Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 8

Chapter 01 - Introduction to Operations Management

Highlights of the chapter include the following:

1. Operations as one of the three main functional concerns of most organizations.
2. The role and job of the operations manager as a planner and decision-maker.
3. Different ways of classifying (and understanding) production systems.
4. System design versus system operation.
5. Major characteristics of production systems.
6. Contemporary issues in operations management.
7. Operations as essentially managerial (planning, staffing, etc.)
8. The historical evolution of production/operations management.
9. Manufacturing operations versus service operations.
10. The need to manage the supply chain.

Reading: Why Manufacturing Matters

1. Given that the U.S. economy is becoming more service based, the percentage of employment in
manufacturing is declining while the percentage of employment in the service industry is
increasing. In addition, the loss of manufacturing jobs results in the loss of service jobs as well (a
general estimate is that three service jobs are lost for each manufacturing job lost).
2. The government could offer companies tax incentives for purchasing new equipment or for hiring
workers. In addition, the government could work with manufacturing companies to re-train
workers in more advanced manufacturing processes.
3. Manufacturing innovation is important because it requires high value-added knowledge work that
supports future innovation. Second, innovation generates high-paying jobs. Third, innovation is
important because it improves productivity, thereby slowing the outsourcing of jobs to lower
wage countries.

Reading: Agility Creates a Competitive Edge

The first solution could be for U.S. retailers to continue sourcing from China that part of demand that is
certain and to source uncertain demand from the same low-cost producers in Romania and Turkey.

This approach provides the advantages of low-cost manufacturing in China and the flexibility provided by
the suppliers in Romania and Turkey. The disadvantage of this approach is that transportation times for
U.S. retailers still will be longer than the transportation times faced by Zara’s and H & M.

A second approach could be that U.S retailers find low-cost, flexible suppliers just across the border in
Mexico. The advantages of this approach include low wages and shorter transportation times. The
primary disadvantages to this approach involve the time and expense of locating new suppliers.
Additionally, the U.S. retailers might have to lend considerable support developing the capabilities of
these suppliers.

Chapter 01 - Introduction to Operations Management

Operations Tour: Wegmans Food Markets

1. Customers judge the quality of a supermarket based on:
a. Quality of individual products.
b. Exterior and interior physical look of the store.
c. Effectiveness and efficiency of service personnel.
2. a. Customer satisfaction is the major key to the success of any operation; without it, the
company cannot survive.
b. Forecasting allows the company to plan the workforce levels, purchase quantities, inventory
levels, and capacity.
c. Capacity planning allows the company to balance the trade-off between shortages and excess
inventories and between waiting lines and idle time.
d. A good location can have a significant impact in attracting customers, thus improving sales.
e. Planning and controlling levels of inventory will assist with avoiding stockouts and avoiding
excess inventory levels.
f. Good layout of the store can assist in maximizing customer service and sales by strategically
directing customers through the store. An effective layout can also improve the efficiency of
the operations.
g. Effective scheduling of company workers and work hours can improve both customer service
and efficiency. An effective schedule provides convenient store hours, minimal customer
waiting lines, and minimal employee idle time.
3. Wegmans uses technology to track inventory and manage its supply chain, which lessen the risk
of occurrences of out-of-stock events, and to maintain freshness in its meat and produce

Chapter 01 - Introduction to Operations Management

Answers to Discussion and Review Questions

1. The term operations management relates to the management of systems or processes that create
goods and/or provide services. These processes involve the planning, coordination, and execution
of all activities within an organization that create goods and services. A supply chain is the
sequence of organizations, including their facilities, functions, and activities, that are involved in
producing and delivering a product or service. This sequence begins with basic suppliers of raw
materials and ends with the final customer. A supply chain includes activities and facilities
external to the internal operations function, e.g., sourcing and transportation of inbound materials.
2. The three primary functions are operations, finance, and marketing. Operations is concerned with
the creation of goods and services, finance is concerned with provision of funds necessary for
operation, and marketing is concerned with promoting and/or selling goods or services.
3. The operations function consists of all activities that are related directly to producing goods or
providing services. It is the core of most business organizations because it is responsible for the
creation of an organization’s goods or services. Its essence is to add value during the
transformation process (the difference between the cost of inputs and value and price of outputs).
4. Among the important differences between manufacturing and service operations are:
a. The nature and consumption of output.
b. Uniformity of input.
c. Labor content of jobs.
d. Uniformity of output.
e. Measurement of productivity.

