the possible causes as branches from the main horizontal line. Where a cause is too complex, you may break it down into some sub-causes. Draw these as small lines that come off each cause line. External factor: Cause: Covid prohibits on campus classes; some students do not want to do all online learning.
Step 4: Analyze the diagram you just have created. Now, you have an overview of the possible causes. Depending on the nature of the problem, you might need to collect and investigate additional information to better understand the causes. This may involve carrying out surveys, simple hypothesis testing (such as asking “Where?”, and “How?”) and etc.
1
