B7532 Advanced Operations Management Week 5

Assignment 1: Facilities Management 

A critical element of a company’s operations management  strategy is the efficient management and location of the company’s  facilities. To take advantage of lower labor rates or easy access to raw  materials and resources, several companies in the U.S. and Europe have  looked to offshore operations including manufacturing, design, and  customer service in low cost regions of the world such as China, India,  Eastern Europe, or Southeast Asia. In recent years, there are  indications that some companies are looking to reverse the offshoring  trend. For example, from the end of 2012 and through 2013, GE moved  manufacturing of appliances from China to Kentucky, and Lenovo opened a  design center in North Carolina.

Using the module readings, the University online  library resources, and the Internet, research a company with global  operations. Based on your research, respond to the following:

• Briefly describe the company’s strategy with respect to regional  location of its facilities for manufacturing, design, research and  development, marketing, and customer service.
• How has the company’s strategy evolved with respect to global location of facilities?
• What challenges is the company facing in the current environment?
• How can the company be more efficient in how it manages the global location of facilities in response to these challenges?

Write your initial response in 300–500 words. Your response should be  thorough and address all components of the discussion question in  detail, include citations of all sources, where needed, according to the  APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation
 

• Respond to feedback on your posting and provide feedback to other students on their ideas.
• Make sure your writing

• is clear, concise, and organized;
• demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and
• displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Grading Criteria

     Discussion Grading Table  Maximum Points    Quality of initial posting, including fulfillment of assignment instructions  16    Quality of responses to classmates  12    Frequency of responses to classmates  4    Reference to supporting readings and other materials  4    Language and grammar  4    Total:  40