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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 2102 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, 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

Part 2

Now that you have completed your literature review in Module 4, take some time in this module to plan for RA 2 due in Module 7. Be sure to visit the Working Ahead on Major Assignments section in Module 1 to review the directions for RA 2.

Using the module readings, and the Internet, research companies with international operations. Select one company for which you will be developing your case study and evaluate the business process(es) in need of improvement. To prepare for RA 2, gather as much information as you can about the company including the following:

Facilities, location(s), and capacity (including corporate headquarters, satellite facilities, warehouses, etc.)

Business strategy

Types of products or services offered

Target markets

Supply chain characteristics

Do this in approximately 3 pages

Be sure to check with your instructor concerning any questions you may have about RA 2.

Module 6

Assignment 1: Discussion—Exploring Potential Research Topics

Based on your business experience and the information accumulated in this course, identify three possible research topics related to the subject of the course. What managerial problems or opportunities would each of the three topics address?

Provide a short description for each research topic, highlighting the following:

The problem or opportunity in organizations that needs to be addressed

The purpose of the research

The question(s) that, if answered, will help in solving the problem or seizing the opportunity

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

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.

Assignment 2: Facilities Operations

Lean operations create more value for customers while using fewer resources than traditional operations. In this assignment, you will identify the business planning process for a lean management operation by implementing an information system in a service or manufacturing organization.

Choose a company different from those evaluated in previous assignments (not Apple, Google or any other company I’ve used in this class). Examples of information systems that reduce waste in organizations could include the following:

A new inventory tracking software

An electronic payment system for products and services (For example, a service organization such as a car wash that currently only accepts cash payments upgrades their systems to accept credit card and PayPal payments.)

A Web site to receive personalized orders from customers for a manufacturing organization

Based on your analysis of the company, address the following:

Explain the current business model and discuss the benefits of incorporating the lean process. Describe a specific approach to acquiring and using the lean process.

Justify the incorporation of a lean approach. Describe the potential effect of the business growth as related to supply chain management. Include safety and precautionary processes to protect the business from fraud.

Examine the product components for the selected business operation. Include the business management aspects of the process, in addition to information on the following topics:

Purchasing operations

Outsource delivery

Lean tenets

The push-pull system

Create a 1-page, high-level flowchart of the process with a maximum of ten activities. The flowchart should be precise and look professional. If needed, you can download a trial version of visual or graphic design software such as SmartDraw.

Write a 3–5-page paper, including the flowchart, in Word format. Use at least three scholarly articles to complete your research. Your writing should be clear, concise, and organized; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of resources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Module 7

Quality management and control are critical operational management functions and cornerstone elements in the strategy of a successful company.

Using the module readings, and the Internet, research a company in the manufacturing or service sector recognized for successfully including quality management in its business strategy.

Based on your research, respond to the following:

Describe the quality challenges that the company used to face. How has the company’s quality improved over the years?

What is the company doing to convey improved quality in its marketing message? (For example, Ford Motor Company had a marketing campaign "Quality is Job 1" that ended in 2011.)

Compare and contrast your findings for the company’s strategy using this module’s readings.

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

Assignment 2

For this assignment, you will create and present a case study based on the information gathered for your literature review developed for RA 1. You may also include any other resources that you consider relevant. Your case study should demonstrate the impact of information technology (IT) on business process reengineering (BPR) processes and illustrate the relationship between the two in international operations. Write a 10–12-page report that addresses the items listed under the Directions section.

Background:

A business process includes activities and tasks that cross functional or organizational boundaries. BPR is a structured approach to analyzing and improving fundamental activities such as manufacturing, marketing, communications, and other major elements. It is expected from the redesign of the business processes to foster sustained improvements in quality, cost, service, lead time, flexibility, and innovation. BPR delivers radical and incremental business improvements through the identification and removal of waste and inefficiency. IT is the most important factor to enable newly redesigned processes; however, BPR does not refer to automating poor processes.

Directions:

Revisit the literature you synthesized in RA 1, taking into account the feedback received from your instructor. Identify at least five other relevant articles that will help you develop your BPR recommendations.

Identify a company with international operations for which you will be developing your case study and the business process(es) in need of improvement.

Your case study should provide the context for BPR by discussing all of the following aspects of the business:

Facilities, location(s), and capacity (including corporate headquarters, satellite facilities, warehouses, etc.)

Business strategy

Types of products or services offered

Target markets

Supply chain characteristics

Analyze the business process(es) that need improvement. Refer to the following:

The place in the value chain and the importance to the organizational performance

Current operations and performance

Human resources

Current technology as it is related to the addressed business processes

Identify and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of at least two options for improving business performance through BPR and associated technology needs.

Recommend a technology for improving business performance based on your case analysis. Consider the human resource implications of your solution. Justify your recommendation.

Write a 10–12-page paper in Word format. Use at least five scholarly articles in addition to those used in RA 1 to complete your research. Your writing should be clear, concise, and organized; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of resources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.