Operations And Innovation Management - Management Assignment Help

Assignment Task

QUESTION 

1. Read the following case study and answer the questions that follow:

CALCOMP: DISASTER BECOMES SUCCESS

Flash back to the early 1980's. The only thing world-class about Calcomp was the mess it was in. The company that practically invented the computer plotter - a device engineers and architects use to print intricate, oversized schematics - has become arrogant, inattentive and lazy. Every last plotter that rolled off the assembly line didn't work well enough without some rejiggering. A legion of field technicians was needed to make house calls on installed machines that malfunctioned every few weeks. Competitors, such as Hewlett Packard, jumped into the breach, stealing dissatisfied customers.
Flash forward to the 1990's Calcomp was recognised as a leader in world-class manufacturing. No more mass assembly lines. No more bugs. No more field technicians. The difference between the 1980's and 1990's was firstly the quality programme implemented by the President. Quality was seen as the satisfaction of customers, with gracefully built, innovative products that work from the start, rarely breakdown, are competitively priced and upgraded faster than any other competitors' products.

Secondly, in the early 1980's the manufacturing process was fractured. Product design and manufacturing design were not co-ordinated. The company stockpiled parts and only checked for defects after it was completely built. In the 1990's inventories were cut to the bare minimum and a preferred supplier programme was initiated. In this way the company managed its demand and reduced the wastage costs. Suppliers used the quality information to transform their businesses and attract new clients.
Thirdly, when a new product is conceived, a team of more than a dozen people representing virtually every department shepherd's it from development to delivery. With this kind of team work, engineers do not design parts that the factory workers cannot put together.
Readjusting attitudes to work was the most important part of the jump to quality. Today frontline
workers are treated with as much respect as the executives. Assembly workers are never reprimanded to stop the assembly line if there was a quality problem. Production managers wear beepers and are expected to respond to problems immediately.
The senior vice-president of the plotter division stated the following "The product we build tomorrow will be better than the ones we build today".
(Modified and adapted - Michelle Vranizen - The Orange Country Register)

Questions
1.1 "In the early 1980's the manufacturing process was fractured where product design and manufacturing design were not co-ordinated". Discuss the methods that Calcomp could have used to improve and evaluate product and service design.

1.2 "In the 1990's inventories were cut to the bare minimum and a preferred supplier programme was initiated". Identify the most appropriate JIT techniques that Calcomp could have used and evaluate its influence on supply chain management.

QUESTION 

2.1 Location Breakeven Analysis (also known as cost-volume analysis) is a technique used to make an economic comparison of location alternatives. The fixed and variable costs of three potential locations are listed below:

The expected selling price of the product is R 150.00. The company wishes to find the most economical location for an expected volume of 2500 units per year. Plot the costs for each location, with costs on the vertical axis and annual volume on the horizontal axis and identify the location that has the lowest total cost for the expected production volume.

2.2 Starbucks intends opening up a string of coffee shops in Africa. Identify the factors that would affect their location decisions.

QUESTION

New products/services are developed from a variety of sources both internal and external to the organisation. Concepts that survive the idea stage progress through various stages with constant review, feedback and evaluation in a highly participative environment including product development, engineering and technical teams. Breeze Minerals intends to launch a new range of bottled water and have appointed you to oversee this process. Discuss in detail, giving appropriate examples, the Structured Development Process this new range of bottled water would have to undergo.

QUESTION 

Read the following text and answer the questions that follow:
The year is 2010 and times were good. The business environment was vibrant and the economy strong. Large businesses are committing large amounts of capital and resources to implement new strategies, establish new capabilities, and open new markets. It was no different at PintCo, where Jack works as a Director of Customer Relationship Management.

Jack walked into work on Monday morning like any other. He dropped his briefcase in his office, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed down the hall to meet with his boss, Brandon, about one of the company's troubled projects. Although Jack had substantial experience, he had only recently joined PintCo after being hired away from a chief competitor. He was still learning about some of the nuances of his current employer.
After the typical morning banter, Brandon and Jack got to the topic at hand. "Jack, I'll get straight to the point. I need to you to take over the Customer Master File project from Paul." Brandon said. He continued, "We hired you because of your significant project management expertise. I know that you've turned around a lot more difficult situations than this." Over an hour later, Jack emerged from Brandon's office and set out to learn more about the challenge that Brandon had posed to him.

Jack was an experienced business leader and project manager. He had seen more than his fair share of ugly projects; some he turned around while others had spun hopelessly out of control. He would be able to tell very quickly how this one would go based on the makeup and culture of the project team.

Troubled Waters

Over the course of the next few weeks, Jack took over the Customer Master File project, met with key project team members, and conducted dozens of interviews with key stakeholders. It was only a few weeks since Brandon had handed the keys to him for this troubled project, and now Jack was back in Brandon's office to give a rather stark update on the situation.
"Brandon, I've talked to the project team and to key stakeholders, and I know why this project is in trouble," Jack started. "If you truly want me to turn this project around, I'll need your support to make some critical changes."

Brandon, a 20-year veteran at PintCo, knew what was coming. He had seen too many projects start, flounder, and then fail at the company. He didn't want to hear that another project was on the brink of failure, but he asked anyway, "What did you find out, Jack, and what can I do to help?"

Jack drew a deep breath and began to explain his findings. "Brandon, as you know this project has been in flight for nearly 6 months now and it is already behind schedule and over budget." Jack went on, "In talking to the project team and other stakeholders, I don't see the situation getting better without making some pretty significant changes."

Jack's experience helped him to quickly identify a number of critical issues with the project, which he carefully outlined for Brandon:

• "The scope of the project is not well defined,"
• "The IT architects are sitting in their ivory towers and disagree with the project's direction,"
• "The project team is not functioning as a team,"
• "There is a lack of clear executive sponsorship, and"
• "Steve from Marketing is trying to manipulate this project for his own political gain."

"I'm not going to sugar coat this for you Brandon," Jack explained. "I've seen this situation far too often in my career, and if we don't change the situation this project will fail in glorious fashion."

Questions

4.1 The project scope statement includes deliverables that the project must produce to fulfil requirements. Construct a well-defined scope for the above project.

4.2 Identify the risks and develop a risk action plan for this project.

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