5. a. The Industrial Revolution began in the 1770s in England, and spread to the rest of Europe and
to the U.S. in the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century. A number of
inventions such as the steam engine, the spinning Jenny, and the power loom helped to bring
about this change. There were also ample supplies of coal and iron ore to provide the
necessary materials for generating the power to operate and build the machines that were
much stronger and more durable than the simple wooden ones they replaced.
b. Frederick W. Taylor, who is often referred to as the father of scientific management,
spearheaded the scientific management movement. The science of management was based on
observation, measurement, analysis, improvement of work methods, and economic
incentives. Management should be responsible for planning, carefully selecting and training
workers, finding the best way to perform each job, achieving cooperation between
management and workers, and separating management activities from work activities.
c. Parts of a product made to such precision that each part would fit any of the identical items
bring produced. It meant that individual parts would not have to be custom made because
they were standardized.
d. Breaking up a production process into a series of tasks, each performed by a different worker.
It enabled workers to learn jobs and become proficient at them more quickly, avoiding the
delays of workers shifting from one activity to another.

Chapter 01 - Introduction to Operations Management

6. a. The service sector now accounts for more than 70 percent of jobs in the U.S. and that figure
continues to increase.
b. Manufacturing is important in that it supplies a large proportion of exports and many service
jobs are dependent on manufacturing because they support manufacturing.
c. Farm products are an example of non-manufacturing goods because there is no production
and the products naturally grow without human intervention.
7. Models provide an abstraction and simplification of reality. Mathematical models are the most
abstract and most used in operations management. These models are used to assist in various
decision-making scenarios. One of the main reasons for building mathematical models is that the
experimentation with the model enables the decision-maker to analyze the model and make
inferences about a problem without actually manipulating the real situation or problem.
Therefore, the experimentation with the mathematical model rather than the actual problem or
situation is less time consuming and less expensive.

8. Degree of customization has important implications throughout a business organization.

Generally, higher degrees of customization involve more complexity in terms of production or
service, involve different forms of layout (arrangement of the workplace), require higher worker
skills, and have lower productivity.

9. a. Initial cost, convenience, parking, taxes, time, repairs, upkeep, etc.

b. Cost, technology, productivity, convenience, software applicability, etc.
c. Initial cost, repairs, warranty, upkeep, monthly payments and interest, dependability,
insurance costs, etc.
d. Control of the situation, class participation, perception, image, etc.
e. This would depend on the nature of the product or service being offered as well as the type of
customer. Computer literate customers might seek a web site. If customers are strictly local,
newspaper advertising might be a reasonable choice, especially if potential customers were
not actively seeking out the business. In addition, if the business is seasonal, newspaper
advertising might be preferred.

10. Craft production: involves producing high variety of customized goods, low volume output with
skilled workers, and utilizing general-purpose equipment. The main advantage is the flexibility to
produce a wide variety of outputs providing many choices for the need of customers. The main
disadvantage is its inability to produce at low cost. Examples: tailoring, machine shop, print shop,
and landscaping.
Mass production: involves producing a few standardized goods at high volume of output with low
skilled workers utilizing specialized equipment. The main advantage is low cost, efficient
production. The main disadvantage is that it does not allow easy changes in volume of output,
product, or process design. Examples: automobiles, computers, mail sorting, appliances, paper,
soft drink bottling, etc.
Lean Production: involves producing more variety of goods than most production at moderate to
high volume of output. It requires high skilled workers, quality, employee involvement,
teamwork, and flatter organizational structure with fewer levels of management. It combines the
advantages of both mass production (high volume, low cost) and craft production (variety,
flexibility). Examples: similar to mass production.

Chapter 01 - Introduction to Operations Management

11. Workers may not like to work in a lean production environment because there are fewer
opportunities for employee advancement, more worker stress due to higher levels of
responsibility and greater variability and expansion of job requirements.

