Assignment

You will use this business type and create your own organization around it. In each SLP module you will create issues/challenges about the specific Operations Management topic and discuss these issues/challenges and how you would solve them.

NOTE: When choosing your business/project, you need to consider that it will meet the criteria for all SLP assignments. Module 2 covers Total Quality Management, Module 3 talks about Supply Chain Planning using Operations Strategy (Module 4).

Session Long Project

Choose one of the following types of service organizations: Hospital, Car Repair, generic family restaurant, Information Technology consulting, Software Development, or another organization type with Instructor Approval.

Read about the real company online in the same industry and then create/invent your own company of this type. Be creative. Make this company real.

Identify several key processes in a process flow diagram. The most important aspect of inventing your company is determining the key PROCESSES. What is the work being done to provide your services to your customers? What are the repetitive processes of obtaining the materials, supplies, etc., and moving them through the company via processes to generate the outputs?

Write the paper with the focus on the following topics.

1. Discuss the key processes and how these processes would be analyzed.

2. What are some ways the processes could be improved?

3. Discuss concepts and ideas from process improvement and lean thinking.

4. Identify and discuss at least three productivity issues that this company faces. Include the various productivity ratios that would be calculated. Generate some numbers indicating the current level of productivity.

5. Identify and discuss how this company would deal with improving its productivity.

This paper should be approximately 3-5 pages in length, counting the introduction, body, and summary. You should include references and cite them properly in the paper. Generally, at least three references should be used. Find references about productivity in your type of business.

Assignment Expectations

• First discuss some background about your company. You can give it a name. How big is the organization - people, size, etc.? What is its mission? Who are its customers?

• Then identify at least one area of concern for productivity. Identify at least three productivity measures. While it is not required, if you want, you can also create some numbers and show the calculation of the productivity measures.

• Identify the key processes. What are the steps involved in the processes? Do the processes interact?

• What are some possible ways that these processes could be improved for productivity? Consider how you can produce more output and/or reduce the inputs, so that you can increase productivity.

• What are some problems or issues that you might encounter as you attempt to change the processes? How could you overcome these problems/issues?

• There is no right or wrong response, so be creative and use your knowledge to compile the paper.