This assignment helps you develop the skills to master 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.
- Communicate in a manner that is professional and consistent with expectations for members of the business professions.
Instructions
Based on the information you gathered in your process identification assignment in Unit 1, you selected a process to carry forward through the remainder of your OIP project. The process selected should lend itself to an in-depth analysis and should be important to your client company.
In this assignment, write a report analyzing the organizational problem and the process you have identified for your OIP. Outline your process improvement idea, including the following elements:
- Problem statement: What exactly needs to be improved? Use problem framing and cause-and-effect analysis to develop a brief, preliminary problem statement. Note: You will expand your problem statement in the Unit 3 assignment.
- Background of the issue: Detail relevant historical data, including the duration of the problem and the cost to the organization. Note: You are not expected to provide specific data results at this early stage of your investigation.
- Implications: What could happen if the problem continues as it is? What could happen if the process is improved? Outline both tangible and intangible positives and negatives for improving the issue or ignoring it. Identify some potential general business results and impacts on business relationships.
- Desired outcome: How will your new process be different from the old? What competitive advantages will it yield? How will it impact stakeholders? Consider the cost benefits of the process improvement; estimate how much will it cost the organization and outline how costs will be offset by the benefits derived.