Response Discussion 1

Choosing a Company Facing Operations Challenges

o Respond to the posts of at least two of your fellow learners (see below) for each

discussion question per week, unless the discussion instructions state otherwise.

Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to at least two. See below.

o Do the chosen client company and its challenge seem like a good fit for the

Operations Improvement Plan project in this course?

o Are there more of Deming's 14 points that might also relate to this client

company?

Student 1

I’ve chosen Samsung as my client company. In 2016 they faced a major crisis when the

Note 7s began overheating causing them to recall and eventually pull the product from

the market. I plan to focus on what processes lead to the malfunctioning of the devices

as well as how the company handled the crisis. What was thought to be the cause of

the device overheating was not the actual problem so Samsung’s initial solution to

replace devices with batteries from a different supplier backfired when some of those

devices began overheating as well (Cheng & McKinnon, 2016).

In Deming’s 14 Points, he mentions eliminating barriers between departments; have them

work together to forsee and prevent problems (Deming, 1987). This particular point may not

have prevented the overheating of the Note 7 but might have changed how the issue was

handled. The investigation into the problem was incomplete and they jumped to a wrong

conclusion that cost them additional money and caused more PR problems. This goes along with

Deming’s point to save money and move toward a single supplier and establish a relationship of

loyalty and trust (Deming, 1987). If they only had one supplier for their batteries, they would

not have come to the initial conclusion that it was batteries from one supplier and not the other

that was causing the overheating since they would have all come from the same place.

Resources

Cheng, J., & McKinnon, J. D. (2016, October 23). The Fatal Mistake That Doomed Samsung's

Galaxy Note. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fatal-

mistake-that-doomed- samsungs-galaxy-note-1477248978?mod=article_inline

Deming, W. E. (1987). Transformation of today's management. Executive Excellence,

4(12), 8.

Student 2

The company I chose as my client company is Starbucks. As recently as 2017 Starbucks

has been known to face operational problems in increases in raw material and labor

costs which has caused end product prices to increase as well. They have also recently

implemented their mobile order system which, in some cases has caused already

crowded stores to turn customers away; ruining that Starbucks experience they pride

themselves on.

According to W. Edward Deming (1987) there are 14 points for management within an

organization. I feel that all of the 14 points of management apply to Starbucks as a

whole. They tend to strive to improve upon a well-working system, strives to innovate,

remains efficient and self-sufficient. They implement training on jobsites, maintains

good relations with “partners” (Starbucks employees), “partners” are encouraged to go

back to school and better their personal circumstances. Starbucks prides itself on their

relationships with consumers and “partners” in the pursuit of providing people with

experiences rather than just coffee.

Deming, W. E. (1987). Transformation of today's management. Executive Excellence,

4(12), 8. Retrieved from

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