OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT - ASSIGNMENT

Case I (approximately 500 words):

Sendai Global Foods LLC imports food products such as meats, cheeses, and pastries to Japan from warehouses at ports in Hamburg, Marseilles and Liverpool. Transportation companies deliver these products to Adachi, Ota and Edogawa, Japan where they are stored in company warehouses before being shipped to distribution centers in Himeji, Matsudo and Adachi. The products are then distributed to specialty food stores and sold through catalogues. The shipping costs ($/1,000kg) from the European ports to the Japanese cities and the available supply (1,000 kg) at the European locations are provided in the following table:

The transportation costs ($/1,000 kg) from Japanese warehouse to the three distribution centers and the demand (1,000 kg) at the distribution centers are as follows:

Determine the optimal shipments between the European locations and the warehouses and the distribution centers that will minimize total transportation costs.

Case 2 (Approximately 500 words)

a. Fit Cut Ltd. cuts and sews fabric for custom ordered chairs, ottomans and sofas. Often, the more complicated patterns are for the smaller pieces, where cutting is more time consuming than sewing. Thus, cutting and sewing times vary. Today's list of jobs, shown below, are for an important client who needs them sipped out (in one shipment) as soon as possible. Determine the sequence of jobs that will complete the customer's order as quickly as possible, and notify the customer when the order is expected to ship.

(Approximately 100 words)

b. Mary Lim is extremely stressful due to her assessments for Operations Management as part of her MBA course. Following are the assignment she faces, the estimated completion times (in days) and due dates:

Help Mary prioritise her work so that she can complete as many assessments on time as possible. Today is June 2. How would your sequence of assessments change if Mary is interested in minimizing the mean tardiness of her assessments? (approximately 400 words)

Case 3 (approximately 1,500 words)

Please kindly reflect on the course of MGTO8 Operations Management and share with us ONE key concept / theory / model / application that you feel will be of greatest use to you in your personal life or professional career in the future. You are expected to discuss in depth about why and how this key concept/theory/model/application will impact you so greatly as a result of undergoing this subject. Please do not copy the theory and regurgitate the theory or application. You are supposed to demonstrate the knowledge gained after going through this course.

Your personal learning reflection will be measured against the following criteria:

Case 4 (Approximately 2,000 words):

The Fletcher-Terry Company of Farmington, Connecticut, is a worldwide leader in the development of glass-cutting tools and accessories for professional glaziers, glass manufacturers, glass artisans, and professional framers. The company can trace its roots back to 1868 when a young engineer, Samuel Monce, developed and patented a hardened steel tool that could effectively replace expensive diamonds as a cutting device. Using this invention as his centerpiece, Monce formed the Monce Company, which went on to become a leader in glass-cutting devices for several decades.

Meanwhile, in 1894, Monce's nephew Fred Fletcher got a patent on a replaceable wheel cutter. Ten years later he went into business with his father-in-law, Franklin Terry, forming the Fletcher-Terry Company. In 1935, the Fletcher-Terry Company bought the Monce Company, thereby combining the assets and knowledge of the two companies. For the next four decades, Fletcher-Terry had much success making its traditional product lines of hand-held glass cutters and cutting wheels for the glass, glazing, and hardware markets. However, by the 1980s, Fletcher-Terry was facing a crisis. Its two largest customers, distributors of cutting devices, decided to introduce their own private-label cutters made overseas. By the end of 1982, Fletcher-Terry's sales of handheld glass cutters were down 45%.

Fletcher-Terry responded by investing heavily in technology with the hope that automation would cut costs; however, the technology never worked. The company then decided to expand its line of offerings by creating private lines through imports, but the dollar weakened and any price advantage was lost. Eventually, Fletcher-Terry had to write off this line with a substantial loss.

Company managers realized that if they did not change the way they did business, the company would not survive. They began a significant strategic planning process in which they set objectives and redefined the mission of the company. Among the new objectives were to increase market share where the company was already strong, penetrate new markets with new products, provide technological expertise for product development, promote greater employee involvement and growth, and achieve a sales growth rate twice that of the gross domestic product.

To accomplish these objectives, the company invested in plant and process improvements that reduced costs and improved quality. Markets were researched for both old and new products and marketing efforts were launched to re-establish the company's products as being "the first choice of professionals." A participatory management system was implemented that encouraged risk taking and creativity among employees.

Following these initiatives, sales growth totalled 82.5% from 1987 and 1993. Fletcher-Terry expanded its offerings with bevel mat cutters, new fastener tools, and a variety of hand tools essential to professional picture framers, and graduated from being a manufacturer of relatively simple hand tools to being a manufacturer of mechanically complex equipment and tools. Today, Fletcher-Terry maintains a leadership position in its industry through dedicated employees who are constantly exploring new ideas to help customers become more productive. Because of its continuous pursuit of quality, the company earned the Ford Q-101 Quality Supplier Award. In August of 2001, Fletcher-Terry introduced its

FramerSolutions.com online business-to-business custom mat cutting service especially designed for professional picture framers. The mission of Fletcher-Terry is to develop innovative tools and equipment for the markets they serve worldwide and make customer satisfaction their number one priority.

Discussion

1. Fletcher-Terry managers have been involved in many decisions over the years. Of particular importance were the decisions made in the l980s when the company was struggling to survive. Several states of nature took place in the late 1970s and 1980s over which managers had little or no control. Suppose the Fletcher-Terry management team wants to reflect on their decisions and the events that surrounded them, and they ask you to make a brief report summarizing the situation. Delineate at least five decisions that Fletcher-Terry probably had to make during that troublesome time. Using your knowledge of the economic situation both in the United States and in the rest of the world in addition to information given in the case, present at least four states of nature during that time that had significant influence on the outcomes of the managers' decisions. (approximately 1,200 words).

2. At one point, Fletcher-Terry decided to import its own private line of cutters. Suppose that before taking such action, the managers had the following information available. Construct a decision table and a decision tree by using this information. Explain any conclusions reached. Suppose the decision for managers was to import or not import. If they imported, they had to worry about the purchasing value of the dollar overseas. If the value of the dollar went up, the company could profit $350,000. If the dollar maintained its present position, the company would still profit by $275,000. However, if the value of the dollar decreased, the company would be worse off with an additional loss of $555,000. One business economic source reported that there was a 25% chance that the dollar would increase in value overseas, a 35% chance that it would remain constant, and a 40% chance that it would lose value overseas. If the company decided not to import its own private label, it would have a $22,700 loss no matter what the value of the dollar was overseas. Explain the possible outcomes of this analysis to the management team in terms of EMV, risk aversion, and risk taking.

Bring common sense into the process and give your recommendations on what the company should do given the analysis. Keep in mind the company's situation and the fact that it had not yet tried any solution. Explain to company officials the expected value of perfect information for this decision. (Approximately 800 words).