12. a. Matching supply and demand is an important objective for every business organization.
Undersupply can result in dissatisfied customers, potential loss of business, and opportunity
costs. Oversupply can potentially result in additional cost to store the excess, the need to sell
the excess for a reduced cost, or the cost to dispose of the excess.

b. Managing a supply chain is important for several reasons, including matching supply and
demand, reducing transportation costs, achieving a competitive advantage, managing
inventories, and achieving supply chain visibility.

13. There are four basic sources of variation:

1. The variety of goods or services being offered: The greater the variety of goods and
services, the greater the variation in production or service requirements.
2. Structural variation in demand, such as trends and seasonal variations. These are generally
predictable. They are particularly important for capacity planning.
3. Random variation. This natural variability is present to some extent in all processes,
is present in demand for services and products, and generally cannot be influenced by
4. Assignable causes of variation: Variation caused by defective inputs, incorrect work
methods, out of adjustment equipment, and so on. This type of variation can be
reduced or eliminated by analysis and corrective action.
Variations can be disruptive to operations and supply chain processes, interfering with
optimal functioning. Variations result in additional cost, delays and shortages, poor quality, and
inefficient work systems. Poor quality and product shortages or service delays can lead to
dissatisfied customers and damage an organization’s reputation and image.
14. The reasons for doing unethical things vary from person to person and from one situation to
another. Some of the possible reasons are listed below:
a. The decision-maker cannot recognize his or her action as unethical because of a lack of
morals or understanding or lack of sensitivity towards a given issue.
b. Even though the decision-maker recognizes his or her behavior or action as unethical, he or
she justifies it based on self-rationalization that involves justice theory. For example, the
decision-maker may think that the consequences of his or her decision is not going to hurt
other people or organizations in the short run but the potential long term effects may be
c. The decision-maker knows that his or her action is unquestionably unethical. However, the
type of ethical behavior required is not in the personal portfolio of the decision-maker and
ethics in general is not important to him or her.
d. The decision-maker does not think he or she will be caught.
e. The self-interest of the decision-maker outweighs the ethical considerations.

Chapter 01 - Introduction to Operations Management

15. Value added is defined as the difference between the cost of inputs before the transformation
process and the value or the price of output after the transformation process. In a manufacturing
process as the inputs are transformed to outputs, value is added to products in a number of
different ways. The value adding can take many different forms. For example, value can be added
by changing the product structurally (physical change) or transporting a product (a product may
have more value if it is located somewhere other than where it currently is).
16. Outsourcing can result in lower costs, the ability to take advantage of others’ expertise, and allow
businesses to focus on their core business. Outsourcing generally results in layoffs and some loss
of control. In addition, outsourcing to companies in other nations may result in problems due to
cultural or language differences, and increased shipping times for products.

17. Sustainability refers to service and production processes that use resources in ways that do not
harm ecological systems that support both current and future human existence. Business
organizations are increasingly facing sustainability regulations as well as pressures from
environmental groups to act responsibly toward the environment. Some organizations are
capitalizing on their “green” efforts in their advertising.

Taking Stock
1. When we decide to take an action there are usually consequences of that action and advantages
and disadvantages of taking that action. In other words, before we make a decision, we must
weigh the pros and cons of that decision. Trade-offs involve weighing of pros and cons regarding
a particular decision. For example, if a decision-maker decides to increase the level of inventory,
he or she has to consider the trade-off between increased level of customer service and the
additional inventory carrying cost.
2. It is important for the various functional areas to collaborate because collaboration will lead to
improved communication among the departments (functions) that in turn will improve the
performance of the firm. Collaboration will reduce the chance of sub-optimization by a functional
area due to the possibility that a particular functional area does not have enough information
about the other areas and their constraints or decisions.
3. Product and service technology allows a company to develop new products faster. Process
technology enables a company to improve methods, procedures, and equipment used to produce
goods and to provide services. Information technology enables companies to process large
quantities of data quickly, to identify and track goods, to obtain point-of-sale data, and to
communicate documents electronically to suppliers and customers.
Critical Thinking Exercises
1. There are many implications due to the differences between service and manufacturing
operations. For example, in a service firm, because the degree of customer contact is high, we
have to make sure that employees are better trained in customer service than employees in a
manufacturing industry are. In a pure-service industry firm, we will build a lot of slack in
scheduling because of the uncertainty of input.
2. That would depend on whether supply was too large or too small. If there is over capacity, try to
increase demand through advertising and/or price reductions. If output (goods) can be stored, and
future demand is expected to be higher, store excess output for future demand. If supply is too
small, options might be to outsource, work overtime, or hire temporary workers. If there are few
or no competitors, increase prices.

