Jim Jam had been a career policeman for the past 25 years having joined the Police Force immediately upon leaving High School. Last March decided that it was time for him to retire and put in his claim for his pension and gratuity. Still very young at 43 years old, Jim Jam decided that he wanted to try his hand at something else, but his difficulty was that he had been a policeman all his life and had no other skills or work experience.

In fact the only thing that can perhaps count as work experience was when he accompanied his father to the "coal kiln" when he was a little boy and there he would shovel coal into the bags his father brought along. After exploring all of his options for employment, including security work at an offshore medical School, Jim Jam decided that he will consider starting a small business in the tourist sector but was unsure as to exactly what he will do. One Friday afternoon he ventured into the capital city and was surprised by the large number of Bar BQ grills that lined the streets.

His pastime as a young boy, helping his father, suddenly came back to mind as he noticed the large amount of coal that was being used to keep the grill fires burning. Asking around Jim Jam realised that coals was also in great demand, not only for the BBQ grills, but also at the beach bars and many of the tourist restaurants that catered to providing the visitors with an authentic eating Caribbean experience. After much thought he decided, like many others in a similar situation, to go into business producing coals for use in the many grills that operated on the island.

Recognising his lack of business experience and knowledge, Jim Jam enrolled in the UWIOC Management Studies program and after studying for two semesters Jim Jam was determined to make a go of it. Business for him was slow at first because of the large number of persons who produced coals, however when the customers realised that the coal that Jim jam provided was of a very high quality and did not burn out quickly, his customers increased as word spread.

As a complimentary service Jim Jam also trimmed shrubs, cut down trees and agreed with homeowners to remove their down trees for free, the wood from these trees were also used in his coal production business. Business was good and Jim Jam looked forward to building up a good base of customers and providing a high quality coals.

Questions

1. Discuss two ways in which Jim Jam's customers will most likely judge the quality of his services?

2. Jim Jam is the operations manager of his business. Among his responsibilities are forecasting, inventory management, scheduling, quality assurance, and maintenance.

a. What kinds of things would likely require forecasts? b. What inventory items does Jim Jam probably have? Name one inventory decision he has to make periodically.

c. What scheduling must she do? What things might occur to disrupt schedules and cause Jim Jam to reschedule?

d. How important is quality assurance to Jim Jam's business?

3. What are some of the trade-offs that Jim Jam probably considered relative to:

a. Working as a police officer instead of for himself?

b. Expanding the business?

4. The island is considering a law that would prohibit the use of BBQ grills within the city limits. What options might Jim Jam consider if the law is passed? Name one advantages and one drawbacks of one of his options.

5. Jim Jam decided seek the assistance of his class colleagues for ideas on how to improve the business and to pay each one $100 for any idea used. A number of great ideas were presented.

One idea that he initially rejected now appears to hold great promise. The student who proposed the idea lives on the same island as Jim Jam, and has also started a competing coal production business.

Should Jim Jam send that student a check for the idea? What are the possible tradeoffs?