Activity Objective

The objective of this assignment is to measure your progress in mastering the following course competencies:

• Apply theories, models, and practices of global operations management to address business problems.
• Integrate operations management analyses into general business management planning and decision making.

More specifically, you will be expected to demonstrate your ability to:

• Analyze the process using problem framing and cause and effect analysis to facilitate clarification of the process.
• Analyze the context for the process selected for improvement.
• Analyze the implications of the process to the organization.
• Analyze potential outcomes associated with improving the process.

Activity Instruction

Based on the information you gathered in your process identification assignment, choose one of the processes you have identified and carry it forward through the remainder of your Operations Improvement Plan (OIP) project. The process selected should lend itself to an in-depth analysis and should be important to Toyota.

Since you are expected to complete the entire OIP for the final project by the end of Unit 6, you need to take into account the time required to complete the OIP with respect to the duration of this course. You should plan to have the bulk of your research and investigative work completed by the end of Unit 5. Therefore, choose a process that is of appropriate scope to enable you to finish on time.

As you outline your process improvement idea, include the following elements:

• Problem statement: What exactly needs to be improved?
• Background of the issue: How long has it been occurring and other relevant historical data (costs, impacts, and implications to the organization)?
• Implications: What could happen if it continues as it is (include the cons- tangible and intangible)? What could happen if it is improved (include the pros-tangible and intangible)? What are some potential general business results and impact on business relationships? Note: You are not expected to provide specific results at this early stage of the investigation.
• Desired outcome: How will it be different? What competitive advantages will it yield? How will it impact stakeholders? Be thinking of the "Cost-Benefits" of the process improvement, how much will it cost Toyota, and how will these be offset by the benefits derived?