Chapter 01 - Introduction to Operations Management

3. Innovations might be product or service related, or process related. These typically

involve added cost and time for training and possibly new equipment or equipment changes, and
potential changes for the supply chain (e.g., new suppliers, new delivery requirements, etc.).
Process innovations can be disruptive to the workforce due to lower labor or machine time
requirements, which may result in job loss, retraining, and/or lower worker morale. New products
or services also probably will involve new advertising campaigns or other promotions, and the
need for consumer education. Consumers will have to adjust to new products or services, and
may have some difficulty if innovations entail increased complexity.

4. a. Business people make unethical decisions for a variety of reasons including the following:
1. Pressure from superiors
2. Pressure for stakeholders
3. Not being informed
4. Keeping the company afloat
b. Their risks for unethical behavior including the following:
1. getting reprimanded
2. getting fired
3. losing reputation
Case: Hazel
1. a. Number of yards, number of mowers, number of workers, time to mow a given area, regular
maintenance, weather, length of growing season, time between necessary mowing.
b. Mowers, parts, fuel, lubricants, fertilizer, chemicals, tools, etc.
c. 1) Lawns, type of work, regular maintenance, workers.
2) Weather, illness, overloads, emergencies, breakdowns.
d. Very important. Repeat business would be greatly affected and new business depends on
word of mouth and reputation.
e. Oil change, blade sharpening, motor tune-up, mower and filter clean up, etc.

2. a. Timing: not too late but not too soon.

b. Coverage: does not leave streaks.
c. Length of grass: not too long but not too short depending on the weather and time of year.
d. Trimming and clean-up (details).

3. a. Responsibility, possibly security, fringe benefits, regularity of work hours, cannot pass the
buck to someone else, decision-making, etc.
b. Responsibility, financial investment, work load, hiring of more employees, possibility of
greater government regulation, personnel problems tend to increase and a general increase in
all administrative work.
c. Risk involved in starting a new type of business using new technology and making it
successful, learning curve involved in the area of e-commerce, additional workload, hiring of
more employees in the area of Web design, computer programmers, etc.

Chapter 01 - Introduction to Operations Management

4. Hazel has two options:

(1) Hazel could leave grass clippings on customers’ lawns.
Advantages: Decreases her time per lawn. Grass clippings serve as a natural fertilizer. Hazel
will not have to raise her prices.
Disadvantages: Customers may not like the mess left behind. In addition, over time,
customers’ lawns may build up thatch and have to be de-thatched.
(2) Hazel could take grass clippings to a landfill in a nearby city.
Advantages: Customers’ lawns will not build up thatch. Customers will appreciate the
appearance of their lawns.
Disadvantages: Hazel will need to raise prices due to her increased driving time and fuel
5. Yes, since Hazel promised the part-time workers a bonus of $25 for good ideas and since this idea
appears to hold promise, Hazel should honor her promise and pay the student $25. However, in
the future she might want to make the bonus offer contingent on continuing employment at the
time of implementation of the idea because after becoming aware that the idea was successfully
implemented, the idea may become an attractive option for the competitor. In addition, she might
want to include a confidentiality clause or a statement in the employment contract of the workers
regarding not sharing proprietary information that may be useful to competition.

6. a. Weather, worker absences due to illness, vacations, extra requests from customers,
new customers, and lost customers.

b. At times she will have excess capacity while at other times she will have too little
regular capacity to handle the workload.

c. Revise schedules, work overtime if regular capacity is insufficient and/or hire

additional workers, if capacity exceeds demand layoff workers or find something else
productive for them to do such as maintenance of equipment, training, etc.

7. Use hand tools instead of power tools, and recycle grass clippings. Factors to take into account
include cost savings, quality, risk of injury, job completion times, training, reduction in pollution
(air and noise), and energy savings.