Discussion Assignment 1

Choosing a Company Facing Operations Challenges

Discussion Posting Expectations

Before starting your first discussion, examine the following discussion posting

expectations for the course:

• Participate actively in discussions, beginning with your initial substantive post for each of the discussion topics. This post should demonstrate your achievement of the

participation criteria.

Instructions

This discussion board will help you prepare for this week's assignment.

1. Which company will you write about, and what operations challenge is it facing? In your assignments throughout this course, you will build an OIP for a company facing

specific operations challenges (also known as your client company). Name your

chosen company and briefly state the issues you will be addressing.

You will choose the company, which is referred to here as your "client company." A

few prominent examples in the last several years of companies facing challenges

that would suit an operations improvement plan include (but are not limited to):

• Honda's airbag recall. • Volkswagen's emissions scandal. • Caterpillar, Incorporated's failed partnership with manufacturer, Siwei, Limited.

2. How do W. Edward Deming's classic "14 Points for Management" relate to your client company? Because you are identifying processes that you might focus on for

your OIP for this course, it is a good time to evaluate the situation using a formative

strategy in the field, Deming's "14 Points for Management." Following the Second

World War, Deming traveled to Japan and motivated several prominent Japanese

businesses toward process changes that brought them remarkable success. These

companies cut expenses, increased productivity, and gained market share by

improving the quality of their products. By the 1970s, many American and European

organizations adopted a similar strategy in order to stay competitive. Explain how

you think some or all the principles proposed in his 14 points for management apply

to the company you have chosen and its organizational challenges.

Resources

• Discussion Participation Scoring Guide.

Readings

Russell, R. S., & Taylor, B. W. (2017). Operations and supply chain management (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. ISBN: 9781119320975

Use your Operations and Supply Chain Management text to complete the following:

• Read Chapter 1, "Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management," pages 1–31.

o This reading provides you with an overview of processes and methods. Managers

must understand how to efficiently manage operations within their organizations.

They also must develop skills and strategies for the coordination of operations

across a global supply chain.

o You may also wish to visit the supplement, "Operational Decision-Making Tools:

Decision Analysis," as found on pages 32–52.

• Read Chapter 2, "Quality Management," pages 53–106. o This reading gives you an idea of the value of process improvement and quality. In

order for an organization to gain success in improving and managing product and

service quality, a complete commitment to quality is necessary throughout the

organization and its supply chain. Six Sigma is introduced to improve process

implementation and quality. ISO 9000 standards and certifications are employed by

successful companies in order to remain competitive in international markets.